LWOTC Ufopaedia: Psi Operative
The PsiOp has changed a lot in LWOTC, and for the better. There are a bunch of new abilities, and our glowing purple puppeteers are even more powerful than they were in LW2. One thing hasn’t changed - you still need to be careful which skills you pick - I didn’t even consider trying a few of the new abilities because that would risk missing out on Domination.
Another thing that hasn’t changed is that you must get the Psi Lab up and running early in the campaign in order to get full value from your investment. Alternatively, you can save a lot of money ($250) by skipping Psionics entirely. With all the new hero classes, and easy access to Sparks, it is also harder to find a place for every soldier in your squads, and that may also be a good reason for some commanders to skip Psionics.
But not for me.
My tactical style is best described as control-focused, and the Psi Operative is a big part of it. Psi Operatives have two unique abilities which are especially good at controlling enemies: Stasis and Domination. Those are two of the most powerful abilities in the game, and will trivialize many encounters which would otherwise be difficult to manage. Along with those skills, the Psi Operative can fire off a steady barrage of guaranteed damage - the best kind of damage - while often using insanity to neutralize low will enemies. With the new Phase Walk ability, the Psi Operative is now as mobile as any soldier, and always capable of doing something of high value.
Here is how I build my Psi Operatives:
Fuse / Stasis / Domination
Solace / Null Lance
Phase Walk / Soul Storm
Selecting Abilities By Group
Psionic abilities are grouped, and it is important to confine your selections to a few groups or you will be unable to control which abilities your soldier is offered. Just as in LW2, it all boils down to getting Domination. Sigh. While this ability tree is broader and more interesting - it is just as inflexible, and that prohibits me from exploring other branches.
Fuse / Stasis / Domination
I can’t believe it, but Fuse is actually good. Now that Fuse is a free action it has real utility. Instead of competing with other actions, Fuse is added on top of them, giving you some bonus damage, with the potential for cover destruction and overwatch removal.
Stasis is less powerful in LWOTC. It can no longer be used on oversized enemies (Sectopods, Hive Queens, and Gatekeepers), and it also will not work on the Chosen. Whatever. Stasis is still incredibly strong, especially against Alien Rulers. Another change in LWOTC is that Stasis can be cast on your allies as though you have the Stasis Shield ability. This isn’t very useful.
Domination is still the king, and turning Archons into furious meat puppets is still just as fun. In LWOTC there is a new danger for our purple puppeteers; Elite Priests project a field that cancels negative mental status effects. If you fly your Archon into that field, the mind control will be broken.
Solace / Null Lance
Solace is not great. It can be extremely useful in the rare crisis situation in which your best soldier is mind controlled or panicked, and then you will be glad that you have it. I think I’ve only used Solace twice in my current LWOTC campaign.
Null Lance is great, and it gives the PsiOp a second guaranteed damage ability to pair with Soul Fire. The PsiOp is a little soft on offense before acquiring this skill; decent afterwards.
Phase Walk / Soul Storm
Phase Walk is new in LWOTC, and it’s much better than I thought it would be. Mobility enhancing skills and equipment are usually undervalued until you play around with them. With teleportation, your PsiOps can bounce to wherever they are needed without ending their turn, and without triggering reaction fire. The range of Phase Walk is about 18 times, and the cooldown timer is fast (2 turns). This is a really strong skill on a Haven Defense, Supply Defense, Data Tap, and pretty much every other mission as well.
Soul Storm is also new in LWOTC and also great. It pairs really well with Phase Walk, which allows the PsiOp to blink right next to a group of enemies, then nuke all of them and their cover. It will damage allies within the blast radius. Soul Storm has a range of only 4 tiles, not very large, so it is difficult to use, and will sometimes require the PsiOp to take a dangerous position.
The Abilities I don’t Select
Fortress provides the same immunities as a Hazmat vest, along with immunity to explosives. Not great.
Bastion projects a field of immunity to nearby squadmates. This can be used to counter MECs which will reliably missile soldiers if they are grouped close together. Bastion is just okay.
Soul Steal enables Soul Fire to vampire health from enemies, as well as adding a lot of temporary ablative. But it also increases the cooldown of Soul Fire to 3. I have never used this ability but it sounds good but problematic. I can’t imagine using the PsiOp effectively as a tank.
Null Ward will give nearby allies a stack of ablative, just like an advent Shieldbearer. It sounds good, but I’ve never tried it.
Void Rift does solid damage in a medium area of effect. It also applies rupture and a chance for insanity on susceptible targets. Its great.