Skip to content
Squad Planner
Build

Build

Heavy + Medic Tank Squad Build

Funnel damage into the Operator built to take it, then heal that Operator — the lowest-risk answer to permadeath.

Theorycraft
Confidence
Theorycraft
Verified
4 August 2026
Version
pre-release (no retail build)

Build summary

Players running permadeath who want to finish the campaign with the roster they started with.

Campaign phase
any
Difficulty
Standard, permadeath enabled
Game version
pre-release (no retail build)
Strong against
sustained engagements

This build has not been tested

The game has not been released. Every mechanic cited below is confirmed, but the combination of them is our reasoning rather than anything played. It will be re-tested and re-labelled after 27 August 2026.

Loadout

The four bays

Weapon choices are role-based. No weapon statistics have been published, so treat them as starting points rather than optimised picks.

  1. Bay 1

    Custom Operator

    Heavyrepeater

    The damage sink. Officially described as focused on survivability and absorbing enemy attacks in the open.

  2. Bay 2

    Hawks

    Medicpistol

    Required in story missions, and the healing and Injury prevention are what make the Heavy's exposure sustainable.

  3. Bay 3

    Custom Operator

    Sharpshooterlongarm

    Damage from safety. With the frontline held, a long-range Operator can take the time it needs.

  4. Bay 4

    Custom Operator

    Gunslingerpistol

    Clears the wounded enemies the Sharpshooter leaves behind, and generates Advantage through frequent attacks.

Reasoning

Why it works

Mechanic by mechanic. Anything stated as confirmed traces to a source listed at the bottom of this page.

  • The Heavy is officially an armored frontline unit focused on survivability and absorbing enemy attacks in the open.
  • The Medic officially provides healing and Injury prevention.
  • Concentrating incoming damage onto one Operator turns a squad-wide problem into a single-target healing problem, which is the one a Medic solves best.
  • Three Injuries mean permanent death on standard difficulty, so reducing how many Operators get downed at all is the most direct answer to permadeath.
  • With the frontline stable, the ranged half of the squad can prioritise accuracy over safety.

Execution

Example opening turn

An AP and Advantage plan. Costs are unpublished, so the order matters more than the exact budget.

  1. Step 1

    Turn 1 — Heavy: advance first and take the most exposed viable position.

  2. Step 2

    Turn 1 — Sharpshooter: take high ground while the enemy's attention is on the Heavy.

  3. Step 3

    Turn 1 — Gunslinger: attack from a covered position, generating Advantage.

  4. Step 4

    Turn 1 — Medic: hold AP in reserve. Healing preemptively is wasted; healing after the enemy turn is not.

Strengths

  • The lowest-risk squad that can be built from confirmed roles.
  • Covers close, medium and long range, so it has no obvious blind spot.
  • Directly counters the permadeath system rather than working around it.
  • Uses only base Specializations — no unlocks required.

Weaknesses

  • Role-based theorycraft: neither the Heavy's mitigation values nor the Medic's healing throughput are published.
  • Whether the Heavy has a real taunt — a way to force enemies to attack it — is unconfirmed. Without one, damage may simply go elsewhere.
  • Low control: no displacement, no reliable interruption.
  • Slow. A frontline-anchored squad struggles with timed objectives.

Alternatives

Safer and more aggressive versions

Including what to do when an authored Operator in this squad is permanently lost.

Safer
Swap the Sharpshooter for a second frontline Operator on missions where the squad must advance under fire.
More aggressive
Swap the Heavy for an Assault. You trade the damage sink for pressure and flanking, which shortens fights but raises Injury risk.
If the Heavy has no taunt
Fall back to the Medic + Gunslinger Combat Stim squad, which relies on ending fights faster rather than on directing enemy fire.

How this will be verified

Re-test in the retail build, recording version, platform and difficulty, then update the status label from theorycraft to tested. Specifically: confirm whether the Heavy has any mechanism to force enemies to attack it. The entire build depends on that answer.

Mechanics this build depends on

Other builds

Sources