Will you make one for regular Psi-ops ? I know they're not really a build as you end up unlocking every single ability, but your insight on how to best use/combo these is interesting...
Thanks for the comment. I thought about it when I was making the series, but as you said, you don't really need to pick with Psi-Ops and they are far and away the class I use the least in campaigns.
@@veegeeplz yeah psi-ops are more like support units rather than damage dealers I mean you COULD give them that one shot rifle from alien hunters and it really wouldn't change a thing other than damage output provided you ALSO give them armor piercing rounds so that they can provide big damage numbers (provided rng rolls give said numbers) witch it's not too bad but it doesn't exceed at anything other than locking certain units (priests and sectoids can be true assholes if given the chance) there I pretty much saved you a video lad
Thanks. When it comes to Heavy Weapons and Ammo, there's not a lot to say. Most info you can get from the wiki. The common consensus seems to be that Bluescreen Rounds and Shredstorm Cannon are the strongest picks, for obvious reasons.
Fun fact: If you have Reaper and Arc Wave abilities, and you kill two enemies (one with Rend, the other with Arc Wave) while using Reaper, you regain two action points back instead of one. This, along with the guarantee melee damage that comes with Rend, makes Reaper a ridiculous ability for Templars that I could wipe out two unsuspecting pods within one turn (that is if they are not Archons, Spectres, or other bullet spongy enemies).
The cool thing about this interaction is that you get a momentum action point in addition to the normal action points you regain. You can spend it on Parry, attack again, then Parry again. Activating Parry multiple times in one turn means you'll block that many attacks during the enemy turn. This interaction has been extremely useful to me in beta strike.
@@Carrot_Darknesss i dont think reaper allows you to activate parry at all. its like it completely disables momentum when you use it, unless you take out only one target, maybe
If your templar has bladestorm, go for ghost and channel for double bladestorm If your templar has fortress, go for tank templar with reflect (it can trigger more than once) and overcharge. Grab sustain if you can, or channel for easier focus gain If your templar has reaper, go for ionic storm as finisher after reaping. Always pick arc wave for this OP combo Void conduit counter against final boss. Grab lightning hand if you have point to spare
I got Bladestorm on my first Templar. He's absolutely terrifying. He can't miss because Templars don't suffer the Overwatch debuff modifier with Rend, and hits and kills with it still count toward ability bonuses and Focus building. Not to mention it goes through armor because it's Rend. It feels quite close to having a free Assassin Katana without having to be a Ranger.
One thing you didn't mention about parry is how it can effectively disable some of the most imposing enemies in the game. Most notably, if you parry after attacking a berserker it is guarenteed to attack the templar and waste its turn. This is incredibly useful given how powerful berserkers are when you first encounter them.
My main templar went on covert ops so he could get a shitton of will and health, and I'd use him as a psychic wrecking ball. He had a mindshield for most of his service but I swapped it out for the Hellweave later down the line. Bonus Fun Fact: The Feedback resistance order only triggers if the psi-attack if it doesn't take control of the target
Oh, one thing I noticed in your footage, it seems the Templar's Reflected damage applies any on-hit effects from the enemy who is attacking them, as you shredded the ADVENT Mech's armor there.
Feel like it should be mentioned the PCS for templar should be mobility. +3 movement makes a templar able to rend nearly anything in view. Helps to get cover or loot/focus loot as well. Very powerful class
I haven't played an XCOM game, but the ability to swap places with enemies / allies got my creative mind racing. Templar is already a primarily melee class, so the ability to swap could theoretically bolster their damage potential, having more opportunities to get rend off if your squad or enemies are relatively spread out, and reflect-like abilities would aid in survivability. Sounds like some advanced-level chess moves!
I'm loving these guides! I'm new to xcom 2, and these are super helpful! Thank you for making these! If it's not too much to ask, can you make a guide for the Psi Operatives?
Many thanks sir, i just got the game and this guides are the best. Even so i english isnt my first lenguage and with dat i learned a lot and undersrand even better than spanish videos XD
I used the switch position a lot lol. Especially chosen hunter. When i could not close in the distance with the hunter, i use invert to switch place and place him near my whole squad lol. My grenadier and sharpshooter easily unload on him with their chainshot and ligning hang, qucikdraw and fanfire lmao
Your guides are fantastic, thanks for taking the time to nake them. Have you considered doing a guide for I/I? I know there's a lot of variables for every run, but seeing your take on build paths squad comps etc would be great
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I'm no expert when it comes to Legend/Impossible. I keep going for no-casualty runs, which doesn't really work for most L/I runs. :)
Veegee your videos are really well made and your analysis is great, I'm wondering if you would be covering anything about the chosen or team compositions that you prefer. Anything really, I'd love to hear you dissecting more of this game.
Thank you for your kind words. I'm taking a break from XCOM right now and my schedule is going to get really busy over the next couple days. I can definitely see myself coming back to XCOM eventually though.
wow great video, thanks for putting so much effort into it! exactly what i was looking for :) a question that came to my mind while i was watching: if a unit heals through abilities like templars "void conduit" or psi ops "soul steal", how does it affect post game wounds? medkits grant wounded soldiers hp during battle, but after the mission they need to heal according to the damage they took. is this the same case for templar/psi abilities?
Thanks. I'm glad you found it helpful. :) I haven't tried it. I'd assume so, but I don't know for sure. Afaik, the game tracks how much HP each soldier loses during a mission and uses that to assign wound times. Would be weird if Templars/Psi were somehow exempt from that.
While I have played Gears Tactics, I'm neither good enough nor have the tools to set up the clips to the same level of quality I did for this series. I don't plan on playing Phoenix Point any time soon, sadly.
Your videos are extremely useful and full of detailed information, is there any plan for explaining every item in the game as well as their possible combos? or some guide to legendary?
I'm glad you find them helpful. I'm not sure what I can add in terms of items - I find most of them self-explanatory or nearly so after a quick browse of the wiki. For Legend, I'm ashamed to admit I don't play a lot of it. I'm the sort of player that doesn't handle losses very well, which doesn't really gel with Legend. ;)
@@veegeeplz It's cool. It's cheap and quick to play. Love your videos BTW. Presentation is clean and you explain your reasoning both clearly and succinctly.
@Arnez Willis NOPE , its totally random as you get a little odd RNG lotery of perks. For example there is 50/50 chance you get a Templar with either Blade Storm or Fortress ... or BOTH. If you had both , you had literally a killing machine who can deal reaction rends on nearby enemies and shurg off enviriomental hazards as well like purifier/sectopods/gatekeepers explosions either. It can also comes with underwelming skills like return fire , quick draw, lighting hands and faceoff. While still useful , you would never use your autopistol at all (exept on Lost missions). Another perk who can get from a Templar is Reaper. Its the only one who can be a 50/50 blessing/curse as it only benefic if you had weakened the enemies prior and a big pod you wanna get rid. The only down side is: you're exposed to trigger more pods and end up in weird positions ... AND can't parry if you really need, plus the dmg of rend is decrease ... even if you had bladestorm , its also affected by the dmg penalty until the next turn. ALSO, not to mention it ends the turn automatically upon not able to kill the target, meaning you can even position yourself out of the heat. I remember one run where a templar got the best skills for every mission and another one with things from the sharpshooter tree. GUESS WHO , get more action and who get only used for lost missions. BUT bringing both to a single mission was also very funny , as one cheew into everything and the other provide a lot of fire for soften enemies out previously and then give it a single kill.
@Arnez Willis i didn't knew that! i might try it again after finish this modded campaing ... but 1st i must solve an issue with the game where it lags out of nowhere ..... EVEN IF ... i'm running the game above the SPEC (i had a Ryzen 7 3800X and 32GiGs of ram) but for some reason i run into a very odd problem with the game lagging out of nowhere , when it doesn't use any more resources out of my PC
I've been asked about this a few times. Psi Ops are a class I rarely use outside of maybe the final mission. Since you can just throw a Rookie in the tube and end up with a super soldier at the end, I felt there wasn't much point going into the same level of detail as traditional classes.
Exactly. I mostly just put it on them so that when they take Overwatch shots, at least they're doing some damage! You could also give them a Mimic Beacon, if there's too many enemies to try and Rend/Parry. (They have a few abilities, like Amplify and Invert, which are not turn-ending.)
I know it's pronounced im-place-able, but i always pronounce it im-plack-able too lol. Not sure if intentional on your part though. Back to watching Templars are my favorite, but they are fairly risky so I usually pair them with someone who can keep up with movement abilities or attacks from long range.
@@veegeeplz okay i guess i just learned something new today. I always thought the root was "place" as in "im too fast you can't catch me" because of the ability. Instead, the root is "placate" as in "i cant be stopped, i must keep going". Therefore, plack-ate. Cool.
@@nix207 English is a really obnoxious language with a million different unspoken and broken rules. I really don't blame you for getting confused over pronunciations.
@@veegeeplz I didn't know it would actually work the 1st time I did it, witnessing a helpless AVATAR is just too satisfying, glad the game recognize it as a humanoid for the skill to work
This may seem unrelated, but what's your opinion on Long War 2 if you have one of course. Started a campaign recently but i realized it's an entirely different beast altogether, just wondered if you could spare any tips.
Templar is my favorite class in the game. But they have a big drawback and that is they only become good after they have a bunch of levels. Early game they suck because they are a one trick pony (rend/parry) that can pull an extra pod and wipe your team. Unfortunately the early game is the hardest part by far of any campaign and by the time the Templar naturally comes online you don't need him anymore as you are stomping everything anyway. They are similar to the sniper variant of the sharpshooter in that they rule the late game but people tend to not use them because with or without them late game you have it easy anyway. The most valued classes are the ones that pull you through the early game - rangers, grenadiers and reapers. Templar might be the strongest class in the game but it's strongest when it doesn't matter anymore. The trick I use for playing a Templar is to promote him via the Resistance Ring as often as possible and don't bring him on difficult missions early. If he gets Bladestorm early as a additional skill he is great for Ring missions with a ambush chance as he is guaranteed three hits on the reinforcement pod if you park him right on the red dot and he can deal with the rest of the enemies and the lost basically all by himself. The lost die to Bladestorm (all lost in the ring missions are normal no brutes or dashers so they have low hp and are one shot by Bladestorm) and rend/parry takes care of the rest of the aliens since they are all single unit pods. Once Mutons show up this doesn't work anymore so be aware of that. If you manage to speed promote your Templar to major you are going to have a good time and he is going to be a big help during the second difficult phase of the campaign - late middle game - when your troops are not yet high level but the enemies become elite, the avenger defense/avatar management missions start popping up which tire/wound your soldiers and can cause a death spiral that ends your campaign. This strategy has great synergy with researching powered armor first before plasma lance or even plasma weapons altogether. While it is tempting to go for the damage the problem is the aliens will get a very big boost in health/damage around that time and upgraded weapons alone won't cut them down fast enough to clear a pod in one turn. For that you need plasma and high level troops and you won't have those for a while. Getting the armor first is what I do and it saved my ass many, many times. P.S. All this advice is for Legend difficulty. The game is a joke on everything else. Also if you don't get Bladestorm on your Templar use him as a mimic beacon and wait for the ring to give you another one. It literally doubles his single target damage in most cases, it's way to good to not have it on him.
Forgot how insanely OP Templars are in the base game compared to their heavily nerfed version in Long War of the Chosen. THey're still good there, mind you, just... not as insanely broken.
Will you make one for regular Psi-ops ? I know they're not really a build as you end up unlocking every single ability, but your insight on how to best use/combo these is interesting...
Thanks for the comment. I thought about it when I was making the series, but as you said, you don't really need to pick with Psi-Ops and they are far and away the class I use the least in campaigns.
@@veegeeplz yeah psi-ops are more like support units rather than damage dealers I mean you COULD give them that one shot rifle from alien hunters and it really wouldn't change a thing other than damage output provided you ALSO give them armor piercing rounds so that they can provide big damage numbers (provided rng rolls give said numbers) witch it's not too bad but it doesn't exceed at anything other than locking certain units (priests and sectoids can be true assholes if given the chance) there I pretty much saved you a video lad
@@veegeeplzyeah but could you do it anyway I really like your guides and would love your opinion on them
*Using a melee Templar on a Covert Mission*
Mutons: Allow us to introduce ourselves.
I HATE MUTONS
Joke on them my templar always bring a flashbang with him
This guies are the most precise i have ever seen, i would love a guide about heavy weapons and ammo!
Thanks. When it comes to Heavy Weapons and Ammo, there's not a lot to say. Most info you can get from the wiki. The common consensus seems to be that Bluescreen Rounds and Shredstorm Cannon are the strongest picks, for obvious reasons.
I just recently reinstalled XCOM 2, my favourite game, and immediately revisited all your videos. Incredible, precise and well edited work, my friend.
Definitively my favorite design for a psi-soldier in all aspects (appearance, weapons, abilities). Hope they make a reappearance in future XCOM games!
Fun fact: If you have Reaper and Arc Wave abilities, and you kill two enemies (one with Rend, the other with Arc Wave) while using Reaper, you regain two action points back instead of one. This, along with the guarantee melee damage that comes with Rend, makes Reaper a ridiculous ability for Templars that I could wipe out two unsuspecting pods within one turn (that is if they are not Archons, Spectres, or other bullet spongy enemies).
The cool thing about this interaction is that you get a momentum action point in addition to the normal action points you regain. You can spend it on Parry, attack again, then Parry again. Activating Parry multiple times in one turn means you'll block that many attacks during the enemy turn.
This interaction has been extremely useful to me in beta strike.
@@Carrot_Darknesss
i dont think reaper allows you to activate parry at all. its like it completely disables momentum when you use it, unless you take out only one target, maybe
@@cobrazax
Yeah I found out later that a mod does that. It makes more sense balance-wise that Reaper and Parry don't work together.
Thank you for a really great overview of the Templar's abiltiies.
Wonderful overview by far the best i've seen.
You are the best at these guides man. Thank you.
Hey thanks man, these videos have been incredibly helpful.
If your templar has bladestorm, go for ghost and channel for double bladestorm
If your templar has fortress, go for tank templar with reflect (it can trigger more than once) and overcharge. Grab sustain if you can, or channel for easier focus gain
If your templar has reaper, go for ionic storm as finisher after reaping. Always pick arc wave for this OP combo
Void conduit counter against final boss.
Grab lightning hand if you have point to spare
I got Bladestorm on my first Templar. He's absolutely terrifying. He can't miss because Templars don't suffer the Overwatch debuff modifier with Rend, and hits and kills with it still count toward ability bonuses and Focus building. Not to mention it goes through armor because it's Rend. It feels quite close to having a free Assassin Katana without having to be a Ranger.
One thing you didn't mention about parry is how it can effectively disable some of the most imposing enemies in the game. Most notably, if you parry after attacking a berserker it is guarenteed to attack the templar and waste its turn. This is incredibly useful given how powerful berserkers are when you first encounter them.
Wow, that is powerful!
My main templar went on covert ops so he could get a shitton of will and health, and I'd use him as a psychic wrecking ball. He had a mindshield for most of his service but I swapped it out for the Hellweave later down the line.
Bonus Fun Fact: The Feedback resistance order only triggers if the psi-attack if it doesn't take control of the target
Very Detailed. Thank you for the Video
great video and very informative
Oh, one thing I noticed in your footage, it seems the Templar's Reflected damage applies any on-hit effects from the enemy who is attacking them, as you shredded the ADVENT Mech's armor there.
All excellent guides
Feel like it should be mentioned the PCS for templar should be mobility. +3 movement makes a templar able to rend nearly anything in view. Helps to get cover or loot/focus loot as well. Very powerful class
I haven't played an XCOM game, but the ability to swap places with enemies / allies got my creative mind racing. Templar is already a primarily melee class, so the ability to swap could theoretically bolster their damage potential, having more opportunities to get rend off if your squad or enemies are relatively spread out, and reflect-like abilities would aid in survivability. Sounds like some advanced-level chess moves!
I'm loving these guides! I'm new to xcom 2, and these are super helpful! Thank you for making these!
If it's not too much to ask, can you make a guide for the Psi Operatives?
They suck guide over
Many thanks sir, i just got the game and this guides are the best. Even so i english isnt my first lenguage and with dat i learned a lot and undersrand even better than spanish videos XD
I used the switch position a lot lol. Especially chosen hunter. When i could not close in the distance with the hunter, i use invert to switch place and place him near my whole squad lol. My grenadier and sharpshooter easily unload on him with their chainshot and ligning hang, qucikdraw and fanfire lmao
This was great!! Thanks mate
Your guides are fantastic, thanks for taking the time to nake them.
Have you considered doing a guide for I/I? I know there's a lot of variables for every run, but seeing your take on build paths squad comps etc would be great
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I'm no expert when it comes to Legend/Impossible.
I keep going for no-casualty runs, which doesn't really work for most L/I runs. :)
Veegee your videos are really well made and your analysis is great, I'm wondering if you would be covering anything about the chosen or team compositions that you prefer. Anything really, I'd love to hear you dissecting more of this game.
Thank you for your kind words. I'm taking a break from XCOM right now and my schedule is going to get really busy over the next couple days.
I can definitely see myself coming back to XCOM eventually though.
Jesus, Templars are fucking amazing.
I normally give the Templar psi shield. Having a mind-controlled Templar sucks
You mean it's a squad killer
Yeah I figured that out cuz I thought Templars are immune to mind control because of that my squad was k.i.a.
@@weregamer Considering Psi-Operatives are immune, you would think Templars would be too - especially considering their tankiness. It is pretty weird.
hey @veegeeplz thanks for the nice video series. what is the mod you are using that displays damage hit / crit / dodge chance on hit? thx!!!
Extended Information.
Thanks for your comment.
I would love to see a guide on the psi operative
wow great video, thanks for putting so much effort into it! exactly what i was looking for :)
a question that came to my mind while i was watching: if a unit heals through abilities like templars "void conduit" or psi ops "soul steal", how does it affect post game wounds? medkits grant wounded soldiers hp during battle, but after the mission they need to heal according to the damage they took. is this the same case for templar/psi abilities?
Thanks. I'm glad you found it helpful. :)
I haven't tried it. I'd assume so, but I don't know for sure. Afaik, the game tracks how much HP each soldier loses during a mission and uses that to assign wound times. Would be weird if Templars/Psi were somehow exempt from that.
Best thing about void conduit is that it works on the Chosen. I bullied Hunter with that ability
Did not know this. Bet it would be super helpful if they have Planewalker.
thanks for this guide. Wait your guide for phoenix point and gears tactics
While I have played Gears Tactics, I'm neither good enough nor have the tools to set up the clips to the same level of quality I did for this series.
I don't plan on playing Phoenix Point any time soon, sadly.
Important point for invert. It works on Chosen.
"The templar does not have a primary weapon"
[Primary weapon] Shard gauntlet.
Parry protects against enemy death explosions, but only if the templar does NOT kill the enemy so he has time to activate Parry.
I made my Templar Magnus the Red. Really weird seeing him in melee, but I love that I could do it.
Templars: Magnus the Red
Skirmishers: Leman Russ
Reapers: Corvus Corax
16:56 If you can swap places with friendly turrets (!!) can you use the other ability to swap places with an enemy turret??
I'd assume so. Not as useful though.
Your videos are extremely useful and full of detailed information, is there any plan for explaining every item in the game as well as their possible combos? or some guide to legendary?
I'm glad you find them helpful. I'm not sure what I can add in terms of items - I find most of them self-explanatory or nearly so after a quick browse of the wiki.
For Legend, I'm ashamed to admit I don't play a lot of it. I'm the sort of player that doesn't handle losses very well, which doesn't really gel with Legend. ;)
@@veegeeplz thanks for the reply, I see the reason you avoid those options, so is there anything else you like to upload in the future?
@@邵楚涵-j5i Nothing planned right now. Maybe when I start playing XCOM again.
@@veegeeplz alright, looking forward to it
Think we could get something for the Agents in Chimera Squad? I'm just interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions on optimal builds and uses.
It sounds like a good idea. It's just that I haven't played Chimera Squad since it released.
@@veegeeplz It's cool. It's cheap and quick to play. Love your videos BTW. Presentation is clean and you explain your reasoning both clearly and succinctly.
No psi guide?
How about combat intelligence and how that affects random perks for the three factions heroes
@Arnez Willis NOPE , its totally random as you get a little odd RNG lotery of perks. For example there is 50/50 chance you get a Templar with either Blade Storm or Fortress ... or BOTH. If you had both , you had literally a killing machine who can deal reaction rends on nearby enemies and shurg off enviriomental hazards as well like purifier/sectopods/gatekeepers explosions either. It can also comes with underwelming skills like return fire , quick draw, lighting hands and faceoff. While still useful , you would never use your autopistol at all (exept on Lost missions).
Another perk who can get from a Templar is Reaper. Its the only one who can be a 50/50 blessing/curse as it only benefic if you had weakened the enemies prior and a big pod you wanna get rid. The only down side is: you're exposed to trigger more pods and end up in weird positions ... AND can't parry if you really need, plus the dmg of rend is decrease ... even if you had bladestorm , its also affected by the dmg penalty until the next turn. ALSO, not to mention it ends the turn automatically upon not able to kill the target, meaning you can even position yourself out of the heat.
I remember one run where a templar got the best skills for every mission and another one with things from the sharpshooter tree. GUESS WHO , get more action and who get only used for lost missions. BUT bringing both to a single mission was also very funny , as one cheew into everything and the other provide a lot of fire for soften enemies out previously and then give it a single kill.
@Arnez Willis i didn't knew that! i might try it again after finish this modded campaing ... but 1st i must solve an issue with the game where it lags out of nowhere ..... EVEN IF ... i'm running the game above the SPEC (i had a Ryzen 7 3800X and 32GiGs of ram) but for some reason i run into a very odd problem with the game lagging out of nowhere , when it doesn't use any more resources out of my PC
Speaking of Psi units, no guide for them?
I got bladestorm on my first templar and they devastated enemies, especially lost
I've been asked about this a few times. Psi Ops are a class I rarely use outside of maybe the final mission. Since you can just throw a Rookie in the tube and end up with a super soldier at the end, I felt there wasn't much point going into the same level of detail as traditional classes.
If I move my Templar to high ground and use Exchange to swap positions with my Sharpshooter, will my Sharpshooter still be able to use their rifle?
Yes. It doesn't affect the swapped unit.
Why AP rounds on Templar? Other than an occasional lost shot, why would you ever use their pistol? It’s weak vs melee attack.
Exactly. I mostly just put it on them so that when they take Overwatch shots, at least they're doing some damage!
You could also give them a Mimic Beacon, if there's too many enemies to try and Rend/Parry. (They have a few abilities, like Amplify and Invert, which are not turn-ending.)
@@veegeeplz they are fairly worthless on overwatch…that would allow them to do some damage at least.
Feel my powah! *rush in* Parry this casul *Parried once and get slash my another* aurrghh....My Life for Aiur! -Dies-
I know it's pronounced im-place-able, but i always pronounce it im-plack-able too lol. Not sure if intentional on your part though. Back to watching
Templars are my favorite, but they are fairly risky so I usually pair them with someone who can keep up with movement abilities or attacks from long range.
I actually double-checked it specifically for this series. Everywhere I looked told me it was im-plack-able.
@@veegeeplz okay i guess i just learned something new today. I always thought the root was "place" as in "im too fast you can't catch me" because of the ability. Instead, the root is "placate" as in "i cant be stopped, i must keep going". Therefore, plack-ate. Cool.
@@nix207 English is a really obnoxious language with a million different unspoken and broken rules. I really don't blame you for getting confused over pronunciations.
@@heartoffire5902 yup, I’m glad I made that comment because I got to learn yet another fun and weird thing about English
Sure void conduit is situational but have you tried lock an AVATAR with it and it can't teleport when taking damage because of it?
That is what I was referring to in the video, yes.
@@veegeeplz I didn't know it would actually work the 1st time I did it, witnessing a helpless AVATAR is just too satisfying, glad the game recognize it as a humanoid for the skill to work
Can you do a video on psyonics?
What's up with the UI? It looks so crisp! It's cool.
Just the PC version with mods.
@@veegeeplz Which mods, if I may ask?
@@corporaljay6165 This video is almost two years old now. The only mod I can think of that affects the UI design is "Show Health Values".
@@veegeeplz thanks
Hey, you need to do one for Psi Operatives
oh, and what about psi-agents?
See the reply I wrote to Pierre-Marie Caulliez.
This may seem unrelated, but what's your opinion on Long War 2 if you have one of course.
Started a campaign recently but i realized it's an entirely different beast altogether, just wondered if you could spare any tips.
I haven't played LW2. I played LWR for the original XEW and found it very good but had several instances of Psi gatekeeping.
How do you upgrade The Templar's gauntlets?
xcom.fandom.com/wiki/Celestial_Gauntlets
🌟👍
Templar is my favorite class in the game. But they have a big drawback and that is they only become good after they have a bunch of levels. Early game they suck because they are a one trick pony (rend/parry) that can pull an extra pod and wipe your team. Unfortunately the early game is the hardest part by far of any campaign and by the time the Templar naturally comes online you don't need him anymore as you are stomping everything anyway. They are similar to the sniper variant of the sharpshooter in that they rule the late game but people tend to not use them because with or without them late game you have it easy anyway. The most valued classes are the ones that pull you through the early game - rangers, grenadiers and reapers. Templar might be the strongest class in the game but it's strongest when it doesn't matter anymore.
The trick I use for playing a Templar is to promote him via the Resistance Ring as often as possible and don't bring him on difficult missions early. If he gets Bladestorm early as a additional skill he is great for Ring missions with a ambush chance as he is guaranteed three hits on the reinforcement pod if you park him right on the red dot and he can deal with the rest of the enemies and the lost basically all by himself. The lost die to Bladestorm (all lost in the ring missions are normal no brutes or dashers so they have low hp and are one shot by Bladestorm) and rend/parry takes care of the rest of the aliens since they are all single unit pods. Once Mutons show up this doesn't work anymore so be aware of that. If you manage to speed promote your Templar to major you are going to have a good time and he is going to be a big help during the second difficult phase of the campaign - late middle game - when your troops are not yet high level but the enemies become elite, the avenger defense/avatar management missions start popping up which tire/wound your soldiers and can cause a death spiral that ends your campaign. This strategy has great synergy with researching powered armor first before plasma lance or even plasma weapons altogether. While it is tempting to go for the damage the problem is the aliens will get a very big boost in health/damage around that time and upgraded weapons alone won't cut them down fast enough to clear a pod in one turn. For that you need plasma and high level troops and you won't have those for a while. Getting the armor first is what I do and it saved my ass many, many times.
P.S. All this advice is for Legend difficulty. The game is a joke on everything else. Also if you don't get Bladestorm on your Templar use him as a mimic beacon and wait for the ring to give you another one. It literally doubles his single target damage in most cases, it's way to good to not have it on him.
No psi class guide?
Forgot how insanely OP Templars are in the base game compared to their heavily nerfed version in Long War of the Chosen. THey're still good there, mind you, just... not as insanely broken.
Why the robot voice? it makes this unwatchable.
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