How does the WAR suit ability Shield Wall work

xcom-2

Any soldier who has a WAR suit (tier 3 heavy weapon armor) equipped gains a "Shield Wall" ability, allowing them to act as high cover for other soldiers (something like one of the MEC Trooper abilities from XCOM: Enemy Within).

The game doesn't really explain well how this ability affects both the soldier who deploys the shield, and any soldiers who then take cover behind the shield.

  1. Is the soldier deploying the shield immune to damage, or do they still take damage as normal?
  2. Can the soldier deploying the shield still take advantage of any environmental cover while also activating the shield? For example, can a WAR suit soldier crouch behind low cover, deploy the shield, and still take advantage of the low cover?
  3. Does activating the shield give the WAR suit soldier a defensive bonus that stacks with whatever cover that he is using?

Best Answer

The effect of Shield Wall is: you become high cover.

That's it. You don't get any sort of defense bonus, you don't get damage resistance, nothing else. On the bright side, it doesn't appear to prevent you from taking cover, either. The net effect is that you're a regular soldier in every way, except that wherever you're standing happens to count as a high cover tile.