An issue I always had as a new player and one I still have playing Longwar on high difficulty is losing soldiers to being "pinned" into a bad spot by enemy overwatch. Many of the tactical options offered here are only available later in the game so in a new game you may have to avoid alltogether. Here are just a few things you can do to help save that solider in trouble.



-"Dashing" will reduce chance for overwatch fire to hit slightly
-A smoke grenade thrown on soldier's position before he attemps to flee
-If your squad has moves left, focus the overwatch enemy first as a dead enemy hit % is zero
-It may be a better tactical decision to hunker down and hope the impending death volley all miss


-"Lightning reflexes" greatly reduces risk of fleeing if available (Scouts have it in Long War mod)
-A healthy and/or heavily armored nearby ally could run first and accept the risk of being hit instead


-Take a moment to view the enemy bonuses and it'll reveal special modifiers (Ex. Blood Call)
-If you are standing closer to the overwatch enemy, it is likely they have a greater chance to hit
-Be certain overwatch is even an issue, sometimes due to the way you take to run it wont trigger
-Suppressing fire (not overwatch) takes a reaction shot regardless of the direction you flee


-A well placed flashbang grenade can allow your soldier to avoid overwatch fire
-A nearby ally can lay down suppressing fire on overwatch enemy first before running
-Be wary of soldiers with low will who may be panicked in a very bad spot and be unpredictable.
-Have a friendly knock enemy out of overwatch using "disabling shot" or explosives
-Advance slowly through unexplored map, it can be tedious but it can pay off
-Be extra careful running through doors or around corners blindly
-Expect enemy overwatch if they already discovered you but are out of line of sight
-If dealing with enemy suppressing fire, keep in mind that any damage to them will end it
-In Long War mod, always check enemy perks as they often have covering fire and be surprising


-Using a grappling hook does not trigger Overwatch. (Thanks to SciFi311)

-One step move will not trigger overwatch fire. Make 2 one-step move to cover
-If your move only has 1 tile in line-of-sight of the enemy, it will not trigger overwatch.
-Running "along" low cover will still trigger overwatch fire, but the cover will be taken into account for the miss chance. (Thanks to OsoMoore)