While XDefiant doesn’t have defined roles, its teams of soldiers effectively form a number of XDefiant classes which help give each one an identity and role during matches. These classes each have their own gadgets, equipment, and tools that lean into how you should play them effectively.
From a traditional tank class to a healer, stealthy assassin, and a techy disruptor, below you can find a breakdown of these classes. This will help you understand their main roles and how best to play them. To take things to the next level, you should also check out the best XDefiant guns in the meta right now.
All XDefiant Classes
There are currently five classes in XDefiant, split into different Factions. These are:
- Support - Libertad
- Tank - Phantoms
- Recon/Stealth - Echelon
- Offense - Cleaners
- Disruptor - DedSec
- Area Control - GSK
Support - Libertad
The Libertad abilities are:
- Médico Supremo (Ultra) – Provides a large health and healing boost for a limited time
- Espíritu de Libertad (Passive) – Slowly heals you and nearby allies
- El Remedio (Ability) – Heals allies until it is destroyed or cancelled
- BioVida Boost (Ability) – Boosts total health and regen for you and nearby allies
As the primary healer faction in the game, the Libertad are indispensable for any team, regardless of the game mode or map. They have the ability to support both solo and team-oriented players effectively in kill-based or objective game modes.
Their entire suite of abilities focuses on healing yourself or your allies quickly and consistently, making a team of Libertad fighters incredibly deadly, as it can be hard to combat their constant healing power. But, you can mix and match Libertad forces well with Phantoms or Cleaners to protect a point or lock down a whole area.
Tank - Phantoms
The Phantom abilities are:
- Aegis (Ultra) – Use a plasma shield with an electro-scattergun for close-quarters combat
- Hardened (Passive) – Increased maximum health
- Mag Barrier (Ability) – Place a shield that blocks incoming enemy fire and grenades
- Blitz Shield (Ability) – Equip a tactical shield to block and melee enemies
The Phantoms are your basic defender class, equipped with advanced gadgets and technology designed to protect themselves and their teammates. Specializing in deploying shields and blockades, and utilizing defensive tactics, the Phantoms are adept at securing key areas and defending against enemy fire, projectiles, and equipment.
As the primary tank role in the game, having one or two Phantoms on your team is crucial for success in objective-based game modes. Their defensive capabilities make them essential for maintaining control and providing protection in critical situations - especially in objective game modes.
Even better, however, is that the Phantom's passive ability increases your maximum health. This will increase the number of shots it takes to kill you, which is a surefire way to go out on top of a firefight, particularly against slow-firing weapons like the SVD loadout.
They can be combined well with Libertad forces or members of DedSec to heal allies around your shield or barrier while turning off the HUD or stunning opponents. Beware though, enemy DedSec players will be your worst nightmare as they can disable your shields.
Recon/Stealth - Echelon
The Echelon abilities are:
- Sonar Goggles (Ultra) – Reveal enemies and hunt them down with the classic Third Echelon 5.7 pistol
- Low Profile (Passive) – You don't appear on enemy minimaps
- Intel Suit (Ability) – Shares the location of nearby enemies with your team
- Digital Ghillie Suit (Ability) – Renders the agent nearly invisible, but movement and aiming down sights reduce the effect
Originating from the Echelon Initiative from the Splinter Cell series, these Echelon spies specialize in stealth and reconnaissance, using advanced tools and gadgets to gather information and outmaneuver their opponents.
As the premier stealth class in the game, Echelon operatives can hide in the shadows thanks to them not appearing on the minimap, allowing them to navigate the battlefield undetected and surprise enemies up close.
They can turn invisible, take opponents with a powerful silenced pistol, or spot foes through walls for your entire team by using their abilities. Therefore, having an Echelon player is important if you are playing kill-based modes and for getting the leg-up in objective modes, such as when you need to flank a key location or choke point. They're the perfect pairing for an SMG setup like the best XDefiant Vector loadout.
click to enlargeOffense - Cleaners
The Cleaner abilities are:
- The Purifier (Ultra) – Equip a highly-damaging flamethrower
- Incendiary Rounds (Passive) – Inflicts extra burn damage but decreases weapon range
- Incinerator Drone (Ability) – Throw napalm-delivering drone burns everything in its path
- Firebomb (Ability) – Throw a Molotov to cause explosive damage and ignite the surrounding area
The Cleaners dominate the battlefield by effectively locking down areas of the map and dishing out high-damaging attacks. Originating from the streets of New York City in The Divison franchise, these soldiers bring their burning thirst for killing to XDefiant by wielding high-damage weapons, incendiary rounds, and drones that unleash napalm in a line.
These gadgets and tools make the class all about area control, locking down choke points, swiftly clearing out a room with a flamethrower, or blocking off doorways with fire.
Its incendiary round passive ability is perhaps its greatest strength. This is because it can effectively speed up the time-to-kill of certain loadouts thanks to its added burn damage. Be careful though, as this great passive comes with a cost; it also reduces your weapon's effective damage range.
The Cleaners are one of the more specialized classes in XDefiant but a skilled player can turn the tide of a match.
Disruptor - DedSec
The DedSec abilities are:
- Lockout (Ultra) – Disable the enemies’ HUD, mini-map, and abilities in the affected area
- Fabricator (Passive) – After a device is deployed, the Fabricator prints a new one
- Spiderbot (Ability) – Deploy a SpiderBot that will target and stun the nearest enemy
- Hijack (Ability) – Hack enemy-deployed abilities and make them your own
DedSec is a blend of a zone control and a disruptor class, largely focused on using equipment and your opponent's gadgets to your own advantage. This Faction can scramble enemy radars, take control of devices, and deploy a little Spiderbot that hunts down an enemy - stunning them for a brief period.
Additionally, they also have an infinite supply of these gadgets, as everytime they deploy one, they fabricate another on the fly. This means you can throw several Spiderbots out in one life or surprise your foe after they think you have run out of equipment.
Like the Cleaners, DedSec is a little harder to use as succeeding as the class relies on your opponents, how many gadgets they have, and how effectively you can push into their side of the map. if you're up against an annoying team of Phantoms placing shields everywhere, they're perfect. If you're facing Cleaners or other DedSec, this class is almost useless.
GSK
The GSK's abilities so far are:
- Flash Shield - A riot shield equipped with a flashbang, able to stun nearby enemies while providing cover.
- Barbed Wire - A slowing and potentially damaging bundle of barbed wire.
- Active Defense System - An ADS system that deactivates and destroys enemy equipment thrown within its vicinity.
Coming from Rainbow Six Siege, GSK is the new class in XDefiant Season 1. Inspired by Bandit, Jäger, and Blitz, GSK is perfect for capturing and defending objectives thanks to their zone-controlling abilities. Need to push an objective? Bring out the Flash Shield to daze your enemy as you advance. Trying to slow the enemies' assault? Strategically place barbed wire and use the ADS to stop them in their tracks, especially when combined with Phantom's shields.
For even more guides on XDefiant, if you are just jumping in, be sure to check out our overview of the best XDefiant controller settings to use. You can also find an overview of what to expect in the game’s first year in our article covering the XDefiant roadmap for the 12 months after launch.