I really like this idea. I think it's a good way to achieve class diversity. The only thing I would disagree with is "sniper rifle to ranger"--we already have a bunch of classes that use the sniper rifle, and it doesn't really make sense to treat vanilla classes differently from modded classes. I think this idea might need to be modified somewhat as new classes and primary weapons (hopefully) show up, but it makes a lot of sense now and I bet most of it will still make sense even with the addition of new classes.

So, as part of my design constraints, i have the following things that need to be true for the classes:

- Every class gets exactly one secondary weapon.
- Every secondary weapon gets exactly one class.
- Every class gets exactly two primary weapons.
- Primary weapons should be evenly distributed among classes.

With 8 classes, that means i am going to end up with:
- 8 secondaries, one for each class
- 4 classes that use any primary weapon

Mostly, this means that there is little wiggle room in the current setup of which weapons go into which combinations. I started from a couple things that seemed obvious to me and the rest fell into place almost automatically thanks to the rules outlined above.

- I wanted the new shotgun to be on the classes with strong repeatably usable secondaries. The idea was to blur the line which one of the weapons is actually the secondary. This meant Pistol and Sword because Launcher and Gremlin use charges and aren't viable as a "quasi-primary".
- This of course also defaulted the Rifle to the other two classes.
- I wanted to use the weapon that each class had in vanilla on their updated class as well, due to also carrying over the perks. That meant Cannon for the Grenadier, Sniper for the Sharpshooter.
- The only choice left was Cannon or Sniper for Ranger and Specialist, which is easy. Gremlins already work at Squadsight range, the synergy with Sniper Rifles is obvious.

Okay, i wrote a lot now to get to a simple point:

I am not changing the weapon configuration on the Sharpshooter. This is a fact.

What i can and might do is rebranding him, though. I liked the idea of making him the "Gunslinger", especially since his perks already focus heavily on the pistol side. I do want to strip a few of the perks out of the vanilla class perks anyways and replace them with new stuff. Things like Aim, Ever Vigilant or Steady Hands could be Operative only and make room for Coup De Grace, Fleche or Shield Protocol.
This fits in with new classes like the Agent that lean heavily on their secondary weapon to define their role in combat.

Some other random notes in response:

- I think the Pistol/Sniper combination works reasonably well. It gives the soldier options at all engagement ranges and the Sharpshooter has perk support for both options. I think this is fine and i see myself using it often enough.

- The sniper rifle is a bit special in that some perks don't work with it and in playing different than the other weapons. I don't think it's really possible to find a secondary that pairs perfectly with it, a soldier with a sniper rifle usually goes "all-in" on sniping from rooftops where the secondary is of little use to him. I don't think that can completely be avoided, it's just a very dominant primary weapon.

I do like the idea of needing 2 move for "heavy weapon".

The problem with the current sniper rifle is the penalty for sniper rifle can absolutly do nothing after 1 move while cannon you can still surpress when you have 1 action that feels like it is actually doing something.

I have a few ideas to solve this:
I feel that sniper rifle could use an extra innate ability, like gremlin with both aid protocol and remote hack.
1) Give sniper rifle an extra ability that can spend all remaining action to get an extra move on next turn, with cooldown if you feel it's a bit too OP.
2) Allow sniper rifle to move and shoot, but you will be self stun afterwards or make next turn have 1 less action point.
3) Add a similar ability to LW steady hand so u get + aim next turn

Doesn't Squadsight fill that role? Sniper Rifles aren't as mobile as other weapons but they don't need to be because their range is so long.

You could add a single-AP ability that gives a small aim boost next turn. Then you can move, aim, let the aliens take a turn, then shoot with a slightly better chance to hit. It could be cancelled by damage.

I like how you went from argueing that the pistol doesn't fit on a sniper class to thinking about single AP abilities to put on a sniper within two posts :)

Never said the sniper rifle didn't go with the pistol. Anyone who says that hasn't played vanilla. :)

@Lago While that's what squadsight do, maps that doesn't allow much use of squadsight do make sniper rifle feel really underwhelming, especially since the new maps added from WOTC.

By removing scope squad sight penalty do make the aim a bit less than normal too.

As I said before, I like the 2 moves attack system for heavy guns, this is why I do not think snapshot is the right answer to it, but instead, allowing an extra option for unforgiving maps could also work well. This is, however, depending on how rigid each guns role shuold feel in ABB in @DerBK 's vision.

I'm not sure I follow. If the Sharpshooter/Gunslinger takes a single move they can use the pistol, if the Agent takes a single move they can use the Combat Knife, the Specialist can use the GREMLIN and the Scout can use the holotargeter.

Indeed. That's what the secondary weapon is for in most cases.

I don't see a problem here that needs solving.