Riot Trooper

Overview
The Riot Trooper is an infantry unit and the player's first unit with Armor. The HP and  Armor are the same, both at 60. It also holds the distinction of being one of few infantry units with armor. This makes it far more resilient to crushing and projectile attacks, and a much more potent shield compared to similar tiered units.

The Riot Troopers have a range of 2 with its ranged attack. This is tempered by the fact that the Riot Trooper deals a scant 5-6 (x3) projectile damage, which does not increase by much at higher ranks. An additional issue for the use of Riot Troopers on the offense is the fact that they frequently need to reload.

However, they will be a valuable "wall" unit early in the game until more powerful enemies are encountered. By the time Riot Troopers promote to a considerable rank with more HP and armor, tanks will better serve as "wall" units for PvE encounters. In PvP this is tempered by their low Unit Value.

At Rank 3, the Riot Trooper can research the Shield Bash attack, which is a guaranteed stun against Soldiers and Critters. An additional Ability Slot also opens up at this time so that the Riot Trooper can utilize both attacks.

Keep in mind that the Riot Trooper is one of two units, the other being the Armadillo, whose is completely ignored while under the effects of Stun. This means that damage the Riot Trooper sustains while stunned ignores Armor completely and is applied directly to HP.

Attacks
Sawed-Off Shotgun=

Riot Shield=

Updates
2.2 2.0 1.5
 * Promotion and  costs slightly reduced, in addition to global  reduction.
 * Player level requirement reduced to 11 from 12.
 * Promotion costs fixed from 1.5, relying on Iron instead of Steel.
 * Weapon upgrade option, Shield Bash, added.
 * Promotion costs increased significantly from Ranks 1 to 3, doubling Gold costs and requiring Steel instead of Iron. SP Requirement possibly increased.
 * Z2 artichoki confirms that this is incorrect and will be fixed in the next update. ~July 11, 2012

1.4 1.3
 * Unit type reclassified from Soldier to Soldier-Metal.
 * Weapon changed from single attack to burst (x3).
 * Weapon range increased from "1" to "1-2".
 * HP slightly reduced, but Armor added.