I am referring to the soldiers like Engineer II, Tanker II, Sniper III, etc.
They seem to have slightly better stats and sometimes better starting perks.
I can see some of the perks, like the +35% breath (Sniper II) and +100% medpack health (Assaulter II), being good; but do they warrant the increased price?
If you SWIM in bronze orders, yes, for the perks. They are also easier to get to 16/16/16. (Each tier has a bonus +3 stat point in increment)
If however like most of us bronze is difficult to save… then not really 
Only Engineer II squad can build MG nest. rather than that, it’s just numbers that being changed.
Engineer 1 can build mg nest too provided he’s into Engineer 2 squad I think
Oh really? then it’s just stats that being changed lol
Yes.
That is after all, what OP was asking about…
Engineer II is same as I unless they are put in engineer II squad.
and that is changed just lightly. Unless you have nothing to spend your bronze on, you are good with basic “I” troops…
Certain perks are better such as assaulter III gets the perk 100% more health restored by medpack by default or Flamethrower II gets 17% more vitality. They also get more perk points but the upgrade cost for bronze and squad XP is incredibly high
They are.
Aside from some specific cases like Flametrooper II and Assault III because of their base perks, no. The bronze order cost is much too high to make it worth it. Making a Trooper I rank V costs like 30 Bronze Orders. Making a Trooper II rank V is like 100, and all you get is +1 stats across the board.
In this example the difference is valuable. +35% stamina is much better than +35% climbing speed. Also the difference between stats is also valuable. The rank 2 soldier can use 35% HP boost while the first one can’t due to poor stats. 35% HP boost must be used on all troops.
To remember:
Simple example: gunner 1, bough today, can have maximum stats of 6/6/9. (Comes at 2 stars and +3 weapon handling)
Gunner 2, at 2 stars, can have 6/6/12… (bonus +6 weapon handling)
Those values are if you got a lucky draw, they’re the best possible at 2 stars for the gunner.
Engineer II - absolutely. They have in top 19 vitality points instead of 16. So, I can choose two nice perks both - +200% HP from FAK and +40% resources.
As a sniper i would say yes…but it depends. I might have gone for ex T2 if i went for bolt action sniping and T3 soldiers for Semi auto and CQC recon squads because there the reload time is more important. Especially since with semi autos you quick hold your breath mostly for more quicker action fire, while contrary you take a little bit more time with the bolts because of the range to make sure you land the shots.
But on the other hand, when you get skilled in shooting and comes more natural thing to you, that holding breath is not needed that much anyways (or just in some situations) and the quicker reload might be more effective after all
some are worth it, others not so much,
its easier for example to get 35+ HP perk with Assaulter II.
Its more a “min - maxing” thing you know.
