Mass Effect 3.6: Are you engaging in reproductive behavior with this thread?

[Binks]

Soldier is fun. I played it all the way through and enjoyed myself greatly. I also enjoyed other classes, but Soldier has a lot going for it. You get all the weapons (in 3 this translates to being able to carry more weapons without penalty), most of the ammos (so your gun can adapt to any situation) and adrenaline rush to make your guns far better.

Yes your vanguard can wield the same weapons as my soldiers. No that doesn't make your vanguard anywhere near as good at wielding them as my soldier. While you're using basic rounds and firing at a decent clip with Marksman I'll be over here adapting my rounds on the fly to the enemy type and firing faster and more accurately with adrenaline rush while also making it easier to avoid enemy fire.

Yes the other classes have nice toys, but you're sadly mistaken if you think they can play soldier anywhere near as well as a true soldier. It's a unique style of gameplay. It might be closer to normal FPS's than the other classes (but bullet time and changing ammo means it's still very different from playing, say, call of duty), but that doesn't make it bad.

[Beowulf DW]

Soldier is fun. I played it all the way through and enjoyed myself greatly. I also enjoyed other classes, but Soldier has a lot going for it. You get all the weapons (in 3 this translates to being able to carry more weapons without penalty), most of the ammos (so your gun can adapt to any situation) and adrenaline rush to make your guns far better.

Yes your vanguard can wield the same weapons as my soldiers. No that doesn't make your vanguard anywhere near as good at wielding them as my soldier. While you're using basic rounds and firing at a decent clip with Marksman I'll be over here adapting my rounds on the fly to the enemy type and firing faster and more accurately with adrenaline rush while also making it easier to avoid enemy fire.

Yes the other classes have nice toys, but you're sadly mistaken if you think they can play soldier anywhere near as well as a true soldier. It's a unique style of gameplay. It might be closer to normal FPS's than the other classes (but bullet time and changing ammo means it's still very different from playing, say, call of duty), but that doesn't make it bad.

It's a shame that most of the soldier's strengths don't translate into multiplayer. Although that's the entire reason that I realized that I enjoy playing engineer and adept almost as much as I enjoy playing a soldier.

[Xondoure]

Well, in ME2 I'd grant you. ME3 sort of gave the Soldiers shtick to others. Now anyone can use any weapon, and if you want the AR equivalent you can pick up Marksman from Ash. This pretty much just leaves ammo powers, but even then having one of the main damage ammo powers: Incendiary or Disruptor can be enough. Disruptor deals outrageous damage to two of the three defenses, as well as a bit against health the most common one, and Incendiary just straight up increases your weapon damage with extra benefit against armor. So, we end up getting Vanguards and Infiltrators pretty much can play soldier with more interesting gameplay.

In single player Adrenaline rush still activates a slow cam. The only tradeoff I've seen in multiplayer to balance the class is that there are a lot less grenades in single player.

[Binks]

Multiplayer base human soldier is pretty terrible IMHO. Krogan's not very fun either, at least compared to other Krogan classes. Turian Marksman makes some weapons very fun to use (Geth SMG comes to mind ). Batarian and Vorcha are really the best soldiers in multiplayer because they have things to do besides just guns. The lack of powers, moving of ammo types to an equipment anyone can use and bullet time not being bullet time guts the human soldiers in multiplayer sadly.

The one thing Rush has going for it in multiplayer is something most people don't notice/care to use, it refills your current clip when activated. Firing a full clip from a revenant then hitting AR and firing a more accurate/higher damaging clip from the gun with no reload time is pretty effective. Still not good enough to justify playing the class in multiplayer though IMHO as the Turian Markman ability is better for it and the number of long reload time guns that are decent is pretty small (revenant, the grenade rifles that aren't that good due to lag, and one or two sniper rifles is about it).

[Actana]

Multiplayer base human soldier is pretty terrible IMHO. Krogan's not very fun either, at least compared to other Krogan classes. Turian Marksman makes some weapons very fun to use (Geth SMG comes to mind ). Batarian and Vorcha are really the best soldiers in multiplayer because they have things to do besides just guns. The lack of powers, moving of ammo types to an equipment anyone can use and bullet time not being bullet time guts the human soldiers in multiplayer sadly.

The one thing Rush has going for it in multiplayer is something most people don't notice/care to use, it refills your current clip when activated. Firing a full clip from a revenant then hitting AR and firing a more accurate/higher damaging clip from the gun with no reload time is pretty effective. Still not good enough to justify playing the class in multiplayer though IMHO as the Turian Markman ability is better for it and the number of long reload time guns that are decent is pretty small (revenant, the grenade rifles that aren't that good due to lag, and one or two sniper rifles is about it).

While the Revenant isn't particularly good with Adrenaline Rush (or that good anyway, at least IMO), heavy hitting weapons like the Saber are where AR really shines. The clip is almost large enough to go through the whole of AR and its cooldown and being able to use AR almost immediately after the clip is empty, allowing a virtually infinite barrage of Saber rounds. That can get pretty powerful, if you can work with the massive recoil of the Saber. I've recently took a liking to the Human Soldier because of that reason. Plus, it's just so much fun to activate AR and go around on Bronze matches, one-shotting every assault trooper you can find non-stop.

Now, if one were to put the extended magazine mod into the Saber... That might be something... It'd mean losing out on other properties, but it would allow a continuous firing rate of sniper rifle magnitude bullets, instead of the few second wait before the cooldown on AR ends.
Frag Grenade isn't too bad either. The lack of grenade spawns does hurt though, and they're always stolen by other players

Also, apparently I'm really stuck in my "semi automatic sniper rifle or variant thereof" routine. I just can't fathom playing anything else. Even my attempts at playing a Sentinel focused on biotic explosions turned into me using the Valiant to snipe everything. Though it was kinda nice playing with the team to create a ton of explosions everywhere.

[Krade]

I have a question for the board at large:

How many people here genuinely enjoy playing the Human Adept (Not Pheonix)?

Since the last buff to Shockwave, I play it instead AA when paired with another biotic. Shockwave is AMAZING at detonating and can set off more than one in one casting. It also has the highest BE boost (65%) and can set up combos with the last evolution. It takes better timing, though, since it only lasts a couple seconds, but if your partner is on the ball it can be immensely satisfying. Especially considering that the explosion will almost always slam the enemy straight into the ground (doesn't do extra damage, but it is hilarious).

[Joran]

I've tried Geth Infiltrator again, packing a Geth Plasma Shotgun and all the melee enhancements I could muster on Silver.

Hilariously fun, but not very effective since apparently Geth heavy melee drains shields >.> <.< Once I decloaked, I was easy pickings for anyone nearby, heaven help me if I had Hunter Mode on.

Also, I apparently can't use the GPS very well =P

Maybe I'll just play a Krogan instead for my melee fun =P

[Edge]

I've tried Geth Infiltrator again, packing a Geth Plasma Shotgun and all the melee enhancements I could muster on Silver.

Hilariously fun, but not very effective since apparently Geth heavy melee drains shields >.> <.< Once I decloaked, I was easy pickings for anyone nearby, heaven help me if I had Hunter Mode on.

Also, I apparently can't use the GPS very well =P

Maybe I'll just play a Krogan instead for my melee fun =P

If you're having trouble with the GPS, try to avoid using the Smart Choke. It messes up with its lock-on feature.

The secret with the melee gethfiltrator is hit hard and fast and ensure there isn't anything around to shoot back at you once your cloak is done.

Examples from the player who (I believe) first popularised the build can be found here.

[SiuiS]

But adrenaline rush is a huge game changer. Combine that with the ammo powers, and having access to every single type of gun, and no, the other classes can't play soldier. They can play like a soldier, but it'll be a sub par one without even half the massive DPS that defines the class.

Exceeeept...

I had all those. Seriously. I had a sniper rifle, specifically the widow, in ME2. I also had cryo, incendiary and warp rounds. I as the option to use the claymore (which I didn't, it sucked) and could have gotten assault rifles if memory serves.

So what was I missing out on, exactly?

You get to 3, and if I want bullet time I'll pack a concentration mod, and use a charge fr the weapon damage boost. Sure, I'm not gunning things down in five seconds (it takes almost seven!) but I can also lift enemies, detonate an area forever (sorry, grenades) deshield guardians, tactically control the field, and lay down area blocks for damage and herding.

And you're stuck with guns. Oh, and a really cool heavy melee. Concussive burst is almost as useful as my powers, you might have proximity mine, and that's it. Adrenaline rush I pretty cool; it's like hunter mode + tech armor without the cooldown or health loss. But it's a terrible class defining ability.

Well, in ME2 I'd grant you. ME3 sort of gave the Soldiers shtick to others. Now anyone can use any weapon, and if you want the AR equivalent you can pick up Marksman from Ash. This pretty much just leaves ammo powers, but even then having one of the main damage ammo powers: Incendiary or Disruptor can be enough. Disruptor deals outrageous damage to two of the three defenses, as well as a bit against health the most common one, and Incendiary just straight up increases your weapon damage with extra benefit against armor. So, we end up getting Vanguards and Infiltrators pretty much can play soldier with more interesting gameplay.

That's what I did. Pretty fun, all told. Especially as I picked Vanguard specifically go it's Gish-style antics.

Multiplayer base human soldier is pretty terrible IMHO. Krogan's not very fun either, at least compared to other Krogan classes. Turian Marksman makes some weapons very fun to use (Geth SMG comes to mind ).

I think you are prematurely discounting proximity mine, which is actually a fantastic power. Enough that they had to nerf it. Oncussice blast is also pretty useful with the ammo carrier. Suddenly I was causing more detonations than the biotics were.

Batarian and Vorcha are really the best soldiers in multiplayer because they have things to do besides just guns. The lack of powers, moving of ammo types to an equipment anyone can use and bullet time not being bullet time guts the human soldiers in multiplayer sadly.

Yeah, ammo being an item is kinda crap

The one thing Rush has going for it in multiplayer is something most people don't notice/care to use, it refills your current clip when activated. Firing a full clip from a revenant then hitting AR and firing a more accurate/higher damaging clip from the gun with no reload time is pretty effective. Still not good enough to justify playing the class in multiplayer though IMHO as the Turian Markman ability is better for it and the number of long reload time guns that are decent is pretty small (revenant, the grenade rifles that aren't that good due to lag, and one or two sniper rifles is about it).

It's discounted because it's not as useful as originally thought. It uses yor ammo reserves. So it's either a gimmick, or you camp the ammo dump for infinite daka. Which is neat! But not quite as good as using, say, concussive shot spam.

I have a question for the board at large:

How many people here genuinely enjoy playing the Human Adept (Not Pheonix)?

Since the last buff to Shockwave, I play it instead AA when paired with another biotic. Shockwave is AMAZING at detonating and can set off more than one in one casting. It also has the highest BE boost (65%) and can set up combos with the last evolution. It takes better timing, though, since it only lasts a couple seconds, but if your partner is on the ball it can be immensely satisfying. Especially considering that the explosion will almost always slam the enemy straight into the ground (doesn't do extra damage, but it is hilarious).

I love the human adept. I actually ha a good ten page argument involving shockwave and it's usability. Which skyrocketed now that rank five isn't always "give me a useful range" like it used to be.

I've tried Geth Infiltrator again, packing a Geth Plasma Shotgun and all the melee enhancements I could muster on Silver.

Hilariously fun, but not very effective since apparently Geth heavy melee drains shields >.> <.< Once I decloaked, I was easy pickings for anyone nearby, heaven help me if I had Hunter Mode on.

Also, I apparently can't use the GPS very well =P

Maybe I'll just play a Krogan instead for my melee fun =P

oh right.

I took the GPS out for a spin and it sucked. It ad absolutely no homing compared I what it used to, and would frequently miss highlighted target. And no, I wasn't using the smart choke. It just didn't want to work, and I was the host so that out.

Is it just me? I had to stop using it in favor of the GPSMG (geth engineer spec'd for medic duty).

[Joran]

oh right.

I took the GPS out for a spin and it sucked. It ad absolutely no homing compared I what it used to, and would frequently miss highlighted target. And no, I wasn't using the smart choke. It just didn't want to work, and I was the host so that out.

Is it just me? I had to stop using it in favor of the GPSMG (geth engineer spec'd for medic duty).

Same here. No smart choke, I kept whiffing. I've seen people use it effectively, but I'm unable to use it.

[Beowulf DW]

Just out of curiosity, what would you guys say is the key to making an effective character for multiplayer, in any class? Do powers=power? Or should you focus on a couple powers and dump your remaining skill points into passive bonuses like Fitness?

[Zevox]

Just out of curiosity, what would you guys say is the key to making an effective character for multiplayer, in any class? Do powers=power? Or should you focus on a couple powers and dump your remaining skill points into passive bonuses like Fitness?

Depends on the class. Basically, you want to know what your game plan is, and build around that. Easy example: the Asari Adept's normal game plan is biotic combos. She wants to max out all three powers, taking the Detonate upgrades on Warp and Throw, plus put plenty of points into her class power for all those power damage boosts and weight capacity increases, but can skimp on Fitness. From there it becomes a question of which particular upgrades for each power are worth taking at each rank, some of which are obvious (Bubble for Stasis rank 6 is the main reason that power rocks so much), some of which may not be (duration vs extra damage before drop-out at Stasis rank 4, for example). Just keep in mind what you're trying to do and think about what will best help you do it: for that Stasis 4 for example, I took duration, because the extra damage before drop-out didn't tend to result in enemies staying in stasis long enough to make a difference when being shot at by my allies, but the extra flat duration made it easier for me to get biotic combos off of it.

Personally, as someone who primarily plays casters, my builds all tend to follow a 6/6/6/5/3 pattern - max out the powers, 5 ranks in class skill, 3 in fitness. The general idea being that characters focusing on power use practically always want their powers maxed out, and benefit more from their class skill's power damage increase than from Fitness' shields/hp or melee boosts, but the last rank of their class power usually is not relevant to a power-focused build and thus can be skipped for the extra shields/hp. The only exceptions to this are my Vanguards, which are the only class I play that's not a straight caster, so I instead gear them towards being close-range killers. I max out charge and another relevant power (Nova on Human, Barrier on Krogan), max out both the class skill and fitness (fitness going for pure defense on my Human, going for a mix of defense and melee on my Krogan), and ignore the other power (Shockwave and Carnage, neither of which would be anything more than a backup power at most if I put points into them).

Zevox

[SiuiS]

Just out of curiosity, what would you guys say is the key to making an effective character for multiplayer, in any class? Do powers=power? Or should you focus on a couple powers and dump your remaining skill points into passive bonuses like Fitness?

My best advice is know your role.
It's not exactly dictated by class so much as powers chosen as weapons carried, but generally don't half-plot it. If you're a caster, caster all the way with a light fun, maxed attack powers and passive. If you're a combat beast, heavy guns and plenty of them.

Generally, I use 6/6/6/6/- or 6/6/6/5/3, but which class gets what depends on how you use them. I also give "casters" with special consideration heavy guns. Infiltrators, specifically, but also occasionally engineers or sentinels.

Depends on the class. Basically, you want to know what your game plan is, and build around that. Easy example: the Asari Adept's normal game plan is biotic combos. She wants to max out all three powers, taking the Detonate upgrades on Warp and Throw, plus put plenty of points into her class power for all those power damage boosts and weight capacity increases, but can skimp on Fitness. From there it becomes a question of which particular upgrades for each power are worth taking at each rank, some of which are obvious (Bubble for Stasis rank 6 is the main reason that power rocks so much), some of which may not be (duration vs extra damage before drop-out at Stasis rank 4, for example). Just keep in mind what you're trying to do and think about what will best help you do it: for that Stasis 4 for example, I took duration, because the extra damage before drop-out didn't tend to result in enemies staying in stasis long enough to make a difference when being shot at by my allies, but the extra flat duration made it easier for me to get biotic combos off of it.

Personally, as someone who primarily plays casters, my builds all tend to follow a 6/6/6/5/3 pattern - max out the powers, 5 ranks in class skill, 3 in fitness. The general idea being that characters focusing on power use practically always want their powers maxed out, and benefit more from their class skill's power damage increase than from Fitness' shields/hp or melee boosts, but the last rank of their class power usually is not relevant to a power-focused build and thus can be skipped for the extra shields/hp. The only exceptions to this are my Vanguards, which are the only class I play that's not a straight caster, so I instead gear them towards being close-range killers. I max out charge and another relevant power (Nova on Human, Barrier on Krogan), max out both the class skill and fitness (fitness going for pure defense on my Human, going for a mix of defense and melee on my Krogan), and ignore the other power (Shockwave and Carnage, neither of which would be anything more than a backup power at most if I put points into them).

Zevox

See! Zevox knows where it's at.

[Joran]

I've discovered the Shotgun Infiltrator. All the fun of a regular Infiltrator but with 100% more danger!

I've been using the Male Quarian version because if I accidentally walk into a room full of enemies, I can Arc Grenade and GTFO. Sadly, I mis-specced him because I couldn't decide between shooting stuff in the face or throwing really high-power grenades, so I split the difference and my grenades are kind of lackluster (won't even kill Cannibals in one hit).

On the plus side, Claymore to the face of almost anything is deadly.

[SiuiS]

Whereas I have discovered a love of the Batarian soldier with a scorpion. Max defense on blade Armor, some random utility specs for ballistic blades (wider arc, explosion after 4 seconds), and a proxy mine gun. Incendiary grenades haven't proved useful enough to maximize so I'll probably leave them at 3 and up fitness to 5 (shields are fabulous, without a dodge roll).

Melee is strong enough to help when I don't have a charged blade shot. Ballistic blades deals phenomenal damage, equivalent to a grenade. The scorpion gets progressively stronger, or so it feels, as the explosions seem to cascade closer and closer together. Atlases are a personal favorite target, as I can take them out by accident when everyone else is distracted.

The specific abilities interest me though; ballistic blades inflicts more damage at close range. Do we know the mechanism? I suspect it functions like a shotgun, and more blades hit at close range? And the scorpion's description lists it as a proximity gun. Direct hits almost always go off after the same amount of time, what feels like three seconds; exactly enough time to shoot someone and then falcon punch them (the combination punch and explosion is crazy satisfying). But occasionally a shot that misses goes off prematurely. I think after long enough on a surface it becomes a proximity mine and detonates when an enemy gets too close?

I'll need to try a shotgun infiltrator. Use the wraith, see how it feels.

[Joran]

I'll need to try a shotgun infiltrator. Use the wraith, see how it feels.

I apparently have the Wraith. I need to give it a shot, even if it's only at rank 1. It may replace the Disciple, depending on how much I like it.

I went with my Salarian infiltrator and tried a couple of the sniper rifles that I had laying around.

Krysae Sniper Rifle: Doesn't fire fast enough to get 2 shots while cloaked... Wait, just read the Wiki, apparently I can zoom in, hold down fire, cloak, and then double tap again for another fast missile. Considering I suck at every kind of charged weapon in the game, seems like it won't work for me.

Kishock Harpoon Gun: Doesn't do enough damage, even though it reloads faster than the Widow. Holy crap, just read the wiki again, seems like I didn't realize it charged =P And once again, I can't use charged guns so double fail for me =P

[Aotrs Commander]

Ballistic blades deals phenomenal damage, equivalent to a grenade.

How the frak do you use those things properly? I speced by Batarian soldier to use them (pretty much the same as you did, actually), but I found them woefully inaccurate.

[Dhavaer]

And the scorpion's description lists it as a proximity gun. Direct hits almost always go off after the same amount of time, what feels like three seconds; exactly enough time to shoot someone and then falcon punch them (the combination punch and explosion is crazy satisfying). But occasionally a shot that misses goes off prematurely. I think after long enough on a surface it becomes a proximity mine and detonates when an enemy gets too close?

The scorpion will detonate after a period of time if it sticks to something, or if an enemy within range approaches it when it's stuck to a surface.

[Beowulf DW]

I'll need to try a shotgun infiltrator. Use the wraith, see how it feels.

Wraith works pretty well, actually. It has almost as much power as the claymore but weighs much less. Clip size shouldn't be an issue if you restrict yourself to a cloak-shoot-cloak routine. Also, I cannot express to you how much fun it is to go up to your enemies and shout, "Suddenly, shotgun to the face!"

[Draconi Redfir]

So strange question:

If i bought mass effect's 1 and 2 on steam, would i still be able to transfer the data from them onto my mass effect 3 on origin, or are they incompatable?

[Joran]

So strange question:

If i bought mass effect's 1 and 2 on steam, would i still be able to transfer the data from them onto my mass effect 3 on origin, or are they incompatable?

Works fine. I have Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 on all different media and I was able to import in my saves.

ME1 was on Steam.
ME2 was on DVD.
ME3 was on Origin.

Wraith works pretty well, actually. It has almost as much power as the claymore but weighs much less. Clip size shouldn't be an issue if you restrict yourself to a cloak-shoot-cloak routine. Also, I cannot express to you how much fun it is to go up to your enemies and shout, "Suddenly, shotgun to the face!"

According to the wiki, if you fire one shot right after the other, you'll get the benefit of tactical cloak on both shots. However, when I was playing, I would just decloak when the second shot went off, so I'm not quite sure I was getting the tactical cloak bonus or not.

I just tried out the Wraith on Silver with my Infiltrator. Seemed like it was an equal to the Claymore for the most part, with a noticeable improvement in DPS against hard targets. Still would insta-gib most mooks with tactical cloak. I'll need to try it out some more, but I'm digging it so far.

P.S. The most fun I've had is "Surprise! Shotgun through the mail slot!" against Guardians.

[Draconi Redfir]

Nice, thanks man.

[Beowulf DW]

So. I'm just starting to get the hang of the Adept, and -holy shnikies of death- this class can dish out the damage!

[Edge]

So. I'm just starting to get the hang of the Adept, and -holy shnikies of death- this class can dish out the damage!

Welcome to the Blue Side. We have explosions. Explosions galore.

[SiuiS]

How the frak do you use those things properly? I speced by Batarian soldier to use them (pretty much the same as you did, actually), but I found them woefully inaccurate.

Tracking, range, and a willingness to follow up with a punch to the face.

The range is about five meters, aye? I only use it at range for big targets like atlas, prime, brute, etc. the damage on silver is about a bar or two each shot? Plus some explosive damage. With the scorpion as backup the damage output is high enough to please. Individually it's hit or miss; I go from clearing a crowd with a shot to losing severely to a husk or two. I am fully willing to punch out things that get too close. incendiary grenades are potent but take too long in a pinch.

Wraith works pretty well, actually. It has almost as much power as the claymore but weighs much less. Clip size shouldn't be an issue if you restrict yourself to a cloak-shoot-cloak routine. Also, I cannot express to you how much fun it is to go up to your enemies and shout, "Suddenly, shotgun to the face!"

Aye, it's 818.?? At first rank, compared to the ~1200 of the claymore, for DPS. Or something. I keep mixing up the damage per shot and the listed DPS. Ah well.

Welcome to the Blue Side. We have explosions. Explosions galore.

yeah. It's a good time, this is.

[Zevox]

New stuff revealed. The "Earth DLC." One new character per class, all Human, but with a variety of new powers and in some cases very different looks. Three new weapons, though the post there doesn't name them, just gives pictures - one looks like a grenade launcher of some kind (possibly a shotgun-type?), another is definitely a pistol, the third probably an assault rifle. And finally, apparently a new difficulty will be added with it as well, Platinum. So if Gold isn't hard enough for you yet, you're in luck.

The classes, including pictures, copied from that post:

Spoiler

Show

N7 Fury (Adept)

Powers: Throw, Annihilation Field, Dark Channel.

Description: "Fury operatives use implants to fuel biotics and their incredible movement speed. These operatives wind an unpredictable path on the battlefield, moving in and out of combat before returning to unleash a sweeping biotic attack on their unsuspecting targets."

Me: I'm interested. Dark Channel works on anything without shields, so it will be great against the Reapers but less great against other teams. Throw is always good on mooks of course, and can create biotic combos with Dark Channel. Annihilation Field is the unknown. I just hope it can affect shields, since that's the class' weakness as-is. Oh, the look is a little over-the-top Sith Lord-ish for me though.


N7 Destroyer (Soldier)

Powers: Multi-Frag Grenade, Missile Launcher, Devastator Mode, T5-V Battlesuit (? - I'm guessing it's the name of their class skill, but not sure why it would be listed in that post when other class skills aren't.)

Description: "The Destroyer's T5-V Battlesuit gives these strong-but-slow soldiers mech-like protection. Driven by eezo-assisted actuators, these frontline troopers carry heavy weapons onto the battlefield."

Me: It's a Soldier, therefore I don't care.


N7 Demolisher (Engineer)

Powers: Homing Grenade, Arc Grenade, Supply Pylon

Description: "The Demolisher uses grenades to attack at range and to terrorize the battlefield. Demolishers can also create a supply pylon that stocks allies with an unending reserve of grenades and thermal reloads."

Me: Gah, why did the new Engineer have to be another grenade-user? I like Engineers usually, but I can't aim grenades to save my life. Granted one is called "Homing Grenade," so maybe I could use that, but since they have a second Grenade too, I'd still be in trouble. Interesting to see that they basically built the class around spamming grenades though, given their description of what Supply Pylon does.


N7 Paladin (Sentinel)

Powers: Snap Freeze, Incinerate, Energy Drain

Description: "The Paladin carries a powerful omni-shield onto the battlefield to block enemy fire. The Paladin also uses the shield as a heavy-melee weapon that, when modified with incindiery or cryo upgrades, creates a devastating combination attack."

Me: Weird. This seems like a design for an Engineer, given the lack of any biotics. I'm interested though, since Incinerate/Energy Drain is a potent combination in its own right. I wonder what Snap Freeze will do though - it has to differ from Cryo Blast somehow, else the new name would be meaningless. Maybe it'll affect shielded enemies fully, rather than just chilling them? That could be very nice. Also very curious how that shield will work, given it's not one of their powers.


N7 Shadow (Infiltrator)

Powers: Tactical Cloak, Shadow Strike, Electric Slash

Description: "Shadow infiltrators use implants to dramatically improve agility, making them slippery combatants on the battlefield. Their monomolecular blades are a menace from cover and close range."

Me: A melee Infiltrator? Surprising. That may actually get to me use an Infiltrator, depending on how effective it is. Shadow Strike was Kasumi's signature ability in ME2, so we know what that will probably do, leaving Electric Slash the unknown here.


N7 Slayer (Vanguard)

Powers: Phase Disruptor, Biotic Charge, Biotic Slash (sword-power, apparently).

Description: "Slayers use implants to dramatically improve mobility. Their dizzying sword attacks can hit multiple opponents, and the Slayer's ability to slip fire makes them hard to pin down on the battielfield."

Me: Sounds fun. While my Krogan is already a nice melee-oriented Vanguard, I won't object to another. I am a tad confused about the picture though, which looks more like it was designed for a Mass Effect version of a monk or cleric class, not a melee beast.

The release date is July 17th.

Zevox

[Beowulf DW]

That new soldier may just breath new life into my favorite class. Thing is, I love soldiers as a concept. But without ammo powers in multiplayer, they just don't have the "oomph" they do in the Campaign.

[Dhavaer]

This pleases us. Especially the Fury. The asari pistol looks cool too.

[Logic]

That new soldier may just breath new life into my favorite class. Thing is, I love soldiers as a concept. But without ammo powers in multiplayer, they just don't have the "oomph" they do in the Campaign.

I dunno, the Batarian Soldier is who I play the best with. Some more "oomph" could help though.

[Mr._Blinky]

New stuff revealed. The "Earth DLC." One new character per class, all Human, but with a variety of new powers and in some cases very different looks. Three new weapons, though the post there doesn't name them, just gives pictures - one looks like a grenade launcher of some kind (possibly a shotgun-type?), another is definitely a pistol, the third probably an assault rifle. And finally, apparently a new difficulty will be added with it as well, Platinum. So if Gold isn't hard enough for you yet, you're in luck.

The classes, including pictures, copied from that post:

Spoiler

Show

N7 Fury (Adept)

Powers: Throw, Annihilation Field, Dark Channel.

Description: "Fury operatives use implants to fuel biotics and their incredible movement speed. These operatives wind an unpredictable path on the battlefield, moving in and out of combat before returning to unleash a sweeping biotic attack on their unsuspecting targets."

Me: I'm interested. Dark Channel works on anything without shields, so it will be great against the Reapers but less great against other teams. Throw is always good on mooks of course, and can create biotic combos with Dark Channel. Annihilation Field is the unknown. I just hope it can affect shields, since that's the class' weakness as-is. Oh, the look is a little over-the-top Sith Lord-ish for me though.


N7 Destroyer (Soldier)

Powers: Multi-Frag Grenade, Missile Launcher, Devastator Mode, T5-V Battlesuit (? - I'm guessing it's the name of their class skill, but not sure why it would be listed in that post when other class skills aren't.)

Description: "The Destroyer's T5-V Battlesuit gives these strong-but-slow soldiers mech-like protection. Driven by eezo-assisted actuators, these frontline troopers carry heavy weapons onto the battlefield."

Me: It's a Soldier, therefore I don't care.


N7 Demolisher (Engineer)

Powers: Homing Grenade, Arc Grenade, Supply Pylon

Description: "The Demolisher uses grenades to attack at range and to terrorize the battlefield. Demolishers can also create a supply pylon that stocks allies with an unending reserve of grenades and thermal reloads."

Me: Gah, why did the new Engineer have to be another grenade-user? I like Engineers usually, but I can't aim grenades to save my life. Granted one is called "Homing Grenade," so maybe I could use that, but since they have a second Grenade too, I'd still be in trouble. Interesting to see that they basically built the class around spamming grenades though, given their description of what Supply Pylon does.


N7 Paladin (Sentinel)

Powers: Snap Freeze, Incinerate, Energy Drain

Description: "The Paladin carries a powerful omni-shield onto the battlefield to block enemy fire. The Paladin also uses the shield as a heavy-melee weapon that, when modified with incindiery or cryo upgrades, creates a devastating combination attack."

Me: Weird. This seems like a design for an Engineer, given the lack of any biotics. I'm interested though, since Incinerate/Energy Drain is a potent combination in its own right. I wonder what Snap Freeze will do though - it has to differ from Cryo Blast somehow, else the new name would be meaningless. Maybe it'll affect shielded enemies fully, rather than just chilling them? That could be very nice. Also very curious how that shield will work, given it's not one of their powers.


N7 Shadow (Infiltrator)

Powers: Tactical Cloak, Shadow Strike, Electric Slash

Description: "Shadow infiltrators use implants to dramatically improve agility, making them slippery combatants on the battlefield. Their monomolecular blades are a menace from cover and close range."

Me: A melee Infiltrator? Surprising. That may actually get to me use an Infiltrator, depending on how effective it is. Shadow Strike was Kasumi's signature ability in ME2, so we know what that will probably do, leaving Electric Slash the unknown here.


N7 Slayer (Vanguard)

Powers: Phase Disruptor, Biotic Charge, Biotic Slash (sword-power, apparently).

Description: "Slayers use implants to dramatically improve mobility. Their dizzying sword attacks can hit multiple opponents, and the Slayer's ability to slip fire makes them hard to pin down on the battielfield."

Me: Sounds fun. While my Krogan is already a nice melee-oriented Vanguard, I won't object to another. I am a tad confused about the picture though, which looks more like it was designed for a Mass Effect version of a monk or cleric class, not a melee beast.

The release date is July 17th.

Zevox

Oh sweet baby Jesus, you have no idea how excited all of this makes me. All of the new classes sound awesome to me, and I love the sound of the new soldier, even though I don't usually play them; it sounds to me like their basically making him a heavy weapons platform, which is potentially fricking cool.

Also, Platinum difficulty? Want.