Mass Effect 3.7: "That was for Thane"

[Mudpitmissfit]

Well that was fun

Inspired by the above posts I have just dipped my toe into the gold matches, I must say twas rather enjoyable.

I died, on numerous occasions , but I had a good team , one player who clearly knew what she/he was doing ( saved the squad and ended up soloing multiple banshees more than once ) and we stuck together for four matches.

Towards the end I think I could definitely stand to do more matches , and I have developed serious love for my N7 fury as a result of tonight's little run.

on a related note - are the premium specter packs worth it ? I am rather the n00b so I have very little unlocked ( although I did get quite a few n7 weapons and a geth engineer from tonight's run )

[Tome]

Originally Posted by Mudpitmissfit

on a related note - are the premium specter packs worth it ? I am rather the n00b so I have very little unlocked ( although I did get quite a few n7 weapons and a geth engineer from tonight's run )

If you're after Rares and Ultrarares? Yes.

[Wraith]

Depends on what you're trying to get out of them.

If you are still fairly new and you only have a few weapons at low levels, you're generally better off buying lots of Veteran Packs instead. You'll get a good selection of stuff, and quickly, along with a good stash of consumable items to see you through.

Once you have all of the uncommon items at high level, then PSPs are worth getting, as you're maximizing the chance that you're only going to get the valuable, Ultra-rare items from them, instead of spending 99,000 credits in order to get what should be a very cheap rare item.

Edit: Ninja'd. Almost thought I'd got it that time.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Psyren

I can confirm the melee boost at least works, as I do more damage during Rage than out of it. Dunno about the DR - I soak so much fire already that it's tough to tell whether I'm simply soaking less or there aren't as many enemies around. I may need a Banshee bolt to test it.

Can you? Most people take the evolution that increases your melee damage by 75% when you killed a target with krogan charge in the last 30 seconds. That's the problem, you have to build a completeluy defensive krogan to check. I'd swear there was a noticeable difference, too. But who knows?

...Detonate the armor to interrupt a Phantom? I'd have never thought of that... I'll have to try it. It's not like I have anything to lose at that point.

Pretty much. Worst case scenario, you have no armor and get gunned down. But then you can be revived, so.

[quote]
I went 6/0/6/6/6, skipping Carnage. I actually have 200% cooldown (more on this later) so I could probably use it but I think the weapon damage and cooldown stuff are better for my playstyle; I find myself only rarely using Carnage/Concussive on classes that have them.

His loadout is a Disciple V and Acolyte VII. I have an elaborate backstory where he's dating an Asari Matriarch who lent him her old commando weapons for the war. Both guns are modded for melee so I'm not caught with my pants down, and the Acolyte works great since I can stand out in the open to charge it without getting instantly shredded like some of my other classes would be.
[quote]

I grabbed carnage specifically because I wanted a carnage, non-biotic charge, non-melee build this time. Carnage turned out pretty handy with the revenant, and even more so with incendiary ammo. Light someone up and hit them wit carnage at the last moment; BOOM. Good fun.

My latest build sacrificed the passive training skill, so I'd have everything. I realized that if the rage boosts really don't work though, then the extra point to rage with two kills is wasted and put them into the passive. I've got a 41% recharge, I think. He's a heck of a backline, no-bones-about-it krogan. Not all in theenemy's face, but definitely my team's answer to the cerberus turret.

In addition to this, consumable capacity is very handy; When all 4 members have 5 rockets/medigels, you've got a lot more room for error. But if you're undergeared and need money, FBW Geth farming is a great entry to Gold; just use a class that can contribute like the Human Adept, Salarian Engineer, any Infiltrator (specced for duration) or the N7 Slayer and you'll at least feel like you're helping. (The Adept and two N7s above can shoot their powers through walls, helping you avoid trouble, while the Engineer can hold the door and Infiltrators can run out to grab targets on Disable missions.

Aye. The slayer is one of the best, on white/geth/gold. From the main console area, you can teleport dodge backwards out of the room, and send biotic slashes through the wall to cover allies while they retreat (or just to avoid getting shot to death).

Originally Posted by Mudpitmissfit

Well that was fun

Inspired by the above posts I have just dipped my toe into the gold matches, I must say twas rather enjoyable.

I died, on numerous occasions , but I had a good team , one player who clearly knew what she/he was doing ( saved the squad and ended up soloing multiple banshees more than once ) and we stuck together for four matches.

Towards the end I think I could definitely stand to do more matches , and I have developed serious love for my N7 fury as a result of tonight's little run.

on a related note - are the premium specter packs worth it ? I am rather the n00b so I have very little unlocked ( although I did get quite a few n7 weapons and a geth engineer from tonight's run )

That's exactly what drew me in; a single good team doing four or five games, made me think "Wow, this is actually not so bad. Pretty fun too!'

The premium Spectre packs are totally worth it. You'll get rares, at least 2 in a pack, dsometimes more, and you'll also be able to get the uncommons and commons at a much slower pace. What you want to do is max pout a single useful gun of choice from the veteran packs (I suggest Phaeston, Geth Pulse Rifle or Mantis; Phalanx and Tempest are good too) and then devote the rest of your time to PSPs until you're satisfied.

At no point whatsoever is a spectre pack worth the price, though. A spectre pack costs 60k, and gives you 1 rare, a PSP gives you 2 at 99k. For the cost of three spectre packs you can either get 3 rares, with no chance at an ultra rare, or you can get 4 rares with a decent shot at an ultra rare.

Jumb equipment packs are usefule for when you've finally maxed out vet packs, otherwise buying veteran packs for the guns should give you plenty of consumables.

[Krade]

Originally Posted by Mudpitmissfit

on a related note - are the premium specter packs worth it ? I am rather the n00b so I have very little unlocked ( although I did get quite a few n7 weapons and a geth engineer from tonight's run )

Premium Spectre Packs (PSPs) are good for getting your Rares maxed out faster. After that, I have found that regular Spectre Packs are best for gear/Ultra Rares. They also give you more and more useful consumables than PSPs. You can get up to four level 3 consumables in a SP and usually only two level 4 consumables from a PSP. Those level 4s might sound nice, but they're only ammo and a couple other things, so they'll basically never drop weapon amps or most of the armor upgrades.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Krade

Premium Spectre Packs (PSPs) are good for getting your Rares maxed out faster. After that, I have found that regular Spectre Packs are best for gear/Ultra Rares. They also give you more and more useful consumables than PSPs. You can get up to four level 3 consumables in a SP and usually only two level 4 consumables from a PSP. Those level 4s might sound nice, but they're only ammo and a couple other things, so they'll basically never drop weapon amps or most of the armor upgrades.

Huh. That's not like my experiences at all. I get several amps and such from PSPs, but that may be because I've got full thermal clip packs.

[Dhavaer]

Balance changes!

Spoiler

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 25, 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Battlefield 3 soldier kit now available as a new Rare card

Typhoon Assault Rifle
- Recoil no longer gets worse as the weapon levels up.

Striker Assault Rifle
- Max spare ammo increased from [48-60] to [60-72]

Eagle Pistol
- Damage increased from [74.9-93.7] to [86.1-107.7]
- Encumbrance decreased from [0.6-0.25] to [0.45-0.25]

Paladin Pistol
- Encumbrance decreased from [1.25-0.7] to [1.0-0.7]

Talon Pistol
- Encumbrance decreased from [1.1-0.6] to [0.9-0.6]

Carnifex Pistol
- Encumbrance increased from [1.0-0.5] to [1.2-0.7]

Piranha Shotgun
- Clip size decreased from 8 to 6

Frag Grenade Power
- Base damage increased from 750 to 900
- Evolution 4 bleed duration reduced from 10 to 5 seconds. The total damage applied remains the same.

Lift Grenade Power
- Base damage increased from 750 to 900
- Evolution 3 increase to max grenades increased from 1 to 2

Sticky Grenade Power
- Base damage increased from 900 to 1100
- Evolution 3 increase to max grenades increased from 1 to 2

Cluster Grenade Power
- Evolution 3 increase to max grenades increased from 1 to 2

Inferno Grenade Power
- Base damage increased from 125 to 150 per second
- Evolution 6 impact radius bonus increased from 40% to 50%

[Zevox]

The Carnifex got heavier? Damn it, I already needed more ranks in that thing and/or in my Pistol ULM mod to use it - now it's going to take even more.

Striker got more ammo, nice.

Pirannah got sort of nerfed, I guess? Don't know whether an ammo decrease will affect it that much given the kind of firepower everyone says it has.

Zevox

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Zevox

The Carnifex got heavier? Damn it, I already needed more ranks in that thing and/or in my Pistol ULM mod to use it - now it's going to take even more.

Striker got more ammo, nice.

Pirannah got sort of nerfed, I guess? Don't know whether an ammo decrease will affect it that much given the kind of firepower everyone says it has.

Zevox

I was about to ask about the battlefield soldier, actually. Just got one. Any idea on how to spec him?

I noticed the increase in damage from frag grenades, too. Impressive. They've become more tactical, as every time I dropped one I staggered an atlas. It was neat.
The Carnifex weight boost is nice. I mean, it sucks, but it does make other hand guns actually useful for a change. Once you got Carnifex ten there was seriously no need to ever bring a different gun to the fight.
Finally, the reduction on piranha clip size is going to hue te gun pretty bad. It's damage output was based on getting a full 8 shots out in about 3 seconds, averaging (782*8)/3=2,085 per second, meaning a geth infiltrator with hunter mode, Tac cloak and proxy mine was striking with three and a third javelins every full second. The lack of a reload cancel for the piranha, and it's reload speed, should cut it back enough not to be the game's best weapon.

Speaking of, I've got the argus at rank VII, and the eagle at the same. the eagle is actually useful on adepts, I've found, though that may have been the surprise damage boost I didn't know about. I figured it's stronger than most assault rifles, why not give it a go? The argus however is still terrible. Inaccurate, slow, and with heavy enough recoil to suck. For its weight, I'm better off with the vindicator, which can at least be budge up to about the same damage (due to not requiring a recoil reducer) and save myself the weight.

EDIT: quick and dirty math, the eagle at Rank VII; 100.5 damage per slug. That exceeds the typhoon in single-shot damage. Wow.the harrier averages, what, 112? The eagle heavy pistol is now the strongest SMG XD

[Morty]

Sigh. For some reason, I'm doing awful all of a sudden. Whenever I play, I feel like my teammates just murder everything before I can get off a shot. Maybe it's because I use old characters and guns? Or I just got rusty during my break.

[Tome]

Originally Posted by Morty

Sigh. For some reason, I'm doing awful all of a sudden. Whenever I play, I feel like my teammates just murder everything before I can get off a shot. Maybe it's because I use old characters and guns? Or I just got rusty during my break.

Depends. What characters and guns are you using?

Because I'm still topping leaderboards with a Salarian Engineer and a Mantis. And those are fairly old.

[Psyren]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Can you? Most people take the evolution that increases your melee damage by 75% when you killed a target with krogan charge in the last 30 seconds. That's the problem, you have to build a completeluy defensive krogan to check. I'd swear there was a noticeable difference, too. But who knows?

Funny story - my Battlemaster was only 17, and before that my only Vanguards have been Novaguards, Project Phoenix and Slayers. So I didn't actually have Martial Artist yet. Just got it last night, but I packed it in before I could test it.

Tonight I'll get him to 20, take the 2-rage evo, and test my defense with some rocket troopers and get back to you. If rage doesn't work... well, at least I'll still have Martial Artist, and can refocus on damage-soaking otherwise.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

My latest build sacrificed the passive training skill, so I'd have everything. I realized that if the rage boosts really don't work though, then the extra point to rage with two kills is wasted and put them into the passive. I've got a 41% recharge, I think. He's a heck of a backline, no-bones-about-it krogan. Not all in theenemy's face, but definitely my team's answer to the cerberus turret.

See, my view is - if you're going to go with a hang-back-and-spank Krogan, you may as well get one with grenades, which do way more damage than Carnage can hope to.

OTOH, the Battlemaster seems to have stagger resistance nearly on par with a Devastator Mode Destroyer. It generally takes two Primes AND a rocket trooper to stunlock me, and they have to be sneaky about it.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

The premium Spectre packs are totally worth it. You'll get rares, at least 2 in a pack, dsometimes more, and you'll also be able to get the uncommons and commons at a much slower pace. What you want to do is max pout a single useful gun of choice from the veteran packs (I suggest Phaeston, Geth Pulse Rifle or Mantis; Phalanx and Tempest are good too) and then devote the rest of your time to PSPs until you're satisfied.

GPR is rare actually, so maxing it out of Vet packs is going to take awhile. (It's also generally not worth it - factoring in the reload times, the Avenger does more dps! Well, except at stupidly long ranges.)

[Sholos]

Originally Posted by Psyren

GPR is rare actually, so maxing it out of Vet packs is going to take awhile. (It's also generally not worth it - factoring in the reload times, the Avenger does more dps! Well, except at stupidly long ranges.)

I haven't ever used the Avenger. Is it as perfectly stable as the GPR? Because with a scope it's really, really easy to get a whole bunch of headshots and to stay on target with it.

[Psyren]

Originally Posted by Sholos

I haven't ever used the Avenger. Is it as perfectly stable as the GPR? Because with a scope it's really, really easy to get a whole bunch of headshots and to stay on target with it.

At medium to close range, - yes, it's just as easy to headshot-stream with the Avenger as it is with the GPR. At long ranges the GPR has greater accuracy, and the GPR also fires "from the hip" more accurately.

But the damage is so ungodly low on it that even making every shot a headshot is piddly. It's a light AR - but being rare, it takes a while to get as light as the Avenger is. I really love the sounds and design but otherwise it's very subpar.

[Beowulf DW]

Originally Posted by Psyren

At medium to close range, - yes, it's just as easy to headshot-stream with the Avenger as it is with the GPR. At long ranges the GPR has greater accuracy, and the GPR also fires "from the hip" more accurately.

But the damage is so ungodly low on it that even making every shot a headshot is piddly. It's a light AR - but being rare, it takes a while to get as light as the Avenger is. I really love the sounds and design but otherwise it's very subpar.

Which is a shame, really, because it was once a higher tier weapon. I wish that they had kept it more like the pulse rifle in ME1.

EDIT: Oh! I forgot to mention that I got an acolyte last night. Time to see what this pistol can do!

[Morty]

Originally Posted by Tome

Depends. What characters and guns are you using?

Because I'm still topping leaderboards with a Salarian Engineer and a Mantis. And those are fairly old.

Last three attempts were a Human Infiltrator with a Mantis, a Krogan Soldier with a Scimitar and Widow and a Human Soldier with a Mattock.

[Edge]

Best way to use the GPR is to slap a piercing mod and extended barrel on it, and use Incendiary Ammo. It's rapid fire rate stacks up a healthy anti-armour damage over time from the ammo.

Of course, the Phaeston does it better.

[Tome]

Originally Posted by Morty

Last three attempts were a Human Infiltrator with a Mantis, a Krogan Soldier with a Scimitar and Widow and a Human Soldier with a Mattock.

Those aren't exactly the best class/weapon combos. There's nothing wrong with them, they're just not going to bring in amazing results. The Mantis is actually pretty good, since it's light, powerful and easily to get up to rank X, but it works best on a more caster-y character (power -> shoot -> power -> reload -> repeat).

If you want effectiveness, I've found that a Human Sentinel spec'd for rapid detonations is the most serviceable of the initial human classes. Beyond that, of the initial set of unlockable classes, Asari Adepts are still good and so are melee Krogan on bronze. Turians are decent, but want certain guns to make the most of their stability.

[Psyren]

Originally Posted by Morty

Last three attempts were a Human Infiltrator with a Mantis, a Krogan Soldier with a Scimitar and Widow and a Human Soldier with a Mattock.

What level is your Scimitar? That's a caster shotgun - I would try to get a stronger one if possible. Depending on the level, Katana X may actually pack more punch, and you shouldn't have to worry about weight on a Krogan Soldier.

I would consider dropping one of those weapons altogether for an assault rifle as well, if you have a good one. The Krogans' strength lies in their durability, allowing you to hang out of cover longer and pump sustained fire into enemies from fairly close without dying. So a Phaeston, Revenant, even a Mattock/Sabre might be a better option if available.

Originally Posted by Beowulf DW

EDIT: Oh! I forgot to mention that I got an acolyte last night. Time to see what this pistol can do!

I have an Acolyte VII - It works quite well at mid-range. (The projectile tends to fall short if you get much further out than that, unless you arc it upward.) It's light, but you have to hang out of cover to charge it, so I prefer it on a tougher character like a Vanguard (who can instantly recharge their shields if need be) a Sentinel, or a caster Soldier.

It's great at stopping enemies that advance in packs, especially Hunters. One charged shot is usually enough to drop their shields (which decloaks and staggers them) with a second shot finishing off the lot. The radius is smallish but you can typically hit 3-4 enemies if they bunch up. Like the Scorpion, it's also good for peppering Phantoms' feet to keep them somersaulting (and therefore not firing their palm laser or getting into stab distance) but the need to charge up each shot can easily get you killed if you're not careful.

[Morty]

Originally Posted by Tome

Those aren't exactly the best class/weapon combos. There's nothing wrong with them, they're just not going to bring in amazing results. The Mantis is actually pretty good, since it's light, powerful and easily to get up to rank X, but it works best on a more caster-y character (power -> shoot -> power -> reload -> repeat).

If you want effectiveness, I've found that a Human Sentinel spec'd for rapid detonations is the most serviceable of the initial human classes. Beyond that, of the initial set of unlockable classes, Asari Adepts are still good and so are melee Krogan on bronze. Turians are decent, but want certain guns to make the most of their stability.

I do use a Human Sentinel specialized for detonations. It is quite effective. I've always liked the Krogan Sentinel, but I can't get the Soldier to work. As for Turians, I have a Soldier and a Sentinel, both with Phaestons. Both worked well last time I used them but then, so did the Mattock-using Human Soldier.

Originally Posted by Psyren

What level is your Scimitar? That's a caster shotgun - I would try to get a stronger one if possible. Depending on the level, Katana X may actually pack more punch, and you shouldn't have to worry about weight on a Krogan Soldier.

I would consider dropping one of those weapons altogether for an assault rifle as well, if you have a good one. The Krogans' strength lies in their durability, allowing you to hang out of cover longer and pump sustained fire into enemies from fairly close without dying. So a Phaeston, Revenant, even a Mattock/Sabre might be a better option if available.

Right, I forgot to mention - I equipped a Revenant with the Omni-Blade upgrade on him instead of the Scimitar. I haven't had the occasion to try it out yet, though.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Psyren

Funny story - my Battlemaster was only 17, and before that my only Vanguards have been Novaguards, Project Phoenix and Slayers. So I didn't actually have Martial Artist yet. Just got it last night, but I packed it in before I could test it.

Tonight I'll get him to 20, take the 2-rage evo, and test my defense with some rocket troopers and get back to you. If rage doesn't work... well, at least I'll still have Martial Artist, and can refocus on damage-soaking otherwise.

Cool.

See, my view is - if you're going to go with a hang-back-and-spank Krogan, you may as well get one with grenades, which do way more damage than Carnage can hope to.

I dislike grenades. EVERYONE uses them, which means without serendipity on my side, I'll have one grenade per wave. Conversely I'll have all the Carnage I need.

GPR is rare actually, so maxing it out of Vet packs is going to take awhile. (It's also generally not worth it - factoring in the reload times, the Avenger does more dps! Well, except at stupidly long ranges.)

Yeah, my bad. I was thinking vindicator. Also, DPS isn't all that; the pulse rifle can sustain fire for a much longer period, and guerilla warfare is less affected by long reload speeds.

Originally Posted by Beowulf DW

Which is a shame, really, because it was once a higher tier weapon. I wish that they had kept it more like the pulse rifle in ME1.

EDIT: Oh! I forgot to mention that I got an acolyte last night. Time to see what this pistol can do!

It's a great fun when you learn it. I actually like toting it on casting soldiers, as an acolyte shot interspersed with concussive shot or carnage is pretty slick. Especially against, say, geth pyros who dive sideways when you fire the power, letting you compensate with the (more potent) acolyte.

Originally Posted by Morty

Right, I forgot to mention - I equipped a Revenant with the Omni-Blade upgrade on him instead of the Scimitar. I haven't had the occasion to try it out yet, though.

That was standard on my Krogan for a while. I switched it, instead using ammo and AP on the Revenant, and putting a bayonet on my shotgun. The shotgun is more useful at melee range anyway.

Still, good choice.



So, Nopony knows how to spec a battlefield soldier? Nopony?

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

So, Nopony knows how to spec a battlefield soldier? Nopony?

The Wiki has some vague hints; mostly of the "Carnage is only useful if you get it up to Rank 5 for Incapacitate" variety. I couldn't find anything more germane than that.

[Morty]

Battlefield Soldier is virtually identical to the normal Human Soldier, I think. He gets Carnage instead of Concussive Shot, but they're pretty similar.

[Psyren]

Didn't max my Battlemaster yet... was too busy playing my favorite class, Demolisher

Originally Posted by SiuiS

I dislike grenades. EVERYONE uses them, which means without serendipity on my side, I'll have one grenade per wave. Conversely I'll have all the Carnage I need.

I find that if EVERYONE is using grenades, mine weren't needed anyway

Also, ammo packs. (For myself, I'm currently sitting on 249 with 5 capacity, so I've started trying to burn them a lot more - I was capped recently so they were starting to go to waste.)

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Yeah, my bad. I was thinking vindicator. Also, DPS isn't all that; the pulse rifle can sustain fire for a much longer period, and guerilla warfare is less affected by long reload speeds.

My problem there is that the classes that can survive sustaining fire with that thing generally have better options. It's a caster weapon, but casters play groundhog in combat.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

So, Nopony knows how to spec a battlefield soldier? Nopony?

Exactly like you'd spec a regular (human) one.

[Morty]

That was a good match. I gave my Krogan Soldier a Revenant and it worked well. I gunned down Geth, meleed them and pelted them with Inferno Grenades. I really love those things. Two of them chucked into a group of geth result into molten geth. If I ever get that Batarian Soldier, I'm going to have a dilemma as to whether or not I should ditch them for Ballistic Blades.
I also ran a match with the Human Engineer. It went pretty well, I guess, but I think I'm going to need a better weapon than the Phalanx on her.

[Tome]

Originally Posted by Psyren

Also, ammo packs. (For myself, I'm currently sitting on 249 with 5 capacity, so I've started trying to burn them a lot more - I was capped recently so they were starting to go to waste.)

Not wasted actually.

Once you hit the cap of 255 for a consumable, the game stops giving you that sort of consumable in the standard sorts of packs. If you only have one type of consumable you can get, both drops in a pack will be of that sort of consumable. For instance, I usually have 255 for missiles, ops packs and ammo, which means I get nothing but Medigel in my packs.

Useful if, like me, you find yourself running critically low on medigel and need to boost it back up fast.

[Zevox]

Originally Posted by Tome

Not wasted actually.

Once you hit the cap of 255 for a consumable, the game stops giving you that sort of consumable in the standard sorts of packs. If you only have one type of consumable you can get, both drops in a pack will be of that sort of consumable. For instance, I usually have 255 for missiles, ops packs and ammo, which means I get nothing but Medigel in my packs.

Useful if, like me, you find yourself running critically low on medigel and need to boost it back up fast.

This is extremely good information to have. I thought that those things would keep dropping no matter what, and would've guessed the cap would be 999. I don't recall how many I had, but it was well over 100, probably over 150, so I may actually eventually get the point where I no longer need to worry about getting those.

Zevox

[Morty]

My usage of ammo packs depends on whether or not I play a class that uses grenades. If I use grenades, I go through a couple of them. Otherwise, I use one at most, when in a tight spot.

[Landis963]

The only time I use ammo packs are when a Geth farming match round runs long. As I don't take anything into one of those but a Salarian Engineer, I'm usually the one running the decoy. Which means I have to stick behind that same piece of cover.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Psyren

I find that if EVERYONE is using grenades, mine weren't needed anyway

And I find myself with a group of three krogna sentinels, all hogging my pylon because their lift grenades are more important to them than my entire class. I've taken to screwing with my team mates on those occasions; I will either put the pylon in the middle of an enemy zone (where I can get to it easy, running a circuit between ammo boxes and through the pylon) or putting it somewhere out of the way, so when my allies crowd around I can use the map ammo boxes. Or if I am feeling generous, I will give it to my companions and focus on partile rifle and tactical grenade use.

Also, ammo packs. (For myself, I'm currently sitting on 249 with 5 capacity, so I've started trying to burn them a lot more - I was capped recently so they were starting to go to waste.)

Like Taejix said. Get up to 255 and you dont't have to worry anymore, withone exception; if you use 1 in a fight, you may as well use all 5 because that's how many you'll get when you buy a jumbo equipment or spectre/premium spectre pack.

My problem there is that the classes that can survive sustaining fire with that thing generally have better options. It's a caster weapon, but casters play groundhog in combat.

I find it entirely possible to squeeze off a few bursts between power drops without worrying about being out of cover too long.Often, my powers will stagger enemies, who can then get a few shots to the face while I recharge, or I can drop lead on the main target's allies, so when I detonate the main guy they all go down. Nothing worse than a biotic detonation that scatters a bunch of, say, hunters, who all go into hiding until their shields recover.

like you'd spec a regular (human) one.

... So no Ideas at all, then?

<--- Does not play archetypal human soldiers

I suppose I will try it with a caster build then. It worked pretty well on my krogan, so. Carnage with incapacitate is pretty nice, and with radius it becomes worthwhile to pepper an atlas in order to halt his allies.

Oh, hey. Chain of thought that brings up an old point of contention. I know how to test out the final evolution of concussive shot! Turian soldier.

If the ammo carrying ability does work, then concussive shot followed by proximity mine should be able to generate fire bursts. If it does not, then I will reverse it and test out just incindiary shots, with a proxy mine to see if they generate a fireburst.

It is unfortunate that the battlefield soldier may end up as a superior caster to theregular one, if only because carnage seems able to prime firebursts.