ME3 Character Guide: N7 Shadow

I'm probably too late with these builds, since they've probably all been done before. It's been a good month since the Earth DLC came out, so all the builds are basically established already. Hopefully my guides aren't too redundant. I know a lot of new players are coming in still, so hopefully they find them useful. At the same time, a lot of veteran players are leaving the game, whether out of boredom or frustration with the community and/or Bioware. Such is the lifecycle of video games, I suppose.

But I have to admit, I am at that point where unlocking new stuff comes down to a matter of luck. Too many times I've had to grind through Platinum games just to amass enough credits to unlock one or two new things.  I do understand that this is Bioware's first multiplayer project, so I hope that their next outing will learn from the flaws of this one *cough* RNG store *cough*. But it is boring. Platinum is more challenging than Gold in a sense, but it's more of a farm-fest than an actual game. Not because of the community, but the poor game design. You can use any character on Gold and do well. On Platinum, you have to have a boss-killer class to get through in a reasonable time, which is why Platinum is so often criticized as being a gimmick.

Unless you enjoy hour-long games, you will not be using the N7 Shadow on Platinum. It's fine on Gold though. My current build:

Edited: 10/6/12

N7 Shadow
Tactical Cloak: 4-duration, 5-melee damage, 6-bonus power
Electric Slash: N/A
Shadow Strike: 4-damage, 5-electric damage, 6-shield drain
N7 Shadow: 4-damage & capacity, 5-power damage, 6-weapon damage
Sword Mastery: 4-sword damage, 5-shield recharge & speed, 6-shield damage

This build isn't as flexible as the others, as each power evolution has a specific utility. I wouldn't recommend altering this build, unless I am overlooking something. To clarify, I wouldn't alter this build for this specific playstyle. However, if you want to make a Reaper killer, for example, you would pick armor damage. The point is that this build is very good despite its weakness against armor, and it is part of the plan.

When choosing your weapon, pick something mid-to-lightweight that is effective against armor and has a melee attachment, e.g. Carnifex, Paladin, Talon, Piranha, and even the Eviscerator/Wraith could work. Whatever you pick, remember that your gun will cover for your weakness against armored enemies.

Now I will explain the evolutions and why they aren't really optional for this build, starting with Tactical Cloak. Duration allows you to stay cloaked for 11.2 seconds rather than 5.2 seconds, which is crucial with this build. Not only can you remain cloaked for the entirety of a hack objective, but you have more time to find cover after using Shadow Strike. Melee damage is crucial as well, since Shadow Strike benefits from melee damage buffs. All of these evolutions are important, but bonus power may be the most important because it lets you use Shadow Strike without being seen. Without this evolution, enemies track you even as you teleport behind them, often resulting in death.

Electric Slash isn't a bad power (it's actually quite good), but I find that it doesn't synergize well with Shadow Strike, which is your primary weapon for this build.

Shadow Strike is awesome. It's like Biotic Charge for ninjas. Use Tactical Cloak first, then use Shadow Strike on human-sized enemies for massive damage. Avoid larger enemies. For evolution 4, I take damage because if you have bonus power, you'll still be invisible well after you use Shadow Strike, so the damage reduction isn't necessary. For evolution 5, recharge speed is pointless since you will only use Shadow Strike after Tactical Cloak, rendering your cooldown irrelevant. Also, the extra damage over time helps finish off tougher enemies if you didn't kill them with your sword. Finally, the most important part is shield drain. This helps keep you alive, so don't underestimate it. Since your shields don't recharge when in tactical cloak, you can simply use Shadow Strike to drain enemy shields while still cloaked. Also, the brief 15% speed boost is nice for your getaway.

You might wonder why the passive branch is spec'd for power damage, since we're not using Electric Slash. And Bioware even said that Shadow Strike is considered a melee attack. But this is only partially true, whether by design or bug, Shadow Strike benefits from both melee and power damage buffs. As you can see on the build link, the damage stack is impressive.

For Sword Mastery (Fitness), I take sword damage since I already have shield drain as my lifeline. Evolution 5 is debatable, but in the end I choose the extra movement speed since you can escape and carry packages faster. Along with your 15% speed bonus from shield drain, you are the fastest character in the game. It's all about utility. Finally, I choose shield damage for Phantoms, which is really good since they don't usually block Shadow Strike. You don't want to get close to most armored enemies anyway. That's what your gun is for. Though I have to admit, the flaming sword is cool.

So the general strategy is to use Tactical Cloak/Shadow Strike on human-sized targets, and your gun on bosses. Cloak/Strike/escape/repeat. Try to target shielded enemies first, such as Marauders, Centurions, Geth Rocket Troopers, Phantoms, etc. You can use Shadow Strike twice in one Cloak cycle, but remember that you will be out of cloak after the second Strike, so only do this when it is clear. It is safer to Strike once and find cover while you are still cloaked. Take responsibility for hack and delivery objectives, since you have Cloak duration and great movement speed.

Now for a convoluted math feature for Shadow Strike:
Base damage: 600
+20% (120) Shadow Strike 3
+30% (180) SS 4
+5% (30) passive 1
+5% (30) passive 2
+10% (60) passive 4
+15% (90) passive 5
+15% (90) Sword Mastery 1
+20% (120) SM 3
+30% (180) SM 4
Total Base Damage: 1500

With consumables:
+100% (600) Strength Enhancer III
+10% (60) Juggernaut Shield V
Total Base Damage With Consumables: 2160

With Tactical Cloak Active:
+40% (240) Tactical Cloak base damage bonus
+50% (300) Tactical Cloak: melee damage
Total Base Damage Without Consumables: 2040
Total Base Damage With Consumables: 2700

With Electric damage over time:
+40% (240) Shadow Strike: Electric Damage
Total Base Damage Over Time W/out Consumables: 2280
Total Base Damage Over Time W/ Consumables: 2940

With Shield Damage bonus:
+50% (300) Sword Mastery: Shield Damage
Total Base Damage Against Shields W/out Consumables: 2580
Total Base Damage Against Shields W/ Consumables: 3240

Phew. Correct me if I made any mistakes.

Mandatory video guide by Stardusk.


That concludes my unofficial series of guides on the N7 characters. Now I get to do guides for the old characters. Sweet. B)

Anyway, thanks for reading. You, the reader, are the reason this blog is alive and well. We're on Google, people! I think that's pretty awesome. So stay tuned, and remember to comment or share this guide or something. Peace.