Saturday, September 22, 2012

ME3 Character Guide: Salarian Engineer

Hello readers. Today marks another chapter in the guide book for the original characters. I was thinking about a Krogan guide, but since I already did a guide for the Turian Soldier and Sentinel, I decided that it would be better to balance it out with a non-soldier/sentinel class. The Salarian Engineer is comparable to a popular high school kid that everyone forgot about in college. By that I mean that the SE was popular in the early days of ME3 multiplayer when nobody could beat Gold without it, but now it is merely a decoy. Granted, the decoy was invaluable and that alone made this class worth playing, but the SE has very low offensive capability, so advanced players generally ignore it. But since it looks like Bioware will be banishing us back into the dark ages with the upcoming Piranha nerf, it seems pertinent that we revive the SE. (Yes, I know the Piranha nerf isn't that severe, but still, F.U. Bioware). But let's get on with it.

[Because of balance changes, I might recommend something like this: Salarian Engineer (30 Oct 2012)

Old Salarian Engineer
Energy Drain: 4-damage, 5-drain, 6-damage
Decoy: 4-duration*, 5-shock, 6-exploding decoy*
Incinerate: N/A
Salarian Operative: 4-damage & capacity, 5-power damage, 6-weapon damage
Fitness: 4-durability, 5-shield recharge, 6-fitness expert

*I use an offensive decoy, but if you would rather use a defensive decoy, then go with 4-durability, 6-shields & duration. There is no good reason to take recharge speed though.

I made this build taking into consideration that newer players and not advanced players would be using this class. You might think it's "becuz SE is for teh n00bs". Not so. The SE is actually the best support class (arguably) because he draws so much fire away from your teammates. The reason why advanced players don't use it is because they have a lot of good weapons and so it is better for them to use the weapon classes while the new players with not-so-good weapons provide support with caster classes. In other words, players with good weapons should use weapon classes, players without should use caster classes. If you're playing on higher difficulties, it just works out better for everyone that way. But you already knew that.

So for the example build I chose the Viper since it is uncommon, and therefore very accessible, lightweight, reasonably powerful since the numerous buffs, and it synergizes well with Energy Drain. (Btw, my computer is telling me that 'synergizes' is not a word, but ME3 players know better than to listen to spell check). What you do for most enemies is use Energy Drain to strip shields and stun them, then follow with a headshot. Nice and clean. Except for all the brain tissue. Anyway, Energy Drain is also the key to your survival since you can instantly recharge you shields. Don't get out of cover without it. Use it often like your life depends on it. Because it kinda does.

If you thought Energy Drain was important, then you've forgotten about Decoy. Besides letting you look at your awesome color combination, this Decoy draws 99% of nearby enemy fire. Just put it between you and the enemy. Keep it up and you'll make it to extraction.

*[Recent balance changes have made Decoy less effective at distracting enemies, especially melee enemies, severely reducing the effectiveness of the Salarian Engineer].

I would only take Incinerate if you have no decent weapons. I don't find it to be very useful on higher difficulties. However, I am open to different playstyles, so you could choose a mix of Decoy, Incinerate, and Fitness, depending on your preference. [Since the Decoy nerf, I would put 3 ranks into Decoy and fill out Incinerate].

For the passive bonus, I chose power damage just to make sure Energy Drain can drain shields all the way. Then I chose weapon damage instead of weapon weight when using the Viper, but if you have a heavier sniper rifle like the Black Widow, then it would be better to pick sniper rifle weight. You should have a reasonably low cooldown just so you can use Energy Drain when your shields are low, but you don't need to skimp on weapons just to have a 200% cooldown. (In general, anything around 100% cooldown is good enough).

Finally, I take Fitness for durability. The SE actually has decent shields with maxed out fitness. Which helps you stay alive. But remember that the Decoy should be the one taking all the fire, not you.

I think that's it for this character. There's not much to it besides remembering to use Decoy and Energy Drain for survival. Though I should note that the SE is much more effective against Geth than Reapers. Cerberus are ok. Anyway, thanks for reading. More guides to come.

-MACave11i

Gameplay by Stardusk.

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