Asari Valkyrie Sentinel: 200 Waves Edition

Hello appreciated readers. So apparently the balance changes were delayed yesterday and for some reason that also delayed the new character. So turns out that the new "highly requested" character is the Asari Valkyrie Sentinel. Coincidentally, that was the one that I made a reference to in my Krogan Shaman guide. Hmm.

This is an updated guide to the Asari Valkyrie Sentinel. I've noticed that my Valkyrie guide has grown to be my most-searched and most-viewed post, and I suspect that this is because the Valkyrie is still an enigma for many players, even some of the experts. So I looked around, and after browsing for Valkyrie guides by some prominent ME3 players, I haven't found any of them to be particularly agreeable except for Ashen Earth's Valkyrie post on BSN. From what I see, Ashen showcases a high-risk high-reward play style that emphasizes the Valkyrie as a close-range fighter, using Warp and Annihilation Field debuffs (30% total) to melt bosses, in this case a Banshee. This is what I consider to be a masterful way to use the Valkyrie's strengths, and I would not recommend forgoing this capability.

Asari Valkyrie
Tech Armor: 4-durability
Annihilation Field: 4-impact radius, 5-damage taken, 6-drain
Warp: 4-detonate, 5-expose, 6-pierce
Asari Adept: 4-damage & capacity*, 5-headshots, 6-weapon damage
Fitness: 4-durability

I recommend using Warp ammo. You can also use Incendiary ammo if you wish to take advantage of the Warp-Incendiary exploit.

It is necessary to have a weapon capable of sustained high damage-per-second. This includes the Harrier, Reegar, Piranha, and Hurricane. Unfortunately, if you lack these weapons this build will not be nearly as effective. Since these weapons tend to have restrictions (range and/or spare ammo), you may choose to take a sidearm for ranged combat if your cooldown permits. A good pistol or SMG should do the trick.

It's acceptable to mix-and-match this build a little to suit your play style, but I would refrain from speccing Annihilation Field and Warp differently, since they suit virtually any build. What I have attempted to achieve with this build is a) maximize damage output, and b) improve durability. By replacing evolution 5 and 6 of Tech armor with 4 ranks in Fitness, the Valkyrie gains some durability at the cost of some power damage. Since this is a close-range, weapon-based build, I think that this is a fair trade. With durability in rank 4, you still get 40% damage reduction.

I find that I have had the most success with Annihilation Field specced as above. The impact radius evolution allows you to prime biotic explosions from further away. It also allows you to incapacitate unprotected enemies from farther away, rendering them harmless at close range. Finally, it has synergy with the damage taken and drain evolutions, allowing you to debuff enemies and leech their shields from slightly greater distances. In some cases, this can be a lifesaver. And if you get backed into a corner by Phantoms, you can detonate AF to stagger them, giving you a chance to get out of there.

This build uses the 'standard Warp'. Detonate is useful for your own AF-Warp combos, as well as for priming/triggering a teammate's BE. Expose is key to success with this build, since it offers an additional 15% debuff against warped targets. Combined with Annihilation Field, affected targets take 30% additional damage. Finally, pierce is useful against armored targets, making their armor damage reduction less of an issue.

Depending on your load out, you have a choice between weapon damage or damage & capacity. If you want to have a sidearm for ranged combat, or simply just have one heavy weapon, I recommend taking capacity to keep a reasonable cooldown (preferably around 100%). Otherwise, take the additional weapon damage. I take headshots for even more damage output. Finally, I take weapon damage for rank 6 because this is a weapon build, after all.

Then for Fitness, I take 4 ranks of durability, which gives you roughly 1167 health/1167 shields with Tech Armor active, or 1167/2417 with a Cyclonic Mod IV. Along with the drain evolution to keep your shields up, this Asari is durable enough for close quarters combat.

Basically, your strategy is to first throw a Warp to debuff the enemy, get up close and further debuff the enemy with Annihilation Field, then let loose with your high-dps weapon. Note that using Warp to trigger a biotic explosion will not give you the Warp debuff, which is why it is important to use Warp before you get in range. If you're using Warp ammo, you'll do even more damage against targets affected by biotics. If you're using Incendiary ammo, warped targets take exponentially more damage over time from burning damage. Either way, you'll be dropping even the toughest of enemies like flies.

You aren't as durable as other characters, though, so use drain to keep yourself alive. If it's too dangerous to get up close, use your sidearm if you have one. There's no need to bum-rush every enemy you see. Pro-tip: if you're on an incline, don't be afraid of sync-kills. As long as you're not on an even level as the enemy (Banshee, Phantom, etc), they cannot sync-kill you. For example, if you are on a staircase and a Banshee is above or below you, you cannot be grabbed unless you are side-by-side on the same stair. Use this trick to your advantage against bosses whenever possible.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that this guide helps with your game. If you did find it helpful, consider leaving a 'like' below. If you've gotten help from several guides on this blog, consider subscribing and all that jazz. Have fun with the build and take care.

-Grun7mas7er

Watch Feneckus demonstrate the power of the Valkyrie.