Krogan Soldier: 200 Waves Edition

Hello esteemed readers. So I'm trying out a new thing where I make "200 Waves Edition" guides for characters after completing the 200 wave challenge with them (or approximately that many waves if there is no such challenge for the character). This way I have a very solid understanding of the character and how to play them effectively. It takes a little longer but I think that it will improve the quality of these guides. I do play the characters before making the guides of course, usually pretty extensively, but this way I have a greater sense of experience with the individual characters that I didn't have before the challenges were introduced. And of course I will continue to update old builds as time permits.

Krogan Soldier (Fire Explosions build)
Fortification: 4-durability, 5-power synergy
Carnage: 4-damage, 5-incapacitate, 6-armor damage*
Inferno Grenade: 4-damage, 5-damage, 6-radius & shrapnel
Krogan Berserker: 4-damage & capacity, 5-power damage, 6-weapon damage
Rage: 3*

*Alternatively, put 3 in Carnage and max out Rage.

Recommended weapons:
ARs: Falcon, Harrier
Shotguns: Geth Plasma, Wraith, Graal, Reegar, Piranha

Recommended ammo bonus: Incendiary, Disruptor (especially if against Geth)

Now I'll explain the build because when I first saw it I was a little skeptical. It does look a little strange on paper (A Krogan without maxed Fitness? This is blasphemy!!!). But I assure you it is quite good in actual gameplay. First, let's look at Fortification. Evolution 4 is obvious because this is not a melee build. Evolution 5 is obvious too, since this is a grenadier build, and grenades benefit from power damage bonuses. What's not so obvious is why we choose 3 ranks of Rage over evolution 6 durability. It's all about the math.

Using an approximate DR formula (since the real one is complicated):

Health/Shields with 40% damage reduction, no Rage
1250/1667
Health/Shields with 30% DR, 3 ranks of Rage
1446/1929
Health/Shields with 40% DR, no Rage, Cyclonic Mod IV
1250/4167
Health/Shields with 30% DR, 3 ranks of Rage, Cyclonic Mod IV
1446/4071

As you can see, the Krogan Soldier is more durable with 3 ranks in Rage over rank 6 of Fortification in all cases. So do yourself a favor and take this advice. Whether or not you take a Cyclonic Mod is up to you.

Since it was buffed, Carnage is reasonably good. When you take Fortification power synergy into account, Carnage does massive damage to armored targets. It's still quite weak against shielded targets, however. It can also incapacitate unprotected mooks, such as Husks,  which is quite useful. But these powers are just bonuses. The main purpose of Carnage on this build will be to trigger fire explosions from your Inferno Grenades. With this combo, you will be able to annihilate spawn points and a well-thrown grenade will net you a killstreak medal.

Your Inferno Grenades are your bread and Carnage is your butter. With the appropriate damage bonuses, you can make an entire spawn zone go up in flames, killing all but the toughest of enemies with a single grenade. Thanks to its inherent armor damage bonus, even Brutes and Scions don't stand a chance. With the massive damage over time potential (nearly 670 dps with the above build), the last thing you want is for a Phantom, Banshee, or Praetorian to cancel that damage with their space magic bubble. Generally this means that you don't want to use Carnage on them until the damage over time has finished.

For Krogan Berserker, I took all power damage bonuses and weapon damage at the end. You'll have great weight capacity and decent weapon damage bonuses. This is primarily a power-based build though, despite it being a soldier (and a Krogan one at that). Rage has been explained above.

That's about it for this build. Try it out and if you like it, I encourage you to check the 'like' box below. If you really like it, feel free to subscribe to future builds. Thanks for reading.

-Grun7mas7er

Here's a video guide by Stardusk, which I found very helpful and inspiring.