ME3 Character Guide: Drell Vanguard

What's up everyone? I've been trying out the Drell Vanguard recently and thought I'd get a guide out there. I don't know if the Drellguard, or 'Drellgod' as some call it, is considered a hipster character or what. But in the later stage of ME3 multiplayer since the Drell buffs, it has seen a revival and is in fact considered by some to be one of the best characters in the game. The Drellguard, who used to be one of the worst characters in the game, has come a long way.

Drell Vanguard
Biotic Charge: 4-radius, 5-power synergy, 6-barrier*
Pull: N/A
Cluster Grenade: 4-radius, 5-max grenades, 6-shrapnel
Drell Assassin: 4-damage & capacity, 5-power damage, 6-weapon damage
Fitness: 4-durability, 5-shield recharge, 6-fitness expert

What weapon best suits the Drellguard? The Talon. Why is it the perfect Drellguard weapon? For one, it is a shotgun in terms of behavior. Its spread makes it excellent in close-quarters combat and for applying ammo effects, preferably Incendiary ammo. However, since it is classified as a pistol, it benefits from the Heavy Barrel and Power Magnifier mods. With this combination, it is as light as a pistol, as powerful as a shotgun, and you get the power damage bonus on top of that.

So you know you want Incendiary ammo for fire explosions. What about your other gear? Definitely go for the Grenade Capacity mod, giving you up to 9 grenades. I also recommend a Power Amplifier mod as apposed to a Cyclonic Modulator. Sure the Drellguard is squishy, but a Cyclonic Modulator IV only gives you 375 extra shields, which is a complete waste of your gear. Power Amp, on the other hand, buffs your Biotic Charge and your grenades. It's a no-brainer.

I'll talk a little bit about the powers. Biotic Charge is pretty standard here. Radius is for crowd control, power synergy is to buff Biotic Charge and Cluster Grenades. Evolution 6 is really up to you, as Barrier really doesn't make a huge difference with the Drellguard. Bonus power would be a bit of a gamble but I think the reward is worth the trading, what, 225 shields? Like I said, the last one is not prescriptive.

Pull is lame. Biotic Charge can kill mooks outright anyway, so skip it.

Cluster Grenade is the 'secret ingredient', if you will, to a well-played Drellguard. For evolution 4, I actually take radius since they are hard to aim. That extra area of effect comes in handy, and you have so many power damage buffs between power synergy, your passive, the power magnifier mod, and any power amplifier you might be using. Do you really need a paltry 30% bonus? Then I take max grenades because unless you are consistently working with a biotic team, your Cluster Grenades will not get that biotic bonus. Finally I take shrapnel, since each individual grenade can trigger a tech/biotic explosion, so the more the better.

I recommend all power damage bonuses for your passive. Max it out with weapon damage for good measure, though this is your last priority. For Fitness, you definitely want all the movement speed bonuses you can get; they boost your survivability far more than any Cyclonic Modulator.

Onto strategy.

For unshielded mooks, Biotic Charge should do the job for up to three targets. For larger groups, try shooting one with Incendiary ammo, Biotic Charge for the fire explosion, then backflip and lob your Cluster Grenades at the survivors. Usually this only happens at spawn points.

Husks and Swarmers are your friends! They are plentiful on the battlefield and basically are a free shield recharge. Maybe that's part of the reason why the Drellguard does well against Reapers.

For shielded mooks, shoot once or twice to take down their shields, charge for the fire explosion, then shoot or heavy melee to seal the deal. By the way, your heavy melee knocks down unprotected enemies and staggers human-sized enemies. Use this in a pinch, such as when you are caught off guard during cooldown and/or reloading. Don't forget about it.

Against Ravagers, shoot and pop the egg sac first, then charge for the fire explosion. Otherwise when you charge, the Ravager will burst its sac and break your shields and the Swarmers will be all over you. Then after you charge, backflip if necessary and lob your Cluster Grenades.

Against Brutes, shoot and lob Cluster Grenades to trigger fire explosions. I don't recommend charging them head-on, at least until you've worn them down to their last few bars of health.

Phantoms, as always, are one of the trickiest enemies. You can charge her since you have enough force to stagger, but be wary after she swings her sword, which is a signal that she is primed to sync-kill. If you're crafty enough with your Cluster Grenades, you can bounce them off of a wall or the ground so that the Phantom doesn't use her bubble shield.

Banshees are surprisingly harmless against a well-played Drellguard. As she teleports at you, shoot at her and when she gets close enough, throw your Cluster Grenades to take down her barriers. Once she takes enough damage and stops teleporting, she is unable to sync-kill you for a while and is virtually harmless. At this time, shoot at her but don't charge or throw your grenades yet, or she will block your powers with her bubble shield. Instead, wait until she throws a Warp and then charge, blocking the Warp damage and setting off the fire explosion. If you are in close quarters and she tries to melee you, lob Cluster Grenades at her during the animation. Boom. Keep an eye out for these windows of opportunity.

Atlases are more dangerous than Banshees as their sync-kill is never disabled, and they can grab you off a charge at virtually any time. Also, their missiles are not as easy to dodge, and you risk being sync-killed by charging them. With all the power buffs, you should be able to stagger them with Biotic Charge. Not so sure, though, I have to test this.

You know come to think of it, I don't think I've played the Drellguard much against Collectors or Geth. I suppose I'll have to write about that later...

Thanks for reading and stay classy.

-Grun7mas7er

ME3 Character Guide: Quarian Male Engineer

What's up everyone? It's been a while since I posted something, so sorry for the delay (I had midterms). I'm going to share the build for one of my favorite Engineers, maybe my absolute favorite, but don't tell that to the Geth Engie. Lord of the Fire Explosions: the Quarian Male Engineer.

Quarian Male Engineer
Arc Grenade: 4-damage, 5-electrical damage, 6-shield overload
Incinerate: 4-radius, 5-burning damage, 6-armor damage
Tactical Scan: 4-weapon damage
Quarian Defender: 4-damage & capacity, 5-power damage, 6-weapon damage
Fitness: 4-durability

So let's go over the weapons first. I recommend Incendiary rounds on this build. You definitely want a weapon that can reliably apply your ammo effects. Cooldown isn't much of an issue, since Arc Grenades don't have a cooldown and Tactical Scan recharges quickly. You will be using Incinerate a lot, however, so keep that in mind. Personally, I find the Lancer and Collector SMG to be very effective as both are great caster weapons. The Wraith and Harrier also work, that goes without saying.

I realize that not everyone has all these fancy ultra-rare guns, so let's dip into the non-pay-to-win pool. The Falcon is a good alternative as it staggers enemies and applies ammo effects well. The Collector assault rifle is a decent all-around assault rifle. The Adas is a Quarian weapon, does good shield damage, and staggers. The Arc Pistol, also a Quarian weapon, can be used effectively. Finally, the Graal, GPSG, and Claymore are great choices as always. The Mattock is nice, the Tempest is good, and if you have none of those you can always use the Avenger and pretend it's a Lancer.

Your main strategy is to create as many fire explosions as possible. Arc Grenade is a great trigger since it doesn't have a cooldown, and it's also great for crowd control and breaking shields.

Incinerate is a primer and a trigger. Also good for staggering lesser enemies. Normally I take damage, but I chose radius for alternative crowd control for mooks like Swarmers or in case I run out of grenades. You don't need recharge speed, burning damage is obviously better. Then go for armor damage because you don't have a freezing power.

For Tactical Scan go for weapon damage. You don't really need the other ranks. Mostly use this on bosses since mooks die fast enough.

Passive: go for power damage and finally weapon damage. You're left with enough points for four ranks in Fitness.

Elaboration on the fire explosion strategy: let's go over what combos to use and what enemies to use them on. On your average joe unshielded mooks, shoot with Incendiary rounds then use Incinerate. Boom, fire explosion. Marauders, Centurions, and other shielded lieutenants just take a little bit more gunfire to shoot down their shields, then use the same combo as the mooks. On groups of shielded guys, use an Arc Grenade to soften them up, Incinerate for a tech burst, then shoot at the rest.

Phantoms are tricky because they block your powers. Fake her out by not highlighting her when you throw your Arc Grenade -- the radius is large enough that you'll still hit her. Now that her shields are stripped and she's playing hard to get, make her lay down with Incinerate. Ooh dat's hawt.

For Dragoons, use the same strategy as for mooks: shoot and Incinerate. For groups of them, or in a panic situation, give 'em the one-two combo -- Incinerate and Arc Grenade -- to get rid of them quick.

For other armored enemies like Ravagers and Brutes, you can use Incinerate-shoot-Incinerate or if you're feeling generous, shoot-Incinerate-Arc Grenade.

For shield-armor captains like Geth Bombers and Pyros, use an Arc Grenade to soften them up and follow with Incinerate for the tech burst. Shoot if necessary.

And when facing bosses, debuff them with Tactical Scan and whittle them down with what you have: Arc Grenades for shields, fire explosions for armor. Highlighting bosses with Tac Scan will hopefully draw support from your teammates as well. This will make life much easier for you and your teammates.

Don't be stingy! Use your Thermal Clip packs to instantly refill your ammo, including your grenade pool, as well as to get a 100% weapon damage bonus for 10 seconds.

Thanks for reading everyone. Stay classy.

-Grun7mas7er

Geth Juggernaut: First Impressions

Welcome everyone to another first impression guide. Today we will be looking at the Geth Juggernaut. I'm just going to start by saying that the Juggernaut is a support character. I know everyone was looking forward to playing as a Geth Prime and laying waste to the battlefield with your Siege Pulse and Geth Spitfire, but it doesn't work that way.

For one, the Pissfire is garbage compared to the Geth Spitfire of the singleplayer. Take a look at the Mass Effect Wiki and compare the two. As you can see, the multiplayer version is vastly inferior to the singleplayer version in virtually every way except for the ability to refill ammo. Recently there was a small buff, but it only lives up to its ultra-rare status on a few characters with massive weapon buffs. In other words, not the Juggernaut.

Then, consider the Juggernaut's lack of mobility. Even with an Adrenaline Module III, you're not very mobile. You can't take cover and your massive shield strength only goes so far when you're a walking hitbox. As a result, this character is most effective in (or at least is forced into) a defensive support role, such as during objective waves.

Onto powers! Siege Pulse can be specced passively as damage reduction or as an active power for dealing damage. You can also choose between a crowd control approach or direct damage. I don't know if evolution 6a is additive or multiplicative. If it's the latter, then it's a good choice. But right now I'm using evolution 6a because it means more damage reduction, greater chance of knockdown, and an extra shot in the chamber. Siege Pulse has a chance to knock down any unarmored enemy, even if they have their shields up (hint: that means Phantoms lie down). This is a great power for suppressing aggressive enemies like Phantoms and Dragoons. But just like all Biotic Orb-like powers, its performance is affected by network speed. Off host, you will likely experience an added delay between shots.

A reincarnation of the Geth Shields from the first Mass Effect, the Hex Shield can be specced as an area of effect power or as a defensive power. The top row in particular works well in close quarters, which you will often be forced into because of your lack of mobility. However, I find that on higher difficulties, the damage evolutions become more and more insignificant and the defensive evolutions become more and more useful. Nevertheless, it stuns humanoid enemies that pass through it and the pulse it emits when cast offers some crowd control.

Mostly, it is great as portable cover, giving you and your teammates a right-hand advantage anywhere. Also, it's great for blocking Atlas missiles, Banshee warps, Geth Prime pulse blasts, etc.. You see a projectile streaking toward your face? Pop up your Hex Shield and you're good. Note that your shield blocks your teammates' shots as well as your own, so be considerate when you place it.

The Geth Turret is most useful for keeping up your shield gate, since you are a walking hitbox and constantly having your shields chipped away. Depending on how many points you have available, you can put in a lot of points or just skip it, since your heavy melee restores shields as well. I find rank 5b restore range to be useful for restoring teammates' shields in a wide area, while rank 6b is not as essential. If you're not on cooldown take a second to pop up a Geth Turret near you and your teammates, preferably in a place where it won't get shot down. Your team will thank you.

The Juggernaut has excellent weapon passives (added stability and ammo capacity) that are tailored to weapons like the Spitfire and Typhoon. Great if you're using a weapons build. However, it's nothing special for a caster build, except for the weight capacity. Even then, that's more of a weapon-related perk than a power-related one. So if you're not planning on using weapons very often, it may not even be worth spending points here; it would be better to max out your powers. Either way, the Juggernaut is not exactly an offensive powerhouse.

Finally, your Fitness power can make you a walking tank, but at the cost of reducing the damage you deal. You can recharge your shields by using your heavy melee to drain the energy from your enemies. However, enemies are not always within melee range. I recommend taking shield recharge to jump-start your shields -- durability is basically the only strength of this character. That and being immune to sync-kills. In fact, you're the one doing the sync-killing this time. Phantoms are particularly fun to grab.

Now, I've seen a lot of Juggernaut users running around sync-killing everything. What these young bloods need to understand is that it's not an efficient or effective way to play. Your heavy melee is not an offensive power, it is another support capability. When your team gets swarmed by a group of Phantoms, don't just grab one and zap her while your teammates get sliced up. Pick one up and drop her, then pick up another. Incapacitate them first and make it easier for you and your teammates to finish them off. Draw aggressive enemies such as Banshees and Phantoms away from your teammates. You have the durability and sync-kill immunity to keep them off your teammates backs.

To be continued...

-Grun7mas7er

Check out Megabeast's thread on BSN: How to play the Juggernaut effectively (by megabeast37215)

Also check out this video guide by Caineghis with commentary by Megabeast.

Talon Mercenary: First Impressions

Hello everyone, welcome to another installment of my Reckoning DLC character first impressions. Since he got a major buff today, let's talk about the Talon Mercenary Engineer. I tested him out today on Platinum and the damage wasn't bad, considering that your bow is essentially a melee attack. He passed on plat, so he gets my stamp of approval.

Quick rundown of his powers, which are all pooled into your grenade count. The Cain Trip Mine is a very good power. It deals massive damage, especially to armored targets. However, only three can be active at a time, and placement is key. This isn't Proximity Mine, you have to place it in a position such that an enemy will trip the laser.

Note that you can indirectly trigger your mines without the trip laser. If you have three mines already active, casting another mine will detonate and replace the first mine. The detonation of the first mine actually causes the same damage within the same radius as if it had been tripped. Think of it as a convoluted C4 trigger. This technique is great for nuking spawns, but not so great in other situations as it rapidly expends your grenade pool. For more efficient direct attacks, you have your omni-bow.

Your omni-bow replaces the traditional melee attack, and can be loaded with one of two special types of arrows. Concussive Arrows can knock down any unarmored targets, including Phantoms. However, arrows can be difficult to hit on target and they can be blocked. It used to be ridiculously slow to draw your bow all the way, basically restricting the potential as a panic-button. Drawing your bow is quicker now, but still not quite fast enough for a panic button. I recommend the light melee in close quarters encounters, though it is inaccurate.

Armor Piercing Arrows are most useful on a pure melee build, as the bow counts as your melee attack. Since the buff, it does respectable damage to armor. In other words, one direct hit can kill a Dragoon, 2 direct hits to kill a Ravager, 3 direct hits to kill a Brute (on Gold, with the appropriate gear). Not bad.

I prefer to take the power damage evolutions for the passive. The last evolution is up to you, and can be skipped for a pure melee build, though the regenerating charges are quite useful.

Fitness, of course, depends on what type of build you are using. For the most part, the melee damage is essential on this character. Unfortunately, he cannot do an over-cover grab.

To be continued...

-Grun7mas7er

For an in-depth look at how to make the most of your Omni-Bow, check out Eric Fagnan's Talon Engineer Omni-Bow Tips on BSN.

Important: March 12 Balance Changes

This was a big week. Check it out here: Multiplayer Balance Changes

Here's a quick rundown of significant changes:
- Promotional weapons now available in the store.
- Talon Mercenary received numerous buffs to the omni-bow.
- Collector's ascension stance buffed.
- AIU's repair matrix and melee nerfed.
- Cabal's biotic focus and poison strike buffed.
- Adas rifle buffed.
- Geth Spitfire buffed.
- Venom Shotgun buffed.
- Blood Pack Punisher buffed.

The Fagnan buffeth, and the Fagnan nerfeth away.

Awakened Collector: First Impressions

Greetings everyone, welcome to the first installment of my Reckoning DLC character guides. I've  browsed BSN for tips and tricks for the Collector adept, talked strategy with fellow ME3 players, and played a few games. I've learned a few things (only a few) which I will share with you here.

Dark Sphere is an awesome biotic power with two behavioral stages: the sphere and the detonation. When cast, the sphere primes enemies within its radius for biotic explosions -- you can tell by the green glow. In this stage, it does some pretty good damage per second to enemies within its radius. This damage over time persists even after detonation. Think of it as an ultra-Singularity. Also, it does not trigger a cooldown until you detonate it. Thus, you can cast Dark Sphere without ever triggering a cooldown.

However, there are many benefits to detonating, hence the long cooldown. The detonation deals massive damage, but does not trigger biotic explosions. Also, the explosion does not prime targets, only the sphere phase does. Needless to say, the Collector is extremely powerful with biotic teammates. However, it should be noted that Dark Sphere is buggy off-host and sometimes fires blanks. It's not entirely host-dependent, but it is noticeably better.

When you're fighting Collectors, bees are bad. When you are a Collector, bees are good. Seeker Swarm is similar to Biotic Orbs. When you first cast them, the swarms float around you and then can be thrown one after another, doing slight damage and slowing enemy movement speed. They also trigger biotic explosions, though since they have no detonate evolution, the explosions are rather weak. You can use them passively to create a barrier of bees around you and gain up to 40% damage reduction, which I recommend. Be warned: as with Biotic Orbs, throwing Seeker Swarms off-host is not as responsive as on-host and there is a huge delay between throws.

The last power is Dark Channel, which deals damage over time with a 1.5x bonus against armor, 2x bonus against barriers, and 0.5x penalty against shields. Dark Channel jumps to a nearby target after you trigger it with a BE. Using Seeker Swarms, you can potentially chain up to four BEs in quick succession (if you're host).

One way to utilize the Collector's biotics is to cast Dark Sphere, cast Dark Channel, let your enemies stew in the damage over time for a brief duration, then detonate Dark Sphere (boom). Then throw your bees at the survivors (boom boom boom boom). This combo is excellent for crowd control.

The Collector's passive abilities are extremely good for both power damage and weapon damage. There are a lot of ways to build this character. The best way? We're still figuring that out. I like to take damage & capacity, power damage, and then weapon damage + Collector/Prothean weapon damage bonus.

This character is interesting in part because your heavy melee is replaced by Ascension Stance, which offers up some damage and cooldown bonuses but at the cost of reducing your resistance to damage. I can see a build focusing on this ability, but I'm not experienced enough to recommend it or not. It received a minor buff recently.

The Collector works really well with Warp ammo, since virtually all of his biotic powers prime enemies with a lasting biotic effect, and your powers work in such a way that biotic explosions aren't constantly interfering with your Warp ammo. Needless to say, he is also great with Collector and Prothean weapons.

To be continued...

Thanks for reading. Stay classy.

-Grun7mas7er