ME3 Character Guide: Ex-Cerberus Phoenix Vanguard

Greetings, readers. This weekend I was playing with all kinds of different builds (taking a break from the Geth Infiltrator LOL). One of them was the Phoenix Vanguard (aka The Smashguard). I was never much of a fan of the Ex-Cerberus characters, and in my opinion the Phoenix Adept is still one of the weaker characters in the game. That said, I watched a Smashguard platinum solo one day that changed my perspective on the character. I tried it out for myself and it is pretty good, so I'm giving it Grunt's Stamp of Approval and sharing it here.

I used to use a melee build since the whips are pretty good/cool, and for the sake of variety I wouldn't rule out that build, but I've had much more success with the following:

Ex-Cerberus Vanguard
Biotic Charge: 4-radius, 5-power synergy, 6-barrier
Lash: N/A
Smash: 4-biotic combo, 5-force & damage, 6-armor damage
Phoenix Training: 4-damage & capacity, 5-power damage, 6-pistols & shotguns
Fitness: 4-durability, 5-shield recharge, 6-fitness expert

Acolyte: the key to this character, as with any caster, is weapon choice. Finding a complementary weapon isn't hard, just examine the strengths/weaknesses of your character and select an appropriate weapon. Also, look for potential combos. In this case, the Acolyte does both; it mitigates the Smashguard's weakness against shields and it applies ammo effects reliably. If you prefer, the Talon is also a good weapon for this guy. As with any Vanguard, Incendiary ammo goes a long way.

I take a Hurricane with ULM and HVB just as a sidearm for Guardians. Anything lightweight and armor piercing will do, though.

Biotic Charge: an excellent biotic/tech combo trigger, but not so great against shields. Acolyte solves this problem. Take radius for better crowd control. Then take power synergy to amp up Biotic Charge and Smash. Finally, I don't think bonus power is necessary because the Acolyte-Biotic Charge combo has a good rhythm without it. Barrier doesn't make a huge difference though, so I suppose it's up to you.

Lash: skiiiiiiip.

Smash: I take biotic combo to prime biotic explosions, and force & damage for more direct damage. Then I take armor damage. Smash has an inherent bonus of 150% against armor, shields, and barriers. With the armor damage evolution, that bonus increases to 262.5% damage against armor and barriers. With all those stacking power damage bonuses, you're looking at well over 5000 damage against armor and barriers per cast. That's not insignificant.

Phoenix Training: You want all power damage bonuses to boost your powers even more. This is very much a power-centric build. I take pistols & shotguns for the final evolution so that I can carry a heavy barrel Acolyte, a lightweight sidearm, and still keep a 200% cooldown bonus. The 10% weapon damage bonus isn't much anyway.

Fitness: all bottom row for maximum durability.

Strategy: I rate this character mostly for Gold, though he can be used well on Platinum.

Use Biotic Charge on unshielded mooks. Dead.

Keep your Acolyte charged. When you come across a shielded mook (Marauder, Centurion, etc.), release the shot to drain their shields and prime them with Incendiary ammo. Charge and boom. Fire explosion. Dead.

Same strategy for Phantoms, except they are tougher and may or may not need a follow-up shot or Charge or Smash. Whichever you prefer. Dead.

For Pyros, Acolyte for shields, Smash for armor. Fire explosion. Dead.

Same for Dragoons. Acolyte to prime for fire explosion, then Smash. Dead.

Against Brutes, hit them with Incendiary ammo, Smash for the fire explosion, Smash again (always keep cover between you and the Brute if possible, so it won't charge at you) until it's down to one or two bars of armor, then Charge for the biotic explosion. Dead.

Ravagers are tricky because if you Charge, you get covered in Swarmers. Smash only hits up to two targets, so it's possible that it will only hit the Swarmers. So use your Acolyte to mop them up and prime the Ravager for a fire explosion, then Smash until it's dead.

You have enough force to Charge bosses and stagger them, but don't continuously Charge them. After their melee animation, they can sync-kill you, so be cautious. Smash from behind cover, if possible.

Yeah... that's about it. So thanks for reading, have fun with the build. Stay classy.

-Grun7mas7er

Check out some gameplay by Master Reefa.