ME3 Character Guide: Human Adept

Hello readers, it's been a while but I'm back with another Mass Effect 3 character guide for your face. This one is for the Human Adept, which gets outshined by the Fury and Shaman, but is a powerful and versatile adept in its own right. It is an essential character to any biotic team.

Human Adept
Singularity: 4-duration, 5-lift damage, 6-damage
Warp: 4-detonate, 5-expose, 6-pierce
Shockwave: 4-force & damage, 5-detonate, 6-recharge speed
Alliance Training: N/A
Fitness: 4-durability, 5-shield recharge, 6-fitness expert

The most essential weapon for this character is the Acolyte. Sure, the Acolyte is essential on half of the characters in the game, but as a biotic-centric kit, this one really needs it. Biotics don't work well against shields. I recommend the heavy barrel and ultra-light materials to compensate for the added weight.

You don't need a secondary, but it doesn't hurt. The CSMG is lightweight and does great damage to armor. The Hurricane is also a great choice, just less accurate. I'd go with the magazine upgrade and high-velocity barrel (this is essential, otherwise your SMG will only tickle armored enemies). If you don't have either one leveled up to your liking, consider the Locust or Tempest as alternatives to the CSMG and Hurricane respectively.

I prefer the Geth Scanner on this character, since it helps you stay out of dangerous situations and pick your targets more effectively. But it's really not essential. The Commando and Expert packages are good choices too. I normally don't prescribe weapon amps, but you really need the pistol damage to drain shields quickly, especially for Phantoms. It's annoying to have to use two Acolyte shots to destroy a single Phantom's shields. SMG damage is secondary.

You have two biotic primers and two detonators, so I recommend Warp ammo for this character. You get the bonus damage to any targets affected by Singularity or Warp, and it won't interfere with your biotic explosions.

Singularity: I mostly use this as a biotic primer and mook killer. Great for incapacitating multiple unprotected enemies. Place one in a high traffic area and prime all the things as they walk through it, then use Shockwave to detonate each one. You can avoid the repetitive priming-detonating pattern this way. This is why I choose duration rather than radius, because I don't have to replace it as often.

Warp: Standard Warp. You get the splosions. You get the debuff. You get the armor weakening. What more can I say?

Shockwave: Most important part is the detonate evo. I take force & damage to stagger more things, and recharge speed for spam-ability. You know, to troll your sniper teammates. No headshot for you!

Alliance Training: This is good if you're playing with reliable teammates because you can afford to sacrifice some durability for more damage. But it does not affect your biotic explosion damage. So this branch is situational, and I generally skip it.

Fitness: I do a lot of pick-up games with randoms, so when the time comes to solo a wave or two I have some extra durability. It is a noticeable difference, believe it or not. But not as essential as it is for the Juggernaut.

Strategy: In general, Acolyte for shields, SMG and biotic explosions for armor.

For unprotected enemies, use Singularity to incapacitate them first. At long range, use Warp to detonate. At close range, use Shockwave. For single targets, use Singularity followed by a heavy melee.
For groups of enemies, try funneling them into your Singularity and detonate them with Shockwave as they pass through.

For shielded enemies like Marauders, Acolyte first then Singularity. Even if you miss your Acolyte shot, follow with Singularity, which will staggerlock them and prevent them from shooting at you. Then you'll have time to charge your shot, shoot, and detonate.

With the Acolyte and appropriate pistol amps, Phantoms are trivialized. Just drain their barrier, Singularity, and detonate. Again, even if you miss your Acolyte shot, follow with Singularity to put the Phantom on the defensive, then drain her shields. As soon as her bubble goes down she'll be trapped. Finish with a Shockwave.

For armored enemies, the Warp/Shockwave combo will give you the most damage. All in all, you get 115% bonus damage for the biotic explosion, and the Warped target takes 15% more damage on top of that.

Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you need to funnel groups of Dragoons (aka the football team) through as Singularity, detonating each one as they pass through. You may also want to use Singularity on Ravagers to mop up any Swarmers nearby.

You'll want to deal with Cerberus Turrets as indirectly as possible. At a distance, use Singularity, Acolyte to take down the shields, then Warp for the biotic explosion.

Against bosses, Warp for debuff, then use the Acolyte for shields. Wear down their armor with your SMG and biotic explosions. Warp, shoot your CSMG until nearly empty, then Shockwave for the boom. Rinse and repeat.

That's about it, I think. Stay classy folks.

-Grun7mas7er

Check out Capt. Stach3's epic Youtube story, Felicia the First Fabulous Fury. It's got some great tips and it's entertaining. :D