THE ART OF BIOTICS
[/quote]Welcome to the world of biotics! This guide and videos are meant for those who like biotics and hopefully helps improving your overall Mass Effect 2 experience; making your Adept a more dynamic-, more exciting- and more effective biotic warrior. The aim here is to guide, suggest, provide tips & tricks and explain important game features and -mechanics. This guide can be equally useful for other classes, it is simply focused on (not limited to) biotic powers.
I've used different colors to mark links to videos and websites. Those who prefer a video guide - check the bottom of this post for guides and gameplay videos.
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INTRODUCTION
[/quote]Adepts are biotic specialists, equipped to disable and kill enemies with raw biotic power. The Adept has powerful crowd control abilities like Singularity and Pull, while Warp and Throw provide options to damage and kill enemies. Shockwave works as a bit of both, doing moderate damage and knocking targets off their feet for a brief period. When combined, these abilities can wade through enemy lines allowing very little return fire.
Let's start with a couple of videos showcasing Mass Effect 2 Biotics and The Power of the Adept to give some idea how powerful biotics, and the Adept in particular, can be. It's worth noting biotics are even more effective when enemies don't have protection to temporarily shield them from biotic harm (below Hardcore difficulty). This guide, however, focuses on Insanity although most info can also be used playing on easier difficulty levels.
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THE BIOTIC ARSENAL
[/quote]Let's kick off with some basic biotic power info:
♦ Shepard's biotic powers travel in the direction of the cross-hair, arcing towards the target. This allows Shepard to target cowardly enemies thinking they are safe and comfy behind cover.
♦ Pull, Throw and Warp will reach target much faster than Singularity; something worth remembering because Shepard remains vulnerable until power reaches its destination.
♦ All (out of sight) squadmate powers hit target instantly - on screen allies have to finish the casting animation first.
♦ Unprotected enemies affected by Singularity, Pull or Slam (lift duration only) are considered Ragdolled. They take double Warp-, Throw-, Shockwave-, Slam-, Concussive Shot-, Flashbang- and Weapon damage.
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Singularity is the unique power of the Adept class capable of creating a powerful mass effect field that can hold multiple protected enemies in place; it will drain Shields, Armor, Barriers and Health over time; unprotected enemies drawn into it will be flying helplessly in mid air, on 4.5 seconds base cooldown.
♦ Do not step into Shepard's own Singularity; if you do and it's been in place for 1.5 seconds it will disolve immediately.
♦ There can only be one active Singularity, firing another will remove the one currently in place immediately.
♦ Singularity does not work on YMIRs, Geth Primes, Geth Colossi, Thresher Maw, Shadow Broker, Human Reaper, Praetorians, Gunships, Oculus, Klixen and Dogs (Fenrirs and Varren). However, it always works on health; anything with a red (health) bar is vulnerable to its effects.
♦ Protected enemies are held for a shorter time. The protected target will attempt to escape and may be sucked into the singularity again. Holding a protected target will eventually cause the singularity to collapse. Heavy Singularity can hold (multiple) protected targets much longer than Wide Singularity.
♦ Damage (drain) increases with every rank. As do Duration & Power Damage upgrades, bonuses and gear. All enemies take damage, including those unaffected by Singularity's other effects.
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Warp spawns a mass effect field that damages targets and stops health regeneration. It deals double damage to barriers and armor. Single target only, on 6 seconds base cooldown.
♦ Stops health regen (of unprotected enemies only) [Vorcha, Krogan, Klixen and Varren]
♦ Staggers enemies (with and without defenses); and it can be used to interupt attacks [Scion attacks for example]
♦ Detonates ragdolled enemies; they take double damage, and all targets within the Detonation Radius receive full damage, regardless of protection they might have: Armor and Barriers suffer double damage, nearby ragdolled enemies also take double damage.
♦ Warp Explosions work twofold; everything within Detonation Radius take Warp's (double) damage and the explosion will either stagger (protected) or knockdown (unprotected) enemies. The Detonation Force works like Throw in all directions, killing unprotected enemies who are knocked off ledges and damaging those hitting obstacles.
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Throw, unlocked at Warp rank 2, will hurl targets away, damaging them if they hit an object and killing enemies thrown off ledges, on 3 seconds base cooldown.
♦ Staggers protected enemies; only the squadmate version can be used to interupt attacks (see Warp).
♦ Distance and damage is based on throw's rank and target's weight; damage is taken when target hits an obstacle, the amount of damage is erratic (between very little damage and insta-kills). Heavy targets (like Krogan) can't be thrown very far and take less damage.
♦ What happens to the target depends on Throw's direction when it hits; aiming below the center of mass will throw it into the air, while aiming up will knock it down, for example. With practice, it's quite easy to knock targets off ledges for insta-kills.
♦ Used on ragdolled enemies doubles Throw's force, making it far easier to throw enemies of the map. Throwing ragdolled enemies against the ceiling will insta-kill them too.
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Pull, unlocked at Singularity rank 2, levitates enemies into the air. While aloft, enemies will slowly drift towards caster's position (squadmates) or Pull projectile's opposite direction (Shepard), on 3 seconds base cooldown.
♦ Staggers protected enemies; only the squadmate version can be used to interupt attacks (see Warp).
♦ When targets hit any obstacle, they will stop and remain airborne behind that obstacle. If targets are suspended high enough above ground, they can die instantly when they lose their Pull field and fall to the ground. Pulling enemies of ledges, like Throw, will also insta-kill them
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Shockwave, unlocked at Pull rank 2, sends out a serie of explosive biotic impacts in front of its caster, ignoring any obstacles. It can be unleashed along the ground to launch all enemies in its path into the air. Like other biotic powers it is best used on ragdolled targets for maximum effect, on 6 seconds base cooldown.
♦ When Shockwave hits a protected enemies they will be stunned for a brief moment, but won't be thrown into the air. It can also be used for knocking enemies from behind cover.
♦ Hardcore and Insanity difficulty level reduce Shockwave's usefulness considerably (close to becoming redundant actually): Due to Shockwave's aiming difficulty, long animation, long cooldown and unreliability; it's (almost) always 'better' to use another power (Singularity, Pull, Throw).
♦ Although not the 'very best' biotic power around, Shockwave can be great fun and pretty effective.
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BONUS POWERS
[/quote]Like all classes, Adepts can use one bonus power, this guide only covers the most interesting powers , for more bonus power info click here.
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Stasis will temporarily immobilize a single enemy, but target will be immune to any damage while under its effects. Once Stasis wears off, target will fall to the ground. When enemies are falling they will take extreme damage. Targets continue to receive bonus damage (x3-x4) until they get up, at which point only normal damage is received, on 6 seconds base cooldown.
♦ Its effect is instant (unlike Shepard's other biotic powers)
♦ It works despite defensive layers and it works on enemies immune to Singularity (like YMIRs). It doesn't affect Harbinger, Praetorians, Thresher Maw, Gunships, Geth Colossi, Shadow Broker and Oculus.
♦ Stasis and Singularity combined is ultimate CC: This Stasis Adept video shows why.
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Barrier drastically improves survivability and is unique among the four Armor Powers (Tech Armor, Fortification and Geth Shield Boost) in that it doesn't have an activation animation. This means Shepard can activate Barrier while stunned or staggered by a Pyro's flame stream, for example. It also fits the mental flavor of a biotic ability and looks cool. Its 12 seconds base cooldown can be problametic prior Cooldown Reduction Upgrade research (see Upgrades).
♦ Works when all other powers don't.
♦ Activating Barrier will restore Shepard's normal shield plus Barrier, completely and instantly.
♦ This Barrier Adept video demonstrates its potential.
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Energy Drain is a tech power, hence (role-play wise) not suitable for biotic specialists. Players indifferent towards this kind of biotic heresy read on. This power drains enemy shields boosting yours, kinda like a Barrier-Overload combination, on 6 seconds base cooldown.
♦ Very effective against shields and synthetic enemies like Geth and Mechs
♦ Shield boost increases with every rank; boost is added to current shield value (+250 max, Heavy ED); when Shepard has shield strength 300, starting a mission, it will be boosted to 550 (Heavy), for example. Using ED again will replenish shield.
♦ An Energy Drain Adept cannot die with active Geth around.
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Dominate works like AI Hacking, but on an organic target, and instead of a shield it produces a barrier. It has an impact on the target (unlike AI Hacking), stunning them for 1 to 3 seconds (depending on the enemy) before actually taking effect, this 'impact time' will count towards the duration of the power, diminishing Dominate's usefulness if only few points are spent. The 'impact time' also limits its use for CQC Adepts, but a very effective and hilarious power nevertheless, highly recommended on Bloodpack heavy missions.
The remaining biotic bonus powers, Slam and Reave, have too much in common with Pull/Throw and Warp respectively. Both powers hit target instantly (unlike Pull, Throw and Warp) which can be an advantage.
Warp Ammo is an Ammo Power yet highly rated among Adepts. It's effective against barriers, armor and health and the damage bonus is doubled against ragdolled enemies. This sounds good, but the actual damage bonus is rather small and ragdolled enemies already take double weapon damage anyway.
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WEAPONS
[/quote]The Adept is indeed the best class for killing enemies without firing a weapon, but since you have weapons, why not use them? While your starting weapons are not that impressive, you can take on additional weapon training later, vastly improving the Adept's firepower.
By default, Adepts can use Heavy Pistols (HP), Small Machine Guns (SMG), and Heavy Weapons (HW). Shepard starts his/her journey with the Predator (HP), Shuriken (SMG) and Grenade Launcher (HW); new versions can be found during missions or researched on Normandy (HW only). HP is great against armor and its accuracy makes it a good weapon to attack enemies at long range, SMG is best used against shields and barriers but is not very accurate beyond medium range. HW are heavy weapons, they are always useful but ammo comes in limited supply.
Early game the SMG should be the Adept's main weapon, switching to HP to take out enemies who've pinned down Shepard's team or when facing heavily armored foes (like Krogan). HW are best used for emergencies, but since there's plenty of ammo around - it's recommendable to use it liberally (just save a couple of shots just in case). The Arc Projector is arguably the best HW for Adepts, it's the ultimate shield stripper and available at the start. The Grenade Launcher is also very effective (just don't target enemies, instead aim for the ground nearby).
This video shows how the Grenade Launcher and Arc Projector can be used, this video is about the Avalanche.
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Adepts can take on Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle or Shotgun weapon training on the Disabled Collector Ship. Assault Rifles are great all-round weapons, Sniper Rifles excel at long range but using powers behind cover activates (annoying) sniper-zoom. Shotguns are devastating at close range.
The M-96 Mattock is great; its massive damage output (against all defenses), high RoF and high chance to stagger enemies will destroy everything. The limited ammo capacity being its only 'weakness' says it all. The only weapon to rival the Mattock is the Geth Plasma Shotgun (GPS); the ability to one-shot defenses at all ranges, i.e. biotic powers can be used at will, makes it a worthy Mattock alternative. Both weapons require the Firepower Pack DLC.
The M-15 Vindicator and the Geth Pulse Rifle are great Assault Rifles but far behind the Mattock, damage wise. Both ARs are accurate and effective against all defenses. The M-97 Viper is the only interesting Sniper Rifle for Adepts; great defense-stripper and best anti-armor weapon in ME2. Shotguns are very well balanced, the M-27 Scimitar's high RoF makes it an excellent defense-stripper and it's the most Ammo Power efficient weapon in ME2.
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UPGRADES & ARMOR
[/quote]There isn't much to say about armor. There effect is minor and not noticeable in-game. The number crunching players will go for the Blood Dragon Armor's (+15% Power Damage). But overall it's best to wear whatever looks good.
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There are two types of Upgrades; normal upgrades, increasing power- and weapon damage for example, and bonus upgrades. There are two bonus upgrades per type; the first is unlocked after researching two, the second when you've researched 3 normal upgrades. A complete list of all upgrades and where to find them can be found here.
The bonus upgrades are the ones you want, they add the best utility > 20% extra duration and a 20% cooldown reduction are the Biotic Damage bonus upgrades, for example. Other important bonus upgrades are the Health-, Shield-, and Medical upgrades. Upgrading the weapon(s) your Adept uses most is also a good idea.
There are enough credits/resources (if you're thorough) to buy/research all upgrades, it is, however, advisable to get the important ones first. The first 3 Biotic Damage upgrades should be top on your list. Remember they're not available pre-Horizon. Save credits to buy them straight away when they become available.
Upgrading Biotic Damage further isn't very useful. Insta-defense-stripping capabilities is what you're looking for, i.e. a single Warp should remove enemy armor/barrier completely. It's worth noting this is only possible versus 'normal' enemies (Vorcha, Husks, Collector Drones etc). More powerful enemies (Krogan, Vanguards, Collector Assassins & Guardians) cannot be stripped instantly no matter how many upgrades you've researched. When Warp is powerful enough to insta-strip, it's also powerful enough to kill ragdolled (normal) enemies. All extra damage is nice, but too small to make a noticable difference. Heavy Warp plus 3 Biotic upgrades can do this at level 30 (you'll need 5 upgrades for Unstable Warp).
Don't forget the Tech Upgrades! When you're using squadmates with Overload a lot, you do want them to strip shields fast and easy. The Energy Drain bonus power also benefits form Tech Upgrades. Overload works like Warp (upgrade-wise); 3 upgrades for Heavy-; 5 for Area Overload at level 30.
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TACTICS & SQUADMATES
[/quote]The Adept is designed to be the Thinking Man's class and, more so than any class, depends on using many of it's powers in tandem. The Adept is meant for players looking for tactical chessmaster-style gameplay; approaching missions with a plan, and using powers, squadmates and weapons combined rather than a million bullets and an itchy trigger-finger. 'Thinking' ahead and 'Knowing' what's (likely) going to happen next is what playing Adept is about. Their unique power fits perfectly and, therefore, should be at the heart of the Adept's strategy:
♦ Opening hostilities with Singularity is usually a good idea.
♦ Try having one Singularity active all the time.
♦ It's best used on groups or a single powerful enemy.
♦ Doorways, enemy spawn points, corridors and other choke points are excellent targets.
♦ Singularity doesn't need a target and combined with its long duration makes it an effective 'trap' power (placed strategically).
Best of all is its synergy with the Adept's other biotic powers. Holding enemies in place is nice, but things are getting more interesting when targets lose defenses: You can chose to ignore the target - allowing Singularity's CC effect to do its job, or use gunfire to kill target (ragdolled enemies suffer double weapon damage thus die quickly), or use Throw to toss target off the map (insta-kill), or Warp target - using the explosion to damage/stagger/knockdown/kill enemies within Warp's Detonation Radius.
Always keep cooldowns in consideration, when Throw is sufficient to kill an enemy - don't use Warp. Use Pull (instead of Singularity) on stranglers - better cooldown and Pull's projectile travels faster. Pull and Throw are cooldown friendly, you can use them twice (whereas Warp can only be fired once), the Pull-Throw combo is very powerful and both powers have AoE versions (Warp doesn't).
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Above anything else Adepts are team players. In order to make the most out of the Adept's biotic arsenal, you'll need help. Select squadmates with care, their powers are crucial, paving the road either to victory or defeat. To beat Mass Effect's combat system you'll need 3 things:
♦ A Remove enemy defenses; the Adept can use Warp against enemy armor and barriers, but Warp doesn't have an area version thus can only be used on a single target. By default Adepts have nothing to deal with shields (the most common defense).
♦ B Disable or Manipulate enemies; with defenses out of the way everything changes and Adepts can do what they do best.
♦ C Coup de grace; enemies still need to be killed, Adepts can use Warp and Throw to end their suffering. Both powers are best used on ragdolled enemies for maximum effect.
Squadmates excel at defense stripping. Their powers work instantly (no travel time) making it easier to hit groups. It's highly recommendable to select (at least) one squadmate for this task. Enemies down to health are easy targets and Adepts can disable and finish them incredibly fast. Remember that enemies trapped in a Singularity, knocked down or hanging out near rooftops after being Pulled into the air; are no threat to Shep & Co. Focusing on other enemies first is usually a better idea.
The remaining slot should be filled by someone who's good at CC or raw killing power. Squadmates with Pull are great for CC purposes, but so is Kasumi's Flashbang and Mordin's Cryo Blast. Guys like Grunt, Garrus, Zaeed, Thane and Jacob provide decent firepower and squad ammo (Incediary- and Disruptor Ammo effects also improves CC).
It's crucial to think of your team instead of Shepard only. Adepts can create Warpbombs without help - for example - cast Singularity (
-> shoot down defenses (A) -> Warp ©. But this requires at least 5 seconds to execute, squadmates will allow (almost) instant Warp explosions: Sheapard casts Singularity ( -> squadmate 1 casts Overload (A) -> squadmate 2 casts Warp © - for example. For maximum flexibility try to select multipurpose squadmates. [quote]
GAMEPLAY DATA
[/quote]Biotic Power Damage Formula:
All upgrades and other bonuses are added together first, multplied by two when hitting ragdolled enemies.
Example: Heavy Warp (200 damage); 6/6 Biotic Upgrades; Nemesis; and Blood Dragon Armor >
60+15+15=90% bonus damage >200 * 1.9 = 380 (760 against Armor, Barrier, or ragdolled enemy)
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Biotic Duration Formula:
All upgrades and other bonuses are added together first, multiplied by 0.8 (20% duration penalty, Insanity only), multiplied again depending on enemy rank (and number of enemies, Singularity only).
Example: Heavy Pull (12 s); Biotic Duration Research Upgrade, Bastion (+40% duration) used on Krogan (-30% duration)
Heavy Pull last for > (12 * 1.4) * 0.8 * 0.7 = 9.4 s
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Warp Ammo Damage Formula:
Ammo powers are considered a power, so they get bonuses from power upgrades, not weapon upgrades, and they always take their initial damage value from the base weapon damage without upgrades. However, ammo powers do get a distance multiplier.
Example: Mattock (50 base damage) using Heavy Warp Ammo (+50% damage), Nemesis (+15% Power Damage) >
50 * 0.65 = 32.5 extra damage against armor/barrier/health; Warp Ammo's effect is doubled against ragdolled enemies > 50 * 1.15 = 57.5 > and 115 respectively.
So far, so good, but now we add weapon upgrades; 7/7 Assault Riffle Upgrades and Penetration Upgrade >
Mattock receives a default 1.3x vs armor, and 1.2x vs shields and barriers; thus damage:
against health: 50 * 1.7 = 85 > 85 + 32.5 = 118 (+38%)
against armor: (50 * 1.7) * 1.3 * 1.25 = 138 > 138 + 32.5 = 171 (+24%)
against shields and barrriers: (50 * 1.7) * 1.2 * 1.25 = 128 > 128 + 32.5 = 160 (+25% vs barrier only)
against ragdolled enemies: (50 * 1.7) * 2 = 170 > 170 + 57.5 = 228 (+33%)
This example didn't include weapon damage bonus available through gear and Miranda's passive, they would further reduce Warp Ammo's extra damage percentage. Point blank range doesn't change the percentages - both weapon and ammo damage is multiplied by two.
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GAMEPLAY VIDEO GUIDES
[/quote]Sagequeen's Adept Guide
Intro to the adept
Gameplay Basics (ME2 vs. ME1)
Not Just a Space Mage
Armor and Guns
Basic Biotic Powers
Adept's Favorite Bonus Powers
Bastion or Nemesis?
Enemies and Allies - Sagequeen's Adept Playbook
Average Gatsby's
Adepting through Insanity - one by one mission tutorial and lots of tips & tricks
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GAMEPLAY VIDEOS
[/quote]A quick note on the videos. All are played on Insanity and all, except Arhka's, are on PC. Some of them are modified: Weapon loadouts are changed; heavy weapons are removed sometimes for practical (ability to switch between all weapons without pausing) and visual (why carry a backpack that isn't going to be used) reasons. Shotgun added to Adept's default weapon selection to unlock Claymore on the Collector Vessel. Squadmates have been removed to play solo.
Mass Effect 2 - Banzai Biotics - allround biotic destruction
The Power of the Adept - Krogan, Geth and YMIRs are no match for an Adept
Young Asari Shepard sparring with Bloodpack and Blue Suns - level 8-10 Adept
Stasis Adept on Horizon - Stasis & Singularity provide excellent CC
Asari Commando Shepard - Dantius Towers - really aggressive gameplay using Heavy Barrier to stay alive
Asari Commando Shepard - Collector Ship - Adept and Claymore; a potent combination
Asari Commando Shepard - Helping Miranda - Claymore and Morinth's Dominate level 25
Triple Asari vs Tela Vasir - Triple Adept; triple fun! lvl 25 exploiting Stasis' insane damage bonus
Asari Commando Shepard - Project Overlord - yes I know, using tech skills on the Adept is biotic heresy
The Shockwave Adept - NG+ no biotic upgrades, no Warp, no heavy weapons
Adept or Vanguard? special - Vanguard can be quite good biotic warriors too
Solo Gameplay
Asari Shepard and the Ardat-Yakshi - Samara's Recruitment Mission level 21
IFF Mission - First fight level 30
Suicide Mission Part 1 - 'Open the Valves' with a level 30 Adept.
Suicide Mission Part 2 - Same build as in part one
Crucial's Solo Video
ME2: Who Needs Squadmates? Adept on Collector Vessel
SidJr's Solo Video
Adept Grunt Dossier - Solo Adept on Korlus level 12
Thisisme8's Adept Videos
ME2 - How do you play your Adept?
ME2 - Shotgun Adept
Arhka's Old School Vanguard videos (360)
MSV Strontium Mule
Escape from Prometheus Station
MJvasNormandy's Shotgun Reave Adept
Shotgun Adept - Thane's Recruitment Mission
Irzhen's
Adept saving all 20 crates
jwalker's
Quarian Crash Site
Sinosleep's
Tali's Loyalty Mission - No Guns
Tali's Loyalty Mission - Locust
Tali's Loyalty Mission - Geth Plasma Shotgun
Huckebein's
Dominate-Shockwave Adept Mordin's RM
Waltzingbear's
Pippi Shepard versus Bloodpack
Pippi Shepard versus The Shadow Broker
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CREDITS
[/quote]Average Gatsby
Thisisme8
Cruc1al
JaegerBane
Arhka
MJvasNormany
Irzhen
jwalker
Sinosleep
SidJr
Huckebein
Sagequeen
Waltzingbear
Modifié par Bozorgmehr, 14 mai 2011 - 07:13 .
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