Jacob has something to offer all classes of Shepard. This is a long post, so consult the green text to get a general view of what is presented here.
Incendiary Ammo
This is one of the most useful ammo powers in the game. It is effective against armor and the health of organic enemies. It halts krogan and vorcha health regeneration. Additionally, it can panic many types of enemies, even through the layers of defense seen everywhere on Insanity. Consult Simbacca's Ammo Powers thread for further details.
For the weapons classes (Soldier, Infiltrator, and Vanguard), his appeal is less easily recognized. They have ammo powers of their own, after all. Typically, though, players will want to put skill points into their class' signature ability and passive ability before focusing on an ammo power. Jacob's Squad Incendiary Ammo is useful until Shepard can invest the points to master his or her own ammo power.
For the power classes (Sentinel, Engineer, and Adept), Jacob's ammo power is useful both in the early game and in the late game. Power classes occasionally choose an ammo power for their bonus power slot, making Squad Incendiary Ammo less appealing. Still, though, many players will choose to master the class' signature ability and passive before investing too heavily in, say, Warp Ammo.
Put every point you can into Incendiary Ammo until evolving it into Squad Incendiary Ammo. I recommend this as your first priority when building Jacob.
Pull
A criminally underrated power, Pull is the most forgiving of the Biotic combo opening moves. Use Pull to set up Warp Explosions, powerful Throws, and hilariously high-flying Slams. Warp Explosions are especially useful on Insanity difficulty, as they offer a quick way to deal with the defenses of enemies in a large area. Strip one foe, have Jacob pull it, and then detonate the Pull either with a Warp of your own, or with Miranda, Thane, or Liara.
Pull has a fairly quick recharge as far as squadmate cooldowns go, so use it frequently. Even against foes with defenses, Pull has its uses. It can stagger moving foes to allow you to line up shots. This stagger effect can also buy you the time you need to move to safety or continue your attack unhindered.
After mastering Squad Incendiary Ammo, focus on Pull. Evolve it into Pull Field for sweeping crowd control with a respectable duration.
Cerberus Operative
Jacob's passive is nothing noteworthy. It's a better place to sink leftover points than Barrier, though.
Master Cerberus Operative, ideally evolving it into Cerberus Specialist for increased weapon damage, after mastering Squad Incendiary Ammo and Pull Field.
Barrier
Whatever use this power has on lower difficulties fades quickly on higher difficulties for Jacob. Shepard can make use of this power, as shown in some of Bozorgmehr's videos. I do not recommend any point in this power. Sadly, Jacob automatically gains a point in it once his loyalty mission is completed. If you have Lair of the Shadow Broker, remove that point as soon as possible. If you do not have Lair of the Shadow Broker, put off Jacob's loyalty mission for as long as you want to keep using him. Jacob with Barrier is useless. Why? Because he will use it whenever he likes regardless of squadmate power usage settings, He will then be saddled with a long cooldown, preventing you from using Pull.
Put no points in this ability and remove the point he automatically gains in it using the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC. At level 30, Jacob will have one leftover squad point. Leave it unspent.
Following the above guide, your Jacob should master Squad Incendiary Ammo, Pull Field, and then Cerberus Specialist.
Weapons and Positioning
Equip Jacob with whatever heavy pistol you want. You don't ever need to have him use it, provided you have the proper DLC. For his shotgun slot, equip the Geth Plasma Shotgun (GPS). With the GPS, Jacob will become a defense stripping monster at any range on the battlefield. As he is using a shotgun, his AI will have a higher tendency to move forward on the battlefield. Flag him appropriately. The GPS is effective at longer ranges than any other shotgun, so flagging him back is a good idea if you want to keep the pressure off of him. Close combat Shepards might not need to flag as much, as they will be in the forefront soaking up damage. If you do not have the Firepower Pack, I highly recommend buying it. Use the Eviscerator as a substitute, or have him use a heavy pistol.
Squadmate Comparisons
In terms of gameplay, Jacob is most frequently compared to Jack and Grunt, and with good reason. His build resembles theirs quite closely. It might be more accurate to say his build is a hybrid of the two. Jacob lacks the Biotic prowess of Jack, though. He doesn't get her cooldown reduction. Similarly, he lacks the tanking skills of Grunt to compliment his ammo support. Sure, he could have Barrier. But he doesn't have Grunt's life regeneration. If you only compare Jacob with one of these two squadmates, you could understandably draw the conclusion that he is just a watered down version of Jack/Grunt. So instead of comparing Jacob to just one of them, consider his hybrid status. He's a jack-of-all trades, and an excellent support character. If you want the master tank/ammo support, bring Grunt. If you want the fastest Pull, bring Jack (or Samara/Morinth). If you want both, though, consider bringing Jacob. He has faster access to Pull, as he is the only character in the game that doesn't have a prerequisite on his Pull. And he has faster access to Incendiary Ammo. Again, he lacks a prerequisite on his Incendiary Ammo.
Squadmates with Warp compliment Jacob best. So bring Miranda or Thane. I won't bother comparing Jacob to Miranda here, as Miranda's status in the top tier is rarely contested. The only other squadmate that approaches her utility is Liara, and Liara isn't available for the vast majority of the game. Still, Jacob suits Miranda perfectly in terms of gameplay. He provides the Pull for her Warp Bomb and an ammo power.
Closing Analysis
Jacob's usefulness isn't as obvious as a character like Miranda with instant defense stripping powers, or a character like Garrus, with a sweet weapon loadout. With the proper build, though, Jacob is highly effective, even on Insanity. It should be noted that his primary use as an ammo power crutch for weapons classes doesn't carry much weight on NG+. On NG, though, Jacob is available immediately and quickly matures due to his lack of prerequisites.
Please use this thread to discuss Jacob's effectiveness in terms of gameplay. There are plenty of other places to voice your thoughts on his personality, the romance, or female Shepard's way of speaking to him.
tl;dr: Consult the green text.
Modifié par lazuli, 10 janvier 2011 - 06:06 .
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