So, with the arrival of Arrival, I jumped back into this incredible game. After an unreasonable amount of time spent downloading, I loaded it up... and discovered that this was a solo mission.
I play an engineer, with the shotgun as a bonus weapon and Stasis as a bonus power. Even with the added CC of stasis, I was still having trouble keeping enemies under control. I'd attach my drone to one, stasis another, and get overrun by the other two that came out with them. I'd pop out of cover to toss a cryo, and I'd already be half-dead. I'd spend almost my entire Locust every fight, because my only option would be to hang back and toss a couple bullets at a time. My shotgun saw almost no use at all; the bottlenecks, the enemies' dominant position, and my own lack of competent CC eliminated that as an option. I was approaching each fight fairly analytically, scanning the battlefield for a good position before making a move; in many instances, there just weren't any good positions.
So I'm asking for some help. Has anyone played through the mission as an engineer? Even better, a shotgun engineer? Or are there any general tips that could help me out with solo play? Keep in mind that I play Insanity.
I'm hoping to enjoy it more my second time through, armed with knowledge. Thanks in advance =D
Solo Play
Débuté par
Doctah T
, mars 30 2011 04:17
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#2
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 01:12
Alamar2078
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I haven't done an Engineer yet so YMMV. My advice would be to go with Locust, Carnifex, Geth Plasma Shotty, and most importantly Arc Projector.
I suspect that if you can make it long enough to hold up at a pillar in the back of the room [with a clear view of the opposite door!!!] you will probably be fine. Liberal doses of Arc Projector should work. Don't be afraid to use all your Heavy Ammo here because it gets [mostly] refilled after this fight anyway
Make sure to look left around the pillar then move right and look around the right side while still in cover. If you keep that up the bad guys won't try to flank you [much]. The only problem is surviving long enough to get in this state.
As for the Mech hope you have enough shots of Arc Projector to kill its shields and any other goons out. Once it's a 1-on-1 fight vs. the mech a drone + standard weapons should be enough
I suspect that if you can make it long enough to hold up at a pillar in the back of the room [with a clear view of the opposite door!!!] you will probably be fine. Liberal doses of Arc Projector should work. Don't be afraid to use all your Heavy Ammo here because it gets [mostly] refilled after this fight anyway
Make sure to look left around the pillar then move right and look around the right side while still in cover. If you keep that up the bad guys won't try to flank you [much]. The only problem is surviving long enough to get in this state.As for the Mech hope you have enough shots of Arc Projector to kill its shields and any other goons out. Once it's a 1-on-1 fight vs. the mech a drone + standard weapons should be enough
Modifié par Alamar2078, 30 mars 2011 - 01:14 .
#3
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 01:25
Russano Greenstripe
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I have to wonder why you're using Cryo on Insanity; do most of the enemies in Arrival, even on Insanity, lack armor or shields?
You may want to consider taking points out of Cryo (or even AI Hacking, if there aren't mechs around) and use them instead for maxing out Incinerate, Stasis and Overload. Also consider going with the Heavy versions of said abilities, as they drop enemies faster; less enemies == less bullets heading your way.
You may want to consider taking points out of Cryo (or even AI Hacking, if there aren't mechs around) and use them instead for maxing out Incinerate, Stasis and Overload. Also consider going with the Heavy versions of said abilities, as they drop enemies faster; less enemies == less bullets heading your way.
#4
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 01:29
termokanden
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Russano Greenstripe wrote...
I have to wonder why you're using Cryo on Insanity; do most of the enemies in Arrival, even on Insanity, lack armor or shields?
It provides CC and lets you kill quicker once you destroy defenses on insanity. On normal difficulty for example it's much less useful because enemies have less health and do less damage.
I would argue that it is less useful below insanity.
Also consider going with the Heavy versions of said abilities, as they drop enemies faster; less enemies == less bullets heading your way.
If one use of a power is enough to destroy all shields or armor, then you don't need it to do more damage. If it takes two no matter what, then you also do not need the heavy version. But the AoE versions can always hit multiple targets. So in some situations, the AoE versions are better. Most notable on missions with many husks.
Modifié par termokanden, 30 mars 2011 - 01:30 .
#5
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 01:34
Russano Greenstripe
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termokanden wrote...
It provides CC and lets you kill quicker once you destroy defenses on insanity. On normal difficulty for example it's much less useful because enemies have less health and do less damage.
I would argue that it is less useful below insanity.
I was under the impression that you couldn't Cryo enemies if they had barriers/shields/armor up; if you've got something down to just health in the first place, doubly so on Insanity, I say kill it now as opposed to having to kill it later, especially if you forget about it and it takes you by surprise.
As to the Heavy vs. Area debate, I can definitely see situations where hurting many is more valuable than stopping just one. 3 meters just doesn't seem like much of an area to me, though.
#6
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 01:52
Alamar2078
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FYI: I'm not a fan of Cryo much myself. I'd have to check things like duration / cooldown / etc. because you MIGHT be better off with Stasis unless you just want to freeze them and finish them off in the next few seconds with traditional ammo.
In terms of heavy vs. area the "Object Rho" fights really lend themselves well to Area Overload and Area Incinerate. YMMV.
In terms of heavy vs. area the "Object Rho" fights really lend themselves well to Area Overload and Area Incinerate. YMMV.
Modifié par Alamar2078, 30 mars 2011 - 01:54 .
#7
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 01:53
termokanden
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[quote]Russano Greenstripe wrote...
I was under the impression that you couldn't Cryo enemies if they had barriers/shields/armor up; if you've got something down to just health in the first place, doubly so on Insanity, I say kill it now as opposed to having to kill it later, especially if you forget about it and it takes you by surprise.[/quote]
Yeah it does work that way. But that doesn't mean crowd control is useless on insanity. Far from it in fact.
Because the bad guys have more health on insanity, crowd controlling them also becomes more useful. On the lower difficulties, there's no point in crowd control because things die so easily.
It's somewhat true that you could have just chosen a soldier and butchered everything without crowd control. But that's not really the point of the caster classes I think. It's more about handling defenses and then finishing off enemis quickly with powers or perhaps even using them to your advantages (hacking, dominate, warp bombs).
[quote]As to the Heavy vs. Area debate, I can definitely see situations where hurting many is more valuable than stopping just one. 3 meters just doesn't seem like much of an area to me, though.[/quote]
Oh I agree. I think the radius could quite easily have been larger without it being too overpowered. Flashbang Grenade is great by the way because it hits an absolutely huge area.
[/quote]
PS: For the record, Cryo Blast is lowest on my list of crowd control powers. For what it does, the cooldown is too long. Also annoying that it doesn't freeze instantly.
I was under the impression that you couldn't Cryo enemies if they had barriers/shields/armor up; if you've got something down to just health in the first place, doubly so on Insanity, I say kill it now as opposed to having to kill it later, especially if you forget about it and it takes you by surprise.[/quote]
Yeah it does work that way. But that doesn't mean crowd control is useless on insanity. Far from it in fact.
Because the bad guys have more health on insanity, crowd controlling them also becomes more useful. On the lower difficulties, there's no point in crowd control because things die so easily.
It's somewhat true that you could have just chosen a soldier and butchered everything without crowd control. But that's not really the point of the caster classes I think. It's more about handling defenses and then finishing off enemis quickly with powers or perhaps even using them to your advantages (hacking, dominate, warp bombs).
[quote]As to the Heavy vs. Area debate, I can definitely see situations where hurting many is more valuable than stopping just one. 3 meters just doesn't seem like much of an area to me, though.[/quote]
Oh I agree. I think the radius could quite easily have been larger without it being too overpowered. Flashbang Grenade is great by the way because it hits an absolutely huge area.
[/quote]
PS: For the record, Cryo Blast is lowest on my list of crowd control powers. For what it does, the cooldown is too long. Also annoying that it doesn't freeze instantly.
Modifié par termokanden, 30 mars 2011 - 01:54 .
#8
Posté 30 mars 2011 - 08:55
Doctah T
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Cryo is a pretty solid power; it's got a fairly decent duration, it doubles damage, and the cooldown is only 4.5 seconds before upgrades. But I think the reason I use it so much is because I'm used to having Mordin in my party. His cryo blast has the lowest cooldown of any squadmate power in the game, and I usually freeze a couple enemies within the first five or so seconds of a fight.
And it's much more useful than you might think. Shields, armor, and barriers drop very quickly, even on insanity. I'd say it takes around five rounds from the locust to strip away shields. Enemies have much more health than defenses. To cut down on the amount of incoming fire, it's most efficient to use your gun to strip away defenses, and then use some sort of CC to incapacitate them. That way, you don't have to stay out of cover too long, but still get the desired effect.
And I think I'll take you guys' advice with cryo; stasis would probably be better in the context of the mission. And Termo, does flashbang work through defenses?
And it's much more useful than you might think. Shields, armor, and barriers drop very quickly, even on insanity. I'd say it takes around five rounds from the locust to strip away shields. Enemies have much more health than defenses. To cut down on the amount of incoming fire, it's most efficient to use your gun to strip away defenses, and then use some sort of CC to incapacitate them. That way, you don't have to stay out of cover too long, but still get the desired effect.
And I think I'll take you guys' advice with cryo; stasis would probably be better in the context of the mission. And Termo, does flashbang work through defenses?
