17 réponses à ce sujet

[Eudaemonium]

Okay, a little pre-amble. At the start of May I will be getting ME2 for PS3. I already own it on PC, but my laptop is slow and unwieldy and the resultant lag makes playing in higher difficulties awkward at best and impossible at worst (lack of ability to aim precisely and quickly, for example). I have completed it on Veteran, and have done a few missions on Hardcore, but have yet to attempt Insanity. As such I have never been too bothered by evolving powers in terribly useful ways. Seeing as my PS3 copy will play relatively fast and easy-to-play by comparison, I've decided that it's about time to try an Insanity playthrough. I'm just stating this because it will, by necessity, be a New Career without any of the completion bonuses like the 200,000 credits and minerals. That stated, even without these bonuses, I will have experience of the various missions and which enemies I will be encountering, etcetera.

Now that's out of the way. I'm looking for advice on Shep and squad-member builds.

I intend to play a Soldier Shep, since that is the class I have most experience with (also Infiltrator, Vanguard and [briefly] Adept, but Soldier mostly). However, I'm having trouble deciding whether to go Revenant or Widow, which powers to evolve and how, and which bonus power would be most useful. dditionally, which combination fo armour pieces is most useful.

Similarly, I'm not sure which squadmates I should focus on and exactly how I should focus their powers. Which squadmates are all-round the most useful on Insanity? Which ones are more specialised and mainly useful on certain missions? Which complement a Soldier Shepard best? Which weapons work best with the various squadmates?

Similarly, I will probably purchase the N7 Complete Bundle DLC, which means I will have access to the Firepower weapons, Kestrel Armor, Incisor, etcetera, so you can assume use of these weapons and armour. I do, however, dislike using the fixed armours (Blood Dragon, Terminus, etcetera), and prefer to use the customisable pieces.

Any general advice is most welcome! Thank you in advance!

[Kronner]

If you want the most powerful build go:
Mattock + Widow + Geth Plasma Shotgun

Heightened Adrenaline Rush
Commando

Evolve ammo powers any way you like, I usually go for Inferno/Heavy Disruptor/Squad Cryo Ammo.

If you take Revenant, use Viper + Geth Plasma Shotgun, same build as above.

I also have the Hardened AR + Shock Trooper build, it is pretty good too. Not much of a difference, really.



As for squadmates, Miranda is the best overall squadmate, other than that it does not really matter when you are Soldier.

Modifié par Kronner, 16 avril 2011 - 11:29 .

[Stardusk78]

Kronner wrote...

If you want the most powerful build go:
Mattock + Widow + Geth Plasma Shotgun

Heightened Adrenaline Rush
Commando

Evolve ammo powers any way you like, I usually go for Inferno/Heavy Disruptor/Squad Cryo Ammo.

If you take Revenant, use Viper + Geth Plasma Shotgun, same build as above.

I also have the Hardened AR + Shock Trooper build, it is pretty good too. Not much of a difference, really.



As for squadmates, Miranda is the best overall squadmate, other than that it does not really matter when you are Soldier.

 Hardened is much better for a Revenant build for 2 reasons; one, you take less damage and you will be out of cover a lot with the Revenant, two, your DPS goes up with 50% TD as opposed to 70% because the Revenant is a rapid fire weapon; that is always the principle; slow weapons>Heightened, fast weapons Hardened. There is a significant difference. I always go Shocktrooper+Hardened; 1 extra seconf on AR and more Health, overall better survivability.

[Kronner]

Taking less damage with Hardened is unlikely, it ends up pretty much the same with Heightened.
There is no significant difference in DPS.  A few extra health points are irrelevant.

Modifié par Kronner, 16 avril 2011 - 12:13 .

[Stardusk78]

Kronner wrote...

Taking less damage with Hardened is unlikely, it ends up pretty much the same with Heightened.
There is no significant difference in DPS.  A few extra health points are irrelevant.

It's honestly not been my experience. You should really test it out.

[Kronner]

Stardusk78 wrote...

Kronner wrote...

Taking less damage with Hardened is unlikely, it ends up pretty much the same with Heightened.
There is no significant difference in DPS.  A few extra health points are irrelevant.

You should really test it out.

I have played both builds..maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but it led to pretty much the same results.

[Mark B]

I don't disagree with Kronner, however my choice would be Hardened Adrenaline Rush to improve survivability and this favours the Revenant a little and I'm not the biggest fan of the Widow preferring to strip as many tagets defences as possible with the Viper.  If you do go with the Reve, taking the Mattock instead should come down to mission specifics.

The Geth Plasma Shotgun is probably your best bet here as it gives you range and a mini heavy weapon aswell, although using it this way on insanity can be troublesome because you can't charge it "in cover".

For squaddies, the Tempest is the best SMG as the accuracy considerations of the Locust don't apply to NPCs, the Incisor kicks ass in the hands of squaddies, if not the player, and the GPS gives shotgun squaddies a bit more mid range firepower.  For assault rifles I'm not too sure what's best, but I tend to give them vindicators.

Squad make up for me is usually Miri plus one suited to the mission.  Miranda giving squad bonuses plus overload & warp.

Bonus powers shouldn't get too much use as you'll be spamming the hell out of AR, so something for the whole fight like warp ammo or something more situational like stasis.  Of course you can always go with more defensive abilities like geth shield boost as a panic button or energy drain to top up your shields while doing some damage.
Cases can also be made for most of the powers, except fortification which is, to be fair, sh!t.

That's my thoughts anyway, but there's a good guide to soldier as a whole, not specifically for Insanity at http://masseffect.wi...(Mass_Effect_2) also there are several build threads already in existance that may be of use.

[termokanden]

Hardened Adrenaline Rush only reduces health damage taken. I'd say that's a good reason to grab the other one. I'd rather have more time dilation/damage per shot.

Particularly in the case of the Mattock+Widow I think Heightened is best.

Modifié par termokanden, 16 avril 2011 - 12:37 .

[Relix28]

I tend to run with with these 2 builds (actually 3, but skills-wise my Widow build is the same as Claymore one).

Revenant build:

- Revenant-GPS/Eviscerator-Viper

- Inferno-Heavy Disruptor-Squad Cryo

- Hardened Adrenaline Rush-Shock Trooper

- 1 point in Neural Schock/Slam/Stasis (great 1 pointer skills, much better then 1 point in concussive shot imo)



Widow/Claymore build:

- Widow-GPS/Eviscerator-Mattock / Claymore-Mattock-Viper

- Inferno-Heavy Disruptor-Squad Cryo

- Heightened Adrenaline Rush-Commando

- 1 point in Neural Schock/Slam/Stasis (great 1 pointer skills, much better then 1 point in concussive shot imo)

 

Modifié par Relix28, 16 avril 2011 - 01:19 .

[Stardusk78]

termokanden wrote...

Hardened Adrenaline Rush only reduces health damage taken. I'd say that's a good reason to grab the other one. I'd rather have more time dilation/damage per shot.

Particularly in the case of the Mattock+Widow I think Heightened is best.

Yes, for the Widow; my main point is that you are actually doing more DPS with Hardened with the Revenant than with Heightened.

Shields go down instantly so more than likely you are firing the Revenant on health, hence its usefulness beyond DPS.

[Eudaemonium]

Hmmm. Thank you all for the sound advice (and if anyone else has anythng to add, please go ahead)! It seems that there is some divide on the Hardened/Heightened AR and Commando/Shock Trooper, but y'know, preferences being what they are.

What are people's thoughts on armour pieces? Shall I go for health-increases, for example? Or shield recharge? Or a combination?

[lazuli]

Heavy Disruptor Ammo does maximize your damage against shields, but if you play aggressively it's a liability. I just went through Overlord last night with a Mattock Soldier. The geth would drop quickly, but then they would pop. When combined with Squad Cryo Ammo, sometimes the explosion is delayed and unpredictable. It's just something to be aware of, especially if you like to be on the front lines.

Eudaemonium wrote...

What are people's thoughts on armour pieces?

I like the Kestrel set and the Strength Boost Pads for increased melee damage.  If you don't want to shell out for all the DLC, prioritize melee damage, headshot damage, and shield recovery.

Modifié par lazuli, 16 avril 2011 - 02:07 .

[termokanden]

Eudaemonium wrote...

Hmmm. Thank you all for the sound advice (and if anyone else has anythng to add, please go ahead)! It seems that there is some divide on the Hardened/Heightened AR and Commando/Shock Trooper, but y'know, preferences being what they are.

Luckily you can switch if you have a bit of element zero. So you're never stuck with either of them.

Still my recommendation for a first insanity run is Heightened AR, Mattock+Widow, and Commando. I use Inferno Ammo and Squad Cryo on my soldiers, and I build up Disruptor as a third ammo power, but it's not super important.

Stasis is a good bonus power. So is Slam if you want something to quickly one-shot unprotected husks. Barrier might be good if you need a panic button.

What are people's thoughts on armour pieces? Shall I go for health-increases, for example? Or shield recharge? Or a combination?

Armor pieces do not make a big difference. I generally just use the Kestrel Armor for combat classes because its bonuses are generally useful - shields, weapon damage, melee damage. But the bonuses are small enough that it really doesn't matter. Just pick the armor you think looks best if you're in doubt.

Stardusk78 wrote...
Yes, for the Widow; my main point is that you are actually doing more DPS with Hardened with the Revenant than with Heightened.

The funny thing is, DPS in real time and in game time are not the same. Heightened is best for Widow as we both agree. Also for the Mattock I think because you get more damage per bullet and better reaction time. For Revenant, you're probably right when you say Hardened, since it has tons of ammo and you really need to fire for longer periods of time to kill something. It's really just a Rambo weapon, and I guess Hardened fits that best.

Modifié par termokanden, 16 avril 2011 - 02:17 .

[Mark B]

Well you can always retrain your powers.

As regards armor, the kestrel set (+30% Melee Damage, +5% Headshot Damage, +11% Weapon Damage, +25% Shield Strength, +5% Spare Heavy Weapon Ammo Capacity) has the best figures overall, but you can mix and match a few pieces to fit in with your playstyle.
It can be a balancing act but the kestrel part is normally the best compromise, for example the Kuwashii Visor gives +10% headshot damage but the kestrel helmet gives +5% headshot and +3% damage (+3% shields) so unless your making headshots all the time, the kestrel is gonna be better.
See http://masseffect.wi...r_Customization

[Locutus_of_BORG]

Kronner wrote...

Stardusk78 wrote...

Kronner wrote...

Taking less damage with Hardened is unlikely, it ends up pretty much the same with Heightened.
There is no significant difference in DPS.  A few extra health points are irrelevant.

You should really test it out.

I have played both builds..maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but it led to pretty much the same results.

Strategy sticky thread is your friend, Stardusk.. Kronner et. al. have tested ARush pretty extensively in the long, distant past.

Anyway, in short, what was found was that most people will prefer *Heightened ARush* for Sniping/Mattock'ing/Claymore'ing, but will prefer *Hardened ARush* for Revenant'ing, Viper'ing or any other type of sustained fire weapon. The overall performance of both ARushes are very similar, but the nuances of each will tend to favor either single/burst fire or sustained run&gun fire, respectively.

Eg: the vaunted Widow Soldier is usually built with Heightened ARush for the bigger 140% bonus (to go with the single shot Widow); versus the Revvy Soldier, which usually favors Hardened because of its longer duration (ie: 100% bonus conferred to more shots, rather than 140% to fewer).

YMMV, of course, but the point is that it boils down to preference. Both evolutions are extremely powerful, both can work with any Soldier build, depending on which you are better with.

Modifié par Locutus_of_BORG, 16 avril 2011 - 03:05 .

[Acerlux]

I used Widow/Mattock, with Hardened AR.

In regards to bonus power, I've heard a lot of people go with warp ammo, but I personally had great success with Area Reave.

For squad, I took Miranda and Grunt for pretty much everything. Miranda has a good passive and does the stripping (of defenses, get your head out of the gutter) and Grunt does the not dying too often. I leveled Grunt to squad incendiary so that I could put the points elsewhere as far as that's concerned.

[jamesp81]

I do it one of two ways:

Widow/Mattock/Scimitar with Heightened AR or
Mantis/Revenant/Scimitar with Hardened AR

With the Widow/Mattock/Scimitar build, the Mattock is the primary weapon. The Widow is used as both a sniper rifle and as a "heavy weapon". In my heavy weapon slot, I carry the Cain. I use Heavy Disruptor ammo most of the time on the Mattock and Widow, and Inferno on the Scimitar. When I fight Collectors, I use Inferno on the Widow and Mattock, and put one point into Cryo and use that on the Scimitar and the Carnifex pistol for Husk control. For my bonus power, I take Geth Shield boost and use it either at the outset of a fight for the boosted shield strength, or I use it as a panic button in the midst of a fight. I spec my passive to Commando.

In the second build, I use the same ammo powers as above (Inferno, Heavy Disruptor, one point in Cryo) and the same bonus power (GSB). I spec my passive to Shock Trooper instead of Commando, and go with Hardened AR instead of Heightened. Normal ammo power use is Heavy Disruptor on Mantis and Revenant and Inferno on the Scimitar. Against Collectors it's Inferno on the Mantis and Revenant, with one point Cryo on the Scimitar and Carnifex pistol. For my heavy weapon, I change it up some. On most missions, I'll carry the Arc Projector or ML77. On Collector missions, I take the Cain so I can nuke any Praetorians I find.

I'm a little outside the conventional wisdom in my 2nd build, as most people use the Viper there instead. I personally don't care for the Viper even though with Inferno ammo it will stomp strong enemies like Scions pretty fast. In my view, the Revenant does plenty good against Scions and Krogan with Inferno ammo. I prefer the Mantis's OSOK ability against heavy weapon carrying mooks in positions that are hard to hit with the Revenant.

I'll also note that Heightened vs Hardened AR doesn't seem to be much different.  I would definitely take Heightened if using rifles like the Widow or Mattock.  For firearms that are not bolt action or semi automatic, the difference between the two types of AR is pretty minimal.  Truthfully, I take Hardened when playing a Revenant soldier just to be different from my Sniper Soldier.  Put another way: Heightened AR works fine in every case, but Hardened AR is not suited to snipers or users of the Mattock.  If you're using the Revenant, it doesn't matter a great deal which AR you choose; your choice between Shock Trooper and Commando matters more when using the Revenant.

Modifié par jamesp81, 18 avril 2011 - 06:09 .

[Alamar2078]

Kronner wrote...

Stardusk78 wrote...

Kronner wrote...

Taking less damage with Hardened is unlikely, it ends up pretty much the same with Heightened.
There is no significant difference in DPS.  A few extra health points are irrelevant.

You should really test it out.

I have played both builds..maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but it led to pretty much the same results.

I'm pretty sure he's played plenty


FYI:  I also like the Heightened AR.  IIRC the math difference is about 20% more damage to Heightened but that's not counting increased ability to dodge damage that you might not dodge otherwise.  I find that the damage buff plays more to my style than the damage reduction of the other evolution.

I like Heightened better anyway so whether it's less effective doesn't matter to me.

As for ammo powers almost anything is fine seeing that AR will make most of the differences in evolution not matter much anyway.  I usually go for heavy versions of ammo powers but [duh] would go squad cryo if you like the CC of the freeze.