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[capn233]

I wasn't going to bother posting this at all, but figured what the hell.

For ME2 I did a little run (here) where I modded the Vanguard class base weapons to assault rifle and pistol only.  It was supposed to be a little handicap.  So I figured why not continue it into ME3?  I didn't have the Mattock in ME2, and so I stick predominantly with the Vindicator until Citadel Coup where I switch to Revenant.  I wasn't going to use a bonus power initially, but switched to Slam to bring it even more in line with my ME2 character.

Unlike last time, this is my first Vanguard run in SP.  I played it a little in multiplayer though.

I won't go into some rant about how Insanity is easy or anything like that.  I won't claim to be good at this game either.  However I do have a few thoughts and comments.  First thing is that in ME2 I didn't find the AR that much of a handicap if you changed style slightly.  In this game it might be even less of one because of the weight system.  The other bit is that I abandon Nova by Grissom, even though I left it as a point sink.  You can take that as you will.

The first missions could have done with more editing probably.  This isn't exactly a walkthrough, nor is it a strategy guide for vanguard.  Maybe you can pick something up, maybe not.

ME3 ARVanguard Playlist

Episode VI: Return of the ARVanguard

Mars Part I
Mars Part II
Mars Part III

Palavan

N7 Cerberus Lab

Eden Prime

Grissom Academy

Sur'Kesh

N7 Cerberus Attack

Turian Platoon

Tuchanka Bomb

N7 Cerberus Abductions

Tuchanka

Citadel

The Rachni

N7 Cerberus Fighter Base

Ex-Cerberus Scientists

Ardat-Yakshi Monastery

Geth Dreadnought

Rescue Admiral Koris

Rannoch

N7 Fuel Reactors

Thessia

N7 Communications Hub

Horizon

Leviathan: T-GES Mineral Works Part I
Leviathan: T-GES Mineral Works Part II
Leviathan: Dig Site
Leviathan: 2181 Despoina

Cerberus HQ
Cronos Station w/ Ash

Earth: Hades Cannon
Earth: No Man's Land
Earth: Defending the Missile Battery

Earth: Hades Cannon - Hold the Line w/ Ash
Earth: No Man's Land w/ Ash
Earth: Defend the Missile Battery w/ Ash

Modifié par capn233, 05 septembre 2012 - 09:06 .

[incinerator950]

AR wasn't a handicap in ME 2 for the Vanguard though.

[capn233]

incinerator950 wrote...

AR wasn't a handicap in ME 2 for the Vanguard though.

Interesting perspective.

Do you mean at all, if you took AR Training, or if you had the Mattock, or some combination?

Most people would disagree, especially if you are talking about no Mattock.  Charge's time dilation allowed you to abuse the Mattock's spec's.  And if you took AR Advanced Training, you still had 3 other weapons to use if need be, and you were probably using the shotgun for the early game.

It certainly wasn't a game breaking change.  If you think it was as optimal to drop shotguns as it was to play Eviscerator or Katana into Claymore while retaining another close range weapon (SMG's), than ok.

Modifié par capn233, 12 avril 2012 - 10:56 .

[incinerator950]

I used AR's on Vanguards before the Mattock, so no, I'm not referring to it solely.

I mainly used Viper/Incisor Vanguards the most, but whenever I hear anyone talk about Vanguards, its mainly Shotgun/Tempest, Cryoguards, or Claymore bypass ones.  

This is encouraging me to go back to ME 2 for an Insanity run.

Modifié par incinerator950, 13 avril 2012 - 02:09 .

[lazuli]

In the days before the Mattock, the Vindicator was known for being an effective weapon choice for a Vanguard. I never bothered with AR's on a Vanguard, though. Viper or Claymore for me, at least in ME2.

[Kronner]

Yep, looks like ARs are still way behind shotguns in CQC due to much lower burst damage potential. That's a good thing imho. Good vids!

[capn233]

There is hopefully at least one nugget of usefulness in each one. I end up screwing around sometimes, so this certainly isn't the best way to play nor the fastest. Slam, for instance, is decent CC and now has biotic explosion potential, but by itself it doesn't do much damage (although perhaps more than in ME2).

Regarding Nova, it's interesting that it doesn't have a cooldown associated with it like bursting Tech Armor or purging Fortification or Defensive Matrix. Maybe the game would be a little better if it had a bit of one (Charge-Nova-Charge would not work as well this way).

Yeah, AR's are behind in CQB... it's exactly as you say DPS vs Burst. At least you can use them at range. Stacking AR Piercing and Incendiary on them makes them decent against the armored targets though.

I haven't used shotguns all that extensively in single player, but the only three that I have that seem useable to me are Claymore, GPS and Katana. Claymore at least does damage, GPS is sort of in the middle, and Katana at least has a reasonable rate of fire. Eviscerator and it's twin don't seem like the damage bonus is worth it for the loss in rate of fire, and Scimitar doesn't really seem any better than Katana to me. I hear the Raider is good, but I don't have that one.

edit: I added a couple more.  For Thessia I do the approach to the Temple a little differently than I imagine most do.  I haven't been very prolific with youtube watching so maybe someone already did something like this, who knows.  Basically saved the Hydra from the hill until the Harvesters and their Ravager and Marauder support.  I can't say that it makes this easier necessarily, but it makes the Hydra more useful than spending it on that Banshee.

Modifié par capn233, 13 avril 2012 - 04:32 .

[Kronner]

I suggest you try AT-12 Raider (high damage, insane RoF, 2 shots per clip), it is imho the best CQC shotgun. Graal is very, very good as well (high damage, good RoF, 3 shots per clip).

Claymore is a decent option for a Vanguard (especially level X Claymore combined with proper use of reload cancel), but I prefer to use that weapon on my Sentinel and Infiltrator.

[capn233]

Like I said, I don't have the Raider though.

[incinerator950]

I use the Chakram Launcher. It's definitely in the top five for broke ass guns.

[Biotic Flash Kick]

what videos do you show your character build? O:
or can you just post it here for us?

[capn233]

Biotic Flash Kick wrote...

what videos do you show your character build? O:
or can you just post it here for us?

Every video of a mission shows the points in what power (exception being N7 Cerberus Lab where I forgot to show it in the video), and the descriptions have it listed.  Mars was a little funny because it is broken up, the description for the first one has the start of the mission points, the rest just have a short description but I think the segments show me choosing evolutions when I level up.  If you would like me talk about the actual evolutions of each power I don't mind posting it.  I don't remember everything off-hand though

In general, I was starting at level 30 since it was an import with no points assigned.  I wanted to max charge, get nova to half blast, and get points in passive and fitness first.  Incendiary was also a priority.  I didn't actually max passive until relatively late in the game.  I also wanted Pull in the prologue just to make it a little easier for the sections you can't charge.  Originally I had Warp Ammo as a bonus power, although I didn't intend to invest anything in it.  This was eventually changed to Slam.  I didn't invest in Cryo ammo until most of my other powers were filled out.  It has the squad evolution in it.

For Mars it started like this:

Level 31

Incendiary Ammo 1
Pull 2
Charge 6
Nova 5
Assault Mastery 4
Fitness 4
Warp Ammo 1

As of Horizon it was this:

Level 57

Incendiary Ammo 6
Cryo Ammo 6
Pull 6
Charge 6
Nova 6
Assault Mastery 6
Fitness 6
Slam 6

I guess that isn't really all that illuminating since you have enough points at high level to nearly max everything.  I don't plan on worrying about Shockwave whatsoever.

But like I said, I can go into more detail if you want, and each mission has the current level shown so you can see the order in which they evolved.  I also noted that although I maxed Nova fairly early, I stopped using it by Grissom.  I left it as a point sink though.

edit:  here's the evolutions

Incendiary Ammo: 4 Damage, 5 Headshots, 6 Explosive Burst
Cryo Ammo: 4 Squad, 5 Headshot, 6 Freeze Chance
Pull: 4 Radius, 5 Expose, 6 Double Pull
Charge: 4 Force, 5 Power Synergy, 6 Barrier
Nova: 4 Force and Damage, 5 Half Blast, 6 Pierce
Assault Mastery: 4 Influence and Force, 5 Weight Capacity, 6 Power Intensity
Fitness: 4 Durability, 5 Barrier Recharge, 6 Durability
Slam: 4 Force, 5 Detonate, 6 Recharge

I spec'd Charge for Power Synergy when I was going to use Nova.  Now that I don't, Weapon Syngergy would probably make more sense.  It's just I haven't bothered to respec.  As for some of the others, I am not sure it matters all that much. 

Modifié par capn233, 14 avril 2012 - 03:23 .

[Athenau]

If you want a non-shotgun rushdown weapon, have you tried the Hornet? It has sick dps and much better hip-fire accuracy than the vindicator.

[ashwind]

thx for the vids.

Umm.. from the vids I have seen (havent seen all of them), seems to plays a lot like a Soldier.

XD, I think I will try a ARVanguard run myself using the Argus... hope I dont die too miserably =P

[capn233]

Athenau wrote...

If you want a non-shotgun rushdown
weapon, have you tried the Hornet? It has sick dps and much better
hip-fire accuracy than the vindicator.

I thought it has about the same muzzle rise or more?  I only briefly used it in Multiplayer.  Sounds like it is worth a look sometime.

It's an SMG though, so wouldn't work on this character. 

ashwind wrote...

thx for the vids.

Umm.. from the vids I have seen (havent seen all of them), seems to plays a lot like a Soldier.

XD, I think I will try a ARVanguard run myself using the Argus... hope I dont die too miserably =P

Yeah a biotic soldier with free shield refill.  You could play this with more charge, or go caster and no charge.  My soldier used sniper rifles fairly extensively though, so this is slightly different than what I did before.

Something I might try later is a no charge Vanguard but retain Nova.  That might be somewhat interesting since you wouldn't have shield refill after you use it.

Modifié par capn233, 15 avril 2012 - 04:43 .

[Hyrist]

incinerator950 wrote...

I use the Chakram Launcher. It's definitely in the top five for broke ass guns.

Only the top five.

Add Cryo Ammo.

Enemy freezes before the detonation.

[Athenau]

I though it has about the same muzzle rise or more? I only briefly used it in Multiplayer. Sounds like it is worth a look sometime.

It's an SMG though, so wouldn't work on this character.

The recoil is pretty stiff, but still manageable. But the hip fire accuracy is quite good.

Take a look here for how ridiculous it can get:

youtu.be/IvxTMPjFHpk

Modifié par Athenau, 15 avril 2012 - 03:57 .

[incinerator950]

Hyrist wrote...

incinerator950 wrote...

I use the Chakram Launcher. It's definitely in the top five for broke ass guns.

Only the top five.

Add Cryo Ammo.

Enemy freezes before the detonation.

I use Incendiary Rounds with Explosive rounds, and it's just plain angry.  

[capn233]

I added Cerberus HQ. Took a few days off from SP in between Horizon and HQ, thought it seemed a little less polished. Ah well.

I will do Earth sometime this week. I might respec Charge to a "better" configuration with Area and Weapon Synergy, I don't know.

Modifié par capn233, 17 avril 2012 - 09:33 .

[capn233]

Added Earth. I did end up resetting my powers before this and changing Charge evolutions to Radius and Weapon Synergy.

Hades Cannon wasn't bad, but I was somewhat conservative. The nice thing is that the vibration doesn't affect you as much as someone like a sniper soldier or infiltrator. Used a trick to make the "Survive till extraction" wave easy.

The next parts I filmed the next day and weren't quite what I would like. I managed to hit the wrong powers several times and look like a total amateur.

In No Man's Land there isn't much to say really. The Brutes are killed rapidly enough by Warp and Revenant fire alone. The solitary Banshee is best killed by baiting her back behind the tanks out of the fire of the infantry. The Ravager in the unreachable part of the map has to be killed with weapon and fire from powers.

For the missile section, it went decent enough until the Brutes, which I botched. I wanted to be slick and just hold one section and kill them as they got to me, but I failed to notice one come up the left side, and I did not manage the squad properly. But Shepard and Revenant fire can kill Brutes alone if you wish. And as for the very last bit, I look like I am screwing around, and perhaps I am, but that was the easiest time I have had in that section. In retrospect I wish I would have tried to get the Reaper to kill all the enemies for me, maybe next time.

As for lessons I learned on this little journey that probably everyone else knew already:

1. Nova (even without exploiting immunity frames) makes you much more survivable that it seems you could be very reckless even without much experience with the class. This is part of why I dropped it. I maintain that this should trip a cooldown for your powers, but I don't work for BW.

2. Without Nova, Vanguard is still a bit more powerful than in ME2 because of tech and biotic combos as well as what seem to be superior cooldowns with anything but the heaviest weapon loads. Although in ME2 you do have the advantage of full health regen (which is mitigated in this game by health gate), and late you have Hard Shields and Redundant Field Generator to give you more margin for error.

3. Cooldown was surprisingly fast with Revenant V and Carnifex V. Since this was supposed to be like my ME2 character, I never equipped three weapons, but I suppose with the right three you are still very quick. But this is probably the class that could be played without weapons the easiest anyway.

4. Lack of enemy protections in some ways makes Charging a little more of a chore than in ME2. In that game you could Charge an enemy with a little shield left and they wouldn't go flying across the map, which made shooting them easier.

5. I still like Slam as a bonus power on Vanguard. I may like it too much and waste too much time slamming targets that I could have killed already using a different power or weapons.

[Black_Vanguard]

Ah, Glad to see I'm not the only person who likes ARGuards I tend to like the versatility of AR's over shotties...that and the rate of fire.

I agree with you on charge being a pain when you hit an unprotected enemy and they go flying, it tends to screw up the flow of things.

Tell me, have you played around with any of the other AR's in the game? I was curious to see how a Geth Pulse Rifle or the Phaeston would do on a Vanguard/AR character. I played around with the Vindicator and Mattock allot before I decided to do a fresh trilogy playthrough(really enjoyed using the Mattock and Vindicator for some missions) and I was curious what your opinions are on those two rifles with a Vanguard(the GPR and Phaeston).

[capn233]

Bump.

Since we have new SP missions, I feel compelled to add on.

First part of Leviathan is up. It is mainly uncut bc I was recording all of Leviathan. In any event, most of the combat for TGES is the beginning of the first one, and then the second video. If you want to see where stuff is then watch the whole first video.

[capn233]

Added the last video of Leviathan that has combat. I don't know what I will do for another playthrough. Maybe I should make a thread with a poll.

[capn233]

Alright, I finished off the game after Leviathan with the last few missions (again). Did them a little differently than before

Cronos Station w/ Ash

Earth: Hades Cannon - Hold the Line w/ Ash
Earth: No Man's Land w/ Ash
Earth: Defend the Missile Battery w/ Ash

Modifié par capn233, 05 septembre 2012 - 09:09 .

[samb]

The real handicap isn't useing the AR on a vangaurd, but not taking nova. No nova cancel on insanity?