I'm about to begin my first ME2 playthough on normal. I am having a tough time deciding whether to be an adept or a sentinel. I want to continue to use biotic powers with the aid of weapons. In ME1, I played as a vanguard. But I've heard that playing as a vanguard in ME2 can be frustrating. I also have discovered I don't like close-quarter combat (so no shotguns/charging), and that my playing style during ME1 evolved into warping/lifting from afar and then pelleting the enemy with bullets.
I also have ruled out inflitrator because I suck at sniping.
From what I've read on the internets... as a sentinel, it's harder to die because of tactical armour... but it takes longer to kill enemies... it's more defensive tactics rather than offensive. Whereas playing as adept, it's easier to die... and you can't take down shields and barriers with your biotic powers (aside from warp) ---> i'm playing on normal, so are there a lot of enemies with shield/barrier/armour?
Anyway, I'm looking to have fun and try not to die as much... so any input on which class to choose would be great, as well as which squad members would match with each class.
ME2 adept vs. sentinel suggestion?
Débuté par
hotdamn_imtheman
, mai 09 2012 07:17
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#2
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 01:20
RedCaesar97
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On Casual, Normal, and Veteran difficulties, only the tougher enemies (elites, boss-types) have some form of protection (armor, shields, and/or barrier), so you should not have much of an issue.
Certain weapons deal more damage to certain defenses. SMGs and Shotguns deal extra damage against shields and barriers, while Sniper Rifles and Pistols deal extra damage to armor. Assault Rifles deal a little extra damage to all protections. No weapon deals any extra damage to health. As a Sentinel or Adept, you will start with an SMG and a Pistol. Later in the game, you can choose an extra weapon.
Certain powers deal more damage against certain protections. For example, Warp (an Adept and Sentinel skill) deals extra damage to armor and barriers. Overload (a Sentinel skill) deals extra damage to shields).
For squadmates, you can take anyone and be just fine. If you are really concerned about protections, shields are the Adept's "weakness". Bonus powers are unlocked as you play the game, so you could take Energy Drain as your bonus power to deal with shields. You can take a squadmate with Overload, such as Miranda, one of your first available squadmates.
New in Mass Effect 2 are biotic combos. If an enemy is lifted by a biotic power, typically Singularity or Pull, using Warp on that enemy will cause a biotic explosion that usually kills the enemy and will damage nearby enemies. If an enemy is lifted by a biotic power, using Throw or Shockwave on that enemy will throw that enemy with increased force.
For the Adept, having a squadmate with Warp (such as Miranda) or Pull (Jack) is good for setting up or finishing your biotic combos.
As for Sentinel... I am biased since I do not really like the Sentinel in Mass Effect 2. Never really liked it in Mass Effect 1 either. Tech Armor is okay, but only becomes really powerful at rank 4 when you can evolve it to Assault Armor. (Ignore Power Armor, the bonuses are not worth it). But it is on a base 12 second cooldown. Good by Mass Effect standards, terrible by Mass Effect 2 standards. You can lower that cooldown to 6 seconds by evolving the Defender passive talent to Guardian and researching the Biotic Cooldown upgrade (available roughly early-mid to mid game, depending on DLC and mission selection). Sentinel can have the quickest cooldowns in the game.
I would suggest the Adept, although I am sure Sentinel fans would say to take Sentinel. Because you need to put points in certain powers to unlock other powers, the Sentinel never really takes off until mid-game. Although you could just use Assault Armor and run around with an SMG/Pistol or--later in the game--a shotgun.
Judging by your playstyle preference, I recommend Adept. Use Singularity and Pull to disable enemies, and then shoot them or use Throw/Warp to kill them.
Certain weapons deal more damage to certain defenses. SMGs and Shotguns deal extra damage against shields and barriers, while Sniper Rifles and Pistols deal extra damage to armor. Assault Rifles deal a little extra damage to all protections. No weapon deals any extra damage to health. As a Sentinel or Adept, you will start with an SMG and a Pistol. Later in the game, you can choose an extra weapon.
Certain powers deal more damage against certain protections. For example, Warp (an Adept and Sentinel skill) deals extra damage to armor and barriers. Overload (a Sentinel skill) deals extra damage to shields).
For squadmates, you can take anyone and be just fine. If you are really concerned about protections, shields are the Adept's "weakness". Bonus powers are unlocked as you play the game, so you could take Energy Drain as your bonus power to deal with shields. You can take a squadmate with Overload, such as Miranda, one of your first available squadmates.
New in Mass Effect 2 are biotic combos. If an enemy is lifted by a biotic power, typically Singularity or Pull, using Warp on that enemy will cause a biotic explosion that usually kills the enemy and will damage nearby enemies. If an enemy is lifted by a biotic power, using Throw or Shockwave on that enemy will throw that enemy with increased force.
For the Adept, having a squadmate with Warp (such as Miranda) or Pull (Jack) is good for setting up or finishing your biotic combos.
As for Sentinel... I am biased since I do not really like the Sentinel in Mass Effect 2. Never really liked it in Mass Effect 1 either. Tech Armor is okay, but only becomes really powerful at rank 4 when you can evolve it to Assault Armor. (Ignore Power Armor, the bonuses are not worth it). But it is on a base 12 second cooldown. Good by Mass Effect standards, terrible by Mass Effect 2 standards. You can lower that cooldown to 6 seconds by evolving the Defender passive talent to Guardian and researching the Biotic Cooldown upgrade (available roughly early-mid to mid game, depending on DLC and mission selection). Sentinel can have the quickest cooldowns in the game.
I would suggest the Adept, although I am sure Sentinel fans would say to take Sentinel. Because you need to put points in certain powers to unlock other powers, the Sentinel never really takes off until mid-game. Although you could just use Assault Armor and run around with an SMG/Pistol or--later in the game--a shotgun.
Judging by your playstyle preference, I recommend Adept. Use Singularity and Pull to disable enemies, and then shoot them or use Throw/Warp to kill them.
#3
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 04:54
hotdamn_imtheman
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Thanks! I decided to go with adept. 
#4
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 06:17
capn233
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The thing with Sentinel is that despite having an interesting mix of skills, I found that it was the best to run around with Assault Armor and shoot things and use Tech Armor to reset the squad's cooldowns on their powers. Or course a caster sentinel works, but I oreferred Engineer or Adept for playing a caster.
#5
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 02:30
RedCaesar97
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The biggest problem I have with the Sentinel is actually with the game itself, namely how the game forces you to spend points in one power to unlock another power. This was annoying in Mass Effect 1, and thankfully fixed in Mass Effect 3. I think it impacts the Sentinel the most in Mass Effect 2.
Consider the Sentinel's power set:
Throw - Starts with 1 point, requires rank 2 to unlock Warp
Warp
Tech Armor - starts with 1 point, requires rank 2 to unlock Overload
Overload - requires rank 2 to unlock Cryo Blast
Cryo Blast
Defender (passive skills)
Bonus power - starts with 1 point (unless no bonus powers unlocked)
So if you want to play as defense-stripper, you need Overload and Warp. This requires spending points in both Throw and Tech Armor first. If you want to play as a disabler using Cryo Blast and Throw (which are also great in combination), you need to spend points in Tech Armor and Overload.
Tech armor is good, but is not really that useful until rank 4 for Assault Armor. And as capn233 said, it is best to just run around with assault armor and shoot things. So I find that if you really want to play as a caster, Tech Armor actually gets in the way of your casting but you are forced to spend points in it, points that would be better spent elsewhere. Thankfully this is fixed in Mass Effect 3.
Consider the Sentinel's power set:
Throw - Starts with 1 point, requires rank 2 to unlock Warp
Warp
Tech Armor - starts with 1 point, requires rank 2 to unlock Overload
Overload - requires rank 2 to unlock Cryo Blast
Cryo Blast
Defender (passive skills)
Bonus power - starts with 1 point (unless no bonus powers unlocked)
So if you want to play as defense-stripper, you need Overload and Warp. This requires spending points in both Throw and Tech Armor first. If you want to play as a disabler using Cryo Blast and Throw (which are also great in combination), you need to spend points in Tech Armor and Overload.
Tech armor is good, but is not really that useful until rank 4 for Assault Armor. And as capn233 said, it is best to just run around with assault armor and shoot things. So I find that if you really want to play as a caster, Tech Armor actually gets in the way of your casting but you are forced to spend points in it, points that would be better spent elsewhere. Thankfully this is fixed in Mass Effect 3.
#6
Posté 13 mai 2012 - 04:21
Locutus_of_BORG
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Yeah, the ME2 Sentinel is about running around shooting things or running around shooting things and spamming single powers. It's fun in its own right, but its basically like taking the least graceful way through this game.
The Adept is where it's at for creative power combos and such. Kind of hard for most beginners to wrap their heads around though, IMO... Namely, when to killing things singly with fast combos, when to warp, when to kill en-masse by dumping them off the map, etc.
Both classes start out pretty weak IMO, but try it. The Sentinel is more straightforward, maybe, but Adept is much more rewarding. As for protections on ME2 Normal... if you've played ME3, then it's kind of like that. It's only on Hardcore-Insanity where everyone starts getting protections.
The Adept is where it's at for creative power combos and such. Kind of hard for most beginners to wrap their heads around though, IMO... Namely, when to killing things singly with fast combos, when to warp, when to kill en-masse by dumping them off the map, etc.
Both classes start out pretty weak IMO, but try it. The Sentinel is more straightforward, maybe, but Adept is much more rewarding. As for protections on ME2 Normal... if you've played ME3, then it's kind of like that. It's only on Hardcore-Insanity where everyone starts getting protections.
