28 réponses à ce sujet

[LordNimon]

I'm playing my second pass-through of ME2 on Insanity.  My Engineer is at max level, and I am unable to get past the Collector Ship mission.  I've tried dozens of times over the past two months, and I've only been able to survive half-way through the mission at best.  Usually, I can't even kill the first Harbinger.

I've watched YouTube videos and read other hints, and nothing seems to work for me.  I don't understand what's wrong, because when I watch these videos, the enemies are killed much faster than I am able to.  None of the heavy weapons seem to work that well (I usually run out of ammo just trying to kill one guy), and my companions get killed very quickly (why can't they stay in cover?)  Even with five med kits, I run out before I'm half-way done with the mission, and then there's no hope.

Can someone help me out?  Is there some trick I'm missing?  Which companions should I choose?

Modifié par LordNimon, 01 novembre 2012 - 02:16 .

[RedCaesar97]

Is there a specific place where you keep getting stuck?
What is your build? What upgrades and weapons are you using?

I can try to provide specific information to help you out, but know the answers to the above questions will help.

[LordNimon]

I'll launch ME2 this evening and get you the details, but I get stuck in the platform battle on the Collector ship. I think I started the mission too early -- although my stats are maxed out, only a couple of my companions are loyal, and I don't have all of them -- I'm missing the assassin and the biotic.

Is it possible for me to make all of my companions loyal before starting this mission?

BTW, I'm willing to start this play-through over if someone can tell me the easiest way to progress through the game to get through this mission.  What is the "best" Engineer build and which companions should I have loyal?

Modifié par LordNimon, 01 novembre 2012 - 04:37 .

[Xariann]

If stuff dies a lot faster in videos than what happens to you, my first thought is: Did you upgrade your weapon, tech damage, etc.?

Upgrades make a whole lot of difference in Mass Effect 2. As to the progression, it's been ages since I played ME 2, but as far as I remember I never do any loyalty mission before that (if you mean the very first collector ship mission and not the suicide mission), aside from Kasumi's since I like the Locust on a few classes.

On another note I just realised... you are at max level in the very first Collector ship mission? Did you import an earlier game and started as level 30? That would be very much why stuff dies slower, basically the mobs are also at level 30 but you are lacking upgrades, and even if you got as many as you could it will still be harder to kill things as they do more damage and they have more health.

IIRC my usual progression is:

Recruit first batch
Horizon
Recruit second batch
Collector Ship
Loyalty Missions
Reaper IFF
Recruit Legion and finish off loyalty missions
Suicide Mission

I *think* that's how I usually go about it.

[Xariann]

Oh and I should mention, biotic companions (Warp works both on biotic barriers and armour which Collectors have plenty of) are your best bet.

[LordNimon]

Yes, I started on level 30. I've upgraded my weapons as much as I can, but I ran out of resources. Do I need to do all the side missions where I find all the upgrades first?

[Xariann]

If you are struggling, I'd advise you try and see if you can get more upgrades yes. I guess you'll have to endure more mining D: But do tell Red your spec when you have a moment, he's really good with Engineer.

Modifié par Xariann, 01 novembre 2012 - 06:15 .

[Khambilo]

This is one of the hardest battles in the game so it will take some time and practice.

Playing with the engineer makes this battle interesting since biotics tend to do better with Collectors. But the engineer's combat drone can make this battle actually quite easy. Spec the drone for explosion. Whenever Harbinger possesses a Collector, cast the drone on him. Once it blows, cast it again and keep your drone active on Harbinger. He should remain distracted by the drone and not advance on you or send any of his attacks at you.

As for anything else, I'd have your squad target the scion. Thane is a good choice because he can Warp the scion and take down collector barriers. Also, another tip would be to use throw on unshielded collectors to launch them off the platforms.

These are things that worked for me, but as always, this battle is difficult. Practice, muscle through it and you'll eventually get it.

[capn233]

Disabled Collector Cruiser always occurs 5 missions post Horizon, regardless of the mission type that makes up those 5 (N7, recruitment or loyalty).

In any event, if you have Kasumi, spec her into Improved Flashbang and cast it on Harbinger. That will make your life substantially easier.

Miranda is ok to take on this mission with Warp (for Barriers and Armor). Alternatively, if you have Mordin spec'd up to Full Cryo Blast, you can manually cast it against barriers for decent damage, and cast it against groups of unprotected targets.

[RedCaesar97]

First, I would like to point out that ThatAverageGatsby has a fantastic video showing how to complete the Collector Ship platforms with an Engineer using two different methods. If you are having trouble, the first method he uses by utilizing the Avalanche is great and I cannot endorse it enough.

And I cannot stress it enough: if you are having problems, use the Avalanche. Use the Avalanche!

Another thing to note, is how the Collector platforms spawn:
1) When you start, you will two platforms, one will have Collectors and will land in front of you. The other one will have a Scion and land behind the Collector platform and will move left and right.
2) When one platform s cleared of enemies, another platform will land to the left. Another Scion will land in behind it.
3) When you kill a Scion, another platform will land on the left again. This will be the last platform.

What I usually do:
1) Stick a Drone one Scion so he does not take shots at you.
2) Kill the Collectors. If I have the Avalanche, I freeze everybody then run in and take them out.
3) When the next Collector platform comes in, I freeze everybody again, then kill them all. If Harbinger assumes control before I can freeze everyone, I try to kill the other Collectors first while dodging his attacks. While Harbinger can kill you, his attacks are most dangerous when other enemies are around since his attacks can stun you or knock you out of cover, leaving you exposed to other enemies who can kill you rather quickly.
4) When both Scions are left, I whittle down their armor then try to kill them both within a few seconds of each other. Removing both Scions before the other platform arrives makes it easier to deal with the Collectors.
5) Same as before, use the Avalanche to freeze, the kill. If Harbinger spawns, cast your Drone on him.

If you do not use the Avalanche, you the Arc Projector to strip barriers and then useyour own/Mordin's Cryo Blast and/or a squadmate's Pull or other disabling power to disable the Collectores then shoot them dead. Frozen, Pulled, and Ragdolled enemies take more weapon damage.

If you do want to use any heavy weapons (you are saving the Cain for the Praetorian for example), then it becomes a little tricker. I would still cast your Drone on the first Scion. Having Miranda and Thane for their Warp helps strip Barriers quickly so you can disable them with Cryo Blast or Neural Shockwave; use your SMG to shoot their barriers off.

Good squadmates: 
Miranda: Warp
Thane: Warp, Throw
Jack: Pull, Shockwave
Jacob: Incendiary Ammo, Pull
Kasumi: Flashbang Grenade (prevents Harbinger from casting his powers for about 20-30 seconds; Flashbang requires loyalty)
Samara: Pull, Throw, Reave (Reave requires loyalty)
Mordin: Cryo Blast, Incinerate

Bad squadmates:
Grunt
Tali
Zaeed *
Garrus * (sorry capn233)

Garrus and Zaeed have Concussive Shot which has a multiplier against barriers and can knock down unprotected enemies, but there are better squadmates.

You can beat this section with any combination of squadmates as long as you use good tactics.

[RedCaesar97]

capn233 wrote...

Disabled Collector Cruiser always occurs 5 missions post Horizon, regardless of the mission type that makes up those 5 (N7, recruitment or loyalty).

Any 5 missions post-Horizon plus 8 squadmates:
 - Jacob, Miranda, Garrus, Jack, Mordin,
 - Any 3 of Grunt, Kasumi, Zaeed, Tali, Thane, or Samara. Legion is unavailable by default, but could be added through modding the game.

[capn233]

RedCaesar97 wrote...

capn233 wrote...

Disabled Collector Cruiser always occurs 5 missions post Horizon, regardless of the mission type that makes up those 5 (N7, recruitment or loyalty).

Any 5 missions post-Horizon plus 8 squadmates:
 - Jacob, Miranda, Garrus, Jack, Mordin,
 - Any 3 of Grunt, Kasumi, Zaeed, Tali, Thane, or Samara. Legion is unavailable by default, but could be added through modding the game.

Did not know the bit about 8 squad members... I guess because for every game I had 8.  That and the fact that it is difficult to do 5 post Horizon without getting a couple more

edit:  and for Improved Flashbang, Harbi is out for more like 50s.

Modifié par capn233, 02 novembre 2012 - 12:23 .

[RedCaesar97]

LordNimon wrote...
Is it possible for me to make all of my companions loyal before starting this mission? 

BTW, I'm willing to start this play-through over if someone can tell me the easiest way to progress through the game to get through this mission. 

It is not possible to have all companions loyal before starting the Collector Ship mission, at least outside of modding.

I tend to progress through the game based on upgrades:
1) Lazarus station, Freedom's Progress
2) Talk to Chakwas, buy Brandy at Omega. If Infiltrator or Soldier.
3) Recruit Mordin on Omega (Medigel Capacity, Carnifex)
4) Give Brandy to Chakwas, get drunk, acquire Medigel upgrade 2 (unlocks a Unity upgrade)
5) Go to Citadel, buy Damage Protection and Medigel upgades (3rd Medigel Upgrade unlocks Emergency Shielding upgrade)
6) If Infiltrator or Soldier, buy Sniper Rifle upgrades on Citadel and Omega. 
7) How I recruit the next squadmates depends on my class. I try to recruit/purchase upgrades based on my weapons or power set. Engineers, Infiltrators, and Sentinels need Tech upgrades and SMGs; Vanguards need Shotguns and damage protection.
 - Citadel (Tech Damage, SMG damage)
 - Garrus (Tech Damage, SMG damage, Vindicator)
 - Kasumi (Tech Damage, Locust SMG)
 - Grunt (Sniper rifle damage)
 - Jack (Shotgun, damage protection)
8) Horizon (Biotic damage, skin weave)
9) Illium, buy Biotic Damage, star charts)
10) Pylos Nebula for 3rd Damage protection upgrade (unlocks Hard Shields upgrade)
11) 3 Firewalker missions: Rosalie Lost, volcano mission, Prothean Dig Site mission for 3rd Biotic Damage upgrade
12) Recruit Zaeed.
13) If using sniper rifles, recruit Thane for Viper; otherwise Shrike Abyssal > Zada Ben for Heavy Weapons upgrade.
14) Collector Ship.
15) Typically Lair of the Shadow Broker.
16) Jacob loyalty/Tali recruit for another Pistol upgrade.
17-??? whatever order I feel like.

Modifié par RedCaesar97, 02 novembre 2012 - 12:34 .

[RedCaesar97]

LordNimon wrote...
 What is the "best" Engineer build and which companions should I have loyal?

There is no best build. That said I recommend the following for new Engineer players:
4 - Area Overload
4 - Incineration Blast
4 - Attack Drone
4 - Cryo Blast
0 - AI Hacking
4 - Demolisher
1 - Neural Shock

Neural Shock is a 1-point wonder, great for early game. You can always evolve it to Neural Shockwave and put 1 point into Cryo Blast. When starting a new game, prefereably with an ME1 import, you would want:
2 - Overload
1 - Incinerate
1 - Combat Drone
1 - Neural Shock

From there, put points in Tech Mastery to Demolisher, then focus on Overload and Incinerate. The Area versions are best to hit the most enemies. Once you have enough Tech Damage upgrades, the extra power damage of Demolisher is not really worth it and you can swith to Mechanic which helps Drone and Cryo Blast/Neural Shock more. Cryo Blast/Neural shock is more of a point sink than anything else on this build.

For Squadmates you want Mordin at all times. His Cryo Blast cooldown drops from 9s to 4.5s when you evolve it at rank 4. I recommend Full Cryo Blast for the larger radius. After researching the Tech Cooldown upgrade, you can essentially repeat your Overload/Incinerate > Mordin's Cryo Blast as their cooldowns are very close. Jack (Pull) and Samara/Morinth (Pull, Throw) are also very good. Basically you strip Shields and Armor, they disable the enemy, you shoot the enemy dead. Cast Combat Drone to distract and disable enemies.



My other Engineer builds look like this:
1 - Overload (for detonating Pyros)
0 - Incinerate
4 - Attack Drone
4 - Full Cryo Blast
4 - Improved AI Hacking
4 - Mechanic
4 - Enhanced Dominate or Enhanced Stasis or Crippling Slam

Using a biotic bonus power on a tech-oriented class may be considered heresy, but they all provide a slightly different playstyle. Each build focuses on disabling the enemy but in different ways:
1) Dominate + AI Hacking allows me to control the battlefield by having the enemy fight each other
2) Stasis, Drone, and Cryo Blast allow me to disable entire mobs.
3) Slam allows me to set up warp bombs or disable a single target. Warp bombs can stagger a group, giving me some time to strip protections and then follow up with a Cryo Blast to freeze enemies.

[Xariann]

RedCaesar97 wrote...

LordNimon wrote...
 What is the "best" Engineer build and which companions should I have loyal?

There is no best build. That said I recommend the following for new Engineer players:
4 - Area Overload
4 - Incineration Blast
4 - Attack Drone
4 - Cryo Blast
0 - AI Hacking
4 - Demolisher
1 - Neural Shock.

HEATHEN! You are using a biotic power on an Engineer! 

...It's not like I use Energy Drain on my Adept! 

Well... maybe a little.

*cough*

[coldwetn0se]

Xariann wrote...

RedCaesar97 wrote...

LordNimon wrote...
 What is the "best" Engineer build and which companions should I have loyal?

There is no best build. That said I recommend the following for new Engineer players:
4 - Area Overload
4 - Incineration Blast
4 - Attack Drone
4 - Cryo Blast
0 - AI Hacking
4 - Demolisher
1 - Neural Shock.

HEATHEN! You are using a biotic power on an Engineer! 

...It's not like I use Energy Drain on my Adept! 

Well... maybe a little.

*cough*

Hmmm...I could have sworn Neural Shock was a Tech Power.  It's Mordin's bonus skill.  Regardless, I LOVE Neural Shock.

[PsiFive]

coldwetn0se wrote...

Xariann wrote...

RedCaesar97 wrote...

LordNimon wrote...
 What is the "best" Engineer build and which companions should I have loyal?

There is no best build. That said I recommend the following for new Engineer players:
4 - Area Overload
4 - Incineration Blast
4 - Attack Drone
4 - Cryo Blast
0 - AI Hacking
4 - Demolisher
1 - Neural Shock.

HEATHEN! You are using a biotic power on an Engineer! 

...It's not like I use Energy Drain on my Adept! 

Well... maybe a little.

*cough*

Hmmm...I could have sworn Neural Shock was a Tech Power.  It's Mordin's bonus skill.  Regardless, I LOVE Neural Shock.

I think Tech too. Didn't it come with Medicine in ME1?

[RedCaesar97]

Yes, Neural Shock is a tech skill. I think Xariann quoted the wrong build.

[PsiFive]

Ah yes, the Dominate/Stasis/Slam build. Have you done a video with the Slam one? Easy to picture use of the other two but Slam's always been something I only use for laughs, so I never take it as a bonus and just bring Miranda when I'm in that mood. You've clearly thought about it more and come up with tactics for it.

[RedCaesar97]

PsiFive wrote...

Ah yes, the Dominate/Stasis/Slam build. Have you done a video with the Slam one?

I have. But this is one of the first videos I ever uploaded so the quality is low. My apologies. I was still learning how to use my capturing equipment.

[PsiFive]

Nice, and video quality use fine on a tablet screen, but still seems like hard work compared to other powers. Huge fun though. Makes me wonder if similar damage is done with Throw arced horizontally on a Pulled target to smash them into walls. Probably not but more scope to chuck enemies off the map completely and let the environment kill them.

[LordNimon]

Ha, I did it!  After all these months, finally!  Thanks a lot, guys!

The trick was RedCaesar97's suggestion to put the drone on the Scion instead of the Collectors.  I could not figure out why every time I stood up to shoot, I would lose my shields.  It turns out the Scion was taking pot shots at me.  Keeping him occupied with a drone allowed me to actually participate in combat.

I picked Jack, Mordin, and the Avalanche.  I tried the Avalanche earlier, but it didn't have much success with it.  It turns out that it's great for taking down shields, barriers, and armor.  With the Scion preoccupied, it was easy to use it in combat against the collectors.  Once all theirs defenses were done, using Jack's pull took them out of the picture.

A few other techniques:

1) Turn off automatic squad powers
2) Pause the game every few seconds to assess the situation and use powers
3) Press down on the D-Pad to recall my companions so that they don't stray too far

Anyway, I can't thank you guys enough.  I can now enjoy the rest of the game and then play ME3.  I also feel that I'm better at combat now.

[RedCaesar97]

Congratulations LordNimon on passing that section. Enjoy the rest of the game.

[silverserfer28]

okay after completing a veteran run all the upgrades and level ive gained can this be taken in to a insanity playthrough without starting insanity from scratch.

Modifié par silverserfer28, 26 novembre 2012 - 04:19 .

[The Grey Ranger]

Levels yes, upgrades no. The beginnings of an insanity NG+ is one of the harder bits, because you have no upgrades.