52 réponses à ce sujet

[BeauRoger]

Obviously the classes change throught the 3 games as well as being suited to different kinds of players, but a game is rarely so balanced that there isnt a class that has inherent advantages compared to other classes. I personally have only played infiltrator and engineer throughout the trilogy, and i found engineer to be the strongest of them. In ME1 they werent THAT hot to be honest, but in me2 and especially 3 they really started coming into their own. Abilities got so powerful in the end that enginers with their low cooldowns could just freeze or light up just about anything, as well as heal and punch through shields and barriers without having to expose themselves. Add drones and later turrets, and the engineer is a quite easy class to play.

Which class did you find to be the strongest of all the ones you tried?

[Ledgend1221]

Soldier.
AR was godly in ME2 and ME3.
Explosive Inferno ammo as well.
Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

ME1 soldier was a joke, he couldn't die at all.

[BeauRoger]

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Soldier.
AR was godly in ME2 and ME3.
Explosive Inferno ammo as well.
Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

ME1 soldier was a joke, he couldn't die at all.

Whats AR?

[Ledgend1221]

BeauRoger wrote...

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Soldier.
AR was godly in ME2 and ME3.
Explosive Inferno ammo as well.
Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

ME1 soldier was a joke, he couldn't die at all.

Whats AR?

Adreniline rush.

[Zeldrik1389]

Each class has their own strength and all of them are fun to play. Though personally, I like Infiltrator and Vanguard best. Can't say much about ME 1 since imo, classes weren't that different back then. Only from ME 2, with the dramatic change of gameplay that classes started showing their own pros and cons.
Infiltrator is pretty deadly with tactical cloak and sniper head shot. It's all about tactic: knowing which enemy to take out first, carefully aim, good timing. Extremely powerful at long range. Most of the time you can eliminate all threats before they can even come close.
Vanguard's close quarter fight is insanely fun. It's very risky as you will have to expose yourself to enemies fight, but their biotic charge can instantly recover shield (to full strength if you choose that skill path), so fast cooldown + Nova combo = ownage. And their incendiary ammo have nice DOT + burn effect can combo with a lot of skill ---> explosion. From my exp, Vanguard is so powerful that they are capable of killing Brutes and Banshees within seconds if you know how to connect charge, nova, biotic / tech burst.

[Asch Lavigne]

In 1 I would say one of the tech classes was best since you were fighting Geth all the time. Overload, Sabotage, whatever the AI Hacking was called in 1, all so good. You also had Damping which shut down Biotics.

In 2, I don't know.

In 3 I would definitely say Vanguard or Adept because of the insane explosions and power.

[brad2240]

It's close between Infiltrator and Vanguard, but I think Infiltrator is the strongest.

ME1 - Has Immunity, the best defense power in the game, so tanks as well as Soldier does. He's better with Pistol and Sniper than Soldier, and just as good with Assault Rifle and Shotgun if given as a bonus. Has all of the best tech skills of the Engineer. In fact, take AI Hacking as a bonus and he pretty much makes the Engineer class obsolete.

ME2 - Infiltrator is not quite at the top of the food chain here, but all the classes are so well-balanced in this game that it doesn't matter much. Tactical Cloak, an offensive and defensive power that gives great spike damage and lets you really take advantage of the map layouts. Good ammo powers, and Incinerate which is excellent. And AI Hacking which is situationally amazing. All-around great class.

ME3 - Tac Cloak is absurdly strong. With it he does more weapon damage than a Soldier and more power damage than an Engineer, while being less sensitive to weight than either class. He's just... amazing. At everything.

Vanguard is arguably just as powerful when played well, but in ME 2 & 3 he has a higher learning curve to get the most out of. Infiltrator is easier to play and I think that makes him overall stronger.

[RedCaesar97]

I would say that the Infiltrator has remained consistently strong throughout the series:
- In ME1 it had one of the best parts of the Soldier (Immunity) and could unlock everything on its own, so no need to drag around Tali and Garrus.
- In ME2 Tactical Cloak was introduced, a great ability.
- In ME3, Tactical Cloak is just stupidly overpowered and pretty much trivializes the game.

And if it is not the Infiltrator, then it is the Vanguard:
- In ME1, with Singularity as a bonus power, it is a better Adept thanks to Adrenaline Burst.
- In ME2 Charge was introduced. Playing a Vanguard brought a steep learning curve, but if you got the hang of it, it was insanely fun.
- In ME3, Charge+Nova.

Soldier is good but overshadowed in ME1 and ME3 by other classes.
Adept was at its peak in ME2, but overshadowed by the Vanguard in ME1, and is pretty redundant in ME3 most of the time when compared next to the Sentinel.
Engineer was the weakest in ME1 as the Infiltrator with AI Hacking was just better, extremely unique in ME2, and good in ME3 but overshadowed at times by the Infiltrator.
I never really liked the Sentinel in ME1 and ME2. I do not mind it in ME3, but eh.

[known_hero]

ME1
1.Vanguard
2.Adept*
3.Sentinel*
4.Infiltrator*
5.Soldier
6.Engineer

*= haven't played yet

ME2
1.Soldier
2.Sentinel
3.Infiltrator
4.Engineer
5.Vanguard
6.Adept

ME3
1.Adept
2.Vanguard
3. Infiltrator
4. Sentinel
5. Engineer
6. Soldier


Overall
1. Vanguard
2. Adept
3.Sentinel
4. Infiltrator
5. Engineer
6. Soldier

[capn233]

It is either Infiltrator or Vanguard.  I think brad already summed up my thoughts on the matter as well.  Although I would add that as far as vanilla classes go, Infiltrator wasn't that great in ME2, especially not early game.  If you allow bonus powers then it is better, but then again Vanguard and Sentinel are much more powerful as well when they add Stasis.  Breaking it down by game...

Mass Effect
-Infiltrator is the best class.  High weapon DPS, good tech powers, good armor, Immunity.
-Vanguard has decent weapons, decent armor, Barrier (not as good as Immunity, but still good), good biotics
-Soldier has the most tanking, and is the weapon master but largely you can play an Infiltrator as a better soldier
-Sentinel is a really fun class to play, but it isn't quite as powerful as the above.
-Adept is very good, but as Red said you can build a Vanguard to be a better adept (are we seeing a trend?)
-Engineer is widely regarded as weakest class, no defensive powers whatsoever, unremarkable weapon skills (Infiltrator can do tech, tanking and damage better, Sentinel can do tech and CC and tanking better)
-ME1's class balance favored hybrid classes, although overall it had better class balance than ME3.

Mass Effect 2
-Vanguard is the best for the bulk of the missions although it had the highest learning curve.  Stasis renders moot the weakness against all but the highest tier units, and various DLC guns also synergized well.
-Sentinel was the tank in the game.  Assault armor let you tank while giving CC that was about as good as you could get.  Stasis again improved the class, but not as dramatically as Vanguard, IMO.  It is tricky to determine the relative positions though as I think some classes do leapfrog one another depending on bonus powers and wepaons
-Soldier is again the weapon master and has arguably the best trademark power.  Also debatably the easiest to learn and play.  Has the best synergy with the most unbalanced DLC item in ME2.
-Infiltrator was the subject of my classic thread on how it was the worst class in the game.  Vanilla infiltrator has some big issues early game and is decent near the end, but all classes are.  Add Neural Shock and level him correctly early and he is solid.  The vanilla class's strength is boss killing and is in some ways diametrically opposed to the Vanguard.  NS helps with the little units.  Locust also helps your relatively poor ammo pool early.  The travesty that is the Mantis ammo capacity in ME2 affects Infiltrator more than any other class.
-Engineer is a fun class.  Remember when Combat Drone was good?  A tool for every defense type, so he is opposed to the Adept.  Casters are more difficult to get the most out of in ME2... but they are still good.
-Adept had arguably the weakest trademark ability, although it was better in ME2 than ME3.  They were highly criticized for being "neutered" since biotics no longer affected protected targets.  But that is just QQ mainly.  You need to use the squad or weapons to strip shields and armor, and then ragdoll.  Adept is especially poweful when paired with Mordin or Samara on the Tuchanka arc and on Derelict Reaper since you fight hordes of melee creatures.  One of the easiest Reaper Core fights I had was with an Adept.
-ME2 overall had the best class balance in the range of 5-10%

Mass Effect 3
-Infiltrator is probably the strongest class here.   Tactical Cloak is why.  Sabotage isn't too bad either.  You also get decent weight capacity (although that matters little).
-Vanguard is the second best class, although I think you could make an argument for it being above Infiltrator in some circumstances.  The weakness against bosses from ME2 is largely absent.  You also nearly always have enough time to roll away from sync kill units.  You have the best ammo, you can recharge shields nearly at will, and then use them in a half baked damage / CC power which grants immunity frames.
-Sentinel is not quite as powerful as in ME2 but is still quite good.  Stack on Fortification, run whatever weapons you want, and spam explosions by abusing a certain Throw evolution.
-Soldier was one of if not the weakest class at release.  This was in no small part due to the changes to Adrenaline Rush, a weight capacity that was marginally better than other classes (especially for most of the passive ranks), and no solid way to combo anything other than Tech Bursts.  Incendiary Explosive Burst was a saving grace, although I think a well played version of any of the classes above it was superior.  The other large factor was that most weapons were crappy at release.  New DLC guns and some balance changes have helped.  The change to Fire Explosions allows a new gimmick that pushes Soldier up in the ranks.
-Adept is another explosion factory, but has less tanking capability than the Sentinel or Vanguard.  So it is largely redundant compared to either, although it is still powerful.
-Engineer is ok.  Pet powers are a lot weaker.  Sabotage is a decent power, as is Overload.  But just like with Adept you are overshadowed by hybrids.
-ME3's class balance again favors hybrid classes, and at release was the worst of the series.  class balance is better with various changes, although there is the question of whether or not various guns and abilities have made the game much easier making classes simply appear to be closer in power.

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

I am skeptical unless this is like someone is fond of doing in the MP section and basically just compares the burst from AR instant reload to a single cloak cycle.

Not saying it is impossible, just that I am skeptical, although I concede that various situations exist where one is superior to the other.

Problem is that Marksman works under Tac Cloak so that is nearly impossible to outdo.

[Ledgend1221]

capn233 wrote...

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

I am skeptical unless this is like someone is fond of doing in the MP section and basically just compares the burst from AR instant reload to a single cloak cycle.

Not saying it is impossible, just that I am skeptical, although I concede that various situations exist where one is superior to the other.

Problem is that Marksman works under Tac Cloak so that is nearly impossible to outdo.

From the test results, it's the FE's from Conussive shot and the bonus weapon damage and ammo power damage from the passives that pushed it over the edge.

This was still under the fact that the Infiltraitor was using Inferno ammo from a fully Power damage specced Vega.
Constant headshots though has the infiltraitor winning in the end.

But that in my honest opinion is something I'mnot sure about. Using powers that are from a squadmate and not the class itself kinda' seems like cheating to me.

[godlike13]

Vanguard or Infiltrator

[brad2240]

Ledgend1221 wrote...

capn233 wrote...

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

I am skeptical unless this is like someone is fond of doing in the MP section and basically just compares the burst from AR instant reload to a single cloak cycle.

Not saying it is impossible, just that I am skeptical, although I concede that various situations exist where one is superior to the other.

Problem is that Marksman works under Tac Cloak so that is nearly impossible to outdo.

From the test results, it's the FE's from Conussive shot and the bonus weapon damage and ammo power damage from the passives that pushed it over the edge.

This was still under the fact that the Infiltraitor was using Inferno ammo from a fully Power damage specced Vega.
Constant headshots though has the infiltraitor winning in the end.

But that in my honest opinion is something I'mnot sure about. Using powers that are from a squadmate and not the class itself kinda' seems like cheating to me.

If the Soldier's numbers got an extra boost from Conc Shot and FEs, was the Infiltrator's Incinerate and Tech Bursts figured in as well?

Was the Infiltrator using Marksman?

[known_hero]

Bonus powers shouldn't be allowed in this discussion, IMO. It's kinda defeats the entire point of this thread.

[RedCaesar97]

known_hero wrote...

Bonus powers shouldn't be allowed in this discussion, IMO. It's kinda defeats the entire point of this thread.

Except bonus powers can completely change how a class performs.

Not saying I disagree with you. I think the classes should be judged on their own default skill set and abilities. However, the ability--and even forced nature of the game--to select a bonus power for a class makes it hard to consider the classes in a default state.

If we were to ignore bonus powers, then in ME1 the Adept would probably be considered the best biotic, even against the default Vanguard, and the Engineer would probably be considered the best Tech user even against the default Infiltrator. However, that is not the case. Sure, you could ignore bonus powers, but I think it is still relevant to the discussion, if only to show how some classes can completely outperform other classes due to their native power set combined with a bonus power.

[known_hero]

@RedCaesar97

You make a good point: the game literally forces you to select a bp after one completion. However, this is a discussion of the strongest class; not the strongest build.

What's the point of praising the Sentinel's ability to use biotic and tech powers when you can throw energy drain on a Adept or give Flare/Reave/Statis to an Inflitrator/Engineer? Engineer lacking survivability in ME1 becomes a moot point when you can give him Barrier.

The uniqueness and faults of each class get erased when you add BPs into the discussion.

[Cmpunker13]

Infiltrator without discussion, for me. Equip a sniper rifle, then go around shooting while invisible (in ME1 you can't go invisible but you have more range for shooting). You don't even have to change weapon, except for the husks in ME2 (in ME3 they're easy to kill with the Black Widow).In ME2 it starts slowly (and you have to support the Mantis with Incinerate and a SMG), but once you take the Widow the game is trivialized, even easier than Soldier + Mattock. Basically you don't need a bonus power and, in ME2 and 3, not even the other class powers except for the ammo ones.

Soldier is also very very easy to learn and effective. I don't think it to be the worst in ME3, but I started to play the game when the Explosive Burst evolution of Incendiary Ammo was already implemented, so I don't know how it worked before. With a Hornet and pistol + scope the game is a breeze (even on spectre difficulty). Again, with the right weapon (sniper rifle), you don't need powers.

Vanguard is my personal favourite (and canon!). In ME2 it's a bit hard to master, but then it's fun and powerful. I never played a Nova Vanguard in ME3, I prefer the old style charge + shot in the face.

I also played and adept in ME2. It's strong and fun (pull + throw is the best combo of the trilogy), but infiltrator and soldier are easier to play cause they can ignore the enemies protections and use just one hotkey per class. I had a sentinel too but I insisted on playing it as a caster and was a little disappointed.

Modifié par Cmpunker13, 27 mars 2013 - 10:39 .

[cerberus1701]

Infiltrator, easily.

[perylousdemon]

I've only toyed around with multiple classes in ME3 (adept, infiltrator, and vanguard), and I would have to say that out of those, vanguard is the strongest. I tried playing a soldier, but they are just so boring with their complete lack of powers that I didn't get very far before I deleted it. Adepts are pretty strong as well, but they lose some of their "oomph" in ME3 due to the ability for enemies to dodge most of their powers. You can't dodge a charging vanguard (at least, not that I've noticed). An infiltrator wielding a Viper (yes, a Viper rather than a Widow/Black Widow) is also fairly powerful. You can drop two unshielded targets before your cloak fades due to the larger clip size and higher firing rate, and even shielded targets can be one-shotted if you make sure to aim for the head and are using disruptor ammo. To be honest, the only enemies I couldn't one-shot on her were armored enemies Still, my vote goes to ME3 vanguard (ME2 vanguard was disappointing after that).

Modifié par perylousdemon, 27 mars 2013 - 02:46 .

[jasonxxsatanna]

@perylousdemon......are you for real soldier is the jack of all trades , especially if you spec, CS for amplification, slap on a ammo power .....any and you have the powers of every other class plus AR....I mostly use inferno , I can either hit an enemy 2x with CS and you have a fire explosion or spray a crowd of mooks then hit them with CS fire explosion, same with other ammo powers I use disruptor on shielded mooks then hit em with CS my on personal over load .....and its the same with warp ammo......but even though soldier is my favorite I would say in:
ME 1: infiltrator
ME 2: sentinel.....that tech shield was way over powered
ME 3: adept or soldier

[Forst1999]

Soldier is great in every game. Sentinels too. Can't really decide here. Both are extremely versaitle classes with nice tricks in every game.
Infiltrators might be able to do all Soldiers do in ME1 too, and in ME3 Cloak is just a broken power, but in ME2 the constant thermal clip shortage made sniper usage a pain.
Adepts and Vanguard were the best in ME1, but I think they also were the weakest classes in ME2. In ME3, they came back, but that's not the question here.
the Engineer wasn't remarkable in ME1, even if the class became great later on.

[Ledgend1221]

brad2240 wrote...

Ledgend1221 wrote...

capn233 wrote...

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Highest DPS in ME3 acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without headshots).

I am skeptical unless this is like someone is fond of doing in the MP section and basically just compares the burst from AR instant reload to a single cloak cycle.

Not saying it is impossible, just that I am skeptical, although I concede that various situations exist where one is superior to the other.

Problem is that Marksman works under Tac Cloak so that is nearly impossible to outdo.

From the test results, it's the FE's from Conussive shot and the bonus weapon damage and ammo power damage from the passives that pushed it over the edge.

This was still under the fact that the Infiltraitor was using Inferno ammo from a fully Power damage specced Vega.
Constant headshots though has the infiltraitor winning in the end.

But that in my honest opinion is something I'mnot sure about. Using powers that are from a squadmate and not the class itself kinda' seems like cheating to me.

If the Soldier's numbers got an extra boost from Conc Shot and FEs, was the Infiltrator's Incinerate and Tech Bursts figured in as well?

Was the Infiltrator using Marksman?

It was done using Marksmen.
And going for tech bursts would have lowered the DPS.
Both were given their best possible DPS techniques.

[brad2240]

Ledgend1221 wrote...

It was done using Marksmen.

I'm having a hard time believing that a MM Infiltrator is doing less DPS than a Soldier. Do you have a link to these tests?

[BeauRoger]

capn233 wrote...

It is either Infiltrator or Vanguard.  I
think brad already summed up my thoughts on the matter as well. 
Although I would add that as far as vanilla classes go, Infiltrator
wasn't that great in ME2, especially not early game.  If you allow bonus
powers then it is better, but then again Vanguard and Sentinel are much
more powerful as well when they add Stasis.  Breaking it down by
game...

Mass Effect
-Infiltrator is the best class.  High weapon DPS, good tech powers, good armor, Immunity.
-Vanguard has decent weapons, decent armor, Barrier (not as good as Immunity, but still good), good biotics
-Soldier has the most tanking, and is the weapon master but largely you can play an Infiltrator as a better soldier
-Sentinel is a really fun class to play, but it isn't quite as powerful as the above.
-Adept is very good, but as Red said you can build a Vanguard to be a better adept (are we seeing a trend?)
-Engineer
is widely regarded as weakest class, no defensive powers whatsoever,
unremarkable weapon skills (Infiltrator can do tech, tanking and damage
better, Sentinel can do tech and CC and tanking better)
-ME1's class balance favored hybrid classes, although overall it had better class balance than ME3.

Mass Effect 2
-Vanguard
is the best for the bulk of the missions although it had the highest
learning curve.  Stasis renders moot the weakness against all but the
highest tier units, and various DLC guns also synergized well.
-Sentinel was the
tank in the game.  Assault armor let you tank while giving CC that was
about as good as you could get.  Stasis again improved the class, but
not as dramatically as Vanguard, IMO.  It is tricky to determine the
relative positions though as I think some classes do leapfrog one
another depending on bonus powers and wepaons
-Soldier is again the
weapon master and has arguably the best trademark power.  Also debatably
the easiest to learn and play.  Has the best synergy with the most
unbalanced DLC item in ME2.
-Infiltrator was the subject of my
classic thread on how it was the worst class in the game.  Vanilla
infiltrator has some big issues early game and is decent near the end,
but all classes are.  Add Neural Shock and level him correctly early and
he is solid.  The vanilla class's strength is boss killing and is in
some ways diametrically opposed to the Vanguard.  NS helps with the
little units.  Locust also helps your relatively poor ammo pool early. 
The travesty that is the Mantis ammo capacity in ME2 affects Infiltrator
more than any other class.
-Engineer is a fun class.  Remember when
Combat Drone was good?  A tool for every defense type, so he is opposed
to the Adept.  Casters are more difficult to get the most out of in
ME2... but they are still good.
-Adept had arguably the weakest
trademark ability, although it was better in ME2 than ME3.  They were
highly criticized for being "neutered" since biotics no longer affected
protected targets.  But that is just QQ mainly.  You need to use the
squad or weapons to strip shields and armor, and then ragdoll.  Adept is
especially poweful when paired with Mordin or Samara on the Tuchanka
arc and on Derelict Reaper since you fight hordes of melee creatures.
 One of the easiest Reaper Core fights I had was with an Adept.
-ME2 overall had the best class balance in the range of 5-10%

Mass Effect 3
-Infiltrator
is probably the strongest class here.   Tactical Cloak is why.
 Sabotage isn't too bad either.  You also get decent weight
capacity (although that matters little).
-Vanguard is the second best
class, although I think you could make an argument for it being above
Infiltrator in some circumstances.  The weakness against bosses from ME2
is largely absent.  You also nearly always have enough time to roll
away from sync kill units.  You have the best ammo, you can recharge
shields nearly at will, and then use them in a half baked damage / CC
power which grants immunity frames.
-Sentinel is not quite as
powerful as in ME2 but is still quite good.  Stack on Fortification, run
whatever weapons you want, and spam explosions by abusing a certain
Throw evolution.
-Soldier was one of if not the weakest class at
release.  This was in no small part due to the changes to Adrenaline
Rush, a weight capacity that was marginally better than other classes
(especially for most of the passive ranks), and no solid way to combo
anything other than Tech Bursts.  Incendiary Explosive Burst was a
saving grace, although I think a well played version of any of the
classes above it was superior.  The other large factor was that most
weapons were crappy at release.  New DLC guns and some balance changes
have helped.  The change to Fire Explosions allows a new gimmick that
pushes Soldier up in the ranks.
-Adept is another explosion factory,
but has less tanking capability than the Sentinel or Vanguard.  So it is
largely redundant compared to either, although it is still powerful.
-Engineer
is ok.  Pet powers are a lot weaker.  Sabotage is a decent power, as is
Overload.  But just like with Adept you are overshadowed by hybrids.
-ME3's
class balance again favors hybrid classes, and at release was the worst
of the series.  class balance is better with various changes, although
there is the question of whether or not various guns and abilities have
made the game much easier making classes simply appear to be closer in
power.

Ledgend1221 wrote...

Highest DPS in ME3
acording to the numbers sombody has kindly gathered for me(Without
headshots).

I am skeptical unless this is like someone is fond of
doing in the MP section and basically just compares the burst from AR
instant reload to a single cloak cycle.

Not saying it is
impossible, just that I am skeptical, although I concede that various
situations exist where one is superior to the other.

Problem is that Marksman works under Tac Cloak so that is nearly impossible to outdo.

Can you refer me to the post where you discuss the infiltrator in me2 please?

Modifié par BeauRoger, 27 mars 2013 - 06:15 .

[capn233]

BeauRoger wrote...

Can you refer me to the post where you discuss the infiltrator in me2 please?

Infiltrator is the Worst class

Read at your own peril.

Also the title of worst may or may not be appropriate.  The point was that it really wasn't as strong as people tended to make it out as (eg the best class for Insanity).  A large part of this isn't exactly the design of the character, but the weapons you are forced to use.

Personally I think he is the character that needs a bonus the most in ME2.  Or you can try to rely more heavily on Incinerate (which is ok at Rank 1 fortunately, but much better at 4).  Cloak spam does not work nearly as well in that game as in ME3 due to different mechanis and the limitations of the early weapons.

Once you either get a bonus weapon or switch the Mantis for the Widow, it is fine.  That is 2/3 of the way through the game though.  Some argue the Locust is the answer, but really the trademark is SR's and the Predator / Shuriken combo isn't actually too bad if you utilize CC powers well.

Modifié par capn233, 27 mars 2013 - 06:45 .