12 réponses à ce sujet

[seacrest3000]

1.2m radius like cryo blast? Or does it only hit a single target?

[RedCaesar97]

Neural Shock is single-target from ranks 1-3

[seacrest3000]

Darn it. So is Slam better since it can disable both synthetics and organics? I don't have enough points in my build to max neural shock.

[Locutus_of_BORG]

Darn it. So is Slam better since it can disable both synthetics and organics? I don't have enough points in my build to max neural shock.

Unless you are 100% certain you want the AoE evolution, leave NS at lvl.1 and save the points on other abilities. Same generally goes for Slam; leave it at lvl.1 unless you are positive you need one of the lvl.4 evolutions.

[seacrest3000]

My expected build for an engineer:

Area overload

Incineration blast

Attack drone

Maxed passive

 

That leaves 11 points left. The problem is I don't like cryo blast for crowd control because of the travel time and the 4.5 second cooldown. Slam and neural shock both have 3 second cooldowns and hit instantly.

 

So I have to decide between:

Cryo 2

AI hacking 1 (for synthetics, since neural shock doesn't affect them)

Neural shock 3

 

Or:

Overload 3

Cryo 2

AI hacking 1

Neural shockwave

 

Or:

Cryo 1

Crippling slam

 

Thoughts?

[cap and gown]

Unless you are 100% certain you want the AoE evolution, leave NS at lvl.1 and save the points on other abilities. Same generally goes for Slam; leave it at lvl.1 unless you are positive you need one of the lvl.4 evolutions.

 

I'm not so sure about the Slam part. I tried keeping Miri to 1 point in Slam, but even at my fastest I was not able to get Thane to combo with her. His Warp would engage too late. (This is with him behind me, mind you, so there was not an issue with a casting animation.) When I bumped her up to rank 2 I had no problems with combos. Also, I found that rank 2 was more reliable on the SB ship for sending SB guards flying off in the slip stream. At rank 1 they would sometimes not rise high enough to get caught in the slip stream.

[cap and gown]

That leaves 11 points left. The problem is I don't like cryo blast for crowd control because of the travel time and the 4.5 second cooldown. Slam and neural shock both have 3 second cooldowns and hit instantly.

 

 

Why not Reeve? Even 1 point in Reeve will give you CC on unprotected enemies. They crouch down then stand straight up. This animation lasts for a few seconds. Its a good way to stop someone in their tracks. It also makes them a perfect target. Reeve is insta-hit as well. At rank 4 you can get to area Reave. Reave also works well against barriers, something you don't have as an Engineer.

 

For Engineer my favorite bonus powers are AP ammo and Reeve. Energy Drain for Geth missions.

[seacrest3000]

Already finished a reave engineer, it was really easy. I want to spice it up a bit with less popular bonus powers.

[NekkidNones]

Flashbang Grenade might be a good spice to speed up combat, if things are easy going. (if available)

Shredder Ammo if you want to handicap yourself.

Inferno Grenade, I find is a pretty decent all purpose ability.

 

There is also the puppet master approch with Dominate.  It is a different sort of combat that plays well at a distance.

[Fortack]

That leaves 11 points left. The problem is I don't like cryo blast for crowd control because of the travel time and the 4.5 second cooldown. Slam and neural shock both have 3 second cooldowns and hit instantly.

 

Cryo Blast works on everything, it can be fired around corners, plus enemies are down longer and take double damage. Definitely put at least one point in it, it's worth it!

 

Best to spec out of "poor" powers such as Overload and Incinerate. The Engineer's greatest strength is control so you want to invest in Combat Drone, Hacking and Cryo Blast. Stripping defenses with Overload or Incinerate is a waste of cooldown. Squadmates can do that for you and weapons have powerful multipliers versus different defenses anyway. Energy Drain is an excellent power, but for staying alive - not for shield-stripping.

[RedCaesar97]

Cryo Blast works on everything, it can be fired around corners, plus enemies are down longer and take double damage. Definitely put at least one point in it, it's worth it!

 

Best to spec out of "poor" powers such as Overload and Incinerate. The Engineer's greatest strength is control so you want to invest in Combat Drone, Hacking and Cryo Blast. Stripping defenses with Overload or Incinerate is a waste of cooldown. Squadmates can do that for you and weapons have powerful multipliers versus different defenses anyway. Energy Drain is an excellent power, but for staying alive - not for shield-stripping.

 

That is how I spec my ME2 Engineer nowadays. I find it a lot more fun, and plays a little like the Adept since it focuses on using powers for crowd control and weapons for defense stripping. Keeping the 1 point in Overload is good for detonating pyros.

 

However, if you are speccing into Overload and Incinerate, you will not be using any other non-Drone power with a cooldown. Mordin's evolved Cryo Blast has a 4.5 second cooldown, so it actually matches Overload and Incinerate cooldown on Shepard. So you can go Overload/Incinerate to strip shields/armor > Mordin's Cryo Blast to freeze the now unprotected enemies. As soon as your cooldown has finished, Mordin's cooldown will be finished as well. And you can take him with you for almost the entire game. Your second squadmate hardly matters.

 

So in that case, I would probably take AP Ammo for a little extra weapon damage against organic and synthetic health.

[seacrest3000]

I use incinerate and overload only for boss type enemies, when my drone is out and my cooldown is free. But I suppose I can make do with fewer points in those powers. I usually get ammo powers from my squad, so it's still a choice between neural shockwave and crippling slam for me.

[Fortack]

Forgot about blowing up pyros. That is reason enough to put a point in Overload (or Incinerate)!

 

The extra damage you get from fully evolved powers is rather small when compared to rank one or two. So when you use powers like Overload and Incinerate mostly on bosses for some extra damage it doesn't make much difference whether you've maxed em or not.

 

Generally, and unlike Shepard's, the cooldown of CC and defense-stripping powers for squadmates are very much alike. Hence why it is usually a better idea to have squadies stripping defenses and Shepard following up with CC powers. For example, Miranda has Warp and Slam on the same cooldown; Garrus has Overload and Concussive Shot on the same cooldown; Thane Warp and Throw.

Mordin's Cryo Blast - as Red Ceasar pointed out - is the only exception and since Mordin is a cool Salarian (and that says a lot coming from a Krogan and a fellow Engineer, he is an excellent choice for the team.

 

I'm not a fan of taking ammo as bonus power (there is always better stuff available IMHO). However, I can see why people who play on console and don't want to pause the game every few seconds might like it. Personally, I try to use bonus powers that "fit" the class I am playing. For the Engineer that means taking a tech bonus power so I would always go for Neural Shock instead of Slam.