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[a_mouse]

Further variations on the theme of control powers for CQC.  This time Shep uses Drone, Stasis, and squad strip + Cryo to keep the Collectors under wraps:  

 

 

Comments:

 

To me this build feels (and plays) very similar to a Stasis Adept.  But hey, that's just one person's opinion.  

 

Although the build shown at 10:00 shows 2 unassigned points (with Stasis at level 1), the middle section of this video (1:48 ~ 7:13) actually had those points assigned to Stasis (level 2).  This was never helpful, and in fact delayed several takedowns (for example at 3:38, 4:34). Thus I agree with previous comments by Fortack (Bozorgmehr) that Stasis is better at lower rank (at least for CQC).

 

The Praetorian sequence in this vid is under 2 minutes (with a little help from the Cain…).  

 

Correction: accidentally spliced wrong opening sequence in original vid - now corrected.

[RedCaesar97]

I had planned to do a whole playthrough with a similar build (thread here), but I never got around to it. Glad to see you got to play around with it a bit.

[Locutus_of_BORG]

Eng w. Stasis probably has the ultimate in CC. But if you already have Stasis, do you really need Cryo? Cryo Blast is soo sloowww, IMO.

 

I'd probably rather max Incinerate and start putting points in AI Hacking instead, although I've never tried using Stasis and Cry Blast together.

[a_mouse]

I had planned to do a whole playthrough with a similar build (thread here), but I never got around to it. Glad to see you got to play around with it a bit.

 

Nice.  I missed that thread.  Indeed, that's very close to what I'm talking about, although with this build (which focusses on control of individual enemies), I think I might prefer extra points in Overload/Incinerate (respecced according to enemy) instead of AI hacking. With this approach, you really need your cooldowns for Drone and Stasis, and then Cryo as a follow up (your vid test on Helyme is actually a great example of this).  I'm not sure how to take full advantage of AI hacking in all that (except perhaps situationally).

 

With a puppet skill I find the timing is somewhat different than direct control powers, since one must first strip an enemy before thralling them, and then it takes a few seconds for the buffed enemies around the thrall to respond. I'm not sure how compatible that is with the timing of Stasis/Drone. Also, if you are setting up the puppet right, the buffed enemies near the thrall will be sufficiently distracted they don't really need to be put in Stasis.  If that is the case, then AI hacking becomes an alternative strategy for control (rather than an integral component of a single strategy). In contrast, I think AI Hacking meshes very well with Dominate (CQC puppet build), allowing the same coherent control strategy to be used through the game rather than just on certain levels. 

[a_mouse]

Eng w. Stasis probably has the ultimate in CC. But if you already have Stasis, do you really need Cryo? Cryo Blast is soo sloowww, IMO.

 

I'd probably rather max Incinerate and start putting points in AI Hacking instead, although I've never tried using Stasis and Cry Blast together.

Slow compared to what?  With bonus slot occupied by Stasis, Engineer has only one short cold down skill for immobilizing debuffed enemies: Cryo.  Stasis Adept definitely has faster immobilizers, but these don't always mesh with shotgun well (throw makes enemies fly away, pull they can drift out of position).  So Cryo definitely has some nice features for CQ-oriented play despite being a bit slower.  But as I mentioned earlier, the difference between this and Stasis Adept are admittedly somewhat subtle.

 

To make up for the longer cool down on CB, many Cryo-oriented players double-down on Cryo by putting Mordin on the squad (allowing alternating cryo every couple of seconds).  But I usually prioritize protection stripping on squad mates, so just take advantage of whatever immobilization skill they happen to have.  In the husk battle starting at 8:45, for example, you can see me alternating among Shep Cryo, Miranda slam, and Samara pull.  That's fast enough to pluck husks individually with little need for retreat.  (Besides, variety is the spice of life!).

 

As you can see a couple of places in the vid (1:48, 2:40), it's possible with two stripping squad mates to lock down 2 dudes very quickly with just Shep's Cryo (strip - cryo -strip -cryo).  Combined with drone and Stasis, it possible to lock down up to 4 enemies simultaneously.

 

Incinerate is great for helping get the armor off (mostly used for Harbi and the Praetorian here), but definitely a second priority I think.  This Shep (level 21) already has level 3 incinerate, so not much more damage promoting to level 4.  In contrast the 2 extra seconds on Cryo can create opportunities for triple (sometimes quadruple) takedowns.   If you keep enemies under control, raw damage is not so important.