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The Tactical Vanguard Total Carnage Insanity Speed Run
The Tactical Approach to Playing a Vanguard Video Guide
The Vanguard is a powerful biotic warrior able to jump across the battlefield in an instant to charge the enemy and attack at close range, combining the offensive power of an Adept and a Soldier. The vanguard is one of the most powerful classes in the game, if not the most powerful, but is extremely subsceptible to player error (which is primarily in the form of charging to the wrong place at the wrong time). This guide will focus on how to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses allowing you to not only enjoy the class at the highest difficulty but to steamroll it.
Charge is one of the best abilities in the game for 2 reasons. It recharges your shields, and it transports you across the battlefield. There is one huge drawback to charge however and that is that a poorly placed charge puts you in harms way and often results in death when playing at the highest levels of difficulty. Mastering the Vanguard is about knowing when to charge and more importantly, knowing when not to charge. If you watch Vanguard insanity videos you will often see a vanguard charging around the map Rambo style gunning everybody down. While this strategy does work with an experienced player who knows what to expect, it is a very high risk strategy. If you opt to play this way, it can be very fun but you will most likely become familiar with the reload button. Once you have learned an area you can usually charge to your hearts content, but if you are like me and you like to get it right the first time without reloading than this guide may benefit you.
Playing a tactical vanguard does not mean playing like a scared kitten. It is simply a style that brings a more calculated approach to your agression. Vanguards are the most agressive class in the game, and playing tactically does not mean playing passively. The harder the difficulty the more careful you will have to be with charges (try reckless charges on insanity+ when you have no upgrades) but later in the game when you have many upgrades you can usually get away with a bad charge. If you are trying to challenge yourself by playing with minimal reloads on the hardest difficulty it is always better to use tactical charging (meaning put some thought into where and when you are charging) than to charge everything you see. I recommend that players who are new to playing Vangaurd on insanity use a more conservative approach, especially in the early game, one that uses intelligent charges rather than just charging everything. As you become more experienced with the class and game mechanics feel free to be as agressive as you want. Just remember that controlled agression is much more effective then being reckless. Mastering charge is the key to playing a vanguard.
When to charge:
1. If you know what to expect, and know you can handle it then charge. For some people, this can be nearly always especially if they have been through the area multiple times.
2. If there is reliable cover that you can get to after you charge then charge
3. If you are in close combat always charge the second your shields go down, and save all
cooldowns for charge. Remember that charge can be used defensively as a shield refill in close combat and that is one of its best uses on insanity. Use it liberally as a way to recover your shields.
4. Late in the game when you have several upgrades, it is much safer to be very aggressive with charge.
When not to charge:
1. When you first see an enemy and do not know what is ahead of him, around him, or behind him do not charge unless there is somewhere you can immediately take cover after the charge.
2. When charging will put you in a vulnerable position such as one with no cover and in the line of sight of multiple enemies, do not charge. Instead, weaken them with ranged and biotic attacks from yourself and squadmates while waiting for an opening for a tactical charge.
3. Early in the game when you lack upgrades it is far more risky to charge into groups of enemies (especially on insanity+ with a level 30 character with little to no upgrades). Later in the game it is much less risky to charge agressively.
Effective Ways To Use Charge:
-Charge in, gun down one enemy then take cover. Learn how to immediately take cover after a charge kill.
-Any time your shields have dropped and you are exposed (not safe behind cover) you need to charge
-Flank enemies with charge by charging a rear or side enemy (only if you can safely get to cover after this move)
-Learn how to charge surgically using the charge, kill, take cover, charge method.
-Most importantly, do not force a bad charge because you think that you have to charge since you are a vanguard
-Learn how to use repeated charges as a way to constantly replenish your shields
-Use cover like all other classes
-Always use repeated charges in close quarters combat as a shield refill (take cover if you are overwhelmed)
-Charge can also be used to make you invulnerable to projectiles which are coming at you
-Use charge to knock back one enemy and shoot the one next to him
-Often it is a good idea to back pedal after charging and firing a shot, allowing you to get to safety
What to do if charging is a bad idea:
-I highly recommend reave as your special ability. It is the perfect solution to the vanguards weakness at range and synergizes perfectly with a vanguards biotic prowess.
-I recommend learning either sniper rifle or automatic rifle if you dont take claymore
-Use whatever guns you have available to attack from range until you see an ideal time to charge
-Use your squad and their powers to attack from range until you see a charge opening
-Use area reave to launch a devastating biotic assault until it is safe to charge
-For people who dont take reave, a few points in barrier and 1 point in pull is a good choice to set up warp explosions
Talent Build:
Max Heavy Charge First
Max Champion Second
The rest is up to you... although the following two builds are extremely powerful
Reave Build: Complete Domination
10 Heavy Charge
10 Champion
10 Inferno Ammo
10 Squad Cryo Ammo
10 Area Reave
Pull Barrier Build: A Powerful Alternative to the Reave Build
10 Heavy Charge
10 Champion
10 Inferno Ammo
10 Squad Cryo Ammo
3 Shockwave
1 Pull
6 Barrier
Shotgun Choice: It is a matter of personal preference
Claymore: If you like maximum damage in a single shot and dont mind reloading often and using melee
Eviscerator: If you like heavy damage with a 3 round clip and enjoy melee
Scimitar: If you like a lower damage rapid fire shotgun with an 8 round clip, my personal favorite by a landslide
Katana: This one isnt too good in my opinion
Equipment:
Doesnt really matter that much, wear whatever you like. I personally use the following:
Head: Sentry Visor 5% Shields (I had to buy a Dr. Pepper for this!)
Shoulders: Amplifier Plates 5% Power Damage
Chest: Shield harness 5% Shields
Arms: Damping Gauntlets 5% Shields
Legs: Life Support Webbing 10% Health
Totals: 15% Shields 10% Health 5% Power Damage and looks awesome
Squad Choice:
Personal preference but here are some tips
-Use teamates with rapid fire weapons if you enjoy squad cryo ammo. Geth Pulse Rifle and Tempest SMG
-If you enjoy using reave, bring Samara for double reaves and pull field, or jack or jacob for pull field after your reave. Combo this with warp explosion from Miranda or Thane.
-If you like warp explosion bring a teamate who can pull field, or learn pull yourself, and bring someone with warp
-Samara, Miranda, and Thane are your 3 most powerful teamates in most situations
-Zaeed is very good against geth (Squad Disruptor Ammo)
-Moridin is very good against organics (Incineration Blast)
ACT 1 (Before Horizon) Important Purchases
-Buy damage protection from Citadel
-Buy shotgun damage from Omega
-Buy heavy skin weave from Omega
Act 2 (After Horizon) Important Purchases
-Buy biotic damage from Ilium
-Buy heavy skin weave from Ilium
-Buy Pylos nebula map from Ilium
*Earn damage protection from: Anamalous weather detected mission (3rd planet in pylos nebula dirada
system)
-Do Samara Recruitment as your first mission in Act 2 for the scimitar shotgun and biotic damage upgrade
-Go to Tuchanka right after Samara recruitment and do Grunt's loyalty mission for your 3rd shotgun upgrade
- At this point you should have 3 shotgun upgrades, 3 damage protection upgrades, and 3 biotic damage upgrades. Make sure you research the unlocked research from getting 3 upgrades immediately, especially hard shields, biotic cooldowns, and shotgun ammo. Play the rest of the game in any order you want.
Mid-Late Game Important Purchases
-Buy Shotgun Damage from Tuchanka (available as soon as Tuchanka shows up right after Samara Recruitment)
-Do side mission for heavy skin wave (N7: Strontium Mule)
-Buy Damage Protection from Ilium (available after collector ship mission)
-Buy Biotic Damage from Tuchanka (if you took reave as your special)
Key Research:
3 Damage Protection (Citadel shop, Jack Recruitment, Secret Pylos nebula mission)
Allows Research of Redundant Shield and Hard Shields (huge boost to survivability)
3 Biotic Damage (Horizon, Ilium, Samare Recruitment)
Allows Research of 20% biotic duration and 20% biotic cooldown reduction (absolutely huge for Vanguard survival in close combat from repeated charges)
3 Shotgun Damage (Omega shop, Jack Recruitment, Grunt Loyalty/Tuchanka)
Allows research of Shield Piercing and Ammo (shotgun ammo is really annoying before this upgrade)
3 Heavy Skin Weave (Horizon, Ilium, Omega)
Allows research of muscle weave and bone weave, which are both good if you like to meelee.
Extra Tips:
-You can often avoid homing projectiles by strafing erratically left and right
-Learn to set auto use squad abilities to off (under options-->gameplay), and bind their best abilities to hotkeys
-Use squad abilities in conjunction with your own to set off powerful combos
-Learn how to play without pausing by using hotkeys
-Mine every planet you orbit until it says moderate, poor, or depleted.
-Get the scanner upgrade by talking to Miranda for a faster moving scanner (optional)
-In conversations if you want to max paragon score pick options near the top, renegade near the bottom.
-Every time you complete a mission, talk to everyone on your ship to build your paragon/renegade score
-Explore Normandy crash site early for free xp
Bonus Videos
Tali Recruitment Part1
Tali Recruitment Part2
Husk Killing
Reave Vanguard
I want to thank the people who contributed to the Vanguard tips and tricks thread, which got me interested in playing vanguard in the first place and provided me with a lot of useful information. I will update this guide but I intend on keeping it short and concise. The main purpose of the guide is to teach people how to play a vanguard effectively on insanity without having to reload often from needless deaths. For a longer and more in depth guide titled Vanguard tips and tricks go here:
http://social.biowar...index/1061080/1
How do I delete this, I was trying to edit my post and hit the wrong button.
Modifié par Sabresandiego, 04 mars 2010 - 09:06 .
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