Build Title: Ritual Homicide

Class: N7 Slayer

Map Difficulty Rating: This build has the potential for Gold gameplay

Power Evolutions:

Biotic Charge: (4) Radius, (5) Power Synergy, (6) Barrier

Phase Disruptor: (4) Damage, (5) Efficient Blast, (6) Shield Damage

Biotic Slash: N/A*

N7 Slayer: (4) Damage & Capacity, (5) Power Damage, (6) Weapon Damage*

Fitness: (4) Melee Damage, (5) Martial Artist, (6) Power Synergy

*Dropping rank 6 of N7 Slayer and getting rank 3 of Biotic Slash is also viable. This could assist you in getting the Biotic Slash Challenge; as well as detonate Biotic Explosions set up by your teammates. Personally, I prefer the extra weapon damage.

Weapons:

Use the M-358 Talon. Close range pistol, which is where the Slayer will usually be. It also does amazing against all types of protection. Put on Pistol High Caliber Barrel and Melee Stunner. If you have the M-358 Talon at level X, use the new Pistol Heavy Barrel instead of the High Caliber Barrel for more damage when using the Talon.

Gear:

Use either Disruptor or Incendiary Rounds, what people never used to realise was that Phase Disruptor is not a Biotic Power, it is a Combat Power. It is also one of the best detonators of Tech Burst/Fire Explosions. Apply Shield Power Cells to quicken the pause between your barriers recharging for optimum Phase Disruptor abuse. Use Strength Enhancer for weapon bonus as the melee for the Slayer is godly. Finally, use Multicapacitor, Stronghold Package or Juggernaut Shield for gear. Multicapacitor optimises Phase Disruptor abuse further, Stronghold Package does that and increases Shield Strength and Juggernaut Shield boasts the same shield bonus as Stronghold Package but with Melee damage instead of Shield Recharge. Use your preference but do not use Martial Biotic Amp, because Phase Disruptor as aforementioned is not a Biotic Power.

Strategy:

Your basic strategy is Charge, shoot, Phase Disruptor, Charge, Light Melee. Charge gets you where you need to be, Talon with Incendiary/Disruptor ammo primes targets for Fire Explosions/Tech Bursts, Phase Disruptor detonates the Talon shot, Charge restores your barriers again and if it’s still alive, light melee it to death and gain the Power Synergy passive from Fitness. I’ll go over the powers, then the gameplay against the factions and then the troubles this class and build face.

Biotic Charge is pretty standard. You should always go for Radius because with the recent buffs and passive power increases, Biotic Charge can stagger Phantoms with the Radius evolution. Power Synergy is more suited for this build as Phase Disruptor and Biotic Charge will receive a 40% damage bonus for 10 seconds. You can pull off a few Phase Disruptor blasts and a Biotic Charge in that time. If you were to use a weapon like the Reegar Carbine, Weapon Synergy on Biotic Charge is better. Finally, go for Barrier. Despite the fact that Bonus Power is now a 50% chance, you don’t want to take the risk considering you need those shields for close-quarters. I ignore Biotic Slash because it’s animation in my opinion is far too clunky and takes too long. On top of this, there is no invulnerability frame like Nova. Phase Disruptor does not need anymore Radius, nor does it need to knock enemies down when Efficient Blast is a better option. Efficient Blast allows you to pop-off 5 Phase Disruptor instead of 3 without sacrificing damage output. The last evolution is preference really, but I prefer to get the shields and barriers gone so the Talon or Biotic Charge or melee can take care of it. Banshee’s go into their Banshee-Ball Throwing Stage when you get rid of their barriers and they cannot sync-kill you until they send out the scream and start charging again.

Melee often; you want to keep Power Synergy active and the light melee of the Slayer is impressive. Only use Heavy Melee to activate Martial Artist and Power Synergy as the light melee comes with a massive Damage Reduction if timed correctly. Ravagers can be taken out on Gold with light melee quickly and without losing more than 50% of your barriers. You can melee all trooper level enemies from all factions though I do not recommend it for Collectors and especially on Gold or Platinum as the Collectors come with a powerful, staggering melee. Trooper-tier enemies will cause you little trouble if you use the basic strategy listed in the first paragraph. But hordes of Marauders or Rocket Troopers will pose a little trouble if you cannot get away or you’ve got no barriers and are constantly being staggered.

I do not recommend using melee against bosses (Altas, Geth Prime, Scion, Praetorian), as they’ll most likely stagger you and then sync-kill you. Banshees are different because as mentioned above, they can’t sync-kill you in their second stage so feel free to melee them to shreds. Phase Disruptor their shields/barriers and then try for your tech bursts etc. Biotic Charge at your own risk. But time it right so it is before their melee. If using it against an Altas, time it so you use Charge at the same time the Altas launches its missile. If done correct, Biotic Charge will not have a cooldown allowing you to use it twice in a row before it needs to cooldown.

Take special precautions against Phantoms, as their melee can interrupt yours and also activate their sync-kill animation. Dragoons whips can stagger and hit hard but as long as you aren’t overwhelmed by 3 or more of them, your powers and melee techniques can rid of them. Geth Hunters pose less issues now that they’ve been nerfed but their staggering Geth Plasma Shotguns could be fatal if you’re also surrounded. Geth Pyros are just a pain with their freakish flamethrower range so Charge in to stagger them or shoot and Phase Disruptor, it should weaken it enough to finish it with melee and the Damage Reduction should stop the flamethrower from downing you as well as the original stagger on the melee. Use your tech bursts or fire explosions to rid Brutes, it’s too risky for a melee but still Charge them for the stagger.

The only major limitation for the Slayer is the lack of health and barriers. Frail at 625/625, you need to be careful. Charging into a group of bosses and using your melee is ridiculously stupid and you’d be incredibly lucky to survive. To counteract your poor protection, use the Slayer’s dodge manoeuvre to teleport into other rooms or use your light melee in suitable situations for the damage reduction and use Biotic Charge smartly to regain your barriers. Beware of Banshees waiting on the other side of walls or those that teleport through the walls you do.

N00b Rating:

4 – While not difficult to succeed with this class, it is difficult to play it correctly. On Bronze and Silver you should have no trouble, you can even get away with killing boss-tier foes with melee. But you will always need to think about the smartest choice for where you are. Surrounded by Pyros; use the Talon and Phase Disruptor. Don’t Biotic Charge groups of bosses or strong trooper-level opponents. You get the idea. The build is suitable for Unknown/Unknown, but be wary of Collectors as they are unrivaled in melee range.