Tag Archives: defensive

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER – by Chris

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Build Title: C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

 

Class: Geth Juggernaut Soldier

 

Map Difficulty Rating: This build has the potential for Gold gameplay, Platinum gameplay is plausible with the right team

 

Power Evolutions:
Hex Shield: (4) Shield Strength, (5) Duration, (6) Large Shield
Siege Pulse: (4) Damage, (5) Damage Protection, (6) Number of Shots
Geth Turret: N/A
Geth Juggernaut: (4) Weapon Damage, (5) Stability and Ammo, (6) Weapon Damage
Hardened Platform: (4) Durability, (5) Shield Recharge, (6) Power Transfer

 

Weapons:
Claymore has given best results against all enemies. Shotgun Shredder Mod and Smart Choke as the attachments.

 

Gear:
Gear: Juggernaut Shield preferred, personally. Berserker Package, Omni-Capacitors, Shotgun Amp, Stronghold Package, or Survivor Loadout could be used based on your experience.
Ammo: Incendiary or Disruptor to prime tech bursts.
Armor: Highest Adrenaline Module you have.
Weapon: Shotgun Rail Amp

 

Strategy:
Prime tech combos with your Claymore and detonate with Siege Pulse, alternating between the two. Being unable to dodge or take cover means you can easily reload-cancel your Claymore by hitting ‘A’ just as the ammo count changes. With a Claymore X, you will have 40 shots; I’ve never had to hit an ammo crate during a wave when playing with others. Defensively, you may choose to keep your four Siege Pulse rounds on you to add a 40% damage reduction. However, in my experience so far, using them for assault lets you make quicker work of your enemies. You should have a +95% cooldown with a Claymore X; using reload cancel, you will fire your fourth Siege Pulse round as your cooldown completes (given the base equipment above).
Use your Hex Shield primarily to block projectiles from missile enemies (Scions, Ravagers, Primes, Atlases, and Rocket Troopers) while you are engaged in close combat. Secondary, use it to block rounds from the soldier classes while you’re engaged with boss-level enemies. I’ve found that it’s fire from outside the close range fights that downs this build, so using your Hex Shield that way along with good timing with your heavy melee will increase your survivability GREATLY. Keep in mind that splash damage will still come through, so back off of your hex shield as soon as you place it. Use your heavy melee to recharge your shields when they get to around 33%.
Keep an eye on your Siege Pulse rounds. If you’re running low and need to place your Hex Shield, do it BEFORE reloading your Siege Pulse, which has a ~10s cooldown time.
The Adrenaline Module is a MUST for any spread-out map (Hydra and Vancouver come to mind) and reduces frustration on mid- to small-sized maps. You can’t take or vault cover, so you’ll have to go around commonly vaulted barriers in places like London and Giant. If you find yourself surrounded by smaller enemies, your regular melee will stagger. If you’re surrounded by boss enemies and your shield drops a bit too quickly for comfort when going on the attack, just tank with your heavy melee and call for backup while maneuvering gradually out of the dogpile.
On all objectives, use your Hex Shield the same way you normally do (place in the path of missiles first, rifles second). For the activation objectives, you will probably be able to distract enough enemies to make 1-3 a piece of cake for your team. Work your way back to 4 to defend whoever is activating.
For platinum, I would play with a Demolisher, an Infiltrator who can prime or detonate tech bursts, and another defensive Juggernaut for the fourth. On Gold-Glacier-Reapers with two Brutes and three Banshees on the rear incline, I (using this build and strategy) and a Demolisher took the whole lot of them out before they got to the top. This class is EXCELLENT at distracting large numbers of enemies, so keep the Infiltrator around to revive, prime tech bursts, and complete objectives. Keep the Demolisher close to you and the other Juggernaut, place the pylons to help with shields and keep the grenades flowing, and you’ll be sitting pretty.

 

N00b Rating:
3 – Though this is a tank of a class, you do need to get the timing down for the attack strategy and have a well-developed situational awareness to effectively defend you and your teammates.
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Jon Grissom Graduate – by Dax928

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Build Title: Jon Frissom Graduate

Class: Human Sentinel

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

Power Evolutions:
Tech Armor: (4) Damage & Radius, (5) Power Damage
Warp: (4) Damage, (5) Expose, (6) Recharge Speed
Throw: (4) Force, (5) Detonate, (6) Force & Damage
Alliance Training: (4) Damage & Capacity, (5) Power Damage, (6) Weapon Damage
Fitness: (1), (2), (3)

 

Weapons:
The Acolyte pistol; with Magazine Upgrade and Pistol Heavy Barrel (or High Caliber Barrel if you don’t have it). This’ll take out those pesky shields.

 

Gear:
Incendiary Rounds for Ammo, Pistol Rail Amp for Weapon, Cyclonic Modulator for Armor, and Thermal Clip Storage for Gear.

 

Strategy:
I like to label this class as defensive-aggressive. It has wonderful DPS, but at the same time makes no advances and relies on the enemy to make the first move due to its squishiness. To be as blunt as I can be, this class is a Phantom killer, and primarily used against Cerberus. The Acolyte rips off her shields with a direct hit and before she can even run for cover, a well-placed Throw can take her out in one hit. Now, someone can make the observation that you can do this with any class that has Throw, but with the Human Sentinel you can also take out armor faster than normal with Biotic Explosions from Warp-Throw combinations which gives you good damage against Armor (along with Shields/Barriers from the Acolyte). For example, after taking out its Shields in 4 or 5 shots from the Acolyte, combined with the decent bonus of Power Damage from Tech Armor, you can kill Atlases within a minute or two, let alone the spare seconds you get from making it stumble with Throws. Now I realize the overall appeal of Tech Armor is somewhat lacking and with this strategy you generally stay in cover. So now the question is why even have Tech Armor then? Now my opinion may differ from most on this, but the recharge penalty isn’t that bad, and the Power Damage buff helps a lot, especially with taking out that sliver of health the Phantom have after most Throws. And the 30% Damage Resist DOES help on the off chance you are hit by infantry or Atlas missiles, saving you a modest amount of Health/Shields. While I generally have no use for the Tech Burst from the armor, I have had the occasional situation where it saved my butt from proper timing. On the topic of weapon choice, I realize the Acolyte is a bit of an awkward gun to get used to, but once you do it’s ridiculously effective at taking shield and giving your powers a chance to cause plenty of chaos. Works fairly well against most infantry as well should you find yourself in a tight spot. Although, should those tight situations involve Dragoons, do as many Biotic Explosions as you can. Or to simply get some breathing room, use Throw to stumble them. As a final comment, this class (while powerful in its own right) is in NO WAY meant for soloing Gold. It can be taken down VERY quickly should you be under fire. You rely on either others drawing aggro (excuse my terminology) or constant evasion. Soloing Silver IS attainable, but rather hard from my experience.

 

N00b Rating:
3 - It is very well-rounded against all enemies and cover is not ENTIRELY a necessity if you are a fair dodger, but one you get hit you definitely will feel it due to this classes squishiness. That’s why you hit first and hit hard, whether you rip Shields/Barriers or tear off Armor with ease. And the Acolyte is a bit of a pain to get used to, but well worth it.
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Floats like a Butterfly – by Trevtar

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Build Title:
Floats like a Butterfly – by Trevtar

Class:
Ex-Cerberus Vanguard

Power Evolutions:
Biotic Charge: Radius (4), Power Synergy (5), Barrier (6)
Smash: Biotic Combo (4), Force & Damage (5), Impact Radius (6)
Lash: Detonate (4), Recharge Speed (5), Shield Penetration (6)
Phoenix Training: Damage and Capacity (4), Power Damage (5)
Fitness: (1), (2), (3)

Weapons:
Carnifex X (Damage and scope mods) and Tempest X (Ultralight and damage mods). That, or run with a Disciple X instead of the pistol. It only matter that you have a 200% cool-down so I’ll leave it to you to decide.

Gear:
For the gear bonus, I would go with the commando pack, if you are using the pistol. If not, the shield boost will get you used to the build. If neither, the mental enhancer is always nice since you will be focusing on using your biotic powers.

Strategy:
Sidebar: I actually really wanted the ex-Cerberus adept, but I got the vanguard instead. Boy, am I glad I did! You can tell from the build that I was trying to play him more as an adept, which I think I have succeeded in. With only 3 points in fitness he comes to 625/625, but that isn’t too shabby, especially compared to the Drell.

Your main strategy should be to play him like an adept. What I mean by this is spam lash, set up and trigger biotic explosions with smash, and use biotic charge only to pick off wanderers and refill those barriers. So play DEFENSIVELY. You will get your face shot off if you try to Rambo in like your typical vanguard. You don’t have the barriers for it and it’s just not how this build was set up to work.

I have found that one of your best role during the regular rounds is a support role. Lash those phantoms, marauders, and rocket geth so that they don’t get the drop on your teammates. Be advised- phantoms can be a little tricky since they can block biotic attacks. I usually lay down some distraction fire, lash, smash and then heavy melee. If they are still up after this I suggest lashing/shooting again quickly. Even though you are more effective against the weaker enemies you can still help with the boss types. Just mind your boundaries and charge sparingly so as not to trigger the one-hit kills. Important Note: smash works through the walls, cover, etc. Use this to your advantage as a group approaches a corner. Smash will set up an explosion and then (depending on the situation) you can use lash or charge to finish them off.

I would recommend running with another adept to help with biotic explosions. You can still detonate explosions alone, but the enemies will die much more quickly when you work in synergy with an adept. I have been using this build on gold cerberus and geth runs with relatively high success. It just takes some practice and foresight in order to be effective. Remember to stick with your group or at least one pal. When enemies get too close, you should be there to clean house.

N00b Rating: (scale 1-5, 1 is easy for everybody!)
4. The strategy and play style can be hard to get used to, especially with such low barriers and health. Just concentrate on playing defensively, being supportive, and learning your boundaries. If you do this, I promise you will become more and more successful.

-edits by PunxsatownyPhil

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Justicar Tower D – by fbi_TheNews

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Build Title:
Justicar Tower D – by fbi_TheNews

Class:
Asari Justicar

Power Evolutions:
Biotic Sphere: (4) Radius (5) Enemy Weakness (6) Warp Effect
Reave: (4) Radius (5) Damage Reduction (6) Damage and Duration
Pull: N/A
Asari Justicar: (4) Duration and Capacity (5) Power Damage (6) Assault Rifles
Fitness: (4) Durability (5) Shield Recharge (6) Fitness Expert

Weapons:
Revenant (Stability & Capacity) Phalanx (Pierce and Capacity)
Equipment: This build works best with power efficiency, cryo ammo, and a AR damage mod (though not required to work).

Strategy:
This build focuses on holding key choke points to relieve pressure on your team. Drop biotic sphere in a congested area and rain bullets down range to keep the enemy suppressed. When enemies enter the sphere drop reave to cause biotic explosions. You will want to take cover a fair distance from your sphere and use it as a defensive wall. If you get pushed back drop your sphere in a new location and retreat to cover. With this strat you can easily hold a choke point by yourself on gold. This strat also works very well for geth gold on fire base white.

N00b Rating: (scale 1-5, 1 is easy for everybody!)
2. The only real tricky part of this build comes when rushing in to re deploy sphere

-edits by Lucien Midnight

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Witch Doctor – by Geist Hellers

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Build Title:
Witch Doctor – by Geist Hellers

Class: 
Geth Engineer

Power Evolutions:
Geth Turret: Shields & Damages (4), Restore Range (5), Restore Frequency (6)
Hunter Mode: Power Recharge (4), Power Damage (5), Damage (6)
Overload: Chain Overload (4), Recharge (5), Shield Damage (6)
Networked AI: Damage & Capacity (4)
Advanced Hardware: Durability (4)

Weapons
Primary: Falcon (Extended Magazine I-V, Extended Barrel I-V)

Best weapon for Crowd Control, you can hit enemies with ricochet before they get in sight thanks to Hunter’s Mode, coupled with Disruptor Ammo/Cryo Ammo, you will be Tech Bursting/CCing the crap out of everything, the weight is easily compensated for by Hunter’s Mode.

Carnifex X or the Mantis I-X allows you to snipe with decent CDs.

Strategy
Turtling, mainly, the Geth Engineer provides a lot of sutainability during Hacking/LZ waves, providing map control and awareness, his turret synergizes very well with Vanguards, Justicars and Krogans, he is however very frail. Think of him as your typical MMO healing class with CC but crap defense.

Which targets should a GE prioritize ?

Shielded/Barrier using enemies and clustered trashmobs.

If you see a Phantom, spam Overload while pumping her face full of lead from cover. Overload with Shield damage increase and Falcon AoE make very short work of them because they can dodge neither.

N00b Rating: (scale 1-5, 1 is easy for everybody!)
4. This class takes some getting used to since it is the only class able to heal squad mates shields.

-edits by Lucien Midnight

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