Mass Effect 3 single player: The 'Mass Effect 1' style Infiltrator guide (by capn233)
Oct 24, 2016 0:21:04 GMT
Post by RedCaesar97 on Oct 24, 2016 0:21:04 GMT
ATTENTION: This guide was originally posted by capn233 on the old BioWare Social Network (BSN) forums. I am recreating the guide so it does not disappear when the old BSN forums shut down.
I had kicked around the idea of running an infiltrator with something of a Mass Effect (1) feel before, and finally this past week I decided to actually play it.
Infiltrator in Mass Effect:
For those that didn't play the first game, infiltrator essentially meant tech and combat hybrid. So you got some talents from the Soldier and some from the Engineer. Namely Overload, Sabotage, Damping, and Immunity; and Sniper Rifles and Pistol training for weapons. Tactical Cloak did not exist, although the damage bonus for Cloak could be considered a descendant of the Assassinate ability in the Sniper Rifle talent.
Philosophy:
In ME3 you don't have exactly the same powers as existed in the first game, or even the second, so there had to be some compromises made. I decided early on that I was going to go with Marksman as the bonus power so that I could have some weapon DPS. As for the base class, I could either use an Engineer (which would grant me Sabotage and Overload), or go Infiltrator (which would grant Sabotage, sticky grenades, and a little better Sniper handling and weight capacity). I went the latter and decided that the focus would be on Sabotage, Disruptor Ammo, Sticky Grenades, Marksman and passive. This in a loose sense approximates most of the ME1 Infiltrator's abilities, as well as the superior Sniper handling that he had in that game.
Power Evolutions:
Disruptor Ammo: Squad, Headshots, Damage
Sticky Grenades: Damage, Armor, Proximity Trap
Sabotage: Backfire, Explosive Hack, Tech Vulnerability
Operational Mastery: Weapon Damage, Weight Capacity, Sniper Damage
Marksman: Firing Rate, Headshots, Accuracy and Firing Rate
There is room for some variation. This character largely uses precision weapons, so Marksman should be spec'd as above. You can run Cryo Ammo instead if you want.
Tactics:
Except for DLC weapons, none of your basic weapons benefit all that much from Marksman. If you have DLC you could conceivably just throw on the Punisher or Harrier and do a whole lot of damage, but that isn't very sporting, nor in keeping with the spirit of the character. So on Mars go Mantis and Predator and try to rely more on Sabotage and Grenades. Sabotage will stagger enemies when it hits, then again when Backfire occurs.
By Palaven you will get the Viper, which does underwhelming damage. It does sort of approximate the semi-automatic nature of the sniper rifle in ME1 after your infiltrator gets more points in his class talent (reduces heat of SR's and pistols). However, damage is pretty lackluster. It does stun fairly reliably with Disruptor Ammo though, and the slow ROF allows you to cast a power or lob a grenade in between shots potentially. What you run is up to you though. Your plan should be to not waste credits on weapon upgrades, instead saving for the Paladin. Once you get the Paladin you will have a weapon that does good DPS under Marksman. Make sure one mod slot is for the Extended Clip. At this point you are fairly decently equipped. Go Viper (or Mantis) and Sabotage for basic to mid tier units, stick grenades to enemies in clumps or large targets, and go Paladin under Marksman for larger targets.
Your next weapon target will be the Black Widow. So save your credits.
Note that I did run the Shuriken early game as well, although it was near useless. This was because I was sort of bending the character to ME2 slightly. Also, I frequently took Assault Rifles as my bonus talent in ME1, so occaisionally I would run the Vindicator instead of the Shuriken. This was in place of the Avenger mainly because I can't stand the Avenger, even if it is more like an ME1 AR.
Squad:
Of course you can take anybody, but since you have Sabotage it sort of makes sense to go Tech.
EDI and Garrus are a fairly decent team to run with this character. Give Garrus Concussive Shot and Overload early so that he can detonate combos and generate some CC and shield stripping. At some point you may wish to spec to Rank 5 Proximity Mine for the debuff. Also consider investing in his passive when convenient. For EDI, start with Incinerate. This helps you against armor and allows you to set off Fire Explosions. Then get Overload and focus on passive. After that it is up to you.
Ash is a decent choice since she can also detonate combos with Concussive Shot, and she has Inferno Grenades, which are good for CC, armor damage, and setting up Fire Explosions. Do not invest in her Disruptor Ammo. I never really liked her Marksman and it is bugged if she tries to activate it herself, so leave it out.
Liara works ok for CC and armor debuff. With all the Disruptor Ammo flying around, you might mask Biotic Explosions every now and then.
Tali is ok on the Rannoch arc for dual Sabotage action.
Final Thoughts:
This character is not as powerful as a standard infiltrator, nor is he meant to be. This is just a fun variation. If you don't like the damage early game, slap on the Punisher and run it under Marksman.
If your goal is simply No Cloak, then I would consider investing in Incinerate. That will allow you to set up fire explosions and do some more damage to armor.
I also did not plan to record this series, so I just was playing it for fun. I finished Horizon then thought why not record a couple. So I redid Sur'Kesh so you can see fairly early if it works at all. I will probably also record a bit of Omega so you can see how the character works more late game.
Gameplay videos:
YouTube video playlist.
I had kicked around the idea of running an infiltrator with something of a Mass Effect (1) feel before, and finally this past week I decided to actually play it.
Infiltrator in Mass Effect:
For those that didn't play the first game, infiltrator essentially meant tech and combat hybrid. So you got some talents from the Soldier and some from the Engineer. Namely Overload, Sabotage, Damping, and Immunity; and Sniper Rifles and Pistol training for weapons. Tactical Cloak did not exist, although the damage bonus for Cloak could be considered a descendant of the Assassinate ability in the Sniper Rifle talent.
Philosophy:
In ME3 you don't have exactly the same powers as existed in the first game, or even the second, so there had to be some compromises made. I decided early on that I was going to go with Marksman as the bonus power so that I could have some weapon DPS. As for the base class, I could either use an Engineer (which would grant me Sabotage and Overload), or go Infiltrator (which would grant Sabotage, sticky grenades, and a little better Sniper handling and weight capacity). I went the latter and decided that the focus would be on Sabotage, Disruptor Ammo, Sticky Grenades, Marksman and passive. This in a loose sense approximates most of the ME1 Infiltrator's abilities, as well as the superior Sniper handling that he had in that game.
Power Evolutions:
Disruptor Ammo: Squad, Headshots, Damage
Sticky Grenades: Damage, Armor, Proximity Trap
Sabotage: Backfire, Explosive Hack, Tech Vulnerability
Operational Mastery: Weapon Damage, Weight Capacity, Sniper Damage
Marksman: Firing Rate, Headshots, Accuracy and Firing Rate
There is room for some variation. This character largely uses precision weapons, so Marksman should be spec'd as above. You can run Cryo Ammo instead if you want.
Tactics:
Except for DLC weapons, none of your basic weapons benefit all that much from Marksman. If you have DLC you could conceivably just throw on the Punisher or Harrier and do a whole lot of damage, but that isn't very sporting, nor in keeping with the spirit of the character. So on Mars go Mantis and Predator and try to rely more on Sabotage and Grenades. Sabotage will stagger enemies when it hits, then again when Backfire occurs.
By Palaven you will get the Viper, which does underwhelming damage. It does sort of approximate the semi-automatic nature of the sniper rifle in ME1 after your infiltrator gets more points in his class talent (reduces heat of SR's and pistols). However, damage is pretty lackluster. It does stun fairly reliably with Disruptor Ammo though, and the slow ROF allows you to cast a power or lob a grenade in between shots potentially. What you run is up to you though. Your plan should be to not waste credits on weapon upgrades, instead saving for the Paladin. Once you get the Paladin you will have a weapon that does good DPS under Marksman. Make sure one mod slot is for the Extended Clip. At this point you are fairly decently equipped. Go Viper (or Mantis) and Sabotage for basic to mid tier units, stick grenades to enemies in clumps or large targets, and go Paladin under Marksman for larger targets.
Your next weapon target will be the Black Widow. So save your credits.
Note that I did run the Shuriken early game as well, although it was near useless. This was because I was sort of bending the character to ME2 slightly. Also, I frequently took Assault Rifles as my bonus talent in ME1, so occaisionally I would run the Vindicator instead of the Shuriken. This was in place of the Avenger mainly because I can't stand the Avenger, even if it is more like an ME1 AR.
Squad:
Of course you can take anybody, but since you have Sabotage it sort of makes sense to go Tech.
EDI and Garrus are a fairly decent team to run with this character. Give Garrus Concussive Shot and Overload early so that he can detonate combos and generate some CC and shield stripping. At some point you may wish to spec to Rank 5 Proximity Mine for the debuff. Also consider investing in his passive when convenient. For EDI, start with Incinerate. This helps you against armor and allows you to set off Fire Explosions. Then get Overload and focus on passive. After that it is up to you.
Ash is a decent choice since she can also detonate combos with Concussive Shot, and she has Inferno Grenades, which are good for CC, armor damage, and setting up Fire Explosions. Do not invest in her Disruptor Ammo. I never really liked her Marksman and it is bugged if she tries to activate it herself, so leave it out.
Liara works ok for CC and armor debuff. With all the Disruptor Ammo flying around, you might mask Biotic Explosions every now and then.
Tali is ok on the Rannoch arc for dual Sabotage action.
Final Thoughts:
This character is not as powerful as a standard infiltrator, nor is he meant to be. This is just a fun variation. If you don't like the damage early game, slap on the Punisher and run it under Marksman.
If your goal is simply No Cloak, then I would consider investing in Incinerate. That will allow you to set up fire explosions and do some more damage to armor.
I also did not plan to record this series, so I just was playing it for fun. I finished Horizon then thought why not record a couple. So I redid Sur'Kesh so you can see fairly early if it works at all. I will probably also record a bit of Omega so you can see how the character works more late game.
Gameplay videos:
YouTube video playlist.