Post by RedCaesar97 on Oct 24, 2016 2:16:10 GMT
ATTENTION: This guide was originally created by Vazgen on the old Bioware Social Network (BSN) forums. I am recreating it here so it does not disappear when the old BSN shuts down.
Precise, relentless and fast - these words perfectly describe this character. Capable of dishing large amount of damage in mere seconds with her sniper rifle, deceiving enemies with false targets and supporting her team - the Deadshot Soldier does it all!
Deadshot Soldiers are classic snipers with a unique twist in form of reload canceling with Adrenaline Rush and distractions (Decoy). Targets usually die from one shot, if they don't - Incendiary Ammo primes them for fire explosion, detonated by a squadmate. Decoy allows for more freedom in the battlefield and helps to divert some of the enemy fire away from Shepard.
Squadmates work greatly with Deadshot Soldier due to the Squad Bonus evolution with Incendiary Ammo which allows them to set up and detonate fire explosions with ease. Enemies never stand a chance.
Adrenaline Rush: Ranks 1-2
The leveling is unusual, especially since it forgoes weapon damage bonus at rank 4 but it has a unique synergy with the playstyle. Adrenaline Rush is used to fire Mantis for a second time in quick succession and extra duration at rank 3 interferes with that, lowering DPS.
Incendiary Ammo: Squad Bonus, Headshots, Explosive Burst
Squad Incendiary Ammo allows squadmates to set up fire explosions and gives much needed damage boost to their not as powerful weapons (more on that later). It also allows the Deadshot Soldier to prime targets herself. One shot from Mantis is enough to prime a target. Needless to say, this skill, along with the previous one, is at the core of the playstyle.
Combat Mastery: Damage, Headshots, Weapon Master
The main focus here is to increase weapon damage. Low weight of Mantis allows to have a reasonably high cooldown bonus and extra damage is always helpful against bosses - common enemies are decimated with that rifle.
Fitness: Durability, Shield Recharge, Durability
This build involves a lot of relocations, mostly due to the Mantis being a single shot rifle. Focus on survivability in this skill tree allows for safer movement across the battlefield.
Decoy: Durability, Shock, Shields & Duration
Another option to allow more freedom on the battlefield. Decoy does a good job on diverting enemy fire from Shepard and is especially effective on Phantoms, distracting them enough for a perfect headshot.
Garrus:
Concussive Shot: Force & Damage, Recharge Speed, Shredder
Overload: Damage, Recharge Speed, Shield Damage
Turian Rebel: Weapon Damage, Power Damage, Sniper Rifle
Garrus provides fire detonations, sniper fire and helps to deal with shielded bosses, like Atlases. Concussive Shot is used to detonate fire explosions and prime them (with rank 6 ammo power evolution). Overload is used in conjunction with Liara's Warp to provide tech bursts, stripping shields from boss enemies. Class power is evolved for maximum sniper rifle and power damage.
Liara:
Singularity: Duration, Recharge Speed, Detonate
Warp: Detonate, Expose, Pierce
Pure Biotic: Recharge Speed, Duration & Force, Singularity Recharge
Liara is picked for her fast power recharge rate and crowd control abilities. Singularity can lift/stun enemies for easy headshots. Warp can be used to detonate both fire explosions from Mantis shots, tech bursts from Garrus's Overload or biotic explosions from Liara's own Singularity. Class power is evolved for fastest power recharge and highest power damage - all boosting Warp.
Weapon
Mantis was chosen for its low weight, high damage (and simply awesome looks). Low weight allows for 184% cooldown bonus in the end game while providing damage that can take down enemy shields or kill a regular enemy in one shot. Low rate of fire allows to reliably prime targets for fire explosions with every shot.
Mods: Piercing Mod, Extended Barrel
Piercing mod allows to pierce Guardian shields, cover and Cannibal plating, not to waste precious ammo. Extended Barrel gives more damage and helps with bosses.
Armor:
Helmet: Kestrel Helmet
Chest: Hahne Kedar
Shoulders: Hahne Kedar
Arms: Hahne-Kedar
Legs: Hahne-Kedar
Together this armor set increases weapon damage by 40% and ammo capacity by 10%. Large weapon damage allows to take down enemy shields in one shot and extra ammo capacity helps to circumvent the inherent low number of thermal clips for Mantis. Despite seemingly low number, the abundance of dropped/placed thermal clips in Mass Effect solves the issue of searching for ammo. Higher weapon damage also helps with boss fights.
(full playthrough of the vanilla game starting from level 1)
YouTube playlist.
Precise, relentless and fast - these words perfectly describe this character. Capable of dishing large amount of damage in mere seconds with her sniper rifle, deceiving enemies with false targets and supporting her team - the Deadshot Soldier does it all!
Gameplay
Deadshot Soldiers are classic snipers with a unique twist in form of reload canceling with Adrenaline Rush and distractions (Decoy). Targets usually die from one shot, if they don't - Incendiary Ammo primes them for fire explosion, detonated by a squadmate. Decoy allows for more freedom in the battlefield and helps to divert some of the enemy fire away from Shepard.
Squadmates work greatly with Deadshot Soldier due to the Squad Bonus evolution with Incendiary Ammo which allows them to set up and detonate fire explosions with ease. Enemies never stand a chance.
The Build
Adrenaline Rush: Ranks 1-2
The leveling is unusual, especially since it forgoes weapon damage bonus at rank 4 but it has a unique synergy with the playstyle. Adrenaline Rush is used to fire Mantis for a second time in quick succession and extra duration at rank 3 interferes with that, lowering DPS.
Incendiary Ammo: Squad Bonus, Headshots, Explosive Burst
Squad Incendiary Ammo allows squadmates to set up fire explosions and gives much needed damage boost to their not as powerful weapons (more on that later). It also allows the Deadshot Soldier to prime targets herself. One shot from Mantis is enough to prime a target. Needless to say, this skill, along with the previous one, is at the core of the playstyle.
Combat Mastery: Damage, Headshots, Weapon Master
The main focus here is to increase weapon damage. Low weight of Mantis allows to have a reasonably high cooldown bonus and extra damage is always helpful against bosses - common enemies are decimated with that rifle.
Fitness: Durability, Shield Recharge, Durability
This build involves a lot of relocations, mostly due to the Mantis being a single shot rifle. Focus on survivability in this skill tree allows for safer movement across the battlefield.
Decoy: Durability, Shock, Shields & Duration
Another option to allow more freedom on the battlefield. Decoy does a good job on diverting enemy fire from Shepard and is especially effective on Phantoms, distracting them enough for a perfect headshot.
Squadmates
Garrus:
Concussive Shot: Force & Damage, Recharge Speed, Shredder
Overload: Damage, Recharge Speed, Shield Damage
Turian Rebel: Weapon Damage, Power Damage, Sniper Rifle
Garrus provides fire detonations, sniper fire and helps to deal with shielded bosses, like Atlases. Concussive Shot is used to detonate fire explosions and prime them (with rank 6 ammo power evolution). Overload is used in conjunction with Liara's Warp to provide tech bursts, stripping shields from boss enemies. Class power is evolved for maximum sniper rifle and power damage.
Liara:
Singularity: Duration, Recharge Speed, Detonate
Warp: Detonate, Expose, Pierce
Pure Biotic: Recharge Speed, Duration & Force, Singularity Recharge
Liara is picked for her fast power recharge rate and crowd control abilities. Singularity can lift/stun enemies for easy headshots. Warp can be used to detonate both fire explosions from Mantis shots, tech bursts from Garrus's Overload or biotic explosions from Liara's own Singularity. Class power is evolved for fastest power recharge and highest power damage - all boosting Warp.
Equipment
Weapon
Mantis was chosen for its low weight, high damage (and simply awesome looks). Low weight allows for 184% cooldown bonus in the end game while providing damage that can take down enemy shields or kill a regular enemy in one shot. Low rate of fire allows to reliably prime targets for fire explosions with every shot.
Mods: Piercing Mod, Extended Barrel
Piercing mod allows to pierce Guardian shields, cover and Cannibal plating, not to waste precious ammo. Extended Barrel gives more damage and helps with bosses.
Armor:
Helmet: Kestrel Helmet
Chest: Hahne Kedar
Shoulders: Hahne Kedar
Arms: Hahne-Kedar
Legs: Hahne-Kedar
Together this armor set increases weapon damage by 40% and ammo capacity by 10%. Large weapon damage allows to take down enemy shields in one shot and extra ammo capacity helps to circumvent the inherent low number of thermal clips for Mantis. Despite seemingly low number, the abundance of dropped/placed thermal clips in Mass Effect solves the issue of searching for ammo. Higher weapon damage also helps with boss fights.
Gameplay videos
(full playthrough of the vanilla game starting from level 1)
YouTube playlist.