Canadian Delicacy - The Kaidan Alenko Thread

Something I'm doing for fun is writing out what I think the builds of Shepard and his team would look like if the original trilogy were updated with Andromeda's gameplay plus a few tweaks like giving everyone six powers instead of three. While I mostly have everyone's power sets figured out, Kaidan's sixth power is tripping me up. I've already given him Reave, Throw, Pull, Overload, and Cryo Beam, but I can't decide between Stasis and Shield Boost for the sixth active power slot. Stasis would better fit his official power sets while going with the heavy implication that Kaidan should be considered a Bastion Sentinel, but Shield Boost would reflect Kaidan's status as the designated healer of the original squad and keep the ability available for ME3 when Mordin is not available.

I'm working off a level cap of 100, so that allows squadmates to max everything out, but not Shepard.

The rule I'm using is that if a power appears in Andromeda then it works the way it did in that game, with the exception of powers detonating combos when they didn't previously. If a power did not appear in Andromeda, then it works the way it did in ME3, though with some tweaks like adding power cells to make moves like Carnage fit better. This means I can't give Kaidan Sabotage, which was derived from Decryption, because that was absorbed into AI Hacking. I'm also taking into account powers that essentially replaced previous versions, like Cryo Beam replacing Cryo Blast and Pull replacing Lift.

Also, I'm giving each squadmate access to a single profile and tweaking some of them to prevent useless bonuses or just to fit the individual character better. Kaidan's version of Sentinel replaces Tech Armor with Barrier which is purely cosmetic.

Anyway, he had Barrier in both appearances, which is taken care of by his profile. Throw and Pull are in there because he had Throw and Lift in ME1. He had Reave and Cryo Blast in ME3 and Cryo Blast was replaced by Cryo Beam. Overload is in because he had it in both appearances, plus it's the power that was derived from Electronics.

As you said, First Aid and Medicine can be fused, which is basically what Shield Boost is since I'm using Cora's version that has the option of improving health regeneration. However, it has to compete with Stasis which is also in his ME1 skillset.

Considering Kaidan's use of Barrier and the defensive aspects of Reave, and the general story focus on his biotics over tech, a strong argument can be made that Kaidan makes use of the Bastion specialization that Shepard could choose in the first game if he was a Sentinel or an Adept. And Bastion improves Stasis. Gameplay-wise, it would give Kaidan a form of crowd control that would work on shielded enemies.

On the other hand, not counting Shepard, Medicine was something that was uniquely Kaidan's in the first game. Protecting the entire party also fits with the Bastion's role, though the fact that it is a healing move fits the Medic specialization, which Kaidan doesn't show any inclination toward in story or in his ME3 skillset. Gameplay-wise it would give him another way to support the whole party beyond just making himself harder to kill. Also, the only other characters I can justify giving Shield Boost two are Miranda and Mordin, so not giving it to Kaidan would mean that, not counting Shepard, an extremely powerful skill would be restricted to the ME2 segment.

This right here is practically my canon ending.

On a mshenko binge.

This one kills me, which is a major reason why I must choose Destroy.

Totally my story. Actually, I'd heard of ME but wasn't all that interested. Then I heard about ME3 and it was all over for me. Love ME so so much.

It's really hard to explain how much this relationship means to me. To see a game featuring characters that are more like me and not played for a joke, and not whores (looking at you, DAO). I've only been playing for about 2-1/2 years but I believe it's got a solid place in my heart.

Love that line. Citadel DLC!