Gold Solo Chronicles - Four Vanguards Charge into the Kett on Sandstorm

Batarian Vanguard

Next, Grakkus wanted to take his chances against the Kett. “What weapon loadout are you bringing with you?” “Weapons?” barked Grakkus, “I’m going to punch everything!” And punch he did. After being sliced and diced by the Asari Duelist, the Kett left Sandstorm black and blue after being on the receiving end of Grakkus’ Batarian Gauntlet.



Gameplay and Build link: bit.ly/2hoI7u3

This is an ultimate glass melee build with Rank 4B and Rank 6B melee evolutions in Combat Fitness. This Batarian doesn't need to Hold the Line; he moves the line! For survivability, I went with with Annihilation 6B Vortex, a Power Efficiency Mod III for faster cooldowns, and the Juggernaut Shield for the extra shields I sacrificed for extra melee damage.

With Flak Cannon, I went with extra power cells and stunning. I didn't want Rank 4A Damage and Force Rank 6B Shredder because I wanted the enemies to have some health left before I rushed in and punched them.

This build means you have to be extra careful not to be surrounded and targeted by enemies just outside of your Annihilation Field and punching radius. I found my combo damage to be pretty powerful without having to go with Rank 5B in Weapon Training. An alternate build would have to sacrifice some melee or Flak Cannon to get the extra combo damage. I’ve seen some builds exclude Annihilation Field, but I like it, especially the Rank 6B Vortex ability to neutralize unshielded enemies (also on the Krogan Gladiator).

Double devices meant for a relatively easy run (no hacks or uploads to ruin his punching days). Like with the Duelist, watch out that you don't accidentally Falcon Punch the device and give precious seconds to the enemy to rush your position. That said, I had several failed attempts where I got a Wave 3 Hack and a Wave 6 Upload or Wave 3 Upload and a Wave 6 Hack for the objectives. I used up all of my consumables finishing the first objective such that I was spent by the time Wave 6 arrived.

Krogan Vanguard

Finally, our Krogan Vanguard was our final soldier on the battlefield. By this time, the Kett were sick of being beaten up by the Asari Duelist, Batarian Vanguard and Human Vanguard, so they were mad as hell and threw their best at our Krogan. They gave him all he could handle, including a Wave 3 Upload and a Wave 6 Boss objectives but it was of no use. Tuchanka may be light years away, but this Krogan knows how to crush the enemy and complete the objectives!

Our Krogan brought a Soned Bulwark and a Piranha Siphon to Firebase Sandstorm. I suggested bringing the Rozerad Siphon, remarking that his Bulwark Soned wouldn’t give him any damage resistance, but Kroganov waved me off. “Bigger is better! Can you imagine the mighty Kroganov using such a little pistol? Siphon? I have Krogan Rage! And my head!”



On his return from the mission, I told Kroganov that he should be proud of his accomplishments during the Upload and Boss objectives. He nodded and quietly said that the shame and disappointment he felt from missing his Rite of Passage on Tuchanka has been wiped clean. “Now I need to find my Mercenary brother so I can load up on ryncol. For Andromeda!”

Gameplay notes and build link: bit.ly/2jjtSL1

Kroganov might not want to have a Soned Siphon, but I wouldn’t mind him using one. His Krogan Rage was an effective substitute for regenerating his health over time. The extra accuracy and stability boosts from Fortify 5B and APEX Training 5B and 6A, the Soned and the Piranha become pretty accurate guns. The Soned also primes very well, and I was able to create many fire explosions with the Soned and Charge. You can also starting spinning up the Soned, Charge into an enemy, and the Soned will continue firing after exiting Charge.

Explosive Purge came in handy whenever I charged into a group of enemies and needed some additional time to head butt them or (slowly) get away. Nova was the odd power out, and I just had one rank in it compared with Rank 6 with the Human Vanguard.

Like the Batarian Vanguard, the Krogan doesn’t have much in the way of shields, but he has Krogan Rage and Rank 5A Unstoppable for added damage resistance. This kept me alive while waiting for Charge to come back online. Instead of Structural Ergonomics, I chose Assault Loadout for an extra 15% damage with the Soned and Piranha.

Let’s talk about the two objectives. Wave 3 Upload was tough, especially the final circle. I wasted all of my rockets clearing out either the Ascendant or the circles. With no rockets left by Wave 6, I surely was in trouble with the Behemoth, no? Fortunately, on a previous failed attempt, I figured out a way to take out the Behemoth as quickly as possible. Using the Piranha, I would fire until the ammo counter reached 1. Then, I popped an ammo pack which refilled my Piranha back to 8. I would do it again until the Behemoth went down. Had to use Charge a couple of times to regain my shields as I continued shooting at him at point blank range. Everything else was surrounding me and shooting at me, and I have no idea how I survived their barrage.

Human Vanguard video has been added, featuring a successful Wave 6 Hack where I had to leave the circle several times to draw enemies away. Finished it with just seconds to spare.