Vanguard advice for ME2

Thanks for more input. I am almost to Mordin for his recruitment mission - I did do the Firewalker set of missions and Normandy crash site - also all the basic Citadel fetch quests, but that's it so far.

I watched a video on basic Vanguarding from Red's list above - actually right where I am right now. The guy in the video is level 8, I'm level 5, and he has Charge already maxxed, along with Miranda's warp so he is more advanced than me. I also should have focused completely into Charge but I branched out a little. I will re-spec when I can. So I am hanging back in cover, going slower using my SMG, Miranda's powers, etc then only really charging when I can finish them off and find nearby cover. Guess what? I'm dying less. All the videos for Van seem to show Charge, Charge, Charge but I'm not ready to handle that - also is that fun just doing one thing over and over?

Everything I've read, and everything you guys have said, tells me that Van's are squishy/weak at the beginning but then after maxxing Charge and Champion, things get better. I will stick with it. Can someone link a suggested point-path for how to best level my Van for H-core? As I said, I messed up by not going full Charge so far I think.

One question, in the video I watched the guy was using Miranda's warp I think with Charge - but I wasn't sure how to setup the combo. I have been using Miranda's overload more than Warp, but I might be missing something useful.

Yeah I think that guy in the vid must have had an xp bonus too. I think he was using Warp just before charge to stun them I guess.

Follow-up question? Which shotgun should I prefer? I have the geth shotgun now, realized it's got a decent range. Been using SMG for distance fighting, then swapping to shotgun for up close. Is there an easy way to cycle weapons on a console controller? Can't seem to find it.

Also which heavy weapon should I be using? I have Arc Projector right now. Thanks.

I use the cain 3 times in the game. The first time is on the collector ship when the Praetorian shows up, the scion near the end of the long walk inside the barrier, and when facing the proto reaper. The reason why I use it on that scion is because it will cause a lot of damage, if it isn't dealt with quickly. If it's dealt with quickly enough, it makes dealing with the husks especially the abomination one much easier.

The guy probably imported a level 50 Shepard, so he started at level 5 > Level 6 after Lazarus > level 7 after Freedom's Progress.

General consensus for levelling a Vanguard (Sorry, I should have told you this earlier):
1. Max Charge to Heavy Charge
2. Max Passive to Destroyer/Champion
3. Max Incendiary Ammo to Inferno Ammo.

After that, put points into whatever you want.

Charge-heavy builds go for something like this:
4 - Inferno Ammo
4 - Squad Cryo Ammo
4 - Heavy Charge
0 - Shockwave
0 - Pull
4 - Destroyer/Champion
1 - Slam/Stasis
* You can max Stasis/Slam with 1 point in Shockwave, or leave 1 point in Slam/Stasis and go with Improved Shockwave. Slam/Stasis and Shockwave are pretty much point sinks for a charge-focused Vanguard.

A caster-friendly Vanguard is more like this:
4 - Inferno Ammo
0 - Squad Cryo Ammo
4 - Heavy Charge
4 - Improved Shockwave
4 - Champion
1 - Stasis
* You can use Slam early-game instead of Stasis as a Pull substitute

You can only combo lifted targets (enemies lifted by Singularity, Pull, or Slam). Warp will detonate, Charge/Slam/Throw will hit with increased force.

Fun is subjective. Not everyone finds the same playstyles fun.

Biotic Charge is a high-risk, high-reward power. Using it a lot adds a lot more risk but also a lot more reward. If you charge first, then you end usually needing to keep charging to stay alive. It is a very adrenaline-filled playstyle that can be lots of fun, but can also lead to a lot of Critical Mission Failure screens if you are not adept enough at that playstyle.

There are a few things to keep in mind:
- Try to charge enemies near the back, or isolated enemies. When starting out, you want to charge enemies near cover so you can kill them, take cover to avoid enemy fire, then plan your next charge.
- After charging, try to keep the enemy in front of between the enemies behind him. Enemies don't like shooting their buddies, so they tend not shoot at you if their friend is in the way.
- Charging an unprotected enemy will knock him down. Some players like charging unprotected enemies to knock him down so there is one less enemy shooting.
- Later, Squad Cryo Ammo will help since squadmates can freeze some enemies for you, making the fight a little easier.

Also:
- Hard Shields upgrade (requirs researching three Damage Protection upgrades) reduces shield damage by 20%.
- It takes about 1 second after your shield breaks before you start taking health damage.

Thank you for the two suggested builds.  Question though: isn't Shockwave crappy? Like it only CCs on health-only enemies, right? I guess playing a Van is all about the high risk so I will opt towards your top build - when can I respec with Mordin btw?

Also, to your other points about Charge and Vanguard, I'm used to control-classes like Adept.  I like Singularity, pull, throw, etc.  Dominating the battlefield with CC locks, makes me feel powerful and well, in control.  Vanguard is totally different.  It's weird to be, challenging but I am trying to stay with it.  Realized I can easily change my class with the Gibbed editor, and go back to Adept or something but everyone loves Van so I want to try it some more first.

Shockwave will only stagger protected enemies, and since all enemies on Hardcore and Insanity have some sort of protection layer, Shockwave becomes less useful. That being said, it is not useless. I have played both a Shockwave Adept and used Shockwave on the Vanguard. Probably my favorite Vanguard is one that uses Pull and Shockwave as well as Charge. (I also took sniper rifles on that Vanguard.)


You can respec with Mordin after Horizon. Finishing Horizon unlocks the ability to reassign all your talent points.

My vanguards generally take the Sniper training on the Collector Ship and stick with the Eviscerator as their shotgun.  Nightlife - That's what I was referencing when I said that a lot of players lean to the Claymore... meaning that I think more players prefer to pick up the Claymore on the Collector Ship rather than go for some other type of weapon training.  If you do pick up the sniper training you won't get the Black Widow, but rather just the training so that you can use the standard SR's, so you won't have the "boss" SR at your disposal and you'll be forfeiting the "boss" shotgun at the same time.  That said, though, I enjoy having some ranged weaponry on my vanguards so I can vary up the playstyle... not always charge, shotgun, charge, etc.

As a Vanguard myself (Sentinel is a close second, with Infiltrator third)...

Heavy Charge, Inferno Ammo, Champion, Wide Shockwave, Area Pull, Squad Cryo Ammo.

My favorite bonus power here is Barrier;
it's the perfect panic button when Charge isn't viable, and opens up time to dash, melee, or fire/reload the shotgun.

Use Pull on unprotected enemies, they make excellent targets, and the recharge time is very quick. ALWAYS DO THIS IF POSSIBLE, the fewer enemies able to attack you, the safer it is to Charge.

Miranda is your best squadmate, bar none.
Overload counters your main weakness, Warp detonates your Pull, and her squad bonus to weapon damage and health is amazing.

Inferno Ammo basically turns any weapon you have it on into a mini-grenade launcher, and that AOE does wonders for devastating enemy protections.

Garrus makes for an excellent 2nd squadmate, he has Overload, isn't fragile, and carries a sniper rifle and assault rifle.

The Kestrel armor set is arguably the best armor set, but anything that boosts melee damage, shields, and weapon damage is good.

Finally, you are a combat and biotic class. If biotics are not viable in the moment, you can engage in traditional combat.

Charge is your breadwinner here, but it doesn't need to be your first move.
It makes an excellent finisher, and is the best ability at changing battlefield positions, literally on the fly.

Shockwave makes Husks laughably easy to deal with, and one-shots them if unprotected. Plus it staggers basically everything.

The one big learning curve for this class is that it almost *requires* lightning-fast thinking, and the ability to string together attacks in rapid succession.
If you're using a mouse-n-keyboard you should have an easier time of it.

That, and situational awareness is an absolute must. You have to cognizant of not only WHERE you're charging, but also WHEN to charge and WHAT you'll do after charging.

If for whatever reason a fight is just too difficult for you, just remember that you have all the crowd control of the Adept, but more weapons and better weapon damage.
Engaging in classic gunplay is perfectly viable without relying on Charge.

I might try this.  I've always avoided shotguns over weapons that fire faster.  However, in my current ME1 PT, my Vanguard is using shotguns with very good results.  I'll stick with it through the trilogy.

That build is impossible without modding. (You can theoretically also get it with lots of bonus power reassigning in and out of dominate, but that would also require a lot of eezo)

This is why I liked the trilogy so much. There was a class for everyone that just felt right to them. I myself have tried adept, soldier, and sentinel. But only Vanguard was the class I had the most fun with. I've never got the hang of adept personally. In ME2 I got my ass spanked on normal as an adept. I have no idea how people play that class lol.