[Build] The Central Casting Crowd Control Human Adept
Apr 6, 2017 13:57:06 GMT
LemurFromTheId, akots, and 3 more like this
Post by JRandall0308 on Apr 6, 2017 13:57:06 GMT
11 May 2017 - I need to update this for game patch 1.06. The good news it that combos are way more powerful now!
(This was already posted on reddit but I may as well post it here too.)
[Build] The Central Casting Crowd Control Human Adept
Build Summary
6/6/1/6/6
Weapons
Equalizer with Pistol Magazine and Pistol Scope (or Barrel)
Boosters
Disruptor Ammo
Power Efficiency Mod
Equipment
Thermal Clip Storage (or Adaptive War Amp)
Who is the Human Adept?
The Human Adept is a mid-range powers class (as much as that can be true in this game) who excels at crowd control. The build is fairly obvious, hence the 'central casting' moniker. But obvious builds can still be effective, so here goes.
Singularity 6 ranks
Singularity's main weakness is its extremely long 24 second cooldown. We can reduce that a bit, but you're never going to be able to spam the power.
Singularity's strength it its ability to prime multiple enemies and to trivialize health-only enemies, which are surprisingly common even on Gold difficulty.
Path: 4b (Radius) / 5b (Recharge Speed) / 6a (Exploding Singularity)
4b (Radius) over 4a (Duration)
Singularity already lasts 8 seconds, and a lot of times you'll want to detonate it early anyway, so increasing duration is pointless. Expanding the radius by 25% allows you to catch and prime more enemies in the effect.
5b (Recharge Speed) over 5a (Anti-Shield)*
Singularity already primes shielded enemies which is what we are interested in, not damaging shields. Reducing the cooldown even slightly (+25%) is beneficial.
6a (Exploding Singularity) over 6b (Expanding Singularity)
In theory Expanding Singularity could catch and prime more enemies, but in practice any nearby non-primed enemies will typically be otherwise dealt with during the 8 seconds that Singularity is active. Exploding Singularity allows you to use it in fire-and-forget mode during hectic periods.
Shockwave 6 ranks
This is your bread and butter combo detonator power. Being able to use Shockwave through obstructions is excellent. Shockwave can detonate multiple targets in a single cast.
Path: 4b (Radius) / 5a (Recharge Speed) / 6b (Lifting Shockwave)
The rank 4 and rank 5 evolutions are up for debate. The rank 6 evolution should _always_ be 6b Lifting Shockwave as explained below.
4b (Radius) over 4a (Damage & Force)
In this context 'radius' means how wide the Shockwave is. Its base is 1.5 meters and 4b Radius improves that by +50% up to 2.25 meters, typically enough to catch another enemy or two on the 'sides'. 4a Damage & Force lets you eke out a little more oomph from the power and isn't a bad choice if you think you can already catch enough enemies with the base power.
5a (Recharge Speed) over 5b (Reach)
In this context 'reach' means how long the Shockwave extends. I consider the baseline reach to be long enough, but there is some advantage to be had with an even longer reach that lets you detonate combos (your own or someone else's) from the safety of distance. I chose Recharge Speed because I would rather have more uptime on a 'shorter' Shockwave.
6b (Lifting Shockwave) over 6a (Anti-Armor)
'Lifting Shockwave' really means 'Priming Shockwave' as this evolution will turn Shockwave into both a Detonator and a Primer. That's a fantastic evolution and will dramatically improve your synergy with the rest of your team. Anti-Armor's pathetic +50% damage vs. armor on a power that only does a little damage to begin with is totally outclassed.
Pull 1 rank
One rank of Pull is enough to do what it says on the tin and the higher ranks don't make the power significantly better. Many of the most annoying enemies (Adhi!) are unshielded and unarmored so a quick Pull offers good utility against them. You can also Pull enemies out from behind cover if you angle it correctly.
Note that Pull will briefly stagger (but won't prime) even shielded or armored enemies, so you can use that in an emergency.
Offensive Biotics 6 ranks
Path: 4b (Power Efficiency) / 5a (Exposure) / 6a (Biotic Expert)
4b (Power Efficiency) over 4a (Power Enhancement)
Anything you can do to shorten your powers' recharge speeds is well worth it, far more so than a minor increase in power damage and force.
5a (Exposure) over 5b (Combo Detonation)
Debuffing enemies affected by your biotics by 20% is fantastic. This allows you and your team to deal more damage to the enemies, killing them more quickly.
Combo Detonation (or the equivalent) was great in Mass Effect 3, but Mass Effect Andromeda detonations deal so little damage that even increasing it by 30% is worthless compared to a global 20% debuff.
6a (Biotic Expert) over 6b (Biotic Warrior)
You're going to be using your powers in a regular cycle so you will have good uptime on Biotic Expert. Leave the punching to other characters.
Barrier 6 ranks
Path: 4b (Recuperative Barrier) / 5a (Biotic Link) / 6b (Saving Barrier)
4b (Recuperative Barrier) over 4a (Unyielding Barrier)
Either is a reasonable choice but decreasing the time that your shields take to start regenerating _and also_ speeding up that regeneration should save you more incoming damage in the long term, while also allowing you to spend more time fighting and less time cowering.
5a (Biotic Link) over 5b (Barrier Drain)
Again, leave the punching to someone else. Biotic Link should be up most of the time, buffing your shields by 40% whenever any enemy is affected by your biotics.
6b (Saving Barrier) over 6a (Active Barrier)
Unfortunately you won't be getting many kills with your biotics due to the weakness of biotic explosions, which makes Active Barrier pointless. Saving Barrier, on the other hand, is a great passive 'panic button' that kicks in 100% shields when your health falls below 25%, once every 10 seconds. Use that reprieve to get out of harm's way while dropping a Singularity or Shockwave as a parting gift.
Leveling Up
Singularity rank 5b ASAP, followed by Shockwave rank 6b so you have an additional way to prime enemies. Then work your way up to Barrier 6b, which will vastly improve your survivability. Next fill in with Singularity rank 6a and lastly Offensive Biotics.
Weapons
Any fast-firing weapon (to apply ammo effects; see below) will work. The common Charger is fine when you're starting out.
Other possibilities include the Raptor (classed as a sniper rifle but works like an assault rifle), Thokin (held back by its small clip), Equalizer (avoids the need to hit ammo boxes), and many others.
Boosters
The best possible ammo you can use with the crowd-control Adept is Disruptor Ammo. Tech Bursts will leave an electrical effect on the ground that can stun health-only enemies. Incendiary Ammo is a good second choice if you run out of Disruptor.
Power Efficiency Mods will let you use your powers more frequently, or Experience Enhancer if you want to level up more quickly.
Equipment
Thermal Clip Storage for more rounds and less time running to ammo boxes, or Adaptive War Amp for a tiny bit of extra biotic power damage. You're not melee-ing things so Juggernaut Shield isn't necessary.
Gameplay
Ideally: spot a cluster of enemies, use Singularity, shoot to prime them with Disruptor Ammo, use Shockwave to detonate a Tech Burst and a Biotic Explosion, shoot more, then manually detonate Singularity to finish them off. Shockwave will be off cooldown faster than Singularity, so shoot some more enemies and then Shockwave them for another Tech Burst.
Pull is great against dogs (Adhi and Wraiths) who are about to chomp you or an ally. Pull is also handy against health-only enemies (or formerly shielded enemies who are down to health) crouching behind cover to get them out where they can be shot to death. Pull will also work against the Kett Ascended once his bubble is down, buying you a few seconds to unload damage onto him.
Your ideal teammates are power-using classes who can detonate additional biotic explosions of your Singularity and/or set up something for you to detonate with Shockwave. Snipers and other pure weapons characters don't find much synergy with you although they may appreciate enemies made helpless by Singularity or Pull.
(This was already posted on reddit but I may as well post it here too.)
[Build] The Central Casting Crowd Control Human Adept
Build Summary
6/6/1/6/6
- Singularity 4b / 5b / 6a
- Shockwave 4b / 5b / 6b
- Pull 1 rank
- Offensive Biotics 4b / 5a / 6a
- Barrier 4b / 5a / 6b
Weapons
Equalizer with Pistol Magazine and Pistol Scope (or Barrel)
Boosters
Disruptor Ammo
Power Efficiency Mod
Equipment
Thermal Clip Storage (or Adaptive War Amp)
Who is the Human Adept?
A powerful biotic with light armor who uses power to control crowds and cause widespread damage.
The Human Adept is a mid-range powers class (as much as that can be true in this game) who excels at crowd control. The build is fairly obvious, hence the 'central casting' moniker. But obvious builds can still be effective, so here goes.
Singularity 6 ranks
Deploys a gravity well that lifts and damages unshielded and unarmored enemies. Primes enemies for combo detonations. Tap to use the power, and tap again to detonate it early.
Singularity's main weakness is its extremely long 24 second cooldown. We can reduce that a bit, but you're never going to be able to spam the power.
Singularity's strength it its ability to prime multiple enemies and to trivialize health-only enemies, which are surprisingly common even on Gold difficulty.
Path: 4b (Radius) / 5b (Recharge Speed) / 6a (Exploding Singularity)
4b (Radius) over 4a (Duration)
Singularity already lasts 8 seconds, and a lot of times you'll want to detonate it early anyway, so increasing duration is pointless. Expanding the radius by 25% allows you to catch and prime more enemies in the effect.
5b (Recharge Speed) over 5a (Anti-Shield)*
Singularity already primes shielded enemies which is what we are interested in, not damaging shields. Reducing the cooldown even slightly (+25%) is beneficial.
6a (Exploding Singularity) over 6b (Expanding Singularity)
In theory Expanding Singularity could catch and prime more enemies, but in practice any nearby non-primed enemies will typically be otherwise dealt with during the 8 seconds that Singularity is active. Exploding Singularity allows you to use it in fire-and-forget mode during hectic periods.
Shockwave 6 ranks
Blasts enemies with a line of explosions that proceeds through walls and other solid objects. Detonates combo primers.
This is your bread and butter combo detonator power. Being able to use Shockwave through obstructions is excellent. Shockwave can detonate multiple targets in a single cast.
Path: 4b (Radius) / 5a (Recharge Speed) / 6b (Lifting Shockwave)
The rank 4 and rank 5 evolutions are up for debate. The rank 6 evolution should _always_ be 6b Lifting Shockwave as explained below.
4b (Radius) over 4a (Damage & Force)
In this context 'radius' means how wide the Shockwave is. Its base is 1.5 meters and 4b Radius improves that by +50% up to 2.25 meters, typically enough to catch another enemy or two on the 'sides'. 4a Damage & Force lets you eke out a little more oomph from the power and isn't a bad choice if you think you can already catch enough enemies with the base power.
5a (Recharge Speed) over 5b (Reach)
In this context 'reach' means how long the Shockwave extends. I consider the baseline reach to be long enough, but there is some advantage to be had with an even longer reach that lets you detonate combos (your own or someone else's) from the safety of distance. I chose Recharge Speed because I would rather have more uptime on a 'shorter' Shockwave.
6b (Lifting Shockwave) over 6a (Anti-Armor)
'Lifting Shockwave' really means 'Priming Shockwave' as this evolution will turn Shockwave into both a Detonator and a Primer. That's a fantastic evolution and will dramatically improve your synergy with the rest of your team. Anti-Armor's pathetic +50% damage vs. armor on a power that only does a little damage to begin with is totally outclassed.
Pull 1 rank
Lifts an unshielded, unarmored enemy helplessly in the air and primes the target for combo detonations. Tap to use the power, or hold to drag the target towards you.
One rank of Pull is enough to do what it says on the tin and the higher ranks don't make the power significantly better. Many of the most annoying enemies (Adhi!) are unshielded and unarmored so a quick Pull offers good utility against them. You can also Pull enemies out from behind cover if you angle it correctly.
Note that Pull will briefly stagger (but won't prime) even shielded or armored enemies, so you can use that in an emergency.
Offensive Biotics 6 ranks
Training to maximize biotic damage to enemy targets.
Path: 4b (Power Efficiency) / 5a (Exposure) / 6a (Biotic Expert)
4b (Power Efficiency) over 4a (Power Enhancement)
Anything you can do to shorten your powers' recharge speeds is well worth it, far more so than a minor increase in power damage and force.
5a (Exposure) over 5b (Combo Detonation)
Debuffing enemies affected by your biotics by 20% is fantastic. This allows you and your team to deal more damage to the enemies, killing them more quickly.
Combo Detonation (or the equivalent) was great in Mass Effect 3, but Mass Effect Andromeda detonations deal so little damage that even increasing it by 30% is worthless compared to a global 20% debuff.
6a (Biotic Expert) over 6b (Biotic Warrior)
You're going to be using your powers in a regular cycle so you will have good uptime on Biotic Expert. Leave the punching to other characters.
Barrier 6 ranks
Uses biotic abilities to augment standard kinetic barriers.
4b (Recuperative Barrier) over 4a (Unyielding Barrier)
Either is a reasonable choice but decreasing the time that your shields take to start regenerating _and also_ speeding up that regeneration should save you more incoming damage in the long term, while also allowing you to spend more time fighting and less time cowering.
5a (Biotic Link) over 5b (Barrier Drain)
Again, leave the punching to someone else. Biotic Link should be up most of the time, buffing your shields by 40% whenever any enemy is affected by your biotics.
6b (Saving Barrier) over 6a (Active Barrier)
Unfortunately you won't be getting many kills with your biotics due to the weakness of biotic explosions, which makes Active Barrier pointless. Saving Barrier, on the other hand, is a great passive 'panic button' that kicks in 100% shields when your health falls below 25%, once every 10 seconds. Use that reprieve to get out of harm's way while dropping a Singularity or Shockwave as a parting gift.
Leveling Up
Singularity rank 5b ASAP, followed by Shockwave rank 6b so you have an additional way to prime enemies. Then work your way up to Barrier 6b, which will vastly improve your survivability. Next fill in with Singularity rank 6a and lastly Offensive Biotics.
Weapons
Any fast-firing weapon (to apply ammo effects; see below) will work. The common Charger is fine when you're starting out.
Other possibilities include the Raptor (classed as a sniper rifle but works like an assault rifle), Thokin (held back by its small clip), Equalizer (avoids the need to hit ammo boxes), and many others.
Boosters
The best possible ammo you can use with the crowd-control Adept is Disruptor Ammo. Tech Bursts will leave an electrical effect on the ground that can stun health-only enemies. Incendiary Ammo is a good second choice if you run out of Disruptor.
Power Efficiency Mods will let you use your powers more frequently, or Experience Enhancer if you want to level up more quickly.
Equipment
Thermal Clip Storage for more rounds and less time running to ammo boxes, or Adaptive War Amp for a tiny bit of extra biotic power damage. You're not melee-ing things so Juggernaut Shield isn't necessary.
Gameplay
Ideally: spot a cluster of enemies, use Singularity, shoot to prime them with Disruptor Ammo, use Shockwave to detonate a Tech Burst and a Biotic Explosion, shoot more, then manually detonate Singularity to finish them off. Shockwave will be off cooldown faster than Singularity, so shoot some more enemies and then Shockwave them for another Tech Burst.
Pull is great against dogs (Adhi and Wraiths) who are about to chomp you or an ally. Pull is also handy against health-only enemies (or formerly shielded enemies who are down to health) crouching behind cover to get them out where they can be shot to death. Pull will also work against the Kett Ascended once his bubble is down, buying you a few seconds to unload damage onto him.
Your ideal teammates are power-using classes who can detonate additional biotic explosions of your Singularity and/or set up something for you to detonate with Shockwave. Snipers and other pure weapons characters don't find much synergy with you although they may appreciate enemies made helpless by Singularity or Pull.
