Post by sageoflife on Apr 9, 2017 20:41:56 GMT
Something I've always found interesting to think about is how the squadmates that weren't available in ME2 would have performed during the suicide mission.
Kaidan
Fire Team Leader: Yes. Like Garrus and Jacob, Kaidan has received formal military training. The fact that he was chosen to lead a biotic spec ops team also indicates leadership skills. So I think he would be a correct choice to lead the fire teams.
Vents: No. While Kaidan is a trained technician, he is nowhere near the same level of skill as the canon vent specialists. Kaidan's technical skills are more focused on supporting his comrades, so I think he would be an incorrect choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: Yes. It's not given much focus, but Kaidan is the second strongest human biotic on Shepard's team; only Jack, the asari, and maybe Javik surpass him. Kaidan and Jack are also the only two human biotics to be explicitly compared to asari, creating another commonality between them that is not seen with any of the other non-asari options. Lastly, Kaidan's power set in ME3 points toward a high level of skill with defensive biotics, while still being able to use them for offensive ends: exactly what the barrier specialist needs. So I think Kaidan would be a correct choice for the barrier.
Hold the Line Rating: Above Average. As said before, Kaidan has a high level of skill with defensive biotics, which would put him at an advantage if he needs to bunker down and hold a position. However, his need to pace himself would put him below some of the other specialists like Garrus and Zaeed.
Ashley
Fire Team Leader: Yes. Ashley is another character who has had formal military training, and she had excellent technical scores during exercises. While it's true that she lost her entire unit on Eden Prime, Garrus lost his whole unit on Omega, so I think Ashley would be a correct choice.
Vents: Ashley is not a technician, so she would be an incorrect choice.
Biotic Barrier: Ashley is not a biotic, so she wouldn't even be an option.
Hold the Line Rating: High. Ashley's skills are very similar to Zaeed's, just more refined, so I think she would be around his level, likely a bit higher.
Wrex
Fire Team Leader: Yes. The fact that Wrex was able to unite the krogan shows that he does know how to lead people, and he is distinctly lacking in stories like Zaeed's that end with at least one teammate getting killed, so I think Wrex would be a correct choice to lead the fire teams. That said, this one strikes me as a bit of a toss-up.
Vents: No. Wrex is not a technician; his idea of hacking a lock is to shoot it. Would he even fit in the vent?
Biotic Barrier: No. Among the ME1 squad, Wrex was the weakest of the three biotics. While he is apparently strong by krogan standards, he has never been compared to an asari, so I think Wrex would be an incorrect choice for the barrier.
Hold the Line Rating: The Highest. More than any other squadmate in the trilogy, Wrex is damn near impossible to take down. He is the one character whose Hold the Line Rating would be higher than Grunt's.
Liara
Fire Team Leader: No. Liara has no formal combat training and no experience in leading others to draw on. She would definitely be an incorrect choice.
Vents: No. While Liara had Electronics in ME1 and becoming the Shadow Broker implies some technical skill on her part, she is nowhere near the trained combat technicians that are the correct choices for the vents. Liara would be an incorrect choice.
Biotic Barrier: Yes. Liara is the biotic specialist in both games where she is a full squadmate, and she is considered a prodigy by asari standards. She would be a correct choice.
Hold the Line Rating: Very Low. Liara's biotics would give her a slight boost, but she has always been one of Shepard's most fragile companions. Only Tali and Mordin would be worse than Liara.
James
Fire Team Leader: Yes. James is another character with formal military training. Losing his team on Fehl Prime was the result of a conscious decision to prioritize vital intel, not incompetence. The invitation to the N7 program is also a good sign, so I think James would be a correct option to lead the fire teams.
Vents: No. James's idea of hacking something is to kick it. He would be an incorrect choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: James is not a biotic, so he would not even be an option.
Hold the Line Rating: Yes. James is the designated meat shield in ME3, much like Grunt and Wrex before him, so James's Hold the Line Rating would be surpassed only by the krogan.
EDI
Fire Team Leader: No. While EDI likely has extensive tactical knowledge programmed in, it is very unlikely that the crew would trust her with a role like this, and she may not be able to adapt in an active combat situation, so I think EDI would be an incorrect choice for the fire team leader.
Vent: Yes. EDI is an AI and a tech specialist who easily matches Tali and Legion, so she would be a correct choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: EDI would not even be an option.
Hold the Line Rating: Above Average. EDI's body was built for combat situations and to be resistant to damage, so she would have a respectable Hold the Line Rating.
Javik
Fire Team Leader: Yes. Javik held a command position in the prothean resistance, apparently for quite some time. There also must be a reason that he was chosen to effectively be the leader of the rebuild prothean empire once he was awakened from stasis, so I think Javik would be a correct choice for the fire team leader.
Vents: No. While Javik displays some technical knowledge, his lack of tech powers indicates that he is nowhere near the canon correct choices, so Javik would be an incorrect choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: Yes. It is not mentioned how common prothean biotics were, or how Javik compares to other prothean biotics, but in ME3 his passive bonuses are identical to Samara's, so I think he would be a correct choice for the barrier.
Hold the Line Rating: High. Javik has extensive experience fighting Reaper forces, so I think his Hold the Line Rating would be slightly above or below Garrus.
Thoughts? Opinions?
Kaidan
Fire Team Leader: Yes. Like Garrus and Jacob, Kaidan has received formal military training. The fact that he was chosen to lead a biotic spec ops team also indicates leadership skills. So I think he would be a correct choice to lead the fire teams.
Vents: No. While Kaidan is a trained technician, he is nowhere near the same level of skill as the canon vent specialists. Kaidan's technical skills are more focused on supporting his comrades, so I think he would be an incorrect choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: Yes. It's not given much focus, but Kaidan is the second strongest human biotic on Shepard's team; only Jack, the asari, and maybe Javik surpass him. Kaidan and Jack are also the only two human biotics to be explicitly compared to asari, creating another commonality between them that is not seen with any of the other non-asari options. Lastly, Kaidan's power set in ME3 points toward a high level of skill with defensive biotics, while still being able to use them for offensive ends: exactly what the barrier specialist needs. So I think Kaidan would be a correct choice for the barrier.
Hold the Line Rating: Above Average. As said before, Kaidan has a high level of skill with defensive biotics, which would put him at an advantage if he needs to bunker down and hold a position. However, his need to pace himself would put him below some of the other specialists like Garrus and Zaeed.
Ashley
Fire Team Leader: Yes. Ashley is another character who has had formal military training, and she had excellent technical scores during exercises. While it's true that she lost her entire unit on Eden Prime, Garrus lost his whole unit on Omega, so I think Ashley would be a correct choice.
Vents: Ashley is not a technician, so she would be an incorrect choice.
Biotic Barrier: Ashley is not a biotic, so she wouldn't even be an option.
Hold the Line Rating: High. Ashley's skills are very similar to Zaeed's, just more refined, so I think she would be around his level, likely a bit higher.
Wrex
Fire Team Leader: Yes. The fact that Wrex was able to unite the krogan shows that he does know how to lead people, and he is distinctly lacking in stories like Zaeed's that end with at least one teammate getting killed, so I think Wrex would be a correct choice to lead the fire teams. That said, this one strikes me as a bit of a toss-up.
Vents: No. Wrex is not a technician; his idea of hacking a lock is to shoot it. Would he even fit in the vent?
Biotic Barrier: No. Among the ME1 squad, Wrex was the weakest of the three biotics. While he is apparently strong by krogan standards, he has never been compared to an asari, so I think Wrex would be an incorrect choice for the barrier.
Hold the Line Rating: The Highest. More than any other squadmate in the trilogy, Wrex is damn near impossible to take down. He is the one character whose Hold the Line Rating would be higher than Grunt's.
Liara
Fire Team Leader: No. Liara has no formal combat training and no experience in leading others to draw on. She would definitely be an incorrect choice.
Vents: No. While Liara had Electronics in ME1 and becoming the Shadow Broker implies some technical skill on her part, she is nowhere near the trained combat technicians that are the correct choices for the vents. Liara would be an incorrect choice.
Biotic Barrier: Yes. Liara is the biotic specialist in both games where she is a full squadmate, and she is considered a prodigy by asari standards. She would be a correct choice.
Hold the Line Rating: Very Low. Liara's biotics would give her a slight boost, but she has always been one of Shepard's most fragile companions. Only Tali and Mordin would be worse than Liara.
James
Fire Team Leader: Yes. James is another character with formal military training. Losing his team on Fehl Prime was the result of a conscious decision to prioritize vital intel, not incompetence. The invitation to the N7 program is also a good sign, so I think James would be a correct option to lead the fire teams.
Vents: No. James's idea of hacking something is to kick it. He would be an incorrect choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: James is not a biotic, so he would not even be an option.
Hold the Line Rating: Yes. James is the designated meat shield in ME3, much like Grunt and Wrex before him, so James's Hold the Line Rating would be surpassed only by the krogan.
EDI
Fire Team Leader: No. While EDI likely has extensive tactical knowledge programmed in, it is very unlikely that the crew would trust her with a role like this, and she may not be able to adapt in an active combat situation, so I think EDI would be an incorrect choice for the fire team leader.
Vent: Yes. EDI is an AI and a tech specialist who easily matches Tali and Legion, so she would be a correct choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: EDI would not even be an option.
Hold the Line Rating: Above Average. EDI's body was built for combat situations and to be resistant to damage, so she would have a respectable Hold the Line Rating.
Javik
Fire Team Leader: Yes. Javik held a command position in the prothean resistance, apparently for quite some time. There also must be a reason that he was chosen to effectively be the leader of the rebuild prothean empire once he was awakened from stasis, so I think Javik would be a correct choice for the fire team leader.
Vents: No. While Javik displays some technical knowledge, his lack of tech powers indicates that he is nowhere near the canon correct choices, so Javik would be an incorrect choice for the vents.
Biotic Barrier: Yes. It is not mentioned how common prothean biotics were, or how Javik compares to other prothean biotics, but in ME3 his passive bonuses are identical to Samara's, so I think he would be a correct choice for the barrier.
Hold the Line Rating: High. Javik has extensive experience fighting Reaper forces, so I think his Hold the Line Rating would be slightly above or below Garrus.
Thoughts? Opinions?