Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Thread

[Scoopapa]

So I know that there is already a Mass Effect 3 Thread, but trying to fit discussion of the multiplayer in the same thread as complaints about the endings would just never work, so I figured multiplayer deserved its own thread. If you do want to talk about why the endings sucked, head to that thread, rather than this one.

Mass Effect 3 multiplayer actually has an appeal similar to that of pokemon, I think, with the degree of customization of builds as well as the team aspect. You need to have solid planning and coordination with builds before the match starts, as well as good tactics in the match itself. As such, I figured this forum would be a good place for discussion of ME3 multiplayer.

The juiciest thing to discuss here would be character builds, of course, and I'll offer a suggestion template for how to do that here:

template

Build Title:
Race/Class:
Overview: (list what tier you leveled each ability tree up to in x/x/x/x/x form, like an EV spread)
Skill 1: (list what evolutions you chose for the skill)
Skill 2: ""
Skill 3: ""
Skill 4: ""
Skill 5: ""
Weapon 1: (mod1, mod2)
Weapon 2: ""
Gear Bonus:
Weapon Amp:
Ammo Power:
Armor Amp:
Description: (explain why you chose what you chose)
Strategy: (what tactics does it use, what teammates work best with it, what maps does it work on, how does it fare against the different enemies, and what difficulty level is it designed for)

You could also individually discuss weapons, maps, classes (i.e. what different types of builds can they use) or team strategies, but I say discussing builds is the juiciest because it basically covers all of those points at once.

Finally, the weekly balance changes are probably worthy of discussion here.

I look forward to seeing how Smogonites play ME3 multiplayer!

Edit: I completely forgot to point out that this is probably a good place to find other players to set up teams for Gold runs or whatever else. I am Scoopapa on xbox live.

 

[Scoopapa]

I'll kick things off with a build for Gold

Build Title: Supporting Squid
Race/Class: Asari Justicar
Overview: 6/6/0/6/6
Biotic Sphere: Radius, Damage Redux, Damage Redux + Recharge
Reave: Radius, Damage Redux, Damage Duration + Redux
Asari Justicar: Weight Capacity, Power Damage, AR weight
Fitness: Durability, Recharge, Durability
Weapon 1: Mattock (Damage + Piercing mods). Vindicator might work, too.
Weapon 2: Hurricane (Ultralight + Damage mods)
Gear Bonus: Shield Boost/Stronghold
Weapon Amp: AR
Ammo Power: any
Armor Amp: Cyclonic Modulator

Description: First of all, the bubble. I hate the tiny bubble, so I went with radius over shield regen even though I'm otherwise going defensive bubble. You'd be amazed how many places there are in the maps where the bigger bubble can cover multiple angles (i.e. both sides of a hallway) that the small bubble can't. This really matters when your team is on the move and you need to find a good spot for it on the fly. You still get full damage redux with it, at any rate. I didn't invest in Pull because it only works on shieldless and armorless enemies, and its only slightly less efficient to kill such enemies by just shooting them in the face. Not worth spending points in my opinion. Relying on mooks for Biotic Explosions is situational, too, and wont help much on later Gold waves. Reave is AoE to set up as many biotic explosions as possible, and benefits from the Justicar duration passives. The other perks prioritize damage resistance, so you can get that 80% damage reduction under the bubble, making you as durable as a Krogan, but with the excellent Asari evasion. The mattock is about the heaviest AR you can equip without affecting cooldowns, and it's good accuracy means you can stay in your bubble and still be landing all your shots. The ultralight Hurricane is just there to help strip shields off of bosses. If you don't have it, the Hornet has the next highest dps of the SMG's.

Strategy: This build is meant to be used on Gold, and probably wont be impressive on Silver where people are just running around trying to get points and will never sit in your bubble. Try to put your bubble somewhere that it can cover you and at least one other teammate, ideally covering two different cover locations. If you have a bubble where you want it, proceed to use Reave to stumble enemies and then fire the mattock like crazy. If you are decent at getting headshots then your damage output should be respectable. Thanks to AoE stagger, great durability, and the suppressive power of most decent AR's, this character handles itself quite well in a breach situation.

The build has three main support functions. First, there's the bubble, which really helps to fortify a camping spot and lets your teammates spend less time waiting for shields to recharge. Second, Reave can stagger multiple enemies at a time, making them easier to pick off for your allies. Third, AoE Reave can set up tons of Biotic Explosions, greatly increasing your team's damage output. The build is probably at it's best against Cerberus, since you can kill both Guardians and Phantoms pretty easily, enemies which some classes will struggle against. It's also great against Reaper, where you can often catch multiple armored units with a single Reave, and you can absorb Banshee warps with barely any damage. Against Geth you unfortunately can't get the Reave damage redux, but the bubble is most useful here because you typically want to camp against Geth. I have used this against all three factions on Gold and it's certainly viable on all of them. It's also surprisingly good when your team is on the move, as you can throw down a new bubble whenever you come up against resistance on your way to an objective (or at the objective). In terms of teammates, the #1 thing you want is another Biotic to set up explosions with your AoE Reave. The next most useful type of teammate is something that has a damage resistance bonus, as it will stack with that of the bubble. A Krogan Sentinel can get a total of 90% resistance inside the bubble, and a Human Soldier can use Adrenaline Rush to infinitely fire an AR while barely ever having to take cover. Overall, it's a pretty good team player and surprisingly versatile. If you're struggling to find something that reliably works on Gold, give this a try!