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| Volus Protector |
As always we begin with the powers, well Biotic Charge is the same as it is for any Vanguard, so i think we can skip that. Shield Boost is also the same for any of the Volus characters but just in case you have yet to unlock a Volus character, when activated it basically refills a portion of your shields and those of your team mates, provided they are within range of course. Additionally it can be specced to provide a damage reduction from all incoming fire for a limited amount of time, a feature that i think turns a great power into a fantastic power for you and your team. The third and final power is Biotic Orbs, basically once you activate the power you create three orbs that will float around your character, when you use the power again it will fire one of the orbs at your chosen target, this can be done up to three times (once for each orb). A simple way of explaining the way these orbs work is that they're basically a slightly altered version of the Warp power. Like Warp, the orbs take time to travel towards a target and thus can be dodged, as well as suffer from misses when lag is present in game. Again like Warp, the orbs can be specced so that targets that are hit, are exposed to take more damage from you and your team, with the added bonus of the de-buff being able to stack from each orb. The main differences between Warp and Biotic Orbs however, are that Warp can both prime and detonate power combinations while Biotic Orbs can only act as a detonator and Warp does a little bit of damage over time after making contact with the target, whereas the orbs do all their damage in the initial hit [Biotic Orbs do slightly more damage than Warp].
If you read my article on the Volus Mercenary you'll know that i think most people consider Volus kits as support characters but you'll also know that I don't always treat them that way. I play the Volus Engineer very offensively and on a good day I can clean up, the Volus Adept I can again do pretty well with but i won't kill as fast as when I'm rolling with the engineer, the Volus Mercenary i simply don't use because he doesn't have any offensive powers. I was glad to find out that the Volus Protector had an offensive power to go with Biotic Charge because as I mentioned at the start, i believe the Vanguard class are meant to be aggressive in their play style. It might seem odd to think of the Volus characters being used as offensive kits but you'd be surprised at how well they can work, if you play them correctly. In terms of powers, I put some points in into Shield Boost as i always do because let's face it that's the power that makes the Volus characters what they are. For the Biotic Orbs I went Radius, Damage and Expose, again this what I always do when speccing orbs.
Originally I was planning to use the Volus Protector as a fast response medic, using Biotic Charge to rescue downed players and healing the team in between staggering enemies. Ironically when I actually got round to testing him out in the field, i found myself playing quite aggressively and to my surprise, actually doing pretty well in the process. I eventually went on to spec my BC for radius (as I always do) and Power Synergy, my game plan was to charge enemies and then attack them while they're recovering from the stagger, using Biotic Orbs for it's de-buffing abilities both before and after the charge. As it happens, Biotic Orbs synergise really well with Biotic Charge because once the orbs are floating around you, they can be used regardless of whether another power is cooling down. So when i was playing i would generate the orbs whenever I had a free moment and then once I spotted an enemy, hit them with one before carrying out the charge and then after I'd then hit them with another orb before finally putting them down with some gunfire. You'll find that with the right weapon you can drop enemies surprisingly fast, in fact I found that most basic troops didn't really need the second orb, using it just made it quicker to kill them. It's risky taking on a boss by yourself with the Volus Protector but that's not to say you can't do it, just follow the same game plan and use all your orbs, though definitely take greater care when doing do because one wrong move and you'll be out for the count.
Moving onto weapon load outs, well so far with every single Volus character I've been using the Hurricane SMG because it's got a really fast rate of fire, decent damage per bullet and generates cool down times that I can work with. I can kill enemies quickly whether or not I've used a power on them and using the extended clip mod means I can spray a few troops to death before making my escape. You might be thinking that SMG means CQC engagements and that in turn is not ideal for a squishy character but what can I say, it just works for me, even if it means I need to take a risk and get in close. Apart from the Volus Mercenary, I think all the other Volus kits can rely quite comfortably on their powers to help them get kills, so I don't see the need in bringing along a heavy hitting weapon that will just slow down power usage. If you don't have the Hurricane, I imagine a Tempest would work just as well or one of the Heavy Pistols, they have some good damage to weight options. I can't see a sniper working too well with the protector, especially if you're planning on using Biotic Charge in your attacks but an assault rifle or shotgun could work, though you'd have to experiment to find something that suits you [the Piranha springs to mind]. Speaking of shotguns, I've seen some people using the Reegar Carbine with the VP and I can only imagine it's because they're planning to use the Biotic Orbs and Weapon Synergy evolution of BC to melt enemies. I guess it's something to try out if you wanted but I got a feeling that game plan is best left to the tanky Krogan Vanguard, who can withstand a few hits should you need to reload and/or run out of ammo.
I think the Volus Protector is a pretty unique character, so i won't be doing a character comparison this week. I think his ability to be both a support character as well as an aggressive attacking one, make him stand out differently from the other Vanguards. If however we take away the Biotic Charge, then i guess you could say he's a slightly altered version of the Volus Engineer, who can also be a support character and an offensive one, through the use of both his mines. The VE has Proximity Mine that can also be specced to provide a de-buff on enemies for you and your team mates, it however is a set 20% figure whereas Biotic Orbs can be stacked to a figure higher than that. The mine has to be manually placed by the player whereas the orbs have automatic tracking, though of course they can miss entirely for various reasons. At base values the Proximity Mine does do more damage than each individual Biotic Orb but if you bear in mind that you can fire off a chain of at least three orbs with minimal delay, these would add up to nearly double the damage of that the single mine.
So in summary then, the Volus Protector is actually a pretty decent character. You wouldn't think he could be played offensively because of his squishy nature but between Shield Boost and Biotic Charge, you can keep yourself alive even when rushing the enemy head on. These two powers used in conjunction with your light melee cloak, allows you to not only be aggressive in your attacking but also act as a very mobile and speedy response medic for the rest of the team. Using Biotic Orbs alongside Biotic Charge (or even stand alone), grants you the ability to take down most enemies fairly quickly and even soften up the most hardened bosses. Like all the Volus characters, low health and shield values can be a concern but played carefully and using the powers smartly, you should be able to hold your own in a match. I think the Volus Engineer remains my favourite Volus kit but the Protector is definitely not too far behind and I'll definitely pick him up again some time in the future. My last character review of 2012 revealed a decent character and I'm glad to say that my first character review of 2013 has also revealed a decent one. Well done Bioware, I'm glad to say this kit wasn't a dud ;)
If you read my article on the Volus Mercenary you'll know that i think most people consider Volus kits as support characters but you'll also know that I don't always treat them that way. I play the Volus Engineer very offensively and on a good day I can clean up, the Volus Adept I can again do pretty well with but i won't kill as fast as when I'm rolling with the engineer, the Volus Mercenary i simply don't use because he doesn't have any offensive powers. I was glad to find out that the Volus Protector had an offensive power to go with Biotic Charge because as I mentioned at the start, i believe the Vanguard class are meant to be aggressive in their play style. It might seem odd to think of the Volus characters being used as offensive kits but you'd be surprised at how well they can work, if you play them correctly. In terms of powers, I put some points in into Shield Boost as i always do because let's face it that's the power that makes the Volus characters what they are. For the Biotic Orbs I went Radius, Damage and Expose, again this what I always do when speccing orbs.
Originally I was planning to use the Volus Protector as a fast response medic, using Biotic Charge to rescue downed players and healing the team in between staggering enemies. Ironically when I actually got round to testing him out in the field, i found myself playing quite aggressively and to my surprise, actually doing pretty well in the process. I eventually went on to spec my BC for radius (as I always do) and Power Synergy, my game plan was to charge enemies and then attack them while they're recovering from the stagger, using Biotic Orbs for it's de-buffing abilities both before and after the charge. As it happens, Biotic Orbs synergise really well with Biotic Charge because once the orbs are floating around you, they can be used regardless of whether another power is cooling down. So when i was playing i would generate the orbs whenever I had a free moment and then once I spotted an enemy, hit them with one before carrying out the charge and then after I'd then hit them with another orb before finally putting them down with some gunfire. You'll find that with the right weapon you can drop enemies surprisingly fast, in fact I found that most basic troops didn't really need the second orb, using it just made it quicker to kill them. It's risky taking on a boss by yourself with the Volus Protector but that's not to say you can't do it, just follow the same game plan and use all your orbs, though definitely take greater care when doing do because one wrong move and you'll be out for the count.
Moving onto weapon load outs, well so far with every single Volus character I've been using the Hurricane SMG because it's got a really fast rate of fire, decent damage per bullet and generates cool down times that I can work with. I can kill enemies quickly whether or not I've used a power on them and using the extended clip mod means I can spray a few troops to death before making my escape. You might be thinking that SMG means CQC engagements and that in turn is not ideal for a squishy character but what can I say, it just works for me, even if it means I need to take a risk and get in close. Apart from the Volus Mercenary, I think all the other Volus kits can rely quite comfortably on their powers to help them get kills, so I don't see the need in bringing along a heavy hitting weapon that will just slow down power usage. If you don't have the Hurricane, I imagine a Tempest would work just as well or one of the Heavy Pistols, they have some good damage to weight options. I can't see a sniper working too well with the protector, especially if you're planning on using Biotic Charge in your attacks but an assault rifle or shotgun could work, though you'd have to experiment to find something that suits you [the Piranha springs to mind]. Speaking of shotguns, I've seen some people using the Reegar Carbine with the VP and I can only imagine it's because they're planning to use the Biotic Orbs and Weapon Synergy evolution of BC to melt enemies. I guess it's something to try out if you wanted but I got a feeling that game plan is best left to the tanky Krogan Vanguard, who can withstand a few hits should you need to reload and/or run out of ammo.
I think the Volus Protector is a pretty unique character, so i won't be doing a character comparison this week. I think his ability to be both a support character as well as an aggressive attacking one, make him stand out differently from the other Vanguards. If however we take away the Biotic Charge, then i guess you could say he's a slightly altered version of the Volus Engineer, who can also be a support character and an offensive one, through the use of both his mines. The VE has Proximity Mine that can also be specced to provide a de-buff on enemies for you and your team mates, it however is a set 20% figure whereas Biotic Orbs can be stacked to a figure higher than that. The mine has to be manually placed by the player whereas the orbs have automatic tracking, though of course they can miss entirely for various reasons. At base values the Proximity Mine does do more damage than each individual Biotic Orb but if you bear in mind that you can fire off a chain of at least three orbs with minimal delay, these would add up to nearly double the damage of that the single mine.
So in summary then, the Volus Protector is actually a pretty decent character. You wouldn't think he could be played offensively because of his squishy nature but between Shield Boost and Biotic Charge, you can keep yourself alive even when rushing the enemy head on. These two powers used in conjunction with your light melee cloak, allows you to not only be aggressive in your attacking but also act as a very mobile and speedy response medic for the rest of the team. Using Biotic Orbs alongside Biotic Charge (or even stand alone), grants you the ability to take down most enemies fairly quickly and even soften up the most hardened bosses. Like all the Volus characters, low health and shield values can be a concern but played carefully and using the powers smartly, you should be able to hold your own in a match. I think the Volus Engineer remains my favourite Volus kit but the Protector is definitely not too far behind and I'll definitely pick him up again some time in the future. My last character review of 2012 revealed a decent character and I'm glad to say that my first character review of 2013 has also revealed a decent one. Well done Bioware, I'm glad to say this kit wasn't a dud ;)
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