Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Random Character Kit Selector [Beta / Version 1.00]

One of the nice things about ME3 MP is that there are soo many character kits to select from (assuming you've unlocked them all :P), what isn't soo nice is that in any given session, you'll only be able to take a handful of them for a spin. Now I don't know about you guys but whenever I play, it always seems that I end up using the same selection of kits. I guess it's because I play with randoms most of the time and so I don't really want to take something I'm not particularly strong with, just in case they're terrible. This lack of variety can get a bit boring and so I do try and mix it up whenever I can but to be honest I don't want to think about kits, I just want to play a match. I've thought about creating this random character selector for a while but until recently I kept putting it off because A) I'm kinda lazy, B) I hate coding, C) I seriously suck at coding and D) I really hate coding. Anyway, I decided to give it a crack and voilà, after many hours of head banging and loud cursing, I've managed to produce something that I believe is fully working. Just to be on the safe side I'm going to call this the Beta version but failing any reports of PC meltdowns, I'll also refer to it as Ver 1.00, if and/or whenever I update it. So yeah, free up some of your brain's processing power and let the RNG Gods decide your fate XD

Awakened Collector - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Awakened Collector

I can't believe it's been nearly half a year since I wrote my first Mass Effect 3 multiplayer character review and now here I am, about to start my last one! It's a bitter sweet moment, on the one hand I'm now free to leave the world of ME3 MP and start going through my backlog of unplayed games but on the other hand, I am going to miss putting new characters through their paces. There's at least two more ME3 MP articles in the pipeline but those won't be character reviews (obviously) and will probably be my last for the Mass Effect franchise (until ME4), that is unless something major happens in the future for ME3. Anyway, this week I'll be discussing the final Reckoning DLC kit, the Awakened Collector; classified as an Adept and he brings to the fight two new powers in the form of Dark Sphere and Seeker Swarms, with the standard Dark Channel being the third. You know it's sort of funny how things work out, when I first started playing Mass Effect 3 I wasn't big on using powers to rack up kills, preferring instead to just shoot everything with my gun/s. Weeks and months later, I finally got a taste for destroying enemies with crazy exploding power combos and it was good *nods*. These days I can happily go through a match barely shooting my weapon but still doing some serious damage to the enemy in the process. Adepts as a class have been a true surprise to me, I'm not usually into all this science fiction lark but there's just something incredibly satisfying about using Biotics to obliterate enemy spawns :D The question is, does the Awakened Collector increase my options when I'm selecting kits for Biotic Explosions or is he a disappointing dud?

Unlike last weeks character review of the Geth Juggernaut and the Talon Mercenary before him, who both took a bit of time to figure out, I think the Awakened Collector is a much more straightforward kit to play. I'll go into much more detail later on of course but as always, we start by covering the powers. First up is Dark Channel, it's exactly the same on this kit as it is for the others that have access to it, namely the N7 Fury and Asari Huntress Infiltrator (AHI). Just in case you don't know what it does I'll give you a quick run down, basically when you use the power, it will hit an enemy unit with a lingering Biotic field. This field can not be dodged by enemies because it's an instant affect power, it will do steady damage over a set amount of time and best of all, if it kills the afflicted unit, it has the ability to "jump" to a nearby target. By default it's not that lethal (on Gold+) but if you choose to spec it for full damage, it can kill basic troops within a few seconds and it's also great for weakening bosses. If I'm busy clearing up crowds of low level troops I'll usually hit a boss with DC, so that when I'm done dealing with said troops, I can then take on the boss and already have the first layer of defence dealt with i.e. Phantoms and Banshees will have most (if not all) of their Barrier destroyed. DC suffers heavily against shields and isn't soo strong against health either but it is very devastating to Armour and even more so to Barriers. So in light of this, you'll want to strip enemies of their shields before using the power and perhaps land a few shots with your weapon to just speed up the killing of unprotected troops. Unlike other Biotic powers, DC can only act as a primer, that is to say you can detonate it with another Biotic power for a Biotic Explosion but you can't use it to detonate another power for a combo.

Geth Juggernaut - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Geth Juggernaut

The penultimate new kit from the Reckoning DLC is the Geth Juggernaut and he might just be the most unique character ever to be introduced to the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. If you've played online at all since said DLC went live, I'm willing to bet that you've already seen quite a few Geth Juggernauts in action and will know what makes him soo "special". On the off chance you're one of the very few people who don't yet know, the GJ is the only character in the game that can not be sync-killed! This means he won't be picked up by Banshees/Atlases, stabbed by Phantoms, eaten by Praetorians or slammed by Brutes/Scions. Funnily enough the title "Juggernaut" is actually a pretty accurate description of the character itself, he's nearly twice as tall as any of the human kits and moves as slow as an elderly Krogan, the only discrepancy is the fact that depending on how you spec him, he's not really that tanky. Speaking of Krogans, the GJ moves even slower than the Krogan Warlord and also can't vault or use cover. The Geth Juggernaut brings two new powers to the game: Hex Shield and Siege Pulse, with the existing Geth Turret making up the third. Unfortunately like last weeks character, the Talon Mercenary, the Geth Juggernaut is one of those kits that the majority of players (that I've witnessed), don't quite seem to know how to effectively utilise his skill sets. Readers of previous reviews will know my views on slow moving characters but it might surprise you to hear that despite the fact the GJ moves at a snails pace, I managed to have a bit of fun while testing him out.

I'll get around to explaining in more detail later on but as always, I'll begin by covering the powers. First off is the Hex Shield, as the name suggests it's a deployable shield that takes the shape of a hexagon (i.e. it's six sided), I believe it's based on the ones that were in ME1 campaign. By default it's pretty durable (at 2000 health points) and will soak up a fair amount of damage before it break, it's as tall as the Geth Juggernaut and is just wide enough to block any shots fired directly at him. The Hex Shield should block all incoming enemy ordinance, whether it's small arms fire from foot soldiers or power attacks from bosses, I think it also stops grenades but those tend to bounce around after landing, so there's always the chance it can still hit you. Currently I've specced my Hex Shield with: Pulse, Duration and Damage Synergy. I think picking Shield Strength is unnecessary because the cooldown time is pretty fast, so if I need another it's not that big a deal to plonk a new one down. While the Pulse evolution might not be really damaging (400 at base value), it does have it's uses, for example if you start to get swarmed you can back up and place the shield, the electric pulse that is then generated can stun several enemies and buy you that extra second or so to recover. On smaller maps and in particular at choke points, you could spam the Hex Shield to take advantage of the electric pulse, if you've got a low enough cooldown time it's actually pretty good for keeping small crowds of enemies pinned down.

Talon Mercenary - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Talon Mercenary

And so we reach the half way mark, three Reckoning DLC character kits reviewed and three more to go, well technically two after today but you know what I mean lol This weeks article is on the Talon Mercenary, classified as an Engineer, he brings to the fight three brand new powers in the form of Cain Trip Mines, Armour Piercing Arrows and Concussive Arrows. In another first for ME3 MP, every single one of his powers are based on grenade count, so each time you use a power it will consume a grenade (and of course you can only carry a limited number). If you read last weeks character review of the Krogan Warlord, you'll know that he's a melee centric character and that most of your damage output will come from charging his hammer with powers then releasing them via heavy melee. Well if you enjoyed that style of play, I think you're gonna like the Talon Mercenary but unfortunately if you didn't like it that much, this guy might not be your cup of tea either. But having said that, unlike the KW, the TM wasn't designed with purely CQC engagements in mind, I think his powers are just as powerful at point blank range as they are from across the map (though considerably less reliable). Due to the stupid button mapping (and lack of custom options), I'm generally not a big fan of any attacks or character kits that require me to release control of the right stick and dash button more often than not, so at first glance I already have my reservations about the TC. But I've been pleasantly surprised with one or two character reviews in the past, so the question is, does the Talon Mercenary join these select few or does he get dumped on my ever growing pile of "meh" kits?

As always we begin with a brief analysis of the powers. The Cain Trip Mines are exactly what it says on the label, they're placeable mines that detonate once an enemy has interrupted the trip laser and they seriously cane anything that gets caught in the blast radius :P If I'm not mistaken they are the most damaging of any of the explosive based powers currently available in MP, by default each mine has a generous impact radius of 5 meters and does a whopping 1200 points to health, 1800 points to Shields/Barriers and 2700 to Armour! Both the damage and radius of the mines can be increased fairly significantly and if you then factor in the potential for additional damage bonuses via the kits passives, you're looking at some crazy killing potential. You can plant up to three mines at any one time and they'll stay active until an enemy triggers it to go off or you place a fourth mine, which will then cause the first planted mine to explode on it's own. The mines are particularly useful for locking down choke points on a map, doorways and narrow corridors in particular make for excellent mine fields and if you place all three of the mines a couple metres apart, theoretically nothing but a top tier boss should make it through alive (though heavily weakened).

Krogan Warlord - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Krogan Warlord

In this third character review of the new Reckoning DLC kits, I'll be discussing the Krogan Warlord, classified as a Sentinel, he brings to the fight the standard Tech Armour and a great big *censor beep* hammer! If you read my previous character reviews of the Cabal Vanguard and Alliance Infiltration Unit (AIU), you'll know that both kits were very mobile and agile, able to traverse maps stealthily and quickly strike at unsuspecting foes. The Krogan Warlord's playstyle on the other hand is about as different as you could get, he's big, lumbering and is about as subtle as a, well, as a sledgehammer [ :P ] Regular readers will again also recall that I'm not a huge fan of slow moving characters because they just don't suit my preferred style of play, that is to say, speed and aggression. To make matters worse he can't take cover or jump over it, combine this with the fact he's about a good half metre taller than any of the current Krogan characters and you can probably guess my thoughts about him already. But obviously I still put the guy through his paces, else this review would be as short as his temper and not particularly detailed lol. The question is, was he good enough to become one of my regular kits or would he simply make me rage?

So let's get started, first up as per usual, a breakdown of the powers. Well the Tech Armour is nothing special, it's the same as any TA for any of the other Sentinels, once activated it stays on until you decide other wise. While it's active you get a damage reduction from all incoming enemy fire but at the cost of your power's recharging at a slower rate, by default these figures are -35% and +50%, respectively. For the most part I never detonate TA once I activate it, even though it has a pretty wide blast radius and can do a decent bit of damage if you choose to invest extra points into it. A little known fact about detonating TA, is that the force generated by the explosion is usually enough to stagger a Phantom, which can be a life saver if you get caught by surprise. Having said this, if you're reckless enough to get close to an enemy unit that can sync kill, you're either prepared to deal with the threat or have a death wish. Until the Krogan Warlord, I've not really had a reason to invest any further than into the first three ranks of TA but I found that the bonus power damage at rank 5 is very complimentary to the kits offensive powers.

Alliance Infiltration Unit (AIU) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

AIU

This weeks character review will be on the Alliance Infiltration Unit or more commonly referred to as the AIU, hailing from the Infiltrator class (obviously lol), this kit takes the bodily form of a female robot (which you might recognise if you played the SP). First impressions of the AIU is that she's a pretty mobile character by having access to a slick forward and backward flip that can quickly take you away from danger, on top of this she's also got a couple fast and vicious melee moves to keep the enemies at arms length. Now in stark contrast to last weeks character, the Cabal Vanguard and in fact every other new Reckoning DLC kit, she only has one new power.  As with all Infiltrators she gets the standard Tactical Cloak and to go with that she has Snap Freeze, then of course the new addition to multiplayer, Repair Matrix. If you've browsed the ME3 MP section of the BioWare Social Network at all in the last couple weeks, you'll know how much of a crap storm this new power has stirred up amongst the "OMG soo OP, Nerf, Nerf, Nerf, Now!!!" crew *smh*. I'll discuss more about this when I go through the powers in detail, a little further down this article.

Readers of previous character reviews will know that I do like my Infiltrators and that I think they are the most versatile class in ME3. There's already a great variety of character kits within the class but everytime BioWare announce they're releasing a new one, I pay that bit more attention to what they're saying. I first saw the AIU in action during the live stream that BioWare hosted before the new DLC went live and at the time I didn't really understand what Repair Matrix was (despite playing SP) and so the only thing I really took from the demonstration was that she had Snap Freeze. There's only soo much you can glean about a character kit until you actually play with it but the impression I got was; damage bonus from TC and Snap Freeze de-buff implies a CQC playstyle, almost certainly with a Shotgun. Well, I've since spent a lot of time playing with the AIU but the question is, does she follow in the footsteps of her peers or will she be left out in the cold? [Cus you know, Snap Freeze... oh forget it XD]

Cabal Vanguard - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Cabal Vanguard

As you might've heard by now, the last multiplayer offering for Mass Effect 3 has been released in the form of Reckoning DLC and with it came six brand new character kits (one for each class). Originally I had planned to have this first review out earlier this week but because of the special week long Operation: Lodestar, that BioWare sprung on us a few days ago, I've been too busy playing XD Anyway, I've since completed all the challenge requirements and earned all three of my Commendation packs, so now it's time to get back to work and deliver what I promised. Don't worry I won't be reviewing all the kits in this single article, firstly because that would result in a stupidly long read and secondly I still haven't fully tested out all the new characters. At first I was planning on reviewing all the kits in the order that I unlocked them but for one reason or another I inadvertently spent more time using certain kits over the position that I acquired them. However the first character I'll be reviewing was in fact the first new kit that I unlocked, I acquired the Cabal Vanguard in the Gift Pack that was distributed to all players when the new DLC went live. After the Cabal I'll continue to work backwards down the list of classes, so the next review will be of the new Infiltrator kit, then the Sentinel etc.

Righto, so now you're up to speed with my timetable, let's get started. The Cabal Vanguard is the first (and last) Female Turian in ME3 multiplayer and not only is she the first of her kind in MP but she's also the first Vanguard in her class to not have the traditional Biotic Charge as part of her power set [*gasp* lol]. In it's place she has instead Poison Strike, which is then accompanied by Nightshade Blades and Biotic Focus. When I first saw the Cabal Vanguard in action, during the live streaming that Bioware hosted before the Reckoning DLC was launched, my interest was peaked because she's very mobile and has one of my favourite in game abilities, teleportation. Readers of previous character reviews will know that I prefer to play aggressively, hitting enemies fast and hard, which usually means using characters that can get around the map quickly and who are lethal in CQC. The N7 Fury and N7 Slayer can both use teleportation to pass through walls and attack unsuspecting foes before making a speedy exit via the same path, to avoid any potential retaliation. The first thing I noticed when using the CV is that while she can traverse the map, I believe slightly faster than the Fury and Slayer, she's lacking when it comes to killing enemies quickly.

Batarian Slasher (vs. Drell Adept) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Batarian Slasher

Time's a funny old thing isn't? It doesn't feel like months have past since Bioware launched the Retaliation DLC for Mass Effect 3 multiplayer and now I'm about to write up my final character review! I just realised that my first character review was for a Biotic kit in the form of the Asari Valkyrie and now I'm going to be ending on another Biotic kit, feels a bit like I've gone full circle (well I thought that was interesting lol). Anyway enough reminiscing about the past (speaking of which, here you can find my previous character review of the Volus Protector) and let's get started, well the final new character kit is the Batarian Slasher, classified as an Adept and brings to the fight; Lash, Warp and Cluster Grenades. I should point out at this stage that up until this character I wasn't the biggest fan of Batarian characters, not because I think their signature powers are rubbish (though they aren't amazing) but rather because like Krogans and the original Turians, they suffer from a serious lack of mobility. Being a player who likes to attack with speed and aggression, this trait is something that I struggle to deal with and thus I rarely pick up any of them, bar the Krogan Battlemaster Vanguard who I'll turn to when I'm in need of a tanky character. So what was soo good about this Batarian that can make me live with the fact that he can't roll or dodge an incoming enemy attack?

As always we begin with the powers, now for those of you who have read my previous character reviews you'll know that i don't really like Warp, at least not when I'm planning on doing Biotic Explosions all game long. So it may surprise you to hear that with the game plan I devised (more on this later on), it actually wasn't soo bad to use, just in case you don't know my views on Warp you can read more in my review of the Asari Huntress. A quick re-cap is that it can prime and detonate power combinations, it has a moderate cool down time that isn't particularly suited to setting of a chain of Biotic Explosions in quick succession and it has a lengthy travel time that means it is quite often easily dodged by the enemy (assuming lag doesn't make it miss first). Warp does a nice chunk of damage to an enemy upon making contact but the thing that makes the power better is that it can be specced to weaken enemy units, exposing them to take more damage from your weapon fire or another power. If I'm planning on putting the maximum amount of points into Warp, I always go this route because on the higher difficulties, being able to soften enemies up that little bit more is always nice.

Volus Protector - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Volus Protector

Is it just me or did Christmas of 2012 come and go ever soo quickly? Now just before i begin my first article of 2013, i want to wish all you guys and gals a very Happy New Year, here's hoping this year's a good one! :D Anyway as I said in last years [ ;P ] review of the Drell Assassin, Bioware released all of the three remaining new character kits and so this week I'm going to be reviewing the Volus Protector. Classified as a Vanguard, he comes equipped with Biotic Charge as standard, Shield Boost and Biotic Orbs. I don't know about you but when I think about Volus kits, the first things that spring to mind are small and squishy, not exactly something you generally associate with Vanguards (who are normally front line rushers, at least for my set-ups anyway). So when I first heard about this particular Volus kit, I was slightly more sceptical than usual however as past releases have taught me, it's best to reserve judgement until you actually try out the character. I have since played a few games with the little guy [on Gold] but was he a delight like a firework in the night sky or does Bioware need to add yet another new years resolution to their list?

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].

Drell Assassin - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Drell Assassin

So here it is Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun...with the final three new character releases by Bioware. That's right you read correctly, in a surprise move the developers have decided to release all of the remaining new characters for the holiday season, which I guess makes sense because like most places their offices will be closed. Just before I get started I want to wish all you guys and gals a very Happy Christmas/Holiday, here's hoping Santa brought you what you wanted and you all enjoyed a great meal or two. Now speaking of gifts and food, let's see if Bioware handed out some early presents or served us a bunch of turkeys. If you've been reading my previous articles, you'll know how much waffling I can do about a single character, so for the sake of everyone's family time, I will limit this article to one character only and will write up the other two reviews separately. I was debating which of the characters I should review first and in the end decided to go with the order in which I unlocked them, so this article will be about the Drell Assassin (Infiltrator) with the following being the Volus Protector (Vanguard) and then the last being the Batarian Slasher (Adept). 

So without further ado let's get cracking. The Drell Assassin Infiltrator was one of the most eagerly anticipated characters when the list was first announced all those weeks ago and the main reason for this was because of his powers, which consist of Homing Grenades, Recon Mine and the Infiltrator standard of Tactical Cloak. I really like the Infiltrator class in general because I think the character kits are so varied and flexible, you can be brutally offensive with some, while using others to provide support from a safe distance. You can use the Tactical Cloak to carry out stealth attacks on unsuspecting enemies, complete objectives, escape from danger and even revive downed team-mates that are deep behind enemy lines. The best thing about TC though is the damage bonus you can get when initiating an attack from it, when used in conjunction with things that go boom, in this case the Homing Grenades and Recon mine, you can turn something that is already pretty deadly into something extra darn lethal. It just so happens that last weeks character (the Turian Saboteur) also had Homing Grenades as a power, so to save me the effort of using copy and paste, you can go there for more information.

Turian Saboteur - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Turian Saboteur

It's that time of the week again, when another new Mass Effect 3 multiplayer character is released and I give it a review. So without further delay, this weeks new kit is the Turian Saboteur, classified as an Engineer and brings to the fight Homing Grenades, Sabotage and a Sentry Turret. An interesting choice of release if you ask me, given that last weeks character (the Quarian Marksman Soldier) also had Sabotage as a power but I assume Homing Grenades and Sentry Turret are the main draws for using this guy. Anyway as I mentioned last week, I felt that the last few character releases were tailored more (but not exclusively) to those who enjoy using support classes i.e. those that don't rush the front lines but rather bring up the rear and assist from the middle ranks. This weeks character however, at first glance anyway, appears to be capable taking a role on the front lines but as ever, we'll get to that final analysis in due course.

As per usual, we'll start off with the powers. At the risk of repeating part of last weeks article, I think it's best if you refer to that review if you wish to know a bit more about Sabotage [see the link above], I will however continue to go into detail about the other two powers. Before this weeks release, Homing Grenades were exclusive to the N7 Demolisher and if you have this character, you'll know they're pretty devastating to the enemy. One of the better powers in the game, fantastic for dealing with armoured units; when utilised the player fires a grenade that flies towards its target (even if they're moving) and smashes them with a hefty amount of damage. Specced correctly, your Homing Grenades will literally 'track and whack' [Mafia terminology] basic troops but they can seriously injure bosses too. I particularly like the Fire Damage evolution, which creates a damage over time effect on the target, doing a further 50% of the grenades base damage over a period of a few seconds. The lingering fire damage allows you to set off and prime power combos, something that you should definitely take advantage of, especially when playing with other power users. The other benefit of using grenades as your main form of attack is that they have no cool down time, which means you can fire off a string of them, with practically no delay between each launch, excellent for taking out multiple enemies and/or a single boss fairly quickly.

Quarian Marksman (vs. Turian Soldier) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Qurian Marksman

So it seems that Bioware have finally got their house in order and are once again knocking out new characters and updates on time, let's just hope it stays that way. Anyway, this weeks new kit is the Quarian (male) Marksman, classified as a Soldier and he brings to the fight; Marksman, Tactical Scan and Sabotage. Following last weeks new character release of the Asari Huntress and the Volus Mercenary before her, it seems to me that we're experiencing something of a trend in these new kits and by this i mean they appear to be more support based characters. Of course it depends on how you actually choose to play them but with the powers they have, my initial thoughts would be that they're suited to middle and rear fighting roles. However it's not really fair to pass judgement on the Quarian Marksman Soldier until I've tested him in the field, which I've now done, so let's see what verdict is.

As per usual, we'll start off by covering the powers. Currently both of the other existing male Quarian characters have Tactical Scan, so i guess it makes sense that this guy also has it. It's a power that i think is incredibly useful, especially when you're playing with players who aren't the most skilled. For starters, the base purpose of it is to offer a de-buff on the enemy targeted, which is always nice to have when dealing bosses or other hardened enemies. The secondary purpose is that it highlights enemies (even those behind cover), so for example if your team have failed to notice some troops trying to flank, you can just activate the scan and hopefully they'll realise what's happening. The best thing about TS in my opinion however, is the Area Scan evolution, which momentarily reveals all enemies within a certain distance of the enemy you targeted specifically with TS (or from you if you didn't target an enemy). On smallish maps, i generally spam TS and just provide my teammates with a constant stream of intel on enemy movements, couple this with the de-buffing bonuses and you've got one of the best support powers in the game.

Asari Huntress - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Asari Huntress

Two weeks running now that Bioware have actually released their new character on time *gasp*, albeit this weeks balance changes were cancelled altogether *rolls eyes*. Apologies again for the delay in this weeks character review, if you read last weeks review of the Volus Mercenary, you'll know that I'm very much in Call Of Duty mode at the moment. This means that I'll generally write up my review at the weekend, once I've completed the Challenge Operation and of course had a bit of a play around with the new character. Anyway, this weeks new character kit is the Asari Huntress, classified as an Infiltrator and comes to battle equipped with Dark Channel and Warp, along with Tactical Cloak as standard. For those who've read some of my earlier character reviews, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Biotics, there's just something about blowing enemies away with that resounding BOOM, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :P Couple this with the fact that i think the Infiltrator class is probably the most versatile and it's needless to say that i was very much looking forward to trying out this new character.

In previous weeks we were introduced to some pretty lack luster kits, boring and recycled, might be a fair assessment of most of them, so would this week bring anything new or be just yet another disappointment? Well my first thoughts were this is definitely an interesting character, i mean Biotics are generally best when they're rushing enemies head on, hitting them hard with Biotic Explosions and then mopping up any survivors. In contrast the general tactic for Infiltrators, at least for my characters anyway, is to keep a relatively safe distance and drop enemies with long ranged weapons when popping out of Tactical Cloak, taking advantage of both the damage bonus and the element of surprise. It's because of this conflict in ideas that i was initially struggling to spec to my Asari Huntress, however in the end i decided to go for the damage bonus and bonus power in Tactical Cloak and then maxing out both Warp and Dark Channel, while leaving my Fitness and Passive at mid level. I'll explain a bit more about my play style and tactics for this choice of speccing later on but first I'll just an overview of the powers at hand, just in case you're not too familiar with them.

Volus Mercenary - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Volus Mercenary

It's typical isn't it, the one week when I couldn't careless whether Bioware release their weekly update and new character on time or not (because I'm busy with Black Ops 2), that they decide to finally get their act together *rolls eyes*. Anyways, this weeks character was the Volus Mercenary (see last weeks article for my review of the Vorcha Hunter), he's classified as a Sentinel and comes stocked with Decoy and Combat Drone, as well as the Volus standard of Shield Boost. There was mixed feelings when Bioware first announced the Volus race as new playable characters in multiplayer but i think that most people warmed to the new characters once they actually unlocked them. I was personally indifferent about the situation but will admit that i was pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed playing as the Volus characters, once i got lucky enough to unlock them. When i first heard that the new character was going to be a Volus, my interest peaked slightly but my biggest question was, would it fill a role that already exists or bring an entirely different playstyle via a new power?

I think that generally Volus characters are considered as "support" characters, while i don't disagree with this idea, i don't think it's entirely accurate all the time. How you choose to spec the powers and then how you actually play the character is what i believe, determines the role you take in a match. I for one, could not spend an entire match just shadowing teammates and spamming Shield Boost (though i do if i'm not using my other powers), true it can be a pretty effective tactic but it's not the only thing the Volus characters can do. I play very offensively (my prefered gameplay style) with my Volus Engineer, using the Recon Mine to provide enemy locations and then hitting them with a Proximity Mine for debuffing, before putting them down with a storm of bullets from my Hurricane. The Volus Adept on the other hand, i tend to play a bit more reservedly because i can't seem to kill as fast; my usual tactic is to use Stasis Bubble to take care of crowds of basic troops and then weakening bosses with the Biotic Orbs.

Vorcha Hunter (vs. Batarian Sentinel) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Vorcha Hunter

After a fourth consecutive week in delays to the balance changes coming into effect, Bioware finally released the Vorcha Engineer. Anyway, I didn't think I'd get around to unlocking this new character until at least the weekend because as you may be aware, there was a much bigger release happening this week, in the form of Black Ops 2. Ironically however, my copy of Blops 2 has as of this moment, still to arrive (which I'm not happy about) thus I had time to play ME3 after all but as you'll soon discover, I didn't find this new character much of a consolation prize. So let's get started, first off, if it wasn't brutally obvious already this weeks new character is classed as an Engineer (XD) and his powers are Incinerate and Submission Net, along with the Vorcha staple of Blood Lust.

If you read my review of the Geth Soldier from last week you'll know that I'm a big fan of the two existing Vorcha characters, mainly because of their Flamer but also because they can regenerate health via Blood Lust. So would this new Vorcha join those two or will i be disappointed with yet another of the new characters? Well let's begin with Submission Net, while i don't love the power I don't think it's bad, it's pretty similar to the Asaris Stasis but it can only ever snare one enemy at a time and has to travel to it's target. In contrast the Asari Stasis appears more or less instantly on the targeted enemy and can be evolved to the 'bubble' form, which can trap multiple enemies. This is my biggest issue with the SN, it's travel time is pretty long and when you're playing off host in a laggy-ish game, the chances are enemies will dodge the SN more often than they are caught by it and that's assuming the SN travels correctly towards the enemy you targeted in the first place.

Geth Trooper (vs. Vorcha Soldier) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Geth Trooper

This week Bioware released the Geth Trooper (see last week for my review of the Batarian Brawler), classified as a Soldier this character comes with Fortification, Flamer and like the other two Geth characters, Hunter Mode. I wasn't always a fan of using either of the existing Geth characters but once i discovered specific roles for each of them, they definitely became a lot more fun to use. Like most people i use my Geth Infiltrator as a killing machine, getting close and personal with enemies, then putting them down hard and fast. The Geth Engineer i use as a support/mid-range fighter, deploying my turret to restore shields and to keep enemies occupied at a distance where i can engage safely. So when i found out the Geth Trooper was going to be one of the new characters, i was pretty curious as to what sort of role he would fill?

First off i should say, I'm a big fan of Flamer and it's because of this that the two current Vorcha characters are a couple of my favourites to play as. I also like the bonuses that come with using Hunter Mode, though again like most people i hate the visuals (talk about headache inducing!), so needless to say i was quite looking forward to trying out this new character in game. On paper it looks as though you could spec the GT to do some serious damage with Flamer, seeing as both Fortification and HM provide bonus damage to powers. The reality is that yes, you can produce a really damaging Flamer but in order to do so, you're probably going to have to sacrifice some Fitness, which means you're pretty fragile. Neither of my other Geth characters have full Fitness but the GI has Tactical Cloak and the GE has his turret, both of which helps to keep me alive, even when using HM. The GT however, doesn't have anything to offset the disadvantages of having low health/shields, especially while in HM and in my first couple game, i found this really frustrating.

Batarian Brawler (vs. Krogan Battlemaster) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Batarian Brawler

Another week, another update and another new character released for Mass Effect 3 multiplayer. Once again, just in case you hadn't heard, Bioware are planning to release one new character every week for the next couple months, last week we got the Asari Valkyrie (my review) and this week was the turn of the Batarian Brawler Vanguard. How befitting that the day he was released, just happened to be the night of Halloween; cus let's face it, he's one person you probably wouldn't want to bump into down a dark ally, haha. Anyway, moving onto to his abilities, as with all Vanguards he has the Biotic Charge and to compliment this he also has Lash and the Batarian staple of Blade Armour. The question is, was he a trick or a treat? (See what i did there ;D)

I quite like the other Batarian characters; the Sentinel with his Submission net is like a sturdier version of my beloved Asari Adept (though less agile) and the Soldier can destroy crowds with his Ballistic Blades/Inferno grenades. So when i heard the new character was going to be the Batarian Vanguard, i was intrigued as to what his powers were going to be and then i found out it was Blade Amour and Lash. I guessed Blade Armour and that's fine but Lash, really? Anyway, i decided to reserve judgement until I'd played a couple games (on Gold) with him but unfortunately my sceptical views on Lash being the third, was merely confirmed. I don't need to say anything about the Biotic charge because it's basically the same as for any other Vanguard character and likewise for Blade Armour, there are no new evolutions here either.

Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Class/Kit Builder Website Review

One of the nice things about Mass Effect 3 multiplayer is the fact that we are given the option to customise how we spend our character points, for example if you don't like a certain power, you can skip it altogether and concentrate on maxing out the other evolutions. While it is fun and interesting to create the perfect set up for your characters, it can also be quite annoying and frustrating when you're having to do it through copious amounts of trial and error. True you can promote and use respec cards to wipe the points clean but what happens if you don't have a stack of respec cards or don't enjoy having to promote, simply because you found out the points you assigned weren't that great.
   

What to pick?! Decisions, decisions...

Asari Valkyrie (vs. N7 Fury) - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Character Discussion and Review

Asari Valkyrie

Earlier this week Bioware released another one of the new multiplayer characters; the Asari Valkyrie. As a fan of biotic characters (who doesn't like the biotic BOOM?!), I was quite looking forward to trying out this character when the full list of new characters was released a few weeks ago. For those that don't know, she is classified as a Sentinel and her powers comprise of Tech Armour, Annihilation Field and Warp. 

At first thought I imagined her to be a sturdier version of my beloved N7 Fury and after a couple matches (on Gold) with the Valkyrie, i was proved half right. Assuming you spec into tech armour and have it turned on, she can take a little bit more punishment than the Fury before getting downed but as with all Biotics, you're not really meant to be lingering in front of enemy fire for prolonged periods anyway, so it's nice but not amazing.