This article is about the power in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. For the talent in Mass Effect, see Electronics.

Overload is a tech power available to Engineers, Sentinels, Garrus, Miranda, Kasumi, EDI, Kaidan Alenko, Wilson, and Dr. Amanda Kenson. It shuts down an enemy's shields, rendering them vulnerable to attack. Overload is typically used to take down shields or synthetics, doing twice as much damage to shields as it does to synthetics, but will also cause any unshielded enemies using flamethrowers to explode. Starting at rank 3, Overload will cause the weapons of most unprotected enemies to overheat, making them unable to fire for a brief period. It can also be used on explosive containers to make them detonate more violently for added damage.

Note: This power travels in a straight line from the user to the target, hitting instantly.

Contents 1 Mass Effect 2 1.1 Power Ranks 1.1.1 Heavy Overload 1.1.2 Area Overload 1.2 Player Notes 1.3 Availability 2 Mass Effect 3 2.1 Power Ranks 2.1.1 Rank 1: Overload 2.1.2 Rank 2: Recharge Speed 2.1.3 Rank 3: Damage 2.1.4 Rank 4: Chain Overload/Damage 2.1.5 Rank 5: Neural Shock/Recharge Speed 2.1.6 Rank 6: Chain Overload/Shield Damage 2.2 Player Notes 2.3 Availability

Mass Effect 2

Power Ranks

• Rank 1
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard) 12.00 seconds (Others)
  • Impact Radius: 1.20 meters
  • Shield and Synthetic Damage: 120.00 points

• Rank 2
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard) 12.00 seconds (Others)
  • Impact Radius: 1.20 meters
  • Shield and Synthetic Damage: 140.00 points
  • Synthetic Stun Length: 3.00 seconds

• Rank 3
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard) 12.00 seconds (Others)
  • Impact Radius: 1.20 meters
  • Shield and Synthetic Damage: 160.00 points
  • Synthetic Stun Length: 3.00 seconds
  • Weapon Overheat Length: 6.00 seconds

Rank 4

Choose to evolve the power into one of the following,

Heavy Overload

• Your pulse now damages synthetic enemies so brutally that they explode on "death".
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard) 12.00 seconds (Others)
  • Impact Radius: 1.20 meters
  • Shield and Synthetic Damage: 200.00 points
  • Synthetic Stun Length: 3.00 seconds
  • Weapon Overheat Length: 6.00 seconds

Area Overload

• You have increased your pulse's strength to cover a wide area, making it easy to hit multiple targets.
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard) 12.00 seconds (Others)
  • Impact Radius: 3.00 meters
  • Shield and Synthetic Damage: 160.00 points
  • Synthetic Stun Length: 3.00 seconds
  • Weapon Overheat Length: 6.00 seconds

Player Notes

• Though the game says this ability will be ineffective against organic enemies, at rank 3 or higher it can still be used on (almost) any enemy to cause their weapon to overheat, giving the player a breather.
• Overload deals the damage amount listed above to armor, barriers and synthetic health. Double damage is dealt to shields. No organic health damage is dealt.

Availability

• Engineer
• Sentinel
• Dr. Amanda Kenson
• Garrus Vakarian
• Kasumi Goto
• Miranda Lawson
• Wilson

Mass Effect 3

Power Ranks

Rank 1: Overload

Overload electronics with this power surge, stunning your enemy.
Effective against shields, barriers, and synthetics. Not as effective against organics.

• Recharge Speed: 8 sec
• Damage: 220

Rank 2: Recharge Speed

Increases recharge speed by 25%.

• Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec

Rank 3: Damage

Increase damage by 20%.

• Damage: 264

Rank 4: Chain Overload/Damage

Chain Overload Hit 1 additional target within 8 meters with 60% less damage. Chain-hit Damage: 105.60

Damage Increase damage by 30%. Damage: 330

Rank 5: Neural Shock/Recharge Speed

Neural Shock Incapacitate weaker organic enemies for a short duration.

Recharge Speed Increase recharge speed by 25%. Recharge Speed: 5.33 sec

Rank 6: Chain Overload/Shield Damage

Chain Overload Increase damage by 15%. Hit 1 additional target within 8 meters with 60% less damage. Damage: 297 (Chain Overload), 363 (Damage) Chain-hit Damage: 118.80 (Chain Overload), 145.20 (Damage)

Shield Damage Increase damage to barriers and shields by an additional 100%.

Player Notes

• Overload is more effective against biotic barriers than it was in Mass Effect 2. This allows characters with the power to be effective against a wide range of enemies.
• It is better at stripping barriers than Warp alone is, especially with the Rank 6 Shield Damage evolution which doubles its damage against shields and barriers. Incidentally, this arguably makes the Turian Sentinel (who has both Warp and Overload) the best class in multiplayer for stripping away defenses and dealing with hardened targets.
• Overload is highly effective in Mass Effect 3's multiplayer as a crowd control power when fully upgraded along the Chain Overload/Neural Shock path. Place yourself at the entrance to a room enemies are charging through and spam it on the first one to appear.
• Overload does reduced damage to organic enemies, but it can still stun, incapacitate (with the Rank 5 Neural Shock evolution) or kill them. If Chain Overload evolutions are chosen, the affected enemies will often be stunned but NOT incapacitated. Neural Shock incapacitation only applies to the main target.
• Overload is one of the few powers in Mass Effect 3 that can both initiate and detonate Power Combos.
• A Neural Shock incapacitation will cause a Guardian to drop his shield permanently. Characters near ledges may also fall to their deaths.
• Geth Engineers can use power evolutions in Hunter Mode to increase recharge speed and damage of Overload. Used correctly, Overload can become both fast and extremely powerful.

Availability

• Single-Player: Engineer, Sentinel, EDI, Garrus Vakarian, Kaidan Alenko
• Multiplayer: Geth Engineer, Human Engineer, Turian Sentinel