Vanguard Guide

From Mass Effect Wiki

The Vanguard is a close-combat specialist. In addition to a variety of biotic abilities useful in disabling enemies they are equipped with a shotgun and a pistol. This allows them the fun prospect of using biotics to disable enemies for a few seconds, then sprint in and make short work of them with the shotgun.

Contents 1 Class Abilities 2 Vanguard Specialization Classes 3 Using a Vanguard in Combat 4 Suggested Bonus Talents

[edit] Class Abilities

• Pistols
• Shotguns
• Tactical Armor
• Assault Training
• Throw
• Lift
• Warp
• Barrier
• Specialization Class: Shock Trooper / Nemesis
• Charm
• Intimidate
• Spectre Training

[edit] Vanguard Specialization Classes

After the UNC: Rogue VI mission, you'll have the choice between:

• Shock Trooper - Improved damage reduction and greater health.
• Nemesis - Enhanced biotic damage.

[edit] Using a Vanguard in Combat

Using a Vanguard in combat is rather straightforward, and very rewarding. Once you receive the "Rich" achievement by obtaining 1,000,000 credits, you'll gain access to Spectre - Master Gear equipment. The Spectre shotgun is accurate enough to provide decent mid-range coverage, along with devastating close-range abilities. The general strategy with the Vanguard class is to utilize your biotics, such as Lift and Warp, to render your enemies helpless against your combat weaponry. Warp becomes especially useful on the more difficult settings, where enemies tend to become more resistant to your weapons and abilities.

The Vanguard is not the most durable of all available classes (although the Shock Trooper specialization class does alleviate this setback) so don't be afraid to use cover when needed. If you find yourself up against a charging enemy, use your biotics to relocate them, and if unable to do so, use your Carnage ability to drop some heavy damage upon them. While the Vanguard's class description claims it's a close-combat specialist, it may also be sufficiently powerful at longer distances if you deposit skill points in the pistol talent, which is highly recommended due to the advantage of having Marksman.

The Adrenaline Burst ability is your ace-in-the-hole, as it allows you to refresh all your biotic powers and combat talents at once, and the Vanguard is the only biotic class to have it. Defensively it can be used to restore Barrier or Shield Boost (as well as Unity and medi-gel access) after taking too many hits, while offensively it allows you to continuously push enemies out of the way with Throw or Lift while using Warp, Marksman, and Carnage to rack up damage.

Vanguards partner well with Wrex, who has a very similar class but heavy armor and an assault rifle as backup. Because Vanguards have no tech expertise, add either Tali for a full selection of tech abilities, or Kaidan for additional biotics as well as medical and utility talents.

[edit] Suggested Bonus Talents

As Vanguards already start with a variety of biotic abilities and Biotic Amp access, Singularity is highly regarded as the best option for a bonus talent since it contributes to the class's close-combat excellence by improving crowd control. Adding Singularity also gives you most of the abilities of an Adept, with the added advantages of medium armor and better weapons.

For combat, the Vanguard already has access to Pistols and Shotguns, so there is little need to add extra weapon proficiencies. However, because the Vanguard is a primarily close-range class, taking Sniper Rifle access as a bonus talent is a good choice, as it gives you long-range capability that the regular Vanguard doesn't have. This also works well in tandem with immobilizing biotic skills like Throw or Lift.

Another good option is Hacking, but this has its pluses and minuses. Because the Vanguard will not gain any of the cooldown bonuses due to a complete lack of tech abilities, a lot of stat points will go to waste, but high level AI Hacking gives a Vanguard an instant edge in any battle involving drones, turrets or geth (i.e. most of them) and frees you to use those close-combat abilities to devastating effect, especially if you're carrying Tungsten Ammunition.

Electronics is another option. It gives a large passive boost to shielding and is used to unlock some containers. This adds greatly to a Vanguard's survivability, and lessens dependency on Barrier. Moreover, having Shepard take care of the locks with Electronics frees up points for party members to spend on other skills. It also grants the Overload ability, which causes significant damage to enemy shields, allowing more efficient use of weapons fire to take enemies down.