My one problem with Mass Effect 2...

[dreadedcandiru99]

And no, it's not the planet-scanning. That's a little grindy, but I still kinda like it--hey, it's a huge step up from the freaking Mako.

No, the problem is that when you use one power, you have to wait for all of them to cool down. It hasn't been more than a minor annoyance with my Vanguard or my Infiltrator, but it makes playing an Adept (you know, the class that's supposed to be able to "kill enemies without firing a shot") pretty damned awkward. I'm only a few levels in on that one--does anyone know if it gets better once you put more points into it?

 

[etherlance]

the further you level up the less you will be bothered by cooldown time

 

[MiracleOfSound]

The only things that take a long time to cool down are the very powerful.. um.. powers.

Then again I used a soldier for playthrough one so wasn't too dependant on them.

Trying another playthrough now as a Sentinel on Insanity so it could be rather tricky.

 

[Amnestic]

That's the point.

It makes you think more tactically. If they weren't on a shared cooldown, you'd just go from one to another and never fire a shot, which would defeat the point of revamping the thermal clip/overheating system.

You're meant to balance. Besides, an Adept is no worse at firing their Heavy Pistol than a Soldier is. You can do some serious damage and you should be balancing what you do.

 

[Jandau]

And no, it's not the planet-scanning. That's a little grindy, but I still kinda like it--hey, it's a huge step up from the freaking Mako.

No, the problem is that when you use one power, you have to wait for all of them to cool down. It hasn't been more than a minor annoyance with my Vanguard or my Infiltrator, but it makes playing an Adept (you know, the class that's supposed to be able to "kill enemies without firing a shot") pretty damned awkward. I'm only a few levels in on that one--does anyone know if it gets better once you put more points into it?

Your passive class power probably lowers cooldowns. By the time my Sentinel was above level 20 my Warp would cool off in a few seconds. Also, in ME1 the powers were on MUCH larger cooldowns.

Trying another playthrough now as a Sentinel on Insanity so it could be rather tricky.

Actually, I'd argue that Sentinels are the most powerful class in the game at the moment, since they get powers to handle Barriers, Shields and Armor, plus the best defensive power in the game (Tech Armor), then throw in the extra Assault Rifle skill you get later on and round it off with an Ammo power of some kind (either Warp or Armor-piercing), and you basically have an All-In-One character with no real weakness...

Max out Tech Armor, Warp and the passive skill (forgot the name), skip Cryo Blast, skip Throw (aside from the points to unlock Warp).

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Trying another playthrough now as a Sentinel on Insanity so it could be rather tricky.

Actually, I'd argue that Sentinels are the most powerful class in the game at the moment, since they get powers to handle Barriers, Shields and Armor, plus the best defensive power in the game (Tech Armor), then throw in the extra Assault Rifle skill you get later on and round it off with an Ammo power of some kind (either Warp or Armor-piercing), and you basically have an All-In-One character with no real weakness...

Max out Tech Armor, Warp and the passive skill (forgot the name), skip Cryo Blast, skip Throw (aside from the points to unlock Warp).

Yeah Cryo blast sucks. And I have noticed that shield/barrier destroyers are the most important skills in the game.

How do you acquire the Assault rifle skill for a sentinel? Is it achievement related?

 

[Jandau]

How do you acquire the Assault rifle skill for a sentinel? Is it achievement related?

At one point in the story (one of the main missions around mid-game) you get to pick one weapon type out of the ones you can't use. So a Sentinel can get Shotgun, Sniper or Assault Rifle. I reccomend AR simply because it's the best all-round weapon in the game. Soldiers (who have all the weapons) get an extra Assault Rifle unique to their class.

 

[scotth266]

Look for cooldown upgrades. They're there ESPECIALLY for folks like you.

Honestly, I was playing as a Sentinel (Warp, Overload, Tech Armor(essentially a more permanent Barrier), Cryo Blast, Throw) and was able to get through certain sections without firing a shot... especially when Warp and Overload were maxed out. Never used Throw, but it recharges FAST. The Cryo Blast is also pretty quick to recharge but only works when the opponent's resistances are lowered.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

How do you acquire the Assault rifle skill for a sentinel? Is it achievement related?

At one point in the story (one of the main missions around mid-game) you get to pick one weapon type out of the ones you can't use. So a Sentinel can get Shotgun, Sniper or Assault Rifle. I reccomend AR simply because it's the best all-round weapon in the game. Soldiers (who have all the weapons) get an extra Assault Rifle unique to their class.

Ah yes... inside the first

Spoiler

collector ship

, isn't it? Just after a large plot twist?

 

[GloatingSwine]

Cooldowns are significantly shorter now though.

 

[sln333]

I played as an adept and loved it. As you level up your powers they take less time to recharge, and you can get cool down upgrades from your ship. If you think you should be able to continuously fire biotic attacks at people, you might as well ask for invincibility cheats. The game would be too easy and wouldn't require much strategy. The first Mass Effect was like this, where each power cooled down by itself. Still, the powers took longer to cool down, so you still had to think about what to use.

 

[Jandau]

Ah yes... inside the first

Spoiler

collector ship

, isn't it? Just after a large plot twist?

Yep, that's it. I'd suggest doing that mission as soon as it comes up.

Also, I did some checking just now, there are also special Snipers and Shotguns for the classes that have access to those skills already, so Infiltrators can get an otherwise unavailable Sniper rifle at that point (or an extra weapon type).

 

[CuddlyCombine]

That's the point.

It makes you think more tactically. If they weren't on a shared cooldown, you'd just go from one to another and never fire a shot, which would defeat the point of revamping the thermal clip/overheating system.

You're meant to balance. Besides, an Adept is no worse at firing their Heavy Pistol than a Soldier is. You can do some serious damage and you should be balancing what you do.

Thank you. I've been repeating that phrase over and over for the last few days, but nobody seems to understand the words "tactical" and "elements".

 

[T3h Merc]

I'm doing an Adept now and you just need to use Jacob and Garrus. Warp, Pull, Concussive Shot. Works like a charm.

 

[TheZapper]

At higher levels the cooldown time is ridiculously short.

 

[reg42]

Eh, doesn't bother me, and I'm a Vanguard

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

At higher levels the cooldown time is ridiculously short.

i like your avatar...

 

[Amnestic]

Ah yes... inside the first

Spoiler

collector ship

, isn't it? Just after a large plot twist?

Yep, that's it. I'd suggest doing that mission as soon as it comes up.

Also, I did some checking just now, there are also special Snipers and Shotguns for the classes that have access to those skills already, so Infiltrators can get an otherwise unavailable Sniper rifle at that point (or an extra weapon type).

As someone who did his first runthrough as an Infiltrator and chose to get the Widow Sniper rifle (same kind which Legion gets as his special upgrade) I have to say: It's fucking awesome. They weren't kidding when they called it an Anti-Material Rifle.

13 rounds total, reload after each shot, but with a max'd Tactical Cloak and all the other weapon damage buff skills it's insane.

Bring along a squadwide Warp Ammo (Jack) and squadwide buffs (Miranda) for extra kicks and giggles.

Admittedly this was on Normal as it was my first run, not tried it on Insanity yet. The increased health/damage reduction/defensive upgrades (barriers, armour, shields) might make it less useful than it otherwise would be.

 

[TheZapper]

At higher levels the cooldown time is ridiculously short.

i like your avatar...

I like my avatar too.

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Yep, that's it. I'd suggest doing that mission as soon as it comes up.

Also, I did some checking just now, there are also special Snipers and Shotguns for the classes that have access to those skills already, so Infiltrators can get an otherwise unavailable Sniper rifle at that point (or an extra weapon type).

I don't think you really get a choice to ignore it, as once those 'alert' missions pop up the star map gets disabled (trying to use it just prompts Joker to inform you the Illusive Man wants a chat with you) and finishing the conversation with the Illusive Man actually starts the mission.

Anyway, as a Vanguard I can confirm there's a special shotgun you can get, though that one is kind of funny since...

Spoiler

...it's the custom claymore you can build for Grunt, which specifically states in it's description that while it's made by humans "only Krogan can use this", given the recoil from a shot will break a human's arm. Shepard must really be a badass.