Poll: Mass Effect Series: Adept or Vanguard
- Thread starter Knight Captain Kerr
- Start date
That depends on what you personally like.
In ME1, the difference isn't that big - The Vanguard is like the Adept, but replaces some of its biotic powers (including the most powerful - singularity) for combat skills (like the shotgun), and gets better armor (tactical instead of basic armor). Note that if you kept your saved data, you get an extra skill that you unlocked by an achievement - which means you can give the Adept an extra weapon skill (if you played soldier, you probably unlocked the assault rifle skill). With that in mind, even if you prefer the Vanguard, you may want to be an adept in ME1 and change class in the later games.
As for ME2 and ME3: The Vanguard relies on his ability to charge - which makes him quickly get to his enemy, damage the enemy, and recharge the Vanguards barrier. Once you master this ability, you can become untouchable. The Adept, on the other hand, relies on several powers to take control of the battlefield, using powers such as throw, pull, and singularity to prevent the enemies from fighting, as well as damaging them. Your choice should depend on the playstyle that you like better.
In ME1, the difference isn't that big - The Vanguard is like the Adept, but replaces some of its biotic powers (including the most powerful - singularity) for combat skills (like the shotgun), and gets better armor (tactical instead of basic armor). Note that if you kept your saved data, you get an extra skill that you unlocked by an achievement - which means you can give the Adept an extra weapon skill (if you played soldier, you probably unlocked the assault rifle skill). With that in mind, even if you prefer the Vanguard, you may want to be an adept in ME1 and change class in the later games.
As for ME2 and ME3: The Vanguard relies on his ability to charge - which makes him quickly get to his enemy, damage the enemy, and recharge the Vanguards barrier. Once you master this ability, you can become untouchable. The Adept, on the other hand, relies on several powers to take control of the battlefield, using powers such as throw, pull, and singularity to prevent the enemies from fighting, as well as damaging them. Your choice should depend on the playstyle that you like better.
Vanguard, get yourself a shotgun and charge your merry way to victory, and don't anyone dare suggest something other than the classes listed just to be original.
It's mostly because Vanguards can be frustrating for beginners, especially for those used to the standard chest-high-wall extravaganza of the other classes.J Tyran said:
Yeah, it certainly wasn't the easiest of classes, especially at the start, when it's essentially an adept with a bigger gun. Even after mastery of Biotic Charge, dying is as easy as inadvertently charging into a crowd of Geth troopers. When you do get it right, clearing a room by yourself feels very satisfying.Nomadiac said:
First off thanks for all the responses. Also I'm playing on PS3, not that it really matters.
You know I'm not overly fond of the Vanguard woosh up and shotgun people playstyle and it looks like in 2 and 3 that's really the only way you can go with it. You have no choice but to be really aggressive. It isn't like 1 where it actually appears to be a mixture of Soldier and Adept. But even there I might be wrong.
So with that I think I'll go for Adept. Unless I can play as a Vanguard in 1 and then when I import my character save from 1 to 2 change my class to Adept. I think you can but I'd want to be sure. I don't want to go through 1 as a Vanguard and then be unable to change to Adept and have to go back so I can restart 1 as an Adept or be forced to carry on as a Vanguard.
You know I'm not overly fond of the Vanguard woosh up and shotgun people playstyle and it looks like in 2 and 3 that's really the only way you can go with it. You have no choice but to be really aggressive. It isn't like 1 where it actually appears to be a mixture of Soldier and Adept. But even there I might be wrong.
So with that I think I'll go for Adept. Unless I can play as a Vanguard in 1 and then when I import my character save from 1 to 2 change my class to Adept. I think you can but I'd want to be sure. I don't want to go through 1 as a Vanguard and then be unable to change to Adept and have to go back so I can restart 1 as an Adept or be forced to carry on as a Vanguard.
You can import your Shepard and choose a new class each game.Knight Captain Kerr said:
I dont know if someone mentioned it before, but a side note to the Adept: He has a big downside in ME2 on insanity, because like 90% of your enemys have shields as protection and the adept is the least effective class against shielded enemys.
Right okay, I'll go with a Vanguard in 1 and then an Adept in 2 & 3 then.
Also I'm probably going to be playing on Normal. I can do Insanity at some other point down the line.
Also I'm probably going to be playing on Normal. I can do Insanity at some other point down the line.
Ehhhhh. I always preferred Sentinel, myself. I love me some sexy Tech Armor. 
I'd be an Adept, otherwise. I never could get into the combat oriented classes.
I'd be an Adept, otherwise. I never could get into the combat oriented classes.
While I don't recommend playing a Adept on Insane (I have, not fun) it's a fun class on anything lower. Just make sure you pick squad mates that compliment your class.
I played ME1 with a Vanguard on my first play. Never played it on any of the later games.
I played ME1 with a Vanguard on my first play. Never played it on any of the later games.
Damn, late to the party. Still, my two cents.
It all comes down to play style.
I've played a fair bit through all three games. Classes I've gone the distance with are the Adept (one playthrough), Infiltrator (2 playthroughs), and Vanguard (2 playthroughs). A playthrough is games Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 3.
Adept
Pros
- Space magic
- Spell Combos and Explosions
- Safe behind cover
- Straight forward and easy to learn
Cons
- Stationary
- Very little variation
- Relatively weak armor and health
Personal note. One of the more boring classes. Not my play style. Sit behind cover, throw out your magic, rinse and repeat. Played on Veteran.
Infiltrator
Pros
- Cloaking / Get out of jail free card
- One shot, one kill
- Time Dialation for easier headshots
- Straight forward and easy to learn
Cons
- Relatively weak armor and health
- Stationary
- Possible ammo problems on higher difficulties
Pesonal note. Enjoyed the class. Cloaking plus time slow plus headshots never got old for me. You can mow down entire ememy squads before your team mates can react in Normal mode. Even Insanity bosses were on the easy side with the heaviest weapon and all the upgrades. Played on Normal and Insanity.
Vanguard
Pros
- Fast, Mobile gameplay
- Strong Weapons
- Regenerate Shields on Charge
Cons
- Advanced class, trickly to learn
- Easy to die
- ME3 instalkills
- Lack of long range damage
Personal note. Hands down, my favorite class.
Mass Effect is the first and one of only two cover-based franchises I have played, the other being Spec Ops: The Line. I find the gameplay generally boring and stagnant. It is the reason I found Adept a chore to play. Infiltrator with cloaking let me move around a little, so it was more bearable. However, sitting behind a chest high wall and playing duck hunt is not my idea of fun.
The Vanguard was a much needed breath of fresh air. The gameplay is smart yet frenetic. Split second decisions and risk taking is the name of the game. Biotic Charge is a godsend ability. The class is so much fun for me. In Mass Effect 2, get the Claymore, Max out charge, get whatever cooldown specs you can, and go play. In Mass Effect 3, keep your weight as low as possibly for Mmaximum cooldown. Charge and Nova. Played on Veteran and Insanity.
Of note, you can glitch out the game in the form of less enemies. Examples are multiple elevators in Mass Effect 2, and 'Storming the Beach' in Mass Effect 3. If you can Charge along fast enough, you'll hit triggers that move you forward in the scenario, effectively halting planned additional waves of enemies. Turned into sort of a personal challenge on how fast I could go. Reward was less enemies!
As mentioned, you'll find hiccups in Mass Effect 3. Especially against Banshees. Charge -> Melee Instagib can get incredibly frustrating. But the fun far outweighed the frustration.
Anyways, enjoy what you play. My vote would be the Vanguard.
It all comes down to play style.
I've played a fair bit through all three games. Classes I've gone the distance with are the Adept (one playthrough), Infiltrator (2 playthroughs), and Vanguard (2 playthroughs). A playthrough is games Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 3.
Adept
Pros
- Space magic
- Spell Combos and Explosions
- Safe behind cover
- Straight forward and easy to learn
Cons
- Stationary
- Very little variation
- Relatively weak armor and health
Personal note. One of the more boring classes. Not my play style. Sit behind cover, throw out your magic, rinse and repeat. Played on Veteran.
Infiltrator
Pros
- Cloaking / Get out of jail free card
- One shot, one kill
- Time Dialation for easier headshots
- Straight forward and easy to learn
Cons
- Relatively weak armor and health
- Stationary
- Possible ammo problems on higher difficulties
Pesonal note. Enjoyed the class. Cloaking plus time slow plus headshots never got old for me. You can mow down entire ememy squads before your team mates can react in Normal mode. Even Insanity bosses were on the easy side with the heaviest weapon and all the upgrades. Played on Normal and Insanity.
Vanguard
Pros
- Fast, Mobile gameplay
- Strong Weapons
- Regenerate Shields on Charge
Cons
- Advanced class, trickly to learn
- Easy to die
- ME3 instalkills
- Lack of long range damage
Personal note. Hands down, my favorite class.
Mass Effect is the first and one of only two cover-based franchises I have played, the other being Spec Ops: The Line. I find the gameplay generally boring and stagnant. It is the reason I found Adept a chore to play. Infiltrator with cloaking let me move around a little, so it was more bearable. However, sitting behind a chest high wall and playing duck hunt is not my idea of fun.
The Vanguard was a much needed breath of fresh air. The gameplay is smart yet frenetic. Split second decisions and risk taking is the name of the game. Biotic Charge is a godsend ability. The class is so much fun for me. In Mass Effect 2, get the Claymore, Max out charge, get whatever cooldown specs you can, and go play. In Mass Effect 3, keep your weight as low as possibly for Mmaximum cooldown. Charge and Nova. Played on Veteran and Insanity.
Of note, you can glitch out the game in the form of less enemies. Examples are multiple elevators in Mass Effect 2, and 'Storming the Beach' in Mass Effect 3. If you can Charge along fast enough, you'll hit triggers that move you forward in the scenario, effectively halting planned additional waves of enemies. Turned into sort of a personal challenge on how fast I could go. Reward was less enemies!
As mentioned, you'll find hiccups in Mass Effect 3. Especially against Banshees. Charge -> Melee Instagib can get incredibly frustrating. But the fun far outweighed the frustration.
Anyways, enjoy what you play. My vote would be the Vanguard.
Vanguards aren't very differentiated from Adepts in 1, and biotic powers are incredibly useful since they work on everything. For 2 onwards I'd say Vanguard would be better, but I don't think you can change class between games except in 3.
If you play on Normal, the Adept is crazy fun, because only a few elite enemies are protectet and you can make full use of your crowd control powers to hurl those mercs/collectors/etc. around and explode them with biotic combos.Knight Captain Kerr said:
Actually I've changed my mind again. I'm taking Doom972's advice and playing as an Adept in ME1 as well because I can take Assault Rifles as a skill.
The thing is that I found that every class in Mass Effect 1 is viable. Whether I was playing as an Adept, an engineer, a Sentinel, a Soldier etc, I never once felt that I was at a disadvantage.
Mass Effect 2 changed that with the shared cool-down. This pushed a lot of the balance in favour of the gun based classes. Simply because they could apply ammo 'powers' to weapons before a fight and you'd not have to worry about cool-downs.
While I hate the term, biotics were effectively 'nerfed' from Mass Effect 2 onward. Sure you can do biotic combos but that is pretty much all you'll be doing and on insanity, if your team goes down, you'll be in pretty much certain death territory. Seriously the only viable bonus power to pick for an Adept in ME2 is Warp Ammo, you'll need that extra kick.
Ps. Get the Kasumi DLC in ME2. The Locust SMG is a fantastic weapon that is almost a match for the assault rifles in the game.
Mass Effect 2 changed that with the shared cool-down. This pushed a lot of the balance in favour of the gun based classes. Simply because they could apply ammo 'powers' to weapons before a fight and you'd not have to worry about cool-downs.
While I hate the term, biotics were effectively 'nerfed' from Mass Effect 2 onward. Sure you can do biotic combos but that is pretty much all you'll be doing and on insanity, if your team goes down, you'll be in pretty much certain death territory. Seriously the only viable bonus power to pick for an Adept in ME2 is Warp Ammo, you'll need that extra kick.
Ps. Get the Kasumi DLC in ME2. The Locust SMG is a fantastic weapon that is almost a match for the assault rifles in the game.