Poll: Vanguard or Infiltrator? Mass Effect Series Run

TWEWYFan

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Mass Effect is a series I've been meaning to get into for a long time. I'm a huge Bioware fan, Dragon Age and the KOTOR series rank up among some of my favorite games ever, and I've even gone through a decent portion of Mass Effect already before I had to drop it for various boring real life related reasons. I've recently gotten some free time back and I feel like I'm ready to go try to dive into this series as a whole. To that end, I have been trying to decide what class to give my Shepard this time and as you may have gathered from the title I am torn between the Infiltrator and the Vanguard. Now, I've played with each of these classes and I enjoy them both. The thing is, they're both fun in very different ways.

Vanguard: I really enjoy the biotic powers in Mass Effect; tossing my enemies aside with my awesome powers never gets old. And on the off chance I somehow do get tired of it I've always got my shotgun to liven things up. Another advantage to Vanguard is that I tend to like traveling with some of the more tech-y companions like Kaiden or Garrus and that way it's a little easier to field a more balanced party. On the other hand...

Infiltrator: I love sniping in these kinds of games. In many of them it's one of my favorite ways to play. More than that though I really like the flexibility the Infiltrator brings to the table with his decryption and electronics skills. On the top of the extra shields it also makes it easier to open crates, lockers and the like. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't like to leave an chest unopened and loot unplundered so not having to worry as much about always keeping a designated lockpicker in the party is also a plus.

So keeping all this mind, which of these would you pick and why? Or keeping it out of mind, which of these is your favorite?
 

MysticSlayer

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Don't do either. Go Engineer! It's the most fun in Mass Effect 2 & 3.

OK, my love for the Engineer aside, I would go Vanguard if you're looking at the whole series. Infiltrator can be more fun in the first game, and it is the stronger class (though I feel sorry for anyone who tried to be a sniper during the final boss fight of the first game). However, by Mass Effect 2, due to the Vanguard's close association with being an assault-focused, semi-Soldier class, it just fit better with the general design. Not to mention, I found Vanguard far more fun in Mass Effect 2 than I did Infiltrator, and I'd imagine that Mass Effect 3 is the same. I understand that you love sniping, but I personally found sniping to be mostly useless by Mass Effect 2 and hardly ever used the sniper rifle once I added it to the list of weapons the engineer could use. Unfortunately, the design of ME2&3 was just completely centered around assault rifles, and there wasn't a whole lot of room for other weapons, especially sniper rifles.

And for your love of getting everything, it will really only matter in the first game. I don't think they keep you from being allowed to try unlocking things by the second game. So again, going with Infiltrator really isn't worth much by the time you reach Mass Effect 2, so taking the series as a whole into consideration, I would highly advise Vanguard.

Now, one thing you could do is play Infiltrator in ME1 and go Vanguard in ME2&3. It does allow you to change classes between the games if you want, and that will help you take advantage of when each one was at their strongest.
 

KarmaTheAlligator

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I went Infiltrator the whole way.

In ME1, you could end up with the best pistol and a combination of abilities to get something that was more powerful than anything else, and with infinite firing due to ability cooldowns being shorter than their duration. I say this because until late game and you have access to the spectre weapons, sniping isn't a great way to fight due to cramped areas, usually. It does come in handy in a few fights, though.

In ME2 and ME3, you get a slow down effect that's built in, and that's just awesome. Plus the tactical cloak. Plus, the Widow. Anything else is just gravy.
 
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King Whurdler said:
I think Vanguard is the hardest class to play as, at least in the first game. Without a doubt. You're really not given that much more protection than, say, an Adept, and the game still expects you to bum-rush the enemy like an idiot. In my opinion, the combat system in ME just isn't tailored towards an overly-aggressive class (which the Vanguard is), with its sludge-like gunplay, bullshit overheating system, lackluster cover mechanic, and your paper thin defensive capabilities. In order to play that class well, I think you need to be a master.

Infiltrator any day of the week.
it depends exactly on how you level up and such, there was one playthrough I did where I found the best guns in the game and I leveled perfectly so I was just a running tank (literally would run through areas just spray & pray destroying the geth)

but the first 2/3rd's of the game definitely were much harder, had to be very careful until my accuracy and fire rate were at their peak.


OT: I found infiltrator to be great the first game, and it is great the other games but sometimes the engineer and more bio based classes are different kind of fun to play in the next ones, which in me2 you can switch your class even with a save brought over if I remember right...
 

SmallHatLogan

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I assume you're only familiar with the first game. It's worth noting that in ME2 and ME3 the classes get some unique skills. Aiming with a sniper rifle if you're an infiltrator slows down time for a second or two which is great for lining up shots. You also get the cloak witch makes you invisible until you fire a weapon or use another skill. The vanguard has the biotic charge which is ridiculously fun. You fly forwards and slam into an enemy knocking them down and restoring your shields in the process. You can also phase through cover and over gaps with the charge.
 

LetalisK

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KarmaTheAlligator said:
In ME2 and ME3, you get a slow down effect that's built in, and that's just awesome.
Didn't they gut the slow down in ME3? For some reason I remember actually modding my character to give him the Soldier's slow down ability because my Infiltrator's was barely noticeable, especially compared to ME2.
 

Sack of Cheese

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Vanguard is awful in the first game! Go for Engineer in the first game.
In the second game onward, pick Vanguard and shotgun for the most explosive Mass effect experience!


MysticSlayer said:
Don't do either. Go Engineer! It's the most fun in Mass Effect 2 & 3.
Gosh, I love picking Engineer in the third game, and go for Combat Drone/Sentry Turret/Tali's Defense Drone. On easier levels you don't even need to lift a hand, just stand around and relax while your summons do their thing.
 

Xdeser2

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Hmmm...

The funny thing is your going to choose between 2 classes that are kind of at the opposite spectrum difficulty wise. Vanguard will be tougher because you have to get in closer to do damage, infiltrator easier, since you can stay back and wail on fools with a super powerful rife, but both are equally fun. Seriously, they both make you feel like such a badass, but I'm sure I dont have to tell you that.

Personally, I found the Vanguard to be far more fun in ME1 due to how the combat works, but in 2 and 3 the Infiltrator becomes far more interesting (at least to me) since ME2 almost plays out like a combat puzzle and as an Infiltrator, you are almost the best Anti-Armor person in your squad.

Oh, and the Infiltrator gets the Widow....so Infiltrator all the way.
 

skywolfblue

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LetalisK said:
KarmaTheAlligator said:
In ME2 and ME3, you get a slow down effect that's built in, and that's just awesome.
Didn't they gut the slow down in ME3? For some reason I remember actually modding my character to give him the Soldier's slow down ability because my Infiltrator's was barely noticeable, especially compared to ME2.
There were sniper rifle mods in ME3, that slowed down time in the singleplayer Concentration Mod [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Weapon_Mods#Sniper_Rifle_Upgrades].

There is also Operational Mastery [http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Operational_Mastery] which gives some time slow (it says 35%), but I can't remember that being particularly noticeable.
 

al4674

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Infiltration is by far the easiest class to play. Cover - snipe - one shot kill - cover - snipe - one shot kill to infinity. play vanguard for a more intensive experience.
 

Maximum Bert

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I went Vanguard for my first run in ME1 but it makes Insanity ridiculously hard so I switched to Soldier for that run and strolled through it as they are basically invincible to 90% of the enemies for some reason.

I continued my soldier run in ME2 and found it really boring so changed to Infiltrator for the Insanity and while it wasnt as easy as the soldier insanity run in ME1 it made some sections a cakewalk especially when combined with the mind hacking skill (when it worked properly and you didnt just create a souped up enemy that keeps attacking you even though it should be under your control). Infiltrator was also more fun imo.
 

w9496

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It depends. Infiltrator will get you through the games without really needing to switch up your plan, and your tactics work against everything all of the time. Peek out, line up easy slo-mo headshot, rinse and repeat.

Vanguard is pure shotgun offense, and you need to prioritize targets if you don't want your guts to decorate the nearesr wall. Biotic Charge is the primary focus of this class, but other good powers are available too. This makes it easy to switch up playstyles.

And Infiltrator will get really tedious about halfway through your playthrough. There really isn't a whole lot of thinking in playing one.
 

hazabaza1

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I think there's a single question that makes the choice for you:

Can the Infiltrator headbutt people at Mach 2?

Vanguard all day every day.
 

TWEWYFan

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MysticSlayer said:
Now, one thing you could do is play Infiltrator in ME1 and go Vanguard in ME2&3. It does allow you to change classes between the games if you want, and that will help you take advantage of when each one was at their strongest.
That could work, although I probably would prefer to keep my Shepard as one class in order to give him a more consistent feel. It strikes me as kind of odd that Shepard would almost completely forget how to use his sniper rifle and omni-tool between games. Although I suppose it is possible he could have received a tiny bit of brain damage on account of that mild case of death he suffered.
 

Hazy

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Vanguard is the high risk, high reward class.

Suffice to say, it's awesome. You're like a Jedi that rams into people at Mach 10.

 

IFS

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Man I really don't understand where all this 'vanguard is awful in ME1' is coming from, I played vanguard runs of the game several times and never had much trouble with it. But then I enjoyed ME1's gameplay more than most people. All the classes are weak early on in ME1, and all get quite powerful later (which imo creates an excellent power curve that is a lot of fun to experience) and for Vanguard the main ability that makes them awesome in 1 is Barrier. Once you start putting points into that you can effectively bring back you shields when they drop, reinforce your defenses to the point where walking up to an enemy and blasting them with a shotgun is quite practical, and in general be a badass. Shotguns also have pretty solid range in 1, so getting in super close isn't actually that necessary.

Plus in 2 and 3 vanguards get charge, which is the best power in either of those games.
 

Gamer87

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Play as a Vanguard with a sniper rifle - problem solved! It's possible in ME3.

Vanguard is my favourite class and I love the shotgun and sniper rifle equally.
 

Drakmorg

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Aug 15, 2008
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Well let's see, hiding and picking enemies off from far away, or slamming into enemies head-first like a truck, releasing an explosive burst of psychic force, and then blowing away what remains with a great-big-screw-off shotgun?

Is this honestly a legitimate question? Because it kinda feels like it isn't.