When creating Shepard, no decision is more important or has a more far-reaching effect on your adventure than class.
There are six classes you can choose from, each with strengths and weakness that will shape your combat options and style.
Do you want to take the galaxy at the end of a gun? Then look into the soldier class, which is heavily geared toward developing weapon expertise.
If you want to charge headlong into danger, flinging biotic attacks at your foes, then consider the adept.
Each class has three defining factors—power training, weapon training, and ammo training. These three factors shape your character right out of the gate.
Weapon training determines what kind of weapons Shepard can use. Ammo training determines what special ammunition your character is able to use.
(Never underestimate the usefulness of special ammo. When it’s used properly, you can exploit your enemies time and time again.) Power training lists the powers the character can immediately start developing.
Now, none of these are set in stone. As you level up and earn more squad points, you can apply them to additional powers.
Each class also has a mastery power that only a hero in that class can develop and use.
For example, the Infiltrator Mastery power improves an infiltrator’s sniping skills, while the adept’s Biotic Mastery shortens the cooldown period between unleashing biotic attacks.
Soldier
Soldiers are pure combat specialists. No one is tougher or more effective at taking down enemies with gunfire. Soldiers have the most thorough weapons training and can use all special ammo types.
Power Training:
Adrenaline Rush
Concussive Shot
Weapon Training:
Assault Rifle, Heavy Pistol, Shotgun, Sniper Rifle
Ammo Training:
Cryo
Disruptor
Incendiary
The soldier class is brutish, perfect for players who want to dispense justice in the galaxy at the barrel of a gun. Soldiers have no natural biotic or tech powers.
Their powers are strictly related to combat, such as the fantastic Adrenaline Rush. This power heightens a soldier’s reflexes, which effectively looks like the slowing of time for a few moments.
Adrenaline Rush has both offensive and defensive uses. If an enemy force is not expecting you, it gives you the element of surprise.
Soldiers can also employ Adrenaline Rush to get out of a situation where they have perhaps bitten off more than they can chew. There is no shame in beating a quick retreat to devise a different strategy.
Though a soldier can use many weapons, the best is easily the assault rifle.
There is no “good” defense against the assault rifle, save for tucking tail and going for cover.
The assault rifle is good at multiple ranges (save for long distance, but thankfully soldiers can use the sniper rifle, too), making it an almost all-purpose weapon. Having a shotgun handy for close-range contact is always a good idea.
Because the soldier specializes in weapons, take advantage of the special ammunition.
The three available ammo types—cryo, incendiary, and disruptor—are good for dealing with organics and synthetics, and blasting through shields and armor.
Infiltrator
Infiltrators are tech and combat specialists with the unique ability to cloak themselves from visual and technological detection. Infiltrators are deadly at any range, with a wide variety of weapons, equipment, and powers that can take down any enemy.
Power Training
AI Hacking
Incinerate
Tactical Cloak
Weapon Training:
Heavy Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Submachine Gun
Ammo Training:
Cryo
Disruptor
Infiltrators should be the preferred class of players who want to enjoy the benefits of tech powers but not give up the reliability of weapons. With the ability to use heavy pistols, SMGs, and sniper rifles, the infiltrator can kill at any range.
But, of course, the real draw here is the ability to pick apart an opposing force from great distances. Thankfully, the infiltrator has tech powers designed to back up this play style.
Tactical Cloak, the ability to temporarily vanish from sight, is perfect for lining up a deadly shot without worry of incoming fire. This tech power is just as useful if an infiltrator gets in a little trouble and needs to fall back to recover.
Like the soldier, the infiltrator has special ammo it can use: disruptor and cryo. Make good use of these special rounds because they can be the sole factor that keeps your squad one step ahead of the enemy.
Freezing tough targets, for example, lets your squad finish them off without fear of retaliation.
Infiltrators cannot go into battle with a superstar mentality. They are definitely members of a team and must behave accordingly to ensure success.
There is plenty of glory is being the crack shot that drops deadly targets from a distance while other team members get close and mop up the easier prey.
Powering up Tactical Cloak is a smart play as it lets you became the team’s shadow, but be sure to also invest in other powers like Incinerate and special ammo because your squad is relying on you dishing out as much damage as possible in exchange for your perch above the immediate fray.
Vanguard
Vanguards are feared for their high-risk, high-reward combat style, closing quickly on enemies and destroying them at close range with weapons and biotic abilities.
Power Training
Charge
Pull
Shockwave
Weapon Training:
Heavy Pistol, Shotgun, Submachine Gun
Ammo Training:
Cryo
Incendiary
Soldiers may get the rep for guts, but the vanguard is the class to choose if you want to play for keeps.
The vanguard-exclusive power Charge gives you the ability to go from twenty yards to nose-to-nose in a second, meaning you better have the firepower to back up such an audacious move.
Thankfully, the vanguard has enough solid weapon training in potent weapons (the shotgun and SMG are deadly in the right hands) to follow up on the death-dealing promise of Charge.
Charge is not just an offensive move. Use Charge to replenish barriers as you rush away from a fight. Charge is not just an offensive move either. Use Charge to replenish barriers as you rush away from a fight.
The Charge power is the showpiece for vanguards, but don’t discount the effectiveness of other vanguard talents like Pull.
Deploying Pull on an enemy in a group effectively removes them from combat fro a few moments. (And if you have an empty space between you and your target, you can Pull them right into a nasty fall.)
However, one potential weakness of vanguards is the lack of ammo or powers that really cut through barriers or shields.
Vanguards may wish to bring tech- or biotic-savvy squad mates along that can handle these problems, but don’t forget that shields, barriers, and armor are all vulnerable against the shotgun—and that’s a weapon the vanguard excels at using.
Sentinel
Sentinels are unique, bringing both tech and biotic abilities to the battlefield. While they lack the focus of adepts and engineers, they are versatile and can handle any situation.
Power Training
Cryo Blast
Overload
Tech Armor
Throw
Warp
Weapon Training:
Heavy Pistol, Submachine Gun
Ammo Training:
None
Sentinels make excellent “support” characters as they have the armor to keep in the battle for longer, allowing them to use their limited tech and biotic powers to thin the enemy ranks while the rest of the squad does some heavy lifting.
Sentinels also have the distinction of possessing the powers needed to cleave through all three enemy protections: armor, barriers, and shields. Overload fries shields while Warp weakens armor and barriers.
The only problem is that once the protection is done, the sentinel really doesn’t have much to work with for eliminating the enemy.
The heavy pistol and SMG are workable weapons, but later in the adventure, your enemies are pretty resilient against these weapons.
So, if you go sentinel, you should really bring squad members into the field that can deal damage with guns or biotic attacks.
Fortunately, the sentinel has access to Throw, which can be used to put a little distance between you and a rampaging enemy.
But once you feel comfortable with combat as a sentinel, you can get a little braver and wade into the fray confident in the Tech Armor power to keep you alive.
Adept
Adepts are biotic specialists, capable of disabling and killing enemies with raw biotic power. While they lack advanced combat training, they are the best at defeating enemies without firing a shot.
Power Training:
Pull
Shockwave
Singularity
Throw
Warp
Weapon Training:
Heavy Pistol, Submachine Gun
Ammo Training:
None
Adepts are intriguing heroes and with so many biotic attacks at their disposal, it’s understandable why you might be immediately drawn to this class.
After all, who doesn’t want the ability to lift an enemy into the air and toss them around like a ragdoll? And Singularity? That’s a mini-black hole!
But you need to understand that biotic attacks are pretty much useless against enemies with protection, such as barriers and shields.
You need to break down those protections before unleashing the full effect of your biotics, so make sure an adept is flanked by either a tech specialist or a soldier with ammo that can dismantle shields. But once you have a clear shot with a biotic attack?
You are a fearsome beast indeed.
As an adept, you may have the ability to bend the laws of the universe to your will, but you cannot get by without your friends. Don’t always go for the kill as an adept.
Use biotics to soften up enemies or make them easy targets (Pull, Throw) for others to finish off.
Engineer
Engineers are tech specialists, the only class able to employ combat drones on the battlefield. Engineers are the most effective class at blasting through enemy defenses and disabling opponents.
Power Training:
AI Hacking
Combat Drone
Cryo Blast
Incinerate
Overload
Weapon Training:
Heavy Pistol, Submachine Gun
Ammo Training:
None
Combat Drones and AI Hacking headline the special skills of an engineer—and for good reason. Both powers are useful and fun.
Whenever you are going up against a synthetic, such as geth or a mech, AI Hacking lets an engineer temporarily turn it against its comrades. Used on a huge mech, the AI Hacking power can instantly turn the tide of a battle.
The Combat Drone power unleashes an energy sphere into the battlefield that keeps enemies busy.
An engineer can then open fire on the distracted enemy or rely on squad members to mop them up.
If this sounds like an attractive strategy to you, then make sure your engineer goes out on missions with combat-centric teammates.
Incinerate and Cryo Blast powers deserve just as much attention as Combat Drones and AI Hacking.
These twin powers allow an engineer to do big damage from the safety of cover, which is essential because this class has the least amount of health.