Enemies have varied health systems compared to player characters—most notably, an additional health type called “armor,” indicated by a yellow health bar instead of the normal red health bar.
Shield Health
Enemy shields behave similarly to yours—they regenerate after a certain period of time since last taking damage and block most power effects. Shields are represented by a blue bar above the enemy’s health bar. Along with Overload and Energy Drain, beam-based “lightning” weapons deal bonus damage to shields.
Armor Health
Enemy armor reduces your damage output by a flat amount per hit (as opposed to a percentage reduction). This means low-damage attacks from weapons like SMGs and assault rifles usually deal pitiful damage to armored enemies. Anti-armor powers or high-damage single-shot weapons are highly recommended against armored enemies. Although shotguns fire several low-damage pellets, shotgun pellets receive a compensatory bonus damage to armored enemies. Like an enemy with shields, enemies with armored health are immune to biotic effects.
Barrier-Generating Enemies
Certain enemies like the Nullifier can generate an impenetrable fortress. However, these enemies are generally immobilized, so attack their flanks or find a way to disable their defenses.
Weak Points
Shooting an enemy weak point multiplies your damage dealt. Enemy weak-point multipliers vary; some enemy weak points reward a higher multiplier than others. Weak points cause a distinct orange hit marker on the reticle.
Humanoids are usually vulnerable to shots to the head, while Remnant weak points aren’t entirely obvious. Remnant weak points tend to include exposed wiring or lights (or “eyes”). See the Enemies section for specifics.
