Mass Effect Hints

Combat Tips

• 1 of 15: Unless you're in the Mako (in which case you should check the Mako Tips), your strategy for any combat should utilize three important things: your main character's talents, your squad members, and the local terrain.
• 2 of 15: What your main character should be doing in a combat depends on what combat-related talents he has that are most useful in the current situation.
• 3 of 15: For instance, if you're fighting synthetic enemies like geth or defense turrets, use any engineering-talent-related abilities you have like Sabotage and Overload on them. If you're fighting powerful organic foes, use your biotic talents like Lift and Throw on them to incapacitate them, or shoot them with the weapon you have the most talent points put into.
• 4 of 15: As for your squad members, you can use the Tactical HUD to get them to switch weapons, use their talent-related abilities on specific targets, or execute a squad command such as Rally or Take Cover. On the Xbox, you use the D-pad to issue squad commands, hold down the left button for changing weapons (or tap quickly to rotate Shepard's weapon), and hold down the right button for using talents (or press quickly to use a single "mapped" talent). You also have the option under the Mission Computer of setting your squad to auto-use talents (Options > Gameplay > Squad Power Usage). Setting to "Active" will let the game's AI choose both defensive and offensive talents -- which may make it a little easier to manage combat, but also runs the risk of a talent being used on the wrong target and then becoming unavailable.
• 5 of 15: It can be especially useful to aim your targeting crosshair at a certain spot and use the Move command to get your squad members to move there. This can be used to get them into position to initiate a crossfire (they fire from one direction while you fire from another), put them between you and an enemy you don't want getting to you (like a powerful krogan who's in the mood to charge you), or get them out of harm's way if they're taking too much damage.
• 6 of 15: That said, the most important combat tactic in most situations is to fully utilize available cover. You can often push up against a wall or large crate in order to go into "cover mode," in which your character keeps out of the line of fire until you start holding down the Zoom key, at which time he'll peek around to where he can aim and fire at nearby enemies while still staying under partial cover.
• 7 of 15: Some of the best kinds of cover are small crates and walkway railings that you have to crouch next to in order to be protected. When you go into Zoom mode, you'll be peeking over the top of your cover, which can work better than trying to look around the left or right side of taller forms of cover.
• 8 of 15: In some situations, the best thing you can do when combat begins is run quickly back the way you came. This can often keep you and your squad from getting surrounded and pounded, especially when you encounter hostiles in a large room that you entered by going down a narrow corridor or around a corner. Usually, some enemies will come after you, but others will stay behind and take cover, even though they'll be unable to shoot you until you go back into their room.
• 9 of 15: In some cases, taking cover from an intense firefight may be as simple as using a door panel to close the door that you've been shooting through. Enemies that decide to charge you may open the door from the other side, but ones that opt to stay under cover will probably continue to do so. When you're ready to go after them, re-open the door.
• 10 of 15: Another very useful thing to do during tough combats is to occasionally hide somewhere (like in a previous room or behind a closed door) to allow everyone's health and shields to recharge. Shields will always recharge given enough time, but the only people who can regenerate health are those who have points in the Soldier talent or have a special armor upgrade equipped (like First Aid Interface, which can be bought at level I from the Citadel's Med Clinic and found at higher levels throughout the game).
• 11 of 15: Once you get the Spectre Training talent, its main benefit is the Unity ability that you'll get after putting several points into it. Whenever your squad members fall in combat and you don't want to try to finish it alone, get under cover and use your Unity ability followed immediately by some medi-gel to heal everyone. Just remember that those two abilities have cooldown times before you can use them again. If your medi-gel abilities are still recharging and just one squad member is down, waiting for the medi-gel to recharge may be better than wasting Unity only to have the squad member killed again before you can heal him/her.
• 12 of 15: The best weapon to use for long-range combat is the sniper rifle. It can be invaluable against enemies who like to keep their distance and stay under cover -- snipe them down when they peek out instead of trying to charge them and possibly getting badly shot up. The sniper rifle is also great because of the amount of damage it can do per shot, even in the hands of someone who isn't skilled in it. (Though note that unskilled users will have to deal with the fact that they can't hold it very still while zoomed.)
• 13 of 15: If you've been collecting various ammo types, equip the ones that would be most useful against the enemies you're currently fighting. Some ammo types do extra damage against synthetic creatures like geth, some do extra damage to organic enemies like krogan, some have extra shield-penetrating power, etc. Ammo types that do damage over time can also be very useful, as can ones like High Explosive Rounds that throw smaller enemies around with excessive force.
• 14 of 15: If you're not sure that a combat is over after shooting down all nearby enemies, there are several different ways you can tell. You can't save or quicksave your game if the combat isn't over (or if you're inside an elevator), fallen squad members won't get up until combat is over, and your little radar thingy won't be clear of red blips (or jamming signals) until the combat is over. Also, a squad member will usually say something like "That's all" or "We're clear."
• 15 of 15: During some combats, it's possible to retreat to an area where you'll be able to save your game, then go back and continue the combat. This can help keep you from wasting lots of time killing most of your enemies, only to die right near the end. Also, it can often revive fallen squad members without having to use the above-mentioned Unity ability.

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