The Soldier is probably my least played class from the whole Trilogy I think the best classes would be 1) Vanguard 2) Infiltrator 3) Sentinal If i were to choose between the 2 you have mentioned it would be the Adept and i would take Shotgun as my. Mass Effect has six classes: the Soldier, the Vanguard, the Adept, the Sentinel, the Engineer, and the Infiltrator.There are also three skill areas: combat, biotics, and tech.Each class is either a specialist in one skill area, or a hybrid of two. Combat talents focus on increasing damage output and personal survivability. Biotics are the manipulations of mass effect fields.

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? 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. Don't do either.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.Well, if you want to go for consistency, I would definitely pick Vanguard and just tough out the first game, which you'll likely be doing anyway regardless of class selection. Needless to say, the first game was really only good for its writing and soundtrack, which were more than enough to make it a great game overall.But, like you pointed out, there is at least some reasonable explanation between ME1 and ME2 that would explain away why Shepard 'forgot' how to use a Sniper Rifle (though you do get the option to re-add it to your list of weapons midway through the game) and omni-tool.

Vanguard is weak compared to other classes in ME1, as said before. But if you build him more as a tank with a shotgun, he's still very effective.

And then come ME2 and 3. This is where Vanguard shines. Biotic charge is awesome, especially once you have it specced for shorter cooldown and shield recharge with each charge. Because then you aren't a tank with a shotgun any more, but a heavy damage dealing battering ram with a shotgun. Charge - shoot/melee x2 - charge, etc.

And in 3 it gets even more fun with charge - nova. The most awesome combo in the game, the second being biotic detonation. (which you can easily achieve with your other 2 team mates.)So my pick is Vanguard. Once you get through the first game, it's imo the most fun way to play the game.

Dream of pixels. 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.Pretty much this 100%Vanguard in ME2 and 3 is obscenely fun. You could easily build an entire game around the Charge mechanic and forgot all the story and everything else and it would still be a great game.It's a bit less great in ME1, but the combat in that game is so easily broken, class really doesn't matter.I've actually been thinking about doing a full series Vanguard playthrough myselfAlso apparently the image command can include parameters.

I can't believe I never knew this. Nothing can kill that bugger!

Tech and Bio for the first game and you're not restricted with weapon categories in 2 and 3. You're stuck with a pistol for 1, but it still kicks ass;)From your choices, I always preferred vanguard. There's something intimate about blasting your opponents to pieces from point-blank range. Unless you like to savor the last shot before popping the heat sink. ME1 is also the only one with some serious use for a sniper rifle. ME2,3 have much smaller environments so sniper is not as unique but party members actually use it well, don't count on any worthwhile sniping from Garrus in ME1.

Vanguard is the god tier class in the Mass Effect series, after ME1 of course, but the lift ability in ME1 was a great enemy stopper which even helped stop Saren's hopping ass in the final battle.ME2 and ME3 greatly improved Vanguard gameplay, especially in ME3 where with the right build you can take out entire waves of enemies with out firing a shot. Charge, shields and Nova are your best friends.So, if you want to stick it out with Vanguard in ME1 then good luck, otherwise just pick another class and then switch as a you play ME2.

Pistols And SnipersThe Infiltrator is not the best class for close combat since he has no training in shotguns and assault rifles. When the battles must be settled through close combat, his pistols can help take down weaker enemies, but tougher ones with high defense will be hard to knock down.The good news is that he also has the sniper rifle, the best long range weapon in the game.

Sniper rifles deal more damage than pistols, and can kill enemies with one shot when Assassination is used, where normally enemies would require two or three bullets. Snipers can easily take down Geth snipers and enemies that like to hide far away.

SabotageBesides his pistols and sniper rifle for combat, he also comes equipped with some excellent tech that puts enemies at a disadvantage. Sabotage, which can be unlocked from Decryption, can freeze enemy weapons temporarily; when enemies are locked down like this, you protect your squad from harm, so it allows them to break away from cover and attack without hesitation. DampingNot only can the Infiltrator lock down their weapons, they can also shut down enemy tech and biotics with Damping.

You will face enemies who can freeze your weapons, stun you, and push you down to the floor. They are not easy to deal with, so make sure to cast Damping to stop them from using tech and biotics for a short period of time. It works great against Asari Commandos who like to use biotics. Damping can also deal minor damage with its tech proximity mines as well as stun certain enemies for a few seconds. When you add more points to Damping, it will will deal more damage and stun tougher opponents. Tactical ArmorSince the Infiltrator has Tactical Armor, he can wear medium armor, which means he should have solid defense and shields.

Your defense also gets help from Shield Boost, where you can restore back some of the shields you lost during combat. If you’re someone who tends to lose health because you always lose your shields, consider adding points to your Tactical Armor, since you can restore as much as 50% shields per second when you reach Master Shield Boost. ElectronicsElectronics is an important talent since it brings benefits outside of combat.

The better your Electronics is, the better you will be at opening junk scattered in the deserts on planets you visit. They may look like broken down machinery but they contain secrets and items that can’t be found anywhere else.

When you open these secured objects, you gain experience as well.You can also repair your vehicle, the Mako, with Electronics The Mako is not just for travel but for combat too, since it comes equipped with a powerful cannon to destroy giant enemies like Geth Armatures and turrets. These are powerful Geths and machines that can deliver massive damage to your vehicle, so if your Mako is destroyed, then you die in the game. Electronics can be a lifesaver in this situation. OverloadOne annoying aspect of enemies is that they also have shields; so for those who excel in Shield Boosts, they can easily recharge their shields quickly, making them tough to kill. The Infiltrator fortunately has Overload to help solve this problem. Overload deals two kinds of damage, one directly to the enemy and the other to his shields.

Overload works well at the start of combat, since you can get rid of enemies quick by destroying their shields first, so your team can deal immediate damage to their health. LootingMass Effect has plenty of powerful items, many which can’t be bought from merchants. If you enjoy looting, then you should have a good time with the Infiltrator, since his Decryption talent allows him to open the locked crates located at many places you visit. ConclusionThe Infiltrator can be a good offensive class since he has pistols, snipers, and small bombs. Always make sure to mix your weapons and tech together in combat, like shutting down enemy shields with Overload, and then firing at them with Marksman.

He is basically a de-buffer, so when you face Geths and Asaris who like to use tech and biotics, help your squad by shutting their talents down with Damping.If you are having trouble with the game why not try out some? This post is part of the series: Mass Effect Class Guides.