Mass Effect 2 - Class Build - Adept (on Insanity difficulty)

Mass Effect 2 Class Build - Adept (on Insanity difficulty)
(Click here for all Mass Effect 2 Builds)

Powers:

• Warp → Throw
• Singularity → Pull → Shockwave
• Biotic Mastery

Recommended Build

• Warp 4
• Singularity 4, Pull 4, Shockwave 1
• Biotic Mastery 4 (Nemesis)
• Advanced Training: Energy Drain 4
• Weapon Training: Shotgun

Anti-Barrier: Warp

Anti-Shield: Submachinegun, Energy Drain

Anti-Armor: Warp

Anti-Regeneration: Warp

Anti-Melee: Singularity, Pull, Shotgun

The main benefit of biotics is the ability to arc behind barriers. To do so, make sure the enemy is targeted but your crosshair is not directly on the target. The biotic bolt will travel to the crosshair then start homing in on the target. Depending on the distance, it can take a couple of seconds to actually hit, but you can snipe in this way at targets far enough away to haul out a sniping rifle. Sometimes it just doesn't work for unclear reasons, in which case you need to reposition Shepard.
This build is very self-sufficient early, even without Energy Drain, so right away you can focus on Biotic Mastery to get your cooldowns reduced.

Warp

Along with Singularity, Warp is your primary attack Power. It is in fact a very well rounded and useful power that has the bonus of being able to "detonate" (create a blast) at any target suspended by biotics, including Singularity, Pull, and Slam (the latter typically being of too short a duration to exploit except possibly by an instant Warp hit through squad power usage).

If you want a different Advanced Training power, then Warp will also have to handle Shields.

Throw

Good for moving an unprotected target, but nothing else. Damage is extremely unpredictable and generally weak even at rank 4. The main benefits of this power are the short cooldown (base 3.0 seconds) and that it generally knocks the target down, so you get a few extra seconds of target neutralization.

Targets fly further if they already have their weight neutralized by Pull or Singularity.

If you are in melee you can knock down your target, melee it a few times, then knock it down again. Arc your bolt so it hits in the direction you want your target to be thrown -- either far away from you, or into an object close to you so you do not have to chase it down.

Throw cannot move a shielded or armored target, but it will slightly damage their shield or armor.

Singularity

The long duration of the Singularity effect can be used in various ways:

• Set it up first, then strip off the final shields or armor. That way, your target is immediately vulnerable inside the Singularity and will be grabbed. Your next action can then be Warp to detonate them.
• Use it to control a choke-point:
• The radius is uselessly small so the chokepoint must also be quite small for this to work.
• Enemies cannot walk through the centre of a singularity if they cannot be affected because they have shields or armor.
• Briefly stall a protected target: A protected target is only slightly damaged by the singularity, but it cannot seem to occupy the same space. During the brief time it is pushed out or it moves out of the centre of the singularity, it cannot do anything else including shoot at you. This is better than nothing in an emergency.

Pull

You cannot pull protected targets, but their topmost layer of protection will be slightly damaged. Same cooldown as Throw, but I recommend using this instead because it lasts longer and you can detonate them with Warp.
Pull is more or less redundant with Singularity since Singularity will also float a target, but there is really nothing else better to develop with this build.

Shockwave

The range is short enough in most engagements to make this power less useful than whatever else you already have. Trying to hit targets on a different elevation is also tricky. It will hit targets behind cover, but you can already do that by arcing biotics.

You can use it on protected targets and it will stagger them very briefly, but generally not to be useful enough. However, because they do not fall over, you can try to immediately follow up with gunfire to further stagger them and keep them from dodging or ducking back to cover.
Against unprotected targets, you can knock them out from behind cover. A target being Pulled can be knocked high and far, possibly behind you (since Pull starts to move them toward you).

Biotic Mastery

Nemesis is recommended on this build because most of the powers are instant. Pull and Singularity are the exceptions, but you really need them only long enough to Detonate, and in any case Pull has a very short cooldown so you can use it again before the enemy takes any actions.

Energy Drain

This is a somewhat specialized Power choice because it only damages armor, barriers, shields (x2), and synthetics. Of the four choices, you only need it against synthetics.

The side effect is a boost to your shields which can immediately re-erect collapsed shields. Considering that biotics can be arced around cover and therefore repositioning in combat isn't as necessary for an Adept, even this is of limited benefit.

Nevertheless, because the most powerful biotics can only be used on unprotected enemies, stripping them of shields as quickly as possible makes this a worthwhile investment. Go for Area Drain to get the maximum shield boost.

Shotgun
With so many ways to hit targets from afar and from behind cover, the main vulnerability is melee. A shotgun can help you strip off the remaining protection so you can hit them with Pull or Singularity and then Warp-detonate them -- you only need one target ready for detonation to hit everyone nearby with the Warp blast.