Mass Effect 1 Class

[Del Murder]

I'm going to start ME1 soon. I've played ME2 and ME3 but never had access to the original since I was on PS3. But I got the Trilogy recently and want to check out the missing chapter.

I'm trying to figure out what class to be. I was a Sentinel in ME2 and liked the biotic powers so much that I went with Adept in ME3 and really enjoyed blowing things up. Vanguard is the only biotic class left to try but I hear it is not as good as it is in 2 and 3. I could also go with a tech class like Infiltrator but I also heard sniper weapons are not that good in ME1.

Any suggestions?

[Wolf Kanno]

Tech classes are a decent choice since the Tech skills are good and you can finally have some party variety since you won't need to keep Tali or Garrus in your party to open locks.

I actually went boring with Commando and kind of regretted it since it made it nearly impossible to use Ashley and Wrex since their builds are too similar and having a balanced party is much more important in this game than in the sequels. I say go with a heavy Tech class or Adept since Liara is kind of... stalkerish.

Avoid Sentinels, they kind of blow in this game because they truly embody the Master of None trope. They are only really good with pistols and they get a poor mix of Biotic and Tech abilities that can be better utilized by other more specialized party members. I have never regretted my decisions concerning Kaiden.

[Psychotic]

I couldn't get into the game at all and put it down for months when I tried a Soldier. Played a new game as an Adept and enjoyed making Singularities everywhere.

[Formalhaut]

On my first ME play-through, I went with the entire suit of biotic classes: Vanguard, Adept and Sentinel in game order. On my next play-through, I'll end up doing the three I missed.

Vanguard changes rather drastically between ME1 and ME2/ME3. In ME1, it played for me as an adept with less skills (but good skills) but can wield a shotgun, prompting you to be more at the front lines. In ME2 and ME3, the introduction of Biotic Charge and Nova necessitates risky, close quarters game-play. It really does play differently. I'm not a fan of risky game-play so I didn't do Vanguard again in the sequels.

The Adept plays fairly similarly. You get all the biotic skills, but you're rather frail in combat. But I enjoyed the Sentinel the most. You get Tech Armor in ME2 and ME3 which really boosts your defenses, and you get the key offensive skills from both worlds: overload and warp.

I'd say the Sentinel is the best of the three I played, but I enjoyed the Adept as well. I can't really tell you about the Soldier, Engineer and Infiltrator classes, but I'm told the sniper stuff in ME1 aren't that great. I've never really been much of a stealth player either.

[Randy]

I thought ME1 was a lot worse that its sequels in terms of allowing different classes to give hugely different playthroughs. One of the problems I had was that so much loot in the game, there was such a big incentive to play as Soldier class over others. And that's how I found the game most enjoyable.
Whereas ME2 and ME3, each class worked equally but differently.

[Formalhaut]

Oh gosh the loot is so annoying. You so easily reach the limit for useless items.

[Vyk]

I played through the entire series as a sniper and had no problem in ME1. The only thing is, in ME1, you have to kneel down to steady your aim. And you probably also want to make sure your party is ready and able to be aggressive. Being a sniper with Tali and Liara in tow is probably not a good idea, and you may have to throw a few commands here and there to keep your tail covered, but I never regretted specializing as a sniper. I barely used any actual skills of my own in the first game. Not in combat at any rate. It became more useful and viable in the sequels in my experience though

[Klubbie]

Personally I'd go with Sentinel or Adept. I love ME1, but gameplay wise there are some advantages you can exploit with Adept or Sentinel that break the game on higher levels when you start to get shorter cool down times and can actually withstand a fair amount of damage (even on Insanity). I've played soldier class and vanguard as well and they were enjoyable too, but I've not had as much fun as I have with Adept and Sentinel on high levels.

I've never found the weapons to make a huge difference in terms of how I play the game. Shotguns require you to play at shorter range, but pistols and assault rifles were never that different IMO. So limiting yourself to a class that can't use assault rifles is pretty meaningless. As a Sentinel you can raise your electronics and decryption skills to the point where you don't need someone else with tech to be on your team which gives you a lot of flexibility in how you structure your team on missions. Then you are free to focus on maxing out biotic skills. Lift, Warp, Stasis, and Throw were always what I focused on as a Sentinel outside of Electronics and Decryption. Those biotic skills always made the game a cake walk when you get to higher levels.

Around level 20 some things happen that really turn the game into a ton of fun for Sentinel and Adepts.

The moon mission gives you the opportunity to specialize your sub class, and I believe the Bastion option as a Sentinel allows you to deal damage to enemies in Stasis. So a maxed out Bastion and Stasis, along with maxed warp, lift, and throw really break the game IMO. Especially at later levels when cool down times decrease substantially

Adept is similar, you just lose the ability to have the electronics and decryption skills yourself and have to include Garrus, Tali, or Kaidan with you to gather loot. Adept also gives you singularity which is completely worth it from a crowd control/game breaking standpoint. Barrier is also a necessity to help you withstand damage. At later levels you are pretty fireproof if you spec your armor right as well. Not quite to the invincibility that comes with a Solider who has Immunity, but damn good.

[Del Murder]

Decided to go with Vanguard to round out the biotic trio. I like Tali and Garrus so I don't have a problem including one of them in the missions for the tech specialty.

So far it's hard to get used to this first game after playing through the other two where the combat seems much more polished. Also the safe cracking mini game is stupid. I've played through the other games so I already know the main plot points but I was surprised that Saren was set up as the villain so quickly, but effectively.

[Jessweeee♪]

I usually go Adept in ME1 and Vanguard in 2 and 3. Dat Charge.
Same concept in ME1 though, close-range biotic user :p

[Skyblade]

Am I the only person who played the Infiltrator and spent the entire game teaching geth why Sniper Rifles are things to be feared?

You get everything you need to be awesome. All the Tech abilities for utility, the ability to Overload shields, Pistols (and access to the Commando sub-Class, which makes pistols flat out the best DPS in the game), and best of all, SNIPER RIFLES.

I love playing as a Sniper in this game. So many times I'd be exploring a planet and I'd destroy an entire outpost before they can get within effective range to hit back.

[Mr. Carnelian]

I always go for biotic classes. Telekinesis is awesome.

Magic classes (which is what biotics are, essentially) are usually my first choice in RPGs. Magic is fun. :)

[Loony BoB]

I was Soldier, I guess, or whatever it is that allowed you to use all weapons at expense of biotics etc. I found it loads of fun and often would have Wrex and Ashley alongside me, and we would destroy the enemy. :D

The loot system sucked. The lifts got old fast. I liked almost everything else about ME1, though.

[Freya]

Am I the only person who played the Infiltrator and spent the entire game teaching geth why Sniper Rifles are things to be feared?

You get everything you need to be awesome. All the Tech abilities for utility, the ability to Overload shields, Pistols (and access to the Commando sub-Class, which makes pistols flat out the best DPS in the game), and best of all, SNIPER RIFLES.

I love playing as a Sniper in this game. So many times I'd be exploring a planet and I'd destroy an entire outpost before they can get within effective range to hit back.

Yeah that. I play infiltrator. Always.

[Ayen]

I always played as a soldier and shot trout.

[Del Murder]

I ended up going with vanguard and it was fun, though I didn't see much differentiation among the classes in that game.

[Mr. Carnelian]

I ended up going with vanguard and it was fun, though I didn't see much differentiation among the classes in that game.

The differentiation increases a fair bit in 2 and 3.

[Formalhaut]

I ended up going with vanguard and it was fun, though I didn't see much differentiation among the classes in that game.

The differentiation increases a fair bit in 2 and 3.

As I said, in ME1, the Vanguard is basically an Adept who is beefier and wields a shotgun. Most classes don't play terribly different in the first game. Probably the main distinction is the distance in which you approach. The Vanguard is all up in the enemy's face, while the Adept hangs back some more. Beyond that, a few equipment distances. That's it.

The Vanguard is markedly different in ME2 and ME3, which prompted me to not pursue it further. As I said previously, it necessitates riskier, 'hit and run' style gameplay with the use of the power Biotic Charge. You charge towards a target, phasing through any obstacles, placing yourself in point blank range, where you can use your shotgun to maximise damage. It is very powerful, as you gain a strength boost after your charge. It is also somewhat defensive, as your shields also recharge after a charge, and gain a 4 second boost to your shields. Of course, what is risky is that despite these defensive supplements, you're then left stranded in enemy territory. You can't use biotic charge without an enemy target either, so you cannot Biotic Charge back to safety. Part of the challenge is analysing the benefit of charging at enemies, making sure you don't get surrounded.

The main issue with Vanguards is their limited options for ranged combat. They do have Pull, which helps somewhat, and they do have access to heavy pistols and SMGs. However, they are much less comfortable in ranged combat than other classes. You also have to consider squadmates much more, as they do not have long-range capability, and do not possess protection stripping powers such as overload or warp.

The only difference in ME3 is they now have Nova, a close-range shockwave attack which uses up all your biotic barrier to create a devastating AoE attack. Naturally, this makes the Vanguard even more risky.

[Pumpkin]

I got the first one but I haven't tried it yet and it will probably be a long time because the Xbox is going bye bye soon

[Ayen]

This thread reminds me I need to replay the game as another class. I only ever played as a soldier since I prefer physical damage and the likes. Though I did play as one of the biotic classes just to see how much dialog changes.

[theundeadhero]

Infiltrater so you can rack up the mass damage and still pick locks all by yourself.