Mass Effect 3 has six classes. There are three pure classes which focus on a particular type of skill: Soldier (combat), Adept (biotics), and Engineer (tech). The Vanguard is a combination of the Soldier and Adept.
The Vanguard focuses on combat and offensive biotics. As a soldier focused on close-range combat, the Vanguard is outfitted with powerful weapons and uses their class skill, Biotic Charge, to close in on their enemies and take them out with fast and brutal efficiency. Because of the emphasis on close combat, this class is considered high-risk, high reward, and is one of the trickiest classes to master.
10 Biotic Charge
Biotic Charge is the core ability of the Vanguard. It allows the Vanguard to use biotics to travel across the battlefield within seconds and slam into their enemies. This attack staggers enemies back by several meters, and brings the Vanguard into close-range to use their shotguns or melee attack. Biotic Charge also restores the Vanguard’s Barriers, which makes it an essential skill to upgrade.
As the class ability of the Vanguard, Biotic Charge’s upgrades greatly influence the tactics for the Vanguard. Aim for the lowest possible weight capacity to ensure the quickest power recharge so you can activate Biotic Charge as soon as your barriers are down. One last advantage of Biotic Charge is that it acts as a trigger for deadly detonations.
9 Biotics
Biotic powers for the Vanguard which are automatically awarded are Biotic Charge, Nova, Pull, and Shockwave. Biotic Charge works best in tandem with Pull, which detonates a biotic explosion. Pull can be on Cerberus Guardian shields, when used on them it pulls the shield right out of their hands, leaving them stumbling and vulnerable to attack. Pull has a fast recharging time, which makes it particularly useful for the high-risk, high-reward playstyle of the Vanguard. Shockwave is helpful for taking out waves of husks and for pushing enemies out of cover.
Nova isn’t quite a biotic ability, but rather comprises of detonating the charge on the Vanguard’s biotic barrier. As such, it isn’t subject to recharge, and is particularly helpful if surrounded by enemies when coming out of a charge.
8 Assault Mastery
Assault Mastery is the passive class skill of the Vanguard, and is focused on the core stats of the Vanguard class. These include weight capacity, force of biotic powers, weapon damage, and reputation bonuses.
Skill upgrades which have the highest reputation bonuses are recommended for players who want to get the most out of the story. These boosts to Paragon and Renegade not only boost the points you have, but also increase the odds of opening options for pivotal story points. The weight capacity bonuses are also important for the class if you’re using heavy weapons, and squad power can be compensated by squad levelling or in other skill trees.
7 Fitness
Fitness is more important for Vanguards than other classes, particularly with their combat style being close-range. A passive skill, Fitness increases the Vanguard’s health, melee damage, and barriers. The increase in barriers is particularly helpful in regards to Nova, a skill whose damage relies on the percentage of the barrier still intact.
As the Vanguard is a close-range class, health and melee strength are also important. Biotic Charge often places the Vanguard right in the middle of groups of enemies, and the hardier the Vanguard is, the better chances of survival they have. Because of the importance of barriers, it’s recommended to go for the Barrier Recharge upgrade, which shortens the shield delay by 25%. Finally, Melee Synergy is a great upgrade over Durability, as it increases the recharge speed of Biotic Charge by 200% after an enemy is killed with melee.
6 Barrier
The Vanguard’s barrier is a tool that can be used defensively and offensively, much like the Sentinel’s tech armor. Barriers behave much like shields, but can be discharged with a powerful Nova explosion, which can take out small groups of enemies.
Although Nova is a separate skill, it influences how barriers work for the Vanguard and provides them with several options. One of the upgrades, Power Recharge, increases the recharge rate of all powers by 25%. For a playstyle that relies on moving quickly around the battlefield using Biotic Charge, this upgrade is incredibly important to ensure Biotic Charge can be used as quickly as possible. The other upgrade, Half Blast, only consumes half the Vanguard’s barrier, resulting in half the level of damage.
5 Melee
A Vanguard’s melee abilities are crucial when close to enemies while powers are recharging. Shotguns, especially the heavier ones, are slow to reload, so a good melee skill is vital for the successful Vanguard. Fitness is the passive skill which is important for this attack, and some abilities include stronger biotics or faster recharge times for successful melee strikes.
By holding down the Melee control, Shepard will deliver a far more powerful punch that’s augmented with biotics. These work particularly well against enemies without protections. Atlases and Banshees have an instant kill strike if the Vanguard gets too close, so try and get out of the way as soon as possible.
4 Bonus Power
Bonus powers for Vanguards have a wide range of potential due to the Vanguard’s nature as a hybrid class. Biotics and combat abilities work seamlessly into the class and suit most playstyles.
Flare is a great high damage biotic power. It works across long-distances and deals damage to groups, which makes it perfect for thinning out crowds to make Biotic Charge less risky. Lash is also a powerful offensive option, with a faster recharge time than Flare. Infernal Grenade is a good combat power to use as it uses ammo rather than recharges, and can be used over long distances. Finally, Fortification is a great option for Vanguards as it provides an extra layer of defense, which is crucial when you’re in close-range.
3 Weapons
Ineffective at long range but deadly close up, the shotgun is the weapon of choice for the Vanguard. Shotguns that pack a harder punch are generally heavier and slow-firing, while lighter shotguns don’t give as much damage, but their high rate of fire is more forgiving of missed shots.
From the second half of the game, the heavier Claymore shotgun series is the best shotgun for the Vanguard. The upgrade for it, the Wraith, is also a respectable option. Both guns are slow to fire, but their damage output more than makes up for this. Shotguns work best against armored foes, and are brilliant at taking down individual enemies. Mods which increase rate of fire and decrease the weight make up for the shotgun’s drawbacks, and often this is the only gun the Vanguard will need.
2 Squad
As a biotic and combat hybrid class, the Vanguard needs their squadmates to cover their weaknesses. Shields in particular are a challenge to the Vanguard as they don’t have any skills geared towards taking them down. Synthetics also pose a problem.
Squadmates with Overload, such as Garrus, are crucial to the Vanguard’s success. Upgrading Garrus’ sniping skills is also advantageous, as he can make up for the Vanguard’s lack of long-range skills. Tali is also a good option to make up for the Vanguard’s lack of tech skills, while Kaidan supports the Vanguard’s biotics and provides additional tech support.
1 Tactics
The Vanguard’s skillset and powers are all geared towards a high risk, high reward playstyle. Timing is crucial when coming out of Biotic Charge, so one of the best things Vanguards can do is making sure they know where they’re going and what enemies will be surrounding them when they come out of the Charge.
Use Garrus to get rid of enemy shields, and use Pull or Shockwave to push enemies out of cover. Charge only once enemy shields are down, and deploy Nova upon coming out of the Charge. Shoot, then Charge again. This cycle means the Vanguard’s Barriers will be at minimal capacity most of the time, but the Vanguard will be moving so fast that enemies won’t have a chance to hit them.
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