[Alucrid]

Goddamn I fucking hate Banshees. Every silver match I've tried always fails because of banshees. Brutes are a manageable problem, especially now that I've upgraded my sticky grenades to do extra damage against armour. Two grenades, which I always have, and they're dead. Banshees, on the other hand? Nobody seems to know what the fuck to do with them.

Krogan, 2 kill streak, melee them.

Anyone on live now?

[Calisto Glory]

Krogan, 2 kill streak, melee them. Anyone on live now?

Even if you max out a infiltrator with sniper... i just cant hurt them as much as i would like too... :( Banshees suck.

[this guy]

Goddamn I fucking hate Banshees. Every silver match I've tried always fails because of banshees. Brutes are a manageable problem, especially now that I've upgraded my sticky grenades to do extra damage against armour. Two grenades, which I always have, and they're dead. Banshees, on the other hand? Nobody seems to know what the fuck to do with them.

Warp throw combo explosions? That's what I've been doing with my Asari adept.

[krakov]

Warp throw combo explosions? That's what I've been doing with my Asari adept.

Yes, that is the best solution I've found so far. Though haven't been experimenting all that much. Can easily solo silver banshee's with my sentinel.

[Ken]

Even if you max out a infiltrator with sniper... i just cant hurt them as much as i would like too... :( Banshees suck.

This is true. Relative to an Overload Sentinel, the time it takes an Infiltrator to bring down a Banshee's barrier is pretty long.

[Achtius]

Jesus, gold...so hard :(

everything is a pyro or hunter

[RyanDG]

I find the invite system for MP is pretty bad on the PS3. The invitation doesn't expired even tho the guy started a game The game also don't tell you the person you are inviting is in a game or not. So every time someone invite me when i am in a game, they dont' know i am playing and when i finish and accept it, they started theirs

Indeed. Wish there were ways to set up lobbies on the PS3 version.

Speaking of which - I'll be on for a bit this afternoon playing on the PS3 version. Mostly just screwing around with some different builds.

[Grisby]

Anyone losing their connection to the EA servers a lot? I'm on 360.

[Jackl]

I'm bad at this game, or pubs suck. Probably both.


Getting no upgrades that I want, and feel like I'm gimping teams. Last couple ones booted me I think.


/sadface

[Achtius]

I'm bad at this game, or pubs suck. Probably both. Getting no upgrades that I want, and feel like I'm gimping teams. Last couple ones booted me I think. /sadface

play adept or engineer, since they aren't weapon dependent.
also make sure you are playing bronze if u are new

also damn, stasis is a must on gold. lol

[walbertsmith]

I got the Drell Adept yesterday (and Asari Adept the day before) and I'm just loving them. I had enough practice with the Asari Adept, so the Drell Adept was new to me. I followed the guide to leveling him that someone posted here, and it seems to work really well for me. Pull + Reave is an awesome biotic combo. The thing is, I was playing on bronze, and even then, I felt a little squishy. Unshielded enemies were no problem for me, but what should I do for shielded/armoured opponent? Someone said reave + grenade, but cluster grenades are so damn finicky when I toss them. Regardless, I like the Drell Adept much more than the Drell Vanguard.

The Drell Adept is squishy no matter what... that's why I emphasized never engaging close. If they close on you, RUN... use your mobility to find a better angle. On Silver/Gold it's obviously always better to stick with your team, but there will inevitably be those moments when you'll need to separate due to circumstance.

And to those pooh-poohing grenades... DON'T. Grenades, just like any game with them, are a precious commodity but when used in the proper circumstances are LIFESAVERS.

For all grenade using classes out there, remember this (I haven't seen this explicitly posted yet) : Your grenades respawn independent of your character... they spawn *specifically* to that ammo box. Yes, even on Silver and Gold. You can even see the grenade if that particular ammo box has it available... and also see when it doesn't. So if you're in an emergency and the ammo box near you is out, break out and hit the next one... you can restock back up to 3 in short order if you know the maps and the ammo box locations.

Back to the Drell Adept... why do I think this class is top tier and has the slightest of edges against the Asari Adept (especially with the Stasis cooldown increase)? Because of Cluster Grenade. This grenade is (arguably) better than Inferno's, Proximity, Sticky, Frag, etc. Why? Because you can increase the shrapnel count... meaning that even without getting a radius bonus, you still hit in a wide radius due to more shrapnel leaving your hand. Also, with increased shrapnel count, if you want to get fancy, you can aim for a corner or wall and have the shrapnel bounce in different directions. Or aim at the feet of a Banshee/Brute/Atlas and tag it will ALL your shrapnel. With proper cycling like I detailed before, you can throw 1.5-2 grenades per round and have at least 2 at the start of the next round... that's if you use one ammo box. On smaller maps like the white map from the demo, you can throw upwards of 4-5 per round and still have 2 at the start of the next round. On this map, I typically can hold the entire lower room by myself (with teammates at the top vantage point) against Brutes/Ravagers/pretty much everything (except Banshees in a group) with the squishy Drell Adept because of those Cluster Grenades and proper ammo cycling (and ensuring that no enemies spawn behind me on the middle level).

Sorry for the mini-rant, but remember, grenades are your FRIENDS in this game... don't ignore them.

[firehawk12]

I guess the problem with grenades is that if you have a few grenade users on your team, you're always going to run short on the higher levels.

[Woo-Fu]

The most common mistake with banshees is trying to fight them in a crowd instead of kiting them to a clean area or kiting them while you finish off everything else.

Since she can take down everybody's shields and put a DoT on whomever she's pissed at you really don't want to fight these in the middle of other enemies.

While I thought Reavers were pretty hard at release I'm starting to think they might be the easiest once you really know what you're doing. No invisible units to make it hard to retreat when you need a new position, no heavily shielded flamethrowers, and ravagers compared to turrets are much easier to detect.

When I play Drell Adept my route is based upon ammo crates. While refilling my grenade supply I will kill things along the route. :) I find it mind-boggling when people say to use them sparingly. If you're not using them all the time you're not achieving your max DPS.

More than 1 enemy close together? Use a grenade.
Enemy in cover you can't hit? Use a grenade.
Spawnpoint around the corner and you see a shadow on the floor? Use a grenade.
Minibosses? Use a grenade.

Considering how fast the Drell is and how his evades work he is basically built to run around the level looking for targets of opportunity, not hang back behind the group. Obviously you have to play a bit more conservatively on the higher challenge levels.

[Tunesmith]

So do the rewards from this weekend's challenge get awarded after the fact? Talking specifically about the Squad reward. Have done several successful Silver/Reaper matches without any pack.

Edit: Noted, rewards unlock Tuesday, Match 20th.

[walbertsmith]

The most common mistake with banshees is trying to fight them in a crowd instead of kiting them to a clean area or kiting them while you finish off everything else. Since she can take down everybody's shields and put a DoT on whomever she's pissed at you really don't want to fight these in the middle of other enemies. While I thought Reavers were pretty hard at release I'm starting to think they might be the easiest once you really know what you're doing. No invisible units to make it hard to retreat when you need a new position, no heavily shielded flamethrowers, and ravagers compared to turrets are much easier to detect.

100% agreed on all points; Banshees and faction comparisons. Geth were easy early on and Reapers were murderous, but once their strengths are magnified on the higher difficult levels, Geth's potential becomes exponentially more difficult to deal with, while Reapers level off at Silver.

[firehawk12]

The problem with Reapers is that you have two super enemies that charge at you and can one hit kill you.

Even on silver, I don't see how you can beat the last waves without using rockets.

[Mindlog]

Sorry for the mini-rant, but remember, grenades are your FRIENDS in this game... don't ignore them.

I know how to refill them. I just don't like the interruption. Personal preference. Down the road I might give it a shot. I'm starting to pile up respec cards.

While I thought Reavers were pretty hard at release I'm starting to think they might be the easiest once you really know what you're doing. No invisible units to make it hard to retreat when you need a new position, no heavily shielded flamethrowers, and ravagers compared to turrets are much easier to detect.

Yeah, I almost always focus down Ravagers first now. They seem to be the biggest killers in my pub games. With an Asari adept that's roughly 1 explosion, 1 warp and some pistol shots. They go down pretty quick. A brute is 2 explosions and a warp. A banshee is just a bit more.

[Sectus]

I'd love to try out the drell adept more, but I played as him one match and all I remember is that stupid sound repeating over and over and over and over and over again. I want that fixed before I play as him again.

[milkham]

anyone else having trouble keeping 4 people in a game? all night and morning i've gotten people dropping so we're trying to finish with three

[walbertsmith]

I know how to refill them. I just don't like the interruption. Personal preference. Down the road I might give it a shot. I'm starting to pile up respec cards.

What sort of interruption are you referring to? Remember, grenades aren't supposed to be spammable like all the other powers, they're room clearers and massive damage dealers. Obviously you know that, but if you try to use them on a "non interrupted" basis, you'll always find yourself without them when you need them.

FWIW, I only use them on smaller enemies if it's an emergency (like a group near a downed teammate or if I need to get out of a corner). 90% of the time my grenades are being thrown at Brutes/Phantoms/Banshees/Primes, etc..

[EatChildren]

Thanks for the tips guys. As I'm maining Infiltrator at the moment I'm left shit out of luck when it comes to Banshees. I'll just have to back track a bit and focus on supporting the team whenever Banshees appear, cross my fingers, and hope they don't fuck it up.

The game needs more maps and a couple more enemy types I think. Maps should be an easy one. The universe has a billion locations to build off. Enemy types I don't really know. Geth, Cerberus and Reaper are all quite unique and cover 90% of the enemies we've had throughout the series. I'd like them to expand the mechs from ME2 and put them in. LOKI, FERNIS and YMIR already exist and would work, though they'd need to make a couple more to add variety.

[Mindlog]

What sort of interruption are you referring to? Remember, grenades aren't supposed to be spammable like all the other powers, they're room clearers and massive damage dealers. Obviously you know that, but if you try to use them on a "non interrupted" basis, you'll always find yourself without them when you need them. FWIW, I only use them on smaller enemies if it's an emergency (like a group near a downed teammate or if I need to get out of a corner). 90% of the time my grenades are being thrown at Brutes/Phantoms/Banshees/Primes, etc..

In order to maximize grenade use I would always be hitting the refill boxes at precise intervals. Just like Quake item domination. For now I would rather keep shooting and spamming powers that already do solid damage.

Again it's just personal preference. In the extremely rare emergency I will use a cobra. I wish I carry more than 3, but I haven't had an item carry card in a long time. I seem to only be getting respec cards.

**

Ah... hmm - I'm not sure why your empirical testing would have come up with some of that - but here's how it's "supposed" to be. smilie Banshee - No weak points (aim for the belly, as it's fattest - most likely to hit it) Brute - Takes reduced damage in the right arm - Takes greatly reduced damage in the claw - Armour Plates absorb damage until breaking (best to aim for exposed flesh, probably base of the neck?) - No other weak points Geth Prime - Currently has a head volume (but it's a bug) Atlas - Some types of weapons will do increased damage to the cockpit (this is a bug) - Destroy any of the following to do a small damage spike (shoulder flanges, groin plate, knee plates)

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to...dex/10048855/2
Explains some of the weirdness I've had with shooting an Atlas cockpit in the past.

[Dork Knight]

I'd love to try out the drell adept more, but I played as him one match and all I remember is that stupid sound repeating over and over and over and over and over again. I want that fixed before I play as him again.

Yeah, it's a shame this bug is so annoying, because the Drell Adept has officially beat out the Asari Adept as my new favorite character.

I kinda feel bad playing matches with him and annoying everyone with the bug, but I can't help it -- he's so much fun to play! :D

[walbertsmith]

In order to maximize grenade use I would always be hitting the refill boxes at precise intervals. Just like Quake item domination. For now I would rather keep shooting and spamming powers that already do solid damage. Again it's just personal preference. In the extremely rare emergency I will use a cobra. I wish I carry more than 3, but I haven't had an item carry card in a long time. I seem to only be getting respec cards.

Word, I hear you. Sounds like you've got better weapons than me too, so I can definitely see that viewpoint.

I would say though, that just in the Drell Adept's case, grenades are more important than the Shield/Health boosts just because his base is so low to begin with (so a % increase is much less beneficial than other races/classes). Plus add to that his grenades are (probably) the most useful of all the classes... just a suggestion.

[firehawk12]

Again, how do you deal with a group that's rolling all grenade classes, especially on gold when they don't respawn as often?

I know ammo is shared between players, because I've been screwed by an empty ammo box a few times, so I imagine grenades are a s well?

[Jackl]

I love using 1 time use equipment boosts only to have the host leave and the entire team bail on me.

[Ephemeris]

any sites with recommended builds? been rocking with my BF soldier in silver but he has like 30 points to spend :/

Maxed out carnage.. but that's it

[firehawk12]

any sites with recommended builds? been rocking with my BF soldier in silver but he has like 30 points to spend :/ Maxed out carnage.. but that's it

http://me3multiplayer.wordpress.com/

But no BF3 builds. The human soldier grenade build on that list is pretty damn godly though.

[Alucrid]

So I've beaten a few silver reaper waves and haven't unlocked that bonus box

[firehawk12]

So I've beaten a few silver reaper waves and haven't unlocked that bonus box

It unlocks next week.

[Santiako]

Thanks for the tips guys. As I'm maining Infiltrator at the moment I'm left shit out of luck when it comes to Banshees. I'll just have to back track a bit and focus on supporting the team whenever Banshees appear, cross my fingers, and hope they don't fuck it up. The game needs more maps and a couple more enemy types I think. Maps should be an easy one. The universe has a billion locations to build off. Enemy types I don't really know. Geth, Cerberus and Reaper are all quite unique and cover 90% of the enemies we've had throughout the series. I'd like them to expand the mechs from ME2 and put them in. LOKI, FERNIS and YMIR already exist and would work, though they'd need to make a couple more to add variety.

They could add Collectors, and the various mercenaries bands from ME2.

[firehawk12]

They could add Collectors, and the various mercenaries bands from ME2.

Heh, you know, one thing that is missing is biotic-using enemies. Those Asari mercs would be good I guess, but I can imagine getting wrecked so hard since there's no easy counter against being lifted and warped yourself.

At least it'd change the entire scope of the game. Cover doesn't matter any more and so forth.

[Edgeward]

Well, using a shockwave/warp adept made this weekends challenge a breeze. Sometimes shockwave won't hit or detonate even though they are certainly in striking distance or right in front of me.

[Xevren]

Merc bands would be great to fight against, hell I wouldn't even mind playing as a Vorcha.

[Alucrid]

It unlocks next week.

As in the challenge, or just obtaining it?

[USIGSJ]

I never knew there was a medal called "lone survivor", just got one in a reaper match on silver with randoms. One guy got killed 10s before extraction by a banshee (considering he played whole match with a Krogan meleeing every brute and banshee it's surprising that he lasted that long without instakill), other 2 guys I guess didn't watch the clock and missed to enter a zone so I was the only one who made the extraction and got the medal.

[firehawk12]

As in the challenge, or just obtaining it?

The rewards for finishing Reapers on Silver and killing a million Brutes.

[Ken]

I never knew there was a medal called lone survivor, just got one in a reaper match on silver with randoms. One guy got killed 10s before extraction by a banshee, other 2 I guess didn't watch the clock and missed to enter a zone so I was the only one who made the extraction and got that medal.

Too bad it only gives like 2500 points.

[Troll]

I need to overload 100 shields still. Is the Turian Sentinel competent in multiplayer?

[Ken]

I need to overload 100 shields still. Is the Turian Sentinel competent in multiplayer?

Yes.

[Woo-Fu]

The problem with Reapers is that you have two super enemies that charge at you and can one hit kill you. Even on silver, I don't see how you can beat the last waves without using rockets.

You mean round 10, or round 11?

For the extraction round you use the method you should use vs. everything, don't camp the extraction point. Put yourself away from it, where the waves don't respawn between you and the extraction point. Then when you get down to 20-30 seconds, run as a group to the extraction point. This makes extraction rounds much, much easier.

For round 10 if you get a hack mission dedicate one character to pulling off nasty mobs while the rest of you do the hack and mow down the basic stuff.

If you get stations just have a stealth character do them while the rest of you pull the fight away from the terminals.

If you get targets you have to focus and the key is to use biotic explosions. Sure you're ignoring the other things around the target banshee but those biotic explosions aren't.

We did match after match of silver last night without using launchers, just a matter of working as a team and knowing when to move.

[enzo_gt]

http://me3multiplayer.wordpress.com/ But no BF3 builds. The human soldier grenade build on that list is pretty damn godly though.

Ooh, this looks useful!

[creid]

Any gaffers up for the challenge now? I think I have time for an attempt or two in a few minutes before I have to head out.

XBL: creid8

edit: Eventually got some good randoms, and we did it!

[SerArthurDayne]

So I beat the silver Reapers a day early? Damn it man. I guess I will have to go beat a round. The single player soured me on the game, but I don't want to miss out in case I decide to stick with the multiplayer.

[Carbonox_Ratchet]

Gonna try an Engineer build today. Never tried Engineer ever in any of the games, so this will be a new experience for me.

[walbertsmith]

You mean round 10, or round 11? For the extraction round you use the method you should use vs. everything, don't camp the extraction point. Put yourself away from it, where the waves don't respawn between you and the extraction point. Then when you get down to 20-30 seconds, run as a group to the extraction point. This makes extraction rounds much, much easier. For round 10 if you get a hack mission dedicate one character to pulling off nasty mobs while the rest of you do the hack and mow down the basic stuff. If you get stations just have a stealth character do them while the rest of you pull the fight away from the terminals. If you get targets you have to focus and the key is to use biotic explosions. Sure you're ignoring the other things around the target banshee but those biotic explosions aren't. We did match after match of silver last night without using launchers, just a matter of working as a team and knowing when to move.

This man knows what he's talking about. I seriously don't get why people with superhigh N7 levels still camp the extraction, and oftentimes with close range classes like Human Vanguards and Krogan Soldiers. Remember, if you sit on a spawn point enemies won't spawn there, so use that to your advantage.

[firehawk12]

You mean round 10, or round 11? For the extraction round you use the method you should use vs. everything, don't camp the extraction point. Put yourself away from it, where the waves don't respawn between you and the extraction point. Then when you get down to 20-30 seconds, run as a group to the extraction point. This makes extraction rounds much, much easier. For round 10 if you get a hack mission dedicate one character to pulling off nasty mobs while the rest of you do the hack and mow down the basic stuff. If you get stations just have a stealth character do them while the rest of you pull the fight away from the terminals. If you get targets you have to focus and the key is to use biotic explosions. Sure you're ignoring the other things around the target banshee but those biotic explosions aren't. We did match after match of silver last night without using launchers, just a matter of working as a team and knowing when to move.

I guess it's just a matter of surviving the mobs in the first place. It gets worse when it's one of those target elimination tasks on wave 10, where you have a minute to take out a Banshee while all the other crap is charging at you.

Some maps are better than others of course. Wave 10/11 on that Cerberus base map is stupid sometimes.

[X-Frame]

This man knows what he's talking about. I seriously don't get why people with superhigh N7 levels still camp the extraction, and oftentimes with close range classes like Human Vanguards and Krogan Soldiers. Remember, if you sit on a spawn point enemies won't spawn there, so use that to your advantage.

I was guilty of that until a few days ago when all my teammates, I think who were in a party, were spread out engaging small groups on their own and a minute went by and it seemed like nobody was coming. Yeah there were the big enemies but the difference between every one of them being spread out vs. clustered right on top of the extraction point is huge.

[GuardianE]

Hoooray! I finally got the M-11 Wraith. It's so shiny!

[SerArthurDayne]

Just cleared out Reapers on Silver with four infiltrators. It was actually pretty easy.

My mouse battery died in the middle of round 1, recovered, and then died completely in the middle of round 2. That was awkward. Round 10 was of course data terminal, and we cleared that with about 15 seconds left because there were generally about 5 marauders and a brute just chilling there, with a few ravagers to launch missiles form the other side.