Yep.
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Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer |OT| Rich, deep online role playing
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
Yep.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Hasn't this been discussed previously in this thread? I thought the consensus was that Combat Drone could only distract 1 enemy at a time? I can't recall ever seeing it distract more than 1. Maybe you need the Level 6 upgrade allowing the Drone to damage multiple enemies through chain shock or area of effect rockets? That could make a difference, as enemies don't seem to pay much attention to the Drone until it damages them.
Regardless, Decoy immediately distracts multiple enemies effortlessly. Combat Drone may also distract multiple enemies, but it can't do it as reliably or effectively. In a battle of distracting powers, Decoy wins easily, but Combat Drone has the added bonus of being a better weapons platform.
I'd be curious to see how a team could handle Gold with Combat Drone instead of Decoy, as practically every team I've been on has used at least 1 Decoy.
Nah, just reset and come back in. I got Graal Spike Thrower.
I've beaten geth/gold without decoy at all. As long as you can take care of primes quickly you don't really get overwhelmed.
Don't know why it never occured to me to do this before, but yesterday was the first time I grenade spammed with a Drell Adept to clear a hack zone that had 2 brutes and a banshee.
Basically I'd throw 3 grenades, use a consumable, throw 3 more grenades, use another consumable, then throw 3 more. Everything in the immediate area just dropped dead in a short window.
Basically I'd throw 3 grenades, use a consumable, throw 3 more grenades, use another consumable, then throw 3 more. Everything in the immediate area just dropped dead in a short window.
Dear god. I got Krogan soldier and sentinel character cards. FML
Psychoward
Banned
70-75k
I seem to get about 73k.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
I think I was on a Gold winning team that didn't have Decoy only once. It seems like every lobby I get into there's at least 1 Salarian Engineer and 1 Quarian/Salarian Infiltrator. Those Infiltrators are indispensable for the objective waves with 4 locations that need to be activated.
Now that I finally got Asari Adept, I'm need some advice how to spec her for mostly Silver/Gold.
First I thought to go with something like this:
Stasis 6: Strength, Recharge, Bubble
Warp 6: Damage, Expose, Pierce
Asari Justicar 6: Weapon Damage
Fitness 6: Health
But on Gold, as someone mentioned before, essentially all characters tend to be squishy, I've been thinking of throwing some points in Throw for fast biotic explosion spam instead of Heath/Justicar or maybe even going 6/6/6/5/3.
First I thought to go with something like this:
Stasis 6: Strength, Recharge, Bubble
Warp 6: Damage, Expose, Pierce
Asari Justicar 6: Weapon Damage
Fitness 6: Health
But on Gold, as someone mentioned before, essentially all characters tend to be squishy, I've been thinking of throwing some points in Throw for fast biotic explosion spam instead of Heath/Justicar or maybe even going 6/6/6/5/3.
People in here are saying that servers are down - I hope that's the reason why the Victory pack I had last night and never opened is gone, plus my Commendation Pack never showed up (I was online in the game before they started going out). I can see on BSN that I do have a Commendation Pack awarded to my account so I'll just wait it out I guess.
Strange though since my friend is playing MP right now.
Strange though since my friend is playing MP right now.
walbertsmith
Member
The Combat Drone isn't an immediate attention seeker like the Decoy; enemies only pay attention once they're attacked. If rockets or chain lightning hit multiple enemies, then yes, it will attract multiple enemies. The key difference though is that if you place it behind the enemies (versus 5 feet away like a Decoy), then they will turn around... hence the crowd control. With Decoy, since you can't place it far away, the enemies will constantly be advancing on your position.
Could you expound what you mean by "reliably or effectively"? If it can distract enemies from any distance , then how is it not "reliable or effective"? On the flipside, couldn't we then say that the Decoy is worthless at long distances?
I've played plenty of successful Gold games with the Engineer. My anecdote is just as valuable as your anecdote (ie, next to nothing).
The problem with this sort of "analysis" is that it's heavily dependent on the skill of the player(s). You could have a perfectly built Asari Adept with a Carnifex X, Pistol Damage III, Disruptor Ammo III, and Power Efficiency III but if the person using it sucks, well... then the person using it sucks. Not an indictment of the class, that's wholly an indictment of the player. I've also seen plenty of Gold games won with subpar classes, but that's because the player more than made up for the native class deficiencies. "Winning Gold games" shouldn't be a metric used when evaluating the merits of any particular skill or class.
Also, I noticed you completely ignored several points of mine in my post, namely:
- Drone can be placed at any range (and is therefore far more effective in more situations than the Decoy)
- Drone chain lightning synergizes extremely well with Overload for effective crowd control
- Pure DPS. Drones are able to attack (at any range, remember); the Decoy cannot. Drones are also able to set up Tech Bursts because of this.
- The different playstyles needed to maximize the abilities of the Salarian versus the Human Engineer. If you play a Drell Adept like you would a Krogan Soldier, well, you're in for a world of hurt. However, if you adapt your playstyle to maximize the abilities of the class... then you're doing it right. Does it take more work to use the Human Engineer properly? Absolutely. The Drone is tougher to use than the "set it and forget it" Decoy, but that doesn't mean it's worse. In fact, taken as a whole, once you learn how to use the Drone (at all ranges) it becomes very apparent how much more versatile (and valuable) a skill it is over Decoy.
I'm curious to see what you think about these particular points.
Polydeuces
Member
I think im gonna stick to silver matches with randoms. It seems more efficient getting credits than having those lobbies on gold where it can be so laggy and people quitting. Playing as a Salarian Engineer with the build from a post from that website, I think Im happy where I am. But getting 70k credits from gold is really tempting...
walbertsmith
Member
Well, if you're constantly farming specifically-chosen Gold/Geth/Firebase White maps, then it makes sense to see those classes all the time then, right?
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Honestly, I would discuss it with you, but I really dislike you, so I'm not going to waste my time.
EDIT: And there's an ignore list. Awesome.
Apparently taken down because there was an exploit to get multiple packs or something?
Finally got that damn unwavering achievement and widow. Too bad the weight so far stopped me from choosing it over that mantis x.
Server reset owned up my gold run at wave 9 gold
Glacier gold with Geth was really easy when you hold down bottom two rooms
walbertsmith
Member
Hilarious. I post something entirely civil, not at all insulting and legitimately on topic and he finds a way to make it personal.
It's not that serious.
it's hilarious when people make posts like this, just keep it moving and ignore him instead of being a baby.
I don't really agree that it's effective in "far more situations" when enemies will target Decoys from a distance even if they're set up at a limited distance from you. As for your last point, are you sure you can't set up a Tech Burst from the shock or explosion a Decoy makes? I feel like I've done it before but I can never really tell in a game with multiple Salarians.
Anyway, got a Paladin in a premium pack. Feels good, but damn the weight sucks.
EA already won
walbertsmith
Member
The timing of his statement is uncanny.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Isn't that what the ignore list is for?
yeah, it just comes off as incredibly douchy when you feel the need to announce to the world that you're ignoring somebody because of a civil argument.
walbertsmith
Member
I do agree that they'll target the Decoy from whatever their maximum range is, however, it still won't prevent them from advancing.
For example, on Firebase Brown (whatever that stage is from the demo), head right and set up near the boxes that have that long sightline to the pillars. If you set a Decoy ahead of you, basic Assault Troopers will have to close in to be able to target the Decoy whereas a Nemesis can hang further back.
However, with a Drone just throw it all the way at the end of your sightline. This turns around whoever you cast it on, as well as prevents whoever gets shocked from advancing on your position. Then everytime it's outline turns red or it disappears, immediately recast. Keep it constantly harassing from the enemy's backside. That's a situational scenario that really highlights the effectiveness of the Drone.
Edit: As for the Tech Burst on Decoy, I'm not sure if it can set it up or detonate. However, the range on that would be so near you (meaning enemies are near you) and would be so inconsistent (depending on the Decoy to explode) means it wouldn't be worth it. Whereas with the Drone you can keep doing whatever you're doing and get the random Tech Burst bonus (or you could time your Incinerates for the Tech Burst, but I'd rather just spam with abandon).
Yeah, it's not even worth it to me. It's stronger than a Carnifex but combine the weight with the miniscule clip and it's a bigger burden than the damage can overcome.
No kidding. That was quite the shocking reaction, I was actually enjoying the back and forth. Learned new strategies for my Engy.
Psychoward
Banned
Got the black widow, hornet, and female soldier xp in my first, premium pack. Worth it.
I think whoever hits him last
Whoever gets the last shot really when they're all exploding/dying at the buzzer.
walbertsmith
Member
This is true... playing "oh crap 3 seconds left time to pray and spray" is pretty fun at the end of a well-earned successful round.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
Apparently I can ignore a user, but quoted replies still show up? Weird.
The problem is that you are super condescending in the tone of your replies. You've done it before, and you're doing it again this time. I just don't care to engage in a discussion with someone who is going to act like that, and I'm not going to clutter the thread with my replies to your snarky comments.
walbertsmith
Member
Are you sure you're not just projecting a condescending tone from me? Yes, we've gotten into it before but a big part of my stake in our prior debate was that you consistently ignored the points I was trying to make while I simultaneously tried to address all the points you were trying to make.
I'm perfectly fine with being wrong, but don't just say "you're wrong" then completely ignore everything I just took the effort to type.
And I don't feel I've been condescending at all in this recent exchange.
I think the reason I like Decoy so much is while the Drone will stop one enemy, the term "advancing enemies" doesn't really exist when a Decoy is up-at the time of writing it distracts nearly everything so instead of worrying about the enemies coming towards you, make it fun by purposely grouping them together and destroying that group with biotic and tech explosions. You cannot do that with a drone.
Those recasts of drone are better spent using overload/energy drain or incinerate on the group you've just accumulated.
Photolysis
Banned
That first build is... pretty bad, going for Fitness over Throw.
Throw is a great ability. Fast recharge, good stagger when you max the force, and most importantly you can set up Warp/Throw biotic combos and it'll work on anything. Not only are Stasis+Warp combos weaker because only 1 of those can be specced for combos, but they won't work on a lot of enemies, can be more easily interfered with, and they take much longer to set up. Throw can also buy you and your team breathing room which can be invaluable at times, and it gives a fast and easy way of dealing with husks.
Also, spec warp for more combo damage instead of pure damage.
There isn't much difference in 6/6/6/6/0 or 6/6/6/5/3.
No way. Want this game to turn into FIFA and their damn Gold Packs?
walbertsmith
Member
Yeah definitely Decoy is insanely effective at drawing fire... but one of the points of using Drone is to keep your DPS as high as possible at all times. If there's an advancing horde, the Decoy can't help you at the longer ranges. In the time it takes for you to get off, say, two Tech Bursts by yourself, you can get off 2.5-3 with a Drone.
Also, recasting Drone is insanely fast, at about 1.5s-1.75s cooldown. This is on par with the Pulls and Throws of the world (ie, the fastest possible cooldowns).
Again, I'm not saying the survivability of the Drone outpaces the Decoy... but when evaluating the Drone as a whole (cast anywhere, chain lightning, deals damage, quick cooldown) the combined benefits outweigh the greater survivability benefit of the Decoy.
Edit: With the Drone, the point is to whittle down the far-off mob into manageable chunks (or nothing) by the time they close.... with the Decoy, you herd them into a specific range. Different playstyles, but the Drone allows you to keep your DPS as high as possible even if the mob is very far away. This is why I suggest playing the Human Engineer only at long/very long ranges (think Drell Adept).
In the demo I took 6/6/0/6/6 and did very well on Gold.
In retail I use 6/6/6/5/3 and do even better. I use throw more than my Carnifex. The Carnifex VI or VII has %194 cooldown so I took Fitness 3 instead of Justicar 6.
My streak continues. My Salarian Infiltrator has not lost a Silver or Gold match for as long as I remember having it.
Operation Beachhead:
Common objective: 500,000 extractions on Firebase Reactor and Firebase Glacier.
Team objective: Finish an extraction on Firebase Reactor on Gold
http://social.bioware.com/forum/3/topic/348/index/10985018
How nice of them to have a Gold objective a week after people promoted their level 20s, heh.
Common objective: 500,000 extractions on Firebase Reactor and Firebase Glacier.
Team objective: Finish an extraction on Firebase Reactor on Gold
http://social.bioware.com/forum/3/topic/348/index/10985018
How nice of them to have a Gold objective a week after people promoted their level 20s, heh.
I wish they would offer something other than N7 weapons, I really could care less about any of them
walbertsmith
Member
It's pretty sneaky, but I am digging how they're keeping the community engaged with these objectives. These types of weekly challenges helped keep the community alive and was pretty awesome when implemented in games like L4D2.
Don't get me wrong, obviously the game can definitely use additions to classes/maps/objectives/enemy types, but at least they're keeping the userbase engaged while we (hopefully) wait for the substantial content to release.