Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Tips

I’ve been playing quite a bit of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode, and I have a few tips to share. All just based on my observations.

Credits Uber Alles

You can gain XP just by participating in multiplayer, but you can only advance so far. Level 20 isn’t an instant-win. Credits are your real measure of progression, so make sure your multiplayer efforts are designed to maximize your credits.

Focus on surviving Bronze challenges. If you can do that, see if you can survive through wave 6 of Silver. Once you start beating Silver, see if you can survive through wave 6 of Gold. But if you can’t survive that long, don’t feel bad about retreating to a lower difficulty. You’re just being smart and maximizing your effort-to-reward ratio.

Open Recruit Packs

Recruit Packs only come with low-quality items, but they come with a LOT of them. A Spectre Pack might grant you 10 consumable items and a level 3 boost. For the price, you can buy twelve Recruit Packs, which will give you 24 consumable items and 12 level 1 boosts.

The boosts aren’t as powerful, but the important thing is that you have a LOT of them. Enough to equip a boost in every match, and to equip the boosts you WANT, not just the ones you happen to have on hand.

Equip your equipment

In particular, ammo powers are great. I had a lot of fun with level 1 Disruptor ammo, which caused any Cerberus agent I tagged with my sniper rifle to go into electrified convulsions (and be easy prey to a follow-up shot).

Read your ‘Training’ power

Every race has a slightly different ‘Alliance Training’ power. Turians get weapon stability naturally, and others get more or less weapon damage and power damage. Make sure your race and class match your play style.

It’s okay not to shoot

In a recent match, my three teammates were repelling an attack, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets down a hallway. Rather than join in, I chose to turn around and watch our flank. It meant that for 30 seconds or so, I was just looking at walls, not shooting or using powers. And that’s okay. I trusted my teammates to handle the main fight.

You need a trick for more damage

On Silver and Gold, shooting your enemies in the torso just isn’t going to cut it. You need a trick to boost your damage. Maybe you focus on setting up or executing biotic combos or tech combos. Maybe you take a Revenant and maximize your close-range shredding, or learn to use a sniper rifle effectively so you can reliably hit the head. Even better, you might coordinate with a partner, such as an Asari locking a target with Stasis so a Krogan can line up a heavy melee hit.

Vanguards and Krogan become a liability, but you can work it out

Melee-focused classes love being in the thick of enemies, furiously lashing out with attacks. Unfortunately, this means that their shield can vanish in an instant, and once they fall, they’re in the middle of a horde of enemies. On Silver and above, this happens unacceptably quickly.

Learn your limits. If your team is effectively sniping targets from a window, you do not need to Biotic Charge down there and mix it up. If you’re dealing with a cluster of enemies, target your charge at weak targets and enemies on the edge of the cluster. It doesn’t help to bravely charge and kill a Geth Hunter if you place yourself right between two Geth Pyros.

A Krogan can be patient, softening approaching targets with their shotgun before finishing them off with a headbutt. Krogan are great at covering hallways, where enemies are funneled in a narrow line. In order to do this, they need to resist their urge to charge forward after a kill, but instead retreat back into position, ready to attack the next target that comes forward.

Also, don’t get locked in a single strategy. So many Vanguards just Charge>Nova>Charge>Nova. Learn to quickly assess the battlefield in that moment after a hit. If you don’t see a target in range, why Nova? If you’re in the thick of things, is there a way you can Charge away to safety?

 

I’m loving ME3 multiplayer because it rewards intelligence. Spend more time thinking and less time hammering buttons, and you’re on the road to success!

GDC 2012

GDC has an interesting feel for me this year.

It’s the first time I’m attending as a legitimate member of the games industry. Last year I was working for Kabam, but Kabam was still a foundling company with one game to its name, and I was new into the position of Community Manager, still with one foot in customer service. This year I’ve got a real position, I’m part of a hierarchy, I’ve got two years of CM experience. I actually have a niche where I can talk the language.

It’s the first time I’m attending and fairly satisfied with my career. Two years ago I was unemployed, and last year I was dissatisfied and looking for other options. This year I don’t feel the pressure to network, and if a party is too loud and just not my style, I can leave.

It’s the first time I’m attending casually. Previously, I took time off from work, or made special plans to attend. This year I’m working down the street, walking to the conference, and back, and not really making a big deal out of it.

It does look like I’ll be able to spend all of Friday at the conference, so I should be able to get one big dose of inspiration from GDC. That’s always important.