When saving the galaxy from the reaper threat as Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy, there are a plethora of choices you’ll make. Some are quite meaningful, like who to save on Virmire or who to romance. But the most consequential choice comes at the start of each game: What class will you choose?
Despite having played through these games several times, I always come back to Mass Effect’s Biotics powers. Being a Soldier feels fruitless — why go for more guns when there are Jedi powers to be had? — while the tech-based classes are perfect for your supporting squadmates, like Tali. Her drone is a killer.
Biotics are simply the most fun for wreaking havoc, and that potential for combat chaos is put on display via power combinations. These didn’t become a huge fulcrum of Mass Effect’s combat until the third game, but the seeds are planted in Mass Effect 2. In the middle entry, Biotic Adepts have access to the Singularity and Warp powers. Singularity pulls enemies into the air, while Warp is an offensive attack that strips away enemy armor and barriers. Warp Detonations use the powers in conjunction; attacking a Singularity with Warp creates a satisfying explosion, blasting foes away.
Mass Effect 3 ramps up the potential combinations, with several powers across the game’s classes synergizing to create fire explosions, cryo explosions, tech bursts, and biotic bombs. Because of this, any combination of the game’s squadmates flanking your Shepard is viable. They all hold their own, and their skill trees are as robust as they’ve ever been in the trilogy.
Still, I always position my Shepard as a Vanguard in the trilogy capper, as a Vanguard’s Biotic powers are just too much fun, and synergize perfectly. Anyone who’s used the Biotic Charge/Nova combination knows what I’m talking about.
Biotic Charge allows Shepard to quickly close the gap between them and an enemy, throwing their foe off balance. Nova detonates Shepard’s biotic barrier, causing quite the boom, and damages surrounding enemies. If anyone is left still standing, simply shotgun them in the face while Shepard’s powers cooldown. It’s a glorious combo, turning Commander Shepard into a one-person Reaper-killing machine. Charging and using Nova can also detonate other Biotics powers, so having a Singularity-slinging Adept flanking Vanguard Shepard is never not a good idea.
The Biotic Charge/Nova combo also makes what can be chaotic combat encounters even more fraught with chaos. The Mass Effect games are cover-based shooters in the vein of Gears of War, yet the Biotic Charge/Nova combo consistently puts Shepard in the thick of danger, and makes them extra squishy after Nova blasts their barrier away. As if Mass Effect 3’s adrenaline-pumping combat couldn’t get even more exhilarating, blasting Geth in their flashlight faces without a barrier up will surely get your blood pumping.
By Mass Effect 3, with its increased number of skills, any class is viable as an offensive option. Still, even after several playthroughs, I can’t stop choosing Vanguard, especially as bonus Biotics powers like Lash get unlocked. With the way the skills synergize, your Shepard can truly feel like a Biotic God.
