Sawerin
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Mass Effect 3. Class Guide: Infiltrator.
At the very beginning of Mass Effect 3 you will be offered to choose a warrior class. All of them offer different abilities, tactical maneuvers, strategy tricks and specials. Each class has a corresponding class talent which improves abilities important to that class. Some of class talents will be at your service from the very beginning, others have to be unlocked while you progress through the game. Here’s the list of available classes in Mass Effect 3:
1. Adept;
2. Engineer;
3. Infiltrator;
4. Soldier;
5. Sentinel;
6. Vanguard.
Infiltrator
Infiltrator is deadly at any range but his personal favorite is using sniper rifles. In Mass Effect 3 Infiltrator is a lot like a universal sniper in a real life: he is amazingly effective at long range distances but won’t let you down in sabotages, close combats and suppressing missions. Infiltrators are also great tech and combat specialists: they can cloak themselves from both technological and visual detection. On the top of that they feel themselves comfortable working with almost any weapon and have a variety of equipment and powers in their hands. Infiltrators are often referred to as a mixture of combat and tech talents. The Infiltrator is able to win battles by quickly disabling and killing enemies and he often focuses on unlocking alternate routes and obtaining an advantageous position over enemies in combat. I would even call him a Saboteur. Infiltrators use their powers to create suitable conditions that can be exploited by other powers or weapons automatically making them deadlier and better. For example, Sabotage will either disable enemies for a few moments of will turn them into amazingly useful allies and Tactical Cloak will let an infiltrator maneuver into position and set up attacks without enemy targeting.
Powers
Class Powers
Tactical Cloak
Tactical Cloak is one of the most effective powers in Infiltrator's arsenal and here’s the reason why: it makes you invisible. When activated, it gives you a great opportunity to move around enemies undetected. This can be useful for flanking bad guys, killing them from behind or simply stealth steal items, activate them or do whatever you can think of – it’s good for everything. Due to the fact that weight system in Mass Effect 3 allows Infiltrators to carry shotguns with them, you can actually turn in a weapon of mass destruction with the help of Tactical Cloak. Besides, you will receive the very same damage bonus you get when using a sniper rifle. But in this case a decent shotgun with high damage, fast fire rate and big clip is recommended. Using Tactical Cloak with a sniper rifle works great too: it allows you to take down enemies from long distances, disappear and either hide or relocate leaving the enemy surprised and confused. In Mass Effect 3 the recharge time for Tactical Cloak is proportional to the length of time the Tactical Cloak is activated: if you activate it for the maximum allowed duration, it will take the full time to recharge. But, if you deactivate it immediately or within a time that would not affect the cooldown, it will recharge in three seconds (that is the required minimum). Using grenade powers and that is Sticky Grenade, Arc Grenade, and Homing Grenade in multiplayer will not deactivate the Tactical Cloak as all the other weapons and powers do. This gives you an amazing opportunity to come out from the shadow, place a grenade and run away without even being noticed. In multiplayer Tactical Cloak works different too and enemies will still attack the player if:
- the Infiltrator is the last one standing during a wave;
- the Infiltrator is too close (nearly point-blank range);
- enemies see the Infiltrator begin cloaking while he is alone in the area.
Of course – Tactical Cloak is not perfect and, for example, on Insanity difficulty, many enemies still attack a cloaked Shepard, even if other party members are alive and nearby. Also – Harvesters are not affected by the cloak and will continue to fire at Shepard anyway. The Asari Huntress's Tactical Cloak damage bonuses only apply to melee attacks and powers.
Tactical Cloak: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Tactical Cloak
Become invisible. Gain a massive damage bonus when breaking from cloak to attack.
Recharge Speed: 10 sec
Duration: 8 sec (4 sec multiplayer)
Damage Bonus: 50% (40% multiplayer non-asari, 60% asari)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Rank 3: Duration
Increases power duration by 30%.
Duration: 10.40 sec (5.20 sec multiplayer)
Rank 4: Duration/Damage
Duration: increases power duration by 40%. (150% multiplayer.)
Duration: 13.60 Sesc. (11.20 sec multiplayer.)
Damage: increases damage bonus by 40%. (60% asari.)
Damage Bonus: 90%. (80% multiplayer non-asari, 120% asari.)
Rank 5: Recharge Speed/Melee Damage
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 6.45 Sec
Melee Damage: increases melee damage by 50% while cloaked.
Rank 6: Bonus Power/Sniper Rifle Damage
Bonus Power:
Fire one power while cloaked and remain hidden.
Sniper Rifle Damage:
Increases sniper rifle damage by 40% while cloaked. (25% multiplayer.)
Turian Ghost Infiltrator Rank 6: Bonus Power/Assault Rifle Damage
Bonus Power:
Fire one power while cloaked and remain hidden.
Assault Rifle Damage:
When Tactical Cloak is activated, assault rifles do 20% more damage for 10 seconds.
Asari Huntress Infiltrator Rank 6: Bonus Power/Biotic Damage
Bonus Power:
Fire one power while cloaked and remain hidden.
Biotic Damage:
Increases Biotic Damage by 40%.
Cryo Ammo
Cryo Ammo does exactly what it is good for: it freezes enemies. Also, you can expect it to weaken armors and decrease movement speed that will be very helpful. Brutes, Cannibals and Husks suffer from this power the most but armored targets like Atlases, Ravagers and Geth Pyros can’t be directly damaged with this one. If you not only want to freeze enemies but also consider being effective, it is recommended to use Cryo Ammo with Assault Rifles (the stronger – the better) or SMGs (they spray many shots an increase the possibility of freezing). Cryo Ammo is literary devastating when used with the Falcon: enemies caught in the area of effect are all likely to be frozen. It is also a good idea to use Cryo Ammo together with Incinerate. This will allow you to execute a Cryo Explosion and both damage and freeze the nearby enemies.
Cryo Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Cryo Ammo
Flash freeze and shatter unprotected enemies.
Slow down the rest.
Freeze Duration: 3 sec
Movement Speed: -15%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Rank 2: Freeze Chance
Improves the odds of freezing a target by 30%.
Rank 3: Freeze Duration
Increases freeze duration by 40%.
Freeze Duration: 4.2 sec
Movement Speed: -15%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Rank 4: Freeze Duration/Squad Bonus
Freeze Duration:
Increases freeze duration by 40%.
Freeze Duration: 5.9 sec
Movement Speed: -15%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain Cryo Ammo at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot to frozen enemies by 35%.
Rank 6: Freeze Chance/Damage Combo
Freeze Chance:
Improves the odds of freezing a target by 50%.
Decreases a frozen target's movement speed by an additional 20%.
Damage Combo:
Increases damage to frozen targets from all sources by 50%.
Weakens the armor of chilled targets by 25%.
Disruptor Ammo
Disruptor Ammo is the ammunition capacity boost and can be applied only on the active ammo power. It does pretty decent damage to almost any kind of enemy and is good against shields and synthetics. But, as it appears, Disruptor Ammo deals pretty great with organic enemies as well. On the top of that this power has bonus damage against Barriers. If you plan to progress on this one, it might be a good idea to get the Squad Disruptor Ammo evolution. However – it is not vital.
Disruptor Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Disruptor Ammo
Bring down your enemy's barrier and shields.
Chance to stun.
More weapon damage.
More damage to shields and barriers.
Health Damage Bonus: 5%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 20%
Rank 2: Stun
Improves the odds of stunning a target by 15%.
Rank 3: Damage
Increases health damage bonus by 2%.
Increases shield and barrier damage bonuses by 8%.
Health Damage Bonus: 7%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 28%
Rank 4: Damage/Squad Bonus
Damage: increases health damage bonus by 3%.
Increases shield and barrier damage bonuses by 12%.
Health Damage Bonus: 10%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 40%
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain Disruptor Ammo at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Damage/Stun
Damage:
Increases health damage bonus by 5%.
Increases shield and barrier damage by 20%.
Health Damage Bonus: 15%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 60%
Stun: improves the odds of stunning a target by 25%.
Sticky Grenade
Sticky Grenade is one of the most interesting grenade types in the game because if thrown successfully – it gives no chance for your target to run from its deadly impact. Also, it is has no cooldown which means it can be used almost at any time. The way it works is rather simple: you throw a grenade, it sticks to the target and makes it panic. In a second or two the grenade goes off and injures the target stuck to. If the poor thing comes nearby other enemies, they are also going to be injured with the grenade. If you really want to take advantage of this grenade, you should throw it while using Tactical Cloak. The trick is that Sticky Grenade will not deactivate your invisibility which makes you almost a perfect stealth assassin. Sticky Grenades are very useful against Atlas mechs and Brutes. Unfortunately, using Sticky Grenades against Banshees is not that easy due to their tall and thin appearance and unexpected moves. But there are enemies who happen to be even more resistant to Sticky Grenades than Banshees – Praetorians. Sticky grenade does not explode on impact – it explodes with a little delay meaning that Praetorians can raise their shields to avoid the explosion and you can waste a grenade. But, you can prevent this by placing the grenade a few seconds of the barrier up or right after dropping it. With the Rank 6: Proximity Trap you can turn Sticky Grenade into pretty effective Proximity Mine but it won’t last longer than 15 seconds.
Sticky Grenade: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Sticky Grenade
Stick this grenade to your opponent, and the explosion will tear apart the target and shrapnel will damage other enemies caught in the blast.
Damage: 750 (1100 multiplayer)
Radius: 2m
Rank 2: Max Grenades
Increases grenade capacity by 1.
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Damage: 900 (1320 multiplayer)
Radius: 2m
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Damage: 1125 (1650 multiplayer)
Radius: 2m
Radius: increases radius by 30%.
Damage: 900 (1320 multiplayer)
Radius: 2.6m
Rank 5: Max Grenades/Armor-Piercing
Max Grenades: increases grenade capacity by 2.
Armor-Piercing: increases damage to armored units by 50%.
Rank 6: Damage/Proximity Trap
Damage: increases damage by 40%.
Damage:
Single Player: 1425 (Damage), 1125 (Radius)
Multiplayer: 2090 (Damage), 1650 (Radius)
Proximity Trap: grenades stay active for 15 seconds when attached to a wall or surface, exploding when an enemy approaches.
Increases impact radius by 50%.
Incinerate
Incinerate is a powerful charge that kind of reminds a futuristic Fireball. It deals solid damage and has anti-armor abilities. The good thing about Incinerate is that it curves towards the target which means you can shoot enemies from behind the cover. Incinerate is very useful against Reapers as far as they approach either unprotected or armored that is just perfect for this power. It is recommended to use Incinerate on the Combat Drones spawned by Geth Primes. This will give you an opportunity to create Fire Explosions bringing more devastating power to the enemy. When upgraded to higher ranks Incinerate will become very useful against Brutes, Banshees and Harvesters. If you team up with an Engineer, you can turn your powerful weapon into even deadlier tool with the help of the Overload power. This will help you to become extremely effective against Atlases, Banshees, Geth Primes and Pyros. But, if you do not have someone with the Overload power, you can take the +50% damage vs Armor upgrade to compensate the loss.
Incinerate: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Incinerate
Burn your opponents and incinerate their armor.
Heavy damage to health and armor. Make an enemy panic, stopping health regeneration.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Damage: 300 (330 Multiplayer)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
Damage: 300 (330 Multiplayer)
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
Damage: 360 (396 Multiplayer)
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
Damage: 450 (495 Multiplayer)
Radius: increases impact radius by 1.5 meters.
Rank 5: Burning Damage/Recharge Speed
Burning Damage: increases damage by an additional 40% (50% multiplayer) over 8 seconds.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 5.33 sec
Damage:
Radius: 360 (396 Multiplayer)
Damage: 450 (495 Multiplayer)
Rank 6: Freeze Combo/Armor Damage
Freeze Combo: increases damage to frozen and chilled targets by an additional 100%.
Armor Damage: increases damage to armored targets by 50%.
Sabotage
Sabotage is an amazing power available for a few Mass Effect 3 classes: Infiltrator, Engineer and ali'Zorah in single player. If you plan to show your killing skill online, Quarian Infiltrator, Quarian Marksman, and the Turian Saboteur are also granted with this power. The good old Sabotage does what it has to do: it disables the weapons of enemies and causes slight damage over time to its targets. This can be useful in different situation but sabotaging a few enemies from a big group is something that works just great. In this case you get an amazing opportunity to break a group and disable a few warriors while your team finishes the rest. Another good strategy is to Sabotage the biggest and the most powerful enemy on the field. By the way – Sabotage works great against Atlas mechs and is effective enough against Reaper forces. It can also be used to hack synthetics, including Cerberus turrets. If you see a Cerberus turret, hack it immediately: they are quite powerful and they can eliminate several enemies in short order. One of the most unpleasant things about Sabotage is that when used too often it loses its powers and at a certain moment won’t work at all: your enemy will simply become immune to the effects of Sabotage. The maximum number of synthetic enemies which can be simultaneously hacked at Rank 1 is 2 but online this number is limited to 1.
Sabotage: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Sabotage
Sabotage weapons and hack synthetics.
Compromised synthetics fight on your side.
Affected weapons overheat.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (10 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 2.5m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 2.5m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Rank 3: Radius
Increases impact radius by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Rank 4: Duration/Backfire
Duration: increases power duration by 50%.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 18 sec (15 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Backfire: increases damage taken by 30% (60% multiplayer) when enemy weapons overheat.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire: 195 (400 multiplayer)
Rank 5: Explosive Hack/Recharge Speed
Explosive Hack: synthetics explode when destroyed, dealing 350 points of damage across a 4 meter radius.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 25% (35% multiplayer).
Recharge Speed: 5.33 sec (6.25 multiplayer)
Hack duration:
Duration: 18 sec (15 multiplayer)
Backfire: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire:
Duration: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Backfire: 195 (400 multiplayer)
Rank 6: Berserk/Tech Vulnerability
Berserk: hacked synthetics fighting on your side move faster and do 100% (50% multiplayer) more damage.
Tech Vulnerability: increases all tech power damage done to target by 100% (50% multiplayer) for 10 seconds.
Fitness (Infiltrator)
Fitness is a power that focuses on increasing shields, health and melee attack effectiveness. But, at Rank 6, the Infiltrator receives a Weapon Damage bonus. Due to the class specifics it is highly recommended to spend your skill points on something else because Fitness power can be easily compensated with the help of Tactical Cloak. First of all – it makes you invisible, secondly – it helps you to disappear from the place you are now and either hide or restore your health while the enemy is confused with your disappearance. It is a good idea to invest 1 skill point into Fitness to get additional 15% to all Health, Shield and Melee Damage but other than that – there is nothing extremely exciting about Fitness.
Fitness: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Fitness
Put on some muscle and become fearless in close-quarters combat.
Health & Shield Bonus: +15%
Melee Damage Bonus: +15%
Rank 2: Durability
Increases health and shield bonuses by 10%.
Health & Shield Bonus: +25%
Rank 3: Melee Damage
Increases melee damage by 20%.
Melee Damage Bonus: +35%
Rank 4: Melee Damage/Durability
Melee Damage: increases melee damage bonus by 30%.
Melee Damage Bonus: +65%
Durability: increases Health and shield bonuses by 15%.
Health & Shield Bonus: +40%
Rank 5: Melee Spree/Shield Recharge
Melee Spree: increases melee damage by 75% for 30 seconds when an enemy is killed by heavy melee.
Shield Recharge: decreases shield recharge delay by 15%.
Rank 6: Melee Synergy/Durability
Melee Synergy: increases melee damage bonus by 30%.
Increase weapon damage bonus by 25% for 20 seconds after an enemy is killed by heavy melee.
Melee Damage Bonus: +95% (Melee Damage), +65% (Durability)
Damage: +15%
Durability: increases health and shield bonuses by 25%.
Health & Shield Bonus: +65% (Durability), +50% (Melee Damage)
Operational Mastery
Operational Mastery is Infiltrator’s passive power that will increase your weight capacity (which means – carrying heavier weapon and faster recharges), influence and damage. This kind if looks like a perfect set of features. On the top of this sweet bonus pie you are going to get the increased sniper rifle time-dilation effect. Higher Ranks also offer lots of great things increasing power, damage, duration and everything else required for being effective.
Offensive Mastery: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Offensive Mastery
Be an expert tactician on and off the battlefield.
More time to line up the perfect shot.
Quicker reflexes.
More dexterity.
More charisma.
Reputation Bonus: 4%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 2.50%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 15
Sniper Time-Dilation: 25%
Rank 2: Influence & Capacity
Increases reputation bonus by 4%.
Increases weight capacity bonus by 20 points.
Reputation Bonus: 8%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 2.50%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 25%
Rank 3: Influence & Sniping
Increases sniper time-dilation by 10%.
Increases weapon damage bonus by 2.50%.
Increases reputation bonus by 4%.
Reputation Bonus: 12%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 5%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 35%
Rank 4: Weapon Damage/Influence & Duration
Weapon Damage: increases weapon damage bonus by 5%.
Increases power damage by 10%.
Reputation Bonus: 12%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 10%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 35%
Influence & Duration:
Increases power duration by 25%. Increase reputation bonus by 8%.
Reputation Bonus: 20%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 5%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 35%
Rank 5: Squad Bonus/Weight Capacity
Squad Bonus: increases squadmate weapon damage by 10%.
Increases squadmate power damage and force by 15%.
Weight Capacity: increases weight capacity bonus by 35 points.
Rank 6: Damage & Duration/Sniper Damage
Damage & Duration: increases power damage and duration by 25%.
Sniper Damage: increases sniper rifle damage by 15%
Increase headshot damage by 15%.
Bonus Powers
Energy Drain
Energy Drain is definitely one of those powers you would like to have in your arsenal. You see – Infiltrators usually lack the ability to deal with shields natively. Of course, when dealing with other enemies they show more than just great results but at a certain point shielded enemies might turn into annoying and even dangerous problems. Luckily, Energy Drain covers the problem of shields and, on the top of all, gives a decent amount of ability to restore your own shields. Using Tactical Cloak won’t let you restore your shields and, technically, Energy Drain is the only way out. This happens when you Energy Drain hits any synthetic enemy or an enemy with barriers/shields. This power is very useful against Turrets and Atlases. You definitely should consider using it on higher difficulties: it will weaken your enemies restoring precious shielding of yours at the same time. When upgraded to Rank 4, Energy Drain is very useful against Geth and in multiplayer it will almost always stun the enemy giving you an opportunity to deal with the problem quicker. Energy Drain will only trigger Tech Bursts, Fire Explosions and Cryo Explosions when used to kill primed synthetics or shielded organics.
Energy Drain: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Energy Drain
Hit an enemy with this energy pulse to inflict damage and to steal barrier and shield power.
Recharge Time: 8 seconds
Damage: 220 points
Radius: 1.50 meters
Shields Restored: 50%
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Time: 6.40 seconds
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Damage: 264 points
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Damage: 330 points
Radius: increases impact radius by 100%.
Rank 5: Drain/Recharge Speed
Drain: increases shield restoration rate by 50% when draining shields, barriers, or power from synthetic enemies.
Shields Restored: 100%
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Time: 5.33 seconds
Rank 6: Damage/Armor Boost
Damage: increases damage by 40%.
Damage: 418 (Damage), 352 (Radius)
Armor Boost: reduces damage taken by 15% (40% multiplayer) for 10 seconds by gaining a temporary layer of armor by draining shields, barriers or energy from synthetics.
Dark Channel
Dark Channel is a unique biotic power that is available to Javik and as a bonus power for Commander Shepard in single-player. Also, N7 Fury Adept and Asari Huntress Infiltrator can use it in multiplayer. Dark Channel creates a persistent, damaging biotic field on the target and if the first target is dead, it automatically transfers to the next one standing nearby. You can’t have more than one field active at the time and its length depends on Dark Channel's duration. Targets affected by the power can cause Biotic Explosions when detonated with other powers such as Warp and Biotic Charge. Dark Channel is very effective against Ravagers and enemies alike. A fully upgraded Dark Channel power grants a 75% damage bonus to Barriers and Armor. It is also very effective against multiple targets. Dark Channel can be used to slow down your enemies and turn them into perfect targets for headshots.
Dark Channel: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Dark Channel
Recharge Speed: 10 sec (8 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 20 (75 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 20 (75 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 24 (90 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Rank 4: Damage/Duration
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 30 (112.50 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 24 (90 multiplayer)
Duration: 42 sec
Rank 5: Slow/Recharge Speed
Slow: slows target's movement speed by 30%.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 35%.
Recharge Speed: 6.25 sec (5 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second:
Duration: 24 (90 multiplayer)
Damage: 30 (112.50 multiplayer)
Duration: 42 sec (Duration), 30 sec (Damage)
Rank 6: Damage/Pierce
Damage: increases damage by 50%.
Recharge Speed:
Slow: 8 sec (6.40 sec multiplayer)
Recharge Speed: 6.25 sec (5 sec multiplayer)
Damage Per Second:
Duration: 34 (127.50 multiplayer)
Damage: 40 (150 multiplayer)
Duration: 42 sec (Duration), 30 sec (Damage)
Decoy
Decoy is another great power in Mass Effect 3 that creates a hologram copy of your character and confuses the enemy. Your exact copy appears in 3-5 meters away from you. Unfortunately, it is pretty static and while it mimics your moves and appearance, it does not actually moves nor it attacks. However, it still confuses the enemy giving you a perfect chance to either flank or melee attack the enemy without being noticed. In a single player Decoy is one of EDI's unique powers and can be unlocked as a bonus power for Commander Shepard. In multiplayer Decoy is even more useful, especially for halting advancing enemies like Geth Hunters and Geth Pyros. Using this power is useful when you need to escape the battlefield and recover your health or reload your guns. Your enemies are likely to concentrate on the hologram giving you the required window to escape. Enemies like Banshee, Brutes, Husks get pretty attached to the hologram.
Decoy: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Decoy
Distract opponents with this decoy.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Duration: 15 sec
Decoy Shields: 1000
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed 6.40 sec
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 19.50 sec
Rank 4: Duration/Durability
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 25.50 sec
Durability: increases shields by 40%.
Decoy Shields: 1400
Rank 5: Shock/Recharge Speed
Shock: shock enemies for 100 points within 2.5m radius of the decoy.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 35%.
Recharge Speed 5 sec
Rank 6: Exploding Decoy/Shields & Duration
Exploding Decoy: decoy detonates on destruction, causing 300 damage across 4 meters.
Shields & Duration: increases shields and duration by 50%.
Duration: 33 sec (Rank 4 Duration), 27 sec (Durability)
Decoy Shields: 1900 (Durability), 1500 (Rank 4 Duration)
Defense Matrix
Defense Matrix is the primary defensive option for the Infiltrator. It provides the character with defensive boost at the cost of a 60% recharge reduction. Depending on a situation this can be either good or bad. Well, you can always upgrade the Defense Matrix power and add 30% recharge + 25% damage boost to make things work better. Based on your evolution tree, you can expect to get your shields restored from 50% and up to 100%. However, you can always use a “double-tap” trick to immediately purge for a large shield restore. Defense Matrix has a Shield Gate effect that will increase the total amount of damage Shepard can take. This power will be very useful on Insanity level where many attacks will take your whole shield down instantly.
Defense Matrix: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Defense Matrix
Reinforce armor with protective foucault currents. Purge the currents to restore shields.
Slows power use by 60%.
Recharge Speed: 10 sec
Damage Reduction: 15%
Shields Restored: 50%
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Rank 3: Shield Bonus
Increases shield restoration by 20% when purging armor.
Shields Restored: 70%
Rank 4: Durability/Shield Bonus
Durability: increases damage protection by 5%.
Damage Reduction: 20%
Shield Bonus: increases shield restoration by 30% when purging armor.
Shields Restored: 100%
Rank 5: Shield Recharge/Power Synergy
Shield Recharge: decreases shield-recharge delay by 15%
Power Synergy: increases tech power damage by 25% while Defense Matrix is active.
Rank 6: Power Recharge/Durability
Power Recharge: reduces power speed penalty by 30%.
Power Speed Penalty: 30%
Durability: increases damage protection by 10%.
Damage Reduction: +10%
Marksman
When used, Marksman increases the rate of fire and accuracy of weapons for a short period of time. It is very useful with weapons that have very high recoil, weapons that fire at very high rates or weapons that have poor rate of fire but high damage (this will work great with M-12 Locust, M-99 Saber or M-97 Viper). Marksman is also very effective when used with the Scimitar. Together with the power mentioned the Scimitar can shoot all 8 shots in under 4 seconds that is kind of deadly for almost any armored target. However, you need to remember that Marksman increases damage per second but has nothing to do with actual damage per shot. Marksman's main benefit is its accuracy bonus, which on some weapons can bring 100% accurate while in cover. Marksman cannot be activated during Adrenaline Rush even with the corresponding Adrenaline Rush bonus. Also, Marksman is great when paired with the M-76 Revenant. If you consider investing skill points in Marksman Headshot evolution, it is highly recommended to choose a weapon with the lowest recoil. This will maximize the headshot bonuses.
Marksman: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Marksman
Boost weapon accuracy and firing rate for a short time.
Recharge Speed: 10 sec (6 multiplayer)
Duration: 6 sec
Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 30% (25% multiplayer)
Accuracy Bonus: 30% (35% multiplayer)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (4.80 multiplayer)
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 7.80 sec
Rank 4: Accuracy/Firing Rate
Accuracy: increases accuracy by 30%. (15% multiplayer)
Accuracy Bonus: 60% (50% multiplayer)
Firing Rate: increases firing rate bonus by 20% (15% multiplayer)
Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 50% (40% multiplayer)
Rank 5: Duration/Headshots
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 10.20 sec
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Accuracy and Firing Rate/Recharge Speed
Accuracy and Firing Rate: increases Accuracy and Firing Rate bonuses by 20% (10% multiplayer)
Accuracy Bonus: 80% (60% multiplayer) (Accuracy), 50% (35% multiplayer) (Fire Rate)
Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 50% (45% multiplayer) (Accuracy), 70% (50% multiplayer) (Fire Rate)
Recharge Speed: increases Recharge Speed by 40%.
Recharge Speed: 6.06 sec (3.63 multiplayer)
Stasis
Stasis causes an enemy to be briefly locked in a mass effect field, freezing the target in place, making it unable to attack. With a few skill points invested in Stasis you can expect it to become useful against Cerberus and at Rank 6 it can be used instead of Singularity. Stasis if effective against all enemies except those protected by the armor. It is also partially effective against Hunters and Rocket Troopers. It is not recommended to use it against Reapers as far as they are fully protected by armor. This includes Banshee, Brute, Ravager and others. Stasis will automatically stop working against enemies if:
- they already received sufficient damage;
- an enemy was hit by Stasis for three times already.
That is why it is highly recommended to kill enemies before Stasis becomes ineffective.
Stasis: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Stasis
Stop an enemy in its tracks with this powerful mass effect field. No effect on armored targets.
Enemies eventually break out of Stasis after taking major damage.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (12 multiplayer)
Duration: 6 sec
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec (9.60 multiplayer)
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 7.80 sec
Rank 4: Duration/Stasis Strength
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 10.20 sec
Stasis Strength: deal 150% more damage to targets before Stasis breaks.
Rank 5: Bonus Power/Recharge Speed
Bonus Power: use two powers in a row by giving the first power a 30% chance to cause no cooldown.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 35%.
Recharge Speed: 5 sec (7.50 multiplayer)
Rank 6: Bubble/Vulnerability
Bubble: unleashes a Stasis bubble to trap enemies that walk into it.
Vulnerability: increases all damage done to target by 50%.
Deal 35% more damage to targets before Stasis breaks.
Warp Ammo
If you want to add some extra damage to your weapon, Warp Ammo is exactly what you need. It is a capacity, which means – you can apply it only on the active ammo power. It is very effective against biotic barriers, armor and health and its damage is doubled when used against enemies affected by biotic powers. Of all the bonus ammo powers, Warp Ammo provides the highest potential bonus to health and armor damage. On the top of that Warp Ammo provides a very high bonus to barrier damage. It is very effective against Atlases, Ravagers or Geth Pyros in direct proportion to the decrease in armor effectiveness chosen. Brutes, Cannibals and Husks won’t be able to resist its deadly power as well because Warp Ammo has amazing penetration effectiveness through the armor plates of the enemies mentioned. It is highly recommended to use Warp Ammo with the Rank 6 Amplification evolution of Concussive Shot. This allows Concussive Shot to detonate Biotic Explosions on enemies under the effect of biotic powers.
Warp Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Warp Ammo
Blast vulnerable opponents already lifted by biotics for a damage bonus, and weaken the armor of grounded targets.
More weapon damage. More damage to barriers and armor.
Health Damage Bonus: 15%
Armor Damage Bonus: 15%
Barrier Damage: 30%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 50%
Rank 2: Biotic Combo
Increases damage to lifted targets by 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 15%
Armor Damage Bonus: 15%
Barrier Damage: 30%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Rank 3: Damage
Increases health and armor damage by 5%.
Increases barrier damage by 10%.
Health Damage Bonus: 20%
Armor Damage Bonus: 20%
Barrier Damage: 40%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Rank 4: Damage/Squad Bonus
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 7.50%.
Increases barrier damage by 15%.
Health Damage Bonus: 27.50%
Armor Damage Bonus: 27.50%
Barrier Damage: 55%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain Warp Ammo at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Damage/Enhanced Warp
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 12.50%.
Increases barrier damage by 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 40% (Damage), 32.50% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 40% (Damage), 32.50% (Squad Bonus)
Barrier Damage: 80% (Damage), 65% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Enhanced Warp:
Increases damage to lifted targets by 50%.
Weaken armored targets by an additional 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 27.50% (Damage), 20% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 27.5% (Damage), 20% (Squad Bonus)
Barrier Damage: 55% (Damage), 40% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Weakening: -50%
Lifted Target Damage: 125%
Armor-Piercing Ammo
Armor-Piercing Ammo is a lot alike the Warp Ammo power. However, it sacrifices some damage for penetration bonuses against cover and armor. This feature might be very useful for players who want to fire through cover without sacrificing a slot for the piercing mod. Armor-Piercing Ammo is very effective against Atlas, Ravagers and Geth Pyros. It also has pretty decent penetration capabilities against Brutes’ and Cannibals’ armor plates. There is another interesting thing that makes this Armor unique in its kind and this something pierces the Guardian's shield. If you haven’t noticed already, this feature can’t be found in other armor-weakening ammunition types including Cryo Ammo and Warp Ammo. When used with the following guns, Armor-Piercing Ammo can deal 50% more damage: Krysae Sniper Rifle, N7 Typhoon, and Collector SMG. At the same time Javelin, Widow, Black Widow, N7 Valiant, N7 Typhoon, N7 Crusader, N7 Hurricane, Blood Pack Punisher, Executioner Pistol get latent penetration power.
Armor-Piercing Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Armor-Piercing Ammo
Health Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.50 m
Rank 2: Pierce
Increases ammo's cover penetration by 40%.
Health Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Rank 3: Damage
Increases health and armor damage by 4%.
Health Damage Bonus: 14%
Armor Damage Bonus: 14%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Rank 4: Damage/Squad Bonus
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 6%.
Health Damage Bonus: 20%
Armor Damage Bonus: 20%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain your ammo power at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Damage/Pierce
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 10%.
Health Damage Bonus: 30% (Damage), 24% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 30% (Damage), 24% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Pierce: increases ammo's cover-penetration by 60%.
Decreases the effectiveness of armored targets by 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 20% (Damage), 14% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 20% (Damage), 14% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Effectiveness: -75%
Penetration: 1 m
Dominate
Dominate allows your character to take control over organic creatures and make them fight on your side. And, unlike Mass Effect 2, in Mass Effect 3 you can charge this power on almost any enemy including armored, shielded, and barrier-protected organics. However, Banshees, Harvesters and Adjutants are not in the list of the lucky ones. It is highly recommended to use this power on the stronger enemies which includes Phantoms, Ravagers and Brutes. Also, you can use Dominate against minor enemies like Cannibals or Assault Troopers. That won’t make that big difference but at least should distract some of the enemies giving you a perfect window to take those down. By the way: one of the unfortunate things is that unlike Dominate in Mass Effect 2, Dominate in Mass Effect 3 does not produce a biotic barrier for the poor thing under control. At the same time brainwashed enemies will glow in white which makes it nearly impossible to accidently kill the valuable allies. It is a good strategy to target the farthest enemy from you: it will allow him to attack his former teammates from behind at the same time drawing their attention and opening a perfect opportunity to strike without being shot in response. Unfortunately, Dominate is not a stock power and can be obtained only with the Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC and only after you complete it.
Dominate: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Dominate
Disrupt the synaptic harmonics of an organic brain so it can't differentiate between friend and foe. A single affected target will fight on your side for a short time. Targets grow resistant to the power over time.
Recharge Speed: 12 sec
Duration: 10 sec
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 9.60 sec
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 13 sec
Rank 4: Recharge Speed/Duration
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 7.74 sec
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 17 sec
Rank 5: Lasting Damage/Frenzy
Damage: inflicts massive nerve damage to the target, doing 50 points of damage per second.
Frenzy: while under the effect of the power, the target does 40% more weapon damage.
Rank 6: Vulnerability/Rage
Vulnerability: the target takes 30% more damage from all sources.
Rage: while under the effect of the power, the target does 60% more weapon damage and takes 50% less damage.
Weapons damage: 100% (Frenzy), 60% (Damage)
Defense Drone
Defense Drone is another great helper that will make the difference on the battlefield and will be helpful in any possible situation. Defense Drone is armed with Mass Accelerator Machine Gun which makes them deadly enough to cope with almost any enemy. The Drone can be used to do different things: you can put it to secure the area, you can use it for suppressing fire or it can be set to guard the territory and alarm you on the approaching enemy. Defense Drones are pretty good at dealing with armored enemies, so when you see one on the other side shooting at you – make sure to find a proper cover. When activated, drones tend to fly around turning into pretty hard to hit targets. When sent form the other side – make sure to avoid them always being ready to run.
Inferno Grenade
Inferno Grenade is a perfect decision for a situation where a group of enemies has to be disabled. Unlike the Sticky Grenade (that is also available for Infiltrator), Inferno Grenade offers a wide-radius damage-over-time attack that can temporarily disable enemies. Also, if you plan to spend a few skill points and get the Inferno Grenade to a bit higher Ranks, you can expect to get a possible total of seven grenades instead (in case you choose Capacity Increase Evolution). Inferno Grenade is effective against different enemies but it is very effective against shielded enemies. Enemies set on fire by Inferno Grenade can be detonated with a power to cause a Fire Explosion. And the best part – unlike Mass Effect 2, in Mass Effect 3, grenade powers no longer have a recharge time. This means that you can use it immediately at any time (of course, if you have them in your inventory).
Power Ranks
Rank 1: Inferno Grenade
Cluster-bomb a small area with incendiary munitions.
Damage Per Second: 100 (150 multiplayer)
Duration: 8 seconds
Radius: 5 m
Rank 2: Max Grenades
Increases grenade capacity by 1.
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Damage Per Second: 120 (180 multiplayer)
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Damage Per Second: 150 (225 multiplayer)
Radius: increases impact radius by 30%.
Radius: 6.5 m
Rank 5: Max Grenades/Damage
Max Grenades: increases grenade capacity by 2.
Damage: increases damage by 40%.
Damage Per Second: 190 (285 multiplayer) (Damage), 160 (195 multiplayer) (Radius)
Rank 6: Armor Damage/Radius & Shrapnel
Armor Damage: increases damage to armor by 50%.
Radius & Shrapnel: increases impact radius by 40% (50% multiplayer). Increase shrapnel by 1 fragments [sic].
Radius: 8.5 m (9 multiplayer) (Radius), 7 m (7.5 multiplayer) (Damage)
Weapons of Choice
Assault Rifles
Assault rifle is not Infiltrator’s weapon of choice but at the same time when you use your Tactical Cloak, you can still get damage bonus for the multiple rounds. In other words – you can become pretty great warrior on the field with a gun loaded with the deadly power. For this role the M-15 Vindicator is a perfect choice and the damage bonus from Tactical Cloak will apply to all the three shots. The M-96 Mattock is not a bad decision either providing a bit bigger ammunition reserve and ammo capacity. But, one of the best and definitely my favorite is M-99 Saber. Together with the Tactical Cloak you can turn the M-99 Saber into a decent killing machine as far as the Saber is good enough to act like a sniper rifle.
Heavy Pistols
Choosing a heavy pistol is totally based on your tastes and game strategy you plan to stick to. M-3 Predator is a good choice: it’s simple, easy to use, pretty accurate, reliable but lacks in damage. So, if you are looking for something a bit more powerful, you can pick M-6 Carnifex or M-77 Paladin. Well, even the Executioner Pistol will work fine. Those pistol are great at the distance and some of them (with a few upgrades) can shoot with the accuracy of a decent enough sniper rifle (though, not as deadly). But, if you prefer to fight enemies at the closer distances, I would recommend to stick to something less accurate but more powerful. For this work M-358 Talon will be just great. With a small package of upgrades it can act like a shotgun but with less weigh to worry about. If you are a big fan of extraordinary strategy moves – pick the Salarian Scorpion pistol.
Shotguns
Infiltrator is a power dependent class and you might wanna consider different strategical approaches: you can either pick a low weight shotgun but compensate its damage with Disciple or you can take a heavy shotgun, something like M-300 Claymore, but work on your strategy. One of the most interesting strategies is to pair either the Geth Plasma Shotgun or the Graal Spike Thrower with Tactical Cloak. The thing is that both shotguns won’t break your invisibility while you are shooting but will make it disappear during the reloading process. If you happen to have the Groundside Resistance Pack, I would recommend taking the N7 Piranha. It is fully automatic and is extremely effective against Reaper forces.
Sniper Rifles
Sniper Rifle is exactly what Infiltrator should concentrate his attention on. With the list of great powers you can turn your character into a real stealth, hard to find sniper. If you plan to choose something from the heavy artillery, I would recommend picking either the M-98 Widow or the M-92 Mantis. Well, the Black Widow is not a bad choice either and some players might really appreciate its 3 round clip. If Black Widow is not what you are looking for, do not be shy to try out the Javelin: it is good for spotting cloaked or smoke-concealed targets. M-13 Raptor is perfect for those who enjoy shooting from the weapons with expended clips. This rifle is a good choice for players who are concerned about their weight. For some additional damage you can upgrade it with Armor-piercing Ammo and Sniper Rifle Extended Barrel. Also, let’s not forget about the M-97 Viper and its unique combination of low weight, fast reload speed, low recoil, decent fire rate large reserve and 6 round clip size. It might not be the deadliest sniper rifle in the game and it is very unlikely to kill your opponent with one shot but you can still expect it to be pretty harmful. M-90 Indra is not a bad choice either due to its fully automatic nature. But, from the variety of sniper rifles I would either stop my decision on the Black Widow because of its decent damage and larger ammo package or on the Krysae Sniper Rifle because when combined with Cryo Ammo it turns into a perfect crowd control machine. Though, if you have an opportunity to buy the Groundside Resistance Pack DLC, I would recommend trying out the Kishock Harpoon Gun. Its biggest advantage is that it completely ignores the Shield Gate mechanic allowing you to perform one shot kills on shielded enemies (even on Insanity). On the top of all, it also reloads pretty fast and can be fired from the hip without penalty. And as far as it can be charged before you activate your Tactical Cloak, you can shoot the Kishock Harpoon without breaking your invisibility. It also has pretty great penetration capabilities against shields and is lighter than lots of other sniper rifles. The only major disadvantage of this gun is that its projectiles hit the aimed target a few moment after the shot but this can be compensated a bit with the help of Operational Mastery and a Sniper Rifle Concentration Mod.
Submachine Guns (SMG)
Submachine gun is a perfect addition for almost any sniper rifle due to its high fire rate, fast reload time and tolerable recoil. It is very effective in the close range battles and with a few improvements can be turned into a middle range weapon. Another great thing about submachine guns (SMGs) is that they are the lightest guns in the game meaning that you do not have to worry about the weight. M-9 Tempest is a good choice for a starter. The M-12 Locust is a decent SMG too. The M-25 Hornet should also be added to the list of potential winners but its high recoil might turn into a serious problem for some players. The Blood Pack Punisher can also work wonders for an Infiltrator.
At the very beginning of Mass Effect 3 you will be offered to choose a warrior class. All of them offer different abilities, tactical maneuvers, strategy tricks and specials. Each class has a corresponding class talent which improves abilities important to that class. Some of class talents will be at your service from the very beginning, others have to be unlocked while you progress through the game. Here’s the list of available classes in Mass Effect 3:
1. Adept;
2. Engineer;
3. Infiltrator;
4. Soldier;
5. Sentinel;
6. Vanguard.
Infiltrator
Infiltrator is deadly at any range but his personal favorite is using sniper rifles. In Mass Effect 3 Infiltrator is a lot like a universal sniper in a real life: he is amazingly effective at long range distances but won’t let you down in sabotages, close combats and suppressing missions. Infiltrators are also great tech and combat specialists: they can cloak themselves from both technological and visual detection. On the top of that they feel themselves comfortable working with almost any weapon and have a variety of equipment and powers in their hands. Infiltrators are often referred to as a mixture of combat and tech talents. The Infiltrator is able to win battles by quickly disabling and killing enemies and he often focuses on unlocking alternate routes and obtaining an advantageous position over enemies in combat. I would even call him a Saboteur. Infiltrators use their powers to create suitable conditions that can be exploited by other powers or weapons automatically making them deadlier and better. For example, Sabotage will either disable enemies for a few moments of will turn them into amazingly useful allies and Tactical Cloak will let an infiltrator maneuver into position and set up attacks without enemy targeting.
Powers
Class Powers
Tactical Cloak
Tactical Cloak is one of the most effective powers in Infiltrator's arsenal and here’s the reason why: it makes you invisible. When activated, it gives you a great opportunity to move around enemies undetected. This can be useful for flanking bad guys, killing them from behind or simply stealth steal items, activate them or do whatever you can think of – it’s good for everything. Due to the fact that weight system in Mass Effect 3 allows Infiltrators to carry shotguns with them, you can actually turn in a weapon of mass destruction with the help of Tactical Cloak. Besides, you will receive the very same damage bonus you get when using a sniper rifle. But in this case a decent shotgun with high damage, fast fire rate and big clip is recommended. Using Tactical Cloak with a sniper rifle works great too: it allows you to take down enemies from long distances, disappear and either hide or relocate leaving the enemy surprised and confused. In Mass Effect 3 the recharge time for Tactical Cloak is proportional to the length of time the Tactical Cloak is activated: if you activate it for the maximum allowed duration, it will take the full time to recharge. But, if you deactivate it immediately or within a time that would not affect the cooldown, it will recharge in three seconds (that is the required minimum). Using grenade powers and that is Sticky Grenade, Arc Grenade, and Homing Grenade in multiplayer will not deactivate the Tactical Cloak as all the other weapons and powers do. This gives you an amazing opportunity to come out from the shadow, place a grenade and run away without even being noticed. In multiplayer Tactical Cloak works different too and enemies will still attack the player if:
- the Infiltrator is the last one standing during a wave;
- the Infiltrator is too close (nearly point-blank range);
- enemies see the Infiltrator begin cloaking while he is alone in the area.
Of course – Tactical Cloak is not perfect and, for example, on Insanity difficulty, many enemies still attack a cloaked Shepard, even if other party members are alive and nearby. Also – Harvesters are not affected by the cloak and will continue to fire at Shepard anyway. The Asari Huntress's Tactical Cloak damage bonuses only apply to melee attacks and powers.
Tactical Cloak: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Tactical Cloak
Become invisible. Gain a massive damage bonus when breaking from cloak to attack.
Recharge Speed: 10 sec
Duration: 8 sec (4 sec multiplayer)
Damage Bonus: 50% (40% multiplayer non-asari, 60% asari)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Rank 3: Duration
Increases power duration by 30%.
Duration: 10.40 sec (5.20 sec multiplayer)
Rank 4: Duration/Damage
Duration: increases power duration by 40%. (150% multiplayer.)
Duration: 13.60 Sesc. (11.20 sec multiplayer.)
Damage: increases damage bonus by 40%. (60% asari.)
Damage Bonus: 90%. (80% multiplayer non-asari, 120% asari.)
Rank 5: Recharge Speed/Melee Damage
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 6.45 Sec
Melee Damage: increases melee damage by 50% while cloaked.
Rank 6: Bonus Power/Sniper Rifle Damage
Bonus Power:
Fire one power while cloaked and remain hidden.
Sniper Rifle Damage:
Increases sniper rifle damage by 40% while cloaked. (25% multiplayer.)
Turian Ghost Infiltrator Rank 6: Bonus Power/Assault Rifle Damage
Bonus Power:
Fire one power while cloaked and remain hidden.
Assault Rifle Damage:
When Tactical Cloak is activated, assault rifles do 20% more damage for 10 seconds.
Asari Huntress Infiltrator Rank 6: Bonus Power/Biotic Damage
Bonus Power:
Fire one power while cloaked and remain hidden.
Biotic Damage:
Increases Biotic Damage by 40%.
Cryo Ammo
Cryo Ammo does exactly what it is good for: it freezes enemies. Also, you can expect it to weaken armors and decrease movement speed that will be very helpful. Brutes, Cannibals and Husks suffer from this power the most but armored targets like Atlases, Ravagers and Geth Pyros can’t be directly damaged with this one. If you not only want to freeze enemies but also consider being effective, it is recommended to use Cryo Ammo with Assault Rifles (the stronger – the better) or SMGs (they spray many shots an increase the possibility of freezing). Cryo Ammo is literary devastating when used with the Falcon: enemies caught in the area of effect are all likely to be frozen. It is also a good idea to use Cryo Ammo together with Incinerate. This will allow you to execute a Cryo Explosion and both damage and freeze the nearby enemies.
Cryo Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Cryo Ammo
Flash freeze and shatter unprotected enemies.
Slow down the rest.
Freeze Duration: 3 sec
Movement Speed: -15%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Rank 2: Freeze Chance
Improves the odds of freezing a target by 30%.
Rank 3: Freeze Duration
Increases freeze duration by 40%.
Freeze Duration: 4.2 sec
Movement Speed: -15%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Rank 4: Freeze Duration/Squad Bonus
Freeze Duration:
Increases freeze duration by 40%.
Freeze Duration: 5.9 sec
Movement Speed: -15%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain Cryo Ammo at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot to frozen enemies by 35%.
Rank 6: Freeze Chance/Damage Combo
Freeze Chance:
Improves the odds of freezing a target by 50%.
Decreases a frozen target's movement speed by an additional 20%.
Damage Combo:
Increases damage to frozen targets from all sources by 50%.
Weakens the armor of chilled targets by 25%.
Disruptor Ammo
Disruptor Ammo is the ammunition capacity boost and can be applied only on the active ammo power. It does pretty decent damage to almost any kind of enemy and is good against shields and synthetics. But, as it appears, Disruptor Ammo deals pretty great with organic enemies as well. On the top of that this power has bonus damage against Barriers. If you plan to progress on this one, it might be a good idea to get the Squad Disruptor Ammo evolution. However – it is not vital.
Disruptor Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Disruptor Ammo
Bring down your enemy's barrier and shields.
Chance to stun.
More weapon damage.
More damage to shields and barriers.
Health Damage Bonus: 5%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 20%
Rank 2: Stun
Improves the odds of stunning a target by 15%.
Rank 3: Damage
Increases health damage bonus by 2%.
Increases shield and barrier damage bonuses by 8%.
Health Damage Bonus: 7%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 28%
Rank 4: Damage/Squad Bonus
Damage: increases health damage bonus by 3%.
Increases shield and barrier damage bonuses by 12%.
Health Damage Bonus: 10%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 40%
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain Disruptor Ammo at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Damage/Stun
Damage:
Increases health damage bonus by 5%.
Increases shield and barrier damage by 20%.
Health Damage Bonus: 15%
Shield & Barrier Damage: 60%
Stun: improves the odds of stunning a target by 25%.
Sticky Grenade
Sticky Grenade is one of the most interesting grenade types in the game because if thrown successfully – it gives no chance for your target to run from its deadly impact. Also, it is has no cooldown which means it can be used almost at any time. The way it works is rather simple: you throw a grenade, it sticks to the target and makes it panic. In a second or two the grenade goes off and injures the target stuck to. If the poor thing comes nearby other enemies, they are also going to be injured with the grenade. If you really want to take advantage of this grenade, you should throw it while using Tactical Cloak. The trick is that Sticky Grenade will not deactivate your invisibility which makes you almost a perfect stealth assassin. Sticky Grenades are very useful against Atlas mechs and Brutes. Unfortunately, using Sticky Grenades against Banshees is not that easy due to their tall and thin appearance and unexpected moves. But there are enemies who happen to be even more resistant to Sticky Grenades than Banshees – Praetorians. Sticky grenade does not explode on impact – it explodes with a little delay meaning that Praetorians can raise their shields to avoid the explosion and you can waste a grenade. But, you can prevent this by placing the grenade a few seconds of the barrier up or right after dropping it. With the Rank 6: Proximity Trap you can turn Sticky Grenade into pretty effective Proximity Mine but it won’t last longer than 15 seconds.
Sticky Grenade: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Sticky Grenade
Stick this grenade to your opponent, and the explosion will tear apart the target and shrapnel will damage other enemies caught in the blast.
Damage: 750 (1100 multiplayer)
Radius: 2m
Rank 2: Max Grenades
Increases grenade capacity by 1.
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Damage: 900 (1320 multiplayer)
Radius: 2m
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Damage: 1125 (1650 multiplayer)
Radius: 2m
Radius: increases radius by 30%.
Damage: 900 (1320 multiplayer)
Radius: 2.6m
Rank 5: Max Grenades/Armor-Piercing
Max Grenades: increases grenade capacity by 2.
Armor-Piercing: increases damage to armored units by 50%.
Rank 6: Damage/Proximity Trap
Damage: increases damage by 40%.
Damage:
Single Player: 1425 (Damage), 1125 (Radius)
Multiplayer: 2090 (Damage), 1650 (Radius)
Proximity Trap: grenades stay active for 15 seconds when attached to a wall or surface, exploding when an enemy approaches.
Increases impact radius by 50%.
Incinerate
Incinerate is a powerful charge that kind of reminds a futuristic Fireball. It deals solid damage and has anti-armor abilities. The good thing about Incinerate is that it curves towards the target which means you can shoot enemies from behind the cover. Incinerate is very useful against Reapers as far as they approach either unprotected or armored that is just perfect for this power. It is recommended to use Incinerate on the Combat Drones spawned by Geth Primes. This will give you an opportunity to create Fire Explosions bringing more devastating power to the enemy. When upgraded to higher ranks Incinerate will become very useful against Brutes, Banshees and Harvesters. If you team up with an Engineer, you can turn your powerful weapon into even deadlier tool with the help of the Overload power. This will help you to become extremely effective against Atlases, Banshees, Geth Primes and Pyros. But, if you do not have someone with the Overload power, you can take the +50% damage vs Armor upgrade to compensate the loss.
Incinerate: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Incinerate
Burn your opponents and incinerate their armor.
Heavy damage to health and armor. Make an enemy panic, stopping health regeneration.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Damage: 300 (330 Multiplayer)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
Damage: 300 (330 Multiplayer)
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
Damage: 360 (396 Multiplayer)
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
Damage: 450 (495 Multiplayer)
Radius: increases impact radius by 1.5 meters.
Rank 5: Burning Damage/Recharge Speed
Burning Damage: increases damage by an additional 40% (50% multiplayer) over 8 seconds.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 5.33 sec
Damage:
Radius: 360 (396 Multiplayer)
Damage: 450 (495 Multiplayer)
Rank 6: Freeze Combo/Armor Damage
Freeze Combo: increases damage to frozen and chilled targets by an additional 100%.
Armor Damage: increases damage to armored targets by 50%.
Sabotage
Sabotage is an amazing power available for a few Mass Effect 3 classes: Infiltrator, Engineer and ali'Zorah in single player. If you plan to show your killing skill online, Quarian Infiltrator, Quarian Marksman, and the Turian Saboteur are also granted with this power. The good old Sabotage does what it has to do: it disables the weapons of enemies and causes slight damage over time to its targets. This can be useful in different situation but sabotaging a few enemies from a big group is something that works just great. In this case you get an amazing opportunity to break a group and disable a few warriors while your team finishes the rest. Another good strategy is to Sabotage the biggest and the most powerful enemy on the field. By the way – Sabotage works great against Atlas mechs and is effective enough against Reaper forces. It can also be used to hack synthetics, including Cerberus turrets. If you see a Cerberus turret, hack it immediately: they are quite powerful and they can eliminate several enemies in short order. One of the most unpleasant things about Sabotage is that when used too often it loses its powers and at a certain moment won’t work at all: your enemy will simply become immune to the effects of Sabotage. The maximum number of synthetic enemies which can be simultaneously hacked at Rank 1 is 2 but online this number is limited to 1.
Sabotage: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Sabotage
Sabotage weapons and hack synthetics.
Compromised synthetics fight on your side.
Affected weapons overheat.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (10 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 2.5m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 2.5m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Rank 3: Radius
Increases impact radius by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Rank 4: Duration/Backfire
Duration: increases power duration by 50%.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 18 sec (15 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Backfire: increases damage taken by 30% (60% multiplayer) when enemy weapons overheat.
Recharge Speed: 6.4 sec (8 multiplayer)
Hack duration: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire: 195 (400 multiplayer)
Rank 5: Explosive Hack/Recharge Speed
Explosive Hack: synthetics explode when destroyed, dealing 350 points of damage across a 4 meter radius.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 25% (35% multiplayer).
Recharge Speed: 5.33 sec (6.25 multiplayer)
Hack duration:
Duration: 18 sec (15 multiplayer)
Backfire: 12 sec (10 multiplayer)
Radius: 3.25m
Backfire:
Duration: 150 (250 multiplayer)
Backfire: 195 (400 multiplayer)
Rank 6: Berserk/Tech Vulnerability
Berserk: hacked synthetics fighting on your side move faster and do 100% (50% multiplayer) more damage.
Tech Vulnerability: increases all tech power damage done to target by 100% (50% multiplayer) for 10 seconds.
Fitness (Infiltrator)
Fitness is a power that focuses on increasing shields, health and melee attack effectiveness. But, at Rank 6, the Infiltrator receives a Weapon Damage bonus. Due to the class specifics it is highly recommended to spend your skill points on something else because Fitness power can be easily compensated with the help of Tactical Cloak. First of all – it makes you invisible, secondly – it helps you to disappear from the place you are now and either hide or restore your health while the enemy is confused with your disappearance. It is a good idea to invest 1 skill point into Fitness to get additional 15% to all Health, Shield and Melee Damage but other than that – there is nothing extremely exciting about Fitness.
Fitness: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Fitness
Put on some muscle and become fearless in close-quarters combat.
Health & Shield Bonus: +15%
Melee Damage Bonus: +15%
Rank 2: Durability
Increases health and shield bonuses by 10%.
Health & Shield Bonus: +25%
Rank 3: Melee Damage
Increases melee damage by 20%.
Melee Damage Bonus: +35%
Rank 4: Melee Damage/Durability
Melee Damage: increases melee damage bonus by 30%.
Melee Damage Bonus: +65%
Durability: increases Health and shield bonuses by 15%.
Health & Shield Bonus: +40%
Rank 5: Melee Spree/Shield Recharge
Melee Spree: increases melee damage by 75% for 30 seconds when an enemy is killed by heavy melee.
Shield Recharge: decreases shield recharge delay by 15%.
Rank 6: Melee Synergy/Durability
Melee Synergy: increases melee damage bonus by 30%.
Increase weapon damage bonus by 25% for 20 seconds after an enemy is killed by heavy melee.
Melee Damage Bonus: +95% (Melee Damage), +65% (Durability)
Damage: +15%
Durability: increases health and shield bonuses by 25%.
Health & Shield Bonus: +65% (Durability), +50% (Melee Damage)
Operational Mastery
Operational Mastery is Infiltrator’s passive power that will increase your weight capacity (which means – carrying heavier weapon and faster recharges), influence and damage. This kind if looks like a perfect set of features. On the top of this sweet bonus pie you are going to get the increased sniper rifle time-dilation effect. Higher Ranks also offer lots of great things increasing power, damage, duration and everything else required for being effective.
Offensive Mastery: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Offensive Mastery
Be an expert tactician on and off the battlefield.
More time to line up the perfect shot.
Quicker reflexes.
More dexterity.
More charisma.
Reputation Bonus: 4%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 2.50%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 15
Sniper Time-Dilation: 25%
Rank 2: Influence & Capacity
Increases reputation bonus by 4%.
Increases weight capacity bonus by 20 points.
Reputation Bonus: 8%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 2.50%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 25%
Rank 3: Influence & Sniping
Increases sniper time-dilation by 10%.
Increases weapon damage bonus by 2.50%.
Increases reputation bonus by 4%.
Reputation Bonus: 12%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 5%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 35%
Rank 4: Weapon Damage/Influence & Duration
Weapon Damage: increases weapon damage bonus by 5%.
Increases power damage by 10%.
Reputation Bonus: 12%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 10%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 35%
Influence & Duration:
Increases power duration by 25%. Increase reputation bonus by 8%.
Reputation Bonus: 20%
Weapon Damage Bonus: 5%
Weight Capacity Bonus: 35
Sniper Time-Dilation: 35%
Rank 5: Squad Bonus/Weight Capacity
Squad Bonus: increases squadmate weapon damage by 10%.
Increases squadmate power damage and force by 15%.
Weight Capacity: increases weight capacity bonus by 35 points.
Rank 6: Damage & Duration/Sniper Damage
Damage & Duration: increases power damage and duration by 25%.
Sniper Damage: increases sniper rifle damage by 15%
Increase headshot damage by 15%.
Bonus Powers
Energy Drain
Energy Drain is definitely one of those powers you would like to have in your arsenal. You see – Infiltrators usually lack the ability to deal with shields natively. Of course, when dealing with other enemies they show more than just great results but at a certain point shielded enemies might turn into annoying and even dangerous problems. Luckily, Energy Drain covers the problem of shields and, on the top of all, gives a decent amount of ability to restore your own shields. Using Tactical Cloak won’t let you restore your shields and, technically, Energy Drain is the only way out. This happens when you Energy Drain hits any synthetic enemy or an enemy with barriers/shields. This power is very useful against Turrets and Atlases. You definitely should consider using it on higher difficulties: it will weaken your enemies restoring precious shielding of yours at the same time. When upgraded to Rank 4, Energy Drain is very useful against Geth and in multiplayer it will almost always stun the enemy giving you an opportunity to deal with the problem quicker. Energy Drain will only trigger Tech Bursts, Fire Explosions and Cryo Explosions when used to kill primed synthetics or shielded organics.
Energy Drain: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Energy Drain
Hit an enemy with this energy pulse to inflict damage and to steal barrier and shield power.
Recharge Time: 8 seconds
Damage: 220 points
Radius: 1.50 meters
Shields Restored: 50%
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Time: 6.40 seconds
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Damage: 264 points
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Damage: 330 points
Radius: increases impact radius by 100%.
Rank 5: Drain/Recharge Speed
Drain: increases shield restoration rate by 50% when draining shields, barriers, or power from synthetic enemies.
Shields Restored: 100%
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Time: 5.33 seconds
Rank 6: Damage/Armor Boost
Damage: increases damage by 40%.
Damage: 418 (Damage), 352 (Radius)
Armor Boost: reduces damage taken by 15% (40% multiplayer) for 10 seconds by gaining a temporary layer of armor by draining shields, barriers or energy from synthetics.
Dark Channel
Dark Channel is a unique biotic power that is available to Javik and as a bonus power for Commander Shepard in single-player. Also, N7 Fury Adept and Asari Huntress Infiltrator can use it in multiplayer. Dark Channel creates a persistent, damaging biotic field on the target and if the first target is dead, it automatically transfers to the next one standing nearby. You can’t have more than one field active at the time and its length depends on Dark Channel's duration. Targets affected by the power can cause Biotic Explosions when detonated with other powers such as Warp and Biotic Charge. Dark Channel is very effective against Ravagers and enemies alike. A fully upgraded Dark Channel power grants a 75% damage bonus to Barriers and Armor. It is also very effective against multiple targets. Dark Channel can be used to slow down your enemies and turn them into perfect targets for headshots.
Dark Channel: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Dark Channel
Recharge Speed: 10 sec (8 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 20 (75 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 20 (75 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 24 (90 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Rank 4: Damage/Duration
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 30 (112.50 multiplayer)
Duration: 30 sec
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (6.40 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second: 24 (90 multiplayer)
Duration: 42 sec
Rank 5: Slow/Recharge Speed
Slow: slows target's movement speed by 30%.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 35%.
Recharge Speed: 6.25 sec (5 multiplayer)
Damage Per Second:
Duration: 24 (90 multiplayer)
Damage: 30 (112.50 multiplayer)
Duration: 42 sec (Duration), 30 sec (Damage)
Rank 6: Damage/Pierce
Damage: increases damage by 50%.
Recharge Speed:
Slow: 8 sec (6.40 sec multiplayer)
Recharge Speed: 6.25 sec (5 sec multiplayer)
Damage Per Second:
Duration: 34 (127.50 multiplayer)
Damage: 40 (150 multiplayer)
Duration: 42 sec (Duration), 30 sec (Damage)
Decoy
Decoy is another great power in Mass Effect 3 that creates a hologram copy of your character and confuses the enemy. Your exact copy appears in 3-5 meters away from you. Unfortunately, it is pretty static and while it mimics your moves and appearance, it does not actually moves nor it attacks. However, it still confuses the enemy giving you a perfect chance to either flank or melee attack the enemy without being noticed. In a single player Decoy is one of EDI's unique powers and can be unlocked as a bonus power for Commander Shepard. In multiplayer Decoy is even more useful, especially for halting advancing enemies like Geth Hunters and Geth Pyros. Using this power is useful when you need to escape the battlefield and recover your health or reload your guns. Your enemies are likely to concentrate on the hologram giving you the required window to escape. Enemies like Banshee, Brutes, Husks get pretty attached to the hologram.
Decoy: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Decoy
Distract opponents with this decoy.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Duration: 15 sec
Decoy Shields: 1000
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed 6.40 sec
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 19.50 sec
Rank 4: Duration/Durability
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 25.50 sec
Durability: increases shields by 40%.
Decoy Shields: 1400
Rank 5: Shock/Recharge Speed
Shock: shock enemies for 100 points within 2.5m radius of the decoy.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 35%.
Recharge Speed 5 sec
Rank 6: Exploding Decoy/Shields & Duration
Exploding Decoy: decoy detonates on destruction, causing 300 damage across 4 meters.
Shields & Duration: increases shields and duration by 50%.
Duration: 33 sec (Rank 4 Duration), 27 sec (Durability)
Decoy Shields: 1900 (Durability), 1500 (Rank 4 Duration)
Defense Matrix
Defense Matrix is the primary defensive option for the Infiltrator. It provides the character with defensive boost at the cost of a 60% recharge reduction. Depending on a situation this can be either good or bad. Well, you can always upgrade the Defense Matrix power and add 30% recharge + 25% damage boost to make things work better. Based on your evolution tree, you can expect to get your shields restored from 50% and up to 100%. However, you can always use a “double-tap” trick to immediately purge for a large shield restore. Defense Matrix has a Shield Gate effect that will increase the total amount of damage Shepard can take. This power will be very useful on Insanity level where many attacks will take your whole shield down instantly.
Defense Matrix: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Defense Matrix
Reinforce armor with protective foucault currents. Purge the currents to restore shields.
Slows power use by 60%.
Recharge Speed: 10 sec
Damage Reduction: 15%
Shields Restored: 50%
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec
Rank 3: Shield Bonus
Increases shield restoration by 20% when purging armor.
Shields Restored: 70%
Rank 4: Durability/Shield Bonus
Durability: increases damage protection by 5%.
Damage Reduction: 20%
Shield Bonus: increases shield restoration by 30% when purging armor.
Shields Restored: 100%
Rank 5: Shield Recharge/Power Synergy
Shield Recharge: decreases shield-recharge delay by 15%
Power Synergy: increases tech power damage by 25% while Defense Matrix is active.
Rank 6: Power Recharge/Durability
Power Recharge: reduces power speed penalty by 30%.
Power Speed Penalty: 30%
Durability: increases damage protection by 10%.
Damage Reduction: +10%
Marksman
When used, Marksman increases the rate of fire and accuracy of weapons for a short period of time. It is very useful with weapons that have very high recoil, weapons that fire at very high rates or weapons that have poor rate of fire but high damage (this will work great with M-12 Locust, M-99 Saber or M-97 Viper). Marksman is also very effective when used with the Scimitar. Together with the power mentioned the Scimitar can shoot all 8 shots in under 4 seconds that is kind of deadly for almost any armored target. However, you need to remember that Marksman increases damage per second but has nothing to do with actual damage per shot. Marksman's main benefit is its accuracy bonus, which on some weapons can bring 100% accurate while in cover. Marksman cannot be activated during Adrenaline Rush even with the corresponding Adrenaline Rush bonus. Also, Marksman is great when paired with the M-76 Revenant. If you consider investing skill points in Marksman Headshot evolution, it is highly recommended to choose a weapon with the lowest recoil. This will maximize the headshot bonuses.
Marksman: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Marksman
Boost weapon accuracy and firing rate for a short time.
Recharge Speed: 10 sec (6 multiplayer)
Duration: 6 sec
Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 30% (25% multiplayer)
Accuracy Bonus: 30% (35% multiplayer)
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (4.80 multiplayer)
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 7.80 sec
Rank 4: Accuracy/Firing Rate
Accuracy: increases accuracy by 30%. (15% multiplayer)
Accuracy Bonus: 60% (50% multiplayer)
Firing Rate: increases firing rate bonus by 20% (15% multiplayer)
Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 50% (40% multiplayer)
Rank 5: Duration/Headshots
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 10.20 sec
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Accuracy and Firing Rate/Recharge Speed
Accuracy and Firing Rate: increases Accuracy and Firing Rate bonuses by 20% (10% multiplayer)
Accuracy Bonus: 80% (60% multiplayer) (Accuracy), 50% (35% multiplayer) (Fire Rate)
Rate-of-Fire Bonus: 50% (45% multiplayer) (Accuracy), 70% (50% multiplayer) (Fire Rate)
Recharge Speed: increases Recharge Speed by 40%.
Recharge Speed: 6.06 sec (3.63 multiplayer)
Stasis
Stasis causes an enemy to be briefly locked in a mass effect field, freezing the target in place, making it unable to attack. With a few skill points invested in Stasis you can expect it to become useful against Cerberus and at Rank 6 it can be used instead of Singularity. Stasis if effective against all enemies except those protected by the armor. It is also partially effective against Hunters and Rocket Troopers. It is not recommended to use it against Reapers as far as they are fully protected by armor. This includes Banshee, Brute, Ravager and others. Stasis will automatically stop working against enemies if:
- they already received sufficient damage;
- an enemy was hit by Stasis for three times already.
That is why it is highly recommended to kill enemies before Stasis becomes ineffective.
Stasis: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Stasis
Stop an enemy in its tracks with this powerful mass effect field. No effect on armored targets.
Enemies eventually break out of Stasis after taking major damage.
Recharge Speed: 8 sec (12 multiplayer)
Duration: 6 sec
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec (9.60 multiplayer)
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 7.80 sec
Rank 4: Duration/Stasis Strength
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 10.20 sec
Stasis Strength: deal 150% more damage to targets before Stasis breaks.
Rank 5: Bonus Power/Recharge Speed
Bonus Power: use two powers in a row by giving the first power a 30% chance to cause no cooldown.
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 35%.
Recharge Speed: 5 sec (7.50 multiplayer)
Rank 6: Bubble/Vulnerability
Bubble: unleashes a Stasis bubble to trap enemies that walk into it.
Vulnerability: increases all damage done to target by 50%.
Deal 35% more damage to targets before Stasis breaks.
Warp Ammo
If you want to add some extra damage to your weapon, Warp Ammo is exactly what you need. It is a capacity, which means – you can apply it only on the active ammo power. It is very effective against biotic barriers, armor and health and its damage is doubled when used against enemies affected by biotic powers. Of all the bonus ammo powers, Warp Ammo provides the highest potential bonus to health and armor damage. On the top of that Warp Ammo provides a very high bonus to barrier damage. It is very effective against Atlases, Ravagers or Geth Pyros in direct proportion to the decrease in armor effectiveness chosen. Brutes, Cannibals and Husks won’t be able to resist its deadly power as well because Warp Ammo has amazing penetration effectiveness through the armor plates of the enemies mentioned. It is highly recommended to use Warp Ammo with the Rank 6 Amplification evolution of Concussive Shot. This allows Concussive Shot to detonate Biotic Explosions on enemies under the effect of biotic powers.
Warp Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Warp Ammo
Blast vulnerable opponents already lifted by biotics for a damage bonus, and weaken the armor of grounded targets.
More weapon damage. More damage to barriers and armor.
Health Damage Bonus: 15%
Armor Damage Bonus: 15%
Barrier Damage: 30%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 50%
Rank 2: Biotic Combo
Increases damage to lifted targets by 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 15%
Armor Damage Bonus: 15%
Barrier Damage: 30%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Rank 3: Damage
Increases health and armor damage by 5%.
Increases barrier damage by 10%.
Health Damage Bonus: 20%
Armor Damage Bonus: 20%
Barrier Damage: 40%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Rank 4: Damage/Squad Bonus
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 7.50%.
Increases barrier damage by 15%.
Health Damage Bonus: 27.50%
Armor Damage Bonus: 27.50%
Barrier Damage: 55%
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain Warp Ammo at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Damage/Enhanced Warp
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 12.50%.
Increases barrier damage by 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 40% (Damage), 32.50% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 40% (Damage), 32.50% (Squad Bonus)
Barrier Damage: 80% (Damage), 65% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Weakening: -25%
Lifted Target Damage: 75%
Enhanced Warp:
Increases damage to lifted targets by 50%.
Weaken armored targets by an additional 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 27.50% (Damage), 20% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 27.5% (Damage), 20% (Squad Bonus)
Barrier Damage: 55% (Damage), 40% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Weakening: -50%
Lifted Target Damage: 125%
Armor-Piercing Ammo
Armor-Piercing Ammo is a lot alike the Warp Ammo power. However, it sacrifices some damage for penetration bonuses against cover and armor. This feature might be very useful for players who want to fire through cover without sacrificing a slot for the piercing mod. Armor-Piercing Ammo is very effective against Atlas, Ravagers and Geth Pyros. It also has pretty decent penetration capabilities against Brutes’ and Cannibals’ armor plates. There is another interesting thing that makes this Armor unique in its kind and this something pierces the Guardian's shield. If you haven’t noticed already, this feature can’t be found in other armor-weakening ammunition types including Cryo Ammo and Warp Ammo. When used with the following guns, Armor-Piercing Ammo can deal 50% more damage: Krysae Sniper Rifle, N7 Typhoon, and Collector SMG. At the same time Javelin, Widow, Black Widow, N7 Valiant, N7 Typhoon, N7 Crusader, N7 Hurricane, Blood Pack Punisher, Executioner Pistol get latent penetration power.
Armor-Piercing Ammo: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Armor-Piercing Ammo
Health Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.50 m
Rank 2: Pierce
Increases ammo's cover penetration by 40%.
Health Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Damage Bonus: 10%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Rank 3: Damage
Increases health and armor damage by 4%.
Health Damage Bonus: 14%
Armor Damage Bonus: 14%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Rank 4: Damage/Squad Bonus
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 6%.
Health Damage Bonus: 20%
Armor Damage Bonus: 20%
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Squad Bonus: squadmates gain your ammo power at 50% effectiveness.
Rank 5: Ammo Capacity/Headshots
Ammo Capacity: increases ammo capacity by 30%.
Headshots: increases headshot damage by 25%.
Rank 6: Damage/Pierce
Damage: increases health and armor damage by 10%.
Health Damage Bonus: 30% (Damage), 24% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 30% (Damage), 24% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Effectiveness: -50%
Penetration: 0.70 m
Pierce: increases ammo's cover-penetration by 60%.
Decreases the effectiveness of armored targets by 25%.
Health Damage Bonus: 20% (Damage), 14% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Damage Bonus: 20% (Damage), 14% (Squad Bonus)
Armor Effectiveness: -75%
Penetration: 1 m
Dominate
Dominate allows your character to take control over organic creatures and make them fight on your side. And, unlike Mass Effect 2, in Mass Effect 3 you can charge this power on almost any enemy including armored, shielded, and barrier-protected organics. However, Banshees, Harvesters and Adjutants are not in the list of the lucky ones. It is highly recommended to use this power on the stronger enemies which includes Phantoms, Ravagers and Brutes. Also, you can use Dominate against minor enemies like Cannibals or Assault Troopers. That won’t make that big difference but at least should distract some of the enemies giving you a perfect window to take those down. By the way: one of the unfortunate things is that unlike Dominate in Mass Effect 2, Dominate in Mass Effect 3 does not produce a biotic barrier for the poor thing under control. At the same time brainwashed enemies will glow in white which makes it nearly impossible to accidently kill the valuable allies. It is a good strategy to target the farthest enemy from you: it will allow him to attack his former teammates from behind at the same time drawing their attention and opening a perfect opportunity to strike without being shot in response. Unfortunately, Dominate is not a stock power and can be obtained only with the Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC and only after you complete it.
Dominate: Power Ranks
Rank 1: Dominate
Disrupt the synaptic harmonics of an organic brain so it can't differentiate between friend and foe. A single affected target will fight on your side for a short time. Targets grow resistant to the power over time.
Recharge Speed: 12 sec
Duration: 10 sec
Rank 2: Recharge Speed
Increases recharge speed by 25%.
Recharge Speed: 9.60 sec
Rank 3: Duration
Increases duration by 30%.
Duration: 13 sec
Rank 4: Recharge Speed/Duration
Recharge Speed: increases recharge speed by 30%.
Recharge Speed: 7.74 sec
Duration: increases duration by 40%.
Duration: 17 sec
Rank 5: Lasting Damage/Frenzy
Damage: inflicts massive nerve damage to the target, doing 50 points of damage per second.
Frenzy: while under the effect of the power, the target does 40% more weapon damage.
Rank 6: Vulnerability/Rage
Vulnerability: the target takes 30% more damage from all sources.
Rage: while under the effect of the power, the target does 60% more weapon damage and takes 50% less damage.
Weapons damage: 100% (Frenzy), 60% (Damage)
Defense Drone
Defense Drone is another great helper that will make the difference on the battlefield and will be helpful in any possible situation. Defense Drone is armed with Mass Accelerator Machine Gun which makes them deadly enough to cope with almost any enemy. The Drone can be used to do different things: you can put it to secure the area, you can use it for suppressing fire or it can be set to guard the territory and alarm you on the approaching enemy. Defense Drones are pretty good at dealing with armored enemies, so when you see one on the other side shooting at you – make sure to find a proper cover. When activated, drones tend to fly around turning into pretty hard to hit targets. When sent form the other side – make sure to avoid them always being ready to run.
Inferno Grenade
Inferno Grenade is a perfect decision for a situation where a group of enemies has to be disabled. Unlike the Sticky Grenade (that is also available for Infiltrator), Inferno Grenade offers a wide-radius damage-over-time attack that can temporarily disable enemies. Also, if you plan to spend a few skill points and get the Inferno Grenade to a bit higher Ranks, you can expect to get a possible total of seven grenades instead (in case you choose Capacity Increase Evolution). Inferno Grenade is effective against different enemies but it is very effective against shielded enemies. Enemies set on fire by Inferno Grenade can be detonated with a power to cause a Fire Explosion. And the best part – unlike Mass Effect 2, in Mass Effect 3, grenade powers no longer have a recharge time. This means that you can use it immediately at any time (of course, if you have them in your inventory).
Power Ranks
Rank 1: Inferno Grenade
Cluster-bomb a small area with incendiary munitions.
Damage Per Second: 100 (150 multiplayer)
Duration: 8 seconds
Radius: 5 m
Rank 2: Max Grenades
Increases grenade capacity by 1.
Rank 3: Damage
Increases damage by 20%.
Damage Per Second: 120 (180 multiplayer)
Rank 4: Damage/Radius
Damage: increases damage by 30%.
Damage Per Second: 150 (225 multiplayer)
Radius: increases impact radius by 30%.
Radius: 6.5 m
Rank 5: Max Grenades/Damage
Max Grenades: increases grenade capacity by 2.
Damage: increases damage by 40%.
Damage Per Second: 190 (285 multiplayer) (Damage), 160 (195 multiplayer) (Radius)
Rank 6: Armor Damage/Radius & Shrapnel
Armor Damage: increases damage to armor by 50%.
Radius & Shrapnel: increases impact radius by 40% (50% multiplayer). Increase shrapnel by 1 fragments [sic].
Radius: 8.5 m (9 multiplayer) (Radius), 7 m (7.5 multiplayer) (Damage)
Weapons of Choice
Assault Rifles
Assault rifle is not Infiltrator’s weapon of choice but at the same time when you use your Tactical Cloak, you can still get damage bonus for the multiple rounds. In other words – you can become pretty great warrior on the field with a gun loaded with the deadly power. For this role the M-15 Vindicator is a perfect choice and the damage bonus from Tactical Cloak will apply to all the three shots. The M-96 Mattock is not a bad decision either providing a bit bigger ammunition reserve and ammo capacity. But, one of the best and definitely my favorite is M-99 Saber. Together with the Tactical Cloak you can turn the M-99 Saber into a decent killing machine as far as the Saber is good enough to act like a sniper rifle.
Heavy Pistols
Choosing a heavy pistol is totally based on your tastes and game strategy you plan to stick to. M-3 Predator is a good choice: it’s simple, easy to use, pretty accurate, reliable but lacks in damage. So, if you are looking for something a bit more powerful, you can pick M-6 Carnifex or M-77 Paladin. Well, even the Executioner Pistol will work fine. Those pistol are great at the distance and some of them (with a few upgrades) can shoot with the accuracy of a decent enough sniper rifle (though, not as deadly). But, if you prefer to fight enemies at the closer distances, I would recommend to stick to something less accurate but more powerful. For this work M-358 Talon will be just great. With a small package of upgrades it can act like a shotgun but with less weigh to worry about. If you are a big fan of extraordinary strategy moves – pick the Salarian Scorpion pistol.
Shotguns
Infiltrator is a power dependent class and you might wanna consider different strategical approaches: you can either pick a low weight shotgun but compensate its damage with Disciple or you can take a heavy shotgun, something like M-300 Claymore, but work on your strategy. One of the most interesting strategies is to pair either the Geth Plasma Shotgun or the Graal Spike Thrower with Tactical Cloak. The thing is that both shotguns won’t break your invisibility while you are shooting but will make it disappear during the reloading process. If you happen to have the Groundside Resistance Pack, I would recommend taking the N7 Piranha. It is fully automatic and is extremely effective against Reaper forces.
Sniper Rifles
Sniper Rifle is exactly what Infiltrator should concentrate his attention on. With the list of great powers you can turn your character into a real stealth, hard to find sniper. If you plan to choose something from the heavy artillery, I would recommend picking either the M-98 Widow or the M-92 Mantis. Well, the Black Widow is not a bad choice either and some players might really appreciate its 3 round clip. If Black Widow is not what you are looking for, do not be shy to try out the Javelin: it is good for spotting cloaked or smoke-concealed targets. M-13 Raptor is perfect for those who enjoy shooting from the weapons with expended clips. This rifle is a good choice for players who are concerned about their weight. For some additional damage you can upgrade it with Armor-piercing Ammo and Sniper Rifle Extended Barrel. Also, let’s not forget about the M-97 Viper and its unique combination of low weight, fast reload speed, low recoil, decent fire rate large reserve and 6 round clip size. It might not be the deadliest sniper rifle in the game and it is very unlikely to kill your opponent with one shot but you can still expect it to be pretty harmful. M-90 Indra is not a bad choice either due to its fully automatic nature. But, from the variety of sniper rifles I would either stop my decision on the Black Widow because of its decent damage and larger ammo package or on the Krysae Sniper Rifle because when combined with Cryo Ammo it turns into a perfect crowd control machine. Though, if you have an opportunity to buy the Groundside Resistance Pack DLC, I would recommend trying out the Kishock Harpoon Gun. Its biggest advantage is that it completely ignores the Shield Gate mechanic allowing you to perform one shot kills on shielded enemies (even on Insanity). On the top of all, it also reloads pretty fast and can be fired from the hip without penalty. And as far as it can be charged before you activate your Tactical Cloak, you can shoot the Kishock Harpoon without breaking your invisibility. It also has pretty great penetration capabilities against shields and is lighter than lots of other sniper rifles. The only major disadvantage of this gun is that its projectiles hit the aimed target a few moment after the shot but this can be compensated a bit with the help of Operational Mastery and a Sniper Rifle Concentration Mod.
Submachine Guns (SMG)
Submachine gun is a perfect addition for almost any sniper rifle due to its high fire rate, fast reload time and tolerable recoil. It is very effective in the close range battles and with a few improvements can be turned into a middle range weapon. Another great thing about submachine guns (SMGs) is that they are the lightest guns in the game meaning that you do not have to worry about the weight. M-9 Tempest is a good choice for a starter. The M-12 Locust is a decent SMG too. The M-25 Hornet should also be added to the list of potential winners but its high recoil might turn into a serious problem for some players. The Blood Pack Punisher can also work wonders for an Infiltrator.
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