The Hookshot (Batarian Brawler Vanguard)

Preface

At least the worst of the midterms are over, so I have more spare time again to write. All these new characters seem to be fun so far, so I feel pretty bad for/u/kojak2091 by constantly writing about them, because I make him have to manually add my posts to his list and add even more length to my e-peen.

Introduction

When first looking at the powers on the Batarian Brawler, I thought I would never enjoy playing him as discussed here. Biotic Charge is probably the power I hate the most, because I hate getting in the face of my enemies and then promptly dying from being too close. Even the intense damage reduction from Blade Armor and heavy melee won't stop me from dying.

But then there is Lash, a power with one of the highest theoretical forces in the game (2520 N with appropriate equipment on an Ex-Cerberus kit) and an excellent power to whip crowds of enemies into submission. With its short cool-down (even on Blade Armor), it certainly makes for an interesting class that plays like an ME1 Vanguard (a tanky biotic).

Biotic Charge

As you can clearly see (or not, considering this is text), Curtis is breathing down my neck quite uncomfortably at the concept of NOT having Charge on a Vanguard. This is creeping me out, but my response to this is saying that I just don't like Charge. It may turn off some people, but it doesn't make a character utter crap when its 'signature power' is removed.

THANK GOODNESS HE FINALLY LEFT NOW I CAN WRITE IN PEACE.

Passives

I'm always a fan of full defensive Fitness and power damage evolutions in Batarian Enforcer, so those evolutions were promptly taken. As for the final evolution in Batarian Enforcer, I believe most weapons will allow for a sufficient cool-down on Lash (even with Blade Armor), so I see the extra weapon damage and spare ammo is a better option usually.

The weapon damage part will come in handy, because this build is not proficient against boss enemies. More on that later.

Blade Armor

Ordinarily, I'm not a fan of Blade Armor. Its bonuses are mostly geared to close combat and the power has no purge bonus. Both of these are not good in my eyes.

Fortunately, Blade Armor can be specced to make the Batarian tougher than a Starcraft II destructible rock. 40% damage reduction is nice on top of 1425 base shields/health, while the 15% shield recharge rate can sync well with other passives/equipment to boost the defensive strength of this Batarian.

Just turn on once at the beginning of the game and never touch that button again, much like Devastator Mode.

Lash

Easily the most important part of this build. As far as evolutions are concerned, the base damage is not enough to warrant damage evolutions vs the other options (detonation and power recharge). The final evolution is most critical. Shield Penetration will allow Lash to toss around ANY enemy that has Health. Combine the above fact with Lash's ability to detonate any Power Combo (on enemies with Health) and Lash can kill the hopes of all enemies without Armor.

The main weakness of Lash is its general inability to deal with enemies that have Armor. This is where weapons play a key role, ideally with high damage per shot and low weight. Fortunately, Lash will stun most enemies with Armor due to its high force (1590N with no equipment).

Also, be courteous to your teammates when Lashing enemies. Because of its intense force, Lash might send an enemy careening over the edge of the map, netting a kill. It might also send a Phantom or Hunter behind your teammates, killing them. Lash also has a small (~ 1 second) period where it can prime Biotic Explosions, so that must be co-ordinated if a teammate is sending a detonating power like Throw or Biotic Charge.

This power is probably the closest any power gets to whipping enemies and making them your servant. And like any loyal servant, they are willing to take a bullet (or several) to the face without resistance.

Fun tangent- Lash, like Shockwave, makes the Batarian heavy melee act wonky. If you Lash and get a heavy melee lock on a target, two things will happen. Either you will follow the enemy while heavy meleeing (a la Shockwave, ignore my terrible singing) OR your heavy melee will continue as normal and the fist will magically teleport to the enemy's face when it hits the thin air. It can lead to some amusing moments.

Weapons

Since Lash is great against mooks but not bosses, the weapon of choice should reflect that. So any weapon that is great against armor should be the weapon of choice, though weight should also be of concern. Ideally, they should do high damage per shot, but not weigh so much it drags Lash into a lengthy cool-down.

I personally enjoy using the Saber, Graal Spike Thrower, Kishock Harpoon Gun, and Geth Plasma Shotgun, as those weapons can finish off those Lashed mooks while dealing great damage against armor without overloading the Batarian's weight capacity.

Play-style

Because there's no Biotic Charge, I feel obligated to describe the play-style I use. Remember how in Mass Effect 1 the Vanguard was essentially an Adept with good defenses. It was both capable of crowd control and soaking high amounts of damage.

So the basic game plan is to use Lash to control an enemy, by either ripping them off the floor or staggering them, and shooting enemies when they are vulnerable. If the enemy is not vulnerable, just keep Lashing until they are. Don't be afraid of being out in the open because this class ranks up there with Sentinels in terms of tanking ability.

If you are feeling particularly cruel, just keep Lashing an enemy over and over until they die. It's rather cathartic.

Conclusion

Back before Biotic Charge in Mass Effect 1, Vanguards acted like meaty Adepts. Capable of tanking (Blade Armor and Fitness) and crowd control (Lash), Vanguards were a great asset to any squad.

The Batarian Brawler Vanguard is capable of reviving the old style of Vanguard play, where they controlled crowds not by drawing aggression using Biotic Charge but by using biotic talents to separate one enemy from the group to be promptly killed.

And thus I present to you: The Hookshot.

Questions, comments, concerns all go down in that little cool section called "comments". The orange mail I receive when you post down there usually makes me giddy.