The Firewall (Geth Trooper Soldier)

Alternative Title: Robo-Ahab.

Preface

Just would like to remind you (irrelevant for people in the future) that we have a banner competition and we (the mods) would love to have as many banners as possible to choose from. You will get an internet cookie from me if you put an Ex-Cerberus operative in the banner.

Introduction

So the Geth Trooper is generally built either by pumping everything into Flamer and its colossal damage output, or by putting nothing into Flamer and making it a weapons platform. But what about a third route, where the two are mixed?

I love hybridizing, because it makes it the most fun for me to mix several styles at once to prevent spamming and boredom. To do so, I have a few goals in mind that I want to accomplish. This build is designed to achieve each goal sufficiently

GOALS:

• Versatile Attacks (both Flamer and Weapon)
• High Defensive Shielding
• Moderate Cooldown (no overencumberance, but weapon weight is not a main focus when choosing which to use)
• Flamer Ease of Use

I believe this build satisfies those goals sufficiently.

Flamer

Since Flamer is a pretty good power, dumping 6 points into it is not a bad idea. The Reach evolution was taken to sync the Flamer range (now 15m) with the base detection range of Hunter Mode (15m). This is a simple way to gauge whether a target can be toasted or not by Flamer. If you see red hexagons on the target (for some reason BioWare loves hexagons. Check out Tech Armor, Fortification, Tactical Scan, etc.), then that target can be hurt by Flamer.

Damage was taken because the recharge speed on Flamer isn't abysmal and more damage output faster is always a nice idea. Flamer can even be canceled early for a faster recharge if need be. Finally, Shield Damage was taken so that Flamer gets the same DPS on Shields, Barriers, and Armor so that Flamer doesn't get "wasted" on any of those defenses. Considering that (# of enemies with Shields/Barriers) > (# of enemies with Armor), I view generally view Shield Damage as the better option.

Exception to the Shield Damage rule- If you have a Shield/Barrier stripping weapon like the Reegar or Acolyte, Shield Damage is generally a waste as there won't be that many Barriers/Shields to get rid of with Flamer.

Aggressive Passives (Hunter Mode, Networked AI)

Hunter Mode is designed to augment Flamer damage, not all weapon damage. Therefore, only 5 ranks went into Hunter Mode. Sometimes when situations get hairy (drone escorts, hacking circles, multiple enemies in an open area, etc.) I turn Hunter Mode off to get that extra shielding. This is the main reason I did not choose the Rank 6 Damage evolution in Hunter Mode, as I do not get its benefit when Hunter Mode is turned off.

Networked AI also is designed to boost Flamer damage and thus 5 ranks were taken to increase power damage. This doesn't depend on Hunter Mode being on/off, so I view the 15% power damage evolution (Rank 5 Networked AI) being better than 10% extra damage on Hunter Mode (Rank 6 Hunter Mode). If you attach an ammo power to the Harpoon Gun (or charge it up a little before shooting), it will easily break the 2025 Health threshold on killing lowly troopers in one hit.

Defensive Passives (Fortification, Advanced Hardware)

Go 5 ranks deep into Fortification to get the 30% Power Damage evolution, with Rank 4 being Durability. Fortification will be turned on once at the beginning of the match and never turned off. The power damage and damage reduction benefits outweigh the increased cooldown it gives the Trooper. Recall that cooldown is not super important due to Flamer's recharge mechanic.

While I would like to have 6 ranks in Advanced Hardware, I know I can supplement Rank 6 with a Cyclonic Modulator and several gears, but Rank 5 can only be supplemented by Shield Power Cells and the Multicapacitor gear. So I only go 5 ranks deep to get the Shield Recharge evolution. Very useful when constantly under fire from Phantoms and Scions.

Weapon/Equipment of Choice

I like to use the Harpoon Gun because it leads to a decent cooldown (~120% at X), it bypasses shieldgating (property of the weapon), it can be charged for more damage, and it will almost always apply the ammo effect (Cryo Ammo, Disruptor Ammo, etc.) when shot. Conveniently, it also benefits from the Operative Package gear. Other high-powered, medium weight weapons like the Graal and GPS also fit in quite well with the Geth Trooper in a similar manner.

Fun fact with Explosive Ammo and Harpoon Gun- While Explosive Ammo is underwhelming on most weapons, it shines on the Harpoon Gun. When a non-boss enemy gets hit with a harpoon, he/she will stagger a little bit backwards due to the impact of the harpoon. After that animation is over (~ 1 second), the harpoon explodes, staggering him/her AGAIN for roughly a second. Factoring in reload cancelling, the Harpoon Gun is a staggering machine with Explosive Ammo. On bosses, the Explosive ammo will hurt any enemy near the boss. Useful if the boss has a harem of troopers around it.

Now suppose lag is a big issue and you don't want to risk it with a projectile weapon. My first recommendation goes to the Collector Sniper Rifle. If equipped with double piercing mods and with its innate high ammo effect applicability, the CSR can deal unheard of amounts of damage in a short time. Be careful with the ammo management, as that is the CSR's main weakness. Burst fire to prevent the ammo from draining too fast. If that is too much of a risk for you, many assault rifles will fulfill the weapon role. Personal favorites include the Saber, Valkyrie, and Collector Assault Rifle.

For equipment, either choose to improve Flamer damage (Power Amplifier Modules, Omni-Capacitor gear, etc.) or go for more shielding (Cyclonic Modulators, Stronghold Package gear, Multicapacitor gear, etc.). Weapon and ammo choice will depend on what you have equipped, which depends on your preference.

Conclusion

While this Geth Trooper doesn't maximize points into one area or another, it does try to reach a balance in Flamer, weapon damage, and defensive shielding. I personally enjoy the hybrid play to keep the game fresh and interesting.

Do you like weapon/power hybrid play? Do you have a favorite hybrid class? Do you make your Geth look like a lizard? Comments can let everyone know the answers to these questions. And don't forget to have fun, even though you are probably playing the game for enjoyment.