The Classic Infiltrator (Human Infiltrator) {A Long Post}

Another slow day means another opportunity to help those who need good ways to play as the basic Human classes. And with that weekend event coming around the corner, you might want to try something try this class, as it is basically dependent on Tactical Cloak and has very little weight restrictions. Do note that every level 1 Human Infiltrator w/o a respec card has a point into Tactical Cloak.

While I am hiding from Cleetus (formerly Curtis the Imaginary Critic), I will give the low-down on the "classic" style of playing the Infiltrator. The only reason it is "classic" is because ever since ME1, the Infiltrator class specialized in the use of sniper rifles. This guide will be more cut and dry than usual because of the wealth of information that needs to be mentioned.

The plan of using this character is simple: take out the critical targets. Typically, these are medium enemies that have a decent amount of wave budget points and can pose a significant threat if not taken care of (Engineers, Guardians, Phantoms, Pyros, Hunters, Marauders, etc). While there are times to focus on the boss enemies when they threaten the team, note that killing bosses just makes bosses spawn again until the budget is depleted and inefficient at finishing the wave in a quick manner.

Here is the build that I use that is quite useful on a variety of difficulties and against all three enemies.

The reason I put zero points into Cryo Blast is that the travel time of the projectile is generally incompatible with sniping and without it, weight becomes significantly less important due to Tactical Cloak's recharge mechanism. Basically the less time spent in cloak, the faster the recharge is. If someone can word this better/ expand on this /explain it in more detail in the comments, I would greatly appreciate it. Plus, Sticky Grenades can get me out of a problem situation fast and can segment enemies away from each other, much like with a Shotgun Infiltrator.

Now then, the main question is what choice of weapon to bring.

Sidearms - For people who are confident in sniping at any range (not me), a side arm is not necessary. If you are not confident at short range sniping, pick up a sidearm. It could be anything; a Phaeston, Carnifex, Phalanx, Tempest, Hurricane, you name it. I would recommend those as they are good at a variety of ranges and they are relatively lightweight. Most of the time these sidearms will be useful moving from cover to cover and finishing off weakened enemies at the end of the wave.

Sniper Rifle- While there are a huge amount of sniper rifles, I can only really recommend these below. The pattern that you will see is:

Sniper Rifle- Advantage, Advantage, etc. | Disadvantage, Disadvantage, etc. (short comment)

While on Bronze and Silver shield gating is hardly noticeable on single shot snipers, on Gold and Platinum it becomes obvious that most single shot snipers don't cut it when killing enemies as a Human Infiltrator. Hence, multi-shot snipers are preferred weapon of choice.

Black Widow- High damage/shot, innate 25cm piercing, syncs well with Tactical Cloak cool-down to reload cancel | Ultra Rare, weighty, slow ROF compared to other snipers, low clip capacity (My personal favorite sniper rifle as it can effectively deal with armor)

Valiant- Good damage/shot, good spare ammo count, fast reload, decent ROF | Only available as an N7 Ultra Rare as a reward for weekend events (This does a better job against non-armored targets compared to the Black Widow, while the Black Widow does a better job against armored targets)

Viper- Uncommon, excellent spare ammo count and capacity, lightweight, good ROF | On the lower end of damage/shot, only gets two shots in cloak (This is a good sniper rifle for the beginner sniper but as better sniper rifles become accessible, its power diminishes relative to others)

Krysae- High damage/shot especially vs armor, has AoE damage, can stagger Phantoms, has 2 zoom levels | Low space ammo count, slow RoF, awkward to handle, projectile can lag, proximity fuse is difficult to accustom to (Despite the nerfs to it, it is still a decent weapon that now requires some dexterity to operate)

Harpoon Gun- Excellent damage/shot, bypasses shield gating, can be charged for 175% damage and charge can be held while cloaked, can be fired when cloaked, can pierce armor plating on Guardians and Cannibals, fast reload speed | Suffers from projectile lag, cannot charge when cloaked, only one shot per cloak cycle, low powered scope (Unless you understand this weapon well, I would shy away from it)

Indra- Excellent RoF, good DPS, can prime targets with ammo powers well, fast reload speed, lightweight | Ultra Rare, burns through ammo quickly, is less effective against armor, low powered scope, may have recoil issues, only a fraction of the clip gets the cloak damage boost (I have an unfair bias against this gun, but it is pretty damn good overall)

Ammo- Ammo consumables enhance the lethality of a sniper rifle by a large margin. Personally, there are three ammo types I would use with this character. The first is Warp Ammo, as it does a flat increase in damage to the weapon. I would say this would be generic, but effective if you are unsure what enemy type you will be facing. The second is Cryo Ammo, which with the help of the Tactical Cloak damage bonus will freeze any target you shoot at. Very good if you are not a good shot and want an easy follow up shot (like me). Finally, Disruptor Ammo is useful if you want to strip shields effectively and set up for Tech Bursts.

That was a lot of text, but it isn't the whole story. There is a lot more information to be had, but I would prefer it if you asked the questions. The community is certainly smarter than me and can help you if you post comments down there. Most importantly, have fun out there. Fun is pretty fun.

Did you just change my name from Curtis to Cleetus? I AM COMING FOR YOU SON OF A BITCH REPUBLICAN SHREDDER!- And that is my cue to go. Goodbye and have a blast!