Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Guide: Classes, Games, Opponents, Unlockables, etc.

I never really expected to say this of any of BioWare's games (which, until recently, were exclusively single-player experiences), but one of the high points of Mass Effect 3 is its multiplayer mode. There are few things more satisfying than rocketing across the battlefield to crush an enemy into paste as a Vanguard, or holding them in stasis as an Adept while a nearby soldier tears them to ribbons with Carnage.

As I've said before, my one gripe with ME3's multiplayer is the unlock system, but that's a small concern at best. Aside from that stumbling point, you've got a surprisingly entertaining, reasonably deep experience waiting for you, made all the more enjoyable if you figure out how to dominate the battlefield.

Which brings us to the purpose of this Mass Effect 3 guide... to help you take on a galaxy at war.

Article brought to you by: Mass Effect 3

Click on any of these shortcuts to see the different sections of our Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Guide:

• Introduction
• Choosing your Class
  • The Adept
  • The Soldier
  • The Infiltrator
  • The Engineer
  • The Sentinel
  • The Vanguard
• The Games
• The Opponents
  • Cerberus
  • Geth
  • Reapers
• Unlockables and Galactic Readiness

Introduction

As with the single player game, you've got the full six Mass Effect 3 classes to choose from. There are, however, a few differences between multiplayer and the vanilla Mass Effect 3 experience. First, you'll be creating a new character for multiplayer.

Second, leveling caps at 20. Once your character reaches that point, you can promote them (unlocking them as a war asset in the single-player game, and resetting everything except unlocks and customization options).

One of the big selling points of Mass Effect 3 multiplayer for me was the ability to play as a race other than human. Unfortunately, you're going to have to do some pretty serious legwork in order to unlock anything beyond that, grinding for credits in order to buy "content packs" which may or may not include the character / race you're looking to play.

Choosing your Class

In truth, there's really no "best class" in Mass Effect 3. Each class has its strengths and its weaknesses, and which you choose ultimately depends on your play-style, more than anything else. Here, I'll detail the various classes, and what abilities are available for each race that utilizes the class:

The Adept

Specialization: Biotic

Roles: Support / Crowd Control

Ideal Loadout: Light weapons. You want to maximize power recharge time, so loading yourself up like a walking weapons platform is a very bad idea.

Strengths: Biotic abilities are downright nasty. The Adept is one of the best classes in the game when it comes to keeping your opponents down, with abilities like stasis, pull, throw, and singularity designed for total control of the battlefield. Combine that with heavy damage powers like Warp and Shockwave, and you've got a recipe for total destruction.

Weaknesses: In early levels, you're going to suck. There's no getting around it; you're never going to truly be able to come into your own until you've gotten the chance to level up your abilities. What's more, beefier enemies such as Banshees, Atlases, and Geth Primes are your worst nightmare. As the "caster" class of ME3 multiplayer, they also tend to be pretty squishy.

Races:

Human [Warp, Singularity, Shockwave, Alliance Training, Fitness (Adept)]

Asari [Stasis, Warp, Throw, Asari Justicar, Fitness (Adept)]

Drell [Reave, Pull, Cluster Grenade, Drell Assassin, Fitness (Adept)]

Play If:

• You prefer biotic abilities to tech powers.
• You enjoy directing the flow of battles and taking control of the situation.
• You don't mind being in a supporting role, and relying on your teammates.
• You prefer to hang back, and don't have a particularly aggressive play style.

Avoid If:

• You're looking to cause a bit more death and destruction on the battlefield.
• Your play style is more "in your face", and you want to be the one racking up kills. 
• You want to focus more on weapons than abilities.
• You'd rather go the "tech" route.

Tips:

• Stay with your team. Some classes are easily able to manage going off by themselves- you aren't one of them.
• While you should generally max abilities like pull and stasis first, ensure you unlock all of your biotic powers as soon as possible, in order to pull off biotic combos.
• Warp works great against armor and should always be used on targets already affected by other biotic abilities.
• Reave is great for taking down shields and barriers.

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