Mass Effect 2 Adept Guide

Mass Effect 2 is set in a sci-fi universe, but it still has something like magic. Called Biotics, this power allows some individuals to manipulate the world with their mind, throwing opponents into the air or sucking them into singularities. Sound awesome? It is, and this guide will get you started.

click to enlarge

Because of this mechanic, playing an Adept well requires you to plan ahead more than with, say, a Soldier. If you run to an advantageous position only to find that the cooldown on the power you want to use isn't over you may waste your advantage. Cooldowns are set numbers, which improve as Shepard learns new skills.

Another important piece of knowledge is the fact that most powers are not able to affect an opponent who has defenses, such as shielding, armor, or Biotic barriers, currently active. You'll need to rip through those either using Warp or your weapons before you're able to unleash your full might. You'll need to plan your battles accordingly. Because you're so dependent on those defenses being down, you'll want to bring squad members that are capable of dealing with the defenses of opponents you expect to meet. For example, if you plan to fight enemies with shields, then make sure someone on your team has overload.

These limitations can be annoying, but they're necessary trade-offs. Adepts can very easily kill large groups of enemies who have lost their defenses, and the game would be a cake-walk if Adepts could unleash their full fury at any time.

Damage: 120/140/160

Cooldown: 6 seconds

Radius: 3/4/5 meters

Force: 400/550/700 newtons

Warp is the main nuke of the Adept. It can be used against opponents with defenses, and is crucial for taking them down. Adepts should be using this as frequently as possible. At the fourth rank players can choose between Heavy Warp, which increases damage to 200 against a single target, or Unstable Warp, which does 160 damage but increases the radius to seven meters. I recommend Heavy Warp, because it is usually the toughest opponents which have the most defenses to peel away, and Heavy Warp helps a great deal in bringing them down.

click to enlarge

Force: 500/700/900 newtons

Throw does what you'd expect - it throws a single opponent into the air. The distance an opponent will be throw depends on their weight. Singularity and Pull reduce the opponents weight, so Throw is a good follow-up to those powers. At fourth rank players can choose between Heavy Throw, which increases force to 1200 newtons, or Throw Field, which gives throw a radius of 3 meters. Both are useful, so the choice is yours. But I do recommend coordinating your pick with Pull, since you'll be using the Pull-Throw combo a lot.

click to enlarge

Duration: 20/25/30 seconds

Impact Radius: 1.25/1.5/1.75 meters

Hold Duration: 5/6/7 seconds

Maximum number of targets: 2/3/4

Singularity creates a energy sphere which draws enemies into it. They are helpless while held by the Singularity. This is a great way to disable groups of opponents pressuring your flanks and can be used to draw opponents in for an AOE attack. At fourth rank players can choose Heavy Singularity of Wide Singularity. Heavy increases duration to 45 seconds, hold to 9 seconds, and the number of targets to 6. Wide increases radius to 3 meters. I prefer Wide Singularity because the duration of a normal rank 3 singularity is already long and there isn't a great deal of benefit to be had by making it longer.

click to enlarge

Duration: 5/7/9 seconds

Pull puts an enemy into the air and levitates the enemy towards the Adept. This makes them helpless and vulnerable to attack. When used in conjunction with Throw, Pull can do a great amount of damage. At fourth rank players can choose Heavy Pull, which increases duration to 12 seconds, or Pull Field, which gives Pull a radius of 3 meters. I prefer Pull Field because the duration of 9 seconds on a rank 3 pull is already long enough to kill most helpless opponents.

click to enlarge

Shockwaves: 8/10/12

Radius: 1.5/2/2.5

Force: 300/400/500 newtons

Shockwave is a new Adept power for Mass Effect 2. It sends a number of shocks along the ground in the direction of the target. Each "shockwave" is like a small explosive which throws enemies into the air and does damage as a result. Shockwave is a great direct-damage power against groups of opponents, but the Pull-Throw combo does seem more damaging overall. At fourth rank, players can choose Heavy or Improved shockwave. Heavy increases the force to 700 newtons, while Improved increases radius to 3.5. I prefer the increased radius, because AOE havok is what Shockwave seems made for, and a Pull-Throw combo does more damage to a single target.

Biotic Mastery is the Biotic's general-purpose improvement ability. It has the following affects.

Health: +5/10/15%

Power Recharge Time: -5/10/15%

Paragon/Renegade: +20/40/70%

At forth rank players an choose Bastion or Nemesis. Bastion increases health by 20%, decreases recharge time by 20%, increases Paragon/Renegade by 100%, and increases Power Duration by 15%.

Nemesis increases health by 15%, decreases power recharge time by 20%, increases Paragon/Renegade by 70%, and increases Power Damage by 15%.

Of the two, I recommend Nemesis. The increase in power damage is much more useful than the increase in duration. Singularity and Pull already last long enough at rank 3.

The Adept can use SMGs and Pistols. For more information about these weapons, please see Bright Hub's Mass Effect 2 Weapons Guide.