Playing the soldier class for the first time!

[Groovebox]

I love the ME series. This is my first time playing on PC and the first time playing with the soldier. When I get to ME 2 or ME 3 I was thinking of switching the class-type, but in the meantime, what do you guys suggest for my skill tree? I'm laying pretty heavy into the assault rifle. Any tips from the community would be great!

[AbedsBrother]

Overkill (on the Assault Rifle skill tree). Level it to the max.

Kaidan's my go-to squadmate for a Soldier class (good biotics and some tech to help with hacking / looting). With Soldier-Shep + Kaidan, you can literally take any other team-mate as the third squad member, and you'll have an effective trio.

[Groovebox]

Originally posted by AbedsBrother:

Overkill (on the Assault Rifle skill tree). Level it to the max.

Kaidan's my go-to squadmate for a Soldier class (good biotics and some tech to help with hacking / looting). With Soldier-Shep + Kaidan, you can literally take any other team-mate as the third squad member, and you'll have an effective trio.

Thank you! My first playthrough I used a sentinel. That was so long ago and all I remember was waiting for all my powers to cool down. I figured the soldier was a way to work around that and use some cool weapons that I never touched in a Mass Effect game.

[RogueJedi86]

I would actually say stick with Soldier into ME2 and ME3, don't change it. I played a Soldier in ME1, kept at it into ME2, and ME2 improved upon everything, turning Adrenaline Rush into a very useful bullet time ability, and giving a bunch of ammo powers to Soldier for whatever type of foes they encounter. ME2 in general improved all classes, as you're probably aware. And with how you're favoring Assault Rifle in ME1, you probably already know that Soldier is the only class that can use the AR in ME2, at least without the Collector Ship upgrade.

I used Garrus and Wrex exclusively in ME1 (,minus swapping in Liara for Noveria for thematic story reasons). Garrus is half-tech/half-combat, and Wrex is half-biotics/half-combat, so the triple dose of combat made us into a powerhouse team. It was very hard to take us down, while also having a bit of tech and biotics to throw around when those situations arose.

I too love the Assault Rifle, with Sniper Rifle as my secondary weapon. I remember packing a lot of kick into the mods for my sniper rifle, so that it overheated with every shot, but each shot was packed with enough explosive splash damage to kill foes that were hiding behind cover, simply by shooting at their cover near where they were ducked. On the other hand, my assault rifle was modded to never overheat, for nearly continuous fire. It made a great mix between long range and close range.

[protëin]

Originally posted by RogueJedi86:

ME2 in general improved all classes, as you're probably aware.

I really wouldn't say that. I agree, the Soldier class is better in ME2, but as someone who plays infiltrator: where did more than half of my skills go from the first game? The classes were dumbed down, but that's actually what made the Soldier class work better in the second game.
I love ME2, but the skill system is way too simplified in that part of the trilogy.

As for OP, upgrade whatever weapon you're using (AR in your case), I don't think you should use more than two, pistols are unnecessary anyway. Get combat armor if you feel you're getting shot a lot, get first aid if you bring glass cannon squad mates (they're worth it, and you can upgrade this skill on their skill tree if you want to), adrenaline burst is fun, but you need to up other skills before it's worth taking IMO, and get Fitness if you have problems with larger group of enemies/bosses, and your heavy armor and shields are not enough.

Soldier can be really fun if you love shooting with awesome weapons, it gets better in the later parts of the series, but always lacks variety skill-wise.

[Groovebox]

Originally posted by RogueJedi86:

I would actually say stick with Soldier into ME2 and ME3, don't change it. I played a Soldier in ME1, kept at it into ME2, and ME2 improved upon everything, turning Adrenaline Rush into a very useful bullet time ability, and giving a bunch of ammo powers to Soldier for whatever type of foes they encounter. ME2 in general improved all classes, as you're probably aware. And with how you're favoring Assault Rifle in ME1, you probably already know that Soldier is the only class that can use the AR in ME2, at least without the Collector Ship upgrade.

I used Garrus and Wrex exclusively in ME1 (,minus swapping in Liara for Noveria for thematic story reasons). Garrus is half-tech/half-combat, and Wrex is half-biotics/half-combat, so the triple dose of combat made us into a powerhouse team. It was very hard to take us down, while also having a bit of tech and biotics to throw around when those situations arose.

I too love the Assault Rifle, with Sniper Rifle as my secondary weapon. I remember packing a lot of kick into the mods for my sniper rifle, so that it overheated with every shot, but each shot was packed with enough explosive splash damage to kill foes that were hiding behind cover, simply by shooting at their cover near where they were ducked. On the other hand, my assault rifle was modded to never overheat, for nearly continuous fire. It made a great mix between long range and close range.

Thanks! I really never thought about sticking with the soldier class for the whole trilogy. I always thought it was cool to have biotic powers, so I always picked something that was a mix of soldier and biotic. I'll give this run-through an all soldier run-through. It'll make the combat challenging for sure by learning a new way to play.

Thanks for reply, mate!

[RogueJedi86]

Plus I feel like higher difficulties punish non-Soldier classes. I don't remember if it applies to ME1, but in ME2, most enemies have armor and barriers on higher difficulties, and biotics can't be used while those defenses are up, so you have to fire your weapons to whittle those down to the health pool, and if you've gunned down that much of their protection, the remaining health will go down with just a few more shots. It almost seems lopsidedly unfair in favor of Soldier, who also has ammo powers to eat away at those defenses even quicker.

Plus combat in general is about hiding behind cover and popping out to shoot when you can do so safely, which just falls solidly into the Soldier's expertise. I wasn't aware that's considered "a new way to play". All of that cover and barriers and abilities stuff may apply less in ME1, but you're already a Soldier, so it just dovetails nicely into playing Soldier in ME2 where it matters a little more.

Being a Soldier powerhouse, you can always bring along more tech and biotic focused companions and micromanage their powers on foes. I remember leveling Garrus' Hacking in ME1 to ensure I could open all those chests in bases for valuable credits and loot, another reason I took him along on all my missions.

[EliteSarge]

I could never finish a series playthrough with Soldier. Finished the first two games as Soldier but couldn't finish the third as Soldier. Mainly because its the most boring class to play. Doesn't matter to me how strong they can be/are, it doesn't change the fact that its so damn boring.

[AbedsBrother]

Originally posted by EliteSarge:

I could never finish a series playthrough with Soldier. Finished the first two games as Soldier but couldn't finish the third as Soldier. Mainly because its the most boring class to play. Doesn't matter to me how strong they can be/are, it doesn't change the fact that its so damn boring.

Made especially boring in ME3 by the fact that regardless of class, Shepard can equip any weapon.

[Groovebox]

Originally posted by AbedsBrother:

Originally posted by EliteSarge:

I could never finish a series playthrough with Soldier. Finished the first two games as Soldier but couldn't finish the third as Soldier. Mainly because its the most boring class to play. Doesn't matter to me how strong they can be/are, it doesn't change the fact that its so damn boring.

Made especially boring in ME3 by the fact that regardless of class, Shepard can equip any weapon.

That doesn't make it fun? Different style of gameplay?

[RogueJedi86]

Originally posted by Groovebox:

Originally posted by AbedsBrother:

Made especially boring in ME3 by the fact that regardless of class, Shepard can equip any weapon.

That doesn't make it fun? Different style of gameplay?

If I recall, weapons in ME3 have varying wights, and power cooldowns are longer the more weight you're carrying. So again, Soldier comes out on top for not having as many active ability cooldowns to worry about. You can bring the big guns all you want.

[AbedsBrother]

Originally posted by Groovebox:

Originally posted by AbedsBrother:

Made especially boring in ME3 by the fact that regardless of class, Shepard can equip any weapon.

That doesn't make it fun? Different style of gameplay?

In ME1, only the Soldier class could equip any weapon, giving a motivation to play that class. In ME3, any class can equip any weapon, reducing (my) interest in playing the Soldier.

[Groovebox]

Originally posted by AbedsBrother:

Originally posted by Groovebox:

That doesn't make it fun? Different style of gameplay?

In ME1, only the Soldier class could equip any weapon, giving a motivation to play that class. In ME3, any class can equip any weapon, reducing (my) interest in playing the Soldier.

Ah, Got it. Thanks for the clarification.