Good class to play in Hardcore?

[Fried Noodles]

I'm not skilled or patient enough to play Insanity, I think.
I played ME2 a bit when the game launched, but haven't touched it since.
I've also never played ME3 and am working my way to it soon.

I just finished my playthrough of ME1 as a Soldier.
I thought having no offensive powers would be boring, but specializing in ARs and customizing my weapons for high heat dispersion and then running around with my gun constantly blazing was pretty fun.

Mechanics in ME2 are a bit different. Can't really do that.

I like biotics but shield and armor protection makes it seem unreliable in this game.

I believe I played as an Engineer and Infiltrator back around 2010...

I was considering carrying on as Soldier or possibly trying out Sentinel.
I have most of the DLCs installed and was planning on using the Mattock AR if I go Soldier, or wait to train in ARs if I pick one of the other classes.

If I go Sentinel, I may attempt to do Kasumi's loyalty mission straight away as soon as I get the Normandy... try to get that nice SMG.

What do you recommend?

[Dethlane]

Pretty much depends on your gameplay preferences, since any class can be good (except maybe adept, since you can't use biotics on protected enemies) or bad.
Soldier: all-around guns specialist with (one of) the best ability in game - adrenaline rush.
Infiltrator: sniper with some tech damage and cloak (which is a frequent lifesaver on insanity).
Vanguard: insanely fun to play (smart charging ftw), but quite punishing if used improperly (though it's probably not that much of an issue on hardcore).
Sentinel: kinda like a beefier ability user (mostly tech).
Engineer: tech abilities plus drones to distract enemies (another lifesaver).
Adept: not much usage with cc being unavailable most of times. Pick if you want a challenge.

Also, if you pick a class which uses SMG, I highly recommend beelining for Kasumi and her mission, since locust is rad.

[KRON]

Originally posted by Dethlane:

Also, if you pick a class which uses SMG, I highly recommend beelining for Kasumi and her mission, since locust is rad.

Locust is op af in Mass Effect 2. It's has higher damage per shot than most of the assault rifles(the only exceptions being the Vindicator and Mattock), is extremly accurate even on the move and has basically no recoil. Also it has the same damage multipliers against armor, barriers and shields as assault rifles(i.e. x1.25 / x1.25 / x1.25 instead of x1.0 / x1.5 / x1.5 for armor/barriers/shields respectively). The only disadvanages are comparetively low rate of fire and low ammo capacity in the clip, but since it's extremly accurate and has no recoil, it's one of the most effective weapons in the game. It definitely outstrips any heavy pistol in DPS, even against armor.

[MENACING!]

Adept is not weak at all, every class needs to deal with defenses. As an Adept, you want to focus on one enemy so you can chain your biotics on him after you take his defenses down. The AoE will take care of the rest, mostly. With practice, you can reliably strip defenses really fast. Bring Samara or Miranda, they help your Adept a lot especially Samara.

Vanguard is my other favorite, on hardcore you really need to be careful on not charging midlessly. Use charge as a defensive move, it refills you shields and staggers enemies. Of course you can use it offensively but in Hardcore you die super fast so be careful.