Soldier Guide (Mass Effect 2)

The Soldier is a pure combat specialist who focuses on draining enemy defenses and dealing out constant damage.

Overview
Not much has changed for the Soldier class in Mass Effect 2. It still has the widest variety of weapons available, with its only task being to deal out damage. There are new powers available to the class to complement the new combat system, but combat flow remains largely unchanged. Damage largely comes from the class-specific assault rifle, while the sniper rifle can be used to lock down enemy snipers and heavy weapons.

Powers
The player will gain a maximum of 51 Squad Points from levels 1-30. This means a maximum of five powers can be fully evolved. The class comes with six default powers with the ability to add one more later in the game.

Active Powers
Adrenaline Rush

This power slows down your surroundings by 50% and lasts for five seconds. Damage percentage increases for the duration to compensate for slowed rate of fire. It is best used when popping out of cover, in order to line up shots and chip away at enemy health, while taking less damage from weapons fire for the duration. Be sure to check that your weapon has a fresh thermal clip before activating the power, otherwise it will be wasted with a proportionately slow reload sequence. Rush is also useful if you find yourself flanked, as it allows you to hastily retreat for better cover. Evolving the power allows you to choose between taking 50% less damage (Hardened) or increasing the slowdown to 70% (Heightened). Additionally Adrenaline Rush provides a +100% weapon damage modifier, while Heightened Adrenaline Rush boosts this modifier to +140%. Although the game doesn't acknowledge the existence of this damage modifier it's presence has been confirmed by Bioware.

Concussive Shot

Fires a high-impact shot that can stun enemies and damage biotic barriers. It is ineffective against shields and armor. This power can be used together with Pull to toss enemies over railings or into walls for more damage. Concussive shot is most useful for knocking down charging enemies, such as krogans and husks. Damage is moderate, but can be used to finish off weakened enemies. The stronger force from heavy concussive shot is probably better, but either evolution will be useful. Concussive shot is often compared with warp and incinerate, but note that it does not use the same targeting mechanics. A concussive shot is always launched directly at the enemy you have bracketted and will track them if they move, but cannot be intentionally arced around corners. This limits its usefulness against enemies ducking behind cover.

Passive Powers
Cryo Ammo

Has a chance of snap-freezing targets, leaving them more susceptible to damage with a chance of an instant kill. This is the only form of crowd control available to this class beyond bonus powers. Despite this, cryo ammo is the least recommended ammo power, as it still requires sustained fire on one target in order to freeze them. Using Sniper Rifles and/or Heavy Pistols may guarantee freezing; however, this power becomes even less useful at higher difficulty levels due to each enemy having some sort of higher protection. For those reasons, its value as a crowd controller is weak. Evolution involves sharing the effects of the ammo with your squad or increasing the chance of freezing targets.

Disruptor Ammo

Increases damage against synthetics and shields. Adds the ability to disable synthetics and overheat weapons with added squad points. Arguably the best non-bonus ammo power, it is useful for its ability to take down the many enemy shields found in the game. Combined with the rate of fire inherent with assault rifles, enemy shields can be taken down very quickly. Mechs are also widespread throughout the game, extending this power's usefulness. Can be evolved to extend its effects to your squad or increase its damage and chance of overloading synthetics.

Incendiary Ammo

Increases damage against organics and armor. Prevents health regeneration and deals damage over time. This power is very useful for the same reasons as Disruptor Ammo, only against armored enemies and healing enemies like the Vorcha and Krogan. There are probably just as many enemies with armor througout the game. Evolving the power allows you to choose between increasing the burning effect and damage, or sharing the effects with your squad.

Combat Mastery

This class can specialize in one of two areas: Commando or Shock Trooper. Commando increases weapon damage, storm speed, and damage dealt with powers. Shock Trooper increases conversation skills, health, and the duration of powers.

Shock Trooper grants a rather unimpressive set of bonuses. The classes only durational power, Adrenalines Rush, isn't helped much by the 15% duration increase, and the increased conversation skill is largely unnecessary, as most conversation checks can be passed with the points granted by playing through the game. However, the increase in health can be beneficial on higher difficulties where enemies rip through shields almost instantly, but on settings lower than hardcore, it will be mostly wasted. Choose Shock Trooper if you're playing on a high difficulty and want a durational power like Reave as a bonus.

Commando, on the other hand, is a good soldier evolution. The power damage bonus adds to all ammo powers, and the extra weapon damage will only further augment this weapons-dependant class. The faster storm speed is mostly unnoticeable,because the skill slow down the time while you runing instead of increase the charakter run speed, but is useful for running in and out of cover, or to make a retreat. Choose Commando if you love dealing as much damage as possible.

Notable Bonus Talents
Barrier / Fortification / Geth Shield Boost

Erects a barrier/shield that effectively increases your shield power for its duration. If you're a soldier veteran from ME1 who misses the days of Immunity tanking, these powers are for you. With them a soldier can close the distance and take down enemy defenses and your squad can finish them off. Barrier and fortification are pretty much the same (barrier creates biotic barriers, fortification creates armor) and can be upgraded for better protection or longer duration. Better protection is clearly the logical choice, as the cooldown time is well under the power duration. Geth shield boost is very similar, but instead of a duration evolution, a +10% damage bonus can be chosen, which may appeal to run-and-gun players. On higher difficulties however, the cooldown time of Barrier/Fortification/Geth Shield Boost hinders the use of Adrenaline Rush, which often becomes the primary skill used in combat, making other bonus talents more useful.

Warp Ammo

Warp Ammo is a slightly misleading power, as its effect is not simply Warp in ammo form. This ammo power will provide a damage boost against armor, biotic barriers, and health. To compensate for this broad type coverage, warp ammo deals less additional damage than other ammunitions. However, it is well worth it, as the versatility keeps the soldier well prepared for any mission scenario, and will allow you to sustain your assault rifle fire on the enemy without interrupting to switch ammo types. Used alongside Disruptor ammo, these two ammunitions can take down every type of enemy health bar with ease. Highly recommended.

Armor Piercing Ammo

Armor piercing ammo provides a large (the second largest bonus of any ammo power) damage boost to armor and health. Since almost every enemy has a health bar, and armor is a common defense type, this is highly effective on almost every enemy in the game. It does not provide a bonus against barriers, but barriers can be dealt with by weapon fire or defense stripping powers by your squadmates. Since barriers are always the first line of defense for enemies using them, it's quite likely that your team will have dealt significant damage by the time you have engaged.

Reave

Valuable for reasons similar to warp ammo, reave deals double damage against armor and barriers, while stunning unprotected organics. Reave also restores health when used on organics. Offers less DPS than Warp Ammo, but grants more survivability and tactical variability.

Inferno Grenade

(Available with Zaeed Massani DLC) With the exception of a fully upgraded Concussive Blast, the Soldier lacks crowd controlling capabilities. Even though the DPS for the grenades is pretty low, it can set multiple enemies on fire, which gives you time to get out of cover to maneuver or shoot while they panic. The grenades don't ignite shielded or armored enemies: the idea is to set the unprotected henchmen on fire to lessen the barrage of incoming shots. It can also be used to flush enemies out of cover.

Another reason to consider this skill is its effectiveness with husks, especially the fully upgraded heavy inferno grenade which can burn them to death within a second.

Weapons
Assault Rifles

The signature weapon of the soldier, and one of the main reasons to choose this class. Good for close- to mid-range firefights, this weapon is effective against all types of enemy defenses. Combined with the soldier's many ammo upgrades the class can be a force to be reckoned with. Be sure to pick up all the assault rifle upgrades. There are five assault rifle models in the game:
 * M-8 Avenger- The stock rifle model. With a high clip capacity, moderate accuracy, and a high rate of fire, the Avenger is a very reliable weapon that serves the soldier well. Its one downside is its low damage per bullet, but with Warp/Disruptor Ammo active, it will still cut through enemy protection bars quickly.


 * M-15 Vindicator- The Vindicator is the most accurate of the assault rifles, allowing you to wield almost sniper rifle-like accuracy and power. However, like a sniper rifle, the Vindicator has trouble tracking moving enemies, as its unique three-round firing rate makes it hard to keep sustained fire on an enemy. In addition, its low clip capacity means you need to make every shot count, which can prolong skirmishes as the player tries to line up sure-fire shots. The Vindicator's superior accuracy allows it to benefit greatly from the +100% damage granted by a successful headshot.


 * M-76 Revenant- Exclusive to the soldier, it is one of the weapons the class can choose during the plot mission Collector Ship. A beast of a weapon, with damage output rivalling that of a heavy weapon but ammunition much easier to find. While unfortunately less effective at longer ranges, the rapid rate of fire, high damage, and large magazine capacity are exceptionally useful, particularly in taking down large opponents, such as YMIR mechs or the Oculus. The accuracy upgrade is beneficial in alleviating the Revenant's one weakness. The Revenant's damage output and inaccuracy actually encourage a shift in player tactics, as the best way to take advantage of this weapon is to use adrenaline rush aggressively to take ground and close the distance. Using adrenaline rush also helps in controlling the rifle's significant recoil, allowing moderately more accurate bursts of fire at greater ranges.


 * Geth Pulse Rifle- A unique weapon found during the recruitment mission Dossier: Tali on Hardcore or Insanity difficulties, the Geth Rifle has a high rate of fire and good damage, especially against shields and barriers.


 * Collector Assault Rifle- Exclusive to the Collector's Edition, this rifle provides higher damage than the M-8, but with a lower rate of fire and clip capacity to compensate.

Heavy Pistols

Not very useful to the soldier, who has better alternatives. This trusty sidearm can be used to pick off leftover enemies if you want to save the clips on other weapons. The Carnifex Hand Cannon is very powerful and can take out a lot of enemies with just a couple of shots, defenses and all.

Shotguns

Only reliable at close range. The shotgun fires too slowly to be of any use in a heavy firefight. However, it is very useful for picking off stragglers and against YMIR Mechs (when combined with Adrenaline Rush around cover). Also useful against Krogan that get too close. The M-22 Eviscerator, freely available through the Cerberus Network, adds significant punch to the soldier class in close quarters combat, mostly due to its receiving a damage bonus against armour - something which is absent from both the M-23 Katana and the M-27 Scimitar.

Sniper Rifles

This will be the second-most used weapon of the class. If you're pinned down from across a room by snipers and heavy weapons, and can't take the risk of closing the distance, then this weapon is essential. Because of this utilitarian use, the Mantis or Widow rifles are better suited for these situations. Soldiers will be looking to take out these enemies quickly in order to stay in close to deal out damage. Sniper rifles are best paired with Adrenaline Rush for steady aim and more damage.

Party Selection
In choosing a party, the soldier's number one concern is crowd control, as this is their most glaring problem. As in the first Mass Effect, party members that specialize in tech/biotic techniques will be most useful. Keep in mind, however, that there are no party members that are strictly better than other members. A team needs to be built according to the mission profile. For example, Garrus and Miranda are invaluable on missions with synthetics for their Overload. Learn each party member's strengths and weaknesses, and build a team around what bases you need covered. That said, these party members prove most useful to the Soldier in basic combat situations:

Morinth/Samara/Jack

Any of these biotics will provide the best crowd control options with their powers. Pull will expose and hamper enemies, who will be quickly picked off by your team's weapons fire. Jack's Shockwave is also exceptionally good at crowd control, by breaking up dense enemy clusters. Be sure to choose the area of effect versions of their evolved powers in order to maximize enemy group control.

Tali/Legion

Tali and Legion have virtually identical power sets, besides their loyalty power, so choose one based on preference. Explosive Combat Drone should be the first evolved power, as most enemies will immediately focus their fire on the drone when it is released, giving you time to rifle them with impunity. AI Hacking is semi-useless, being very situational, so focus on their other useful powers.

Other

Mordin can cripple groups of organics with Neural Shock or freeze them with Cryo Blast, allowing you to pour a quick rifle round into the incapacitated enemies. Miranda provides a beneficial stat boost to the party, and can make a good addition to the team with her diverse powers, as long as crowd control is met with the other party member.

Higher Difficulty Settings
The soldier retains much of its combat abilities at high difficulty settings due to the versatility of its damage and abilities. The most noticeable difference at high difficulty is that almost every enemy is now protected by at least a weak armor/shield/barrier that needs to be burned through, but proper selection of ammo type can ensure a soldier's weapon damage keeps up. Adrenaline rush becomes even more of a primary talent, since ducking out of cover without it results in taking a lot of damage. Since adrenaline rush is used almost constantly, it also reduces the effectiveness of other abilities that can trigger cooldowns such as geth shield, barrier, fortification and concussive shot.

Additionally, CC abilities from teammates and concussive shots are now much more difficult to use, since they often need the shield/armor/barrier stripped before they can work. Instead, focus on teammates with damage abilities like warp, overload or incinerate and bind them to your quick keys. Miranda, for example, can be particularly useful, since she not only provides excellent bonuses to the team, but she also has both Warp and Overload. Since their powers are usually instant hits with no travel time when triggered, a good strategy is to adrenaline rush, duck out of cover, and get two attacks from teammates off at the start of a long burst.