User blog:Captainhu/I saw the Vanguard in multiplayer

Some possible light SPOILERS are present if you are purist, but I assume if you are that strict you won't read this anyway.

I saw a video of someone playing the leaked MP demo as a Vanguard. I realize we don't really put unreliable leaked info on the site proper, but the footage really got me excited to play ME3. I won't link the video as EA is aggressively bringing these vids down when they find them. The animations looked smoother, the biotic visuals are much cleaner, and the speed is almost jarring. There was alot to love in the video, but three things jumped out at me the most. Now all these observation apply to the multiplayer without Shepard which is fundamentally different from the single-player with Shepard. Also, this leaked info is subject to fundamental changes before final release, but even so...


 * 1. You need to know your class.
 * In the vid I saw the player was using the Vanguard but playing like the Soldier with a few biotic powers thrown in, and he struggled mightily for much of his run. The Vanguard should be played like a hyper-aggressive psychopath, and the level I saw was punishing the player for not attacking enough.  He was missing frequently when out of proper range with his shotgun, his targeting on his assault rifle had to be extremely tight, and his biotic pull wasn't curving to target very much.  Once he started charging his enemies and taking his melee opportunities the run got much easier


 * 2. The Cereberus enemies are not messing around
 * The enemies The Illusive Man is throwing at you are serious threats. They are accurate with their fire, have the same movement options you do, and multiple defenses that seem to regenerate.  The Atlas made an appearance, but the real danger there was the flanking opportunity it opened up for the rest of the enemies.  In the vid I saw, the player was in danger of dying numerous times until he and his entire team were finally overwhelmed by superior forces.  In particular a new enemy specializing in closing the distance and engaging in close quarters combat proved to be the deadliest.  In ME3 multiplayer you're going to have to engage in solid tactical combat in order to make it through.


 * 3. The Vanguard's heavy melee was interesting
 * This is the part that is the most iffy as far as the limitations of a leaked possible beta is concerned as opposed to a true release from Bioware, but it is the part that had me, an unashamed Vanguard-phile, salivating the most. The Vanguard's heavy melee attack was biotic in nature and not very flashy.  When compared to the double-blade awesomeness of the Sentinel or the cinematic bravado of the Soldier, it looks downright boring, but that's just the surface.  The attack looks like a straight on biotic punch/stab to the target's center mass which is nothing special until you notice the effect on the target.  The target is ragdolled and thrown about 10-15 feet radial from the attack.  Basically, it's Biotic Charge without the charge.  The tactical possibilities here are numerous.  If you properly strip protections first, you can charge one targt in a group, turn and heavy melee at least one other target away before you have to seriously worry about incoming fire.  If done right even without much upgrading, a good Vanguard should be able to charge almost at will, and that's just for starters.  Additionally, it looked like the heavy melee attack also effects objects adjacent to the target which would be pretty cool if it's true.

Again all this is subject to huge changes, but it amounts to excellent advertisement for Mass Effect 3. I wasn't at all excited at the prospect of playing multi-player in ME3 before today, but now that I see some of the possibilities...I'm intrigued to say the least.