Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer/Character Customization

In Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode, the player can create and customize characters by choosing their class, race, weapon loadout, and equipment.

Class and Race
When creating a multiplayer character, players can choose from six classes and ten races. Certain races are only available to choose with certain classes. For example, human characters are available for all classes, but the asari are restricted to Adepts and Vanguards because of their biotic strengths.

The common human characters are available upon starting the multiplayer the first time; other races are unlocked by purchasing item packs from the store.

1 Bonus multiplayer character unlocked by the Battlefield 3 Pack. 2 Additional multiplayer character unlocked by downloading the Resurgence Pack and purchasing item packs from the store. 3 Additional multiplayer character unlocked by downloading the Rebellion Pack and purchasing item packs from the store. 4 Additional multiplayer character unlocked by downloading the Earth Pack and purchasing item packs from the store.

Dodge Maneuvers
Each race except for krogan, turians, and batarians possesses a unique dodge maneuver: humans, salarians, drell, geth and quarians can perform a combat roll; salarians, quarians, and geth also jump right and shuffle left; asari can quickly slide using biotic energy (at the cost of some barrier each time unless down to health already, but this resets the barrier recharge timer); drell can perform acrobatic flips; vorcha will dive on all fours. In addition, krogan, batarians and geth cannot easily switch between pieces of cover as the other races can.

Heavy Melee
Krogan, asari, geth, batarians, vorcha, and Ex-Cerberus possess heavy melee attacks unique to their respective races: a krogan can charge forward a short distance before swinging its weapon, sending the target flying if the attack kills; asari can unleash a biotic pulse to deal massive damage to all enemies within a certain radius; geth release a series of tech pulses to deal damage and stagger surrounding enemies in a limited radius, but at the cost of shields; batarians create an "enforcement gauntlet" in their right hand before punching the target, dealing heavy damage and splattering the enemy's head if it's a kill; vorcha leap and slash at an enemy's head with their omni-claws, decapitating them if it's a kill; Phoenix Operatives use their lash to do an area of effect attack around them, by whipping it above their heads and hitting it on the ground. Furthermore, geth, drell, batarians, vorcha, phoenix operatives and krogan possess light melee attacks that are also unique.

Defenses
Health and shields/barriers also vary in durability between race and class. The default values are:
 * Asari have 500 health and 500 barrier strength.
 * Asari Justicars have 500 health and 600 barrier strength.
 * Batarians have 750 health and 750 shield strength.
 * Drell have 500 health and 250 barrier strength.
 * Geth have 250 health and 750 shield strength.
 * Humans have 500 health and 500 shield/barrier strength.
 * Project Phoenix Humans have 500 health and 500 barrier strength.
 * N7 Fury Adepts have 500 health and 500 barrier strength.
 * N7 Destroyer Soldiers have 1000 health and 1000 shield strength.
 * N7 Demolisher Engineers have 600 health and 600 shield strength.
 * N7 Paladin Sentinels have 750 health and 750 shield strength.
 * N7 Shadow Infiltrators have 500 health and 500 shield strength.
 * N7 Slayer Vanguards have 500 health and 500 barrier strength.
 * Krogan have 750 health and 1000 shield strength.
 * Krogan Battlemasters have 1000 health and 1000 barrier strength.
 * Quarians have 500 health and 600 shield strength.
 * Salarians have 500 health and 600 shield strength.
 * Turians have 500 health and 750 shield strength.
 * Vorcha have 750 health and 250 shield strength.

Appearance
Players can also create unique names for their multiplayer characters and customize armor coloration. Cosmetic customizations have the same rarity as character they apply to. A character class is unlocked with Primary and Highlight Color options, and another customization is unlocked each successive time that class card is found in packs. The exception is the armor of the Battlefield 3 soldier, which cannot be customized.

Powers
During gameplay, players can increase the level of their characters to unlock new powers. Cooperative multiplayer character leveling is capped at level 20. All classes start with 1 skill point automatically allocated, and receive 83 additional skill points to distribute as desired by level 20.


 * Adept
 * Human: Singularity, Warp, Shockwave, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Asari: Stasis, Warp, Throw, Asari Justicar, Fitness
 * Drell: Reave, Pull, Cluster Grenade, Drell Assassin, Fitness
 * Asari Justicar:2 Biotic Sphere, Reave, Pull, Asari Justicar, Fitness
 * Project Phoenix:3 Singularity, Smash, Lash, Phoenix Training, Fitness
 * N7 Fury:4 Throw, Annihilation Field, Dark Channel, N7 Fury, Fitness


 * Soldier
 * Human: Adrenaline Rush, Concussive Shot, Frag Grenade, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Krogan: Fortification, Carnage, Inferno Grenade, Krogan Berserker, Rage
 * Turian: Marksman, Concussive Shot, Proximity Mine, Turian Veteran, Fitness
 * Battlefield 3:1 Adrenaline Rush, Carnage, Frag Grenade, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Batarian:2 Blade Armor, Ballistic Blades, Inferno Grenade, Batarian Enforcer, Fitness
 * Vorcha:3 Bloodlust, Flamer, Carnage, Vorcha Resilience, Fitness
 * N7 Destroyer:4 Multi-Frag Grenade, Missile Launcher, Devastator Mode, T5-V Battlesuit, T5-V Internal Systems


 * Engineer
 * Human: Combat Drone, Incinerate, Overload, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Quarian (female): Sentry Turret, Incinerate, Cryo Blast, Quarian Defender, Fitness
 * Salarian: Energy Drain, Decoy, Incinerate, Salarian Operative, Fitness
 * Geth:2 Geth Turret, Hunter Mode, Overload, Networked AI, Advanced Hardware
 * Quarian (male):3 Tactical Scan, Incinerate, Arc Grenade, Quarian Defender, Fitness
 * N7 Demolisher:4 Homing Grenade, Arc Grenade, Supply Pylon, N7 Demolisher, Fitness


 * Sentinel
 * Human: Tech Armor, Warp, Throw, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Turian: Tech Armor, Warp, Overload, Turian Veteran, Fitness
 * Krogan: Tech Armor, Incinerate, Lift Grenade, Krogan Berserker, Rage
 * Batarian:2 Blade Armor, Shockwave, Submission Net, Batarian Enforcer, Fitness
 * Vorcha:3 Bloodlust, Flamer, Cluster Grenade, Vorcha Resilience, Fitness
 * N7 Paladin:4 Snap Freeze, Incinerate, Energy Drain, N7 Paladin, Fitness


 * Infiltrator
 * Human: Tactical Cloak, Cryo Blast, Sticky Grenade, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Salarian: Tactical Cloak, Energy Drain, Proximity Mine, Salarian Operative, Fitness
 * Quarian (female): Tactical Cloak, Sticky Grenade, Sabotage, Quarian Defender, Fitness
 * Geth:2 Tactical Cloak, Hunter Mode, Proximity Mine, Networked AI, Advanced Hardware
 * Quarian (male):3 Tactical Cloak, Tactical Scan, Arc Grenade, Quarian Defender, Fitness
 * N7 Shadow:4 Tactical Cloak, Shadow Strike, Electric Slash, N7 Shadow, Sword Mastery


 * Vanguard
 * Human: Biotic Charge, Shockwave, Nova, Alliance Training, Fitness
 * Drell: Biotic Charge, Pull, Cluster Grenade, Drell Assassin, Fitness
 * Asari: Biotic Charge, Stasis, Lift Grenade, Asari Justicar, Fitness
 * Krogan Battlemaster:2 Biotic Charge, Carnage, Barrier, Krogan Battlemaster, Rage
 * Project Phoenix:3 Biotic Charge, Smash, Lash, Phoenix Training, Fitness
 * N7 Slayer:4 Phase Disruptor, Biotic Charge, Biotic Slash, N7 Slayer, Fitness

1 Bonus multiplayer character unlocked by the Battlefield 3 Pack. 2 Additional multiplayer character unlocked by the Resurgence Pack. 3 Additional multiplayer character unlocked by the Rebellion Pack. 4 Additional multiplayer character unlocked by the Earth Pack.

Weapons and Mods
During gameplay, players can unlock weapons and weapon modifications for use on the battlefield. Additional weapons and mods can be obtained through the Store. Only two weapons can be equipped at a time.

The following chart lists each weapon that can be unlocked through the Store and their rarity. Level I versions of the five Common weapons are available upon starting the multiplayer mode for the first time. 1 Unlocked by downloading the promotional Collector Rifle Pack. 2 Unlocked by earning a Commendation Pack from a weekly event. 3 Unlocked by downloading the Resurgence Pack and purchasing regular item packs from the Store. 4 Unlocked by downloading the Rebellion Pack and purchasing regular item packs from the Store. 5 Unlocked by downloading the Earth Pack and purchasing regular item packs from the Store.

The following chart lists each weapon mod that can be unlocked through the Store and their rarity.

Equipment
Equipment in multiplayer consists of items that can be utilized during gameplay. Most equipment items are single-use, but Gear items can be used multiple times for persistent bonuses. Additional equipment can be obtained through the Store.

Bonuses have varying levels of strength; Weapon and Armor Bonuses have three levels, while Ammo Bonuses have four. Recruit Packs contain items of level I with a small chance for level II or higher; Veteran Packs only contain items of level II with a small chance for level III or higher; Spectre Packs only contain items of level III with a small chance for level IV Ammo Bonuses; and Jumbo Equipment Packs randomly contain items of any level (I, II, III, and IV).

Ammo Bonuses

 * Armor-Piercing Rounds - Applies Armor-Piercing Ammo for one mission:
 * 10%/20%/30% extra damage to health and armor
 * -50%/65%/75% armor effectiveness
 * 0.5m/0.75m/1m penetration
 * Cryo Rounds - Applies Cryo Ammo for one mission:
 * 25%/35%/50% 2s armor debuff
 * chance of 3s/4s/5s freeze (40% greater at II, 80% greater at III)
 * 15%/25%/35% slow, 2.50 meters intermittent cryo explosion
 * Disruptor Rounds - Applies Disruptor Ammo for one mission:
 * 5%/10%/15% extra damage to shields and barrier
 * chance of 3s/4s/5s stun (40% greater at II, 80% greater at III)
 * 1.5/2.5/3.5s 2.50 meters intermittent tech burst, 8s shield regen delay
 * Incendiary Rounds - Applies Incendiary Ammo for one mission:
 * 10%/20%/30% extra damage-over-time (DoT) as Ignited, 2s duration
 * 25%/35%/50% 2s armor debuff
 * 25%/50%/75% extra damage to Ignited enemies, 2.50 meters intermittent flame explosion
 * Warp Rounds - Applies Warp Ammo for one mission:
 * 15%/25%/35% extra damage to health, armor, barrier
 * 25%/50%/75% 2s armor debuff
 * 25%/50%/75% extra damage to lifted target, 2.50 meters intermittent biotic explosion

Weapon Bonuses

 * Assault Rifle Rail Amp - Applies an 10%/20%/30% Assault Rifle Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Pistol Rail Amp - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Heavy Pistol Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * SMG Rail Amp - Applies a 10%/20%/30% SMG Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Sniper Rifle Rail Amp - Applies a (10%/20%/30%) Sniper Rifle Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Shotgun Rail Amp - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Shotgun Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Strength Enhancer1 - Applies a 25%/50%/100% Melee Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Targeting VI1 - Applies a 25%/50%/100% Headshot Damage Bonus for one mission.

Armor Bonuses

 * Adrenaline Module - Applies a 5%/15%/25% Movement Speed Bonus for one mission.
 * Power Amplifier Module - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Power Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Power Efficiency Module - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Power Recharge Speed Bonus for one mission.
 * Power Stabilizer Module1 - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Power Duration Bonus for one mission.
 * Cyclonic Modulator - Applies a 30%/60%/100% Shield Strength Bonus for one mission.
 * Shield Power Cells1 - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Shield Recharge Speed Bonus for one mission.
 * Stabilization Module1 - Applies a 10%/20%/30% Weapon Stability Bonus for one mission.

Gear
Gear consists of equipment items that bestow persistent bonuses when applied to a character, and do not expire with the conclusion of a match. Each piece of gear can be upgraded up to five times. Obtaining and using Gear items requires downloading the Rebellion Pack.


 * Package Gear
 * Commando Package - Optimize pistol and biotic amp power to increase damage. Pistol Damage and Biotic Power Damage: +3%/5%/7%/8.5%/10% to each
 * Berserker Package - Optimize shotgun and armor hydraulic power to increase shotgun and melee damage. Shotgun Damage and Melee Damage: +3%/5%/7%/8.5%/10% to each
 * Expert Package - Optimize energy supplies with multicore VIs to increase submachine gun damage and to recharge powers faster. SMG Damage and Power Recharge Speed: +3%/5%/7%/8.5%/10% to each
 * Operative Package - Optimize sniper rifle and tech power damage. Sniper Rifle Damage and Tech Power Damage: +3%/5%/7%/8.5%/10% to each
 * Stronghold Package - Optimize shield strength and the speed of shield restoration. Shield Strength: +6%/10%/14%/17.5%/20%, and Shield Regen Speed: +3%/5%/7%/8.5%/10%
 * Warfighter Package - Deploy this modification package to increase assault rifle power and grenade storage. Assault Rifle Damage: +3%/5%/7%/8.5%/10%, and Grenade Capacity: +1/+1/+1/+2/+2
 * Power Gear
 * Mental Focuser - Sharpen mental alertness and precision under stress to aid the performance of tech or biotic powers. Power Damage: +4%/6%/8%/10%/12%
 * Structural Ergonomics - Enhance the ability of armor to bear loads, speeding up cooldown so that powers can be used more often. Power Recharge: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Shield Gear
 * Multicapacitor - Add a backup power supply to the user's shields, decreasing the time before they can be brought back online. Shield Recharge Delay: -5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Shield Booster - Amplify the power systems that generate shields to raise their effective strength. Shield Strength: +10%/15%/20%/25%/30%
 * Weapon Amp Gear
 * Assault Rifle Amp - Add power to assault rifles to increase round velocity and damage. Assault Damage: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Pistol Amp - Add power to pistols to increase round velocity and damage. Pistol Damage: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Shotgun Amp - Add power to shotguns to increase round velocity and damage. Shotgun Damage: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * SMG Amp - Add power to SMGs to increase round velocity and damage. SMG Damage: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Sniper Rifle Amp - Add power to sniper rifles to increase round velocity and damage. Sniper Damage: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Other Gear
 * Grenade Capacity - Add extra grenade storage compartments to the user's armor. Grenade Storage: +1/+2/+3/+4/+5
 * Hydraulic Joints - Improve armor joints to maximize the force and damage delivered through melee blows. Melee Damage: +5%/7.5%/10%/12.5%/15%
 * Vulnerability VI - User targeting VIs to pinpoint enemy weak points. Aim will be autocorrected to maximize damage. Headshot Damage: +8%/11%/14%/17%/20%

Supplies
Supply items, also known as consumables, do not have levels, but each card awards a different amount of the consumable depending on level of the pack - one in Recruit Packs, three in Veteran Packs and five in Spectre Packs. A Jumbo Equipment Pack contains five of each consumable type.

A maximum of 255 of each type of supply can be stockpiled.
 * Cobra Missile Launcher - A one-shot missile launcher useful for taking out hardened targets.
 * Thermal Clip Pack - Refills your thermal clips and grenade supply during a mission.
 * Ops Survival Pack - Emergency pack fully restores health and shields during a mission.
 * Medi-Gel - Revive yourself when incapacitated in combat.

Miscellaneous

 * Cobra Missile Launcher Capacity Upgrade +1 (permanent upgrade to all characters, maximum limit of 102)
 * Thermal Clip Pack Capacity Upgrade +1 (permanent upgrade to all characters, maximum limit of 102)
 * Ops Survival Pack Capacity Upgrade +1 (permanent upgrade to all characters, maximum limit of 102)
 * Medi-Gel Capacity Upgrade +1 (permanent upgrade to all characters, maximum limit of 53)
 * Reset Powers (one use, only drops if fewer than three stockpiled)

1 Available in Store packs after downloading the Resurgence Pack. 2 While no official word was given, does not currently appear to drop past 5. 3 Operation Broadside confirms that the Medi-Gel limit was lowered to five

Promote
After obtaining level 20 with a class in multiplayer, you can promote them to the single player galaxy at war. Doing this will reset all characters from the promoted class to level 1. It will however increase war assets in single player by 75 and add 10 levels to your N7 ranking for multiplayer. Characters from the promoted class will be reset to default and must be remade, but any unlocked characters and any additional appearance customization options are retained.