Talk:Squad Members Guide (Mass Effect 3)

Format
I find myself wondering if the "Squad Pairings" section is actually going to ultimately hurt the guide. It's extremely long and, by nature, demands a repeat of quite a bit of information (extending the size). Plus, it's somewhat irritating to find the pairing you wish.

Just putting it out there, but I feel like the guide might be more accessible if it was set up to introduce the important aspects of pairings, then introduced some important gameplay aspects (specifically, tech explosions, biotic detonations, crowd-control, defense types, damage, range, and character defenses). From there, just use an extended biography. It removes the number of sections, but truncates the whole page without removing the information.

For example, with Liara (bare-bones example): -Very strong CC -Capable against barriers/armor -low weapon damage -low defenses -weak against shielded enemies (can't remove them, can't use biotics) -mid-range

Notable tactics. Singularity and Stasis for control, for forcing exposure (to weapons), for detonations, to alleviate incoming damage.

So you'd just mention the noteworthy pairings. In this case, I'd list Kaidan and Garrus (both of whom have range options, damage, shield removal, and generally superior defenses), with Ashely/James being fully viable if Shepard can remove shields.

Recommended pairings: Kaidan, Garrus. Decent damage, shield-counters, higher defenses, variable range (with Garrus), biotic combos (with Kaidan).

If Shepard can remove shields, Ashley/James. High damage, range options, high defenses.

EDI is a mid-range pairing. Uses same weapons, so same damage and range. Better defenses through Defense Matrix/Decoy, and counters to all enemy defensive types. Noteworthy only for Soldiers.

If the player wishes to rely on the AI, Tali is not recommended, due to her low defenses. But the combo can be powerful with micromanagement (drones add some defenses, and proper use of Singularity/Stasis adds control to further mitigate incoming damage while grouping enemies for Tali's shotgun).

Not recommended, Javik--too much overlap between skills, shares most weaknesses without adding new strengths.

To be clear, this is just typed off the top of my head. I'm using it as an example for formatting, not for Liara's entry. I just feel that this format will make the guide much cleaner. I figure it's better to discuss this now, before too much work is put into the pairings sections, just in case others agree with me. Idiggory 17:33, March 23, 2012 (UTC)
 * While I agree to a certain extent, I also have to say that just having them here is probably not a bad idea. The same thing was done on the ME2 version of the article, and it has been expanded and added onto over time. Until I can see a reason for them to be removed, I really can't justify removing them. Lancer1289 17:41, March 23, 2012 (UTC)