Mako Guide



The Mako is your IFV, mobile turret, emergency cover, and all-round best friend when exploring hostile areas, plus it has plenty of assets to exploit.

Note that while the Mako is a match for almost every enemy in the game,  you only get half the XP from enemies killed in the Mako , making it much harder to reach level 50 or 60. See the Experience Guide for more.

PC

 * Left click mouse to fire machine gun
 * Right click mouse to fire the mass accelerator cannon
 * Left "Shift" button to zoom view. Keep hitting it to cycle through


 * Spacebar to jump jet
 * "Q" to disembark

Xbox360

 * Right trigger to fire the machine gun
 * Right shoulder button to fire the mass accelerator cannon
 * Hold left trigger to zoom in
 * Once zoomed in, click right stick to zoom in further.
 * The third click or releasing the left trigger will return to normal view


 * A button to jump jet
 * B button to disembark

Driving the Mako
The side-to-side driver controls on the Mako are very sensitive, at least in the PC version. One solution to this problem is to keep pushing the "forward" or "back" button and tap the "left" or "right" button repeatedly as needed.

Overcompensating, especially on mountainous terrain, can have dramatic although usually harmless consequences.

Machine gun
The Mako's secondary weapon is a machine gun that handles like a massive assault rifle. While not as powerful as the cannon, the machine gun allows for a lot more precision. It is much better against smaller or individual enemies since it will knock them over rather than blowing them away, which is especially useful if the player does not wish to kill enemy infantry with the Mako. The machine gun's other major advantage is against your opponent's shields. The cannon can take out two shield levels (depending on the difficulty) at once but then takes time to recharge, whereas the machine gun's small projectiles will shred them very quickly.

The disadvantage of using the machine gun is that it overheats with prolonged firing, but careful handling and alternating the machine gun with the cannon should take care of this.

Cannon
The primary weapon and the Mako's heavy artillery, the mass accelerator cannon is extremely powerful and will make a mess of anything it hits. The damage it inflicts also partially bypasses shields. If fired into an enclosed space full of smaller enemies, the cannon will clear the room very effectively. On lower difficulty settings, it will instantly vaporize large groups of smaller enemies in one hit; yet on all difficulties, against larger enemies like Geth Armatures or Geth Colossi, or against stationary targets like turrets, there's nothing to compare with it.

Use the machine gun first to take out the shields of larger enemies, then use the cannon while they're vulnerable. The cannon takes several seconds to recharge after each shot, so plan to dodge or use the machine gun in the interim.

Propulsion jets
These are useful as well as fun. The propulsion jets enable the Mako to jump, making it easier to negotiate rough terrain. In combat they can be a lifesaver against well-armed geth and turrets. An Armature's Siege Pulse or a Geth Juggernaut's rocket moves slowly enough for the Mako to lift over it harmlessly - and you can keep firing the machine gun at the same time. Timing the jumps correctly means you can take out an Armature while dodging everything it throws at you. More importantly, using the propulsion jets messes up enemy targeting. As noted above, enemies will often aim at where you were rather than where you are, and careful use of the jets can ensure their missiles go wide.

A good technique is to take cover behind wreckage, use the "jump jets" to pop up, fire on a target and fall back down behind cover.

Shields
The Mako can take a lot of punishment, even on higher difficulty levels, but once the shields are down it can take them a long time to recharge. A high Electronics stat will help, but it's still a good idea to give the shields time to recover between tough battles. Though the Mako's hull is sturdy even when unshielded, on higher difficulty levels your enemies can inflict heavy damage very quickly - and once the hull is gone, it's game over. Repairing the Mako's hull with omni-gel is again made easier by a high Electronics stat; not only does it restore more hull per repair, it reduces cooldown time between repairs if the Mako is heavily damaged. Unfortunately, while repairs are in progress, the Mako is stationary and unable to fire. If it is heavily damaged and there are still enemies around, get some distance between them first and stay out of their line of sight while repairs are ongoing.

Cover
Though fighting in the Mako results in a smaller XP reward, a good compromise is to soften tougher enemies up with the Mako's armaments, then disembark and use the tank as cover to finish them off. Quite often the enemies will focus their fire on the Mako, allowing you to take them on while they're distracted. This works nicely against Thresher Maws (unless you park too close) and Geth Colossi. However, the Mako often takes heavy damage during these battles, so don't re-enter the Mako unless you're absolutely certain there are no enemies on your radar.

The Mako is also environmentally sealed against EVA hazards. Re-entering the Mako while fighting on foot will quickly reset the hazard timer.

Ramming
One of the simplest and most effective ways to use the Mako is just to ram opponents with it. Smaller enemies can be crushed under the tires, taking heavy damage their shields can't compensate for; larger enemies like Geth Armatures, which are easily unbalanced, can be knocked over and rendered helpless while the Mako is free to fire. This is especially effective against Geth Colossi due to their size and armaments. There is an additional advantage to this tactic when there are environmental hazards nearby. With care, the Mako can ram an Armature into molten lava or over the edge of a cliff for an instant kill.

If a medium-sized enemy such as an Armature is helping foes hold a line, one can perform a "Drag and Drop". This maneuver involves ramming the target and dragging them away from their allies then -- if they survive the impact -- backing up and shooting them. This works well on the skyways of Feros, where there is sufficient distance to isolate targets.

It is also possible to park the Mako on top of a medium-sized target, then exit the vehicle and shoot the target while it is trapped. Do not attempt this on larger enemies such as Colossi, as these titans will only be temporarily disabled, and will be able to throw the Mako off if not killed quickly.

"Hull Down" fighting
The Mako can defeat numerous enemies safely by using what tank soldiers call "hull down." Find a small depression in the terrain or a small, gradual rise in it. Hide from your enemies there. Move forward slightly to "peek" over the top. Fire your cannon and go backwards slightly to a position of safety. Repeat as needed. If you happen to get hit, let your shields recover. This may not be as much fun as running and gunning, but it's a lot more reliable and effective. Alternately, you can soften up a target, roll back into cover, disembark and finish the enemy off with hand weapons, increasing your XP.

An effective way to implement this technique is to hide the nose of the Mako, which enemies predominantly aim for, leaving you to fire at your leisure with no worries about damage. However, "hull down" won't work against Thresher Maws because they go underground, and sometimes favorable terrain isn't available against other targets.

Firing on the move
Thresher Maws and targets in unfavorable terrain require firing on the move and will usually require either "tracking shots" or "snapshots."

If you move directly toward or away from your target, you risk being hit more. If you move from one side to the other, however, you can be very difficult to hit as long as you keep moving. The AI tends to fire at where you were, not where you are when the shot arrives. With a little practice, you can learn to place your sight slightly to one side of the target as you move and then fire just as your sight crosses the target, hitting it reliably. That's what fighter pilots call a snapshot. Holding the reticule constantly and consistently on the target and firing is the much more difficult "tracking shot."

Another advantage of going side-to-side is that you can get away from the scene if you are hit, make repairs at some sheltered or distant spot and come back.

A note on Thresher Maws
If you look around for Thresher Maws while moving, you will run right into one eventually. Look where you are going and let your radar show you where the thresher is when it pops up. If you are going directly at or away from the monster, turn to give the thing a side-to-side tracking target and not a straight shot. Use your superior tracking shooting to kill it. This will take multiple shots while racing across the maw's nesting area several times.

An alternative strategy involves timed jumps and holding still. It appears that Thresher Maws only retreat and resurface if you move in the Mako. Immediately after the Thresher surfaces (ideally for the first time), stop moving. Each time it spits acid at you, simply use the Mako's boosters to jump over the attack. If timed correctly, you should be able to avoid the attack ad infinitum. You may incur a very small amount of splash damage using this technique but the amount is negligible at best. If you continually hop over the acid while shooting (movement caused by aiming will not affect this method) you should be able to defeat any Thresher Maw with ease. It must be noted however that this technique relies heavily on positioning--if you are too close, you may not have enough time to react.