Guardian



Guardians are a class of Cerberus soldiers encountered in Mass Effect 3. "Human tanks," is how Cerberus soldiers describe the Guardian.

Capabilities
Offensive

Guardians are armed with one M-358 Talon pistol.

Defensive

Guardians are distinguished by the nearly impenetrable shields they carry. These shields absorb both weapons fire and powers.

Tactics
General Tactics
 * Guardians rely on their shields for protection; without them, Guardians are as vulnerable to attacks as Assault Troopers. Hitting a Guardian with certain powers can cause it to stagger and momentarily hold the shield away from its body. Powers that knock the Guardian off its feet force it to drop its shield on the ground, after which it can be easily finished off.
 * If a Guardian cannot be rid of its shield, the fastest way to finish it off is to attack it from behind, rendering the shield useless. Since such a maneuver can be difficult, however, the alternative is to focus fire on the shield's "mail slot". Sustained assault rifle fire may be only minimally effective, but a sniper rifle round through the mail slot can kill a Guardian in one hit.
 * If hitting the shield's "mail slot" proves too difficult, Guardians can be killed fairly easily by firing at their weapon-hand.
 * Pull will instantly strip a Guardian of its shield, and because of its fairly quick recharge is perfect for engaging groups of Guardians.
 * Using Shockwave can be quite effective at stunning a Guardian for several seconds. This makes the Guardians lower its shield, which allows it to be pumped full of bullets. However, you must be quick as it will quickly redeploy that shield.
 * Guardians that are hit by Stasis will drop their shields, making them vulnerable. It is recommended however to get the Stasis Bubble Evolution at Rank 6 to make it easier to get multiple Guardians in one fell swoop.
 * Since the M-98 Widow is an anti-material rifle, simply zooming in and shooting at the shield will cause the bullet to go through the shield and kill them instantly.
 * By using a Combat Drone on a Guardian it will spawn behind him and once the Drone attacks, will cause the Guardian to turn around and face the new threat, exposing his back.
 * In multiplayer, the Guardian can be knocked over with a heavy melee from the krogan classes.
 * With an upgraded Mantis or Widow, it is possible to shoot a Guardian in the foot and kill them instantly. On higher difficulties, this may need significant and multiple weapon damage upgrades.
 * A Lift Grenade thrown to the side of a shieldless guardian will leave it dangling and unable to defend itself.
 * Flanking a Guardian, then using Pull, Throw, Shockwave, or any power that knocks an enemy off their feet and into the air, will instantly knock a Guardian down, without the need to pull the shield away.

Class/Character Specific Tactics
 * A cloaked Infiltrator can easily kill a Guardian by placing a Sticky Grenade on his back.
 * A Soldier is capable of taking out Guardians with relative ease if the Frag Grenade power has been significantly upgraded. Either drop the grenade underneath or behind the Guardian, or throw it directly at the shield of the Guardian to deal significant damage. With highly upgraded Frag Grenade, you can instantly kill a Guardian with a single throw.