Squad Members Guide (Mass Effect 3)

This Squad Members Guide details information and strategies corresponding to each of the squad members Shepard can acquire during the course of Mass Effect 3, including recommendations for use against particular enemy types and a quick reference table. Especially on harder difficulty levels, the proper selection and use of squad members can significantly affect the difficulty of a given mission or assignment.

Kaidan Alenko
No matter what class Shepard or the third member in the party might be, Kaidan makes an effective partner for anyone. Only Garrus or EDI come close to matching his versatility for stripping enemy protections, as Kaidan has Overload to deal with shields, as well as his unique class power Reave for armor and barriers.

His Alliance Officer passive class power can give him an impressive boost to his biotics and tech powers (a maximum of 85%), with a slight boost to his weapon damage.

Defensively, while both EDI and James have higher shields overall due to their passive class powers, Kaidan has access to both Barrier and Reave, which, if used together cuts the amount of damage he receives from all sources a maximum of 70%

EDI
EDI's powers make her a strong contender for the title of "best tank". Her class power, Unshackled AI, provides substantial benefits to her shields, health, and power damage. By focusing on defenses, she can potentially have +120% shields and health by rank 4. Defensive Matrix boosts her defenses even further, and can be purged to restore her shield. Decoy keeps attacks from even hitting her. Add all that together, and you have a character who can handle tremendous punishment on the frontlines.

The weapon options for EDI are SMG and heavy pistol, so EDI's offensive punch is largely based on judicious use of her powers. Thanks to Unshackled AI's massive accumulation of bonuses to power damage, EDI's Overload will devastate shields and barriers, while Incinerate will ravage health and armor. Note, however, that the Unshackled AI class power does not provide any power recharge reduction and utilizing Defensive Matrix will slow power cooldowns even further, so her offensive strikes require proper timing.

Tali'Zorah vas Normandy
Thanks to the addition of a few new and improved abilities, Tali is far more flexible than in the second game. Overall, Tali functions similarly to the Engineer class. Her Energy Drain ability enables her to strip away enemy shields and barriers while recharging her own shields, and Sabotage is useful for disabling enemy weapons as well as turning enemy synthetics against each other! Tali's Combat Drone is useful for distracting enemies such as Atlas Mechs and Guardians. Her Defense Drone complements her close combat capabilities even further.

Tali is most effective when used against the Geth or Cerberus. Sabotage is particularly useful for turning Turrets, Geth Primes, and Atlas Mechs against their own. That being said, Tali is more than capable of dealing with Reaper enemies; her Energy Drain can be invaluable against Marauders and Banshees. Tali is best paired with a squadmate who can counter armor such as EDI, Kaidan, or Liara.

Moreso than other squadmates, Tali can be difficult to manage. There is no way to know if her drones have been destroyed or whether you simply can't spot them at the moment. Although it is generally far more effective to manually control squadmate powers, in Tali's case it may be more prudent to turn automatic power usage back on when she's on the team.

Javik
While biotic characters in general excel at disrupting enemy tactics, Javik's powers also inflict heavy damage if his Vengeful Ancient class power is properly tapped. At level 6, it's possible to have a +150% bonus to power damage.

Javik can be equipped with an assault rifle and heavy pistol, making him moderately effective at all ranges even when not using his biotic powers. He is not overly-endowed in terms of personal defenses, lacking any protective biotic powers or significant bonuses to shields and health.

Liara T'Soni
Liara is the most fragile member of the squad, and her weapon options are unimpressive. However, her duration-based biotic powers, Stasis and Singularity, can turn a battle with rank-and-file enemies into a one-sided turkey shoot. Liara's Pure Biotic class power primarily serves to reduce the recharge time of her powers even further, so that at maximum rank the cooldown period for Stasis and Singularity is only few seconds. Coupled with her relatively fast recharge times, Warp allows for rather frequent biotic detonations.

Garrus Vakarian
Garrus specializes in tech and combat, and is an effective, well-rounded option for any class Shepard happens to be. Garrus offers superior ability to inflict damage with weapons. Maximum ranks in Turian Rebel can provide a total of up to +150% damage with his weapons of choice, rifles. Combined with a weapon damage bonus from one of his armor options, the net effect would amount to almost triple damage on every shot he fires. Armor-Piercing Ammo contributes even more damage to health and armor, and with Overload peeling away shields and barriers, Garrus is primed to attack all categories of defense.

Despite his sturdy, well-armored appearance, Garrus does not have strong defensive capabilities. Turian Rebel's damage bonuses comes at the price of relatively low shield and health bonuses (+40% maximum). Given this, it is often best to bring along another teammate suitable for tanking, such as James Vega or EDI.

James Vega
The quintessential meat shield, Vega is built expressly for close-quarters combat. His unique Fortification power allows him to alternate between a damage reduction buff and a melee damage buff. Equipping him with a strong point-blank-range shotgun that's been modded with a blade attachment can make him brutally effective at holding the line. James' class power, Arms Master, potentially provides the highest bonus to shields and health of all squadmates, topping out at +140% at rank 6. Incendiary Ammo and Carnage provide a strong counter to armored enemies, particularly when they are combined to create a tech explosion (by hitting a burning opponent with Carnage). Vega does not possess shield or barrier-mitigating abilities.

Ashley Williams
Ashley packs unparalleled raw firepower. Her class ability, Alliance Officer, can increase her weapon damage dramatically, and while the net total bonuses fall a little short of those Garrus receives, her unique buff, Marksman, can more than make up for it through the highly increased accuracy and rate of fire bonuses it affords. Equipping her with the M-76 Revenant is an ideal choice; Marksman easily offsets the Revenant's wide spread. She carries Disruptor Ammo, allowing her to quickly take down shielded enemies. Though Ashley has Inferno Grenade for dealing with armored opponents, there are more ideal squadmates for countering armor, particularly since Inferno Grenade has limited uses.

Ashley receives fair bonuses to health and shields through Alliance Officer, to a maximum of +75% at rank four. This allows her to withstand some punishment, but does not put her in the same league with EDI or James Vega.

James/Ashley

 * Weapons: Sniper rifle, Assault rifle x2, Shotgun
 * Grenades: Inferno, Frag
 * Ammo: Disruptor, Incendiary

This pairing confers the benefit of having ammo powers for all occasions, perfect for enemies like reapers that cover the spread. Both use assault rifles, so they can have some degree of effectiveness at any range. Ashley can also hang back and make selective strkes with a sniper rifle while James digs in on the front line with a shotgun. When fighting heavy-duty opponents or swarms, there's an ample supply of grenades that provide significant AoE damage.

James/Kaidan

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Shotgun, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Frag
 * Ammo: Incendiary

An extremely tough team, with both James and Kaidan having defensive powers and a superior amount of shielding. The two are also very good at setting of tech combinations of any kind, since Kaidan's Overload will trigger with James's Incendiary Ammo, while Overload or Cryo Blast will be triggered with James's Carnage.

Unless Shepard has biotic powers, train Kaidan's Alliance Officer skill to boost his tech damage, since he won't be using any biotic detonations with this team. The team's only real drawback is that it relies on Kaidan to strip enemy protections, since James can only reliable hit armor with his techs.

James/Garrus
This is a strong team for reapers and rachni. James can tank the husks and rachni zerging in with some help from Garrus' proximity mines. Meanwhile, Garrus can pick off artillery and support units in the back ranks.
 * Weapons: Sniper rifle, Assault rifle x2, Shotgun
 * Grenades: Frag
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing, Incendiary

James/Liara

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Shotgun, SMG, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Frag
 * Ammo: Incendiary, Warp

A solid choice for engineers and infiltrators, or any Shepard that attacks from range. James acts as the meat shield and close combat firepower, while Liara can crowd control and stasis, setting up easy targets for you.

James/Tali

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Shotgun x2, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Frag
 * Ammo: Incendiary

Tali's fragile nature is easily overcome by pairing her with James, as he can be positioned to take point and draw enemy fire while she supplants this with her combat drones. In addition, Tali's Energy Drain very easily compensates for James's lack of ability to hit shielded targets.

James/EDI
For players that prefer to hang back and let their squadmates take the brunt of attacks, this is a solid choice. Vega and EDI are the toughest members of the squad. They also offer a brutal trio of direct-damage powers: Carnage, Incinerate, and Overload. Well-suited for players that favor biotics or sniping.
 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Shotgun, SMG, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Frag
 * Ammo: Incendiary

James/Javik

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Shotgun, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Frag
 * Ammo: Incendiary

Liara/Ashley

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Sniper rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Inferno
 * Ammo: Warp, Disruptor

Liara and Ashley compensate each other's shortcomings very handily: Liara's lack of ability to harm shielded enemies is mitigated easily by Ashley's Disruptor Ammo and Marksman, while Ashley's inability to reliably damage armor without grenades is covered by Liara's Warp. Singularity allows Ashley to use Marksman and mop up weaker, unprotected enemies, making this team a great choice for missions with Reapers, as husks and cannibals fall prey to a crossfire very easily.

Liara/Kaidan

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Warp

A team very adept at creating biotic combinations, as Kaidan's Reave and Liara's Warp can both start or finish a biotic explosion. These explosions, when coupled with Liara's Pure Biotic passive class, can come out quite numerously. In addition, Liara's inability to do extra damage to shielded opponents is mitigated with Kaidan's Overload.

While Kaidan does use an assault rifle and can use the squad boost of Warp Ammo, this team's strength, first and foremost, is biotics.

Liara/Garrus

 * Weapons: Sniper rifle, Assault rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing, Warp

This combination is a well-rounded option suited for most combat situations. Garrus provides firepower and overload for shields, while Liara provides crowd control with warp for armor/barriers. Liara's singularity can be used to rout unprotected enemies while her stasis can paralyze more powerful enemies (such as phantoms). If Shepard is a biotic, some interesting biotic combos can be made with singularity and stasis.

The main drawback of this combination is the lack of close range capability and survivability. This is easily offset if Shepard is a Vanguard, Soldier, or Sentinel however.

Liara/Tali

 * Weapons: Shotgun, SMG, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Warp

Liara/EDI

 * Weapons: SMG x2, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Warp

Liara/Javik

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: Lift
 * Ammo: Warp

An interesting contrast exists between Javik and Liara's implementation of biotics. Liara's Stasis and Singularity powers immobilize, while Javik's Pull and Slam fling them about. Together, they provide a great deal of battlefield control, and, of course, biotic explosions should be abound.

Garrus/Ashley

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Sniper rifle x2
 * Grenades: Inferno
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing, Disruptor

Ashley and Garrus are inarguably the most firepower heavy squad members in the game, and when paired are capable of wreaking absolute havoc. With access to both armor-piercing and disruptor ammo, enemy protections won't be much of a problem. Overload serves to only further complement this combination's shield/barrier countering capability. Keep Ashley on her Assault Rifle (ideally a Revenant), and switch between Sniper Rifles and Assault Rifles on Garrus for medium to long range and close quarters respectively. Works great with Adepts and Vanguards.

Garrus/Kaidan

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Sniper rifle, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing

An exceptionally versatile team that can utterly decimate higher-level enemies, such as Banshees, Brutes, Geth Primes, and Phantoms. No other team can come close to stripping enemy armor, shields, or barriers so quickly and effectively.

Have Kaidan train his Alliance Officer passive skill to boost his biotics to maximum potential, as Garrus's Overload will do more damage to Shields than his Concussive Shot will do to barriers. Garrus's Armor-Piercing ammo, if given the squad damage, can assist with Kaidan's lower weapon damage.

This team will also synergize well with any class Shepard may be, as Kaidan's Reave can assist with any biotic detonations if Shepard is an Adept, Vanguard, or Sentinel, while the Soldier or Infiltrator can take full advantage of Cryo Blast to deal maximum damage.

Garrus/Tali

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Sniper rifle, Shotgun, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing

Garrus/EDI

 * Weapons: Sniper rifle, Assault rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing

This tech-heavy team is very effective at tackling Cerberus missions. Both can overload shields, and a combination of Armor-Piercing Ammo and Incinerate will make short work of armor. Place EDI front and center, and keep the much more fragile Garrus back behind cover.

Garrus/Javik

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Sniper rifle, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Lift
 * Ammo: Armor-Piercing

Tali/Ashley

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Sniper rifle, Shotgun, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Inferno
 * Ammo: Disruptor

Useful squad pairing for geth missions, Tali provides Sabotage and drone support while Ashley has Disruptor Ammo to strip shields and stun geth enemies.

Tali/Kaidan

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Shotgun, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: none

For missions against the geth, this is one of the best teams to use, as both Tali and Kaidan can start or finish tech explosions with Energy Drain or Overload, and utterly rip through geth. As all of the opponents are synthetic, Tali's Energy Drain will allow her to keep her shields charged. Even against Reapers or Cerberus, the team has excellent crowd control with Kaidan's Cryo Blast and Tali's drones.

While it does have long range options, the team is not the best at range, and relies upon Kaidan's assault rifle to drop foes from a distance.

Tali/EDI

 * Weapons: Shotgun, SMG, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: none

This pairing is one of the most ideal for Geth and Cerberus missions. EDI can Overload shields, while Tali drains them. EDI is tough enough to take the brunt of geth hunters, who will find themselves uncloaked by Tali's defense drones. Between Tali's drones and EDI's Decoy power, the enemy will rarely be spending much time attacking the squad itself. The weakness of this team is long range, because neither have access to rifles.

Tali/Javik

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Shotgun, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: Lift
 * Ammo: none

EDI/Ashley

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, Sniper rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol
 * Grenades: Inferno
 * Ammo: Disruptor

An utterly versatile and vicious team that can tear through enemies quickly. Particularly effective against Cerberus, since Ashley and EDI can provide quick tech detonations to quickly drop Atlas Mechs and turrets, as well as killing the nearby engineers that set them up.

While Ashley has decent toughness, EDI's superior defensive abilities and Ashley's superior range provides the dynamic for EDI to take point while Ashley hangs back in cover.

EDI/Kaidan

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: none
 * Ammo: none

First and foremost, this is one of the toughest teams in the whole game for raw survivability: both EDI and Kaidan are the two toughest tanks in the game. While EDI has higher shields and Defense Matrix, Kaidan can reduce damage even more than she can by combining Barrier with Reave.

Offensively, both characters are tech powerhouses. Both EDI and Kaidan can decimate enemy protections with their wide variety of powers. EDI's Incinerate will combo with Kaidan's Cryo Blast to deal increased armor damage, making them extremely effective at dealing with Brutes, Banshees, and Atlas Mechs at the higher levels, while both have Overload to deal with Shields or synthetic enemies.

EDI/Javik

 * Weapons: Assault rifle, SMG, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: Lift
 * Ammo: none

Javik/Ashley

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: Inferno, Lift
 * Ammo: Disruptor

Javik/Kaidan

 * Weapons: Assault rifle x2, Heavy pistol x2
 * Grenades: Lift
 * Ammo: none

Reapers
Garrus and James have a good power set to choose from when fighting reaper forces. Garrus can use overload which is good for stripping the barriers found on banshees and given by barrier engines. Armor-Piercing Ammo can be evolved to give the entire squad a large bonus against armor. When equipped with high level Prothean Particle Rifles (From Ashes DLC) this team can tear through most enemies very quickly. James brings Frag Grenade and Carnage to the mix. Carnage does a decent amount of damage to armor. If a dangerous enemy (eg. Banshee,Brute,) tries to close in James can use a Frag Grenade causing massive damage and making the enemy to stagger giving you time to escape. Arms Master also gives a boost to James already powerful Prothean Particle Rifle.

Default
These are the default outfits available for squad members.

Alternate
These are alternate outfits for squad members that are included in the game.

N7 Collector's Edition Pack Alternate
These are alternate outfits for squad members that are added by downloading the N7 Collector's Edition Pack.

From Ashes Alternate
These are alternate outfits for squad members that are added by downloading From Ashes.