Mako Guide

The Mako is your tank, mobile turret, emergency cover and all-round best friend when exploring hostile areas, and 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.

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.

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 as it will knock them over rather than blowing them away. The machine gun's other major advantage is against your opponent's shields. The cannon can take out two shield levels at once but then takes time to recharge, while 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 cannon is suitable for large groups of smaller enemies on lower difficulty settings - it will instantly vaporize all of them in one hit - but 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 to take their shields out first, then use the cannon while they're vulnerable. If fired into an enclosed space full of smaller enemies, the cannon will clear the room very effectively. The cannon takes several seconds to recharge after each shot, so plan to dodge or use the machine gun.

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. They will often aim at where you were rather than where you are, and careful use of the jets can ensure their missiles go wide.

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.