User blog:Noobking87/Vanguard Playthrough - Day Two

Not as much happened today as yesterday. I did a lot of running around and mining, and took care of a couple little side missions. I did, however, recruit Kasumi and do her loyalty mission, and also recruited Garrus. Boy, were those missions a challenge this time.

Mission - Kasumi: Stealing Memories
 * Equipment
 * Pistol - M-5 Phalanx
 * SMG - M-4 Shuriken
 * Shotgun - M-22 Eviscerator
 * Heavy - ML-77 Missile Launcher

Party - Kasumi (like there's any choice.)

I always liked how this mission starts out. Makes me feel all James Bond-y. So I do my little tour, get what I need, and break into the vault. First thing I do is walk around and pick up all of Kasumi's little comments about the items there. Then I go grab my M-12 Locust. Boy am I glad I have that thing now. Then after the greybox is grabbed, the fun starts. I knew from experience that there are a lot of enemies here, all in decently tight-nit groups, so I put my shotgun away and primarily used my SMG, Shockwave and Reave to take care of foes. Occasionally I'd pull out my pistol, it's nice seeing things die in one hit, but I'd switch it back quite quickly. The YMIR Mechs that I encountered on this mission didn't give me as many issues as the one I met back on Freedom's Progress, and I didn't have an Overload user this time. Incendiary Ammo and the SMG made quick work of their shields and armor. No nice head-shot explosions though. Those are a thing of beauty, aren't they? I never changed my plan of attack, even at the end with the gunship. Way too many enemies, and that blasted thing firing at me all the time. Kasumi was ignored, which made her Shadow Strike so killer. Finally we got that stupid gunship's shields down, which is when I pulled out my Missile Launcher. I brought this thing for a reason, and watching it blow up that gunship was quite satisfying.

Mission - Dossier: Archangle
 * Equipment
 * Pistol - M-5 Phalanx
 * SMG - M-12 Locust
 * Shotgun - M-22 Eviscerator
 * Heavy - M-622 Avalanche

Party - Kasumi, Mordin

I was ready for a hard one. As a close-range combatant with what seems at times endless waves of enemies, I knew it was gonna be fun. So I worked my way up, reprogramming the YMIR Mech on my way. I even charged a couple of enemies on my way up to Garrus, just to make a point (and I hadn't Charged in so long.) The Eclipse wave was a piece of cake, all things considered. Just pulled out my Phalanx, parked myself not too far from Garrus and sniped them. I love that pistol. A few times I'd toss a Reave or a Shockwave, just to spice it up a little. When the YMIR came out, I helped it take out a few more mercs before they managed to blow it up. Wasn't long till their boss went down. Then came the basement run. First shutter is always a piece of cake to close. Then I went to the one on the left, with all the little covers to climb over. It took a while, but the super-close quarters made my Eviscerator smile. It was the last one that gave me the trouble. I played it too cautiously, and got overwhelmed. At least it was an honorable death, I was killed by a Krogan. A quick re-load later and I went a lot more offensively. I pulled out my Avalanche, and I found a reason to love that weapon. It was a thing of beauty, seeing all those frozen idiots just standing there. They died so much faster, and I closed the gate that time without too much effort. The Blood Pack's wave was similarly handled. I pulled out my Avalanche, and froze them all. Even Garm got frozen before he made it up the stairs. A point blank shotty blast took care of him. Finally was the Blue Sun's wave. It was actually the easiest wave, they came in to perfect shotgun or pistol-sniping areas, a few Reaves and Shockwaves kept them off balance. The gunship itself died at a barrage of incendiary SMG shots. I felt satisfied, this was definitely the challenge I was looking for. And hey, now I have Garrus back, with that pole up his ass. Long-range attacks and Overload, perfect.

End of Day Report
 * Level - 7
 * Incendiary Ammo - 2
 * Cryo Ammo - 1
 * Charge - 2
 * Shockwave - 1
 * Pull - 0
 * Assault Mastery - 3
 * Reave - 1

Total Playtime - 9h, 10m || Save # 22