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ME3 DecoyDecoy is a tech power in Mass Effect 3's single-player and multiplayer modes.

When this power is activated a hologram copy appears approximately 3-5 meters away. This hologram mimics the activator's appearance and movements but does not actually move, nor does it actually attack.

Power Ranks[]

Rank 1: Decoy[]

Distract opponents with this decoy.

  • Recharge Speed: 8 sec
  • Duration: 15 sec
  • Decoy Shields: 1000


Rank 2: Recharge Speed[]

Increase recharge speed by 25%.

  • Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
  • Duration: 15 sec
  • Decoy Shields: 1000


Rank 3: Duration[]

Increase duration by 30%.

  • Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
  • Duration: 19.50 sec
  • Decoy Shields: 1000


Rank 4: Duration/Durability[]

Duration

Increase duration by 40%.

  • Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
  • Duration: 25.50 sec
  • Decoy Shields: 1000

Durability

Increase shields by 40%.

  • Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec
  • Duration: 19.50 sec
  • Decoy Shields: 1400


Rank 5: Shock/Recharge Speed[]

Shock

Shock enemies for 100 points within a 2.50 meter radius of the decoy.

Recharge Speed

Increase recharge speed by 35%.

  • Recharge Speed: 5 sec
  • Duration: 25.50 sec (Duration), 19.50 sec (Durability)
  • Decoy Shields: 1000 (Duration), 1400 (Durability)


Rank 6: Exploding Decoy/Shields & Duration[]

Exploding Decoy

Decoy detonates on destruction, causing 300 damage across 4 meters.

Shields & Duration

Increase shields by 50%.
Increase duration by 50%.

  • Recharge Speed: 6.40 sec (Shock), 5 sec (Recharge Speed)
  • Duration: 33 sec (Duration), 27 sec (Durability)
  • Decoy Shields: 1500 (Duration), 1900 (Durability)


Player Notes[]

Mechanics
  • As of patch 4, melee creatures will completely ignore Decoy,[1] reducing its effectiveness especially when fighting Reapers, since Husks and Brutes will not attack the Decoy.
    • Even most enemies that shoot but also have melee attacks such as most regular foot soldiers, Phantoms, and Banshees will not attempt to engage Decoys in melee, but Decoys can still attract their ranged attacks.
    • The following enemies totally ignore Decoy: Husks, Abominations, Brutes, Scions, Praetorians, Seeker Swarms, Ravagers, Atlases, Dragoons, Adjutants, Disruption Drones, and the final boss of the Mass Effect 3: Citadel missions.
    • Banshees largely ignore Decoy, but their ranged projectiles can acquire it as a target once fired, and if the Decoy has the Shock evolution and triggers it in close proximity to a Banshee this can cause the Banshee to use its biotic scream attack.
    • Swarmers will be drawn to a Decoy but they can't attack it, making it a useful "bug zapper" with the Shock evolution.
    • Harvesters take some time to get distracted by a Decoy, and once they do target it, it won't last long.
  • Many enemies will ignore the Decoy if they see you spawn it. Certain less intelligent enemy types such as Cannibals appear to be more consistently fooled. Cerberus troops can be heard saying "drone deployed" when Decoy is used close to them.
  • Most of the time, a Decoy must be closer to enemies than any other potential friendly target for enemies to focus on it.
  • Kai Leng can be fooled by Decoy and will attack it.
  • Unlike other "pet" powers (Combat Drones, Sentry Turrets, etc.) the Decoy appears at a fixed distance in front of you.
    • If you try to use Decoy where it would not be able to appear, it will instead appear directly on top of your character. Because it mimics your motions, it may not even be apparent that a Decoy has spawned until you move away from your position.
    • Decoy can be summoned on top of terrain that would be impassable for a player.
  • Most enemies that shoot hitscan (non-projectile) weapons appear highly inaccurate when trying to attack a Decoy (e.g. the bullet trails from Cerberus Nemesis snipers are noticeably way off target).
    • Conversely, enemy ranged attacks that deal area damage tend to be effective at damaging and destroying Decoys, such as grenades and the missiles fired by Geth Rocket Troopers.
  • If EDI goes down while her Decoy is active, the decoy image will also go down and it will no longer draw enemy fire. If EDI is revived the Decoy will stand back up as long as it's still active. This also applies to player-deployed Decoys in multiplayer.
  • The Rank 5 Shock Evolution of Decoy works almost identically to the Rank 5 Shock Evolution of the Combat Drone, triggering a white burst of energy that knocks back and staggers enemies in close proximity. The shock does not trigger very often, but occurs immediately the moment a Decoy is created if an enemy is in range. If the player is using Decoy, recharge speeds can be fast enough to continuously redeploy it to stun enemies in range.
  • The Rank 6 Exploding Decoy's explosion triggers both when Decoy is destroyed by enemy fire and also when its timer runs out, but not when it is recast before its duration ends. The damage and area of effect is somewhat low but can detonate all three types of non-biotic Power Combos.
  • Unlike Combat Drone, Decoy is not capable of physically blocking enemy movement.
Strategies
  • This power is especially useful for halting dangerous enemies that try to advance on you such as Geth Hunters and Geth Pyros. They will stop, decloak, and attack the decoy, opening them up to attacks from yourself and allies. Exploding Decoy also tends to get the most utility against enemies like these that will attack with guns at point-blank range (enemies don't melee Decoys).
  • Decoy is excellent for drawing off sniper fire and grenades when fighting Cerberus and CAT6 especially in situations where cover is limited such as in the fight with Kai Leng.
  • Decoy is highly effective against Geth Primes; it not only draws their fire, it also draws fire from the turrets and drones they summon. However, it needs to be recast often especially against multiple Primes.
  • Because enemies firing regular weapons at a Decoy have a very hard time actually hitting it, it may not be worth investing in the evolutions that increase its shield strength.

Availability[]

References[]

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