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For the shield-restoring tech power in Mass Effect 2, see Geth Shield Boost.

ME3 Defense Matrix Defense Matrix is a tech power in Mass Effect 3's single-player mode.

Power Ranks[]

Rank 1: Defense Matrix[]

Reinforce armor with protective Foucault currents. Purge the currents to restore shields.

Slows power use by 60%.

  • Recharge Speed: 10 sec
  • Damage Reduction: 15%
  • Shields Restored: 50%


Rank 2: Recharge Speed[]

Increase recharge speed by 25%.

  • Recharge Speed: 8 sec
  • Damage Reduction: 15%
  • Shields Restored: 50%


Rank 3: Shield Bonus[]

Increase shield restoration by 20% when purging armor.

  • Recharge Speed: 8 sec
  • Damage Reduction: 15%
  • Shields Restored: 70%


Rank 4: Durability/Shield Bonus[]

Durability

Increase damage protection by 5%.

  • Recharge Speed: 8 sec
  • Damage Reduction: 20%
  • Shields Restored: 70%

Shield Bonus

Increase shield restoration by 30% when purging armor.

  • Recharge Speed: 8 sec
  • Damage Reduction: 15%
  • Shields Restored: 100%


Rank 5: Shield Recharge/Power Synergy[]

Shield Recharge

Decrease shield-recharge delay by 15%.

Power Synergy

Increase tech power damage by 25% while Defense Matrix is active.


Rank 6: Power Recharge/Durability[]

Power Recharge

Reduce power speed penalty by 30%.

Durability

Increase damage protection by 10%.

  • Recharge Speed: 8 sec
  • Damage Reduction: 30% (Durability), 25% (Shield Bonus)
  • Shields Restored: 70% (Durability), 100% (Shield Bonus)


Player Notes[]

Mechanics
  • The power use penalty at Rank 1 is not a 60% overall reduction to power recharge speed, but a 60% points reduction of the Power Recharge Speed bonus visible in the weapon loadout screen. For example, if you have +200% Power Recharge Speed when looking at the weapons screen, activating Rank 1 Defense Matrix reduces that Power Recharge Speed to +140%.
    • The power speed penalty reduction of 30% with the Rank 6 Power Recharge evolution reduces the penalty from 60% down to 30%. E.g. If you have +200% Power Recharge Speed bonus from a light weapon loadout, activating Rank 6 Defense Matrix only reduces that to +170%.
  • Defense Matrix can be activated and purged without interrupting the player while performing other actions such as running and firing a weapon.
  • The Rank 5 Power Synergy evolution only boosts the damage of actual tech powers such as Overload and not biotic powers or "combat" powers such as Carnage.
  • The damage protection bonus of Defense Matrix can stack with additional powers such as Tech Armor.
Strategies
  • Merely activating Defense Matrix does not cause powers to go on cooldown, meaning the power can be "double-tapped": activating then immediately purging for a large shield restore, useful as a quick "panic button." Leaving the matrix inactive doesn't provide the passive damage protection and/or tech power boosts but has the advantage of not slowing power use as much.
  • The purge is one of the very few methods in single-player to restore shields without waiting for them to recharge normally (Energy Drain being another). This is especially useful against enemy attacks with damage-over-time effects that can delay shield recharge, such as the ranged attacks of Banshees and the acid attacks of Swarmers.
  • Because of the shield gate mechanic the shield restore can increase the total amount of damage Shepard can survive much more than the amount of shielding would seem to indicate. Particularly on Insanity level, where many attacks will take shields down instantly, regaining any amount of shielding can restore the "gate" and increase by one the number of large bursts of damage Shepard can survive. This effect does have a minimum cooldown of several seconds, however.
  • Purging an active Defense Matrix can restore shields to an Infiltrator without breaking the invisibility of Tactical Cloak upgraded with the Rank 6 Bonus Power evolution.

Availability[]

See also[]

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