Shockwave

This article is about the biotic power Shockwave in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. For the Shockwave skill in Mass Effect: Andromeda, see Shockwave (skill).

Shockwave is a biotic power in Mass Effect 2 and in Mass Effect 3's single-player and multiplayer modes.

Mass Effect 2

Biotic shockwave topples enemies in your path.

Power Ranks

• Rank 1 - You launch a string of concussive mass effect fields in a narrow path in front of you, violently knocking targets aside.
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard); 12.00 seconds (others)
  • Number of Shockwaves: 8.00
  • Impact Radius: 1.50 meters
  • Impact Force: 300.00 newtons

• Rank 2
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard); 12.00 seconds (others)
  • Number of Shockwaves: 10.00
  • Impact Radius: 2.00 meters
  • Impact Force: 400.00 newtons

• Rank 3
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard); 12.00 seconds (others)
  • Number of Shockwaves: 12.00
  • Impact Radius: 2.50 meters
  • Impact Force: 500.00 newtons

Rank 4

Evolves Shockwave into one of the following options:

Heavy Shockwave

• Your Shockwave's power strengthens to become a biotic freight train, swatting aside everything in a long path.
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard); 12.00 seconds (others)
  • Number of Shockwaves: 12.00
  • Impact Radius: 2.50 meters
  • Impact Force: 700.00 newtons

Improved Shockwave

• Your Shockwave now has a wide impact radius, taking out everything in a broad strip in front of you.
  • Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard); 12.00 seconds (others)
  • Number of Shockwaves: 12.00
  • Impact Radius: 3.50 meters
  • Impact Force: 500.00 newtons

Player Notes

• When used, the power sends out a series of explosive biotic impacts in front of the player ignoring any obstacles. This can be exploited to attack while remaining safe from enemy fire and also to hit enemies hiding behind cover, though it may take multiple castings, especially as the path of the shockwave can be altered in unpredictable ways by firing it through terrain.
• It can be unleashed along the ground to launch all enemies in its path into the air, or used against already airborne targets which can send them flying great distances, sometimes off the map for an environmental kill.
• As with all force-imparting attacks, Shockwave will instantly kill any unarmored Husks or Abominations it hits.
• Shockwave can be used against most destructible environmental objects; care should obviously be taken when using the power in close proximity to anything explosive.
• When Shockwave hits a protected target, that enemy won't be sent flying or knocked out, but it will be stunned briefly, losing a small amount of protection in the process. The damage done depends on the level of the power's impact force and the type of protection hit. This is useful for stopping advancing enemies, suppressing their fire, or knocking them out of cover.
  • Shockwave deals 50% more damage to barriers (purple bar) than it does to shields and armor.
  • Even though Improved Shockwave supposedly has the same impact force as a level 3 Shockwave, it actually deals slightly less damage. Heavy Shockwave deals the most damage to protections.
  • Harbinger and certain other opponents like YMIR Mechs still with their protections intact can't be stunned, even by Heavy Shockwave.
• Having a target "locked" before performing a Shockwave starts the impacts closer to that target. This also applies when ordering Jack to use her Shockwave. Without any enemy locked, the player's Shockwave will always start at their feet.
• If the player uses Shockwave, and brings up either the Power Wheel or the Weapons Wheel (tactical pause), the Shockwave's visual effect won't stop, but its gameplay effects are only noticed after closing the Wheel.
• This ability is similar to the Scion's attack, but has different effects and properties.
• Shockwave has no effect at all against totally frozen enemies.

Availability

• Adept
• Jack
• Vanguard
• Scion
• Tela Vasir

Mass Effect 3

Topple a row of enemies with this cascading shockwave.

Power Ranks

Rank 1: Shockwave

Topple a row of enemies with this cascading shockwave.

• Recharge: 8 sec (Shepard)
• Damage: 200 (300 multiplayer)
• Force: 600 N (700 N multiplayer)
• Radius: 2 m
• Range: 10 m (16 m multiplayer)

Rank 2: Recharge Speed

Increase recharge speed by 25%.

• Recharge: 6.40 sec (Shepard)
• Damage: 200 (300 multiplayer)
• Force: 600 N (700 N multiplayer)
• Radius: 2 m
• Range: 10 m (16 m multiplayer)

Rank 3: Force & Damage

Increase force and damage by 20% (25% multiplayer).

• Recharge: 6.40 sec (Shepard)
• Damage: 240 (375 multiplayer)
• Force: 720 N (875 N multiplayer)
• Radius: 2 m
• Range: 10 m (16 m multiplayer)

Rank 4: Force & Damage/Radius

Force & Damage Increase force and damage by 30%. Recharge: 6.40 sec (Shepard) Damage: 300 (465 multiplayer) Force: 900 N (1085 N multiplayer) Radius: 2 m Range: 10 m (16 m multiplayer)

Radius Increase radius by 30%. Recharge: 6.40 sec (Shepard) Damage: 240 (375 multiplayer) Force: 720 N (875 N multiplayer) Radius: 2.60 m Range: 10 m (16 m multiplayer)

Rank 5: Detonate/Reach

Detonate Increase force and damage of biotic detonations by 50% (65% multiplayer).

Reach Increase the distance the Shockwave cascades by 50%. Recharge: 6.40 sec (Shepard) Damage: 300 (465 multiplayer) [Force & Damage], 240 (375 multiplayer) [Radius] Force: 900 N (1085 N multiplayer) [Force & Damage], 720 N (875 N multiplayer) [Radius] Radius: 2 m (Force & Damage), 2.60 m (Radius) Range: 15 m (24 m multiplayer)

Rank 6: Recharge Speed/Lifting Shockwave

Recharge Speed Increase recharge speed by 40%. Recharge: 4.85 sec (Shepard) Damage: 300 (465 multiplayer) [Force & Damage], 240 (375 multiplayer) [Radius] Force: 900 N (1085 N multiplayer) [Force & Damage], 720 N (875 N multiplayer) [Radius] Radius: 2 m (Force & Damage), 2.60 m (Radius) Range: 10 m (16 m multiplayer) [Detonate], 15 m (24 m multiplayer) [Reach]

Lifting Shockwave Suspend targets in the air for a short time.

Player Notes

Mechanics

• Shockwave can hit up to 2 targets per cast, including Swarmers.
• Unlike in Mass Effect 2, Shockwave no longer travels along the ground, but now travels straight outwards from a character in the direction faced. It can thus be used on targets above or below the caster. The range and area of effect of the power is smaller than in the previous game, but it is more consistent and predictable overall. Also different from the previous game, Shockwave is guaranteed to deal some level of damage to any target hit, on top of any damage caused by the force component of the ability. The multiplayer version of Shockwave deals significantly more damage.
• As in Mass Effect 2, Shockwave can travel through cover. This aspect can be exploited to remain safe from enemy fire and attack with impunity. Shockwave has a much shorter base range than in Mass Effect 2, so for maximum cover penetration, take the Reach evolution at rank 5.
• Shockwave force will stagger most protected infantry enemies while knocking most unprotected (red bar) infantry enemies off their feet entirely. Enemies that are carried forward by the force of the shockwaves can be damaged by multiple pulses of the ability.
• Shockwave is a detonator power for all types of Power Combos, and with the Lifting Shockwave evolution can even prime unprotected infantry enemies for Biotic Explosions. Biotic combo damage can be further enhanced with the rank 5 Detonate evolution, which stacks with similar bonuses from other powers like Warp and Throw. Shockwave is also one of the few powers that can detonate multiple primed enemies with one use, as each individual cast can detonate two combos.
  • The Lifting Shockwave evolution only primes lifted enemies for a relatively short time as the duration of the lift is fairly short baseline, making it somewhat challenging for the player to detonate it with their own follow-up powers unless power cooldown times are close to the minimum possible, or abilities with no cooldown are used, e.g. Nova or Cluster Grenade. The lift duration can be increased through the duration-increasing evolutions of powers such as the Adept's Biotic Mastery, making the self-performance of combos more feasible.
• Using a Shockwave on Cerberus Guardians or CAT6 Heavies will cause them to stagger, leaving them less protected against weapon fire for a brief moment. Lifting Shockwave will not dislodge or remove their handheld shields.
• In multiplayer, using Shockwave while standing next to a player armed with a sniper rifle, or against targets near a player using a sniper rifle, can severely disrupt the other player's aim.
• Shockwave can be used to destroy inanimate objects in single-player such as Geth Trip Mines, Cerberus shield generators and pylons, and Reaper Barrier Engines. It can also knock out the elevators in Priority: The Citadel II. However, it cannot destroy the latches on power control boxes on missions like N7: Cerberus Attack.

Strategies

• For the single-player Vanguard and the multiplayer Human Vanguard classes, Shockwave can be a useful tool as it is the only baseline ability that can detonate Power Combos at range.
• While Shockwave may not seem as useful compared to a projectile power like Warp or Throw that can seek targets at long range, it does have the advantage that opponents will not be as able to avoid it, either by dodging or remaining behind cover. It is useful for spamming possible approaches to slow and damage advancing enemies, even those trying to advance under cover of smoke or invisibility.
• Even if it is not used to create Biotic Explosions, Lifting Shockwave can be useful just to make targets easier to shoot—weapons enhanced with Warp Ammo or Warp Rounds deal massive bonus damage to lifted targets.
• Shockwave can be very effective when used in tandem with powers that can prime combos on many opponents often, such as Flamer, Incendiary Ammo, Inferno Grenade, Snap Freeze, Annihilation Field, and Singularity. Remember that to maximize combo damage, both the priming power and Shockwave should be at rank 6.

Availability

• Single-player: Adept, Vanguard, Jack
• Multiplayer: Human Adept, Human Vanguard, Batarian Enforcer Sentinel, Krogan Shaman Adept

Bugs

• On the PC version of Mass Effect 3, Shockwave's Radius evolution at rank 4 is bugged: after several impacts it will stop affecting enemies, though the effects will sometimes resume after several more uses. This bug exists in both single-player and multiplayer. Not choosing the Radius evolution is the only way to avoid the bug, though reloading a save in single-player can temporarily eliminate it.

Trivia

• When attacked by Shockwave, some enemies in Mass Effect 2 will exclaim warnings to their allies that are usually only reserved for when Shepard uses heavy weapons, e.g. "They've got heavies!"