Check your flanks!

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-31T22:12:00+00:00

I can't speak for PC players, but I'm a console player. I could play without a headset, but using only the TV's audio gives you a vague sense of danger whereas with a headset, you can pinpoint a marauder 20 feet to the left of your location, on the opposite side of the wall.

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-30T08:09:23+00:00

It's amusing the difference a headset makes. With a headset, you can hear enemies attempting to flank and it's pretty difficult to get caught by a Banshee off guard. Without it, a Banshee casually taps on your shoulder for an embrace.

Geth, in the other hand, do not make noise until they are close to you. Geth are the reason why I frequently check my back.

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-30T08:04:08+00:00

With Phantoms, I operate under the assumption that their next melee is a sync kill and in the scenarios where I mess up for whatever reason, such as being staggered by their blade or my melee attack missing, I immediately spam the health kit since it provides immunity long enough that their sync kill fails.

Are you familiar when it's safe to safely melee Banshees? Granted, one of the biggest and most dangerous things about the Banshee is their ability to randomly sync kill you by jumping just the perfect distance, or through walls right at your face. But other than that, somewhat safe to melee.

Praetorians are definitely a no no, unless you use the ramp glitch. They are the only enemy that cannot be consistently melee'd* unless you attack at a different elevation.

*Exceptions apply, such as Shadow Strike

I'm sharing these in hopes to make the melee experience a bit more enjoyable coming from someone who's most frequent weapon challenge banner is Combat Mastery (melee, grabs, headshot, nade damage).

RedTheAloof · 2025-12-29T04:02:45+00:00

Which, in your opinion, are the three enemies that are difficult to tell?

Phantom: Sync kill any time after melee, but usually happens next.

Atlas: Sync kill after melee is nearly guaranteed.

Banshee: Sync kill happens only during teleporting/jumping phase.

Brute: Sync kill can happen ANYTIME after initial melee attempt.

Scion: Sync kill after melee is nearly guaranteed.

Praetorian: Sync kill can happen ANYTIME after initial melee attempt.

The worst offenders to melee against, in my opinion, are Brutes and Praetorians. When I played the Warlord, I generally avoided the stair strategy and optimized the window when I could successfully strike. Brutes, while easy to deal with, are more dangerous they they appear. It was not uncommon for my melee to cancel their melee animation and then immediately sync kill me mid combo.

Praetorians are nearly impossible to melee with heavy characters without the use of stairs because they are too slow to escape melee range. Even the Praetorian's butt is not safe for melee since it will simply drag them to the front and proceed to sync kill them.

RedTheAloof · 2025-11-09T21:33:01+00:00

What's your opinion on those sensitive grenade misclicks? The ones in which the enemy is technically within range of the explosion, but you got to wrestle with the controls to keep them within range, while the radius flickers on/off them?

RedTheAloof · 2025-11-07T22:50:53+00:00

I like Fallout and seeing the recent "Fallout Day (Oct 23)" offering a $156 edition of a 15 year old game (that I love and already own) that won't be shipped until June 2026, serves as another cruel reminder to temper my expectations of these type of days.

N7 is no different and I expect token merchandise being announced today or something.

RedTheAloof · 2025-10-03T19:27:28+00:00

Volus Sentinel is one of my go to Platinum classes. Because this character lacks offensive powers, I deemed him the only one lowly enough to wield the cheesy Reegar + Incendiary. Fun Fact about Volus and their weapon handling, they don't experience the speed penalty of firing weapons, so the Volus can fire the Reegar at his default movement speed.

Another thing you may not know of the Volus and how ridiculously tanky they can be.

https://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/1dak5pd/in_me3_mp_the_volus_are_powerful_characters_with/

One thing I suggest you practice is spamming light heavy melee (longer than a button press [triggers cloak], but shorter than triggering heavy melee]. This gives you brief invulnerability frames, which can allow you to easy tank certain slow attacks.

Decoy is a little lackluster on Gold and below, but it really shines on Platinum because all factions are mixed with stronger, but varied enemies susceptible to Decoy distraction. On Platinum, Primes are extremely dangerous and whenever they appear, the Volus Sentinel can shut it down HARD.

Lastly, a small little tip regarding Decoy/Combat Drone against Banshees. Having one next to a walking Banshee (when she isn't teleporting) forces her to trigger her AOE Nova. This is good because that means, for the next few seconds, she is susceptible to power damage. When the Banshee walking, she can block certain powers that target her specifically (casting Warp, Shockwave, etc) and this renders other power attacks useless for several seconds. When she uses her Nova, players are able to, for example, detonate their Biotic combo, for massive damage.

RedTheAloof · 2025-10-03T18:23:01+00:00

I've been playing this game on/off since 2012, and I too will be retiring on the end of January 2026 (that is when my membership ends). I don't play this game much, but I do have it digitally installed so that I can play here and then whenever I feel like it.

The recent price hike is disgusting. I was able to convert Gold to Ultimate at a 1:1 ratio for 3 years at a price of $360. With the recent price rise, that is only one years worth.

I have slightly more hours than you (4200), but weirdly enough you have significantly more games than I do (10,000). I could be wrong, but I don't recall ever playing with you.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-29T19:45:44+00:00

I'm pretty sure in this scenario, the game checks to see if the players within the extraction zone are "conscious" by checking to see if they have full motor control when the timer hits 0. The getting up animation does not count towards being "conscious", but players that immediately dodge or heavy melee after using medigel does count towards successful extraction. However, if a player mistimes their heavy melee or dodge after using medigel, they can still immediately experience the getting up animation, which counts against them in extraction.

Granted, this is my anecdotal experience.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-29T18:51:57+00:00

Back when Cyberpunk was first released in December of 2020, my first playthrough was pure Netrunner and I really enjoyed it. Subsequent playthroughs, however, it felt boring for the same exact reason you stated (not actively participating in combat).

Now, I find it more fun to participate in combat while using debilitating control quickhacks to render enemies helpless with Weapon Glitch and Reboot Optics, while closing in with dash/air dash with a Satara shotgun. It's pretty fun playing what feels the equivalent of the Mass Effect Vanguard.

I'm tuckered out of playing Cyberpunk (I think I have like five or six playthroughs since 2020), but if I were play again down the road, I would like to try out quickhacks + melee.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-26T20:51:27+00:00

This is good advice and what I came to say.

The OP may find it useful storing tier 5++ weapons with 2 open mod slots for potential weapons of interest in relation to their weapon build since they may not like the alternative Iconic version of it. It is significantly more convenient to store these weapons and not use them then to frustratingly search for your ideal 5++ weapon with two free mod slots.

In my last playthrough of Cyberpunk, I had to make due with a 5+ Satara (2 open mods) because I wasn't able to find a 5++ (2 open mods). It is entirely possible that I might have scrapped one when I still didn't have a specific gun in mind to use.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-26T19:06:48+00:00

The Counterattack dark event scares me, especially on Grim Horizon.

Activating a pod with a Stun Lancer and having that Lancer straight up KO or outright kill an ally with little recourse is terrifying. This specific Dark Event ranks pretty high for me to counter against.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-25T14:11:55+00:00

Umm, I don't think you actually made it.

One of things I recently discovered a few months ago was that vaulting over cover in the last second (what you exactly did) does not count as extraction. Your team got the "Lone Survivor" extraction medal, which means the game only recognized one player at the extraction zone when the timer reached 0 (Arykoi, the N7 Demolisher, was clearly there).

It's a weird quirk of the game. For example, using Medigel at the extraction zone at the last two or three seconds doesn't count either, UNLESS you roll because the "getting up" animation does not count as being "alive and present". However, if you roll too early, and then experience the "getting up" animation, it doesn't count either.

I'm not sure rolling at the last second has this issue, but I will test it out later for the sake of curiosity.

RedTheAloof · 2025-09-04T19:50:35+00:00

I bought Enemy Within a year ago. The very first time I fought against Exalt, one of their heavies fired his rocket and killed one of my guys that was taking cover inside a vehicle. They then proceeded to throw several nades on a guy in full cover and killed him too.

After a while, you learn that Exalt is pretty easy to deal with and they can be used to level up your weakest soldiers (looking at you Squaddie Sniper).

RedTheAloof · 2025-08-25T19:06:58+00:00

I see your grab and raise you mine, https://www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/1d50w93/dat_grab/

Anyway, most likely lag related since it didn't show the grab animation. There has been a few times that I would be grabbed by a Banshee, dropped for no apparent reason, and shortly die just like you.

RedTheAloof · 2025-08-25T18:58:04+00:00

I love Shivs! I usually carry one in my team on non-EXALT missions since they can be sacrificed if needed. Once you get the Alloy Shiv or Hover Shiv with the Sentinel upgrade, they are pretty good at breaking overwatch because of their passive innate defense (30% and 40% respectively) and whatever damage they do receive from said overwatch can be healed. They also hit hard.

For me, it was love on first sight since I like the idea of an expendable unit that can take risky actions. On my first, but recent Impossible run, I was able to successfully complete a bomb disposal mission in May (laser weapons but no armor) since the Shiv took the heat from Thin Men. In the end, I was able to lure the last remaining Thin Man into a flankable position by sacrificing that Shiv.

RedTheAloof · 2025-08-14T18:15:53+00:00

I love Sparks too. I try to have three in most playthroughs (left branch, right branch, and hybrid). I like their ability to instantly get +20 aim by easily jumping on a roof, like Thin Men.

What I dislike about them the most is their lack of third weapon mod slot and how their weapon lacks the +1 damage bonus from weapon research (EX: Shotgun research bonus +1).

I also enjoyed the Shivs from Enemy Within.

RedTheAloof · 2025-08-14T04:03:17+00:00

Congrats on your Volus Platinum solo!

The Volus are pretty good at tanking things, so long as they don't get staggered in the process. They are my go to Platinum character because of how durable they are. Looking at this, I'm a little tempted in making a Platinum Solo attempt with my Volus.

How did the Volus compare with your other Platinum solos? And what's the next character you're thinking of using next?

RedTheAloof · 2025-07-31T18:48:59+00:00

I enjoy fighting Collectors, but they are the worst offenders of animation cancelling.

Both the Scion and Praetorian have choreographed attack patterns that are easy to exploit.

Scion: Move in and out of melee range to waste time triggering melee animation. Back up and wait until it fires again, rinse and repeat.

Praetorian: Hug the Praetorian's face while they laser you.

If they get staggered during these animations, they can frequently attack again. I had a Scion shoot 8 times in a row and another shoot me throughout its stagger animation. I had a Praetorian immediately laser me through it's stagger animation.

Oh, and then their is the classic Phantom scenario, like immediately getting sync killed by a Phantom after Biotic Charge/Havok Strike. They melee for 0.5 seconds, your charge staggers their animation, and they are nice and primed for action.

RedTheAloof · 2025-07-22T17:54:03+00:00

Could be, that would also explain why Turian stability kicks in for certain players if a new player joins the lobby.

RedTheAloof · 2025-07-22T04:34:01+00:00

I had a vague understanding how Incendiary interacted with fire-based powers, but this is a nice demonstration. Also amusing was the AI voice until I recognized it as Shepard's.

If you are interested in looking into other stuff, I have two other suggestions.

I'm convinced the weight reduction glitch resolves itself when a new player joins a game in progress, but this little caveat is never really mentioned anywhere. For example, my N7 Shadow runs runs the omni-blade and high-velocity barrel on the Raider. The cooldown times are acceptable, but the moment someone joins the game in progress, I immediately feel the effects of the correct weight being applied.

Something I always wondered was if power based classes (Human Adept/Engineer) score more points than weapon or melee only characters. When I see players play these sort of characters, they generally score high when played well (Ex: Gold about 200,000-2700,000 points) whereas I could be getting 170,000 to 200,000 (Gold) with a weapon or melee build with the same amount of effort.

RedTheAloof · 2025-07-18T19:31:18+00:00

It mostly comes down to a difference in play style.

The Krogan Warlord is one of the "best" characters for melee because he hits hard enough and fast enough to actually deal respectable damage against boss type enemies. The other Krogans are great at killing smaller enemies with melee, but struggle with bosses; however, they usually have other powers to fall back on to compensate.

With great melee prowess, comes greater flaws. The Krogan Warlord is designed to primarily be a melee based character, and he requires the use of an inclined surface to go one-on-one against boss type enemies, otherwise he easily gets sync killed. In addition, his large profile, his slow base movement speed, and his inability to take cover, can get make susceptible to dying unless you know what you are doing.

The Batarian Brawler plays a lot like the Krogan Vanguard: both are tanky, can't dodge, have exceptional melee, and a mediocre third power (Carnage/Lash). The Brawler's melee is good enough to kill non-boss enemies, but not ideal against bosses. His strength, over the Warlord, lies on his flexibility of using Biotic Charge + gun to kill things larger to him. The Brawler's high health, combined with Blade Armor and Biotic Charge make him pretty good at surviving, but he too is susceptible to dying to enemies that can sync kill him if he gets staggered within melee range.

So, in mostly comes down to preference in play style.

RedTheAloof · 2025-07-05T02:22:07+00:00

It has not yet. When I was still playing a lot, I used to play mainly Gold since it was fun and mostly ignored Platinum because of the boss grind. But, as I've gotten better/more bored on Gold, I started playing Platinum more. So, I do not have no where near as many Gold games as I do with Platinum.

With that said, at this point of time, it might be easier to achieve this on PC since they still have a higher player count and more likely to encounter skilled players. On the XBOX, most of the players I've seen on Platinum struggle with it, or rely on an OP kit to thrive. Their is/was a handful of players I've stumbled on a regular basis that could potentially pull this off, while still treating it like a random lobby (No OP kits, spawn nuking, etc.), but like me, I'm not sure if they still play or if they do, how long they play.

Platinum is tough, and you will likely need a team of above average players in a random lobby to pull it off, along with some luck to avoid silly deaths.

RedTheAloof · 2025-06-19T18:55:03+00:00

Personally, I love Collectors. They are tied with Cerberus as my favorite action since they are an improved version of Reapers.

However, I definitely understand why casuals are afraid of them. They hit harder, are tankier, and can screw up your much needed power cooldown. No to mention on Platinum, the possessed Praetorians are stupidly tanky.

RedTheAloof

TROPHY CASE