Wednesday, January 9, 2013

In depth with the N7 Demolisher Engineer


N7 Demolisher Engineer 

N7 Demolisher Engineer MP.png
These soldiers are the go-anywhere, fight-anything special forces of the Alliance that were trained at the Interplanetary Combatives Academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They had to survive combat situations "in an admirable and effective fashion" to receive the N7 rank. Many N7s now train other species in anti-Reaper asymmetric warfare.
The Demolisher uses grenades to attack at range and to terrorize the battlefield. Demolishers can also create a supply pylon that stocks allies with an unending reserve of grenades and thermal reloads.

Abilities


Heavy Melee and Dodge 

  • Explosive Omni-Tool - The N7 Demolisher Engineer punches with an omni-tool that explodes on impact, knocking enemies away.
  • Combat Roll - The N7 Demolisher Engineer rolls to quickly evade incoming attacks.

Player Notes 

General Notes
  • The Demolisher has two grenade powers, but they both draw from the same pool. Using a Homing Grenade will also deplete your supply of Arc Grenades, and vice versa. Remember to resupply frequently.
    • A maximum of 13 Grenades can be carried: the Demolisher benefits immensely from Gear Packs that increase the number of grenades that a player can carry, in addition to choosing all available Extra Grenade evolution.
    • This also applies to your grenade count bonuses from powers. For instance, having both grenade powers at rank 2 will give you two extra grenades. Along with the Demolisher passive skill, extra grenades from equipment should not be necessary. However if one does go for said equipment, one can throw dozens of grenades within 15-20 seconds, allowing for total obliteration of frontal forces, and significant or even fatal damage to the ones behind too.
    • Homing Grenades travel relatively slowly, so they should be used mostly on tougher enemies that aren't likely to be killed before it can arrive.
    • On a general comparison, Homing Grenades have a small impact radius but deal more damage than Arc Grenades, which cover a wider area.
    • Throwing an Arc Grenade followed by a Homing Grenade unleashes a powerful Tech Burst on the enemy.
  • Supply Pylon is the Demolisher's only rechargeable power. The base charge time is relatively long, and the power does not usually need to be used repeatedly. This allows for the use of heavier weapons with few ill effects.
    • Alternatively, aiming for minimal weight is also effective. Since the Supply Pylon immediately drops ammo and grenades when deployed and it is possible to reduce the cooldown to less time than it takes to deploy a grenade drop, a low-weight build can produce greater quantities of ammo and grenades by deploying a new Supply Pylon immediately after grenades are dropped.
    • Supply Pylon can be recast to instantly grant grenades and thermal clips.
    • The Supply Pylon can be used as a pseudo-mine on lower difficulties, and on higher ones in a pinch. When redeployed, the pylon explodes, dealing damage to any enemies withing a roughly 3 meter radius. On higher difficulties, the damage is negligible, but will stun most basic infantry units, allowing for escape or, if planned properly, time to kill them with guns or grenades.
  • Having a sniper rifle or a heavy pistol/assault rifle with a scope mod can allow a player to "ammo-dump-camp;" throwing grenades from a safe distance and refilling them reliably while sniping enemies.
    • Weapons with small clip capacity (like the Cerberus Harrier or the Reegar Carbine) can be used to great effect since the Supply Pylon negates the faults of these weapons.
    • M-98 Widow is exceptionally useful in the hands of the N7 Demolisher class, who does not require low cooldown times. The shield-breaking qualities of the Demolisher's Arc Grenade (especially if the "Shield Overload" evolution is chosen at Rank 6) help overcome the shield gate seen on higher difficulties, allowing the player to dispatch most, if not all infantry-class enemies with a single headshot (the Extended Barrel is recommended to make sure the player inflicts the most possible damage with the Widow's one-shot clip). In addition, the Demolisher's signature power, the Supply Pylon, remedies another weakness of the Widow: low ammo capacity. This frees up a weapon slot that would otherwise be occupied with the Spare Thermal Clip mod, leaving room for another, more useful mod. The Piercing Mod is generally preferable to the Enhanced Scope, unless Cerberus smoke grenades pose a challenge, at which point the Demolisher could simply proceed to spam grenades into the smoke cloud.
  • The Demolisher's heavy melee is a blunt omni-tool punch which explodes on contact. While this attack is relatively weak, it is capable of knocking down enemies and push them away slightly, acting much like a Concussive Shot.
Cerberus
  • Homing Grenades can be quite effective against phantoms, as they might still be in the explosion radius after dodging.
  • They also prove rather effective against Guardians, as they tend to drop down from above and bypass the shield entirely.
Reapers
  • Clearing out Cannibals should be your number one job with the Demolisher. Use your gun or grenades to kill a Cannibal, and wait for the rest to begin feeding on it. Dropping a Homing Grenade on this pile will eliminate most, if not all, of them.
  • Arc Grenades are very effective at clearing out swarms of husks or swarmers.
  • Homing Grenades are also effective against the slow-moving Ravagers, with the added bonus of wiping out recently spawned swarmers aswell.
Geth
  • Geth, and other synthetics, are weak to Arc Grenades. A wise move would be to set up a supply pylon in a defensible well-covered position with an ammo box right by it, and keep up a steady stream of grenades. A damage-optimized grenade will kill Geth Troopers in one hit, and if the grenades don't kill Hunters and Rocket Troopers outright, they'll be severely damaged and easy to finish off. Clearing out the weaker enemies single-handedly will leave the rest of the squad free to bring down the more durable Pyros and Primes. It is advisable to use Disruptor Ammo on your weapon, as this will increase your chances of setting off a tech burst.
  • Be warned that because Arc Grenades are highly effective against geth, using a large number of them over a short period will make the Demolisher their highest-priority target. This can make it dangerous to unleash a salvo of Arc Grenades without good cover to hide behind; conversely, it can also be a useful distraction tactic if the Demolisher is in a position to survive the fire of a lot of enemies at once.
Collectors
  • The Demolisher may have a hard time being effective here. Collectors are close-quarters specialists that will rush/flank players and push them out of cover; camping is not recommended.
  • Keep a light weight load. Because Supply Pylon cannot be moved around, you may find yourself doing one of two things; running back and forth from ammo drops to get grenades you have just used, or, using up all of your Thermal Clip Pack consumables before wave 5, which is definitely ineffective. Be prepared to continually drop new Supply Pylons.
  • On the bright side, being hit by a Seeker Swarm has little impact on the Demolisher as they don't affect Grenade Powers.
  • Heavy Melee won't kill Abominations in most situations, but throws them away from the player and nearby allies, making it safer to finish them off conventionally

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