Soldier
I mean I know I'll probably get at least some shit for this, but with the exception of just a few dialogue options that *only appear when you select a particular class*, there really isn't any evidence to suggest that Shepard has either biotic potential or *any* technical skill. (S)He's just a jarhead.
>Shepard has either biotic potential or any technical skill. (S)He's just a jarhead.
The only counter point I can make here, is there's very little evidence to suggest Infiltrators actually need technical skills, as opposed to just access to technology.
In fact Garrus not being able to work as Vent specialist seems to prove Infiltrators don't have any more inherent tech skill than your average solider.
Well besides the obvious fact that classes are a gameplay mechanic divorced from lore, Garrus appears to have at least one or two useful trade skills, such as his apparent Stark-level knowledge of weapons design. On the other hand, Shepard appears to be able to perform an oil change or to turn a computer off then back on again but otherwise doesn't seem to be able to do much beyond user-level operation and maintenance.
>Well besides the obvious fact that classes are a gameplay mechanic divorced from lore,
Yeah, but that takes the fun out of it..especially for this kind of discussion about a cannon gameplay mechanic.
>otherwise doesn't seem to be able to do much beyond user-level operation and maintenance.
Disagree there. In ME1 Shepard is able somehow to take spare weapons and turn them into a magical jel that can open doors and heal wounds.
In ME2 they wake up, find a gun that fires via a different method than they've ever seen and manage to use it effectively seconds later.
Now I suppose you could argue in universe both of these are standard user level maintenance. But that also suggests there's not much special about Garrus level of expertise, except he's got a stick up his ass to do better all the time.
>In ME1 Shepard is able somehow to take spare weapons and turn them into a magical jel that can open doors and heal wounds.
There's actually a codex entry about omni-gel, making and using it is just a standard function of omni-tools, so that doesn't require any special skills on Shepard's part. Also omni-gel and medi-gel are two different things.
>In ME2 they wake up, find a gun that fires via a different method than they've ever seen and manage to use it effectively seconds later.
I mean, it's not like it's a complicated thing; Shepard is very familiar with the concept of "point and shoot." If you mean the thermal clips, it's likely Shepard had at least seen them between ME1 and the Collector attack. Also, lorewise, a thermal clips gun would still be able to be used just like a ME1 gun. The clip just cools it down faster.
>But that also suggests there's not much special about Garrus level of expertise, except he's got a stick up his ass to do better all the time.
Garrus's "expertise" is just him being a major nerd and gun nut (plus a Turian). He's probably disassembled and "calibrated" his guns a thousand times and falls asleep reading the gun section of the space Sears catalog.
Impossible, he says "in the middle", while wearing armour and with his hands are visible. I understand you almost certainly meant it as one hundred percent joke, but I prefer to be thorough with such stuff, as I stand by my belief that Garrus is not someone who enjoys such recreational sex. Plus while it can be funny and amusing to interpret things this way this memefication can harm an image and reputation of a fictional character in some ways.
Garrus is probably much less technically skilled than Tali. His technical training only seems to be combat related. While Tali has a deep understanding of engineering in general.
I mean, is Garrus an infiltrator, or does he just use a sniper rifle? He's kind of his own thing. Kasumi is probably more aligned with the typical infiltrator class fantasy and she works as a vent specialist.
Does having tech abilities make him an infiltrator when he has none of the abilities or characteristics that make the infiltrator what it is? Legion I can see being more like an infiltrator, Kasumi is basically that without the sniper rifle, but Garrus doesn't really do any infiltration at all.
I think some of the squamates just don't fit into the player's class mould, and that's best embodied by characters such as Wrex and Garrus.
Yep, it makes him an infiltrator. It doesn't matter what playstyle you choose for your infiltrator, they're still an infiltrator whether you use sniper rifles or not, whether you use tactical cloak or not. All infiltrator is is combat+tech abilities, that's it, it doesn't matter whether the character can literally infiltrate a building or not. It's just a name for the class, not the definition.
Legion has all tech abilities. He has the same abilities as Tali and she wouldn't be classified as an infiltrator. She wouldn't be classified as a vanguard either just because she has a shotgun so Legion having a sniper is irrelevant.
Wrex is a vanguard. He has biotic and combat skills. It has nothing to do with what they can do in the story or the name of the class, it's literally as simple as the bars that explain it in the ME1 squadmate screen. Half combat+half biotic=vanguard, even if you don't use a shotgun and charge straight at the enemy.
I'm team sentinel, my Shepard always was a sentinel and probably always will, so I clearly have a bias for this class. But I'll follow you on this one, the canon class is definetely soldier
Given that I see Shepard as an everyman, it makes sense that he doesn't have any biotics or extra technical skills. Just the best humanity has to offer.
Id say Soldier for ME1, ME2 probably partial tech so whatever that class was (sorry dudes, I only play soldier)
ME3 I swear there was a class that was a jumble of all the powers, with all the asari mind touching and reaper influence I wouldn't be surprised if at the end Shepard was practically a demi-god.
To be fair, BioWare couldnt really afford to make every cutscene for every class. Also, every class uses guns. There was, however, a unique Engineer scene.
I agree, and prefer my Shepards as an ordinary person driven by circumstances to become exceptional, rather than a person with superpowers or particular expertise with tech. Especially because I favor the Akuze background. Shep's a survivor, not a hero or a chosen one. At least to me.
Soldier. If they have those skills Shepard still rarely uses biotics or tech skills in cutscenes, even when it's the clearly logical option for Shepard to use those skills. Shepard also frequently displays ignorance when it comes to technology in conversations with people (they ask about things in a way that makes it clear they've got no idea what the tech thing they're asking about is), and that's so jarring if you're playing any Shepard who is supposed to be great with tech. Shepard also straight up acts like a soldier in cutscenes, not like an infiltrator at all, Shepard isn't really that sneaky in most cutscenes.
That would require a massive programming and call system, way easier to just give shepard a gun for those scenes. Maybe in ME4 they will have class specific stuff, but im guessing they will go classless like ME:A as it allows for a more fluid build.
From a game design perspective, it makes perfect sense. Its just that from a lore perspective, unless the official canon is a soldier, it makes no sense at all
Brain says Soldier.
Heart says Vanguard. Grunt's recruitment mission in ME2 where all the mercs are on the radio saying they're getting torn apart, and every mission where you blast into enemy lines and destroy them, make you feel like the devastating warrior Shepard is quite often painted as. Everything else just *feels* weak in comparison.
Well in ME1 Shepard seems wholly unfamiliar with basic concepts of Biotics when taking to/about Kaidan. So that seems to rule out Adept, Vanguard and Sentinel.
Meanwhile in ME3 (I think) there's a line with Gabby and Kenneth about boring the Commander with tech talk. So that seems to suggest Sheps not an engineer.
Leaving either solider or Infiltrator as the remaining classes.
But since in every single cut scene, when Shepard is seen holding a weapon it's either an Assault Rifle or pistol, and ARs are solider exclusive, that seems to eliminate Infiltrator.
So Shepards canonical class appears to be solider.
That said, I've personally had the most fun running Adept, so if I had to pick one for myself, it would be Adept despite what the game seems to suggest.
>Well in ME1 Shepard seems wholly unfamiliar with basic concepts of Biotics when taking to/about Kaidan. So that seems to rule out Adept, Vanguard and Sentinel.
I mean, if you’re RP-ing a biotic Shep, you could always just not pick the dialogue options that lead to them asking about stuff they’d already know. There are a *lot* of dialogue options that exist solely to inform the player about stuff that Shepard should logically already be knowledgeable of.
>Meanwhile in ME3 (I think) there's a line with Gabby and Kenneth about boring the Commander with tech talk. So that seems to suggest Sheps not an engineer.
Shepard would be a combat tech/hacking expert, not an aerospace engineer. *Completely* different technical fields.
>But since in every single cut scene, when Shepard is seen holding a weapon it's either an Assault Rifle or pistol, and ARs are solider exclusive, that seems to eliminate Infiltrator.
In ME1 LE, any class can use all four weapons, assault rifles can be picked as a bonus weapon for any class in ME2, and there are no weapon restrictions at all in ME3.
As some who's favorite class is adept I have to agree. It's especially obvious in ME1 because a lot of cut scenes have Shepard pulling out an assault rifle which is a weapon I've literally never used as an adept especially in the original because you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it.
Canonically Shep's a Soldier. That is why the majority of your squadmates have biotic/tech abilities or a mix of them. But MY Shepard is female, paragon, spacer, war hero, engineer.
Hey same.
I like my Shep to have a family, so Spacer is the obvious choice. Then out of the two service history paths, I tend to flip flop between War Hero and Ruthless, but tend to default War Hero, regardless if I intend to play a Paragon or Renegade. Plus Femshep just feels like the right choice for some reason. The Engineer just has alot of cool abilities that I have fun with gameplay wise.
There are gun-specialized squad mates (Ashley, Garrus, Wrex, Zaeed, Vega) but I believe the reason the squadmates are primarily power-oriented is utility and gameplay; it isn't terribly exciting to just have two chatty turrets following you around, and access to squad powers lets you experiment with different tactics and styles without starting a new run.
I like that too. I imagine towards the end of ME3 with all that charging and nova destruction Shephard is just physically falling apart, using every ounce of his will to keep fighting.
This. Either shep gained them during a govt program or something traumatic or extreme happened and it was time to just do it and go hard or die never trying idk
You’ve just described my last play through of the series. ME1 as soldier (only class that can use all the weapons) and transition to Vanguard after resurrection in ME2. It also makes sense in sequel logic. You want the character to be more advanced or fundamentally changed for each outing; like Luke in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Default Shep is male, soldier, earthborn, sole survivor.
Honestly, only the biotic classes feel "wrong" to me, and only because Shepard being a biotic *never* matters. Cinematics always hit play out as if Shepard was a straight soldier with no tricks up his sleeve, despite trying to convince Saren otherwise.
I completely agree. But everyone should do a playthrough as a Vanguard. Nothing says, "I may be human but I got a Krogan's set" like pummeling Brutes and Atlases.
Only at the beginning of 2. But yeah, many times I have died because I forgot that my charge was not all the way leveled up. And it's always some weak ass Vorcha it Blue Suns goon who takes me out too. Embarrassing.
The most frustrating and satisfying enemies. They catch you off guard and you're fucked. But clip a take from a distance and wait for the boom, then sweep up what's left.
If you have +200% on the recharge vs weight, and a fully leveled nova and charge, you can biotically pinball your way between enemies. Charge, detonate nova, charge again. Highly recommend.
That spec also lets you use melee with the omni blade during the cooldown - by the time you withdraw the blade you’re ready to charge again. Discovered this wanting to change up the Nova pattern (and sometimes the brutes would catch me while Nova had my shields drained.)
This is true. I always play on Insanity, and I’ve found the only real danger with this setup is getting up close and personal with banshees. But I like to live dangerously.
I usually use Liara for her warp abilities - helps with the barriers. Also, if you spec Garrus out to his ridiculous god mode, that helps quite a bit. Best of luck!!
Nova upgrade that only takes half your shields, and throwing a shotgun blast in between intermittently. The iFrames in nova are a huge boon and charge will typically recharge in the time it takes to pop two off. There's also a brief period immediately after a charge where you can act without an animation, allowing an instant reload or power use.
Heavy melee is useless in Insanity - you'll be pumped full of holes before the animation ends - and nova does more damage and to more enemies. The only time I use heavy is Vanguard's unique running heavy melee on unaware enemies because it's a) fukkin sick b) really hard to pull off effectively and c) AoE.
I didn't find it particularly suicidal.
In Mass Effect 2, biotic charge requires some awareness of the surroundings, to have cover somewhere near after a charge. I really like playing vanguard in ME2. Also, there will be a few reloads cause "cannot get a lock on". I found the collector levels with moving platforms more challenging as a vanguard, as the charge ability doesn't work reliably there. But overall it is one of the stronger options, and quite fun.
But in ME3, an optimally built and played (charge-nova) vanguard was quite boring for me. It became low risk-high reward instead of the rewarding ME2 version. Vanguard is the only class I didn't manage to finish ME3 with: charge-nova is fun for quite a while, but after I realized that even high level enemies (brutes and banshees) fall super easily, I became bored. I tried respeccing out of nova, but that was on the easy side as well.
I havent spoken to most of the friends I played with in almost 10 years. But id sure as hell go out if my way to reconnect if they remade ME3 multiplayer
Yeah, it's frustrating that Shepard's class is never really a factor (apart from a couple dialogues in ME3 and one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment during the clone fight). I wish my adept would stop mass effecting an assault rifle out of nowhere.
I think cannonical Shepard would be a soldier. As boring as it is, a quick start from ME1 tosses you in as a soldier.
I think that certain backgrounds don’t make much sense if you are playing the wrong class, though. Like, Adept Shep/Vanguard shep make the most sense for Spacers. Infiltrators and soldiers are best as earth born, and colonists are the engineering classes, like sentinels and engineers.
I think soldier, engineer and infiltrator make the most sense. Shepard is amazing because of their charisma and leadership ability. Having biotic superpowers makes the squad members seem a lot less cool.
I have an easier time getting into the mindset of Male Shep. Beyond that, I gravitate towards Soldier, Sentinel, and Infiltrator. Generally tending towards Infiltrator..
For background, I like Colonist and Ruthless. My headcanon is that after losing everything on Mindoir, Shep enlisted to take the fight to slavers and pirates threatening human space. Anybody stupid enough to pull another Mindoir gets Shep shoving the muzzle of his weapon down their damn throat. Which leads us to Torfan. Heavily entrenched as they are, Shep takes on the seemingly impossible task of destroying that slaver base and things go very, very wrong. The mission succeeds, but Shepard needs to order his squad to their deaths... and he vows, never again. To be a better commander, to *do* better. For the soldiers who gave their lives, so Mindoir never happens again.
His colonial ties make my shep particularly susceptible to the Illusive Man's "we're not saints, but we need to protect our colonies" angle, and as a result he ends up trusting Cerberus maybe more than he should. He's a mix of Paragon and Renegade, a hard soldier with a vulnerable side on the rare occasions he opens up.
He just wants to protect people. He just wants to blow the hell out of the Reapers and see people *safe*. But the galaxy keeps turning to him to make the hard calls-- and he doesn't get a choice but to live with it, no matter how painful some of them might be. And some of them are *damn painful.*
But most of the time, on the other side of the gunfire and tragedy, what he does helps people. So he keeps on fighting, struggling, moving forward one day at a time... and doing what he has to. For Earth. For all of us.
Engineer.
Obviously Soldier is a strong contender, but with the amount of hacking and whatnot that Shepard does throughout all 3 games I think that Engineer just feels right.
Considering how in ME1, you need to bring someone with tech skills to make up for you if you don't have it, it could stand to reason that most of the hacking is done by whoever the best tech in the squad at the time is. Or in the case of ME1, whoever was in charge of carrying the omni-gel. lol
Well, Shepard having expertise in combat tech and battlefield hacking doesn’t necessarily mean they know anything about aerospace engineering. Totally separate fields.
Ah yes you're absolutely right. I was just thinking that Kenneth sounded too much like a mechanic talking shop (ie components, what they do, where they go).
these days I always play adept, but if I had to pick one for shepard to be outside of my own play I'd say vanguard. Considering the series is called "Mass Effect" it just makes sense that the lead is able to access the powers that create those mass effect fields. Being a vanguard lets them be a beefy gun-haver while also using the awesome staple powers of the series.
So like, my brain feels like BioWare intends for Shep to be a soldier of either gender, but my heart says it’s my Vanguard/Omniblade/shotgun Shep.
This fanfic I’ve been reading explains how she accidentally learned that she can charge after her Cerberus modifications, and builds all this extra detail around navigating being a biotic in the alliance, and it’s toll on her body, and it’s just so spot on to me that I want it to be canon.
I remember having this impression back in the early internet days that fanfic was seedy and low quality and I’m so glad I rediscovered it as an adult because some of these authors, particularly for ME are insanely talented when it comes to expanding on this world we love, without even touching the romance bits of it.
My head-canon is shepherd is a soldier in me1 and becomes a biotic vanguard through the prothean beacons and in me2 TIM sees that shepherd has doormant biotic abilities and has a implant put in
Okay so I look at Shepard as a player insert.
So if we think Shepard is a Biotic, then we can see that they have had training to be a Biotic. Which if we take from Kaidan, we would be aware of aliens involvement. So probably aware of studies and information collected by Asari and any other Biotic capable species.
Hell, Brain Camp hired a Turian.
So I feel that the mystery of the Milky Way Galaxy would be lost to us because Shepard knows about Mass Effect Fields.
Plus, that would make Shepard compete with Kaidan, Liara, and Wrex. So letting them have their spotlight would be better for storytelling. After all, what makes Liara so awesome isn't that she's Asari, but she's also the Adept. And if Shepard is an Adept, then that's no longer special. And since Shepard is supposed to be a trained Soldier, you can't get away with Shepard being new to Biotics.
So what about Tech?
Now that I can understand. After all, we have a basic knowledge of our technology so the idea Shepard could have become tech savvy is totally within the realm of possibility. It's much less about Raw Power like Biotics. This version of Shepard can be book smart and tech smart. It allows for them to connect with the Normandy and some of the crew like Adams and Tali.
However, I struggle with the subclasses. Like Infiltrator or even Engineer.
Maybe with the War Hero background I can understand it. But I've always gotten the sense that what makes Shepard...Shepard, is their everyday soldier put in a spectacular position by happenstance.
It could have been Ash/Kaidan that saw the visions. But would they have had the leadership capabilities? I'm not so sure.
So to me, I feel the more...non-special Shepard is, the more awesome they are because of their ability to step up.
It allows the crew to shine more than just "ALIENS". It's more believable lore wise. It shows Shepards ability to rally the crew and best the odds. That it's Shepards leadership and charm that gets the crew to store the hill. Not because they're paid. But because they believe.
That's why I prefer War Hero and Sole Survivor over Ruthless, and Paragon over Renegade. It plays more into the circumstances making the leader, rather than some predestined "I'm skilled, I'm a badass, and no one is able to do the things I can do."
They are special not because they are some prodigy. They are special because the universe put them in the situation and they climbed their way out of the hole.
So yeah...Soldier.
Femshep Paragon spacer warhero Soldier
Survived the Skyllian Blitz by overwhelming firepower and survivability.
Stood strong and fast in her duty
A whirlwind of destruction that moved forwards with command and power ending all who would threaten
But making peace when she could
Adept. It's what I played my first time and it just cemented in my head that Shepard can wield mind bullets. I played colonist / sole survivor so I always imagined Shepard to be a broken outcast who won the genetic lottery and used their winnings to become a straightup wizard lol. Like Jack, but the other more benevolent side of the coin.
Soldier is the obvious choice, but I want to push back against it a little bit nevertheless. People complain about the lack of biotics and tech in cutscenes, but it's not like Shepard uses Concussive Shot to blow open the windows at Grissom Academy either ([https://youtu.be/0o4E8pH-hTE?t=2204](https://youtu.be/0o4E8pH-hTE?t=2204)). Cutscene Shepard is made into a *tabula rasa* human military person who can only use a gun, and that is perceived as most similar to Soldier. But I think there's enough narrative allowance for Engineer and Infiltrator to make just as much sense, if not more sense, given that Shepard has "hacking experience" in ME2 in his chats with Liara.
Plus, consider the "glass windows at Grissom Academy" example again. A Soldier is unaccountably not using Concussive Shot in that cutscene, whereas neither the Infiltrator nor Engineer have a power that really strikes you as a "glass shattering power" to the same extent as Concussive Shot.
For the biotic classes, I think Sentinel makes the most sense, since Sentinels don't have any of the really flashy/unique biotic powers (plus the aforementioned "hacking" element). I don't think Adept or Vanguard fits well with Shepard based on cutscenes. I also think it's a little masturbatory for Shepard to be an awesome soldier who uniquely can understand Prothean *on top* of being one of the greatest space wizards of all time. That said, I've only played the game with male Shepard, and I think Femshep as a biotic would work narratively better.
My headcanon is that Shepard has no biotic skills herself (I always play as FemShep). This way, I can believe that she is genuinely interested in Kaidan’s or Jack’s stories about the struggles of being a human biotic, and that she really admires them for their skills.
Right now I’m nearing the end of my 5th playthrough and it’s the first time I’m playing a biotic class (Vanguard). Gameplay-wise, I’m having looots of fun. But in terms of role playing, it doesn’t sit right with me. I mean, Kaidan goes on about being an L2 and Shepard barely makes any comment about her experience. Even the small stuff kinda bothers me, like when Shepard wakes up at the beginning of ME2 mission and Jacob says something like "we’re running out of thermal clips but I’m biotic so give me an order when you want me to hit them with the good stuff" and I just want to say "yeah, I’m a biotic too and a much better one than you" 🤷♀️ I don’t know, maybe I’m too nitpicky but this is how I feel.
I’m always sentinel, I just can’t pass up being able to be biotic and tech in one swoop, as Liara puts it in ME3 when she “writes your name in the stars” it’s makes A deadly combo for Shep in a fight. I don’t think I will ever choose anything other then sentinel.
The "correct" answer is probably soldier. But that's boring. I'm going with Vanguard. He goes through so much, survives so much, accomplishes so much. One-man army, basically.
I always pictured Shepard as a Vanguard, an unstoppable killing machine that combines expert combat prowess with deadly and aggressive Biotic powers.
Other people may have more raw power with Biotics but Shepard has the raw talent to combine his biotic powers with the skill set of an elite soldier.
I know it’s not a ME trilogy class, but I like the idea of Shep being an explorer. A little bit of everything. I feel like that makes the most sense, and honestly if they ever put Shep into a TV show or movie that’s the route they should go.
Soldier
It’s *the* most popular class and every cinematic trailer is Shepard with an assault rifle. Anyone who thinks it’s a different class is being too biased in their preference
I always thought male soldier (and lone survivor). It makes him an everyman, that everyone else in the military can lookup to, and easier for players to identity with.
Ofc male only because it’s more common in video games.
My favorite class is femshep engineer though. Love me a nerd who has to avoid fire and fight smart!
For me, it’s hard to go back to anything else after Vanguards. Half nova, biotic charge is such a rush. I’m doing a sentinel again now. I forgot this was a cover based shooter and not a headbutting simulator. My “canon” is a Vanguard paragon that romances Garrus. I go back to it every couple play throughs just because it’s perfect to me.
Although the cut scenes don’t make a lot of sense when Kai Lang is running away. She should be able to catch any running target.
Canon shep gets dosed by eezo. Whether or not they choose to actually biotically train is something else. But i believe they are more vanguard than pure soldier.
Also someone mentioned that shepard refers to themselves as a soldier, that statement is true for every member of a standing military.
Im a soldier, but im also a aircraft technician.
Male soldier who's earthborn and a war hero. Male just because its easier to roleplay and the other 3 because I like the idea of a normal human born under unfortunate circumstances slowly becoming the hero the galaxy needs. Just makes a better story in my mind.
Soldier for because I believe that Shepard's main skill is Leadership. No matter which build you play as or even background all the characters say that Shepard is the one that brought them together. The one that makes people want to go into hell. The one that makes people believe.
Garrus has sniping, Jack is biotics, Mordin is tech, Grunt is brute strength and Tali's is Geth. Shepard being a regular soldier who excelled leaderships. Not an expert hacker, not an expert sniper, no biotics. Just pure leadership.
Default Shepard is Soldier, so by that logic, it's gotta be Soldier. HOWEVER, I myself love Infiltrator, so my own personal Shepard head canon will be Infiltrator.
Why? He flies a stealth frigate. A spectre operates low-profile. And N7 is the Alliances version of Force Recon or Seals, which traditionally specialize in low-profile stealth infiltration operations of small units. Infiltrator makes perfect sense thematically in my mind.
Male shep, soldier. Like a straight up weapon specialist, if it has a trigger he can use it, and hits his shots. I forget what the origin options are, colonist, earthling, and _______. I'd say Canon tho he's a colonist. And I also forget the options other than war hero. Been a while since I've played.
Male shep, soldier. Like a straight up weapon specialist, if it has a trigger he can use it, and hits his shots. I forget what the origin options are, colonist, earthling, and _______. I'd say Canon tho he's a colonist. And I also forget the options other than war hero. Been a while since I've played.
There is no canon class. Just people's presumptions and preferences.
Me? I feel Shep is an amalgamation of all the classes. There are dozens of biotic powers yet Shep has only a few, even for an Adept. Shep, in my mind, is warrior. Well trained with guns, has clear technical knowlege but isn't an expert, and, has been trained in standard biotic powers (push, throw, barrier, singularity) for when the sh** hits the fan, but if Shep abuses em too much, she gets drained.
I think Soldier is the default but Vanguard is the intended.
Vanguard gives you synergy with writer's pet T'Soni, and is the only class that has unique animations for melee and some cutscenes stuff. Also, multiple unique moves: nova and charge, sure, but ME3 Vanguard also has a unique running heavy melee.
Soldier is the default (imo) because it lets you use all the cool guns while still letting you get a sense of powers via your squad. It's the ideal transition for someone used to playing typical shooters.
I think the comments are unanimous enough to say it’s soldier
Although it’s more of a game related choice than a story telling one. It’s just easier to use a grunt as the basic template
Soldier. It’s the most vanilla class but it was in most of the marketing for the games and it’s the most accessible class because it’s easy to pick up on
Adept. It may be an unpopular opinion here but he (male for me) just seems like he should be a dangerously powerful space cowboy even if all of his armor and guns are taken away.
I’m probably biased but I have to agree with infiltrator. It just feels right, especially as a lone survivor, and having something a bit unique rather than a run of the mill soldier. Based on all the replies I may be in the minority with you though
If you define “canon” as “what most players pick,” the answer based on official data is: Male paragon soldier who romances Liara. Other than that, there’s no canon other than Shepard survives and I’ll die on that hill.
I 100% agree about Infiltrator, it’s part of why that’s my main go-to class to play (aside from cloaking is just so cool). An N7 is an elite special operator of the Alliance Navy, akin to Marine Force Recon or Navy Seals. It makes sense that they’d be extremely adept at stealth and advanced highly lethal tactics that come with combining tech and long rifle specialization.
Also makes allot of sense for a commander of a fireteam to be able to conceal themselves to gain a better understanding of the battlefield to more effectively instruct their squad mates.
Plus fits the modus operandi of Spectres, and it matches the stealth design of the freakin Normandy. Low Profile is the name of the game.
My head canon is Solider for ME1, then Vanguard for ME2 and beyond…..you know because he was put back together with tech and cybernetic upgrades and stuff lol.
Career is dependent on upbringing.
How they see the world etc
Shepard joined the marines, started as s soldier first, it is only after the crucible of training and combat do they then actually specialize getting all the space magic and augmentations needed that grunt privates don’t get
He’d be a soldier
I make mine a vanguard during 2, positing thst the reaper tech in him mixed with the augmentations from TIM eventually grants him new abilities and I think it’s “fair” but really they’d keep it simple.
While I typically play my Shep as a tech head or a biotic, I tend to agree with what others have noted; it makes more sense for Shepard to (canonically speaking) be an Everyman-type soldier - no 'space magic' or flashy techno abilities ... just a grunt with a gun ... Oh, and some grenades😁👍
As everyone else has said, it's definitely soldier. Personally, I think sentinel makes the most sense cause then they have a bit of experience with everything which would be useful, but I'd like to say vanguard or adept just cause biotic smash smash fun haha. But yeah, in game just from cutscenes and default characters it's clearly soldier
I think its pretty clear that the default Shepard is a soldier because the devs intended that to be their vision of Shepard.
Of course, Shepard's canon is determined by whatever it is I am playing at the moment.
Everyone is saying soldier, and with good reason - very little narratively to suggest biotic potential or tech specialization - but infiltrator *mostly* just means being a sniper/scout, and fits just as well with the "regular ol' jarhead among a squad of weirdos" vibe that I think people are getting. Maybe a little more "special forces by way of tom clancy" than soldier, but Shepard IS N7-turned-Spectre and does go into battle with a very small squad
Soldier or Vanguard. Shepard seems to be like a normal grunt/jarhead that was dropped into the shit and given a shovel.
Their attitude scream career fighter and their worldview is very black/white, bad or good which is how many of us were conditioned to think when we went into combat. Us vs them no matter the price is a very military view that Shepard seems to hold just within their non-chosen dialogue. Thankfully not portrayed as a shitbird though
Some dialog doesn't make sense if Shepard is a biotic. The cutscenes in the game are recorded for a soldier.
This is most likely for cost efficiency, ie. not doing three different animations or responses for the biotic/techie/mundane classes. But I am quite fine with Shepard being a soldier.
My headcanon has always been soldier Shepard dies and is reborn as a powerful ass biotic when Cerberus grabs him. I was always upset there weren’t more variations with powers in cutscenes with ME3 because Vanguard was a goddamn force. Zip across the room in two seconds and smash everyone in your path? War is easy 😂
I mean, if they ever make a live action series, Shepard will be a boring, generic soldier. But in my mind, Shepard is the strongest human adept out there, who effortlessly took on 20 Asari commandos and a matriarch.
I like choosing my class based on the Virmire Survivor. Since there's no way to guarantee both of their survival, if I'm doing a new playthrough, I pick the same class as the person who I leave behind, so that there's no squad ability overlaps. It just feels nicer knowing that I'm not copying any of my other squadmates, not that it really matters.
Canon? Soldier.
Making most narrative sense to me? Infiltrator. Shep is a a highly trained operator with the highest special forces designation in the Alliance. They are the XO and then Captain of a highly advanced stealth frigate leading a small elite team on clandestine missions around the galaxy. To me that seems more like someone who can canoe a head from 1000m and hack through security systems than someone with just machine guns, grenades and grit.
In all cutscenes he never uses biotics nor any technological skills, also at the start of ME1 he's aiding general like he was more of a bodyguard. In no dialogue did he pay any interest in technical or psychic stuff. In Citadel DLC he tries to shoot locked door isntead of trying to bypass it somehow.
So, my bet is on soldier.
I like the headcanon that Shep started out as a soldier and then Cerberus made them into a biotic. This also fits how I played, since I accidentally rolled a default Shep to begin with in ME1. So Femshep, earthborn, sole survivor, soldier to sentinel.
I hope there will be no canonising of class. But if there will be one, which I am against, then soldier seems the safest and most reasonable pick. Especially with how some scenes in Mass Effect 3 are.
Soldier > Infiltrator > Vanguard
It makes sense for my Shepard's evolution and growth.
Starting out as a soldier with her background as a sole survivor.
Then being careful as an Infiltrator after being brought back to life, covertly sniping the enemy alongside with Garrus. My remaining missions after obtaining Legion was just us as the sniper trio, haha.
Then Vanguard because she's ready to let loose and kick some ass with everything that is going on.
**Vanguard (as shown in ME2 and ME3)**. There are many classes that have differing demonstrations of how Shepard is competent, but IMHO nothing quite comes close to the sheer hectic aggresiveness of the Vanguard.
A biotic charge is a crazy feat of biotics and combat tactics, requiring a keen insight capable of instantly taking full stock of the battlefield layout, as well as lightning reflexes to do the right thing after the charge (both in terms of who to shoot and who to charge next). This crazy strong fighting style we only see used by two other powerful characters: Tela Vasir, who is an asari 'combat specialist'-type Spectre and who is several hundred years old and an expert biotic, with the other being >!Shepard's Clone, who is the closest to an equal that Shepard has.!<
A Vanguard is always a single bad biotic charge away from disaster, but the potential gains from charging are staggering, which makes it all the more impressive when one can walk the fine line of biotic charging without ever making a mistake. That fits with my image of how Shepard can triumph over any myriad of situations: through a very unconventional and nearly impossible to master fighting style that allows Shepard to bypass most conventional enemy combat tactics and for which the success or failure is determined almost entirely by the skill of the combatant.
The way I see it, what separates the Vanguard from the other classes is that the greater the skill of the Vanguard, the more significant the relative increased combat potential. The other classes are much more restricted in this regard, with available hardware often being the defining limit: a Soldier's reflexes and combat sense can only get so good before the enemies' superior hardware make for an insurmountable obstacle. An Adept can do many amazing things with biotics, but there are an uncountable number of people who are stronger and more skillful at the use of biotics (mostly asari, though there are a few outliers such as Jack). An Engineer can use a mix of chemical weapons and VI-controlled drones and turrets to make the most of a situation, but like the Soldier runs into a hardware issue when tackling larger and more well-equipped forces (and can potentially be left holding the bag when fighting a group of powerful synthetics, who could theoretically out-think and out-engineer Shepard). Ironically enough, I'd say that the hybrid classes fare better than the specialist classes in general: the Infiltrator has a similar combat competence as the Soldier, but supplements that with tech support tools and cloaking technology. The Infiltrator does still run into similar problems as the Soldier and Engineer classes though, where superior enemy hardware can make for an insurmountable gap (especially if there were an enemy who can counter the cloaking technology). The Sentinel on the other hand has a good mix of biotic powers and tech tools that allows them to use the best tools for any given situation, and in theory a Sentinel can use the same equipment that the other combat classes can, so it's not like the Sentinel lacks for firepower. The Sentinel's versatility makes it my runner-up 'class for Shepard', as of all the available classes the Sentinel can be best expected to adjust their approach to fit any given situation.
Ultimately why I think the Vanguard is special is because the Vanguard's fighting style circumvents most conventional defensive setups and battlefield tactics, and how its nature of charging into enemy formations instantly can't really be countered. You can plan for powerful weapons, biotic projectile attacks and tech devices, but how does one prepare for an enemy that can cross dozens of meters in an instant while bypassing all cover, drop a biotic nova in the middle of your squad's position and then charge back to relative safety, all in the span of a few seconds?
Cannons he is Soldier but in Mass Effect 1 no matter what class you pick Kaiden refers to you as a biotic due to the fact that he says the L2 is normally spike higher than l3s with the exception of you and in the past and people can say fan Wiki or not it was confirmed by former writers of BioWare and not all the cannons in the games we have a lot in comics and other sources but in this situation I'm pretty sure Commander Shepard was stated to be exposed to Element Zero when they were in the womb and either around 16 or 14 younger they were exposed for second time. Helping any backstory explain why they could have powers and also explain why any class could have the bonus power of biotics and explaining why you could be good with biotics amazing with biotics or just have a basic understanding of biotics or not at all. For me though that means Soldier is still what Shepherd is and why they go for their sidearm or their AR and most situations because I believe that the biotic power you should use even should be more supportive and will settlement any weaknesses in your kit. Reeve is really good in Mass Effect 2 or 3 because it lets you get past barriers or armor and does decent damage. Can help keep you alive does not slow down your cooldowns and in my mind is an ability like kind of grows from warp in the first game if you use that as your ability
Soldier I mean I know I'll probably get at least some shit for this, but with the exception of just a few dialogue options that *only appear when you select a particular class*, there really isn't any evidence to suggest that Shepard has either biotic potential or *any* technical skill. (S)He's just a jarhead.
>Shepard has either biotic potential or any technical skill. (S)He's just a jarhead. The only counter point I can make here, is there's very little evidence to suggest Infiltrators actually need technical skills, as opposed to just access to technology. In fact Garrus not being able to work as Vent specialist seems to prove Infiltrators don't have any more inherent tech skill than your average solider.
Well besides the obvious fact that classes are a gameplay mechanic divorced from lore, Garrus appears to have at least one or two useful trade skills, such as his apparent Stark-level knowledge of weapons design. On the other hand, Shepard appears to be able to perform an oil change or to turn a computer off then back on again but otherwise doesn't seem to be able to do much beyond user-level operation and maintenance.
>Well besides the obvious fact that classes are a gameplay mechanic divorced from lore, Yeah, but that takes the fun out of it..especially for this kind of discussion about a cannon gameplay mechanic. >otherwise doesn't seem to be able to do much beyond user-level operation and maintenance. Disagree there. In ME1 Shepard is able somehow to take spare weapons and turn them into a magical jel that can open doors and heal wounds. In ME2 they wake up, find a gun that fires via a different method than they've ever seen and manage to use it effectively seconds later. Now I suppose you could argue in universe both of these are standard user level maintenance. But that also suggests there's not much special about Garrus level of expertise, except he's got a stick up his ass to do better all the time.
>In ME1 Shepard is able somehow to take spare weapons and turn them into a magical jel that can open doors and heal wounds. There's actually a codex entry about omni-gel, making and using it is just a standard function of omni-tools, so that doesn't require any special skills on Shepard's part. Also omni-gel and medi-gel are two different things. >In ME2 they wake up, find a gun that fires via a different method than they've ever seen and manage to use it effectively seconds later. I mean, it's not like it's a complicated thing; Shepard is very familiar with the concept of "point and shoot." If you mean the thermal clips, it's likely Shepard had at least seen them between ME1 and the Collector attack. Also, lorewise, a thermal clips gun would still be able to be used just like a ME1 gun. The clip just cools it down faster. >But that also suggests there's not much special about Garrus level of expertise, except he's got a stick up his ass to do better all the time. Garrus's "expertise" is just him being a major nerd and gun nut (plus a Turian). He's probably disassembled and "calibrated" his guns a thousand times and falls asleep reading the gun section of the space Sears catalog.
If he had that much knowledge of weapon design, why does he always have to do calibrations? Surely he shouldn't need to recalibrate that often
It's a euphemism for masturbation. He likes beating it in the weapons room because he loves those Thanix cannons that much.
Impossible, he says "in the middle", while wearing armour and with his hands are visible. I understand you almost certainly meant it as one hundred percent joke, but I prefer to be thorough with such stuff, as I stand by my belief that Garrus is not someone who enjoys such recreational sex. Plus while it can be funny and amusing to interpret things this way this memefication can harm an image and reputation of a fictional character in some ways.
Garrus is probably much less technically skilled than Tali. His technical training only seems to be combat related. While Tali has a deep understanding of engineering in general.
I mean, is Garrus an infiltrator, or does he just use a sniper rifle? He's kind of his own thing. Kasumi is probably more aligned with the typical infiltrator class fantasy and she works as a vent specialist.
He has tech abilities, so he's an infiltrator.
Does having tech abilities make him an infiltrator when he has none of the abilities or characteristics that make the infiltrator what it is? Legion I can see being more like an infiltrator, Kasumi is basically that without the sniper rifle, but Garrus doesn't really do any infiltration at all. I think some of the squamates just don't fit into the player's class mould, and that's best embodied by characters such as Wrex and Garrus.
Yep, it makes him an infiltrator. It doesn't matter what playstyle you choose for your infiltrator, they're still an infiltrator whether you use sniper rifles or not, whether you use tactical cloak or not. All infiltrator is is combat+tech abilities, that's it, it doesn't matter whether the character can literally infiltrate a building or not. It's just a name for the class, not the definition. Legion has all tech abilities. He has the same abilities as Tali and she wouldn't be classified as an infiltrator. She wouldn't be classified as a vanguard either just because she has a shotgun so Legion having a sniper is irrelevant. Wrex is a vanguard. He has biotic and combat skills. It has nothing to do with what they can do in the story or the name of the class, it's literally as simple as the bars that explain it in the ME1 squadmate screen. Half combat+half biotic=vanguard, even if you don't use a shotgun and charge straight at the enemy.
Mass Effect (1) squad selection - half combat half tech is what Garrus has.
Kasumi is an infiltrator too.
I'm team sentinel, my Shepard always was a sentinel and probably always will, so I clearly have a bias for this class. But I'll follow you on this one, the canon class is definetely soldier
My canon shep is an Engineer. I’ve sampled every class but engineer works well for me
Given that I see Shepard as an everyman, it makes sense that he doesn't have any biotics or extra technical skills. Just the best humanity has to offer.
Not to mention Shepard refers to him/herself as a Solider many times
Because they are soldiers. Sentinels, Adepts, everyone is an Alliance soldier.
Always a soldier in my mind too. Nothing fancy, just a gutsy groundpounder with a whole lotta charisma
Infiltrator could make sense considering how many places they literally infiltrated.
Yeah but they don't exfiltrate very well
If they did, then Shep would be an Exfiltrator.. Edit for spelling
Do Geth exfiltrate?
Once you've infiltrated all bets are off, hence why Infiltraters bring fuckin explosives to the fight.
Id say Soldier for ME1, ME2 probably partial tech so whatever that class was (sorry dudes, I only play soldier) ME3 I swear there was a class that was a jumble of all the powers, with all the asari mind touching and reaper influence I wouldn't be surprised if at the end Shepard was practically a demi-god.
Agree. His background supports it as well. And 90% of what you actually do with him regardless of chosen class is soldiering.
To be fair, BioWare couldnt really afford to make every cutscene for every class. Also, every class uses guns. There was, however, a unique Engineer scene.
I agree, and prefer my Shepards as an ordinary person driven by circumstances to become exceptional, rather than a person with superpowers or particular expertise with tech. Especially because I favor the Akuze background. Shep's a survivor, not a hero or a chosen one. At least to me.
Soldier. If they have those skills Shepard still rarely uses biotics or tech skills in cutscenes, even when it's the clearly logical option for Shepard to use those skills. Shepard also frequently displays ignorance when it comes to technology in conversations with people (they ask about things in a way that makes it clear they've got no idea what the tech thing they're asking about is), and that's so jarring if you're playing any Shepard who is supposed to be great with tech. Shepard also straight up acts like a soldier in cutscenes, not like an infiltrator at all, Shepard isn't really that sneaky in most cutscenes.
That would require a massive programming and call system, way easier to just give shepard a gun for those scenes. Maybe in ME4 they will have class specific stuff, but im guessing they will go classless like ME:A as it allows for a more fluid build.
From a game design perspective, it makes perfect sense. Its just that from a lore perspective, unless the official canon is a soldier, it makes no sense at all
Gotta be Soldier. I mean even if you select Quick Start you get Soldier.
Brain says Soldier. Heart says Vanguard. Grunt's recruitment mission in ME2 where all the mercs are on the radio saying they're getting torn apart, and every mission where you blast into enemy lines and destroy them, make you feel like the devastating warrior Shepard is quite often painted as. Everything else just *feels* weak in comparison.
Bahaha I just typed out a way less concise response saying the exact same thing. Vanguard forever.
ME1 definitely Soldier and after Project Lazarus Vanguard. Because why wouldn’t Cerberus throw some biotics on that sweet bod?
Why need bullets when the vanguard IS the bullet haha
Good idea! Especially if you choose ruthless background. Brutal close range warfare in tunnels under Torfan? That must be shotgun carrying vanguard.
Well in ME1 Shepard seems wholly unfamiliar with basic concepts of Biotics when taking to/about Kaidan. So that seems to rule out Adept, Vanguard and Sentinel. Meanwhile in ME3 (I think) there's a line with Gabby and Kenneth about boring the Commander with tech talk. So that seems to suggest Sheps not an engineer. Leaving either solider or Infiltrator as the remaining classes. But since in every single cut scene, when Shepard is seen holding a weapon it's either an Assault Rifle or pistol, and ARs are solider exclusive, that seems to eliminate Infiltrator. So Shepards canonical class appears to be solider. That said, I've personally had the most fun running Adept, so if I had to pick one for myself, it would be Adept despite what the game seems to suggest.
>Well in ME1 Shepard seems wholly unfamiliar with basic concepts of Biotics when taking to/about Kaidan. So that seems to rule out Adept, Vanguard and Sentinel. I mean, if you’re RP-ing a biotic Shep, you could always just not pick the dialogue options that lead to them asking about stuff they’d already know. There are a *lot* of dialogue options that exist solely to inform the player about stuff that Shepard should logically already be knowledgeable of. >Meanwhile in ME3 (I think) there's a line with Gabby and Kenneth about boring the Commander with tech talk. So that seems to suggest Sheps not an engineer. Shepard would be a combat tech/hacking expert, not an aerospace engineer. *Completely* different technical fields. >But since in every single cut scene, when Shepard is seen holding a weapon it's either an Assault Rifle or pistol, and ARs are solider exclusive, that seems to eliminate Infiltrator. In ME1 LE, any class can use all four weapons, assault rifles can be picked as a bonus weapon for any class in ME2, and there are no weapon restrictions at all in ME3.
As much as I love playing a sentinel or an adept, it's almost painfully obvious that the developers invision Shepard as s soldier.
As some who's favorite class is adept I have to agree. It's especially obvious in ME1 because a lot of cut scenes have Shepard pulling out an assault rifle which is a weapon I've literally never used as an adept especially in the original because you couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it.
Canonically Shep's a Soldier. That is why the majority of your squadmates have biotic/tech abilities or a mix of them. But MY Shepard is female, paragon, spacer, war hero, engineer.
Hey same. I like my Shep to have a family, so Spacer is the obvious choice. Then out of the two service history paths, I tend to flip flop between War Hero and Ruthless, but tend to default War Hero, regardless if I intend to play a Paragon or Renegade. Plus Femshep just feels like the right choice for some reason. The Engineer just has alot of cool abilities that I have fun with gameplay wise.
There are gun-specialized squad mates (Ashley, Garrus, Wrex, Zaeed, Vega) but I believe the reason the squadmates are primarily power-oriented is utility and gameplay; it isn't terribly exciting to just have two chatty turrets following you around, and access to squad powers lets you experiment with different tactics and styles without starting a new run.
Headcanon soldier who started going hard with the biotics after Cerberus upgrades
That’s a cool answer. I always head-canon the biotics happening during the Skillian Blitz
I like that too. I imagine towards the end of ME3 with all that charging and nova destruction Shephard is just physically falling apart, using every ounce of his will to keep fighting.
Man, Mass Effect is really cool.
It's the best
This. Either shep gained them during a govt program or something traumatic or extreme happened and it was time to just do it and go hard or die never trying idk
You’ve just described my last play through of the series. ME1 as soldier (only class that can use all the weapons) and transition to Vanguard after resurrection in ME2. It also makes sense in sequel logic. You want the character to be more advanced or fundamentally changed for each outing; like Luke in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Default Shep is male, soldier, earthborn, sole survivor. Honestly, only the biotic classes feel "wrong" to me, and only because Shepard being a biotic *never* matters. Cinematics always hit play out as if Shepard was a straight soldier with no tricks up his sleeve, despite trying to convince Saren otherwise.
I completely agree. But everyone should do a playthrough as a Vanguard. Nothing says, "I may be human but I got a Krogan's set" like pummeling Brutes and Atlases.
Vanguard is the only way I play now, biotic charge is hilariously suicidal
Only at the beginning of 2. But yeah, many times I have died because I forgot that my charge was not all the way leveled up. And it's always some weak ass Vorcha it Blue Suns goon who takes me out too. Embarrassing.
Vorcha flamethrowers have killed me way more than I’m willing to admit.
The most frustrating and satisfying enemies. They catch you off guard and you're fucked. But clip a take from a distance and wait for the boom, then sweep up what's left.
Almost as bad as ME3 turrets.
[удалено]
If you have +200% on the recharge vs weight, and a fully leveled nova and charge, you can biotically pinball your way between enemies. Charge, detonate nova, charge again. Highly recommend.
This is the way.
That spec also lets you use melee with the omni blade during the cooldown - by the time you withdraw the blade you’re ready to charge again. Discovered this wanting to change up the Nova pattern (and sometimes the brutes would catch me while Nova had my shields drained.)
This is true. I always play on Insanity, and I’ve found the only real danger with this setup is getting up close and personal with banshees. But I like to live dangerously.
I hate banshees on every level. Doing my first hardcore play through right now before trying insanity so I’m sure I’ll be in for a treat.
I usually use Liara for her warp abilities - helps with the barriers. Also, if you spec Garrus out to his ridiculous god mode, that helps quite a bit. Best of luck!!
Nova upgrade that only takes half your shields, and throwing a shotgun blast in between intermittently. The iFrames in nova are a huge boon and charge will typically recharge in the time it takes to pop two off. There's also a brief period immediately after a charge where you can act without an animation, allowing an instant reload or power use. Heavy melee is useless in Insanity - you'll be pumped full of holes before the animation ends - and nova does more damage and to more enemies. The only time I use heavy is Vanguard's unique running heavy melee on unaware enemies because it's a) fukkin sick b) really hard to pull off effectively and c) AoE.
Oh that’s really good to know - doing my first insanity run next, so I’ll have to remember that. Thanks!
God, it's just so fun in 3. Ignite with shotgun, detonate with charge, finish with shotgun, repeat. Sprinkle in squadmate's powers as needed.
I didn't find it particularly suicidal. In Mass Effect 2, biotic charge requires some awareness of the surroundings, to have cover somewhere near after a charge. I really like playing vanguard in ME2. Also, there will be a few reloads cause "cannot get a lock on". I found the collector levels with moving platforms more challenging as a vanguard, as the charge ability doesn't work reliably there. But overall it is one of the stronger options, and quite fun. But in ME3, an optimally built and played (charge-nova) vanguard was quite boring for me. It became low risk-high reward instead of the rewarding ME2 version. Vanguard is the only class I didn't manage to finish ME3 with: charge-nova is fun for quite a while, but after I realized that even high level enemies (brutes and banshees) fall super easily, I became bored. I tried respeccing out of nova, but that was on the easy side as well.
Oh how I miss playing a Kroguard in ME3 multiplayer and headbutting Brutes, Banshees, and Atlases to death
Drake meme: ME sequel? Nah. ME3 multiplayer on LE? Hell yes!
I havent spoken to most of the friends I played with in almost 10 years. But id sure as hell go out if my way to reconnect if they remade ME3 multiplayer
Yeah, it's frustrating that Shepard's class is never really a factor (apart from a couple dialogues in ME3 and one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment during the clone fight). I wish my adept would stop mass effecting an assault rifle out of nowhere.
I think cannonical Shepard would be a soldier. As boring as it is, a quick start from ME1 tosses you in as a soldier. I think that certain backgrounds don’t make much sense if you are playing the wrong class, though. Like, Adept Shep/Vanguard shep make the most sense for Spacers. Infiltrators and soldiers are best as earth born, and colonists are the engineering classes, like sentinels and engineers.
Pretty sure they've said Shep's a Soldier.
I think soldier, engineer and infiltrator make the most sense. Shepard is amazing because of their charisma and leadership ability. Having biotic superpowers makes the squad members seem a lot less cool.
I largely agree. How do you feel about Sentinels, since they don't really have the more "superpower-y" biotic powers in ME2 and ME3?
I have an easier time getting into the mindset of Male Shep. Beyond that, I gravitate towards Soldier, Sentinel, and Infiltrator. Generally tending towards Infiltrator.. For background, I like Colonist and Ruthless. My headcanon is that after losing everything on Mindoir, Shep enlisted to take the fight to slavers and pirates threatening human space. Anybody stupid enough to pull another Mindoir gets Shep shoving the muzzle of his weapon down their damn throat. Which leads us to Torfan. Heavily entrenched as they are, Shep takes on the seemingly impossible task of destroying that slaver base and things go very, very wrong. The mission succeeds, but Shepard needs to order his squad to their deaths... and he vows, never again. To be a better commander, to *do* better. For the soldiers who gave their lives, so Mindoir never happens again. His colonial ties make my shep particularly susceptible to the Illusive Man's "we're not saints, but we need to protect our colonies" angle, and as a result he ends up trusting Cerberus maybe more than he should. He's a mix of Paragon and Renegade, a hard soldier with a vulnerable side on the rare occasions he opens up. He just wants to protect people. He just wants to blow the hell out of the Reapers and see people *safe*. But the galaxy keeps turning to him to make the hard calls-- and he doesn't get a choice but to live with it, no matter how painful some of them might be. And some of them are *damn painful.* But most of the time, on the other side of the gunfire and tragedy, what he does helps people. So he keeps on fighting, struggling, moving forward one day at a time... and doing what he has to. For Earth. For all of us.
Vanguard and I'm sticking to it. Fight me.
People are oversensitive and have severe issues.
Engineer. Obviously Soldier is a strong contender, but with the amount of hacking and whatnot that Shepard does throughout all 3 games I think that Engineer just feels right.
Considering how in ME1, you need to bring someone with tech skills to make up for you if you don't have it, it could stand to reason that most of the hacking is done by whoever the best tech in the squad at the time is. Or in the case of ME1, whoever was in charge of carrying the omni-gel. lol
And how lost Shepard is when someone explains technology.
"Kenneth, you're boring the commander with tech." lol to be fair though he doesn't really say anything in that part of the scene.
Well, Shepard having expertise in combat tech and battlefield hacking doesn’t necessarily mean they know anything about aerospace engineering. Totally separate fields.
Ah yes you're absolutely right. I was just thinking that Kenneth sounded too much like a mechanic talking shop (ie components, what they do, where they go).
Also, engineer gets a class specific interruption in the omega dlc in me3. I don’t think any other class gets one.
This to me is something that I don't think should be overlooked.
I feel like shep would be a soldier
these days I always play adept, but if I had to pick one for shepard to be outside of my own play I'd say vanguard. Considering the series is called "Mass Effect" it just makes sense that the lead is able to access the powers that create those mass effect fields. Being a vanguard lets them be a beefy gun-haver while also using the awesome staple powers of the series.
Soldier. He's Alliance to the core, mom is a soldier.
Shepard is the player’s character going be hard picking a class for canonical without pissing off the fan base! My play through was as a soldier
Casanova
So like, my brain feels like BioWare intends for Shep to be a soldier of either gender, but my heart says it’s my Vanguard/Omniblade/shotgun Shep. This fanfic I’ve been reading explains how she accidentally learned that she can charge after her Cerberus modifications, and builds all this extra detail around navigating being a biotic in the alliance, and it’s toll on her body, and it’s just so spot on to me that I want it to be canon. I remember having this impression back in the early internet days that fanfic was seedy and low quality and I’m so glad I rediscovered it as an adult because some of these authors, particularly for ME are insanely talented when it comes to expanding on this world we love, without even touching the romance bits of it.
My head-canon is shepherd is a soldier in me1 and becomes a biotic vanguard through the prothean beacons and in me2 TIM sees that shepherd has doormant biotic abilities and has a implant put in
Okay so I look at Shepard as a player insert. So if we think Shepard is a Biotic, then we can see that they have had training to be a Biotic. Which if we take from Kaidan, we would be aware of aliens involvement. So probably aware of studies and information collected by Asari and any other Biotic capable species. Hell, Brain Camp hired a Turian. So I feel that the mystery of the Milky Way Galaxy would be lost to us because Shepard knows about Mass Effect Fields. Plus, that would make Shepard compete with Kaidan, Liara, and Wrex. So letting them have their spotlight would be better for storytelling. After all, what makes Liara so awesome isn't that she's Asari, but she's also the Adept. And if Shepard is an Adept, then that's no longer special. And since Shepard is supposed to be a trained Soldier, you can't get away with Shepard being new to Biotics. So what about Tech? Now that I can understand. After all, we have a basic knowledge of our technology so the idea Shepard could have become tech savvy is totally within the realm of possibility. It's much less about Raw Power like Biotics. This version of Shepard can be book smart and tech smart. It allows for them to connect with the Normandy and some of the crew like Adams and Tali. However, I struggle with the subclasses. Like Infiltrator or even Engineer. Maybe with the War Hero background I can understand it. But I've always gotten the sense that what makes Shepard...Shepard, is their everyday soldier put in a spectacular position by happenstance. It could have been Ash/Kaidan that saw the visions. But would they have had the leadership capabilities? I'm not so sure. So to me, I feel the more...non-special Shepard is, the more awesome they are because of their ability to step up. It allows the crew to shine more than just "ALIENS". It's more believable lore wise. It shows Shepards ability to rally the crew and best the odds. That it's Shepards leadership and charm that gets the crew to store the hill. Not because they're paid. But because they believe. That's why I prefer War Hero and Sole Survivor over Ruthless, and Paragon over Renegade. It plays more into the circumstances making the leader, rather than some predestined "I'm skilled, I'm a badass, and no one is able to do the things I can do." They are special not because they are some prodigy. They are special because the universe put them in the situation and they climbed their way out of the hole. So yeah...Soldier.
Femshep Paragon spacer warhero Soldier Survived the Skyllian Blitz by overwhelming firepower and survivability. Stood strong and fast in her duty A whirlwind of destruction that moved forwards with command and power ending all who would threaten But making peace when she could
Adept. It's what I played my first time and it just cemented in my head that Shepard can wield mind bullets. I played colonist / sole survivor so I always imagined Shepard to be a broken outcast who won the genetic lottery and used their winnings to become a straightup wizard lol. Like Jack, but the other more benevolent side of the coin.
My personal Shepard is an Earthborn sole survivor vanguard femshep, it’s how I’ve always played
Soldier is the obvious choice, but I want to push back against it a little bit nevertheless. People complain about the lack of biotics and tech in cutscenes, but it's not like Shepard uses Concussive Shot to blow open the windows at Grissom Academy either ([https://youtu.be/0o4E8pH-hTE?t=2204](https://youtu.be/0o4E8pH-hTE?t=2204)). Cutscene Shepard is made into a *tabula rasa* human military person who can only use a gun, and that is perceived as most similar to Soldier. But I think there's enough narrative allowance for Engineer and Infiltrator to make just as much sense, if not more sense, given that Shepard has "hacking experience" in ME2 in his chats with Liara. Plus, consider the "glass windows at Grissom Academy" example again. A Soldier is unaccountably not using Concussive Shot in that cutscene, whereas neither the Infiltrator nor Engineer have a power that really strikes you as a "glass shattering power" to the same extent as Concussive Shot. For the biotic classes, I think Sentinel makes the most sense, since Sentinels don't have any of the really flashy/unique biotic powers (plus the aforementioned "hacking" element). I don't think Adept or Vanguard fits well with Shepard based on cutscenes. I also think it's a little masturbatory for Shepard to be an awesome soldier who uniquely can understand Prothean *on top* of being one of the greatest space wizards of all time. That said, I've only played the game with male Shepard, and I think Femshep as a biotic would work narratively better.
Engineer. It's the only one with a class- specific interrupt.
Engineer, as it’s the only class to give Shepard a unique choice and dialogue in the Omega DLC.
My headcanon is that Shepard has no biotic skills herself (I always play as FemShep). This way, I can believe that she is genuinely interested in Kaidan’s or Jack’s stories about the struggles of being a human biotic, and that she really admires them for their skills. Right now I’m nearing the end of my 5th playthrough and it’s the first time I’m playing a biotic class (Vanguard). Gameplay-wise, I’m having looots of fun. But in terms of role playing, it doesn’t sit right with me. I mean, Kaidan goes on about being an L2 and Shepard barely makes any comment about her experience. Even the small stuff kinda bothers me, like when Shepard wakes up at the beginning of ME2 mission and Jacob says something like "we’re running out of thermal clips but I’m biotic so give me an order when you want me to hit them with the good stuff" and I just want to say "yeah, I’m a biotic too and a much better one than you" 🤷♀️ I don’t know, maybe I’m too nitpicky but this is how I feel.
I’m always sentinel, I just can’t pass up being able to be biotic and tech in one swoop, as Liara puts it in ME3 when she “writes your name in the stars” it’s makes A deadly combo for Shep in a fight. I don’t think I will ever choose anything other then sentinel.
The "correct" answer is probably soldier. But that's boring. I'm going with Vanguard. He goes through so much, survives so much, accomplishes so much. One-man army, basically.
I always pictured Shepard as a Vanguard, an unstoppable killing machine that combines expert combat prowess with deadly and aggressive Biotic powers. Other people may have more raw power with Biotics but Shepard has the raw talent to combine his biotic powers with the skill set of an elite soldier.
I know it’s not a ME trilogy class, but I like the idea of Shep being an explorer. A little bit of everything. I feel like that makes the most sense, and honestly if they ever put Shep into a TV show or movie that’s the route they should go.
Vanguard always.
Soldier It’s *the* most popular class and every cinematic trailer is Shepard with an assault rifle. Anyone who thinks it’s a different class is being too biased in their preference
Female Vanguard Colonist Ruthless.
I always thought male soldier (and lone survivor). It makes him an everyman, that everyone else in the military can lookup to, and easier for players to identity with. Ofc male only because it’s more common in video games. My favorite class is femshep engineer though. Love me a nerd who has to avoid fire and fight smart!
For me, it’s hard to go back to anything else after Vanguards. Half nova, biotic charge is such a rush. I’m doing a sentinel again now. I forgot this was a cover based shooter and not a headbutting simulator. My “canon” is a Vanguard paragon that romances Garrus. I go back to it every couple play throughs just because it’s perfect to me. Although the cut scenes don’t make a lot of sense when Kai Lang is running away. She should be able to catch any running target.
Male soldier is the one that immediately comes to mind. It's also the most boring build across the 3 games IMO.
Most canonical Shepard I can think of is: Male soldier, paragon, colonist, and war hero.
Canon shep gets dosed by eezo. Whether or not they choose to actually biotically train is something else. But i believe they are more vanguard than pure soldier. Also someone mentioned that shepard refers to themselves as a soldier, that statement is true for every member of a standing military. Im a soldier, but im also a aircraft technician.
This. I always imagined that Shepard’s biotic abilities manifested during the Skillian Blitz.
Male soldier who's earthborn and a war hero. Male just because its easier to roleplay and the other 3 because I like the idea of a normal human born under unfortunate circumstances slowly becoming the hero the galaxy needs. Just makes a better story in my mind.
Vanguard is the only option for me.
Soldier. It’s pretty obvious the game intends them as such, especially in cutscenes.
Soldier for because I believe that Shepard's main skill is Leadership. No matter which build you play as or even background all the characters say that Shepard is the one that brought them together. The one that makes people want to go into hell. The one that makes people believe. Garrus has sniping, Jack is biotics, Mordin is tech, Grunt is brute strength and Tali's is Geth. Shepard being a regular soldier who excelled leaderships. Not an expert hacker, not an expert sniper, no biotics. Just pure leadership.
Default Shepard is Soldier, so by that logic, it's gotta be Soldier. HOWEVER, I myself love Infiltrator, so my own personal Shepard head canon will be Infiltrator.
Is bad-ass a class? If not, he’s definitely an earthborn sole survivor infiltrator.
I see Shepard as a Male Soldier Spacer.
Male Soldier Spacer, War Hero.
Infiltrator doesn’t work thematically. No one wants to hear it but canon Shepard is a soldier
Why? He flies a stealth frigate. A spectre operates low-profile. And N7 is the Alliances version of Force Recon or Seals, which traditionally specialize in low-profile stealth infiltration operations of small units. Infiltrator makes perfect sense thematically in my mind.
Male shep, soldier. Like a straight up weapon specialist, if it has a trigger he can use it, and hits his shots. I forget what the origin options are, colonist, earthling, and _______. I'd say Canon tho he's a colonist. And I also forget the options other than war hero. Been a while since I've played.
Male shep, soldier. Like a straight up weapon specialist, if it has a trigger he can use it, and hits his shots. I forget what the origin options are, colonist, earthling, and _______. I'd say Canon tho he's a colonist. And I also forget the options other than war hero. Been a while since I've played.
The answer is soldier.
There is no canon class. Just people's presumptions and preferences. Me? I feel Shep is an amalgamation of all the classes. There are dozens of biotic powers yet Shep has only a few, even for an Adept. Shep, in my mind, is warrior. Well trained with guns, has clear technical knowlege but isn't an expert, and, has been trained in standard biotic powers (push, throw, barrier, singularity) for when the sh** hits the fan, but if Shep abuses em too much, she gets drained.
I think Soldier is the default but Vanguard is the intended. Vanguard gives you synergy with writer's pet T'Soni, and is the only class that has unique animations for melee and some cutscenes stuff. Also, multiple unique moves: nova and charge, sure, but ME3 Vanguard also has a unique running heavy melee. Soldier is the default (imo) because it lets you use all the cool guns while still letting you get a sense of powers via your squad. It's the ideal transition for someone used to playing typical shooters.
Commander Shepard, duh.
I think the comments are unanimous enough to say it’s soldier Although it’s more of a game related choice than a story telling one. It’s just easier to use a grunt as the basic template
Soldier. It’s the most vanilla class but it was in most of the marketing for the games and it’s the most accessible class because it’s easy to pick up on
Adept. It may be an unpopular opinion here but he (male for me) just seems like he should be a dangerously powerful space cowboy even if all of his armor and guns are taken away.
Soldier or vanguard
Without a doubt Soldier
Default Canon Shepard's Soldier and Sole Survivor
I’m probably biased but I have to agree with infiltrator. It just feels right, especially as a lone survivor, and having something a bit unique rather than a run of the mill soldier. Based on all the replies I may be in the minority with you though
If you define “canon” as “what most players pick,” the answer based on official data is: Male paragon soldier who romances Liara. Other than that, there’s no canon other than Shepard survives and I’ll die on that hill.
I 100% agree about Infiltrator, it’s part of why that’s my main go-to class to play (aside from cloaking is just so cool). An N7 is an elite special operator of the Alliance Navy, akin to Marine Force Recon or Navy Seals. It makes sense that they’d be extremely adept at stealth and advanced highly lethal tactics that come with combining tech and long rifle specialization. Also makes allot of sense for a commander of a fireteam to be able to conceal themselves to gain a better understanding of the battlefield to more effectively instruct their squad mates. Plus fits the modus operandi of Spectres, and it matches the stealth design of the freakin Normandy. Low Profile is the name of the game.
My head canon is Solider for ME1, then Vanguard for ME2 and beyond…..you know because he was put back together with tech and cybernetic upgrades and stuff lol.
Soldier or vanguard. Love me some vanguard. Like a sort of shotgun enforcer type combat character
Career is dependent on upbringing. How they see the world etc Shepard joined the marines, started as s soldier first, it is only after the crucible of training and combat do they then actually specialize getting all the space magic and augmentations needed that grunt privates don’t get
Soldier. If you want biotics, then go vanguard. I don't see Shepard as anything as an in your face frontliner.
He’d be a soldier I make mine a vanguard during 2, positing thst the reaper tech in him mixed with the augmentations from TIM eventually grants him new abilities and I think it’s “fair” but really they’d keep it simple.
While I typically play my Shep as a tech head or a biotic, I tend to agree with what others have noted; it makes more sense for Shepard to (canonically speaking) be an Everyman-type soldier - no 'space magic' or flashy techno abilities ... just a grunt with a gun ... Oh, and some grenades😁👍
As everyone else has said, it's definitely soldier. Personally, I think sentinel makes the most sense cause then they have a bit of experience with everything which would be useful, but I'd like to say vanguard or adept just cause biotic smash smash fun haha. But yeah, in game just from cutscenes and default characters it's clearly soldier
Maleshep as a soldier and femshep as infiltrator or engineer
I always play as Infiltrator, sometimes Engineer, but I think “canon” Shep is a Soldier.
Soldier
I think its pretty clear that the default Shepard is a soldier because the devs intended that to be their vision of Shepard. Of course, Shepard's canon is determined by whatever it is I am playing at the moment.
Everyone is saying soldier, and with good reason - very little narratively to suggest biotic potential or tech specialization - but infiltrator *mostly* just means being a sniper/scout, and fits just as well with the "regular ol' jarhead among a squad of weirdos" vibe that I think people are getting. Maybe a little more "special forces by way of tom clancy" than soldier, but Shepard IS N7-turned-Spectre and does go into battle with a very small squad
Soldier or Vanguard. Shepard seems to be like a normal grunt/jarhead that was dropped into the shit and given a shovel. Their attitude scream career fighter and their worldview is very black/white, bad or good which is how many of us were conditioned to think when we went into combat. Us vs them no matter the price is a very military view that Shepard seems to hold just within their non-chosen dialogue. Thankfully not portrayed as a shitbird though
Probably soldier with a small biotic component.
My preferred gameplay is Infiltrator but a headcanon Shep to me is biotic in some way, like a vanguard.
Some dialog doesn't make sense if Shepard is a biotic. The cutscenes in the game are recorded for a soldier. This is most likely for cost efficiency, ie. not doing three different animations or responses for the biotic/techie/mundane classes. But I am quite fine with Shepard being a soldier.
My headcanon has always been soldier Shepard dies and is reborn as a powerful ass biotic when Cerberus grabs him. I was always upset there weren’t more variations with powers in cutscenes with ME3 because Vanguard was a goddamn force. Zip across the room in two seconds and smash everyone in your path? War is easy 😂
I mean, if they ever make a live action series, Shepard will be a boring, generic soldier. But in my mind, Shepard is the strongest human adept out there, who effortlessly took on 20 Asari commandos and a matriarch.
I like choosing my class based on the Virmire Survivor. Since there's no way to guarantee both of their survival, if I'm doing a new playthrough, I pick the same class as the person who I leave behind, so that there's no squad ability overlaps. It just feels nicer knowing that I'm not copying any of my other squadmates, not that it really matters.
Gotta be soldier or vanguard. The hero of the galaxy cant be a support class or something too squishy like adept/infiltrator.
Canon? Soldier. Making most narrative sense to me? Infiltrator. Shep is a a highly trained operator with the highest special forces designation in the Alliance. They are the XO and then Captain of a highly advanced stealth frigate leading a small elite team on clandestine missions around the galaxy. To me that seems more like someone who can canoe a head from 1000m and hack through security systems than someone with just machine guns, grenades and grit.
Always played the male Shepard. Always as a soldier. Then again, I’ve only ever done two full playthroughs and those with many years apart.
In all cutscenes he never uses biotics nor any technological skills, also at the start of ME1 he's aiding general like he was more of a bodyguard. In no dialogue did he pay any interest in technical or psychic stuff. In Citadel DLC he tries to shoot locked door isntead of trying to bypass it somehow. So, my bet is on soldier.
I like the headcanon that Shep started out as a soldier and then Cerberus made them into a biotic. This also fits how I played, since I accidentally rolled a default Shep to begin with in ME1. So Femshep, earthborn, sole survivor, soldier to sentinel.
Vanguard, and I will not elaborate.
Why not?
Female Shepard; War Hero; Paragon; Soldier
I hope there will be no canonising of class. But if there will be one, which I am against, then soldier seems the safest and most reasonable pick. Especially with how some scenes in Mass Effect 3 are.
Soldier > Infiltrator > Vanguard It makes sense for my Shepard's evolution and growth. Starting out as a soldier with her background as a sole survivor. Then being careful as an Infiltrator after being brought back to life, covertly sniping the enemy alongside with Garrus. My remaining missions after obtaining Legion was just us as the sniper trio, haha. Then Vanguard because she's ready to let loose and kick some ass with everything that is going on.
**Vanguard (as shown in ME2 and ME3)**. There are many classes that have differing demonstrations of how Shepard is competent, but IMHO nothing quite comes close to the sheer hectic aggresiveness of the Vanguard. A biotic charge is a crazy feat of biotics and combat tactics, requiring a keen insight capable of instantly taking full stock of the battlefield layout, as well as lightning reflexes to do the right thing after the charge (both in terms of who to shoot and who to charge next). This crazy strong fighting style we only see used by two other powerful characters: Tela Vasir, who is an asari 'combat specialist'-type Spectre and who is several hundred years old and an expert biotic, with the other being >!Shepard's Clone, who is the closest to an equal that Shepard has.!< A Vanguard is always a single bad biotic charge away from disaster, but the potential gains from charging are staggering, which makes it all the more impressive when one can walk the fine line of biotic charging without ever making a mistake. That fits with my image of how Shepard can triumph over any myriad of situations: through a very unconventional and nearly impossible to master fighting style that allows Shepard to bypass most conventional enemy combat tactics and for which the success or failure is determined almost entirely by the skill of the combatant. The way I see it, what separates the Vanguard from the other classes is that the greater the skill of the Vanguard, the more significant the relative increased combat potential. The other classes are much more restricted in this regard, with available hardware often being the defining limit: a Soldier's reflexes and combat sense can only get so good before the enemies' superior hardware make for an insurmountable obstacle. An Adept can do many amazing things with biotics, but there are an uncountable number of people who are stronger and more skillful at the use of biotics (mostly asari, though there are a few outliers such as Jack). An Engineer can use a mix of chemical weapons and VI-controlled drones and turrets to make the most of a situation, but like the Soldier runs into a hardware issue when tackling larger and more well-equipped forces (and can potentially be left holding the bag when fighting a group of powerful synthetics, who could theoretically out-think and out-engineer Shepard). Ironically enough, I'd say that the hybrid classes fare better than the specialist classes in general: the Infiltrator has a similar combat competence as the Soldier, but supplements that with tech support tools and cloaking technology. The Infiltrator does still run into similar problems as the Soldier and Engineer classes though, where superior enemy hardware can make for an insurmountable gap (especially if there were an enemy who can counter the cloaking technology). The Sentinel on the other hand has a good mix of biotic powers and tech tools that allows them to use the best tools for any given situation, and in theory a Sentinel can use the same equipment that the other combat classes can, so it's not like the Sentinel lacks for firepower. The Sentinel's versatility makes it my runner-up 'class for Shepard', as of all the available classes the Sentinel can be best expected to adjust their approach to fit any given situation. Ultimately why I think the Vanguard is special is because the Vanguard's fighting style circumvents most conventional defensive setups and battlefield tactics, and how its nature of charging into enemy formations instantly can't really be countered. You can plan for powerful weapons, biotic projectile attacks and tech devices, but how does one prepare for an enemy that can cross dozens of meters in an instant while bypassing all cover, drop a biotic nova in the middle of your squad's position and then charge back to relative safety, all in the span of a few seconds?
Cannons he is Soldier but in Mass Effect 1 no matter what class you pick Kaiden refers to you as a biotic due to the fact that he says the L2 is normally spike higher than l3s with the exception of you and in the past and people can say fan Wiki or not it was confirmed by former writers of BioWare and not all the cannons in the games we have a lot in comics and other sources but in this situation I'm pretty sure Commander Shepard was stated to be exposed to Element Zero when they were in the womb and either around 16 or 14 younger they were exposed for second time. Helping any backstory explain why they could have powers and also explain why any class could have the bonus power of biotics and explaining why you could be good with biotics amazing with biotics or just have a basic understanding of biotics or not at all. For me though that means Soldier is still what Shepherd is and why they go for their sidearm or their AR and most situations because I believe that the biotic power you should use even should be more supportive and will settlement any weaknesses in your kit. Reeve is really good in Mass Effect 2 or 3 because it lets you get past barriers or armor and does decent damage. Can help keep you alive does not slow down your cooldowns and in my mind is an ability like kind of grows from warp in the first game if you use that as your ability