Across the Mass Effect trilogy, players can select a class for their unique Commander Shepard from one of six options. In Mass Effect, there are six classes combining weapons combat, biotic, and tech abilities. Three classes, Soldier, Adept, and Engineer, are the pure combat, biotics, and tech classes, respectively. The other three, Vanguard, Sentinel, and Infiltrator, combine abilities from two classes to allow Shepard a greater range of combat options. The Engineer class is a pure tech specialization class and can be built for squad support. Engineers in Mass Effect Legendary Edition typically are not the first to run into a fight and engage enemies, but they can control the battle and defend the heavier-hitting members of the squad.
Like the Infiltrator class in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Engineers do their best work from range. They primarily use Pistols and later SMGs and Heavy Weapons, but they can also do well with Assault and Sniper Rifles in their primary loadout. Engineers shine when taking down enemy defenses, stunting an enemy's ability to use tech or biotic abilities, and disabling or distracting enemies from hitting other squadmates. When building Shepard as an Engineer across the Mass Effect trilogy, players should make sure to increase damage protection, prioritize tech ability upgrades, select bonus abilities to supplement weaknesses, and choose the best equipment and squadmates to round out their team for any situation.
Engineers across the Mass Effect trilogy will have access to most of the same abilities, with a few minor differences. In Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, after reaching Level 4 on an ability, players can select powerful upgrades for each one based on their preferred fighting style.
Engineers are fitted with an Omni-Tool but usually not biotic implants. This will limit their bonus power options somewhat, as biotic bonus powers will not be as potent without some kind of biotic amp. However, Engineers also have the option to buff their weapons with ammo abilities instead when selecting a bonus power to become even more well-rounded in combat.
Engineer Abilities in Mass Effect
- Basic Armor: Increases damage reduction and hardening; Unlocks the Shield Boost ability
- Shield Boost: restores shields over time, even under fire
- Decryption: Unlocks the Hacking ability that overloads enemy weapons and prevents them from firing; makes it easier to unlock doors and containers
- Hacking: Turns synthetic enemies on one another; reduces recharge time on tech abilities
- Electronics: Unlocks the Overload Ability; Allows Shepard to unlock crates, salvage probes, and repair the Mako; helps eliminate enemy shields and provides a shield bonus to Shepard
- Overload: Damages and takes down shields; Can be used on fuel tanks and other containers for greater environmental damage.
- First Aid: Increases the amount of health restored by medi-gel; only requires enough points to unlock Medicine to be effective.
- Medicine: Unlocks the Neural Shock ability; Lowers the cooldown time on medi-gel; most useful with the Medic specialization
- Neural Shock: Induces paralysis and deals toxic damage to organic enemies
- Engineer: Increases tech protection; Decreases recharge time for tech powers
- Specter Training: Increases health, adds the Unity ability to revive squadmates, and provides a bonus to damage, power duration, and accuracy.
Suggested Bonus Abilities:
- Throw: Knocks enemies back, preventing them from firing and making them vulnerable; heavier enemies require more force, which takes more skill points in this ability
- Barrier: Adds additional shields on top of those added with Basic Armor
Engineer Abilities in Mass Effect 2
- Overload: Shuts down enemy shields; Deals damage against synthetic enemies; Can overheat enemy weapons at higher levels; Can be used on fuel tanks and other containers for greater environmental damage.
- Incinerate: Burns through armor; Permanently stops health regeneration on unarmored organics; Causes unarmored organics to panic and scream
- Cryo Blast: Freezes targets after a few seconds on impact; Frozen targets take double damage
- Combat Drone: Signature Engineer ability that spawns a drone to attack and draw enemy fire; Forces enemies out of cover; Particularly useful against Harbinger
- AI Hacking: Turns a synthetic enemy against its allies, causing other enemies to attack it
- Tech Mastery: Increases Shepard's health and Paragon/Renegade scores and decreases power recharge time; evolves into Mechanic or Demolisher
- Armor-Piercing Ammo: Boosts damage to armor and health
- Warp Ammo: Cuts through biotic barriers; Increases damage against targets affected by biotic abilities like Pull or Singularity
- Dominate: Turns organic enemies against their allies
- Flashbang Grenade: Disorients enemies, overheats weapons, and disrupts tech and biotic abilities for crowd control
- Stasis: Stun enemies and take them out of a fight for a moment; Useful even on large targets like Scions and YMIR mechs
Engineer Abilities in Mass Effect 3
- Incinerate: Burns through armor; Permanently stops health regeneration on unarmored organics; Causes unarmored organics to panic and scream
- Cryo Blast: Freezes targets after a few seconds on impact; Can be Detonated using other squadmate biotic abilities.
- Overload: Shuts down enemy barriers and shields; Deals damage against synthetic enemies; Can jump between enemies at higher levels; Can be used on fuel tanks and other containers for greater environmental damage.
- Combat Drone: Signature Engineer ability that spawns a drone to attack and draw enemy fire; Forces enemies out of cover; Staggers the attacked enemy
- Sentry Turret: Deploys a heavy weapon turret to deal damage to enemies behind cover
- Sabotage: Deals damage to synthetic enemies; hacks synthetics to fight as allies for damage and distraction; can be used against shielded enemies
- Fitness: Increases Shepard's health, shields, and melee damage; Increases squadmate health and shields
- Tech Mastery: Increases Shepard's weapon and power damage, reputation, and carrying capacity.
- Defense Matrix: Reinforces Shepard's armor but slows power use by 60%
- Dominate: Turns organic enemies against their allies
- Armor-Piercing Ammo: Boosts damage to armor and health
- Carnage: Deals high damage to armor and shields from range; Useful when combined with Overload
- Warp Ammo: Cuts through biotic barriers; increases damage against targets affected by biotic abilities like Pull
- Inferno Grenade: Sets multiple enemies on fire to get them out of cover and cause them to panic; Burns through Armor; Can evolve to become an AOE attack
In Mass Effect 1, players should prioritize investing points into Charm or Intimidate to buff their Paragon or Renegade score. These unlock special dialogue options. Higher Charm scores provide bonuses to first aid and power cooldown time, while higher Intimidate scores increase power and weapon damage.
In Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, players should prioritize maxing out the Tech Mastery ability. It allows Shepard to choose a specialization between Mechanic and Demolisher. Mechanic adds higher bonuses to Paragon/Renegade scores, boosts health, increases power duration, and decreases power recharge time. Demolisher increases weapons and power damage and decreases power recharge time. In Mass Effect 3, Tech Mastery significantly increases weapon and power damage, reputation, and carrying capacity right away.
Engineers start with Pistols in Mass Effect 1 and typically start with Heavy Pistols, SMGs, and Heavy Weapons in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. Many fans who choose Engineer elect to use Assault Rifles or Sniper Rifles as their bonus weapon. Both are useful from range, which is where Engineers are likely to spend most of their time. Shotguns can work for certain Engineer playstyles, particularly if players tend to get up close or find themselves frequently mobbed by enemies, but they are not usually preferred.
Like Sentinels, Adepts, and Infiltrators, Shepard should purchase or research armor upgrades that increase power damage, improve survivability, and lower power recharge speed. Good options include:
- Blood Dragon Armor set
- Inferno Armor set
- Kestrel Armor
- Shield Harness
- Capacitor Chestplate
- Sentry Interface
- Archon Visor
- Umbra Visor
- Rosenkov Materials Shoulders
- Kassa Fabrication set
Additionally, the best Mass Effect: Legendary Edition squadmates an Engineer Shepard can bring along will fill in for some of their weak points, particularly in weapon and combat and biotic abilities. Squadmates who can deal high weapon damage, like Garrus, Wrex, Thane, Zaeed, Grunt, Legion, James, Ashley, and Jacob are all effective options. Jack, Samara, Javik, and Liara are also good choices for some much-needed biotic support. Ideally, a balanced party for an Engineer Shepard will contain a strong combat operative and a biotic specialist. Having another tech specialist is less effective, but can work in specific situations. A good example might be the fight against the Human-Reaper in Mass Effect 2, to have several Combat Drones that can distract the Collectors and keep them out of the fight long enough for the squad to make some headway on the boss.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with backward compatibility for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
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