The Mass Effect 2 Insanity difficulty thread

[Meggiepants]

I've tried Insanity twice, and I did it knowing I picked the hardest classes for Insanity because they're the highest risk classes (Adept and Vanguard). Trying this is only for the masochistic, I swear. I'm going to try out sentinel though.

I was able to play adept up to a point. I got all the way to the collector ship. I stopped after dying 5 times pretty quickly. It had been a long day already, and I wasn't ready to hate the game that much. I may try again because everyone says that is the hardest part, but we shall see.

And don't shoot me, but the Horizon level was actually easy for me, albeit for a stupid reason. I always run into a new room to see where the enemies spawn, then reload. Once I reload, I stand just outside the spawn point and send my people in to the places I think they will be most effective. Well, I be damned if when I sent Miranda and Grunt into that last Horizon area, they started shooting at something that looked suspiciously like a scion just out of sight. Curious, I let them finish. It took about five minutes, but when they stopped firing, I walked into the room. They had killed the Scions, who apparently aren't programmed to attack until I walk into the area. And, to add to that, the husks simply didn't spawn with the scions dead. This is a seriously cheap glitch, I am aware of that. But... if you want to use it, you send your people into the center of the area. The scions will just sit there and take it like the bitches they are. Then you can save before you fight all the collectors, a much more interesting battle in any case.

As for the Praetorian, in all my playthroughs I do the same damn thing. I use the area where you have to start up the planet defenses as a barrier between me and the Praetorian, that tall wall right in the middle, and put my squad members in cover around this area. For some reason, and I've done this three times now, the Praetorian completely ignores them, and stays on me. I just keep that high wall between me and the Praetorian, and the lasers he shoots never hit me. I don't take cover, since that takes too much time, I just dance around that thing shooting and using Heavy Warp when I can. You can't get too close to the wall, or he does that lunge move. You have to make sure you can never see him, and just keep dancing with him. With Heavy Warp, it's pretty easy, because you can curve that shit so nice. Works like a charm for me.

 

[Amax29]

Just did the Horizon double Scion fight on insanity, I played for an hour and those bastards just wouldn't die. But I found out that you can just clip the edge of the first scion without the fight activating, this was useful because killing 1 before the fight makes the battle soooo much easier. Hope it helps.

 

[MAUSZX]

Insanity difficult it's not that hard, It's challenging but not that hard, but you will struggle in 2 missions a lot that's for sure.
I choose the one that make's itself invisible, it really save your ass in though moments

 

[Samechiel]

Infiltrator. Cloak is a godsend. Pop it to move to different cover, skip sections, or force the enemy to switch targets. Absolutely wonderful. Also, took Warp Ammo because it's fucking WARP AMMO. Sniper rifles are a serious PAIN IN THE ASS until you get the Widow, but after that it's all gravy. A fully upgraded Widow and you are become Death, Destroyer of Worlds, Ruination of Mankind.

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I took cover on the raised platform, left side of the field. Squaddies focus on husks while I burn down Scions with Incinerate and WA'd SMG. Grunt helps here because an IA'd shotty tears through Husks like tissue paper. Next part was a pain in the ass because I kept running out of ammo. Praetorian was arguably the easiest part; parked squaddies back on that same rise and got the Prae to chase me around that... what is it? A green truck? A green truck full of crates or something. Pepper it with Incenerate to keep its attention while your squaddies burn it down. It takes a while, but it's not difficult.

The Paetorian battle on the Collector ship

Location location location! Keep cover on the stairs and burn down those husks as quick as possible. I'd just gotten the Widow, so this was as easy as squeezing the trigger four times. Take care of the Praetorian the same way as on Horizon; do laps around the raised area opposite the doors.

Geth Colossus

People had difficulty with this? I just moved up on the catwalk and advanced until all the Geth were dead, then moved my team into firing range and hammered it with Incenerate and WA'd SMG. Dead in no time.

Okeer Boss Fight

I had a little trouble with this one, because I still had a shitty sniper rifle. Basically, park your squaddies in the stairwell and lure the Krogan in to kill one at a time. Eventually, she'll stop sending them so you can pop out, burn down the mech (it can't come up to you) and then snipe her from a distance.

 

[Zergadooful]

Is the infiltrator's cloak any good? I was going to start my insanity run, and I usually go for the stealthy option, but I've heard it's pretty pointless.

 

[Samechiel]

Is the infiltrator's cloak any good? I was going to start my insanity run, and I usually go for the stealthy option, but I've head it's pretty pointless.

It's amazing.

You get a damage boost for your first attack while cloaked, you can practically spam it, and everyone totally ignores you while it's up. Combined with the sniper slowdown effect, you have plenty of time to line up a headshot and viciously murder anything you're looking at.

Need to move to a better position but a hail of gunfire has you pinned down? Running low on ammo but can't risk moving? Pop your cloak and take a leisurely stroll about town!

Got husks or varren nipping on your heels? POP DAT CLOAK and now they're all biting Miranda in the face! Ha HA! It's an improvement.

Time and again, Cloak will save. Your. Ass.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

sometimes my health just doesnt regenerate at all sometimes so it may be a glitch for me.

Just so you know, it's an effect of the Scion attacks. They fire the blue shockwave-esque projectiles. If the slime gets on you, it temporarily disables health/shield regeneration.

As if that attack wasn't cheap enough already...

I KNEW IT!!!! Those f***ers!!!!

I'm at the Horizon battle right now and I have Miranda and Mordin in my party currently. I have no more medigel and I'm about to start the final battle with all the Husks, Scions, and the Praetorian and I keep dying.

Help?

 

[TheKruzdawg]

OH MY GOD I MADE IT PAST THE SCIONS!!!!!!!!!! I never thought the Combat Drone could be so useful!!!!! It saved my life. Now I just have to beat the next wave....

 

[DustyDrB]

OH MY GOD I MADE IT PAST THE SCIONS!!!!!!!!!! I never thought the Combat Drone could be so useful!!!!! It saved my life. Now I just have to beat the next wave....

The Combat Drone makes the fights with Scions easy. I just did my first Engineer playthrough of the game and Scions gave me less trouble than ever before. Of course, that also has to do with finding the right strategy. Ignore cover when fighting Scions (or at least ignore the cover mechanic, but walk behind tall objects). Direct your squad members somewhere far away and just rely on their powers (Warp, Incinerate, and Reave shine here). I found that ignoring the cover mechanic and instead opting on staying mobile made the fights really easy. They never bore down on me, as I always had room to get away.

Edit:
The Praetorian can be fought similarly. Again situation your squad members out of the way (there's an area where a large door opened earlier and released a number of Husks. Your companions should be safe there).

Your first goal in the Praetorian fight: stay away from it. It can be enticing to try to bring down its barrier that final 5%, but you need to make sure you keep your distance from it. It's hard to escape its ray once it is on top of you, and it also has that AOE attack where it slams to the ground and recharges its barrier. Keep your distance. It may drag the fight out longer, but it will keep you alive.

Second: Use Warp (it does extra damage on Armor and Barriers) and Incinerate (I think it just does normal damage to Barriers, but extra damage to Armor) whenever you can. The Combat Drone doesn't help against the Praetorian, so don't even waste your time with it.

Third: Use the cover mechanic only if you have to (if you only have low cover near you). Try to stay near tall objects and stay mobile. Shooting from cover takes longer than it does to simply creep around an object and shoot. When the Praetorian starts to get close, run as far as you can to the next tall object. Repeat until it is dead.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

I DID IT!!!! I BEAT HORIZON ON INSANITY!!! I'm really excited, as you probably have all experienced. I've been stuck here for 3 days and I'm so happy that I finally beat it.

EDIT: Definitely made use of the "stand behind tall objects" strategy you suggested. When I fought the Praetorian, I actually just ran in circles around the high transmitter wall and kept peppering it with Incinerates and Warp. I felt really cheap but I don't care because I've been stuck in that mission for far too long!

 

[RedLister]

I managed to plough through insanity with my soldier male shepard fairly well. Naturally though horizon and the collector ship was a pain in the ass though.

Tried insanity with my female shepard who was an adept. I had to tone down difficulty for the collector base. Guess i just wasn't a very good adept. Funny thing was later on when i lved my singulary to wide version and warp to its most powerful form i wasn't too bad i could actually handle some fights better with those then as soldier.

 

[Zhukov]

EDIT: God damn it. I just typed a huge post of advice, then realised that this is an ancient thread.

Grr, you kids and your bloody resurrection posts.

Spoiler: This was my original post. Spoilered for length. What a waste.

Ahh... Mass Effect 2 on insanity.

Alright, here's how I did it.

Class: Sentinel, hands down. On insanity all enemies have extra layers of protection, even the little ones like security mechs and husks. The Sentinel class has both Overload and Warp, so you can easily strip away those extra layers, regardless of type. This has the added bonus of freeing up your choice of squadmates.

Also, Sentinels get the almighty Tech Armour. Tech Armour is god, Tech Armour is your lord and saviour, all hail Tech Armour. It gives a bunch of extra shields and when your shields go down it sends out a shockwave that both damages and repels enemies. Furthermore, using it instantly recharges your shields (but not your health). So it will frequently save your arse in a tight spot. Even if the extra shields get shredded straight away, the shockwave will give you an opportunity to escape.

Heavy Weapon: Go with the Arc Projector if you have it. High damage, hits multiple targets and almost never misses. Effective against all enemy types.

Bonus Ability: Stasis (requires LotSB). Instantly freezes any enemy, but also renders them invulnerable. Cuts straight through armour, barriers etc. Perfect against Scions and those big mechs. You can Stasis a large enemy while you mop up his friends. Note that after enemies recover from Stasis, they will drop to the ground ragdoll-style for a few seconds before getting up. During this time they can be damaged and cannot fight back. Also useful in oh-shit situations, just freeze and run.

Extra Weapon: I went with the sniper rifle. It does decent damage to all protection types and you don't want to be fighting at close range on Insanity.

Squadmates: I don't have any absolute recommendation, only some pointers. First off, Grunt is wonderfully hard to kill, even on insanity. All the more so when he gets his Fortification ability. Consider taking him along if you're playing as one of the more frail classes. (Like, say, Sentinel.) Also, his shotgun and charge attack are a godsend in close quarters.

Secondly, Jack is surprisingly awesome. Her Shockwave ability scatters entire crowds and even knocks back shielded enemies. Also, you can combo her Pull ability with a biotic Throw. Lastly, later on she offers the best ammo ability in the game. Her Warp Ammo significantly increases damage against armour, barriers, normal health and enemies under the effect of biotics.

 

[DustyDrB]

EDIT: God damn it. I just typed a huge post of advice, then realised that this is an ancient thread.

Grr, you kids and your bloody resurrection posts.

Spoiler: This was my original post. Spoilered for length. What a waste.

Ahh... Mass Effect 2 on insanity.

Alright, here's how I did it.

Class: Sentinel, hands down. On insanity all enemies have extra layers of protection, even the little ones like security mechs and husks. The Sentinel class has both Overload and Warp, so you can easily strip away those extra layers, regardless of type. This has the added bonus of freeing up your choice of squadmates.

Also, Sentinels get the almighty Tech Armour. Tech Armour is god, Tech Armour is your lord and saviour, all hail Tech Armour. It gives a bunch of extra shields and when your shields go down it sends out a shockwave that both damages and repels enemies. Furthermore, using it instantly recharges your shields (but not your health). So it will frequently save your arse in a tight spot. Even if the extra shields get shredded straight away, the shockwave will give you an opportunity to escape.

Heavy Weapon: Go with the Arc Projector if you have it. High damage, hits multiple targets and almost never misses. Effective against all enemy types.

Bonus Ability: Stasis (requires LotSB). Instantly freezes any enemy, but also renders them invulnerable. Cuts straight through armour, barriers etc. Perfect against Scions and those big mechs. You can Stasis a large enemy while you mop up his friends. Note that after enemies recover from Stasis, they will drop to the ground ragdoll-style for a few seconds before getting up. During this time they can be damaged and cannot fight back. Also useful in oh-shit situations, just freeze and run.

Extra Weapon: I went with the sniper rifle. It does decent damage to all protection types and you don't want to be fighting at close range on Insanity.

Squadmates: I don't have any absolute recommendation, only some pointers. First off, Grunt is wonderfully hard to kill, even on insanity. All the more so when he gets his Fortification ability. Consider taking him along if you're playing as one of the more frail classes. (Like, say, Sentinel.) Also, his shotgun and charge attack are a godsend in close quarters.

Secondly, Jack is surprisingly awesome. Her Shockwave ability scatters entire crowds and even knocks back shielded enemies. Also, you can combo her Pull ability with a biotic Throw. Lastly, later on she offers the best ammo ability in the game. Her Warp Ammo significantly increases damage against armour, barriers, normal health and enemies under the effect of biotics.

Well, TheKruzdawg was asking for tips and only posted in this thread today. Someone else may be looking for help and you may have given it to them.

You never know until you know, you know?

 

[Free Thinker]

Scions are the worst! I want to slap whoever thought they were a good enemy to make. I'd rather fight 3 praetorians at once than 1 scion. Being tough is one thing. Shooting through cover and destroying my shields instantly is a step too far!

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

Xcaliz0rz is doing a let's play of it right now; look him up on youtube. He's a straight up beast.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

EDIT: God damn it. I just typed a huge post of advice, then realised that this is an ancient thread.

Grr, you kids and your bloody resurrection posts.

Well, TheKruzdawg was asking for tips and only posted in this thread today. Someone else may be looking for help and you may have given it to them.

You never know until you know, you know?

Yeah, sorry about the Necro. I was looking for advice because I had been stuck there for so long and I didn't check the last time someone had posted. But all the stuff you guys have said has really helped so far! Especially whomever mentioned that really good spot to hide in during the scion fight on Horizon. That saved my life.

I haven't quite analyzed the game as much as everyone seems to have done, so after reading a lot of these posts I think I may have made some less-than-stellar decisions about my character class and power choices. Things haven't really been to bad up until now though. But I am dreading the derelict Reaper ship...it's going to hurt.

 

[DustyDrB]

I haven't quite analyzed the game as much as everyone seems to have done, so after reading a lot of these posts I think I may have made some less-than-stellar decisions about my character class and power choices. Things haven't really been to bad up until now though. But I am dreading the derelict Reaper ship...it's going to hurt.

Eh, some people get worked up over a necro. I just applaud your use of the search bar.

For husks (which the Derelict Reaper is loaded with), just remember they instantly die when anything knocks them off their feet. You have to take down their armor first, but then you have a ton of options (A list of powers that will do the trick: Shockwave, Pull, Throw, Flashbang Grenade, Inferno Grenade, Concussive Blast, Singularity, and Charge). You can concentrate on having you and one other squad member bringing down armor while another squad member (with an area of effect attack like Shockwave or Concussive Blast) finishes them off.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

Eh, some people get worked up over a necro. I just applaud your use of the search bar.

For husks (which the Derelict Reaper is loaded with), just remember they instantly die when anything knocks them off their feet. You have to take down their armor first, but then you have a ton of options (A list of powers that will do the trick: Shockwave, Pull, Throw, Flashbang Grenade, Inferno Grenade, Concussive Blast, Singularity, and Charge). You can concentrate on having you and one other squad member bringing down armor while another squad member (with an area of effect attack like Shockwave or Concussive Blast) finishes them off.

It actually worked this time!

And the addition of armor to basically every enemy is the feature I hate the most about Insanity, especially giving it to the husks who attack en masse. I might end up taking Zaeed with me after I level up Inferno Grenade cause it has a wider attack radius. Once I get the armor off of them, I've had little trouble. It's that first step and avoiding them until that point that is the kicker.

 

[TheKruzdawg]

Anyone got any tips for how to beat the final battle for Project Overlord? I'm having a hell of a time right now...

EDIT: Nevermind.