The Mass Effect 2 Insanity difficulty thread

[Altorin]

And Armor is easily the most annoying thing to deal with on Insanity. I'm not at the point where I get to choose the new weapon, but I'm seriously considering the machine gun for that very reason.

The Widow goes through Armour like paper. So does the Carnifex. So does Incinerate. Armour might as well not be there from the point of view of the Infiltrator.

yeah, slow weapons on Armor/Health, Fast Weapons on Barriers/Shields

 

[Jandau]

To all the Infiltrators, Tactical Cloak is a godsend. In any large open area, you can just cloak and put distance between yourself and whatever is attacking you, duck into cover, fire off a few shots with the +100% damage bonus on Assassin's Cloak and wait for your regen to kick in...

 

[CmdrGoob]

How insane is Insanity in ME2?

In the original mass Effect, Insanity difficulty was tiring more than it was difficult; as a max level soldier with Colossus X heavy armor, my damage reduction and health regeneration maxed out, and the at-that-point-redundant Immunity ability at its third level, I was never in any danger of dying. All the challenge in the game came from chasing individual enemies around the map, wearing down their extraordinary health bars as my massively-overpowered weapons blasted them around the room.

Heck, I fought every Geth Colossus and almost all Armatures on foot, just for kicks. It took three or four shots from a Colossus' main cannon to down me, which I tested just as an experiment. I never actually died doing this, amazingly, since you can easily out-turn them.

I'll quickly interject that I can't imagine it was like this at all for other, less overpowered classes, though.

But what about in ME2? With fewer customization options and a general shift more towards action than character building, Insanity must really live up to its name, right?

Insanity in ME2 is much better than ME1, you can die very quickly if you screw up.

 

[CmdrGoob]

And Armor is easily the most annoying thing to deal with on Insanity. I'm not at the point where I get to choose the new weapon, but I'm seriously considering the machine gun for that very reason.

The Widow goes through Armour like paper. So does the Carnifex. So does Incinerate. Armour might as well not be there from the point of view of the Infiltrator.

yeah, slow weapons on Armor/Health, Fast Weapons on Barriers/Shields

Sort of, except for shotguns and assault rifles.

The full list (taken from the bioware forums):

Weapon Damage Modifiers vs Resistances

* M-3 Predator: x1.5 armor

* M-6 Carnifex: x1.5 armor

* M-4 Shiriken: x1.5 shields, barrier

* M-9 Tempest: x1.5 shields, barrier

* M-8 Avenger: x1.25 shields, armor, barrier

* M-15 Vindicator: x1.25 shields, armor, barrier

* M-76 Revenant: x1.4 armor, x1.2 shields, barrier

* Geth Pulse Rifle: x1.15 armor, x1.35 shields, barrier

* M-23 Katana: x1.5 shields, barrier

* M-27 Scimitar: x1.5 shields, barrier

* M-300 Claymore: x1.25 armor, shields, barrier

* M-92 Mantis: x1.5 armor

* M-97 Viper: x1.35 armor, x1.15 shields, barrier

* M-98 Widow: x1.5 armor

* M-100 Grenade Launcher: x1.25 armor, shields, barrier

* ML-77 Missile Launcher: x1.25 armor, shields, barrier

* M-622 Avalanche: x8.0 armor, shields, barrier (low damage weapon)

* M-920 Caine: No bonus damage

* Particle Beam: x1.5 shields, barrier

* M-451 Firestorm: x1.35 armor, x1.15 shields, barrier



Power Damage Modifiers vs Resistances:

* Warp, Reave: x2 armor, barrier

* Overload, Shield Jack: x2 shields

* Concussive Shot: x3.5 barrier (note this is a low damage power)

* Incinerate: x2.4 vs armor

* Incendiary Grenade: x2 vs armor

* All other biotics: x1.5 barrier

* All other tech powers: x1.5 shields

 

[Amnestic]

How insane is Insanity in ME2?

In the original mass Effect, Insanity difficulty was tiring more than it was difficult; as a max level soldier with Colossus X heavy armor, my damage reduction and health regeneration maxed out, and the at-that-point-redundant Immunity ability at its third level, I was never in any danger of dying. All the challenge in the game came from chasing individual enemies around the map, wearing down their extraordinary health bars as my massively-overpowered weapons blasted them around the room.

Heck, I fought every Geth Colossus and almost all Armatures on foot, just for kicks. It took three or four shots from a Colossus' main cannon to down me, which I tested just as an experiment. I never actually died doing this, amazingly, since you can easily out-turn them.

I'll quickly interject that I can't imagine it was like this at all for other, less overpowered classes, though.

But what about in ME2? With fewer customization options and a general shift more towards action than character building, Insanity must really live up to its name, right?

Insanity is far better balanced for a difficult experience in ME2. Rather than just giving every Krogan and their varren Immunity, enemies are actually varied in how they've been made more dangerous.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

How insane is Insanity in ME2?

In the original mass Effect, Insanity difficulty was tiring more than it was difficult; as a max level soldier with Colossus X heavy armor, my damage reduction and health regeneration maxed out, and the at-that-point-redundant Immunity ability at its third level, I was never in any danger of dying. All the challenge in the game came from chasing individual enemies around the map, wearing down their extraordinary health bars as my massively-overpowered weapons blasted them around the room.

Heck, I fought every Geth Colossus and almost all Armatures on foot, just for kicks. It took three or four shots from a Colossus' main cannon to down me, which I tested just as an experiment. I never actually died doing this, amazingly, since you can easily out-turn them.

I'll quickly interject that I can't imagine it was like this at all for other, less overpowered classes, though.

But what about in ME2? With fewer customization options and a general shift more towards action than character building, Insanity must really live up to its name, right?

Insanity in ME2 is much better than ME1, you can die very quickly if you screw up.

Yeah, but the best thing about Insanity, though, is that it forces you to be at the top of your game. Every shot counts and the enemies are as smart as their code allows them to be. Insanity's unforgiving, and unfortunately there is no 'one thing' you can do to make everything easier like in ME 1. You just have to pick the best class, micromanage your teammates succesfully, and keep trying.

 

[Fire Daemon]

To all the Infiltrators, Tactical Cloak is a godsend. In any large open area, you can just cloak and put distance between yourself and whatever is attacking you, duck into cover, fire off a few shots with the +100% damage bonus on Assassin's Cloak and wait for your regen to kick in...

It really helps with a charging Krogan. They always seem to go for you but if you cloak they go for your team instead giving you time to put some extra distance you and them and gives you enough room to regen before they can get close.

According to this thread you can use it to skip some parts, I have to try that.

 

[Jandau]

According to this thread you can use it to skip some parts, I have to try that.

Not sure about that, but you can cut some fights short. In some battles enemies will recieve reinforcements and will continue to do so for several waves. While this isn't infinite, you CAN interrupt the reinforcements by getting close to the entrance point. Usually this is made difficult by the bullets flying around, but Infiltrators can cloak, run in, cancel further spawns and get into cover. Vanguards can try something similar with Charge but it's far more risky.

 

[minignu]

Yeah, if you want no one to die, you need a leader (Miranda or Garrus) leading the strike team, a tech expert (Tali or Legion) in the vents, a strong biotic (Jack or Samara/Morinth) for the barrier and, due to a random glitch that means Mordin dies otherwise, you need to bring him with you or send him back to the Normandy with your crew. Also, whichever characters you select need to be loyal, but that goes without saying.

Side note: The Mordin thing is not a glitch according to Bioware. If you do not have enough soldier types (e.g. Grunt, Garrus) staying behind during the Hold The Line segment, you get casulties. Since Mordin is the weakest character at this bit, he tends to die pretty often. Leave behind some tough characters on your way to the end then.

 

[Rand-m]

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I had trouble with that shit on Normal. although the husks are closer, definitely go for the Scions first. Let your teammates handle the Husks. And when you see that big ball of death flying at you, run like hell.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Yeah, if you want no one to die, you need a leader (Miranda or Garrus) leading the strike team, a tech expert (Tali or Legion) in the vents, a strong biotic (Jack or Samara/Morinth) for the barrier and, due to a random glitch that means Mordin dies otherwise, you need to bring him with you or send him back to the Normandy with your crew. Also, whichever characters you select need to be loyal, but that goes without saying.

Side note: The Mordin thing is not a glitch according to Bioware. If you do not have enough soldier types (e.g. Grunt, Garrus) staying behind during the Hold The Line segment, you get casulties. Since Mordin is the weakest character at this bit, he tends to die pretty often. Leave behind some tough characters on your way to the end then.

Oh, that makes sense. Good to know, though I'll still send Mordin back to the Normandy. I was so pissed when I did everything right and he still died on my first playthrough.

 

[Axeli]

I'm currently a bit stuck during the Assassin mission, at the part two vanguards and a Krogan come down the elevator. Why the hell did I pick up the pea-shooter sniper when I already have it anyway?

Few things I've learned about Insanity:

You never approach a Krogan (which made getting Archangel that much more pain in the ass).

Melee enemies are you worst enemy.

Don't even try to switch cover without Tactical Cloak.

 

[Crimsane]

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I had trouble with that shit on Normal. although the husks are closer, definitely go for the Scions first. Let your teammates handle the Husks. And when you see that big ball of death flying at you, run like hell.

I wouldn't. Your teammates do a pretty shitty job of taking down the Husks on Insanity, and they will close on you and knock you out of cover, making you easy prey for the Scions. Starting off, I'd deal some heavy damage to a Scion to begin with, then concentrate on making sure no Husks live long enough to knock you out of cover. After that, finish off the damaged Scion and take out his buddy at your leisure.

 

[Kwatsu]

As a Vanguard playing on Insanity, I found these points useful:

- Give yourself Reave when you're facing any organic enemy, especially the Collectors. It blitzes their barriers AND gives you health back.
- Combining Unstable Warp / Area Overload and Area Reave, followed with an Inferno Grenade, cuts your enemies down to the brass tacks very quickly, especially Harbinger.
- Inferno ammo is useful for armoured enemies at long range, Cryo ammo slows down enemies that race at you so they can't close.
- Don't use Charge unless you have your shotgun primed and ready to go. Getting in your enemy's face is, contrary to what the tooltips say, not such a great idea for Vanguards. But you can knock enemies right off ledges with Charge or hurt them bad if they're frozen, so that's fun.

 

[ModsDeleteThisAccountPlease]

Geth Colossus:

Take the right route (Sniper perch), fight to the overlook. Take out BlackStorm. Fire at Colossus' stomach. The sucker gets thrown into the air and stuck in the Building geometry. Plug it full of holes. It can't Regen now. ????. PROFIT!

 

[Rand-m]

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I had trouble with that shit on Normal. although the husks are closer, definitely go for the Scions first. Let your teammates handle the Husks. And when you see that big ball of death flying at you, run like hell.

I wouldn't. Your teammates do a pretty shitty job of taking down the Husks on Insanity, and they will close on you and knock you out of cover, making you easy prey for the Scions. Starting off, I'd deal some heavy damage to a Scion to begin with, then concentrate on making sure no Husks live long enough to knock you out of cover. After that, finish off the damaged Scion and take out his buddy at your leisure.

That sounds much more strategic. that was my strategy for Normal. God forbid I try it on Insanity.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I tried insanity as a vanguard, just too damn hard Even hardcore proved too frustrating. It's not the best choice for an insanity playthru...depends on getting in close and hitting hard. But with everything having armour, shields and/or barriers, crowd control biotics don't help and the initial charge/shotgun frenzy doesn't do enough damage to take out even one enemy.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I had trouble with that shit on Normal. although the husks are closer, definitely go for the Scions first. Let your teammates handle the Husks. And when you see that big ball of death flying at you, run like hell.

My stupid team-mates are usually long dead before the Scions even arrive...

 

[Axeli]

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I had trouble with that shit on Normal. although the husks are closer, definitely go for the Scions first. Let your teammates handle the Husks. And when you see that big ball of death flying at you, run like hell.

My stupid team-mates are usually long dead before the Scions even arrive...

Wait till you go get the Reaper IFF. Better bring Grunt with you.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

The Two Scions and husks on horizon

I had trouble with that shit on Normal. although the husks are closer, definitely go for the Scions first. Let your teammates handle the Husks. And when you see that big ball of death flying at you, run like hell.

My stupid team-mates are usually long dead before the Scions even arrive...

Wait till you go get the Reaper IFF. Better bring Grunt with you.

Heh... Grunt and Miranda come with me on every mission.

Well, apart from Tali and Legion's loyalty missions.

The Reaper IFF wasn't so bad on hardcore until you get to the final room, I presume that's the bit you mean! I'm considering being a cheapass and using the Cain to speed up that section...