Headshotting your way to victory, the Infiltrator way

Today, Munmen shares his advice on Mass Effect 3 multiplayer strategy from behind the refuge of cover, a cloak, and 600 meters of distance. It’s safe, it’s effective, and it’s damn fun.

By now you’ve probably had your hands on Mass Effect 3 for quite awhile. You’ve seen the ugly Brutes, the lumbering Atlas, and the god-dammit-stop-shooting-me Geth Prime. If you’ve found a way to easily kill all three, then good on ya.

If not, then here’s a simple breakdown of Infiltrator. (For the sake of brevity I’m only going to cover the sniping component, though there are certainly many other sneaky, evil playstyles.)

Say goodbye to your head, wanker

Remember that sniper in the bell tower during Saving Private Ryan? You’ll be playing a similar role except with futuristic weapons, cloaking, and more. The Infiltrator uses all of these in delivering fatal strikes. Played with confidence and creativity, you can easily dominate the battlefield. (Hopefully you won’t die in the process.)

Cloak to cancel half of the reload animation. This tactic is particularly helpful when you need high firepower in a short period of time. Simply wait until your magazine – at the bottom left corner of your screen – is reloaded, then hit the cloak button and prepare to shoot again.

Take your time with shots, especially at higher difficulties. In many sniper-filled movies, the shooters often hold their breaths so as to calm their heart rate in anticipation of the shot. You don’t have to hold your breath; just make sure the crosshair is on the target before you fire. Depending on what rifle you use, a missed shot can easily mean death. With that being said, quickscoping may be a viable option when using a semi-automatic rifle. It’s efficient in decimating clusters of minions albeit the risk of using copious amounts of ammo and attracting enemy attention.

Take a rifle that compliments your sniping capability. My personal preferences when using Infiltrator are either of the Widows or the Javelin. These rifles have an extremely high damage output when paired with the bonus damage from cloak, which helps you turn the tables on bigger baddies. If you haven’t had much luck with the booster packs, then the Mantis or Viper will do for now.

Take nothing but lives, leave nothing but footprints

As you might have noticed by now, cloak is your friend. Possibly your best friend who wants to hug you. To death. It’s amazingly versatile in many situations, including giving you a respite whilst sniping, getting enemies to ignore you, running to revive your teammates unnoticed, and backing out of crossfires. Don’t hesitate to cloak and retreat when there’s trouble. Often doing so and repositioning yourself when necessary gives you an edge.

Alternate powers such as sabotage can prove to be invaluable in breaking up groups. Using these powers will – with the exception of grenades – cut into your power use ;namely your ability to cloak. Ask yourself: Can I directly confront the enemy? If yes, then cloak and shoot. If no, consider your repertoire of powers. Infiltrators are usually stocked with tech skills; use these as you see fit. If you cannot immediately decide, pop down in some cover until you know what you want to do.

You can’t spell “sniper” without “coordination”

Teamwork is golden in multiplayer, and an aspect that you have to respect. If your teammates fall, don’t hesitate to run in and revive them. For optimal results, cloak around 3 seconds before you reach your downed mate. The revival process will only take a mere second or two, so you should have no trouble making a clean escape. This rings true of objectives as well.

For quad-nodule objectives, cloak right when you’re about to start capping. Make a point of huddling in corners in case your cloak wears off prematurely. For high-value target objectives, maneuver away from the fighting and assassinate the target. Your rifle has a better chance of scoring an easy kill than anyone else’s weapon. During target objectives, every second counts because consecutive targets may not be as easy to shoot, and valuable time is wasted getting into favourable positions.

Find a good vantage point and try your best to stick to it. Said vantage point should ideally be elevated, clear of annoying walls, and give you a comfort zone to retreat to. Try and stay close to this spot and your team, but follow your team if they disagree with your taste in location.

PRIORITIZE YOUR TARGETS(!!!). If a Banshee is barrelling towards your team, don’t shoot at a faraway Cannibal. You have the best long range accuracy and possibly the best dps, so take care of the stronger guys. Phantoms, Brutes, Geth Hunters and Pyros wreak havoc near you; Ravagers, Sentry Guns, and Rocket Troopers from afar. Atlas’, Banshees, and Primes are mean bastards all around.

I could tell you much, much more about Infiltrator, but I’d probably have a grey-beard and been arrested for causing death by boredom before I was done. This guide is not definitive, so you don’t need to follow its every word (I’d be shocked if you did). Special thanks goes to imtwocats for providing some thoughtful insights about cloak and its merits, and Binerexis for editing.

Now go out there and bop some heads.