BioWare's 2007 RPG trilogy Mass Effect is a classic in its genre, and with the remastered Mass Effect: Legendary Edition releasing in May of 2021, the legacy of the series is still apparent and ongoing. The optimized version of the original Mass Effect trilogy, packaged with multiple DLC and packs from the original releases, will hopefully be the definitive experience to capture the innovation and nostalgia of the franchise.

The upcoming release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition isn't just good news for returning fans - new players will find the game more easily accessible now than before, and will have a much easier time diving into the series for the first time. With mechanics similar to other third-person shooters, even inexperienced gamers shouldn't find it too difficult to adjust to the gameplay as far as combat is concerned. That said, Mass Effect does have a few unique curveballs that new players should take into consideration.

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Mass Effect has six classes, and those classes are organized based on their primary focus: combat, biotics, or tech. These focuses determine what skills and weapons the player character is proficient in, and each suits a different style of gameplay. The three additional classes in Mass Effect come from combining these combat styles - a player could be combat and biotic focused, or biotic and tech focused, for example. So with six unique combat experiences to choose from, which is best suited for new players?

Which Mass Effect Class to Pick

Mass Effect 2's Vanguard Class player

The three most basic classes of the series are the Adept, Soldier, and Engineer - biotics, combat, and tech focused, respectively. Adepts are only capable of wearing light armor, and only capable of specializing in pistols in terms of weapons (in Mass Effect 2 this is updated to include submachine guns as well as heavy weapons). Adepts are trained in every biotic ability in the series, between six to eight skills depending on the game, and new players may have a tough time figuring out what each skill does and how to best utilize it. Mass Effect's Vanguard class, which utilizes both combat and biotic skills, is a safer bet as it balances out weapons training with a smaller pool of biotic abilities.

Engineer, the purely tech-based class, and Sentinel, which is trained in tech and biotics, likewise utilize very skill-heavy combat styles (more notably in Mass Effect 2, as many tech skills were used outside of combat in the first game). The Infiltrator class is a stronger pick because of this - in the original Mass Effect, the tech skills are only majorly applicable while the player is not in combat, and the smaller pool of combat abilities gives gamers less combat skills to keep track of as well. In later Mass Effect games, Infiltrators are mainly equipped to disable and weaken enemies before taking them out.

Ultimately that leaves players with the option of the Soldier, a purely combat-focused class able to train in all weapons and wear all levels of armor. Along with improved health and easy-to-learn abilities (primarily ammo variations), this makes it the easiest class to learn, and the default player character in Mass Effect is Soldier class. All in all, the Soldier is a straightforward and hard-hitting class and would make for an optimal combat experience for first time players.

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