BioWare video demos new Mass Effect 3 combat abilities

By Robert Purchese Published 2 December, 2011

Nova! Sentry Turret! Improved Charge, Overload! Melee!

The Vanguard class in Mass Effect 3 has a new Nova ability that sees Shepard leap up then slam his/her fist into the ground, sending out a close-range shockwave that crashes into surrounding enemies.

Shepard must expend all barrier power to use Nova, making it a high risk, high reward power.

A first glimpse of Nova was shown during a new episode of BioWare Pulse. Gameplay designer Eric Fagnan and combat designer Corey Gaspur narrated.

BioWare offered a look at returning Vanguard ability Charge, which makes Shepard burst forward in a blurry blue bubble and crash into a desired, far-off enemy.

In Mass Effect 3, classes will each have a unique power, as well as improved versions of powers seen in Mass Effect 2.

The new Engineer power is the Sentry Turret, which Shepard launches into the air. This can fight any enemy and can be seen by you through walls, making it a great way to draw enemy fire before you steam in.

The duo showed improved anti-shield power Overload, which has had "a couple of upgrades" and now chain-hits multiple enemies.

Vanguard Shepard was using a new Krogan shotgun called, err - it sounded like "The Grohl". I can't find anything more accurate. This shotgun fires a tight cone of spikes that stick into enemies at range, making them bleed bloody blood. Apparently "The Grohl" is one of the most accurate shotguns in the game.

Each class has a new special melee ability in Mass Effect 3. Gaspur and Fagnan demonstrated the Adept's one-handed biotic push/punch, which hurled an enemy back through the air. The Engineer, meanwhile, used a high damage but low force attack that looked like a back-hand uppercut; the omni-tool flashed and the enemy burned from fiery damage.

The clip closed with a discussion of AI, and the varying ways classes can tackle situations. An Adept can biotically pull a shield from an enemy's hands, while an Engineer can hack enemy turrets and turn them on their masters.

The BioWare Pulse clip is below.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 6 months ago

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  • TheN7Spectre #1 6 months ago

    Nova looks like a cool power even if Shepard seems a little over enthusiastic about using it. Nice to finally see the Adept's heavy melee in action.

    Silverman really irritates me though, I don't know why.
    Edited by TheN7Spectre at 02/12/11 @ 13:50

  • Innes #2 6 months ago

    8/10 tbh.

  • Cjail #3 6 months ago

    I am an Engineer and the turret power & the upgraded overload looks great; with my faithful drone I will be even more unstoppable
    Edited by Cjail at 02/12/11 @ 12:10

  • hiddenranbir #4 6 months ago

    And Soldier will still be the best class. I'm playing that. Brap.

  • teamtink #5 6 months ago

    @TheN7Spectre I agree about Silverman. I love the game, but can't they afford to get someone who doesn't seem to be relying on the script .

  • DefendoCroc #6 6 months ago

    Great, so now they are taking moves from Soul caliber and adding them to shepard , the direction they have taken with ME is such a fail :( RIP RPG.

  • anomagnus #7 6 months ago

    fucking hell, that looked sweet! roll on march.

    as for the rest of the now mindless fucking drones that will come on and complain about their hardcore rpgs, just fuck off. Seriously. You've made your point now. You don't like bioware, we fucking GET it. Try going a news article without posting a boring bitchfest
    Edited by anomagnus at 02/12/11 @ 12:23

  • edhe #8 6 months ago

    Now if only we can see a whole war going on where there's more than one person doing all this funky stuff.

    That's my biggest problem with ME's combat - nobody else seems to be able to do biotics and tech stuff like mr rogue shephard, not even the super-highly funded mercs with decades of experience...

  • jmcflash #9 6 months ago

    If you dont want to watch that horrible Bioware pulse rubbish then start the video at 2 minutes in.

  • Bahumet #10 6 months ago

    I just can't get excited about ME3. Loved the first one, but was disappointed by the 2nd. The whole storyline was just based around gathering your team and very little to do with the Reapers themselves. I can't help but feel ME3 is just going to be the same. Spend 20 hours finding people over the galaxy then head to Earth for the final mission.

    I hope I'm proved wrong though, I really do..

  • DefendoCroc #11 6 months ago

    @anomagnus no, you fuck off. I didnt mention 'hardcore' and by rolling with this crap you put yourself in the 'drone' camp.
    Comment sections arent reserved for tards like you to blow your load over every new 'cough' feature they are so keen to point they have added. They are for anyone who cba to write something ..

  • DefendoCroc #12 6 months ago

    @Bahumet dont get your hopes up dude. Generified crap incomming im afraid.

  • PoundHound #13 6 months ago

    I will only ever refer to that shotgun as "The Grohl", even if that's not what it's called. What a great name for a gun. I want one!!

  • arcam #14 6 months ago

    @DefendoCroc

    anomagnus is in every single Bioware thread calling people retards and sheep. If you don't agree with his Bioware=infallible point of view then you shouldn't be posting apparently.

  • anomagnus #15 6 months ago

    @arcam

    Laughable, when in every single news article you're doing the same thing. The difference being, all you're doing is bitching, over and over about something you've already said a thousand times.

    I dont see the point. I have no interest in zelda, why don't you run a search for my zelda posts in the last 12 months...

    In fact, all things considered, the only points i've ever made were a) wait until the game comes out before judging it, b) if you don't like multiplayer don't use it.

    Neither you, or defendocroc seem able to have a rational conversation about bioware anymore, so if you're going to post shit, expect to get it back.

    Late Edit - in fairness, i'm not in every single bioware post. About 97% would be much fairer.

    @defendocroc

    You made my point, your post wasnt even up when i made mine. I see you're able to predict the future as well... Any update on the lottery tickets?
    Edited by anomagnus at 02/12/11 @ 14:49

  • Xardan #16 6 months ago

    Looks good, i loved the vanguard and its charge in ME2.

  • mushroomyakuza #17 6 months ago

    You know what, fuck the haters - I'm psyched. Can't wait for March.

  • Darth_Flibble #18 6 months ago

    @anomagnus

    its seems its you, who can't have a rational conversation about bioware. Even if its not the 2 people you mentioned, you tell everyone to "fuck off". Get a grip ffs,
    Edited by Darth_Flibble at 02/12/11 @ 14:23

  • jack24 #19 6 months ago

    War of the trolls.

  • anomagnus #20 6 months ago

    @Darth_Flibble

    You're right, its completely irrational to tell people not to judge a game before it launches....


    And it wasn't 'everyone', as even other people who don't agree with me have managed to point out, it was just the crowd of about a dozen who cannot wait to post the same thoughts over and over about a game they apparantly wont even buy.

  • Ternon #21 6 months ago

    Too bad they didn't even mention Infiltrator, my favorite classs.

    So far the engineer looks best.

  • arcam #22 6 months ago

    as for the rest of the now mindless fucking drones that will come on and complain about their hardcore rpgs, just fuck off.

    When you posted this, there was one single post in the whole thread that could be called critical. Don't pretend you want 'rational conversation' , when you know as well as anyone that flaming like that will only achieve the opposite.

  • anomagnus #23 6 months ago

    @arcam

    I've long since given up on expecting anything rational from yourself and others regarding bioware (and in fairness to you, its ONLY about bioware that i clash with you, i pretty much agree with a lot of the other stuff you write), so as i said in my post, if you post shit, expect shit back.

    But in fairness arcam, don't you think that at this stage, the bioware hating is beginning to wear just a little bit thin?

    What bioware is doing is their choice. They're clearly NOT going to move DA or ME in the direction you want them to. I mean, realistically, in 2013, will we still be seeing the same amount of bile about the next ME trilogy, because its decided to take a path you don't agree with?

  • arcam #24 6 months ago

    @anomagnus the bioware hating is beginning to wear just a little bit thin?

    It probably is. Though I warn you to brace yourself for ME3 release day ;) No hard feelings, peace brother.

  • anomagnus #25 6 months ago

    @arcam

    Theres never any hard feelings, you're an articulate proponent of rpg games, and they're pretty hard to find. I just like bioware games, i like the way they're going. I'm sure you're like me, and balls deep in Skyrim, and loving it as well:D

  • AnsemsApprentice #26 6 months ago

    I was a vanguard in ME2. Perhaps the funnest class I've been in a game, solely because of the Charge ability.

    I was an adept on my second playthrough, though, which was nearly as good. Looks like it's vanguard once more in ME3 for me. Can't wait.

  • Lunatic4ever #27 6 months ago

    wow,u can hack the turret and turn it against the enemy...
    I hate it how they try to make it sound innovative.
    This is in games since many years (deus ex?) so why even praise a feature like this?

  • Morte-360 #28 6 months ago

    One of the cool things about the sentry turret is you can see it through walls-Me and him have very different defininitions of cool I think :}.

    I've got mixed feelings on this I liked the first two games but every gameplay trailer I've seen of this just looks boring (I think part of that is the sheer amount of games that have come out recently). Still I will be buying it I want to finish the storyline off just hope they do a good job. (If planet scanning back im going to kill them though, it doesnt matter if the games is the most amazing thing ever if I scan one planet I will be an unhappy git)

  • BlinkeredAxis #29 6 months ago

    Just thought I'd pop in and say that my latest play of ME2 as a sentinel was hugely fun. Looking forward to ME3 in the best way possible - by replaying ME1 and 2.

    The anti-bioware camp that keep on showing up upset me for some reason. Yeah, I played BG1,2, etc. And ME2 was clearly a better game than ME1 (which was still brilliant).

    Anyway, if the new ME is great (!), the fans will dive in, disappear from these forums for months, and leave the field clear for the boring idiots. Enjoy your lonely solitude looking for the 'perfect' RPG that no-one can ever make. Please, please lighten up and enjoy life, it doesn't last forever.

  • Darth_Flibble #30 6 months ago

    @BlinkeredAxis

    its called Skyrim. If people's words upset on here you so much, I have no idea you will cope in the real world! Take your own advice and lighten up.