Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition MUST HAVE tips for Insanity

Six essential tips to master Insanity difficulty in Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition.
0:00 Intro
0:48 Bring a squad that break every defense type
3:31 Understand the enemy A.I. attack system
5:45 Powers can stagger shielded enemies
7:31 Select barrier for advanced training
9:40 Miranda & Jacob combo detonations
10:48 Garrus sniper rifle upgrades
12:04 Outro
#masseffect #masseffectlegendaryedtion #tips

[@ExaltedMarch]

OK, corrections: - Well first of all, I got the name of the game wrong in the first sentence of the video lmao. I said "Mass Effect..." when I meant to say "Mass Effect 2..." in my opening sentence. As always thanks to everyone for watching and supporting the channel. Don't forget to share the video if you thought it was helpful!

[@TheAffectation8724]

Splendid narration, consummate gameplay, and the best from the original soundtrack. I'll definitely use this for future reference.

[@Razgar_Voxel]

Looking at the video i knew you were talking about ME:2

[@agent7796]

Most helpful, outstanding, 😎👍👍

[@delphipriestess9968]

Krogans on insanity is canon. Makes you understand why the other species fear them and why they crushed the Rachni.

[@emmanuel1337]

But they still get killed by, like, 2 shots of a pistol on some cutscenes. I honestly don't know what was going through the mind of the people that thought just straight up contradicting the lore of their own game was a good idea lol.

[@hundkebab2433]

@@emmanuel1337 poser krogans :^)

[@camrynduplessis2743]

​@@emmanuel1337honestly the only reason I can think of as to why krogans in cutscenes die with 2 shots is purely because of plot convenience

[@lololol924]

​​@@emmanuel1337they have soft spots around their natural armor. It's possible to get a single kill shot if you aim for their face just underneath their head plate. Thats how I justify it at least in my own head canon

[@ducky36F]

Miranda *has both warp and overload* Me: well it looks like I’m bringing you everywhere 😂

[@JosieJOK]

Plus her passive benefits the whole team. Good choice to always bring her along! Miranda and Garrus, or Miranda and Thane are my go-to parties.

[@nathanlevesque7812]

I used to do that even though I kinda despise her. This time around I'm going to level my squad to be more specialized so I have teams that are strong for a certain kinds of missions (synth heavy, collectors, all health and armor ut no barriers). Variety is the spice of life as they say,

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

Jacob is also excellent. Use pull, then warp for an explosion.

[@zenspeed404]

@@orarinnsnorrason4614 Excellent until you get Jack or Samara: Jacob loses usefulness quickly after other biotics are introduced. Jack has faster cooldowns, same weapon layout, and better powers. Samara has pull AND throw, with the option to use assault rifles and SMGs.

[@zenspeed404]

@@JosieJOK When I'm playing a soldier, it's all about Miranda and Kasumi (I immediately work on her loyalty mission because Flashbangs are OP), as they give you CC, defense stripping, and killing power all in one nice package.

[@makkusu29]

I swear the enemy A.I. are literally aimbots on the insanity difficulty in ME2. Their weapon might be pointed in another direction but the bullets still follow you.

[@fadingghost9723]

They do that on every difficulty, the only difference is the damage/defenses they have.

[@big-loss_9043]

These enemies are on crack with steroids

[@Gamez4eveR]

still genuinely not as difficult as original Insanity.

[@justseven3487]

Aimbot got it's name from how bots aim, it's not the other way around.

[@darthrevan704]

@@Gamez4eveR wait really

[@atlas9152]

Kasumi was my personal bodyguard throughout all of ME2. Her stealth attack can knockdown enemies leaving them on one shot health most of the time. She also has overload and flash-bangs to incapacitate rushers. VGood

[@mac1bc]

Yep. Kasumi and Miranda were my team to make it through Insanity. The dominate power also saved me many times.

[@angelganon8213]

Another tip. Electrocute the blue sun mechanic when you first go to rescue garrus to make the ship boss fight a little easier

[@dennygunawan208]

You are working too hard....bzzzzz

[@Pintheshadows]

@Michael Denison I also kick the merc out of the window when recruiting Thane.

[@redse_]

*easier* I did this and i still died like 15 times

[@captainblighe7297]

That and the above mentioned fried merc I think are among the Renegade interrupts that are just fun to do. Like you can have a full paragon or full renegade playthrough but imo a balance of both interrupts is good. My Shepard would be just as likely to hug a teammate and encourage them to talk to their sister, as they are to kick a merc out a skyscraper window and burn some krogan

[@joeslickback]

(Playing on Insanity) "You will know pain, Shepard"

[@lozenger7515]

Infiltrator: - Tactical Cloak - Headshot Repeat

[@duncansmith3518]

Still a nightmare with the rotating platforms.

[@KPalmTheWise]

Soldier: -Hardened adrenaline rush Repeat.

[@t.j.5574]

And black widow. lol. Massively overpowered lol. Enemies with barrier, shields and health can be taken down in 2 shots lol.

[@spenser9784]

Yeah I’m one of those people you mentioned. I swap out Jacob as soon as I land on Omega and get Zaeed.

[@bigbuffguy9589]

Yeah, the first thing I do after getting the Normandy is go to the Citadel to pick up Kasumi so I don't have to use Jacob.

[@CaleebTalib]

I mean Zaeed has unique dialogue for Mordins recruitment mission so there’s literally zero reason to bring Jacob and not Zaeed lol

[@OneLastScholar]

Jacob also has unique dialogue in Garrus's missions, but Zaeed's are longer.

[@googleuser9073]

It’s interesting to see everyone’s squad preferences. For me, it was Garrus (for overload) and Mordin (for incinerate). I would switch it up for different dialogues

[@corey_massey]

No. 1 tip while leveling up on Insanity is understanding that a jack of all trades is a master of none. It is far better to spend early skill points on one skill and getting it to its 4th tier than it is to have three skills that are only rank 2 or three. Its important to note that it takes 10 skill points to fully upgrade a skill which early on is 5 levels. It is possible to have a fully upgraded skill before leaving Omega. This is especially useful if you opt for upgrading Jacob's incendary ammo which at rank 4 can become squad incendary ammo or if you invest in Miranda's Cerberus officer skill line which at rank 4 can give additional health or weapon damage.

[@ubadman1]

i would say jacob isnt very popular. Miranda definitely has a fanbase.

[@rcslyman8929]

Oh yeah... plenty of fans of her base...

[@kangkudos1225]

Jacob > James

[@Modest_PhD]

@@rcslyman8929 Giggity

[@-_-5470]

What do you mean, Jacob is my favourite Tech specialist die the final mission

[@canadian__ninja]

Miranda is not a popular choice? What? I bring her literally everywhere. She's borderline overpowered with her abilities and main talent squad bonuses.

[@SentinelEnforcer]

Most definitely, Miranda's power kit can deal with any scenario in the game along with having the best class passive that buffs the whole squad.

[@or144]

Honestly, she is so useful that I feel bad for neglecting the rest of the squad. I almost always take her and Garrus and can basically deal with anything.

[@canadian__ninja]

@@or144 Garrus against most enemies, but Thane or to a lesser extent Mordin for Collectors for me. Double warp is too tempting against armour / biotic barrier only enemies. Garrus once he's loyal is great too with AP ammo.

[@matthewanthony4606]

Mordin and Miranda are the best 1-2 punch in mass effect 2

[@danfrancisjr]

she's not overpowered, she is squishy. Dies easy. Mordin, Jack, Miranda and Tali have very low survivability

[@gayerthanyou42]

I decided to play my first 100% insanity run since I got the Legendary Edition, your last video really helping to make the whole experience much more enjoyable and less frustrating. Thank you so much for making this! : )

[@ExaltedMarch]

Thanks for watching and glad the guides have helped!

[@KuyaAyanGG]

I never knew about that enemy AI attack system on different difficulties. Thanks for sharing!

[@ExaltedMarch]

Thanks for watching! And yeah the attack system is rarely ever mentioned but it really informs strategy on Insanity especially.

[@DarthJane]

@@ExaltedMarch imo it's rarely mentioned because it's mostly irrelevant. There's not point in staggering enemies and you can just camp behind one thing 99% of the time until basically every enemy is dead.

[@curlywhites]

@@ExaltedMarch Yeah, I never knew this piece of information and I've ran multiple insanity runs. Not necessary to know for insanity.

[@MarkArandjus]

And here's my tips for ME3: Train yourself to survive 5 or 6 silver waves solo in multiplayer. And the singleplayer will be a cakewalk.

[@lofivibes3640]

That's if you had the O.G game, and a O.G player. The remastered version does not have multi-player at this time. There is talk about bringing it back due to how popular it is. It is all hear say at this time.

[@MarkArandjus]

@@lofivibes3640 Yeah I know, I hope they put it in so not only can more people play it, but also make it compatible with the old version of ME3 so it's easier to find matches :D ME3 multiplayer is really good. I can think of a few more polishes, but honestly I know there's a playerbase ala Warframe that really enjoys 4-member co-op like this, Bioware should consider taking ME3 multiplayer and doing an Overwatch thing with it. I'd buy it!

[@robbybobby4373]

This is so true in the original game. I loved the multiplayer in ME3. It was fun and addicting. But man, was it hard on Gold and especially Platinum level. But eventually after playing MP for a long while , I got quite good at it, and the SP campaign (even on Insanity) felt soooo easy and Shepard felt too OP. lol!

[@MarkArandjus]

@@robbybobby4373 Yeah after learning to play comfortably on silver and sometimes gold I remember playing the Rachni nest mission and I just plowed through them even on insanity. Multiplayer will force you to get really good if you stick with it.

[@chrisxd146]

Giving Garrus, Javik, and/or James an N7 Typhoon also makes the game significantly easier. I never knew just how ridiculous your squadmates are when using it due to how average it felt in multiplayer.

[@FreakazoidRobots]

I'd like to add a couple points. First, since the AI prioritize Shepard over his companions, it's often wise to order them a little ahead of you so that they'll draw _some_ of the fire and you're not pinned down forever. You actually do more damage with the same weapons than they do, so it's more important that you get clear shots than them. Also, the enemy AI always knows when you're zoomed and aiming at them and will almost immediately start bobbing around like a drunk kangaroo, making headshots very difficult. The Soldier's ability to slow down time and the Infiltrator's invisibility help _a lot_ to mitigate this fact. Even then, you may have to switch targets when your original choice magically realizes you're about to snipe them. If you're playing another class, it helps to put the reticle over the enemy's head _before_ you zoom. Then when you zoom, you may have a split second to fire before the AI reacts. You can stun lock many enemies with repeated headshots if you didn't kill them outright. Just know that likely two or three _other_ enemies will still be firing at you while you kill one, so watch your health.

[@ExaltedMarch]

These are really great, thanks for sharing!

[@FreakazoidRobots]

@@ExaltedMarch My pleasure!

[@kangkudos1225]

stupid Drunk Kangaroos...day ate my baby@!

[@MultiKbarry]

You can also just stun lock enemies with drones if you’re engi and the drone instantly draws aggro onto it.

[@mrbluemd7602]

Staggering with power use on a shielded enemy is an excellent tip.

[@ExaltedMarch]

It's such an underrated move! And like I mentioned, unfortunately it's subtly discouraged by the game's menu text. Thanks for watching!

[@mrbluemd7602]

@@ExaltedMarch Benefits of having played the trilogy over a dozen times; you can ignore the menu text and make your own rules.

[@DarthJane]

@@ExaltedMarch In my opinion it's a waste of cooldown in 90% of the cases.

[@jacobobobo4404]

@@ExaltedMarch true, i've been playing ME2 for at least 10 years and never explored with that just bc the game said "nah son, dont waste your 'pull' on this shielded trooper". really a game changer when pinned down and trying to escape

[@shaunbarclay1309]

Here’s the actual insanity tip. You can shoot round corners by abusing the fact that bullets come out of the crosshairs and not the gun. So if the crosshairs are around the corner but Shepard isn’t you can shoot from safety.

[@SvenTviking]

They must have patched that.

[@imbetter599]

@@SvenTviking they did

[@18nakedcowboys69]

@@imbetter599 they did not lol

[@curlywhites]

@@imbetter599 Yeah, I'm pretty sure they didn't. I haven't played in a few months, but I'm pretty sure I was hitting enemies as long as my crosshair was on them.

[@sev1120]

Another benefit to Garrus is his powers. He has overload and concussive shot at default, letting him use powers to decimate enemy shields and Barriers, and his loyalty ability of armour piercing ammo allows him to take down any and all protections enemies have.

[@Ultra_Hlebus]

Bludgeoned my way through insanity as engineer always taking Tali and Miranda - using two drones at the same time helps to control the attention of your enemy’s (especially the harbinger) and Miranda’s abilities also help a lot. Also don’t forget warp ammo for barriers.

[@prich0382]

ME1 is piss easy on Insanity, not even joking

[@nathanlevesque7812]

Yeah haha, you just need to know what the cheese is and even the initially garbo sentinel breaks the game lol

[@josephflanigan3649]

A few missions from Pinnacle Station DLC (not included in legendary edition) is harder than the entire rest of the game. Mainly Volcanic Hunt and Ahern’s mission.

[@Mtransactions]

I kept checking my difficultly level to make sure it still said 'insanity' because I was not convinced I was playing on it during my 2nd playthrough. Only difference I noticed was Saren was a bit more challenging (the final time)

[@dreambiscuits]

Try playing ME1 without being a biotic/sentinel or vanguard. Lift/Throw/Singularity is what makes Insanity a joke.

[@nathanlevesque7812]

@@dreambiscuits Explosive rounds and squadmates bruh

[@TheInfiniteSheldon]

Miranda and Kasumi made ME2's Insanity Mode a lot easier. Miranda busts shields and armor, while Kasumi kites enemies with her backstabbing. Jack on the other hand is a wrecking ball on lower difficulties and steamrolls the Collectors.

[@masterofdisguise1112]

If you're an aggressive player like me having the Barrier ability are the Geth Shield Boost ability is really important cuz it gets you right back in the fight when your Shields go down

[@n00bishregashi70]

Sentinel has the Tech armor that does the same but adds some bonuses and never goes away unless they take down your shields

[@erich7737]

Another thing to remember is that bringing up the power wheel pauses reality and pulls up a map with enemy locations. If you find yourself in a tight spot pull it up... look around, think, come up with a plan... and then execute.

[@efrenarevalo2025]

I always just bring squad mates that I think would have the most interesting dialogues on a mission even on insanity. You can always just cover your party's weakness with weapons anyway. SMG is good against shield, pistol/shotgun for armor then both sniper and Assault Rifles have shield and armor variants.

[@chuckmontgomery7571]

Me watching this just after finishing the full trilogy on Insanity(again), still learned something new.

[@benswaggerty331]

My tip would be to have Kasumi on any mission where you’re fighting collectors. Her flashbang ability against the harbinger is a LIFESAVER. While affected, he won’t be able to attack AT ALL and the time it lasts is equal to the cool down, you can just keep spamming him with it

[@user-us2li4gr6d]

I am sticking with the Infiltrator and shield drain advanced skill. It's doing wonders for me. Love those head shots. My usual team that does not go against the collectors is garrus and Miranda. With collectors I switch over to the warp ammo advance skill with Miranda and samara. Samara has to be loyal for her reave

[@trashcangoblin420]

good tip re: shield staggering - this also makes Jack one of the better biotic squadmates to take along on insanity, as her shockwave when evolved correctly can stagger large groups of enemies, giving you lots of tasty windows to strip powers/hit enemies.

[@forceghostyoda9705]

Don’t push yourself too hard man, but all these uploads have been great.

[@ExaltedMarch]

Thank you! Honestly I've never felt better.

[@-_-5470]

Basically Just bring Miranda to every Mission. Overlord+Warp+ the insanely strong Squad buff makes her S-Tier in every scenario Edit: The incisor rifle is broken on Garrus and Zaeed

[@bigbuffguy9589]

Miranda is very good, but I only rank her fourth on Insanity, behind Samara (after she's loyal), Mordin and Kasumi.

[@MultiKbarry]

@@bigbuffguy9589 counts on what class you are packing really.

[@phuette0303]

Man I started watching your stuff when mass effect legendary came out. I love your content! Keep up the good work my guy!

[@djbhickenwings8122]

You are my favorite Mass Effect KZbinr. I love your commentary and ideas. I hope you and the series make a comeback soon

[@Pijoto]

You forgot play as Infiltrator!!! Currently on my first Insanity run on ME2, and the Tactical Cloak is the ultimate "Get out of Jail" free card there is in Mass Effect, as enemies disengage from you the moment you cloak. It also gives insane 75% Sniper rifle damage bonus in the Assassination branch, allowing the M-98 Widow Sniper rifle to outright kill Armored/shielded enemies in one head shot with other ammo boosting powers. Plus, another great thing about Tactical Cloak, is it allows you to use heavy weapons that require charging up for several seconds while cloaked, the Arc Projector saved my ass in the Collector Ship mission, while swarmed with powerful enemies that were obliterating my crew.

[@TheDandan217]

If anyone is struggling with the final mission, I recommend Samara as a companion for the first part. Her Reave ability is super useful against that enemy type and especially useful against Ha*****er (trying not to spoil for anyone reading).

[@_KRose]

Having both squadmates who specialize in dealing with Armour and Barrier is a good idea for the finale. You won't encounter anyone using Shields during the mission.

[@JosieJOK]

If you’re playing a Sentinel, you won’t need a defensive bonus power. I recommend Stasis or Slam.

[@ExaltedMarch]

Playing Sentinel is actually a great move for Insanity!

[@JosieJOK]

@@ExaltedMarch It's become my favorite Insanity class. Engineers come into their own, too.

[@elizabethjameson3231]

Agreed! Sentinels are the sleeper beast class of insanity.

[@TenchiHawkwing]

I honestly still use Barrier even as Sentinel just because it lets me be even more aggressive.

[@JosieJOK]

Unfortunately, Stasis is bugged. Just found that out yesterday. It’s supposed to unlock when you finish Lair of the Shadow Broker, but it doesn’t. Rolling with Slam for now. I checked to make sure it wasn’t just me, and others have had the same bug. It’s been reported to the devs, so I hope it gets patched soon!

[@SilortheBlade]

Just remember. Flammable. Or inflammable. Forget which. Doesn't matter.

[@ollya3394]

Good vid👍🏼 New subscriber I played through ME 2 insanity multiple times on old consoles, absolutely Mass Effect is my fave franchise. One tip I would definitely give, bring the Arc Projector heavy weapon along on most missions, it's ability to strip defences on multiple enemies in one shot is unrivalled, especially early on in the game. Also in the Legendary Edition, heavy weapon ammo seems to refill fully before each mission now, which makes things alot less stressful. If you're struggling the Arc Projector really can be your best friend on higher difficulties. Well obviously Garrus is your best friend.....but pretty close. Lol😄

[@ExaltedMarch]

Arc Projector is probably my favorite heavy weapon, have to agree.

[@amouramarie]

I was having SO much difficulty on Mordin's recruitment mission (the fan rooms with the packs of Vorcha Pyros and Krogans) until I used the Arc Projector. That, and Overloading the Pyros to blow them up with their own flamethrowers was the ticket to beating that room on Insanity.

[@ye-roon]

First off, intersting about the AI system I didnt know that. Will try stuff out in my next playthrough :) My tips for insanity: Take miranda everywhere apart from the suicide mission(excluding the final part of the suicide mission as she has great dialogue there). She and jacob have 1 extra squad point and as such can max their main 2 abilities + class. Miranda's Warp + Overload and her class ability that gives everyone health and damage, makes her too good. For collector missions take another biotic (not jack, as jack is pretty useless as a squadmate, for 'a biotic monster' she has no biotic powers that actually deal damage). For blue suns missions take garrus. For eclipse take another biotic. For bloodpack grab a biotic or mordin (mordins incinerate is really good vs vorcha). For Geth take any techy. In the original Tali's hack didnt do much, but it seems the 60fps of the remaster makes it work better. And i had a lot of fun with that) I never really used Thane before, but i used him primarily in the remaster, his class power gives him 50% weapon damage, combine that with Miranda and I had squad warp ammo on my adept), give him the incisor sniper (the 3 round burst). He would take a collector from full barrier to 20% health (so barrier gone + 80% health gone) in 1 hit. It was insane (pun intended). He murdered the shit out of the suicide mission. And with his Warp makes a great squadmate in general. 11/10 would recommend. As for powers, well, dead enemies don't deal damage, so i'd focus on more damage. I choose warp ammo on my adept as I allready had warp and throw and I noticed Thane doing a lot of damage with his sniper and wanted to increase that. As a sniper focused infiltrator I'd focus on Warp Ammo as well as most of the strongest enemies have armor and barrier making it superior to garrus' thungston rounds. I chose Reave on my vanguard for the healing and the no travel time. Just reave, CHARGE, shotgun to the face, repeat. As engineer I'd prolly take warp ammo as well, or maybe reave. Sentinal has all the things, so prolly warp ammo. And no one plays soldier.

[@malif1279]

From the people who did Soldier Insanity runs apparently most of them also took Warp Ammo since it combined with Adrenaline Rush can make quick work of most enemies

[@Ikcatcher]

Adrenaline Burst on Insanity is such a clutch in my opinion, it really helps me get out of sticky situations

[@victoriasharpe1661]

Am happy to say I've completed all 3 games on insanity. Never again Lmao. Mostly Garrus for his piercing ammo and overload, and Liara for her biotics. They are insanely helpful. Then I went for Garrus and Kaidan, as a sentinel he had so many different useful abilities. Highly recommend him. I was also an engineer, with rocket power on my drone and turrets. They were insanely useful for helping me distract the enemies. I also, despite being an engineer, chose my bonus power as statis. A lifesaver, I was always using it on marauders. I also gave Garrus and Kaidan N7 Typhoon guns. OP as heck

[@Shvabicu]

Soldier + Commando + Heightened Adrenaline Rush + Disruptor/Warp/Armor piercing ammo + Maximum weapon damage on armor + Mattock. Your main weapon is now a heavy weapon. Get Miranda for her squad weapon damage buff and build Garrus for dps with the Incisor. The Incisor sniper is bugged for teammates as it's the only weapon that doesn't have reduced weapon damage when used by a squad member.

[@Kate-Tastic]

I’ve been a ME fan since it came out. Played it multiple times. Never bothered with insanity as I just like to run and gun. But I was so close to getting each platinum trophy that I went ahead and took on the challenge. Was a cakewalk in ME1. But ME2 stepped it up. Didn’t watch any guides until now. Found most of this stuff out on my own through a fair bit of frustration lol never really liked Miranda but that girl has been my go-to for this playthrough.

[@Onishiro]

Easy tips: Give Garrus, Zaeed, and Thane the Incisor. Go for weapon damage passives. Give Miranda, Mordin, Kasumi, and Samara the Tempest. No recoil + high rate of fire for them = shield stripper. Jacob with Eviscerator and Phalanx does great damage on all types given his ammo ability. Vanguards with Geth Shotgun until you get the Claymore. Now nearly every enemy dies to a charge plus shot to the head/body. Survivors can eat an elbow before eating another charge + shot. Use Area Reave for Shepard and Samara. It will save your life and keep crowds controlled very well. Spam Kasumi's Flashbang grenade on ALL the things that are humanoid. It stuns and staggers plus it has a short cooldown.

[@Nimno74]

ME2 is where they started going a bit crazy with the rock/paper/scissors thing. It made the higher difficulties far more frustrating in that it narrowed viable squad selection, and all but neutered biotic crowd control. After shields, armor and barriers are stripped, crowd control seemed pointless or moot, as the health bar was usually insignificant enough to just prioritize killing them instead of controlling them. All that is why I won't play on on insanity anymore. It's not that it is so much more difficult, but more that I'd rather use non-optimal squad and power composition.

[@kangkudos1225]

+1 the above comment. Maybe not my exact words, but generally very close to my own sentiments re: combat in ME-2

[@paragonflash8937]

The jump from ME1 insanity to ME2 insanity is literal NIGHT AND DAY. Holy crap ME2 insanity is rough in the early stages of the game when you have less upgrades and damages yea but once you start getting more gear and upgrades it starts rolling. The tech armor explosion saved me alot of times because of how it can knock enemies down.

[@ConsciousExpression]

Really great tips. I wish I had watched this before I started my insanity run. Unfortunately I didn't and had to learn all these things the hard way. Still helps a lot to have it crystalized and spoken aloud.

[@EternalNightingale]

This is my first time playing the ME trilogy and I’m going for that Insanity Trophy for all 3 games and it’s not hard but more annoying I’ve adapted to the game heavily and I pretty much knew these tips I’m proud of myself 🥰

[@aaronwill9683]

my squads always been theme-wise or based on conversations more than anything even on insanity. eg: take mordin on grunts recruitment mission, take jack and miranda on eachothers loyalty missions etc

[@d.maxwell8669]

Miranda is a necessity in ME2 Insanity, where even low level grunts have shields, armor or both. Miranda becomes even more lethal if you have a Sentry Shepard, who can not only strip protection, but also reset cooldowns of squadmates.

[@OwenGee22]

Another thing too is to do as many non combat missions as you can such as the normandy crash site to bring up the xp and credits for later. If you're in for the story and unique squad banter lower the difficulty and come back later in that same vein, skip Tali's recruitment mission, it's just so so painful on insanity.

[@bloodyjester4284]

Something I found very helpful is give characters that use Snipers the M-29 Incisor. Squadmates tend to nail headshots with snipers often, and the Incisor's 3-round bursts hitting headshots deletes enemies pretty fast. Garrus and Zaeed do this well, with Garrus packing AP Ammo and Zaeed Packing Disruptor Ammo, you cover most of your bases outside of enemies with Barriers. Swap Zaeed for Thane once you get him, as he deals with barriers much easier and will destroy unprotected enemies with Shredder Ammo.

[@Magneekic]

The most important tip is to take Miranda

[@davidriley8316]

Also, Miranda is my favorite squad member.

[@topherclay6131]

I've never tried insanity mode until about 3 days ago...... So far I'm half way thru 1 with very little issue. I figured I'd check this out to see what I'm getting my self into lol.

[@VeteranDecanus86]

Get ready for that difficulty spike. I plowed ME1 EZ, but right now I’m actually stuck on Garrus’ recruitment mission.

[@JusticeHeroXSupreme]

Regarding tip #5: Give everyone an Incisor sniper rifle. They will always get headshots and as I recall, they ignore difficulty damage reduction.

[@-_-5470]

Yeah, especially Garrus and Zaeed have really good damage buffs on top

[@JusticeHeroXSupreme]

@@-_-5470 Thane as well(50% if I am correct). :)

[@bigbuffguy9589]

It might depend on the class, but as a soldier, I _strongly_ advise taking Reave as the bonus power. It's a very powerful offensive ability that also buffs defense to some degree and will save a ton of ammunition as it takes out groups of enemies. I would much rather have Reave than a defensive power, as I've found that even tanky characters like Grunt go down quickly out of cover on insanity.

[@pantuflaninja]

What a great video! I’ve been listening to Split the Veil for a while now since I’m both a DA and a ME fan but I’ve finally decided to check your videos and I’m glad I did. I’m currently playing ME2LE in insanity and your tips have definitely come in handy.

[@nimrodthewise836]

Mordin and Miranda for the win with my Sentinel Shep..

[@snipeyounoobzyee2662]

I have a tip to add to this list if you run through the qualifying missions and unlock legion when you upgrade him you can give him the widowmaker sniper rifle basically 1 shotting any fodder enemy in the game he has always been my go to

[@steph_man372]

All squadmates that can use a sniper in ME2 should and if you get the incisor sniper (on the citadel), they are insane murder machines. Thane specifically, is a god against collectors. Warp against barriers and armor, incisor is good against both of them as well, throw against husks and shredder ammo to finish of regular collector troops....he's insane.

[@jakebaca264]

Always use miranda on insanity is the number one tip imo game is easy as a vanguard or adapt with miranda and samara

[@brunopeleteiro5238]

I did not know you could use "red" powers. This is helping me a lot now. Thanks!!

[@devas32]

Regarding advanced powers. Barrier is a good choice. However, if you're playing a sentinel a defensive option isn't needed, tech armor covers you. I find it much better taking reave or warp ammo. Party wise I've found Miranda is good for everything. My favourite to pair her with is Grunt with his incendiary ammo fully buffed. He has enough health and regeneration to tank most enemies. Even on insanity.

[@Wubbaduckie]

Hot take I think 3 is the best, the endings are hard pills to swallow but I think that adds its charm.

[@garyella1301]

I always picked miranda due to her having both warp and overload, her levelling up path also can boost squad health and shields/weapon damage which is very useful on insanity. I normally paired her with garrus or mordin, sometimes grunt too. Due to how the enemies always favor attacking the player, I would have an ammo power equipped and upgrade it to apply to squad weapons then just wait. Still control the squad powers manually so you can effectively target enemies and remove specific threats. The enemies that you cant just let your squad do most of the work its all about the placement and making sure they utilise weapons with high fire rate and most damage rather than weapons which are better in the player's hands. It can be annoying when a few times I see them leaving cover or instead of taking cover they stand by it and just get shot down in seconds. What I do controlling my character when I'm on standing cover is not place myself against it but instead of pull back and shift to the side so you can barely see round the corner and use it to pick off enemies, they can almost never hit you and you can get much easier and safer headshots.

[@damienhine1861]

I've been focusing on taking out weaker enemies first so I can focus all my firepower on stronger ones later. Adept + Miranda/Thane means I can bring down shields/biotic barriers (Miranda has Overload) and armor (both have warp) before being able to set off detonations whenever I want. Thinking of swapping to Miranda/Garrus so I can take down shields more easily and take advantage of Garrus as sniper.

[@Freyafanboy90]

Another good tip is to complete the game first before moving onto Insanity. That way you have the power to put into the early game.

[@swee7roll]

This is my second playthrough and I want to add some challenges so I set the difficulty to insanity, I died at least twice on every mission lol. Thanks a lot for the tips!

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

I'm playing on normal and I died repeatedly last night trying to close the last shutter in the Archangel mission. Cover is really important apparently.

[@frisby7143]

I never have issue with that parts with exception of that one pyro vorcha

[@thomashartka2926]

Back in the day, I hated this mission. I thought it was so hard. You are on the right track though. The key to mass effect combat is using cover and knowing WHEN to go aggressive. Also a little tip, soldier class is OP in me2. The adrenaline burst ability is insane.

[@big-loss_9043]

Good luck on insanity mode .... I'm not sure I would make it to the end ....leave me behind you guys

[@TheMagicalPinata]

Dominate is a godsend power on Insanity. I use it all the time on Collector Assassins or Flame thrower dudes. Just get Miranda (she is the best for insanity for her defense damage as well as her bonus to squad mates stats) to strip the defense in one go, then dominate to get a good ally. Can keep doing it when it runs out to keep the enemy distracted.

[@rhysjasper5640]

I only found out by reading the skill details but concussive shot is used to damage / break barriers. So Garrus can take down shields with overload, armour with his loyalty ammo skill and barriers with concussive shot.

[@Gag1800]

One more tip, abuse the shit out of the pause effect on the power wheel, give yourself time to think about your approach and look around for an opening to exploit. Also, squadmate powers tend to hit instantly upon ordering them unlike Shepard's power usage, which can save you by staggering dangerous enemies in critical situations. e.g. You find yourself about to die, pause with power wheel, use squadmate powers rather than your own (barrier would be an exception as explained in the video) to disable or stagger the enemies firing on you and use the short window to either get to cover, eliminate the affected enemies, or even heal if you have to.

[@williambrulip512]

Every ME are easy even on Insanity. For ME2, just play as an Adept ( Warp for armor, Pull for crowd control, and Throw for detonation combos ) , and only pick Miranda and Kasumi for the entire game. They can both take care of shields thanks to Overload, then Miranda can help Shep to deal with armor, using Warp, and when an enemy gets too close ( like Varrens, Husks, Krogans ) using Shadow Strike is useful to make them stop where they are for a few seconds. Of course, upgrading weapons and power damages helps, and carefully picking each parts of the armor helps too. When in combat, avoid shooting as much as possible, considering how quickly the shield and life are going down, and only rely on powers. Let the squad mates do the shooting, considering enemies barely shoot in their direction, they mainly focus on Shep. Doing all that should allow you to beat the game very easily, and rarely die.

[@FlukasMcDoogle]

Noice!! Can't wait for the underlying themes of me 2 vid... that intor music for this game... beautiful.

[@zalabit927]

Me: *Peeks out of cover for 0.5 seconds* *CRITICAL MISSION FAILURE* Collectors: Git gud m8🗿

[@ShadowQuickpaw]

I would argue that Energy Drain is also a defensive power (I also only just YESTERDAY figured out what the difference is between Warp and Reave after playing ME2 for ten years. OMFG I'm dumb). It restores your own shield/barrier if it hits an enemy shield, and even if it doesn't it still staggers enemies.

[@Fingolfin7455]

Tali is essential. Her drone draws much attention from sheppard. Especially against collector drones or scions, this is a life saver.

[@golfer435]

Just finished my first ever run on in insanity in ME1. Biotic are overpowered. Now on to Mass Effect 2. Playing as an adept throughout so this should be interesting

[@frisby7143]

Adept is oddly enough the most underpowered class in ME2 strictly because of enemy defences and it having the most weapon restrictions

[@golfer435]

@@frisby7143 It's not been too bad I generally just toy with the enemy crowd control them like crazy and let my swad mates do all the damage. Helps that I have heavy warp and bastion. Adepts just take a little bit of time to come online

[@frisby7143]

@@golfer435 if it wasn’t for the Locus smg from kasumi’s mission it would be unbearable for me

[@bigbuffguy9589]

Adepts are OP in ME3. In ME2, I prefer playing as a soldier because almost every enemy has extra protection.

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

I always play soldier with Armor piercing advanced training and mop the floor on my own. But these tips are still helpful. Never too late to learn something new. Also I’m curious about your ME2 themes video. ME2 is my least favorite because of the contrivances of Shepard working for Space Nazis and the Ghostbusters 2 levels of lunacy of everyone stopping believing in the Reapers all of a sudden. Also they took away your ME1 love interest, so that’s not cool. Still, I’m looking forward to that video because it’ll no doubt be insightful and help me when I cover it in my ME Trilogy review (With proper credit given where it’s due of course 😉).

[@ExaltedMarch]

Soldier is honestly very underrated and can be a ton of fun. The ME2 theme video may take a while but will be a direct continuation of the 'Essential Truth' video I did that focused on ME1. Those same themes play in ME2 but they're turned on their head in an interesting way.

[@steph_man372]

I pick AP ammo on all classes. I have enough powers already to use, so just give me a passive buff that is good against the toughest defense, and I'm good.

[@Shvabicu]

@@ExaltedMarch why is Soldier underrated? It's obscenely op on Insanity because the dps with Adrenaline Rush and Mattock is on par or higher than heavy weapons.

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

Always use powers. They are always helpful even if they don't do full damage. Most reliable way of causing explosion is with pull and warp. So Miranda is nearly mandatory on every mission. Favorite bonus abilities on insanity are barrier, fortification, energy drain, armor piercing rounds.

[@majorastorm]

My first ever insanity run was using Vanguard that shit was fun Geth Shotgun is the mvp

[@austinfowler2707]

One thing about tip 4, the defensive ability. This doesn't work with Fortification as a Soldier. Something about the shielding effect about Adrenaline Rush overrides Fortification. I found this out when the game glitches and only let me train either neural shock and Fortification until much later, like, doing every non dlc mission just before Reaper IFF, I think. I imagine shield boost also is affected by AR. I just went with ARMOR Piercing Rounds because armor is common and can give you 70% bonus. And as soldier with AR and basically any weapon minus heavy pistols and heavy weapons, this bonus is very potent.

[@n00bishregashi70]

Okay but real talk, I’ve seen a lot of these videos where whoever is making the tutorial plays it super safe and stuff but the reality of it is, is that insanity is difficult but not so difficult you need to play it like it’s halo 2 legendary against jackel snipers (jackel snipers in halo 2 spawn in droves, have aimbot, and one shot kill you 99% of the time inside of the game and can sometimes be difficult to find if you don’t already know where they spawn.) I did a full insanity run where I played the game like it was on veteran or hardcore difficulty. I ran Sentinel for the abilities of tech armor, overload, warp, and cryoblast, giving yourself essentially all three that you need for just yourself and then the bonus being tech armor that not only gives you more damage protection but also explodes when destroyed/your shield drops, by which then you’re able to replenish all of your shields by activating the tech armor again. Once you get to the 4th upgrade you can choose between Assault armor or Power Armor. Power armor allows you to deal more damage with your abilities and have the maximum amount of damage protection essentially making you into a tank while Assault armor grants the ability to give you back half your shields each time your tech armor is destroyed and giving it a huge blast knocking down every hostile that doesn’t have armor shields or barriers with a lot more damage than before (and if I’m correct, when you get the emergency shield upgrades, it bugs the game where whenever Sheperd loses his shields he gets 25-80% of it back each time and very rarely gives back his full shields, I might’ve just been hella lucky or not paying proper attention though so take that with a grain of salt). And for the bonus ability I ran Armor Piercing ammo for a majority of the game until the suicide mission from then I switched to Warp Ammo for the collectors barriers (idk if power armor increases the effects of the ammo mods, but i don’t see why it wouldn’t considering that it is technically a power according to the game.) Note that armor piercing does 50% more damage to health and armor each while Warp Ammo does 33% more damage to Health Armor and Barriers, and since barriers aren’t seen too too much in the game until the suicide mission, having warp and concussive shot (from Garrus Grunt etc.) works against barriers pretty well. And for the squad members I always ran Kasumi and Grunt. Grunt for his Tankiness and his beast of a shotgun and Kasumi literally able to do hella damage to EVERYTHING her Shadowstrike ability does damage to everything but shields (I think) but she has overload so she makes up for it in that department, if you max out her Shadowstrike and do the Rapid Strike version then she’s crazy at cleaning up targets and crowd control, if you opt for her Heavy Shadowstrike (I can’t remember the name, but the one that does more damage) then you can out right bulldoze harder enemies with armor like YMIR Mechs or Krogan. Grunt is also super useful due to his tankiness with his 2 health upgrades and Fortification ability, allowing him to take hella damage and to top it off he has the Incendiary Ammo mod Power and if you speck him for Squad Incendiary, Him and Kasumi are lighting enemies on fire and doing more damage to health and armor as well as stopping any regenerating enemies (ie vorcha, varren, and krogan). I had assault rifle training and was using the vindicator for most engagements, Tempest was my secondary cuz it ALMOST matches damage that the vindicator does at further ranges but decimates enemies at closer ranges and for a sniper I used the phalanx heavy pistol cuz its pretty much the Carnifex only that it never blooms and it was super satisfying and fun to shoot (Carnifex is a very good option too). I ran Assault Armor, Tungsten Rounds (which is just Heavy Armor Piercing Ammo), later during the suicide mission switching to Heavy Warp Ammo, Heavy Warp, Heavy Overload, and Guardian to be able to use abilities more often and having the maximum amount of Paragon/Renegade scores, as well as having the max amount of health. I had Grunt run the Vindicator and Krogan Shotgun (M-500 Claymore) and Kasumi Running the Tempest and Carnifex. I maxed out Grunt’s Incendiary Ammo mod power to Squad Incendiary Ammo, I maxed out his Concussive shot to Heavy Concussive shot for more damage and force to potentially push an unprotected target outta cover to finish off and his fortification as high as I could put it. And with Kasumi i maxed out her shadow strike to Rapid Shadow Strike for extreme crowd control on lower health targets, and Heavy Overload for shielded targets (two heavy overloads does about half of a YMIR Mech’s shields) ran this exact loadout and squadmates the entire Playthrough, I was a paragon going through all the content to the best of my knowledge and finishing the game with I think under 30 hours, saving everyone on the Normandy (crew and Squad members alike) and destroying the collector base. And I only died I think about 10 or so times and didn’t die once during the suicide mission and had hella fun playing and not being ridiculously safe about it and always stopping time while In the ability menu. I played on console and had Shadowstrike and Concussive Shot as the quick selects for my D-pad buttons, and had Overload and Warp for my bumpers buttons. Every time the mission started I made Grunt use his modded ammunition on their first guns and then switched him and Kasumi’s guns and modded their ammunition on their second guns and after that I modded my guns with the armor piercing ammo, all three of them and put on my tech armor waited a couple seconds and started the mission for real and I rarely ever had to go into my ability menu and nearly exclusively used just my weapon menu but even then what was rare cuz I always made sure my vindicator and Phalanx were hotswaps and the only weapon I switched around heavily was Grunt between his Vindicator and his Shotgun incase I needed him to get in close or stay in front but close to tank. It was honestly fun as hell and super quick compared to most of my other play throughs on different classes, every class has something to deal with every type of health but IMO the most effective abilities are all in one class, and that’s Sentinel, literally only needing AP Ammo or Warp Ammo. Sentinel has the best survivability, all around damage with abilities and once you get weapon training to pick up sniper or Assault rifle (I wouldn’t recommend shotgun in insanity but to each their own, if it’s fun then fucking go for it 😆) it’s literally easy cheesy for the rest of the game and fun as hell most importantly

[@SaraphDarklaw]

I almost quit 2 and 3 on insanity. It felt good to finish them. I previously finished 1 on insanity, I quit 2 back in the day. Finishing 3 on insanity was the first time I even played that game.

[@janekbrat6951]

It is never stated anywhere, but incinerate does its full damage against barriers. Not as good as warp of course, but still useful.

[@Jedi_Spartan]

I'm also guessing the Cain/mini nuke can help in boss fights... on lower difficulties the areas most are in are wide enough to not vaporize Shepard and Squad (minus Shadow Broker) so unless its range widens on Insanity or the charge up is too long, I assume it would be viable.

[@zakattak4182]

On mass effect 2 LE insanity I usually have my teamates as Garris with a sniper Riffle and Kasumi. Granted I played solder as my class. Kasumi was great for krogan with her shadow strike since they would charge her once she does it and she would be gone letting them run away from you.

[@sebastienboudreau9028]

I finished me1 and me2 on hardcore with no difficulties, i'll have to give insanity a try next go around

[@prich0382]

Considering the difficulty still takes into account your level as in it scales, might as well always play on insanity, really isn't hard

[@jirkazalabak1514]

I actually prefer to give Garrus the Viper in ME2. Squadmates are not too god with single-shot weapons. The Viper fires quickly and staggers enemies almost every time it hits. With the Mantiss, I find that Garrus just misses way too much, and then takes way too long to reload. As a rule of thumb, having a single-shot weapon is only good when you can one-shot basic enemies with it. That is very difficult to accomplish with the 60% reduction in weapon damage that your squadmates get. Mister L (no spoilers) can one-shot unshielded enemies with his Widow rifle, but Garrus can´t, so there´s really no point in giving him the Mantiss.

[@_KRose]

It's nuts just how much more difficult 2 is than 1 lmao. Insanity on 1 is a cakewalk with biotics and the cheesy ammo types you get by the endgame. And how almost every enemy is a pushover with the exception of the OHKO snipers. In ME2 it's just like, oh, hey Shields... now you're gonna stop me from air juggling and ragdolling every single enemy eh?

[@Emerald-md7cs]

I’m an me2 vet and I don’t get why shield boost is a spoiler can someone answer this for me please 😁

[@byventrex7597]

same lol

[@MultiKbarry]

Because you only can get it after the reaper iff with the synthetic companion.

[@Emerald-md7cs]

@@MultiKbarry ah ok so once you get the synthetic companion you can get the shield boost got ya Yh that is a spoiler thanks for clearing that up 😁

[@williammoore111]

Great tips video here

[@DoctorTalon]

I've been seeing Infiltrator as the popular Insanity class, but I stuck with Soldier with a Shield Boost as my bonus skill. I was able to hit harder, not worry about running low on ammo since I was the Punisher with all 5 weapons, and the Shield Boost was a good Emergency defense in a pinch if Adrenaline rush didn't already give me a quick getaway. I've yet to get to ME2 on Legendary since I'm playing the heck out of ME1, but I'll await the difficulty differences from the original soon.

[@largegroupofmales]

I've always found jacob to be pretty underrated on insanity runs. If playing as a class without an ammo power he can give you free incendiary ammo and pull can be really helpful early/mid game so you don't have to risk poking your head out. At max level, Zaeed, Thane, Garrus, and Jack all overshadow him pretty hard (Miranda is implied lmao), but before you have access to the strong passives and abilities, Jacob is actually pretty useful.

[@27Bayleefs]

My issue with Jacob is his powers and abilities are lack luster and his weapon choice is terrible. Like Jack he lacks the survivability to withstand insanity. Why use Jacob when Kasumi and zaeed can be gotten hassle free? Miranda, Harris, and Samara all have far better abilities then he does. Jacobs just got a terrible combination of powers. However being able to prime biotic combos is a plus for him but literally every other party member can do the same.

[@Tattle-by-Tale]

Halfway through an insanity run. Way, way easier than what everyone told me it was like.

[@ducky36F]

That making Garrus swap to snipers is a good tip. Played this game for nearly a decade and never do it 😂 Also I forgot how much of a pain in the butt Harbinger is on Insanity

[@medhurst4]

at some point in the game you will get the option to grab either a one time assault rifle sniper or shot gun getting that sniper will make garrus into basically a long range god if he is done right

[@Shvabicu]

Make sure his sniper is the Incisor. It's bugged on squad mates for having no damage penalty when used by a squad mate.

[@Shvabicu]

@@medhurst4 Garrus can't use the Widow.

[@medhurst4]

@@Shvabicu oh well my bad then 😄

[@vette1]

I'm gonna be doing my insanity playthrough soon as I only just recently finished all 3 games of the trilogy a few days ago just need to give myself some time so I can get emotionally invested again into my next playthrough

[@palanoolho]

Im playing Mass Effect 1 LE for the first time, I went with Normal Difficult for my first playthrough. Im enjoying the game a lot. I already have ME 2 and ME 3 to install ready to play.

[@big-loss_9043]

Good luck with me 2 insanity .....its a nightmare