Assault PvE Guide

Author: Stow


Take a hit and dish it out in PvE!
As close to a tank as it gets, the Assault of Global Agenda is the dedicated force of damage and more importantly, taking hits for the team. In PvE there's plenty of hits to go around, and this class is also the master of dishing out damage over time with the Minigun. There are a few tricks and loadouts you need to use to maximize your effectiveness in your role however, and that's what I'm here to fill you in on!
The Weapons

Most will tell you that there are only two weapons for PvE for the assault -- The Minigun and the Inferno Cannon. They're pretty much clones of each other, so the choice is up to you aesthetically aside from the fact that the Inferno Cannon does 10% more damage versus all targets, where as the Minigun does 25% bonus versus mechanical targets. The Minigun typically gets the nod from most assaults for the fact that PvE is almost exclusively against robots.

But why not use the other weapons, especially the ones that dominate in PvP and AvA? The main problem with the AOE weapons is power usage. You simply run out of power far too fast to use these weapons against bosses and minibosses. Having to constantly hold your fire to regenerate or avoid damaging yourself is frustrating when enemies have tens of thousands of HP and you can only afford a few shots before running out of power. Even if you fully spec for them, the damage output just isn't worth the power woes. Being able to plant your feet with a Medic and Robotics healing you and just use the alternate fire of the Minigun-type weapons to put out thousands of damage at a minimal power cost is simply too good to pass up on.



Shoot all you want, minions! Your weapons can't harm me! Then again, I can't harm you either...



Offhands

You really can't go wrong with any of the shields. However, a lot of fights including most bosses and mid-bosses can do multiple types of damage or types that are not mitigated by your AOE and Ranged Shields. For this reason you need to be proactive with the usage of them and not wait until the brink of death to activate them. You can argue that activating them while at death's door gives your healing comrades time to get you back in shape, but you might lag, more incoming fire might hit you than expected, or another combination of factors could occur that end up in your death ruining the challenge bonus for the mission. As this is unacceptable, and you don't want to be the guilty one that causes your team's bonus to be broken, just use your shields ahead of time!

Perfect Target is optional. This might sound ridiculous, but the enemy really doesn't care if you have it up or not. They will shoot whoever they feel like shooting, and maintaining an opponent's aggression is nigh impossible. You can find some uses for it still, and it will always save you from death if you activate it and get to safety. Charging headlong into a difficult encounter or a room you've wiped on and activating it immediately can give your Robotics time to get in the room and get setup, rather than being forced to setup in a sub par position or hallway from an earlier room. Typically this is not a high point skill, but with 4 points in it you can still find some interesting uses such as hitting Rest, and immediately hitting Perfect Target when near death in an encounter. The durations are the same then, and you'll exit Perfect Target with full HP and ready for action.

The only two grenades you should be considering are EMP and Incendiary. EMP will basically stun every grunt robot into a quick death, which is actually important in this game. The grunts are often times the biggest damagers of your party en masse and a pack of Alarm Responders can be more damaging than a High Security boss. At the same time, the damage of Incendiary Grenade is massive and can instantly turn a fight around if it hits a pack of high priority targets and it can put a hurt on bosses as well. It's really up to you here.

Skill Allotment

The entire Built Tough line should be a high priority for you, and most groups will prefer you actually finish out with a full 7 points to pick up Super Tank. Doing so will give you well into the 3000 range of hit points before any implants or other skills are even considered. From there, you have some options. You can put some points in the general tree and pick up further advanced protection, or you can go back into the explosive tree and pick up the 3 points in the Assault weapons skills for the Minigun line, giving you some much needed damage at medium to long range. When you're feeling shaky about your healer or grouping in public groups in general, I'd advise taking as much physical protection and health increasing skill points as you can get and just settle for not being number one on the damage charts.

Above all else when being a tank in PvE, evade! The same skills you use on offense in PvE are imperative to use on defense, even when using a weapon that slows you down like the Miniguns. You may move slowly, but the enemies will still lead you and at medium to long range you can still evade them and lower your incoming damage considerably. Don't feel responsible for your group's victory or defeat. You are just another team member that is just way better at taking damage, but if things go poorly you are not the reason a person was targeted or failed to dodge because he or she was too busy focusing on repairing their turret. Shake it off and have fun with the class in PvE!