Abilities in Mass Effect are the special tactics granted by becoming increasingly more skilled in any given Talent. For example, training a Soldier with the Assault Rifle Talent eventually grants the three levels of the Overkill ability that get increasingly more lethal: you earn Overkill at level 3, Advanced Overkill at level 9, and finally Master Overkill at level 12. By spending more points in a talent, a character can eventually become proficient in several master-level abilities that dramatically increase their prowess in battle or grant valuable squad support abilities.
Abilities can be learned by the player's character after certain Talents Levels have been unlocked and can be upgraded up to three times after spending a certain amount of Talent points in said talent.
Mass Effect Abilities
Assigning points to talents lets you improve Combat , Tech, and Biotic, as well as activate special abilities under each talent. You and your squad can upgrade talents in the same way.
As you gain experience, your current level reflects your advancement. Whenever you gain enough experience to advance to a new level, you are granted Talent Points that you can spend to acquire higher ranks or additional talents.
You and your squad can advance levels by accumulating XP, which you gain by defeating enemies, using certain skills, and completing Missions. There is a single pool of XP for your entire squad. All squad actions feed into it, and all squad members level up at the same time, including those back on the Normandy and not part of the active squad.
Level-Up Benefits
Every time your character levels up he will gain the following benefits:
- Gain health. You can increase this amount through talents.
- Gain Talent Points. You can spend these points at any time to increase your rank.
Also you can auto Level and Undo Talent Points. Select the Auto Level Up option to automatically distribute your Talent Points. After spending Talent Points, you can select Undo Talent Points to undo your choices.
Shepard Abilities
These abilities are only available to Commander Shepard and can't be learned by any of your companions
Store Discount
Convinces merchants they should give you a better deal (passive bonus) when purchasing gear.
Related Talent:
Motivated Buyer
Your intimidating presence bullies merchants (passive bonus) into buying your gear for more credits.
Related Talent:
Unity
Revives dead squad members, restoring a percentage of their health and shields.
Related Talent:
Note: Unlockable after becoming a Spectre
Combat Abilities
This abilities are focuses on front-line "soldiers" characters, affects your overall proficiency with Weapons, as well as enabling the use of certain Equipment, like type of Armor.
Carnage
Fires a blast of particles from the Shotgun, inflicting significant damage to any enemy near the impact point.
Related Talent:
Overkill
Reduces the kickback and heat generation of the assault rifle, allowing long burst of accurate fire.
Related Talent:
Assassination
Your next sniper shot will be perfectly accurate, and will inflict more damage than usual.
Related Talent:
Adrenaline Burst
Resets the recharge times on all your talents so they can be used immediately.
Related Talent:
Tech Abilities
Your Technical Ability determines how much of a tech specialist you are, refers to abilities based around reverse engineering or hacking various technologies, including hardsuit systems, , and synthetic enemies.
Damping Ability
Disables enemy biotics and tech for a percentage of their normal recharge time; also stuns enemies for a short duration. Damping is delivered as a proximity mine that explodes when enemies are nearby for bonus damage.
Related Talent:
Sabotage
Can use Decrytion skill on easy objects. Overheats enemy weapons so they can not fire, and burns them for damage over time. Sabotage is delivered from a proximity mine that explodes when enemies are nearby for bonus damage.
Related Talent:
AI Hacking
Drives synthetic enemies berserk so they will attack anything nearby, including their former allies.
Related Talent:
Overload
Can use Electronics skill on easy objects. Damages the shield of enemies near the target, and reduces the effectiveness of ther armor plating. Overload is delivered as a proximity mine that explodes when enemies are nearby for bonus damage.
Related Talent:
Biotic Abilities
Biotics are hideous powerful, in some instances capable of blasting rooms full of enemies into the air with a single use of skill, or wiping out even the bigest and most dangerous enemy types entirely from a fight.
Throw Ability
Throws objects and enemies away from the caster with increasing force. Doesn't work on flying enemies.
Related Talent:
Lift Ability
Lift everything within radius of the target into the air, rendering enemies immobile and unable to attack. Drops them when it expires. Doesn't work on flying enemies.
Related Talent:
Warp Ability
Inflicts 6 damage per second, and lowers the target's damage protection by 50%.
Related Talent:
Singularity Ability
Creates a vortex at its impact point that draws objects toward it. Does not work on flying enemies.
Related Talent:
Barrier Ability
Bolsters your shield with a biotic barrier that will absorb up to 400 points of damage but doesn't block attacks that bypass shields.
Related Talent:
Stasis Ability
Makes the target unable to move or attack, but also immune to damage. Squad members will not use Stasis Ability unless selected from Power Whell.
Related Talent:
All Mass Effect Abilities
Name |
Effect |
Related Talent |
Class |
| Store Discount | Convinces merchants they should give you a better deal (passive bonus) when purchasing gear. | Charm | |
| Motivated Buyer | Your intimidating presence bullies merchants (passive bonus) into buying your gear for more credits. | Intimidate | |
| Unity | Revives dead squad members, restoring a percentage of their health and shields. | Spectre Training | |
| Marksman | Increases the accuracy and rate of fire (RoF) of the pistol. | Pistols Talent |
|
| Carnage | Fires a blast of particles from the Shotgun, inflicting significant damage to any enemy near the impact point. | Shotguns Talent |
|
| Overkill | Reduces the kickback and heat generation of the assault rifle, allowing long burst of accurate fire. | Assault Rifles Talent | |
| Assassination | Your next sniper shot will be perfectly accurate, and will inflict more damage than usual. | Sniper Rifles Talent |
|
| Shield Boost | Restores a portion of your shields, even when under fire. | Basic Armor, Combat Armor and Tactical Armor |
|
| Adrenaline Burst | Resets the recharge times on all your talents so they can be used immediately. | Assault Training | |
| Immunity | Boost the effectiveness of your plating, reducing the amount of damage taken. | Fitness |
|
| Damping Ability | Disables enemy biotics and tech for a percentage of their normal recharge time; also stuns enemies for a short duration. Damping is delivered as a proximity mine that explodes when enemies are nearby for bonus damage. | Damping |
|
| Sabotage | Can use Decrytion skill on easy objects. Overheats enemy weapons so they can not fire, and burns them for damage over time. Sabotage is delivered from a proximity mine that explodes when enemies are nearby for bonus damage. | Decryption | |
| AI Hacking | Drives synthetic enemies berserk so they will attack anything nearby, including their former allies. | Hacking |
|
| Overload | Can use Electronics skill on easy objects. Damages the shield of enemies near the target, and reduces the effectiveness of ther armor plating. Overload is delivered as a proximity mine that explodes when enemies are nearby for bonus damage. | Electronics |
|
| Fist Aid Ability | Restores health for all wounded squad members. | First Aid |
|
| Neural Shock | Knocks out organic enemy and inflicts toxic damage. | Medicine | |
| Throw Ability | Throws objects and enemies away from the caster with increasing force. Doesn't work on flying enemies. | Throw | |
| Lift Ability | Lift everything within radius of the target into the air, rendering enemies immobile and unable to attack. Drops them when it expires. Doesn't work on flying enemies. | Lift | |
| Warp Ability | Inflicts 6 damage per second, and lowers the target's damage protection by 50%. | Warp | |
| Singularity Ability | Creates a vortex at its impact point that draws objects toward it. Does not work on flying enemies. | Singularity |
|
| Barrier Ability | Bolsters your shield with a biotic barrier that will absorb up to 400 points of damage but doesn't block attacks that bypass shields. | Barrier |
|
| Stasis Ability | Makes the target unable to move or attack, but also immune to damage. Squad members will not use Stasis Ability unless selected from Power Whell. | Stasis |
