435 replies to this topic

[Relix28]

I saw a thread earlier, where someone was asking about different power combos. And since I have some free time on my hands, I decided to make a list of these with some explanation, so people can understand these combo mechanics a little better.




BIOTIC COMBOS
We all know the drill, cast a biotic power on an enemy, and once an enemy is affected by it, finish it off with another biotic power for a damaging AoE explosion.

Notes:
-Not all biotic powers are compatible with each other (E.G. Singularity --> Pull will not cause a biotic combo).

-Stasis is unique, because it can bypass defenses (such as shields and barriers), and enemies can be detonated while their defenses are still present. It is, however, completely ineffective vs. armored targets such as Atlas mechs and Turrets.

-Warp, Reave and Biotic Sphere (with Warp Effect evolution) are unique because they can either set up or set off biotic combos. They can set up combos on enemies with defenses (shields/barriers). They can also set up combos on armored targets, such as Turrets and Atlas mechs.

-Lift Grenade and Shockwave (with Lifting evolution) are able to set up biotic combos on unprotected non-armored targets (targets with health bar only). They are also able to detonate biotic combos.

-Slam (SP only) is able to set up biotic combos on unprotected non-armored targets (targets with health bar only). It can also detonate combos, but only on enemies that can be "slammed" (unprotected non-armored targets/targets with health bar only).

-Dark Channel is able set up biotic combos on every type of enemy (targets with shields/barriers, health only, armored). Basically, it works like Reave or Warp, the only difference is, that it is unable to detonate combos.

-Smash can only set up biotic combos with the rank 4 Biotic Combo evolution. If you take Electrical Damage evolution instead, you will set up you targets for Tech Bursts.

-Lash can detonate biotic combos on all non-armored targets. It can also set up biotic combos on shieldless non-armored targets, and shielded non-armored targets, if you take the rank 6 Shield Penetration evolution.

-Annihilation Field can set up biotic combos on every type of enemy, if the enemy is in range of it's aura. When detonated, it can set off biotic explosions, if your targets are primed by another biotic power. It cannot combo with itself.



List of biotic combos below.


-Sigularity --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs

-Pull --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs

-Stasis --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Warp --> Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs

-Reave --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs  

-Biotic Sphere (only with Rank 6 Warp Effect evolution) --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs

-Shockwave (only with Rank 6 Lifting Shockwave evolution) --> Warp/Throw/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Barrier (when detonated) --> Warp/Throw/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Lift Grenade --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Smash (with Rank 4 Biotic Combo evolution) --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs

-Lash --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Smash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Dark Channel --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Slam/Smash/Lash/Annihilation Field (when detonated)/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Annihilation Field (aura) --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Reave/Biotic Sphere/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade/Smash/Lash/Biotic Slash/Biotic Orbs 

-Slam (SP only) --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade/Lift Grenade

 






ELEMENTAL (aka tech) COMBOS
There are also some new combos in ME3, that involve Tech or Combat elemental based powers. It's the same principle as with biotic combos, but they function in a slightly different manner.


FIRE EXPLOSION
-Can be set up by: Incinerate, Inferno Grenade, Carnage, Geth Turret (with rank 6 Flamethrower upgrade), Sentry Turret (with rank 6 Flamethrover upgrade), Flamer, Omni Shield (with Fire Shield Upgrade), Incendiary Ammo
-Can be detonated with any Biotic/Tech/Combat powers that can deal direct damage (except for the powers that are used to set up the combo).
-Effect: Enemies effected by any of the fire based powers, cause an AoE fire explosion, once they are killed by a direct damage power. The effect is similar to blowing up Pyros with Overload in ME2.
-Note: As of the latest patch, Fire Explosions function the same way as Tech Bursts. Hit the target with a fire primer, and then detonate it with any power that can deal direct damage.


CRYO EXPLOSION
-Can be set up by: Cryo Blast, Snap Freeze, Omni Shield (with Cryo Shield upgrade), Cryo Ammo
-Can be detonated with any Biotic/Tech/Combat powers that can deal direct damage.
-Effect: Frozen enemies killed by damage based powers, cause an AoE cryo explosion, freezing any enemy that is nearby.
-Note: Enemies MUST be frozen in order to trigger Cryo Explosion, so this will only work on unshielded non-armores targets (targets with health only). As of the latest patch, frozen enemies do not require be killed by the secondary power in order to trigger the explosion.
-Special note about Snap Freeze: Unlike every other Cryo based power, Snap Freeze can also prime chilled and not just frozen targets. It functions as a primer on every type of defense (shields, barriers, armor and health).


TECH BURST
-Can be set up by: Overload, Energy Drain, Sabotage (backfire), Submission Net, Arc Grenade, Smash (with rank 4 Electrical Damage evolution), Shadow Strike (with rank 5 Electric Damage upgrade), Disruptor Ammo
-Can be detonated by any Biotic/Tech/Combat powers taht can deal direct damage (except for the powers that are used to set up the combo).
-Effect: Enemies effected by electricity based powers, discharge multiple electricity bolts to nearby enemies, when hit with direct damage powers. Effect is similar to Overload's Chain Overload upgrade.
-Note: Works the same way as Fire Explosions. Hit the target with one of the electrical primers, and then detonate it with any power that can deal direct damage. 


Concussive Shot Rank 6 Amplification evolution is currently bugged in multiplayer was replaced with the Hammer evolution (damage + radius upgrade) in the last patch. It has not been changed for the SP portion of the game, and it seems to be working as intended there (for the most part).
When coupled with Incendiary Ammo, it can prime targets for Fire Explosions, and when coupled with Cryo Ammo, it can prime targets for Cryo Explosions. For some reason, it does not prime targets for Tech Bursts, when coupled with Disruptor Ammo.
-Credit for this goes to RedCaesar97 and more info about Amplified Concussive Shot can be found in his thread here.




Direct damage powers (aka the powers able to set off tech combos)

Biotic: Warp, Shockwave, Throw, Biotic Sphere, Biotic Charge, Nova, Cluster Grenade, Lift Grenade, Smash, Lash, Annihilation Field (when detonated), Biotic Slash, Biotic Orbs

Tech: Incinerate, Overload, Enegry Drain, Combat Drone (when detonated, rank 4 detonate evolution required),
Snap Freeze, Arc Grenade, Homing Grenade, Electric Slash, Recon Mine

Combat: Concussive Shot, Carnage, Proximity Mine, Frag Grenade, Sticky Grenade, Phase Disruptor, Multi-Frag Grenade, Havoc Strike




I hope this explains the combo mechanics to everyone not so familiar with them, and I hope you will be able to put them to good use.
If I have by any chance missed anything, be sure to let me know, and I will include it in the OP.


Make sure you also check out the official Gameplay Data and Mechanics thread for a more in-depth explanation about the mechanics behind power combos.

Combo explosion damage formula (Tested in-game). This excellent thread provides numbers and info on combo modifiers, power lvl's, combo damage (difficulty) scaling, and debuffs (such as Sabotage's Tech Vulnerability and Warp's Expose) and their effects on power combos. -Courtesy of corlist & tyhw.

Info on the new Cryo and Fire Exlosion combos (damage, radius, dot, etc...) can be found here.

Edited by Relix28, 18 December 2012 - 08:26 PM.

[royard]

Awesome list, pal! This is going to help a lot.

[Atmosfear3]

Interesting, thanks for info on the tech combos. I wasn't aware they could also be triggered using ammo powers as well.

[mr_afk]

nice list

yay, colours!

Edited by mr_afk, 05 March 2012 - 04:23 AM.

[themaxzero]

Relix28 wrote...

I saw a thread earlier, where someone was asking about different power combos. And since I have some free time on my hands, I decided to make a list of these with some explanation, so people can understand these combo mechanics a little better.




BIOTIC COMBOS 
We all know the drill, cast a biotic power on an enemy, and once an enemy is affected by it, finish it off with another biotic power for a damaging AoE explosion.

Notes:
-Not all biotic powers are compatible with each other (E.G. Singularity --> Pull will not cause a biotic combo). 
-Stasis is unique, because it can bypass defenses (such as shields and barriers), and enemies can be detonated while their defenses are still present. It is, however, completely ineffective vs. armored targets such as Atlas mechs and Turrets.
-Warp is unique because it can either set up or set off biotic combos. It can also set up combos on enemies with defenses (shields/barriers), so it functions similar to Stasis in this regard. And it is the only biotic power in the game (demo), able to set up combos on armored targets, such as Turrets and Atlas mechs.

Below is the list of currently known biotic combos. When the full game comes out, there may be more, but for the demo, I think this is pretty much it.


-Sigularity --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade

-Stasis --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade

-Pull --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade

-Warp --> Throw/Shockwave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade

-Lift Grenade --> Warp/Throw/Shockwave/Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade

-Shockwave (only with Rank 6 Lifting Shockwave evolution) --> Warp/Throw//Charge/Nova/Cluster Grenade



ELEMENTAL (aka tech) COMBOS
There are also some new combos in ME3, that involve Tech or Combat elemental based powers. It's the same principal as with biotic combos, but they function in a slightly different manner.


FIRE EXPLOSION
-Can be set up by: Incinerate, Carnage, Inferno Grenade, Incendiary Ammo
-Can be detonated with any Biotic/Tech/Combat powers that can deal direct damage (except for the powers that are used to set up the combo).
-Effect: Enemies effected by any of the fire based powers, cause an AoE fire explosion, once they are killed by a direct damage power. The effect is similar to blowing up Pyros with Overload in ME2.
-Note: Enemy MUST be killed by the second power, in order to cause a Fire Explosion. E.G. it will not work, if an enemy is hit by Incinerate --> Overload, and still has HP left after that. So, in this case, Overload would have to do sufficient damage to outright kill a burning enemy, in order to cause a Fire Explosion.


CRYO EXPLOSION
-Can be set up by: Cryo Blast, Cryo Ammo
-Can be detonated with any Biotic/Tech/Combat powers that can deal direct damage.
-Effect: Frozen enemies killed by damage based powers, cause an AoE cryo explosion, freezing any enemy that is nearby.
-Note: Same as Fire Exlplosion, frozen enemies MUST be killed by the second power in order to trigger Cryo Explosion.


TECH BURST
-Can be set up by: Overload, Energy Drain, Disruptor Ammo
-Can be detonated by any Biotic/Tech/Combat powers taht can deal direct damage (except for the powers that are used to set up the combo).
-Effect: Enemies effected by electricity based powers, discharge multiple electricity bolts to nearby enemies, when hit with direct damage powers. Effect is similar to Overload's Chain Overload upgrade.
-Note: Unlike Fire & Cryo Explosion combos, this one doesn't require an enemy to be killed by the second power. E.G. enemy hit by Overload --> Incinerate will produce Tech Burst, wheter he is killed by Incinerate or not.



I hope this explains the combo mechanics to everyone not so unfamiliar with them, and I hope you will be able to put them to good use.
If I have by any chance missed anything, be sure to let me know, and I will include it in the OP.

With it's electrical nature (both the hacking and back fire) Sabotage could be used to setup Tech Bursts. It also has a +100% tech damage taken upgrade too.

[Relix28]

mr_afk wrote...

nice list

yay, colours!

I really don't know why I'm bothering with colours. lol They change back to that standard gray every time I edit the OP. To hell with it, I'm just gonna bold it and leave it at that. 

themaxzero wrote...

With it's electrical nature (both the hacking and back fire) Sabotage could be used to setup Tech Bursts. It also has a +100% tech damage taken upgrade too.

Thanks for the heads up. I will add it to the OP.

EDIT: added

Also, @ royard, atmosfear3, ur welcome guys, I'm glad you found it helpful. 

Edited by Relix28, 05 March 2012 - 04:52 AM.

[Dachau Joseph]

God bless you

[Tyrannotaur]

Does the Asari's Heavy Melee activate a Biotic explosion? I hit a Cerberus grunt with a Warp and a teammate using an Asari did Heavy Melee and I'm almost positive it activated a Biotic Explosion. Just wanted to make sure of that though.

[Relix28]

Tyrannotaur wrote...

Does the Asari's Heavy Melee activate a Biotic explosion? I hit a Cerberus grunt with a Warp and a teammate using an Asari did Heavy Melee and I'm almost positive it activated a Biotic Explosion. Just wanted to make sure of that though.

Nope, doesn't work. I tried it with both Stasis and Warp, but no explosions.

[VirtualAlex]

Does the biotic power used to detonate deal more or less damage?

For example if I stasis something, does it batter if I throw a warp or a pull? Which would deal more total damage?

[AveryChim]

Thank you so much for this!!! I finally understand how it works now!

[Relix28]

VirtualAlex wrote...

Does the biotic power used to detonate deal more or less damage?

For example if I stasis something, does it batter if I throw a warp or a pull? Which would deal more total damage?

Biotic powers do TONS of extra damage, when used in combos, especially, if you choose the detonation combo evolutions.

From my experience, Throw has the best flat out combo damage . Warp does slightly less damage, but if you Warp combo a group of enemies, any nearby survivors get covered in that blue Warp...stuff, wich I assume does DoT, and applies Warp de-buff effects (I'm not 100% sure on that one, I would need to test it to be sure). Pull does not combo with Stasis.

AveryChim wrote...

Thank you so much for this!!! I finally understand how it works now!

You are very welcome. 

Edited by Relix28, 05 March 2012 - 03:03 PM.

[djv21]

Great post very helpful

[Alraiis]

Does evolving Warp for a bonus to detonations affect just the combos Warp detonates or does that extend to combos it sets up as well?

[meentje85]

Thank you!! Very helpfull!!

[Vast]

When you say Throw has the best biotic combo damage, what exactly do you mean? If I warp someone and then throw him....isnt it the warp that explodes?

With the Warp + Throw combo, does the extra bio detonation damage evolution of Warp or Throw apply...or do both stack?

[Eric Fagnan]

The damage of the combo explosion depends on the rank of the detonator power, not the stats of the power. The rank of the power that set up the combo also matters. So if you combine a rank 6 Pull with a rank 6 Throw, you will get maximum combo damage. Whether you use Throw or Warp to detonate doesn't really matter, except when that power has special upgrades to increase the damage of combos. Even if Warp, by default, does more damage than Throw on a regular impact, this does not affect how much damage is done on power combos - only the rank of the power matters.

This applies for the other combos as well. Using a rank 6 Incinerate to set up a fire combo and detonating with a rank 6 Throw will cause maximum damage. Using a rank 1 Incinerate with a rank 6 Throw does the same damage as using a rank 6 Incinerate followed by a rank 1 Throw, which is less than having max rank in both powers.

Hope that clarifies a few more things.

[Vast]

Does having a special upgrade to increase the damage of combos for both Warp and Throw stack?

You seem to imply that the extra damage to combos upgrade does make it matter what power is used to detonate the combo.

Also, it seems like alot of the combos do a secondary affect besides damage. Will using a rank 6 throw to detonate a rank 6 pull do the same damage as using it to detonate a rank 6 Cryo Blast that also freezes secondary targets hit with the combo explosion?

I assume the damage of the combo explosion is seperate and applied in addition to the damage of the detonater power or am I wrong?  Ie Explosion damage of a rank 3 pull + rank 3 throw = rank 3 pull + rank 3 warp but the target of the warp takes the damage of rank 3 warp in addition to the combo damage.

Do bonusses to power damage from passives boost the explosion damage?  Does an engineer with 50% bonus to force damage do more explosion damage using a rank 3 pull + rank 3 throw than someone with 10% bonus to force damage?

Edited by Vast, 05 March 2012 - 09:43 PM.

[Alraiis]

Eric Fagnan wrote...

The damage of the combo explosion depends on the rank of the detonator power, not the stats of the power. The rank of the power that set up the combo also matters. So if you combine a rank 6 Pull with a rank 6 Throw, you will get maximum combo damage. Whether you use Throw or Warp to detonate doesn't really matter, except when that power has special upgrades to increase the damage of combos. Even if Warp, by default, does more damage than Throw on a regular impact, this does not affect how much damage is done on power combos - only the rank of the power matters.

This applies for the other combos as well. Using a rank 6 Incinerate to set up a fire combo and detonating with a rank 6 Throw will cause maximum damage. Using a rank 1 Incinerate with a rank 6 Throw does the same damage as using a rank 6 Incinerate followed by a rank 1 Throw, which is less than having max rank in both powers.

Hope that clarifies a few more things.

That clarifies quite a bit—thanks! It sounds like a power upgrade that increases the damage of combos only takes effect if the upgraded power is the detonating power. So, if I combo Rank 6 Warp + Rank 6 Throw, both of which are evolved for +50% detonation damage, those two 50% bonuses won't stack—and if Warp is evolved and Throw isn't, I won't get any bonus at all. because Throw is the detonating power. Is that right?

[Eric Fagnan]

The upgrades for increasing combo damage applies to both setting up and detonating the power, but only some powers can set up combos. So for Warp, that upgrade will increase the damage when setting up and when detonating. Throw doesn't set up combos so that upgrade only applies to detonating.

Those upgrades do stack, so if you have both the Warp and Throw upgrades, setting up with Warp and detonating with Throw will apply both bonuses.

All 4 combos (Biotic, Fire, Cryo, Electric) have different radius, damage, force, and other effects. The Fire combo, for example, does the most damage, while Cryo is fairly low damage but has the added benefit of freezing nearby enemies. Biotic and Electric are in the middle for damage, but are easier to do because the target doesn't have to die when detonated.

The combo damage is done after the normal power impact. So if you detonate with Warp, Warp will do its normal damage and then the combo damage is added.

Power bonuses from gear and passive powers (like +10% power damage) do not affect power combos; however, power combos do what we call "normalized" damage, meaning they scale with enemy health. So even on the hardest difficulty where enemies have more health, the power combos still do the same % damage to the enemy. This makes them scale really well with difficulty, which makes up for them not scaling in other ways like getting power upgrades from other sources.

[Alraiis]

Oh, that's awesome. Thanks again for the info, Eric!

Can't wait to spec my Adept for maximum explosions.

[Vast]

Awesome info. I have a question about combo's set up with Ammo though. Does a fire set by rank 6 incendiary ammo count the same as a fire set by Incinerate 6 for combo damage?

[royard]

Found some more data on the combos:



powercombo_biotic:{
combodamage:(X=100.0f,Y=250.0f)
comboforce:(X=500.0f,Y=1000.0f)
comboradius:(X=300.0f,Y=500.0f)
maxtargets:4

powercombo_cryo:{
combodamage:(X=50.0f,Y=125.0f)
comboforce:(X=200.0f,Y=450.0f)
comboradius:(X=300.0f,Y=500.0f)
freezeduration:(X=2.0f,Y=5.0f)
maxtargets:4
resistancedurationmultiplier:3.0f
speedreduction:0.3f

powercombo_electric:{
beamduration:2.0f
combodamage:(X=75.0f,Y=200.0f)
comboforce:(X=200.0f,Y=450.0f)
comboradius:(X=450.0f,Y=750.0f)
maxtargets:4

powercombo_fire:{
combodamage:(X=100.0f,Y=250.0f)
comboforce:(X=300.0f,Y=600.0f)
comboradius:(X=300.0f,Y=600.0f)
damagepersecond:(X=20.0f,Y=50.0f)
dotduration:(X=3.0f,Y=3.0f)
maxtargets:4

[CrimsonShadows81]

Eric Fagnan wrote...

The upgrades for increasing combo damage applies to both setting up and detonating the power, but only some powers can set up combos. So for Warp, that upgrade will increase the damage when setting up and when detonating. Throw doesn't set up combos so that upgrade only applies to detonating.

Those upgrades do stack, so if you have both the Warp and Throw upgrades, setting up with Warp and detonating with Throw will apply both bonuses.

All 4 combos (Biotic, Fire, Cryo, Electric) have different radius, damage, force, and other effects. The Fire combo, for example, does the most damage, while Cryo is fairly low damage but has the added benefit of freezing nearby enemies. Biotic and Electric are in the middle for damage, but are easier to do because the target doesn't have to die when detonated.

The combo damage is done after the normal power impact. So if you detonate with Warp, Warp will do its normal damage and then the combo damage is added.

Power bonuses from gear and passive powers (like +10% power damage) do not affect power combos; however, power combos do what we call "normalized" damage, meaning they scale with enemy health. So even on the hardest difficulty where enemies have more health, the power combos still do the same % damage to the enemy. This makes them scale really well with difficulty, which makes up for them not scaling in other ways like getting power upgrades from other sources.

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the clarification, In the Offical Game Guild form Prima, the writer describes the bonus as only being effective when used as a set up power and not a finishing power (For Warp). PG 63 under the discription for Warp. Can you confirm if this is a mistaken understanding from the writers of the guide or if it's a case of the Warp skill that Sens have access to.

Thanks,