Been playing with asari melee builds lately. At first glance, the asari's slow, locked-in melee animation seems like a recipe for disaster. Occasionally it is! But they also get a tasty 1.5x modifier to armor, barriers and shields. Combine that with cloak, some DR and/or a debuff power and you've got some serious damage output with an AoE. The force component is surprisingly strong too; mooks will ragdoll wayyy into the distance.
Here's a rough overview of Asari Melee kits. All builds have the Venom with Phasic ammo to strip protections maximally and give you the SG-OmniBlade. Asari barriers are weak so I'll put a CM-IV on each one too, just as a suggested loadout. Max damage numbers below are vs Armor/Barriers/Shields assuming you brought a Strength Enhancer III and Hydraulic Joints V and triggered Melee Synergy (Fitness 6b). Regarding the DR numbers below, due to the mechanics of the game you need 140% (not 100%) to be invulnerable to damage -- because Reasons.
Asari Adept
4860* Max Damage (35% debuff from Stasis -- 50% text in game is an error)
That a pretty high number! Comes with caveats though. You'll need to take Stasis 6b to get the 50% debuff, but it only works on one unarmored target. That choice also leaves you without any AoE CC power -- which all the other asari kits have (or don't need). Better to take the Stasis Bubble to trap multiple mooks and then try to heavy melee the whole group skyward. Here's a more workable build. 3600 max is pretty good. Overall though, I'd say she is the weakest, least workable asari. Even her Melee Synergy bonus (Fitness 6a) is useless since most of her power DPS is from Biotic Explosions. Hipsters only. Bronze melee medal.
Justicar
4500 Max Damage (25% debuff from Sphere)
The Justicar has a trick up her sleeve. With the right setup she can get 130% damage resistance: 40% from Reave, 40% from her Bubble and 50% during her melee animation. Bubble also gives you a 25% debuff, staggers and will detonate any combo when deployed. Reave-->Bubble (BE) -->HeavyMelee does a serious amount of damage. Pull-->HeavyMelee is LOLfest. Phantoms will hate you. Lots of potential here and a diversity of tactics that probably deserves a thread all its own. Consider taking the Disciple: since you don't need to Venom for stagger you might as well go for fast recharge to get the Reave/Bubble BE. Give her a serious try and you won't be disappoints. Silver medal with some practice.
Assguard
4860* Max Damage (35% debuff from Stasis -- 50% text in game is an error)
Just like the adept, that max damage number is only if you take Stasis 6b. Don't actually do that. ;p But she is still a solid melee kit thanks to Charge. Zoom in and stagger and get that 50% post-charge DR for 4 seconds. Immediately perform a heavy melee and stack on 50% more. You're not invulnerable, but you've got some legitimate protection. Lift grenades are also an excellent CC tool for a melee kit (ref. krentinel). Melee Synergy's +30% power damage boost is a great perk for Charge and Lift Grenades. In that spirit, here's a nice pistol stunner build that maximizes power damage. Overall, incorporating melee into a vanguard playstyle is pretty easy. 25 melee kills a match, no problem. Bonus tip: a quick light melee punch right will give you a potentially life saving stagger before you get stuck in the heavy melee animation. Charge, punch, meleegasm.
Valkyrie
4657 Max Damage (+40% from Tech Armor, 15% debuff from Annihilation Field)
One of the two best melee kits amoung the asari. Lots of threads and videos about this. Basically, tech armor gives you 50%DR and a melee boost. A-Field debuffs and replenishes your barriers. You've got a Warp in your back pocket if you want some serious crowd control via a Biotic Explosion. The Venom is a beautiful complement to her war chest and as NuclearTech76 suggests Disruptor Ammo for the stun -- thumbs up. Gold melee medal, every match.
Huntress
5513 Max Damage (+130% from Tactical Joke)
The highest max damage and no caveats. Serious power here. Not much DR, but Cloak will give you a clear path to most targets. I've suggested Bonus Power so that you can toss a dark channel on the target to stagger, slow and soften (600+ armor damage per second). She eats Brutes for breakfast. Remember charged shots do not cancel cloak and can be released in the middle of many animations: the Venom is your friend. One word of warning, she's almost as buggy off-host as a vanguard, especially with a charge up weapon like the Venom or Graal which really screw with cloak activation. With judicious use of dark channel, she can make every kill a melee kill.
An all melee kill solo is a legit possibility.
Enjoy.
A couple of notes.
-After about 6 games played yesterday/today I noticed that her melee occasionally fails to do damage even when only one enemy is nearby. This was off-host so perhaps it's a lag issue.
-The Disciple still sucks. Failed to stagger Hunters quite frequently.
-The justicar really needs a CM-III or -IV to take advantage of her DR.
-The tail end of the animation takes way way wayyyy too long. Especially off host, enemies like scions have enough time to turn around and start flailing at you even if they get staggered. More on-host evaluation needed.
Edited by Shampoohorn, 15 April 2014 - 04:33 PM.
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