Lancer Build - Mass Effect: Andromeda (MEA)

Lancer Build

The build is inspired by cavalry riders that used long Lances to charge directly into enemies. Unfortunately, we do not have this thing in Andromeda, but we have a strong alternative - Lance skill. It is one of few abilities that can be used without cooldown as long as you have shields.

To get close to the enemies we will use the Charge ability (fits perfectly the theme, eh?). It allows covering long distances and more importantly, restoring the shields for Lance usage.

However, you would think that Lance skill by itself is weak, and you are right. However, we will pair it together with Annihilation to create huge biotic explosions around Ryder. Each Lance use will create Biotic Combo dealing large amounts of damage

If this sounds like your playstyle, let's take a look

Skills allocation

This section covers how skill points should be allocated for the end game on the Lance build

Combat Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Shotguns	Weight Any Damage & Force	Generally, any weapon works, it's my personal preference to use a shotgun as I have always been close to enemies. If you are using Scattershot take Reload for a level 5 upgrade
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Heavy Lifting Hold the Line	Provides various stat boosts - max health, shields, weight capacity, weapon damage, etc. The level 6 upgrade, is especially good as it gives 200 damage resistance when HP is low.

There is another option that I would like to recommend.

Biotic Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Charge	Damage & Force Power Synergy Shock Trooper	This ability will play the main role of charging into a group of opponents. Moreover, it will restore shields that can be used for Lance's ability. I prefer Shock Trooper as you get plenty of bonuses from other abilities for bonus shield restoration and it reaches 100% easily.
Annihilation	Radius Damage Attractor Draining Field	This ability allows us to prime all enemies around for Biotic Combos. It also decreases enemy damage resistance allowing for more damage. Moreover, the last upgrade gives 30 shield restoration after each kill, giving opportunities for more Lance uses.
Lance	Damage & Force Anti-Shield Shield-Powered	This is the main damage ability of the Lancer build. You can use it as long as you have shields. Moreover, after each enemy is killed you will restore part of the shields from other skills, to continue using this skill. Otherwise, you can just use Charge.
Barrier	Unyielding Barrier Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Provides improvements to shields and gives instant shield restore when health is low
Offensive Biotics	Alacrity Exploitation Biotic Warrior	The ability gives bonus biotic power damage and recharge speed. Moreover, it will weaken enemies when a biotic effect is active (Annihilation) and gives bonus damage after each biotic skill use.
Containment	Radius Shield Detonation Event Horizon	This ability is a low priority. It gives bonus duration and effect radius for biotic skills.

Tech Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Team Support	Support Team Recovery Defense Grid	To unlock this ability get any skill to level 4 in the Tech skill tree. Team Support gives a bonus to defenses and damage resistance with the last upgrade.

Profile

Profile	Description
Adept	I think this profile fits perfectly the build (although Vanguard can also be an option). The Adept profile provides various boosts to biotic skills. However, the most important is Biotic echoes, which create smaller combos after combo detonation, creating havoc on the battlefield.

Skills Progression

This section covers detailed ability progression for the best Lancer Build. This is just a suggested progression, feel free to adjust it based on your needs.

The early build might be difficult as your abilities will have long cooldowns. As you level up and put more points into biotics this will get much better.

Order	Skill	Description
1	Lance Lv 4	These are the core abilities for the build. Get Radius upgrade for Annihilation Note: early in the game being close to enemies may mean certain death. You can switch Annihilation with something like Singularity up until level 20~
2	Charge Lv 3
3	Annihilation Lv 4
4	Offensive Biotics Lv 3	The passive will improve recharge rates and pick Bastion upgrade for Charge skill to drastically decrease cooldown times
5	Charge Lv 6
6	Barrier Lv 3	Gives improved shields
7	Lance Lv 6	Unlock Shield-Powered, to make the skill work without cooldown.
8	Annihilation Lv 6	Maximizing these skills will give huge bonuses to biotic damage and allows restoring shields after each kill
11	Offensive Biotics Lv 6
12	Barrier Lv 6
13	Shotgun Lv 4	Any weapon skill works, shotguns are just my preferred option
14	Combat Fitness Lv 6	The most important part is an increase in the health regeneration threshold and bonus damage resistance when HP is low.
15	Containment Lv 6	Gives boosts to biotic skill radius, force, and shield restoration
16	Any tech skill lv 4	To unlock Team Support, we need to spend 9 skill points in Tech tree
17	Team Support Lv 6
18	Shotguns Lv 6	Maximize the weapon skill

Now, put the rest of the points into any biotic tree skills. You will need them to reach the level 6 Adept profile, for improved combo damage.

Tactics

This section will cover playing the best Lance build in Mass Effect Andromeda.

Get in Close and Personal

The build only shines when you are close to enemies. Why is that? Our goal for this build is to create biotic explosions. For that, you need to prime enemies, and the only way to do that is either with companions or Annihilation skills.

Annihilation only works in close range, so once you are close, an enemy that you attack with Lance, will create Biotic Combo. Thanks to Adept's unique perk - Biotic Echoes, this will create even more small explosions. Generally, any normal or shielded enemies will be taken out with a few hits

When fighting Armored enemies, use Evasion

However, it is a bit different when you fight Fiends, Hydras, Destroyers, etc. Here your goal is to be close, but also to avoid their finisher attack - usually grab animation will indicate this. So when charging, I recommend using evasion and keeping a 2-4 meter distance from them.

In this distance, you can freely unleash Lance skill to create some Biotic combos from the Annihilation field effect. Whenever you use all of your shields, use Charge to restore them.

Main combat rotation

The combat is fairly simple with this build, your goal is to get close to enemies via Charge skill. In turn, this will prime all enemies for the Biotic combo, which you can exploit with Lance.

Use Lance as much as you can before your shields are depleted. This can take some time, as you will restore protection after each kill from Annihilation and some other passive skills

Once that happens, use Charge to restore them and spam Lance again. The Charge should have a very low cooldown allowing it to be used almost any time. Generally, this all there is to the build combat once you reach low enough cooldown times

Companions

Here I would like to mention a few companions that are above the others specifically for this build. You can check all the squad builds recommendations

Drack

The Krogan companion is a perfect match for the build. He will also go into close combat, providing damage resistance from the Defense Grid upgrade on the Team Support skill. Moreover, he will draw some enemy attention making the combat easier.

The last thing is that he will be able to activate Fire combos via Incendiary ammo that you unlock after his loyalty mission.

Cora

She is an extremely valuable companion. First, she has Shield Boost, which restores shields and HP. This will allow using Lance even more. Second, she has abilities that take her up close to the enemy, which will activate Team Support's Defense Grid. Third, she can prime enemies with Biotic and Cryo combos from Nova and Cryo Ammo.

Generally, she is a very versatile companion to have

Equipment

This section will cover what equipment you should be using with Lance Build.

Weapons

Name	Mods	Augmentations
N7 Piranha	Shotgun Barrel Shotgun Receiver	Power Booster - gives bonus power damage when the clip is full Seeking Plasma System - projectiles track enemies. Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage
Dhan	Shotgun Barrel Shotgun Receiver	Power Booster - gives bonus power damage when the clip is full Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage

There is also a more defensive option. It will restore shields after you clear the clip, so generally, you will use 1 shot. Sadly, you will also sacrifice Power Booster

Name	Mods	Augmentations
Scattershot	Shotgun Barrel Shotgun Receiver	Plasma Charge System - reduces the clip and releases explosive pellets Shield Oscillator - restore shields after reload Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage

Melee Weapons

Name	Augmentations	Description
Asari Sword	Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage	Has 4 augmentation slots, the most out of all melee weapons. The damage boost is better as you only have one skill with recharge times, which is already fairly short.

Armors

Armor piece	Stats	Augmentation options
Heleus Helmet	+7%-25% Power Damage +2%-8% Weapon Damage	Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage
N7 Chest	+4%-15% Max Shields +4%-13% Biotic Power Damage +5%-20% Biotic Recharge Speed	Shield Oscillator - provide shield restoration on kill Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage
N7 Legs	+2%-12% Max Shields +3%-12% Biotic Power Damage	Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage
N7 Arms	+2%-12% Max Shields +3%-12% Biotic Power Damage	Biotic Damage Booster - increases biotic power damage

Fusion Mods

Name	Description
Fusion Mod of Biotic Mastery	By sacrificing all of the other damage, Ryder get's bonus of 30% biotic damage. This is a worthy sacrifice as we only use biotic skills for damage.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the best Lance build in Mass Effect Andromeda. I covered recommended abilities and their progression, best equipment, and tactics.

Feel free to leave a comment below!