Mass Effect 3

Just finished my Insanity run. Want to help you guys out!

The instructions for getting this achievement are, not surprisingly, putting the difficulty on Insanity right away on Earth (or from the main menu) and not changing it during the course of the game.

With that spoilerific revelation out of the way, I would like to provide some tips (please note this is from a soldier POV, see the bottom of the guide for details):

1) I highly, highly recommend doing your Insanity run on a New Game+ with an imported ME3 character (your character from your initial run). This will allow you to be a significantly higher level (50-55ish depending on how many sidequests you did on your first run), with the resultant levelled skills. In addition, you can upgrade your guns to level 10 (instead of the max of 5 on your first playthrough). This will greatly increase your damage output as well as your power recharge rate (as level 10 weapons are _far_ superior and weigh much less than their basic variants). You will also have all your previous weapon upgrades, money and armor. You will also have a bonus power - I used Defense Matrix (to help with my reduced tank from not having Tech Armour). Fortification would also likely work well.

2) I played as a soldier and I consider this the best class for ME Insanity runs (in general). I know that many people prefer the Engineer and Tech Armour, but IMO what sets the soldier apart (in addition to better health/shields) is the Adrenaline Rush class ability (slow-mo mode). When fully upgraded, this gives you +75% damage, -25% damage taken and lets you line up shots. Combining this with cryo/disruptor/incendiary ammo (for barriers/shields/armor respectively) allows you to quickly take down the bars of any tough enemies you come across. On Insanity it helps immensely against Banshees, Phantoms, etc. Furthermore, when levelled for damage instead of radius, the frag grenades do tremendous amounts of damage. I picked the large Armour damage upgrade and they are very useful against Brutes/Banshees. Engineers have plenty of tank, but the increased gank of a soldier really helps you in arenas where you have a Banshee, Brute, three Marauders and a dozen Cannibals and need to thin out the enemies a bit so you have room to run away!

3) If you are using a soldier, I highly reccomend using the Vindicator battle rifle (upgrade it to level 10 as soon as you get the Normandy back). This gun, considered quite poor in ME2, is a beast on Insanity in ME3. When level 10, it is extremely accurate and quite powerful. Most importantly, because of the rapid burst, rarely will any of the three shots miss your target, making it very suitable for headshots. I reccomend the damage mod and your choice of the stabilizer/extra ammo mod. I personally used stabilizer just to make the aim even better. When (as mentioned above) combined with the appropriate ammo types it is very powerful (a full clip of incendiary ammo at level 10 can take most of a Brute's armor bar. Sadly, the Revenant does not seem to be the powerhouse it was (way too inaccurate - mabye this is different at level 10? Let me know!). I reccomend using the Carnifex as a backup, when loaded with the appropriate ammo it is extremely powerful (You can two-shot a Stasis-locked marauder with full shield with headshots). I avoided shotguns/sniper rifles as they reduced my regen rate for Adrenaline Rush too much for my liking (plus you really dont want to get too close to a lot of enemies on Insanity!).

If you have the 'From Ashes' DLC, the 'Particle Rifle' that you find will make the game much easier. It has unlimited ammo and, when upgraded, does tremendous damage. It is quite OP, and makes the Insanity run much easier, so I would highly recommend giving it a try.

4) For armour, I actually preferred to use the Cerberus armour. While you do not get as large a heath bonus, you get +10% weapon damage, and this helps a lot when combined with correct ammo type (see the trend?). I always prefer gank to tank and it appears to hold here as well.

5) Make sure you level up Liara and keep her with you. No exceptions. Warp is almost required to efficiently take down Banshees and similar tier enemies. Stasis is stupid OP in particular. When fully levelled, it will freeze _anything_ except for a Banshee/Brute/Ravager/Harvester. This is invaluable when dealing with Cerberus Phantoms/Nemesis. Stasis them, give them three bursts in the head with the Vindicator, and they are done. She can cast Warp/Stasis every few seconds if her unique tree is levelled up. Singularity is also useful of course, but since it only works on enemies without Barriers/Shields/Armour I found myself preferring to spend her cooldowns on Warp/Stasis.

6) For your other party member, take anyone who fits your play style. Early on I stuck with James since he has some extra abilites useful against Armour (grenades and carnage), and he can act as a damage sponge for a little while. I switched him up with Tali for all Geth missions as she can hack the Geth Primes and get them to faceroll all the minor Geth around them. If you have the DLC, Javik is excellent as well - his unique ability essentially DoTs/debuffs an enemy, and is very useful against Banshees (In case you did not get the point, I hate Banshees >.<).

7) Be _extremely_ careful around Ravagers (the mutant Rachni-Reapers). Their three-shot combo will kill you at full health/shields. Repeatedly warp them with Liara and move just enough our of cover to hit them without them being able to hit back. Pop their sacs for some extra damage (though this spawns the small spider-reapers. Your companions will usually kill them before they get to you, but watch out!).

8) Unlike ME1/2 where Insanity massively buffed every enemy by giving them armour/shields/barriers, no extra bars are given to enemies on Insanity. Thier default bars are longer, but there are no extra bars. They do do much more damage and are more aggressive though (Cerberus troopers will spam grenades like it is CoD: World at War and Cannibals will usually move forward pretty aggressively).

9) Be aware of special weapon placement (Blackhole/Hydra/Shredder). These weapons are extremely powerful and can help you kill the tough enemies instantly. Especially in the last fight around the missile trucks on Earth, there is a Hydra rocket launcher under the store counter next to the trucks, and if properly used, you can kill two Banshees, a Brute and a bunch of random trash, making your life a lot easier.

10) Be aware of cutscene-running. In two specific areas (that I know of) there are infinite?/lots of spawns until you activate a console. The first in on Tuchanka where you are activating the Thresher Maw hammers - Brutes will constantly spawn. Since they are slow, just run past them and hit the two switches to get the cutscene/checkpoint. The huge amount of crap everywhere stops them from charging after you. Another spot is (again) the final missile trucks on Earth - once the second truck is good to go, just hit Adrenaline Rush (or Tech Armor :) ) and blitz the console to get the cutscene.

I'll update this over the next few days with other thinks I think of.

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Comment Updates:

According to many people in the comments below, Infiltrator can work very well on Insanity, even on a first playthrough. I have no experience with this class, but there are several independent tip collections in the comments below. Take a look if you prefer being a cloaky sniper.

According to some other people, Vanguard can work quite well too. Again, see comments.

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If people can offer specific tips for Engineers/Adepts/Vanguards/Sentinels etc, please put them in the comments and I will annotate this solution. If there is anything else you think I should add, or any reason you think there an error in the above, please tell me in the comments.

DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS GUIDE...


Because of one weapon, the Particle Rifle, that you get in the From Ashes DLC, this game will be easier and simpler on your Insanity run then you can imagine. You will be doing this DLC eventually and this mission is available right after you get to the Citadel for the first time. I do still recommend playing on Normal first and importing your high leveled character but this is certainly not necessary .

The Particle Rifle has UNLIMITED AMMO, it only overheats and when it does, all you have to do is vent it. This takes NO thermal clips.

Upgrade it all the way, put extra damage and the bigger clip upgrade on it. This gun kills faster on Insanity then any other gun on Normal. My Insanity play through was actually easier then my normal one.

With this weapon, no enemy is a problem. How fast will enemies die...


Banshee = 2 clips
Atlas Mech = 2 clips
Geth Prime = 2 clips
Brute = 1 clip
Ravager = 8 seconds of firing
Phantom = 8 seconds of firing
Harvester = 5 seconds of firing
Other Cerberus troops = 1 to 3 seconds of firing
Cannibals/Marauders = 1 to 3 seconds of firing


It is dead on accurate, has absolutely no recoil and doesn't take ammo!!

You don't need to worry about what squad members to use because biotics aren't even necessary.
I do recommend using James because of his ability that lets the squad do 20% more damage. Also use Cerberus armor because it too lets you do 20% more damage.

Mass Effect 3 - Insanity

08/29/12 - (Finally) added tips for the toughest parts.

Long guide incoming.

First things first, Insanity is doable with any class. Consider that the Engineer and Adept, the two weakest classes in ME2 (imo), have both been strongly improved. Every class is fun in it's own way, and you can truly play however you want.

But, my favorite class is Infiltrator. They are very versatile, occupying the middle ground between a Soldier's firepower and Engineer's tech abilities. There are two ammo types that deal with everything, Incinerate for Armor and barbeques, Sabotage for turning Geth, turrets and Atlas Mechs against their friends; and Tactical Cloak helps you move away, run up, flank, hide, etc. With the various damage bonuses, right teammates, and Mantis/Widow(s), you can complete an entire skirmish with Shepard using just a sniper rifle.

It's certainly possible to complete Insanity in the first run through (with a ME2 import), but New Game Plus is the way to go this time. You keep ALL your weapons, upgrades, and money, are more powerful, and get a bonus power. The first time through, the three Geth Primes and Kai Leng fight each made me curse repeatedly. With everyone at max level, I got through on the first try. You are a mean son of a bitch at level 60.

YOUR SHEPARD:
- Keep your powers even for the most part, but focus on maxing Fitness, Operational Mastery and Tactical Cloak as soon as possible.
Here's the progressions I advise:
Operational Mastery - Weapon Damage (small but helpful), Weight Capacity (better weapons or faster recharge, either's great), Sniper Damage (Headshots now have 30% more damage)
Fitness - Basically, forego the melee options. It makes for an interesting playstyle on lower difficulties, but you won't be very effective or alive long on Insanity.
Tactical Cloak - Damage Bonus (Duration is good enough already), Recharge Speed, and Sniper Damage.

With these evolutions, a headshot from your already powerful sniper rifle gets a 70% damage bonus while Cloak is active.
Upgrade everything else but Sticky Grenades almost all the way, which aren't very good. Cryo Ammo is actually useful now, completely freezing weaker enemies and slowing down stronger ones. For it and Incinerate's final evolutions, choose the synergy options. When you freeze an enemy, hitting them with Incinerate will cause them to shatter.

- For optimal cooldown, an assault rifle and sniper rifle are all you need. I stuck with the Mattock/Vindicator for my AR and Mantis (bolt-action sniper rifle) for optimal cooldown. The Widow and Black Widow are excellent, but they will slow down power use, and even a level 5 Mantis with Extended Barrel Mod is reasonably close to max damage. The Vindicator with a Stability mod let you get headshots almost as easily as a sniper rifle. Use whatever mods you want, but ALWAYS have the Concentration Mod on your sniper rifle, as it gives you even more slow motion for getting headshots (and even more damage!). I preferred to put Disruptor Ammo on the AR and Cryo Ammo on my Mantis, since you'll be using the sniper rifle on the tougher enemies who usually have armor. Anything that doesn't die from a headshot (and instantaneous freeze+shatter) will be snap-frozen.

- Bonus power: Stasis is once again awesome, freezing two enemies in place (when maxed) and giving you a free headshot. It works on all but the toughest enemies/bosses as before. The main selling point? Free, easy shots at Phantoms who have come out of cloak (making the Kai Leng fight less infuriating).
ENERGY DRAIN is probably the next best choice for this class. It gives you a quick way to take down shields and barriers without shooting, and if you opt for the Bonus Power evolution of Cloak, it's possible to regain shields while invisible.
REAVE is the organic equivalent of ED, it's great for setting up biotic explosions, and works through Guardian's shields.

COMBAT AND TEAM:
- Once again, cover is essential. You will die fast if running around in the open. However, it's much easier to move from cover to cover, and certain things (mainly grenades) will force you to do this. Tactical Cloak sometimes becomes necessary when you get swarmed and must run out in the open.

- Bring up the power wheel when using abilities. This lets you pause the game, evaluate what you're fighting, and designate who is getting hit with what. With the increased speed and less narrow "battlefields", you'll also want to look at the minimap often to see if anything's getting close.

- Watch for enemies that have Barriers or Shields and shouldn't. This means there's a pylon around, and those are first priority when present.

- See a turret? Get on it. The game goes into easy mode when using a turret, and I have never had a teammate "die" while using one.

- Heavy weapons can no longer be carried around, but you'll find one in places where it makes everything much easier e.g. the two Brutes on Menae, three Geth Primes on Rannoch, and final defend-the-missiles "holdout" mission. Use them wisely.

- When facing a "boss" enemy, it can be better to go after the weaker guys first. The first example is the Atlas on Sur Kesh - kill the troopers first, and you're be able to move around the slow Atlas. This also applies to Kai Leng and any area with Ravagers.

- ALWAYS position teammates somewhere (Cloak helps when under cover) unless you will be forced out of cover soon. Although the AI has improved, if you don't issue commands, they will move around and possibly run right into pointless deaths. I prefer to position them farther back from the action, then move Shepard up (or to the side) and draw fire. Line of sight is irrelevant for abilities - if you can see an enemy, you can use anyone's abilities on them. For allies with weaker weapons but fantastic powers (mainly Liara), I believe keeping them alive is preferable to them being able to shoot anyone.

- Garrus, Garrus, Garrus. He is the overall best squadmate in the game, having Overload for both Shields and Barriers, Concussive Shot for crowd control, and Armor Piercing Ammo for Armor (duh). Oh yeah, and he can hit just about anything with a sniper rifle, including a Phantom at point blank. Give him a bolt-action (Mantis or Widow) so he's in cover often. Once Garrus joined me, I used him the rest of the game.

- Liara has perfect synergy with Garrus, and these two are an excellent team for any class. Singularity turns Husks and normal Cerberus troops into a joke, sometimes throwing them off ledges to instant death. At a high level, she can use Warp on enemies still trapped in it. Stasis is great for the reasons above, and you having it too means up to four enemies can be immobilized at once. Arm her with the Scorpion pistol, which is basically a mini grenade launcher.

If Kaidan is alive, he has both Overload and Reave which makes him an excellent choice. Javik can match Liara's biotics and he's able to use the Particle Rifle, and James is the closest thing to a Krogan you'll get.

FIGHTING CERBERUS
(note: Putting the accuracy mod on your sniper rifle helps you see through smoke)

Priority: Phantoms - Watch for when they appear, Stasis them, use Overload for the barrier, and zoom in with your sniper rifle. Even in slow motion, it's hard to get a headshot, so just focus on hitting them.

Priority: Nemesis - Small, weak snipers who will make you regret standing up at the wrong moment. Unless a Phantom is right on you, you should actually target them first, so that leaving cover isn't as dangerous.

Priority: Engineers - They will make engagements harder and longer than necessary if you leave them alive. As soon as you see the word 'Engineer' at the top of the screen, hit them with an Overload and blow their head off. You're lucky if you get them before a turret's dropped, but they won't be alive to repair it. Engineers also hide behind Atlas Mechs, negating any damage from you.
Note: Turrets will track you even while cloaked.

Guardian - You can snipe in slow motion, so blast their head off through the "mail slot". Alternatively, use Singularity or Stasis' Bubble evolution to make them drop the shield, cloak and get behind them, or shoot the arm. Armor piercing mods and/or ammo help as well, and both Widow weapons have innate piercing ability.

Centurion - Shields and smoke are the only reason they stay alive longer than normal troops. Hit with Overload, then headshot while they're stunned.

Trooper - Note they're the ones that throw grenades. No special tactics needed.

ATLAS - I put them here because of how slow they move and the somewhat slow rate of fire. You can either kill weaker enemies one by one, OR use Sabotage to turn it against everyone else. Keep the pressure on, because they slowly regenerate.
Note: The ME Wiki says that the engine in back is a weak spot. Getting behind can be tricky, but is definitely doable.

REAPER FORCES
Note: When Garrus is with you (and he always should be), equip Cry Ammo on your sniper rifle, as maxed Overload destroys Shields quickly.

Harvester - They use cannons similar to Ravagers, but with more damage. STAY IN COVER until they leave.

Priority: Banshees - STAY AWAY. The very last battle is the only place you can't backtrack away from everything to fight just them. Overload and Disruptor Ammo damage the Barrier, then switch to Cryo Ammo, use Warp, and snipe in the head while cloaked. Press down on the D-pad to keep the the team together.

Priority: Brute - Once again stay away, and deal as much damage as you can before they close in. Watch for when they charge and roll out of the way ASAP. They can't see you when cloaked, but this puts your team at risk, so use it primarily for added sniper rifle damage. If you can't hit the head, aim for the area between their shoulders, or their soft hind-quarters.

Priority: Marauder - They buff Cannibals and Husks when present, drawing out battles like Engineers. If neither of the above are coming, kill Marauders before anyone else via Overload and slow motion headshot. The distinct noise makes them easy to detect, so you just need to spot them.

Husk - They rush forward looking to melee you, therefore becoming priority. Hit the one closest to you with a Singularity and kill whoever isn't trapped first (Incinerate stuns them momentarily). Try to avoid a "boxing match" which locks you in place fighting them.

Ravager - Hard to place as a threat, they're powerful, but usually stationary or slow moving. Three direct hits will destroy your shield, so be careful. Shoot them at the highest point possible and use Warp repeatedly. Shooting the sack deals more damage, but also releases more Swarmers, so be mindful.

Cannibal - Singularity is perfect for two close to each other. The only difficulty with these "grunts" is regenerating health, so keep pressure on them. Aim for the top of the "hump" right above their head with a bolt-action -- if it doesn't kill them, they'll freeze with one bar of health left.

GETH
Note: Sabotage now works on all Geth, regardless of a Shield or Armor!
Also, you might want to turn up the brightness while on the Dreadnought.

Priority: Hunter - The only Geth besides Pyros that will rush you. Look for the silhouette, shoot it until abilities can be used, and pelt them until they die. Sabotage is risky, because you can lose them again easily.

Priority: Pyro - Rare, but just as dangerous as Hunters. VERY effective when "sabotaged", because they are usually in close proximity to several other Geth. After the shield is gone, one sniper round through the tank will ignite it and make them explode.

Priority: Rocket Trooper - One direct rocket takes away your shield. Luckily, they are equally dangerous when turned against others - just be ready with a headshot when they turn back. Note that the concentration mod will help you see (and avoid) incoming rockets.

Trooper - First or last target, depending on the situation. Sabotaging any of the other types will kill or drastically weaken them. Otherwise, Disruptor Ammo and/or a powerful sniper rifle.

PRIME - Again, powerful but slow. They're the best choice for Sabotage because they can kill almost everything else by the third use (after which all Geth become immune). Learn their firing pattern (bam, bam, bam) and avoid it.

HARD PARTS:
- Grissom Academy auditorium - Immediately run in and to the right, killing the enemies at your level first. After that, you'll have the high ground, and there are countless turrets to Sabotage. Now the thing that will make this section much easier is this: KILL THE ATLAS HERE! Do this before going in the hallway that connects the two halves of the area, and the rest will be easy.

- Rannoch - Three Geth Primes - Once you come off the elevator, immediately tell your teammates to take cover and grab the Geth Spitfire. Sabotage the Geth in the middle first - this will cause the other two to shoot at him, giving you some respite to use the Spitfire, preferably on him. After doing this two more times, use Sabotage on one of the other two. Hopefully by this time there's only one left, and you might need to turn invisible to get away, but keep the pressure on and play smart.

- KAI LENG - First off, although I didn't get the prompt at first, mash B when he gets close and starts the QTE. After this, he'll start to run away - immediately head towards the door and take cover in the section of floor missing. Cerberus Troopers will drop down, so headshot them one at a time. When you Leng start to charge, use double Overload (you chose Garrus right?!!!), direct fire to him, and shoot him yourself. With luck, he'll take enough damage to back off. Repeat with the second wave. Now when the final wave of Phantoms and Nemeses show up, Stasis the Phantoms to keep them off you. Note that Kai Leng can be killed now, so when the other enemies aren't really a problem, give him all you've got and enjoy the cutscene.

Insanity in Mass Effect 3

This is not a complete strategy guide to the game, as far as what is where. I've only included the important things, not every single thing there is to do and find.

To begin, you might want to check out the Mass Effect Wiki for finding almost everything that is not a fuel drop (there are faqs that will help you find those, though flying around the system you're in and waiting for the beep works too) in the galaxy. I'll try to note when I notice new star systems opening up, every little bit you can get as early as possible helps.

You also get assets for offering your opinion in certain situations, being nice to certain people and for listening in on conversations that take several trips to the same area to hear (which result in a Spectre Terminal option when completed). Some of these are three or four visits long and some are longer, going up and down the elevator will trigger the next part of a conversation. It will also allow you to talk to someone to further a quest if you find them on your map but cannot target them for interaction. Your reputation should be maxed, so you can respond to situations as you feel like it. I suggest that you are nice to possible love interests and anyone you want to join you.

As many have found, the Infiltrator is still one of the best choices for this. I am assuming that you have played through once to do an ME3 import, because level 10 weapons are unlocked the 2nd time through and the more powerful weapons make a world of difference.

My build for the start of the game, at level 56, with 3 points saved for the next few levels:
Disruptor Ammo 6, Squad, Headshots, Damage
Cryo Ammo 5, Freeze Duration, Headshots
Incinerate 6, Damage, Burning Damage, Armor Damage
Tactical Cloak 6, Damage, Recharge Speed, Sniper Damage
Sticky Grenade 0
Sabotage 6, Duration, Explosive Hack, Berserk
Operational Mastery 6, Influence and Duration, Weight Capacity, Sniper Damage
Fitness 6, Durability, Shield Recharge, Durability
Warp Ammo (bonus power) 6, Damage, Headshots, Damage

Prologue: Earth
Pretty much a tutorial, the cannibals hit a bit harder on Insanity but it goes pretty fast with a bit of duck and cover. Level 6 Incinerate takes them down a lot faster than shooting at them, especially since one shot from them takes most of your shields. Survival time. You'll get a 3 level free upgrade every time you get a weapon the second time through. Run yourself out of ammo (or spam Incinerate on them for a few minutes, they do count toward enemy killing achievements) and it's off to Mars.

Priority: Mars
Upon arriving on Mars, I leveled up to 57. I maxed out my Cryo Ammo and added a point into Sticky Grenade. I maxed Kaidan out on all of his skills but Cryo Blast and I maxed out James except for Frag Grenade. Upon picking up the Mantis, you will find that all of your weapons have carried over in the loadout screen. Get everyone equipped as you see fit, if you have a Spectre weapon (like the Black Widow) you should equip it on yourself. It's a good idea, due to weight issues, to only have your sniper rifle and one other weapon. I chose Black Widow (make sure to reload up to 3 shots after each kill, some enemies take more than one shot and it's better to stay zoomed if possible) and an auto-rifle. Your first encounter can teach you some hard lessons. Grenades will take your shields and at least half your health if you don't avoid the explosion all together. After the Mako, run for the nearest rock cover. Getting cut down before your squad mate can say “Look out!” is a bit annoying. You'll get used to rolling back and forth to avoid grenades and the enemies like to close in a lot more now than on the lower difficulties (making the shoulder button radar a real necessity). Using Quicksave (Back button) between battles becomes a cherished friend. Liara shows up right after the elevator, I maxed out all but Warp Ammo. In the dark vented area, wait until the troops finish talking and some of them will leave. You can take the rest by surprise. The first weapon mod may be in here (usually the mods only show up on the second play if you don't own a level V version), and it will go up to the next level based on what you have now. The weapon bench in the next room lets you reassign your weapons and all the mods you got from the previous game are here (I suggest putting the Spare Thermal Clip and Enhanced Scope mods on your sniper rifle for Cerberus troops and swapping the Scope one with the Extended Barrel facing any other enemy. With the exception of one mission later on, you don't see much mix and match among enemies.) It's a good time to save, if only to avoid losing your customization choices. Also be sure that the non sniper weapon you have equipped has more than three shots. Guardians will give you an opportunity to practice your Mail Slot achievement skills. I think the Black Widow penetrates their big shields in many cases, but I got credit toward the achievement a couple of times. In the room just past the first lab, you really can't kill the enemies very long before they fall back and let you continue for a bit unimpeded. The turret room is annoying but not too hard if you follow the directions. Next room goes fast with a few Singularities, and you may want to hold off on getting the med kit here until after the next room is cleared. The railing provides some cover in the next room but not much, height is an advantage in your favor though. The next couple of battles are basic, the conversation can affect the ending of the game if you use the persuasion from the left side option, and the chase scene is not tough if you sprint most of the way. The last few moments can be frustrating if you picked the wrong weapon loadout, you have to hit her three times. I originally thought it was just there to build tension, until I died on a later play because I picked the wrong weapons.

Priority: The Citadel
Visit your friend in the hospital every chance you get to come back here. Buy them a gift from the hospital terminal right now. You get the opportunity to get an old friend on the ship. You might want to wander around the few accessible areas to overhear things and talk to people.

Normandy
Once on board, you'll notice that your quarters are the same as you left them. At your terminal, you'll get a message about an enemy base (and if you have the "From Ashes" DLC you get a message for that too), no harm in checking them out now. You may wish to go talk to people and make changes to your armor (equip armor or pieces of armor with bonuses to weapon and headshot damage) and upgrade weapons (a good idea between missions if you have the money, it only allows you to upgrade most weapons to level VII if you have not already acquired them again this playthrough) before you go, however. You keep your armor and armor pieces from before, and only some of the shops are open from here right now. If you turn around and dock with the Citadel again, you still can't go anywhere new. Feel free to go into the areas that are open right now and scan for stuff.

Kite's Nest (Harsa and Untrel only. Vular only opens (later on) if you need to find a mission item.)
Hades Gamma

Make sure you know where your disc 2 is, because it is time to switch now.

N7: Cerberus Lab (Sigurd's Cradle)
You can sneak upon the first group of enemies unaware pretty easily. Go explore the area before you trigger the terminal with the artifact near it. After you get the second artifact, the desk you are behind makes a good place to stay in cover until the grenades start flying. Once your goal is changed to “Defend the extraction zone” you can hide by the “sideways 3” box and wait. Once the shuttle lands, cloak and run.

Priority: Eden Prime (Exodus Cluster, scan all you want in Utopia without Reaper issues)
It's possible to get all the Asgard stuff in three scans, unfortunately the Reapers attack after the second scan. Scan between Borr and Tyr to get 3 of the 5, scan Loki and then quickly up to Terra Nova before retreating.
All right, on to the mission. Explore the building you pass as you enter the area before heading on. The two Nemesis enemies in the first wave like to work together, when you pop your head out to shoot at one the other will shoot at you. Explore a bit, but be aware when you enter the building to the right of the bridge. As soon as you open the closed door more enemies await you. This one is hard if you stay in the little room exclusively. You can access the same battle from the larger building down the north stairs from here, probably a better choice. Either way, you can flank the enemies by telling your squad to stay inside by the door and going to the stairs between the two buildings. The building north of the bridge left building also has enemies nearby, but you'll hear them before you see them and they are more easily handled. The cut-scenes play in the same order, I think, regardless of which lab you find first. But if you go after the one with the orange door first, the other one provides a much more defensible position when exiting. On the way back to the pod, you have your choice of cover. If you have not found 3 terminals with information, go explore some more. You get a nice War Asset for your trouble. During the Atlas battle, your squad may die. Take out the Atlas before you revive your squad. The best position is inside the building, the Atlas has more of a problem hitting you in there. After it is gone, the remaining enemies will come into the bigger part of the building (the room with the Medigel) after you.

Annos Basin opens up, but there is nothing to do there at the moment.

Back to disc 1.

Priority: Palaven (Apien Crest)
Javik was not available for me, maybe because I did the Eden Prime mission second or maybe he's just not playable until after this mission.
Every Husk you take down from the shuttle is one less you have to face on the ground. Explore the next area before or after you talk to the officer, but before you leave the area (in case you might want to use the Weapon Bench). Husks and the Scorpion pistol are a great combination. By the time they get to you, if you shoot them once, they are pretty much dead. Liara fixes the tower faster than James. Once she is done, take cover to the left of the tower and the squad does a good job of taking down the Husks before they get to you. I max leveled Garrus in everything except Proximity Mine, don't forget to run him over to the Weapon Bench while you are here. On the airfield, take cover behind the first rock on the right and snipe as you need to in order to help your squad. On the wall, not zooming with the turret works better. When the Brute attacks, cloak and back away. It should only take 4 or 5 sniper shots to take him down. In the last area, Brutes are just some of the enemies you face. You'll need to keep moving from one rock to the next to get all the enemies. There is a Blackstar (like a Cain with one shot) on the right, but it seems to be a bigger risk to retrieve than to fight without it.

Shrike Abyssal
Minos Wasteland

Citadel
Via email messages, you'll find out that there are a lot of things to do now on the Citadel. Using your map to see who is where is very helpful, but wandering about works too. There are opinions to be offered in the Hospital, Presidium Commons, and the Docks. There is a fairly long multi-part conversation for assets in the Hospital as you enter on the right. I suggest you ride the elevator up and down between Purgatory and the Hospital for the fastest resolution. “I'll see what I can do.” is the end.

Back to disc 2

Grissom Academy (Petra Nebula, but only this mission is there)
I maxed out Edi except for Overload and Javik except for Lift Grenade. If, for some reason, you decide not to do this mission then you will fight Jack in a later mission as a bad guy.
The first thing to remember is when you open a door, move to the side and get into cover as it opens. In the hallway with the two doors, you can surprise the enemies by going in the righthand door. An exam on a desk in the next room presents an interesting strategy using biotics that takes a little practice to do. In the room following the clogged hallway, watch for enemies at the far end once the conversation concludes. The next room with all the couches has no enemies, so explore at will. In the next area kill the enemies as fast as you can, if the student's Barrier fails you do too. Take the Atlas down first, it's the biggest threat. You may need to gel your squad back to life before it is down, but afterward the remainder of the enemies are pretty easy. The next two areas are better handled from the hallway you come in from, at least until the massive numbers are reduced. You don't need to protect anyone here. Sneak attack the next two guys and prepare for the last area. Kill the Engineer and take his sweet ride, even with the enemies dodging the missiles it helps a lot. Spam the missiles on the other Atlas when it shows up and you're about finished.

Ismar Frontier

Head back to the Citadel in response to some more emails.

Back to disc 1 again.

Priority: Sur'kesh (Annos Basin, but only for this mission)
Don't go to meet the diplomats until you are ready to begin the mission.
You need a squad that can hit hard and kill fast. Garrus with the same sniper rifle you have and James with a decent shotgun are good choices. You can explore the room after Mordin leaves before you head out. In the first battle, the lab area is great for flanking. If you act quickly, the pod won't take much damage in the first protection battle. When you meet Kirrahe at the next area, the best cover is where he was standing. After the multilevel area is cleared, get ready for more protection. The enemies seem to ignore the pod once you start shooting at them, which is a good thing. In the final area, the enemies concentrate on the pod if you are not shooting at that enemy. When the Atlas shows up, the pod meter regenerates a little bit.
I reached level 60 early on and had 3 leftover points, that's annoying. It does make it unnecessary to collect Medigel if you already have 8.

Krogan DMZ (Don't bother flying to Nith unless you really want 300 units of fuel near Tula)
Horsehead Nebula (does not seem to be anything there right now)
Gemini Sigma

Back on the Citadel, you'll find out that some missions don't give you anything as far as a reward if you're level 60. I'd still do them, if only to clear out the Journal.

Back to disc 2

I'm taking Garrus and James on every mission for a while pending new squad members later in the game.

Attican Traverse: Krogan Team (Ninmah Cluster (nothing there but the mission))
There seems to be a glitch. I killed the Rachni Queen in ME1, but the shuttle conversation reflects otherwise if you bring Garrus along.
Don't miss the Weapon Bench in the building, if you need it. I recommend using the Prothean Plasma Rifle as your second weapon, its auto-recharge saves you from wasting ammo on the pods. Use the Firestorm weapons as much as you want, there are a lot of them scattered around in here. Burn every pod (a too close pod explosion will deplete most of your shields) and every web you see. The first battle is a doozy. Cloak and run right, stopping at the pillar that the Ravager is next to. Kill the husks that are in this area and keep the pillar between you and the Ravager while your cloak recharges so you can cloak and roast it. The next battle (and most battles in here from now on) can be harder if you don't take down the Barrier Engine first. Drop the Firestorm and switch to your sniper rifle while you make sure your squad has their best weapon in use. Tell them to take cover on the two ridges and make sure they get there before you move forward any. Take down the Barrier Engine with your first cloaked shot then tell your squad to target the Ravager. You're not done yet, though you are allowed a quicksave here. As you advance you'll come into another battle zone to the left. If you take cover in the lake without the corpse, your squad can work on taking the enemies down while you peek out every once in a while to shoot something. You'll likely use most of your Firestorm ammo on the numerous pods between here and the next area. You can quicksave once you see the Krogan shooting ahead of you. Past the metal wall, getting in and out of the areas require battle but there is no Barrier Engine early on. Trying to figure out how to get back to the spot where you were boxed in, you will find an Engine with the troops in the next battle. Soon you'll enter a battle with two Ravagers. The next area is the last one, apparently the glitch only went as far as the shuttle conversation.

When you get back to the CIC area, you get a new N7 mission. Everything else is currently on Tuchanka, so it's up to you if you want to go to Benning now or later. I chose now.

N7: Cerberus Abductions (Arcturus Stream)
Go ahead and scan the planet while you're in the first system here, it's a useful personal upgrade. There's a small fuel spot just as you enter the Euler system not too far from the arrow.
The combat is pretty straightforward, despite all the talk about saving civilians there is no counter that keeps track one way or the other. There are lots of places to take cover and with the multilevel layout, you may have a height advantage in several situations. In the area with the two civilians talking, the Cerberus troops will come at you from all sides. You have to use your radar to keep track of them. Once they are all gone, the mission ends.

Tuchanka
Don't do the mission to cure the Genophage until you've turned in every piece of scanned stuff you can to the people on the Citadel. Some people on the Citadel will vanish after that mission is completed.

N7: Cerberus Attack
The enemies start out unaware of you, use this to your advantage. There are a lot of Engineers in this first battle, so beware of that when targeting the turrets they lay down. If you leave the turrets for last it's a bit easier. In the next battle, beware the Nemesis and don't expect to stay in the top area the whole time or the bad guys will come after you. Once the power is back on, you have to fight your way back into the room. The new star in the sky to the right of the sun is almost reward enough.

Tuchanka: Downed Vessel
Most of enemies in this mission are unaware of you, which lets you sneak up on them. The first Harvester just needs to take about a quarter bar of damage to make it go away. You'll hear the second battle before you see it. The second Harvester is the same, you can almost kill it before it flies away. You finally get to kill one at the end of the third battle. When the next Harvester arrives in the fourth battle, stay in cover by hugging the right wall and get the Blackstar for an easy win (you can target over the broken wall, just make sure the targeting crosshair is red.)

Tuchanka: Bomb
This is a direct follow-up to the last mission. The consequences will be dire if you don't complete it, but it is up to you. If you do 3 missions without doing his one, you lose the chance and much more (not the least of which is the related Insanity based achievement that requires you to do all the missions).
The explosions you face upon landing are more annoying than anything, they really only interfere with your combat without any real danger from them. The battles are pretty straightforward, just take cover and kill as fast as possible. I'm unsure if the number of fleeing Cerberus you kill lessens the numbers to come, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Don't blindly rush ahead after the little drop off following the ladder, Cerberus set up turrets when they left. Killing the soldiers as they fly in is the best option. The wave with the Atlas is the last one.

Citadel
Check the Spectre office to make sure you did not miss any mission items and then go find the people that you need to turn things into based on your Journal entries.

Priority: Tuchanka
We're off to cure the Genophage...or are we? Your actions in this mission may impact more than just what happens during this mission.
Take out the Husks to advance. This mission is full of some pretty awesome cut-scenes After the first scene, explore the area before you talk to anyone. The tunnels can be a bit confusing, if you can find all 3 drawings you can make some nice cash in here. Once you find the dead Ravager, get ready for some living enemies ahead. There are lots of places for cover in here. After several small battles, you finally get a look at the cause of the tremors. And you thought the ones from the other two games were big? After the next battle you're on your way to the area pretty close to the end. Once you get to the top of the stairs it gets interesting. First, avoid the Reaper's laser and then, after a low wall you need to jump over, avoid getting stepped on (got hit once and it took me down to half health) while you avoid the enemies so you can get to the hammers. I think they are infinite, so hit one hammer then run across to the other to end this part of the mission. A is for awesome! You may lose someone here (if Wrex is alive you always lose them), and depending on your actions it may cause another death later.

Attican Beta
Aethon Cluster

N7: Cerberus Fighter Base
Interestingly enough, Garrus is still an option even though he is supposed to have been reassigned.
Clear the top area then proceed to the bottom area. The L shaped consoles make good cover areas. Split your squad between them. Once that area is clear, send your squad into cover outside that doorway and head up around the inside of the building to flank the enemies. Once again, the Atlas is little challenge.

Normandy
Your Engineer might need something from you. If so, you can buy it from the Elkoss store on the Citadel console in the Shuttle Bay.

Priority: Citadel
The Citadel is under attack, again, but this time you get the chance to kill one of the most annoying recurring characters in the series. If you've followed my recommendations and scanned the areas as they have opened, you probably have a few things to turn in. That will have to wait while you save the Citadel from a small army of Cerberus troops.
Once you land, get behind cover immediately and take down the enemies. After the short hallway following C-Sec you can take down the enemies quickly if you surprise one of them. The couches make pretty good cover positions. If you did not take down the Cerberus shields, they make good cover at the top of the stairs from the last few enemies. The sprinkler malfunction in the next room makes me wonder if you'd kill the enemies (and yourself) faster if you brought along the Arc weapon from your previous playthrough. I've never tried that. Surprise attack the lone guy who just locked the elevator and unlock it. Garrus is looking for his friends, but nobody answers. Explore the area and loot the rooms and bodies before you go through the green door that bypasses the malfunctioning one. Toss a grenade down the hall (targeting one with Sticky Grenade), it will take down one of the two enemies and you can get the other one a moment later if he rolled away. About the time you get to the room with the news broadcast you will be attacked again. The room with the broadcast is good for cover. You can't go down, so go on up. Enjoy the pretty cool combat scene to follow. Any landing you can walk away from is a good one, right? Meet your new worst enemy, the Phantoms can be annoying and can quick kill your squad members. Tell them to target one when it shows up and it should only have time to kill one member of your team. Two Nemesi are next, go up and down the stairs while targeting them to make it harder for them to target you. The next area is full of Phantoms, Nemesi and regular troops. It takes some effort to survive. Close combat makes the sniper rifle less effective, make sure you turn your Cryo Ammo on if you've been using Warp Ammo to make the combat more manageable. After you climb around the Citadel some, you come to the next area. The shop you start next to makes pretty good cover, just beware the missiles the Atlas shoots have a splash if he shoots through the window or the doorway. He's the major threat, the rest are minor. Switch to your other weapon now, the elevator sequence is no place for sniper rifles. The trip up can go very easily if you always shoot the targets on the elevators. The situation at the end of the mission can end several ways. I always use the interrupts, so I can't say if anyone extra dies if you don't use interrupts.

Cryo Ammo is my new favorite. Since the game seems to be turning up the heat, I need something to slow it down a bit.

Citadel
You're still on the Citadel at the end of the mission, so you may as well go turn in anything that needs to be turned in and do anything else you want to do here before you head back to your ship. There is a shorter conversation (5 parts) for assets in the Docking Bay D24 area, but the people in question don't leave after you authorize the request like the other one did. When you do leave, you have another decision to make (if the mission ended on a good note). Do you need a new squad member? Emails and conversations on the Normandy open up a couple new missions.

Athena Nebula (Thessia is here, but no mission yet)
Nimbus Cluster, Kallini only has fuel in the lower left
Valhallan Threshold

New Squad Member
I asked Kaidan to rejoin the crew. His last 6 points were enough to get his Cryo Blast up to level 3.

Ex-Cerberus Scientists
This is the first battle I've noticed that the Cerberus troops take good advantage of those shield pylons, so make those your priority. The first little bit provides plenty of cover. Is it just me, or does Brynn look and sound a lot like Traynor on the ship? The enemies in the area after the ladder can be taken out from the hallway to begin with, and then from behind the central crate at the top of the incline for the rest of the enemies. Getting up to the roof is made more challenging by the gun turret. I found that Garrus' Concussive Shot power will hit the guy somehow if you target him from behind cover, it may be a combination of targeting Overload on him first to knock him away from the gun. In any case, there's a med kit in this area you may need after this part of the mission. Save before you turn on the second gun and take note of the turret. It's the same one you just ran from, and it will help you in a moment. But not for long, getting shot in the back by approaching enemies soon becomes an issue so you should move back toward the gun and take cover behind the vent to the left of the gun. The battle does go pretty fast, however. The rest is just basic cover combat, even the Phantom is not that bad when it shows up.

Far Rim
I went to talk to the Quarians at this point, not thinking about the fact that I might get stuck helping them before I got the other optional mission out of the way. That was not the case, however. I could have taken Tali along on the previous mission. I maxed out everything except Energy Drain, being sure to choose the rocket selection for her attack drone and the chain selection for her defense drone.

Ardat-Yakshi Monastery
Beware the Banshees, nasty things that will teach you to fear the Reapers. There are a few things scattered around the rooms before the area with the spiral staircase. Once you get there, you won't be attacked until you get to the central path that leads to the next door. When you are attacked, the Banshee is alone making it a lot easier to get her down. Once she is down, take cover from the Cannibals that arrive. Beware a bug I found that blacks out the screen right after you open the next door. It also did not autosave for me when that happened. When I reloaded and did the battle again the autosave happened. After the conversation, explore both sides of the area before going down. Once the enemies appear, run back up to the top of the stairs. The Banshee will follow you, but you can take it down one on one. The glass wall at the bottom of the first set of steps, halfway down the staircase, makes a great sniping spot against the Cannibals. There is nothing in the next room to worry about, the final battle is beyond the unlocked door that leads to an elevator. Two Banshees and some Husks, whoa talk about a big battle in a little room. Unfortunately, it is possible to get caught in a corner and melees to death. Try not to take cover in here and forget the sniper rifle for a bit, your secondary weapon will have to do until the Husks are down. The biggest challenge, of course, are the Banshees. Their super biotic blast hurts a lot. They cannot see you cloaked, but they do tend to blast in your direction and will hit you if you run in a straight line. Run, weave, cloak and shoot. Your sniper rifle is useful again once the Husks are gone, switch to Warp Ammo to drop their Barriers then back to Cryo Ammo.

Priority: Perseus Veil (woo hoo, first Geth in the entire game)
Disruptor Ammo with level 4 set for your squad to have it too is a wonderful idea on this mission. You might want to pay your Arc Pistol up to level VII before you leave the Normandy. The Particle Rifle does little to nothing here, but the Chakram Launcher is very useful.
Keep Tali's Rocket Drone up at all times during the battles. For the first little bit, your major priority enemy is the Rocket Troopers. Once down the ladder, watch out for the mines. If you back away fast when you hear the noise you only take minor shield damage. It's a good idea to leave your reticle pointing at the floor a little in front of you. Even if the mine highlights too late for you to shoot it, you may see it before you hear it and move away faster. The Hunters show up in the next battle and they love sneak attacking you, so be aware of your radar to help track them. The pause, target, and use power strategy works well here. The best place to take cover is the wall just inside from where you enter. There are a few mines in this room, better triggered between combats. It gets harder once you trigger the console on the other end, the next wave seems more aggressive. Once you get into the gun chamber, you've got another threat to deal with from the ship itself. The most annoying thing is that the gunfire does not harm the Geth if they are standing up when it fires. You need to time your attacks to avoid damage, it could prove fatal when coupled with Geth attacking you. Yes, there are Hunters in here too. Afterward, I don't know of it is possible to get stuck in the tube and lose the mission, but run all the way to the end just in case. The next area is mostly about Rocket Troopers perched on walkways, but when I climbed the ramp to get up there a Hunter was waiting for me. As you advance down the tube, you'll be attacked by more enemies but the area widens allowing you more space to move around. I don't know if you can fall if you don't sprint toward Tali when the elevator goes down, but sprint anyway. You can take down most of the Geth from you initial cover position. When you can't see any more from there, proceed slowly around the room to take out the Prime. More will attack, including another Prime. The tension filled run to the exit is not too terribly dangerous.

Argos Rho
Silean Nebula (but only the part of it on the map linked above)

N7: Fuel Reactor
Be very careful not to go down until you vent the area, death is pretty instant if you do. Combat includes two Barrier Engines this time. Quick save before you push the reactivation button. This time there are three Barrier Engines to take down. After the second reactivation button is pushed, there are two Barrier Engines inside the reactor. When that battle is done and the next button is pressed you can run through the reactor chamber to end the mission.

Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadron
This one is interesting. There is no real combat, just shooting virtual infections and viewing Geth/Quarian history. It's easy to get lost in here.

Rannoch: Admiral Koris
The first few battles can be started from surprise. After you assign your squad member to the gun, get the Geth Spitfire against the wall just behind you to make the battle much faster. The turrets at the next two AA guns are useful, since the Geth come in the same way you did. The Primes fall pretty fast to the continuous fire, but you are not immune to damage yourself. There is a possibility that the shuttle can be shot down, but it is not likely.

Priority: Rannoch
You start off right away fighting, plenty of cover to clear the lower area. After climbing the pipes, climb the ladder on the right. There should only be one Geth to take down, follow the central pipe forward and take cover on the right. Once the area is clear go to the left and climb that ladder. The next area is nearly all Rocket Troopers, Sabotaging them is fun. In the area with the two consoles there are lots of places for cover. There are three Geth Spitfires in the area but they don't take Disruptor Ammo and that makes them pretty useless. The Chakram Launcher is a life saver, but even so three Geth Primes is a heck of a challenge. Go ahead and use up all of your Medigels, if you got the efficiency upgrade it is like you have 16 instead of 8.
Remember that video with Shepard shooting a Reaper from the back of a truck? That scene leads to one of the most challenging moments in the game followed by one of the most requirement-based conversations you will ever have. To survive the Reaper, you just have to avoid getting hit on your tiny little speck of land. The best thing to do is start on the far side and roll the other way to avoid getting hit. The blue walls on your gun stay where you left them so you can aim a little bit at a time. It takes some practice, but once the beam is above your head you can stand still for a moment and resume targeting.

Hades Nexus

Silean Nebula (the rest of it)
Teyolia
Nevos has Rings of Alune, Quirezia has credits and there is fuel on the right side of the area
Phontes
Dekuuna has Code of the Ancients, Oltan has an Elcor Fleet and there is fuel on the right side but left of the red dust field
Nahuala
Hyetiana has Serrice Guard and fuel is on the left
Loropi
Fuel is right of the wreckage zone and Yasilium has Armali Sniper Unit

Priority: Citadel into Priority:Thessia
The first part is very hard to complete successfully. It took me several tries. It's more a matter of shooting the enemies at the Barrier than keeping the bridge clear. With the exception of the need to take down the Barrier Engine and the two Brutes at the beginning, the Barrier should never be out of your sight. You can swing a little to the right the get the Husks coming over the wall and to try to hit the Brutes, but never swing totally away from the Barrier. From the bridge to the doorway that your squad comments on there is plenty of cover. A Banshee shows up near the end of the area, but she only brings two Marauders with her and there is plenty of cover. Once you reach Outpost Tykis, run past all the enemies until you reach the Husks. After you kill them, a gunship should come and take out most of the heavy enemies for you. Now you can clear out the rest. In the battle at the end, you cannot use the sniper rifle effectively due to the need to keep moving so Leng cannot one shot kill you. Too bad your squadmates are not as wise.

Hourglass Nebula
Nubian Expanse

N7: Communication Hub
Small area, lots of cover. No real strategy here.

Priority: Horizon
Remember way back at the beginning when I said there was a mission that had both Reapers and Cerberus enemies? This is the one.
In the first area, keep the Phantoms busy running away while you avoid getting hit by the Nemesis. The next battle is at the bottom of the steps, right after you see the dead bodies. The best way to survive this is to go back into the room with the shuttles and take cover on the left so you can shoot the enemies as they come out of the area behind the glass walls. There's nothing to fight between the two Miranda message terminals. Remember that room full of Husks you just freed? That's where the next door goes. Head back up the stairs as they come into the room. After that, the long hallway fills up with enemies as soon as you enter it. The Banshee is the big threat, the rest stay down the hall. Opening the door to the next office may seem like a good idea, but it just boxes you in even worse and lets the other enemies, who were doing fine where they were, have a better shot at you. The best idea is to run back up the steps and take cover behind the glass railing to begin with. With her teleporting around, you won't be able to stay there very long. I the next area, take cover on the top step next to the gold pipe. This allows you good cover from both sides and you can take out any enemies that come into the room. There is a Barrier Engine just inside the door on both levels. The doors will close when all of the enemies are down. After the ladder, there are two Barrier Engines in the area. One of them is easily taken out from the end where you start but the other one is on the center ceiling and it may be easier just to deal with the Barriers on the enemies until they get closer to your end (where I suggest you take cover and stay there) and out of range of that Engine. Once you get to the tram, put down your sniper rifle and get out whatever your second weapon is. You don't want to have to switch during the next battle. Cloak and run up to the top level, maybe I got lucky but the Brutes concentrated on my squad while I took them down and the Banshee did not show up until the 3rd Brute was nearly dead. I ran out of ammo, but by the time I was forced to switch back to my sniper rifle it was just the Banshee that was left. At the beginning of ME2, Miranda is with the Illusive Man and now she has to resort to other means to find him? Interesting.

You must do any explorations or Citadel visits you need to now (your Journal should only have one mission in it if you've done everything you can) because after this next mission you won't have a chance to go anywhere but Earth. If you want certain asset-related achievements you have to go do multiplayer to get your Galaxy At War percentage up. My total at this moment is 6707 (lost Rachni support unexpectedly) and you need 5000 effective, someone said, so your Galaxy percentage has to be about 75% to get that.

Priority: Cerberus Headquarters
The love scene is even more tame than it was before (I did not romance anyone in ME2 on this character, so I don't remember how it was there). Thanks a lot, Fox News.

Back to disc 1

Be careful of the spacecraft launching every once in a while, they can be a nuisance if you lose your shields in a bad moment. The fins of your shuttle make great cover. Don't hesitate to go left toward the ladder as soon as all the enemies are down. When the wave comes in after the console is triggered, go to the room at the other end of the hall for cover. The next wave is best taken out from the corner near where it says “Keep this area clear”. Once you launch the ship and blow up the door, try to take the two troopers down fast or you'll have 3 Atlas mechs to deal with at once. Even if you can only take down one of the troopers, it makes the fight easier because the other mech has to come in from the far side. In the basement, the various pipes and boxes make great cover. If you can get a red box, any enemy can be targeted with Concussive Shot. I took down a Nemesis on the other side of the room with Garrus' power and she never poked her head above her cover. The other red-tinged rooms are similar as far as cover, expect lots of enemies and lots of turrets. After you head down the blue path, take cover where you are. Make the enemies come to you. There is a Shield Pylon on the corner of the balcony to the far left, you can hit it from the left railing where you are. When you reach the next upper level area, stay around the corner from the enemies on the path. It's easier to pick them off as they have to come around the corner to get a good shot at you, there is a Pylon in the distance to take down. The next level up leads to the final battle between you and that annoying ninja guy, Kai Leng. Switch to your short range weapon and set it to Cryo Ammo, then cross your fingers for a moment before you open the door. I found that strafing back and forth along one side while constantly cloaking as often as possible keeps the enemies far enough away that the sniper rifle is pretty effective when your other weapon runs out of ammo. Leng eventually runs out of shield recharge actions and you can take him down, but not before a lot of troopers and at least one of each Nemesis and Phantom.

You can now only do shipboard things like have conversations and buy whatever is still useful to you in the Shuttle Bay. The cut-scenes that follow your order to head to Earth make this whole thing come together beautifully.

Priority: Earth (Interesting fact, the guy in Big Ben from the video is here. His name is Major Coats.)
This is all Reapers, so make sure you've got your best high damage weapons(Chakram Launcher or Scorpion each have explosive ammo) and mods equipped before you go. You will probably be using your sniper rifle mostly, but it's good to have the secondary weapon be a hard hitting one. I chose Kaidan and James, not only because it makes sense they would be fighting for their own planet but because they each can use the Chakram Launcher and they both have an armor power to keep them in the fight. Don't be afraid to use medigel and grenades, refills for both are plentiful during the longest and hardest mission yet (as it should be). I've divided this up by area to make it easier to read.

Your first battle is upon you as you land, look out for uneven ground. It's easy to get blown up by a grenade if you get caught on the uneven surface. There are lots of Reapers here, they certainly want to stop you from getting anywhere. The constant firing of the Hades Cannon gets annoying when it makes it hard to aim. Take cover at the bottom of the hill and your squad will position themselves partway up. This is a pretty effective arrangement, until you run out of targets. Once that happens, go up the hill and take cover behind a light post until the Brutes come out to play. Head back down the stairs to get some distance. Once the immediate area is clear, advance slowly past the shuttles and be prepared to retreat a bit for cover when the next group comes down the debris slope on the right. Once you reach the top take cover near the wall you are at and rejoice as your Cain takes down the annoying Hades Cannon. Your rejoicing is cut short by more enemies, including a surprise if you chose Morinth as your Asari in ME2. Once the Banshee is down, it's only a matter of time before the shuttle shows up. Cloak and weave and run toward the slanted rock.

In the next area, explore as much as you want to and talk to everybody you want to. There is even a holo-comm unit in a building to talk to squadmates that are not on Earth right now. After you talk to Garrus or not you end up in another turret fight, but this time there is no risk involved. You just kill enemies until the shuttle comes by to take out the ones you missed. A bit later, Wrex is making a nice speech if he survived up until now. You get to pick your squadmates and weapons again after your speech, I picked the same ones. The wall you find yourself taking cover against is a good place to stay, though you might want to do a cover roll to the right to get some of the enemies you cannot hit from the left side. Follow the Mako until it gets blown up and take cover immediately. The next Mako is fighting a Harvester that flies away when it gets damaged. After it goes, a Banshee shows up so retreat back to the previous Mako to get some distance. Once the area is mostly clear, you'll get a new goal to go clear out a building. Head that way after you kill the last of the enemies in the area.

When you first open the door, hang back and let your squad draw out the Husks so you can hit them easier. After a while two Brutes come in, just keep your distance and cloak as often as you can. On the next floor up, the enemies like the little room they are in and don't have any plans to leave it to come after you. Take down the Marauder on the turret so he does not turn it your way and then clear the rest, watching out for the Ravager. The next door is guarded by a few Husks trying to force their way through. Your next goal is the first Missile Battery, so head that way now. You'll find yourself falling back a few times before you can make it to the phone booth. Once you do, the shop on your right fills up with enemies and the phone booth makes a good place to start the battle. Inside the shop, as the battle goes on, the two tier crates make a good sniping perch as long as you are on the lookout for Cannibals trying to flank you. The shop across the big hole has a few enemies in it, but they don't come out in strength until you send a squadmate in to mop up the last one or two that you can't get to come to the window. The growling coming from the next room after you trigger the door is a good sign to take cover. The counter with the cash register makes a good place. After you've killed all you can, send your squad into the restaurant to trigger the next wave then follow them in. Once it is clear, exit right and keep an eye on the alley ahead. You can take down a Brute as it rounds the corner to come toward you. If you thought that was too easy, as you make your way down the alley two more break a wall to come after you. Fall back to the restaurant for the best cover opportunities. The next door leads to a cut-scene and the next area.

You start in an excellent cover position, it's a good idea to stay there to clear the immediate area. Once it's clear go trigger the button. You'll notice there is no progress bar, remember this for the future. The shop you just left has closed the door leaving you the street and a couple of shops for cover options. Send your squad up closer to the missile truck and stay parallel with the recently closed door for the first wave. The second wave has two Banshees and the wave after the missiles fire has four Brutes, and a Harvester that comes down near the end of the battle. There is a super-weapon called a Hydra Missile Launcher in the shop, go get it and shoot the big guy with it. You don't get time to rest before more enemies come along, including more Banshees. You only have to fight them long enough to make the missiles on the next truck come on line. If you are on the far right, it should be a straightforward shot to the truck and the button. Push it to complete this mission and be on your way to the end.

Ending (this counts as mission 27 if you're going for the Unwavering achievement too)
The Reaper beams won't hit you, but the enemies at the end will kill you fast since you have no shields or health (or abilities). Three Husks attack first, but your gun knocks them back to kill them, just make sure you kill them in order of which is closest. You stumble, and then a Marauder shows up and shoots you, if he gets a second shot off you're dead you must hit him continually (with a wavering reticle) to survive. The rest of the game is pretty much all conversations though there are still decisions to be made (remember I said the beginning affects the end?). You only get the full “best” ending if your effective strength is over 5000 and you choose to do what you came here to do. The transformation in the other two choices lends great support to a popular theory. Love it, hate it, or just confused, this is the end. Enjoy your achievement(s)!

Note: This is not meant to be a complete guide or to compete with the other solutions here.
*Possible Spoilers*

I just want to offer help to a couple of specific parts of the insanity run that might help some people as I didn't see mention of some of these things in the other solutions.

1. The Reaper on Rannoch
I had some trouble with the Reaper on Rannoch but then found a little visual aide that helped me get right through it. Basically, the idea is that you have to avoid the Reaper laser and then target it a little when you're not right in the laser's path. If you stay in one spot too long, the Reaper laser will hit you and you have to start the fight over. You have to hit the the Reaper (I think) 3 times with the orbital strike so it can take a while if you're not familiar with the process.

If you look on the ground, somewhere in the middle of the space you're in (toward the back I think) is a small area of raised rock - like a little island almost. I used this to decide how far to run to the left or right to avoid the Reaper's laser. I would stand on one side, wait until I saw the laser, and then run to the other side until I got just past the edge of the little island. Then I'd target the Reaper as long as I could until it started firing again. As soon as I saw the red laser, I ran back to the other side and just kept repeating the process over and over. As soon as I realized this, I was able to beat the Reaper in one go on Insanity. I hope this helps!

2. Marauder Shields
This is the much memed "final boss" that you'll meet right near the end of the game. He pops out from behind cover right after you plug a few husks. You shouldn't have trouble with the husks.

After trying many times to just shoot him in the face a bunch, I decided to try something else. This is how it went down for me.

The way I did this was to go as far right as I possibly could. There's an overturned vehicle there you can use as a guide. After you fall down once and get back up, you'll take a few steps, get just past the vehicle's nose, and then Marauder Shields will pop out from cover up ahead near a concrete slab of some kind.

He popped out and he did hit me once but instead of aiming and firing, I just kept pushing the stick up and right to get around that big cement slab he's standing by. The objective here is to get the slab between you and him so that when he fires, he misses you. I got to the point where he kept firing but was not hitting me at all. After that, I kept slowly moving to the right of the slab to get around the back side of him. He was actually still aiming the other way when I saw him.

As soon as I could get his shoulder or a piece of him in the cross-hairs, I began to fire. The first time I hit him, he actually turned toward me and fired but he was still hitting the slab. He didn't fire too much more after that but I kept hitting him and after a bunch of shots (I don't remember how many - it could have been 10 or so) he finally fell down and I walked past him. This was by far easier than standing out in the open and going for headshots since the reticule is very unsteady. Give this a try if you're getting frustrated. It might take you a few tries to get positioned right behind the slab but it definitely worked well for me.


3. General Notes and Suggestions
For both of my runs, I made use of Liara's abilities. She was key for me on both runs but especially on insanity. I was a sentinel and every time I used Liara's singularity, I would follow it up with a maxed out Throw and it was like an instant kill.

The other tip I used as a sentinel was this. Whenever you see a Marauder, use Overload to knock out the shield, then Liara's singularity to lift them, then hit them with Throw for the kill. If your power recharge is really good, you can do this all without waiting.

Speaking of power recharge, I played the whole insanity run with ONE gun - the Argus rifle, maxed out to X. By carrying only one gun, my recharge rate was something like +200%, which was almost like instant power ability at all times. I spammed Throw like mad and because it was maxed I could hit two targets.

You can take whoever else you want on your missions. Tali for Geth missions was good with the AI Hacking. I used James a lot simply because he can take a licking. As long as you have a maxed out Liara and your power recharge rate is great, you can breeze through Insanity.

For Brutes, I kept moving and running as far away as possible. Then kept hitting them with Warps and my rifle with armor piercing bullet bonus enabled. They weren't too bad until there were 4 at once but after a couple of tries it wasn't hard.

Banshees were a little tougher but I also just kept running to different spots when they got close and then spamming them with overloads and warps, plus whatever else. They were a pain but only when there were a bunch, like the brutes.

On the whole, this was the easiest Insanity run of all three games for me. I was actually quite surprised. It's all about cover, recharge rate, biotic abilities and just playing smart. You'll hardly ever run out of ammo - it's lying everywhere. I didn't even use the Spectre weapons although I did buy and try. I actually gave the Spectre pistol to Liara to use just for fun.

That's about all I can think of after just finishing the run. I'll try to add more to this as I think of any other tips. I mostly just wanted to add the parts about the Reaper and Marauder Shields because I didn't see much about them online.

HOPE THIS HELPS!!! Have fun.

Adept:
If you are doing a ME3 import where you get a bonus power at the beginning I would advise playing as an adept and choosing energy drain. If you do that and always keep your power bonus at 200% you can singularity and warp bomb everything under the sun and then use energy drain/warp to remove shields/armor respectively as well as barriers all on your lonesome. This makes insanity laughable in its difficulty level. Whenever possible in skill trees choose the option that boosts dmg/cooldown for using powers in combination.

*Spoiler....sort of if you didn't play ME1*

Also once you get Kaidan you stick that man to your side and don't let him go anywhere. Kaidan and Liara as squad mates to an adept is silly nasty. Kaidan has both overload and reave allowing him to do what you're adept /w energy shield can do in terms of removing every armor/shield/barrier around and Liara is an added singularity + warp bomb machine.

There's a few places where you're lack of health/armor can be a pain one that comes to mind is the three geth primes that come at you when you find the geth power booster is a live reaper mission. Sorry I forget the specific mission name for that. However there are the super weapons at that part so it's not really a big deal.

In general I found the adept class combo from above easier on insanity than my soldier class playing through normal difficulty was. It's that good. Also didn't explain it because its what listed in the power description but just to be clear energy drain will also refill your barrier if used on any shield type so it helps to negate the lack of health that the adept class has.

For weapons I rocked the avenger assault rifle and predator heavy pistol but rarely and I stress RARELY ever fired a bullet. If I did it was with the pistol against mechs/banshees.

*Edit*

Credit to Parallax Demon:

I didn't state this directly but in glyph station always boost power damage and cooldown whenever possible.

Armors: Parallax mentions using Inferno Armor which is great. Another armor that is a solid choice is the Blood Dragon armor however you can only get that if you played the Kindoms of Amalur demo.

Warp with throw is better than singularity with warp.

EDI is an excellent option to tandem with Liara because of overload and incinerate. She can take the place of Kaidan in your party if you didn't save him.

Hey guys pretty good guide here already but I'll post a guide usIng the sentinel class. MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

FIRST make sure you have the difficulty on INSANE. go to options and gameplay to adjust this. I think if you import a me2 insane save it will automatically be on insane.

I beat the game in exactly one week using a level 25 sentinel me2 import. I did NOT wait to play insanity on a + run through because as i soon learned it was NOT needed!

If you pick sentinel here are the huge upsides....

1. TECH ARMOR! this is the best part of a sentinel in my opinion! This power is what allows you to rip threw the game with ease on insane!
You can stand out of cover and unload on enemies for about 10 seconds plus before having to take cover to allow the shield to recharge.

2. Offensive mastery! Ask yourself a couple of questions, do I want to have faster and stronger powers? YES! do I want to deliver more weapon damage? YES! and that's what this power allows you to do.

3. FITNESS! another big big plus. Fitness allows you to deliver more melee damage, you gain more health, and you get more shields!
Combine this with tech armor..... Get a TANK!

Now the other powers that are useful are warp, lift grenade, and overload. These 3 will allow you to take down an enemies shields/barriers with ease. Get overload first and choose recharge speed for rank 5 and shield damage for rank 6.

I stayed away from upgrading throw and cryo blast.

So in conclusion upgrade tech armor to max first
I chose for rank 5 power damage and for rank 6 durability.

Next go with fitness maxed. I chose squad bonus for rank 5 but you may think shield recharge is also a good option, however I just wanted my squad stronger as I needed them to be tanks as well so I could use their powers. For rank 6 I chose durability... It's a no brainer.

Next max out offensive mastery. I chose squad bonus for rank 5, again make your squad tanks. And bonus power for rank 6. This saved me many times as i could use overload twice in a row. Banshees will drop!

For overload i chose recharge speed for rank 5 and shield damage for rank 6.... Again no brainers.

For warp i chose lasting damage for rank 5 and pierce for rank 6.

Once you have all these upgraded feel free to spend points however you choose but I would suggest saving some points for the bonus power granted by the med bay. I would pick up warp ammo ASAP and fully upgrade it choosing to allow squad to use it as well. You can get the warp ammo option by talking to liara alot and always choosing paragon options (top right choice)
When you get the warp ammo option go with ... Rank 5 choose headshots and rank 6 choose damage.

As far as picking armor goes i stayed away from buying the 50k sets and instead picked anything i found or could buy to increase shield boost and weapon damage boosts. Because mixing and matching will offer you better and bigger bonus's over the 50k armor.

When you have the option to pick bonus boosts in liaras room NEVER CHOOSE SHOP PRICE REDUCTIONS! always choose weapon damage/shield boost etc.

Now to pick a squad. At first take liara until you gain edi!
Once you have edi always choose her! She is invaluable for her burn ability to weaken armored targets as well as her overload.

Once you get garrus use him always! Get him a good sniper rifle with high damage, upgrade it and mod it for higher damage. He will literally drop enemies with one shot after shields go down.

So in conclusion, edi and garrus ALWAYS unless the mission force selects a character, than choose edi over garrus. You may also want to take tali over garrus for all geth missions because tali can hack them.... And that's a huge advantage.

Garrus power choices! In order of importance
Turian rebel - choose power damage and sniper rifles options
Overload - choose recharge speed and shield damage
Proximity mine - choose damage taken and damage
Concussive shot - choose recharge speed and shredder

Edi power choices - in order of importance
Incinerate - choose burning damage and armor damage
Overload - choose same as garrus
Unshackled ai - choose tech damage and squad bonus

I chose decoy aswell over defense matrix but i didn't use decoy that much at all. Edi used it sometimes on her own but it really made nomdifference.

Weapons.

I used the fully upgraded m-8 avenger with extended barrel and msg upgrade, the m-92 mantis with concentration mod and extended barrel, and the m-9 tempest with upgraded barrel and mag.

With these 3 weapons full upgraded you will sit at +34 on your power recharge speed, IF you selected all my power upgrade suggestions.

Give your squad the same weapons and upgrades most times but garrus can be equipped with the widow or the best choice, the javelin!
You will find the javelin mid game.

When in combat take cover always and aim and fire until shields drop, at that point get back into cover and rinse and repeat. When nades get tossed at you you can sit there and not die IF you have full shields and you chose all my suggestions.

You will be such a tank that you can with stand a direct melee from
a brute and still have a couple of health bars left to run and hide and regenerate shields.

When facing a banshee for example target it and open the powers wheel use garrus overload on it and your own overload on it as well to take down the barrier, next use edi's incinerate on it and then you can also toss all your lift grenades at it. Shoot it and keep using edi's incinerate and garrus's prox mine. You will drop her in seconds!

I kid you not I had NO enemy that gave me an issue in this game using the tactics and choices above.

If you have any questions please ask me, and I will update as needed.

Good luck! But with this shield and health level luck isnt needed, insane is cake!

I just finished my insanity playthrough and for me its infiltrator all the way. My way to get though the storyline is to cloak and headshot everyone.
Lets start with my personal character set-up. With the infiltrator, I personally used the mantis sniper with the concentration mod and extended barrel, I also carried the Vindicator rifle but I never used it. Using these 2 guns only both at level 10 I had a recharge speed of +195%. Now with the character level up your tactical cloak first and make sure you level up to increase headshot power. From there you can either level up with character enhancements or what I did is go with incinerate. I did this because if you are cloaked and fire a sniper shot then you are able to immediately used a power without waiting for the cooldown time. From there is your choice, but i went with character enhancements then the ammo mods.
Also, it is a good idea to mod your armor and to use any of the upgrades that Liara gives you to increase your weapon and headshot damage, and also to decrease your power recharge time.
For my team whenever it was possible I used Garrus and Liara. Garrus for his power shot and Liara for singularity. Singularity is a bit help everywhere, especially with husks and cannibals, just to keep them back and off of you.
From there just do the same thing over and over to kill everything, cloak, shoot and use a power (incinerate in my case).
When I went through I made sure that I headshot everyone I could and by doing that I could:
1 shot anyone that only had a regular health bar
2 shots for a brute, harvester, centurians and most other enemies
beyond that it depends on the abilities of your team and how good of a shot you are
But always keep in mind as long as the enemy has a head it almost always gives you a big boost to damage.
One thing that I always made sure to keep in mind was to cloak, shoot then fire incinerate. Make sure you go for 1 shot 1 kill and there is always enough ammo around so shoot everything.

As much as I hate to add to the clutter of guides for this achievement (especially for a game that's been out for awhile), I have to mention the weapon that completely breaks the game. Yes, even more than the Particle Rifle. The N7 Typhoon, which is available in the Groundside Resistance DLC Pack, will singlehandedly win you this achievement.

The Typhoon is an obscenely powerful gun, with a considerable amount of base damage on top of bonuses against all protection types, and the ability to double in damage upon reaching it's max firing rate. On Shepard, it is balanced out by it's weight (-200% power recharge time) and brutal recoil. However, squadmates aren't impacted by either of those limitations. The Typhoon in the hands of any AR capable squadmate (Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus, James, Javik) will help you storm through the game on Insanity. A steady stream of fire from both squadmates will take down the toughest enemies in 2 or 3 seconds.

My strategy was to take Garrus and James, spec'd for maximum weapon damage, on every mission where I got to select both squadmates. This is is obviously a bit limited on the missions where one squadmate is locked in (Mars, Geth Dreadnought, Rannoch, Thessia, Cerberus HQ), but even with that, one squadmate with a Typhoon is plenty. My role as Shepard was mostly just to survive and crowd control the normal enemies while using to focus squad fire on priority targets if need be.

The Typhoon being so powerful, how you build your Shepard doesn't matter quite as much. I played as my normal Adept, spec'd for quick cooldowns and detonations (can provide build if requested), but anything with some survivability and crowd control capabilities will get the job done.

In conclusion, this gun is broken on your squad. If you're looking for an authentic Insanity experience, use the other solutions in this guide. But if you're looking to tear through Insanity like it was Narrative difficulty, the Typhoon is the way to go

Just finished my insanity run (Late, I know). Went new game + with an imported ME3 character. I've been infiltrator since ME1, figured I'd stick with it for insanity. Surprisingly easy. Went with fully upgraded Black Widow X, M7 Lancer X, and Paladin X. Throw upgraded mags on the lancer, and pretty much anything else. I used that weapon for the majority of the game. Not hard to do once you've done a playthrough already. Only tricky parts are . Used Garrus and Liara/Tali through the entire game. I think I died maybe 10 times through the entire run.

Tough parts:

Ardat - Yakshi monastery: Cryo ammo works well against the banshees barriers

Kai Leng (Cerberus base): Bring Liara, Garrus or Javik (if you have the from ashes DLC) and give whoever you can a particle rifle. Bring some Disruptor ammo (For Kai Lengs Shields), Cryo for the phantoms barriers, and some incendiary for when you get rid of his shields and you can get some damage over time on his health. Try to stay out of reach of him and it will be a lot easier to staty alive. Also bring lots of medi-gel.

Earth: Defend Missile Artillery: I would recommend Liara/Javik for this one ( Substitute Javik for Garrus if you don't have the DLC) and use mainly incendiary ammo and Cryo ammo for the banshees barrier. When you start you ill face around 5 - 7 Brutes for the first wave and 2 - 3 Banshees and a mix of cannibals and marauders for the second. The third wave is when you have to survive long enough for the reaper to get within range of the missiles. During that time an endless wave of Banshees, Marauders and Cannibals with swarm throughout the area. When you are able to launch the missiles just use Fortification, Tech Armor, or Adrenaline rush and just run to the Mako and activate the console which will trigger the cut-scene .


Note: During the Earth: Defend Missile Artillery portion a reaper will be firing at you as well as the enemies will be advancing and trying to flank you. Head into the left store and try to hold that position or try to flank the enemies so when the time comes to activate the console you won't really have that far to go

Having played ME1 and ME2 on Insanity, I am now starting my ME3 Insanity run (after playing on Normal) and just wanted to chime in with a tip that has been working for me.

I've noticed a lot of people recommending the Particle Rifle from the From Ashes DLC, and I am carrying it due to these suggestions. If you are playing as a Soldier class, this is probably a good choice, and the fact that it does not use thermal clips is a win for anyone.

I am playing as a Sentinel however, and the M-11 Suppressor heavy pistol that you get early in the Citadel DLC is by far the most OP weapon that I have encountered. It was already highly effective when upgraded to level 5 and now that I have M-11 Suppressor X, the enemies are almost a joke. This gun has a 4x headshot damage multiplier, so if your aim is any good you can easily wipe out most enemies in a few shots. It can make quick work of turrets, Atlas mechs, Brutes, Banshees and even Harvesters if you use the Armor-Piercing Ammo skill.

The Citadel DLC provided some nice interactions with the squad I have grown to love over the series, so if you don't have the DLC, I recommend grabbing it and getting this fantastic weapon as a bonus.

This is my rundown of every class and its benefits for the Insanity run-through.

Adept
This class was always deceptively weak in Mass Effect 2 and that was due to the changes from separate cooldown to a unified cooldown. However, that was all mitigated by BIOTIC EXPLOSIONS. http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Combos is all the information you need. I cannot stress this enough, USE BIOTIC EXPLOSIONS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! Warp and Throw will be your two best friends, with Singularity and Pull being a distant third. Shockwave is generally useless compared to those two, and I've never been a fan of grenades so I almost never upgraded Lift Grenades except when I had nothing else to upgrade. My advice: upgrade Warp and Throw first, with an emphasis on anything that increases damage on biotic explosions and cooldowns. You'll want to essentially spam Warp and Throw, so I usually carried the M-15 Vindicator V and the M-9 Tempest V for 200% efficiency. When it came to Biotic Mastery, I chose Damage and Force, Damage and Capacity, and Combo Mastery. With this at your arsenal, anything save Banshees should be no problem.

Engineer
You know how I mentioned Biotic Explosions for Adepts? Well Engineers get something like that, except it's Tech Bursts, Cryo Explosions and Flame Explosions! By far, I find Engineer to be the most versatile of any class. Usually, my strategy for engineer is to use either Combat Drone or Sentry Gun to establish a perimeter, and then use a combination of Overload, Incineration and Cryo Blast to set up and explode Cryo, Tech, and Flame Explosions. My advice for spending points? Anything but Fitness. Unlike Adepts, you should be significantly stronger from the get-go, so unless you are abandoning cover, which seems counter-intuitive for a third-person cover shooter, you shouldn't need those extra shields. Remember those Cryo, Tech and Flame Explosions though, I cannot emphasize them enough!

Infiltrator
With the exception of Cloak, the bread and butter I use is Cryo Ammo and Incineration. That leads to Cryo Explosions, which makes enemies really easy to kill with my Sniper Rifle or Shotgun. Of course, that is all irrelevant compared to Cloak, which is still stupidly OP'd, especially now that you can end it at any point and increase power cooldown. If you are an Infiltrator and you aren't using Cloak, I dunno what else to say except "What the hell are you doing?!" My preference of weapons are usually shotgun and sniper rifle, especially because ammo is really easy to find, and assault rifles do not work well with Cloak. Sabotage is also a better version of Overload at higher ranks, so keep that in mind.

Sentinel
In my mind, Sentinel is by far the most prepared for Insanity. They have ridiculous shields, and get the combination of Biotic, Tech and Cryo Bursts. They also can use about any weapon without a significant penalty as compared to classes like Adepts. And then there's Tech Armor, which while not quite Mass Effect 2 level, is still very effective,especially when detonated. I would call this class the jack-of-all-trades, which makes it relatively easy to use.

Soldier
By far the most boring class, and in my opinion, generally the weakest. The class essentially boils down to A-rush, and occassional concussive shot. The advantage being you can carry every weapon, but I find that you really only need two to be effective (I prefer sniper rifle and assault rifles myself). While concussive shot is great at detonating any power and creating explosions, it also does poorly in terms of damage and force. With Concussive shot, ALWAYS choose Amplified. And always use adrenaline rush. Always.

Vanguard
While Charge+Nova is certainly great, you are missing out on gems like Shockwave+Pull, and any of your ammo powers+Shockwave. Don't know what else there is to say really, as I've seen people go Charge+Nova all day and come out unscathed on Gold or Platinum. That doesn't mean, though, to ignore your other powers!

For extra powers, I usually choose Energy Drain, Reave, Warp Ammo or Dark Channel, as those either set up biotic explosions or, in the case of Energy Drain, effectively take down shields.

For squadmates, I like bringing along Javik and Liara because they form an unstoppable Biotic Detonation Group and because they generally have the quickest cooldowns compared to the other squadmates. If you don't have From Ashes, I advise bringing along Tali for Geth missions and EDI for everything else. Her incineration and overload are a great complement to Liara's warp and throw. Another great one is Garrus. Give him a particle rifle or a Black Widow and he'll be beasting and feasting. Personally, I avoid James and Ashley/Kaidan like the plague. They simply don't have enough in their arsenal to help complement biotic/tech/cryo/flame explosions which will be the bread and butter to surviving Insanity.

Hope this helps.