Kaidan Build - Complete Guide - Mass Effect 1 (ME1) | LE

Kaidan Alenko is one of the first characters that will be on the Normandy. He will also be you, the first companion, when you will land in Eden Prime in Mass Effect 1

This post will cover how to best build Kaidan Alenko in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition.

Talents and skills

Kaidan represents Sentinel class. Due to this his focus are biotic abilities. Kaidan should be more of a supporting character as he does not have as good offensive capabilities with its weapons as other characters.

Here is how I recommend allocating your skill points when close to maxing out:

• Throw: 12
• Lift: 12
• Barrier: 12
• Stasis: 0
• Decryption: 9
• Electronics: 9
• First Aid: 6
• Medicine: 12
• Sentinel 6

If you chose a class with Shepard that does not have Electronics or Decryption, prioritize these first to level 9 each. Now you will be able to unlock all containers in the game. This will net you equipment and money to be used to buy some end-game weapons.

Next, I suggest investing in Throw and Lift. With these talents learned you can crowd control enemies and deal some damage with your biotic abilities.

Max out Sentinel. This tree is extremely good for Kaidan. It reduces the cooldowns of all your active abilities. Moreover, you get some boost to Pistol damage. This is also beneficial as Kaidan does not have any weapon talent tree. Due to this, I recommend getting this quite early in the game, once you have a few points invested into Throw and Lift.

By this point, you will have maxed out Kaidan offensive capabilities and you can start putting points into Barrier: 7. This is the sole Kaidan ability that will greatly increase his personal survival rates.

Now you can invest in First Aid: 6 and Medicine: 12. These will make Kaidan provide maximum support to the party. You will greatly boost First Aid skill effectiveness and you will also unlock Neural Shock. Unfortunately, the latter only works on organic enemies, which there are not too many in Mass Effect 1

Now with the core of the build done, feel free to put the rest of your points into Barrier, Electronics, Decryption, or First Aid, based on what abilities would improve Kaidan in the encounters you have.

Recommended Gear for Kaidan

In this section, I will cover what gear Kaidan should use to maximize his usefulness in the group.

Best Weapons

Unfortunately, Kaidan does not come with any weapon specialization. The only thing that boosts a weapon type is Sentinel Tree, which gives Pistol Damage and accuracy

Due to this, my recommendation is to equip Kaidan with the best available Pistol. In this case, your best bet is HMWP line of pistols. Try to get as high a level as possible: VII or X

The best mods for the pistol are: Inferno Rounds, Sledgehammer Rounds, Scram Rail, and Kinetic Coil

Best Armors

Kaidan can only wear Human Light Armor. As you can guess it is extremely important to get armors with the best damage protection stats. For this Colossus Light Armor is the best choice.

However, it can be hard to obtain, otherwise, go for any other armor that has high damage protection

Mods: Medical Exoskeleton, Kinetic Buffer, Energized Plating, Shield Interface

Best Omni-tool and Biotic Amp

Kaidan can wear both of these types of gear. Due to this, the best recommendation is to get a Savant Omni tool and Amp.

Both of these will greatly benefit Kaidan, providing the largest cooldowns

Tactics for Kaidan

As Kaidan has both Biotic and Tech abilities he has numerous tactics opportunities. However, he does not have large damage output so you should be playing smart with him. Here are my tips:

• Avoid direct Combat and keep Kaidan behind the cover
• Pair him with a tank Shepard build or companion like Wrex or Ashley
• Use Tech abilities whenever you fight Geth.
• Biotic abilities are great when enemy shields are down and you can do instant crowd control skills

Following these tips will greatly maximize Kaidan’s combat prowess.

Conclusion

Kaidan is an extremely versatile character that you can use in any of the game situations. You should have no problems with him on Insanity difficulty in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition if you have followed these tips.

Feel free to leave any comments or feedback in the comments below