Best Infiltrator build - Mass Effect 3 (ME3)

This post covers the best Best Infiltrator build in Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition. The class is a master of cloaking and technical powers. It is well-suited to be used with Snipers for a single, deadly shot

Best Infiltrator Build

The build is for those that wish to master the Sniper Rifle and take out enemies safely from afar. Tactical Cloak will be one of the main abilities of this build. It will allow to conceal Shepard's position and strike enemies for maximum damage from where they do not expect.

Of course, this can be used another way, hide yourself in case enemies are overwhelming you. If you are playing on Insanity this will happen often.

In addition, we will include a few tech skills to match the Infiltrator theme. Mainly, Energy Drain and Incinerate. These skills allow you to remove a large chunk of protection allowing you to use the Sniper Rifle to finish them off.

If this sounds like what you are looking for, let's go

Squad Point Allocation

This section covers how Squad points should be allocated for the end game on the Infiltrator Build

Power name	Upgrades Order	Level (Points)
Disruptor Ammo	Damage Headshots Damage	6 (21)
Cryo Ammo	-	-
Incinerate	Damage Recharge Speed Armor Damage	6 (21)
Tactical Cloak	Damage Recharge Speed Bonus power	6 (21)
Sticky Grenade	Any Amor-Piercing Any	6 (21)
Sabotage	-	-
Operational Mastery	Weapon Damage Weight Capacity Any	6 (21)
Fitness	Durability Shield Recharge Durability	6 (21)

Unfortunately, I forgo Cryo Ammo. It is not a bad ability, but I find it lackluster on Insanity difficulty. However, on lower ones, this is a perfect choice. My logic is that, once you reach enemy health, either they will be killed in the next shot or it will be a combo detonator. So to waste time, to shoot additional time, just to freeze greatly decreases the combat tempo.

I also skip Sabotage. Although it is a good skill, the lag effect, and mediocre damage does not make it a compelling choice against human enemies. It can be effective in particular scenarios but I prefer to be in control when the effect activates.

Bonus Ability

Here I will cover what bonus abilities you should pick with the Infiltrator class.

Power name	Upgrades order	Description
Energy Drain	Any Recharge Speed Damage	This skill is a perfect combo with Disruptor Ammo. You can use it to detonate Tech Bursts or remove enemy shields and increase your own. It unlocks numerous possibilities for Infiltrator build
Marksman	Firing Rate Duration Accuracy & Firing Rate	If you wish to concentrate on pure damage and less on Tech abilities, take this skill. It will greatly improve fire rate, allowing to shoot down enemies on after another.

Ability Progression

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

Order	Skill	Description
1	Tactical Cloak Lv 3	This ability will be extremely helpful early in the game. Use it to hide from enemies and increase your damage with the first shot.
2	Sticky Grenade Lv 2	Deals a large amount of damage. I always recommend having a few grenades if the encounter becomes difficult.
3	Incinerate Lv 3	This is your main ability in dealing with enemies that have Armor protection. For the maximum amount of damage, try to use it with primed enemies for Tech or Fire Bursts.
4	Disruptor Ammo Lv 3	Now this will greatly unlock the capabilities of Infiltrator. The ammo power deals heavy damage against shields and barriers. Moreover, it primes the enemies of Tech Bursts. Use it together with Energy Drain or Incinerate for deadly combos.
5	Operational Mastery Lv 3	Provides some small bonuses - weapon time dilation, increased weight capacity, etc.

At this stage, I recommend getting your preferred Bonus Power. If you rely heavily on Tech powers, go for Energy Drain. Otherwise, feel free to pick other ones.

Order	Skill	Description
6	Energy Drain Lv 3 (if you choose Energy Drain)	It is a definite choice for detonating Tech Bursts or setting them up. It is especially useful against Synthetic enemies and will increase Infiltrator survivability
7	Incinerate Lv 5	Take Damage upgrade. Unfortunately, Infiltrator is fairly weak against armor, and you want to make sure that your abilities tear them down as much as possible against a single enemy. The second upgrade should be Recharge Speed.
8	Disruptor Ammo Lv 4	Take Damage upgrade. This will further boost damage against health, barriers, and shields.
9	Tactical Cloak Lv 6	Take Damage, Recharge Speed , and Bonus Power upgrades. Once you get the three upgrades, you can include abilities into the rotation without revealing yourself.
10	Fitness Lv 3	Getting a few levels in this passive skill it will give bonus defenses and health.
11	Incinerate Lv 6	Get an Armor Damage upgrade. This way Infiltrator build will have a way to deal decent damage against armor. Be sure to pair it with something like Overload for Fire Explosion combo.
12	Energy Drain Lv 6	Take Damage, Recharge Speed, and Damage upgrades. With these choices, the ability can take out normal enemy shields instantly. You can also go for a Radius upgrade on the 4th level and it is a good choice, especially if you have your sniper rifle upgraded for more damage, and a bit of shield left doesn't need an additional shot.
13	Operational Mastery Lv 5	Take Weapon Damage and Weight Capacity upgrades. This will improve Infiltrator build offensive capabilities - your skills and shots will deal more damage. Moreover, thanks to its larger weight capacity Shepard can have lower cooldowns on abilities.
14	Disruptor Ammo Lv 6	The build goes all in on the damage - take Headshots and Damage upgrades. This will give maximum effectiveness against shields and barriers and provides the highest chance to prime Tech Bursts.
15	Sticky Grenade Lv 4	Any upgrade works, I prefer Damage. This is the perfect grenade ability for Infiltrator as it is extremely effective against armored enemies
16	Operational Mastery Lv 6	To be honest, any upgrade works. At this stage of the game, you should have your preferred playstyle. If you rely more on weapons - take the Sniper Damage upgrade. If you use your powers more go with Damage & Duration for high powers bonuses.
17	Sticky Grenade Lv 6	Take Armor-Piercing and any upgrade for the 6th level. The idea is to have a tool against Armor, the last two tiers just fit different playstyles.
18	Fitness Lv 6	We go all in on the defensive abilities - Durability, Shield Recharge, and Durability. Nothing special here, just gives a bit more survivability for Infiltrator

Tactics and Squad

This section will cover how to best play Infiltrator build in Mass Effect 3. The class can be played as easily as just shooting with Sniper Rifle, or creating multiple combos to incapacitate enemies on the battlefield.

Tactical Cloak

This is the first ability that you should learn with Infiltrator. It has multiple use cases, but the one that is most obvious is positioning yourself on the battlefield. Once that is done, you can shoot with Sniper Rifle for maximum damage or use abilities to debilitate enemies.

Of course, in case you are overwhelmed, just hide behind a cover and activate it. Then feel free to move further away, where you can snipe enemies. Enemies may still shoot you when you activate Tactical Cloak without cover.

Moreover, this ability is perfect with Sticky Grenade as when used it does not break stealth.

Fighting normal protected enemies

If you fight a normal protected enemy (shield), not a boss type, I suggest using this rotation: Energy Drain -> Headshot. I found it to best work on multiple testing and this does not require any difficult combinations

You can also include Tactical Cloak for even higher damage once you get it to level 6 and fully upgrade it. Of course, if you are fighting stronger enemies I would go with a different combination

Main rotation

1. Shoot the enemy and prime for Tech Burst. You need to have Disruptor Ammo activated.
2. Use detonator ability, Incinerate or Energy Drain
3. Shoot again, and prime once more with Tech Burst.
4. This time use one of the companions' abilities - Overload, Incinerate, etc and create Tech Burst.

In case the enemy still has Barrier/Shields use the rotation again.

Sprinkle in some Tactical Cloak and your headshots will do even more damage. Infiltrator is a perfect class for dealing with enemy Barriers and Shields

Companions

For this build to work perfectly, you need to have these things in mind:

• Have someone that can easily tear down and damage enemy armor
• Has Tech abilities to detonate or prime Tech Bursts.

Based on the criteria here are my recommendations:

• EDI - she has Overload and Incinerate skills. Combine these with Infiltrator abilities and you can create constant Tech Bursts and Fire Explosions.
• James - he is extremely powerful against armor. This makes him a perfect combo together with Infiltrator. Thanks to Incendiary Ammo you can use Incinerate to create Fire Explosions
• Garrus and Ashley - are the most overpowered companions that you can use to cheese through the game. Let them tear enemies apart as you shoot from far away.
• I would like to also mention Liara. Although she uses biotic abilities, she has Warp. This ability can detonate both Tech Bursts and Fire explosions. Moreover, she has fast cooldowns.

Equipment

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

Sniper Rifles

Name	Upgrades	Description
Black Widow	Spare Thermal Clip Concentration Mod	The improved version of the M-98 Widow. Of course, it sacrifices damage but has a higher ammo capacity. Headshots will take out most normal enemies instantly. It also has armor penetration.
M-97 Viper	Concentration Mod Extend Barrel	I love this one. It does not do high damage, but it is perfect for priming Tech Bursts with Disruptor Ammo. Use it on Synthetic heavy missions like Geth.

Submachine Guns

I personally do not recommend them for this build. The problem with them is that they would take multiple shots to prime Tech Bursts with Disruptor Ammo. Of course, with some practice, this could work well. However, here are a few options that you could try

Name	Upgrades	Description
M-12 Locust	Ultralight Materials Magazine High-Caliber Barrel	Accurate submachine gun, that you can shoot accurately with full auto.
M-9 Tempest	Ultralight Materials Magazine High-Caliber Barrel	Has a high ammo capacity and is perfect for suppressive fire. However, it can be difficult to control due to high recoil.

Heavy Pistol

These weapons are a good choice as a sidearm. They do good damage and have a higher chance to prime Tech Bursts. Moreover, they have mod to improve power damage, so it is a perfect choice in case you run out of ammo with Sniper Rifle.

Name	Upgrades	Description
M-77 Paladin	Magazine Upgrade Power Magnifier	A high-tier weapon that deals high damage. It is also lightweight and has a low impact on power cooldown.
Acolyte	Magazine Upgrade Power Magnifier	A chargeable weapon that is also perfect for applying ammo effects instantly

Armors

I recommend this armor sets for Infiltrator Build in Mass Effect 3. We want as high weapon damage as possible so that Sniper Rifles would deal maximum damage

Name	Effects
Cerberus Armor	+10% Ammo Capacity +20% Weapon Damage +10% Shields +20% Health
Cerberus Nightmare Armor	+20% Ammo Capacity +20% Headshot Damage +20% Weapon Damage +10% Shield Regen Speed +10% Shields

If you wish to go with separate parts. Here is what I recommend:

Type	Armor	Description
Helmet	Kuwashii Visor	Increases weapon damage by 5% and headshot damage by 10%
Helmet	Recon Hood	Increases weapon damage by 10%
Helmet	Delumcore Overlay	Increases headshot damage by 5% Increases weapon damage by 10%
Chest	Hahne-Kedar	Increase weapon damage by 10%
Shoulders	rmax Arsenal	Increase weapon damage by 5% Increase headshot damage by 10%
Shoulders	Hahne-Kedar	Increase weapon damage by 10%
Arms	Armax Arsenal	Increase weapon damage by 5% Increase headshot damage by 10%
Arms	Hahne-Kedar	Increase weapon damage by 10%
Legs	Hahne-Kedar	Increase weapon damage by 10%

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this post on the best Infiltrator build in Mass Effect 3. I covered recommended abilities and their progression, best equipment, and tactics.

Feel free to leave a comment below!