Best Sentinel Build - Mass Effect: Andromeda (MEA)

This post covers the Best Sentinel Build in Mass Effect Andromeda. They are combatants that mix together Tech and biotic capabilities on a whim. This allows for elemental control of the battlefield. Moreover, they come with powerful armor that allows to sustain more damage than any other profile.

Sentinel Build

This build concentrates on pure power usage (casting) to create combo explosions. It will be extremely effective and damage multiple enemies with correct skill sequences. The only concern that could is having good enough gear for fast power recharge times

Of course, we will address these weak points so that by the mid-game you would have the most fun playing this game. For maximum effectiveness with the build, I suggest watching this video on Andromeda Combos and how they work:

So if you wish to play as a character who electrifies, incinerates, and creates biotic fields, this build is for you.

P.S. Credits to u/zavtra13 on Reddit for the build idea - https://www.reddit.com/r/MassEffectAndromeda/comments/13680xa/comment/jinf7li/

Skills allocation

This section covers how Squad points should be allocated for the end game on the Sentinel Build. At levels 4-6 each skill can take one of two upgrades. I list the preferred ones. "Any" means that you can take the one that looks the most useful

Tech Powers

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Energy Drain	Recharge Speed Extend Duration Damage	This is the bread and butter of the build. It serves a few main purposes. First, to damage enemy shields and prime them for Tech Combo. Second, restore your own shields for crazy survivability.
Incinerate	Radius Anti-Armor Detonator	This is the main ability that you will use to deal with armored enemies. It will be your go-to opener in creating Fire Combos. Moreover, we take the Detonator upgrade. This will allow Incinerate to detonate Biotic and Shock primers.
Offensive Tech	Any Detonators Elemental Tech	Gives offensive boosts to tech abilities. The level 4 upgrade may be difficult to choose. Overall, I saw that there are more enemies with shields and went with Anti-Shield. For the last upgrade, we take Elemental Tech as we will not be relying on guns much.
Team Support	Support Team Recovery Life Support	This skill gives improvements to survivability. Overall, our goal is the last Life Support upgrade. It gives HP restoration after using Tech powers (and we will use them a lot)

Biotic Powers

Generally, there is one of two choices that you can pick with active biotic powers. This determines how you approach to combat:

1. Shockwave - mid-range
2. Throw - long range

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Shockwave	Radius Any Lifting Shockwave	This is the mid-range choice. The ability creates biotic waves that can be extremely deadly. However, they travel in a straight line and require some risky positioning. However, with practice, you can do some sick combos. The level 5 upgrade is very difficult to choose. Overall I would suggest Recharge Speed, as I prefer abilities to be ready ASAP for this kind of build. However, you may feel that the reach is not enough and you get overwhelmed by enemies. In this case, go for Reach upgrade
Throw	Damage & Force Duration Swift Detonation	This is the choice if you purely wish to concentrate on long-range combat. The biotic skill throws enemies away, and primes for combo detonations with correct upgrades. Early in the game, this could be a perfect choice. Once you get Swift Detonation this skill can be used in most situations to prime and detonate enemies.

So picking one of them will change a bit how you approach combat. For passive abilities here are the recommendations

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Barrier	Recuperative Barrier Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Provides defensive barrier bonuses. The main goal is getting the Saving Barrier upgrade, which instantly restores shields at low HP.
Offensive Biotics	Alacrity Detonation Biotic Expert	A must-take choice for this build. Improves biotic power recharge speed and detonation damage. Becomes more powerful as you put more points into the Biotic skill tree

Profile

Profile	Description
Sentinel	The profiles concentrate on improving Tech power recharge speed and combo damage power. Moreover, improves shield restoration via powers. The unique effect of the profile is additional Tech armor that provides damage resistance. Overall Sentinel is similar to Adept, but with much higher survivability.

Additional Skills

Overall, there is nothing much to recommend, you will still need to put some points into biotic and tech to get the Sentinel profile to level 6. However, if you find yourself using weapons, you could pick one of the skills from combat trees.

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Auxiliary Systems	Weapon Mass Reduction Enduring Tech Omni-Vents	Provides improvements to tech powers, like longer duration, larger shield restoration, etc.
Containment	Any Shield Detonation Event Horizon	Improves the use of biotic powers and gives bonuses to duration, force, and combos.

Ability Progression

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

Order	Skill	Description
1	Energy Drain Lv 2	We unlock the base abilities of the build and get Recharge speed improvements with 2nd level upgrades. I do not recommend getting Shockwave now. It will have long cooldowns and will require you to be exposed to enemy fire. So save it for later
2	Incinerate Lv 2
4	Throw Lv 2
5	Energy Drain Lv 5	By getting Extend Duration upgrade, you will have two priming abilities against any type of protected enemy. Energy Drain will prime shielded enemies, and you can detonate them with Throw
6	Offensive Biotics Lv 4	This is the perfect time to get these passive skills as they improve recharge times and damage. Now you will start having less "wait time" between skill usage.
7	Offensive Tech Lv 4
8	Incinerate Lv 6	Getting to level 6 allows unlocking the Detonator upgrade. With it, you can detonate Biotic or Tech effects anytime using Incinerate.
9	Throw Lv 6 OR Shockwave Lv 6	Maximizing this will allow us to set up biotic combos (Duration upgrade) and have a very high recharge speed with the Swift Detonation upgrade. However, if you would like to try a riskier mid-range combat approach, this is perfect time to pick Shockwave.
10	Offensive Tech Lv 6	With these finishing touches we maximize the offensive capabilities of our Tech tree.
11	Energy Drain Lv 6
12	Team Support Lv 6	The defensive abilities that will improve your survivability. Barrier gives bonus shields Team support, and health improvements for you and your companions.
13	Barrier Lv 6
14	Offensive Biotics Lv 6	Finish off the build by getting the final skill upgrade.

After this, you are free to take the additional abilities that I recommend, based on your preferences

Tactics

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

Do not neglect ranged weapon combat

Although we are mainly using tech and biotic skills, this doesn't mean that you should stop using weapons. They still play an important role and can help you maintain high DPS. There will be times when all of your abilities will be under cooldown. This is a perfect time to shoot with bullets for some additional sustained damage.

Moreover, in case the enemy is left with minimum HP after a combo, using a skill will waste it. This is a perfect moment to finish them off with a few shots.

Initiating combat and rotations

Here are the main rotations that I use, based on enemies and the protections they have:

• Shields - start off with Energy Drain, Incinerate, and then Throw/Shockwave. This should ensure that enemies like Anointed will be either dead or left with minimum HP. Moreover, any unprotected enemies will also be knocked down or killed by the two combos that are created.
• Armor - Incinerate, Energy Drain, Throw/Shockwave. We want to set enemies on fire and then detonate a Fire Combo. After it, Energy Drain shocks the enemy, allowing it to use Throw for Tech combo
• Unprotected - can start with any variation, but I prefer Incinerate -> Energy Drain -> Throw. If you start with Throw, enemies are thrown around and not grouped. This will diminish the AOE effect of combos.

Having high survivability

Although this may seem strange, the build has surprisingly good survivability. Sentinel passive tech armor gives 30 damage resistance. We also ensure that we have health regeneration with Life Support, and instant shields restoration with Barrier

Companions

Here are the companions that I recommend for Sentinel in Mass Effect Andromeda. The best ones in my opinion are those that can apply various status effects like fire, biotic, etc. Check the squad build recommendations

Because all of our abilities can be detonators, it makes perfect sense to have companions with priming capabilities.

Jaal

With these skill upgrades, Jaal can shock enemies priming them for Tech Combos:

• Energy Drain with level 5 upgrade Persistent Drain
• Avenger Strike, with level 6 upgrade Disrupting Strike

With these in mind, he is a perfect companion, having two abilities for priming

Peebee

She is also a good companion for Sentinel build. Her Pull is automatic primer. However, for Shockwave you will need to reach level 6 and get the Lifting Shockwave upgrade.

Drack

Probably my favorite companion, both for dialogues and capabilities. He has Incinerate that automatically sets enemies on fire. However, he has a special ability once you upgrade Krogan Warrior to level 6 - Incendiary Ammo. This allows him to Fire prime enemies by just shooting

Equipment

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

Weapons

Generally speaking, this build can use most of the weapons. Overall, early in the game try to equip light ones, that do not activate the weight penalty. Later, with some upgrades, go for medium or long-range weapons.

The main point is to get items that have Ultra Rare rarity with the most augmentation slots. These will give the highest boost to tech and biotic powers.

Here is my go-to option, it is probably the most powerful rifle with the mentioned upgrades.

Name	Mods	Augmentations
N7 Valkyrie	AR Light Stock AR Heavy Magazine AR Barrel AR Scope	Automatic Fire System - turns the weapon into automatic Power Booster - gives bonus power damage when the clip is full Reaction Optimizer - maximizes power combo damage

However, at a low level, the assault rifle may weigh too much. Due to this, I recommend a lighter weapon. Equalizer is especially deadly against shields.

Name	Mods	Augmentations
N7 Hurricane	Pistol Barrel Pistol Heavy Magazine Pistol Heavy Scope	Reaction Optimizer - maximizes power combo damage Power Booster - gives bonus power damage when the clip is full
Equalizer	Pistol Barrel Pistol Heavy Magazine Pistol Heavy Scope	Reaction Optimizer - maximizes power combo damage Power Booster - gives bonus power damage when the clip is full

Melee Weapons

Having a good melee weapon is important for the Sentinel build. The main reason is that the augmentations that you choose apply all the time. So go for the one that has the most slots (these are Ultra Rare)

Name	Augmentations	Description
Asari Sword	Reaction Optimizer - maximizes power combo damage	Has 4 augmentation slots, the most out of all melee weapons. However, it also has a unique effect that makes the wielder invulnerable during its use

Armors

Here are what Armor pieces I recommend for the Sentinel. Overall, the best choice is Heleus Armor set. It comes with two pieces, and armor counts as chest, legs, and arm

Armor piece	Stats	Augmentation options
Heleus Helmet	+7%-25% Power Damage +2%-8% Weapon Damage	Reaction Optimizer - increases combo damage
Heleus Chest	+7%-25% Power Damage +2%-8% Weapon Damage +10-30 Damage Resistance	Shield Oscillator - provide shield restoration on kill Reaction Optimizer - increases combo damage

Fusion Mods

Name	Description
Fusion Mod of Rapid Deployment	This mod gives 50% power recharge speed and decreases weapon damage by 30%. Because the build relies on using powers, this will allow for even more and faster combos.

Conclusion

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

Feel free to leave a comment below!