Mass Effect 2’s classes are all very good at what they do, whether they are the gun-toting Soldiers, rifle-wielding Engineers, or biotically charged Adepts. The only thing that could make them even better is giving them a bit more flexibility — this is something so easily achieved by taking a Bonus Power.
These are acquired by making a team member loyal to you. Once you complete their loyalty mission, each squadmate unlocks a new Bonus Power that can be slapped onto Shepard’s class by using the Advanced Training research project. Of course, some are more useful than others.
14 Fortification
Completing Grunt’s loyalty mission is what will unlock Fortification, but it almost seems like a pointless reward. It’s a defensive ability like Geth Shield Boost and Barrier, granting Shepard a large bonus to armor that makes them a lot more durable.
The problem is when compared to the other defensive bonus powers (and possibly the Sentinel’s Tech Armor), Fortification doesn’t benefit from any research projects and thus cannot be buffed — the perils of being a Combat power instead of a Tech or Biotic power.
13 Shredder Ammo
Gaining the loyalty of resident assassin Thane will grant Shredder Ammo. This is the first of three Ammo powers that affect Shepard’s bullets. It makes them hit a lot harder, literally shredding up Shepard’s enemies — the organic ones at least.
The damage bonus this power provides is huge, but it has so many caveats. The enemy must be organic. The enemy must have no armor, or shields, or barriers. While still a useful power, it just pales in comparison to others.
12 Inferno Grenade
Zaeed’s loyalty is required to unlock the Inferno Grenade power, and it’s quite a tough loyalty mission. As a result, the power feels just a little bit underwhelming.
Inferno Grenade is what it sounds like, a launchable grenade of flames that can deal a lot of damage to armored enemies. The problem is that other powers are more versatile, and it’s quite possible for your grenades to be hindered by covers.
11 Stasis
Freezing enemies in place sounds like a great technique for crowd control. Unlocking the power to do so requires the completion of Liara T’Soni’s quests. This is another skill that might be better in theory than in practice.
While getting some breathing room during a tough fight is possible with Stasis, enemies become immune to damage for the duration — it may be better to simply take a bonus power that finishes them off quicker instead of delaying the inevitable.
10 Neural Shock
Completing the loyalty mission of the scientist Salarian Mordin will get you access to Neural Shock. It’s a useful ability to have on the higher difficulties thanks to how quickly it deals with powerful threats and how quickly it recharges.
Neural Shock causes a foe to fall over, instantly affecting the target and making them easily taken out since you get double damage against enemies that have fallen over. Additionally, the power will instantly kill an unarmored husk!
9 Dominate
Dominate is quite the reward for players who decided to betray Samara and recruit her daughter Morinth instead. It is a biotic version of the useful AI Hacking skill, affecting organics instead of synthetics.
While turning enemies against themselves may sound like a fantastic idea, Dominate, unfortunately, has a somewhat low duration and is basically a short-lived distraction skill as a result.
8 Slam
Miranda’s loyalty mission must be completed to unlock this strong biotic power. It targets an enemy and lifts them into the air, before slamming them onto the ground. It’s a very simple skill.
What makes it useful is that it recharges extremely quickly (in just 3 seconds for Shepard) and leaves enemies on the floor ripe for picking off. Thanks to this, it may be an even better crowd control skill than Stasis. It’s rather like Neural Shock, but with a greater damaging element.
7 Energy Drain
The loyalty mission of everyone’s favorite Quarian Tali needs to be completed to unlock Energy Drain. While this power does not have the ability to kill organic enemies, it is still a very versatile skill to have.
Energy Drain doesn’t only shred the defenses and health of synthetic enemies, if used against a shielded enemy it will drain that shield, replenishing Shepard’s. This is a fantastic power to have if you’re sick of waiting for your shields to get back up behind cover.
6 Warp Ammo
It makes almost too much sense that the biotically charged Warp Ammo is unlocked by completing Jack’s loyalty mission. This makes Shepard’s ammo very deadly when used in conjunction with biotics.
Not only does the ammo deal extra damage, but it gains a bonus against any enemies currently affected by biotic powers such as Lift. If that wasn’t enough, Warp Ammo also makes enemy barriers melt. The only thing stopping Warp Ammo being even more perfect is the relative rarity of barrier-using enemies in Mass Effect 2.
5 Flashbang Grenade
Kasumi is responsible for this power, and completing her loyalty mission lets Shepard access her stash of grenades. These are very useful projectiles that explode and incapacitate enemies caught in the blast.
The main draw of this power is the way it completely disables enemy Tech powers and Biotic powers for a while — this can be so crucial to survival on the higher difficulties. It also has a huge radius, making it even more useful in crowded situations.
4 Geth Shield Boost
As would be expected, the loyalty mission required to unlock this power is provided by Legion. It is the second of three defensive abilities and is miles better than Fortification thanks to being affected by Tech-related research projects.
Notably, one of the evolutions for Geth Shield Boost gives it an additional boost to weapon damage in exchange for not taking a larger defensive boost. This is a perfect complement for Shepards who favor a more aggressive strategy but still enjoy some more reliable shields.
3 Armor-Piercing Ammo
Garrus will grant this ammo power upon completion of his loyalty mission, and it suits him well as the resident sniper. Armor-Piercing Ammo does what it says it does, it grants a very large damage bonus when targeting both armor and health.
While Barriers and Shields have multiple methods of dealing with them, armor is a little bit trickier and heavily armored enemies can be very tough to take down. Thanks to this, Armor-Piercing Ammo is one of the best bonus powers in the game.
2 Barrier
Third of the defensive abilities, Barrier is acquired by completing Jacob’s loyalty mission. Instead of adding armor or replenishing shields, Barrier adds… a barrier. Notably, it does this immediately, requiring no animation and not interrupting a sprint or being hindered by a stagger.
One extremely useful aspect of Barrier is the combination of its long duration and short recharge time. It’s very possible to keep your barrier up at all times, simply by reapplying the power. This is the defensive power for the higher difficulties.
1 Reave
Deciding not to betray Samara during her loyalty mission will reward you with Reave. This is a very offensively-geared biotic ability that has no end of boons. For one, it shares Warp’s ability to melt armor and barriers. Additionally, it prevents enemies from healing — great for taking down enemy Krogans.
And possibly best of all, when used against organics specifically it will give Shepard a big boost to their health. Their maximum health will increase, they instantly get a heal, and start regenerating over time. Reave is a perfect blend of offensive flexibility and pragmatic defensiveness.
NEXT: Mass Effect 2: Every Squad Member Upgrade, Ranked
