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Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition

Best Wrex Build

By
Nathan Garvin

Build information for Wrex, including talent point allocation and ideal gear.

Suggested talent point allocation for Wrex.

Wrex is indisputably the game’s best tank - only a Shepard Soldier with the Barrier bonus talent can even compete, and at the end of the day, we’d still be inclined to get Wrex the nod due to the unique properties of Battlemaster armor - something only a krogan can wear. As a Krogan Battlemaster (yes, the class and the armor share a name), Wrex is essentially a Vanguard with a few tweaks: instead of Pistols he has access to Assault Rifles, instead of Tactical Armor he has access to Combat Armor, instead of Assault Training he has access to Fitness and he swaps out Lift in favor of Stasis.

Most of these changes are improvements, although Fitness is far less useful in the Legendary Edition of the game than it was in vanilla, arguably making Assault Training a better choice… or it would be, if Wrex didn’t have the unfortunate handicap of swapping out the excellent Lift for Stasis. Still, access to heavy armor via Combat Armor and Assault Rifles over Pistols are clear upgrades, and between his regeneration, heavy armor, Barrier ability and Immunity, Wrex is as durable as it gets.

Wrex’s Talents Suggested Ranks
Assault Rifles 5
Shotguns 12
Combat Armor 12
Fitness 4
Warp 12
Throw 12
Barrier 12
Stasis 12
Krogan Battlemaster 1

Talent Point Allocation

Weapon Talents

Wrex has access to both Assault Rifles and Shotguns, and while either will suffice, you really don’t need both. To unlock Shotguns you’ll need to drop five ranks into Assault Rifles, and that’s the maximum investment we suggest for the latter. Wrex’s durability makes the shotgun a fine primary weapon for him and Wrex with a shotgun and Garrus with a sniper rifle make for an awfully fine tandem.

Combat Armor

The only non-Soldier in the game to have access to Combat Armor, Wrex is also the only character in the game to eschew Colossus Armor, instead preferring the superior Battlemaster X Heavy Armor. Invest four ranks in Combat Armor to unlock Fitness and seven ranks to gain access to heavy armor, the latter of which is the minimum invest you should make. Make it early, and max out Combat Armor on later levels (and higher difficulties) to give Wrex an edge.

Fitness and Biotic Talents

We really wish we could say that Wrex has a great suite of talents outside of his weapons and armor, but that’s sadly not the case. Fitness is fine, although much diminished from the original game. To be fair, Wrex never could achieve 100% uptime the way an Infiltrator/Soldier Shepard could, and lacking your ability to control exactly when Wrex uses this makes it fundamentally less effective at preventing damage spikes. Drop four ranks in Fitness and use Immunity reflexively, when Wrex’s health is on the wrong side of 50% (if that ever happens) and you’ll find that it’s still an excellent safety net.

As for Wrex’s biotics, there’s much left to be desired here. Okay, by “much” we mostly mean Lift. Throw is serviceable enough, but its debilitative effects are much shorter, and while Stasis makes up for this somewhat by removing enemies from the fight, Lift arguably gives us the best of both worlds. It’s also worth noting that Wrex will not use Stasis unless explicitly commanded to do so… probably a good thing, preventing him from locking down enemies you’d rather just shoot.

Barrier is a… fine addition, although arguably Wrex doesn’t really need it with his heavy armor and Immunity, and Shields or Barriers do not really contribute as much to survivability as it seems. At least, not compared to Damage Protection. You’ll need six ranks of Barrier to unlock Stasis, and seven ranks of Warp to unlock Throw. Not that this makes Warp an afterthought - far from it. Warp’s damage output may be suspect, but the 75% damage protection reduction it inflicts at max level is a very, very solid debuff.

Finally, Krogan Battlemaster. It’s… fine. We max out all the biotic powers, leaving little for this. One rank early on will suffice to get Wrex some regeneration and decent starter bonuses to melee damage (which Wrex will rarely make use of) and resistance to physics forces (which Wrex’s armor largely handles on its own).

Best Gear for Wrex

The best weapons in the game are tier X Spectre weapons: HMWA X and HMWSG X for assault rifle and shotgun, respectively. For assault rifles and shotguns, we rotate our ammo based on what we’re fighting: Tungsten Rounds VII for geth and drones, Shredder Rounds VII for everything else, or if you’re lazy, just toss in some Inferno Rounds X and use those. Toss on a Scram Rail X and Frictionless Materials X and you’re good to go.

Wrex is the one character in the game who won’t aspire to Colossus X armor… although if you can find a suit of medium/heavy Colossus armor, by all means, it’s not a bad substitute. The best armor for Wrex, however, is Battlemaster X Heavy Armor. Unique to krogans and purchasable if you obtain the Geth Armory license, this armor provides 75 Damage Protection - less than Colossus X Heavy Armor, but it makes up for it with far superior Tech/Biotic Protection and comparable Shields. Wrex arguably isn’t hurting for either regeneration or Damage Protection, but slotting in a pair of Medical Exoskeletons will make his regeneration prodigious and improve the cooldowns on his talents, which is arguably more useful than nigh redundant Damage Protection offered by Energized Plating mods.

As a biotic, give Wrex a Savant X Biotic Amp - not to be confused with the Omni-Tool of the same name. This amp will give Wrex hefty bonuses to the duration, efficacy and cooldown rate of his biotics (+35%, +40% and +40%, respectively).

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Electronic Arts
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, XB One
  • Genre
    Action RPG, Third-person shooter
  • Guide Release
    14 May 2021
  • Last Updated
    17 August 2021
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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The guide for Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition features all there is to see and do including a walkthrough containing coverage of all Assignments, detailed breakdown of all the important choices, class builds and much more!

  • Full coverage of all the Main Missions.
  • Every Assignment covered.
  • In-depth look at the major choices and consequences of each.
  • Full details on how to romance Ashley, Kaiden or Liara
  • Class builds to get the most out of your chosen class.
  • Details on every Talent.
  • How to spec your squad.
  • Breakdown of all Paragon and Renegade opportunities.
  • Trophy/Achievement guide.

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