When it comes to armor and defensive upgrades, the Vanguard benefits the most from shield-enhancing armor parts and upgrades compared to the health upgrades, since Charge's bonus to shields depends on how much shield you have. On lower difficulties where enemies are largely unprotected, or with the right strategy (using powers to strip the defenses of enemies first), powers like Shockwave or Cryo Ammo can obliterate large groups of enemies with ease. Given Charge's 6 second cooldown, this can be done rather often.
While other classes tend to hide behind cover and shoot at foes from afar, a Vanguard's main strategy is to charge in (preferably picking off the isolated enemies first), headshot with the strongest shotgun available and finish off with melee hits. Shotguns mix well with the Vanguard's Charge and aggressive play style. Vanguards are able to use the following weapons: heavy pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, and heavy weapons. However, due to fast paced Mass Effect 2 combat system, the Vanguard is often put in a dangerous position and can feel fragile under fire as compared to Mass Effect. This is supplemented with a defensive mechanic provided by Charge which instantly restores player's shields and, for a short time, boosts their maximum power. The main difference between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 is that the Vanguard is now more focused on close combat.
