# The Mass Effect 3 Thread



## ShadowFactoryX

Who else is incredibly stoked for one of the best RPG/3PS games to ever happen?


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## Ishan

Gotta get it as soon as possible!


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## AxeHappy

They're bringing back the inventory system so I'm happy.


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## SirMyghin

Can't wait, lets hope the inventory isn't as stupid as Mass effect though, with all those duplicate items. Mass Effect is the only consistantly meritable RPG franchise in the last decade, imo.


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## synrgy

CAN'T WAIT. My all time favorite game/series.


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## MrGignac

Mass effect 1 & 2 were awesome, i dont think ive ever played a bioware game i didnt like. The new one is going to be awesome im sure.


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## pink freud

Awesome, more azure!


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## Slunk Dragon

I got Mass Effect 2 shortly after it came out, and I freaking love that game to death! I'm super excited about the third one!


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## Grand Moff Tim

I still haven't played 2, though I've had it for months. I beat 1 on 360 a few times, then got 1 and 2 on Steam when they went on sale a few months ago. I've been telling myself that I'll play 2 once I've beaten 1 again on PC, but every time I sit down to play 1 I end up stopping after a relatively short period of time. There just isn't anything new to see anymore, so despite how much I enjoyed my first three playthroughs, the fourth is just... boring.


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## ZEBOV

I played 1 and 2 on the 360, but my 360 is broken, so I want to get 1 and 2 on pc so I can have my own story on the ME3.


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## Captain Shoggoth

WANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANT


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## ShadowFactoryX

Inventory is going to be sweet. But I honestly liked the system in 2 for a change. Provided the fact they kept adding different weapons.

I loved all the DLC, but I felt the last one was rushed a lot, and lacked everything the other ones had.

I beat the first one 5 times and second one 3 times (going to start a fourth one)


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## Konfyouzd

ShadowFactoryX said:


> Who else is incredibly stoked for one of the best RPG/3PS games to ever happen?






I am...


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## synrgy

My only bummer is that all my original ME1 playthroughs were on the HD connected to the 360 that got jacked when my apartment was broken into a couple years ago.  I'm really looking forward to the forthcoming days when our game saves can just go to the cloud so I don't ever have to worry about shit like that happening again.

I did another couple playthroughs of ME1 right before ME2 came out, but it just felt tedious to do all the same stuff over again and sucked a lot of the magic out.

Anyway, won't be an issue this time around. Stoked!


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## vampiregenocide

I did kinda miss the crazy inventory system in ME1. If they've streamlined it and hopefully added more weapon models instead of just different skins, then it will be awesome.

I still need to finish the last DLC for ME2.


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## Konfyouzd

@Synrgy - You go Commander Shepard on that ass and get em back. He came back from the dead to whoop that ass.


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## synrgy

Konfyouzd said:


> @Synrgy - You go Commander Shepard on that ass and get em back. He came back from the dead to whoop that ass.



For this particular mission, I think Thane Krios may be more appropriate.


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## Origin

FFFFFFFFFFUCKING YES got obsessed with 1 and played 12 hours a day when I first got 2, just goddamn otherworldly.


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## ShadowFactoryX

My HDD got corrupted when I sent mine out to get fixed from the RROD, I lost 3 ME1 Profiles, 2 ME2 

I was so incredibly pissed, I mean I have tons of other games, (I had at least over 60 hours on Too Human of all games)

But having lost my mass effect profiles made me die a little inside.

I hope they keep most characters in the third one, there's a few I could do without.

and honestly I'm most interested in wtf cerberus is going to do.


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## Konfyouzd

^


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## synrgy

ShadowFactoryX said:


> My HDD got corrupted when I sent mine out to get fixed from the RROD, I lost 3 ME1 Profiles, 2 ME2



I feel your pain. Nothing quite like investing 50+ hours into a single character/game save (or 100+ if the same character was used on both titles!) only to end up losing it in an instant. 

Maybe we should start a support group.


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## ShadowFactoryX

Konfyouzd said:


> ^





synrgy said:


> I feel your pain. Nothing quite like investing 50+ hours into a single character/game save (or 100+ if the same character was used on both titles!) only to end up losing it in an instant.
> 
> Maybe we should start a support group.



yes plz 
im still mildy upsets about it.

What makes me more mad than anything, is the thought of going back and playing ME1 even one more time.

Granted I beat KOTOR 1 SIX times and 2 five times


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## sakeido

hmm they are channeling Rage Against the Machine with that trailer song 

so psyched!! ME3!!!!! *ME3!!!!!!!*


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## Black_Sheep

Me. I can't wait for this game. ME2 was just so fucking awesome. I loved the first one aswell, but ME2 was the one that really made me a huge ME fan  

The only problem with it was that (even with all the DLC's) the game was way too short. But yeah, i totally loved it. 

I just hope that ME3 has more of everything in it.


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## vampiregenocide

It took me 14 hours to do ME1, and 30 to do ME2 (all DLCs other than The Arrival).


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## Mordacain

I'm majorly psyched. I actually need to get around to buying the PC versions... I borrowed the first one on 360 and played 2 on PS3, but it just looks so much better on PC.

I still need to get another playthrough with a "bad:" character on ME2...


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## AxeHappy

I can't possibly imagine it taking more time to beat ME2 than ME1. The games is literally over half as long...?


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## ShadowFactoryX

wow dude, thats pretty fast, i wish i could do them all that fast


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## SirMyghin

ME 2 I would say was longer on the main arc than ME1. ME 1 just had an absurd amount of bupkus identical side quests.


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## synrgy

ShadowFactoryX said:


> wow dude, thats pretty fast, i wish i could do them all that fast



Yeah.. I dunno about all that..

If one is going for 100% completion, I don't think ME1 _can_ be done that fast, what with all the mind-numbingly-boring/time-consuming driving around on each planet doing all the side-quests.

Granted, one can beat the game pretty quickly, but there's at least 15-20 hours of side quests apart from the story path.


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## ShadowFactoryX

yeah i was gonna say, that'd be near impossible


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## Konfyouzd

synrgy said:


> Yeah.. I dunno about all that..
> 
> If one is going for 100% completion, I don't think ME1 _can_ be done that fast, what with all the mind-numbingly-boring/time-consuming driving around on each planet doing all the side-quests.
> 
> Granted, one can beat the game pretty quickly, but there's at least 15-20 hours of side quests apart from the story path.


 
No... No it cannot. Trying to get to level 60 is a BIOTCH! I'm level 60 with one character and level 59 with another and I feel like I need a signifcant portion of last year back from the wonderful folks at MicroSoft. 

I still haven't done those challenges... I forgot who they were for but there were a bunch of simulation challenges you could do and there were achievements for taking 1st place in all of them.

I've gotten pretty much all of them except that and beating the majority of the game with the Sentinel and Asari team mates.

I think I'm approaching double digits in the number of times I've played through that game.


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## Grand Moff Tim

Mordacain said:


> I actually need to get around to buying the PC versions... I borrowed the first one on 360 and played 2 on PS3, but it just looks so much better on PC.


 

Tsk tsk, you missed out in August. During that week of big sales on Steam, ME1&2 were available for $7 each. I scored 'em then, though I haven't gotten through 1 or started 2 yet.


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## SirMyghin

Why bother getting level 60 in ME? Shiny achievements oooh (sorry not a console gamer = no appeal). 100% completion in ME1 might of been fun once, but otherwise not so much. Achievements are just a devs way of making a game last longer while shirking content.


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## AxeHappy

It gives you some sort of bonus for ME 2. I've never bothered to reach level 60. It requires 2 play throughs with 1 character and that holds no interest for me. You can get up to like level 57 or so with 1 play through. I have no desire to play the exact same character for 3 fucking levels.


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## Grand Moff Tim

I don't think I ever even payed any attention to what level I was on any of my playthroughs. My concerns were 1) Shooting things, and B) Deciding which chick to go for.

To get back into it enough to finish a playthrough of ME1 on PC, I just went with a pure gun nut build, made him ugly as sin, and am picking every asshole response I can. It brings far more lulz than when I try to take it seriously or use creative combat strategies .


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## ShadowFactoryX

before 3 comes out, im gonna do a level 60, then go through 2


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## Konfyouzd

SirMyghin said:


> Why bother getting level 60 in ME? Shiny achievements oooh (sorry not a console gamer = no appeal). 100% completion in ME1 might of been fun once, but otherwise not so much. Achievements are just a devs way of making a game last longer while shirking content.


 
I did it because there are perks in ME2 for being level 60 when you import your character. 

Not to mention I just enjoy the game. There are ppl who will play FF7 1000x in a row DLC and achievements or not.


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## Mordacain

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Tsk tsk, you missed out in August. During that week of big sales on Steam, ME1&2 were available for $7 each. I scored 'em then, though I haven't gotten through 1 or started 2 yet.



Damn! I go through fits where I don't have Steam up and running and miss these specials they keep running! Hopefully they'll rerun them during their xmas sales.


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## synrgy

Konfyouzd said:


> I did it because there are perks in ME2 for being level 60 when you import your character.



Yeah, I found that the extra $$$ one receives in ME2 if using a lvl60 from ME1 makes a pretty big difference.

Not to mention that it is, after all, a game in which you can have a (moderately) different experience in each play through, depending on the choices you make in-game, each of which effecting how ME2 and ME3 will play out for that character/game save. 

*Edit* I mean, maybe it's just me, but I enjoyed seeing what kind of differences (if any) each choice made when I approached them differently. My first play through I went full-on Paragon, but on subsequent plays I tried other things. There are different relationships you can enter into, etc. There's even a way in ME1 to have Ashley and Liara fighting over you, and one of your options in response to their presenting you with an ultimatum to choose between them is to say something like "Can't I just have you both?"


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## Konfyouzd

^ This exactly. My first play through I did whatever I would normally do if put in that situation. The second time I went full paragon and the third I went full renegade. After 3 playthroughs I was level 60. So I didn't do it for nothing.


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## ShadowFactoryX

thats one of the coolest features of that game

mass effect has all the good stuff that would have made a great KOTOR III
unfortunately that game will never happen 

STUPID LUCASARTS


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## Konfyouzd

I thought KOTOR was a sweet concept, but I really couldn't get into the gameplay. Was there a second one? After playing the first I really wasn't into it.


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## synrgy

Konfyouzd said:


> I thought KOTOR was a sweet concept, but I really couldn't get into the gameplay. Was there a second one? After playing the first I really wasn't into it.



I played both. I thought the first one was awesome, and the 2nd one was kinda crap. I mean, the gameplay was pretty much the same, but the story wasn't anywhere near the same quality as the first game. The 2nd was by a different developer though, so it kinda makes sense; Bioware > Obsidian.


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## Konfyouzd

You know... I *kinda* feel similar with the Mass Effect series even though the second was was pretty damn sick too. There was just something ab the second one that I felt was lacking despite the majorly upgraded gameplay--can't put my finger on it, but perhaps it was done like that since they had plans for a third.


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## SirMyghin

synrgy said:


> Yeah, I found that the extra $$$ one receives in ME2 if using a lvl60 from ME1 makes a pretty big difference.



After play through 1 I just hacked my minerals and money beyond absurdity so I didn't have to bother with mining. I don't see the point of wasting my time as such. You get the same bonus second playthrough either way iirc. Haven't exactly played that game in quite a while.


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## Konfyouzd

I found the mining more fun in ME1 than ME2 tbh even though you were "driving around the same boring landscapes." Yes... Bc I imagine it'd be so different in real life... 

But seriously at least you got to drive around that cool little car and a lot of the time you were on a planet doing a damn mission anyway and the minerals were marked on your map. It's just another spot to hit on that planet. It's not like you weren't there already.

Most of the time when I found the minerals I didn't have to go out of my way looking for them.


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## Grand Moff Tim

On my current playthrough I'm being a complete assdick to everyone _except_ Ashley, because I'm gonna tap that shit. I'll probably start another playthrough as a paragon female biotic, so I can get some lesbo action going with Liara.



Because I'm a nine year old.


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## Konfyouzd

Grand Moff Tim said:


> On my current playthrough I'm being a complete assdick to everyone _except_ Ashley, because I'm gonna tap that shit.


 


I tried to tap that Kelly chick in the second one. I'm not really sure how to pull it off. I heard it's possible.


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## ShadowFactoryX

hahaha same here

konfyouzd idk why you feel the second one was lacking, i thought it was on par for sure

@synrgy, i completely agree, i think the gameplay upgrades, and party interaction in the second one, while minor, were still very nice


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## SirMyghin

Konfyouzd said:


> I tried to tap that Kelly chick in the second one. I'm not really sure how to pull it off. I heard it's possible.





Spoiler



she dies first in the reaper base, you can do 1 or 2 missions after your ship gets jacked I have heard, otherwise you just do everything you want to do before getting the reaper IFF and go directly to the end from there. Alongside that just be nice (it is amazing how easy it is for Shepard to score eh?)


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## ShadowFactoryX

thats only one outcome, and not the other you know?


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## synrgy

I haven't done it so I'm not familiar with the exact process, but if you court Kelly in ME2, it ends up functioning similarly to courting Miranda (which I _have_ done, because I'm also a 9 year old. ).

She hangs out in Shepard's cabin, feeds his fish for him, and will do a little dance for him when requested:



Man.. That video made me remember how epic the soundtrack for this series has been.. Just hearing that little theme makes me want to run home and play the game right now.


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## pink freud

You guys should try saving Tali's loyalty mission for the "one mission after IFF" mission you can do. Bring Legion along. It's LULZ as fuck.


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## Konfyouzd

ShadowFactoryX said:


> hahaha same here
> 
> konfyouzd idk why you feel the second one was lacking, i thought it was on par for sure
> 
> @synrgy, i completely agree, i think the gameplay upgrades, and party interaction in the second one, while minor, were still very nice


 
I guess it just wasn't as conclusive as the first one which makes sense bc they're making a third. I think it's more me being impatient than anything, honestly.


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## Konfyouzd

SirMyghin said:


> **Spoiler**


 
Hmm... That's interesting. It's a good thing I'm playing through it again. I still haven't made it through all the new DLC. I got overzealous and tried to do the VI one on Insanity. It had me frustrated for weeks.


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## Mordacain

My main problem with Mass Effect 2 was the lack of the free-roaming planet hopping from the first game. To be quite frank, that is what made the game for me, the idea that I could explore the whole of the galaxy (even in a rather limited capacity) was very thrilling to me.

Scanning for minerals in any case with the occasional investigative drop was not a good replacement . Talk about boring...


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## Konfyouzd

Mordacain said:


> My main problem with Mass Effect 2 was the lack of the free-roaming planet hopping from the first game. To be quite frank, that is what made the game for me, the idea that I could explore the whole of the galaxy (even in a rather limited capacity) was very thrilling to me.
> 
> Scanning for minerals in any case with the occasional investigative drop was not a good replacement . Talk about boring...



I enjoyed this too but I think a lot of ppl complained about it. Scanning the planets was way worse. Remember how slow that thing moved at first? I think there ended up being an update that made it move faster but it wasn't any more fun. Plus sometimes you found other shit roaming around the planets.


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## Mordacain

Konfyouzd said:


> I enjoyed this too but I think a lot of ppl complained about it. Scanning the planets was way worse. Remember how slow that thing moved at first? I think there ended up being an update that made it move faster but it wasn't any more fun. Plus sometimes you found other shit roaming around the planets.



Yea, I guess we're in the minority though. I had planned on shooting an email to Bioware about the lack of it when I started playing ME2 but ME3 was already announced by the time I got into ME. Oh well...


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## Konfyouzd

Mordacain said:


> Yea, I guess we're in the minority though. I had planned on shooting an email to Bioware about the lack of it when I started playing ME2 but ME3 was already announced by the time I got into ME. Oh well...



I applied to WORK at Bioware... Then I realized that would require moving to a different time zone and I reconsidered...


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## pink freud

Konfyouzd said:


> I enjoyed this too but I think a lot of ppl complained about it. Scanning the planets was way worse. Remember how slow that thing moved at first? I think there ended up being an update that made it move faster but it wasn't any more fun. Plus sometimes you found other shit roaming around the planets.



This is why PC is superior. Mining missions = setting mouse speed to max 

Took about a minute per planet.


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## Konfyouzd

pink freud said:


> This is why PC is superior. Mining missions = setting mouse speed to max
> 
> Took about a minute per planet.



That's about how long it takes on a console really... It just feels like an eternity bc you do it manually...


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## Mordacain

pink freud said:


> This is why PC is superior. Mining missions = setting mouse speed to max
> 
> Took about a minute per planet.



Yea, I'll be picking up the PC versions here eventually. 

However, if you used both sticks (atleast on the PS3 version) you could increase the tracking speed pretty high.


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## Konfyouzd

I just really dont like using a mouse and keyboard to play games. It feels too much like work since I'm glued to a mouse and keyboard all day at work.


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## Mordacain

Konfyouzd said:


> I just really dont like using a mouse and keyboard to play games. It feels too much like work since I'm glued to a mouse and keyboard all day at work.



I think because I used to use them for so long to play games before I used them to get paid I achieved a certain intimacy with them. 

Up until Halo, the idea of a console FPS made me cringe.

That being said, you can use either Sony or Microsoft's controller with the PC versions. Microsoft works out of the box and PS you just use as an HID interface via USB.


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## Konfyouzd

Mordacain said:


> I think because I used to use them for so long to play games before I used them to get paid I achieved a certain intimacy with them.
> 
> Up until Halo, the idea of a console FPS made me cringe.
> 
> That being said, you can use either Sony or Microsoft's controller with the PC versions. Microsoft works out of the box and PS you just use as an HID interface via USB.



I'm so mad you said that. Bc my dumb ass just realized I HAVE a wired xbox controller thus completely raping my original statement.


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## Grand Moff Tim

I just realized that the galaxy map on the Normandy is unnecessarily gigantic. They could've just displayed it on an iPad and had much more room left over for a hot tub or whatever.


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## Mordacain

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I just realized that the galaxy map on the Normandy is unnecessarily gigantic. They could've just displayed it on an iPad and had much more room left over for a hot tub or whatever.



The universe be massive yo, its enough to induce insanity (totally necessary Hitchhiker's reference). It needs to be big 

Besides, how can a captain impress the ladies without an unnecessarily huge starchart


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## Grand Moff Tim

Mordacain said:


> Besides, how can a captain impress the ladies without an unnecessarily huge starchart


 
With the hot tub, obviously.


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## ShadowFactoryX

Im pretty sure they're bringing back planet exploration, or even a mix of both?


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## synrgy

I liked the exploration aspect of ME1 at first, but it just got to be entirely too tedious by the end, especially if one was going for 100% completion. The various points of interest on any of the planets were inevitably separated by ginormous mountains which you had to either spend several minutes driving around, or risk trying to go over, and if you chose the latter you would often times waste several more minutes after realizing _halfway up_ that you couldn't go any further, had to back-track, and go around anyway. 

It didn't help that 9 out of 10 planets were carbon copies of each other, with the only differences being the color of the sky/atmosphere, the layout of previously described mountains, and where the boxes inside the otherwise identical buildings were stacked.

I liked the concept, but the execution ultimately felt rushed/forced. There wasn't any real reward for exploring those planets, and they *really* ought to have made the vehicle much, MUCH faster. Not to mention, the whole time I was playing it I couldn't help but wonder "We're this far into the future, and have all this mega-advanced technology, but this fucking piece of junk can't fly?!"


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## Xaios

Grand Moff Tim said:


> My concerns were 1) Shooting things, and B) Deciding which chick to go for.



Ashley all the way. 


(God, we nerds are a sad, sad bunch... )



synrgy said:


> I played both. I thought the first one was awesome, and the 2nd one was kinda crap. I mean, the gameplay was pretty much the same, but the story wasn't anywhere near the same quality as the first game. The 2nd was by a different developer though, so it kinda makes sense; Bioware > Obsidian.



I'm going to go ahead and disagree with this. While KotOR had a great story in its own right, I think KotOR II's story was better. The problem was in execution. The game was rushed out the door, and it suffered from a technical perspective as a result. On a whole, though, KotOR II's story was quite a bit more cerebral. It also had a genuinely more interesting cast of supporting characters that I found intriguing, while I just didn't care about most of the characters from the original. The only ones that really interested me were Mission Vao and Jolee Bindo. If we could have taken Atton Rand and Hanharr out of KotOR II and stuck those ones in, it would have been the perfect cast.

*EDIT:* Something that actually bothered me about Mass Effect 2 was just how ridiculously easy it was to get into bed with the other characters, especially Miranda. It was partly due to some misleading choices on the dialogue wheel. A couple times I would mean to say something that was supposed to diffuse the heightening sexual tension, but then Shepherd would instead act all smarmy and sarcastic, which of course Miranda would find to be tremendously disarming and arousing. I haven't finished playing through it yet, but I was actively trying to avoid having a relationship in order to keep my relationship with Ashley from ME1 alive (videogame monogamy FTW ), but honestly, there doesn't seem to be any middle ground between "Charming Ladies Man" and "Asshole." I know it's a video game, but at least the first game made the development of the relationship feel natural. This one makes Shepherd come across as a giant horndog.


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## Konfyouzd

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I just realized that the galaxy map on the Normandy is unnecessarily gigantic. They could've just displayed it on an iPad and had much more room left over for a hot tub or whatever.


 


Ridiculous. That's beyond the iPad, sir. It's the iUniverse. Future shit...


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## Konfyouzd

Xaios said:


> Ashley all the way.
> 
> 
> (God, we nerds are a sad, sad bunch... )
> 
> 
> 
> I'm going to go ahead and disagree with this. While KotOR had a great story in its own right, I think KotOR II's story was better. The problem was in execution. The game was rushed out the door, and it suffered from a technical perspective as a result. On a whole, though, KotOR II's story was quite a bit more cerebral. It also had a genuinely more interesting cast of supporting characters that I found intriguing, while I just didn't care about most of the characters from the original. The only ones that really interested me were Mission Vao and Jolee Bindo. If we could have taken Atton Rand and Hanharr out of KotOR II and stuck those ones in, it would have been the perfect cast.
> 
> *EDIT:* Something that actually bothered me about Mass Effect 2 was just how ridiculously easy it was to get into bed with the other characters, especially Miranda. It was partly due to some misleading choices on the dialogue wheel. A couple times I would mean to say something that was supposed to diffuse the heightening sexual tension, but then Shepherd would instead act all smarmy and sarcastic, which of course Miranda would find to be tremendously disarming and arousing. I haven't finished playing through it yet, but I was actively trying to avoid having a relationship in order to keep my relationship with Ashley from ME1 alive (videogame monogamy FTW ), but honestly, there doesn't seem to be any middle ground between "Charming Ladies Man" and "Asshole." I know it's a video game, but at least the first game made the development of the relationship feel natural. This one makes Shepherd come across as a giant horndog.


 
That's true. I kinda felt like EVERYTHING Shepard said in ME2 was really really sexual. When I played as the female Shepard it seemed to be even more evident.


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## pink freud

Konfyouzd said:


> That's true. I kinda felt like EVERYTHING Shepard said in ME2 was really really sexual. When I played as the female Shepard it seemed to be even more evident.



If you play a femshep, just don't talk to Jacob, like, ever...


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## ShadowFactoryX

cmon, arent we all that horny?


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## Konfyouzd

Okay... Fair enough...


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## Xaios

Probably true, but it's one thing to want to have sex with every woman you see, and another thing to actually be able to convince every woman you see to have sex with you. And playing Shepherd with his god-like ability to seduce women, strapping young savior of mankind though he may be, comes across more as ridiculous wish fulfillment than interesting story. It's the kind of thing that's supposed to be reserved for smutty women's romance novels.


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## Konfyouzd

^ Amen.


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## pink freud

Xaios said:


> Probably true, but it's one thing to want to have sex with every woman you see, and another thing to actually be able to convince every woman you see to have sex with you. And playing Shepherd with his god-like ability to seduce women, strapping young savior of mankind though he may be, comes across more as ridiculous wish fulfillment than interesting story. It's the kind of thing that's supposed to be reserved for smutty women's romance novels.



At least it's more straight forward than Dragon Age was.

Morrigan: "I'll only do it if you hate-fuck me!"
Leliana: "Ooh, you got me shoes! Let's play Chanter and dirty choir girl!"


Ok, maybe that last one _was_ a bit straight forward...


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## synrgy

I'm just hoping that the character I have who hooked up with Ashley in ME1 will get to hook up with her again in ME3. I was pretty bummed to find out that we get the cold shoulder from her in ME2, love-note on the Normandy notwithstanding.


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## Grand Moff Tim

I finally started a game of ME2 today after finishing a playthrough of ME1 on PC. I'm probably actually going to hold off a little longer to really get into it so I can use the character on the second PC ME1 playthrough I recently started (who is full paragon) as opposed to the one I just finished (full lolz... er... renegade). I generally like to play games with moral choices the first time through making all the "good" choices, so the "bad" ones will be even more hilarious the second time through.

That said, I _did_ play ME2 with the renegade just long enough to jack that stupid reporter bitch square in the jaw. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a video game. My family must've thought I had lost my mind. I'm pretty sure I was still laughing aloud about it in the shower 15 minutes later.


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## ittoa666

pink freud said:


> Morrigan: "I'll only do it if you hate-fuck me!"



Ahhhh yeahhhh.


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## ShadowFactoryX

i also heard there's going to be more ship interaction with battles or something?
anyone hear that too?


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## synrgy

Yeah, that seems to be part of the plan. They published something about that in Game Informer. It's behind one of the spoiler tags here:

More Mass Effect 3 details [Planet Aesthetics Detailed, Verdict On Space Battles] - NeoGAF


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## Konfyouzd

pink freud said:


> At least it's more straight forward than Dragon Age was.
> 
> Morrigan: "I'll only do it if you hate-fuck me!"
> Leliana: "Ooh, you got me shoes! Let's play Chanter and dirty choir girl!"
> 
> 
> Ok, maybe that last one _was_ a bit straight forward...


 
But that's a more accurate representation of how it works in real life--at least through my experiences. I'm not really sure what that says about me or the women w/ whom I interact, but whatever...


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## ShadowFactoryX

This was a good read, i like minimal changes to the normandy

minus not being able to get in the ship/cargo bay untill that one mission only



> The Galaxy is never big enough
> 
> The most interesting part of the story is probably the one devoted to the stage. It is confirmed that the maps will be considerably larger and open. Also transmit more life, more supporting characters and certain dynamic events, which may be interactive or not. A level of detail we can enjoy a more complex architecture and implementation of new lighting effects.
> 
> Some locations are confirmed planet of origin salarianos, Mars, moon Koriana world (this seems a transcription error, probably means "world quarians") and several cities on Earth, including London and New York probably. According to the BioWare team has been a challenge to imagine what could be the cities earthlings in the future. The artists have finally chosen to design mega halfway between Seattle and Vancouver.
> 
> Something does not change too much of Mass Effect 2 on the third installment: Normandy. Although the ship is now in the hands of the Alliance, which will make some small changes, the overall design will remain, so the units will be very familiar.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Okay, a couple complaints about Mass Effect 2 prompted by what little time I've spent with it so far:

I'm fairly certain whoever designed the control layout for PC never even played the first one, because they changed shit all up for no apparent reason, and it's throwing me the fuck off . EDIT: And I can't customize it (can I?) either, dammit.

What is this "reload" nonsense? _AMMO?!? _Lame, Bioware. Lame.

My character's big, hideous, handlebar-moustache-interrupting facial scar is gone. I get the whole "but project Lazarus! He got better!" bit, but dammit, that scar gave my character... erm... character.


----------



## Konfyouzd

The ammo thing was a bit weird to me too. I liked when the weapons just over heated, but didn't Shepard still drop mags in that game or and I just blurring the two games together now?


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Konfyouzd said:


> The ammo thing was a bit weird to me too. I liked when the weapons just over heated, but didn't Shepard still drop mags in that game or and I just blurring the two games together now?


 
I don't remember there being any reload animation or anything. It'd just reheat and then you couldn't shoot for a bit. Apparently the Alliance Military's weapons technology completely changed in _two years_ .


----------



## Konfyouzd

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I don't remember there being any reload animation or anything. It'd just reheat and then you couldn't shoot for a bit. Apparently the Alliance Military's weapons technology completely changed in _two years_ .


 
OOoooh you know what? He's not w/ the Alliance in the second one. He's with Cerberus. That's the difference!


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

some of the weapons are the same..?


----------



## Konfyouzd

Huh?


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Konfyouzd said:


> OOoooh you know what? He's not w/ the Alliance in the second one. He's with Cerberus. That's the difference!


 
It's still lame!


----------



## Konfyouzd

Grand Moff Tim said:


> It's still lame!


 
It definitely is a bit lame. Especially when the system in the first one worked so well for me.


----------



## SirMyghin

Grand Moff Tim said:


> It's still lame!



Ammo was still part of canon in the first one, you just didn't need to worry about it for some reason. I mean Wrex talks about how he ran out of ammo hunting some chick or something.


----------



## synrgy

I preferred the ammo mechanics to the overheating mechanics, but that's just me. I felt like I needed to reload in ME2 FAR less than I had to worry about my gun overheating in ME1, and the process of reloading was way faster than waiting for my gun to cool down. Plus, I kind of appreciated the need for more strategy: Rather than going guns blazing all the time, there were several spots where I only had a few shots on me, and had to use them wisely.

Different strokes for different folks, of course. 

I far preferred the weapon system overall in ME2. I found that all the upgrades in ME1 made zero difference to the gameplay, whereas in ME2 changing ammo types actually made a huge difference; some ammo good for shields, some ammo good for mechs, some ammo good for organics, etc.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I started a new ME1 file so I could use the Therum xp glitch to race my way to level 60 (or close to it), so I'll be able to start off with the bonuses on ME2.


----------



## AxeHappy

SirMyghin said:


> Ammo was still part of canon in the first one, you just didn't need to worry about it for some reason. I mean Wrex talks about how he ran out of ammo hunting some chick or something.



Actually if you bothered to read/listen through all the codex stuff Ammo is NOT canon. 110% not canon. 

Or rather it was, but it the way where you could go through an entire firefight without needing to reload. The only problem was over-heating. 

They tried to justify their George Lucas like canon skull-fucking by saying you're not changing ammo but rather the heat-sink but that doesn't make any sense as when you're not shooting the heat-sink doesn't cool down. 

It short, it's one of the worst, "People like shooters," devices every popped into a supposed RPG despite canon lore to the contrary. Didn't add anything to the game either. There was really no need for it whatsoever.



Heavy Weapons did have ammo though and that is canon.


----------



## pink freud

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I started a new ME1 file so I could use the Therum xp glitch to race my way to level 60 (or close to it), so I'll be able to start off with the bonuses on ME2.



Be aware that that supposedly leads to certain defaults getting locked in ME2, even if you choose an alternate decision.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

pink freud said:


> Be aware that that supposedly leads to certain defaults getting locked in ME2, even if you choose an alternate decision.


 
I kept a save file from right before I tried it, just in case. I'm no spring chicken .


----------



## SirMyghin

AxeHappy said:


> Actually if you bothered to read/listen through all the codex stuff Ammo is NOT canon. 110% not canon.



Ammo as you know it wasn't cannon but you needed billets of metal to be fired out of the gun, aka ammo. It was in there, and really the 'ammo' in 2 was heat clips not ammo clips, so still works out fine. The mechanic was better either way, reloading is satisfying after a good kill.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

It isn't the reloading that bothers me, it's the needing to find more ammo. If they just wanted to make overheating less annoying, they could've done that by giving the guns a heat sink of some sort that needed to be vented once every however many shots, and that venting could be the "reload" animation/mechanic. It just seemed completely bizarre to me to have to find ammo in a sequel to a game that never required it.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Trying to make it more like other shooters... Maybe it was requested by users.


----------



## SirMyghin

Konfyouzd said:


> Trying to make it more like other shooters... Maybe it was requested by users.



Combat in the first game was very tedius in comparison, especially in the higher difficulties as all harder meant was you get hit harder, they get hit more.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Who the hell plays Mass Effect thinking it's going to be like "other shooters?" One of the main reasons I like it so much is because it _isn't._


----------



## pink freud

I just hope there's a moment in ME3 like this:


That's right, you can _charge_ the geth colossus


----------



## SirMyghin

^^ Damn, my vanguard was much better at dying immediately after a charge


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

lol i just died
havent played a vanguard for a while


----------



## Black_Sheep

I have multiple saves from ME2. The best one (and the one i will continue in MW3) has everything done, all planets, side-missions etc, and all team-members alive. 

Damn, just reading this topic reminds me of how much i loved the game. I should probably play it again...  ..Or not, i think im just gonna be patient now, if that's possible


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

im really itching to go through 1 and 2 again both

but i have to beat dragon age first
get that mega PIA out of the way


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

>reads this thread
>has massive raging erection urge to play ME2 again, even though I did everything and kept everyone alive first playthrough

THE DISKS... THEY CALL TO ME


----------



## Origin

Captain Shoggoth said:


> >reads this thread
> >has massive raging erection urge to play ME2 again, even though I did everything and kept everyone alive first playthrough
> 
> THE DISKS... THEY CALL TO ME


 
RIGHT? Fuck you guys.  



I'm indescribably stoked for 3. I'm sure even if they make gameplay decisions I don't like as much as 2, I'll still drown in the universe/story so it's all good.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Man, I know I'm late to the party here, but ME2 is taking more getting used to than I thought it would. Combat feels essentially the same (aside from the previously complained about reloading/ammo) and I actually like the redesigned HUD, but it seems like they changed _everything _else. I have to relearn the weapons and armor system, the level up system, the galaxy navigation system, planet exploration, yadda yadda yadda. It might not bug me as much if I hadn't _just_ finished two ME1 playthroughs and still had its controls and menues committed to muscle memory . I do concede that those changes are likely what go the most towards making it feel like a true sequel instead of just a lengthy expansion pack, so... there's that. 

Whatever. I'll get used to it .


----------



## MFB

I really wasn't keen on some of the changes in ME, but I did like that I could go around in yellow and gold armor looking like fucking Iron Man  Most of the probing/planet exploration stuff was a huge waste of time and I was hoping to get more for it since I did it to a fucking T, but you really don't need much in terms of resources later in the game so you can get to a point and just stop.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I'm torn on the armor customization thing. Normally I really like being able to customize stuff like that, and I won't lie and say I don't enjoy doing it in ME2, but one of the things I enjoyed most about ME1 was finding a sweet new suit of armor for me or my pals. What can I say though, I'm a total loot whore.

I was _so_ stoked when I found the Geth Battlemaster armor for Wrex:


----------



## MFB

Ahem, I believe you meant GRUNT...unless that was in ME1 and I look like a douche now  Where by chance is that? I never found super cool shit like that.


----------



## synrgy

MFB said:


> Ahem, I believe you meant GRUNT...unless that was in ME1 and I look like a douche now  Where by chance is that? I never found super cool shit like that.



Rage Armor - Mass Effect Wiki - Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, walkthroughs and more


----------



## Xaios

I'm so a loot maniac, but I don't really enjoy customizing stuff.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

i didnt really care for the armor customization in, it seemed very rushed, and without detail.

i want my shepard to be the most BA character ever


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

MFB said:


> Ahem, I believe you meant GRUNT...unless that was in ME1 and I look like a douche now  Where by chance is that? I never found super cool shit like that.


 
You look like a douche now, because I meant Wrex . I found it in a random chest on Virmire at like level 57 or something close. Its stats are pretty stacked, too.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I finished my first playthrough of ME2 last night, and though it was a pretty sweet mission, I couldn't help but think "Wait... that's it?" It really did seem _alot_ shorter than ME1, though granted that's because ME1 had alot more filler side missions. I was also pretty mad because I tried (without reading any walkthroughs before hand) to only send people I didn't care about to their death during the last mission, only to have one of my favorite teammates die. RIP, Jack. RIP.

Oh well. Time to play through as a Renegade and try to hook up with Miranda.


----------



## synrgy

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I was also pretty mad because I tried (without reading any walkthroughs before hand) to only send people I didn't care about to their death during the last mission, only to have one of my favorite teammates die. RIP, Jack. RIP.



Basically, you can send whomever you want to do whatever, but if you haven't completed that character's side-quest, they're gonna die.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

synrgy said:


> Basically, you can send whomever you want to do whatever, but if you haven't completed that character's side-quest, they're gonna die.


 
I did _all_ of the loyalty quests :c


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

A quick skim of the walkthrough revealed that I made a shitty choice for the teammate that provided the biotic barrier, and that's why I lost one of my squadmates. Lame. Incidentally, everyone who died died because I made a shitty choice . I just assumed whoever I chose to send was going to die regardless, but apparently there are some who are better suited for the jobs and _won't_ be killed. Go figure .


----------



## MFB

Same thing happened to me, I did EVERY loyalty mission and my guys still died


----------



## synrgy

Ah. I stand corrected, then.

I just did what sounded the wisest to me. Let the robot - who *is* AI  - deal with the AI. Tali, an AI specialist, also works. Let the squad leader (Garrus, or Miranda) lead the squad, etc.

I always send Thane to lead the survivors back to the ship, as he struck me as the most reliable who wasn't already assigned to something else. I haven't tried anyone else for that one. 

As for the 'I need somebody to shoot/blow shit up' section, I've had success with both Zaeed and Jack. Haven't tried anybody else, but I would have to presume that Grunt could handle that task, also.

I've never seen anyone die, yet. 

It's the game's own way of giving incentive to pay attention to the character details.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I just assumed "Welp, whoever crawls through the ducts is obviously going to die. See ya, Jacob!" and was right. I also thought whoever lead the other team might eventually die, so I said bye-bye to Legion, and was right. For choosing a biotic barrier, though, I just chose Thane so I could have Samara and Jack as my squadmates, and FUCKIN' JACK FUCKIN' DIED. I was not pleased . According to the walkthrough, though, if I'd have just chosen Samara or Jack to provide the barrier, noone would've died. 

Lesson learned, I suppose.


----------



## pink freud

Suicide mission: Have Kasumi on your squad when you deal with Harbingers, as her grenade makes them your bitch. Also have Legion with the upgraded sniper rifle. Send Tali in the tube, as her abilities are useless for combat.

Legion is handy to have the entire mission, just because that rifle KILLS.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I don't have the DLC, so no Kasumi for me. It's actually kindof pissing me off, because Steam/EA/whoever is being wonky and not letting me into the Cerberus network to DL it. 

I never got around to getting that sniper rifle for Legion, but that didn't bother me too much, since _I_ have it for me.


----------



## AxeHappy

I had 1 person die my first play through (honestly can't remember who...maybe Zaeed or however his name is spelled. I need to finish my Biotic Bitch's ME1 play through!) and nobody since. 

Most of the choices are pretty logical. There is no (as a quick look through the achievements should tell you ) auto die option. Do the loyalty missions and pick the right people and everybody can survive. 

Legion is awesome, one of my favourite characters in the ME universe, but you don't really get much of a chance to do anything with him. If he's not in ME3 I will flip my shit.


----------



## Black_Sheep

You need to purchase one upgrade for the Normandy from each team member (ask them about "NORMANDY UPGRADES") or they die. Every member who you didn't use to get the ship upgrade, will die during the "suicide mission". 

Also, you must choose the best possible member for the individual tasks during the mission. But that's quite obvious and not hard, really. 

I completed the game with all characters alive. It was no effort really, when my aim was to complete the game 100%


----------



## synrgy

Black_Sheep said:


> You need to purchase one upgrade for the Normandy from each team member (ask them about "NORMANDY UPGRADES") or they die. Every member who you didn't use to get the ship upgrade, will die during the "suicide mission".
> 
> Also, you must choose the best possible member for the individual tasks during the mission. But that's quite obvious and not hard, really.
> 
> I completed the game with all characters alive. It was no effort really, when my aim was to complete the game 100%



That's not entirely accurate.

You can have all team members survive without purchasing the medical bay upgrade from Dr Sakwa. That upgrade's only use is to remove facial scars you collect when/if you make Renegade choices. Also, everyone can survive without purchasing the planet scanner upgrade from Miranda.

Not to mention, not all team members offer ship upgrades.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

best advice:
use the mass effect wiki

its essentially a free strategy guide of awesome proportions

and grand moff tim, i find it hard to believe me2 was shorter
to me me1 dragged on


----------



## synrgy

ShadowFactoryX said:


> best advice:
> use the mass effect wiki
> 
> its essentially a free strategy guide of awesome proportions
> 
> and grand moff tim, i find it hard to believe me2 was shorter
> to me me1 dragged on



I think it depends on one's approach. ME1 _can_ take a lot longer, but that's due to things like the slug's pace of driving the Mako, or exploring the crap ton of only-semi-relevant side quests. That said, ME1 can be a lot shorter than ME2 if one goes the fastest-possible route through the story parts without doing any of the side missions.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

ShadowFactoryX said:


> and grand moff tim, i find it hard to believe me2 was shorter
> to me me1 dragged on


 
So... you didn't do the side quests? There were a _ton_ more side quests in 1 than in 2. They may have often felt like annoying fetch qiests or whatever, but in the end I think they were worth doing, because they have an effect on the NPCs you can meet and interact with in ME2. I can't help but wonder how they'll be able to add nice little subtleties like that in ME3, since there were so few side quests in 2.


----------



## synrgy

Grand Moff Tim said:


> So... you didn't do the side quests? There were a _ton_ more side quests in 1 than in 2. They may have often felt like annoying fetch qiests or whatever, but in the end I think they were worth doing, because they have an effect on the NPCs you can meet and interact with in ME2. I can't help but wonder how they'll be able to add nice little subtleties like that in ME3, since there were so few side quests in 2.



There's a *lot* going on, if we really stop to think about it. For starters, there were crap-tons of side quests from ME1 that only get referenced via the various text-based messages that Shepard receives in ME2, like the situation with Talitha (the crazy/suicidal refugee girl). There are other bits that I expect will ultimately appear, as well. I don't think we've seen the last of Conrad Verner, or Charles Saracino/Terra Firma, and so on. It's hard to imagine that after having a huge impact (one way or another) on the life of Samesh Bhatia, we would never hear from him again. There are a ton of seemingly minor characters who Shepard interacts with in one or both games that I think will make surprising appearances in ME3. I didn't expect to run into Helena Blake again after ME1, but there she was again in ME2.

That said, there are plenty I'm sure will just fall through the cracks for lack of any real relevancy. I'm sure we'll never know what ultimately became of that poor, misguided Hanar preacher. 

Taking into consideration that some of the side quest bits/characters were specific to Shepards custom-back-story (some stories only available to 'spacer', some to 'war hero', etc) it gets even crazier. I'm really glad I'm not one of the employees at Bioware who's tasked with keeping track of all the various story branches. 

This series sure does give me a raging nerd-on..


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Yeah, I love that there are so many extra little things you'll only get depending on your background. It gives me more reasons to have multiple playthrough than the average "I NEEDZ MOAR ACHIEVMINTS HUR DUR."


----------



## synrgy

This just in from the ME2 page on FB:



> We can officially confirm that there will be a multiplayer feature in Mass Effect 3. However, please reserve your appraisal until we are able to give more information. Our Executive Producer Casey Hudson says it best: "Yes, co-op MP missions for ME3: they're real, and they're spectacular. Rest assured it's nothing of what you've feared. More soon..."


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Sigh.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

i was just about to post that
uber awesome!


----------



## pink freud

Co-op: OK. Makes setting up warp-bombs even easier.
MP: No thank you.


----------



## SirMyghin

Damn you EA and your constant push for multiplayer stuff. Hopefully it is random challenge type stuff not attached to the main game (unfortunately sapping dev time from the game however).


----------



## synrgy

I'm intrigued by the prospect of co-op, but I also feel that a large part of the game's overall appeal in terms of gameplay is the easy-to-use squad command system, which would be basically be out-the-window in a co-op scenario, _unless_ each player is controlling their own squad (IE, I've got me, Garrus and Grunt, player 2 has their self, Ashley and Liara, player 3 has their self, Thane and Tali, etc).

It's virtually impossible for a dude my age to find a group of people I know in 'real life' to play a game online, and playing with strangers inevitably leads to any number of undesirable outcomes, whether it's trash talking, somebody going Rambo, people quitting at the worst possible moments, or whatever. I can't seem to shake the feeling that adding any sort of multiplayer element to ME is going to take away from the immersive experience the game to date has done so well to provide.

Still, I'm reserving judgment until I see what, exactly, they have in mind.


----------



## AxeHappy

According to IGN the Co-op has nothing to do with the campagin (You don't play as Shepard) but can have an effect on it. 

But you don't need to do it to get the 100% perfect ending...so I can't see what effect it can have on it. 

And it was done by some other developer or something.


----------



## SirMyghin

That is good news, if not odd Axe, thanks for finding it.


----------



## AxeHappy

The news of Multi-player in Mass Effect made my heart hurt until I read that. Still think it's silly but oh well.


----------



## SirMyghin

I am just happy apparently Bioware wasn't forced to sacrifice their time to do it.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

one thing that i forgot that bugged me
while exploring those colonized planets, THERE WAS NO VEGETATION OF ANY SORTS on the planets with breathable oxygen

sooo...

thats probly too anal of me to picking on that aspect 

i just really hope that exploring, and the multiplayer DONT detract from the epicness


----------



## Konfyouzd

synrgy said:


> Ah. I stand corrected, then.
> 
> I just did what sounded the wisest to me. Let the robot - who *is* AI  - deal with the AI. Tali, an AI specialist, also works. Let the squad leader (Garrus, or Miranda) lead the squad, etc.
> 
> I always send Thane to lead the survivors back to the ship, as he struck me as the most reliable who wasn't already assigned to something else. I haven't tried anyone else for that one.
> 
> As for the 'I need somebody to shoot/blow shit up' section, I've had success with both Zaeed and Jack. Haven't tried anybody else, but I would have to presume that Grunt could handle that task, also.
> 
> I've never seen anyone die, yet.
> 
> It's the game's own way of giving incentive to pay attention to the character details.


 
None of my ppl died either. But I think I used some slightly different ppl for some of the stuff. I let Jacob lead one of the squads, but I can't remember which one. I think it was whatever the very last decision was. And people DID die when I used anyone but him for it. 

I think the one where you need someone to escort ppl back to the ship, it doesn't actually matter who you choose although Thane seems pretty much perfect for the job. I used him every time just to be safe.

Tali and/or the Geth dude always for the AI, of course...

And I don't remember what else needed to be done to be honest, but I'm playing through it again now so I guess we'll see.


----------



## Konfyouzd

synrgy said:


> I'm intrigued by the prospect of co-op, but I also feel that a large part of the game's overall appeal in terms of gameplay is the easy-to-use squad command system, which would be basically be out-the-window in a co-op scenario, _unless_ each player is controlling their own squad (IE, I've got me, Garrus and Grunt, player 2 has their self, Ashley and Liara, player 3 has their self, Thane and Tali, etc).
> 
> It's virtually impossible for a dude my age to find a group of people I know in 'real life' to play a game online, and playing with strangers inevitably leads to any number of undesirable outcomes, whether it's trash talking, somebody going Rambo, people quitting at the worst possible moments, or whatever. I can't seem to shake the feeling that adding any sort of multiplayer element to ME is going to take away from the immersive experience the game to date has done so well to provide.
> 
> Still, I'm reserving judgment until I see what, exactly, they have in mind.


 
FUCK! I forgot about the click wheel thing! That's going to suck! And I was slightly saddened when I found that the command wheel in Dragon Age didn't work exactly like Mass Effect. I always found the Mass Effect one to be far more convenient.

But anyway, that would be literally impossible to do, bc every time you want to select a command from the command wheel you pause the screen for both ppl. I wouldn't make it through the first 5 min of the game like that.

They may just make it so that you have to map all your powers to buttons on the controller which you *can* already do, but you have more powers than you have buttons upon which to place them.

Next thing you know Mass Effect 4 will be an FPS with MP deathmatches: Geth/Collectors v Alliance/Cerberus


----------



## pink freud

Konfyouzd said:


> None of my ppl died either. But I think I used some slightly different ppl for some of the stuff. I let Jacob lead one of the squads, but I can't remember which one. I think it was whatever the very last decision was. And people DID die when I used anyone but him for it.
> 
> I think the one where you need someone to escort ppl back to the ship, it doesn't actually matter who you choose although Thane seems pretty much perfect for the job. I used him every time just to be safe.
> 
> Tali and/or the Geth dude always for the AI, of course...
> 
> And I don't remember what else needed to be done to be honest, but I'm playing through it again now so I guess we'll see.



For escorting there is a hidden rating given to every squad-mate that pertains to "defense." Anybody can successfully escort crew back to the Normandy, but not everybody has a high enough defense rating to remain behind and protect your starting point. The program is roughly squad-mate defense ratings summed and then divided by the amount of squad-mates. Grunt can hold off on his own, because he gets, say, a 5. But Grunt and three squad-mates that have a rating of 1, at least one of the lower defense rated people will die, as they brought down the average.

What I'm getting at is Mordin is first on the die list, and has the lowest defense rating, so he was always my escort choice


----------



## Konfyouzd

THAT'S how they do it? Well ain't that some shit... Then my choices still make sense (obviously bc everyone survived) but for a different reason than I thought...


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

pink freud said:


> What I'm getting at is Mordin is first on the die list, and has the lowest defense rating, so he was always my escort choice


 
Which is odd, because I chose him as the squad leader TWICE because I didn't care whether or not he died, and he survived both times.

According to the walkthrough, there are just some characters that are rated as better leaders than others. Pick Miranda to lead, and you won't lose anyone. Pick a techie (Legion or Tali) for the vents and you won't lose anyone, and pick Jack or Samara/Morinth for the biotic barrier and you won't lose anyone there.

That's the nutshell, anyways. It helps somehow to have all of the loyalty quests done and ship mods purchased, too.


----------



## MFB

Tim, I can safely say choosing Tali is horseshit since she's who I picked for the vents and she died. I was so fucking furious because I wanted to get the achievement on the first try.


----------



## AxeHappy

I've done Tali in the vents and had her live. Choosing the wrong person for the wrong thing can lead to other people dying. 

Also doing the loyalty missions and whatnot.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

MFB said:


> Tim, I can safely say choosing Tali is horseshit since she's who I picked for the vents and she died. I was so fucking furious because I wanted to get the achievement on the first try.


 
Really? Hm. Had you done her loyalty mission and purchased her ship upgrade?


----------



## MFB

No, I didn't purchase the ship upgrade specifically FROM her, but at the time I did the missions I had purchased all the upgrade I could in general, just from the research bay


----------



## AxeHappy

You buy all the upgrades from the research bay? You don't buy any specifically from the character do you?

If you scroll to the bottom of this page:

Mass Effect 2 Guide - Mass Effect Wiki - Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, walkthroughs and more

You'll find a guide on how to get perfect or whatnot. Or you could read though the whole thing and figure out if you were missing anything. 


I tend to read guides like this after I've beaten the game 3 or 4 times and want to find out if I'm missing anything. 

It's 110% full of spoilers but if you've beaten the game already that shouldn't be a problem?

I'm willing to bet this:

A *Fire-team Leader* is required for the second team. The briefing conversation mentions that this member must be experienced in leading a team. 

*Ideal:* Garrus, Jacob, or Miranda
*Non-Ideal:* Anyone else, as they will get your specialist technician killed, even if a loyal Tali, Legion, or Kasumi was chosen.
Was your problem with Tali.


----------



## SirMyghin

You are correct Axe, fire team leader is the important chap for keeping your specialist alive.


----------



## AxeHappy

I Hope so because I just copied and pasted it from the guide!


----------



## MFB

No, if I remember correctly you need to pick a fire team leader twice, and I remember picking Garrus and Miranda (unless I just changed it up when I died?) and she died either way, despite both being loyal

My Tali death is a huge variable compared to how things should have gone apparently


----------



## synrgy

What was the outcome of Tali's quest on her planet when you played it? It's gotta be something to do with that, or her ship upgrade..

I mean, the likelihood of you owning the only disc on the planet that has a weird arc for Tali is slim-to-none.


----------



## Konfyouzd

MFB said:


> Tim, I can safely say choosing Tali is horseshit since she's who I picked for the vents and she died. I was so fucking furious because I wanted to get the achievement on the first try.


 
She didn't die for me. I used her several times as I tried this mission a few times and she never died. Neither did the Geth dude. But I also had the ship all the way upgraded, I did her loyalty mission and I"m pretty sure I also tapped that. Maybe she just had more to live for with me...


----------



## pink freud

MFB said:


> Tim, I can safely say choosing Tali is horseshit since she's who I picked for the vents and she died. I was so fucking furious because I wanted to get the achievement on the first try.



She will still die if your Squad-B leader is crap. Rocket to the face'd.


----------



## SirMyghin

The entirety of Mass Effect 2's final mission survival rate can be summed up very very effectively as "Don't do something stupid, everyone lives". You wouldn't tell a chemist to go build you a skyscraper.


----------



## MFB

synrgy said:


> What was the outcome of Tali's quest on her planet when you played it? It's gotta be something to do with that, or her ship upgrade..
> 
> I mean, the likelihood of you owning the only disc on the planet that has a weird arc for Tali is slim-to-none.



I did what she wanted and didn't turn her dad in, even though I wanted to

I have a feeling it's because I didn't buy the ship upgrade from her directly, which is stupid to me.


----------



## AxeHappy

I doubt it, as you don't buy any upgrade directly from anybody?


----------



## MFB

AxeHappy said:


> I doubt it, as you don't buy any upgrade directly from anybody?



You can but you don't have to basically, I didn't buy any from anyone


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

this makes me feel a lot better


----------



## SirMyghin

So effectively you can 'delegate' some side quests to multi-player opposed to having to do them all alone. Interesting but I'll do them all alone. (cue always alone troll)


----------



## SirMyghin

Double post is 2x as good.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

i think its a cool feature
it just allows more variances into the gameplay, plus its good to see they've used their profits to increase their company, and create jobs that benefit the end user in a good way


----------



## x360rampagex

WHY, WHY, WHY, did they have to release gameplay footage so soon, now I can't wait for mass effect 3 and I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH 2012. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

pre-ordered as of friday
surprising that the special edition is only $20 more

you'd think they'd have made some excessively over the top edition worth about $100


----------



## MFB

Did anyone see this bad larry?

N7 Rifle, Mass Effect 3 | Volpin Props


----------



## SirMyghin

Yikes


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

yep, seen it before, they do solid work there


----------



## Varcolac

5 new videos:

New Gameplay Footage:


Ruthless Enemies:



Integrated Storytelling:


Customize Your Arsenal:


Multi-Player Action:


The demo's out next Tuesday. Valentines day.  Oh well, woman is better than video games. Only just though... ME3 is looking amazing. 

Released: NA March 6; AU March 8; EU March 9; JP March 15.

Can. Not. Wait.


----------



## Choop

It's exciting to see the ME3 sequel close to release, but I gotta admit I'm kind of bummed to see it turning into a big dumb action game. Perhaps that's just the way it's being marketed, but there is no excuse for the omni-tool sword. -.-


----------



## Varcolac

Choop said:


> It's exciting to see the ME3 sequel close to release, but I gotta admit I'm kind of bummed to see it turning into a big dumb action game. Perhaps that's just the way it's being marketed, but there is no excuse for the omni-tool sword. -.-



There's three ways to play the game, according to some video that I probably didn't include in my post. One which is the "big dumb action game," combat only, minimal skill choices, minimal character development. At the other end of the spectrum there's the full-on RPG style. The third one is a compromise, that gives you control over the story elements but puts the skills micro-management on the back-burner.

I think the omni-tool sword's fine. Onmi-tools have element zero charges that let them manipulate matter with a mass effect field, the yellow hologram's just there so you can see what you're doing. A mass effect wrist-blade's no sillier than the sentinel's tek armour or the vanguard's freight-train charge.


----------



## Choop

Varcolac said:


> There's three ways to play the game, according to some video that I probably didn't include in my post. One which is the "big dumb action game," combat only, minimal skill choices, minimal character development. At the other end of the spectrum there's the full-on RPG style. The third one is a compromise, that gives you control over the story elements but puts the skills micro-management on the back-burner.
> 
> I think the omni-tool sword's fine. Onmi-tools have element zero charges that let them manipulate matter with a mass effect field, the yellow hologram's just there so you can see what you're doing. A mass effect wrist-blade's no sillier than the sentinel's tek armour or the vanguard's freight-train charge.



That's good news, I mean I hope it turns out well.

TBH I just don't like the idea of the omni-tool sword, and it does seem sillier than other tech implements. It's taking something that had amazing utility (which is awesome and more in the sci-fi realm than just another way to make a sword) and now it'll just be seen as a weapon first, utility second. I mean why would this technology have not existed for you before? 

I think it'd be cooler to give the player new ways to interact with the omni tool, maybe similar to the pip boy in Fallout or something. Making it just another weapon feels lame.


----------



## AxeHappy

Choop said:


> I mean why would this technology have not existed for you before?



Probably the same reason the entire galaxy switched from guns that only limiting quality to firing was heat (with tons of ways to reduce the heat generated) to..."Heat Clips..." with no way to reduce that heat other than ejecting the..."Heat Clips"... and popping new ones in. 


Oh...and the heat doesn't dissipate over time.

That mini-rant aside:
I'm so excited for Mass Effect 3 I can't properly describe it. I think it looks fucking awesome from the trailers. Took everything that Mass Effect 2 did better than Mass Effect 1 and made it even better, as well as, adding more RPG elements back in! 

Plus the action elements look fucking intense. I actually hope we get to play them instead of it just being cut scene shit.


----------



## pink freud

So my HDD died, and thus all my ME2 saves are gone. File-save editors here I come!


----------



## texshred777

I'm actually thinking of putting my save games on cloud storage for ME in case I have HDD issues. 

I'm incredibly excited for this game, the ME series is my favorite series by far, and one of the only day one releases I'll be purchasing(preordered CE, which I never do).

I actually don't own ME1 but borrowed it for a time, had two playthroughs(more like one play through with different love interests going back to a previous save file)-paragade style Vanguard Shep. 

Have three different ME2 play throughs currently, two of which continue the ME1 saves(one Infiltrator Paragade, one Adept Renegon) and the third a "canon" Renegade Vanguard man whore(Kelly, Jack and Miranda). 

I can't really say I prefer one over the other. I have gripes with both, but find both to be awesome at the same time. I like that the shooter interface was much smoother in ME2, I also liked that Sheps accuracy/weapon damage was more related to my skill as a player than behind the scenes dice roles. If skill levels are the determining factor for such things, they should have just used an auto lock feature for aiming(IMO).

I also loved the Paragon/Renegade interrupts. First play through it would have been nice to know what exactly they entailed before picking them. Some were obvious(frying the Blue Sun Merc for instance)-others not so much(head butting the Krogan was a nice surprise). 

*My thoughts on what I've seen so far about ME3..*

I've seen there are three playstyles to choose from, that's cool. It gives the players that want a more story driven shooter or a less action oriented RPG their cake. I'll stick with the classic ME style-perfect balance to me. 

While I don't get too involved with the love interest stuff(it's cool that it's in there, but I'm amazed at how caught up some people get on the bioware forums...)-I think it'll be nice to see those story's have some resolution. It's also a nice touch that remaining faithful/cheating will have some kind of story implication. 

Omni blade(or at least expanded melee) is a great addition. I've always been a little dissapointed that punching/"pistol whipping" were the only melee options before. 

It appears that you're much more agile this time around. I like that. While not as clunky as say MGS(again, imo), movement has always been a bit stiff to me. 

Multiplayer. I have to admit, at first I was livid at the idea of incorporating MP into Mass Effect. It doesn't need it. I'm not really a MP kind of player anyway, I like single player campaigns. I think I'm the only person I know who doesn't ever play Halo/COD MP but has played the campaign several times on each installment. HOWEVER, the fact that it is not a mandatory part, and they are co-op(not pvp battlegrounds with teabagging and the like) missions to enrich the single player game is cool. I also like that you can custom create a character of a different race than human. I won't do it for every playthrough, but will definitely use it for at least some. 

I wish they'd bring back the elevator sequences..I preferred the banter between squad members to a loading screen. 

My only fear is that the roleplaying elements will be watered down. Bringing back inventory and weapon/armor mods is promising, but I hope the story and characters are as strong as ever. Story arc and character interaction are to me the important facets of an RPG-not inventory management/loot(which is why ME2 is still an RPG to me and not just a shooter).


----------



## texshred777

ShadowFactoryX said:


> pre-ordered as of friday
> surprising that the special edition is only $20 more
> 
> you'd think they'd have made some excessively over the top edition worth about $100


 
Like Skyrim or Crysis2? Loved both games but anything over $80 is silly to me. I owe my wife enough geek dollars without silly gaming schwag around the house. That's why I'd prefer in-game items to physical maps/art/etc.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

I'm looking forward to it, but if EA doesn't get over whatever problem they have with Valve so they can release it on Steam on launch or soon after, I'll give it a pass. It's annoying enough that I haven't been able to access the DLC for ME1&2 because I can't just get it via Steam, despite having to sign up to two or three fucking new accounts with EA and whatever other companies they're using for distribution just to try to get the DLC. If they want me to not give them my money so badly that they force me to jump through hoops at every turn and STILL fail to be able to access the content I want, I'm more than happy to spend it elsewhere.


----------



## Choop

AxeHappy said:


> Probably the same reason the entire galaxy switched from guns that only limiting quality to firing was heat (with tons of ways to reduce the heat generated) to..."Heat Clips..." with no way to reduce that heat other than ejecting the..."Heat Clips"... and popping new ones in.
> 
> 
> Oh...and the heat doesn't dissipate over time.



haha yeah, that felt really backwards to me also when I first started up ME2.


----------



## ZEBOV

I suddenly felt like showing off my Commander Shepherd.


----------



## Varcolac

Well, I just preordered for PS3. Collectors edition, all the badass N7 arms and armour, my own real-life N7 patch (totally going on a guitar case), a comic book, a lithograph, an artbook, a robot doggie and a mysterious classified in-game companion and mission. Shuh-weet.

70 quid on a game . Only paid £45 for the collectors edition of ME2 on PC.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

pink freud said:


> So my HDD died, and thus all my ME2 saves are gone. File-save editors here I come!





texshred777 said:


> I'm actually thinking of putting my save games on cloud storage for ME in case I have HDD issues.



mine died 1.5 years ago. kept all my original xbox stuff, but all my 360 content vanished.
i had a lot of stuff too, i was super butt hurt cause i lost 3 ME1 saves and 2 ME2 saves

so far I have 2 new ME1 characters, and 1 completed ME2, working on another one so I can be done in time for 3

but putting it on the cloud is a good idea.

Demo is out today!!!
I'm half tempted to leave work early so I can go nerdgasm


----------



## Scar Symmetry

The demo is fucking AWESOME. This is going on my list of "things worth spending £40 on".


----------



## Bigsby

I Cannot WAIT for this game, I Played the series in ass backwards order i played the original first and didnt like it i took a chance on ME2 and i loved it went back to the first one and loved it as well, also the only way you can get the demo is if you got BF2 right?


----------



## synrgy

Scar Symmetry said:


> The demo is fucking AWESOME. This is going on my list of "things worth spending £40 on".



I remember when we talked you into the first one, and you seemed kinda indifferent to it at first. Did you ever get deeper into it?


----------



## texshred777

Demo should be waiting for me when I get home tonight. Can't wait to give it a shot. 

This is the first game that's got me contemplating the Kinect, I've always been very 'meh' about it before. I like the idea of keeping the intensity of battle going by calling out powers instead of using the wheel and pausing combat every few seconds. I doubt I'd use it for more than combat though. 

Anyone have impressions about the demo so far? I'm sure it's awesome, but any further?


----------



## texshred777

AntoneBigsby said:


> I Cannot WAIT for this game, I Played the series in ass backwards order i played the original first and didnt like it i took a chance on ME2 and i loved it went back to the first one and loved it as well, also the only way you can get the demo is if you got BF2 right?


 
No the demo's available to anyone now. I think early or beta access was for BF2 players. FWIW, if you only have silver XBL account you get a temporary bump to Gold if you get the demo to check out the MP co-op.


----------



## synrgy

texshred777 said:


> Demo should be waiting for me when I get home tonight. Can't wait to give it a shot.
> 
> This is the first game that's got me contemplating the Kinect, I've always been very 'meh' about it before. I like the idea of keeping the intensity of battle going by calling out powers instead of using the wheel and pausing combat every few seconds. I doubt I'd use it for more than combat though.
> 
> Anyone have impressions about the demo so far? I'm sure it's awesome, but any further?



I just played over the last 30 minutes or so. Just finished the single player demo.

I'm really, really hoping the whole game doesn't go like the demo did, otherwise, I think they may somehow have managed to suck out all the things that made me love the first two. It didn't feel open at all. It was a completely linear, practically "on rails" shooter, and I actually chose the "RPG" path, so that's pretty disconcerting.

I haven't tried the multiplayer yet.


----------



## texshred777

synrgy said:


> I just played over the last 30 minutes or so. Just finished the single player demo.
> 
> I'm really, really hoping the whole game doesn't go like the demo did, otherwise, I think they may somehow have managed to suck out all the things that made me love the first two. It didn't feel open at all. It was a completely linear, practically "on rails" shooter, and I actually chose the "RPG" path, so that's pretty disconcerting.
> 
> I haven't tried the multiplayer yet.


 
Hmmmm..lets hope they were saving all the story related stuff/spoilers perhaps? for the full game-hopefully just trying to show off the shiny new engine and control feedback. Let's hope anyway.


----------



## Bigsby

i'm very angry that i wasn't playing this sooner


----------



## texshred777

Btw, if anyone wants to team up shoot me a PM with your XBL gamertag.


----------



## AxeHappy

Demo is downloading right now! So fucking stoked!!!!


----------



## texshred777

AntoneBigsby said:


> i'm very angry that i wasn't playing this sooner


 
It just dropped today for the masses.


----------



## synrgy

Well, I'll say this: The multiplayer is surprisingly tits. I honestly think it's going to end up being worth the price of the game for me, alone. It's basically the Horde mode from Gears of War, but better because it's Mass Effect.


----------



## pink freud

They should incorporate interrupts in the multiplayer. At random times you can Renegade interrupt and punch an opposing player in the balls.


----------



## Varcolac

There are no opposing players: it's all co-op.

The PS3 demo was delayed in Europe. Fingers crossed, it should be on PSN this evening. I'm really itching to play it now... I've watched a couple of playthroughs on Youtube but I'm more interested in feeling how the game runs than in seeing the plot. I really want to try out all the new powers for the classes. 

Unfortunately my laptop seems to refuse to run Origin, despite being up to spec for the game. I've not got any problems with the idea of Origin; I'm no Steam loyalist. Shit just doesn't run on my system.

One advantage of this delay is that I got to spend the evening with my significant other instead of shooting Cerberus mercs with Garrus...


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

synrgy said:


> I'm really, really hoping the whole game doesn't go like the demo did, otherwise, I think they may somehow have managed to suck out all the things that made me love the first two. It didn't feel open at all. It was a completely linear, practically "on rails" shooter, and I actually chose the "RPG" path, so that's pretty disconcerting.



Ugh I felt the same way, but two mechanical issues I had:
1. Sluggish Movement while in combat. 
-Now granted I'm used to 2 as Ive been playing it substantially over the past few weeks again, but this just seems to be in slow mode. Turning and aiming aren't a problem, but forward movement is.
2. "Hold A for Cover" 

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT*



> - At the end of the second mission, and a few times during the first, where you have to go over to Mordin, and hit A on the last console to release the krogan, I ended up hiding for cover every time I tried it, and had to fight another wave of Cerberus troops. It was definitely pissing me off.



Saving multiplayer for tonight.


----------



## Scar Symmetry

synrgy said:


> I remember when we talked you into the first one, and you seemed kinda indifferent to it at first. Did you ever get deeper into it?



I really enjoyed the first one but lost interest. Immediately bought the second one, lost interest immediately! I think the control system confused me. On the demo for 3 I still found the control system confusing! The action and graphics are much better though, not to say that the demo was perfect.


----------



## synrgy

I just got an email from Bioware today, soliciting me to "recruit my friends" via Facebook in return for "early access" to the multiplayer demo.

Somebody should tell them I got my access along with the rest of North America yesterday. 

Speaking of which, I'm a bit upset about how the early access went down. I bought BF3 a few months back, and I bought the Limited Edition *only* because it was supposed to come with early access to the ME3 demo. That early access never materialized. *grumble*


----------



## AxeHappy

If you're playing multi-player you got your early access. 

The rest of us have to wait until the 17th (I think) to do multi-player.


----------



## synrgy

AxeHappy said:


> If you're playing multi-player you got your early access.
> 
> The rest of us have to wait until the 17th (I think) to do multi-player.



Oh? Weird. I didn't realize that was the case. I just saw the add for the demo pop up on my dashboard yesterday, and it only provided one download link, which seems to have included the multiplayer. I presumed everybody on XBLA had access to the same download I did, since the ad on the dashboard didn't draw any attention to it being early access or that the multiplayer was at all exclusive.


----------



## texshred777

Played the Demo last night as soon as I got home. I thought it was a blast, although it seemed a little off to me. It may just be that I've been playing a shit ton of ME2 of late. I really liked the power melee option, especially when cloaked and against the mech. 

I was dissappointed that the Infiltrator is not outfitted with a sniper rifle anymore. The heavy rifle was nice, but I would have preferred a sniper rifle. Perhaps a scope/sight mod will give me a good middle ground. 

I'll give it another go tonight with a different class, probably as an Adept or Vanguard. 

I'll still be buying this day one, I saw nothing that changed my mind about that. After playing it I'm sure the character interaction and RP moments just weren't present in those particular sections-besides of course Shep's speech.


----------



## Varcolac

texshred777 said:


> Played the Demo last night as soon as I got home. I thought it was a blast, although it seemed a little off to me. It may just be that I've been playing a shit ton of ME2 of late. I really liked the power melee option, especially when cloaked and against the mech.
> 
> I was dissappointed that the Infiltrator is not outfitted with a sniper rifle anymore. The heavy rifle was nice, but I would have preferred a sniper rifle. Perhaps a scope/sight mod will give me a good middle ground.
> 
> I'll give it another go tonight with a different class, probably as an Adept or Vanguard.
> 
> I'll still be buying this day one, I saw nothing that changed my mind about that. After playing it I'm sure the character interaction and RP moments just weren't present in those particular sections-besides of course Shep's speech.



played through this twice yesterday; got the same weapon selections as a Vanguard and an Adept. I think they just removed the weapon-select screen to streamline the demo. Should be able to snipe people just fine in the full game.

After doing some reading, it seems that the weapon selection/carry weight ratio increases your recharge timers. Lugging around a shotgun and an assault rifle had my Adept suffering stupid 15-second recharges on Singularity. That should promote a more tactical use of weapons in the full game. I'll probably go Adept with a single machine pistol, and see how fast I can spam Singularity. 

Going to play the other classes over the rest of the week, and get a feel for the new powers. Vanguard with the power melee attack was glorious; it really felt like a proper "brawler," charging in and smacking seven shades of shit out of Cerberus troopers. One time I had a group of Cerberus with a shielded squad leader. I had Garrus drop the leader's shields with Overload, biotic charged the leader, shotgunned him in the face, swung around, biotic power-punched two other troopers to death, then unloaded my remaining shotgun shells into the survivors. 

I felt *very* metal.


----------



## synrgy

After night 2 with several sessions in the multiplayer, I'm officially stoked.

There were a couple of glitchy moments (and this actually used to happen to me in ME2 as well) where all of a sudden I get stuck either A) not being able to move but still being able to shoot, or B) not being able to shoot but still being able to move. When it happened in ME2, there was nothing I could ever do but reset the game completely. In the demo, however, it seems to correct itself if I just mash all the buttons enough. 

Apart from that, it's been really sweet. Having spent a couple of nights with it, I can't believe I was ever resistant to the idea. The mechanics of ME's gameplay really lend themselves well to a multiplayer setting, with the different classes/powers/weapons adding a welcome element of strategy to the mix.

Does anybody know if the experience we gain in the multiplayer demo will transfer over to the full game when it comes out? I should probably back off, if it doesn't.. 

Vanguard's always been my favorite class, so that's what I've been rocking. I've got my N7 level up to 17 so far, and my Vanguard character is up to level 15 or 16, I think.


----------



## AxeHappy

So, I've just finished the demo. My Thoughts:

Overall: Awesome. So glad I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition
Pros: Better looking, Open Spaces, Vertical Movement
Cons: Only stealing the rolling animations from Deus Ex: Human Revolution instead of the whole cover system. 

Obviously no chance to do any load-out or weapon Customisation or pretty much any of the Role-Playing stuff but the combat certainly looks nice.

Oh! also:
I have found the difficult on, "Insanity," has been ramped up quite a bit form ME2.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

i did forget to mention the awesome environmental scheme laid out, just gorgeous.

but did anyone feel the movement was a little sluggish compared to 2?


----------



## synrgy

ShadowFactoryX said:


> i did forget to mention the awesome environmental scheme laid out, just gorgeous.
> 
> but did anyone feel the movement was a little sluggish compared to 2?



Definitely, but I'm hoping this is due to it being a demo, therefore an unfinished product.


----------



## sakeido

the temptation to fire up the demo is strong but my nigh-total embargo of all ME3 media cannot be violated haha. not much longer now! my ME2 save is safe and secure in three different places on the internet and two external hard drives .. still going to play through it again anyway. gotta play that DLC again


----------



## AxeHappy

ShadowFactoryX said:


> i did forget to mention the awesome environmental scheme laid out, just gorgeous.
> 
> but did anyone feel the movement was a little sluggish compared to 2?




Yeah, you pretty much have to run everywhere, but during combat I've found that rolling is the only way to get from place to place alive.


----------



## ZEBOV

Varcolac said:


> Unfortunately my laptop seems to refuse to run Origin, despite being up to spec for the game. I've not got any problems with the idea of Origin; I'm no Steam loyalist. Shit just doesn't run on my system.



The problem is probably Origin. I'm not a Steam fanboy neither, but Origin fucking sucks!


----------



## AxeHappy

Well, the ME3 demo is the only thing I run on Origin, but the only Game I run on Steam is Duke Nukem Forever. 

Origin has fucked up less.


----------



## ZEBOV

OMG........ Look what I found!


----------



## AxeHappy

I loaded up a demo version of my Biotic Fem-Shep (the default looks is actually fairly close so I left it) and fuck! Biotics are way more awesome!


----------



## synrgy

AxeHappy said:


> I loaded up a demo version of my Biotic Fem-Shep (the default looks is actually fairly close so I left it) and fuck! Biotics are way more awesome!



Yeah, the solider class has always been my least favorite throughout the series. I pretty much roll as Vanguard or Adept. There's something inherently more satisfying about using powers like lift, then running up and shotgunning the enemy from point-blank range as they helplessly float through the air, than just picking them off from a distance as per usual.

I really liked in ME1 (And maybe in ME2? I can't remember..) that once you beat the game with a certain class, you could apply one of those classes powers to another class. I beat it with a Vanguard first, but then I realized where the real magic was: Adept + Shotgun = WIN!!


----------



## Varcolac

Mass Effect 1 had this strange system where if you used some power or weapon enough on one playthrough you could use it on any class in a second playthrough. ME2 just gave you bonus powers for loyalty missions.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

singularity was my best friend during the demo, thats for sure


----------



## AxeHappy

My main Shepard is always a assault rifle wielding soldier mother fucker. I just really liked how Biotics seem to play based on the demo.

Also:
Just got to play Multi-player for the 1st time. Wow. I take back every negative thing I said about Mutli-player.


----------



## synrgy

Newsfeed says multiplayer is now open to everyone. gamertag = djsynrgy 

*edit* FYI, I have my system set to not send me notifications while in game, so if I don't respond right away, that's why.


----------



## AxeHappy

Oh God...the Krogan Soldier...the Krogan Solider! Most fun I've had playing a game in a long time.

I'm Thromgrim in game just in case anybody randomly stumbles across me.


----------



## texshred777

ShadowFactoryX said:


> singularity was my best friend during the demo, thats for sure


 
I know, Singularity(and biotics in general) just seemed so much more powerful. I love it, besides an Infiltrator, I pretty much roll Vanguard or Adept.


----------



## Varcolac

Holy *hell* the multiplayer is good. Had a couple of bunk runs that ended on the third wave, but I just finished a Bronze challenge and it was intense!

Doing adept. Single machine pistol = +165% recharge speed. Spamming singularity > warp. Funtacular!


----------



## Genome

I am not touching the demo.

Interesting bit of news for UK gamers

Confirmed: GAME and Gamestation not stocking Mass Effect 3 | Metro.co.uk


----------



## synrgy

Despite taking a week off while my lady was in town, I still managed to get my Vanguard maxed out to level 20. I finally finished a round on silver, as well. 

Now I'm alternating between building up my Krogan Soldier and my Male Human Adept. I had messed around a bit with a Quarian Engineer, but found it pretty boring. Never cared much for the engineer class..

Less than a week till full release, now!


----------



## Captain Axx

Just got a call from my friend who works in game, they cancelled my pre-order. i pre-ordered it well over a year ago as well. lucky me managed to re-pre-order the CE at blockbuster though! 

it just annoyed me that they just cancelled it just over a week prior to release, but then i heard game aren't stocking any EA games after ssx.


----------



## Varcolac

genome said:


> I am not touching the demo.
> 
> Interesting bit of news for UK gamers
> 
> Confirmed: GAME and Gamestation not stocking Mass Effect 3 | Metro.co.uk



wait what



This is ridiculous. So now I've re-pre-ordered with Amazon. There was supposedly some extra content (N7 Defender Armor and N7 Valkyrie assault rifle) with the Game pre-order, but I don't know what's happening with that now. Arg.

In other news the multiplayer is still pretty epic, and I unlocked the Krogan soldier. FOR TUCHANKAAAA~! /headbutt /headbutt /headbutt


----------



## Genome

YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


----------



## texshred777

Just 4 more hours...looks like it was NWN keeping me up last night, it'll be ME3 tonight..


----------



## synrgy

I'm jealous of you midnight release folks. I have to wait until I get home from work tomorrow night. Worse, I'll be sitting at my desk, listlessly staring at my copy while it sits there looking back at me, calling me names and making inappropriate sex jokes about my female relatives...


----------



## SirMyghin

Just got home from work Friday, game comes out tomorrow. Life is good. I know how this turn around will be spent, or at least a lot of it. No midnight release for me, my wife will give me so much hell it just isn't worth it. That and I need to go do some other chores in that area tomorrow that likely will not get done otherwise.


----------



## ScottyB724

ohhh hell yes. Just finished ME2 again today, and am counting the minutes till midnight ! This will be too epic for words, the demo blew my mind.


----------



## texshred777

I'll be there for midnight release after getting out of work at 11. I won't have any decent chunks of time to play until Thursday night though. Dammnit.


----------



## pink freud

I have one, maybe two copies being shipped to me.

Reason being I preordered it from a site for free (had some "Points" to spend) before it even officially existed, so I wanted to make sure I got it


----------



## texshred777

ScottyB724 said:


> ohhh hell yes. Just finished ME2 again today, and am counting the minutes till midnight ! This will be too epic for words, the demo blew my mind.


 
I finished a third playthrough a week ago for my Renegade Vanguard Shep. I'm counting it down too. I live a little over an hour away from home and that particular Gamestop-hopefully I make it in time/don't get pulled over on the way home.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Chillin at the midnight release. 27 min and counting.


----------



## ScottyB724

texshred777 said:


> I live a little over an hour away from home and that particular Gamestop-hopefully I make it in time/don't get pulled over on the way home.



Well if you get pulled over at least you have a good excuse, you have to save the entire universe damn it!


----------



## Varcolac

Remember the non-douchey journalist from Mass Effect 1? Emily Wong? 

Twitter | AllianceNewsNet

A hero. At ramming speed. 

Okay, Bioware are seriously either awesome or evil. I was actually tearing up reading a fictional twitter feed from a fictional journalist in a fictional war. I last played Mass Effect 1 like two or three years ago, and this character only appears in Mass Effect 2 as an email and a background news report, but I'm about to cry. Well played, Bioware. Well played.

Also, the game's out today in America-land. Lucky people. Mine arrives on Friday.


----------



## ZEBOV

Varcolac said:


> Remember the non-douchey journalist from Mass Effect 1? Emily Wong?
> 
> Twitter | AllianceNewsNet
> 
> A hero. At ramming speed.
> 
> Okay, Bioware are seriously either awesome or evil. I was actually tearing up reading a fictional twitter feed from a fictional journalist in a fictional war. I last played Mass Effect 1 like two or three years ago, and this character only appears in Mass Effect 2 as an email and a background news report, but I'm about to cry. Well played, Bioware. Well played.
> 
> Also, the game's out today in America-land. Lucky people. Mine arrives on Friday.



I punched her in the face in ME 1 and 2. I hope I get to punch her again.

I'll buy my copy of ME3 after I finish ME2 one more time.


----------



## Varcolac

ZEBOV said:


> I punched her in the face in ME 1 and 2. I hope I get to punch her again.
> 
> I'll buy my copy of ME3 after I finish ME2 one more time.



That was the other reporter, Khalisa Bint Sinan al-Jilani. The douchey one. She was a prick and I hope to punch her on renegade once again. Or give her a badass speech on Paragon and be all like "WHAT NOW, RIGHT WING MEDIA HACK? BRB SAVING THE GALAXY"

Emily Wong on the other hand was like, awesome. You can give her some files on a crime syndicate and help with her intrepid investigative journalism ventures in ME1. It's kinda good to have the difference between her and Jilani; one's a proper reporter who's tracking the evidence, coming up with sources and doing the legwork, and the other's a political hack who's hanging around with a camera trying to interview the latest celebrity.

But seriously, read the twitter feed. It's heartbreaking.


----------



## Genome

No! Emily NOOOO!!!!

I have to wait until Friday before I can get my sweet hands on this game. I may avoid this thread until then.


----------



## SirMyghin

Going to go pick p my copy in 1 hr.


----------



## xvultures

SirMyghin said:


> Going to go pick p my copy in 1 hr.



Same here. Had to preorder the collectors edition at bestbuy.. Gamestop stopped taking preorders for it wayyyy to early.


----------



## SirMyghin

Well now I need to somehow get in my already existant origin account to install the game.... well great. Sent me that password forgotten email any damn time. If only EA would stop being such a putz and just use Steam like everyone else.


----------



## bhakan

So, my computer is hardly great for gaming, and the graphics card does not meet the requirements for Mass Effect 3, but I played the demo, and it said my computer did not meet the specs, but then ran fine (though I think the graphics quality was slightly watered down). Since the demo ran fine, would you think the full game would also run fine, or should I not risk throwing $60 away?


----------



## ZEBOV

Varcolac said:


> That was the other reporter, Khalisa Bint Sinan al-Jilani. The douchey one. She was a prick and I hope to punch her on renegade once again. Or give her a badass speech on Paragon and be all like "WHAT NOW, RIGHT WING MEDIA HACK? BRB SAVING THE GALAXY"
> 
> Emily Wong on the other hand was like, awesome. You can give her some files on a crime syndicate and help with her intrepid investigative journalism ventures in ME1. It's kinda good to have the difference between her and Jilani; one's a proper reporter who's tracking the evidence, coming up with sources and doing the legwork, and the other's a political hack who's hanging around with a camera trying to interview the latest celebrity.
> 
> But seriously, read the twitter feed. It's heartbreaking.



Oh yeah, I forgot about Emily Wong.


----------



## texshred777

Managed to not get pulled over and arrive at the Gamestop right at midnight. It took a good hour and a half to get game and DLC installed, including the N7 CE stuff, the preorder stuff, etc.. 

I won't give any details but so far this game has a more emotional impact, and if you're worried about the rpg elements dissappearing..don't. So far, so good. Played till about 5 this morning. I'm exhausted but it was worth it.


----------



## leftyguitarjoe

This game is FUCKING EPIC.


----------



## pink freud

So copy #1 arrived on my doorstep, but it's the regular edition.

Copy # 2 should arrive next week, but is the collectors/special/whatever edition...


----------



## SirMyghin

texshred777 said:


> I won't give any details but so far this game has a more emotional impact, and if you're worried about the rpg elements dissappearing..don't. So far, so good. Played till about 5 this morning. I'm exhausted but it was worth it.



The opening sequences definitely seems to have more sting to them this time eh? The series just keeps getting progressively darker I feel. Kind of like they broke in with the most lighthearted it will get (good to acquire mass appeal) and slide from there.


----------



## AxeHappy

UPS just dropped my CE off. And I have to leave for my 2nd job in 5 minutes. 

But, on the plus side, I get my Morning Job off next week for March Break!


----------



## texshred777

SirMyghin said:


> The opening sequences definitely seems to have more sting to them this time eh? The series just keeps getting progressively darker I feel. Kind of like they broke in with the most lighthearted it will get (good to acquire mass appeal) and slide from there.


 
Absolutely.

It was about as wrenching as Homefront. Anyone who's played that(hell, even watched a video review) will know what I'm talking about.


----------



## sakeido

this game is incredible. I can't believe what they've done with it.. everything looks and feels perfect. Bringing back the RPG elements was great, love how they did that. Its great to have guns and mods back. Tons of stuff in the store.. your crew feels more alive. I like how you can walk around between missions and find them talking to each other, like the time I went up and Garrus was talking to Joker. I also LOL'd big time at "Garrus said something about calibrations..." nice jokey reference to ME2

I'm about four or five missions in on the main story... god only knows where this is going to go. So intense so far!


----------



## Genome

sakeido said:


> "Garrus said something about calibrations..." nice jokey reference to ME2


----------



## leftyguitarjoe

I'm a good ways in. The decisions you have to make are HUGE. They really convey the sense of urgency and desperation very well.


----------



## SirMyghin

leftyguitarjoe said:


> I'm a good ways in. The decisions you have to make are HUGE. They really convey the sense of urgency and desperation very well.




Even the crew and others cracking light hearted jokes to hide behind (thinking James here) is a nice touch. The decisions thrown at you are not nearly so obvious either. 



Spoiler



Like when Mordin gets killed finishing the mission because you told him about the STG sabotage which you could have kept quiet over and betrayed the krogan for. That caught me off guard, didn't see it coming. Mordin was such an epic character too.


----------



## Varcolac

Well, my Amazon order's dispatched. Expedited delivery, should be here tomorrow morning. Not working Fridays at the moment, and I have pizza delivery on speed-dial.

MY BODY IS READY.


----------



## Genome

Yep, mine's dispatched too through Sainsbury's. The PC version is a whole £10 cheaper than console at £27.99

:/


----------



## Varcolac

genome said:


> Yep, mine's dispatched too through Sainsbury's. The PC version is a whole £10 cheaper than console at £27.99
> 
> :/



Collector's Edition came in at something like £65 for PS3, then a butt-load more for expedited delivery. I'm a massive Mass Effect fanboy though, so I'll pay through the spleen for this game.


----------



## pink freud

Varcolac said:


> I'll pay through the spleen for this game.



You just might:



Varcolac said:


> I have pizza delivery on speed-dial.
> 
> MY BODY IS READY.


----------



## synrgy

So, I'm kind of kicking myself. In my haste during the first night, I loaded the wrong character. I got all the way through the prologue and even ran 2 priority missions and a DLC mission, before I realized that people were making references to past events that I knew had turned out differently. For instance, I completed all the DLC from ME2, but Shepard was oddly surprised at all the stuff Liara brought onto the Normandy in ME3. I was thinking "Dude, you helped her do all that.." when my mistake finally dawned on me.

Short version = I had to start over again last night with the right character. 

In my extremely limited experience so far, the subtle details have been amazing. I've barely done a mission or two, and I've already seen how several choices I made in the first 2 games are effecting the story and characters in this game. The graphics are really pretty, and the music is once again superb. I'm so glad they kept the staples intact, like the music for the galaxy map, or the music when walking around the Presidium Commons.


----------



## Murmel

Question to the PC players: Can it be played with a mouse & keyboard? Or do we still require a controller?

That's what bugged me about the earlier games..


----------



## pink freud

Murmel said:


> Question to the PC players: Can it be played with a mouse & keyboard? Or do we still require a controller?
> 
> That's what bugged me about the earlier games..



What? PC has always used KB+M, to my knowledge.


----------



## Murmel

^
When my dad played ME1 he said that you had to use a controller. I don't know about ME2. He got ME3 yesterday, so I guess I could check with him tomorrow.


----------



## texshred777

My only gripe so far..

Having to go back and forth from disc 1 to 2 ALL THE TIME(xbox 360). It doesn't really break my immersion or kill the experience, but it can be a pain when I'm ready to start a mission. 

Other than that, I think this may be the best game I've ever played...it's an even more engrossing experience than FFVII was the first time I played that in high school.

I'm doing my "main" Shep-import of character file going back to first ME1 playthrough. I've completed the opening sequence with my other imports but only to see if there's a difference in anything. Only a line of dialogue from Anderson that I noticed. 

I haven't done MP yet, but will probably log on tonight if anyone wants to team up. I'm sure the MP is great and I want to experience that but it's hard to break away from the unfolding story to do so!


----------



## SirMyghin

Murmel said:


> ^
> When my dad played ME1 he said that you had to use a controller. I don't know about ME2. He got ME3 yesterday, so I guess I could check with him tomorrow.



You can play all 3 with M+KB. Part 1s inventory is a huge drag, and that one is really hard to go back to after playing 2 (combat was much more 'RPG', for lack of better term), I prefer the high action combat.

Vanguard in ME3 >> in ME2, though, I feel more durable and DAMN I love nova. I charge everywhere this time around though in ME2 I felt like I died everything I charged unless fight was effectively over.

The diving moves, as well as not every damned enemy having shields/armor/barrier definitely makes combat a lot more fun, and removes the reason any tech/biotic character was terribly useless in ME2 at any difficulty over normal. Why play a biotic when you can't lift fling and slam someone around with your mind continuously? It practically reduced you to a warp factory.


----------



## sakeido

man I am 20 hours into this game already.. and I have about 25 active quests. game seems as big as ME1 & 2 put together. no idea where I'm at in the main story, progress-wise.. I think I finally have all of my party members though.

gotta say, after meeting the character that is actually a DLC character.. I cannot fucking believe they made that a $10 DLC for people who didn't buy the game new. what a dick move.. he is way too awesome for that


----------



## texshred777

SirMyghin said:


> Why play a biotic when you can't lift fling and slam someone around with your mind continuously? It practically reduced you to a warp factory.


 
Very true. My adept feels more powerful(more akin to a striker than a controller to use d&d 4e jargon) this time around. I hardly even use my guns except for long range and "mailslot" snipes.


----------



## texshred777

sakeido said:


> man I am 20 hours into this game already.. and I have about 25 active quests. game seems as big as ME1 & 2 put together. no idea where I'm at in the main story, progress-wise.. I think I finally have all of my party members though.
> 
> gotta say, after meeting the character that is actually a DLC character.. I cannot fucking believe they made that a $10 DLC for people who didn't buy the game new. what a dick move.. he is way too awesome for that


 
Yeah, he's pretty bad ass. I roll with him and/or Garrus most of the time. For the $10 DLC you might as well get the N7 Edition for $10 more.


----------



## SirMyghin

texshred777 said:


> Yeah, he's pretty bad ass. I roll with him and/or Garrus most of the time. For the $10 DLC you might as well get the N7 Edition for $10 more.



Because my store didn't have any left apparently, I don't mind either way though  .


----------



## AxeHappy

synrgy said:


> So, I'm kind of kicking myself. In my haste during the first night, I loaded the wrong character. I got all the way through the prologue and even ran 2 priority missions and a DLC mission, before I realized that people were making references to past events that I knew had turned out differently. For instance, I completed all the DLC from ME2, but Shepard was oddly surprised at all the stuff Liara brought onto the Normandy in ME3. I was thinking "Dude, you helped her do all that.." when my mistake finally dawned on me.




I loaded my right character, whom totally nailed (again) Liara in the Shadow Broker DLC and Liara still went on about, "Do you want to rekindle the relationship," and shit like that. 

Little details about stuff be carried over from ME1/2 wrong drive me crazy (My Current Shepard never once hung up on the council so Joker damn well shouldn't have made that joke) but the game is awesome as hell so far. 

Fucking grim too.


----------



## Sonicassaultphil

THIS GAME IS SO EPIC SO FAR!!!!


----------



## Murmel

SirMyghin said:


> You can play all 3 with M+KB. Part 1s inventory is a huge drag, and that one is really hard to go back to after playing 2 (combat was much more 'RPG', for lack of better term), I prefer the high action combat.


Oh, I didn't know that. Might have to pick this up then. I did play some ME1 on Xbox, but I just don't understand how anyone can play RPGs on a console...


----------



## Varcolac

FAP FAP FAP 






Let the awesome begin. 

Well, actually the awesome began about 3 hours ago, but still, MEIN GOTT THIS GAME IS EPIC TO THE MAX. Like, far more so than ME2, probably more than ME1, but that was a long time ago. The integration of the cinematics into the gameplay is near-flawless so far, and I'm currently amazed by absolutely everything.

Playing hardcore difficulty as an Adept imported from ME2. Really enjoying it!


----------



## vampiregenocide

Just started playing, so good. Not a slow start like the last two.


----------



## SirMyghin

Decided to try multiplayer tonight, and I must say it is pretty fun. I am not a MP guy at all typically, or a shooter guy for that matter. Well played *Bioware*.


----------



## Varcolac

SirMyghin said:


> Decided to try multiplayer tonight, and I must say it is pretty fun. I am not a MP guy at all typically, or a shooter guy for that matter. Well played *Bioware*.



I really enjoyed multiplayer in the demo. Haven't tried it in the full game yet, because I'm obsessing over the singleplayer storyline. I'm about eleven hours in and I've only done six missions - the rest of the time I'm talking to my crew and chasing stuff down on the Citadel.



Spoiler



Wrex is chillin' in the war room. Like a boss. Also, Eve is like a jaded Krogan feminist, which is awesome. It's a little bit of a simplistic gender binary going on with Wrex's "males are fine to just punch it out, but the females... with the talking... and the talking..." spiel, but WHATEVER, GAME IS STILL AWESOME AND I FORGIVE IT BECAUSE IT HAS BLUE TENTACLE-HEADED SPACE LESBIANS AND CALIBRATIONS AND (BIG STUPID) JELLYFISH.


----------



## sakeido

anybody else beat this thing yet?


----------



## leandroab

James "loco" is a punk ass bitch.


----------



## Genome

ROFL

Weirdest glitch ever, I clicked Resume from the main screen, to see Shepard falling into nothingness and the game over music played.

Clicked Resume again from the 'Critical Mission Failure' screen and it loaded up the game as normal. 

I'm confused.


----------



## vampiregenocide

The attention to character development seems a lot stronger in this one. You get to see more of their personalities and understand them a bit better, as well as how they have changed since ME2. 



Spoiler



I liked meeting Wrex and Grunt again, as I do love Krogan characters. However I made the decision to let the Rachni Queen escape again meaning Grunt's team died and he was left pretty beaten up. Felt bad for that. I also denied Miranda after meeting her on the Citadel (I wanna to romance Liara) and I again felt bad cos she was really upset. I didn't want my character to be a douchebag.  Was really sad that Mordin and Thane died. I was never mad on Mordin but this time around he was pretty cool, had a bit more albiet subtle attitude. And Thane is just awesome. In terms of new characters Javik the Prothean is interesting as you finally get to see what they were like, and he isn't quite the enlightened being I expected. He's a bit of a cold solider. Garrus is still awesome.



Also multiplayer is pretty damn fun, can't wait to unlock Turian and Krogan characters.


----------



## bhakan

I hate this game...

It's too good. I just spent the last 9 hours playing, goodbye productivity .


----------



## Genome

vampiregenocide said:


> The attention to character development seems a lot stronger in this one. You get to see more of their personalities and understand them a bit better, as well as how they have changed since ME2.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I liked meeting Wrex and Grunt again, as I do love Krogan characters. However I made the decision to let the Rachni Queen escape again meaning Grunt's team died and he was left pretty beaten up. Felt bad for that. I also denied Miranda after meeting her on the Citadel (I wanna to romance Liara) and I again felt bad cos she was really upset. I didn't want my character to be a douchebag.  Was really sad that Mordin and Thane died. I was never mad on Mordin but this time around he was pretty cool, had a bit more albiet subtle attitude. And Thane is just awesome. In terms of new characters Javik the Prothean is interesting as you finally get to see what they were like, and he isn't quite the enlightened being I expected. He's a bit of a cold solider. Garrus is still awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> Also multiplayer is pretty damn fun, can't wait to unlock Turian and Krogan characters.





Spoiler



Whereabouts do you meet Grunt? I can't remember if the save I'm playing was one where he died or not (I have several ME2) and he didn't appear on Tuchanka at all. (I've cured the genophage)


----------



## texshred777

So I finally tried MP and apparently there's a glitch going around with xbox360 version(unk if other platforms are affected). For whatever reason, my main menu shows "connected to EA server", but my Galaxy at War section shows system offline. The war map in the comm room also shows system offline. It's weird, I can play MP and and level but get no galactic readiness. 

I synced my profile at Bioware social/EA origin with my gamertag but still no help. A mod at the Bioware social forum said there's some glitch in the game "nexus" that holds it up. There's a thread there about the same issue. Hopefully he can get to my request and get it fixed soon. 

Frustrating. I've got my military strength at almost 100% but readiness is still only at 50%. 

Other than this issue, the single player has been amazing thus far. I love that they added the memorial outside the elevator on crew deck. It's a very powerful thing if you put yourself in character. There are so many little things that really bring the crew more alive this time around. There's far more conversations to walk in on, and characters aren't always in the same exact place when you go through the ship. I won't say anything specific(although it wouldn't exactly spoil anyhing)-those were nice little surprises.


----------



## Genome

I've not tried multiplayer, and have no idea how to go about it on PC version or what the benefits are...?


----------



## texshred777

genome said:


> I've not tried multiplayer, and have no idea how to go about it on PC version or what the benefits are...?


 
You have to setup an online pass, there's a code that comes in the game case for it. Once you redeem it you can play the online MP co-op missions. They're pretty much horde/survival type modes with objectives thrown in at varying waves. 

The benefits are you can increase your Galactic Readiness and increase war assets. Unfortunately it's currently the only way to increase your readiness %. Bioware said you can still get the "best" ending without MP, but that remains to be seen.


----------



## vampiregenocide

genome said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Whereabouts do you meet Grunt? I can't remember if the save I'm playing was one where he died or not (I have several ME2) and he didn't appear on Tuchanka at all. (I've cured the genophage)





Spoiler



You meet him when you go to try and track down the Krogan scouts and follow the reports of Rachni.


----------



## Genome

Oh, I don't think I've done that yet.

By the by,

Mail-slotting with the sniper rifle is SO much fun.


----------



## texshred777

genome said:


> Oh, I don't think I've done that yet.
> 
> By the by,
> 
> Mail-slotting with the sniper rifle is SO much fun.


 
Yeah it is, if only the sniper rifles didn't weigh so much I'd just carry one of those around because I go through most firefights without shooting at all. Singularity+warp/throw/shockwave is too fun. 

LOTSB stuff blocked in case someone hasn't played it yet. 


Spoiler



It's almost as fun as beating that bitch Spectre Asari in LOTSB with repeated pulls dangling her around and finishing with a warp or throw.


----------



## Varcolac

texshred777 said:


> Yeah it is, if only the sniper rifles didn't weigh so much I'd just carry one of those around because I go through most firefights without shooting at all. Singularity+warp/throw/shockwave is too fun.



I was so happy when I realised that singularity + warp's biotic explosion shredded enemy shields. Finally, a use for all those Cerberus Assault Troopers. If they're standing near an Engineer, Turret or Centurion, just singularity them, warpsplosion, then singularity the now shieldless officers!

Spamming stasis with Liara's fun as well, since you can detonate that with Warp even if the target's shielded. I drag Garrus along for the Overload chain-lightning, but I'm getting quite good at destroying shields without him. Might replace him with someone else, maybe the DLC character or Vega, and let him continue his calibrations in peace.



Spoiler



Primarch Victus: Garrus said he had to attend to the ship's weapon systems. Something about calibrations. 
Commander Shepard: Sounds like Garrus.


----------



## Sicarius

bought it yesterday.

forgot that my ME1 and ME2 files are on my other HDD.

My game is void of several awesome characters...


----------



## Genome

Spoilers here, but this is very easily missed:



Spoiler



Go to where you met Kelly in the Docking Area after the Cerberus attack on the Citadel, and a batarian and human are talking about her. Apparently she was shot in the head by a Cerberus soldier after admitting to being with them. I'm guessing if you ask her to change her identity when you first meet again, this won't happen.


----------



## texshred777

Spoiler



Primarch Victus: Garrus said he had to attend to the ship's weapon systems. Something about calibrations. 
Commander Shepard: Sounds like Garrus.


[/QUOTE]

My current Shep usually has Garrus in the group for overload and decent weapons. Garrus is also this Shep's bro.


Spoiler



loved the Garrus/Shep Bro out section on the Citadel-I missed on purpose...


 
Edi has also been really useful. I like having overload and drone abilities with her. 

Following Wrex's mission request...


Spoiler



Garrus: One word Shepard...Grunt.


----------



## vampiregenocide

I'd like to have an actual Krogan on your squad. It seems a bit empty without them, after all who gives a shit about James?


----------



## texshred777

vampiregenocide said:


> I'd like to have an actual Krogan on your squad. It seems a bit empty without them, after all who gives a shit about James?


 
I'd like to have an Elcor mount for Liara. Oh, wait a sec, that'd be seen as exploitative...


----------



## SirMyghin

Finished it today. I don't understand all the people crying about the ending, to me it mostly fit. Nothing worth an outcry.


----------



## leftyguitarjoe

I found the ending to be fitting. 



Spoiler



You solidify Shepard as a legendary hero that saved the galaxy. And depending if you choose the control or synthesis options, he essentially turns into a god.


----------



## SirMyghin

leftyguitarjoe said:


> I found the ending to be fitting.



Just incase spoilers


Spoiler



Pretty much, I think most people just walked in expecting a story book ending (at least from what I read about complaints). Really if you paid any attention to the tone of the game you should have realized that wasn't going to happen. Some folks seemed to believe building your army to massive hugeness would mean you get through scott free, no losses, everyone goes home happy. WTF eh? The reapers still own you regardless of your fleet size, they are much more powerful overall.


----------



## leandroab

Ending? wow you guys really need to get a life! ahhahaha

I got the game like 3 days ago and I only played once haha


----------



## Jakke

I am not sure that I approve of the new emotional Shepard...


----------



## K-Roll

guys.. does anyone play it on their PC.. here's the deal.. I run the game on highest resolution, with shadows on etc.. I found only 4 or 5 options that may be set, which means i am running it on highest but it just looks like a 7 years old game.. as if there were no high quality textures.. i remember playing ME2, with all the HD videos and sequences and in game graphics and now I am on max settings and it looks like tomb rider 2, i could hardly read the name normandy on the ship passing by  is this normal?


----------



## C2Aye

I liked the overall concept of the ending, but found it to be uncharacteristically poorly written by Bioware's standards. The writing has been decent at worst and stellar at best so for and the ending really didn't match up. It opened up too many questions as opposed to rounding things off.

Like I said, I liked the overall concept and it brings about the idea of a fresh start without the threat of Reapers and the use of Reaper technology (the relays), but it was just poorly executed in my mind. I'll still play the game again mind you, because the many hours before the end were just bloody fantastic.


----------



## synrgy

Through the first 2 games, and through the first act of the 3rd game, I never once guessed until it happened last night that


Spoiler



Kaidan Alenko would eventually make a pass at me. That guy is apparently a very sad, lonely dude. I hope I let him down easy enough..


----------



## SirMyghin

K-Roll said:


> guys.. does anyone play it on their PC.. here's the deal.. I run the game on highest resolution, with shadows on etc.. I found only 4 or 5 options that may be set, which means i am running it on highest but it just looks like a 7 years old game.. as if there were no high quality textures.. i remember playing ME2, with all the HD videos and sequences and in game graphics and now I am on max settings and it looks like tomb rider 2, i could hardly read the name normandy on the ship passing by  is this normal?



That is a carry over on games being developed on consoles, to the max of their 'HD' ability. Overall though, I don't care/notice. I don't play games for them to look pretty. The old 8 bit games still have replay value, the same cannot be said for their modern counterparts.


----------



## Genome

I'm on full settings on PC and it looks fantastic. Better than ME2. :/

I'm concerned about these comments on the ending...


----------



## synrgy

vampiregenocide said:


> I'd like to have an actual Krogan on your squad. It seems a bit empty without them, after all who gives a shit about James?



I observed a (metaphorical) pissing contest between James and Garrus on the Normandy that was _totally_ worth his inclusion. 

That said, I agree in that I'd rather have not had any newbs and instead focused on those I'd already developed relationships with during the first 2 games.

I don't think I'm anywhere near the end, but I do know this: Bioware stated early on, long before the game came out, that this was going to be the end of Shepard's story, but not necessarily the end of the series. Not knowing how the game ends, I don't know exactly what that means, but I can guess.


----------



## texshred777

synrgy said:


> I observed a (metaphorical) pissing contest between James and Garrus on the Normandy that was _totally_ worth his inclusion.
> 
> \


 
I loved that particular bit. I also liked the argument between Dr Chakawas and Engineer Adams as to whether AI platforms are actually living. 

I think I'm nearing the end, witnessed the


Spoiler



fall of Thessia


 and got my


Spoiler



ass kicked by KL-his email


..pissed me off. I actually wanted to to see Shep kick him in the giblets.


----------



## sakeido

K-Roll said:


> guys.. does anyone play it on their PC.. here's the deal.. I run the game on highest resolution, with shadows on etc.. I found only 4 or 5 options that may be set, which means i am running it on highest but it just looks like a 7 years old game.. as if there were no high quality textures.. i remember playing ME2, with all the HD videos and sequences and in game graphics and now I am on max settings and it looks like tomb rider 2, i could hardly read the name normandy on the ship passing by  is this normal?



ya that ain't normal. ME3 on PC was the best looking game I've ever played, hands down


----------



## Sicarius

the weird graphics on PC are happening to me, too.

I was a little worried.


----------



## AxeHappy

ME3 looks golden here. 

Although I am having trouble getting From Ashes (Bought the CE) to work. Origin says it's installed but I never got the message about Eden Prime. 

So, I back-uped my save file just in case, and am re-installing ME3. Hoping that solves the issue.


----------



## Genome

AxeHappy said:


> ME3 looks golden here.
> 
> Although I am having trouble getting From Ashes (Bought the CE) to work. Origin says it's installed but I never got the message about Eden Prime.
> 
> So, I back-uped my save file just in case, and am re-installing ME3. Hoping that solves the issue.



Did you buy it after starting a new game? I got it and installed before starting the game at all, and there's no problems here.


----------



## synrgy

I think I got through the 2nd act last night. Shit stays heavy. Most of the big choices feel like "lose-lose" scenarios as I'm making them, though at the same time - after I make the nail biting decision - I'm usually presented with extra dialog options which allow me to make the best of the situation and turn a lose-lose into a win-win, predicated on things I did in ME1 and ME2.



Spoiler



It's definitely been satisfying, having cured the genophage, united the Krogans with the Turians, and even more exciting, having united the Quarians with the Geth. I really enjoyed the level in which Shepard is virtually interacting with the Geth. Maybe a little repetitive, but the level design was rad.


----------



## AxeHappy

genome said:


> Did you buy it after starting a new game? I got it and installed before starting the game at all, and there's no problems here.




It comes with the Collectors Edition. I did download it after starting a new game, but I've since re-installed the game and that didn't help at all. Maybe he'll show up on my next play through.


----------



## Genome

AxeHappy said:


> It comes with the Collectors Edition. I did download it after starting a new game, but I've since re-installed the game and that didn't help at all. Maybe he'll show up on my next play through.



Well, if you continued on your current save, then re-installing wouldn't have done anything. I may be wrong, but I think you have to start a new game after downloading and installing the DLC for it to appear.


----------



## SirMyghin

genome said:


> Well, if you continued on your current save, then re-installing wouldn't have done anything. I may be wrong, but I think you have to start a new game after downloading and installing the DLC for it to appear.



I doubt that is the issue, in ME2 all DLC was retroactive. I guess it is possible they screwed this one up a little though.


----------



## Genome

Maybe wait for a patch, then - mine was fine, but a friend's apparently kept freezing during a certain point on the Eden Prime mission, so there are issues.


----------



## Sicarius

I tried the Multiplayer out last night for a round.

It was pretty fun, looked good. And it wasn't that bad.


----------



## AxeHappy

I'm hoping From Ashes will work after I finish this Shep. Who knows. I even tried googling it and it seems nobody else has had this problem so I'm a bit at a loss. 

Anyways, I'm doing Quarian/Geth shit right now and it's a total flashback to cyberspace in System Shock. Nice.


----------



## Genome

Haha, yeah I went through that whole cannon section with epic headphones on, it blew my ears off!


----------



## texshred777

Emergency induction port...


----------



## Genome

That's a straw, Tali


----------



## texshred777

Rest easy, you genetically perfect Cerberus cheerleader Bosh'tet.


----------



## Black_Sheep

Started to play yesterday. So far im totally loving it, as expected  

I went with the default male Shepard, since the import bug hasn't been fixed yet. Damn. Oh well... 


And im gonna avoid this thread from now on, just to avoid any spoilers.


----------



## vampiregenocide

I love the fact they still haven't stopped with the low angles of Miranda's ass at every opportunity they can get.


----------



## synrgy

The sad thing is, it totally worked. I couldn't resist going through the paces with one of my characters just to find out how they presented the romance with her.

I'm such a damn perv.


----------



## vampiregenocide

This is kinda a spoiler, but kinda not, so I'll put it in tags. If you have done the From Ashes DLC you can see it.



Spoiler



I really like Javik as a character, he has some great dialogue. He's totally not what I expected a Prothean to be like, and that's reflected in a lot of the other characters too. Liara finds it weird he's supposed to be this enlightened being and instead he's pretty much just a cold calculating soldier. I like how they did that and made him something you wouldn't expect. Some of his interactions with other characters in the game are really interesting. Wrex took him pretty easily though, remarking how Shepard seems to have abit of a travelling freakshow.


----------



## vampiregenocide

Also, drunk Tali is hilarious and Banshees are the most annoying enemy in the game.


----------



## bhakan

Spoiler



Did you guys have to decide to destroy the geth or the quarians? What did you guys pick?

I chose geth, as the server mission made it seem like they were the victims of the war, plus they seemed more useful.



oops, fixed with spoiler tags now.


----------



## SirMyghin

vampiregenocide said:


> Also, drunk Tali is hilarious and Banshees are the most annoying enemy in the game.



one wrong move, insta-killed.


----------



## Genome

Spoiler that shit bhakan!

Banshees fucking terrify me. That scream *shudders*



Spoiler



Miranda NOOOOOOOOOO


----------



## vampiregenocide

Regarding Miranda.



Spoiler



Is there a way to stop her dying? Apparently if you do her loyalty mission in ME2 and warned her about Kai Leng apparently she doesn't die, but I did both of these things and she still died.





Spoiler



I chose the to destroy the Geth, because I didn't want the Quarian fleet to get destroyed because I liked Tali. I liked Legion too though.  I didn't think the Quarians would wipe out all the Geth though, I sided with the Geth in that sense I thought they were victims too I just didn't want the Quarian fleet to be destroyed and Tali to hate me.





SirMyghin said:


> one wrong move, insta-killed.



Pretty much, though I figured a good weapon to use on them is the scorpion pistol (my fave pistol as it happens). The widow or black widow is awesome against all other heavy enemies.


----------



## MrGignac

I love the whole gun modification thing, really fun. seems a lot more open ended than the first 2. The decisions you make are a lot more intense. I chose to be a vanguard, but engineer seems cool too.


----------



## vampiregenocide

Definitely cool, though would be nice to be able to customise their colours.


----------



## AxeHappy

Just hitting the end game right now. Interested to see the way things go.



Spoiler



Miranda came through just fine in mine. I didn't even know she could die? 

And I got the Geth and Quarians to work together.


----------



## texshred777

MrGignac said:


> I love the whole gun modification thing, really fun. seems a lot more open ended than the first 2. The decisions you make are a lot more intense. I chose to be a vanguard, but engineer seems cool too.


 
I like that it's a combination of part 1 and 2. Character specific mods without a huge inventory to manage. Win.


----------



## texshred777

AxeHappy said:


> Just hitting the end game right now. Interested to see the way things go.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Miranda came through just fine in mine. I didn't even know she could die?
> 
> And I got the Geth and Quarians to work together.


 


Spoiler



I didn't get the paragon/renegade option to get them to work together. I either had to have one or the other. It must have been deleting instead of resetting the heretic geth in that ME2 playthrough I guess?


----------



## bhakan

The sheer amount of different choices in this game is hitting me from reading through this thread. The fact that all the decisions in this game and ME1 and 2 all pile up is mind blowing. Its like you need to play through the whole trilogy a couple hundred times to really get the full effect. 

This is the first Mass Effect game I've played, and I really regret not getting into it sooner.


----------



## Sicarius

I find myself randomly jumping around, nimbly bimbly with my Drell during MP.

I WANT TO MOVE FORWARD, NOT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN TWO FUCKING COVERS OVER AND OVER.


----------



## SirMyghin

vampiregenocide said:


> Pretty much, though I figured a good weapon to use on them is the scorpion pistol (my fave pistol as it happens). The widow or black widow is awesome against all other heavy enemies.



My vanguard didn't have time for anything but a shotgun and assault rifle (I like the spectre shotty and the vindicator AR, mostly as it is powerful and light).

My infiltrator though (the not probe playthrough) uses the black widow (amazing rifle) and scorpion though. Love the scorpion. Nasty bitch of a gun, great for taking down moving enemies to boot, as you can lead them and use the proxy mine functionality. Hits near as hard as the paladin too. (I may have cheated the money system a bit second playthrough )


----------



## Genome

vampiregenocide: you quoted the spoilers 

Just playing the final part now. Will probably finish it tomorrow morning.



Spoiler



I am just about to cross no-man's land... saying goodbye to Garrus was the worst! You guys probably wouldn't care, but it's insanely cool that the fight is taking place in London. It's about half-an-hour away from where I'm sitting right now. Also pretty neat that the trailer guy made an appearance. By-the-by, Miranda's death scene is pretty powerful if you are still in a relationship with her.



One thing I am intrigued about is how different the game would be if you had made a different decision about the council in ME1. And I'm still not sure about the effect of the Collector ship decision in ME2, unless that completely passed me by.



Spoiler



I destroyed it and he still managed to get some of the Human-Reaper into the Cerberus base from the wreckage.


----------



## SirMyghin

genome said:


> One thing I am intrigued about is how different the game would be if you had made a different decision about the council in ME1. And I'm still not sure about the effect of the Collector ship decision in ME2, unless that completely passed me by.



The changes are very subtle, can't speak for the collector ship though.


Spoiler



I have now played a let rachni queen go, vs a killed rachni queen. There was still rachni in the game though regardless. The difference was it was not a queen, but a genetically constructed 'breeder' from other rachni (as there were some running around in ME1). The words the queen in ME1 and the messanger in ME2 use, about the rachni being 'different' and having 'sour notes', etc, elude that they were being controlled as far back as the rachni wars, which may have been instigated by sovereign (who stayed back iirc, to bring in the other reapers at the right time) and would give the pass to reapers already having rachni genetic material kicking around though for their own devices. Maybe just a little softening up to pave the way, so to speak. We don't actually know how long Sovereign was working at this either.


----------



## Genome




----------



## SirMyghin

^^^

Holy shit that is amazing.


----------



## texshred777

SirMyghin said:


> My vanguard didn't have time for anything but a shotgun and assault rifle (I like the spectre shotty and the vindicator AR, mostly as it is powerful and light).
> 
> My infiltrator though (the not probe playthrough) uses the black widow (amazing rifle) and scorpion though. Love the scorpion. Nasty bitch of a gun, great for taking down moving enemies to boot, as you can lead them and use the proxy mine functionality. Hits near as hard as the paladin too. (I may have cheated the money system a bit second playthrough )


 
With my Adept I pretty much stuck with the Carniflex and Vindicator for the most bang-for-buck. Had recharge percentage of 188%-not significantly lower damage than the much heavier options.


----------



## Varcolac

texshred777 said:


> With my Adept I pretty much stuck with the Carniflex and Vindicator for the most bang-for-buck. Had recharge percentage of 188%-not significantly lower damage than the much heavier options.



On Adept I'm rolling with the N7 Hurricane V SMG or the Shuriken, and the Scorpion V pistol. It shoots explosives! Think I've got something like -188%, maybe less. I've got ultralight materials mod in the SMG to bring the weight down, and upgraded them to further reduce weight. I like the gun upgrade system; with the weight reduction that higher levels of a gun bring there's a reason to keep upgrading, even with power-spamming characters like the Adept. 



Spoiler



Got it for PC as well, and enjoying this playthrough slightly more, since background characters from ME1 are alive and well (Kirrahe, Conrad, there's probably going to be more later). It's still fun on PS3 on big screen surround-sound, and I really prefer the console controller to mouse-keyboard shooters these days, but I want my Salarian STG line-holding cloaca at my back. And Conrad has a PhD? What the actual fuck?



It's either that or get a brobox, replay ME1 and ME2 and get all my endings right, and I don't want to get a brobox.


----------



## synrgy

I beat the single player last night.

Some post-first-completion thoughts behind the spoiler tag below, including some kinda-responses to previous posts in the thread. Before reading, the preface for this character is that it is completionist from all three games and 100% paragon:



Spoiler



#1: Thane, NOOOOOOOO!!! I hear it's possible to save him, but I didn't have the option and I don't know what I could have possibly missed. 
#2: I didn't know Miranda could die. With this particular character, she was my romance option, and she lived through ME3. I was sad that Shep could only say goodbye to her (and most of the other characters) via video, before going on the final mission.
#3: I'm trying really, really hard to be satisfied by the ending. The final choice gives 3 options. After finishing the game making my first choice (synthesis) and being disappointed by the end scenes that resulted, I re-loaded and tried the other 2 options (destroy or control). The only notable difference between the 3 endings seems to be the color of explosion that rips through the Mass Relays. SERIOUSLY?! This God-Kid (or new manifestation of The Reapers to finally coerce Shep into indoctrination? Whatever..) only says the Mass Relays will be destroyed if we choose synthesis, but they're destroyed by all 3 choices. We don't get to see a post-war Earth, or any other planet? Now that the relays are destroyed, all those species that were aiding us in the war are now stuck on Earth? Why was Joker flying the Normandy out in the middle of nowhere when he was supposed to be fighting the Reapers in Earth orbit? How did his brittle bones survive the crash onto the unknown planet? How did the crew members I brought with me on the final mission end up on the Normandy? SO MUCH confusion. While I was *completely* satisfied with the way all my choices were reflected in the game leading up to the ending, I'm really disappointed to have discovered that ALL of it ultimately means fuck-all to how the actual end scene of the trilogy plays out.
#4: That mini-rant out of the way, this is still my favorite series of games EVER.


----------



## sakeido

Varcolac said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> And Conrad has a PhD? What the actual fuck?



Conrad Verner - 


Spoiler



He is actually the single most valuable war asset in the game. If you did a few things right in ME1 and ME2, you will get him as a war asset under "The Crucible" in ME3. He's worth 10,000 points because of some dissertation he wrote on dark matter.



not sure what exactly the conditions are - the one guy who discovered it got it by savegame hacking.

texshred777 - quarian/geth


Spoiler



to get the option to make peace between them, you need "peace points" and most of those you get in ME2 on tali's loyalty mission. if you can keep her from being exiled, destroy the Geth heretics instead of re-writing them, keep somebody alive in ME2 and then rescue the admiral in ME3 you will get a paragon/renegade dialog option to stop the quarians from attacking the geth while Legion does his upload.

on my playthrough, I couldn't do that. the quarians were out of control and the geth seemed like the only ones willing to move on, so I let Legion do his upload and the quarians were pretty much wiped out. then Tali went to jump off the cliff and my paragon button of ultimate justice didn't work.. so she killed herself.



and then that carried through to the ending


Spoiler



The destroy option destroys ALL synthetics, not just the Reapers. WTF?! I sacrificed the quarians to save the geth, so if I took that option I would have done it for nothing. not to mention that option takes out EDI as well. I had to go with control.

but all the endings were crap.



there are some DLC announcements coming so I'm assuming a new ending is among them. what they have right now does not cut it


----------



## synrgy

I got all that Conrad stuff in my play through. It's all about the Paragon!


----------



## SirMyghin

sakeido said:


> Conrad Verner -
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> He is actually the single most valuable war asset in the game. If you did a few things right in ME1 and ME2, you will get him as a war asset under "The Crucible" in ME3. He's worth 10,000 points because of some dissertation he wrote on dark matter.





Spoiler



Damn, I really wish I had not had him die in ME2 every time by sending him off like a lunatic . He must be the key everyone is missing to 'getting the best ending without multiplayer', aka getting 5000+ army, as he will do that alone pretty much.


----------



## synrgy

Wow. I may have to reconsider. This is getting interesting.

For those who have already beaten the game and are curious to see some theories related to the ending, I think the link below offers some good ideas:

The Truth Behind Mass Effect 3&#39;s ending. - Giant Bomb

TONS of spoilers there, so you should probably not read it if you haven't yet beaten the game.


----------



## sakeido

synrgy said:


> Wow. I may have to reconsider. This is getting interesting.
> 
> For those who have already beaten the game and are curious to see some theories related to the ending, I think the link below offers some good ideas:
> 
> The Truth Behind Mass Effect 3&#39;s ending. - Giant Bomb
> 
> TONS of spoilers there, so you should probably not read it if you haven't yet beaten the game.



Nah.... just nah. Even if what he says is true, the problem with the ending isn't the content - its the execution and brevity of it


----------



## synrgy

I dunno. He's making some pretty strong points, and it's all very fresh in my brain having just completed the game last night.


Spoiler



If nothing else, we already know the visual style of the dream sequences (the slow motion, the black ink-like stuff floating through the air..) earlier in the game, and they absolutely match the visual style of the end sequences.



I think he might be dead on; It's entirely possible that Bioware went and pulled a Chris Nolan on us. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes.

Whether or not that's a satisfying ending is another question, but having looked at it from this perspective, I'm getting more comfortable with it the more I think about it.


----------



## SirMyghin

synrgy said:


> I dunno. He's making some pretty strong points, and it's all very fresh in my brain having just completed the game last night.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> If nothing else, we already know the visual style of the dream sequences (the slow motion, the black ink-like stuff floating through the air..) earlier in the game, and they absolutely match the visual style of the end sequences.
> 
> 
> 
> I think he might be dead on; It's entirely possible that Bioware went and pulled a Chris Nolan on us. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes.
> 
> Whether or not that's a satisfying ending is another question, but having looked at it from this perspective, I'm getting more comfortable with it the more I think about it.





Spoiler



He makes some good points, as I remember seeing Shepard start to shaek off some ashed then the screen cut at the end, as I took out the reapers (and geth, consequently). The thought of Shepard being indoctrinated and fucked with had crossed my mind several times during the game, although I didn't draw connections between the slo-mo and end game, it seems a solid point. Everyone else seems to be indoctrinated so easily, and with a 3 year span an cerberus playing with reaper tech (making EDI at the same time), no reason Shepard could not have been getting indoctrinated. 

The hole in his thought process I catch is the star gazer's stories came AFTER Shepard wakes up, if I remember correctly anyway.


----------



## sakeido

SirMyghin said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> He makes some good points, as I remember seeing Shepard start to shaek off some ashed then the screen cut at the end, as I took out the reapers (and geth, consequently). The thought of Shepard being indoctrinated and fucked with had crossed my mind several times during the game, although I didn't draw connections between the slo-mo and end game, it seems a solid point. Everyone else seems to be indoctrinated so easily, and with a 3 year span an cerberus playing with reaper tech (making EDI at the same time), no reason Shepard could not have been getting indoctrinated.
> 
> The hole in his thought process I catch is the star gazer's stories came AFTER Shepard wakes up, if I remember correctly anyway.





Spoiler



I can get behind the indoctrinated theory. hell, I think its great. there is plenty in the game to back up that Shepard could have been a victim of slow indoctrination, which is harder to detect because it leaves the victim functional and outwardly normal until it kicks in when the Reapers need it. there is no reason Shepard alone should be immune to it. if the ending is about indoctrination, and the player fighting it with the game not overtly telling you what's going on ... awesome! 

but in the end, there is no closure. after ME2's loyalty missions, and the big moments in ME3 - Tuchanka, Rannoch - the game is not just about Shepard. the game made you care about your party members and the galaxy. I was fighting to save that galaxy, and the races my party belonged to. I wanted futures for the humans, turians, krogan, asari, geth.. and the quarians too, but sorry about that... I want to know if I succeeded. If I failed, I want to know how badly. Right now, the game does not tell you one way or another.

They tried wrapping up a trilogy I have played for about ~90 hours in 5 minutes or less. Even if this guy's theory is true, that still does not excuse the ending. Even if you did resist the indoctrination, had a high enough readiness, and unlocked the "best" ending - you still don't know shit about what happened! In all likelihood, Hammer did get wiped out, Anderson died on the ground, and Shepard didn't manage to catch the transporter up to the Citadel. The Catalyst probably hasn't activated, the Citadel was likely still closed, the fleets were still getting hammered in orbit.... so then what?!



kinda get what I'm driving at?

this is why I am 1,000% convinced there is going to be an Epilogue or Real Ending DLC announced shortly


----------



## synrgy

Spoiler



Yeah, I get that, and I agree. I definitely don't like that we don't get any chance to see the fruits (or rotten fruits) of our labors. Knowing for certain that there's DLC coming down the pike, it's hard to say yet just how this will play out, but I guess all I'm saying is that considering the indoctrination theory at least helped me feel _less_ disappointed by the end scenes. As I played through them, the idea that Shepard was indoctrinated never once occurred to me, so the whole thing seemed a LOT more random and pointless than it does now.

But again, I'm with you. I wanted to see Quarians walking around their home world without their enviro-suits on, doing Hands-Across-Rannoch with the Geth. I wanted to see a Krogan baby, Kaiden retired, Garrus and Tali making their lives together, Jack doing whatever Jack does, etc etc.

Mostly, I'm just bothered that all those decisions we made were inconsequential when it came down to the last 10-15 minutes, and that each of the 3 "choices" presented nearly identical cookie-cutter results.


----------



## SirMyghin

sakeido said:


> kinda get what I'm driving at?
> 
> this is why I am 1,000% convinced there is going to be an Epilogue or Real Ending DLC announced shortly





Spoiler



The biggest weigh in for me, that got me thinking indoctrination were the whispering shades in his dreams. They explain so much of it in the previous games, so why not give it a shot. Then you have the whole 'the slower you are indoctrinated the longer you remain very useful', even Saren thought he was saving the galaxy. 

What irks me is if this was all intentional, were they planning to just leave it if people didn't backlash? And only consider wrapping it up because people did? That, imo, is a bit hokey. A nicer touch would have been regaining control after you wake up (choosing destroy) and having the other two taper off, if that was the case. Unless they didn't want to unleash something until after it had a chance to set in. I mean they show you shepard (well a hunk of black in crap with a N7 tag) start to move if you destroy the reapers, but all other accounts are 'you died'.



On a much lighter note. What happens when a Turian runs out of ammo?

He switches to the stick up his ass as a backup weapon  (didn't see that exchange first playthrough).


----------



## sakeido

SirMyghin said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The biggest weigh in for me, that got me thinking indoctrination were the whispering shades in his dreams. They explain so much of it in the previous games, so why not give it a shot. Then you have the whole 'the slower you are indoctrinated the longer you remain very useful', even Saren thought he was saving the galaxy.
> 
> What irks me is if this was all intentional, were they planning to just leave it if people didn't backlash? And only consider wrapping it up because people did? That, imo, is a bit hokey. A nicer touch would have been regaining control after you wake up (choosing destroy) and having the other two taper off, if that was the case. Unless they didn't want to unleash something until after it had a chance to set in. I mean they show you shepard (well a hunk of black in crap with a N7 tag) start to move if you destroy the reapers, but all other accounts are 'you died'.
> 
> 
> 
> On a much lighter note. What happens when a Turian runs out of ammo?
> 
> He switches to the stick up his ass as a backup weapon  (didn't see that exchange first playthrough).



ending:


Spoiler



I think it was just deadlines playing against them. even the ending we have shows some roughness around the edges - you can find a Hall of Mirrors effect in one place in the "choice room" with the ghostly kid.. classic graphical glitch. The kid looked dumb too. The transparent white platform looked hastily done compared to the absolutely outstanding visuals elsewhere, and the color swapped endings absolutely reeked of a rush job.

If I was the project manager in charge and recognize my deadline wasn't going to give me enough time, I would have heavily prioritized everything leading up to the ending and then done an ending with whatever time was left, resorting to a hastily rigged up placeholder if need be. Then I'd send the game out for QA/QC to get certified and go gold and all that, and start working - hard - on the real ending, to put it out as DLC hopefully no more than a month after the game is released.

I don't like it, but I'm pretty sure that is what ended up happening. The devs have a lot of time after sending out the game to "go gold" before it actually is released - they usually just use that time to bug test and celebrate, but I bet BioWare still hasn't let up and has been developing our real ending this whole time.


----------



## AxeHappy

So...I just finished my 1st of many playthroughs. 



Spoiler



And...the ending was just bullshit. The fact that they felt the need to show you a text box after the endings, "Shepard goes down in legend..." not only is a slap in the face but disproves the theory presented above anyways. 

It actually made the ending of Deus Ex: Human Revolution seem satisfactory and I decided not to buy that game based off how disappointed in the endings I was.

Everything was awesome...everything. Right up until God Child came about and starting shitting on everything. It's like they decided to let George Lucas write the last 20 minutes of the game. 

Why couldn't we just have a YAY! ending. You know? Shepard gets the catalyst, and it's just an Epic Weapon of Reaper death? That's what I wanting. That's what I felt the series had been building too. The other 2 games had happy feel good endings (at least ME1 did in my 4 so far play throughs and ME2 did both times I beat it...more to come) but this... 

It made no sense whatsoever. I disapprove. And if Shepard is dead...what DLC can they add? They can put stuff in there that effects stuff before the ending but nothing after? Unless they pull a (George Lucas-esque) Retcon. Which I think I'd be okay with at this point. 




Spoiler



I re-wrote the heretics in Legions Mission and got the Geth and Quarians to ally. I was also super Paragon (with a couple of Renegade choices throughout the whole series. Things My Shepard would have done) so maybe that had something to do with it.

Also, I'm reasonably sure it's not possible to save Thane.







In general, I still think it's game of the year. I wish they could have fucked off with Vega and EDI as Squad members and given us Grunt or Mordin, but didn't work into Bioware's supreme (until the George Lucas Ending) writing and so I'm okay with it. I honestly can not state how intense and epic and moving (hell my Girlfriend was engrossed in the story just *watching* me play) and just outstanding as hell the game was (despite some minor annoyances) right up until the ending.


Edit:
I'm 100% in agreeance with the above Spoiler tagged post. Most of my minor quibbles are stuff that could have been solved if EA hadn't forced Bioware into a Call of Duty like release schedule.


----------



## vampiregenocide

Spoiler



Just finished the game. I don't think it was deadline issues. Games get pushed back a lot nowadays, they wouldn't potentially ruin a franchise by rushing it and giving the last game a shitty ending.

For my final choice, I decided to destroy synthetic life. Apparently this is the right choice to make, but I didn't like it. It didn't make sense at all, and that forum post you linked to did raise a few points I missed. 

It all did start getting weird after Shepard gets knocked out. You hear over the radio everyone is dead, did they not notice Shepard and Anderson? Also, my squadmates completely disappeared, yet I had Liara on my team and yet she showed up in the final cutscene with Joker on that planet. How did she go from the Citadel beam to the Normandy in such a short time? And where exactly where they going?

That bit about Anderson and Shepard having the same path makes sense. There was no other way Anderson could have got to that control panel without following the same path as Shepard. They should have seen each other. 

Then there is the kid, why is he the Guardian's image? Doesn't make sense. 

Too many things don't add up and it wouldn't make sense to have the endings like this unless they had something planned. I hope they explain this with a DLC otherwise it really is just a shit ending.


----------



## Sicarius

so many spoiler tags.

It's a sea of green, and it's not even St. Patty's day, yet. 

Would anyone be interested in playing the ME3 MP? My Origin name is Sicarius23


----------



## AxeHappy

PC or console?


----------



## SirMyghin

I am around from time to time, albeit leaving for work next tuesday. Not sure how much staying power this will have for long term multiplayer  

I probably won't have much time to play before I leave but my username is the same as on here.


----------



## vampiregenocide

I really like the multiplayer. It's simple, but good.


----------



## Sicarius

AxeHappy said:


> PC or console?


Origin = PC


----------



## Genome

I just beat it. I pretty much echo everyone's sentiments here.


----------



## AxeHappy

Sicarius said:


> Origin = PC



Touche.


----------



## Sicarius

<3


----------



## Vinchester

Spoiler



I agree that the ending(s) sequence seem so idyllic/symbolic that it couldn't have really happened. Apparently rushed! Tbh I kinda agree with the above post that Shephard has been under some form of indoctrination and the ending choice are rigged. Nice twist but we need a proper epilogue. I'm quite disappointed at the (supposed) fall of Illusive Man, one of the most charismatic character I've seen in a long time. 

Also what happened to everyone on the Citadel? Bailey, the Council, Aria? A wholesale character wipe? So many loose ends!



I think Starwars KOTOR and KOTOR2(to a lesser extent) have much better ending wrap-up in that it resolves the story to a satisfactory conclusion. ME3's ending had me feel like this -______- , so indifferent. It is clear to me now that the devs are holding back on "true ending" for further DLC money printing.

I'm going to pirate the shit out of that. 



Spoiler



Also, I LOL'ed so hard in the dead rush scene where you're running towards the transport beam. I looked back and I see Garrus and Liara(my squad) STOOD STILL AND NOT FOLLOWING. They were like "That's stupid. Nah."


----------



## Sicarius

Don't talk about pirating something.

Also, for those finishing the game, what was your Galactic Readiness Rating?


----------



## vampiregenocide

Spoiler



That's a good point, I guess the Citadel was evacuated?


----------



## Genome

Spoiler



I just cannot for the life of me understand why Bioware would undo 100+ hours of absolutely astonishing, compelling, wonderful gaming with such an expansive universe in 20 minutes of nonsensical rubbish. The only thing I could think of is the indoctrination/dream sequence theory. I didn't see Shepard wake up on Earth at the end as I assume I didn't finish enough of it or get a high enough score. That throws up even more questions, as then the game has no ending. 

If there isn't more on this, then it's an utterly bizarre move from Bioware. And if Bioware charge for a DLC, then there's going to be a bigger shitstorm than this!

Someone tell me it's all going to be OK


----------



## SirMyghin

genome said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I just cannot for the life of me understand why Bioware would undo 100+ hours of absolutely astonishing, compelling, wonderful gaming with such an expansive universe in 20 minutes of nonsensical rubbish. The only thing I could think of is the indoctrination/dream sequence theory. I didn't see Shepard wake up on Earth at the end as I assume I didn't finish enough of it or get a high enough score. That throws up even more questions, as then the game has no ending.
> 
> If there isn't more on this, then it's an utterly bizarre move from Bioware. And if Bioware charge for a DLC, then there's going to be a bigger shitstorm than this!
> 
> Someone tell me it's all going to be OK





Spoiler



You only wake up if you choose to destroy the reapers, not control or synthesis. This kind of supports the indoctrination theory, as the other 2 one is something you effectively don't buy the game through, the other is just too fairytale. AKA give in, or fight. You give in, Shepards story is over. 

My two cents


----------



## Genome

SirMyghin said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> You only wake up if you choose to destroy the reapers, not control or synthesis. This kind of supports the indoctrination theory, as the other 2 one is something you effectively don't buy the game through, the other is just too fairytale. AKA give in, or fight. You give in, Shepards story is over.
> 
> My two cents





Spoiler



I went to the far right, Shepard seemed to 'recover' before shooting the Power Conduit. That was the 'destroy' option, right? I didn't see any waking up.

It all seems so far-fetched to be real.


----------



## Mordacain

I finished this past Saturday and still am not sure what I think of it. Per my wife's request I got it for the 360 which I did not have previous character saves on so I was rather disappointed with the stock story choices. Loved the game but like most, am a bit annoyed with the ending. I rushed through the game as well, so I'm definitely going to take my time when my PC copy shows up.

I've taken advantage of the Origin spring sale though and picked up ME 1 and ME 2 for PC and am going to roll my own character the right way. Definitely hoping that Bioware revisits this universe again in some capacity though as every game in the series has a place in my personal top 5 games (along with Dragon Age: Origins).


----------



## vampiregenocide

genome said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I went to the far right, Shepard seemed to 'recover' before shooting the Power Conduit. That was the 'destroy' option, right? I didn't see any waking up.
> 
> It all seems so far-fetched to be real.





Spoiler



Yeah, then the Citadel explodes aha.

I'm leaning towards the indoctrination theory. It adds up. I didn't get the waking up scene either, though I checked it out on youtube.


----------



## AxeHappy

Spoiler



To get the breathe...scene... you need 5000+ Effective military strength and to have chosen to destroy the Reapers. 

That's it. Nothing else you've done in the entire Mass Effect Universe matters. Just that. Is there a *Bitter* emoticon?


----------



## SirMyghin

vampiregenocide said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, then the Citadel explodes aha.
> 
> I'm leaning towards the indoctrination theory. It adds up. I didn't get the waking up scene either, though I checked it out on youtube.





Spoiler



Another interesting facett is that as your EMS rises you get more choices. With a low EMS you only get destroy. 2800 opens synthesis, apparently. This hints that the reapers aren't worried about you, if you come in with a low EMS, possibly, they do not need to worry about pushing more on Shepards possible indoctrination, he has lost either way. Then otherwise you get some other tantilizing choices, you don't want to die, you might be part synthetic? You don't want the geth to die, choose these nice alternatives. However you don't die despite your implants when you choose destroy... Your squad mates from the final run also step off the normandy.... I can't believe a mistake like that would be made, that one is too far out. 

Wheels within Wheels. 

The crowd overall seems polar, but what I have noticed is the people on the hate side are just sitting there saying bad ending, and not trying to get anything from it. The theorists are having a blast despite what side they seem to take. Most criticize the brevity, but that is the only common ground. Remember when people got mad accusing the Dark Knight (of all things) of being too smart ?


]
Then you have these cryptic bioware tweets...
http://www.tentonhammer.com/me3/news/twitter-posts-hint-at-more-possible-surprises-for-mass-effect-3%20?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss


----------



## Vinchester

Don't know if anyone has posted this yet, but it's made me LOL SO DAMN HARD 

since the green spoiler tag doesn't work with youtube link,
SPOILER WARNING!!!
 (only at halfway through the vid so the screen cap's safe)


----------



## xvultures

This is all I have to say


----------



## vampiregenocide

Spoiler



There is a rumour that there is a new DLC coming out very soon called 'The Truth'. Apparently it is the proper, full ending to Mass Effect 3, as well as an expansion to the multiplayer.


----------



## synrgy

vampiregenocide said:


> (image of theoretical hidden pack that unlocks everything)



I think that's bunk. This is just a theory, but I'm not familiar with a "Battlemaster" player class, such as the label shows in that image for one of the Krogan characters. *edit* Looks like they're also trying to pretend there will be an Asari "Justicar" player class. I call bull shit.

The below link is to a hilarious meme picture, but it's spoiler-ish so I'm not going to image tag it:

http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ME3yodawg.jpg


----------



## AxeHappy

I believe Wrex was a Battlemaster in Mass Effect 1? And Samara obviously is the Justicar. 

The whole thing they were pushing in the Multi-player is that you can play stuff you can't do with Shepard so I can see it.


----------



## Sicarius

Geth infiltrator ftw.



Spoiler



did you guys notice the white/red arm, and the screwed up N7 chest logo on the Geth helper dude? Legion?


----------



## Genome

Sicarius said:


> Geth infiltrator ftw.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> did you guys notice the white/red arm, and the screwed up N7 chest logo on the Geth helper dude? Legion?



Yeah, you see that in the second one.


Spoiler



He says he made it from Shepard's N7 armour at the Normandy's crash site.


----------



## vampiregenocide

synrgy said:


> I think that's bunk. This is just a theory, but I'm not familiar with a "Battlemaster" player class, such as the label shows in that image for one of the Krogan characters. *edit* Looks like they're also trying to pretend there will be an Asari "Justicar" player class. I call bull shit.



Why? Both of those classes are mentioned in the games, and it makes sense they would give more characters as expansions not just maps. I think this is perfectly believable.


----------



## synrgy

Just an opinion. I mean, why would they build a whole new class for only one character?

I find it easier to believe we'll get new races built in to the classes we already have: Adept, Soldier, Infiltrator, Vanguard, Sentinel.

Just an opinion/prediction. We'll all find out soon enough.


----------



## synrgy

Here's another funny one; not image tagged so as to prevent spoilers.

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv229/Oregondiver1/xUq9t.png


----------



## Varcolac

Just did the Tuchanka mission.



Spoiler



My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian,
I am the very model of a-



 MANLY TEARS.

Seriously, fuck... even though I've spoilered the hell out of the endings, the journey to those endings, no matter how bad they might be, is an emotional rollercoaster with gun battles.

The save transfer thing was a *really* good call by Bioware. This trilogy, more than any other videogame series, feels epic and personal and amazing from a storytelling point of view. 



Spoiler



also fuck Udina.

And more importantly fuck the writers for being so good: Gilbert and Sullivan is making me tear up now, for a shadily-ethic'd amphibian geneticist.


----------



## Erazoender

Overall good game. Ending wasn't TERRIBLE but certainly lackluster for what I was expecting. The music brought tears to me, both on the grounds that the series is over and I now have Mass Effect syndrome (Fuck Avatar syndrome) and that the song itself was incredibly emotionally moving.



Spoiler



I was incredibly disappointed that they didn't put more effort in the Tali scenes though, they were good but the Liara scenes were much more intimate. And I really wished they went in depth as to what happened to your LI. Alas I hope the rumors are true and "The Truth" DLC will reveal the indoctrination theory to be true and I get more time with my Tali  Seriously though I'm okay for the ending so long as they explain more as to what exactly happened, and if Shepherd was able to be with his LI. Though it would be incredibly heartbreaking and more powerful if all options Shepherd died while thinking of his LI.... hey I'm 17 okay I'm entitled to have obsessions over a video game character.... this series made me lose interest in human females so deal with it. Talllliiiii....



But I must add, if Bioware does respond to the fans request with the DLC and changes it, I will hold infinite respect for Bioware.

EDIT: Picture sums it up.


----------



## Genome

Yeah, the piano theme (at the beginning when you're leave Earth and you see the boy) is amazing. It's stretched down in the dream sequences.


----------



## Sicarius

so I just finished the game:



Spoiler



when you land on earth and have to fight your way through the reaper synthetics, I died, I kid you not, 20 times. By the time I was through and almost to the beam, I was on the verge of crying. I could feel how dire the situation was, and how hopeless it seemed. Wave after wave, the Brutes weren't that bad, but the banshees and Marauders, were the worst, that last wave, man. holy shit. However I didn't have a 3rd choice, or at least the little ghost boy, didn't tell me of one.




Did I miss something with the ending, though? I found it to be fitting (I chose the "good" option) for the end of a franchise. Like what needs to be fixed?


----------



## Erazoender

Sicarius said:


> so I just finished the game:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> when you land on earth and have to fight your way through the reaper synthetics, I died, I kid you not, 20 times. By the time I was through and almost to the beam, I was on the verge of crying. I could feel how dire the situation was, and how hopeless it seemed. Wave after wave, the Brutes weren't that bad, but the banshees and Marauders, were the worst, that last wave, man. holy shit. However I didn't have a 3rd choice, or at least the little ghost boy, didn't tell me of one.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did I miss something with the ending, though? I found it to be fitting (I chose the "good" option) for the end of a franchise. Like what needs to be fixed?



People are annoyed because you don't know what happens at all. I want to know what happened to Tali...


----------



## Sicarius

Erazoender said:


> People are annoyed because you don't know what happens at all. I want to know what happened to Tali...





Spoiler



Well, if she was in your party when the beam hit, she's dead. 

On another note, the dude thinks it's a dream because Shep is in slow motion after waking up (among other reasons, yes)? He's injured, they're trying to simulate that, by making him move a lot slower, as you do, when you've miraculously survived a laser beam attack


----------



## Erazoender

Sicarius said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Well, if she was in your party when the beam hit, she's dead.
> 
> On another note, the dude thinks it's a dream because Shep is in slow motion after waking up (among other reasons, yes)? He's injured, they're trying to simulate that, by making him move a lot slower, as you do, when you've miraculously survived a laser beam attack





Spoiler



No she's not, she got out of the Normandy at the scene when they crashed into the random planet.


----------



## SirMyghin

Erazoender said:


> People are annoyed because you don't know what happens at all. I want to know what happened to Tali...



People are annoyed as they don't want to think through the obvious answers and have a nice little package story book ending complete with full 'in future years X went through all these wonderful things and did some stuff!'. Something like that would be absolutely absurd (and always is), imo. You can't ask people to think nowadays, they want everything handed to them.



Spoiler



Pay better attention to your 'normandy crash scene'. People on the ship getting off of it were down there with you, charging the laser. That among other things should be a pretty damned good clue something isn't right. There are a whole lot of such hints if you pay attention. Mistakes that blatant don't happen by accident.


----------



## AxeHappy

Here's the thing though SirMyghin. Even if the indoctrination/dream thing turn out to be true (and it's appearing more and more that they will whether Bioware intended it at first or not) than they still left the actual ending out of the game! 

Unless the DLC that gives us the ending is free that will actually piss me off *more* than just a shitty ending that made no sense.

In theory the sort of meta-game where you are choosing whether Shepard is indoctrinated or not could be the most brilliant writing we've ever seen in a video game. And for it to work we had to think it was the ending. But still. Some word on DLC (FREE!) be now would be nice. 



Spoiler



@Sicarius, how many choices you get at the end is effected by your Effective Military Strength and whether or not you destroyed the collector base or not at the end of ME2. From what I've read if you had 5000+ and kept the Collect Base at the end of ME2 you can only get the, "good," ending.


----------



## Sicarius

Erazoender said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> No she's not, she got out of the Normandy at the scene when they crashed into the random planet.





Spoiler



during my playthrough, it only showed the door opening, then credits rolled, and it went into some weird planet that had some telling a little kid about "The Shepard"


----------



## SirMyghin

AxeHappy said:


> Unless the DLC that gives us the ending is free that will actually piss me off *more* than just a shitty ending that made no sense.



Seeing as they by all accounts have withheld what they call the ending to create a rise out of fans, I agree with you. If you have to pay for it after the stunt, that is abhorrent. It has however made the game rather unforgettable no? 

While I don't agree with the methods/execution it is a unique idea we haven't seen before. Albeit the same effect could be achieved by some after credits rolled playing. That would however blow over too quickly, and not achieve near so much ire. 

I like the idea, not the execution. At the same time I cannot think of another way to achieve the desired effect. So while not standard, and possibly groundbreaking the only reason there is to rage (if whatever they do with it is free) is that it is non-standard. I know that is the greatest sin you can inflict on society (oh noes, it is different, kill it!), but let's wait until all the cards are on the table. It is one hell of a gamble either way, and not the kind I would expect from a publisher like EA, unless everything was laid out very clearly from the getgo. As far as I am concerned EA makes safe, boring games 99% of the time.


----------



## vampiregenocide

If it's a free DLC/expansion, then I think that's an awesome idea. If it resolves the ending better then I could just treat it as a cliffhanger to be resolved in the next episode, just like TV series do all the time. If you have to pay for it, then that is stupid because you're essentially paying extra for a complete game.


Also, I have named my Krogan Sentinel 'Koloss'.


----------



## Erazoender

SirMyghin said:


> People are annoyed as they don't want to think through the obvious answers and have a nice little package story book ending complete with full 'in future years X went through all these wonderful things and did some stuff!'. Something like that would be absolutely absurd (and always is), imo. You can't ask people to think nowadays, they want everything handed to them.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Pay better attention to your 'normandy crash scene'. People on the ship getting off of it were down there with you, charging the laser. That among other things should be a pretty damned good clue something isn't right. There are a whole lot of such hints if you pay attention. Mistakes that blatant don't happen by accident.



It's a story, you can't simply re-write what happened just because you don't like it. It's like saying Tali died in Mass Effect 2 but I didn't like it so I'm going to pretend that she's still alive... it doesn't work that way lol. If it were me and Tali died, I would back hours in saves to ensure she isn't harmed in any way...


Spoiler



I did this when I didn't have enough paragon to rally the Quarians with the Geth 



Now I know there's a line between re-writing what happened and being creative with coming up with an answer to what happened in the ending. That's how we all came up with the indoctrination theory. When I was playing the last mission that was the first thing that came to mind, namely, "Wait what the fuck this makes no sense... unless....."


----------



## vampiregenocide

I definitely think there is something up with the ending and it was deliberate on the part of Bioware. Some of their people have posted some cryptic updates regarding the ending and DLC. I was quite annoyed at first with the ending, but I'm now kinda excited to see how they tie it off. If they don't and just leave it as it is, then I'll be annoyed.


----------



## AxeHappy

If it's a Meta-game thing (with you playing through Shepard's indoctrination and being able to COMPLETELY FUCK IT UP) with a free DLC it could easily be the single best moment of video game writing ever. Right up there with Planescape Torment and whatnot. 

If the DLC is some tacked on, fix it because the fans complained thingy and charge them a bunch for it...then it will easily be an example of the worst kind of story telling in video game. Not the worst but an example of the worst kind.

As I read more, though, I'm starting to buy into the indoctrination theory. As the only other answer is that Shepard was dreaming (in which case he should breath after all 3 endings) or that Bioware just decided to shit all over us.


----------



## Erazoender

AxeHappy said:


> If it's a Meta-game thing (with you playing through Shepard's indoctrination and being able to COMPLETELY FUCK IT UP) with a free DLC it could easily be the single best moment of video game writing ever. Right up there with Planescape Torment and whatnot.
> 
> If the DLC is some tacked on, fix it because the fans complained thingy and charge them a bunch for it...then it will easily be an example of the worst kind of story telling in video game. Not the worst but an example of the worst kind.
> 
> As I read more, though, I'm starting to buy into the indoctrination theory. As the only other answer is that Shepard was dreaming (in which case he should breath after all 3 endings) or that Bioware just decided to shit all over us.



As I said if Bioware did this intentionally they're the biggest trolls ever.


----------



## texshred777

Ok, I've been waiting since Wednesday to post my thoughts on the ending.



Spoiler



While executed well, the piano theme in particular is beautiful-it seems like a weird mix of Battlestar Gallactica and Matrix Reloaded. You get an "overseer/architect" giving you choices that aren't at all what you've been fighting for..and in the end technology is set back by centuries/millenia due to a choice to abandon it because organics will always contruct VI/AI that in turn causes war and chaos. I'm surprised the ending music wasn't All Along the Watchtower...

Why the Hell is Joker flying away? How the Hell did Ashley end up on the Normandy? She should have been utterly destroyed in the final push to the beam. On top of that, what luck to crash land on a planet that's inhabitable by humans. If there is a DLC, it'd better be a free one. Even if it doesn't give us the ending we were hoping for-at least one that makes sense or explains what the fuck just happened.


----------



## K-Roll

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qYm738hq1o&feature=related even hitler shepard does not understand


----------



## pink freud

K-Roll said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qYm738hq1o&feature=related even hitler shepard does not understand



All the sudden I have the urge to make a Hitler Shepard in game...


----------



## Genome

Does anyone else love the War of the Worlds sound the Reapers make?


----------



## vampiregenocide

Yeah, I noticed that similarity too.  Much scarier though.


----------



## synrgy

Cool info about how they found/made the Reaper sounds:



Turns out all this time we were running around trying to save the galaxy from trash cans. 

*edit* to skip the attractive yet annoying woman, cut to somewhere just past the 2:18 mark.


----------



## Erazoender

Mass Effect 3 ending: BioWare admits fans needed "more closure" &bull; News &bull; Eurogamer.net It's looking better and better...


----------



## vampiregenocide

So they basically just admitted they did rush it...


----------



## leandroab

Spoiler



................................................................................................................................... . . . . gotcha!


----------



## Genome

Like others have said, I don't particularly care that it wouldn't be a happy rainbow ending, I'd just like something that makes the ending make sense and slot in perfectly. 

Most of all, so we get our questions _answered_, in whichever way that may be. It is so frustrating to pour that many hours of our lives into the game to end up with more questions than answers.

I damn hope we do get some proper closure on it - the whole of the game up until


Spoiler



when you get hit by Harbinger's laser


 is gaming perfection.


----------



## SirMyghin

vampiregenocide said:


> So they basically just admitted they did rush it...



Not necessarily, just that it was undecided until late in the cycle, which could lead to scramble. It could just be a 'we delayed because' (I enjoy poking at assumptions more than anything)

As far as answering questions, I still prefer questions being unanswered. I have always prefer to think about the blanks as opposed to being told what to think. I know some folks who were displeased by the ending to Malazan: Book of the Fallen but I would not have wanted that any different either. Or how about the ending to the Dark Tower. .


----------



## Genome

Mass Effect needed a closure to it, IMO. Maybe a couple of loose ends, but nothing major. Conclude Shepard's story, tell us what happened to the enemy I've been fighting over 3 games now, the last thing it needed was to be ambiguous. 

That's just me.

One thing I did find funny with ME3, was the side quests. 

"OMG the Reapers are invading and killing hundreds of thousands a day!!"
"K hang on just need to find an old screw on a distant planet"


----------



## vampiregenocide

I don't mind a few questions unanswered, but it'd like ending Star Wars Episode VI half way through and saying 'THAT'S IT. NOTHING MORE TO SEE HERE. GO HOME FOLKS'. That, or getting naked with the hottest girl you've ever seen, about to get it on and then she's like 'actually I'm feeling a bit unwell, can we just watch a film?'. 

KILLS THE JOY.


----------



## SirMyghin

^^

To each their own, maybe something that I find intriguing will surface in the next 3 weeks, which I will fortunately be completely isolated from (being at work and all that).


----------



## The Uncreator

Beat the game twice, and I still find the ending fulfilling and enjoyable. All the problems people had with it, the things they claimed were unanswered, I instantly recognized a possible solution.

I am not the smartest person in the world, I am fairly sure though you were meant to think about this ending long after it was over. Gamers are apparently lazy in this regard (at least sometimes). I came up with conclusions to everything people said was wrong, I just don't get it, if people would just think...for a moment, by a moment I mean 20-30 minutes so maybe thats too strenuous, it would make sense.

There are some minor flaws here and there, like the glitched geth line in the dialogue and the


Spoiler



AI Childs assumption about synthetics and organics, But am I the only who thought that maybe the AI child was a tool for indoctrinating Shepard? meant to mislead with disinformation and confusion? I believe the only choice that does not suggest Shepard is indoctrinated is the destruction one, and that was your final act of defiance against the reapers, a beautiful one at that.



There are mysteries for sure, I like that, makes me think with the DLC coming they have more to add to this epic franchise.


----------



## vampiregenocide

If that is the real nature of the ending, and it is expanded on via DLC then yeah I think it's awesome. But if the current ending genuinely is it, and they're leaving it at that, then I feel that's a very dull and confusing way to finish a great series. I was left with more questions after the end than I had in the first place.


----------



## AxeHappy

Indeed. The problem isn't questions unanswered but rather more questions being created in the last 10-20 minutes of the game. 

Plus, you can answer a few, some or even many questions and still leave things unanswered.


----------



## Andromalia

SirMyghin said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Pay better attention to your 'normandy crash scene'. People on the ship getting off of it were down there with you, charging the laser. That among other things should be a pretty damned good clue something isn't right. There are a whole lot of such hints if you pay attention. Mistakes that blatant don't happen by accident.




Two possibilities: 



Spoiler



1) You are right
2) You are wrong and they just botchd the ending. I vote for 2.


----------



## synrgy

The Uncreator said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> But am I the only who thought that maybe the AI child was a tool for indoctrinating Shepard?



No, you're not the only one. We've been having that conversation for a few pages now, I think. 

I'm on my second play-through now, going for Insanity since it accounts for the only 2 achievements I don't yet have. Ending aside, the first 97% of the game is amazeballs.


----------



## AxeHappy

synrgy said:


> Ending aside, the first 97% of the game is amazeballs.




Quoted for truth. 

Did insanity on my first play through. 



You will hate yourself on Earth.


----------



## Sicarius

My friend played it on hard, and he had a similar feeling.


----------



## synrgy

AxeHappy said:


> Quoted for truth.
> 
> Did insanity on my first play through.
> 
> 
> 
> You will hate yourself on Earth.



So far, it hasn't inspired the "I'd rather punch myself in the nuts repeatedly than try that again" feeling that I got from playing ME2 on insanity. I think part of the difference maker here is that I imported my completed ME3 save to start the insanity play-through, and that character was already at level 56, so while the game has been throwing *more* enemies at me, they don't seem any harder to kill; it just takes longer. I'm almost maxed out, now (character and weapon upgrades) and so far it's been surprisingly easy.

I mean, it's still early going. I'll tell you how I feel about it again after I finish the final mission on Earth (or give up trying).


----------



## Sicarius

The Falcon, even at level 1, made Brutes and Marauders cake on normal. When I finish this play through, I'm going to jump balls deep into insanity.


----------



## The Uncreator

synrgy said:


> No, you're not the only one. We've been having that conversation for a few pages now, I think.
> 
> I'm on my second play-through now, going for Insanity since it accounts for the only 2 achievements I don't yet have. Ending aside, the first 97% of the game is amazeballs.



I was talking to the other people out in the web that in no way shape or form will ever see this lol


----------



## texshred777

synrgy said:


> Ending aside, the first 97% of the game is amazeballs.


 
Very true. I'm still playing it through a few more times. 

If only I could get the damned Galaxy at War part to work! This is so frustrating. I can play all the MP I want, but it gives me no single player benefit.


----------



## Genome

Interesting bit of news from a friend.

As some of you know there are mini-games on the iPhone (like a new Cerberus mission or something) and one of the 'apps' is something where you can keep track of all your war assets and check email.

Apparently those users got something like this to their inbox yesterday to their 'inbox' from Ashley Williams



Spoiler



"So I finally got to see Shepard in the hospital. Think he will make it"



Or something like that. I can't find a source for it though.


----------



## texshred777

genome said:


> Interesting bit of news from a friend.
> 
> As some of you know there are mini-games on the iPhone (like a new Cerberus mission or something) and one of the 'apps' is something where you can keep track of all your war assets and check email.
> 
> Apparently those users got something like to their inbox this yesterday to their 'inbox' from Ashley Williams
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> "So I finally got to see Shepard in the hospital. Think he will make it"
> 
> 
> 
> Or something like that. I can't find a source for it though.


 
Very interesting indeed.


----------



## Genome

genome said:


> Apparently those users got something like to their inbox this yesterday to their 'inbox' from Ashley Williams



Ladies and Gentleman, this is why you should proof-read.


----------



## texshred777

My wife's dislexic, I pieced it together.


----------



## AxeHappy

synrgy said:


> So far, it hasn't inspired the "I'd rather punch myself in the nuts repeatedly than try that again" feeling that I got from playing ME2 on insanity. I think part of the difference maker here is that I imported my completed ME3 save to start the insanity play-through, and that character was already at level 56, so while the game has been throwing *more* enemies at me, they don't seem any harder to kill; it just takes longer. I'm almost maxed out, now (character and weapon upgrades) and so far it's been surprisingly easy.
> 
> I mean, it's still early going. I'll tell you how I feel about it again after I finish the final mission on Earth (or give up trying).




I found ME2 on Insanity really easy (And I just found the interface and control of ME1 to annoying on harder difficulties). Especially compared to ME3. 

Although I was only a level 30 (ME2 import) so that might have had something to do it. Level 59 at the end of the game though, so I'm reasonably sure you'll hate yourself too!


----------



## The Uncreator

I can only play Insanity with ME. I mean, your fighting an army of two kilometer tall aliens with the most intense voices ever, and casual makes it seems just.....fake..

Although I do get tired of every grenade being capable of killing me in one hit regardless of shield/ health level and level of character....


----------



## synrgy

I found _most_ of ME2 on insanity was manageable, but I was close to breaking my console during the collector base missions. 

Ran through some more missions last night. Pretty smooth sailing, honestly. I'm now maxed out to level 60, have the weapons I use at level 10, and am playing as Sentinel. (Tech armor!!) I'm doing most runs with Liara - I have her spam Singularity, then I hit the floating jerks with Throw, usually instant kill - and then Garrus or EDI, depending on the enemy. I find Garrus more entertaining, but EDI seems more useful against Reapers. 

I'm not saying I don't die, but when I do, it's usually because I get impatient and try to pull some stupid Rambo shit. If I just stay patient and keep the enemies at a good distance, between my powers, the Mantis sniper rifle and the Carnifex heavy pistol, there's not much that puts up a very good fight. That said, I haven't yet run into any Banshees. 

Also, I had to share this:






*edit* Just found another good take on the ongoing ending saga: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...ss-effect-3-ending-go-over-everyones-heads/2/ - basically sums up how I feel; it's a lose-lose situation. If the ending so far is all that was intended, it sucks. If there's more to the ending that's to be released at some later date - especially for a fee - that arguably sucks even more and is an ominously bad sign for the future of gaming.


----------



## pink freud

I played ME2 on Insanity for a few different characters, but whenever I was playing an Adept the difficulty setting was lowered, just because in ME2 Hard+ to Bioware means "Let's give every enemy shields!"


----------



## AxeHappy

Shields and Barriers in ME3!

Anyways:
To Mass Effect 3 players, from Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare | BioWare Blog


----------



## synrgy

Then again, there's this:

Mass Effect 3 Player Files FTC Complaint Over Game's Ending | News & Opinion | PCMag.com



> Mass Effect 3 director Casey Hudson didn't specifically mention the FTC complaint, but in his own post on the forums, he defended the game's ending while promising compelling new content over the next year.
> 
> "For the last eight years, Mass Effect has been a labor of love for our team; love for the characters we've created, for the medium of video games, and for the fans that have supported us. For us and for you, Mass Effect 3 had to live up to a lot of expectations, not only for a great gaming experience, but for a resolution to the countless storylines and decisions you've made as a player since the journey began in 2007," Hudson wrote. "So we designed Mass Effect 3 to be a series of endings to key plots and storylines, each culminating in scenes that show you the consequences of your actions. You then carry the knowledge of these consequences with you as you complete the final moments of your journey."
> 
> Bioware always intended the Mass Effect 3 ending to be "bittersweet," he continued, because "to do otherwise would betray the agonizing decisions Shepard had to make along the way."



*edit* seems less relevant after the article above (^) came out.


----------



## vampiregenocide

They've basically admitted they've fucked the ending up, and now they're going to have to somehow please the fans with something to tie it off. The fact they mentioned future ME games is interesting though, maybe they're taking this trolling shit to a whole new level.


----------



## AxeHappy

They've always said they were going to do other Mass Effect games. Just not ones where Shepard is the main character.


----------



## vampiregenocide

AxeHappy said:


> They've always said they were going to do other Mass Effect games. Just not ones where Shepard is the main character.



Yeah but more ME games could mean a number of things, the ending in this one would make it a little difficult to expand on the franchise in the future. Spin-offs maybe, but they'd have to get around some pretty big issues


Spoiler



Like the destruction of the Mass Relays


 in order to do games taking place after ME3. Unless of course, they rectify the ending as everyone is hoping.


----------



## AxeHappy

Well...they could easily do game before (First Contact war? Krogan Rebellions? Rachni Wars? etc etc) or even concurrently to Shepard's Tale. 

I agree with what you said, I just didn't find the comment about more Mass Effect games to be an announcement, let alone interesting.d


But it looks like they're going...to fix shit at least. But they need to actually fix it. I think just continuing with what happened is fucked up. The ending doesn't make sense in the Mass Effect universe. Not too mention the whole nothing else you've done in all 3 fucking games making a fucking difference. 

But it seems like they're going with the ending. Which I think is a fuck up.


----------



## Jakke

vampiregenocide said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Like the destruction of the Mass Relays





Spoiler



But they still have the technology, they use it in everything from guns to kinetic barriers. I don't see the difficulty in constructing new relays


----------



## vampiregenocide

AxeHappy said:


> Well...they could easily do game before (First Contact war? Krogan Rebellions? Rachni Wars? etc etc) or even concurrently to Shepard's Tale.
> 
> I agree with what you said, I just didn't find the comment about more Mass Effect games to be an announcement, let alone interesting.d
> 
> 
> But it looks like they're going...to fix shit at least. But they need to actually fix it. I think just continuing with what happened is fucked up. The ending doesn't make sense in the Mass Effect universe. Not too mention the whole nothing else you've done in all 3 fucking games making a fucking difference.
> 
> But it seems like they're going with the ending. Which I think is a fuck up.



There would be no humans though, as the humans have only known about the Mass Relays and other races for a short while. At the time of those events anyway.



Jakke said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> But they still have the technology, they use it in everything from guns to kinetic barriers. I don't see the difficulty in constructing new relays





Spoiler



True, in time they would be able to, but probably a fair while later. I imagine it would take a fair few decades to build a single Mass Relay


----------



## BlackMastodon

I just beat the game earlier and got the green ending, but then I spent the next hour playing that last bit again and watching the other 2 endings.

I don't think the ending is a giant pile of shit like the rest of the internet makes it out to be, but I do have quite a few questions and I think they should have been answered.

I definitely think that the ending should have been bitter sweet to finish up the trilogy, but I am gonna be hella pissed if they try and continue the story via DLC (which may be even more disappointing for the price).

I'm gonna miss my Shepard, though .

Ending aside, Mass Effect has been an incredible experience. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally invested in a game like I have been with this. I definitely want to know where they take this.

Also:


AxeHappy said:


> Shields and Barriers in ME3!
> 
> Anyways:
> To Mass Effect 3 players, from Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare | BioWare Blog



 He's named like my name!


----------



## Jakke

vampiregenocide said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> True, in time they would be able to, but probably a fair while later. I imagine it would take a fair few decades to build a single Mass Relay



A very fair point, I guess they'd have the time though



Spoiler



Not to mention that if one of the bigger races with an engineering flair, say the turians for example, manages to contruct on in less time, I think it would be in their interest to help with the construction of relays for other races.


----------



## The Uncreator

Jakke said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> But they still have the technology, they use it in everything from guns to kinetic barriers. I don't see the difficulty in constructing new relays



Agreed.



Spoiler



Also one of the main complaints was that when the relays blew up you could see the explosion from a galactic viewpoint, a much bigger explosion than the arrival expansion for ME2.

It occurred to none of the idiots that the energy from the crucible might add to the devastation? one more example of a billion I can make where simple contemplation solves everything.


----------



## Jakke

The Uncreator said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Also one of the main complaints was that when the relays blew up you could see the explosion from a galactic viewpoint, a much bigger explosion than the arrival expansion for ME2.





Spoiler



Could it be that in arrival you basically just wrecked the relay, while in ME3 they were hardcore detonated?


----------



## The Uncreator

Jakke said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Could it be that in arrival you basically just wrecked the relay, while in ME3 they were hardcore detonated?





Spoiler



Either way, these conclusions should come easy to those who think.

Yes...I like that...hardcore detonated lol


----------



## Jakke

The Uncreator said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Yes...I like that...hardcore detonated lol



Well, in all modesty, I have been known to have a way with words


----------



## BlackMastodon

I'm also interested with what will happen with all of the races now (I want to elaborate on this a bit but I don't know how to make the text anti-spoiler green ).


----------



## Jakke

BlackMastodon said:


> I'm also interested with what will happen with all of the races now (I want to elaborate on this a bit but I don't know how to make the text anti-spoiler green ).



Like this:



Spoiler



BlackMastodon


----------



## texshred777

BlackMastodon said:


> I'm also interested with what will happen with all of the races now (I want to elaborate on this a bit but I don't know how to make the text anti-spoiler green ).


 
If you quote anyone who's spoilered something you'll see the tags necessary to do it.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Alright here we go ,



Spoiler



So with nearly every single council species (save the salarians in my case) in Sol and no more Mass relays, what the hell do they do now? Another thing is what will happen with the citadel? I assume everyone that was on it died but then if they do somehow figure out what to do with everyone, are they gonna build a new citadel (if it blew up) or hold their council chambers on Earth? Or are they gonna fix the old citadel like I assume humanity will fix Earth?



I would consider reading the books to get a little more insight into the whole universe of ME but I heard the last one that came out had a lot of inaccuracies and whatnot.


----------



## Watty

*EDIT: _Quotes something from first page. Realizes he's on page 19._

And I just finished....wow. I thought people were just being "whiny" about the bad ending...


----------



## synrgy

The saga continues..

&#39;Mass Effect 3&#39; makers to rewrite &#39;soul-crushing&#39; ending for furious fans | Fox News


----------



## Varcolac

synrgy said:


> The saga continues..
> 
> &#39;Mass Effect 3&#39; makers to rewrite &#39;soul-crushing&#39; ending for furious fans | Fox News



Isn't that just Fox reporting on Ray Muzyka's response that AxeHappy linked to? Doesn't seem to be much new there. 

I await DLC with bated breath and outstretched credit card. Haven't finished it yet, I'm taking my time and shooting all the things in multiplayer. To be honest the emotional peaks and troughs to far have been worth the asking price. 



Spoiler



Still cut up over Mordin. I've studied species turian asari and batarian...


----------



## pink freud

Well, I think we can all agree on one thing:

If this happened, I want to be stranded with all the Asari


----------



## BlackMastodon

Varcolac said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Still cut up over Mordin. I've studied species turian asari and batarian...


Yeah that part got me in the old blood pump too.

I'm curious as to why people want a happy ending so badly. I mean did you really expect everything to go perfectly and that the reapers would all be killed while no good guys died? 

Also,


Spoiler



The thing with the email from Ashley about Shepard making it, I really hope that doesn't happen. I mean shit, the guy already came back from the dead once and they made it pretty believable in that case, but the ending specifically said "You die no matter what, make your choice," so how in the holy hell is he supposed to "make it" if I watched his body disintegrate in all 3 scenarios?


----------



## Varcolac

BlackMastodon said:


> Yeah that part got me in the old blood pump too.
> 
> I'm curious as to why people want a happy ending so badly. I mean did you really expect everything to go perfectly and that the reapers would all be killed while no good guys died?
> 
> Also,
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The thing with the email from Ashley about Shepard making it, I really hope that doesn't happen. I mean shit, the guy already came back from the dead once and they made it pretty believable in that case, but the ending specifically said "You die no matter what, make your choice," so how in the holy hell is he supposed to "make it" if I watched his body disintegrate in all 3 scenarios?





Spoiler



But if Shep's indoctrinated, then none of the stuff in the last few minutes can be trusted. Maybe it's all Reaper mind-games. Maybe it's all another dream-sequence. Maybe he's really killing everyone including himself. Maybe he's sat on his ass in London and it's all a fight with indoctrination in his head for control over his own body. Who knows?

For what it's worth, dead Shepard but (mostly) saved galaxy (with relay network intact and geth/EDI not pwned) is a perfectly acceptable conclusion to the story arc for me. Massive damage all over, still have lingering Krogan/Rachni/Salarian/Asari (goddamn beacon wtf) political shit to sort out, but at the end of the day life goes on.


----------



## AxeHappy

I don't think most people are upset over the grim endings, but more because non-of your choices throughout the entire game series mattered and it doesn't make any sense within the mass effect universe.


----------



## vampiregenocide

I could deal with a bittersweet ending if there was a degree of closure and questions were answered. However in the current endings, they're so randomly thrown together they don't make sense, and the fact they're all basically the same is stupid in a series that is ultimately dictated by the choices you make. If you're going to build up such a huge backstory like the ME games, you need to give fans proper closure. As another article said, it's like if Fight Club had ended 20 minutes earlier.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Varcolac said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> But if Shep's indoctrinated, then none of the stuff in the last few minutes can be trusted. Maybe it's all Reaper mind-games. Maybe it's all another dream-sequence. Maybe he's really killing everyone including himself. Maybe he's sat on his ass in London and it's all a fight with indoctrination in his head for control over his own body. Who knows?
> 
> For what it's worth, dead Shepard but (mostly) saved galaxy (with relay network intact and geth/EDI not pwned) is a perfectly acceptable conclusion to the story arc for me. Massive damage all over, still have lingering Krogan/Rachni/Salarian/Asari (goddamn beacon wtf) political shit to sort out, but at the end of the day life goes on.



I think I would actually be ok with that ending too.


Spoiler



I just found out now about the Harbinger indoctrination theory going around and it kind of makes sense.


Still could use some closure, though.


----------



## xvultures

Hey I got a random question, anyone know where/how I can get a sample of the Reapers sound effects? I want to use it as a notification or email tone on my iphone.

I'm mainly talking about this one; 1min 7sec in
Mass Effect 3 - The Easiest Way to Scan - YouTube


----------



## BlackMastodon

Find sound samples on YouTube, like this one:


Then use this:
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter: Download Manager - YouTube to MP3 Downloader
and Audacity to edit it. But then you have to use some kind of iPhone tone maker, which may be hard to find for free


----------



## Genome

I want the Reaper sounds on an app, so I can go around scaring members of the public.


----------



## ScottyB724

Finished it last night and have been stewing on it all day..



Spoiler



I was left with a real WTF feeling but I wasn't angry, just kind of confused and trying to piece it all together and all the possible outcomes. I started reading into some of the different theories and I actually really like the indoctrination theory after watching this video: Mass Effect 3 - Shepard&#39;s Indoctrination (NEW) - YouTube I think it offers up some really valid points, not all of them I agree with though. But it makes more sense to me now and I can say I'm satisified with the conclusion of the greatest trilogy in video game history.


----------



## The Uncreator

When I fart, I want it to sound like the Reapers.

Good god, that would be epic.


----------



## BlackMastodon

ScottyB724 said:


> Finished it last night and have been stewing on it all day..
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> I was left with a real WTF feeling but I wasn't angry, just kind of confused and trying to piece it all together and all the possible outcomes. I started reading into some of the different theories and I actually really like the indoctrination theory after watching this video: *video* I think it offers up some really valid points, not all of them I agree with though. But it makes more sense to me now and I can say I'm satisified with the conclusion of the greatest trilogy in video game history.



Basically my exact situation. I spent 2 hours earlier watching videos on YouTube of theories for the endings and just alternate ways for certain parts of the game to turn out. Ultimately that theory is the best one for me and makes a lot of sense.


----------



## Erazoender

If that video is what Bioware actually planned... I CANNOT COMPREHEND HOW AMAZING THEY ARE HOLY FUCK 

Though I still want to know what happened to Tali.


----------



## Genome

I can't explain to you how much I want that video to be canon.


----------



## vampiregenocide

Erazoender said:


> Though I still want to know what happened to Tali.





Spoiler



What do you mean? Are you referring to the Legion/Tali section?


----------



## AxeHappy

I believe he is referring to the end of the game.


----------



## C2Aye

It would definitely be amazing if the indoctrination theory was canon. Although then EA would fleece us for more money for 'TEH REEL ENDINGZ' DLC.

I'm still more inclined to believe that it was poor and lazy writing though


----------



## sakeido

BlackMastodon said:


> Find sound samples on YouTube, like this one:
> 
> 
> Then use this:
> Free YouTube to MP3 Converter: Download Manager - YouTube to MP3 Downloader
> and Audacity to edit it. But then you have to use some kind of iPhone tone maker, which may be hard to find for free




gaaaah the reapers sound so awesome


----------



## Genome

Prepare yourself for a big-ass block of green



Spoiler



So I get that the Reapers are purposed with harvesting organic life before the synthetic life they created turns and destroys them. Some find this makes no sense but the logic is that they immortalise each species as a Reaper giving them a 'pinnacle of existence', instead of synthetic life just wiping them out and that's that.

There are still a few questions unanswered though;

- I am of the impression that this might be the first time the Reapers have come up against so many different species? Everyone seems to be dotted around everywhere so harvesting each particular species separately and then organising a new Reaper out of it seems impossible. How is it done? Isn't this explained in no. 2 and I'm forgetting?

- Harbinger is the oldest, and biggest we're led to believe. Where is he from... is he created from a species? Remember, he's basically a big ship that acts as a protective shell of the actual Reaper. Someone has to build it, too.

- The Catalyst's origins are what confuses me most. Where did it come from - it can't just appear out of thin air, someone or something must have created the Catalyst and ordered the construction of the Reapers.

My theory is that it's from one of the first sentient species to experience a 'synthetic uprising', perhaps the most advanced the galaxy ever saw up to that point, and they managed to build Harbinger and sacrifice themselves as the 'Reaper' before they were wiped out. Then I'm guessing they would have also create the Catalyst/AI to oversee the whole plan.

Just a theory. But they must have all come from somewhere. And it must've been a tough job for Harbinger to take care of everyone on his own.



(This is how I spend my Friday nights evidently)

Dare I say the whole thing is very reminiscent of the Matrix and the 'One' tasked with ending the cycle forever.


----------



## Varcolac

My god, the Blasto movie.



Spoiler



Every phrase the Elcor says, preceded by the absolutely brilliant adverb 'badassedly'. Genius.

'Badassedly: by the book, Blasto. Promise me.'



It's like, Lethal weapon, with jellyfish and inter-species romance and vorcha diplomats. 10 times better than elcor Hamlet. A++, would listen again.


----------



## The Uncreator

Spoiler



_I am of the impression that this might be the first time the Reapers have come up against so many different species? Everyone seems to be dotted around everywhere so harvesting each particular species separately and then organising a new Reaper out of it seems impossible. How is it done? Isn't this explained in no. 2 and I'm forgetting?_

The Collectors are what would be used to do this, in this particular cycle's case humans were mostly used because of their "Genetic Malleability" to quote the man Harbinger himself. Also, several times Javik mentions that the process would take centuries, sometimes longer to completely harvest all species. Its a slow, trudging death. 

_Harbinger is the oldest, and biggest we're led to believe. Where is he from... is he created from a species? Remember, he's basically a big ship that acts as a protective shell of the actual Reaper. Someone has to build it, too.

_The entirety of Harbinger is Harbinger, its not merely a "shell", but a vessel in which he is everything inside it. Just like how EDI "Is" The Normandy. Its like a consciousness planted in a massive machine. If you are referring to the end of ME2 for the protective shall of the actual Reaper, that was meant to merely be a modified Prothean which Harbingers used as a vessel to control the collectors.

_The Catalyst's origins are what confuses me most. Where did it come from - it can't just appear out of thin air, someone or something must have created the Catalyst and ordered the construction of the Reapers._

You MUST have imagination my friend, this is where a lot of Mass Effect fans fall flat on their ass. They want EVERYTHING explained, and thats just not what is going to happen. You solve everything, you leave no room for interpretation. The Catalyst and its supposed confusing nature is a clear answer in and of itself. The Cataylst, or AI Child could EASILY still just be a tool of the Reapers. It claims to control it, but since when can we trust anything of Reaper origin?
_
My theory is that it's from one of the first sentient species to experience a 'synthetic uprising', perhaps the most advanced the galaxy ever saw up to that point, and they managed to build Harbinger and sacrifice themselves as the 'Reaper' before they were wiped out. Then I'm guessing they would have also create the Catalyst/AI to oversee the whole plan._

Thank you, for just thinking, and coming up with a conclusion. So many people just are too lazy to even think of something like this, and it prevents them from a profound experience



Since 2007, I have drawn many similarities to Mass Effect and another trilogy known as "Revelation Space" by Alastair Reynolds. The story is very similar, super sentient machines return to existence and systematically wipe out organic life. Although throughout the three books, a vast amount of information is given, too much to even describe here. Point is, if you enjoyed Mass Effect, these trilogy of books (Revelation Space, Absolution Gap, Redemption Ark) would most likely hook you completely.


----------



## vampiregenocide

genome said:


> Prepare yourself for a big-ass block of green
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> So I get that the Reapers are purposed with harvesting organic life before the synthetic life they created turns and destroys them. Some find this makes no sense but the logic is that they immortalise each species as a Reaper giving them a 'pinnacle of existence', instead of synthetic life just wiping them out and that's that.
> 
> There are still a few questions unanswered though;
> 
> - I am of the impression that this might be the first time the Reapers have come up against so many different species? Everyone seems to be dotted around everywhere so harvesting each particular species separately and then organising a new Reaper out of it seems impossible. How is it done? Isn't this explained in no. 2 and I'm forgetting?
> 
> - Harbinger is the oldest, and biggest we're led to believe. Where is he from... is he created from a species? Remember, he's basically a big ship that acts as a protective shell of the actual Reaper. Someone has to build it, too.
> 
> - The Catalyst's origins are what confuses me most. Where did it come from - it can't just appear out of thin air, someone or something must have created the Catalyst and ordered the construction of the Reapers.
> 
> My theory is that it's from one of the first sentient species to experience a 'synthetic uprising', perhaps the most advanced the galaxy ever saw up to that point, and they managed to build Harbinger and sacrifice themselves as the 'Reaper' before they were wiped out. Then I'm guessing they would have also create the Catalyst/AI to oversee the whole plan.
> 
> Just a theory. But they must have all come from somewhere. And it must've been a tough job for Harbinger to take care of everyone on his own.
> 
> 
> 
> (This is how I spend my Friday nights evidently)
> 
> Dare I say the whole thing is very reminiscent of the Matrix and the 'One' tasked with ending the cycle forever.





Spoiler



The Reapers can take hundreds of years to complete their extinction of races, they have time. They could easily harvest races and create new Reapers in that time. They've come up against multiple races before I believe. The Protheans were actually multiple races that came together under a single empire. Javik, the Prothean we see in the From Ashes DLC, is one of the original species that created that empire. Other aliens then joined it and called themselves Protheans too. That is different compared to the 'modern' timeline where the races are far more independant, and have their own governments instead of one single empire which Javik says was the Prothean's downfall. They put all their eggs in one basket.

The origin of the Reapers and the Catalyst is the most confusing part and something we may never know. In a way, I'd prefer that. I like the mystery of the Reapers being lost in time.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Trying to determine the origin of the reapers would be like discussing the origin of God vs. the Big Bang. No one really knows so you can use your imagination.


----------



## Varcolac

The Uncreator said:


> Since 2007, I have drawn many similarities to Mass Effect and another trilogy known as "Revelation Space" by Alastair Reynolds. The story is very similar, super sentient machines return to existence and systematically wipe out organic life. Although throughout the three books, a vast amount of information is given, too much to even describe here. Point is, if you enjoyed Mass Effect, these trilogy of books (Revelation Space, Absolution Gap, Redemption Ark) would most likely hook you completely.



Is your band name taken from Reynolds? I seem to remember a background character called Paul Lascaille meeting with the Shrouders and going insane.

Back when ME1 came out I was practically trumpeting the similarities to Revelation Space. Like, 'OH MY GOD SENTIENT MACHINES KILL ALL ALIEN LIFE IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME.' Reynolds is much 'harder' SF than ME though. He never explicitly violates causality or goes faster than light. In fact, his universe reacts violently to any attempts at exceeding Einstein's c. Remember wen Skade was chasing Clavain at relativistic speed, and her engineers were trying to increase their acceleration to catch them? The engineer who 'succeeded' got caught in a bubble of violated space-time, and got erased from existence. The entire known universe was 're-written' so the scientist in question died years before. People who saw the bubble's collapse were the only ones to have any memory of those caught in it, and everyone else thought they were mad. Reynolds's universe is both scientifically-based and utterly terrifying. The melding plague? Captain Brannigan? Christ, it's frightening.


----------



## synrgy

I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a feeling of "God damn it.. This is basically a carbon copy of Neo's conversation with The Architect.." 

Here's a decent write up, pointing out 3 key things (Affirmation, Explanation, Closure) that any good ending should have, further pointing out that one can generally skip 1, maybe 2 out of the 3, but if one skips all 3 points in writing their ending, they better EXPECT a shit ton of backlash:

The Escapist : Mass Effect 3 Ending Controversy

Also, you gotta love Zero Punctuation reviews:
The Escapist : Video Galleries : Zero Punctuation : Mass Effect 3


----------



## The Uncreator

Varcolac said:


> Is your band name taken from Reynolds? I seem to remember a background character called Paul Lascaille meeting with the Shrouders and going insane.
> 
> Back when ME1 came out I was practically trumpeting the similarities to Revelation Space. Like, 'OH MY GOD SENTIENT MACHINES KILL ALL ALIEN LIFE IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME.' Reynolds is much 'harder' SF than ME though. He never explicitly violates causality or goes faster than light. In fact, his universe reacts violently to any attempts at exceeding Einstein's c. Remember wen Skade was chasing Clavain at relativistic speed, and her engineers were trying to increase their acceleration to catch them? The engineer who 'succeeded' got caught in a bubble of violated space-time, and got erased from existence. The entire known universe was 're-written' so the scientist in question died years before. People who saw the bubble's collapse were the only ones to have any memory of those caught in it, and everyone else thought they were mad. Reynolds's universe is both scientifically-based and utterly terrifying. The melding plague? Captain Brannigan? Christ, it's frightening.



Yes, my band name is, the character Phillip Lascaille who also becomes another favorite character in the Prefect 

And that part with Skade sent chills up my arms when I read it, it was just so creepy. Everything about the Revelation Space universe fascinates, especially how dark and bleak it is. Have you read the Prefect? some of the descriptions of the habitats are just a mind-fuck. Chasm City also has some very awkward moments in it.

I love the description he gives of the Hypometric weapon, Clavain says something like "We dont really know how to aim it, but we know it can take particle sized to ship sized chunks of space time out of existence...."

Conjoiner Drives, The Neutron Star matrix, Exordium, Inhibiters - love his writing so much. About 40% of my songs are based of events from these book.

Including:


Done with my older equipment but I hope to re-record it someday, one of my personal favorites I've done based on my favorite book.


----------



## AxeHappy

I'm loving the +25% experience this weekend! 200000+ Experience per game! I've got people flying up 12+ levels a day! 

I hope we get a +25% credits one next!


----------



## xvultures

AxeHappy said:


> I'm loving the +25% experience this weekend! 200000+ Experience per game! I've got people flying up 12+ levels a day!
> 
> I hope we get a +25% credits one next!



You could use the credit glitch, about 40-45k every 5 minutes. I don't really feel bad using it since Bioware dropped the ball with the ending and ruined a lot of guns in the multiplayer


----------



## vampiregenocide

xvultures said:


> You could use the credit glitch, about 40-45k every 5 minutes. I don't really feel bad using it since Bioware dropped the ball with the ending and ruined a lot of guns in the multiplayer



Explain this glitch?


----------



## Genome

The Uncreator said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The entirety of Harbinger is Harbinger, its not merely a "shell", but a vessel in which he is everything inside it. Just like how EDI "Is" The Normandy. Its like a consciousness planted in a massive machine. If you are referring to the end of ME2 for the protective shall of the actual Reaper, that was meant to merely be a modified Prothean which Harbingers used as a vessel to control the collectors.





Spoiler



I'm aware that the Collector ship was used to build the Human Reaper. It just looked different than other Reapers - it resembled the species. So, I was under the impression that what we see of the Reapers were ships that were wired into the actual Reaper inside it. That's my theory anyway.






vampiregenocide said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> The origin of the Reapers and the Catalyst is the most confusing part and something we may never know. In a way, I'd prefer that. I like the mystery of the Reapers being lost in time.



I would like to know. It wouldn't make them any less menacing to me. I'm fascinated by them, and would love to know their origins.

Saying 'OMG! No-one knows!' is a bit of a cop out and is lazy writing.  

Edit: I'm not saying it should be spoon-fed to us, theories are great, but hopefully they can reveal a bit more in a subtle way. Some people on the Bioware boards are of the opinion that we should never know, and I disagree.


----------



## Genome

*snip*

Double post.


----------



## Erazoender

So Bioware confirmed they're redoing the ending.


----------



## Genome

Huh? Source?


----------



## vampiregenocide

Hate to quote Fox News, but here's a source.

&#39;Mass Effect 3&#39; makers to rewrite &#39;soul-crushing&#39; ending for furious fans | Fox News


----------



## Erazoender

IT'S ON FOX NEWS?


----------



## Genome

That's doesn't say anything we don't already know.


----------



## vampiregenocide

We knew they were going to DLCs, but no confirmation as to whether they'd expand on the ending. At least not that I saw.

Also this is awesome.

COMMANDER SHEPARD - The song (OFFICIAL VIDEO) by Miracle Of Sound - YouTube


----------



## Varcolac

Just finished it. 

Ending's... OK. I'm actually OK with it. 



Spoiler



Feel really sorry for Liara (blue skinned PhD space babe romance is the only option) for Shepard probably not coming back. Feel catastrophically sorry for the entire Quarian species being stuck at literally the other end of the galaxy from Rannoch. Feel sorry for Wrex being stuck on Earth, but he's Wrex so he'll make do. Feel kind of bad for EDI/Joker since I wiped out all synthetic life, but at the end of the day I feel really confused by the Normandy crash-landing scene. When did Liara and Javik get the time to get on the ship? They were with me, charging the beam ten minutes ago, and there's the minor matter of the space battle going on. Why is the Normandy even in FTL? Oh wait, it's outrunning the synthetic-destroying beam? Is that why there's an explosion? EDI go boom? Argh. Ok, now I'm not OK with it; quite a few questions there. There's an end at least. Could've made it a bit tidier, but tidy's boring. At least I'm talking about it..



More speculation.



Spoiler



Indoctrination maybe. All that weird shit around the screen when the Illusive Man's talking. The fact that the Illusive Man seems to have some sort of control over Shep's body (Sanctuary experiments?). The strange way that Shepard's always limping through the Citadel, but straightens up when he takes the decisive act to blow the reapers the fuck up. I can see how people think it's a possibility. I'll reserve judgement.



Now I need to wait for Sony to mail me my PS3 disc back (got stuck in a dying PS3) so I can do multiplayer (I refuse to do this Origin crap any more than is necessary. Install the game, validate my DLC, and never touch it again.).


----------



## synrgy

vampiregenocide said:


> Hate to quote Fox News, but here's a source.
> 
> &#39;Mass Effect 3&#39; makers to rewrite &#39;soul-crushing&#39; ending for furious fans | Fox News



I ninja'd you by a page or two. Go back to page 19:



synrgy said:


> The saga continues..
> 
> &#39;Mass Effect 3&#39; makers to rewrite &#39;soul-crushing&#39; ending for furious fans | Fox News


----------



## Treeunit212

Beat it last night. I honestly think that beating this game is the closest I will ever get to having a religious experience. It's seriously pathetic how much it is affecting my thoughts right now.

I was also a bit disappointed/confused at the ending. I promised Miranda I'd find her after it was over (hooray for genetic perfection and dat ass) but nooooooo. :'(

I guess I can't be that upset at a game that has already made me feel like a worthless waste of life, effectively jump starting my motivations for school and my future.


----------



## Erazoender

That's me dude, I'm completely discontent with living on Earth now. And I'll never have Tali....


----------



## Treeunit212

Erazoender said:


> That's me dude, I'm completely discontent with living on Earth now. And I'll never have Tali....



All I have to say is Neil Degrasse Tyson for president, so we can get back to space exploration and find an alien race to hate instead of each other.


----------



## Varcolac

Treeunit212 said:


> All I have to say is Neil Degrasse Tyson for president, so we can get back to space exploration and find an alien race to hate instead of each other.



Carl Sagan's reanimated corpse for president. Tyson'll make a great VP.





Spoiler



The post-credits thing, the old man (even though I know it's Buzz Aldrin) really reminded me of Carl Sagan's Cosmos... the whole "life out there, every star, every species a story..." thing. Was sure he was going to say "billions and billions" at any minute.



Fortunately I have Cosmos on DVD. Time to re-watch and get my science-boner on.


----------



## The Uncreator

Watched the entirety of the Cosmos on netflix last year. Probably overdue for a rewatch.

Nothing like having your mind word-fucked for 45 minutes.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

Just beat it today. The more I think about the ending the worse it gets.

I was linked to this fanfic alternative ending. IMHO its miles better and really ties up the loose ends and questions. 
Mass Effect 3 Alternate Endings. SPOILERS by *Arkis on deviantART


----------



## vampiregenocide

That ending is much more awesome. Love it.


----------



## AxeHappy

That actually was a much more better/Shepardy (at least the way I played my Shepard) ending. 

And I hate fanfics with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

AxeHappy said:


> That actually was a much more better/Shepardy (at least the way I played my Shepard) ending.
> 
> And I hate fanfics with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.



Yeah Shepard's actual ending dialogue is really strange. He has a completely different personality and structure to his sentences. 

Right now I've no idea whats going to happen. Wether that was it GAME OVER or Bioware are trolling us and going to release an actual DLC or they will give in to pressure and make a completely new ending.


----------



## xvultures

What do you guys think about this? It's been in the game since ME1

Klencory - Mass Effect Wiki - Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, walkthroughs and more


----------



## vampiregenocide

That doesn't fit in with the end of ME3 though, as the ghost-kid said he was part of the Reapers, referring to them as a 'we'. And that description of being created to protect organic life is a little bit of a stretch. 

Also, if this planet Klencory were so obviously tied to the Reapers, why weren't Shepard and Liara sent to investigate? On face value, it seems like the first place to go in terms of researching a way to fight the Reapers.


----------



## xvultures

vampiregenocide said:


> Also, if this planet Klencory were so obviously tied to the Reapers, why weren't Shepard and Liara sent to investigate? On face value, it seems like the first place to go in terms of researching a way to fight the Reapers.



Why would they have investigated it?


Spoiler



We didn't find out about that "being of light" kid until the very end.


 They wouldn't have known that was gonna be there.

Just saying it's pretty interesting, they prob had an ending like this in mind for a lonnggggg time.


----------



## vampiregenocide

xvultures said:


> Why would they have investigated it?
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> We didn't find out about that "being of light" kid until the very end.
> 
> 
> They wouldn't have known that was gonna be there.
> 
> Just saying it's pretty interesting, they prob had an ending like this in mind for a lonnggggg time.



If I were trying to find a way to fight a race of sentient machines, I think rumours of ghostly apparitions created to protect life from sentient machines would be an avenue worth checking out. It's very obvious this could relate to the Reapers, even before we see


Spoiler



the ghostly kid


. They spent a lot of the game chasing up rumours of ways to fight the Reapers, and it seems weird they knew about those but not this. I would assume it would be something to investigate.


----------



## AxeHappy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOqHUa2LfNY

HA! HAHA!


----------



## BlackMastodon

AxeHappy said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOqHUa2LfNY
> 
> HA! HAHA!


Wrex would totally rock a bass.

And if they made this like the original Thundercats, I would watch this shit outta this. Good April Fools thing, though.


----------



## MFB

I would watch the FUCK out of a Mass Effect 80's cartoon.

I just Wiki'd the ending



Spoiler



I find it to be a totally valid ending and don't really see the big deal. It's a logic plot point, and IIRC it's the ENTIRE PLOT to Bladerunner isn't it? Technological beings becoming so advanced that they become like people, and the assumption is that from there they'll also have the negative implications like people; if not taking it one step further as they might see us as "defective"/"obsolete" and thus eliminate us which is what the Reaper's were used for - they killed any civilization that becomes advanced to the point where it collapses into itself. I dig it, but it could be because I'm a utilitarian and I believe in stuff like cutting one loss to save a bunch, etc...


----------



## AxeHappy

How about the fact that nothing you've done over the 3 fucking games makes a lick of difference? 

How about being promised no A,B,C cookie cutter endings? 


And I could go on...at length...but instead I'm going to bed.


----------



## MFB

Uh, remember I just READ A WIKI so I don't know the minor details, plus, that's like existentialism 101. We all die in real life anyways so did all our REAL LIFE choices matter besides filling in the middle part? Voila, same thing can be applied to the game.


----------



## glpg80

I just finished it today.



Spoiler



I thought that the two other choices were indoctrination choices, and the third choice (destruction) made the most sense, but it really sucked to watch the mass effect system fully destroyed as well...which is where Joker is seen running, probably trying to save EDI? So the entire galatical force is stuck at the location of earth's galaxy for the rest of eternity? 

And where does Joker land?! It cant be on earth. How did Tali get back on the ship with Joker, and how did Javik get back on the ship with Joker if he was one of the ones i chose to get to the beam to transport us onto the Citadel?

I also thought that the dialogue said the entire Hammer team was destroyed, and when Shepard awoke, they were no-where to be seen.

Plus the Child looking alot like the kid that Shepard wanted to save but couldnt is awkward..i dont see the connection or resemblance to why Shepard might mentally connect the Reaper "we" child with the one that died when the reapers were attacking earth in the beginning. And what is it with Shepard seeing himself with the child that was killed, with the kid in his dream at the end? What point was that supposed to make?

I just have more questions than answers, the line where the kid says future generations will create synthetics and the process will repeat totally mind-fucked me for a minute, made me forget what was going on in the present lol.

I hate the ending as well, great game and alot of detail but it seems like the ending was rushed and not all stories were tied, plus its a sad ending, it would be nice to have the option to choose heroic or happy... just my two cents.



I think my favorite characters were Garrus and Legion. The geth story line was really cool too.


----------



## Genome

ME1: Reapers?
ME2: Ah yes, the Reapers.
ME3: Oh shit, the Reapers!


----------



## vampiregenocide

genome said:


> ME1: Shepard.
> ME2: Shepard?
> ME3: Shepard!



Fixed.


----------



## Genome

vampiregenocide said:


> Fixed.



ME1: Wrex.
ME2: Wrex?
ME3: Wrex


----------



## BlackMastodon

genome said:


> ME1: Wrex.
> ME2: Wrex?
> ME3: Wrex


OR:
ME1: Wrex! 
ME2: Wreav?!
ME3: Wreav


----------



## C2Aye

*Spoilers*

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/16263808.jpg


----------



## AxeHappy

Yup, that's actually been my Facebook pic for a bit now.

Nothing like writing 3 brilliant games only to end with a mix of the Matrix and Terminator Salvation...


----------



## Mordacain

Well, I think I've fully signed on to the player indoctrination theory at this point. For anyone that hasn't really given it alot of thought, this is a very well-edited video outlying the major evidence in favor of it:

***SPOILERS IN THE VIDEO***


Sorry if that's been posted already in the thread, I scanned through the whole thing but it would be easy to miss.

Now off to complete my perfect Paragon run through through ME 1 and start up 2. 

BTW, for anyone playing on PC, there are some excellent high-res texture packs (fan-made) available now that are really prettying up the game for me. ME 1 essentially is on-par graphically with 3 with the new textures loaded.


----------



## Genome

YEEEAAA

BioWare Announces Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut
BioWare today announces Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the end of the critically acclaimed Action RPG. Through additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will give fans seeking further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3 deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes. Coming this summer, the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will be available for download on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC for no extra charge.

"We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-Founder of BioWare and General Manager of EA's BioWare Label. "Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team's artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe."

Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series added, "We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player."


----------



## BlackMastodon

Some faith in humanity has been restored. Freddymercury.jpg


----------



## Genome

And unsurprisingly the guys on the Bioware boards are trying to see the downside to this. Mass Effect must have one of the most frustrating fanbases.


----------



## Mordacain

genome said:


> And unsurprisingly the guys on the Bioware boards are trying to see the downside to this. Mass Effect must have one of the most frustrating fanbases.



Yea. I really hoping the Indoctrination theory pans out. I think there will be a collective "oh...." moment from everyone if the extended cut just makes it more apparent that was what transpired...


----------



## Varcolac

genome said:


> And unsurprisingly the guys on the Bioware boards are trying to see the downside to this. Mass Effect must have one of the most frustrating fanbases.



There's no pleasing Bioware fans.

No gay relationships? GOD BIOWARE YOU'RE SO HOMOPHOBIC I'M CANCELLING MY PREORDER
Gay relationships? GOD BIOWARE WHY'D YOU MAKE MY SHEPARD GAY I'M CANCELLING MY PREORDER
Multiplayer? GOD BIOWARE YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE KEEP PLAYING
Microtransactions so you don't have to grind multiplayer? GOD BIOWARE YOU'RE SELLING OUT
Confusing downer ending to a galactic war that's already left billions dead? GOD BIOWARE WHY'RE YOU SUCH DOWNERS
Shoehorn a happy ending in? GOD BIOWARE YOU'RE ONLY DOING THIS 'CAUSE WE COMPLAINED
Don't reveal Tali's face when you romance her in ME2? GOD BIOWARE YOU'RE SUCH COCKTEASES
Reveal Tali's face in ME3? DON'T LIKE THIS FACE, MAN BIOWARE YOU SURE SUCK
Get one of the first men in space to deliver a Carl Sagan-esque closing line to the game? ENDING SUCKS I WANT MY MONEY BACK

I'm Commander Shepard, and these are the least grateful fans on the Citadel.


----------



## xvultures

genome said:


> And unsurprisingly the guys on the Bioware boards are trying to see the downside to this. Mass Effect must have one of the most frustrating fanbases.





Mordacain said:


> Yea. I really hoping the Indoctrination theory pans out. I think there will be a collective "oh...." moment from everyone if the extended cut just makes it more apparent that was what transpired...



I don't think anything can redeem Bioware to their hardcore fan base, they dug themselves a pretty deep ditch  I wasn't foaming at the mouth mad at how they did the ending, but I'm probably not going to buy another one of their games.


----------



## pink freud

I have to say, the ending doesn't bother me as much as most people. It was just Deus Ex HR part 2.


----------



## Mordacain

pink freud said:


> I have to say, the ending doesn't bother me as much as most people. It was just Deus Ex HR part 2.



It bothered me at first, but that was before I really stopped to think about it. After reading several of the ME team's (admittedly minimal) comments regarding it I'm pretty well convinced what we see should not be taken at face value; the extended scenes seem to corroborate that as the description seems just make what you play through clearer.


----------



## C2Aye

This is a pretty good read, looking at the ending of ME3 from a literary standpoint.

All That Matters is the Ending, Part 2: Mass Effect 3 « The Writer's Block

I'm also open to the idea of the extended ending and I'm glad that it's free. It could turn out either way, but at least something was attempted and if they could answer a lot of the questions that the ending introduced as to the fate of squad characters, I could probably make my peace with the ending.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Just found out that you can play as the alien races in the multiplayer mode. MFW:


----------



## vampiregenocide




----------



## The Uncreator

Bioware deserves so much respect for this.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I respected the hell out of them no matter what, they made an incredible series with an astoundingly detailed universe.


----------



## pink freud

BlackMastodon said:


> Just found out that you can play as the alien races in the multiplayer mode. MFW:



They also get slightly different abilities. Salarian Infiltrator is kickass. AOE Energy Drain with a semi-auto sniper rifle equiped is lulz.


----------



## xvultures

Varcolac said:


> Reveal Tali's face in ME3? DON'T LIKE THIS FACE, MAN BIOWARE YOU SURE SUCK



WAIT. When did this happen? I must see it


----------



## BlackMastodon

xvultures said:


> WAIT. When did this happen? I must see it





Spoiler



You see it in a picture if she dies after you kill the geth, if you choose to do so.


----------



## Genome

I literally cannot breathe


----------



## Varcolac

Krogan vanguard is going to be overpowered as hell. It shall be glorious.


----------



## glpg80

BlackMastodon said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> You see it in a picture if she dies after you kill the geth, if you choose to do so.





Spoiler



You also see it if you choose her as your other half. She leaves a picture by your bedside and you can visit the picture to reveal a small cut-scene which shows her without her mask


----------



## Genome

Spoiler



http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6984/1331085769849.jpg


----------



## xvultures

Varcolac said:


> Krogan vanguard is going to be overpowered as hell. It shall be glorious.



Until they Nerf it like the did with the Falcon and everything else that was good


----------



## sakeido

genome said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6984/1331085769849.jpg



god that pic bugs me. the eyes are waaaay off from what I expected.. and just the idea of a photoshopped real photo in a game otherwise filled entirely with 3D modeled chars? breaks the suspension of disbelief somewhat


----------



## vampiregenocide

You'd think the unmasking of Tali and Quarians in general would warrant a bit more attention than a photoshopped stock image.


----------



## synrgy

So I guess I'll go ahead and admit I was obviously wrong about the new classes for MP. I should have known better.

In regards to more story via DLC: I don't necessarily want Bioware to write a bunch of new stuff. I just want them to stop playing coy, and explain the point of the stuff they already wrote.


----------



## Captain Axx

I would of preferred seeing tali's face like this:



Spoiler



After the reaper fight on rannoch, and you either chose to free the geth or destroy them or unite the quarians and the geth, that when tali takes her mask off, she turns around and you can see her face instead of a photoshopped picture on the normandy.


----------



## Genome

It just raises my suspicions further that the game was really rushed out.


----------



## texshred777

wrong thread...somehow..


----------



## vampiregenocide

Captain Axx said:


> I would of preferred seeing tali's face like this:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> After the reaper fight on rannoch, and you either chose to free the geth or destroy them or unite the quarians and the geth, that when tali takes her mask off, she turns around and you can see her face instead of a photoshopped picture on the normandy.



Exactly. Seeing as she does take her mask off then, but faces away from Shepard, it just seems stupid not to make use of that moment. 



genome said:


> It just raises my suspicions further that the game was really rushed out.



I'm thinking that now too.


----------



## pink freud

Captain Axx said:


> I would of preferred seeing tali's face like this:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> After the reaper fight on rannoch, and you either chose to free the geth or destroy them or unite the quarians and the geth, that when tali takes her mask off, she turns around and you can see her face instead of a photoshopped picture on the normandy.



You probably already can do this with camera position editing, but then you would get to see her horrifying blocky _real_ face.


----------



## Lorcan Ward

There is no doubt the game was rushed but they managed to go to all the trouble of designing the IGN reporter yet they couldn't even give Tali an on screen face for 5 seconds.


----------



## BlackMastodon

drawnacrol said:


> There is no doubt the game was rushed but they managed to go to all the trouble of designing the IGN reporter yet they couldn't even give Tali an on screen face for 5 seconds.


I don't think the ENTIRE game was rushed, I mean if they made that good of a game rushed, then that is just dumb luck. But certain aspects were most likely rushed, Tali's face and the ending being the biggest ones in my opinion. If they came out with a PR statement in like February and said "We need a bit more time with the game, we are going to delay it by about 3 months." Then I would've been happy with it. Unfortunately, knowing the internet, it would've turned into "OMG BIOWARE MOVED RELEASE DATE BAK LOLOL WOREST COMPANY OMGADALKFASF"


----------



## Genome




----------



## vampiregenocide

BlackMastodon said:


> I don't think the ENTIRE game was rushed, I mean if they made that good of a game rushed, then that is just dumb luck. But certain aspects were most likely rushed, Tali's face and the ending being the biggest ones in my opinion. If they came out with a PR statement in like February and said "We need a bit more time with the game, we are going to delay it by about 3 months." Then I would've been happy with it. Unfortunately, knowing the internet, it would've turned into "OMG BIOWARE MOVED RELEASE DATE BAK LOLOL WOREST COMPANY OMGADALKFASF"



I found the game was brilliant, but having just gone back and played the first two, in comparison it's very linear. It's a more linear game than the last two. They didn't really focus so much on creating locations with lots of side-missions and instead just made the main storyline the focus. I think an extra year in development and they could've made a much better ending and more substantial game in terms of side-missions. I don't think people care too much about game delays nowadays as long as it's worth the wait, the problem is that companies like EA know the game will sell on the merit of it's title, and so don't care about being a bit lazy and forcing a game to be rushed out. Even in the case of the backlash they've had, EA has still made money and that's all that matters to them.


----------



## xvultures

vampiregenocide said:


> I found the game was brilliant, but having just gone back and played the first two, in comparison it's very linear. It's a more linear game than the last two. They didn't really focus so much on creating locations with lots of side-missions and instead just made the main storyline the focus. I think an extra year in development and they could've made a much better ending and more substantial game in terms of side-missions. I don't think people care too much about game delays nowadays as long as it's worth the wait, the problem is that companies like EA know the game will sell on the merit of it's title, and so don't care about being a bit lazy and forcing a game to be rushed out. Even in the case of the backlash they've had, EA has still made money and that's all that matters to them.



Indeed. The storyline up until the end really was deep, dark and meaningful. Especially when


Spoiler



you see Thessia being invaded, and they say something about witnessing the extinction of a whole civilization


, that was really touching man.

I do agree with you on the side missions, the side missions were more like.. "Hey, pick up this random item during a regular mission". Instead of sidequests where you could spend a whole night or two doing like in ME1. I've replayed ME1 at least 5 or 6 times, because it was all different almost each time (plus I'm an achievement whore). ME3 is great, but I'm not sure how many times it merits a replay.


----------



## pink freud

Does anybody else have to struggle to pick Red-Renegade options in this one more so than the other two? So many of them seem to be counter-productive asshole-ish things to say.


----------



## vampiregenocide

xvultures said:


> Indeed. The storyline up until the end really was deep, dark and meaningful. Especially when
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> you see Thessia being invaded, and they say something about witnessing the extinction of a whole civilization
> 
> 
> , that was really touching man.
> 
> I do agree with you on the side missions, the side missions were more like.. "Hey, pick up this random item during a regular mission". Instead of sidequests where you could spend a whole night or two doing like in ME1. I've replayed ME1 at least 5 or 6 times, because it was all different almost each time (plus I'm an achievement whore). ME3 is great, but I'm not sure how many times it merits a replay.



I noticed many of the side-missions were literally just the multiplayer maps put into the game. No real thought was put into why they were in it, you just had to find something while fighting off enemies, which is exactly what you do in the multiplayer.


----------



## texshred777

I don't mind not having a shit ton of side missions, as they break immersion for me. Even in the first game, Saren was up to something big and I had to find out what it was..NOW. I didn't have time to go Geth hunting and sight-seeing. It wasn't until a later play through did I really focus on being completionist in my play through. That's not to say I won't do a few here and there, but it's like the idea of Batman flying over someone being assaulted by thugs in search of a Riddler clue. 

Rushing the ending to a "flagship" franchise isn't ok with me, though.


----------



## pink freud

At least the ME3 side-missions have an actual game purpose. They all add to that meter, instead of adding to just the XP bar. Some are even intrinsic to the plot playing out in specific ways, which is cool.


----------



## BlackMastodon

pink freud said:


> Does anybody else have to struggle to pick Red-Renegade options in this one more so than the other two? So many of them seem to be counter-productive asshole-ish things to say.



I started a ME1 replay recently and I just finished the Noveria mission. On my first play through for all 3 games I did mostly Paragon (I only did renegade stuff in ME2 and 3 when it meant saving/killing someone) and now I always find it hard to do the renegade stuff. I felt like a monster exterminating the Rachni. 

I also don't like Renegade Shepard in ME1 because he sounds like such a douche, reminds me too much of Dave Mustaine; the voices are too much alike.


----------



## Varcolac

pink freud said:


> Does anybody else have to struggle to pick Red-Renegade options in this one more so than the other two? So many of them seem to be counter-productive asshole-ish things to say.



No, I always find it difficult to go renegade. I guess I see my Shepard as like, Space-Jesus or something, always doing the right thing, paragon to the max. 

Been playing a lot of multiplayer recently, can't wait to unlock the Krogan Battlemaster. Played a game with one of them and he was going toe-to-toe with an Atlas in melee on silver, charging whenever his shields were down to refresh them. Madness I tell you. Pure madness.

Sod it, I can't wait to unlock Krogan anything. I've got the starter assault rifle and shotgun upgraded to X, and a metric tonne of ammo/armour/rail amp equipment. Any Krogan will do: I just want to rush in to the fray screaming "FOR TUCHANKAAA~"

I had one unlocked in the demo. So far on the full game all I've got has been Drell adept and Salarian engineer.


----------



## pink freud

A lot of the Renegade options in ME2 were just good fun. Headbutting mouthy Krogan? YES PLEASE! Shoving arrogant mercs out windows? FUCK YEAH!

But telling some chick who just lost her family or whatever to man the fuck up? No thanks...


----------



## BlackMastodon

Varcolac said:


> No, I always find it difficult to go renegade. I guess I see my Shepard as like, Space-Jesus or something, always doing the right thing, paragon to the max.
> 
> Been playing a lot of multiplayer recently, can't wait to unlock the Krogan Battlemaster. Played a game with one of them and he was going toe-to-toe with an Atlas in melee on silver, charging whenever his shields were down to refresh them. Madness I tell you. Pure madness.
> 
> Sod it, I can't wait to unlock Krogan anything. I've got the starter assault rifle and shotgun upgraded to X, and a metric tonne of ammo/armour/rail amp equipment. Any Krogan will do: I just want to rush in to the fray screaming "FOR TUCHANKAAA~"
> 
> I had one unlocked in the demo. So far on the full game all I've got has been Drell adept and Salarian engineer.



At least you have a Drell and Salarian. I played a ton the last 2 days and unlocked probably 15+ packs, and out of 10 characters I got, 8 of them were human . I only have an Asari adept and a Turian soldier (which is awesome. I  Turians).

My buddy bought like, 4 packs maybe? His first one he got a Turian sentinel, and in another one he got 2 Krogan classes. 

I'm convinced the game hates me.


----------



## vampiregenocide

Man I forgot the DLC is out. I have a couple of Krogan characters unlocked, and a couple Turians too. They're my faves. I tend to be a sniper with my Turian, and a general assault/CQB with Krogans. Nothing better than beating the shit out of a brute.


----------



## Genome

I've just started multiplayer now. It's annoying when you're a lowly lvl 5 infiltrator and that Krogan on your team runs around melee'ing everyone and stealing your kills. :x


----------



## Varcolac

genome said:


> I've just started multiplayer now. It's annoying when you're a lowly lvl 5 infiltrator and that Krogan on your team runs around melee'ing everyone and stealing your kills. :x



Remember, it's co-op. Stealing kills doesn't affect your XP or your credits at the end of the match. The first few games as a low-level character, you'll end up with the lowest score in the game, but you'll soon level up and be dishing out hot bowls of thick creamy justice with the best of them.


----------



## AxeHappy

And honestly, as the infiltrator you should be blowing the heads off of people before the Krogan has a chance to melee them. 

I do wish like level 15+ character would stay out of bronze matches though. If you want back in on the easy (and much worse paying and experience giving matches) promote your character and start again. Give the low levels/new players a chance to learn how to play and whatnot.


----------



## synrgy

I've got all the pre-DLC unlockable characters, but I'm looking forward to the Krogan Battlemaster. Might be the only Vanguard worth a damn when doing a run on Gold..

Don't frown on the Salarian Engineer, though. Energy Drain + Decoy can get your team out of a LOT of tight spaces, and earn you a ton of XP. Mine's at 17 currently. Can't wait to have him maxed out. The first time I beat a round on Gold, the guy with the highest score was a Salarian Engineer who only fired 2 shots through all 11 rounds.

On Gold, the powers are the most important thing, which means having the right squad is paramount. On Bronze, and maybe Silver, one can do the Rambo thing here and there, but on Gold we pretty much have to have a team bunkered down together and communicating well. If the team works together, it can actually be ridiculously easy. 

I've also found it's almost imperative to have at least one infiltrator so they can hit the objectives during the objective missions while they're cloaked. I'd also humbly suggest going for the 'chain' upgrades on powers like Overload or Energy Drain, which are particularly useful against Geth. For some reason, the Decoy power seems much more effective against Geth than it is against Cerberus or Reapers.

Spectre packs are generally worth saving for, once you're doing mostly Silver or Gold. Beating Gold pretty much earns a Spectre pack every time. I grabbed one earlier this evening and it unlocked the Batarian Soldier. Haven't tried him yet, though; not crazy about the Soldier class..


----------



## Genome

AxeHappy said:


> And honestly, as the infiltrator you should be blowing the heads off of people before the Krogan has a chance to melee them.



Yeah, not levelled high enough yet though. I'm usually pretty awesome at headshots but my sniper rifle isn't doing enough damage for an instant kill, takes down about 3/4 of their health then the krogan swoops in and has an easy kill. I get a nice assist though...


----------



## Varcolac

synrgy said:


> I've got all the pre-DLC unlockable characters, but I'm looking forward to the Krogan Battlemaster. Might be the only Vanguard worth a damn when doing a run on Gold..
> 
> Don't frown on the Salarian Engineer, though. Energy Drain + Decoy can get your team out of a LOT of tight spaces, and earn you a ton of XP. Mine's at 17 currently. Can't wait to have him maxed out. The first time I beat a round on Gold, the guy with the highest score was a Salarian Engineer who only fired 2 shots through all 11 rounds.
> 
> On Gold, the powers are the most important thing, which means having the right squad is paramount. On Bronze, and maybe Silver, one can do the Rambo thing here and there, but on Gold we pretty much have to have a team bunkered down together and communicating well. If the team works together, it can actually be ridiculously easy.
> 
> I've also found it's almost imperative to have at least one infiltrator so they can hit the objectives during the objective missions while they're cloaked. I'd also humbly suggest going for the 'chain' upgrades on powers like Overload or Energy Drain, which are particularly useful against Geth. For some reason, the Decoy power seems much more effective against Geth than it is against Cerberus or Reapers.
> 
> Spectre packs are generally worth saving for, once you're doing mostly Silver or Gold. Beating Gold pretty much earns a Spectre pack every time. I grabbed one earlier this evening and it unlocked the Batarian Soldier. Haven't tried him yet, though; not crazy about the Soldier class..



I certainly don't frown on my Salarian. Got him to level 20 yesterday, won my first two gold matches.

Bunkered down in the downstairs computer room on Firebase White with another Salarian engineer, with decoys in front of the desk, spamming Energy Drain, a few Incinerates for the primes, drenching the room in electricity and assault rifle bullets. Anything got past the decoys, we'd mash Circle, reach over the desk, drag 'em to the ground and stab'em in the face. 'twas beautiful.

You can set up your own tech bursts with incendiary or disruptor ammo too, makes for a fun hallway full of exploding Geth.

Other team members were a Quarian sniper mopping up outside and hitting obectives, with a Turian sentinel who was basically just along for the ride.

(I just really want a Krogan.  )


----------



## AxeHappy

I think I'm missing 1 or 2. Drell Adept and Asari Vanguard. 

And yes, Call of Duty style does not work on Gold. If you've got a bunch of level 20s in a small map you can get away with it a little on silver but on Gold, you've got to work as a team. 

It's worth it to buy the recruit packs and get all the low level unlocks out of the way so you aren't getting stuck with them in your Spectre packs but and the veteran pack is worth it for Equipment and whanot but other than that the Spectre/Premium Spectre packs are the only way to go. Depending on the special. 



What sniper rifle are you using? On bronze matches a headshot from cloak should kill any regular dude.


----------



## synrgy

Varcolac said:


> Bunkered down in the downstairs computer room on Firebase White with another Salarian engineer, with decoys in front of the desk, spamming Energy Drain, a few Incinerates for the primes, drenching the room in electricity and assault rifle bullets. Anything got past the decoys, we'd mash Circle, reach over the desk, drag 'em to the ground and stab'em in the face. 'twas beautiful.
> 
> You can set up your own tech bursts with incendiary or disruptor ammo too, makes for a fun hallway full of exploding Geth.
> 
> Other team members were a Quarian sniper mopping up outside and hitting obectives, with a Turian sentinel who was basically just along for the ride.



That is the EXACT SAME strategy my team used to win my first few rounds of Gold. If I didn't know better (haven't played Gold in a week or so), I'd think we must have played together. 

Seriously, for those who haven't tried, the above strategy/team makeup is pretty much a guaranteed win on Gold versus Geth. 

*edit* For Snipers, I think the Mantis is the way to go. The M98 Widow may be a *pinch* more powerful, but the reload time and super-heavy-weight render that extra power almost useless in comparison. The Mantis weighs so little that you can spam powers in between shots much more easily, not to mention that it gives more weight allowance for your secondary weapon.


----------



## BlackMastodon

genome said:


> Yeah, not levelled high enough yet though. I'm usually pretty awesome at headshots but my sniper rifle isn't doing enough damage for an instant kill, takes down about 3/4 of their health then the krogan swoops in and has an easy kill. I get a nice assist though...



Up until I got my engineer to lvl 15 or so I would be raking in at least 25 assists a game. Now I usually get about 50 assist and 25 kills give or take, so the extra medals are pretty nice. With that sniper, you could just pick off the slightly weaker targets. I think I have the Mantis IV or V right now and it usually kills basic troops in one shot if I tag them in the head.


----------



## AxeHappy

I'm actually using a Mantis for my sniper rifle as well. 

But only because it's up to level ten and my Black Widow (which replaced the normal Widow so fast it's not even funny) is still at 1. Pretty sure I'll switch back to it if it ever gets levelled up. Being able to fire 3 (stupid powerful) shots without reloading makes popping heads so much easier.


----------



## pink freud

AxeHappy said:


> I think I'm missing 1 or 2. Drell Adept and Asari Vanguard.
> 
> And yes, Call of Duty style does not work on Gold. If you've got a bunch of level 20s in a small map you can get away with it a little on silver but on Gold, you've got to work as a team.
> 
> It's worth it to buy the recruit packs and get all the low level unlocks out of the way so you aren't getting stuck with them in your Spectre packs but and the veteran pack is worth it for Equipment and whanot but other than that the Spectre/Premium Spectre packs are the only way to go. Depending on the special.
> 
> 
> 
> What sniper rifle are you using? On bronze matches a headshot from cloak should kill any regular dude.



Maybe I'm just _very_ unlucky, but I haven't gotten Medpacs from a Premium Spectre pack in over 10 packs. Only rockets. Maybe not even in regular Spectre packs.


----------



## synrgy

pink freud said:


> Maybe I'm just _very_ unlucky, but I haven't gotten Medpacs from a Premium Spectre pack in over 10 packs. Only rockets. Maybe not even in regular Spectre packs.



I'm having that problem in regards to the Ops packs, which are even handier, to me.. I currently have 0. 

I have more ammo packs than I'll ever use, plenty of rockets and plenty of med packs. I hardly use any of the above.


----------



## Varcolac

Unlocked Krogan Sentinel this afternoon. Full melee bonuses on everything. Full rage, full class power, full tech armour, full grenades. What's a cooldown? Shotgun for melee/close up (barrel, blade), assault rifle (scope, stability) for when I have to hold the bloody line with the other races and upload data. It's been hilarious on Bronze so far, absolutely destroying things in melee on rage mode. Went toe-to-toe with some Brutes, heavy melee took off almost half their health. 

FOR TUCHANKAAAA~!


----------



## Vicissitude27

I've learned that the Quarian Infiltrator is my best character. Its probably because the tactical coat combined with a Widow II with extended barrel is insane. I can't wait till I get 2 more points to spend then I can start one shotting Brutes with a +10% Weapon damage.

I'm really curious though, has anyone unlocked the geth? I reallllly want to know want hunter mode is.


----------



## Varcolac

Hunter mode, from what I've heard on voice chat, is hax. 

It outlines all the enemies in red, through smoke, through walls. You'll always know where a wave is coming from. Very useful for tactical play. Probably a godsend on Gold.


----------



## AxeHappy

pink freud said:


> Maybe I'm just _very_ unlucky, but I haven't gotten Medpacs from a Premium Spectre pack in over 10 packs. Only rockets. Maybe not even in regular Spectre packs.




Hence when Veteran Packs are still useful for equipment. Which Medigel 100% falls under.


----------



## xvultures

Unlocked the Geth Infiltrator earlier today. Hunter mode is pretty cool. It reduces your shield strength by 50% though..


----------



## Varcolac

Hmm. I just got an Asari vanguard...

out of a Recruit pack. Best 5000 credits I ever spent. 

I guess because I spammed Recruit packs to begin with, and got all my starter weapons upgraded to 10, there's not much else the Recruit packs can give me. I seem to get either another "+125000 class XP, unlock some colours for your humans" card, or a silver card with a weapon or a new race on it. I ain't complaining!


Edit: and now I'm glitching through the scenery. Bloody vanguards. Stasis Bubble does make it very easy to line up headshots though, so it's got its defensive merits at least.


----------



## pink freud

Unlocked the Krogan Vanguard. It's OK. Has a longer CD on Charge than the other species though. In the same pack I also got the new Geth SMG...

Holy fuck! Equip that SMG on the Turian Soldier and you are a death machine. The Turian gets Marksman, which increases your rate of fire. The two combined makes health bars _dissolve.

_To the above: Asari Vanguard is the best at Charge -> Heavy Melee. Got to love AOE melee


----------



## Varcolac

Krogan Battlemaster unlocked. I am a charging meleeing shotgun blasting all-destroying killing machine. For Tuchanka, indeed.

Also got Geth and Quarian infiltrators. They're OK, but I suck at sniping. As a Quarian, hacking Geth to turn them on themselves is fun to the max.


----------



## Erazoender

BlackMastodon said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> You see it in a picture if she dies after you kill the geth, if you choose to do so.



Or if you romance her and be ultra paragon and save everyone, like me.


----------



## pink freud

Varcolac said:


> Krogan Battlemaster unlocked. I am a charging meleeing shotgun blasting all-destroying killing machine. For Tuchanka, indeed.
> 
> Also got Geth and Quarian infiltrators. They're OK, but I suck at sniping. As a Quarian, hacking Geth to turn them on themselves is fun to the max.



Geth Infiltrator is great with the Geth shotgun. Max out your +damage % stuff, and then use this exploit:

Charge Shotgun -> Cloak -> Fire -> Fire

What happens is the shot gets registered when you initiate it, not when you release it, but your Cloak's damage bonus is applied when the shot is release. Your Cloak cancels after a shot is _initiated_ so what this lets you do is get three shots in one cloak (one supercharged shot and one regular, both with the damage bonus).


----------



## Jakke

Am I the only one here who haven't played the multiplayer?


----------



## synrgy

^Yes, you're the only one. Slacker.


----------



## Jakke

synrgy said:


> ^Yes, you're the only one. Slacker.



Tsss, I have been playing Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines


----------



## Erazoender

Multiplayer is surprisingly fun, I'm curious as to how it would be like in a pvp scenario..... 

ALL the Vanguards!


----------



## xvultures

Erazoender said:


> Multiplayer is surprisingly fun, I'm curious as to how it would be like in a pvp scenario.....
> 
> ALL the Vanguards!



 If we thought the updates/balancing of stuff was bad NOW, if pvp opened it'd be horrible. Some classes would just be annihilated against others. Some classes are barely manageable in Gold, pvp would be a massacre.


----------



## AxeHappy

Jakke said:


> Tsss, I have been playing Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines




It's got more and better endings than Mass Effect 3 does...


I think he wins.


----------



## SirMyghin

Jakke said:


> Am I the only one here who haven't played the multiplayer?



I found it to get a little tired after the first bit. I also dislike how your EMS decreases over time. I mean I haven't been home for 3 weeks and now I need to get it back up for single player  Boo Hiss.


----------



## pink freud

SirMyghin said:


> I found it to get a little tired after the first bit. I also dislike how your EMS decreases over time. I mean I haven't been home for 3 weeks and now I need to get it back up for single player  Boo Hiss.



Have you been promoting your lvl 20s? I think they give like 75 points a pop to your single player score.

They also give you +10 to your N7 level, but even that makes the 800+ N7 guys I've been seeing a bit ridiculous.


----------



## AxeHappy

I pretty sure I got a much lower than +75 for promoting. Like...+10 or something.

I don't play it as much as I used to but the resurgence back has added a little something something. As long as they keep releasing free MP DLC I'll keep playing.


----------



## SirMyghin

pink freud said:


> Have you been promoting your lvl 20s? I think they give like 75 points a pop to your single player score.
> 
> They also give you +10 to your N7 level, but even that makes the 800+ N7 guys I've been seeing a bit ridiculous.



Haven't needed to, just needed the percentage higher.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

I've been away from this thread for a while, and I dont really have time to read what I've missed, but what's the general consensus about the campaign, and especially the ending?

To me the whole game felt like a linear train ride, going out of control and about to derail.
Everything was too rushed, and very little choice i made in 1 and 2 had nearly no effect on any of the game.
Its also emotionally tolling, I have no desire to play it again, because of how bleak everything

To spend all that time beating the first two (5 times for 1, 4 for 2) and have it come to the most utterly disappointing drop off of any video game I have ever played is something I cant seem to find words for.

I do enjoy the multiplayer for what its worth, but im not complacent with the campaign, what a joke bioware


----------



## synrgy

ShadowFactoryX said:


> I've been away from this thread for a while, and I dont really have time to read what I've missed, but what's the general consensus about the campaign, and especially the ending?



You'll probably have to go back and read. I think we've all talked about the end in this thread enough to make our brains hurt.


----------



## pink freud

I started a third play-through, but I don't think I'll finish it. Just doesn't seem to have the replayability that ME2 had. The MP isn't fun enough on it's own either, so I'd say I'm officially done with ME3, and have gone back to stabbing dragons in the face.


----------



## synrgy

After I finished my 2nd playthrough (so I could get the Insanity achievement) I felt pretty done.


Spoiler



Somehow, I *still* managed to miss the very, very last paragon/renegade dialog option in the final scene with Illusive Man. Dunno what I keep missing in the game to not get that dialog option, but whatever. I mean, I can't imagine it alters the scene (or the following scene with the kid/ghost/ai/god-thing) a whole lot either way..



While I'm not tempted to rush back into 3 any time soon (apart from the MP, which I'm still enjoying..), I will say that I'm suddenly feeling the urge to get start over again from scratch in ME1, having a much better understanding of what consequences (if any) each choice leads to.


----------



## pink freud

To get that option you have to use the respective Paragon/Renegade dialog choices with him _every single possible time_ in the game. I don't know if you can mix and match, but on my second play through I got it after choosing Paragon every single time.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I thought you needed to get the perk for increased paragon/renegade conversation options or whatever.


----------



## pink freud

According to the wiki site:
Priority: Earth - Mass Effect Wiki - Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, walkthroughs and more

From my experience, as long as you do everything and talk to everybody when available you will max out your rep meter no matter what.

Unlike ME1 and ME2 the Paragon and Renegade points fill a single meter, allowing you to mix the options throughout the play through. The options pop up at certain levels of reputation which is (from my guess) calculated by:
(Reputation Coefficient)(Paragon + Renegade)


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

synrgy said:


> You'll probably have to go back and read.




K fine, i did it.

seems a lot of you feel the same way i do.

one thing ive kept pondering, and i swear i remember hearing this in a interview with developers is that they WERENT going to make some big weapon to stop the reapers

does anyone else remember that? or am i on drugs?


----------



## synrgy

I think the general gist of most of the backlash was that they did a lot of things they had previously said they weren't going to do, and they didn't do a lot of things they had previously said they were going to do. 

Here's the part I don't get: Bioware keeps saying that a 'happy ending' would be going against all the established story they had, but if one looks back at the endings of all 3 games, it breaks down kind of like this:

ME1: Shepard saves the Galaxy.
ME2: Shepard saves the Galaxy.
ME3:


Spoiler



Shepard (mostly) dies along with most of the rest of the Galaxy.



So, tell me again, Bioware: which ending doesn't belong?


----------



## Varcolac

synrgy said:


> I think the general gist of most of the backlash was that they did a lot of things they had previously said they weren't going to do, and they didn't do a lot of things they had previously said they were going to do.
> 
> Here's the part I don't get: Bioware keeps saying that a 'happy ending' would be going against all the established story they had, but if one looks back at the endings of all 3 games, it breaks down kind of like this:
> 
> ME1: Shepard saves the Galaxy.
> ME2: Shepard saves the Galaxy.
> ME3:
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Shepard (mostly) dies along with most of the rest of the Galaxy.
> 
> 
> 
> So, tell me again, Bioware: which ending doesn't belong?



ME1: Thousands dead in the attack on the Citadel
ME2: Hundreds of thousands dead in Collector abductions.
ME3: Billions dead. 

Shepard stopping the destruction happens in all of them, but there's always a hell of a lot of dead organics that you simply can't save.


----------



## synrgy

Varcolac said:


> ME1: Thousands dead in the attack on the Citadel
> ME2: Hundreds of thousands dead in Collector abductions.
> ME3: Billions dead.
> 
> Shepard stopping the destruction happens in all of them, but there's always a hell of a lot of dead organics that you simply can't save.



Well sure, they die _during_ the course of each game, and that certainly held true all throughout ME3. At the END of ME1 and ME2, though, Shepard wins. I don't see why Bioware is saying it's such a stretch to expect him to win _again_ in ME3.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

synrgy said:


> I don't see why Bioware is saying it's such a stretch to expect him to win _again_ in ME3.



this^

is it a crime to enjoy a happy story book ending for beloved characters?
my shepard was supposed to repopulate earth with ashley...a lot

edit: if anything, i think there should have been the possibilty for a happy ending, as well as an indoctrinated one, as well as the bleak, death to all, civilization screwed outcome


----------



## bhakan

Spoiler



While I think there should have been more of an effect from your choices throughout the game, I don't think there needed to be a storybook ending. First Shepard did win, he destoryed/merged with/whatever the reapers and saved all organic life. He himself died, but he did accomplish his goal, just with heavy losses. Also, with how utterly impossible the odds were, the fact that he could even destroy the reapers is amazing, so a perfect storybook ending would of been almost stupidly anticlimactic in the opposite way. -this is the ultimate battle for our survival, it will be extremely difficult, but nobodies gonna die- wouldn't really make sense.


----------



## synrgy

Well, now we're just going in circles. 



Spoiler



My point isn't that he (mostly) died. I don't care about that part. My point is that he (mostly) died for _nothing_. Virtually every race in the galaxy is stuck in orbit of Earth. Goes without saying that Earth can't support all life in the Galaxy. There's no way any of the races can get back home, because the Mass Relays have been destroyed.



So, basically, everything's fucked no matter what choice we make at the end, and nothing we did through any of the 3 games combined made a lick of difference to the extremely bleak outcome. Sorry, but I don't see that as being in lock-step with the endings of the first two games, or the tone the series was setting. 

I was prepared for Shepard to die. I wasn't prepared for the entire Galaxy to be FUBAR no matter what Shepard did.

I mean, that last little scene is supposed to lead us to believe what, exactly?


Spoiler



That the tragically fragile Joker will rebuild the human race (without any female help, I might add, depending on one's squad choice in the final mission) single-handed? And how are they even still alive if we chose Symbiosis? Shouldn't all life be a freaky hybrid of organic/synthetic if we chose that option?





Spoiler



When we choose Control, how come the Reapers just drop dead like they do when we make either of the other two choices? If they're under Shepard's control, shouldn't they just kinda turn around and leave? Why do we only get a cut scene of Shepard still being alive if we choose Destroy? How is he still alive after the Citadel/Catalyst went kaboom like it did? He didn't have his proper space suit at the end, so he wouldn't have even potentially or partially survived in the vacuum of space - like he did at the beginning of ME2, when he had his helmet and armor on.



It's kind of like that movie AI. It's so painfully obvious that Kubrick's ending was when the robot kid is trapped at the bottom of the ocean for bazillions of years. But NO, Stephen fucking Spielberg has to swoop in and add some fluffy bits about aliens eventually finding the kid and giving him one more magical day with his not-exactly-mother, who they've magically recreated _completely_ based on a single hair his robot teddy bear had held on to. And he lived happily ever the fuck after.

Happy vs not happy isn't the point. Shepard living vs dying isn't the point. The robot kid in AI meeting his Mom a bajillion years after she dies simply doesn't make sense in the Universe of that film. Likewise,


Spoiler



the Reaper-God-Star-Child-Thing in Mass Effect


 doesn't make any sense in the Universe of the series, either, and even if we set that aside, there's still the nagging issue of


Spoiler



WTF happens to all life in the Galaxy when it's trapped in Earth's orbit with no means of escape.



Yeah.. I'm sorry, but I just think it's crap writing. It was a bail out, either made to hit a deadline, or to satiate some other behind the scenes political nonsense. 

Just to complete the broken record: Despite my ranting, the crap ending can still never negate how amazing the preceding 120-300+hours of gameplay in all 3 games really is, and it's still my favorite series EVER.


----------



## pink freud

Spoiler



Well, I don't know about you but in _my_ ME3 Joker is going to experiment with EDI's ports and repopulate the galaxy with limping cyborgs


----------



## MFB

Ordered it today from Amazon since it's 50% off!


----------



## BlackMastodon

Spoiler



Your squad mates actually magically make it back onto the Normandy for that last bit. I did the last mission with Liara and Garus and in the last cutscene, Liara walks out of the Normandy after Joker. And iirc, the reapers do get up and leave with the control ending, though I don't remember for sure. I do actually vaguely remember that ending not making sense since the reapers might have toppled over. Hmmm, either way there are quite a few plot holes. So I'm really hoping the indoctrination theory is canon after all.


----------



## AxeHappy

Spoiler



The Reapers do pull up if you choose control.




The biggest thing about the ending for me is:
Nothing you've done as Sheppard previously matters. Not one fucking thing. 

It all boils down to a 1,2,3 choice at the end. 

And they specifically promised us it wouldn't.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

synergy's point is rather large

whats supposed to happen when you've made a technological setback of unbound proportions? especially with half the galaxy at your doorstep



Spoiler



i remember reading an article that a guy mentioned how cryptic sovereign was in the first game, and how complex and nearly transcendent to all of the galaxy's knowing,
and it boils down to a kid hologram with ABC choices?


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

id like to add that itd probly be millenia before they could know how to construct the relays or a citadel, being that the keepers were the only ones to know how to opperate it


----------



## AxeHappy

pink freud said:


> Holy fuck! Equip that SMG on the Turian Soldier and you are a death machine. The Turian gets Marksman, which increases your rate of fire. The two combined makes health bars _dissolve.
> _



This. Unlocked the Geth SMG recently. 

Combined with the Turian Soldier with rate of fire Marksmen at level 6, with Level 5 Heat Sink, level 5 increased Magazine size and any sort of SMG damage boost and people just stop existing. 

It'd be like cheating on Bronze and makes soloing Geth Primes at silver a possibility. 

Haven't tried him on Gold yet. I don't normally like running Gold with Solider classes.


Edit:

Seriously just did a solo run with him on Bronze (Cerberus) and made it up to Wave 8. And most the way through that.

If I had more +1 medigels unlocked (only 1 right now) I likely could have done it. Crazy


----------



## Varcolac

AxeHappy said:


> This. Unlocked the Geth SMG recently.
> 
> Combined with the Turian Soldier with rate of fire Marksmen at level 6, with Level 5 Heat Sink, level 5 increased Magazine size and any sort of SMG damage boost and people just stop existing.
> 
> It'd be like cheating on Bronze and makes soloing Geth Primes at silver a possibility.
> 
> Haven't tried him on Gold yet. I don't normally like running Gold with Solider classes.
> 
> 
> Edit:
> 
> Seriously just did a solo run with him on Bronze (Cerberus) and made it up to Wave 8. And most the way through that.
> 
> If I had more +1 medigels unlocked (only 1 right now) I likely could have done it. Crazy



I've only got the Geth pulse rifle II, and it's pretty insane. I've got level IV or V of the magazine upgrade, and it's got somewhere around 150 bullets in it and fires like nobody's business. Turian Soldier spamming Marksman with incendiary ammo is hilarious. Carpeting a room in fiery bullets of death.

I need more Geth equipment, it's fun stuff!


----------



## BlackMastodon

Varcolac said:


> I've only got the Geth pulse rifle II, and it's pretty insane. I've got level IV or V of the magazine upgrade, and it's got somewhere around 150 bullets in it and fires like nobody's business. Turian Soldier spamming Marksman with incendiary ammo is hilarious. Carpeting a room in fiery bullets of death.
> 
> I need more Geth equipment, it's fun stuff!



I love using the Geth rifle with extended magazines with the Geth Engineer (though either Geth class works) while using hunter mode. I have the increased weapon fire perks and holy hell does that thing mow people down.


----------



## Varcolac

Anyone playing on PS3, weekend ops are now compatible with Sony hardware.



Bioware said:


> MAJOR OPERATIONS UPDATE: Good news Spectres! Starting with Operation EXORCIST, N7 Weekend Challenges will extend to the PlayStation 3 platform. Operation EXORCIST begins today, April 27th at 6:00PM PST until April 30th at 5:00PM PST, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Please remember to set the &#8220;Upload Gameplay Feedback&#8221; setting to &#8220;On&#8221; in the online options to be able to participate in this N7 Operation.
> 
> Good luck and see you on the battlefield.



Kill loads of Phantoms, extract on Gold, get rewards!

PRIORITY UPDATE: OPERATION EXORCIST | BioWare Blog


----------



## AxeHappy

Yay! The Jumbo Equipment Pack is back!


----------



## leandroab

I just finished the game. Let's just say I'm disappointed... A lot.

Oh well...



genome said:


> ME1: Reapers?
> ME2: Ah yes, the Reapers.
> ME3: Oh shit, the Reapers!



ME1: Liara.
ME2: Miranda?!1!!!11
ME3: *sigh*Liara...


----------



## leandroab

retardeddoublepost.jpeg


----------



## BlackMastodon

leandroab said:


> ME1: Liara.
> ME2: Miranda?!1!!!11
> ME3: *sigh*Liara...


Mine was
ME1: Ashley
ME2: Miranda
ME3: Accidentally Liara; everythingwentbetterthanexpected.jpg


----------



## C2Aye

BlackMastodon said:


> Mine was
> ME1: Ashley
> ME2: Miranda
> ME3: Accidentally Liara; everythingwentbetterthanexpected.jpg



Liara is the one and only for me. I started another game in ME1 to go with Ashley and I felt so sad saying 'no' to Liara 

Probably helps that her voice actor actually likes playing Liara and said that it's been her favourite video game role so far.


----------



## BlackMastodon

On my second ME1 play through I'm going with Liara. I think her romance option in ME3 was the most realistic, and ain't no reapers gonna keep us crazy kids apart.


----------



## pink freud

You can tell in ME3 they put way more effort into Liara as a romantic interest. Even the conversations that happen to non-romance Sheps seem romantic.

Which I'm totally fine with


----------



## Varcolac

Got the Geth SMG last night. Pew pew feckin' pew, that thing shoots _fast_.


----------



## texshred777

pink freud said:


> You can tell in ME3 they put way more effort into Liara as a romantic interest. Even the conversations that happen to non-romance Sheps seem romantic.
> 
> Which I'm totally fine with


 
I thought the same thing, I thought at first I'd loaded my Liara Romance Shep, there was definitely a "spark" there in conversation.


----------



## synrgy

I will never see this scene the same way ever again:


----------



## sakeido

texshred777 said:


> I thought the same thing, I thought at first I'd loaded my Liara Romance Shep, there was definitely a "spark" there in conversation.



I was never a fan of Liara as a romance interest until the third one... it was really well done. Shadow Broker did some nice groundwork there though, she was a lot more interesting in that DLC than she was in ME1. the bit about the azure made me LOLOLOL 

I went Ashley/Miranda/Liara .. didn't mind how it all turned out. seemed to me like Ashley was defrosting a bit at the end of ME, haha nope! she was a bitch to me in ME2 and had hella poor judgment in ME3. so she was out. I was actually planning on sticking with Miranda but I screwed up somewhere along the line and ended up with Liara, but no biggy there

still tho I think the best male shep romance was tali. but best romances are femshep/garrus and femshep/thane imo.


----------



## Genome

synrgy said:


> I will never see this scene the same way ever again:



He lived as Marauder Shields, he died as Marauder Health.


----------



## Varcolac

genome said:


> He lived as Marauder Shields, he died as Marauder Health.



Don't forget the sacrifices of the Three Husketeers.


----------



## The Uncreator

For those who are fans of Sovereign 

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/re...ere-revalver-epicness-ensues.html#post2995654


----------



## Lorcan Ward

genome said:


> He lived as Marauder Shields, he died as Marauder Health.



NEVER Forget


----------



## AxeHappy

So, since I avoid online gaming like the plague normally, and I prefer to buy my programs instead of get them from a service like Steam/Impulse/Origin, I have no friends on pretty much any of the programs. 

Anybody whom wants to add me for some ME3 action my username is:
Thromgrim


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

thoughts on the new pack/maps?


----------



## AxeHappy

I haven't unlocked any of the new characters, but more maps is always a good thing.


----------



## pink freud

The new sniper rifle is ridiculously OP. Black Widow with exploding rounds? Who thought that would be balanced? 

Actually the new AR is pretty powerful too. Goes through ammo like none other, but destroys enemies in less than a second.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

im a huge fan of the mattock so i really want that AR
and that new sniper is totaly balls out retarded awesome
slammin geth primes


----------



## AxeHappy

I've actually found I get way more kills with the N7 Valiant than the new sniper rifle.


----------



## pink freud

AxeHappy said:


> I've actually found I get way more kills with the N7 Valiant than the new sniper rifle.



You sure you're using it right? Remember, you can "air-burst" the rounds above/beside enemies, so cover is a non-issue.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I really like these little DLCs. New maps and potential characters and weapons is always awesome, especially since it's free. I have yet to unlock one of the new characters or weapons but we will see after this past weekends challenge goes through (I hope). And I love the Mattock so if the new AR is like that then I will be ecstatic. The only other rifle I use is the Avenger whenever I want to max out my cooldowns with Sentinels or Adepts.

Edit: Unlocked the Male Quarian Infiltrator; can't wait to try him out with the Kishock Harpoon Gun.


----------



## AxeHappy

pink freud said:


> You sure you're using it right? Remember, you can "air-burst" the rounds above/beside enemies, so cover is a non-issue.




Yup, but 3 head shots with the Valiant takes less time and kills just as much.

And I equip my sniper rifle with the amour penetration. Which also applies to increasing levels of cover based on the upgrade.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

i need to get the valliant yet


----------



## pink freud

ShadowFactoryX said:


> i need to get the valliant yet



Me too. I got the shotgun that thinks it's a sniper rifle, and the pistol that thinks it's an SMG, but not the Valiant yet.


----------



## AxeHappy

My Level 1 Valiant out performs my level 10 Mantix and both the Widow (which I think is Level 3) and Black Widow (level 1). 

It's pretty over the top. Crazy accuracy and fast. Damage doesn't matter to much when you're always planting head shots but it's has quite good damage as well. 


The new sniper rifle is awesome. Probably better for some (or hell most) but I just find I get more kills with the valiant.


----------



## AxeHappy

My Operation Mastiff packs finally came through!

Got the Vorcha Solider and Valiant Level 2. 

I'm loving the Sorcha so far. Flamer is ridiculous. It destroys everything.


----------



## pink freud

I found a non-power based Vorcha build hilarious. Stick all the points you can into health regen and +health, equip the most powerful weapons you have and go to town. Not using powers means you don't have to care about weight (My vorcha right now has the RC shotgun and a Widow equiped). On bronze mode you can face-tank geth primes no problem. Cover? Who needs it!?


----------



## texshred777

My copy has been on loan to a friend since 3 weeks after launch..I need to get it back and do another play through and MP..of course I haven't been playing games much lately. Too busy playing guitar and working.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

Extended Cut DLC talk time.

I did synthesis, and it autosaved when i was done
couldnt really find it in me to go through that whole mess again to watch the other 3 endings.

I originally went with control, but after the extended dialogue it made it seem stupid.
I actually kinda liked the synthesis ending a lot better now.

Overall, I'd say Bioware did a DECENT job at this, but it really revealed that the game WAS rushed, and the ending that we were originally left with was (incoherently) planned that way.
Though realistically, the Extended Cut just filled in a lot of holes of the galactic scope, which is good, but didnt do a whole lot for Shepard, other than the plaque on the memorial.
But I can say I'm happy to see they made way to have all the crew survive.

Did anyone try the new ending, and does it always have the same result? Cause i feel it should certainly depend in your War Efficiency rating. They really didnt utilize that in anyway, and if it were any time to do it, it would have been there.

Thoughts?


----------



## AxeHappy

So far I just took the opportunity to shoot the fucking kid. And then as you, didn't feel the need to playthrough it all again to choose the ending my Shepard would have actually done (Synthesis).

I'll likely actually use other play throughs to see the other endings though.

It certainly answered some questions leading up to the end. Still all kinds of weird things going on though.


----------



## Repner

ShadowFactoryX said:


> Extended Cut DLC talk time.
> 
> I did synthesis, and it autosaved when i was done
> couldnt really find it in me to go through that whole mess again to watch the other 3 endings.


I found that the save file that lets you start at the beginning of a mission is placed right before you go into the beam. Try that.

As for my thoughts, not perfect, but good enough for me to be able to play though the series again in the future. At least it doesn't feel like everyone loses at the end, which was my main issue.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

Repner said:


> I found that the save file that lets you start at the beginning of a mission is placed right before you go into the beam. Try that.
> 
> As for my thoughts, not perfect, but good enough for me to be able to play though the series again in the future. At least it doesn't feel like everyone loses at the end, which was my main issue.



agreed
and now it seems like the relays are intact, just damage
because if you'd recall in the DLC for 2 when you blow up the batarian relay, it wipes out a system


----------



## BlackMastodon

I accidentally shot the kid because I wanted something to do while walking to the synthesis beam and he basically said "FUCK your crucible!" and then turned it off and I felt kinda dumb.  I knew they wouldn't add new endings but I'm glad they filled in some of the plot holes. I will redo that play through and do synthesis this weekend and see how I like it. Overall pretty happy, though. The older endings just seemed incredibly bleak but even with the ending where


Spoiler



everyone dies and Liara it shows Liara as a VI in the future


 I though it was pretty cool.


----------



## AxeHappy

Just beat the game with the Synthesis option.

Well played Bioware. Well played.


----------



## vampiregenocide

The ending now make a lot more sense, but they're still kinda shoddy. It definitely shows that they've had to scramble this together from a poor ending. I wonder how good it might have been if they'd got it right in the first place.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Finished again with synthesis ending: very satisfied with it.


----------



## The Uncreator

Refusal ending made me fucking cry.

Love this game, so much respect for Bioware, really. Not only did they seem to satiate peoples concerns, but they did so with complete artistic integrity.


----------



## Erazoender

I didn't mind the old endings, the only thing that bothered me about them was the lack of explanation as to what happened to the galaxy after everything went boom. It pretty much answers everything that I had in question:


Spoiler



Tali lives and Shepherd lives 


 Very good endings. The refusal ending also made me pretty fucking depressed. Great job, Bioware! If you released the original ending like this you would have been loved from the beginning!


----------



## Genome

Just finished it, my reaction


----------



## Genome

Listen to the album, it's fackin' awesome

http://littlev.bandcamp.com/album/metal-effect


----------



## BlackMastodon

Free you say? Interesting. He did a bang up job, I must say, but nothing can touch the power that Clint Mansell's original version of that song conveys. Think I may have to check out this guys album though.


----------



## Erazoender

Tali | Little V This one's brilliant. But regarding that end theme, I agree; Mansell's original had me in tears and brings me to tears every time I listen to it. It reminds me why I love music; such powerful, effective ways to communicate emotions and images...


----------



## Treeunit212

Here's an idea...

Has anyone noticed the recurring theme of the Bible, both with the storyline as a whole and with references within?

Here's a few I've noticed.

1. Shepard is "resurrected" from the dead

2. The last fertile Krogan female is named "Eve" from the garden of Eden.

3. Eden Prime; where it all starts.

4. The Crucible. "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise"

5. In Astrophysics, Omega is the ratio of the total amount of stuff we know is in the universe divided by the amount of stuff you need to make a flat universe.

6. Shepard Sacrifices his life to save everyone else.

Anyone else notice others?

Edit: If this has already been discussed, I apologizing for not having time to read all 985795837495 pages of this thread.


----------



## MFB

I want to like this, but I really couldn't give two shits about it  I enjoyed ME1/2 and seeing everyone again has been great, but something about it just makes me really not care if I ever pick it back up again


----------



## Varcolac

Treeunit212 said:


> Here's an idea...
> 
> Has anyone noticed the recurring theme of the Bible, both with the storyline as a whole and with references within?
> 
> Here's a few I've noticed.
> 
> 1. Shepard is "resurrected" from the dead
> 
> 2. The last fertile Krogan female is named "Eve" from the garden of Eden.
> 
> 3. Eden Prime; where it all starts.
> 
> 4. The Crucible. "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise"
> 
> 5. In Astrophysics, Omega is the ratio of the total amount of stuff we know is in the universe divided by the amount of stuff you need to make a flat universe.
> 
> 6. Shepard Sacrifices his life to save everyone else.
> 
> Anyone else notice others?
> 
> Edit: If this has already been discussed, I apologizing for not having time to read all 985795837495 pages of this thread.



Monomyth stuff: it's not just Jesus, it's a pretty basic heroic journey. Similar shit happens to Moses, Buddha, even Luke Skywalker. Human mythology stuff makes sense in context: the Eden Prime system is full of planets named after mythical paradises; Xanadu, Nirvana, Zion, etc. Mordin even says "human ship, human mythology seemed [sniff] appropriate." Seems like you're reaching with the Crucible. A crucible is just a high-temperature container used in metallurgy.


Anyways, 

Mass Effect 3: Earth Multiplayer DLC | BioWare Blog



> The fighting is fiercest when its your home at stake! Mass Effect 3: Earth adds mods, gear, and new maps for Rio, Vancouver, and London.
> 
> Mass Effect 3: Earth also includes the new Platinum difficulty.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Earth features 3 new weapons: Piranha assault shotgun, Acolyte pistol, and Typhoon assault rifle.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Six new human N7 classes are also available: Destroyer Soldier, Paladin Sentinel, Demolisher Engineer, Slayer Vanguard, Shadow Infiltrator, and Fury Adept! Each comes complete with new and powerful abilities and melee attacks.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mass Effect 3: Earth is available on July 17th for Xbox 360 and PC worldwide. For PlayStation 3 owners the pack will be available on July 17th in North American and July 18th in Europe. Mass Effect 3: Earth is available to download at no additional charge.
> 
> 
> 
> *When is Mass Effect 3: Earth available?*
> Mass Effect 3: Earth is available on July 17th for Xbox 360 and PC worldwide. For PlayStation 3 owners the pack will be available on July 17th in North American and July 18th in Europe.
> 
> *What is included with Mass Effect 3: Earth?*
> Firebase Rio, Vancouver, and London are available to play on as soon as Mass Effect 3: Earth is downloaded. The new weapons, characters, and equipment are available as rewards inside existing Reinforcement Packs.
> 
> *How much does Mass Effect 3: Earth cost to download?*
> Mass Effect 3: Earth is available to download at no additional charge.
> 
> *How do I get new items in Mass Effect 3: Earth?*
> As with the Resurgence Pack and Rebellion Pack, new items will be unlocked in existing Reinforcement Packs. Make sure to look out for promotional packs and weekend challenges for other ways to unlock the content.



FAP FAP FAP


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

Finished my playthrough on Monday. This series blindsided me out of nowhere, my bassist had to practically beat me into submission to play the first two in 2008 and 2010 respectively, but after starting ME2 I really knew that this was something special (ME1 I liked, but a lot of the combat and saving mechanics pissed me off).

Never cared more about characters in any work of fiction before or since. Even if the ending was lacklustre (and being honest, having downloaded the Extended Cut I didn't mind it much at all), the journey was awesome. Considering doing a replay of the entire trilogy before summer ends just to experience it in one go, I've only managed to finish each one once.

It's going to take something monumental to live up to this for me 


also, Tali-romancers represent up in here!


----------



## BlackMastodon

Captain Shoggoth said:


> Finished my playthrough on Monday. This series blindsided me out of nowhere, my bassist had to practically beat me into submission to play the first two in 2008 and 2010 respectively, but after starting ME2 I really knew that this was something special (ME1 I liked, but a lot of the combat and saving mechanics pissed me off).
> 
> Never cared more about characters in any work of fiction before or since. Even if the ending was lacklustre (and being honest, having downloaded the Extended Cut I didn't mind it much at all), the journey was awesome. Considering doing a replay of the entire trilogy before summer ends just to experience it in one go, I've only managed to finish each one once.
> 
> It's going to take something monumental to live up to this for me
> 
> 
> also, Tali-romancers represent up in here!



I thought the extended cut was pretty damn good. I'm going through ME1 as a renegade again and I'm reminded just how much I HATE the goddamn Mako.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

^yeah, I imagine my Shepard is rescued from the rubble (destroy ending ftw), becomes the Mass Effect equivalent of Captain Kirk (seeing as there's no big overarching threat he can go back to lower-level stuff and general adventuring), eventually retiring to a farm on Rannoch with Tali. Or something like that 

And uruurughgh. Don't remind me about the Mako. Or the thresher maws. Or the klixen in ME2.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

LOL Mako ftw


----------



## synrgy

My thing with the Mako - and this goes with a lot of other unrelated 'open world' type games, as well - is that it was just so unbearably time-consuming/tedious. 

I'd check the map to see where I was, in relation to where my objective was. In the cases where the objective was blatantly a few yards ahead of me, _but on the other side of a mountain_, I find myself absolutely unable to do what the game clearly wants me to do, which is spend several minutes working my way all the way around the mountain. FUCK THAT. I'm going OVER that sonofabitch, whether the game wants me to, or not.

This leads to several frustrating minutes of forcing an upward path through the biggest mess of clipping errors one has ever seen. 

I do it in ME1, I do it in Red Dead Redemption, I do it in Skyrim, and I've done it in any other game that presumes to WASTE MY TIME between objectives. I understand that it's 'more realistic' to not have straight lines between me and my objective all the time, but don't make me sit there doing virtually nothing for several minutes at a time.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

I always go over mountains. Worst is in Skyrim when you often can't and there's a whole goddamn mountain range in the way.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I'd kill to have a Hammerhead or Kodiak in ME1 for those damn planet sweep parts.  Or at the very least some better boosters on the damned Mako. Nothing was worse than going up a huge mountain, almost reaching the top, forgetting you are almost perpendicular to the ground, and using your boosters accidentally thinking that you can make it over that small bump.


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

If anyone wants to play a few matches tonight on PS3, my username is noshallowgraves.


----------



## Treeunit212

I'm just beating ME2 with my redheaded Renegade lesbian. 

If you want the storyline with the most asari/human lesbian scenes, do it my way. You will not be disappointed.

This game really brings the pervert out of you.

Also, I noticed that if you're renegade, either Tali or Legion dies in that Collector base mission. I'm guessing it has to do with wiping out the entire Geth race in the third game. 

MY RENEGADE LESBIAN REDHEAD DOESN'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR DIPLOMACY BITCH.


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

synrgy said:


> My thing with the Mako - and this goes with a lot of other unrelated 'open world' type games, as well - is that it was just so unbearably time-consuming/tedious.
> 
> I'd check the map to see where I was, in relation to where my objective was. In the cases where the objective was blatantly a few yards ahead of me, _but on the other side of a mountain_, I find myself absolutely unable to do what the game clearly wants me to do, which is spend several minutes working my way all the way around the mountain. FUCK THAT. I'm going OVER that sonofabitch, whether the game wants me to, or not.
> 
> This leads to several frustrating minutes of forcing an upward path through the biggest mess of clipping errors one has ever seen.
> 
> I do it in ME1, I do it in Red Dead Redemption, I do it in Skyrim, and I've done it in any other game that presumes to WASTE MY TIME between objectives. I understand that it's 'more realistic' to not have straight lines between me and my objective all the time, but don't make me sit there doing virtually nothing for several minutes at a time.



after my first two playthroughs on me1, i found the maps of the exploration planets on mass effect wiki
made things 50% better


----------



## Semichastny

I think this game has the most refined action, acting, and story but I still didn't like the game all to much. The extremely limited RPG elements and lack of legitimate side missions put me off. Besides all being said and done the whole "Your decisions matter" was bullshit. The choices I've made over the course of the first two games barely played into the third at all. Very Disappointing.


----------



## xvultures

Finally played the extended cut... It just reinforced a shitty ending that took absolutely no effort or creativity to make, and still gave no payoff to hours of playing their other games. This series easily went from my #1 game series to the bottom of the barrel.


----------



## Genome

Fun thing to do - I think after Priority: The Citadel 2, an asari officer appears in the Embassies just to the left before the 'information desk', she's holding something to her ear. She gives you a mission, I think.

If you position just right, and walk up to her facing the chairs to the left of her, the game glitches and you end up on the chairs. This means you can climb over the edge and jump down into the pit below (really lo-res graphics! xD) and walk around. The walls here can be walked through and you end up falling through the Citadel entirely and the graphics swirl and glitch.

Oh yeah, save first.

Edit: Found a video


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

Captain Shoggoth said:


> Never cared more about characters in any work of fiction before or since.


 
Yeah I completely agree. I was just talking with Garrus on the citadel, and damn. One of the best moments of the game so far.


----------



## groverj3

I liked the first game, but the urgency of the storyline in the second was much improved. I didn't like the dumbing down of some of the RPG mechanics though. I enjoyed the last game, but I wish they would've gone with a different direction. The extended cut ending tied things up well enough for me, but I really think I could've written a better one.

One of the best series I've ever played as far as story goes. Not too many games give you a connection to a bunch of characters like this.


----------



## Repner

I agree. It is definitely my favourite game series bar none. Such an emotional journey. Such great characters.


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

So I finished the game a few days ago, it was ok. I didn't hate it, but the ending made me like the game a lot less. The Tuchanka mission was great though. All in all, I think this Zapp Branigan quote sums it up pretty well, "Well, the mission was a total failure, but I did make it with a hot alien chick, and is that not what man has dreamt of since he first looked up at the stars?"


----------



## SuperMutant

I just wanted to bang you. 
I'll come by when your feeling better, we'll bang, OK?


----------



## MFB

I fucking love steak


----------



## SuperMutant

MFB said:


> I fucking love steak


 I can't stop watching all these videos! 

Can the legend of the giant willy be true? 



THE END TIMES!!!


----------



## texshred777

I finally got my copy back after many months on loan to a friend. Downloaded the Extended Cut DLC and I have to say I thought the Control Ending was pretty decent. It doesn't change anything, but there's less of a bad taste now. 

I still love the series. Will play through them all again eventually.


----------



## Genome

Anyone else played the Leviathan DLC yet?


----------



## BlackMastodon

SuperMutant said:


> I just wanted to bang you.
> I'll come by when your feeling better, we'll bang, OK?


The Gamer Poop videos for Mass Effect are amazing.  Haven't laughed like that in a long time.


----------



## SuperMutant

BlackMastodon said:


> The Gamer Poop videos for Mass Effect are amazing.  Haven't laughed like that in a long time.


 I know the first one is the funniest 3 minutes you'll spend in your life.


----------



## SuperMutant

BlackMastodon said:


> The Gamer Poop videos for Mass Effect are amazing.  Haven't laughed like that in a long time.






This is america! 
Lets change the subject..
This is germany!


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

keep it me3 related k?
but the me3 gamer poop was awesome 

and no i havent played leviathan yet, is it any good?


----------



## Genome

It explains a lot about the history of the Reapers, and explains a little more about who the Catalyst is. Well worth it for the final scene alone.

And Dr Bryson & daughter were interesting characters.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Hmmmm if that's the case then I may need to get it. Probably not until I get to my second play through of ME3 (after I finish 1 and 2 again). I did think that the weapon pack was kind of useless though. :/
I want more multiplayer packs, the last one was absolutely awesome imo.


----------



## Jakke




----------



## Varcolac

ME1 is finally coming to PS3, so my Shepard can have Kirrahe and Conrad Verner in ME3. It's going to be available as part of a trilogy box set or as a download from PSN. Not sure if I'll get the trilogy box set or just the download of ME1. Hope this is out before the Christmas break- I'll be spending a lot of time on the Normandy!

Mass Effect


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

ME1 for the PS3? Well it looks like I won't be getting anything done from the day of its release right up until time stops.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Already pre-ordered the trilogy--have wanted to play it for some time, and not it's finally going to be released for the PS3.


----------



## BlackMastodon

New multiplayer dlc announced:
Mass Effect 3 'Retaliation' multiplayer DLC brings back Collectors, adds new classes and more - Neoseeker
New Turian classes? Fighting collectors? Hell yes!


----------



## AxeHappy

Fantastic news. They really needed to add another enemy.


----------



## BlackMastodon

There's so many new classes!

And best of all:
*You can play as Volus!!!!
*







 I can't wait to get one of them!


----------



## ShadowFactoryX

ihavent played in quite some time

need to change that methinks


----------



## AxeHappy

Oh fuck me! Can't wait to unlock a Volus. 

Also looks like they added some new units to the existing enemies. That's pretty awesome.


----------



## Semichastny

I haven't touched this game since I beat it, really weak title.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Strange, I just logged in right now and it looks like they removed a lot of the new classes that were there this morning.  I checked on their site and I think they are going to be adding them back in throughout the next few weeks. Got a victory pack with a bunch of ammo and equipment as compensation I guess. Must have been buggy or something.

Also the Collector's are mean bastards! Those Praetorians are tough even on silver mode.


----------



## Varcolac

I just unlocked the Volus adept. I am... [inhale ] a biotic GOD. 

Still trying to figure out how to use it though. It's very support - oriented and doesn't have much in the way of offensive power. Biotic orbs are decent detonator powers, but its primer power is stasis, which has one hell of a cooldown and doesn't prime explosions on armoured units. Then again, the defensive powers are very nice. Spamming shield boost for the squad on a hack or escorts round can make it practically invincible. I need to spend more time with it, but so far it's been a blast.


----------



## Varcolac

Biotic god double post...


----------



## I Voyager

On my second playthrough of 3 (continued from 2 as a renegade Femshep). First time playing with all the DLC (until Omega comes out, that is). I just can't wait until ME1 comes out on PSN, so I could finally experience the whole thing. Favorite game series, by far.


----------



## Varcolac

Multiplayer Balance Changes | BioWare Social Network

Krogan Shaman adept.

FOR TUCHANKAAA~!



> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> October 16, 2012
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Krogan Shaman Adept kit now available as a new Rare card
> 
> The hazard maps available this week are Firebase Giant and Firebase Ghost
> 
> Medals
> - Bronze Melee medal now requires 10 kills instead of 5
> - Silver Melee medal now requires 25 kills instead of 10
> - Gold Melee medal now requires 50 kills instead of 15
> 
> Challenges
> - Added a Krogan Shaman challenge to Bloodpack Mastery
> - Fixed an issue where extracting with the new Retaliation kits was not registering certain challenges
> - Challenges that required extraction weren't properly crediting the case where exactly 3 out of 4 players extracted
> - The changes below were put in place to fix a bug where some players could no longer progress after unlocking a Gold challenge:
> - Combat Mastery goal changed from 9 to 12
> - Cerberus Mastery goal changed from 17 to 21
> - Reaper Mastery goal changed from 15 to 18
> - Geth Mastery goal changed from 12 to 18
> - Collector Mastery goal changed from 12 to 15
> 
> Acolyte Pistol
> - Removing charge mechanic - now fires instantly
> - Rate of fire is now 40, with a minimum fire time of 1 second
> - This fixes an infinite Missile Launcher exploit
> 
> Krysae Sniper Rifle
> - Can no longer hold the fire button to zoom in the scope - now fires instantly
> - This fixes an infinite Missile Launcher exploit
> 
> Widow Sniper Rifle
> - Damage increased from [867-1083.8] to [997-1246.3]
> 
> Krysae Sniper Rifle
> - Damage increased from [429-548] to [493.4-616.8]
> 
> Kishock Sniper Rifle
> - Damage increased from [774.5-968.1] to [890.7-1113.4]
> - Percentage of total damage that is done as bleed damage increased from 33% to 40%
> - Bleed damage duration reduced from 10 to 5 seconds (the same damage is spread over a shorter duration)
> 
> Black Widow Sniper Rifle
> - Damage increased from [591.2-739] to [739.0-923.8]
> 
> Javelin Sniper Rifle
> - Damage increased from [1030.5-1288.1] to [1236.6-1545.8]



Some nice buffs to sniper rifles here, and the Acolyte is actually a really decent weapon now that it doesn't have to charge before firing. But mainly, Krodept. Barrier/Warp/Shockwave. I think it might have the highest biotic combo damage potential in the game, with Warp being the strongest primer, Shockwave being the strongest detonator, and Barrier increasing power damage by 30%. That, and being a Krogan it's going to have in excess of 1,000 health and shields, makes for a pretty fun prospect.

In other news the challenge system is pretty cool. I spent a couple of days spamming tech powers on any and all enemies, and unlocked a banner/title for my multiplayer account. They call me "Mathemagician!"

It does nothing but prove that I've spent way too much time playing this game. I care not!


----------



## BlackMastodon

> Electric Slash Power
> - Base cooldown increased from 5 to 8 seconds


FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-
My Shadow! D:


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

Weird question: Why don't the Quarians wear clear visors? I mean, Bioware probably did it to add mystery to the game, but is there an actual in game reason for this?


----------



## BlackMastodon

I don't think they ever discuss it in the games. Like you said it's probably just to add mystery because clear visor or not, they still need their suits so long as they are not on Rannoch.


----------



## Varcolac

BlackMastodon said:


> I don't think they ever discuss it in the games. Like you said it's probably just to add mystery because clear visor or not, they still need their suits so long as they are not on Rannoch.



Still need them there as well; the crappy immune system means it'll take years to acclimatize to even their homeworld. Any other system, they're talking decades. It was in the ME2 flotilla missions (Tali's loyalty mission) when you're talking to the admirals. Shep can be like "y u no take another planet?" and they're all like "immune system bro." No word on the clear/unclear visor. Technical issue (polygon count on game models) and the whole "mysterious space gypsy" thing are the most likely reasons.

I unlocked the Krogan shaman adept yesterday. Fun times abound. Even with only three ranks in Rage he's got 1350 shields/health (double what the other adepts have), and 30% damage reduction from Barrier. Cooldowns on Warp and Shockwave not up? HEADBUTT! 

Only classes I haven't unlocked are the N7 adept and the Battlefield and Turian Havok soldiers. I spend far too much time with this game.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Varcolac said:


> Only classes I haven't unlocked are the N7 adept and the Battlefield and Turian Havok soldiers. I spend *the right amount of* time with this game.


Fixed that for you.  And the Havoc is an awesome class! I gotta rebuild mine to up his melee damage though.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Varcolac said:


> Only classes I haven't unlocked are the N7 adept and the Battlefield and Turian Havok soldiers. I spend *the right amount of* time with this game.


Fixed that for you.  And the Havoc is an awesome class! I gotta rebuild mine to up his melee damage, though.


----------



## Gothic Headhunter

Not sure if this has been brought up before, but...


This was also talked about in one of the IT documentaries.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

holy shit combining wintersun with ME

this is the greatest


----------



## philkilla

Finally got around to beating ME3 what with deployment and all. Guess I was lucky to experience it with the extended ending for my first playthrough.



Spoiler



I chose the destroy endingm because turning everyone into a robot sounded like a bad idea, and taking control of the reapers seems like it could lead to a dangerous evolution..just my opinion.

The biggest surprise for me though...SHEPARD LIVING!!! All along I figured there was no other way this could end except for him giving his life to save the galaxy..low and behold with enough military strength my entire crew survived (except mordin, legion and edi of course).

I was really blown away that the possibility to unite the geth and quarians was available too...even though the geth died in the long run.




I'm very glad I abstained from any spoilers all along....I really liked this series a lot.


----------



## WaffleTheEpic

I've actually been looking for a good place to put this picture... Don't know if anyone else has posted this, either, but I'm going to because I've wanted to post it somewhere. 

For those of you that might not have followed through on the romance plots, I romanced Tali. And, as some of you guys know, when you fulfill a romance plot, they give you a present in your bedroom (and I don't mean the sex, lol), which turns out to be a picture of them...

Tali actually gives you a picture of her face and hair, without the helmet on.







Yeah, it's not a full face photo, but it's good enough.


----------



## philkilla

And here I thought you never get to see it.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

nope, you do. I got it.


----------



## Treeunit212

WaffleTheEpic said:


> I've actually been looking for a good place to put this picture... Don't know if anyone else has posted this, either, but I'm going to because I've wanted to post it somewhere.
> 
> For those of you that might not have followed through on the romance plots, I romanced Tali. And, as some of you guys know, when you fulfill a romance plot, they give you a present in your bedroom (and I don't mean the sex, lol), which turns out to be a picture of them...
> 
> Tali actually gives you a picture of her face and hair, without the helmet on.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, it's not a full face photo, but it's good enough.



She... Looks... Human...?

Hot. But human. With tentacles. 

I'm still trying to work on my superultramegarenegade redhead. I've virtually killed half the crew so far and I hate it so much. 

Still, the contrast is very interesting to see, considering the choices made.


----------



## Jakke

Treeunit212 said:


> She... Looks... Human...?
> 
> Hot. But human. With tentacles.



Where do you see the tentacles?


----------



## Treeunit212

Jakke said:


> Where do you see the tentacles?



Three long fingers. Basically tentacles.

Just imagine how that handy would feel...


----------



## pink freud

That's not Tali.

Not saying this as a fanboi or anything, but that stockphoto chick wouldn't fit inside Tali's helmet. Especially the hair.


----------



## Jakke

Treeunit212 said:


> Three long fingers. Basically tentacles.
> 
> Just imagine how that handy would feel...



I see



Well, I can imagine it being something like a wrench...



pink freud said:


> Not saying this as a fanboi or anything, but that stockphoto chick wouldn't fit inside Tali's helmet. Especially the hair.



Have you seen that muslim women make room for all their hair under a veil? Set and match my friend
Islam: 1
Atheism: 0

Wait... What were we talking about again?


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

doesn't she wear that headscarf thing, I assumed the hair went in there

it wasn't the best Bioware could have done with a Tali reveal but meh it was good enough for me


----------



## WaffleTheEpic

pink freud said:


> That's not Tali.
> 
> Not saying this as a fanboi or anything, but that stockphoto chick wouldn't fit inside Tali's helmet. Especially the hair.



Look at the back of a male Quarian's helmet, there's like a huge space for I would assume their hair or something, not to mention that females have that veil, which could hide a larger helmet for more hair. Considering they don't take their suits off often, I would assume they don't cut their hair


----------



## AxeHappy

I just managed to finish soloing my first Silver match. 

Easier than some Gold matches I've played with a, "team,"...but fucking intense as hell.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Damn man, I never soloed a silver but I can definitely get what you mean by the terrible gold matches. It's even worse when only one person survives the round and the whole thing ends up taking 45 minutes and you don't pass wave 10 so you only get a bit more money than 1 silver match which takes less than half the time.  It can be quite frustrating. 

I got the Krogan Vanguard the other week and holy crap is he awesome. Never die and just melee the shit out of everything. Tons of fun.


----------



## AxeHappy

Yup! Krogan Vanguard is my go to for, "WE WILL WIN THIS GOLD MATCH," and for Soloing. 

Although the Vorcha soldier and Batarian Vanguard (Speced out for Pure Melee) slay bronze match soloing. The Turain Soldier, with marksmen spec'd for rate of fire and the Geth SMG is pretty intense too, but he is a bit of a glass cannon.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I like the Vorcha Sentinel and Soldier too, that flamer is just ridiculously powerful along with the regen. I started using the Batarian Sentinel and it's a lot of fun, too. Haven't gotten too many Vanguards.

The Volus are hilarious, though.  I actually wreck with the Volus Merchant.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

Vorcha Soldier is legendary, if you leave the vorcha-hulkrage thing on permanently you can pretty much avoid death on bronze entirely provided you're not an idiot, with the only consequence being slower power regen

Holding out for Krogan Soldier because KROGAN SMASH


----------



## AxeHappy

I actually find the Krogan Soldier to be the weakest of the Krogan character options. 

Which I also find to be hilarious.


----------



## AxeHappy

Must. Unlock. New. Krogan. Warlord.


----------



## BlackMastodon

I got him with my first reserve pack.  Fucking beastly man. So much fun. The new characters are really cool, got the Cabal vanguard and the AIU infiltrator (EDI Jr.). My buddy got the Geth Juggernaut and it just never dies. 4300 shield when you upgrade it.


----------



## AxeHappy

I got EDI Jr. in my first reserve pack but haven't managed to unlock any of the others yet. I still don't have any of the N7 ones either. Frustrating!


----------



## BlackMastodon

Awwww dude for real? That's rough. I have all the N7's aside from the Slayer vanguard and Destroyer soldier. I just play silver matches and after about 4 of them you can afford a reserve pack. It's a real piss off when you only get weapons or gear bonuses in the reserve pack, though.


----------



## AxeHappy

No Kidding. Unless I've recently promoted a Class I tend to run Gold matches. Some of the weaker classes I will run silver though. 

Still haven't made it past wave 4 of a platinum match though.

I have almost all the other classes unlocked (Love the Turian Havoc Solider) and now that I think about it I think I have the N7 Shadow, but I really want the Destroyer! Dammit! Hahaha.

Edit:
What's your Origin Tag anyways? I'm AxeHappy!!


----------



## BlackMastodon

I can honestly say I don't remember my Origin account info; I haven't used it since last year when I got the game.  Are you on PC or 360?

And the N7 Shadow is incredible for gold when you build her properly, it might take a couple times to figure it out but when you get that sweet combo you are basically unstoppable. Unfortunately I don't do too well in gold matches, usually because I don't know it's a gold match until there are 4 Geth primes on wave 3 and I don't prepare for it.


----------



## AxeHappy

Haha! I'm a PC Gamer! Don't even own a console of any type. 

I've been having good luck with just specing her out for Shadow Strike with maximum sword and power damage/recharge time boosts and 200% power recharge weapon weight. 

Just shadow strike non-stop. Haha.

I welcome any advice though. 

I normally don't even equip special gear going into gold matches anymore as I tend to play "Random Map, Random Enemy" and never know whom I will be fighting. If I'm trying to solo or know what I'm up against I will do it but other than that.


----------



## AxeHappy

Just finished my first Platinum match. I failed to extract but 2 others on the team got out. 

Sweet Fuck. That is intense. Like 120000 cash though.


----------



## pink freud

Shadow Strike is awesome. Equip only a pistol with the +melee mod. With the Cloak->Strike combo you 1 shot just about any grunt.

I still find some of the older classes the best though. Human Engineer with AOE Overload, Stun-Drone and AOE Incinerate makes for some nice CC (and guaranteed Gold Assist medal).


----------



## BlackMastodon

AxeHappy that's exactly how you build her, but like pink Freud said, I just throw in the melee bonus on a pistol.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

HOOOOLY SHIT.

if anybody is on the fence about the Citadel DLC, it gets a wholehearted 11/10 recommendation from me. Granted I'm a fanboy, BUT I thought Leviathan was lacklustre and didn't even buy Omega. This has eclipsed LotSB as best DLC of the trilogy for me-it's done much better than the actual ending of the game, and it's really clear that Bioware put their all into this, credit to them. Action, nostalgia, LOTS of laughs, fan-service out the arsehole and Wrex as squadmate to boot.

Actually amazing-not perfect of course, still finished the main part of it in one sitting so it's pretty damn short, but it has a cool new "hub" location that's there permanently unlike some others *coughcoughOmegacoughcough*, best parts of which are a kickass apartment and a cool combat arena (think multiplayer-lite, with holograms). Reminded me of ME2 more than anything else, atmospherically, and the little side-vignettes with old squadmates after the main mission (esp. Zaeed and Traynor's) seriously cracked me up.
And the Tali romance scene is too cute hahahahaha :3

p.s. If anyone else is as stupid as me to actually sit there and do the pullup challenge (yes ingame) then you earn an e-high five 

Oh also, been playing a lot of multiplayer lately (dat Krogan Warlord), so if anyone plays on 360, add me, GT: chops027


----------



## AxeHappy

The only reason I haven't bought it yet is because I have ridiculously expensive guitars to pay for. 

Wrex as a squadmate again was really all I needed to know. 

Also:
Apparently my origin tag is Thromgrim not AxeHappy. Which is odd. But there ya go.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Captain Shoggoth said:


> HOOOOLY SHIT.
> 
> if anybody is on the fence about the Citadel DLC, it gets a wholehearted 11/10 recommendation from me. Granted I'm a fanboy, BUT I thought Leviathan was lacklustre and didn't even buy Omega. This has eclipsed LotSB as best DLC of the trilogy for me-it's done much better than the actual ending of the game, and it's really clear that Bioware put their all into this, credit to them. Action, nostalgia, LOTS of laughs, fan-service out the arsehole and Wrex as squadmate to boot.
> 
> Actually amazing-not perfect of course, still finished the main part of it in one sitting so it's pretty damn short, but it has a cool new "hub" location that's there permanently unlike some others *coughcoughOmegacoughcough*, best parts of which are a kickass apartment and a cool combat arena (think multiplayer-lite, with holograms). Reminded me of ME2 more than anything else, atmospherically, and the little side-vignettes with old squadmates after the main mission (esp. Zaeed and Traynor's) seriously cracked me up.
> And the Tali romance scene is too cute hahahahaha :3
> 
> p.s. If anyone else is as stupid as me to actually sit there and do the pullup challenge (yes ingame) then you earn an e-high five
> 
> Oh also, been playing a lot of multiplayer lately (dat Krogan Warlord), so if anyone plays on 360, add me, GT: chops027


I believe it. Just watching the trailer gave me chills and made me feel super nostalgic. I just love Shepard and company. It's all I want. 

I think I'm gonna buy the 3 DLCs and play through them for my second playthrough. Might as well I figure.


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## Captain Shoggoth

some quick amendments to the earlier post-VERY MILD SPOILERS, concerning what ISN'T in the DLC (rather than what is).

I stated the "main" part as being short (about 3-4 hours) but in all honesty it's only about half of the DLC-a lot of the absolute best stuff in fact coming after. I'd put it at totaling somewhere between 6-10 hours depending on how fast you play (I came up around the high end, I play like a snail!)-we're not talking Elder Scrolls-esque full expansion here, but it gives enough bang for your buck, content-wise (it's a good deal longer than LotSB, about twice as long even)

If you don't like fanservice (although meh fanservice rocks IMO) then you might find the whole thing a bit contrite, there is literally fanservice everywhere. I mean everywhere. References to big and small things across the trilogy.

Every squadmate (and a few non-squad allied characters who are in ME3) is either physically present at some point in the DLC or at the very least represented in some capacity (assuming they're actually alive, of course) with the SOLE exceptions of:
Legion
Whoever died on Virmire
Morinth (lol)
who are not even mentioned, to the best of my knowledge.

Honestly I'd say that this, along with From Ashes, are REQUIRED for a vanilla ME3 playthrough. It increases the enjoyment factor that much more-and the latter part of it REALLY nicely provides a break to the otherwise nigh-unbearable (for me anyway) Thessia-Horizon-Cronos Station-Earth slog.


I'll now stop fanranting about this DLC as I've finished it (until I replay the trilogy for the 3rd time this summer bahahahaha)


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## BlackMastodon

No Legion? For why?


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## Captain Shoggoth

Best guess I have is that the DLC can be initiated any time between the attempted Cerberus coup on the Citadel and Cronos Station, so I'd presume it assumes Legion is dead regardless, given the fact that there is no option where he survives Priority: Rannoch.


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## hairychris

Not got the Citadel DLC, Leviathan was a bit hmm, am on the final fight for Omega but haven't played for a while.

Am trying to get used to cloaking as am playing an Infiltrator and *never* use it normally because of how I run a squad. Solo fighting needs a different approach!


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## AxeHappy

I haven't played any of the non-collectors edition single player DLC so I'm thinking the same think as BlackMastodon. Get it all and use it in my next run throughs. 

Also, Legion is one of my favourite characters. I wish they had have done more with him. Last squad member in ME2 and then dies in ME3.


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## BlackMastodon

AxeHappy said:


> Also, Legion is one of my favourite characters. I wish they had have done more with him. Last squad member in ME2 and then dies in ME3.


Agreed 1000%. They could've done a lot with his very underplayed interest/worship of Shepard after you talk to him after his loyalty mission in ME2 where he says that the armor on his shoulder is Shepard's old N7 gear.

The Geth in general were incredibly interesting in my opinion. Kind of wished they dug a little more into them in ME2 and ME3.


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## sakeido

Citadel was sweet.. more gameplay was eh, cool. But I was diggin the fanservice.. so many awesome scenes. Some of the ones I couldn't get on my playthrough were mindblowing how touching they were. FemShep/Thane romance... ;_; 

Was definitely a better ending than the actual ending. Too bad they couldn't come up with a way of reconciling the two better in-game


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## AxeHappy

Unlocked the Krogan Warlord! YAY!


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## Gothic Headhunter

Captain Shoggoth said:


> HOOOOLY SHIT.
> 
> Action, nostalgia, LOTS of laughs, fan-service out the arsehole and *Wrex as squadmate to boot.*



I'm buying this. Now.


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## AxeHappy

I just finished my first match with the Krogan Warlord. 

A solo Bronze affair (that tends to be how I test out new classes). 

Said match was *EASY*. And not like Yeah this was doable, but *EASY*. With no ammo or armour bonuses equipped. I highly recommend anybody looking for the solo achievements that is having trouble getting it use this beast. And only worry about melee. He can't take cover anyways, just Rage Kill the fuck out of everything.


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## Captain Shoggoth

Krogan Warlord specced out to max is fucking indestructible on bronze and if played strategically, silver

also agreed @ Geth, that Matrix level in ME3 was one of the coolest lore-wise, and the bit about the geth remembering each individual friendly quarian dissenter long after their memory had been forgotten by their own was incredibly touching



sakeido said:


> Was definitely a better ending than the actual ending. Too bad they couldn't come up with a way of reconciling the two better in-game



More or less this. Some have said that they like to pretend that it happens AFTER the ending-I can live with that, although it goes against the established canon.


Feels really sad to leave this journey behind though-there will always be replays but they don't feel quite the same.


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## Captain Shoggoth

two successive posts, I am lame

just ordered this poster, birthday present from my bassist by proxy of him giving me the money to buy it with


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## AxeHappy

I keep meaning to order the ME2 action figures but I keep ordering custom guitars instead...

One Day!


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## Captain Shoggoth

AxeHappy said:


> I keep meaning to order the ME2 action figures but I keep ordering custom guitars instead...
> 
> One Day!



Those look cool as hell. The Hand of God screenprint (the thing I bought) I remember seeing advertised by Bioware on FB when it was first put up, and thinking "good God, I need one of those in my life but there's no way it'll happen considering there are only 250" so I feel good 

also hopefully custom being ordered soon too, so all is well in my purchasing world haha


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## texshred777

So Citadel is essentially a couple hours of unapologetic, sappy, endearing fan service? Sounds awesome to me.


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## Veritech Zero

All I need to feel happy, sleep well, and know that all is right in the universe is to play the ending again where Shepard survives to see Tali again some day.


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## texshred777

^^
My headcanon ending has Shep destroying the Reapers, but saving the Geth and Edi. And there's definitely some little blue Shepspawn running around.

Just went through the Leviathan DLC last night. With all the lights off and decent gaming headset that was pretty awesome.



Spoiler



Again watched the fall of Thessia this morning. I actually enjoy that there's a part where there is no win, no matter what you do. It's like the scouring of the Shire in RotK. You think you're so close to ending the war, you believe it and usually deliver on your promises. Instead all those commandos died for nothing.


 
It was quite different this time around fighting KL. With my Javelin V, and playing as in Infiltrator I fired maybe 3 shots during that encounter. Encounter starts, bring up shroud and peg KL. He goes for a shield refill, rinse and repeat.  The first time I must have died 2 or 3 times and spent 30 minutes on that fight. When his plot armor doesn't save him later I'm going to .... his couch. Then I'm going to dance a Shep jig over his corpse(which will of course be terrible) and take that sword to carve a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner at Shep's Citadel apartment.


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## Cyntex

Anyone still playing the multiplayer on xbox? It is so hard to find people to play with


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