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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Gaming Mass Effect Series

Discussion in 'Community' started by Valyn, Sep 7, 2012.

  1. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Ah, that's the one I usually do last. The other ones, the Geth are set up in a fashion where the blinky flashlights practically beg you to set up camp on the high ground within rifle range of their base and snipe them into oblivion.

    Ugh, thresher maws. On my first playthrough I tried methodically killing every single one in the game (9, I believe). That campaign lasted for three kills and then after that I decided I'd just shoot up the one I had to for "UNC: Missing Marines" and leave the rest of the worms alone. Those are still the most loathed enemy units in the entire ME series as far as I'm concerned.
     
  2. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    It's still quite mental when I'm in the mako, have the sight over an enemy, firing and nothing hits...

    Still, this being Husks / Thorian creepers, it's fun to let 'em get closer and then... CANNON SHOT!
     
  3. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    I haz +1m credits! I can haz cool spectre gear!

    Amazing how fast you can rack up the cash surveying and killing!
     
  4. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Thresher Maws can take out Reapers, that says all you need to know.
     
  5. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002

    I think the Mako's weapons and your own sniper rifle lose effectiveness at about 500 meters, which stinks because otherwise you could get even longer-range kills than you already can. Still, inside of that range you can go on a killing spree, and from the get-go that main cannon is pinpoint accurate. What I really enjoy is when enemies take cover behind breakable crates or barricades - yeah, not gonna save you from a 155 mm hypervelocity round, bub.
     
  6. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Bunch of idiotic feckwit morons.

    I'm on Virmire and Wrex has to die because of some truly appalling game design.

    No stun weapons permitted, no warning message that this mission is irrevocable once started, no way to know this was going to be spring short of buying a game guide!

    There's a term for this: Crap design. And it is poor design because a casual gamer has no real way of avoiding it!

    Prior save? Nope, I'm screwed because I wasn't sufficiently paranoid!
     
  7. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    The internet is your friend here:


    http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Mass_Effect_Guide

    My only disagreement with that walkthrough is putting Noveria before Feros. Getting out of Noveria alive after you set the neutron purge is one of the hardest parts of the game, especially for the squishier classes that depend on shields or barriers.

    Not to lecture, but if you're playing an ME game and aren't saving like a paranoid, you'll be in for rude shocks like that. I think the save counter on my first ME1 playthrough got up to over 500 (didn't necessarily keep them all, but still that was over 500 chances I had over the course of the game to go back and fix something). For instance, I would quit and retry on Feros if I so much as killed one colonist. On ME2 and ME3 I always max out my saves, even on playing through for the umpteenth time. Saved my rear in ME3 when, after having played through the game as much as 10 times, I still forgot to meet up with Miranda and therefore prevent Kai Leng from killing her.

    As far as Virmire, it's the last world the Council suggests you investigate, which is probably a hint it kicks off the endgame (just like the Derelict Reaper in ME2). A good strategy for ME1 even if you want to stay spoiler-free is to do a "plotline" mission, mop up all the available sidequests, and then repeat. Virmire should be the last available mission you take; I've never started that mission at lower than level 49. Also, if you've been talking to Wrex, by now he should have talked about recovering his family armor. I believe if you complete that sidequest (a nice preview to the loyalty missions of ME2), you can talk Wrex down regardless of Charm/Intimidate points.
     
  8. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Just don't having to use a guide to avoid nasty shocks like this is really in the adventuring spirit the game apparently wants you to pursue.

    Still, Virmire was quite an epic mission.
     
  9. Rawne

    Rawne Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2008
    Your warning bells should have started sounding the moment a genophage cure was mentioned.
     
  10. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002

    By then it's too late to back out of that mission or rack up enough Charm/Intimidate points to talk Wrex down.

    And yes, Virmire was epic - especially since with one exception I did it with Garrus and Wrex along. Just an utter rampage of blasting through hordes of enemies with probably my favorite background music in the game; you can't help but get pumped up by it. You almost start wondering how much trouble Kirrahe and his STG guys are stirring up for Saren to think they're the real threat rather than the troika of very unsubtle destruction carving its way through the basement.
     
  11. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    I have to admit that this game allows you some insane hardware.

    I have a Spectre-class Assault Rifle - it started off vicious enough, added Frictionless and High Explosive Rounds VIII to it! Ye gods, when that bastard fires it looks supremely vicious - and is! Taking out 3 Krogan, including a Warlord, in one insanely sustained epic blast was glorious!
     
  12. Rawne

    Rawne Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 2, 2008
    Isn't the Krogan factory the reason you go to Virmire in the first place, because the STG team reports in about it and begs for help? Maybe I'm remembering it wrong though and it's just a general "Saren's here and we don't know why" thing.
     
  13. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    I was lucky when I played ME1 that I got the option not to kill Wrex during the stand-off, but I know a lot of people who had to kill him.
     
  14. 07jonesj

    07jonesj Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    I didn't realise it was possible to not have enough charm/intimidate to save Wrex once you got to Virmire. That said, I'm an ultra-completionist, so I'd done most of the side quests before Virmire was unlocked.
     
  15. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002

    There's not even a mention of Saren if I recall correctly - the Council just tells you that they had an STG group checking out something on Virmire, and all they got from them was a brief burst of static on the emergency channel. You don't find out Saren's there or that he has a Krogan breeding facility until reaching the STG camp and talking to Kirrahe.
     
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  16. 07jonesj

    07jonesj Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    This is exactly right, as the whole plot of Virmire is that the STG and the Normandy are out-matched, with no reinforcements. If the Council had known what was going on there, they would've sent a large force, not just Shepard and co.

    I don't see a problem with the game not giving you an indication to it's importance, though. It's not a point of no return. If you lose Wrex, that's unfortunate. Mass Effect is about choices, and they can be good or bad for the player.
     
    SithLordDarthRichie likes this.
  17. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002

    Heh, I typically load other payloads (AP, Shredder, or Inferno) into my assault rifle and use the explosive rounds in other guns:

    Pistol: Brings new meaning to the term "hand cannon."
    Shotgun: Brings new meaning to the term "boomstick." Especially since most of my ME1 characters didn't have shotgun training; I still made use of it as essentially a makeshift heavy weapon.
    Sniper Rifle: "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," huh? Let's see how you feel about a personal artillery piece! If it doesn't reduce the target to flaming wreckage, it'll knock anything short of an armature on its arse. That includes those big Rachni brood warriors. And if you miss by a few feet ... it usually doesn't help the other guy much.

    Some other good ones are the sledgehammer rounds. Those also increase overheating (not nearly as much as explosive rounds though), but they'll knock most enemies off their feet and add radiation poisoning as an extra door prize.
     
  18. Clone_Cmdr_Wedge

    Clone_Cmdr_Wedge Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    I guess I was one of the lucky ones too. My first playthrough I had enough Charm points to talk Wrex down. Also had enough to convince Saren to shoot himself at the end of the game. That... honestly may have been one first times I went "Oh ****:eek:... That was AWESOME! " in the series.

    Having played through both KotOR and Jade Empire before ME1, I just knew something bad was going to happen on Virmire. Still, even if I hadn't used him a lot by that point, still glad I was able to talk Wrex down. And then there was that epic conversation with Sovereign...

    "Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign. [...] You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."

    Harby may be the "villian you love to hate," but Sovereign was great Eldritch Horror. :cool:

    First time through, I did Feros, Therum, Virmire, then Noveria, and it's kinda what I've been sticking to ever sense. Sometimes I flip around Feros and Therum, but I always have done Virmire and Noveria third and fourth. Storytelling wise (for me, anyway), it felt right having a (semi) breather after what happened on Virmire. But yeah, I do agree that Noveria should not be one of the first ones done, and should be done after Therum, where you get Liara.
     
  19. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    I also talked-down Saren, in the end he was doing what he thought was good for everyone in the long-term (as a Spectre should) and didn't realise he was being manipulated by Sovereign. When he finally caught on and tried to resist he wasn't able so he did the only logical thing.
    He was a great villain you love to hate (reminds me of Scar in The Lion King), but that demise does generate some sympathy for him.


    When I did ME1 I think I did Liara's rescue quite close to the Virmire mission, which limited the amount of time I had her in the game with me and so reduced dialogue options. I've heard you can get her before you have to confront her mother and that that makes more interesting character development for her. I do like Liara in ME3 but I never rated her much before that since she's barely in ME2 and I had so little time with her in ME1. Next time I go through the game I will try to use her more, Bioware seem to regard her as one of the most important characters in the whole trilogy.
     
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  20. 07jonesj

    07jonesj Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    Having read Mass Effect: Revelation, I know that Liara's sympathy for Saren was kind, but misplaced. He was a mean son-of-a-bitch before meeting any Reaper. He tortures a Batarian in a particularly gruesome manner in one chapter.

    Saren didn't want what was best for the galaxy. At most, he wanted what was best for the Turians. His first thought upon learning of Sovereign was how much power he'd gain upon control of it.

    I guess I respect the man for his last act, but whether that one good act makes up for all the bad he's done... I can't say it does.
     
  21. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Nice to see I was far from alone in getting screwed over on Virmire.

    And yes, I tend to be completionist in terms of quests, but you can't do what isn't listed!

    And for all ME is about choices, Virmire is like throwing in a challenge that requires sniper skills without any signposting of it. It's not playing fair with the player, it sets up one group of rules then quite casually breaks with the spirit of them.
     
  22. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Maybe, but how much of the bad stuff was down to him being indoctrinated? He clearly didn't realise he was being influenced so one assumes most decisions he made were because Sovereign wanted him to make them.

    Illusive Man is similar, he's a radical sure but in ME2 up until the end he is willing to let you do what you want. He appears to be someone who feels the Alliance can't get things done right but Shepard can, and he does good things initially. But his ideas get twisted and crazy once it's obvious he is indoctrinated in ME3. Like Sovereign he also gets implanted with Reaper-tech and thinks it does not influence him.
     
  23. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    As far as Saren, I think about the only place you see him in a positive light is in the ME: Evolution miniseries where he pretty much saves Palaven by calling in a Base Delta Zero on the temple where his brother is holed up with a Reaper indoctrination device. After that though - pretty much a sociopathic monster; his only saving grace is that he gets things done for the Council and they don't question the methods.


    You know, as a bit of Fridge Logic after ME2 and ME3, I almost wonder if TIM insisted Shepard be brought back unchanged and let him have so much autonomy as a safeguard against indoctrination. It's not like he didn't know the dangers of messing with Reaper tech after his personal experience in ME: Evolution and hearing of what happened to Saren. Having Shepard around might have been a way of making sure that if the Reapers did get their hooks into TIM and Cerberus, someone would be there to drop the hammer.
     
  24. 07jonesj

    07jonesj Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2010
    Both Saren and the Illusive Man perform heinous acts before they are indoctrinated. While I believe there's always another way than death, as my Shepard believes, I don't feel too sorry for them.

    It's not as if these were both good people twisted by the Reapers. These were bad people made even worse.

    With the Illusive Man, I do feel a little bit of sympathy. While I wholeheartedly disagree with his actions and his views, I have more respect for him than I ever did for Saren, and to see him actively undermine the very goals he spent his entire life striving to achieve is a little sad.

    I've believed this since ME3, yes. The Illusive Man was always a forward-thinker, always planning ahead. Shepard was only one of many tools that he hoped would stop the Reapers.
     
  25. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Until he decided controlling them was a better idea, even though they were then controlling him.

    Seems as though Indoctrination simply makes you do more extreme versions of what you might have done anyway but were held back from going to far by morality.
    We know TIM loved Earth and humanity, but he was willing to go too far to protect it.