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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
    Ash: AR, shotgun, pistol, SR
    Garrus: AR, pistol, SR
    Wrex: AR, shotgun, pistol
    Tali: Shotgun, pistol
    Kaidan and Liara: Pistol

    In any case, they can use other guns ... they just probably won't hit the broadside of a barn with them. The first time I hit the Thorian's lair on Feros my soldier had Kaidan and Liara along; I decided to try equipping them with shotguns and hammerhead rounds. I found out that this is inadvisable because they ended up knocking my butt on the ground due to hitting me more often than the creepers.

    Generally I say the hell with the advice regarding a "balanced" squad; I need somebody to crack locks and salvage gear and after that I grab my best straight up fighter(s). However, this last playthrough was the first time I took Liara to the final party, and I was pretty impressed how quickly she, Wrex, and my engineer took care of the husk-ified Saren. Biotics and tech were vastly scaled down in ME2 - they do more damage to individual targets, but you can't just have Liara, Kaidan, or an adept Shep go completely Carrie: The Rage on an entire room of bad guys.

    As a further note, in my sentinel playthrough I took Ash and Wrex to the final mission. It's rather amusing to have Ash be the one arguing for you to save the Council.
     
  2. Handmaiden Yané

    Handmaiden Yané Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Liara has always been part of my squad whenever I can have her. Singularity is awesome.
     
  3. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Biotic powers can clear a room quick in ME1, and tech powers are devastating (overload or sabotage launched into an environment full of explosive items takes me to a happy place); the problem is the cooldowns on them are pretty long. By late game when I have upper-tier guns I typically just make sure I have the decryption and electronics bases covered and then get the most firepower-heavy squad I can. Three Spectre or other heavy assault rifles with polonium rounds can bring down a thresher maw without a huge amount of trouble, so long as you avoid being fried by the acid spit and kill it quick enough that it doesn't pop up next to you ...

    ... I really freaking hated those things.
     
  4. Clone_Cmdr_Wedge

    Clone_Cmdr_Wedge Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 18, 2006
    Yeah, that's generally what I found. At lower difficulties especially, you don't *really* need a "balanced" squad. All you might need is someone with electronic and decryption skills (Tali, Garrus, or Kaidan if you don't have them) just for opening locks and hacking. Other than that, you can pretty much just take who you want whenever. Same holds true (imo) for ME2 and 3.

    Also, for fun weapon loadouts in ME:

    Spectre assault rifle + 2 Frictionless Materials + just about any ammo = Infinate ammo and no cooldown. More dakka indeed. :cool:
    Spectre shotgun + 2 Rail Extensions + Explosive rounds = improvised grenade launcher. Sort of. I remember one time firing that at a Husk that was in front of me. Took off Team Rocket style. [face_laugh] Also gives new meaning to the word "Boomstick".

    Ugh, same here. I always hated how it seemed like they would just pop out of nowhere on some of the planets. Most of time, I just hightailed it out of there. And when I heard that you fight one on foot in ME2? Yeah, was not looking forward to that. And in 3, I spent most of the time in the ruins afraid that this gigantic thresher maw was going to jump out at me any second.
     
  5. Handmaiden Yané

    Handmaiden Yané Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    In replaying ME2 after playing ME3, I noticed that you can ask Miranda about the control chip she wanted to install. In ME3, she confesses this to you, but I wonder what happens if you dig it out of her early on?
     
  6. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002
    Just finished Noveria in ME1. Where to now: Feros or Virmire?
     
  7. Handmaiden Yané

    Handmaiden Yané Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    I suggest doing Feros first.
     
  8. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    I really want to do ME3 so i can continue with my character, but I want to know from anyone else who plays it on PC (if anyone else does) whether they think Origin is a problem. All this talk about it being spware put me off buying it but since it seems Steam will not ever be getting it I will at some point have to get a copy.


    Not sure what type to play in it though, I did Soldier in ME1 & Vanguard in ME2 but was annoyed at not being able to use Charge much and not having assault rifles until late in the game. I don't care much for using pistols
     
  9. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    So far I haven't had issues with Origin, but next time I'm back in PA I'll probably have my computer guru friend check my laptop out. As far as your choice goes, it depends on your preferences. With the new loadout system tied to weapon weights instead of classes you can have an AR-wielding vanguard from the start; you just have slightly less than half the load capacity of a soldier. Charge becomes absolutely devastating, so if you like the fast-paced, brick-through-plate-glass playstyle you'll love it.

    Actually, the maw in ME2 was easy - by now I've gotten to the point where I make sure to acquire the armor ordnance packs and most of the heavy weapon ammo upgrades before doing Grunt's rite of passage. I bring my "love of the fight" ... and an M-920 Cain with 200% ammo. You can actually fire two shots in rapid succession after the initial charge-up, which means you "double-tap" the poor worm with a "nuke cannon." Priceless. [face_skull]

    As for ME1, they can't spring up from small hills or depressions in the maw nest, so for the one you actually have to fight to complete a mission (Edolus, for "UNC: Missing Marines") you can actually find a low ridgeline that takes you close enough to trigger the maw's appearance. Depending on your class, level, and how you want to handle it, you can either a) stay in the Mako, use the jump jets to avoid the acid, and blast it with the main gun, b) shoot it till it dives and then run like hell for the edge of the nest, then circle around and repeat, or c) jump out and riddle it with bullets. The latter is only advisable with a high-level soldier, infiltrator, or vanguard with Ash, Wrex, and/or Garrus for backup. The ridge prevents it from popping up right under you, but it can get close enough to use its melee strike, so if you take route c) you have to kill it FAST.

    I like your mod suggestions ... usually by that point I went with one frictionless materials and one scram rail upgrade on my guns for a nice balance of sustained fire and damage. The exception was the sniper rifle - I'd usually fit that baby with combat optics, scram rail, and depending on the situation explosive rounds. Which turned the gun into a tank cannon. There was no such thing as "near-misses" afterwards.
     
  10. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2004
    Polonium rounds? I heard that the only rounds worth using for the most part are the Shredder and Tungsten rounds.

    I suppose by now you know about the uproar that the ending caused? Yeah, wait until ME3 goes on sale, because you might be pissed if you pay the regular price and then reach that ending...no need to rush into this one.
     
  11. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    I am aware (mostly) of the controversial ending, but I'm more interested in concluding the story and seeing what happens to the characters and what choices I will make. I prefer to purchase the game at a lower price as I did with the first two ME games on Steam, but ME3 might not ever be available there and I'm not sure buying a physical copy is as practical as a digital download.
     
  12. Handmaiden Yané

    Handmaiden Yané Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Charge is much better in ME3 and the gameplay more or less requires that you move around a lot so Charge definitely helps. Nova is awesome, too. :)
     
  13. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    I only ever played on Normal difficulty so I never had to do all of that optimization stuff you guys seem to be doing. :p

    But! What I did do was play a Vanguard with super short cooldowns and maxed Charge and Nova. It turns out that, on Normal, you can basically cycle Charge and Nova forever and everything will just die without being able to hit you at all. The only drawback is you can't actually see what's going on at all, you wind up in strange places by the end, and combat becomes just a blur of blue light and Shepard shouting.

    ... still heaps of fun, though.
     
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  14. Ulicus

    Ulicus Lapsed Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2005
  15. The Loyal Imperial

    The Loyal Imperial Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2007
    Well. That was unexpected.
     
  16. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Hmm, you may have a point ... looking over the wiki article I may have misread the stats on the ammo. I think shredder and tungsten ammo provide the best straight damage bonuses (+40%). Polonium rounds have a higher bonus (55%), but that takes the form of a "buffer" that enemy regeneration has to overcome before the target actually heals. I've heard polonium rounds recommended for certain enemies, either for the anti-healing properties (krogan) or for the fact that each hit tacks on another 40 points of damage over the next 5 seconds (seems to be recommended for highly agile enemies).

    As far as getting ME3 - back in July I was seeing downloadable copies on Amazon for about $30; not sure if that had some of the early DLC like "From Ashes" included.
     
  17. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Weapons didn't seem anything like as upgradable in ME2 as they were in ME1, or they were and I didn't see how to do it.

    I purchased additional weapons via DLC for ME2, but that was all I could find in terms of upgrading types. There were damage and defensive bonuses on the Normandy but that seemed to be all
     
  18. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    That is all there is in ME2; you just get ammo powers and research upgrades to weapons. I personally didn't mind that; as stated previously the inventory system in ME1 was a pain to manage. The research upgrades are well worth the investment; I think the one I had the most fun with was the fully-upgraded M-97 Viper as a soldier. Between damage upgrades and adrenaline rush, I was able to get single-shot kills on most of the basic grunts. Couple that with the time slowdown from adrenaline rush and I could just pick off an entire platoon until Garrus got hoarse from exclaiming "Headshot!"

    ME3 returns weapons mods and levels, although thankfully if you pick one up you get unlimited copies and the mods and weapons auto-upgrade as you acquire new versions. You also have more choices in armor; you can either assemble a custom N7 set from mission-acquired and store-bought components or plunk down 40-50k creds for an off-the-shelf alternate armor. So far I've gone with the custom set; for my vanguard I had one that boasted +5% power recharge and +45% power damage and for my sentinel I had one with +10% shield recharge speed and +40% shields. When I go for a second playthrough with my soldier I plan to rock a +10% health and +40% weapon damage set.
     
  19. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Outfitting everyone on the team with the best weapon mods in ME1 was rather tedious I have to say.

    I did like some of the DLC weapons, the Geth Plasma Shotgun is cool.
     
  20. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    I never got the Firepower Pack for ME2 - the weapons seemed too gimmicky for me and I was happy with what I had. I hear the best things about the Geth Plasma Shotgun in ME2 are that it a) it packs more of a punch than the Claymore when charged, b) you can make it your squad-issue shotgun, and c) it has decent range. I didn't like the laser-sight idea of the Phalanx (which reappears without it in ME3; it's more of a general-purpose pistol than a specialized heavy sharpshooter) and as far as the Mattock my opinion is assault rifles should be fully-automatic and have lots of ammo. You do get all the DLC weapons in ME3 plus a number of new additions - see my prior post for exposition.
     
  21. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002
  22. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002
    I'm on Feros now in ME1 and I just FINALLY got my inventory under control. Finally omni-gelled or sold all the weapons and mods I don't use...only to suddenly pick up like three dozen more during my first battle. God. Damn. It.

    I also really digged all the Geth weapons in ME3.


    I was wondering, if you romance Liara in ME1 and then romance someone else in ME2, can you still romance her in ME2: Lair of the Shadow Broker? Or do you have to not romance anyone at all in ME2 to continue the ME1 Liara romance?
     
  23. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002
    LOL
    Legion's dialogue 1:00 is awesome
     
  24. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002


    Compilation of Legion dialogue from ME2. Oh, Legion...you were my fave.
     
  25. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    I think it depends on if you're "locked-in" with the new person before doing LotSB - I know she has a great dig at femShep exes after they've gotten together with Garrus. I always do that mission mid-game (after all, I'm already on Illium to recruit Thane and Samara and help Miranda), so I think to date I haven't done that mission while I was romancing an ME2 squadmate (well, aside from dinner with Yeoman Chambers, which doesn't count). To date I've only romanced Liara once and she's been the only ME1 romance one of my characters has stuck with through all three games. I mean, I liked Ash better than Liara in ME1, but she more or less breaks up with you on Horizon (even if she does send a nice email later - come on, you're off to a suicide mission in a place no non-Collector ship has ever returned from). Liara by contrast comes right back if you play it that way; ditching her just seems mean-spirited, especially since you keep stopping by the Shadow Broker base for the rest of the game.

    As far as ME1 inventory - the easiest thing I find is to just omni-gel all unnecessary gear in levels I-IV and maybe even some level V stuff. That'll pretty much get you a full stock of omni-gel. Lower-level equipment just isn't worth enough to sell. Once I get to having over 900 omni-gel, I don't bother trying the decryption mini-game on hard locks and just spend 25 omni-gel a pop. Then, once you get start getting valuable loot excess to your requirements, sell it to Dr. Michel at the Citadel clinic if you've completed her assignment (dealing with the blackmailer). Since her discount also applies to stuff you sell her, you can make creds hand-over-fist and rapidly break the 1 million mark to start buying Spectre guns. Never mind that you're turning her clinic into an arms bazaar. Of course, once you get up towards 10 million credits, you can just save yourself the trip to the Citadel and sell to the Normandy's requisition officer.