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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. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002
    Couldn't find the thread, so here's one.

    I've been replaying ME1...just not in the past couple days.

    I've also been dreading action sequences, as the combat mechanics leave much to be desired (something that the next two games really delivers on, imo).
     
  2. Deputy Rick Grimes

    Deputy Rick Grimes Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    Mass Effect rules, so similar to Star Wars too
     
  3. BLemelisk

    BLemelisk Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    I've been thinking about a 1 runthrough. 3 is also growing on me again because I ... kind of liked Leviathan [/blasphemy]
     
  4. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    I really like 3. Despite my initial ragings and complainings about the multiplayer bit I've actually gotten into it. I still don't think it needs to be there but it's not bad. My only gripe is that all the DLC so far has been for that and not the campaign. Leviathan is the first single player DLC to come out, and I'm hoping there'll be more.
     
  5. Handmaiden Yané

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

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    I
    I was going to start one soon AND I've been replaying ME1 too. Great minds...

    I'm just about to head into Virmire and man, it's been tough. Not because it's on Hardcore (I don't think), but having to relearn ME1 game mechanics and the Mako has been rough. Unfortunately, a lot of the side missions are on the Mako which I absolutely hate. However, now that my pistol stats are all the way up and I have awesome Spectre weapons, combat is easier. Also, I've gotten used to it.

    But yeah, I am really chomping on the bit to be playing ME2 and ME3 again. Playing as a Vanguard without Charge/Biotic Charge just seems...wrong.

    I liked Leviathan! Totally opens up possibilities for ME4, which I would love to see.
     
  6. BLemelisk

    BLemelisk Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    I'm really looking forward to the all-but-announced Retake Omega DLC. I've had a crush on Aria since ME2.
     
  7. Ichor_Razor

    Ichor_Razor Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2004
    Yeah Leviathan was preety sweet & still lends some credence to the Indoctrination Theory.

    Same here, especially since it may turn out to be another hub world like the Citadel if the game files found in the leviathan DLC are anything to go by though unlike you, I can't say I have any interest in Aria enough to break Omega's only rule if the chance came up which WAS possible at one point. Still, another hub area would be nice, even though it makes sense storywise why it would be the only one (That & potentially Omega, of course).
     
  8. Valyn

    Valyn Jedi Master star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 2, 2002
    I'm actually playing as a Vanguard too--only because I did my last play through as a Vanguard through ME1 to ME3 and wanted to stick with what worked.

    But replaying ME1 makes me see that the Vanguard doesn't really work at all in this game. No Charge? What's even the point?

    I'm already thinking about what class I'll be selecting come my ME2 replay. I might go full biotic, but I did enjoy the Vanguard's balance between soldier and biotic.
     
  9. BLemelisk

    BLemelisk Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    She was supposed to be a LI?

    And yeah, I'm not getting my hopes up for an Omega hub, but if you think about it it wouldn't be that difficult. If they made it something along the lines of the Shadow Broker's base from ME2, and just made the playable area the upper level of Afterlife or something that would really be great. You could walk in, make a few investments in missions, and come back later to pick up your essential war digits :p
     
  10. Darth_Invidious

    Darth_Invidious Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 1999
    Vanguard is really the best way to play, which is why they gave us Nova in ME3. Charge+Nova+ Biotic smash. Accept no substitutes.:D
     
  11. Ulicus

    Ulicus Lapsed Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2005
    My level 60 vanguard still needs to complete his NG+++++ of ME1 before I can import him to ME2, and then from there ME3. :p

    I'm really going to miss his badass scars, though. :(

    And, after getting used to -200% cooldowns playing vanguard in ME3 MP, I am NOT looking forward to the default cooldowns on biotic charge in ME2. :_|
     
  12. Handmaiden Yané

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

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Yeah, I think I should have gone with Engineer with my recent playthrough, honestly. Would've gotten more achievements that way...I was going for the Pistol achievement and I was annoyed I didn't get it. I didn't get the medigel one, either...and I used First Aid A LOT.

    Anyway, it was a good run nonethless. I got Scholar, Lift Mastery, Barrier Mastery, Completionist, Rich, Colonial Savior, Distinguished Combat Medal, Power Gamer, Soldier Ally, and Turian Ally this time around. This was also the first playthrough where I saved Ashley instead of Kaidan.

    I've played as an Adept in ME2 and I really enjoyed it. I love the biotic powers. However, I think one of the better classes to play in ME2 is actually the Sentinel. The tactical shield will replenish your shields when you use it. Sadly, they took that side effect away in ME3. :(

    This would be awesome.
     
  13. BLemelisk

    BLemelisk Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Alright, Mars just came on iTunes. Do you remember what it felt like? Walking out of that Kodiak, this cue playing, worrying about the Reapers right on your tail, thinking "I'm back."?

    This point really brought me entirely in to ME3. The opening was good, but it wasn't a Mass Effect game until this.
     
  14. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Ah, nice that you did this ... I completely forgot we had a Games forum and was trying to resurrect something in the JCC.

    Yeah, I just finished my fifth ME1 playthrough (hey, I've been unemployed for a little while and had time to kill; the new job should keep me busy). The combat mechanics are a bit hard to relearn, although by the time you get Spectre weapons you tend to wipe the floor with anything before it has a prayer of shooting back.

    My biggest issue? My last two playthroughs were as a sentinel and an engineer. Light armor, no immunity ... which means that getting through those damn rachni on Noveria sucked. Shields and barriers are no help when a small horde of freakish jumbo shrimp start spitting acid venom at you. Also, midway through my third playthrough my copy's long-term memory blinked out - short form, it wipes all achievements after I quit. Then again, I was kind of trying to make these last two playthroughs quick, so I didn't much mind being capped at level 50. Instead of carefully orchestrating sniper massacres, I just steamrolled stuff with the Mako. I actually got used to that thing; I think the main reason it's regarded as a pain is because most of the maps make driving through the Himalayas look like taking the interstate through Kansas. Plus - to hell with the M-44 Hammerhead's fancy homing missiles; I want a turreted, telescopically-sighted BFG on a vehicle that can actually take direct fire.
     
  15. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    What would you folks say is the average playtime for completing ME1 for a first run? Gonna tackle it at some point in my backlog, but need to space out the more extensive/longer RPGs with some variety, so I don't want to back-to-back ME with Zelda or some such.
     
  16. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    I think my last couple have clocked in at about 60 hours, although that's with completing all side quests and random assignments on uncharted worlds. Then again, some of those have effects in ME2 and ME3, so it might be best to do everything on the first shot.
     
  17. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Just because I asked this question over in the old JCC thread - what guns do you go with in ME3?

    Here's my list - granted, a lot of it is personal opinion rather than an in-depth crunching of stats, and it only covers SP weapons (including the Firefight Pack DLC). In general I prefer guns that might not be the best performers stat-wise, but can reliably land shots and have a decent amount of reserve ammunition.

    Pistols: Overall, I didn't use them much. Then again, I haven't played as an engineer or adept yet. Ergo, I tend to pick the special-use ones. The Scorpion is a sometime pick and typically my default sidearm for Liara - come on, it's a spy gun that fires sticky grenades. The M-358 Talon, if you have the Leviathan DLC with the ultralight materials mods, is a great lightweight shotgun until you get your hands on the Disciple and I typically assign it to EDI and Kaidan. The M-6 Carnifex likewise is your mini-sniper weapon; fit it with scope and barrel mods and free up some weight capacity to carry a heavy beast like the Claymore or Revenant. I'll also sometimes upgrade the N7 Eagle and M-5 Phalanx as general-purpose pistol choices, and I usually upgrade the Arc Pistol mainly for Tali. The M-77 Paladin seems like a beast, although as yet I haven't felt like spending nearly 200,000 credits on what amounts to a backup weapon.

    SMGs: Again, not the biggest fan - mainly because most of them either don't pack much punch or turn into an anti-aircraft gun after about ten rounds. On the plus side, if you fit the ultralight materials mod they don't take up much weight, although it's incompatible with the recoil damper. The N7 Hurricane and M-25 Hornet can spit death at an alarming rate, although the Hurricane is hard to control even with the recoil damper. I tend to reserve those for Liara and EDI, respectively - Liara turns into an insane buzzsaw with the Hurricane and leveled-up warp ammo. A Hornet with a stability mod was a sometime choice. The Geth Plasma SMG is stable with a high rate of fire, but I don't much like the delay it needs to "spin up" to full speed. Overall I'd say my favorite is the M-12 Locust - not much punch, but reliably stable and accurate. Last time around my sentinel used one to fight through basic enemies on Priority: Earth; that saved the punchier Harrier and Valiant for Brutes and Banshees.

    Shotguns: I'd have to say the Disciple is my hands-down favorite, just because it's light and accurate but packs a good punch. The M-22 Eviscerator is a decent interim choice; the M-11 Wraith isn't bad if you don't mind having only two shots in the magazine and spending over 200,000 credits on a shotgun. I'll usually upgrade the Geth Plasma Shotgun for Tali as well as the Graal Spike Thrower and Claymore for James; those can be good picks if you can get away with carrying only a lightweight SMG and/or pistol for backup.

    Assault Rifles: The Phaeston tends to be my bread-and-butter choice as well as Garrus's weapon - light, lots of ammo, and it's pretty accurate with little recoil. You can fit barrel and piercing mods to bring the damage up a bit. The Cerberus Harrier is a new favorite - it rips even tough targets apart quickly, although the low ammo reserve means you can run empty in an extended fight. The Harrier pretty much renders the Mattock obsolete and I usually assign it to James and Kaidan. The Adas Anti-Synthetic Rifle likewise tends to rip apart targets fast, especially geth, but ammo is also an issue. The Particle Rifle is Javik's default gun for verisimilitude; I usually only carry it for one mission of bug-hunting with Grunt because it can replace the flamethrower. The self-replenishing ammo supply is nice; I just don't like having to wait until the "clip" is 1/3rd expended before it kicks into high gear. For me, the "ultimate" AR is the M-76 Revenant; if you're a soldier adrenaline rush helps with the inaccuracy and recoil and the weight isn't as much of an issue. As far as squadmates go, Ash mows down enemies with it given her marksman ability and weapon damage boosts. Alternately a stability damper makes it pretty easy to control for any class; add a scope and it becomes very accurate, almost a sniping machine gun.

    Sniper Rifles: I tend to upgrade a wider variety of SRs than any other gun, although it's hard to beat the N7 Valiant. It has decent damage and a good ammo reserve, but the low recoil and high rate of fire are really what makes it shine - you can snap off three shots, reload, and repeat in a couple of heartbeats. That's pretty much my go-to weapon for tough missions. The Black Widow packs a big punch, but the recoil slows down the firing rate and it's heavy. The innate armor-piercing is nice for certain targets - it's my preferred means of sniping an Atlas driver. The Krysae is fun because you can quickly wipe out enemy peons; one shot into the troop bay of a Cerberus shuttle gets rid of the whole squad before they can deploy. The M-97 Viper is the lightest sniper rifle in the game, even though it's far less effective than it was in ME2. I tend to use the M-13 Raptor and M-90 Indra more as scoped assault rifles for Cerberus missions, given how much Centurions love to pop off smoke grenades and that allows me to carry one relatively light rifle for mid-to-long range and a shotgun for close quarters. Those guns are also good selections for Ash, given how her marksman skill jacks up the firing rate. In general I've never been crazy about single-shot rifles, although I typically upgrade the Javelin. I don't like the delay on the shot, but the heavy damage and innate armor piercing make it a good thing to have in the arsenal. I've seen Garrus do some serious damage with that gun.
     
  18. Alpha-Red

    Alpha-Red Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2004
    I have to ask, when it comes to your squadmates is there any reason to not arm them with the biggest and baddest guns in your arsenal? As far as I can tell their ability cooldowns aren't affected by weight, they get unlimited ammo, and they're AI-controlled so that means they have to have pretty good accuracy right? So lately I've been arming Ashley and Garrus with the Black Widow and either the Falcon or Saber...
     
  19. Darth_Invidious

    Darth_Invidious Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 1999
    Arm yourself and, James and Garrus with Falcons and firefights tend to be over pretty quickly, even on higher difficulties. Why waste time with bullets and biotics when grenades will do just fine? [face_devil]
     
  20. Handmaiden Yané

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

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Quickest I have ever done ME1 is 11 hours, doing only the main planets (Therum, Feros, Noveria, Virmire, and Ilos + any Citadel stuff in there). My recent and longest playthrough (on Hardcore) was close to 30. I did all the sidequests with the exception of the minerals, asari writings, and one other collecting task (and even those I attempted and was close to completion, but got impatient for the endgame!).

    As far as guns go, I like anything that lets me shoot a lot...so pistols/assault rifles, mostly. I don't like SMGs...they're annoying. :p My favorite pistol is the one with the aiming line thingy... I also like shotguns and yeah, I'd agree that Disciple and Eviscerator are my favorites. I think I usually just equip a pistol, assault rifle, and shotgun if I can keep my cooldown percentage negative or close to negative. If I can't, I'll drop the shotgun since I also tend to rely a lot on my biotics as a Vanguard.
     
  21. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    To date I haven't tried out the Falcon - mainly because I haven't done an ME3+ playthrough yet and you don't get the Falcon until Cronos Station. So far I've decided against taking an untested, heavy, low-capacity weapon into the hardest mission of the game. I did equip Kaidan with it once just as a test; he tended to be a bit inaccurate but it was still fun to have a squadmate plunking grenades all over the place. In general I don't much like low-capacity weapons; one of the things I love about the M-76 Revenant is that I can't remember ever having less than 250 rounds of ammo left after even the toughest firefight. I don't want to have to interrupt my killfests to scrounge up some more thermal clips.

    Pretty much. Squadmates aren't affected by weight, ammo capacity, or recoil. As such, never bother modding squadmate weapons with scopes, recoil dampers, ultralight materials, spare ammo, or a smart choke. However, they are affected by fire rate, clip size, and reload time - they might have unlimited ammo, but a squadmate using the M-99 Saber will still fire slowly and have to pause every 8 shots (if you don't have an extended magazine fitted) for a reload animation. Generally give squadmate guns extended barrel and piercing/shredder mods if available; otherwise go with an extended clip (not spare ammo). Only add a bayonet if you really have nothing better to strap on the gun (for instance, the shredder mod doesn't work with the Geth Plasma Shotgun).

    Sometimes squadmate powers are a factor in selection - Ashley has the marksman ability which boosts firing rate and accuracy, so you're best off fitting her with rapid-fire guns to make the damage output truly insane. It's also good to give your less combat-capable squadmates some heavy guns to bump up their damage. For instance, the Geth Plasma Shotgun is a pretty heavy cannon with a surprising effective range for a shotgun; modding it with an extended barrel and bayonet means you don't have to babysit Tali as much. Same for Liara with the N7 Hurricane; I've stuck her on point guarding my flank and she's mowed down an entire squad of Cerberus troops.

    On top of that, I also like fitting squadmates with background-appropriate weapons, hence why I give Garrus the turian-made Phaeston and EDI the Cerberus-manufactured Hornet and Talon. The only reason I don't give Garrus the Krysae is that it's bugged in SP; it functions as a normal sniper rifle when used by squadmates rather than a scoped rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
     
  22. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Yeah, it takes me 60 hours because I do all the side missions and find all the minerals and artifacts - those are annoying, but a) you can look up maps online that show you where they are on the uncharted worlds and b) you can rack up some serious credits and XP grabbing them. The other thing that sucks up time is stores and inventory management, the latter of which for me was one of the biggest pains in the game. With your inventory capped at 150 items (although that doesn't count mods equipped on weapons and armor) and your omni-gel and credits capped at 999 and 9,999,999 respectively, you spend a lot of time either selling gear off or breaking it down to omni-gel and still end up with more of both than you can bank. You practically have to buy a full arsenal of Spectre guns and high-end armor for every squadmate just to avoid wasting credit pickups.
     
  23. Handmaiden Yané

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

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Haha, yes, almost all my squadmates have Spectre guns just 'cause. :)
     
  24. DarthCane

    DarthCane Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 30, 2002
    Even though most of them can't use all of the weapons ... I think on my 2nd and 3rd playthroughs (infiltrator and vanguard) I ended up with 4 complete sets of Spectre X weapons and just about every post-Virmire squadmate had one set each of Colossus and Predator L/M/H armor. That was sort of the biggest shock going from ME1 to ME2 - by the end of ME1 I could generally shrug off anything short of concentrated rocket fire and just berserker-charge enemies. Then I get into ME2 and bullets actually hurt.
     
  25. Handmaiden Yané

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

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    Haha, I had the same thing. Mostly because I forgot who could use what! I think Tali could use shotguns? I was really surprised at what guns she could use, at any rate.