Gaming Mass Effect Series

Short answer, no, you don't need the pass to play SP.

 

I thought I was the only person who called b*tchy video game enemies 'mooks'. Especially Mass Effect enemies funnily enough!

 

I've been reading waaaaaaaaay too many tvtropes entries lately. I especially like the ME entry on the "Up to Eleven" page -

• The Mass Effect series seems determined to use every single trope in existence. This is not an exaggeration - its pages have gotten so large that they've broken the wiki several times.

Just got Feros done; I must have executed my workaround for the Geth ship crash just right because for once it didn't crash my computer.

I was reminded on the way out of the ExoGeni facility why I'm not keen on the smarts of ME squadmates - I was determined to take down the two armatures, two Geth Juggernauts, and a few lower-level flashlights on foot for the XP. Unfortunately, since cover was limited (one spot, which I of course wanted for myself), I was trying to order Garrus and Liara to just stay back and let me whittle them down with sniper fire. Unfortunately, even then they kept angling for a shot, which of course meant they were standing in the open with multiple rocket launchers and siege pulse cannons firing on them. That was unfortunate, but what really stunk was that since the enemy was out of radar range, after the shooting paused they would revive as if the fight was over ... and then run right over to my position, where I was safe from direct fire but not AOE damage from nearby hits. If it would have worked I would have shot them just to keep them down; instead I had to keep interrupting my sniping to send them away ... to be killed again and thus repeat the process. Granted, I could have made things a lot easier just by using the Mako, but I really wanted the XP.

Then it was on to saving the colonists from the Thorian. Took several attempts; the gas grenades were really a hit or miss deal. Sometimes I'd set one off two feet away from some colonists and they'd be unaffected; one time I managed to take out four in one shot. Go figure. Had to melee a number of them. After a couple of tries I managed to save all 16 and then go for some weed-killing and clonicide. Finished at Level 39 with the Rich achievement, so now I'm running around with a full level VII set of Spectre weapons. Even with only 6-8 points in sniper rifles, I was able to potshot husks and creepers on the two ensuing UNC missions at ~350 meters without using Assassination. Still need to do Noveria and Virmire; Virmire I always save for last.

 

Thanks.

Started having some half-decent firefights on ME2, worked out how the radar works - although I still think ME1 had the better targeting, combine that with ME2 cover system and it'd be much better.

 

Just remember that Shepard's powers and squadmate powers will hit differently in ME2 and ME3. Squadmate powers are hitscan, while some of Shepard's powers (Concussive Shot, Incinerate, Cryo Blast, Warp, Pull) have a travel time. On the one hand, it means enemies can dodge those attacks from Shepard, but not the same ones from squadmates. On the other hand, if you can bring up their targeting icon while they're hidden behind cover, you can aim high and/or off to the side and the power will arc around the obstacle and still hit them.

Another tip I've found useful is one of the reasons why every character of mine that has not been a soldier or infiltrator in ME2 picks sniper rifles as their bonus weapon talent. If you can get the cross-hairs on a target at long range, you can lock powers onto a target even if it doesn't display targeting info. Even if you suck at using sniper rifles, you can still use tactical pause, move the crosshairs over the target, select your power, and watch the fun. It's especially useful on a few of the missions with Scions; some won't attack unless you get within a certain range, so you can just sit back and wear them down with armor-busting powers without any return fire.

 

Well, got through Horizon - despite getting KO'ed by Preatorian.

Also later managed to take out its brother on the Collector vessel - just. Really loathe that particular fight.

Is fun though on other missions:

Heavy mech inbound! Yeah? <deploys Collector laser cannon>. Within 30 seconds, YMIR is scrap!

 

Yeah, the first time I went up against the Praetorian on Horizon I used the Collector Particle Beam and it was one of the roughest fights in the game. That same playthrough I took the ML-77 missile launcher on the Collector ship, figuring then I could just fire snapshots and stay in cover. Cue running around in a panic, flipping off missile after missile to seemingly no effect as I was chased all over the room. Since then I always bring the Cain to those jobs: "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!"

YMIRs are one of the other frustrating enemies in the game - I usually try to use gunfire and powers, as I like farming credits off of heavy weapon ammo pickups, but on the occasions where I feel one needs to die fast I actually find the M-622 Avalanche (aka the "Cryo Blaster") does a very good job. With all heavy weapon upgrades and a spare heavy weapon ammo component to your armor you can carry 40 shots for it, and it does 400 damage per shot versus armor, barriers, and shields. A quick burst of 3-5 shots should rip away its armor and shields and freeze it on Normal. Then if you really want to have fun, take out your pistol or sniper rifle and shatter its head while it's an ice cube. When it thaws out you get a very nice fireworks display that will kill just about anything in the vicinity. The ML-77 is also a good pick because you can blindfire it in the general direction, including aimed up into the air, and the missile will still lock on.

In general, those two, the Particle Beam, and the grenade launcher are my standard load choices. I carry the Arc Projector for missions heavy on Geth or other mechs, rarely carry the M-451 flamethrower, and reserve the Cain for when I know I'll need to blow something big up. The Praetorians, the Geth Colossus, the Thresher Maw, the derelict Reaper, the final boss - yeah, they all get the A-list treatment. A for Atomic.

 

Lol. am I the only who one who always uses the Cain against the Human-Reaper just to finish the fight quickly?

 

Nope, although usually I don't end up finishing that thing with Mr. Cain - for such a big monster, that freaking mega-Terminator isn't easy to hit given that the Cain has to charge. Usually I'll peck at it with gunfire on the first pass, try to land a Cain shot in the chest weak point on the second, and finish it with more gunfire. The two most epic times I did that were with my soldier and infiltrator; the soldier finished it off with two Carnifex shots to the chest and the infiltrator used her last M-98 round to kill it with a shot to the eye socket.

Today in ME1 I tackled the "Missing Marines" sidequest, which for me is the most anxiety-inducing fight in the entire series. I decided to take on the thresher maw on foot; and I think I managed it with zero damage to myself. As soon as the worm came up I unloaded - Warp from Shepard, Warp from Wrex, Overkill from Ash, Carnage from Shepard, Overkill from Wrex, Adrenaline Burst for Shepard and then another Warp/Carnage before just shotgunning the crap out of it.

 

I tend to use it on the derelict Reaper mission. The Mass Effect Core is a pain in the ass without it, and a joyful BOOM moment with it

 

NO!

First time I tried that out though wasn't on that mission.

Instead it was: OK, let's see what happens....

KABOOM!

&^%$ yeah!

 

Pretty funny that you can easily kill you and you're teammates with that weapon

 

Just got Thane again and had one of the best Renegade prompts ever where you kick the Eclipse goon through the window and off the ledge!

The other, far more interesting thing about returning to Illium, this time around, with it being with an ME1 character, is the sheer amount of connections made and follow-ups, it's quite extraordinary and very good indeed.

 

Yeah, that's the addictive bit to the ME series, even for me. I started the series after 3 came out and was spoiled in advance, so I played through 1 and 2 calculating how I wanted things to turn out - and there were still moments of awesome experienced. The big one for me is the fate of the Krogan; playing ME1 is the only way as far as I know for Wrex to live into ME2 and 3 and if you help out with the genophage cure in ME2 and ME3 the Extended Cut will show a new golden age of rebuilding on Tuchanka. IIRC that includes a shot of Wrex and Eve with a few little ones.

Going through Noveria right now with the Garrus/Liara team, and at level 48 Liara is like Carrie: The Rage when you uncork the biotics. The tradeoff in ME1 for the long cooldown times is that the biotic and tech powers are much more devastating. I just got "ambushed" by Benezia's little helper in the quarantine lab on Peak 15. The biggest danger was getting knocked around by the crates that got caught up in Liara's Singularity; the two asari and their fire team of Geth were being flung around and being methodically shot up like skeet in a hurricane. Same thing with that corrupt security officer and her goon squad in Port Hanshan.

 

Liara is Biotics Badassery like no other (except maybe Aria, Omega DLC in ME3 she has Flare and that is ridiculous), Jack is good in ME2 but she's not the same.

 

I'm replaying ME2 as an Adept with Stasis as my bonus power, and I'm having a much easier time than when I used Barrier. I usually have the Cain as my HW and use it only on the mission to get Tali, the Derilect Reaper (I agree Saintheart), and if I have ammo left, the human-reaper. My favorite moment in a past game was running out of HW ammo at the end and killing a collector, only to have the HR reappear. But as it loomed over me with eyes blazing, I noticed the dead collector had left HW ammo behind. One shot from the Cain later, and the HR was toast. I loved how it went right from the Cain's explosion to the cutscene!

 

Jack wasn't that great in ME2, IMO - pull and shockwave were only good for dealing with unprotected targets, which weren't really a problem unless it was a mass rush. For missions with a lot of husks Jack was awesome, since if they got knocked off their feet it was a one-hit kill. By contrast Jack is an absolute monster in ME3 Citadel, since between the combo system and having warp in her arsenal she can really dish out some damage.

 

Just started ME2 with my rebooted vanguard character. Because I still had 160 BW points left over, I decided what the heck and blew them on the Firepower Pack to get some more guns. Oddly enough, I've completed Mordin's recruitment mission and still haven't used Charge - I think being at a low level and not having Nova is making me much more conservative. The M-5 Phalanx is proving to be my weapon of choice so far; I'm still getting used to the laser sight but it does pack a punch. The Geth Plasma Shotgun is looking like it'll be a monster, both for the much longer effective range and the firepower.

 

Plus it fires 3 shots and you can charge it up.
Geth weapons are nice, I use the plasma rifle all the time and often give characters the Geth SMG.

 

The GPR and GPSMG in ME3 aren't my favorites, but the shotgun sure is. I rarely use it myself, but it's my default gun for Tali. She doesn't look like a nice little Quarian girl from the Rayya when she's packing that thing complete with extended barrels and an omni-bayonet. As far as using it in ME2, one charged shot blew the armor off a Krogan and dinged his health; two quick uncharged shots finished the job.

 

I like that you can charge it while moving around.

I usually give the Shotgun to Tali, giving her a powerful weapon makes up for her ridiculous lack of armour

 

It has a certain charm to it:

 

Should mass effect 4 be about combat? Have a "Make your own hero" element?

Should there be stealth and dialogue bosses like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution?

 

You need to look at what makes Mass Effect what it is.

Is it Shepard? Or is it the universe the characters inhabit? Is it the bond between Shepard and the people around him/her? Perhaps it's the Mass Relays and biotics.

Mass Effect 4 has to be recognisable as part of the franchise if it's not going to have known characters from previous games. Otherwise it will just be some game with Mass Effect written on the box.
But it shouldn't be about combat, because that's not what the other games were primarily about. Combat will always feature because that is what most people want, but games get boring when they are just running about blasting everything and everyone.

As the guy in the video above said, be true to the spirit of the game.

 

After having gone through Horizon, I'm starting to realize how the Reapers got to consider Shepard such a problem. Billion-year old godlike AI or not, Harbinger has to be getting PO'd at how many times he gets "killed." I wonder if this is where the phenomenon of "ragequitting" was introduced to the Reapers ...

For being two of the more fragile characters in the team, taking Mordin and Garrus along worked well. Garrus and Grunt are my usual team. Helped that beforehand I had Mordin upgraded with his special omni-tool and Heavy Incinerate, and Garrus with a Mattock and Rank 4 Turian Renegade. Taking Reave as a bonus power for my vanguard was also a help for dealing with barriers and armor at range.