Mass Effect 3.5 Does this thread have a soul?

[Yana]

Surely they were more like snide insinuations?

[SiuiS]

Well, I upgraded the Mantis to level 10 in multiplayer. It would be great if I had anyone to give it to. But my Infiltrators use Raptor, since it's more flexible, and my Soldiers only equip assault rifles - my Turian Soldier uses a Revenant and my Human Soldier uses a Mattock. Though I suppose I could try giving my Human Soldier a shotgun and a Mantis...
I also managed to unlock the Harpoon Gun. Today I'll try it out, but I doubt I'll like it. It seems to be a powerful, slow-firing gun and I don't like them in multiplayer.

Less power heavy classes benefit from having more guns, such as soldiers or a certain brand of sentinel or a tricksy infiltrator.

So they finally patched the facial import bug today...

And my Shepard didn't take the transition well. I don't know if it's the new software not staying true to the original, my being terrible at designing faces and not realizing it until now, or that I've gotten used to the default FemShep.

In any event, further testing (ie, screenshots from me2 to compare with the face constructor from 3) is needed.

I'll check it out as soon as my system stops freezing immediately upon startup of ME3 (which it has been doing since it kicked me out of a gold match so I could download "vital patch" last night...)

Well, I am am about to try to tackle the last couple of stretchs of the game (Cerberus HQ and beyond...)

...

Probably wouldn't hurt to warn the endings thread to batten down the hatches; y'know, just in case...

This will be... Interesting.

Saying that something something chaos theory something something quantum effects creates individuality because the same process run twice might turn out differently is incoherent.

Luckily, that's not what I said.
In response to "has no basis in how computers work in the Real World" I provided an example of how, yes, computers do use these basic concepts in the real world. I also pointed out. That the exact nature of the blue box was clearly explained and constrained by the intake lore, which you like to ignore by just saying its a handwave that it's explained. It's, again, not. If you can buy that it does what it says (which isn't hard) how it says (which fits wih what the writers could know about computers) then its actually rather simple. Taking the explanation out of my explanation and adding blablabla in between big words is kind of rude.

It doesn't pin individuality and identity to any pseudoscientific elan vital like a bluebox; it throws both out the window by saying that who you are is dependent entirely on randomness that means you're effectively not the same person from moment to moment, no less than if you were copied and reinstantiated.

One, no it doesn't. It says who you are is unique, which is decidedly different from random.
Two, prove that that isn't true, and you'll have a basis. As is, being different moment to money is sort of an important concept for understanding the self anything static is a heuristic.

You then provide further handwaves.

Calling clearly spelled-out evidence that is counter to your argument a 'hand wave' is dinigenuous.

The game may not be brilliant and revolutionizing robotics, but if Ou actually take it at face value and don't need everything spelled out for you in minute detail with fine print, this bit isn't so bad. I promise. Just try looking at it without the cynical lens.

I'm honestly not clear on whether you and Anarion are standing up for the plausibility or verisimilitude of the setting lore as it's been presented, or trying to argue for something as actually true in reality. Here, though, you certainly seem to be saying that the lore is not handwaving the issues away, which suggests you think it's accurately reflecting reality.

As we don't have AI, I wouldn't say reflecting reality. Why would verisimilitude not reflect common knowledge on the subject? Are you saying that because the story is in a fictional universe, showing you a real-world example is pointless? That's odd.

Ah yes, a second, firmer presetation of evidence places your reasoning above question.

No, but it does make it harder to refute than "blablabla handwave".

-

Stillll no new classes. Kishock harpoon gun is... Nice. It's not a competitive weapon (as you have to charge it up, cloak just before release, and hope the lag doesn cost you the tac cloak damage boost if you're an infiltrator), but it's bleed damage is insane, and it's physics are deliciously wonky - shoot an assault trooper in the left kneecap, he will spin 45•, and the. Fly backwards. His backwards, not yours... So he will fly perpindicular to the projectile's flight path. That is so much fun~

Zevox, the Justicar bubble has two effects: anyone within the bubble has DR, with (I believe) no cool down. They become he best team mate on standard gold grinds. Additionally, enemies walking into the bubble get warped. Enemies pulled into the bubble get warped and then Detonated. And detonated again if you drop reave. The justicar has to make a painful choice between utter offense and passively useless defense - no justicar who focused on defense so far has been able to "pull their weight" point wise as they spend so much time on. Hubble maintainence.

[Zevox]

Zevox, the Justicar bubble has two effects: anyone within the bubble has DR, with (I believe) no cool down. They become he best team mate on standard gold grinds. Additionally, enemies walking into the bubble get warped. Enemies pulled into the bubble get warped and then Detonated. And detonated again if you drop reave. The justicar has to make a painful choice between utter offense and passively useless defense - no justicar who focused on defense so far has been able to "pull their weight" point wise as they spend so much time on. Hubble maintainence.

Hm, that actually sounds like a very nice power. Except for the little problem that nobody in this game seems to stay in the same area unless it's a king-of-the-hill objective. For any team with a Vanguard or melee-oriented Krogan in particular it would be quite a bit less useful.

On another note, I just played a quick game with my Asari Adept on bronze, and one of my teammates was a Batarian Soldier. Now, granted this guy was level 20 and playing on bronze, but he did extremely well, and in particular I saw him getting a lot of kills with something called Ballistic Blades. At the time I thought this was the melee-damage-reflecting effect of his armor, which confused me, but I see it's actually a new power. And I can see why it was getting him so many kills: it's crazy powerful. High damage, good recharge time, bleeding damage, and AoE. By pure numbers it seems to do the most damage on its own of any single power - specced for damage it will even outstrip Nova at its best. Just at a glance over the wiki entry it, it seems kinda crazy honestly.

Anyway, I have a bit of conundrum. I'm not sure which packs I should be going for now. I really want the Krogan Vanguard, and Premium Specter packs seem to be the best idea for that, since those are rare. On the flip side now that I have my Asari Adept I really want to start fishing for weapons for her (and other casters in the future) - Veteran packs would be the most cost-effective for fishing for the uncommon Locust and Tempest that I really want (though I see the new Geth SMG is a rare, so there's that to consider as well, even though I don't yet know if I'll like it), while the Recruit Packs would be best for quickly improving my Avenger and basic mods. And I'm just not sure which goal to shoot for first.

Zevox

[Arbitrarity]

I'd just go straight for Premium Spectres, but that's because my preferred weapon on Adepts is Carnifex.

[BRC]

I have had terrible luck with the Premium Spectre packs. I've bought several, but every time I get some equipment and Unlocks for stuff I already have.
I'm trying to learn to be a Sniper, but it's hard to feel like I'm contributing with my Mantis when it seems like everybody and their grandmother has a Widow.

[Morty]

Less power heavy classes benefit from having more guns, such as soldiers or a certain brand of sentinel or a tricksy infiltrator.

Well, I used a Mantis with a Geth Pulse Rifle and ended up at the bottom of the list as a Human Soldier. I was much better with just a scoped Mattock. Then again, other players were very good, so maybe they were just stealing kills from me.

[Joran]

I'd just go straight for Premium Spectres, but that's because my preferred weapon on Adepts is Carnifex.

Yup. I'm here too. I love the Carnifex on my Adept. Keeps the cooldowns low and I can pop out of cover for some sniper shots with the scope I slapped on it without exposing my really frail butt to enemy fire.

Before I knew the Carnifex, I loved the Paladin, which is a heavier, beefier version of the Carnifex. Sadly, the increase in damage is negated by the subsequent increase in my cooldowns :(

[Drakefall]

Does anybody else routinely get disconnected with less than a minute left on the extraction countdown, or is my internet just a sadist?

So many due credits lost... I'm never going to be able to afford enough spectre packs to find a Batarian or Krogan at this rate.

[Joran]

Does anybody else routinely get disconnected with less than a minute left on the extraction countdown, or is my internet just a sadist?

So many due credits lost... I'm never going to be able to afford enough spectre packs to find a Batarian or Krogan at this rate.

It's happened once to me, which pissed me off. But no, apparently your computer hates you.

[Wraith]

I have experienced a similar thing, usually occurring between Waves 5 and 8. The game just kicks me, accusing me of "failing to connect with the EA servers", even though my internet connection is fine and the game immediately opens the EA Server bit when it returns to the main screen.

Hopefully the recent patch will fix that. And also the annoying glitch where we reach the end of the round, and even though enemies stopp spawning the Wave refuses to end. I was running around for 10 minutes today, wondering if something had hidden in a corner or fell under the map again, but nope - apparently we killed every Cerberus Trooper, ever, by the end of Wave 3.

[EDIT] Okay, we say that,; now it appears that Resurgeance has killed my game entirely. Any attempt to connect to the EA servers just crashes my XBox stone-dead.
Going to uninstall and re-download it, but c'mon guys.... I just want to play my game and throw money at you. Why are you making this so hard?

[Zevox]

Yup. I'm here too. I love the Carnifex on my Adept. Keeps the cooldowns low and I can pop out of cover for some sniper shots with the scope I slapped on it without exposing my really frail butt to enemy fire.

See, I'm not the sharpshooter type. I won't use a scope on anything but a sniper rifle, and I don't play the classes that use sniper rifles much (at all in multiplayer so far). I want something to simply spray in my enemies' general direction in between power shots. The Tempest seems perfect to me, but the Locust or Avenger will do too. Maybe the new Geth Plasma SMG, or another rapid-fire Assault Rifle (Phaeston perhaps) at a high enough rank to get 200% cooldown or close to it.

Does anybody else routinely get disconnected with less than a minute left on the extraction countdown, or is my internet just a sadist?

Happened to me once last weekend in wave 10 of a match, but that's it.

Zevox

[GloatingSwine]

I give it a week before you can't move for Geth Infiltrators in multi.

So Much Cheese.

[Zevox]

I give it a week before you can't move for Geth Infiltrators in multi.

So Much Cheese.

Er, what?
(I seriously have no idea what that statement means in any sense.)

Zevox

[Cristo Meyers]

Anyone else finding it next to impossible to actually buy packs? We're sitting on maybe 1 out of the last 3 or 4 that actually worked properly...

[GloatingSwine]

Er, what?
(I seriously have no idea what that statement means in any sense.)

Zevox

Geth have a power called Hunter Mode which gives them a significant damage boost and lets them see through walls, smoke, and see cloaked enemies at a cost of half their shields.

Combine that with a Widow, Black Widow, or Javelin with a piercing mod on top and you can basically annihilate half the map, effortlessly headshotting enemies through walls, floors, and around corners.

Until they inevitably nerf it, expect to see nothing else ever, because they are ridiculous.

[Opperhapsen]

Er, what?
(I seriously have no idea what that statement means in any sense.)

Zevox

He said that he believes within a week everyone will be playing geth infiltrators in multiplayer.

Cheese is a word describing tricks that are quite powerful. It's often used about abilities with some kind of effect rather than pure damage etc.
Saying "So much cheese" means he believes the geth have one or more really awesome abilities.

[Erik Vale]

I just finished the game and I think I have an unusual complaint that isn't at all spoilery.

Spoiler

Show

"Hey! Directions Next Time!"
Ended up with Destroy but that was the one option I definately didn't want.
And I couldn't turn around.

Though I must say, the final battle that was an actual batle, I had to turn down the dificulty.

[Mr._Blinky]

Geth have a power called Hunter Mode which gives them a significant damage boost and lets them see through walls, smoke, and see cloaked enemies at a cost of half their shields.

Combine that with a Widow, Black Widow, or Javelin with a piercing mod on top and you can basically annihilate half the map, effortlessly headshotting enemies through walls, floors, and around corners.

Until they inevitably nerf it, expect to see nothing else ever, because they are ridiculous.

Indeed, I tried out Hunter Mode on the Engineer and found it to be ridiculously good with my Widow, and I only have a Widow III and suck at sniping.

[Zevox]

Geth have a power called Hunter Mode which gives them a significant damage boost and lets them see through walls, smoke, and see cloaked enemies at a cost of half their shields.

Combine that with a Widow, Black Widow, or Javelin with a piercing mod on top and you can basically annihilate half the map, effortlessly headshotting enemies through walls, floors, and around corners.

Until they inevitably nerf it, expect to see nothing else ever, because they are ridiculous.

He said that he believes within a week everyone will be playing geth infiltrators in multiplayer.

I kind of doubt that last. Even if the piercing mod lets you actually shoot through full walls, you lose a lot of damage doing so, and you won't be able to do more than whittle down waves with just sniping tactics like that outside of bronze. Plus of course there are those of us who just don't play Infiltrators.

Not to mention that "costs half shields" thing is kind of a problem once those enemies get within sight of you.

Zevox

[Luzahn]

Bah, anybody who uses any weapon other than a Geth Plasma Shotgun with Hunter mode is doing it wrong.

[GloatingSwine]

I kind of doubt that last. Even if the piercing mod lets you actually shoot through full walls, you lose a lot of damage doing so, and you won't be able to do more than whittle down waves with just sniping tactics like that outside of bronze. Plus of course there are those of us who just don't play Infiltrators.

You might think you lose a lot of damage, but you really don't. When you're taking an inherently high damage weapon like the Black Widow, then boosting its damage by around 200% by stacking Extended Barrel, Tactical Cloak, Hunter Mode, and Networked AI dropping that down to 150% by shooting through a wall (or even 170% if you have a piercing mod 5) really makes short work of anything.

It might not be quite so devastating on Gold, where enemies have bleedthrough protection, but it's total devastation on Silver or Bronze.

[Zevox]

Well, just had a bronze match with a high-level Geth Engineer. He took the MVP spot, and it's easy to see why. The Geth Turret with the flamethrower upgrade eats bronze units for breakfast. He would often toss it right next to a group of enemies I had just dropped a Stasis Bubble on, and they'd be dead before I could toss a warp or throw onto them.

Speaking of, my Asari Adept is up to level 14 (I think, might be 13) now. I've got maxed Stasis, rank 4 Warp and Throw, 3 class talent, 2 Fitness. I'm not entirely sure I did this right by going for Stasis first - it really was only useful against Phantoms before I got Bubble, and even now I find I can't do as much with it as I wanted to since it has the longest cooldown of any of my powers. Meanwhile my biotic explosions still look quite lacking compared to what my Sentinel-Adept was doing with quickly-maxed Warp/Throw and rank 5 class talent. Fortunately another level should get me Detonate on Throw, helping close that gap, but I am thinking I should've left Stasis at rank 2 or 3 until I had the offensive powers powered up at least to the point of having Detonate on both. Still doing well even so, but I know I could be doing better.

Oh, and I can confirm that the new weapons weren't added to single-player, in case nobody else checked that yet. Loaded up a post-game save, checked the shops, and they're not there. Which is a real pity. I hope they do that in the future, especially if they intend to keep releasing new weapons even just once or twice more.

Zevox

[SiuiS]

Hm, that actually sounds like a very nice power. Except for the little problem that nobody in this game seems to stay in the same area unless it's a king-of-the-hill objective. For any team with a Vanguard or melee-oriented Krogan in particular it would be quite a bit less useful.

From experience, offensive use requires running forward between waves and setting up the bubble in an important crossroads. Vanguards could actually benefit, as any enemy that shoots hem once they are in he bubble does less damage.

Anyway, I have a bit of conundrum. I'm not sure which packs I should be going for now. I really want the Krogan Vanguard, and Premium Specter packs seem to be the best idea for that, since those are rare. On the flip side now that I have my Asari Adept I really want to start fishing for weapons for her (and other casters in the future) - Veteran packs would be the most cost-effective for fishing for the uncommon Locust and Tempest that I really want (though I see the new Geth SMG is a rare, so there's that to consider as well, even though I don't yet know if I'll like it), while the Recruit Packs would be best for quickly improving my Avenger and basic mods. And I'm just not sure which goal to shoot for first.

Zevox

I'd say max out with veteran packs. You have a chance to get the good stuff (rares) and will always get something solid. This extends the fu--

Hm. It extends the fun of getting something more exciting later on, but you don't one that exciting. So premium packs, as I've got Geth SMG 3, striker 4, kishock 2 and javelin 1 (these things are lousy with weapons; where is my KROGAN?!), and the Geth SMG 3 beats out my tempest 8 and locust 7.

Also, ultralight materials has been fixed, and directly reduces the cool own time on powers. It did not yesterday, so I can onl assume this is recent.

I have had terrible luck with the Premium Spectre packs. I've bought several, but every time I get some equipment and Unlocks for stuff I already have.
I'm trying to learn to be a Sniper, but it's hard to feel like I'm contributing with my Mantis when it seems like everybody and their grandmother has a Widow.

Gambling is hard.
I bought 3 specters. Geth SMG x2, striker. Buy six premiums. Carnifex and revenent and even a javelin. Buy a spectr again? Another striker.

I'm sticking to premiums at this point as they are more cost effective (2 packs giving you 4 rares with a decent chance at N7, compared to the three rares you would otherwise get), but it's frustrating. Especially since everyone else I was playing with just unlocked new stuff - one guy even pulled. Krogan vanguard. Felt he had to apologize (for certain values of apology).

I have experienced a similar thing, usually occurring between Waves 5 and 8. The game just kicks me, accusing me of "failing to connect with the EA servers", even though my internet connection is fine and the game immediately opens the EA Server bit when it returns to the main screen.

Hopefully the recent patch will fix that. And also the annoying glitch where we reach the end of the round, and even though enemies stopp spawning the Wave refuses to end. I was running around for 10 minutes today, wondering if something had hidden in a corner or fell under the map again, but nope - apparently we killed every Cerberus Trooper, ever, by the end of Wave 3.

[EDIT] Okay, we say that,; now it appears that Resurgeance has killed my game entirely. Any attempt to connect to the EA servers just crashes my XBox stone-dead.*
Going to uninstall and re-download it, but c'mon guys.... I just want to play my game and throw money at you. Why are you making this so hard?

I did not have these issues until 4 this morning, when I was kicked out of a game and forced to download a patch (which I presume to be the face but fix... I'll test that now). It took me a while to connect; I had to let my disk idle on the 'PRESS START' screen for a full twenty five minutes before going into the fame. Anything else froze the system.

A friend had he same problem, and got on as well after a twenty minute wait. Sadly he disconnected around wave 4...

I kind of doubt that last. Even if the piercing mod lets you actually shoot through full walls, you lose a lot of damage doing so, and you won't be able to do more than whittle down waves with just sniping tactics like that outside of bronze. Plus of course there are those of us who just don't play Infiltrators.

Not to mention that "costs half shields" thing is kind of a problem once those enemies get within sight of you.

Zevox

This. We have had success with hunter mode only when doing base camps on gold. Havin a turret that replenishes shields and a 40% DR biotic bubble is also nice, so our test group is biased.

Fun fact: apparently, Hunters will occasionally just stop moving and stare at you, through walls. The robots are voyeurs

[horngeek]

...okay, just asking, but do you have to do anything before you start getting stuff from the Resurgence Pack?

I've purchased a few Spectre Packs, and I haven't gotten anything.

[Zevox]

Also, ultralight materials has been fixed, and directly reduces the cool own time on powers. It did not yesterday, so I can onl assume this is recent.

Excellent. Now I just need to get ahold of that mod and a Locust, Tempest, or Geth Plasma SMG, and I'll be good to go with any casting class.

...okay, just asking, but do you have to do anything before you start getting stuff from the Resurgence Pack?

I've purchased a few Spectre Packs, and I haven't gotten anything.

Not as far as I know. Most likely that's mere luck of the draw - it's not like there were only a tiny number of rares around before the new stuff got added. You can blame the damn booster system.

Zevox

[chiasaur11]

...okay, just asking, but do you have to do anything before you start getting stuff from the Resurgence Pack?

I've purchased a few Spectre Packs, and I haven't gotten anything.

Did you download the free DLC from the Xbox or origin store? Need to do that first.

[Corvus]

Took me 3 Spectre packs (bought before premium packs were put back in) and then 5 premium packs of junk but i finally got the Krogan Battlemaster. Sadly I bought it just as I had to log off so havent tried it yet.

[Landis963]

So I got my second character unlock in a PS pack: Salarian Engineer. Yay. I was hoping for something sexy like that Krogan vanguard or the Justicar adept.

[Zevox]

On the Krogan Battlemaster: for those who have played classes that use it before, what's the general wisdom on how to spec Carnage? My first inclination looking at it on the wiki is to go damage/recharge/damage, but I could see incapacitate instead of recharge being a good one, especially if it causes big enemies like Atlases, Primes, and Banshees to stagger. Area instead of damage less so, given the radius is pretty small and only increases by 30% with that one, but maybe I'm underestimating it. The last one though I kind of don't see any real ambiguity to - either a 50% damage boost vs everything, or a 65% damage boost vs just armor. I don't think the extra 15% vs armor is worth losing the 50% vs everything else.

Also, I forgot to comment about this before: playing my Asari Adept, I absolutely love their dodge. It's like a friggin' teleport it's so fast. I'm slightly annoyed that it takes a little of my barrier every time I use it, but I can still use it when my barrier is down, and it's not taking a big chunk when it's up, so I guess that's not a huge deal to me. Their heavy melee though... eh. It's kinda nice, but the area it affects seems a bit small to me, and the recovery animation is rather long, and near as I've been able to determine impossible to cancel. I haven't used it much - I think the biggest use I got out of it was to wipe out some swarmers after killing a Ravager.

Zevox

[Xondoure]

Armor spec, armor spec, armor spec.

You won't need to use carnage on anything other than armored units, so don't even worry about the loss elsewhere.