Mass Effect 3.6: Are you engaging in reproductive behavior with this thread?

[Edge]

Shredder? Every faction has a troublesome armored foe, so it would help. You can also tear through Guardian shields/light cover without needing to switch weapons or slip behind.

Shredder doesn't function properly on the GPS. It doesn't let it pierce shield or cover reliably, and the GPS already ignores the damage protection of armour. Which makes it kinda pointless.

The best mods for the GPS are, in my opinion, the extended barrel and the bayonet or extra ammo. But then, I usually only use it on a geth infiltrator or a krogan.

[Krade]

Shredder? Every faction has a troublesome armored foe, so it would help. You can also tear through Guardian shields/light cover without needing to switch weapons or slip behind.

The GPS already ignores damage reduction from armor. So if you're not using the bayonet, the only things that will actually improve the performance of the gun is the Barrel and spare ammo boost.

Edit: Aaand ninja'd again. I'm getting good at this.

[Psyren]

Ahh, didn't know that. I never use my GPS (It's only at I or II, IIRC.)

[SiuiS]

I am so taking this out of context.

I'd be diss appointed if you didn't.

Ahh, didn't know that. I never use my GPS (It's only at I or II, IIRC.)

aye, unlocked the geth hunter, and noticed my GPS is at a solid X. Which is great! It's actually a fantastic guerilla weapon as low as rank II, if you're wiling to invest an expendable amp on it. Actually, I might throw it on a shadow and see how it fares there.

For future reference;
The geth plasma shotgun and graal spike thrower both are unaffected by the shotgun shredder mod. They both ignore armor DR already. I believe they also ignore the shield gate mechanism.

The geth plasma shotgun, unlike every other charge up weapon, deals less damage than indicated when not charged up (every other gun does more damage when charged). So when comparing it to other guns in it's class, it's hip fire damage is 45% of what's shown.

Javelin, widow, black widow, crusader, and possibly the paladin all go through objects naturally. A javelin shot through a wall deals full damage; adding an AP mod to any of these reduces the damage they inflict because it over writes this ful damage with the mods "at 50% damage" or whatever.

Supposedly the ultra light materials mod for the SMG class does not work. It will change the listed time, and the percent shown, but has no affect. As I haven't actually checked with a stopwatch yet, this is third-hand info however.

-

Got the shadow. Fun fun fun. Really should have put my point into
Duration rather than damage at rank 4 though; half the time my free power during cloak is a waste.

Currently using shadow strike with shield recharge, DoT, and speed boost when decloaking, and electric slash with radius, tech burst +100%, and distance. The output is considerably less than a straight damage shadow (and I'm going to respec for shadow strike, passive and sword mastery before they patch the "both a power and melee attack" thing), but it makes up for it with bursts. When well timed, I can cloak/shadow/dodge back/electric and clear crowds faster than a full power electric slash spammed could. At 6/6/6/5/3 I'm running under capacity though.

So far favorite tactic is to use electric slash like shockwave, and hold the LZ by launching it forever through walls. Combine with a tech DoT-smash Phoenix, and suddenly all the explosions. If I can get it light enough I'll try the arc pistol on it. Melee stunner and either ammo or ULM.

[Edge]

The geth plasma shotgun and graal spike thrower both are unaffected by the shotgun shredder mod. They both ignore armor DR already. I believe they also ignore the shield gate mechanism.

All shotguns basically ignore the shield gate, since its calculated individually for each pellet in the shot. So, the first few can strip the target's shields, possibly with some damage carried over, and then the rest do their full damage to their health.

[CreganTur]

Noticed something interesting last night.

Played with my Destroyer who has all of the weapon damage options and loaded him with the GPS and found that he was doing less damage than my Geth Infiltrator. That just surprised me, but having 7 shots per mag was kind of cool.

[Psyren]

All shotguns basically ignore the shield gate, since its calculated individually for each pellet in the shot. So, the first few can strip the target's shields, possibly with some damage carried over, and then the rest do their full damage to their health.

Almost all. The N7 Crusader fires exactly one slug, therefore it is subject to shield-gate.

You're correct otherwise.

[Edge]

Almost all. The N7 Crusader fires exactly one slug, therefore it is subject to shield-gate.

You're correct otherwise.

Good catch. I always forget about the Crusader.

Worth noting that it has innate armour and cover piercing instead.

[Dhavaer]

Supposedly the ultra light materials mod for the SMG class does not work. It will change the listed time, and the percent shown, but has no affect. As I haven't actually checked with a stopwatch yet, this is third-hand info however.

More specifically it will only work if used on the GPSMG, or if you are simultaneously using a pistol with ULM.

[SiuiS]

All shotguns basically ignore the shield gate, since its calculated individually for each pellet in the shot. So, the first few can strip the target's shields, possibly with some damage carried over, and then the rest do their full damage to their health.

Yes, but some weapons specifically ignore it as well. At least one of those shotguns just said to hel with it, rather than having only one pellet (which is a circumvention rather than outright ignorance, if you don't mind me quibbling )

, or if you are simultaneously using a pistol with ULM.

Wait, what?

So if I add a ULM pistol I makes both of them work as UL?!


Oh, and if any have an inkling to try it, the hornet with a recoil stabilizer is ace. I'm also in love with the AP mod for SMGs. It's crazy fun. Did I mention the 90% damage increase against armor. Logically 90% of an SmG isn't as good as whatever the percentage is of a good AR. Heck, I think the majority are weaker than the eagle! Still fun though.

[Edge]

Wait, what?

So if I add a ULM pistol I makes both of them work as UL?!

Yep. I can confirm this from personal experience.

[Beowulf DW]

I am having way too much fun with my Destroyer. I can finally try out all the guns that I never really wanted to before. Incidentally, Harpoon Gun + Spike Thrower is only fun for the first game. After that, my finger gets tired. I'm planning on trying out the Incisor+Spike thrower tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Also, I saw another Destroyer using an Acolyte of all things against Cerberus on Dagger. It actually saved the day when we got swarmed by phantoms. He actually used that pistol more that his Typhoon. Which reminds me that I still haven't gotten a Typhoon, or a Piranha, or a Harrier, or a Black Widow...Though I'm fairly certain that I've gotten every shotgun.

[Krade]

I am having way too much fun with my Destroyer. I can finally try out all the guns that I never really wanted to before. Incidentally, Harpoon Gun + Spike Thrower is only fun for the first game. After that, my finger gets tired. I'm planning on trying out the Incisor+Spike thrower tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Also, I saw another Destroyer using an Acolyte of all things against Cerberus on Dagger. It actually saved the day when we got swarmed by phantoms. He actually used that pistol more that his Typhoon. Which reminds me that I still haven't gotten a Typhoon, or a Piranha, or a Harrier, or a Black Widow...Though I'm fairly certain that I've gotten every shotgun.

Since the more recent nerf, I actually prefer the Revenant to the Typhoon on the Destroyer. Haven't tried out the Acolyte. I'll have to give that a shot.

[SiuiS]

I am having way too much fun with my Destroyer. I can finally try out all the guns that I never really wanted to before. Incidentally, Harpoon Gun + Spike Thrower is only fun for the first game. After that, my finger gets tired. I'm planning on trying out the Incisor+Spike thrower tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Also, I saw another Destroyer using an Acolyte of all things against Cerberus on Dagger. It actually saved the day when we got swarmed by phantoms. He actually used that pistol more that his Typhoon. Which reminds me that I still haven't gotten a Typhoon, or a Piranha, or a Harrier, or a Black Widow...Though I'm fairly certain that I've gotten every shotgun.

Two charge up guns? Goodness no. The other gun is so I don't have to pull that trigger all the time.

Acolyte is remarkably handy considering. Aiming requires some effort at first bit but it's get decent radius, surprising damage and utterly evaporates barriers of all kinds. Except atlases now, I could have sworn it did more damage prior, but suddenly it doesn't...

Actually, that's the second story of a gun that does less damage on the destroyer. Both are charged guns... Science must be done, I suppose.



In the mean time I promoted my infiltrator and took out a shadow for funsies. Except I got so gung-ho about the build I wanted to try I forgot that I didn't have any points in Tac cloak. So now I've got 1 shadow strike and 1 shadow training. I'm such a doofus sometimes >_<

[RagingKrikkit]

WARNING: This post is one giant spoiler.

Spoiler

Show

So, now that I've beaten Mass Effect 3, I find myself in a position very far from where I thought I would be at this point. I was expecting to share comments about weapon combos and boss fights. Instead, I find myself thinking back to ME1, and my original creation of my female Shepard. I had already beaten the game once, but the character had been almost a unilateral paragon. So I booted up the game again, and made a female earthborn war hero with blood-red hair. I have stated before that I got very into the RP aspect of the game, and even here I was playing around with ideas. I envisioned her as a chaotic good type, her time running with gangs having taught her that sometimes, or rather most of the time, you have to apply some pressure to get what you want. Yet at the same time, she had left the gangs and joined the Alliance trying to get away from their brutality, and she left with her moral compass more-or-less intact. The hair, I decided, was a reminder from the Blitz, where by the time reinforcements arrived, her hair was so matted with blood that one of the soldiers said "You would look really great in that color if it wasn't so disturbing." I then played through the game, usually taking renegade options, except on the big moral decisions, Wrex, the rachni Queen. In the end, she ended up taking the neutral decision for the council, sacrificing them, but not leaving them to die. She ended the game paragon by less than 48 points, enough to be reversed by shooting Wrex, killing all the colonists, or melting the queen.

I got ME2 a week or so later, and ran through it with my male Shepard first again, and followed it up with my earthborn godess of war. I don't know if it was a mistake in the Cerberus programming or a growth in general resentment of the galaxy, but I got the feeling that she was becomming more sadistic as time went on, taking many renegade acctions that bordered on evil over the course of the game, and ending renegade by less than twenty points. It was during this game that I realized another thing about her. Growing up an orphan on earth left her with a high value placed upon family, and accordingly, she pushed to keep any families in turmoil she saw together, even talking Miranda into talking to Oriana, something my male Shepard did not. It was also in this game that she romanced Garrus, personally my favorite NPC, rivaled only by Joker. I had never quite felt the connection between Shepard and Alenko, and had no real qualms about leaving him.

Then came ME3. I loaded up the female file once the male got to mars, intending to run them in paralell. Instead she, being my favorite, ended up getting far ahead. I noticed her attitude drop slightly, returning more to the feel of her in ME1, rekindling her relationship with Garrus, peacefully ending things with Kadain, and generally saving the galaxy. Then came Thessia. From the moment Kai Leng disappeared as Reapers landed all around me, Shepard and I molded into one mind, one personality alternating between depression and rage, and knowing that we were damn well going to make every one of those bastards pay. We fought our way to Horizion, the Cerberus base, and even back to earth, where Shepard had one last conversation with Garrus. Garrus suggested that they retire to a beach and live off royalties from the vids, and maybe even see what a human/turian baby looks like. Shepard suggested adoption, in case biology disagreed, and Garrus stated that there were going to be a lot of baby Krogan running around soon. This played right into the character I had created in my mind. Finally, she had a chance to have a family, something that had always been beyond her grasp. Even their contingency plan, meet at the bar in heaven, was perfectly fitting for the two of them. We launched our assault, hopes high, right in time for Hammer to get crushed. Shepard picked her battered self off the ground and fought her way to the conduit, and onto the Citadel.

AND THEN SHE F**KING DIED. She shot the Illusive Man, opened the citadel, and the day was won. The Alliance was going to pick her up, fix her wounds, and she was going to raise her family with Garrus. Then Hacket gave her the news, the Crucible wasn’t working. She fumbled her way to the control panel, but collapsed at the feet of it. One thought ran through my mind. “I failed…” Then the platform raised, and Shepard came face-to-face with yet another apparition of the child that had haunted her through the war. Then the choice was presented: Certain death, but get rid of the Reapers, or to get rid of the Reapers, but also the geth and EDI.

I made the wrong choice. I should know, because after I stopped crying, I loaded up the file, and tried the other. Either way, Shepard was dead, the relays destroyed, and Garrus stranded on a planet for the rest of his life. I feel devastated on three levels. Firstly, I feel devastated as Shepard, having lost the hope of a family, Garrus loosing his love, and crippling the galactic community, possibly destroying it. On the level of being in control of Shepard, I feel like how Shepard responded when asked by Kadain how she dealt with the losses on Elysium, “It was my job to get everyone out alive. I failed.” Then there is the meta level, in that I invested so much money, time, creativity, and emotion into this character, only to have her killed by an outrageous situation forced upon her. Then this spawned the rage, who is the bosh’tet who wrote that ending?! How did Garrus (who was part of the ground team) get on the Normandy? Why was the Normandy at FTL? I don’t think I will be finishing my other game. Instead, I have recreated her in Skyrim, in the hopes that she can have a happy life of dragon-slaying.

[Fawkes]

Since it's a spoiler, you should probably put it in spoiler tags.

[spoiler]example[/spoiler]

[Joran]

Spoiler

Show

WARNING: This post is one giant spoiler.

So, now that I've beaten Mass Effect 3, I find myself in a position very far from where I thought I would be at this point. I was expecting to share comments about weapon combos and boss fights. Instead, I find myself thinking back to ME1, and my original creation of my female Shepard. I had already beaten the game once, but the character had been almost a unilateral paragon. So I booted up the game again, and made a female earthborn war hero with blood-red hair. I have stated before that I got very into the RP aspect of the game, and even here I was playing around with ideas. I envisioned her as a chaotic good type, her time running with gangs having taught her that sometimes, or rather most of the time, you have to apply some pressure to get what you want. Yet at the same time, she had left the gangs and joined the Alliance trying to get away from their brutality, and she left with her moral compass more-or-less intact. The hair, I decided, was a reminder from the Blitz, where by the time reinforcements arrived, her hair was so matted with blood that one of the soldiers said "You would look really great in that color if it wasn't so disturbing." I then played through the game, usually taking renegade options, except on the big moral decisions, Wrex, the rachni Queen. In the end, she ended up taking the neutral decision for the council, sacrificing them, but not leaving them to die. She ended the game paragon by less than 48 points, enough to be reversed by shooting Wrex, killing all the colonists, or melting the queen.

I got ME2 a week or so later, and ran through it with my male Shepard first again, and followed it up with my earthborn godess of war. I don't know if it was a mistake in the Cerberus programming or a growth in general resentment of the galaxy, but I got the feeling that she was becomming more sadistic as time went on, taking many renegade options over the course of the game, and ending renegade by less than twenty points. It was during this game that I realized another thing about her. Growing up an orphan on earth left her with a high value placed upon it. Accordingly, she pushed to keep any families in turmoil she saw together, even talking Miranda into talking to Oriana, something my male Shepard did not. It was also in this game that she romanced Garrus, personally my favorite NPC, rivaled only by Joker. I had never quite felt the connection between Shepard and Alenko, and had no real qualms about leaving him.

Then came ME3. I loaded up the female file once the male got to mars, intending to run them in paralell. Instead she, being my favorite, ended up getting far ahead. I noticed her attitude drop slightly, returning more to the feel of her in ME1, rekindling her relationship with Garrus, peacefully ending things with Kadain, and generally saving the galaxy. Then came Thessia. From the moment Kai Leng disappeared as Reapers landed all around me, Shepard and I molded into one mind, one personality alternating between depression and rage, and knowing that we were damn well going to make every one of those bastards pay. We fought our way to Horizion, the Cerberus base, and even back to earth, where Shepard had one last conversation with Garrus. Garrus suggested that they retire to a beach and live off royalties from the vids, and maybe even see what a human/turian baby looks like. Shepard suggested adoption, in case biology disagreed, and Garrus stated that there were going to be a lot of baby Krogan running around soon. This played right into the character I had created in my mind. Finally, she had a chance to have a family, like she had always wanted. Even their contingency plan, meet at the bar in heaven, was fitting for the two of them. We launched our assault, hopes high, right in time for Hammer to get crushed. Shepard picked her battered self off the ground and fought her way to the conduit, and onto the Citadel.

AND THEN SHE F**KING DIED. She shot the Illusive Man, opened the citadel, and the day was won. The Alliance was going to pick her up, fix her wounds, and she was going to raise the family she had dreamed of with Garrus. Then Hacket gave her the news, the Crucible wasn’t working. She fumbled her way to the control panel, but collapsed at the feet of it. One thought ran through my mind. “I failed…” Then the platform raised, and Shepard came face-to-face with yet another apparition of the child that had haunted her through the war. Then the choice was presented: Certain death, but get rid of the Reapers, or to get rid of the Reapers, but also the geth and EDI.

I made the wrong choice. I should know, because after I stopped crying, I loaded up the file, and tried the other. Either way, Shepard was dead, the relays destroyed, and Garrus stranded on a planet for the rest of his life. I feel devastated on three levels. Firstly, I feel devastated as Shepard, having lost the hope of a family, Garrus loosing his love, and crippling the galactic community, possibly destroying it. On the level of being in control of Shepard, I feel like how Shepard responded when asked by Kadain how she dealt with the losses on Elysium, “It was my job to get everyone out alive. I failed.” Then there is the meta level, in that I invested so much money, time, creativity, and emotion into this character, only to have her killed by an outrageous situation forced upon her. Then this spawned the rage, who is the bosh’tet who wrote that ending?! How did Garrus (who was part of the ground team) get on the Normandy? Why was the Normandy at FTL? I don’t think I will be finishing my other game. Instead, I have recreated her in Skyrim, in the hopes that she can have a happy life of dragon-slaying.

The Extended Cut DLC does a decent job of explaining your questions, didn't know you didn't download it. The endings are pretty much the same, with a little more background and a talking montage about the state of the galaxy afterwards. The plot holes you talk about are somewhat patched.

There is a Mass Effect story thread if you want to vent.

[Sholos]

So, how are people building Destroyers, specifically the destroyer mode tree?

[Dhavaer]

So, how are people building Destroyers, specifically the destroyer mode tree?

My first was, I think, damage/fire rate/shields. My new one is damage/fire rate/damage, but I haven't used him much yet so I don't know how different it plays. Also I may be misremembering the options on level 4.

In other news, I have no more Vanguards to get. I just unlocked my final Slayer appearance option after an awesome Platinum game. Turns out Hurricane with stability and HV barrel is pretty awesome, although seriously lacking in ammo. Still no Harrier either.

[SiuiS]

WARNING: This post is one giant spoiler.

Spoiler

Show

So, now that I've beaten Mass Effect 3, I find myself in a position very far from where I thought I would be at this point. I was expecting to share comments about weapon combos and boss fights. Instead, I find myself thinking back to ME1, and my original creation of my female Shepard. I had already beaten the game once, but the character had been almost a unilateral paragon. So I booted up the game again, and made a female earthborn war hero with blood-red hair. I have stated before that I got very into the RP aspect of the game, and even here I was playing around with ideas. I envisioned her as a chaotic good type, her time running with gangs having taught her that sometimes, or rather most of the time, you have to apply some pressure to get what you want. Yet at the same time, she had left the gangs and joined the Alliance trying to get away from their brutality, and she left with her moral compass more-or-less intact. The hair, I decided, was a reminder from the Blitz, where by the time reinforcements arrived, her hair was so matted with blood that one of the soldiers said "You would look really great in that color if it wasn't so disturbing." I then played through the game, usually taking renegade options, except on the big moral decisions, Wrex, the rachni Queen. In the end, she ended up taking the neutral decision for the council, sacrificing them, but not leaving them to die. She ended the game paragon by less than 48 points, enough to be reversed by shooting Wrex, killing all the colonists, or melting the queen.

I got ME2 a week or so later, and ran through it with my male Shepard first again, and followed it up with my earthborn godess of war. I don't know if it was a mistake in the Cerberus programming or a growth in general resentment of the galaxy, but I got the feeling that she was becomming more sadistic as time went on, taking many renegade options over the course of the game, and ending renegade by less than twenty points. It was during this game that I realized another thing about her. Growing up an orphan on earth left her with a high value placed upon it. Accordingly, she pushed to keep any families in turmoil she saw together, even talking Miranda into talking to Oriana, something my male Shepard did not. It was also in this game that she romanced Garrus, personally my favorite NPC, rivaled only by Joker. I had never quite felt the connection between Shepard and Alenko, and had no real qualms about leaving him.

Then came ME3. I loaded up the female file once the male got to mars, intending to run them in paralell. Instead she, being my favorite, ended up getting far ahead. I noticed her attitude drop slightly, returning more to the feel of her in ME1, rekindling her relationship with Garrus, peacefully ending things with Kadain, and generally saving the galaxy. Then came Thessia. From the moment Kai Leng disappeared as Reapers landed all around me, Shepard and I molded into one mind, one personality alternating between depression and rage, and knowing that we were damn well going to make every one of those bastards pay. We fought our way to Horizion, the Cerberus base, and even back to earth, where Shepard had one last conversation with Garrus. Garrus suggested that they retire to a beach and live off royalties from the vids, and maybe even see what a human/turian baby looks like. Shepard suggested adoption, in case biology disagreed, and Garrus stated that there were going to be a lot of baby Krogan running around soon. This played right into the character I had created in my mind. Finally, she had a chance to have a family, like she had always wanted. Even their contingency plan, meet at the bar in heaven, was fitting for the two of them. We launched our assault, hopes high, right in time for Hammer to get crushed. Shepard picked her battered self off the ground and fought her way to the conduit, and onto the Citadel.

AND THEN SHE F**KING DIED. She shot the Illusive Man, opened the citadel, and the day was won. The Alliance was going to pick her up, fix her wounds, and she was going to raise the family she had dreamed of with Garrus. Then Hacket gave her the news, the Crucible wasn’t working. She fumbled her way to the control panel, but collapsed at the feet of it. One thought ran through my mind. “I failed…” Then the platform raised, and Shepard came face-to-face with yet another apparition of the child that had haunted her through the war. Then the choice was presented: Certain death, but get rid of the Reapers, or to get rid of the Reapers, but also the geth and EDI.

I made the wrong choice. I should know, because after I stopped crying, I loaded up the file, and tried the other. Either way, Shepard was dead, the relays destroyed, and Garrus stranded on a planet for the rest of his life. I feel devastated on three levels. Firstly, I feel devastated as Shepard, having lost the hope of a family, Garrus loosing his love, and crippling the galactic community, possibly destroying it. On the level of being in control of Shepard, I feel like how Shepard responded when asked by Kadain how she dealt with the losses on Elysium, “It was my job to get everyone out alive. I failed.” Then there is the meta level, in that I invested so much money, time, creativity, and emotion into this character, only to have her killed by an outrageous situation forced upon her. Then this spawned the rage, who is the bosh’tet who wrote that ending?! How did Garrus (who was part of the ground team) get on the Normandy? Why was the Normandy at FTL?

I don’t think I will be finishing my other game. Instead, I have recreated her in Skyrim, in the hopes that she can have a happy life of dragon-slaying.

... That
Was AWESOME.

Maybe I've never stopped to go through the whole thing in my head. Maybe it was the time gap, or the fact that my Shepard plays like me; doing what he does, internally consistent but just doing because te choice is obvious. Either way, I am now happier with the games having read your story than I have been to date.
Thank you.

I encourage you to try it one more time. Download the extende cut, start a new-game +, an maybe even do some multiplayer to boost your war assets. And then try it again. From what I hear, and what you described, it will make things better. A little bit.

Since it's a spoiler, you should probably put it in spoiler tags.

[spoiler]example[/spoiler]

Oh Sisters Serene you actually did take that, context or no.

So, how are people building Destroyers, specifically the destroyer mode tree?

I am currently running with 6 devastator mode, 3 multifrag, 6 missile launcher, 5 t5-v battle suit (and not at max level this time around). I am playin with the cobra missile evolution of missile launcher because everyone said it sucked so bad that I had to try it out. I suggest either dropping missile launcher or goin all the way for the hydra upgrade. There really is no in between unless you'd consider three ranks to be more useful than say, fitness 6.

Devastator mode, personally, is damage, shields and ammo all the way. It adds kick to my particle rifle, enhanced the harrier, and generally makes every Gino use better. HOWEVER, I was recently told that the accuracy upgrade in Devastator mode can be used with a smart choke to literally, not-metaphorically-at-all, snipe with a shotgun, turning any one into the crusader as far as accuracy. I will try this next.

The frag grenades I have just enough to feel good when I panic. Otherwise, Destroyer is all about walking around with big guns an an automatic rocket launcher with a three second trigger. Piranha and a decent AR (anything from Phaeston and Revenant to Saber, Typhoon, Harrier or Particle Rifle) and I'm covered at all ranges.

Note that my success with this class relies even more than any other on there being allies to take hear for me. So mileage and variance and all that.

[Aotrs Commander]

*Ending rage*

And that there is the reason why the ME3 story/spoiler thread is now on it's what, third incarnation, after we started it up to avoid filling this side of the thread with spoiler boxes: we're still griping about how awful it was even now. (Well, except for Psyren, bless 'im, who is sticking to the guns about defending the ending!)

For my part, I loathed the ending entirely in every aspect myself, so I have some sympathy. I likened it to being the FATAL of endings, in that, at every level, there was more mind-numbing stupid to be found.

The DLC...polishes the ending, and explains a lot of the oddities in that last cinematic (and makes them y'know, different), but it doesn't change the ending, unfortunately. Still, after being metaphorical disembowled with blunt rusty spears, even a mere near-death beating with a haddock isn't quite as bad by comparison...!

I suggest you hop along to the story/endings thread and join the kvetching there, where we can all commiserate together.

[Beowulf DW]

And that there is the reason why the ME3 story/spoiler thread is now on it's what, third incarnation, after we started it up to avoid filling this side of the thread with spoiler boxes: we're still griping about how awful it was even now. (Well, except for Psyren, bless 'im, who is sticking to the guns about defending the ending!)

Playing the devil's advocate can be a thankless job, but it is good of Psyren to keep all the rage in check. Thanks mostly to him, the discussion feels like an actual discussion rather than a maelstrom of anger.

[Aotrs Commander]

Playing the devil's advocate can be a thankless job, but it is good of Psyren to keep all the rage in check. Thanks mostly to him, the discussion feels like an actual discussion rather than a maelstrom of anger.

Yes, quite!

[Psyren]

@Yakyak: I urge you to download Extended Cut, so you can at least revise your viewpoint on things like "stranded on a planet."

[Calemyr]

The poetry of outrage.

Well said, although I would spoiler it. Hard to imagine too many people not knowing about the iceberg floating toward the Normandy, but you yourself are an example that some remain. The outrage is fine, but the details of the plot shouldn't be on prominent display.

As for your response itself, I hear ya and agree. I also agree with Psyren (words that always feel strange to type): download the Extended Cut. It's free and well worth it. Doesn't fix the fact that the ending is stupid, but it does make the stupid ending infinitely more tolerable.

[CreganTur]

The ending is the reason that I have no interest in the upcoming DLC. I know for a fact that we're not going to find some magic relic in this DLC that's going to enable us to kill or beat the Reapers, so what's the F'n point?

Had other things to say, but ending rage has blanked my mind.

[RagingKrikkit]

In response to multiple requests, I have spoilered my previous post. Also, I chopped up a sentence in the original post, I meant that growing up an orphan on earth led to her placing a high value on family, not earth as the chopped-up sentence implied.

[Psyren]

The ending is the reason that I have no interest in the upcoming DLC. I know for a fact that we're not going to find some magic relic in this DLC that's going to enable us to kill or beat the Reapers, so what's the F'n point?

Had other things to say, but ending rage has blanked my mind.

Magic relic to beat the Reapers? Seems like something we already have

I'm not sure if you also are without the EC, but I reiterate my suggestion to get it (as it's free.)

[Zevox]

The ending is the reason that I have no interest in the upcoming DLC. I know for a fact that we're not going to find some magic relic in this DLC that's going to enable us to kill or beat the Reapers, so what's the F'n point?

Um, for the story and gameplay portions that the DLC will contain? Just like every other DLC ever?

I really don't get that mindset, personally. Yeah the ending still isn't good even post-EC, but it's not like the ending is all that matters about a game.

Zevox

[Calemyr]

Um, for the story and gameplay portions that the DLC will contain? Just like every other DLC ever?

I really don't get that mindset, personally. Yeah the ending still isn't good even post-EC, but it's not like the ending is all that matters about a game.

Zevox

In my book, the concern is less that it won't effect the conclusion (it won't), but that it will suck. Kinda like Pinnacle Station for ME1, only worse.

It's a question of trust. Do I trust Bioware to have the narrative skill, the technical talent, and the raw integrity to take any idea they choose, no matter how outlandish it sounds, and turn it into a fulfilling story that adds to the compiled mythos?

I used to. I remember saying "A Star Wars RPG? Star Wars games universally suck, but if anyone can pull it off, it'll be these guys.". I remember saying "A Star Wars MMO? Okay, MMOs usually suck worse than Star Wars games. Those boys are insane to try to combine the two... But Bioware has done the impossible before, they'll make it awesome." I really, honestly said these things.

I don't feel like that, anymore. Bioware has loads of talent - huge, unfathomable stockpiles of talent - but they lack the old dedication to quality. They can do really good and they can do very, very bad. And it all comes down to arrogance, I think. They, like me, felt they could do no wrong. And when the artist thinks himself infallible, the art becomes unreliable.

I will watch the DLC. I may even buy it after it's release. But only if I learn that it truly is good. No trust, no faith. Which is how it should have been in the first place.