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

[Dhavaer]

Black Widow VII. Still no Harrier.

[RagingKrikkit]

If shields are just mass effect barriers though, and two mass effect fields set to strike each other create dissonance and cause explosions, then shouldn't using throw on a shielded target create a biotic detonation? Or is there a difference between biotics and a mass effect field I'm not aware of?

I was under the impression that biotic barriers and kinetic barriers are different, with biotic ones being directly produced by the biotic. on Thessia in ME3, you see a commando put up a large barrier to hold a gap in a wall. Perhaps it's something like that, but just limited to the user, to allow for greater focus.

In other news: I have Extended Cut now! I'll tell you guys how that goes.

[Xondoure]

Shields are just barriers created by a machine instead of a person. And I think the explanation given is that they're designed to cancel out other mass effect fields and thus, don't cause massive explosions.

[SiuiS]

Almost forgot!the new multiplayer classes have special dialogue. As a fury I revived a Salarian three times and got "on your feet, soldier!" and then I picked up a demolisher and got "on your feet, N7!"

I was under the impression that biotic barriers and kinetic barriers are different, with biotic ones being directly produced by the biotic. on Thessia in ME3, you see a commando put up a large barrier to hold a gap in a wall. Perhaps it's something like that, but just limited to the user, to allow for greater focus.

In other news: I have Extended Cut now! I'll tell you guys how that goes.

Kinetic barriers (which include both shields and barriers, as well as te biotic sphere used a the end of mass effect 2) are hollow mass effect fields designed to drastically increase the mass of of an incoming projectile, to the point where it's current velocity cannot be maintained. It hits the kinetic field, gains fifty pounds, and falls. This drains the energy from the shields themselves. Shields come from an array of emitters hidden all throughout one's armor, and use a complex target-predicting VI to boost energy and supply a stronger field where the projectile is going to be; they are not a constant field like one would find in star trek. Barriers are specifically an additional field generated by a biotic which supplement shields; while the agile maintains the illusion of permanency, barriers are a visible, temporary boost. They are the same functional physical properties - a mass increasing field which prevents projectiles from reachin you - they are just a biotic-only method if enhancement.


We get to mass effect 2, and suddenly barriers become the shield that biotics have. Except this doesn't make any sense, because their armor - the default armor throughout the setting - comes with shield emitters by default, and you gain absolutely nothing by removing those emitters. In this case, I could understand barriers and shields being the same thing and called by different names for flavor, but the why do some weapons do more damage against barriers than shields? Or against shields than barriers?

I understand the mechanism behind SMGs though; enough bullets thrown at a barrier and scattered means it will have to activate several emitters at once, taxin the VI and draining its power supply. An SMG is similar to being flanked and shot at,as far as the system is concerned. But this doesn't work for barriers, because the barier is not so selective, it is an envelope. In theory, they don't even drain more resources from the biotic as said biotic is not constantly fueling the barriers, they are a one-time application with a duration. And why do not shotguns and assault rifles also benefit from this shield overloading?


Then we get to Mass Effect 3 where not only are barriers and shields separate, but the mechanics of shields have been rewritten. They are now starters style devices which envelop the user completely, which has to take a whole lot more energy. They don't suffer from extra damage from SMGs and they seem to go nova upon destruction, preventing bleed through damage. I suppose this could be considered the march of technological progress, but then why do barriers have a shield gate mechanism? A biotic cannot be as good as a calibrated machine.

-

As for biotic explosions, you might be right. I can't read the Me2 codex as a friend has it, and there are no detonations in me1. Perhaps you have to specifically modulate your biotics to be unstable? That woul explain why there are specific evolutions to grant more power to the biotic effect without an otherwise noticeable boost; all the extra energy went into allowing a stronger unstable field, creating a bigger, more forceful explosion upon detonation.

I like to think biotic detonations work via cavitization, myself. Thanks, Eakin!

[Jasdoif]

We get to mass effect 2, and suddenly barriers become the shield that biotics have. Except this doesn't make any sense, because their armor - the default armor throughout the setting - comes with shield emitters by default, and you gain absolutely nothing by removing those emitters. In this case, I could understand barriers and shields being the same thing and called by different names for flavor, but the why do some weapons do more damage against barriers than shields? Or against shields than barriers?

I understand the mechanism behind SMGs though; enough bullets thrown at a barrier and scattered means it will have to activate several emitters at once, taxin the VI and draining its power supply. An SMG is similar to being flanked and shot at,as far as the system is concerned. But this doesn't work for barriers, because the barier is not so selective, it is an envelope. In theory, they don't even drain more resources from the biotic as said biotic is not constantly fueling the barriers, they are a one-time application with a duration. And why do not shotguns and assault rifles also benefit from this shield overloading?

The theory I ended up with for ME2 is that the shield/barrier dichotomy is centered around the control mechanism: Biotics use the same armor-based field-emitters, but they're controlled by some unconscious connection with the biotic's brain.

This is why they can be affected differently: Force-based powers like Concussive Shot upset the internal sense of balance of the biotic, while the electrical interference of powers like Overload distort the readings of the armor's sensors. In either case the field emitters aren't directed properly at the initial impact, and the emitters consume extra energy to provide a fallback instead of letting damage through. This is probably the same response that would happen with the shield bypassing ammunition from ME1; the so-called "shield-piercing" researches for SMGs and shotguns in ME2 mention "phasic envelopes", which sounds similar to the actually-shield-piercing Phasic Ammo in ME1.

I'm shakier on why the split happened; but so far my best guess is that effects specifically targeting the shield VIs became commonplace, and this was the response.

[Landis963]

Well, I'm glad bioware didn't have an event weekend over GenCon. Volunteering there takes a lot out of you.

[Krade]

Well, I'm glad bioware didn't have an event weekend over GenCon. Volunteering there takes a lot out of you.

Going to GenCon at all takes a lot out of you. When I got home at about 3pm yesterday, I passed out and didn't wake up until almost midnight. It was a good time though.

That said, why didn't you come to any of the meetups? There's a whole thread about it in Friendly Banter.

[Landis963]

Going to GenCon at all takes a lot out of you. When I got home at about 3pm yesterday, I passed out and didn't wake up until almost midnight. It was a good time though.

That said, why didn't you come to any of the meetups? There's a whole thread about it in Friendly Banter.

First, because I'm not subbed to anything in Friendly Banter, second I had another job on Thurs. And Fri. Third because I needed to do some M:tG booster drafts and gift shopping, fourth I needed to chaperone my brother and his friend. I'll be sure to try it again next year, however.

[SiuiS]

So I tried out a concept for the n7 Shadow. Seeing as shadow strike is currently both a melee attack, and a power, I focused on that to the exclusion of anythiń else.

Tac cloak with the duration bonus, melee damage boost and free power while cloaked evo.
shadow strike had, I believe, straight damage boosts except for the DoT evolution.
N7 training at 5, with power damage all the way.
Fitness (sword mastery) with melee damage all the way, and the flaming sword (anti armor) upgrade.

Synopsis? Terrible.
The damage output was wasted whenever it was useful, and not sufficient anywhere else. Hunters and rocket troopers would often end up with a sliver of health left and I am not 100% positive I had the DoT. Still, if 10% of the remaining damage was enough to bring them to a sliver, it was strong right? Well, not really. The shadow strike damage output was pitiful against an atlas or a prime; my best strategy was to break their shields, port in and just melee them (and pray they didn't have backup!) before I go down.

I couldn't make it to level 20. At 18 I dumped a spare point into electric slash and suddenly I was useful again. I I try this again, I think I will get the shield damage evolution instead. It would e the final push to bring te skill up to useful, as then I would be one-shotting all the mooks. If non-boosted damage is sufficient to bring a pyro down to 2/3 armor, then +75% should be all I need to drop even him! though once they patch both fitness and passive boosting shadow strike, it wont be a worthwhile build at all.

The moral of the story is always have a token point in electric slash.

The theory I ended up with for ME2 is that the shield/barrier dichotomy is centered around the control mechanism: Biotics use the same armor-based field-emitters, but they're controlled by some unconscious connection with the biotic's brain.

This is why they can be affected differently: Force-based powers like Concussive Shot upset the internal sense of balance of the biotic, while the electrical interference of powers like Overload distort the readings of the armor's sensors. In either case the field emitters aren't directed properly at the initial impact, and the emitters consume extra energy to provide a fallback instead of letting damage through. This is probably the same response that would happen with the shield bypassing ammunition from ME1; the so-called "shield-piercing" researches for SMGs and shotguns in ME2 mention "phasic envelopes", which sounds similar to the actually-shield-piercing Phasic Ammo in ME1.

I'm shakier on why the split happened; but so far my best guess is that effects specifically targeting the shield VIs became commonplace, and this was the response.

Makes sense. It could be set to work with the biotic amp. And te split could have happened for the same reason as the thermal clips; the march of technology. Being able to have a semi-constant envelope would be easier to work with, and you would just use the regular shields to supplement the constant barrier. Given that biotic sphere and Anihilation field now exist, it could just e inventiveness showing its face.

More than likely though, it was a change in direction for te verisimilitude, and they just hoped no one would notice/care.

[Mr._Blinky]

So I had a question about the carry-over of files from ME2 to ME3. I'm about to refinish ME2 on Insanity; I'm right directly before the start of the Suicide Mission, and I have to make some decisions about how I'm going to end the game, i.e. do I want to swap over romances, do I want to destroy or save the Collector Base, etc.

Here's the question: is it possible to save more than one possible ending or series of events for export off of the same Shepherd? What I mean is can I do something like save the base, beat the game, and then go back and do it again where I destroy the base on the same file, and use the differing outcomes to make different files for ME3? That way if I want a different ending for ME2 to go into ME3 I don't have to put in the 50+ play hours all over again to get it done?

[Logic]

So I had a question about the carry-over of files from ME2 to ME3. I'm about to refinish ME2 on Insanity; I'm right directly before the start of the Suicide Mission, and I have to make some decisions about how I'm going to end the game, i.e. do I want to swap over romances, do I want to destroy or save the Collector Base, etc.

Here's the question: is it possible to save more than one possible ending or series of events for export off of the same Shepherd? What I mean is can I do something like save the base, beat the game, and then go back and do it again where I destroy the base on the same file, and use the differing outcomes to make different files for ME3? That way if I want a different ending for ME2 to go into ME3 I don't have to put in the 50+ play hours all over again to get it done?

I think it checks each individual save file for the "completed game" line of code. I know when importing from ME1 to ME2, I completed the game twice with the same character (different difficulty settings the whole way through) and it game me the option of importing either.

[Mr._Blinky]

I think it checks each individual save file for the "completed game" line of code. I know when importing from ME1 to ME2, I completed the game twice with the same character (different difficulty settings the whole way through) and it game me the option of importing either.

Alright, that'd be awesome if it did it that way. The big thing for me is the romances; I romanced Ashley in ME1 just for the achievement, but I'm not sure how much I'm interested in pursuing that plot-line into ME3. On the other hand, I'm not sure what I'd do differently either, so I kind of want to keep my options open, especially since I don't know how things will effect my Mass Effect 3 run.

[Wagadodo]

Each of my characters that I imported over had multiple saves to pick from. Each from a different run on the suicide mission on the same play through. Since I messed up or wanted to try something different in ME2. So long as you make it to the end, you should be good.

[Mr._Blinky]

This raises one more question for me though; how does The Arrival export? I'd decided based off of suggestions I'd read to hold off on that mission until after the Suicide Mission, but now I'm having second thoughts if I'm going to have to do it twice. I did save one extra file from right before the Reaper IFF mission, so I can go back and beat it before passing the point of no return, but that depends on how long it is, whether there's any real benefit to waiting until after the SM, and how it'll hold up through the ending. Thoughts?

[RagingKrikkit]

Alright, I just finished ME3 for my male and female redo with the EC, and let me say...

Spoiler

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That it is SO MUCH BETTER than without. The ending actually makes sense, and makes me feel as if Shepard actually acomplished something without screwing over the galaxy. My only complaint is that it seems to me that they shove Synthesis down your throat, but that pales in comparision to solving why the Normandy was at FTL, why the Catalyst wanted to help, and not leaving Ashley/Garrus on some planet in the middle of nowhere forever. I wasn't sure what my male Shepard was going to do, but in the end I went with Synthesis, while my female stuck to the original idea, and went Destroy. Best part, she lived to tell the tale! So in my head, she meets back up with Garrus, and they retire somewhere warm and sunny, like he suggested, and raise the kids happily because, dammit, with all that I'd put into her, she needed a happy ending. I think it's actually a good thing that I played without the EC first, because it leaves me with nothing to gripe about in comparision.

[Psyren]

Alright, I just finished ME3 for my male and female redo with the EC, and let me say...

Spoiler

Show

Spoiler

Show

Spoiler

Show

That it is SO MUCH BETTER than without. The ending actually makes sense, and makes me feel as if Shepard actually acomplished something without screwing over the galaxy. My only complaint is that it seems to me that they shove Synthesis down your throat, but that pales in comparision to solving why the Normandy was at FTL, why the Catalyst wanted to help, and not leaving Ashley/Garrus on some planet in the middle of nowhere forever. I wasn't sure what my male Shepard was going to do, but in the end I went with Synthesis, while my female stuck to the original idea, and went Destroy. Best part, she lived to tell the tale! So in my head, she meets back up with Garrus, and they retire somewhere warm and sunny, like he suggested, and raise the kids happily because, dammit, with all that I'd put into her, she needed a happy ending. I think it's actually a good thing that I played without the EC first, because it leaves me with nothing to gripe about in comparision.

Glad to see things looked up for you

[bladescape]

GITP Name : bladescape
Gaming System : PC
Name on Gaming System : blade_scaper
Preferred Classes: Serious play, Sentinels, soldiers, infiltrators. Semi-Serious(I'm practicing it.) Vanguards. Non-serious: Adepts and Engineers.

Due to moving house I'll probably hardly play, but once I've moved I'll be playing quite a bit.

[Binks]

So I've been playing silver games with my Geth Infiltrator with Javelin and I'm having a lot of fun with it (being able to ping people in the lower building from the ladder is awesome) but it doesn't seem as effective as it could be. My damage output isn't what I was expecting against Primes and Atlases (I see posts everywhere about 2 shotting primes...and it takes me 5-6 on silver) so I'm looking for advice or tips on what I might be doing wrong. My Infiltrator is level 20, but my Javelin is a I sadly, so I fear that might be part of the problem.

Spec is every damage upgrade possible, including headshots, sniper rifle damage and geth weapon damage.

Javelin has Piercing and Ammo mods (do I need to change out the ammo for damage? I already have to make trips to the depot every few shots)

Will switching in the damage mod make that big of a difference? Is there any specific thing I'm missing? Any bugs with the Javelin? I know this build will probably never go to gold due to the shield gate but I would at least like to be able to take out the big guys on silver easily (though being able to 1-shot phantoms and pyros with a good shot is really nice I'll admit, and shooting through walls is awesome fun).

[Psyren]

Javelin has native piercing (like Widow), so putting a piercing mod on it is redundant. I'd definitely get the extended barrel instead for more damage.

How does Javelin I stack up against the Mantis X (or another sniper you may have) damage-wise? You might be better off using a "lesser" gun, with damage/piercing or damage/scope instead, at least until your Jav is higher.

(I don't have a Jav myself - I use my Widow VI with damage and scope.)

[Dhavaer]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 21, 2012
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Locust SMG
- Damage increased from [34.3-42.8] to [37.7-47.1]

Crusader Shotgun
- Damage increased from [486.6-608.3] to [530.9-663.6]

Kishock Sniper Rifle
- Damage multiplier for full charge increased from 150% to 175%

Biotic Charge Power (all kits excluding the Krogan)
- Base damage increased from 250 to 400
- Base force increased from 500 to 600

Biotic Charge Power (Krogan only)
- Base damage increased from 400 to 500
- Evolve 4 melee damage bonus increased from 25% to 40% and duration increased from 4 to 5 seconds

Biotic Charge Power (all kits including the Krogan)
- Rank 3 damage and force bonus increased from 20% to 30%
- Evolve 1 damage and force bonus increased from 30% to 40%
- Evolve 3 weapon damage bonus increased from 15% to 25% and duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds
- Evolve 4 power damage bonus increased from 25% to 40% but duration decreased from 15 to 10 seconds
- Evolve 5 chance to cause no cooldown increased from 25% to 33%

Electric Slash Power
- Base cooldown increased from 5 to 8 seconds

Biotic Slash Power
- Base cooldown increased from 5 to 8 seconds

Sticky Grenade Power
- Base damage increased from 750 to 900


Looks like my Crusader 5 isn't anything to mourn anymore.

So I've been playing silver games with my Geth Infiltrator with Javelin and I'm having a lot of fun with it (being able to ping people in the lower building from the ladder is awesome) but it doesn't seem as effective as it could be. My damage output isn't what I was expecting against Primes and Atlases (I see posts everywhere about 2 shotting primes...and it takes me 5-6 on silver) so I'm looking for advice or tips on what I might be doing wrong. My Infiltrator is level 20, but my Javelin is a I sadly, so I fear that might be part of the problem.

Spec is every damage upgrade possible, including headshots, sniper rifle damage and geth weapon damage.

Javelin has Piercing and Ammo mods (do I need to change out the ammo for damage? I already have to make trips to the depot every few shots)

Will switching in the damage mod make that big of a difference? Is there any specific thing I'm missing? Any bugs with the Javelin? I know this build will probably never go to gold due to the shield gate but I would at least like to be able to take out the big guys on silver easily (though being able to 1-shot phantoms and pyros with a good shot is really nice I'll admit, and shooting through walls is awesome fun).

Have you considered a shotgun build? Claymore does more damage than the Javelin; combo with proxy mine and all the damage bonuses and see what you get.

[Zevox]

[Patch notes]

Charge... got buffed?! Including an increase to its power synergy damage bonus?! Holy... Novaguards are going to be even more brutal now.

Cooldown increase to electric/biotic slash is nice to see, but I honestly think a damage nerf is going to be necessary anyway. Going from fast cooldown to just average won't mean a whole lot to players running around with 200% cooldown anyway.

Zevox

[Krade]

I'm always amused that the things that get nerfed are almost never things I actually use. Sure, I use a Shadow and use ES with it, but I only use it when rushing in isn't a good idea* or to set off the tech burst from the Shadow Stirke DoT.

*Rushing in not being a good idea doesn't always stop me from doing it.

[Mr._Blinky]

Charge... got buffed?! Including an increase to its power synergy damage bonus?! Holy... Novaguards are going to be even more brutal now.

Well, to be fair Novaguards have never been viable on the upper difficulties, even if they're broken on Bronze and overpowered on Silver. Maybe with the charge buff we'll see them actually start being played on Gold and Platinum. The real thing that makes them overpowered on Bronze and Silver is Nova anyway, so the buff to Charge just makes it a viable offensive power in its own right, unlike the way it was previously where it was basically just used as an emergency shield recharge and a way to close to melee faster.

[Zevox]

Well, to be fair Novaguards have never been viable on the upper difficulties, even if they're broken on Bronze and overpowered on Silver. Maybe with the charge buff we'll see them actually start being played on Gold and Platinum. The real thing that makes them overpowered on Bronze and Silver is Nova anyway, so the buff to Charge just makes it a viable offensive power in its own right, unlike the way it was previously where it was basically just used as an emergency shield recharge and a way to close to melee faster.

I think you missed the "power synergy" buff I mentioned. One of Charge's upgrades increases the damage done by other powers within a certain timeframe after Charge is used. That got buffed, from +25% damage to +40% damage. That will affect Nova, quite a bit.

Zevox

[Krade]

I use Novaguards on Gold ocassionally. Only on host, of course. They're great fun if you can coordinate with a Reave spammer. Set off ALL THE EXPLOSIONS!!!

Edit: Also, fun gif cribbed from the BSN
I lol'd hard.

[Landis963]

Has the Gethgineer always had double-vision in Hunter Mode? I've just tried it for the first time since my new computer and suddenly anything I see is split into upstairs and downstairs copies. And before you ask, no, it was not double-vision on my old comp.

[Logic]

Edit: Also, fun gif cribbed from the BSN
I lol'd hard.

That was awesome.

[Dhavaer]

Has the Gethgineer always had double-vision in Hunter Mode? I've just tried it for the first time since my new computer and suddenly anything I see is split into upstairs and downstairs copies. And before you ask, no, it was not double-vision on my old comp.

No, that sounds like a bug.

[Landis963]

No, that sounds like a bug.

Any possible fixes, beyond uninstalling/reinstalling the DLC?

[SiuiS]

EDIT: got a typhoon and a particle rifle upgrade. The typhoon is a solid enough fun, and its clip size is ferocious. I feel like I can fire at full bore almost as long as the geth pulserifle. In direct side to side comparison though, the typhoon I is about a third as good as the Piranha X. Aside from differences in aiming and kick, the typhoon was unnecessary. Will probably stick to my pulse rifle, especially now that it's powered up.

I also tried out the grenade capacity gear on my demolisher. Good fun, that. A full roster of grenades, alternating arc and homing, can drop a prime and a half, or two primes if they are close enough together. The self-combining with grenades is pretty nasty.

Still no slayer. Couple ultrarares, several gear, no slayer. Sad face.

GITP Name : bladescape
Gaming System : PC
Name on Gaming System : blade_scaper
Preferred Classes: Serious play, Sentinels, soldiers, infiltrators. Semi-Serious(I'm practicing it.) Vanguards. Non-serious: Adepts and Engineers.

Due to moving house I'll probably hardly play, but once I've moved I'll be playing quite a bit.

Will add soon.

So I've been playing silver games with my Geth Infiltrator with Javelin and I'm having a lot of fun with it (being able to ping people in the lower building from the ladder is awesome) but it doesn't seem as effective as it could be. My damage output isn't what I was expecting against Primes and Atlases (I see posts everywhere about 2 shotting primes...and it takes me 5-6 on silver) so I'm looking for advice or tips on what I might be doing wrong. My Infiltrator is level 20, but my Javelin is a I sadly, so I fear that might be part of the problem.

Spec is every damage upgrade possible, including headshots, sniper rifle damage and geth weapon damage.

Javelin has Piercing and Ammo mods (do I need to change out the ammo for damage? I already have to make trips to the depot every few shots)

Will switching in the damage mod make that big of a difference? Is there any specific thing I'm missing? Any bugs with the Javelin? I know this build will probably never go to gold due to the shield gate but I would at least like to be able to take out the big guys on silver easily (though being able to 1-shot phantoms and pyros with a good shot is really nice I'll admit, and shooting through walls is awesome fun).

The old javelin GODMODE stuff has been nerfed; primes no longer have a headshot location and cannot be killed faster than other heavy units. Atlases no longer take double damage from armor piercing shots to the canopy.

The javelin is the strongest single shot gun in the game at its level. It has the third highest DPS, however, with the black widow and valiant outperforming it over the long haul. So if you have one d those you may be better off with one.

Armor Piercing Mods can mess you up. They reduce the damage you do through walls. A javelin will kill a guardian in one shot through his shield. A javelin with an AP mod will take more than one shot.

You should use the extended barrel mod, and probably the thermal clip mod. AP can increase your output by so small an amount against armored targets it's not really worth it; the javelin is doing roughly 1,000 damage. Armored targets on silver take 35 less damage. Adding an extended barel gets you (1,000+25% -35 =) 1,215 damage, where the AP mod gets you like 997 against an armored target (or 650 damage through walls instead of the full 1,250!)

Has the Gethgineer always had double-vision in Hunter Mode? I've just tried it for the first time since my new computer and suddenly anything I see is split into upstairs and downstairs copies. And before you ask, no, it was not double-vision on my old comp.

No, that's definitely a bug of some kind. Sorry.