Mass Effect: General thread of Awesomeness

[Avilan the Grey]

Since the old one died a long time ago, ME4 is at least a blip on the radar and I am bored, here's a new thread.

Started over ME3 a few days ago because of the Face bug in Sims 4. I started over with Joan Shepard, a Sentinel Bit Fiend took through ME1.
...Anyway, trying out new weapons, settled on the Crusader as the main weapon with the Eagle (later will be the Paladin) as only sidearm... The DLC weapons really are like cheating, at least some of them. Guardians are a joke, since you have as much accuracy as with a sniper rifle.

I am planning on giving it to Tali: she seems to be in dire need of a long range hand cannon.
Btw is it true that your squadmates only fire a single shot with the M55? In that case I am very disappointed because it seems like the perfect backup weapon for Garrus.

[LibraryOgre]

I've been replaying ME1, chasing the last few achievements (except hardcore and insanity difficulties; I know I'm not up for that). Currently playing through as an Engineer, with Liara as my constant tag-along, trying to Hack everything I can and Neural Blast everything I can't.

I don't know what my ideal play-through will be like, but I still haven't even GOTTEN ME3... it came out as I was starting my masters degree.

[Antonok]

I'm wary of the 4th one. The first one was great, the second was just awesome, the 3rd was alright, and seeing how I've all but completely lost faith in bioware, the 4th isn't looking too appealing. That and the probable loss of Tali =(

[Landis963]

I'm waiting for the reviews before I get invested in another Mass Effect game. Possibly in another Bioware game, but I haven't tried any others.

[Dienekes]

I'm wary of the 4th one. The first one was great, the second was just awesome, the 3rd was alright, and seeing how I've all but completely lost faith in bioware, the 4th isn't looking too appealing. That and the probable loss of Tali =(

I actually think the 3rd was the strongest, up until those last 10 minutes.

The gameplay was fun, the missions exciting, the story was your normal macguffin fair but I'm willing to give it a pass for the character touches throughout the game. Even ninja assassin douchebag didn't really bother me, other than thinking he should have armor if he blocked biotics. Lot of good parts, and my rage at the ending has dulled to just a disappointed shrug.

The only one I have difficulty replaying is 1. Because ManShep was so bad, and the gameplay was not all that fun and embarrassingly easy.

I also never cared for Tali. So that doesn't bother me.

I will say waiting for reviews is fine and reasonable though. Bioware has made some missteps no point denying that. I know I'm doing the same for Dragon Age 3.

[Psyren]

The third had the best gameplay so I would recommend it for that alone. The plot has been... polarizing to say the least.

Mark, my suggestion is that if you ever pick up the third one, be sure to install the Extended Cut free DLC ending ahead of time.

[GloatingSwine]

I actually think the 3rd was the strongest, up until those last 10 minutes.

And whenever it wasn't about Cerberus and stupid stupid Kai Leng.

And the clumsy attempts at emotional manipulation with the kid.

And the times that the game ignores its mechanical rules to service setpieces (chasing the sexbot on mars, for instance, you can't catch her no matter what, including vanguard charges, because the setpiece must play out!)

Or the way you can get dramatic deaths for characters you don't know because they're standing in for characters who died in previous installments.

Though actually I liked ME2's gameplay more on higher difficulties as well, the layered defences meant you actually had to think about your party's abilities and when to deploy them.

[Avilan the Grey]

And whenever it wasn't about Cerberus and stupid stupid Kai Leng.

And the clumsy attempts at emotional manipulation with the kid.

And the times that the game ignores its mechanical rules to service setpieces (chasing the sexbot on mars, for instance, you can't catch her no matter what, including vanguard charges, because the setpiece must play out!)

Or the way you can get dramatic deaths for characters you don't know because they're standing in for characters who died in previous installments.

Though actually I liked ME2's gameplay more on higher difficulties as well, the layered defences meant you actually had to think about your party's abilities and when to deploy them.

See, I have no problems with any of that.

Game play wise, the games definitely (best to worst) ME3, ME2, ME1 for me. Combat in ME1 is pathetically bad.
Story wise the games rank like this for me: ME1, ME3, ME2.

[Zevox]

I doubt I'm going to take the "wait for reviews" approach with the next game - partially because I've never found a reviewer whose tastes and opinions are consistent enough with my own for me to trust them enough to make purchasing decisions based on their reviews - but I am waiting for more details with some dread, given the little snippets we were told before. The return of the Mako and the claim that the game will have a heavy exploration emphasis that requires it does not fill me confidence, given that was by far the worst part of the first game, and I was much happier with the formula they used for the second and third.

As far as the games thus far go, I have a hard time deciding between two and three as being the best, but consider them both much better than the first in every respect. I have no qualms saying three had the best gameplay, but that ending in particular does make it hard to give it the nod for story over two, even with how great Tuchanka and Rannoch were.

[Avilan the Grey]

Oh btw, Of course i take say Padok's death as serious as Mordin's... He's awesome. And an even more interesting character.

[Psyren]

And the times that the game ignores its mechanical rules to service setpieces (chasing the sexbot on mars, for instance, you can't catch her no matter what, including vanguard charges, because the setpiece must play out!)

Nearly every game in creation does this, it's hardly a unique sin of ME. Why couldn't we Phoenix Down/Life3 Aeris?

Or the way you can get dramatic deaths for characters you don't know because they're standing in for characters who died in previous installments.

Dude, Padok Wiks was awesome.

Though actually I liked ME2's gameplay more on higher difficulties as well, the layered defences meant you actually had to think about your party's abilities and when to deploy them.

ME2 combat was crap compared to ME3. Adepts were useless most of the time, powers took ungodly long to cool down until you were most of the way through the game, and powers were so worthless compared to guns you had to wonder why the military even bothered employing biotics.

[KillianHawkeye]

As far as the games thus far go, I have a hard time deciding between two and three as being the best, but consider them both much better than the first in every respect. I have no qualms saying three had the best gameplay, but that ending in particular does make it hard to give it the nod for story over two, even with how great Tuchanka and Rannoch were.

It's hard to argue that ME3 didn't have the best gameplay of the entire trilogy.

Story-wise, my opinion is that ME3 had higher high points but also lower low points, whereas ME2's story was more consistently decent throughout.

[Starsign]

Having a rollercoaster of opinions about the series myself, I say ME1 is my favorite based on the atmosphere that it goes for. While ME2 and 3 are still good in those respects they don't really nail it as much as the first one. This is in spite of ME1's gameplay being... silly at best

I liked ME2 the most for it's focus on squadmates despite story of the main threat actually having minimal progress in the long run. The gameplay is tighter too, but suffers from feeling very limited. Not to mention the difficulty level wrecking havoc on higher difficulties.

ME3's also my favorite gameplay wise, but as some others have stated the plot is... polarizing at best. I was of course another person who hated the ending, and the Extended Cut DLC did little to appeal to my sorrows. This isn't mentioning several other story points which were, at best, unbelievably bad and shouldn't have existed.

Hell I'd probably never have gone back to the series myself due to how badly I considered ME3 to have screwed up the ending. However I found two mods which, if I can get it to work, will actually make me go back to the series (though I'm still unlikely to buy another Bioware game anytime soon). I have them right down here due to involving spoilers, so no looking for those who don't want to be spoiled.

Spoiler: ME3 Spoilers!

Show

Specifically I found MEHEM (probably the most famous ME3 mod known as the Happy Ending Mod), and CEM (Citadel Ephilogue Mod, exactly as it sounds. Changes the DLC slightly so that story-wise takes place after the ending. And with MEHEM Citadel begins right after the ending to make it as seamless an epilogue as possible)

I will be using these two mods to give me an ending I consider better than what was officially placed, and have Citadel happen in it's rightful place. I don't suggest this for players who have yet to complete the game once but anyone looking for something more satisfying should take a look here IMO.

[LibraryOgre]

The third had the best gameplay so I would recommend it for that alone. The plot has been... polarizing to say the least.

Mark, my suggestion is that if you ever pick up the third one, be sure to install the Extended Cut free DLC ending ahead of time.

That's what I've heard.

[Derthric]

I know I have said this before but ME1's atmosphere just nailed it. I felt like one of the classic SF hero-captains. Not saying the other two weren't great, they were just different. I think ME1 having to establish the setting gave it that extra exploratory sense too it that had you feel like you were on a new frontier.

As far as Mass Effect next or whatever they are calling it. I only know a bit that isn't rumor, but I think I might be the only one who would be open to a return to extravehicular exploration, though the disarming of the Mako is disappointing.

[Psyren]

One of the big problems with ME2 and ME3 is that they are too focused on cover-based shooting. So you know that if a room has no chest-high walls or tight corridors, no battle is going to happen there (and conversely, that if you start seeing them as you walk through an area, that a battle will take place in that room no matter how peaceful things are - Purgatory was a painfully obvious example of this.)

Compare to ME1. Medigel boxes wouldn't just be lying around every battlefield - they would be in a dispenser on the wall in the security office or the med-bay, like you'd exepct. Gun lockers would be in the security office or the vehicle bay. It wasn't focused on cover, so you could have sprawling, wide-open battlefields. Sure you could take cover behind trees and corners and whatnot, but it was usually organic. And ME1 was able to have very wide-open firefights on the various planets, places where you had room to maneuver whether you choose to stay in the tank or get out on foot. You could storm the front gate of a geth outpost, take out their big guns and then retreat to repair, or you could take the longer and more arduous route up a nearby mountain to bombard or snipe them from a higher vantage point. You could defend a threadbare outpost from a rachni invasion from the relative safety of your tank, or plug it into the outposts defenses to power their turrets for greater offense while you scampered around on foot. You could drive your tank to a fake Cerberus distress beacon and end up surrounded by Rachni with no cover in sight, or even attacked by a Thresher Maw.

My hope is that we can get the best of both worlds in "ME4." Wide open planet terrain to explore, better vehicle controls to explore it with, and the ability to get out and explore on foot. And if we get ambushed in an open field, we can throw down our own cover to hide behind, or a biotic team member can throw up a big barrier bubble we can shoot at them from inside. And give us faster ways to get around on foot - jetpacks, hoverboards, gliders, hamsterballs, anything.

[Yora]

I'm about halfway through a complete series playthrough on Insanity. Should try to continue it, it's actually quite fun when you really have to work to make it through the major fights. I finally got assault rifles for my Vanguard in ME2.

The thing with ME3 is, that it's simultaneously the worst and the best game of the series. Overall I think it's rather weak with the story and feels rushed and unfinished, but it also has the best gameplay and some really amazing levels.

[Starsign]

Insanity difficulty is all over the map depending on the game IMO. I haven't done much experimentation on ME1 (I ran through on NG+) but apparently you live or die based on your equipment, though even then enough biotics could probably see you through.

ME2 Insanity however is grueling, especially in the early game. Everything inbetween having access to the Normandy to before Horizon (and arguably including Horizon) is a nightmare as you have too few resources to overcome many too many problems. Even after Horizon the game still daunting at many points, especially should you decide to do Arrival as soon as you can (which is a flat-out horrible idea). I managed the second half of the game thanks to how broken Stasis is. (lacked the Firepower pack, so no Mattock/Geth Shotgun for me)

ME3 Insanity however I think largely depends on your build. It's still remorseless and daunting but you generally have more to work with now, too much in some cases. As a Sentinel who took another armor power as the bonus power it felt like enemies were doing damage equal to Normal difficulty rather than Insanity. In addition the weapon system and the general increase of biotic explosions (which were already good in ME2) and squadmates' ability to do tech/biotic explosions on their own suddenly made everything a lot easier to kill with the right optimization. However I should note that I had From Ashes, so I not only used Javik extensively (more than any other squadmate) but also abused the Particle Rifle to death. I also haven't done Leviathan, Omega, or Citadel (though I'll be doing that last one soon... wish me luck)

[Yora]

Insanity in ME1 isn't exactly difficult, it just takes forever. Enemies have insane amounts of health and armor so it takes huge numbers of hits to kill any of them. Since you are also somewhat more vulnerable, you can't really afford to be caught out in the open, so a lot of time is spend standing next to the first door of the area, waiting for some enemies to show their face to get a shot at them. And the AI is so amazingly bad that sometimes enemies will go into cover and simply stay there for minutes at a time.
The main thing you need is patience. If you have that and keep yourself from trying any heroics, it's really not much harder than Hard.

However, that is assuming playing a soldier or vanguard. If you rely on skills to be effective in combat, it's probably going to be a lot more annoying.

[Psyren]

ME2 Insanity isn't bad. One thing people routinely forget to do there is to use their heavy weapons when things get hairy, or they hoard the ammo too much (saving it for things like YMIRs, Scions and Praetorians), but unless you're packing the Cain, those bigger foes tend to have heavy weapon ammo near them anyway. So things like the Arc Projector, Collector Laser or even the vanilla Grenade Launcher can be lifesavers.

If ME3 had heavy weapons it would have been a cakewalk even on Insanity. (Actually I would have loved that for the Soldier class since their other toys got taken away.)

[Avilan the Grey]

Insanity in ME2 (haven't played it in ME1) is very frustrating (not very hard) because Bioware has only added crap (HP AND armor AND barriers) on minor foes to make them annoying, not improved the AI etc.

Insanity in ME3 is less frustrating, but I prefer Hardcore. It's just more fun to me.

[Starsign]

ME2 Insanity isn't bad. One thing people routinely forget to do there is to use their heavy weapons when things get hairy, or they hoard the ammo too much (saving it for things like YMIRs, Scions and Praetorians), but unless you're packing the Cain, those bigger foes tend to have heavy weapon ammo near them anyway. So things like the Arc Projector, Collector Laser or even the vanilla Grenade Launcher can be lifesavers.

If ME3 had heavy weapons it would have been a cakewalk even on Insanity. (Actually I would have loved that for the Soldier class since their other toys got taken away.)

You talk like ME3 wasn't normally a cakewalk on Insanity (except the part where I optimized my character like nuts)

Were there any recommended heavy weapons in ME2? I like the collector beam but I got the most use from the grenade launcher from start to finish (though be aware this is from someone who thinks using Miranda and Jacob without the Geth Shotgun as Sentinel Shepard is the best way to go through Insanity...)

[Avilan the Grey]

I always prefer the guided missiles. THough the Arch thrower is hilarious. And Cain is AWESOME.

[Dienekes]

I don't think I had a problem with any if them on insanity. But I would say ME1 was the easiest. High level biotics can take out a whole room of mooks. And the combat powers can turn you pretty much invincible. After that all you need to do pick your favorite gun and blast away.

2 and 3 were more challenging bu once you got in the swing of things it's not so bad. Pause and order your allies around a lot makes things easier.

And to Zevox's early point of not listening to reviewers. For me it's not so much any single reviewer I trust. It's more of waiting for the reaction. There was a big stink over DA2's everything and an even larger reaction to the ME3 ending. Pretty much if there's a huge negative reaction, with points that I think seem reasonable, then I'm not getting it. Or at least waiting for a used copy or the price I go down.

[Psyren]

For me, I know I'll have enough fun with the journey on a Bioware game to justify the purchase price regardless of the ending or final act.

Were there any recommended heavy weapons in ME2? I like the collector beam but I got the most use from the grenade launcher from start to finish (though be aware this is from someone who thinks using Miranda and Jacob without the Geth Shotgun as Sentinel Shepard is the best way to go through Insanity...)

About the only bad one is the flamethrower from Zaeed's place due to its range. For me personally the best one is the Arc Projector, because you can zap an entire room with it for massive damage. It also chains to and from engineer drones that are en route to you, and if you hit one guy out of cover with it you will chain to most/all of his buddies that are ducking.

I never got the Gamestop version so I never got to try the Black Hole gun though.

[GloatingSwine]

Insanity in ME2 (haven't played it in ME1) is very frustrating (not very hard) because Bioware has only added crap (HP AND armor AND barriers) on minor foes to make them annoying, not improved the AI etc.

That was literally my favourite thing about Mass Effect 2. It made party composition matter because you needed the right powers to deal with those threats, and weapons all interacted differently with different types of defences (SMGs brought shields down faster, sniper rifles and heavy pistols defeated armour better, etc). Everything in ME3 was just so much duller because nothing had layered defences and the defences themselves were way more generic (anti-shield powers worked on barriers, for instance) so you never needed to change your strategy and you never needed to make your squad do anything specific to win the combat. In ME2 all my squad powers were on manual because I knew I needed them in the right places at the right times.

And it fit the lore of the game better than the enemies of ME3, where whilst Cerberus had the best combat variety it came at the expense of setting consistency. Welp, that guy's got a riot shield I guess he's completely immune to my handheld railgun except for his tiny vision slit.

Were there any recommended heavy weapons in ME2? I like the collector beam but I got the most use from the grenade launcher from start to finish (though be aware this is from someone who thinks using Miranda and Jacob without the Geth Shotgun as Sentinel Shepard is the best way to go through Insanity...)

The Flamethrower. It is the ultimate Husk crisper on higher difficulties.

[Avilan the Grey]

Armor piercing is king in ME3. Any weapon (several DLC weapons) are completely overpowered from the start because of their "free" AP.
The Typhoon is an extreme case of course (if you give everyone that can handle an assault rifle the Typhoon, you can just sit down and dodge an occasional attack, even on Insanity. They will kill everything for you) but also the Blood Pack punisher, for example, that will shoot through the guardian shields without having to be modded.

[KillianHawkeye]

I always prefer the guided missiles. THough the Arch thrower is hilarious. And Cain is AWESOME.

Yeah, the missile launcher was my favorite. I killed the damn thresher maw with it.

I never really did like the Cain because of how it was limited to just a single shot more or less (at least, I never got enough bonus to heavy weapon ammo capacity to get two shots out of it). And with the way a lot of the toughest parts of ME2 involve multiple waves of enemies, it didn't seem very useful to bring along a weapon that can at best clear out a single room full of baddies.

[Zevox]

And to Zevox's early point of not listening to reviewers. For me it's not so much any single reviewer I trust. It's more of waiting for the reaction. There was a big stink over DA2's everything and an even larger reaction to the ME3 ending. Pretty much if there's a huge negative reaction, with points that I think seem reasonable, then I'm not getting it. Or at least waiting for a used copy or the price I go down.

I certainly can't trust general public reaction like that to tell me whether I'll like a game or not. I love DA2, and despite disliking the ending still consider ME3 an excellent game overall. As far as I'm concerned, if I'd not picked those games up when they came out and then listened to the complaining and opted not to get them at all, I'd just be missing out.

Again though, I am somewhat skeptical of ME4, but for reasons wholly unrelated to Bioware's track record to date and instead based on what they've told us about it already. I'm just going to have to make my decision on whether to get it based on what they tell and show us before it comes out, since I don't trust either reviews or general public reaction to help me make that decision. Especially not where Bioware is concerned.

[Dienekes]

I certainly can't trust general public reaction like that to tell me whether I'll like a game or not. I love DA2, and despite disliking the ending still consider ME3 an excellent game overall. As far as I'm concerned, if I'd not picked those games up when they came out and then listened to the complaining and opted not to get them at all, I'd just be missing out.

Again though, I am somewhat skeptical of ME4, but for reasons wholly unrelated to Bioware's track record to date and instead based on what they've told us about it already. I'm just going to have to make my decision on whether to get it based on what they tell and show us before it comes out, since I don't trust either reviews or general public reaction to help me make that decision. Especially not where Bioware is concerned.

Agreed on ME3, but I could do without DA2. Boring level design, everyone grabbing the idiot ball at various times, shoddy encounters, those are the complaints that would have turned me off. Of course, you do have to listen to the complaints and figure out what does and doesn't matter to you as an individual. I can understand not trusting the masses opinion, but I still find it a useful tool when determining the potential for figuring out which out of numerous games and a tight wallet I should buy.