Mass Effect: General thread of Awesomeness

[Psyren]

Well if you're already at Thessia don't bother spending all your cash - the Widow is there, so just do that mission, pick it up and then use your money to buy upgrades for it instead.

[Anteros]

I actually recommend the black widow, because it's quite simply a boss and enemy elite murderer in a way that no other gun can compete with. It's the gun I break out when crap really hits the fan. When you have all day to sit back and snipe an enemy it doesn't matter what gun you use anyway.

[Inarius]

The thing about the Black Widow is that it usually does enough damage on its own to one shot enemies if you headshot them. The few baddies that survive a single shot usually go down in 2 or 1+ a cloak, while the regular widow just tends to overkill nearly everything except Banshees and Atlases.

[Gaelbert]

Just finished my completionist New Game+ runthrough of ME1. Unfortunately, it left me 40k XP south of level 60. If I start a New Game++ to run through the first few levels and hit 60 to import my character to ME2, would I be able to use the level 60 (I realize she wouldn't actually be 60 in ME2) character with the decisions I made on a previous playthrough? As fun as it was, I don't want to finish a 3rd campaign just for the handful of XP and benefits you get.

[Anteros]

The thing about the Black Widow is that it usually does enough damage on its own to one shot enemies if you headshot them. The few baddies that survive a single shot usually go down in 2 or 1+ a cloak, while the regular widow just tends to overkill nearly everything except Banshees and Atlases.

Yes, and for Banshees and Atlases you're better with the Black Widow anyway since you can pump all the bullets into them before reloading and do far more damage. Combined with the cloak or the soldier's adrenaline rush you can basically kill anything with the Black Widow if you can line up a good shot.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Just finished my completionist New Game+ runthrough of ME1. Unfortunately, it left me 40k XP south of level 60. If I start a New Game++ to run through the first few levels and hit 60 to import my character to ME2, would I be able to use the level 60 (I realize she wouldn't actually be 60 in ME2) character with the decisions I made on a previous playthrough? As fun as it was, I don't want to finish a 3rd campaign just for the handful of XP and benefits you get.

I had a similar situation myself. What I eventually did was start a third playthrough for the 60 achievement and then leave it hanging since I could not be bothered with a third full run and was happy with the end results of my second run.

If I'm not mistaken, you can only use a character who has finished a run? Someone feel free to correct me on that.

[tonberrian]

You'd think with all the random acts of kindness Paragon Shep does in ME1 that the alliance would be more willing to go to bat for her on the search for the Conduit.

[NEO|Phyte]

You'd think with all the random acts of kindness Paragon Shep does in ME1 that the alliance would be more willing to go to bat for her on the search for the Conduit.

The Alliance probably does go to bat for her, it's just that the Council exists solely to deny the reaper threat until it finally arrives, at which point you still have to fix all their problems before they'll help you.

[tonberrian]

The Alliance probably does go to bat for her, it's just that the Council exists solely to deny the reaper threat until it finally arrives, at which point you still have to fix all their problems before they'll help you.

I mean specifically when Udina locks the Normandy down.

[Landis963]

I mean specifically when Udina locks the Normandy down.

He smelled political capital all over the Council's boots, and started lapping it up (I sincerely doubt the Alliance had anything to do with the impound of the Normandy SR-1). Of course, you can reward him accordingly by putting Anderson in charge after your vindication and leaving Udina out to dry.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Did anyone in the world actually make Udina Councilor during their actual playthrough?

[tonberrian]

Okay. I think I finally get Vanguards in ME2.

And it is glorious.

[Anteros]

Did anyone in the world actually make Udina Councilor during their actual playthrough?

People that didn't play ME1 or accidentally started a game with a default world state? I think I did it once just to see what would change. Of course it's a Bioware game so nothing actually changes.

[Inarius]

Okay. I think I finally get Vanguards in ME2.

And it is glorious.

It is indeed, they're a lot of fun once you get the hang of them and the right abilities/shotgun upgrades.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Did anyone in the world actually make Udina Councilor during their actual playthrough?

I did, on my first playthrough. And yeah, nothing really changes. Your choice of whether or not to save the council makes a bigger difference (at least, in terms of atmosphere) than your councilor pick.

[Landis963]

Okay. I think I finally get Vanguards in ME2.

And it is glorious.

That biotic charge was what originally sold me on Vanguards. I hadn't even played ME1 before the ME2 promos started coming out, and I saw the charge in the trailer, and I was in love.

[Psyren]

Did anyone in the world actually make Udina Councilor during their actual playthrough?

I did once - but even using the rationale that he is the more savvy politician and thus more likely to be capable of maneuvering the Council to humanity's benefit, I just couldn't trust him to actually use his talents to that end. Thus all my Shepards ended up picking Anderson - my Paragons because he was a forthright leader who lacked personal ambition, and my Renegades wanted him because they trust military over politicians.

People that didn't play ME1 or accidentally started a game with a default world state? I think I did it once just to see what would change. Of course it's a Bioware game so nothing actually changes.

There are plenty of meaningful things that hinge on your choices; it's unrealistic to expect everything to do so.

[Anteros]

There are plenty of meaningful things that hinge on your choices; it's unrealistic to expect everything to do so.

Minor things like what characters are present for certain events, or codex entries. Major decisions never actually effect anything you see in the game.

[Landis963]

Minor things like what characters are present for certain events, or codex entries. Major decisions never actually effect anything you see in the game.

Whether or not Wrex is alive substantially changes the outcomes of your actions on Tuchanka in ME3. The geth subplot has several points of failure that can happen in ME2 but don't pay off until ME3. There are many cases, "major" or otherwise, that the optimal path changes based on your previous actions.

[Kish]

Thank you, Landis963. That was a very bizarre statement that Anteros made.

(It's disheartening how many people look at "You can recruit the krogan in ME3 by doing something involving a cure no matter who their leader is!" and take from that that it's cosmically irrelevant whether that leader is a close friend of Shepard's and a visionary who is in the process of leading his people to embrace a policy of peaceful coexistence with the rest of the galaxy's sapients, or a brutal fascist who hates all non-krogan and is already planning the second Krogan Rebellion for right after the Reapers fall. Just for one example. Another would be whether it's even possible to save both the geth and the quarians in ME3. And I could go on for practically every major decision in ME1 or 2.)

[Nerd-o-rama]

I think the argument goes "it doesn't affect gameplay, so it's just cosmetic!"

Because I don't know about you guys, when I think Bioware or RPGs in general, I think gameplay and not, say, story or setting or character writing.

[Kish]

Even if I found the "it's a CRPG, so screw the story, what matters is the numbers" viewpoint to make any sense, which I don't, it would still lack any factual accuracy.

(If Wreav is the krogan leader then doublecrossing the krogan is what leads to the most troops at the end; if Wrex is then dealing fairly with them is what leads to the most troops at the end--as well as the difference between krogan finally able to coexist with the rest of the galaxy and thrive, or krogan picking up speed in their hurtle toward extinction, should someone care about that story stuff. If you didn't both recruit Legion, keep Tali in the Migrant Fleet in good standing, and keep both Legion and Tali alive, you cannot save both the geth and the quarians, and if you can't then which is more useful is dependent on your decision on whether to kill or brainwash the geth heretics in ME2--as well as the difference between Rannoch being repopulated by geth and quarians working together, and Rannoch covered in the ruins of not one but two extinct species, should someone care about that story stuff. If you murdered the rachni queen back in ME1 slaughtering the rachni in ME3 is by far the better decision from a number-of-troops perspective, if you spared her then sparing them as well is by far the better decision--as well as the difference between the rachni being alive and peaceful or the rachni being truly extinct, should someone care about that story stuff. Etc., etc., etc., ETC.)

[Landis963]

I think the argument goes "it doesn't affect gameplay, so it's just cosmetic!"

In which event I would point toward the tragic case of the "Geth Assassin." (Long story short, give Legion to Cerberus before turning him on, and you have to fight him later while storming Cronus Station.) A choice clearly leading to a change in gameplay.

[Anteros]

99% of the time you end up walking down the same hallways, with the same plotline, to the same conclusion no matter what decisions you make. There might be a few different lines of dialogue, or a different character might show up in place of another, but fundamentally nothing changes. There are a few exceptions to this, but not nearly as many as you'd expect from a series that advertises itself as making your choices matter.

[Kish]

It's still going to be inaccurate to the point of goofiness no matter how many times you repeat it.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

So you're saying the only choices that matter are ones that lead to ENTIRELY different games, effectively? I can think of two games that do that, the Witcher games. It's especially egregious in the Witcher 2, as you play entirely different 2nd Acts and different 3rd Act main quests based on some of your decisions, but that means you have to play through the entire 1st Act again (which is only eh) to get to the change if you want to experience all the content in the game.

[Psyren]

Minor things like what characters are present for certain events, or codex entries.

That's not minor at all. In true Bioware fashion, the "replacement character" is actually a fully-realized and well-rounded person in their own right. Padok Wiks has excellent dialogue, and he presents a great take on how another similarly-gifted Salarian could arrive at the same conclusions as Mordin (the genophage should be cured) while having a different background and even disagreeing with him on many key points. Similarly, Wreav was a well-written character - an easily-duped brute, to be sure, but you can see why leadership would have gone to him even so, and he's the kind of guy you love to hate. The replacement Council were also interesting, and the zombie Rachni Queen is actually better off being killed and taking Arlakh company instead. Hell, they even made keeping Conrad Verner alive have meaning and impact.

The only one I might actually say was minor was Legion's replacement, which really was just an expository stand-in.

[Kish]

The only one I might actually say was minor was Legion's replacement, which really was just an expository stand-in.

...except that unless Legion is present you cannot possibly save both the geth and the quarians.

[Psyren]

...except that unless Legion is present you cannot possibly save both the geth and the quarians.

Right, Legion's presence or absence is important - I'm not denying that. I'm just saying that the character of his replacement isn't particularly interesting. He even has most of the same dialogue, just with "We are not Legion" thrown in at various points and a slightly more negative attitude towards organics. I think they phoned it in a little when it came to the "Geth VI" is all I'm saying. But not having Legion was definitely impactful.

[Nerd-o-rama]

99% of the time you end up walking down the same hallways,

I'll give you this one, and I think it could have potentially been done better. Even TOR, lazy cash-in that it can be, can at least give you slightly different dungeons depending how you choose to tackle an individual quest. Still, for a AAA game with the attendant expectations of graphics and enormous resource-intensive setpieces, I can understand this as a technical limitation.

with the same plotline

Sure, if you don't actually watch the cutscenes or listen to the dialog.

to the same conclusion no matter what decisions you make.

Didn't download Extended Cut, huh? Although really, even discounting the conclusion of individual plotlines that got kind of skimmed over even in EC, how well you play the choices game still affects the content of the ending and whether you even get a particular ending option (which happens to be the one I hate, but unlocking it is still based on the sum effect of in-game choices).

There might be a few different lines of dialogue, or a different character might show up in place of another, but fundamentally nothing changes.

Except for those things you just said, which are rampant throughout ME3 in almost every cutscene and half the conversations. "One character showing up in place of another" even applies to half your party, seeing as you can lose permanent party members in ME3 based on your actions in ME2, and of course your choice back at Virmire gives you two completely different party members.


Basically, there's only two things I'd change about ME3 to make your choices "matter" more: alter Cerberus's role in the game prior to Priority: Citadel based on your choices in ME2, and make the ending options more divergent and make any ****ing sense.