Mass Effect 3

[Rasix]

My manshep's face wouldn't import.  I had to rebuild it, and I managed to it get it reasonably close but I had to restart a few times to get it right.  Yes, I know that's sad.

Mine wouldn't import either, but he looked pretty dorky, so I just picked a default one and ran with it.  I kinda miss my dork now. Dude had the worst hair and a sort of "wtf ethnicity are you?" complexion going for him.  Ohh well. 

Difficulty seems mighty uneven in spots and your team just fucking loves to die repeatedly in some areas (if I revive you, please don't go back to doing the same dumb shit that got you killed).  Still having lots of fun with it.  The Krogan/Salarian stuff and the "old school takes forever" citadel has been particularly good. 

How the hell does your readiness go up? Is there a point in the plot where you can improve this?

[kaid]

multiplayer is what makes the readiness go up. Basically if you don't do the multiplayer stuff you in theory need twice the resources for the "best" ending but given the endings I would not worry to much about it. That said the multiplayer is pretty damn fun and the readiness goes up pretty damn fast if you are doing random map/random race fights.

[Jeff Kelly]

Yeah the enemy/party AI is spotty at best. Even Private Roidrage should realize that standing in front of a turret is a bad idea and there were countless instances of me being able to just shoot an enemy out of cover while it was staring at me doing nothing.

The way they described the Galactic Readiness system in the promo material and how the developer lead explained it on the Giant Bombcast episode always made me think that readiness for all mass effect players would go up if people played multplayer, only maybe at a reduced speed. So that even players that don't care about multiplayer can experience everything.

That's why I thought the galactic readiness map shows up on the origin login screen so that you can see what the other players contributed while you were away.

If you think about it then I suppose there are still a lot of gamers out there that didn't connect their console systems to the net. Are they even able to play the game?

[Ingmar]

I was totally shocked how fun the multiplayer was, even with random people on xBox Live.

[Special J]

Mine wouldn't import either, but he looked pretty dorky, so I just picked a default one and ran with it.  I kinda miss my dork now. Dude had the worst hair and a sort of "wtf ethnicity are you?" complexion going for him.  Ohh well.  

Difficulty seems mighty uneven in spots and your team just fucking loves to die repeatedly in some areas (if I revive you, please don't go back to doing the same dumb shit that got you killed).  Still having lots of fun with it.  The Krogan/Salarian stuff and the "old school takes forever" citadel has been particularly good.  

How the hell does your readiness go up? Is there a point in the plot where you can improve this?

Mine didn't look all that great either, but yeah it was my Shepard so it had to right.  I tried continuing on with one build and got a little past Mars but it just didn't work.

I'm not sure what's different but there are a couple fights on normal that I found rough.  And I've done Hardcore on the other two and it wasn't too bad.  Maybe I'm just not careful at normal difficulty.


re: Vanguards.  I find them fun, and love Biotic Charge, but that talent seems to get me into trouble a lot.  I'm still leveling it up and experimenting with loadouts.  Going to try walking in with a pistol and see if that'll let me spam Charge-Nova a bunch of times.

[Ingmar]

By the way I believe playing the iOS game also can raise your readiness - don't have an iPhone so I don't know if it is any good.

[Trippy]

I missed that one.

Haz spoilers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBgdto_TFA

Sorry for the janky frame rate, ME3 hates my computer.

[kaid]

Yeah the enemy/party AI is spotty at best. Even Private Roidrage should realize that standing in front of a turret is a bad idea and there were countless instances of me being able to just shoot an enemy out of cover while it was staring at me doing nothing.

The way they described the Galactic Readiness system in the promo material and how the developer lead explained it on the Giant Bombcast episode always made me think that readiness for all mass effect players would go up if people played multplayer, only maybe at a reduced speed. So that even players that don't care about multiplayer can experience everything.

That's why I thought the galactic readiness map shows up on the origin login screen so that you can see what the other players contributed while you were away.

If you think about it then I suppose there are still a lot of gamers out there that didn't connect their console systems to the net. Are they even able to play the game?

The galactic readiness is just a multiplier. Basically if you do 0 multiplayer you need to do twice the warfront gathering stuff. Honestly I was so far above the 5k range which is all thats needed for the "best" ending and I even skipped a couple n7 missions it should not really impact people much if at all.

[kaid]

Mine wouldn't import either, but he looked pretty dorky, so I just picked a default one and ran with it.  I kinda miss my dork now. Dude had the worst hair and a sort of "wtf ethnicity are you?" complexion going for him.  Ohh well.  

Difficulty seems mighty uneven in spots and your team just fucking loves to die repeatedly in some areas (if I revive you, please don't go back to doing the same dumb shit that got you killed).  Still having lots of fun with it.  The Krogan/Salarian stuff and the "old school takes forever" citadel has been particularly good.  

How the hell does your readiness go up? Is there a point in the plot where you can improve this?

Mine didn't look all that great either, but yeah it was my Shepard so it had to right.  I tried continuing on with one build and got a little past Mars but it just didn't work.

I'm not sure what's different but there are a couple fights on normal that I found rough.  And I've done Hardcore on the other two and it wasn't too bad.  Maybe I'm just not careful at normal difficulty.


re: Vanguards.  I find them fun, and love Biotic Charge, but that talent seems to get me into trouble a lot.  I'm still leveling it up and experimenting with loadouts.  Going to try walking in with a pistol and see if that'll let me spam Charge-Nova a bunch of times.

If you are running with just a pistol or a pistol/smg you should have 0 problems chain charge/noving with next to no cooldown between them. The game does not force you into a particular weapon choice but the game mechanics really do give people who just want to use their powers fast and furious a reason to stick with the pistols. Plus side is there are some damn nice pistols in this game to fit what you want. The carnifex moded out is a damn good gun both up close and at a range for the times you just cannot afford to charge.

[Jeff Kelly]

Another thing. Why are there so many different weapons available if there are clearly only one or two per class that are good choices?

Why do I keep finding guns in later missions that are basically worse than the one I found while on mars in the beginning.

Why offer all of those choices in the first place?

[Trippy]

The stats are somewhat misleading. You need to fire them at the firing range to understand their performance characteristics.

[Sky]

Are they worse after upgrading them to the same level as your previous guns? Or are they just a different style, fast vs dmg etc?

I just got the pistol the shoots mines  

[Ingmar]

I like the massive gun choices personally, and I don't think the 'which ones are good' are quite as cut and dry as you imply. I'm sure you can find people saying that the Revenant assault rifle sucks (the massive completely inaccurate bullet hose one) but I love that thing and got through stuff with it just fine. One thing that isn't necessarily clear on just one playthrough is how much the weight affects how useful a given weapon is for a given class, since they don't all rely on spamming powers to the same extent, etc.

Also note that the Phaeston sounds just like the Klobb from Goldeneye (the worst gun ever) so it has significant nostalgia value for that alone.  

[Trippy]

Plus side is there are some damn nice pistols in this game to fit what you want. The carnifex moded out is a damn good gun both up close and at a range for the times you just cannot afford to charge.

Pistols are definitely the most versatile since in this game they are used to sub for weapon types your class might not have access to. E.g. some of the pistols work as sniper weapons (with scope) or shotguns.

[Miasma]

If you get "From Ashes" from a collector's edition or the dlc you basically just take the plasma rifle and never bother to use anything else (if you can use rifles).  It's very strong, doesn't consume ammo and has no kickback but it does take away the excitement of finding new weapons, kind of boring.

[Sky]

I've been using the plasma rifle, with a sniper for obvious shots and the aforementioned mine-shooting pistol for a little fuck you charlie.

[Ingmar]

The big problem with the particle rifle is it has kind of shitty range compared to other ARs, the damage it does is also not linear - it goes up in damage the longer you hold it on someone - which means that it can be kind of sucky in situations when it would be bad to be out of cover for a long time, and it utterly sucks for popping out to take pop shots. The cool off thing it does also takes longer than the reload animation on a regular gun.

That all said it is pretty nice anyway. I like giving it to companions so I can tell who they are shooting at.

[caladein]

My favorite weapon is still the Locust SMG, mostly because I play Adept so I'm not too put up by armor.  Although I'm very glad with how quickly you get Ultralight Materials in SP so you can carry both an SMG and a Pistol and still be near max cooldown bonus.  It's just an Uncommon in MP but I'll still waiting for it.

As for Soldier, I'm enjoying Turian with its Mine set up for slows.  They don't seem to ever expire and they work if planted on side of doorways, ladders, and cover so they're pretty easy to use.

[Ingmar]

The Locust unfortunately comes along really really late in the single player.

[Lantyssa]

Still loving the Incisor.  (Don't have the Widow yet.)  With cold ammo, it's pretty amazing.

[rk47]

Agreed 101% on the DLC rifle ruining game balance. But heck, I play insanity and it saved me the nerd rage. 

[Polysorbate80]

I'm sure you can find people saying that the Revenant assault rifle sucks (the massive completely inaccurate bullet hose one) but I love that thing and got through stuff with it just fine.

A levelled-up revenant with a stability mod is ok for accuracy.  My personal choice is still the geth pulse rifle, with a stability mod and a decent level you can rip off full auto fire and the crosshairs do. not. move.  Damage is mediocre, but with ~130 rounds in a clip and something like 800 ammo overall, it doesn't run dry easy.

[Sjofn]

I prefer the geth rifle myself. I had Douche Prothean using the Prothean rifle for THEME, but my other rifle users used the geth one.

Cryo ammo is a hoot, I'm going to miss having it on my engineer MANSHEP playthrough.

[kaid]

The stats are somewhat misleading. You need to fire them at the firing range to understand their performance characteristics.

Yes some have some special stuff to them that is not shown in the stats. Like the scorpion pistol that basically shoots sticky bombs or guns that you can charge up to do more damage. That said there does seem to be a few weapons in a category that are just all around better but some are nice if you want some special effects. Like the crazy assault rifle grenade launcher. It does not do a ton of damage but its great for staggering big packs of mobs.

[rk47]

Arc pistol i pretty meh. Too heavy for my taste. RoF is high...though it's only Mark I. Phalanx Mark V is better for now.

[Special J]

I prefer the geth rifle myself. I had Douche Prothean using the Prothean rifle for THEME, but my other rifle users used the geth one.

Cryo ammo is a hoot, I'm going to miss having it on my engineer MANSHEP playthrough.

I tried the Prothean gun and didn't really like it.  Not that it wasn't good, there's just no kick or boom; wasn't fun.

Mail-slotting those Cerberus guys with it is pretty cool though.


Vanguard working much better now that I lighten my load to keep a +135% cooldown at minimum.  Tried just one SMG for +193%.  Oh yeah. 

[rk47]

Turian Soldier Marksman skill + Tempest SMG is really insane with 90 clip size.
I also loved Turian Soldier high shield plus Revenant Rifle with Armor Penetration mod. Shoots through Guardian Shield!   It makes up for not being able to roll imo.

[tmp]

Duck. Lips.

Hey now, duck lips are pretty much staple of the series. Shepard had them since the original ME and they still appear to be included in 9 presets out of 10.

On the other hand, looks Shepard got a boob job. Or a mass effect field bra.

[Jeff Kelly]

Wasn't normal difficulty supposed to be the "new hardcore" acording to Bioware? I find it to be easier than ME 2.

[Tebonas]

I use the Prothean gun because it uses no Ammo. But it is a boring weapon, does any other gun have the same advantage?

[Sjofn]

Duck. Lips.

Hey now, duck lips are pretty much staple of the series. Shepard had them since the original ME and they still appear to be included in 9 presets out of 10.

On the other hand, looks Shepard got a boob job. Or a mass effect field bra.

MY Lady Shepard never had duck lips. Certainly not duck lips on the scale Ashley has. I admit, though, part of the reason I picked the pre-made head I did in ME1 for her was because she didn't have the duck lips ALL the other heads had.

I also didn't notice her being particularly boobtastic. But I wasn't really ... looking? So if she had more noticable boobs, they weren't so laughable I actually noticed them. So uh. They walked a good line there, I guess? Straight girl didn't notice her boobs looking particularly stupid, score!

[Abelian75]

I also didn't notice her being particularly boobtastic. But I wasn't really ... looking? So if she had more noticable boobs, they weren't so laughable I actually noticed them. So uh. They walked a good line there, I guess? Straight girl didn't notice her boobs looking particularly stupid, score!

She's not really that dramatically boobified compared to ME2, though there is definitely a difference.  It's more like she just got a decent bra along with the hot meals and soft beds.

[Lantyssa]

The cut of the shirt, at least the one I use, is different.  The material cups her instead of drapes.

[tmp]

I also didn't notice her being particularly boobtastic. But I wasn't really ... looking? So if she had more noticable boobs, they weren't so laughable I actually noticed them. So uh. They walked a good line there, I guess? Straight girl didn't notice her boobs looking particularly stupid, score!

Yeah, it's not something that'd be really noticeable if the former games didn't stand out by being unusually reserved in that regard. It isn't horrible or anything, just well, different.

found a comparison pic:



(alas, can't find the one with added pregnant Shepard from ME4 )

[Merusk]

Her chest is regressing.. she's getting younger each game.