Mass Effect 3

[kildorn]

So a quick night of testing says spamming recruit packs may not actually work. I kept getting class unlocks for human classes I'd already unlocked all the appearance options for, but were under level 20. So instead of moving into the Vet Pack equipment tier it decided to give my level 19 vanguard all of a fraction of a bar of xp 10 times in a row.

[rk47]

So a quick night of testing says spamming recruit packs may not actually work. I kept getting class unlocks for human classes I'd already unlocked all the appearance options for, but were under level 20. So instead of moving into the Vet Pack equipment tier it decided to give my level 19 vanguard all of a fraction of a bar of xp 10 times in a row.

that was my fear for veteran pack too. But I'm working on Phalanx Mark X now. Fuck Asari Adepts. The true chance of getting that character is very, very low for Spectre pack.

[Sjofn]

I got a DRELL adept today (and finally a Locust SMG!). I suck. Or he sucks. Or we both suck. In any case. There was suckage.

[rk47]

I saw Drell Barrier counter at 333 and wondered if it was a mistake.Then realized, it's true. He's literally sitting on 600 HP and 333 Shield. And people tell me I should use him for Martial Arts. Wtf?

Why the hell isn't there Drell infiltrators?

[kildorn]

Drell have low barriers as a race, and apparently some innate weight bonus for weapon carrying.

But none of this matters as the Drell Adept has one of the most awesome combos ever (Pull -> Reave detonates), which is completely unusable because after a single wave of Reave's sound effect you will force quit the ME3 client. Hate that sound effect so much.

[Fabricated]

Without being spoiled (if that is at all possible), what is the big deal with the ME3 ending?  Is it broken, is it a crappy 'And they lived happily ever after', is it clearly rushed?   I haven't picked up ME3, and I'm hearing all this rage, and I'm trying to work out if it is legitimately a bad ending, or just standard internet srs  bsn.

[Lantyssa]

Was the demo different?  Does it carry over?  (I haven't even launched multi in the real game)  As I had an Asari Adept as my unlock in the demo.

[kildorn]

Was the demo different?  Does it carry over?  (I haven't even launched multi in the real game)  As I had an Asari Adept as my unlock in the demo.

No carry over. The demo's multi is very similar (two more enemy types, a bunch of maps, one more unlock class above vet packs at 60k)

Asari Adept is rare as shit in the full game. I think it was only common in the demo because of a lack of rares in the pool. That said, stasis is nowhere near as bullshit in the fully game. It doesn't work on half the reaper units, and it's really only awesome against Cerb (due to phantoms being vulnerable to it AND a bitch to kill, and it dropping guardian shields). The selling point of the Asari Adept for me is having a better general use biotic explosion combo than Humans (Warp -> Throw is far easier to use at any range than Warp -> Shockwave)

[Surlyboi]

Stasis sucks against reapers. Full stop. But Kil's totally right, the warp/throw combo is useful as hell, especially with the quick power regen choices and a light weapon. (I still haven't unlocked a carnifex, but I got the N7 equivalent, and it's kicking shitloads of ass.)

[Ingmar]

I got Asari Adept in like, my first vet pack. 

[Sky]

I haven't really gotten anything good in like 6 newb packs. I should probably move on to the next one.

I did decide to move from assault rifle to pistol with my engineer to speed up powahs. We'll see how that goes, both are crap versions without upgrades (pistol has an accuracy 2 upgrade, I think).

Probably going to jump on and shoot some stuff after work.

[Sjofn]

I did alright with my shit SMG, we'll see how I do with my BRAND NEW LOCUST. pewpewpewpewpewpewpew

[Jeff Kelly]

Amazon and Origin are now offering full refunds to people unhappy with Mass Effect 3. Amazon even for opened games and Collectors Editions.

It must be bad if they go that far.

[Thrawn]

Amazon and Origin are now offering full refunds to people unhappy with Mass Effect 3. Amazon even for opened games and Collectors Editions.

It must be bad if they go that far.

I haven't finished it yet...but I can't imagine the ending is bad enough to justify that kind of response.  The game so far is amazing.

[Simond]

Amazon and Origin are now offering full refunds to people unhappy with Mass Effect 3. Amazon even for opened games and Collectors Editions.

It must be bad if they go that far.

I haven't finished it yet...but I can't imagine the ending is bad enough to justify that kind of response.  The game so far is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRamB30E9mU (Not a spoiler in any way)

[kildorn]

*rant rant* This game's ending is not bad enough to warrant full refunds after enjoying the rest of the fucking game and/or series. Yeah, it's bad. No, it's not My Product Is Defective bad.

[Simond]

Yes it is.

(See how subjective opinions work?  )

[Sky]

Pet peeve - quick match leaders bailing. At what level should people stop doing bronze missions. I've got mine set on bronze and I don't even bother hitting 'ready' if there's a level 14+ leader, because the overwhleming odds says he sees a bunch of level 8-12 folks and bails. Levels are nice, but good players are better. I mean...it's bronze. The only time I haven't completed the match was when two people bailed mid-match. We've finished with three a bunch of times, even, all under level 10.

[Sjofn]

Hell, I still do bronzes at 20 sometimes because I like to faceroll. 

[Sky]

At level 12 I ended up soloing waves 7, 8 and 9 because my team went down so fast. By wave 10, the other teen level dude must've caught enough chase cam footage to learn how to move the fight around the level properly, but I backed into some geth pyros and was flambed...and he died like 2 seconds later.

It took sooo long to solo wave 9, one guy dropped but the other two had to sit and watch me engineer down some geth with a measly lvl 4 shock and lvl 4 drone. As a bonus, I got plenty of grabs in.

[kildorn]

Yes it is.

(See how subjective opinions work?   )

But that's not refund behavior. "I didn't like this" does not mean "I require my money back after fully consuming your product." It's simply feeding the idiotic customer service meme that it's better to appease bad customers than take care of good customers. It's why some douchebag in walmart can pitch a fit and get money back for a completely used product without a receipt because if they don't they might make more of a scene. It's why you can actually return half eaten products to Trader fucking Joe's for a full refund "because I was full." (and yes, that last one is from an appalled trade joe's employee who had no idea why that is actually the company policy. They take refunds without any flaw in the used food product.)

I'm mostly upset with the refunds because I'm sick and tired of the idea that the only customer worth treating well is the one trying to drag the company's name through the public mud until it's financially a better option to just bribe them to go the fuck away. Every review of ME3 I've seen from gamers has been "Awesome fucking game until the last 10 minutes", which should entitle you to a 1% fucking refund.

edit: just to be clear about the level of consumer entitlement here: If people think the game was fucking awesome until the last minute and ask for a full refund? They're essentially throwing a huge fit over what they feel was a good game, and demanding the studio fire everyone involved over the last few minutes being pretty badly written. A mass refund situation is not going to tell this team "write the last chapter better", it's going to tell EA to shutter the Mass Effect team's offices because the game was 100% awful with no redeeming qualities. Bitching at them in user reviews, whatever. If you feel the entire game was terrible? Go nuts, demand a refund (shoulda done that from the demo if you dislike the actual game, but whatever). Played it to the end with a huge smile on your face until the last wtf moment? A refund at that point is just a huge middle finger to every person who worked on the product that you actually enjoyed.

[Simond]

So...basically your point is "suck it down, consumers, otherwise EA might be mean to Bioware"?

[Tannhauser]

Driving home from work today I was envious of folks who bought thru Amazon and get refunds.  Now Origin offers it as well and I have my chance. Think I'll keep it.  Already on my second playthrough and will scour the game, but will quit before the stupid end.  BUT I won't pay Bioware another penny unless they patch in a FREE decent end. I don't need puppies and rainbows, I need a logical fucking end to an otherwise epic game series.  

It's a shame an otherwise amazing game is forgotten thanks to a completely clueless, nonsensical ending but there it is.

Don't worry kildorn, EA will survive this.  But Bioware's reputation is tarnished.  Tarnished!

 

[Paelos]

Every review of ME3 I've seen from gamers has been "Awesome fucking game until the last 10 minutes", which should entitle you to a 1% fucking refund.

So if I enjoyed a burger up to the point where I found a booger in my last bite? They should just refund me a nickel and tell me to go fuck myself, huh?

[kildorn]

So...basically your point is "suck it down, consumers, otherwise EA might be mean to Bioware"?

My point is basically: If you enjoy 99% of a product and dislike 1% of it, you are a huge douchebag for using it fully and then demanding to be compensated for all 100% of it.

"The font on your website sucks, I DEMAND YOUR CEO BE FIRED" is just as unreasonable. It's pitching a giant entitled hissy fit over something that barely matters to your overall use of a product that will have giant negative implications.

[kildorn]

Every review of ME3 I've seen from gamers has been "Awesome fucking game until the last 10 minutes", which should entitle you to a 1% fucking refund.

So if I enjoyed a burger up to the point where I found a booger in my last bite? They should just refund me a nickel and tell me to go fuck myself, huh?

That would be a health and safety issue. As in the reason you are entitled to a refund there is because realistically you're entitled to have the establishment shut the fuck down by the government. I do wish people would stop trying to compare physical harm to something that cannot physically harm you.

"I enjoyed Lord of the Rings until the last chapter, REFUND" is a far closer analogy. Or "I love my vacuum cleaner but the instruction manual has tiny print. REFUND", or in the food vein: "I really loved my burger, but the last bite was nothing but Bun and sauce. The patty wasn't large enough for the bun! FULL FUCKING REFUND FOR THAT AWESOME BURGER"

[Simond]

"Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

[kildorn]

"Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

See? Right to bodily harm.

Let me throw this out there:

If I buy a pair of jeans and wear them say, 5 times over two weeks, I find them acceptable pants. I return them. Am I entitled to a full refund on the product or not?

[Simond]

What if you only just found out they were pulled off a corpse of a man who died of leprosy and then sold to you?

[Tannhauser]

So...basically your point is "suck it down, consumers, otherwise EA might be mean to Bioware"?

My point is basically: If you enjoy 99% of a product and dislike 1% of it, you are a huge douchebag for using it fully and then demanding to be compensated for all 100% of it.

"The font on your website sucks, I DEMAND YOUR CEO BE FIRED" is just as unreasonable. It's pitching a giant entitled hissy fit over something that barely matters to your overall use of a product that will have giant negative implications.

Isn't the ending of the game part of my "overall use of a product that will have giant negative implications"?

Don't mean to pile on, but you're off base I think.  Don't folks in movie theaters get refunds when they walk out?  They just usually figure out the movie sucks before the end.  

[kildorn]

What if you only just found out they were pulled off a corpse of a man who died of leprosy and then sold to you?

Hey look, you went to: BODILY HARM again.

Since you refused to answer the easy question:

Do you believe Mass Effect 3 has caused you direct physical harm? If so, I can link you a lawyer for the lawsuit.

[kildorn]

So...basically your point is "suck it down, consumers, otherwise EA might be mean to Bioware"?

My point is basically: If you enjoy 99% of a product and dislike 1% of it, you are a huge douchebag for using it fully and then demanding to be compensated for all 100% of it.

"The font on your website sucks, I DEMAND YOUR CEO BE FIRED" is just as unreasonable. It's pitching a giant entitled hissy fit over something that barely matters to your overall use of a product that will have giant negative implications.

Isn't the ending of the game part of my "overall use of a product that will have giant negative implications"?

Don't mean to pile on, but you're off base I think.  Don't folks in movie theaters get refunds when they walk out?  They just usually figure out the movie sucks before the end.  

I've never seen someone sit through a movie, laugh at it, and walk out after the credits and get a refund. Because they quite clearly consumed the product with no complaints, and for Simond: No bodily injury sustained during the show.

Now, if they played a children's film for 89 minutes and the last minute was the gory decapitation of a man? I'm sure there would be refunds for the emotional harm. But I have a strong feeling that ME3's ending doesn't quite reach that level of unacceptable/lawsuitbait.

I'm saying that over the years there have been dozens of games with shit last 10 minutes. Bioshock? Awesome game, shit ending. Deus Ex:HR? Awesome game, shit bosses/ending. Are we suddenly entitled to full refunds for 19 hours of enjoyment, 5 minutes of facepalming? You don't see how that seems a TAD unfair to the people who create the 19 hours of enjoyment?

Am I suddenly entitled to a full refund for WoW and all my sub fees because I dislike the new patch?

[Simond]

Do you believe Mass Effect 3 has caused you direct physical harm?

I think your posting might be. 

[kildorn]

Do you believe Mass Effect 3 has caused you direct physical harm?

I think your posting might be. 

I'm sorry if your psyche is that fragile that an expectation of paying for 20 hours of entertainment has caused you physical harm. I'm sure you have a personal injury lawyer to call, so I'll leave you be.

[Rokal]

If you return the game you're punishing Amazon for having lenient return policies, not Bioware. It's a pretty terrible way to 'send a message' to Bioware.