Mass Effect 3

[Jeff O'Connor]

Yeah, the gun thing is kind of lame, but really, those of us who haven't spent real-world dough on MP decks are only paying once; just don't drop cash on MP and it won't be so bad. It's lame, I agree, but from another POV it's two new guns and five SP unlocks for the same price point as ME2's three new guns.

[Reverend]

^Nobody has spent money on MP because all the packs have been free. That's half my point! And unlike the ME2 weapons packs, it's not new content, it's weapons that already exist in the game code, they're just not available in the single player campaign. Indeed, they're charging people money for something they already own.

STR wrote:

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They are free and already available, if you have the PC version and aren't afraid of some savegame editing...
other than that, the timing of the Leviathan DLC seems good to me. Been doing a ME1-3 playthrough and I'm almost done with ME1.

As far as I'm aware, that only works for the first set. Looks like Bioware got wise and changed how things work for the second & third packs.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Nope. A bunch of people have been spending money on MP. That's the thing -- a chunk of the MP fandom actually buys those packs en masse in order to gather items, characters, weapons, etc. more quickly. They actually pour Microsoft Point after Microsoft Point (and the PS3/PC equivalents) for this stuff, silly enough. That's why Mike Gamble's been quoted for saying it's made them a lot of money. That's how the MP community works with a lot of free-to-play MP games -- through microtransactions. So I'm told, that is.

Also, two of the seven weapons are completely new, which puts this at 66% as effective as ME2's Firepower pack already for the same price point.

[RyuRoots]

The PS3/PC equivalent is "dollars", by the way.

[ATimson]

RyuRoots wrote:

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The PS3/PC equivalent is "dollars", by the way.

Really? Bioware's not making you use Bioware Points on PC like they did for Dragon Age: Origins?

[Kadratis]

Looking forward to this SP DLC. Rumors* on the BioWare forums that Shep might get a temporary Batarian team member; take it with a grain of salt though.

* Take it with a grain of salt!

[RyuRoots]

ATimson wrote:

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Really? Bioware's not making you use Bioware Points on PC like they did for Dragon Age: Origins?

Didn't know PC had proprietary points and crap for DA. Hm, maye that, then.

PSN has always just been straight-up real money values, though. Something I definitely appreciate.

And Kadratis, I would take that with an entire silo full of salt. You're talking about BSN. Most "rumors" there tend to be wishful thinking that gets spread around.

[Reverend]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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Nope. A bunch of people have been spending money on MP. That's the thing -- a chunk of the MP fandom actually buys those packs en masse in order to gather items, characters, weapons, etc. more quickly. They actually pour Microsoft Point after Microsoft Point (and the PS3/PC equivalents) for this stuff, silly enough. That's why Mike Gamble's been quoted for saying it's made them a lot of money. That's how the MP community works with a lot of free-to-play MP games -- through microtransactions. So I'm told, that is.

Also, two of the seven weapons are completely new, which puts this at 66% as effective as ME2's Firepower pack already for the same price point.

Yes yes yes, but that has NOTHING to do with the content of the free DLC packs. You could spend real money on re-enforcement packs at launch if you didn't want to wait to earn in-game credits and that was before the three MP DLCs were released. What I'm getting at is you don't HAVE to spend real money to get those weapons; they're freely available to anyone who plays multiplayer and has downloaded the DLC packs (for free!)

Indeed, I dare say those spending real money on the re-enforcement packs are *very* much in the minority. Hundreds if not thousands more players already have access to all those weapons (myself included) and haven't spent a penny to get them. I already own those weapons in-game and Bioware is asking for money so I can own them twice? F*ck right off sonny Jim.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Kadratis wrote:

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Looking forward to this SP DLC. Rumors* on the BioWare forums that Shep might get a temporary Batarian team member; take it with a grain of salt though.

* Take it with a grain of salt!

Last I was there, it was just 7he Island Head spreading his silliness again with an obvious Photoshop effort. It'd make sense for a batarian to get involved if this is indeed the Leviathan of Dis, but unless something has changed since earlier, I'm not holding my breath.

I'd love for it to happen, though.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Reverend wrote:

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Yes yes yes, but that has NOTHING to do with the content of the free DLC packs. You could spend real money on re-enforcement packs at launch if you didn't want to wait to earn in-game credits and that was before the three MP DLCs were released. What I'm getting at is you don't HAVE to spend real money to get those weapons; they're freely available to anyone who plays multiplayer and has downloaded the DLC packs (for free!)

Indeed, I dare say those spending real money on the re-enforcement packs are *very* much in the minority. Hundreds if not thousands more players already have access to all those weapons (myself included) and haven't spent a penny to get them. I already own those weapons in-game and Bioware is asking for money so I can own them twice? F*ck right off sonny Jim.

I understand, and I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm still thinking even disregarding all that multiplayer weapon nonsense, we're paying the same two dollars for two new weapons as opposed to three from ME2's Firepower; a reduction, to be sure, but it evens out for me with five MP-originated weapons peppered in, regardless of the moral issue.

Of course, if the weapons suck then that's unfortunate. But damn if ME2's Firepower didn't pack a punch.

[Reverend]

^For the record, the Argus and the Indra are both rubbish, the geth SMG takes so long to spool up it's a liability on higher difficulties, the Krysae is pretty powerful and has an AoE but it has the same odd pause-before-firing as the geth sniper rifle. The Reegar has an effective range of about two meters, has a low ammo capacity, burns through a full clip in two seconds flat and takes about as long to reload...plus it slows your walking speed. No idea about the Harrier, haven't got that one yet. Looks fun though, like a Mattock on full auto. No idea about the Raider either but I've heard it's naff too.

[Jeff O'Connor]

I have the Argus from the CE; it's OK. The Harrier is amazing. I just started messing with it in MP tonight, actually.

[Reverend]

Really? I never got on well with the Argus at all. Didn't feel like they got the rate-of-fire/damage ratio quite right. What class were you playing it with?

Incidentally, the full details for the firepower pack are here and includes two actual new weapons: -

Blood Pack Punisher SMG: Submachine gun with a secondary barrel that fires armor-piercing rounds.

The Punisher features a secondary barrel that fires one armor-piercing round per main-barrel burst. It was developed by Blood Pack gunsmiths who found that their vorcha recruits frequently forgot to optimize ammo loads in the heat of combat. This configuration makes the process automatic and highly effective at penetrating armor.

Adas Anti-Synthetic Assault Rifle: Electrical weapon that's effective against shields and synthetic targets.

Named in memory of the quarians killed in the Morning War on the planet Adas, this weapon's electrical attack has been optimized for medium- to long-range firefights. Alliance marines take issue with calling it a "rifle" since, technically, it has no rifling in its barrel. The quarians shrug this off, as quarian weapon terminology rarely translates flawlessly into human languages.

[Jeff O'Connor]

^ Yeah, I know. I was saying there were two new weapons all along! I suppose I should have listed what they were, though... sorry.

Anyway, "OK" may have been a bit strong. "Subpar", more like. But Soldier, for the record.

The Argus and the Raider are found via Leviathan if you don't already have them. So for me, that means I get the Raider, even though it's probably not much to be proud about aside from collections' sake.

[Reverend]

^Sorry, I must have missed that part.

I think most people will be getting the Raider since who the hell in their right mind pre-ordered the game on Origin?

Actually, I suspect that the weapons are found in the course of the mission(s), so you'll get both weapons regardless. Which of course means a free upgrade for the one you have already.

Yeah, by most accounts the Argus is useless for anything besides vanguards and infiltrators who like to get up close and personal. I've honestly never really liked playing with *any* of the shotguns in the Mass Effect series. Something about the third person perspective make then tricky to aim a moving targets and the damage dealt always feel inferior...with the exception of the geth plasma shotgun. That at least had some range on it.