Mass Effect 3

[Quinton O'Connor]

As an aside, I've never gone through the Suicide Mission casualty-free, not because I'm horribly inept but because I prefer the drama, staged though it is, of having at least one or two deaths. I usually hover around two or three.

Had it not been for my girlfriend, we wouldn't have that easy-to-obtain achievement.

 

[Skywalker]

I got my entire squad through the Suicide Mission on two of my playthroughs, but in all the rest I got at least one of them killed, just because it felt more realistic. I like to put Jacob through the vents just because he volunteers (and his story's pretty much done after his loyalty mission), and I like to have someone get taken by the Collector swarm during the Long Walk (usually Zaeed, even though I like him).

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

^ Haha, same here, aside from the fact that I usually off Samara during the Long Walk for some reason. And I kill Zaeed somewhat frequently, but I prefer having him get shot leading one of the teams. It makes sense that he could lead a team, until you start thinking about how in many of his war stories, he's the only one who got out alive. Hrm...

But his last line in that scene is great.

"Always knew it'd be like this."

 

[Skywalker]

Samara dying during the Long Walk just seems wrong. When I picture that, I can just imagine Shepard going "Okay, maybe I should have had her do the biotic field..."

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Samara dying during the Long Walk just seems wrong. When I picture that, I can just imagine Shepard going "Okay, maybe I should have had her do the biotic field..."

Well, my rationale is that I bring her alongside Jack for lots of biotic goodness through the swarms. I sort of headcanon the idea that she'd be the backup in an emergency, but since Jack makes it all the way across, she instead flings Reave all over the place and then gets taken down at the tail end.

I dunno why I like it, I just do.

 

[Evil Twin]

Well let's see, I had Jacob do the vents and had Jack lead the fire team to get him killed and to spite Miranda (and believe me, she ISN'T happy about it )

I had Miranda do the field so I could see her fail and have Thane get carried off by the seeker swarm. Oh, and Jack was the other squadmate.

Brought Miranda (disloyal BTW after siding with Jack in the catfight) and my paragade's BFF Kasumi to the reaper baby so Miranda could tell off TIM, only to die minutes later.

So really, I guess the whole suicide mission was about screwing over Miranda in every way possible.

I was frustrated that when the topic of the casualties came up while talking with Liara in my cabin later on and my only two dialogue choices were basically "It hurts" and They're heroes." Where's my "Good riddance" option, dammit!

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Man. You really, really hate Miranda.

 

[Darth_Daver]

Quick question, since I haven't had a playthrough (yet) with Thane dead:
if both Thane and Kirrahae are dead, who fights Kai Leng?

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Quick question, since I haven't had a playthrough (yet) with Thane dead:
if both Thane and Kirrahae are dead, who fights Kai Leng?

The salarian councilor just dies, basically.

 

[Reverend]

^Don't worry about it. 'WASD' will very quickly become second nature. The only tricky part is the space button, which for some reason Bioware decided to assign about 50 different situational functions to. It can make running away, diving and getting in and out of cover a bit of a toss up as to which you intend to do and what you'll actually do.

*Shepard runs up to a button on a wall to press it, proceeds to dive roll into the wall*

It's even more fun in multiplayer when you try to revive a fallen teammate and your character instead takes cover next to them...

Yuck. I remember when I first started PC gaming years ago I used the arrow keys, but considering how nearby keys like Q, E, F, C, X etc also get used by default, it's highly inefficient.

Only if you don't remap them too, and if you don't have problems with fingers slipping off WASD onto their neighbors and not realizing it 'cause they all feed the same.

If I were one of those deranged murderous lefty types, I still wouldn't use the arrow keys. It'd be a better idea to remap everything onto the keypad so the squad commands, reload etc. are within immediate reach.


Oh and as for casualties; since my first play-through I've made it a little tradition to kill off Jacob in the vents. A decision prompted by his general creepiness towards my femsheps, but rather validated I think by ME3. This man should *not* be allowed to breed. Speaking of Jacob related creepiness, has anyone seen this before? Personally I thought it was hilarious.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

That was spectacular.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan now official, and slated for release at some point this summer; also, weapon pack coming to the single-player game this Tuesday.

(From BSN'S Chris Priestly)

Leviathan

Today we are pleased to announce a new Story-Driven Single Player DLC for Mass effect 3 – Leviathan!

Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever. Discover more about the origins of the Reapers as you race across the galaxy to find the Leviathan. Unravel the dark history of the Reaper Race before it is too late. Coming later this summer there is no war, only the harvest.

Taking place during the events of Mass Effect 3, players will be thrust into the darkest corners of space where they will hunt a mysterious being rumored to be powerful enough to destroy a Reaper. As they race against time, they will begin to unravel the secret of the Leviathan. Explore uncharted systems and new areas on the Citadel, interact with brand new characters, unlock the AT-12 Raider shotgun and M-55 Argus Assault Rifle and discover more about the mysterious history of the Reapers. Available for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 for $10 or 800 MS points.

Firefight

Firefight Weapons Pack

Players will soon be able to arm themselves with the Firefight Pack, a new Single Player Weapon Pack available for download August 7 for $2 or 160 MS points. The Firefight Pack will feature two powerful new weapons and five bonus weapons to use in the fight to Take Back Earth!

The Firefight Pack includes the following weapons:

Indra Sniper Rifle: Fully automatic sniper rifle.
Krysae Sniper Rifle: Heavy turian sniper rifle with explosive rounds and an automatic scope for all-range fighting.
Reegar Carbine: Quarian electrical weapon that's best at close range.
Harrier Assault Rifle: Full-auto Cerberus rifle with low recoil and heat generation.
Geth SMG: Fully-automatic geth submachine gun. Its rate of fire increases when the trigger is held.

Last but not least, a trailer for Leviathan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwy_qosSwwU

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Oh, here's a shinier version of what I posted up there, with pictures and everything. Do remember to check out the trailer, though. (Which has Mike Gamble talking ahead of it, technically, but still.)

http://blog.bioware.com/2012/08/02/mass-effect-3-leviathan-firefight-dlc-and-wii-u-information/

 

[Reverend]

Wait, so they're charging people for the "privilege" of getting to use some weapons in single player that have already been released in multiplayer for free? Classy. Seriously now, why couldn't those have been unlockable in the Leviathan DLC and have the pre-order weapons as a pack people who missed out on them can buy separatly? Considering I already have the Indra and the Argus, either of those packs are a bit of a let down.

Trailer looks interesting though. I'm assuming from the presence of banshees that the mission won't unlock until after the asari monastery mission.

 

[STR]

Wait, so they're charging people for the "privilege" of getting to use some weapons in single player that have already been released in multiplayer for free?

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.

 

[Quinton 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.

Wait, so they're charging people for the "privilege" of getting to use some weapons in single player that have already been released in multiplayer for free?

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.

 

[Quinton 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]

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?