Mass Effect

[DrSpike]

Definitely still worth playing ME1. The mako sections are annoying, and the side quests largely dull, but the main quest line is very very good.

[N35t0r]

In normal, very little enemies have extra defenses (armour / shield / barrier), so you can make do with soldier-types.

On hard, most enemies have at least two layers of defense, and barrier especially is pretty effective against soldier-types (since you've got ammo powers to counter the other two)

I did my hard playthrough as a soldier, and generally had Garrus/Miranda (when fighting mechs) or Thane/Miranda (vs. everything else, especially Collectors) as teammates. Thane and Miranda have a power which is very effective against barriers (is it warp? I don't remember), something essential when fighting collectors. It can also be comboed with throw/pull for greater effect.

If you still have spare cash, you missed upgrades. There's things to buy in all 4 civilized planets, the easiest to miss I think are the ones sold by the Krogan doctor in Tuchanka, and Illium which has a ****load of different shops.

As for mining, only bother with rich or better planets. You'll end up with excess metals anyway.

[edit:] Also, autolevel

I'd love a way to respec other teammates though. I got stuck with a couple of powers I didn't use, or with spare points I couldn't use.

[Al B. Sure!]

Yeah I had crazy minerals at the end (500+K of everything except Element Zero which I had 100+K of) and a lot of cash.

Autolevel screwed me up because I couldn't get Morinth but I re-loaded when I found out I could start my levels over from scratch and get the one which maxes out my renegade. It'll be fun to see how my nothing but ruthless decisions affect ME3. I still think I want to save the crew though and Thane who, for some reason, is not considered ideal for crawling through tunnels even though the 'suicide' mission is a perfect fit for him... go figure. He actually said he found the tunnels pleasant when he started.

I think Bioware messed that one up. Thane should be THE ideal for that part of the final mission. Did I miss something or is a diseased reptile who is a loner and is used to crawling/sneaking around in hostile territory, including vents, not the perfect fit for such a task billed as a suicide job? Why the hell would I send Tali or Legion (the actual ideals) for that?

[Nostromo]

She's an engineer

[DrSpike]

Yes, the key is high tech skill rather than skill at crawling through tunnels. Thane might like the tunnel, but he's an assassin not an engineer.

[Al B. Sure!]

yeah but all he has to do is open a door

[Nostromo]

IIRC, its not like they need someone to turn the doorknobs: they need someone to actually hack the doors. Anyway, its a bit silly arguing about this. The story is dumb. Everyone agrees about this. Well, I hope so

[DrSpike]

I do not agree. Also I think it is made perfectly clear you need a tech expert for the first bit of the last mission.

[Guynemer]

Agreed with DrSpike on both counts. Honestly, Mass Effect is the best science fiction story in any medium in the last several years. The amount of world building and level of immersion is phenomenal; the voice acting is terrific; and the writing is the best you're ever likely to see in a video game.

Autolevel. Properly leveled, every character can be absolutely devastating in combat, even Mordin or Tali.

My very first playthrough, I got Tali killed, after romancing her. I thought your romance automatically died; I didn't realize I had picked her for a mission for which she was unsuited.




Incidentally, there are a couple of brilliant batches of DLC. Overlord came out a few months ago--great story, very creepy and tragic. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to have any bearing on the greater story at-large. There's a pack with a new squad member, Kasumi, who has an intriguing loyalty mission that's a bit different than others. Sadly, you don't have involved conversations with her, but she has some interesting powers in combat, and I've had a lot of success with her in a variety of combat situations. On Hardcore difficulty, I think I've had to revive her only once.

Finally, the newest DLC, about Liara and the Shadow Broker, is ****ing fantastic. Definitely the longest DLC to date, with the most varied gameplay and story yet. There's one section in particular that brings back memories of the Citadel battle in the original game. It also appears to have huge implications for Mass Effect 3. Strongly, strongly, strongly recommended.

[Al B. Sure!]

I highly doubt a DLC would have huge implications for Mass Effect 3. If it did, that would be stupid from Bioware's perspective because what % of players would actually get that DLC? Probably going to be a wasted opportunity.

How does the character saving work? Like if I did the last battle already and I do the DLC or other stuff, will the import character go off of right after the last battle or off of whenever I stop?

[Guynemer]

Trust me. That DLC will play a role in ME3, potentially a big one.


Not sure about your question, but I think its after the final battle.

[Al B. Sure!]

So then if I play the DLC now after beating the game, it will have no bearing on ME3?

[Guynemer]

I'd assume they'd make a new save for Lair of the Shadow Broker.

[Quillan]

I'd love a way to respec other teammates though. I got stuck with a couple of powers I didn't use, or with spare points I couldn't use.

Lair of the Shadow Broker adds this. After it's done, there's a terminal in there you can use to respec any teammate at a cost of 1000 eezo.

Also, since they've said the DLCs between now and ME3 are going to bridge the story gap between the two games, I think they'll probably use the import mechanic from Dragon Age instead, where you'll actually be able to choose a save to import.

[Guynemer]

Cool, didn't see that.