Mass Effect Discussion

[trobinson97]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Questions.

Will my team use their powers without me directing them to? It appears that they do because I've seen one of the guys go all biotic next to me. However, when I directed him to use Lift he didn't comply. Am I suppose to do something? Maybe hit right to have him engage on a particular enemy?

You can make them use their powers actively or only use the defensive ones (or not at all) in the options menu. When you are doing it for them manually, make sure to aim them directly onto the enemy you want them to use the power on. You can change your aim by using the R stick while pressing RB or LB.

What's the deal with everyone being a 1 in Assault Rifle aim? I bump up my ability in it (I'm a soldier) and there is no change. Is aim only something that goes hand-in-hand with the type of weapon/manufacturer? I ask because it seems that my entire party (I've added the quarian and the Krogan for example) has the same weapon stats across the board. I'm not talking about talents. Just weapon stats. How do you bump those up?

Thanks.

Different rifles have different stats. The better quality weapon you have the better the stats will be. I think I've seen assault rifles with accuracy as high as the mid 80s. You can boost your accuracy with upgrades on the weapons too. Don't worry, the sorry weapons won't last too long. You'll be getting some quality stuff before you know it.



IRT fishepa: What specifically confuses you?

[Skyboxer]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Questions.

Will my team use their powers without me directing them to? It appears that they do because I've seen one of the guys go all biotic next to me. However, when I directed him to use Lift he didn't comply. Am I suppose to do something? Maybe hit right to have him engage on a particular enemy?

What's the deal with everyone being a 1 in Assault Rifle aim? I bump up my ability in it (I'm a soldier) and there is no change. Is aim only something that goes hand-in-hand with the type of weapon/manufacturer? I ask because it seems that my entire party (I've added the quarian and the Krogan for example) has the same weapon stats across the board. I'm not talking about talents. Just weapon stats. How do you bump those up?

Thanks.

Yes. I actually turned it off and give them all orders. But at default they will use thier powers the way they see fit. Make sure when you direct them to do something that they can. They may have already used it and it wasn't fully recharged yet to do it when you asked.

[fishepa]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Just seems like a lot of micro-managing. Also I think the menu system is extremely clunky and confusing.

[CMH]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Thanks guys.

If I choose to let them control their own powers can I still override that if I choose? Or can I only direct them to use certain powers when I set it to manual in the options?


As for the micro-management that fishepa mentions...I think at first it seems a bit overwhelming. But, when I started my second session of gaming I got the hang of it really well.

My only complaint is some of the people's total lack for cover. The Krogan was great at shooting when having a shot and covering when oncoming bullets came toward his torso. The girl and guy (the first two people you get) are pretty much idiots out there. They die all the time and even if I tell them to cover they leave themselves open to attack.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Heh on a planet exploration side-quest I had to try to snipe their snipers to not get blasted and Garrus kept getting mowed down. Hah, I was crouching and sneaking up slowly to get a clear shot and he was just standing there at the crest of the hill banging away with the rifle. Haha, he must've died 12 times during that battle (my sniper skills were low at that point and dudes were far away)... Kaidan is even worse because he's basically screwed if anyone is out of pistol/biotic range...

I definitely don't think there is too much micro-managing in this game. You can set it to auto-assign if you really loathe the menu system. But aside from just having so many options, I think it's handled very well and isn't confusing at all. I'd rather have more options than less, so I'm glad they gave us all the upgrades and different weapon slots.

[thaima1shu]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Yeah I think the micro-managing isn't bad at all in this game. The menu system is pretty bad, but meh...it doesn't detract from the overall quality of the game for me.

[born_bad]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

I didn't find there to be too much micro-managing. It's an RPG, not a shooter, so some managing is to be expected. They did add the option of having the game do a lot of things for you, if you don't want to be bothered.

As usual, I was kind of confused by the menu (most RPGs menus seem overwhelming at first), but a few hours in and some patience (actually spending time in the menus), I know them pretty well now and don't have a problem with them.

My only compaint as far as managing stuff goes is that, towards the end of the game, it seems like I was constanly getting tons of equipment by killing guys. Rarely was the equipment anything new. How many Hammerhead Rounds IV did they think I would need? I was getting tons and tons of duplicate stuff and it becamse a bit of a pain to change them to omni-gel or sell them, keep track of everything and make sure I'm not selling something I actually wanted, etc.

[Cyros]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

I didn't find there to be too much micro-managing. It's an RPG, not a shooter, so some managing is to be expected. They did add the option of having the game do a lot of things for you, if you don't want to be bothered.

As usual, I was kind of confused by the menu (most RPGs menus seem overwhelming at first), but a few hours in and some patience (actually spending time in the menus), I know them pretty well now and don't have a problem with them.

My only compaint as far as managing stuff goes is that, towards the end of the game, it seems like I was constanly getting tons of equipment by killing guys. Rarely was the equipment anything new. How many Hammerhead Rounds IV did they think I would need. I was getting tons and tons of duplicate stuff and it becamse a bit of a pain to change them to omni-gel or sell them, keep track of everything and make sure I'm not selling something I actually wanted, etc.

Yup, yup, they sould've given you a menu with a full list of your items instead only being able to see them while equipping your party.

[trobinson97]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

Thanks guys.

If I choose to let them control their own powers can I still override that if I choose? Or can I only direct them to use certain powers when I set it to manual in the options?

If you set them to actively use their powers, they use them often and whnever they see fit. If you don't like the way they use them you can always change it in the options again. It'd be hard to override though, because they will use their powers/skills pretty quickly. When I first started I would micro manage, but I later on I just let them do their thing and it all worked out. If they are set to defensive, they will only use skills that boost their defense (obviously).

My only complaint is some of the people's total lack for cover. The Krogan was great at shooting when having a shot and covering when oncoming bullets came toward his torso. The girl and guy (the first two people you get) are pretty much idiots out there. They die all the time and even if I tell them to cover they leave themselves open to attack.

I hear ya on that one. The AI could be better, for the team and enemies. I like the idea of a cover system, but a lot of times the enemies just run at you, and your team will try to do the same things. They don't try to flank or out manever you a lot, they just bumrush. Too many times I've had to keep Liara from trying to tank. A lot of times though, I'll direct my team to a spot and make them stay there while I engage the targets. I kind of wish there was an option to leave teammates int he Normandy sometimes.

[Tmacattack]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

How do you do that Kyle mission? i searched the entire building of biotics, got bored and ended up killing them, is there anything i can do???

[sportsdude]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

How do you do that Kyle mission? i searched the entire building of biotics, got bored and ended up killing them, is there anything i can do???

Spoiler

he is in the second building that looks like a bunker. You need to go into the building you were in first, collect whatever supplies there are, leave, then you can enter the second building.

[Glenn33]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

I find this game to be very confusing.

It is .... at first. But I can tell you after about 3 hours or so into it the combat and inventory management will just click and you're enjoyment level will skyrocket. This is coming from a 37 year old guy who generally hates RPG's.

[mgoblue]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

http://www.pennyarcademerch.com/pat070431.html

Thought you guys would appreciate this...

[chapmanosu1]

Re: Mass Effect Discussion

I'm thinking about picking up the book since I'm not getting this game till Christmas. If anybody here has read it, does it ruin the plot or does it just provide some nice background info?

[Bornindamecca]

Re: Teammate AI

I was in total agreement about the AI when I first started this game. I was essentially playing it like a tactical shooter, having my people cover while I engaged with the sniper rifle. After getting used to the system and disabling the AI power usage, I realized yesterday that I haven't thought about the AI since way back then. I control as much of my teammates as possible. On my first playthrough, I chose Infiltrator, because I love the idea of never giving enemies a chance to fire a shot. With the party I use, that is usually the result, so the whole tactical shooter approach has been thrown away long ago.

If you really try to get through this game and play it like Rainbow Six or GoW, then the teammate AI isn't going to hold up. However, if you utilize more of the options at your disposal with the great variety of powers, boosts and strategic choices, the game plays absolutely great.