Mass Effect 3

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Yeah, he definitely using it wrong. Shooting the floor and walls like an idiot. I stick it right to their helmet. Hell the Scorpion is a Atlus, Banshee and Brute killer.

[Burns11]

Re: Mass Effect 3

I didn't have that ability.....so me and my squad just hid in the building and picked the banshees apart from afar.

I just waited until the panel turned green then ran for it.

[Leon]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Haven't had the chance to use the Scorpion because of its weight! And right now, I'm not willing to leave my lovely Mattock behind. So far, my Sentinel has been able to kick *** with powers + few shots from the Mattock (though I don't really need to shoot).

Would you guys say this is the best assault rifle in the game? I want to upgrade it more but I don't want to waste credits if there's something better out there.

[Watson]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Uh, yea, my weight bar stayed full and I didn't experience any drawback whatsoever.


My main loadout was

Mantis
Scorpion
Mattock
Spike Thrower
Hornet

and at the end I traded the Mattock for the Falcon, which is also bad. ***.

[Chizzypoof]

Re: Mass Effect 3

This is a long but interesting read about the ending from a point of view of a screenwriter. He or she hits a lot of points that confused me also. Spoilers are in the read.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10022779/1

[TracerBullet]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Uh, yea, my weight bar stayed full and I didn't experience any drawback whatsoever.


My main loadout was

Mantis
Scorpion
Mattock
Spike Thrower
Hornet

and at the end I traded the Mattock for the Falcon, which is also bad. ***.

You used a soldier, so the drawback wouldn't be as bad as it is for any other class.

[Burns11]

Re: Mass Effect 3

You used a soldier, so the drawback wouldn't be as bad as it is for any other class.

Yeah, the quicker I could use Overload and Warp the better.

[SlimKibbles]

Re: Mass Effect 3

This is a long but interesting read about the ending from a point of view of a screenwriter. He or she hits a lot of points that confused me also. Spoilers are in the read.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to...dex/10022779/1

That was a very good read and an interesting commentary on the ending. When you have someone well-versed in the area of writing stories tearing apart the ending of the game, that isn't good.

[Burns11]

Re: Mass Effect 3

I just saw an ad for this and at the end they had the ubiquitous review quotes and it made me wonder, considering how pretty much universally panned the end of the game is, how come none of the reviewers made mention of it? They made mention of other plot issues, like meeting old crew mates feeling contrived, but nothing about the ending.

[stizz]

Re: Mass Effect 3

So, I just lost 600+k and all my fuel after completing a mission. Cool.

[Kearnzo]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Spoiler

Man, I REALLY wanted Legion to survive, but I just couldn't let him upload the Reaper code to all the geth. I was definitely sad when he died.

Anyways, I really wish that you could open up mission details in the journal. There are so many fetch quests that don't show if you have actually retrieved the object yet, and I don't feel like going back to the Citadel empty handed. Basically my only gripe so far in my 22 hours with the game.

[Leon]

Re: Mass Effect 3

^

Not quoting since I don't want to see spoilers but I totally agree with the disappearance of mission details in the journal. I don't get why they took that out. I've quite a bit of side-quests and I have no idea which quests I have progress on (when it comes to fetch quests, anyway).

[Jasong7777]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Think i'm going to do a full blown renegade fem Shep run now.

[mudtiger]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Ending thoughts

Spoiler

At this point I guess I'm hoping there is more to the ending than presented, whether it be the indoctrinated theory or just more explanation, I don't care. I just hope more is offered as an ending.

I think the story could have been massaged a bit throughout the game to improve the payoff though. Rather than just gripe, here are my thoughts on how it could have been improved.

Focus a bit more on the fact that the reapers are leaving young civilizations alone while the unshackled AI's will wipe out the entire galaxy leaving no one alive. They will hunt down all organic life and exterminate it leaving the galaxy a cold unfeeling place for only machines. It could be hinted at that other galaxies than the milky way have suffered this fate.

Perhaps add some additional info from the Prothean or from the dream sequences about how as a civilization ages it gets corrupted as a whole. The AI the Protheans created that was rebelling or about to rebel against them could have at least been mentioned. Perhaps offer a small twist here where you learn the Protheans were doing some bad stuff (genocide type stuff either intentionally or unintentionally). So in addition to unleashing an AI galaxy killer, they were doing some bad stuff so having them get wiped out might not have been such a bad thing as a whole. Go so far as to hint the Protheans were about to do something bad to the earth (enslave primitive humans, wipe them out, whatever). So if the reapers hadn't come along, humans as they are in the mass effect galaxy would not exist. Directly show how the reaper cycle in fact saved humans and allowed their civilization to grow and mature.

Expanding on the unintentional genocide, show discovering young civilizations and giving them advanced technology leading to the corruption or even death of that young civilization (civil war, nuclear holocaust, trying to conquer their corner of the galaxy with the new tech, etc). Or on the intentional side show how an advanced civilization might disdain a younger one and use them for labor or recreation (zoos, hunting, play things, wiping them out, whatever). Prothean could open up and hit on some of the bad things their civ did once you freed him from TIM...or probably better the star child could have had a montage of some of the evil unleashed by advanced civs before they were reaped during previous cylces. Show a slippery slope where once a civ attains god like powers, they intentionally or unintentionally, with good or bad motive, unleash evil. Give genetics and genophage as example.

Build some story here that makes you rethink the Protheans and maybe see how a civilization would think the reapers are the answer. Prune the bad growth to allow new growth is the better alternative to letting AIs kill all organics. Push this even further by having the star child offer up that his race was organic and they were the first to be 'reaped' because they recognized their civilization was a blight on the galaxy. They understood they needed to sacrifice themselves for the good of future organic life and start the cycle.

Here's where some of shepard's decisions could pay off. Show how decisions, good or bad, may be leading to horrible intended or unintended consequences for other races/civilizations and the galaxy as a whole. Force the player to think, maybe the reapers are a good thing and maybe it is inevitable that advanced civs will muck up the galaxy. Another example to throw out, just look at what TIM did to the people that went to Sanctuary to try and stop the reapers, in no small part by shepard helping TIM previously, he helped to kill those people. Culling the herd so to speak might not be a bad idea.

But then weigh that against the good shepard, and specifically humans, have brought to the galaxy. How they are changing the cycle. Again show how player decisions, both paragon and renegade, are leading to good consequences for the galaxy as a whole. The galaxy can come together so why reap them when they might be able to stop the cycle?

Specifically focus on Joker and EDI and the Quarians and Geth via Legion. It will require difficult choices, but the cycle of corrupted civs and organic killing AIs can be stopped. Organic and AI can learn to live together. Advanced civilizations don't have to become corrupted and can make the hard decisions to co exist with other civilizations, be they AI or organic.

I'm not sure how you could shoe horn the current game's ending decisions in to that, but to me at least, that would have made for a better story forcing you to think a bit on a basic level. Are you an optimist - humans and other civs should be given the chance to advance and stop the cycle, so wipe out the reapers and let the future unfold for better or worse (here's where you could show how your decisions have directly effected the future for better or worse and how good of a start the galaxy has on stopping the cycle - what did you do with the rachni, genophage, geth, and even individually on who lived and died, etc).

Or are you a pessimist - the cycle cannot be broken, fate is predetermined and organics will always grow to be corrupted and create something that will destroy all life. Unleash the reapers to save young organic life and sacrifice all advanced civilizations. Having organic life grow and then die to allow for new life is better than chancing all organic life being wiped out. It would be a bit tougher here to sum up the effect of all your decisions here because everyone is getting wiped out, but I'm sure some specific stuff could be thought of to show. Maybe some escape reaping because of a decision you made. Also show how each civ handles its end times - some try to plant hints for future civs like the protheans, others go crazy, others commit mass suicide, etc.

Of course the 2nd ending would make a direct sequel involving humans a bit tougher, but it could be done by just declaring the optimist ending is cannon or follow some humans who escaped the reaping somehow.

At least that would have provided an ending with a meaningful decision with 2 distinctly different outcomes. The first one offering a chance to show how the entirety of your choices from game 1 though 3 have changed the galaxy for better or worse and that there is no guarantee organic life will continue now that the cycle is broken. The 2nd one showing the pessimist and predestined fate outcome where your choices ultimately meant little because fate can not be stopped. The cycle must continue to allow for organic life to be assured it can survive.

[Burns11]

Re: Mass Effect 3

Spoiler

Man, I REALLY wanted Legion to survive, but I just couldn't let him upload the Reaper code to all the geth. I was definitely sad when he died.

Anyways, I really wish that you could open up mission details in the journal. There are so many fetch quests that don't show if you have actually retrieved the object yet, and I don't feel like going back to the Citadel empty handed. Basically my only gripe so far in my 22 hours with the game.

Geth spoilers

Spoiler

Legion dies either way, but all the other Geth become very much like Legion and end up much more cooperative than the Quarians ever were. The Quarians lost me when they fired upon the Geth Dreadnaught, not only because I was still in it, but they were spitting in the face of my peace efforts and weakening the fleet we needed to save the galaxy. In the end, if the Quarians couldn't stop being the aggressor, then they would have to face the consequences.