Mass Effect 3 - The Arrival Thread!

[Upset Spideyfan]

Spoiler

I think the whole post-credit sequence kind of torpedoes the indoctrination theory.

Bioware if it totally does end up giving into pressure, and I hope they don't, might go with such an angle. But as it stands it is clearly not what we're supposed to take away from the finale.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They were in the middle of retrofitting when the Reapers attacked lol, and yeah, I really liked the memorial wall too.

True. But still, it's such a massive change from ME 2. And the fact that they left the conference table in there, with its sumptuous wood paneling and elegant design, makes it so much worse. It's like, "Hey, you might've forgotten what a well lit, nicely detailed ship looked like since ME 2 and actually be content with this flying trash heap. Well, you don't get off that easy. Look! Remember it! Remember and despair!"

 

[The Squirrel]

Used copies of this game are already almost 20 bucks off after taxes at Gamestop.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

You sure? It says 47.99 online.

 

[The Squirrel]

43 pro-member price. That's almost twenty. 60 to 40.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If you want to play online, you'd spend all the money you save on an activation pass.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Sorry I misread that as.

Used copies of this game are already almost 20 bucks after taxes at Gamestop.

and skipped right over the "off"

 

[The Squirrel]

I don't want to ever touch the online.

Though if that secret ending is true, that's another rip off this game takes from you.

Going by everything I've read though, it looks like I'll enjoy everything except the last 10 minutes.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Jeff from Giant Bomb said he got the best ending without touching MP.

 

[The Squirrel]

Jeff from Giant Bomb said he got the best ending without touching MP.

Is that the [BLACKOUT]Shepard lives[/BLACKOUT] rumor going around?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The online's not bad. I just wish the Galactic Readiness percentage didn't decrease over time. I'd happily keep playing online even without the benefit of having it help my SP game because the MP is relatively fun. But losing a percentage point for every day I don't play MP makes it feel like they're trying to force me into it and I instinctively rebel, as is my wont.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

[BLACKOUT] Yeah you need over 4,000 or 5,000 war assets (depending on certain conditions) and it only applies to one of the endings. He said he had like 6,000 something war assets and hadn't touched the MP (since the servers were not up when he played it). [/BLACKOUT]

 

[Master Chief]

Jeff from Giant Bomb said he got the best ending without touching MP.

I'm pretty sure you need 10K war assets to do it without multiplayer.

 

[The Squirrel]

The online's not bad. I just wish the Galactic Readiness percentage didn't decrease over time. I'd happily keep playing online even without the benefit of having it help my SP game because the MP is relatively fun, but losing a percentage point for every day I don't play MP makes it feel like they're trying to force me into it and I instinctively rebel, as is my wont.

Has it improved from the demo? Outside of the chests not giving you anything good (which I've heard has improved) I just couldn't get into the gameplay.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The gameplay's the same. The chests are still randomized, so it's luck of the draw. Although there is now a new top-level chest that you can buy for 60,000 credits that guarantees more rare items. Granted, the rare items I got in the one I've bought so far were just upgrades of weapons I already had but, again, randomized. I personally think that's a colossally stupid system if they're not also going to at least include some mechanism to trade with other players or something, but that's what they decided to do...

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

I'm pretty sure you need 10K war assets to do it without multiplayer.

Ahhh, though if you can get enough for 4,000 Effective Military Score then it still doable as long as you [BLACKOUT] Save Anderson. [/BLACKOUT]

 

[TheCorpulent1]

How are you supposed to do that? [blackout]I had over 5,000 and Anderson died before Shep dragged her bleeding ass onto that platform thing.[/blackout]

 

[Benstamania]

What would you expect to change? It plays like Mass Effect.. only with three buddies in a horde mode.

It's awesome, IMHO.

 

[The Squirrel]

The gameplay's the same. The chests are still randomized, so it's luck of the draw. Although there is now a new top-level chest that you can buy for 60,000 credits that guarantees more rare items. Granted, the rare items I got in the one I've bought so far were just upgrades of weapons I already had but, again, randomized. I personally think that's a colossally stupid system if they're not also going to at least include some mechanism to trade with other players or something, but that's what they decided to do...

Ah. Yeah, I don't want to crap on anyone's fun, but when playing the demo I just kept thinking back to Uncharted 3's Horde mode and how much more fun I had with that. >.<

This is one time I don't mind content being locked out of the game.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Maybe you're not playing the right class. I've found I pretty much hate the shooty-shooty-bang-bang Soldier mechanics, but I have loads of fun with Engineers and Sentinels. Especially Engineers. It's really quite satisfying to have a Guardian turn his stupid ass around to fight my drone so I can then incinerate said stupid ass.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

How are you supposed to do that? [blackout]I had over 5,000 and Anderson died before Shep dragged her bleeding ass onto that platform thing.[/blackout]

[BLACKOUT] As in not let Illusive Man kill him and then pick the Destroy ending. Again this is Effective Military Score at 4,000 or over, not Total Military Score. [/BLACKOUT]

 

[Reek]

ok im lost, so you cant get the best 100% paragon ending without doing multiplayer?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

[BLACKOUT] As in not let Illusive Man kill him and then pick the Destroy ending. Again this is Effective Military Score at 4,000 or over, not Total Military Score. [/BLACKOUT]

Spoiler

But I had over 5,000 EMS and I didn't get any way to stop the Illusive Man from shooting him. He gets up afterward, but then his eyes flutter closed as he and Shep are sitting there talking. I assumed he was dead. Then again, I didn't destroy the Reapers, I went with the fleshy-techno fusion jamboree. Did Anderson just fall asleep like the old fart that he is when he was talking to Shep?

 

[BrollySupersj]

So did anyone notice that the life support room on the crew deck is never occupied by a character or squad mate? This is leading people to believe we may get another squad mate down the line.

 

[Upset Spideyfan]

Apparently going by what I am reading on the net, it is possible but you have to take an extremely STRICT path to get the effective military score to what you need it to be.

However, unless you're planning to pick [BLACKOUT] Destroy [/BLACKOUT] its a moot point since that is where the benefit comes in.

Spoiler

But I had over 5,000 EMS and I didn't get any way to stop the Illusive Man from shooting him. He gets up afterward, but then his eyes flutter closed as he and Shep are sitting there talking. I assumed he was dead. Then again, I didn't destroy the Reapers, I went with the fleshy-techno fusion jamboree. Did Anderson just fall asleep like the old fart that he is when he was talking to Shep?

[BLACKOUT] He dies either way, the difference being he dies peacefully and talking to Shepard vs. Illusive Man shooting him a second time. [/BLACKOUT]