MASS EFFECT FRANCHISE CATCH-ALL THREAD

[J.T.]

2 hours ago, Craig H said:

My biggest issue are with the rocket drones. Fuck them. Every time I come across a mission that will involve fighting robots, I just groan inside. Even with switching my ammo to Tungsten rounds, it doesn't feel like it makes a difference.

If you are not running an Engineer Shep, you really should be bringing Tali along if you are scrapping with drones or Geth.  AI Hacking is number one and the best.   The Rogue VI mission is trivialized when Tali is able to hack drones and get them to fight each other.

Virmire, Ilos, and the Geth Incursion side mission encounters are dirt simple once Tali has Master level and can control Geth Armatures.

Edited May 19, 2021 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

Boy dealing with Toombs is so different when you are a sole survivor 

[Craig H]

25 minutes ago, J.T. said:

If you are not running an Engineer Shep, you really should be bringing Tali along if you are scrapping with drones or Geth.  AI Hacking is number one and the best.   The Rogue VI mission is trivialized when Tali is able to hack drones and get them to fight each other.

Virmire, Ilos, and the Geth Incursion side mission encounters are dirt simple once Tali has Master level and can control Geth Armatures.

Hah, this information would have been amazing last night  I had no idea you could even hack the drones to make them fight each other.

[RIPPA]

Yeah - JT and I were joking before the game came out about how they better not have nerfed AI Hacking

It doesn’t seem as OP this time around as it was in the original but it certainly is still effective 

[J.T.]

16 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Yeah - JT and I were joking before the game came out about how they better not have nerfed AI Hacking

It doesn’t seem as OP this time around as it was in the original but it certainly is still effective 

I think it might've been nerfed a little.  The duration isn't as long as it used to be and it looks like she can only control Combat Drones, Geth Troopers / Geth Shock Troopers at Basic.  I couldn't hack Rocket Drones / Geth Rocket Troopers or Geth Hoppers reliably until Advanced.

She can control Geth Destroyers and Armatures at Master level.   I cleared a Geth outpost by hacking an Armature and waiting for it to nuke its buddies.

Sometimes it pays to fight Geth on foot and other times it's just best to stay in the Mako and melt everything with the chain gun.

1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

Boy dealing with Toombs is so different when you are a sole survivor 

Toombs is a bit of an asshole when you are a War Hero.  He pretty much says you've been living on your reputation ever since Elysium.

Knowing what I know about ME2,  I am surprised I didn't entertain a few Renegade points and shoot his ass, but that asshole doctor needed to go to fucking jail.

I am slippin'.  I nearly forgot to do the mission with the crazy Biotic girl and her brain dead boyfriend and I totally mindfarted that Styx Theta cluster is available and I should knockout the Listening Post side missions before tackling X57.

I completed all of the Specialty / Mastery achievements.  Tali was AI Hacking for days when I did the Geth Incursion side gig / mini-campaign.  Naturally I gave her a copy of the Geth data.

Edited May 20, 2021 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

Boy each time I play this game, I dislike Ashley more

Also forgot how quickly Liara wants to jump your bones

I’ve been lax in talking to my crew so that’s how I’m spending my evening 

[Craig H]

1 hour ago, J.T. said:

I think it might've been nerfed a little.  The duration isn't as long as it used to be and it looks like she can only control Combat Drones, Geth Troopers / Geth Shock Troopers at Basic.  I couldn't hack Rocket Drones / Geth Rocket Troopers or Geth Hoppers reliably until Advanced.

She can control Geth Destroyers and Armatures at Master level.   I cleared a Geth outpost by hacking an Armature and waiting for it to nuke its buddies.

Holy shit. Now I wish I could replay that mission.

The gameplay in ME1 feels janky enough to almost make me want to just skip to ME2, but there are still story beats I don't quite remember beyond there being something at the Citadel and the ending reminding me a little of Halo for whatever reason.

BTW, as I go from planet to planet, I swear there was a mini-game of sorts to scan for minerals and other stuff on planets. Was that maybe just something in ME2?

[J.T.]

7 minutes ago, Craig H said:

BTW, as I go from planet to planet, I swear there was a mini-game of sorts to scan for minerals and other stuff on planets. Was that maybe just something in ME2?

That was in ME2.   Mark is actually looking forward to scanning for some crazy reason

7 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Holy shit. Now I wish I could replay that mission.

The key is staying in range to reapply the hack since it eventually wears off, but the Armature's main cannon makes relatively short work of the Geth and the battle softens up the Armature enough for you to finish it off after it murders its buddies.

1 hour ago, RIPPA said:

Also forgot how quickly Liara wants to jump your bones

I think that's what keeps me from romancing her.  It just feels weird.

That and she's like fifteen in Asari years.

Edited May 20, 2021 by J.T.

[odessasteps]

Because I am a Girl Scour, I let Balak go to save the hostages. I used Ashley and hopefully I leveled her up enough to not use her anymore. 

May play more later, since I need to stay up before going back to work schedule tomorrow. 
 

(i was wrapped in that stupid mission i forgot i had a fresh from the freezer Fudgsicle ready to eat  and bynthe time i went toneat it, it had melted. ME casualty. )

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by odessasteps

[J.T.]

24 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

May play more later, since I need to stay up before going back to work schedule tomorrow. 

We're starting an alternating schedule next week and will be back to full staff by July 18th.

I was thinking about doing the Rachni missions tonight, but I will probably watch The Blackcoat's Daughter on Showtime after AEW goes off.

24 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

I used Ashley and hopefully I leveled her up enough to not use her anymore. 

Dude, you could leave her on the Normandy after you leave to hunt down Saren and it wouldn't matter.  She'll just accumulate skill points at the same rate as everyone else and you could leave them unspent.

If you care about achievements, you only need to have her in your squad when you complete five missions and she could just stay aboard the ship tending to the arsenal.

Edited May 20, 2021 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

Yeah me being lazy in talking to the crew - I just unlocked three loyalty missions that aren’t loyalty missions

I forgot how fucking long winded Garrus’ story is when he is telling you about the organ harvesting dude

[AxB]

nb: The tag team of Effy and Allie Kat is called Bussy.

 

[Casey]

5 hours ago, AxB said:

nb: The tag team of Effy and Allie Kat is called Bussy.

It's Allie Katch now, she's ditched the Kat gimmick. She's doing a catch-as-catch-can gimmick. Sienna/Allysin Kay wants to form a tag team with her called Pussy Power, apparently.

But anyway back to Mass Effect. This bug that seemingly popped up post-newest patch when you exit the Mako and can't interact with anything, so you have to load a previous save, is really fucking annoying and it keeps happening to me.

[J.T.]

There is also a bug with Wrex's armor where his guns are not mounted on his armor.

Remember, even if you are 100% Paragon or 100% Renegade, you can still visit the systems where the Renegade or Paragon morality side missions take place.

The mission location will be locked, but you should still be able to scan the planets in the system and land on the mission planet to hunt down resources and fetch its. 

Paragon = UNC:  Besieged Base (Cacus system / Hades Gamma cluster)

Renegade = UNC:  The Negotiation (Plutus system / Hades Gamma cluster)

I am usually lacking a couple of the Remnants of War collectables, so I go to the Plutus system to nick the last League of One medal I need to complete the set.

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

Speaking of planets - it took me to like the 4th or 5th one to remember that not everything is shown on the map when you land

[Craig H]

2 hours ago, RIPPA said:

Speaking of planets - it took me to like the 4th or 5th one to remember that not everything is shown on the map when you land

Same here. I also forgot about scanning asteroid fields and other planetary paths for hidden objects. I don't think I missed a whole lot, but the completionist in me is saying GO BACK AND FIND ALL THE THINGS.

[RIPPA]

Well a day like today is one of those where I clear out my inventory, codex and go back an check places since I can't really advance the story until my wife gets home.

I still need two more Charm points so I gotta keep grinding side missions before I head to Feros (I am weird in that I refuse to do Noveria before Feros)

[J.T.]

Well, that makes two of us who are weird then.  Feros feels like the segue to Noveria, IMO.

You are weird in that you are bothering to grind Charm before going there.  Just shoot Ethan Jeong in the head and be done with it.

[Robert C]

It's funny.  I've played through the first game at least 10 times, and I still can't remember which one is Feros, and which is Noveria.  

[RIPPA]

8 minutes ago, J.T. said:

You are weird in that you are bothering to grind Charm before going there.  Just shoot Ethan Jeong in the head and be done with it.

This is the difference between you and me

I don't really start sprinkling in renegade stuff until ME2 (which doing some of them gives you a tactical advantage)

[J.T.]

Ethan Jeong is a dick and he draws his weapon first.  The asshole earned his bullet.

Hell, even the ExoGeni scientists on Nodacrux decide to take their chances in a gun battle with you rather than surrender peacefully. 

Fuck ExoGeni.

Edited May 20, 2021 by J.T.

[J.T.]

6 hours ago, RIPPA said:

This is the difference between you and me

I don't really start sprinkling in renegade stuff until ME2 (which doing some of them gives you a tactical advantage)

There is a ME2 achievement for getting humanoid enemies to scream by either setting them on fire or dropping them from an extreme height so yeah, I will still be pushing that Eclipse asshole out of the window when he smarts off at me.

Edited May 20, 2021 by J.T.

[RIPPA]

23 minutes ago, J.T. said:

Ethan Jeong is a dick and he draws his weapon first.  The asshole earned his bullet.

Hell, even the ExoGeni scientists on Nodacrux decide to take their chances in a gun battle with you rather than surrender peacefully. 

Fuck ExoGeni.

I was gonna say - everyone in this fucking game draws their weapon first.

It is gonna be a lonely galaxy if you shoot people just for that

[RIPPA]

Speaking of Renegade points - I got 2 from the first conversation with Helena Blake and I can't remember if it was from the fact that I told her it was an obvious setup (which was technically in the "renegade slot" but not red) or if it was because I took the neutral option when accepting (since I didnt do I WONT DO THIS!! because that was a total lie since we all knew I was going to eventually do it)

[Craig H]

I fully maxed out charm before anything else. Why? I honestly don't even know, but I've finished at least 4 or 5 things now without any bloodshed.