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[MrTroubleMaker]

Definitely. I hate the whole situation where you can pretty much only do his loyalty mission before you had to rush out to save your crew or they'd end up as jelly.

Yeah, it's to bad the dvd limit forced the game restructure. I'm glad I can/did edit the save (pc) to get him early. There is a bunch of conversations you can have with him, and the interactions in some scenes is cool too.

 

[ChoklitReign]

Hmm, you shouldn't have to. As long as you're booting the game through TexMod (not just booting the game with TexMod open), and the texture pack is loaded into TexMod, it should work. Weird.

That's what I did. Fuck you, COD.

 

[X-Frame]

I wonder if anyone will be starting ME3 "fresh" even if you have save files from ME1 & 2.

Since there will be differences based on older saved games, would everyone (plot) be there on ME3 if no save file was used?

My first run through of ME2 was a fresh run without importing anything because I wanted to see how BioWare set up the default game and then get a feel for everything. Then I started importing the following times.

I will do the same this time as well. Though I have a Paragon and Renegade play though each of 100% completion in both ME1 and ME2 so I'd imagine the differences would be pretty large compared to a fresh, default ME3 play though and importing.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

I never bought any of the DLC. I might get them before ME3 comes out. Are they all worth it?

 

[Snuggles]

I never bought any of the DLC. I might get them before ME3 comes out. Are they all worth it?

Don't buy Pinnacle Station unless you reeeally like ME1's combat. Bringing Down the Sky is great, though. As for ME2, Lair of the Shadow Broker and Overlord are essential. Both are a satisfying length and are probably designed better than any of the missions in the base game. I liked Stolen Memory, too. It's shorter than Overlord and LotSB but you get a new squadmate and a pretty dapper outfit for Shep.

 

[diamondstar]

I actually just finished playing through ME1 (on Hardcore) and most of ME2 (on Insanity) as a Renegade Adept to refresh myself on the series. Ended up being different enough from my Paragon Infiltrator to feel fresh. I actually found myself preferring some aspects of ME1's combat, since with the introduction of the global cooldown and good cover mechanics ME2 there's no point in using anything other than Warp, Pull, and Singularity. Admittedly, though, that's a problem that's rather peculiar to an Adept; I remember finding ME1's combat pretty dull with the Infiltrator given its focus on sniping and crappy tech mines.

You know what? I think I feel the same. I mean when I started ME2 the combat was refreshing. Now I'm so tired of stop and pop. Not to mention only a few powers being useful. I am a vanguard and only use Charge and the Geth armor for the most part. I can't seem to be able to risk using pull or shockwave just in case I have to use unity.

I also miss being able to fight in the open. Yes the combat sucked balls in the tight corridors but man in the open I loved it.

 

[The Technomancer]

You know what? I think I feel the same. I mean when I started ME2 the combat was refreshing. Now I so tired of stop and pop. Not to mention only a few powers being useful. I am a vanguard and only use Charge and the Geth armor for the most part. I can't seem to be able to risk using pull or shockwave just in case I have to use unity.

I also miss being able to fight in the open. Yes the combat sucked balls in the tight corridors but man in the open I loved it.

Mass Effect 2's combat problems almost all come down to environment design, I think. Powers would be more useful and combat would be more interesting if 90% of the areas you fought in weren't long rooms filled with crates or wide open rooms with a few chest high walls around the edges.

 

[jackdoe]

Mass Effect 2's combat problems almost all come down to environment design, I think. Powers would be more useful and combat would be more interesting if 90% of the areas you fought in weren't long rooms filled with crates or wide open rooms with a few chest high walls around the edges.

I definitely agree. This also led to nearly every single combat scenario feeling completely uninteresting and unmemorable. Lair of the Shadow Broker changed things up a bit and made things more interesting so hopefully that's the direction ME3 will take.

 

[CrazyDude]

I'll put these here.

A lot of concept art images for Mass Effect 3

http://www.masseffect-universe.de/comments--id-821.html

Really like the art of the Mass Effect games.

 

[The Technomancer]

I'm debating between basically re-creating my old Shepard character and reusing her through 1 and 2 with my knowledge of how to get the best endings to carry over into 3 and just rolling a whole new character to experiment around and see what happens with.

 

[ChoklitReign]

Mass Effect 2's combat problems almost all come down to environment design, I think. Powers would be more useful and combat would be more interesting if 90% of the areas you fought in weren't long rooms filled with crates or wide open rooms with a few chest high walls around the edges.

Flanking is so shitty in ME2 it makes you think Bioware had no hands-on experience with cover shooters. It sometimes makes fighting above normal difficulty annoying because you can't find a good spot out of enemy fire. Deus Ex: HR isn't even a pure shooter and its cover system will probably put ME3's to shame.

 

[Zeppelin]

I feel like maybe I should play through the first game again. I've only beaten it once so I've got lots of achievements left (a quite silly list for this game, tbh). Among other things I need a Hardcore and an Insanity playthrough and reach level 60. Is it possible to reach 60 on two playthroughs on those difficulties with a new character? Also, what is a "majority of the game"?

 

[LightofRohan]

Dude! Fuckin awesome. I'm playing through ME1 right now, glad there is a thread for this.

Currently a 39 Adept. I'm making this my "Roleplay" character. So responding like how I think the character would response, not how I would response. My main is a Vanguard (basically me) and alt is an Infiltrator (bitch girl) and now this guy, neutral/no-emotion get the job done.

I've always been a huge ME1 fanboy, but this 3rd/4th playthrough makes me want to get to ME2 already... its kind of dated. Still love it!

 

[diamondstar]

Mass Effect 2's combat problems almost all come down to environment design, I think. Powers would be more useful and combat would be more interesting if 90% of the areas you fought in weren't long rooms filled with crates or wide open rooms with a few chest high walls around the edges.

True but I also have to attribute it to the global cooldown. I feel naked out of cover. I can't stay out there long without seeing the red veins of death. Or maybe the enemies in ME2 are way more accurate which I doubt.

I also feel, like many have mentioned, biotics took a huge backseat in ME2. Again I miss being able to activate barrier, throw someone running close to me, put a group of enemies in singularity, put a lone stronger enemy in stasis and then hide in cover. Or by the time I got to stasis I was able to throw again. So I had little problems fighting enemies outside of cover.

 

[Ken Masters]

I started playing ME1 awhile ago and stopped after 4-5 hours. Should I just skip to ME2 or just give up on the series outright?

 

[WrenchNinja]

Liara fans got a bit cranky over her portrayal in ME2 because they couldn't fathom the fact she was without Shepard for two freak'n years and caught up in her own shit, expecting her to act the exact same naive, virginal Liara she was in the first game.

Not a fan but her shift in character was weird cause we don't actually see that change, even in the comic. She's just aggressive all the time.

 

[Enduin]

So I got really bored and having read pretty much the entirety of the ME wikia and not wanting to look at baseless speculation on ME3, or replaying the ME1 or ME2 for the thousandth time, I came up with an idea on where I would like the ME franchise to expand after ME3 and on the next console cycle. I did a quick write up in 30 minutes or so on my thoughts.

Basically my dream sequel is a space combat sim that is a hybrid of ME series gameplay and space flight, though with a far greater emphasis on space combat and exploration and very limited shooting segments and off ship exploration. The Space Sim genre is so dead and what little there is is so poorly done and derivative for the most part that only the most dedicated of fans bother to buy them. I dont think anything short of miracle can save the genre and bring new people into the fold. Only a massive franchise like ME with a new approach to the genre could be really successful in that attempt.

Google Doc Outline of Space Sim Idea

Also more on topic, people should post their Shepards to see who has the best one and provide codes for ME2.

Heres my Renegade lady. I use Gibbed's save editor altering her eyes to use TIM's and then use Ashley's skin texture for her face so just using that code wont work for you sadly. Click to make bigger.

 

[TheSeks]

No combat for me tonight. Spent the night scanning planets in the Omega cluster and getting them to poor/depleted before moving to a new area. 100% there and got all the materials I could. Upgraded the Cerebus Normandy with 3-4 (forgetting offhand) squad-members recommended upgrades from this. So not a bad time doing it. Also got the scars healed. So my Shepard (162.FRC.UJM.E7D.FHN.S9D.7F8.381.FK7.U17.166.5 Not the prettiest boy in the world, but he works for me) is pretty much back to his 360 self on PS3 as if nothing happened. !

Went to the Citadel. Recruited Kasumi. Need to do her and Zaeed's mission for their Loyalty but after exploring the Citadel (and saying 3-4 stores are my favorite in ALL the Citadel) I called it a night.

I'm slightly disappointed with the Citadel in ME2. It's only thee floors and (if you made a human council and Anderson choice) Anderson's office for the Presidum. You can't even explore that floor anymore after having to hoof it all over for about 2-5 hours in ME1. Disappointing.

Told the Turian weapons store to go fuck themselves and give me a discount because they thought I, the Shepard that defeated Saren, wouldn't need weapons because of the council restrictions. The Turian shopkeep was madddddd salty about that but whatever. I got a discount on the stores there, now to make some cash for it.

I'm also swimming in like 50,000+ Palladium, Platinum, and forgetting the other element that isn't Element Zero. Is there a point to mining more now? Can I sell the extra? Do I have enough for all the upgrades coming my way or do I need to mine some more?

Also, I'm completely disappointed with how ME2 completely downplays how Cerebus was evil and pro-human agenda in ME1. Even Anderson is basically "Oh, well if you, Shepard are working for them... they can't be all bad... I guess..." toward that revelation. :|

So going to get not-Wrex-but-Wrex tomorrow. Hoorah. Love the Krogans. Even told the one on the Citadel that wanted a fish that it was a fish from the Presidum. Might not have been nice, but I got 1000 credits out of it for a ~750 investment, so a slightly good return back from it.

OH! OH! And I totally love the ads on the Citadel.

"Shepard, you were dead before... but if you die again you should totally use our ceremonial robes." Or something to that effect. Made me laugh.

Also can you punch out the reporter for real? I chewed her out for saying I let the previous Council die to forward human interests

Spoiler

which I kinda did, since the previous Council wouldn't believe me that Saren was a threat because I was a human

but that's about it. Gained like 7 Renegade points for that but no punch out. I want to punch her out.

 

[jgminto]

I'm hoping in 3 there's more non-combat oriented missions like Samara's loyalty mission. While I enjoy the combat and Mass Effect 3's looks even better I do enjoy the investigative missions, even if they are mixed with combat like Samara's recruitment and Tali's loyalty mission although I'd say those two were a bit too combat focused.

 

[BabeSlayer]

Hey guys the trinket that you get from the...consort I think is her name. I hear you can use it...but where? I don't think i've ever done that would like to give it a go in this play-through.

 

[Snuggles]

Hey guys the trinket that you get from the...consort I think is her name. I hear you can use it...but where? I don't think i've ever done that would like to give it a go in this play-through.

If you completed Citadel: Xeltan's Complaint before coming to her, Sha'ira will give you a bonus reward, a small trinket that appears to be of Prothean design. This can be used on Eletania, a planet in the Hercules system of the Attican Beta cluster.

The payoff is kinda underwhelming, but it reveals an interesting nugget of information.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Hey guys the trinket that you get from the...consort I think is her name. I hear you can use it...but where? I don't think i've ever done that would like to give it a go in this play-through.

You use it on Eletania which is in the Hercules system in the Attican Beta cluster.

 

[Enduin]

The payoff is kinda underwhelming.

True but a lot of people think it will pay off in the future, using it on Eletania it is one of the things carried over in your save file form ME1 to ME2, so theres a high possibility it could play some role in ME3.

 

[Balphon]

I feel like maybe I should play through the first game again. I've only beaten it once so I've got lots of achievements left (a quite silly list for this game, tbh). Among other things I need a Hardcore and an Insanity playthrough and reach level 60. Is it possible to reach 60 on two playthroughs on those difficulties with a new character?

Assuming you hit level 50 the first time around, yes, but you'll probably have to do close to everything on both playthroughs.

Also, what is a "majority of the game"?

It's a set number of missions/assignments that boils down to around 75-80% of the total number in the base game. So, in other words, pick the party you want, do as little as possible until you can field that party (i.e. if you want Liara go get her before doing any Citadel assignments), and then use it for the rest of the game.

 

[jackdoe]

True but a lot of people think it will pay off in the future, using it on Eletania it is one of the things carried over in your save file form ME1 to ME2, so theres a high possibility it could play some role in ME3.

E-mail.

The decisions with the most impact from ME1 are almost definitely the only decisions that PS3 owners had any say in. Unless they make it a default decision for PS3 owners and make whatever consequences unavoidable in the PS3 version (like the unintentional Conrad Verner glitch that Bioware was too lazy to fix).

 

[Enduin]

E-mail.

The decisions with the most impact from ME1 are almost definitely the only decisions that PS3 owners had any say in. Unless they make it a default decision for PS3 owners and make whatever consequences unavoidable in the PS3 version.

Or it could be a bonus for players who have been with the series since the start and continued their saves all the way through. It might not be a major plot point, but it could still provide a unique dialogue sequence or bonus for players who have it.

A lot of things werent in the PS3 Genesis comic that still resulted in non-Email things. Plus whose going to email you about a trinket you used on a remote planet with nobody around to see it?

 

[jackdoe]

Or it could be a bonus for players who have been with the series since the start and continued their saves all the way through. It might not be a major plot point, but it could still provide a unique dialogue sequence or bonus for players who have it.

A lot of things werent in the PS3 Genesis comic that still resulted in non-Email things. Plus whose going to email you about a trinket you used on a remote planet with nobody around to see it?

E-mail, one line of dialogue, it's all the same. Underwhelming payoff and ramifications. That "Prothean flashback to early man" should have been a cutscene.

 

[Snuggles]

Just finished a session of ME1. As much as I love the game, the first few hours are kinda hard to get through. I've played the game way too many times and it's kinda tedious to go through all of the Citadel stuff for the eleventeenth time. I just did the inspirational speech and departed in the Normandy, though, so at least I have some good stuff to do next time.

Anyways, here is my current get up:

Triss Shepard

Soldier - Kind of a boring choice, but I did Infiltrator and Vanguard in my last two playthroughs, so I wanted something different
Earthborn, Sole Survivor - Chose Earthborn in hopes that it'll have some significance in ME3
Alignment - Lean towards Paragon, but not afraid to bring the hammer down when appropriate

Part of me wants to speed through and move on to ME2, which is a lot fresher, but this playthrough is the real deal so I plan on doing everything even if most of it doesn't matter in the long run. I'm going for 100% baby.

A few shots of my progress so far:

 

[Arjen]

I was debating which game is should play now that i'm done with Skyrim, but this thread inspired me to play me some more Mass Effect, think i'm trying to get my main character to 60 in the first game. Then maybe a a run in 2 where almost everyone dies.

 

[X-Frame]

Also more on topic, people should post their Shepards to see who has the best one and provide codes for ME2.

I really hope that ME3 doesn't require a save editor to get the best faces. I know it wouldn't allow things like TIM's eyes on your Shepard which would merit the face editor, but the fact that so many hairstyles weren't available on Shepard yet which the most people seemed to use when they edited their save was annoying.

Let's hope in ME3 there's a lot of options. DA2 isn't that bad with the custom faces, but definitely better than ME's in my opinion.

 

[EatChildren]

E-mail, one line of dialogue, it's all the same. Underwhelming payoff and ramifications. That "Prothean flashback to early man" should have been a cutscene.

There's actually two separate flags in the save file for the Consort mission, one for completing it, and one for receiving the trinket. The former is what causes the consort to email you in Mass Effect 2, as that is what triggers her insight into your future. The latter, where you recieve the trinket and can optionally use it on Eletania, has no effect in Mass Effect 2.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

has no effect in Mass Effect 2.

You could say that it is the least effect.

 

[Dunkelgrau]

I will start with my replay of Mass Effect today.

1. Are there any alternate appearance mods for Mass Effect 1?
2. Can my rig (E6600, HD6850) handle the optimized textures in Full-HD? I dont think so, because of the cpu.
In the official thread of the textures I can not see, which one of the textures are for the first mass effect, and which one are for the sequel.

Furthermore:
Do you guys think, that there will be a mod to use the 360-Pad on PC contemporary to the release of ME3? I do not want to wait long, but a couch and a big screen are priceless.

 

[Wiggum2007]

Just finished a session of ME1. As much as I love the game, the first few hours are kinda hard to get through. I've played the game way too many times and it's kinda tedious to go through all of the Citadel stuff for the eleventeenth time. I just did the inspirational speech and departed in the Normandy, though, so at least I have some good stuff to do next time.

Anyways, here is my current get up:

Triss Shepard

Soldier - Kind of a boring choice, but I did Infiltrator and Vanguard in my last two playthroughs, so I wanted something different
Earthborn, Sole Survivor - Chose Earthborn in hopes that it'll have some significance in ME3
Alignment - Lean towards Paragon, but not afraid to bring the hammer down when appropriate

Part of me wants to speed through and move on to ME2, which is a lot fresher, but this playthrough is the real deal so I plan on doing everything even if most of it doesn't matter in the long run. I'm going for 100% baby.

A few shots of my progress so far:

Dude, nice Shepard! Those shots have definitely got me itching to dig out my copy of ME1.

 

[The Librarian]

I'm working my way through Mass Effect 2 now. I just picked up Garrus.

 

[KKRT00]

I would join if i havent already beaten ME 2 like 4 times ;p
But maybe some day before ME 3, i'll replay it, because i havent touched Vanguard class yet and it would be nice to have a save just for ME 3 .

 

[Lakitu]

I'm down with this. I started ME 2 recently but BF 3 has been keeping me occupied. I reckon I'll get back to it though. On Omega and about to recruit Mordin.

 

[MichaelEM3]

So while I have my 360 save all ready to go, I've been replaying Mass Effect 1 and 2 on PC in preparation for 3.

And I seem to have a huge problem!

In ME1 on PC I saved the Council and left Kaidan to die on Virmire. I loaded ME2 this morning, imported my character (the psychological profile had everything right + my name + experience came over), and everything thing seemed fine.

But after the tutorial area, Miranda is telling me ASHELY DIED and the COUNCIL PERISHED in the attack on the Citadel!

What the fuck!?

Anyone have any idea what the happened?

 

[BabeSlayer]

do we have a list of choices that carry over, and along those same lines are there possibly "hidden" things that carry over that might not actually show up?

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Right, I'm about to start the first Mass Effect. Again.

By my accounts this will have been the 8th or 9th time I've played it. That's pretty mental for me.

But also very telling of it being one of my favourite games of all-time. Here we go!

 

[shingonation]

do we have a list of choices that carry over, and along those same lines are there possibly "hidden" things that carry over that might not actually show up?

-Kaidan or Ashley.
-Wrex
-Rachni Queen
-Balak
-Council

Hmm. Let me think.

- Keep/destroy genophage data (Mordin).
- Keep/destroy grey box data (Kasumi).
- Delete/reset the Heretics (Legion).
- Encourage/discourage Quarians to go to war (Tali).
- Keep/destroy Collectors base.

Those seem to be the main ones.

-Project Overlord decision.
-And of course, the ME2 squadmates.

 

[Rokam]

Ugh I hope that Sha'ira item doesn't have any major effects, in my main paragon playthrough I didn't end up going to the planet and using it .

 

[EatChildren]

There could be more as well. I'm pretty sure we know all of the choices that carry over in a save file from the original game, but not Mass Effect 2. None of the save file editors for ME2 list ME2 specific story decisions except for crew status (alive, loyal, dead, etc).

Ugh I hope that Sha'ira item doesn't have any major effects, in my main paragon playthrough I didn't end up going to the planet and using it .

The save appears to only flag it as being in your possession, not actually having used it, so if it has any effect you should be fine as long as you got it.

 

[nel e nel]

One choice that I haven't seen mentioned yet (and probably because most everyone made the same choice) was whether or not you release Grunt from his tube.

I saw a stat that something like 18% of players chose not to release him in ME2, so that means he won't be in their ME3 playthrough.

OR WILL HE?!?!?


Regarding the consort trinket payoff, I think that finding out that the Protheans/Reapers had been observing humans for 40-odd thousand years is pretty significant background, no?

Also, don't forget that in the scene where Kasumi is going through the data in her box (hurr hurr) this came up:

 

[Zeppelin]

Assuming you hit level 50 the first time around, yes, but you'll probably have to do close to everything on both playthroughs.

It's a set number of missions/assignments that boils down to around 75-80% of the total number in the base game. So, in other words, pick the party you want, do as little as possible until you can field that party (i.e. if you want Liara go get her before doing any Citadel assignments), and then use it for the rest of the game.

Hm, alright. Thanks. Sounds like hitting 60 would be tough in 2 playthroughs then, since I didn't hit 50 in my first playthrough on Normal and I did pretty much everything in that run. I wasn't off by much but still.

 

[BabeSlayer]

Regardless of how perfect I make my play-throughs I have a feeling i'm going to be replaying all the games a few times over once 3 is out soo many decisions

 

[Zod the Bear]

My canon ME2 playthrough didn't include the DLC I ran with my renegade...alright, you've got me.

Will redo ME2 as a lead in to ME3. Pretty happy with my paragon ME1 save, though, so will skip that.

 

[nel e nel]

Hm, alright. Thanks. Sounds like hitting 60 would be tough in 2 playthroughs then, since I didn't hit 50 in my first playthrough on Normal and I did pretty much everything in that run. I wasn't off by much but still.

It's definitely a 2 playthrough for your first character, less for subsequent characters. Reason being is that unlocking achievements give you in-game bonuses, which range from being able to choose a bonus talent in the character creator when starting a new game to XP percentage bonuses.

I got my default soldier Shepard to level 60 on my 2nd Normal play during the final assault on the Citadel, but before I fought Saren. This was doing EVERYTHING both runs (including BDtS DLC and all the mineral/insignia/Matriarch writings/prothean data disc collection assignments)

My following 2 playthroughs on Hardcore, and they were each at, like, 56 or 57 at the end of 1 playthrough.

More info here:

http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Achievements#Mass_Effect_Achievements

 

[RoboPlato]

Anyone else go the opposite of what their alignment was for the ending of ME2? I was max paragon my last time through and ended up keeping the base intact because I'm just too curious as to what it could do in 3.

 

[KKRT00]

What is grey box? I dont have Kasumi DLC.