Freelance Yakuza
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"In death, a fan of Commander Sheppard has a name"
He has the moral code of a Justicar, the attitude of a Spectre, and the heart of a fanboy
(Conrad wearing knock-off N7 armor)
"Shepard....tell my wife...I loved you"
What is this thread really about? Praise Bioware for the amazing universe created and give some spotlight to a great NPC.
I played Mass Effect 2 when it was released for Playstation 3. I used the interactive comic to make the decisions that I thought best suited my character. Because of this I always believed that the choices made in the first game did not carry much impact in the second. Udina or Anderson as councilor. Save the Council or not. Kaidan or Ashley on Virmire. They didn't mean anything to me and the interactions seemed to confirm my assumptions.
Boy, was I wrong, so wrong. I was so focused on the main quest, to see how my choices affected the ending, that I never paid much attention to the small details. Now I realized how many different characters work together across multiple games and that I, the player, have an impact on those interactions.
Let's use Conrad Verner as an example:
It's one of the first optional assignments you will have access to at the start of Mass Effect 1 campaign. There are lots of ways to deal with him, but also, there are many, many ways in which he can be killed throughout the trilogy. He is really funny and is used by the devs to make jokes about the game and its mechanics (see below).
'In Mass Effect 3: Citadel, during the firefight between Shepard and the clone, Shepard may yell, "Conrad Verner is better at being me than you are!"
(info available on https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/Conrad_Verner )
Hell, he has his own glitch <3:
" If Conrad lives at the end of the assignment, another glitch causes the Conrad encounter to be flagged both as "Intimidated" and "Charmed" in the importable save file, apparently leading to Mass Effect 2 picking the former over the latter and triggering Conrad's presence on Illium. Conrad will always claim you pointed a gun at him regardless of prior choice. "
(it's possible to edit the save file and see the correct cutscene)
" In Mass Effect 3, Conrad references the glitch, apologizing for accusing Shepard of pointing a gun at him if they hadn't, saying he was very stressed and confused at the time. "
Dark Energy Dissertation
Requires: Talk to Conrad Verner during Citadel: Medi-Gel Sabotage.
Military Strength: 1
Published years ago by Dr. Conrad Verner, this doctorial dissertation on xenotechnology is a lengthy but intriguing argument that dark energy causes a minute but empirically observable difference in the passage of time. Hotly debated when first published, the paper's theory is supported by recent data. The dissertation illuminates several instructions left by the Protheans on how to build the Crucible.
UPDATED
Requires: Complete Feros: Data Recovery, UNC: Asari Writings, and buy the Elkoss Combine Armory license in Mass Effect.
Military Strength: 4
Dr. Verner found additional schematics useful in the creation of the device. After passing the data on to the Alliance, he added Commander Shepard to the dissertation's list of acknowledgments.
life death and rebirth
Now, back to the continuity talk:
His death is just one of a few possible outcomes.
IF you saved the bartender girl (ME1), she will use a trick learned from that C-SEC officer and will be able to save Conrad's life (ME3).
Plus: IF you saved the data from Gavin Hossle on Feros, got all Asari Writings and the Elkoss Combine Armory License (ME1), you will learn (on ME3) that Verner did a dissertation on xenotechnology and dark energy and this will have an additional bonus towards War Assets.
I know it is extremely obvious "You have learned that playing the previous game helps you understand the story of the sequel. More news at 9 pm." I hope this thread will help encourage others who have only played the second game to try the first.
