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Mass Effect 2 |OT|
- Thread starter Skilotonn
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Son of Godzilla said:
Do you keep any acquired skills or anything? You don't even get any minerals? Even importing a character from ME1 gives you free upgrade minerals. That's kinda weak. So there's no reason then to do New Game+ Insanity run, then? I mean, you'll have access to more tech/biotics early on, but those sound pretty worthless considering that all enemies will have protection against them.
But since most enemies have shields, barriers or armor, most biotic skills are useless until you've shot away all their defenses, at which point biotic powers become somewhat pointless since you could just as well remove the final and smallest life bar with the same gun you used to remove all the others.Coxswain said:
I'm rather bitter about playing a Vanguard the first time around. Charge was supposed to be so cool and tactical, but as you have to unload a couple of clips into an enemy before you can charge and have the enemy fall backwards it functions more like a flashy finishing move than something that radically alters the way you play the game. It doesn't help, either, that if you try to use it to flank enemies you risk having a monster closet you had no way of knowing about ruin your plan by releasing enemies right next to you.
I'm hoping Insanity forces a bit more tactics into the game, but so far I'm liking it less than the system ME1 had. Sure it had flaws, but biotics were so much more useful and powerful in that game. In ME2 they really take a back seat to shooting.
I had a lot of trouble doing anything useful with Biotics my first time through the game (on Insanity, with a Sentinel), but honestly, after playing it a couple times I started up a Vanguard on Insanity, and they are still really good. The difference is that, unlike ME1, Biotics aren't just a win-button on enemies without protection. They still stun enemies - Shockwave can cause a group of guys to stagger, and I'm pretty sure that Pull will hold one enemy in place for a short, but somewhat longer period of time. And for a lot of enemies, is is really useful to have those biotics, even when they're down to their red Health bar. For one thing, it takes an enemy gun out of the fight entirely for a few seconds at a time, which is tremendously useful. Properly applied Pull can also take enemies out of cover, even if they're being dicks and hiding once you get them down to the red. And finally, I'm not 100% sure, but it really seems like enemies who are caught in a Pull will actually take more damage from your guns, so you still do kill them more quickly and easily than with guns alone.pmj said:
Charge is actually really useful, too, even on Insanity, but you have to play the game enough to get a good feel for looking for and creating opportunities to use it. Charging into the middle of a group of enemies is suicide, but charging at the enemies on the outside of the pack can give you enough time to kill that enemy, and then find a piece of cover that keeps you safe while giving you a much more clear shot at the enemy than you'd get with the more linear combat classes, and you can actually take a pretty ridiculous amount of sustained fire as long as you're smart about positioning yourself so that only one or two enemies can shoot at you until your Charge cools down (at which point you can Charge again to bring that shield back up, rinse and repeat.
I die a lot more with my Vanguard than I did with my Infiltrator, but when things do go to plan, I tear through encounters in probably half the time it took a sniper.
Also, most important part of playing Vanguard: Your melee attack does a shitload of damage - if you wail on a guy, the second punch does more damage than the first one, plus your melee attack has a good chance of putting the enemy into a stagger animation, even if they've got armour or shields up. If you can charge into two enemies that are close together without having to worry about getting into cover immediately after the charge, those enemies will be dead within about 2-3 seconds after your charge, even if they started with full Shields.
I wouldn't recommend Vanguard until at least your second Insanity playthrough, though. You kind of need to be able to figure out your chances at various situations on the fly, by intuition.
practice02
Banned
Do you think Marinda or jack can use their Biotics to give shepard a handy? Imagine that a dark matter hand job.... I can't wait for the future!Zeliard said:
pmj said:
In the first game biotics were overly strong. They nerfed them but it went too far. Now tech powers are the new biotics.
Maybe few familiar faces but definitely not all of them.
Just too much work into characters that many (most?) people might not even have alive anymore.
I can bet people like Wrex are definitely not going to be party members in ME3. He's dead in the default ME2 file, enough said. Your romance from ME1 might come back.
From ME2 staff, I could see Legion doing a return. ME3 probably has the whole Quarian vs Geth mini storyline going on and Legion still has way more to offer.
Arhal_Katarn
Junior Member
Deleted
I went vanguard and thought shotguns and charge sucked, so I took assault rifles. But after seeing this guy play, holy crap was I wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE56V5sVj28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE56V5sVj28
Rad- said:
Area Shockwave says no.
Rad- said:
I'm going on the record to say that only 2-3 characters will be NEW in ME3. Yup. All the writing and direction will be going into the plot, existing characters, Shepard, romance, and Reapers. There are a few reasons this is certain:
1. There are more than enough branching possibilities right now with characters and so forth. Its getting complex as it is, without adding a whole other squadron more of characters.
2. There's more than enough plot loose ends and side quest material from the two games right now, that taking the game in new directions would be self-defeating. Assuming they stick with trilogy, the 3rd game is supposed to be about resolution. Time to tie up the loose ends.
3. That's a sufficient list of possible romances on both genders. Again, resolution, there's enough there that the focus should go to tying things up.
4. The game ends at a great point where the final story can be told, without having to go into a bunch of exposition, or finding out who's who, or what their motivations are. Just the interaction between characters towards the final goal.
5.
They closed the book on the Protheans so they final game would not be looking in the past but in the present. No longer finding out what happened, but what to do and, again, resolution. The critical portions of past history having been answered, now its about the cloud of Reapers descending on the galaxy.
6. Bioware is smart enough to realize all this. I think they fleshed out everything in this game, got all the exposition they wanted out of the way so they could focus squarely on plot and Shepard for the final act, as well they should.
CruxisMana
Member
Arhal_Katarn said:
Check the Spoiler thread for how to do it without any casualties.
But I'd spoiler all of that for those who haven't finished the game yet...
I have to admit that while I used Charge a lot in the beginning of the game, I used it less and less until I had practically stopped perhaps halfway through. I was just so sick of always seeing what looked like the perfect opportunity to use it, and take the shot, only for a door to open right next to where I ended up and have five more enemies run out.Coxswain said:
It became a game of taking note of where the enemies spawn and trying to guess whether it was the last wave of enemies before I would use it, but at that point why bother? Together with the severely limited shotgun ammo, it felt like the better option to hang back and use the SMG.
I should probably go back and see what a high level Charge is like though. Too bad I have no more quests to do.
mYm|17| said:
Well, no shit, you can't even Charge onto the platforms until you clear them out. It's useful through most of the game though. With biotic cooldown, Champion, and Heavy Charge, your Charge recharges fast enough that you can Charge into a group of three enemies and come out alive. And this is on Insanity.
New DLC confirmed for tomorrow. Awesome stuff, new fucking shotgun!
Heavy Charge actually restores your shields by a decent amount, too. So it should also be used defensively as a tactical heal. And yeah, the slowdown is great for making sure you get the shotgun headshot. Use incendiary ammo, and some enemies have a chance to panic after getting hit, giving you extra time to blast them again. Maxing out assault mastery for reduced charge cooldown and you're good to go.
Not the ship mission, but charge is plenty effective against collectors and harbingers in insanity. Just be careful around scions and don't charge them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXcNFEU0kiY&feature=channelmYm|17| said:
Not the ship mission, but charge is plenty effective against collectors and harbingers in insanity. Just be careful around scions and don't charge them.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Yay new DLC tomorrow! Unlikely to use it, but its free so who am I to complain.
ME2 feels like a bunch of side missions stitched together with a very subdued main story happening in the background. I love the game (despite its numerous flaws), but it's about as paint by numbers as it gets.
I could have done with about 3 fewer characters. I also would have liked to see several additional 'main story' related missions. The game really is mostly about recruiting then winning loyalty. Kinda disappointing.
I'm nearly to the end and no way this game is that much better than ME2. As someone else said, for every step forward that ME2 takes ahead of ME1, it takes one step back in some other area.
I could have done with about 3 fewer characters. I also would have liked to see several additional 'main story' related missions. The game really is mostly about recruiting then winning loyalty. Kinda disappointing.
I'm nearly to the end and no way this game is that much better than ME2. As someone else said, for every step forward that ME2 takes ahead of ME1, it takes one step back in some other area.
Son of Godzilla
Banned
Heh, I was completely opposite. I spent the first half of the game cowering behind knee high walls and hitting people with my pistol but once I got the omega-shotgun I fully upgraded to Heavy Charge and spent my time dashing about. It's fairly easy to charge, one-shot anything with the shotgun, and get behind cover. You can even hyper-punch stuff without shields during the slo-mo to send them flying. Only played on Veteran though.pmj said:
CruxisMana
Member
Patryn said:
Cerberus Armor and Eviscerator Shotgun; http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/103/index/1074772
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Patryn said:
Full details;
"On Tuesday February 09 2010 Mass Effect 2 fans will be able to get the new Cerberus Assault Armor and M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun DLC fof free through the Cerberus network. It should be available for all fans, both on PC and Xbox 360 at 12:00pm Mountain Standard Time.
Cerberus Assault Armor
Cerberus assault armor is designed for shock troops, turn the tide of battle against creatures or forces that would decimate normal soldiers.
Increases heavy weapon ammo capacity by +10%
Increases shields by +10%
Increases health by +10%
M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun
The M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun is a longer-range shotgun with armor-piercing loads. This design also violates several intergalactic weapons treaties, so the M-22a is not distributed to militaries.
You can learn more about the Cerberus Assault Armor in a Arsenal update with screenshots of the armor in action here: http://masseffect.bioware.com/universe/arsenal/armor/"
ExtraKr1spy
Banned
woo
Finally 1015/1015
Renegade is so fun
Finally 1015/1015
Renegade is so fun
I agree, the PC version of ME2 is a LOT better than the ME1 port. Looks better and runs better. 60fps ftw. Kind of sparse in the technical options department...but whatcha gonna do.
BTW what's the deal with the Renegade/Paragon bar in ME2? I'm gaining points but I don't see it changing in any direction.
BTW what's the deal with the Renegade/Paragon bar in ME2? I'm gaining points but I don't see it changing in any direction.
Fimbulvetr
Member
jett said:
1 or 2 points isn't much, decisions that give 10 or more points are more noticeable.
Played Male Paragon Vanguard my first time through and didn't really enjoy myself until the end of the game. I agree with the complaint that this game is mostly a bunch of sidemission, it really shows when you get to the last few hours of the game which are more controlled. Also took some time to adapt to all the new systems in combat.
Just started playing a second time with a Female Renegade Infiltrator and so far it's been completely amazing. I think the combat is reason enough to play this game, in some ways I prefer it to pretty much any other third person shooter on the market. Best sniper rifle in any game ever! and zooming around with heavy charge and the claymore was really awesome too. Also, I think Female AND Renegade is THE way to go. I usually play the good guy but will propably go the other route in ME3.
Just started playing a second time with a Female Renegade Infiltrator and so far it's been completely amazing. I think the combat is reason enough to play this game, in some ways I prefer it to pretty much any other third person shooter on the market. Best sniper rifle in any game ever! and zooming around with heavy charge and the claymore was really awesome too. Also, I think Female AND Renegade is THE way to go. I usually play the good guy but will propably go the other route in ME3.
That's exactly how I played Vanguard. I didn't play on Insanity, thoughErico said:
Easy, man. [mid/end game spoilers]mYm|17| said:
You cannot charge across platforms. You have to cross the boundary onto the collector's platform and them you can charge them to your hearts' content
MWS Natural
Member
Erico said:
Damn I chose the wrong charge skill!
K.Jack said:
I wish they make it where charge can be used at anytime without having to hit enemies.pmj said:
Imagine if your vanguard can zip through the battlefield to any walkable location at any time.
See a flanking area with no enemies? Charge there and flank enemies from the side or from the back.
One of your teammates getting surrounded by enemies? Charge to the back of the assaulting enemy forces and hit them from the back.
Getting crowded by enemies? Charge to a safe cover.
Shockwave or pull useless due to distance? Charge to a closer cover.
This will make charge a more active ability instead of the rare ability to use once you've killed most of the enemies.
And of course, being able to play like a shotgun-wielding Flash is probably the greatest reward.
I wonder if this can be patched in - it will solve a lot of our complaints with vanguards in general.
Finished the game, none of my team died but
. Awesome game, and the graphics on the PC version are amazing (60fps @ 1080p at max settings including forced AA).
I really like the dialog options; I can really project myself, being an ass when I feel like it, being nice when I feel like it (mainly if it's the opposite sex
). I also felt that the recruitment/loyalty missions made the game fairly formulaic, as they all seem to follow the same template, right down to being the same length with the same ratio of fighting to dialog. Also, the armor from Dragon Age was pretty useless once I got upgrades to the regular armor.
I had a male Shepard (in ME1 I choose a female), soldier, and I did get it on with Miranda. Do I need to up my Renegade score to switch to Jack? Cause the two options when I talk to her are grayed out.
half the crew did die, including Kelly, eventhough I thought I went in as soon as possible
I really like the dialog options; I can really project myself, being an ass when I feel like it, being nice when I feel like it (mainly if it's the opposite sex
). I also felt that the recruitment/loyalty missions made the game fairly formulaic, as they all seem to follow the same template, right down to being the same length with the same ratio of fighting to dialog. Also, the armor from Dragon Age was pretty useless once I got upgrades to the regular armor.I had a male Shepard (in ME1 I choose a female), soldier, and I did get it on with Miranda. Do I need to up my Renegade score to switch to Jack? Cause the two options when I talk to her are grayed out.
Arhal_Katarn
Junior Member
CruxisMana said:
yea shoulda put in that thread anyway i guess.
Arde5643 said:
It's basically teleport at that point, and most people would just use it to get distance rather than actually close in on the enemy. Vanguards were designed to be close combat experts, and even on the highest difficulty, they do that rather well with the current setup.
I frequently used charge to set up flanking attacks and to escape getting bombarded (if 3 enemies were attacking me I charged the one guy off in the distance trying to kill a teammate)Arde5643 said:
Sure, you can't charge to uninhabited space, but you can still charge as close to there as possible + getting your ass out of immediate fire + stunning the enemy you hit + getting a temporary damage sponge to keep you alive just a bit longer.
Knock a bad guy back a bit with a melee attack, get a headshot or two with the krogan shotty and then charge to the enemy occupying the least congested space. Rinse and repeat. It keeps you at the edge of your seat, is a great way to dodge rockets, and it kept me alive far longer than I thought was possible when I first started using the ability.
By the end of the game, it was the only move I wanted to use due to how effective it was. I had to force myself to use other abilities just so I wouldn't feel like I wasted skill points in them.
TheSailerman
Neo Member
So on the
mission, I got in a little over my head and had husks all around me (6 or 7, I think), making it near-impossible to move and was on the verge of dying. So I pulled up the power wheel and had Mordin incinerate a husk, setting the rest on fire - letting Shep get the heck outta there!
I was so proud of myself for thinking of that.
Reaper IFF
I was so proud of myself for thinking of that.
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