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[Edgeward]

Any way i can speed up the planet scanner? So bloody slow, i'd rather be driving the Mako over shitty terrain then die of boredom doing this scanning shit again (2nd playthrough after Mass Effect sale )

The scanner post patch is faster than it was pre. So unless you haven't updated, one of your crew members gives a scanner upgrade that helps increase it but the movement post patch is as the least cumbersome it can be besides it just instantly giving it to you.

 

[kuYuri]

I think I might have a code for the Gamestop preorder items (Terminus Weapon and Armor) that I've had all this time and completely forgot about it. No guarantees that it still works.

PM me if you want it.

EDIT: Code gone.

 

[DY_nasty]

jesus christ Insane difficulty is impossible, I'm dying on the first level after the tutorial.
tips? D:

That first level is probably one of the hardest since you don't have any upgrades or abilities at that time. Whats your class?

(lol if you're an adept)

 

[Fantastical]

What the fuck is this shit?

I'm playing the game, and then I suddenly lose internet connection, and it says 'Disconnected from Xbox Live'. No problem... except the game stops and tells me I have to sign in again and just closes out back to the main menu? Are you kidding me? My modem is super screwy and it disconnects all the time... What is this bullshit? I'm still in the first thirty minutes and that isn't a great first impression.

 

[Skilotonn]

After going through Overlord content, I have high hopes for ME3. Overlord looks better(a fuckton better), has more variety, and the story is great, it just makes the rest of the disc missions look bad.

Very interesting - now I really can't wait...

 

[TheUsual]

The Overlord DLC was pretty fun. The ability of roaming the area with the Firewalker (i think that is what it's called) and then moving to on-foot sections was fun. I hope in ME3, the player will be able to get out of the firewalker anytime and do some on foot exploring. I can dream though.

 

[nubbe]

Overlord is the only mission that feels like a "Mass Effect" mission.
It is also the only one that made me do an emotional decision at the end.

There are some neat ones like the party and stalking mission. Other than that everything in ME2 is a trench shooter.

ME3 better go back to the ME1 formula.

 

[Plywood]

That first level is probably one of the hardest since you don't have any upgrades or abilities at that time. Whats your class?

(lol if you're an adept)

Are adepts screwed in ME2? Still haven't played it, yet. But I recently got ME1 for PC off the EA steam deal. Even though I already have it for 360.

Anyway, the point is my character is an Adept on PC, am I fucked? Want to know when I get this down the line.

 

[DY_nasty]

Are adepts screwed in ME2? Still haven't played it, yet. But I recently got ME1 for PC off the EA steam deal. Even though I already have it for 360.

Anyway, the point is my character is an Adept on PC, am I fucked? Want to know when I get this down the line.

Adepts dominate.

But they're really dependent on abilities. Thing about about ME2 is that almost none of the adepts abilities work on enemies until you strip their defenses. On Insanity, every enemy has at least one layer of defense on them. Late in the game, they're beasts, but in the beginning every fight is uphill.

 

[Plywood]

Adepts dominate.

But they're really dependent on abilities. Thing about about ME2 is that almost none of the adepts abilities work on enemies until you strip their defenses. On Insanity, every enemy has at least one layer of defense on them. Late in the game, they're beasts, but in the beginning every fight is uphill.

Ah okay, good to know, thanks.

 

[Zod the Bear]

Are adepts screwed in ME2? Still haven't played it, yet. But I recently got ME1 for PC off the EA steam deal. Even though I already have it for 360.

Anyway, the point is my character is an Adept on PC, am I fucked? Want to know when I get this down the line.

They can be overpowered in ME1, will likely have issues with Insanity in ME2 because everyone has damage protection you have to strip before most of your biotics will work on them. Still possible, just more difficult.

Not a huge issue if you're not playing on hardened/insanity.

edit: I type too slow.

 

[sca2511]

so I just beat ME and didn't get any of the romance options. Will this affect some of the dialogue/story in ME2?

 

[Wallach]

so I just beat ME and didn't get any of the romance options. Will this affect some of the dialogue/story in ME2?

It does, but not in a negative way or anything. Your story is just slightly different.

 

[sca2511]

It does, but not in a negative way or anything. Your story is just slightly different.

That's great. I was thinking that I would be missing a lot of character development because of my actions in ME1

 

[Pancakes]

Just beat the overlord DLC, definitely a step in the right direction and worth the points imo.

 

[Solo]

Picked up ME2 for the first time since February (I would go so far as to say that beside only Deux Ex 2, ME2 was my biggest gaming disappointment ever; Ive only beaten ME2 once while Ive replayed ME1 like 8 times) to try out Kasumi, Hammerhead, and Overlord.

- Kasumi as a character does nothing for me, but her loyalty mission was a lot of fun, and a nice departure from ME2's standard missions.
- the Hammerhead sucks. Oh boy, does it suck. They should have brought the Mako back over this garbage. One piddly little gun and a speed boost? Thats it? At least the Mako had rockets, the ability to zoom, and felt a ton more rugged and useful.
- Overlord, barring the Hammerhead stuff, was pretty good and a nice throwback to ME1. The overworld especially felt like an uncharted world from ME1. Definitely a step in the right direction for ME3. Loved the ending of the mission. Also, the graphics in this seemed to be a step up from ME2 vanilla.

 

[RoH]

Playing ME2 for the first time now. I find ME1 was more of a RPG, more to explore, and over all more fun. I think I spent a while just looking over the Normady 1 to find out how all the systems worked, and thats what made the ship special. In ME2, the first thing I did was go to then engine room, and found not even one of those information things from ME1. The ship is twice as big, but it feels twice as empty/lifeless as the original ship.

The game play is a bit better if only for one reason, I can head shot with a snipper riffle! Other then that I felt ME1 was a bit more tactical, I can place my finger on it but it feels like my soldier had more utility, now he seem more focused on weapons, and on that; the Armor, Health (I read the justification in game for the Health regen, but.... let me apply the medigel) and Weapon system in ME2 has been unnecessarily dumbed down. I rarely have any reason to look around planet-side for shops, as I find the schematics and weapons during my missions, then fabricate them on the ship.

Graphically the game looks better. I have not seen any memorable pop in, and only some very minor graphical glitches; however, I have become stuck in terrain floating above random objects in and out of combat a few times, I've also gotten my self off the glitched terrain only to die and have the game load me right back on the glitch! not cool as its taken me up to 10mins to get out of the glitch!
I'm not a big fan of loading screens; so to ME1 the the Bomb for that, but ME2? loading... Loading.... Loading..... I would rather be in the elevator listing to my team mates verbally abuse each other or listen to the galactic news, just getting off the shipped looked cool and it keeps me immersed in the universe.

The story is sub-par to ME1. The intro is really cool until you realize Bioware just did not know how to justify the new crew without it, every one I meet always wants to point out who i'm with and its gets old. I was excited to explore and commit acts of evil in the first, but game this one? not so much even though it has a much darker tone, as it feels more scripted/cookie-cutter. I dont really care about the characters, and that was one of the main points in ME1, maybe there are just to many of them, maybe they revealed to much about each race in the first game, but now they all seem old hat, dull and unimaginative with maybe 3 exceptions.

all in all if the first ME was a 8 this one is a 6.

 

[Dilly]

Overlord DLC is great. The atmosphere, the exploring, the graphics, the conclusion of the story. Top notch.

 

[BuckRobotron]

Finished first playthrough. Imported primary lvl 60 Paragon/Vanguard. Was a bit underwhelmed at first, but after finishing I'm quite enthusiastic about the game. If not quite as much as I have been ME1.

I see the developers responded strongly to complaints some people had with ME1. Problem is, not all of us fully shared the complaints. Primary among these was the Mako which I liked slamming around mountains, blasting that cannon, and jumping in and out of at will. Another is the inventory system. Regardless of how awkward it was, I liked having at hand all that variety of ammo types and especially armor types for all characters.

However, the new limits on ammo usage work better than expected and powers feel more distinct. Difficulty in general seems boosted as well, Veteran for now. And I hear Insanity lives up to its name this time. Save that for later.

Side-mission visual variety? ME1 certainly needed more and ME2 presents lush new environments...for every little mission. That is great when met by gameplay variety such as guiding/refueling a construction mech or running atop an unstable crashed ship were very welcome. But several missions that were barely more than walking around pressing buttons had me saying "that's it?" and came off as not worthy of the time spent on the pretty wrapping.

Characters? Tali is an obvious win for me, Mordin I found quite entertaining, and I like doe-eyed lunatic "Jack" much more than expected given that all I knew going in was that she had way too many tattoos. At the opposite end, don't care much for Jacob, Miranda, or Grunt. The latter two can't escape from the long shadows cast by Ashley and Wrex, though they do have entertaining loyalty missions.

Just started up and doing a quick run through an imported Renegade femshep that had everything the opposite of my primary Paragon male. I'll be leaving the femshep romance code sitting unused, leaving her loyal to Kaidan by default to the extent it matters for ME3. After that, likely take my time with and mix it up as an ME2-fresh neutral Sentinel with Jack at his side when I try the Insanity run.

All in all, a great-looking and refined Mass Effect experience that is as great fun to replay as previous Bioware titles. However, it does trade in some of the epic feel of the first establishing story in ME1, and irons out some good along with the bad from ME1. I hear the Overlord DLC has satisfied those with similar sentiments so I'll very likely go for that.

 

[Vlodril]

Finished my 3rd run with it and tried the new Overlord. Usually i dont like dlc but this was very good. Not so small as others, plus it had some exploration , which remind me of me1. The new vehicle was crap though and made out of tinfoil. If anything managed to hit you for more than 2 secs it would explode. I missed the Mako (hated it but at least it was a beast). Guess thats what happens when you go from military vehicles to one made by civilians

Still feel ME2 is inferior tou Me1 but even then its still one of my the games of the generation for me. Love the universe bioware created.

 

[Gillian Seed]

The 2 new lithographs are up on the Bioware Store: http://biowarestore.com/art/lithographs

I picked up the Wards lithograph. I am loving the Snatcher/Blade Runner vibe!

 

[MrCompletely]

Kasumi DLC boss battle on insane difficulty is completely kicking my ass. Any tips? Seems that its just wave after wave, and I have no power cells!

 

[Sai]

What class are you using?

I don't think the waves of Eclipse mercs just keep on coming though, there'll eventually come a point where Kasumi tells you to clear out the remaining enemies so she can disable the aircraft's shields.

 

[Decado]

How does the game perform on PC? Do you need a really good rig for it to look better than the console version?

Also...1.5 hours of gameplay for $7 in an action/rpg? And this is considered good value? No wonder I stopped paying attention to DLC.

 

[BuckRobotron]

Been really enjoying my current quick runthrough of imported fem Infiltrator/Renegade, shifted to Engineer since Tali is being sidelined in this game after being in every possible mission in my first game.

Sticking with Zaeed and Miranda primarily. Combat has evolved into at times hilarious overkill when throwing out explosive combat drones, directing Miranda to hit with Warp simultaneously with Zaeed's Inferno Grenade, topped off with my Incinerate as soon as ready after drone deployment. Stacked explosions and sizzle, then screams, add to the pain with the green glow of the bonus Shredder ammo I took when starting the character, etc. :lol

Renegade options also are entertaining, though I prefer Paragon. Such as sending out that confused

Spoiler

confused volus "biotic master"

during Miranda's loyalty mission. Actually wanted to kick my own character's ass after seeing what happened after she (thanks to me...) sent him out there.

Lastly, perhaps because I am spending minimal downtime talking to people this time, jumping quickly from one action setpiece to the next has been reminding how great the game looks, as well as how well the combat engine holds up under multiple power-blasting duress.

Left the game as I was about to head out to Tuchanka where my Renegade Shep WON'T be seeing a familiar face from ME1...

 

[MrCompletely]

What class are you using?

I don't think the waves of Eclipse mercs just keep on coming though, there'll eventually come a point where Kasumi tells you to clear out the remaining enemies so she can disable the aircraft's shields.

Using Adept, which is tough on insane mode, especially considering every enemy has shields/armor/barriers. I can only use powers once they're down to the red bar.

My current go-to strategy with Kasumi is to pelt some hand cannon shots into the loki mech first, then use Kasumi's backstab move, switch over to assualt cannon and take the shields out of whichever enemies are standing close, aoe shockwave, then repeat Kasumi tactic on remaining dude(s).

Inbetween waves, I shave maybe 1/8th at best off the gunship's shields. I did get the sequence where Kasumi said to get her near the ship, but I couldn't stay alive to do so.

I'm loving playing on insane mode, but it is HARD. Already did the Omega recruitment missions, Mordin's mission fighting Krogan and Vorcha were uber tough, as those enemies regen health almost instantly if you don't continually dish damage.

 

[TSAGoodness]

How does the game perform on PC? Do you need a really good rig for it to look better than the console version?

Also...1.5 hours of gameplay for $7 in an action/rpg? And this is considered good value? No wonder I stopped paying attention to DLC.

I just picked up the game on Steam for $24 for my iMac running bootcamp. It's definitely not a high end rig but the game looks fantastic. It's a brand new iMac, the lower end model, I don't know all the specs, but nothing too fancy.

The game runs super smooth and looks 90% of the time as good as the 360 version and sometimes a little below, runs super fast though.

 

[Stallion Free]

The game runs super smooth and looks 90% of the time as good as the 360 version and sometimes a little below, runs super fast though.

On an actual PC with decent hardware it looks better than the 360 version 100% of the time by a large margin and runs at a perfect 60 fps. 1080p with 8x AA can really do a lot for image quality.

 

[Acidote]

Horizon NG+ Insane with a soldier is hell. I'm stuck right after talking to the mechanic when husks + drones + abomination tear my Garrus & Dr. apart in a second as I've nowhere to hide them as I usually do. Then the husks come and tear me apart too :lol

 

[Jerk]

Horizon NG+ Insane with a soldier is hell. I'm stuck right after talking to the mechanic when husks + drones + abomination tear my Garrus & Dr. apart in a second as I've nowhere to hide them as I usually do. Then the husks come and tear me apart too :lol

Are properly abusing Adrenaline Rush + Revenant?

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

Using Adept, which is tough on insane mode, especially considering every enemy has shields/armor/barriers. I can only use powers once they're down to the red bar.
My current go-to strategy with Kasumi is to pelt some hand cannon shots into the loki mech first, then use Kasumi's backstab move, switch over to assualt cannon and take the shields out of whichever enemies are standing close, aoe shockwave, then repeat Kasumi tactic on remaining dude(s).

Inbetween waves, I shave maybe 1/8th at best off the gunship's shields. I did get the sequence where Kasumi said to get her near the ship, but I couldn't stay alive to do so.

I'm loving playing on insane mode, but it is HARD. Already did the Omega recruitment missions, Mordin's mission fighting Krogan and Vorcha were uber tough, as those enemies regen health almost instantly if you don't continually dish damage.

Doesn't Warp work for the yellow armor and overload for the blue shields? I think the powers are still somewhat useful anyway (I haven't played insane yet, mind, not quite sure if I want to tbh!).

I thought the Overlord DLC was excellent, the visuals alone were worth it and the Hammerhead AI was surprisingly funny. The bit that got the biggest squee from me was the mention of

Spoiler

The Grissom Academy at the end. He's gonna be safe with Kaylee!

. I thought it had a great mix of tight combat spaces and tense exploation. Every time that AI screamed at me I jumped, it's just such a nasty sound. Good stuff though, if they do more like this I'll buy it all

 

[BuckRobotron]

Started an Insanity game, leaving the other game that I was blasting through fast where it was for later. Imported lvl 50 Sentinel/Paragon, kept him Sentinel. Though trivial, it is odd that he has Liara as the ME1 paramour, could have sworn that one was Ashley.

Anyway, not too bad really so far. As expected, the Garrus recruit scenario was rough yet fair. Insanity actually grants more, let's say dignity, to some enemies. That gauntlet of yellow-suited Krogan on the Grunt recruit mission did NOT go down easily for once, as it should be.

I went in order so far Mordin, Grunt, Garrus, Jack, Thane (yes, I'm lacking for sleep right now...). May not be a favorite in story/character terms but gotta give props to Miranda, as she is as useful in battle with Overload/Warp as she is hot looking. And Grunt consistently holds up well in firefights, plus him roaring "sit down!" after Concussive Blast always gets a grin.

Indeed, on Jack's recruit mission at the end, it was me out of ammo using the extra ability Reave and Grunt using the blast to wear down the boss.

Biggest problem I faced so far was a fight against 2 scions and a bunch of surprisingly resilient and fast husks. Was very happy to have that Sentinel shield during that fight.

 

[Acidote]

Are properly abusing Adrenaline Rush + Revenant?

I am. I'm just plain bad, can't hold that pylon alive :lol

I don't even get to fight the "boss", husks and drones destroy me.

 

[Acidote]

Fuck this crap. I just did it

 

[Salsa]

Man, i just realized that the Firewalker and Ovlerlord DLC`s are out, dammit :lol got both of them along with Kasumi's Stolen Memory. OHhhhhhhhhh yeah ME2 is BACK!

Spoiler

(at least for a couple of hours)

 

[BuckRobotron]

Finished my Insanity run. Sentinel works very well for this difficulty. Most notably, because of the shield overload function.

Time it well, and it is invaluable when running husk or collector gauntlets. That, plus always wearing the melee-enhancing armor. Literally punch a hole in the wall of husks, allow the shield break to act as a minor smart bomb, get clear and prep again for when the crush of undead fans tries to get their hands on you again.

Regarding the end run, despite apparently doing everything right, Grunt, Jack, and most infuriating of all Tali got killed. Tali was the engineer/door choice, Jack/Legion/I dominating enemies to keep her from roasting...and she still gets shot in the end. I don't think my jaw has ever dropped so sincerely at anything in a videogame before. Very angry...and then Jack gets taken away...!

Anyway, went back to a previous unfinished game as Engineer, Hardcore difficulty. After playing Insanity, I had to check if I had it on Normal.

ME2 has obviously earned a spot as one of my all-time favorites. Setting aside for now, but still itching to play more after the 4th of July weekend.

 

[Wallach]

Finished my Insanity run. Sentinel works very well for this difficulty. Most notably, because of the shield overload function.

Time it well, and it is invaluable when running husk or collector gauntlets. That, plus always wearing the melee-enhancing armor. Literally punch a hole in the wall of husks, allow the shield break to act as a minor smart bomb, get clear and prep again for when the crush of undead fans tries to get their hands on you again.

Regarding the end run, despite apparently doing everything right, Grunt, Jack, and most infuriating of all Tali got killed. Tali was the engineer/door choice, Jack/Legion/I dominating enemies to keep her from roasting...and she still gets shot in the end. I don't think my jaw has ever dropped so sincerely at anything in a videogame before. Very angry...and then Jack gets taken away...!

Anyway, went back to a previous unfinished game as Engineer, Hardcore difficulty. After playing Insanity, I had to check if I had it on Normal.

ME2 has obviously earned a spot as one of my all-time favorites. Setting aside for now, but still itching to play more after the 4th of July weekend.

If you want, I can tell you why she got shot. You can prevent this.

 

[BuckRobotron]

If you want, I can tell you why she got shot. You can prevent this.

I appreciate it, but no need. I have several relevant sources bookmarked if I want to know, but for this run I'm leaving the results as is without second-guessing.

If it happened on my primary Tali-romance game I would have immediately looked up went wrong and redone it, of course. But everyone survived that one as expected.

So, actually I shouldn't say I did "everything right" in this playthrough. After my first "perfect" game I went free-form with my responses (including without favoritism towards Tali AND taking chances with who I chose for the final battle sequences) during this Insanity run to see what happened...and there it is, for the worse in some cases. Didn't think I altered anything enough to get these results, though. Heh.

 

[SonnyBoy]

I just picked the game up, scared to read much of this thread until I finish it.

 

[The Librarian]

The Hammerhead is a such an awesome vehicle. I love it. The rockets, the boost, and the jump...definitely an improvement over the mako.

 

[Pancakes]

The Hammerhead is a such an awesome vehicle. I love it. The rockets, the boost, and the jump...definitely an improvement over the mako.

Ehhhhh, it controls better sure but at least the Mako took some semblance of skill (jumping over rockets and aiming) I'm not a huge fan of holding rt to win =/.

 

[The Librarian]

Ehhhhh, it controls better sure but at least the Mako took some semblance of skill (jumping over rockets and aiming) I'm not a huge fan of holding rt to win =/.

Having to slow down and aim really disrupts the flow of the gameplay with the vehicle. I'm glad the hammerhead is the way it is.

 

[Pancakes]

I suppose I can understand that. However, I would still prefer if they added a bit more depth to the hammer head. For example, add an alternate weapon, increase armor and reduce regenerating effect, and allow the ability to get out of the vehicle when you want to.

 

[Dark Stalkers]

I wish the Hammerhead didn't die so fast. :/

 

[EatChildren]

I wish the Hammerhead didn't die so fast. :/

Thats my main problem. Its a great vehicle in theory, but the combat ends up resorting to camping behind something and punting rockets so they home in on your target. To me, that defeats the purpose of the vehicle to begin with, and is boring as hell.

 

[Rikyfree]

Started my second playthrough a week ago. I love being a hardcore bitch that kills anyone who gives her any lip.

 

[Solo]

Im playing through ME1 again (I think Im on playthrough #8 now :lol - compared to 2 times for ME2), and once again its hitting me how badly they HAVE to bring back the exploration part of the game. ME1 feels gargantuan with so many planets to land on and explore with the mako. Yes, the planets feature copy and paste dungeons, but Ill take that anyday over how compartmentalized and "small" ME2 is, and the dinky little hammerhead.

And its not like the samey-ness of the planets and dungeons couldnt be addressed. Perhaps the happy medium is less planets to land on then in ME1, but each with unique assets. All I know is that there isn't a single moment in ME2 where you really feel the scale of the universe like you do in ME1 when you're on some uncharted world looking off into the horizon.

 

[Pancakes]

^i fully endorse this post. Bring back exploration.

 

[EatChildren]

Im playing through ME1 again (I think Im on playthrough #8 now :lol - compared to 2 times for ME2), and once again its hitting me how badly they HAVE to bring back the exploration part of the game. ME1 feels gargantuan with so many planets to land on and explore with the mako. Yes, the planets feature copy and paste dungeons, but Ill take that anyday over how compartmentalized and "small" ME2 is, and the dinky little hammerhead.

And its not like the samey-ness of the planets and dungeons couldnt be addressed. Perhaps the happy medium is less planets to land on then in ME1, but each with unique assets. All I know is that there isn't a single moment in ME2 where you really feel the scale of the universe like you do in ME1 when you're on some uncharted world looking off into the horizon.

I'd like a mix of ME1's and ME2. Some planets taking place in tighter locals for whatever reason, with other planets allowing for more exploration.

As much as I prefer ME1's planetary exploration, its exclusively for the feeling if scale and isolation that they envoke. Standing next to the Mako in the middle of a big, empty open space and looking up at the stars above. It might be a videogame, but its the closet game to hit the feeling that you're so insignificant and small compared to what is out there.

I dont think BioWare needs to return to the ME1 formula completely to envoke this feeling, but they definitely botched the sense of scale in ME2. Overlord does an alright job of having an explorable hub world, but being unable to get out and see things at a closer perspective really hurts the exploration.

 

[Solo]

I'd like a mix of ME1's and ME2.

As would I. ME2's gameplay, graphics and performance, and ME1's brand of storytelling, exploration, and scale. Even more simply put, I want ME3 to marry ME2's technical brilliance with ME1's artistic brilliance.