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[subversus]

One thing Insanity is great at though is highlighting the flaws of the game's combat mechanics.

insanity is easy if you have DLC weapons.

 

[HK-47]

I am doing my Sentinel playthrough, tech armor is great. After that I only have Adept and Engineer left or are those classes so bad it is not worth playing with them in ME2?

Adept is the most fun class in the game. Pull Field/Heavy Singularity with Warp/Overload party members is awesome.

 

[X-Frame]

I am doing my Sentinel playthrough, tech armor is great. After that I only have Adept and Engineer left or are those classes so bad it is not worth playing with them in ME2?

Adept is a lot of fun but you definitely need to bring teammates that will fill in the Adept's anti-shield weakness (though you could take Energy Drain as a bonus power).

Engineer I liked a lot as well, and you're certainly not underpowered. You burn through shields and armor and your combat drone can be spammed so you always have a harassing "teammate" on the field. They need help with barriers though so bring an Adept teammate is helpful.

I'd say go for them too.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

Spoiler

If the artifact is influencing everyone why didn't anyone else try to cap Shepard as soon as they were safe? Why show him the artifact at all and place him in an easily escapable situation if the Reapers want him that badly? Why didn't Shepard contact the Normandy after retrieving the doctor? So its a covert op, doesn't mean they wouldn't start looking for him after the 1st day, especially when his shuttle left the planet a good 40 minutes after arriving (also nice that his shuttle was in a hanger bay across the prison, or do all shuttles look like that?) Why did Kenson blow herself up? she achieved nothing and Shepard was barely hurt. How did the Batarians capture Kenson? she has a personal army of Reaper fanatics!!

This is easily the worst money I've spent on this game, which includes all the alternative outfits and weapon packs. A turd sandwich of a mission

Spoiler

They (the reapers) were probably hoping that the artifact would have the same affect on Shepard that it had on the rest of the crew. The batarians are a whole colony of people vs a groups of wackos. They could have crushed them if they chose but did not as they wished to interrogate them. The woman blew herself up because she failed at what she wanted to do and chose to try to blow herself up in a desperate attempt to stop the engine. Or maybe bioware couldn't figure out a better way to write her out before the dlc finished.

Also, if your going to nitpick the locations of vehicles in this dlc then its only fair to nitpick that same issue throughout the entire series. You've gotta suspend your disbelief just a bit more.

 

[K.Jack]

What do you get by selling Legion to Cerberus ?

That is one decision which must hold weight, in ME3.

It did carry over to the LotSB post-game intel, so hopefully they realize that it should hold some story ramifications, going forward.

 

[Patryn]

That is one decision which must hold weight, in ME3.

It did carry over to the LotSB post-game intel, so hopefully they realize that it should hold some story ramifications, going forward.

Deciding whether or not to let the council live.

'nuff said.

 

[epmode]

That is one decision which must hold weight, in ME3.

It did carry over to the LotSB post-game intel, so hopefully they realize that it should hold some story ramifications, going forward.

To: Commander Shepherd
From: Geth substation 033Fx001
Subject: Thanks!

We're all so grateful that you singlehandedly saved our civilization from annihilation. As thanks, we have hacked into your account in Cerebus' brand new multiplayer combat sim and have granted you 100 free EffectXP good for one free weapon upgrade.

Game on, Shepherd!

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

To: Commander Shepherd
From: Geth substation 033Fx001
Subject: Thanks!

We're all so grateful that you singlehandedly saved our civilization from annihilation. As thanks, we have hacked into your account in Cerebus' brand new multiplayer combat sim and have granted you 100 free EffectXP good for one free weapon upgrade.

Game on, Shepherd!

lol It's going to be really sad if something like this happens.

 

[HadesGigas]

I can't wait for the retcons of the squad mates you let die, but they actually survived somehow. Like Anders in DAII.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

Just finished the Arrival.

What an underdone, trivial, unpolished, gigantic turd.

This is coming from someone that considers ME2 their favorite game of all time.

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

insanity is easy if you have DLC weapons.

That doesn't mean the combat mechanics aren't flawed though, the terrible cover system got me killed at least a dozen times, alone.

I just beat Insanity tonight and there were only 2 or 3 spots that I had to replay multiple times -- Horizon, Thane's recruitment, and the 2 YMIR's in Garrus' mission -- most due to idiot AI buddies that would get out of cover and just stand there, not firing, and die. lol

I played Soldier with all skills maxed except for cryo and concussion shot; Warp Ammo as my bonus; with Miranda in my #1 slot and rotated Garrus/Zaeed/Thane/Legion when needed. Weapons were: the Phalanx, Mattock, Incisor/Widow, Geth Shotgun, and Arc Projector (makes Husk groups a joke).

It's not that Insanity is truly difficult, it's just tedious. Bullet sponges that kill you in 0.25sec is not my idea of an engaging challenge.

 

[X-Frame]

I find Insanity easy now, though I've played about 4 play throughs on Insanity so I guess I got used to the combat. I'm also pretty good about positioning my teammates and using powers so that walking through all but really tough mobs aren't very difficult anymore.

I'd like a difficultly higher than Insanity personally.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

I can't wait for the retcons of the squad mates you let die, but they actually survived somehow. Like Anders in DAII.

Would be fine with me as long as the squad mates have a legitimate role in ME3. Having Wrex and Ashley basically be cameos as opposed to party members in ME2 was weak as hell.

Bioware should bring back the most popular 4-6 characters from ME2 alive or dead. One of the opening sequences of ME3 should be Shepard kicking down the door of Cerberus and demanding they use the lazarus tech to revive any dead squad mates, a quick throwaway conversation about what happened, and off to kick some reaper ass.

Lame? Probably. But much better than having them on the sidelines imo.

 

[Patryn]

Just finished the Arrival.

What an underdone, trivial, unpolished, gigantic turd.

This is coming from someone that considers ME2 their favorite game of all time.

Pinnacle Station.... The Arrival....

Guess that means we shouldn't expect much from the final ME3 DLC.

 

[X-Frame]

I think BioWare shot themselves in the foot with there being the option for squadmates to die at the end - like most of them.

Unless they knew what they were doing the whole time, but those are a shit ton of variables to consider and pull off.

 

[Untracked]

Just finished the Arrival.

What an underdone, trivial, unpolished, gigantic turd.

This is coming from someone that considers ME2 their favorite game of all time.

I feel the same.
Just finished Arrival now, I expected an epic ending to get me super hyped for ME3, no such luck.
Gonna pretend it never happened.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

I feel the same.
Just finished Arrival now, I expected an epic ending to get me super hyped for ME3, no such luck.
Gonna pretend it never happened.

I love how Shepard's battle dialog isn't changed at all despite being alone and he still calls out for people to cover him, etc.

 

[Zoibie]

So I'm guessing I'm not missing much by skipping this then?

 

[Untracked]

I love how Shepard's battle dialog isn't changed at all despite being alone and he still calls out for people to cover him, etc.

Yeah "We've been spotted!" but I'm on my own. Also Shep talks to Joker and he doesn't reply, just sits there looking intense. Seth Green must have been too busy to make a DLC cameo.

 

[Patryn]

So I'm guessing I'm not missing much by skipping this then?

It's possible you may be missing something, unfortunately. People will be able to say whether or not when ME3 gets revealed (a lot of people have a prediction for how ME3 will open up based on Arrival).

 

[Rufus]

Would be fine with me as long as the squad mates have a legitimate role in ME3. Having Wrex and Ashley basically be cameos as opposed to party members in ME2 was weak as hell.

They've fucked themselves massively by making it possible for every character except Liara to die. If they actually follow through on their reasoning for Ashley/Kaiden not playing a big role and Liara not being playable for the suicide mission (basically, they didn't want them on the line, so they could definitely have them be important in ME3), they might actually do something with those at least. As for the ME2 cast? Cameos, maybe one or two that will come back. I doubt that all fan favourites are going to come back. My money's on Tali and Garrus. Mordin might have croaked already, he was pretty old for a Salarian. Then again, the invasion seems to start pretty soon after ME2...
They can't possibly account for all of their possible deaths. Then again, they don't have much party banter and general party interaction outside of their specific quests.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

Yeah "We've been spotted!" but I'm on my own. Also Shep talks to Joker and he doesn't reply, just sits there looking intense. Seth Green must have been too busy to make a DLC cameo.

I had a lot of bugs in my run, too. Lots of enemies getting stuck in walls, sound glitches, etc.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

Going back to ME1 to finish up a storyline, and the combat is awful coming from ME2. I love Mass Effect, but I like ME2 more now. My opinion was the opposite, but I keep messing with ME2 & loving it more.

The Arrival was good DLC, better than Overlord, about as good as the Kasumi/Zaeed DLC's. The Arrival does have the fucking coolest ending of them all. Just fucking crazy backdrop. My jaw dropped seeing the shit we saw.

Lair of the Shadow Broker was the best $10 & under DLC i've ever played, with FO3's Broken Steel a close 2nd. A great package of storytelling, music, action, and extra goodies. And made me care about Liara again .

ME2 DLC was worth the cash overall

 

[Clott]

In order to not tease myself I saved all of the DLC until everything came out, so two days ago i downloaded everything. I started with Kasumi to Overlord and Shadow Broker and finally finished The Arrival just now. It feels like I just completed Mass Effect 2.5 and was seriously worth the wait. The best DLC by far was the Shadow Broker episode, by the end of it I felt content with that arc.

I don't understand why people feel cheated by The Arrival, I had a blast and for the first time in a while Mass Effect has actually reached a wonderful gray area with the resolution of the DLC.

Spoiler

How can you not feel guilty about wiping out 300,000 of the Batarian's? I hope the Earth government wont look at the incident too harshly, no time should be served on Shepard's behalf, the fact that he is flying around the galaxy and doing everyone's dirty work is punishment enough. Did anyone else fire at the doctor while she was giving her speech? Even though I was playing a pure paragon character it's not like I am going to give her a chance to blow us all away.

Anyone who considers not buying is seriously missing out.

 

[Riposte]

I find Insanity easy now, though I've played about 4 play throughs on Insanity so I guess I got used to the combat. I'm also pretty good about positioning my teammates and using powers so that walking through all but really tough mobs aren't very difficult anymore.

I'd like a difficultly higher than Insanity personally.

All it would do is make the time you are allowed to peak out of cover shorter. ME2 hit its ceiling really fast. Hope ME3 adds some more fun stuff to play around with to make a harder difficulty interesting.

 

[HK-47]

Anyone who thinks Overlord was worse than Arrival in any fashion is crazy. On all major points that Arrival fails by comparison.

 

[Patryn]

In order to not tease myself I saved all of the DLC until everything came out, so two days ago i downloaded everything. I started with Kasumi to Overlord and Shadow Broker and finally finished The Arrival just now. It feels like I just completed Mass Effect 2.5 and was seriously worth the wait. The best DLC by far was the Shadow Broker episode, by the end of it I felt content with that arc.

I don't understand why people feel cheated by The Arrival, I had a blast and for the first time in a while Mass Effect has actually reached a wonderful gray area with the resolution of the DLC.

Spoiler

How can you not feel guilty about wiping out 300,000 of the Batarian's? I hope the Earth government wont look at the incident too harshly, no time should be served on Shepard's behalf, the fact that he is flying around the galaxy and doing everyone's dirty work is punishment enough. Did anyone else fire at the doctor while she was giving her speech? Even though I was playing a pure paragon character it's not like I am going to give her a chance to blow us all away.

Anyone who considers not buying is seriously missing out.

Did you play Bring Down the Sky? I feel that mission, as well as Mordin's loyalty, did a much better job probing the gray area. In Arrival, you don't really have a choice.

Spoiler

You use the asteroid regardless.

In those other missions, you have to actively make a decision where it's not clear what's right and what's wrong.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

Anyone who considers not buying is seriously missing out.

On nothing. Actually, you would be saving yourself the frustration.

Also,

Spoiler

condemn an entire system of batarians to death, +2 renegade

 

[Clott]

Did you play Bring Down the Sky? I feel that mission, as well as Mordin's loyalty, did a much better job probing the gray area. In Arrival, you don't really have a choice.

Spoiler

You use the asteroid regardless.

In those other missions, you have to actively make a decision where it's not clear what's right and what's wrong.

No I missed out on Bring Down the Sky. I feel the same way in a sense, The parts you mention that approach the gray area were well done, but a part of me liked for the first time not having a choice, that something bad had to happen no matter what you tried.

 

[Kyoufu]

Anyone who thinks Overlord was worse than Arrival in any fashion is crazy. On all major points that Arrival fails by comparison.

Hammerhead needs shields and the save function.

 

[LevelNth]

I only have the Insanity trophy left for the platinum, but I'm not too crazy about doing a whole new full out playthrough.

How much can I skip while still being able to beat the end? Loyalty missions? Recruiting? Etc. I don't care about any of the other trophies or a carry over save for 3, as my original playthrough has that covered.

 

[HK-47]

Hammerhead needs shields and the save function.

Maybe, but its still more fun to drive in than the Mako.

 

[HK-47]

I only have the Insanity trophy left for the platinum, but I'm not too crazy about doing a whole new full out playthrough.

How much can I skip while still being able to beat the end? Loyalty missions? Recruiting? Etc. I don't care about any of the other trophies or a carry over save for 3, as my original playthrough has that covered.

You can skip all the loyalty missions and I think you have to do all the recruiting ones. Also if you do new game plus all the enemies will be level 30 tough but you'll lack upgrades since they dont carry over.

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

I only have the Insanity trophy left for the platinum, but I'm not too crazy about doing a whole new full out playthrough.

How much can I skip while still being able to beat the end? Loyalty missions? Recruiting? Etc. I don't care about any of the other trophies or a carry over save for 3, as my original playthrough has that covered.

You can skip nearly all of the sidequest missions, I think I only did 2 or 3.

For recruiting, I got everyone. Zaeed is boss early on and makes recruiting the others a tad easier, and the SMG you get with Kasumi is great for Miranda (who you should have with you in all missions, with her 15% squad damage bonus).

I also had everyone but Mordin, Miranda, Jacob, and Jack loyal. Just get the loyalty of the squadmates based on their abilities.

Zaeed: Inferno Grenade maxed helped on Grunt's loyalty mission.
Grunt: Improved Fortification turns him into a tank for dealing with husks on Horizon/IFF.
Garrus: Not so much for his power but to have a loyal leader for the 2nd team.
Thane/Samara: Easy missions. Samara for the loyal biotic barrier so one of your squad doesn't get taken.
Legion: Improved Geth Shielding means he can destroy longer with the Widow.
Tali: I didn't want her to die. lol

 

[Rufus]

Maybe, but its still more fun to drive in than the Mako.

But, I liked to go mountaineering with the Mako... :c

 

[RyanardoDaVinci]

I liked the Mako, too.

My favorite thing to do was jump over a hill into a group of enemies humming the A-Team theme!

 

[hermit7]

Insanity is cake. I don't have any issues on it. Vanguard was a bitch though with Arrival. There was at least 5 instances in which I would attempt to charge and was not able too.

Only class that I played as thus far, plan on playing as a Sentinel and Infiltrator on my completionist runs.

 

[IoCaster]

I only have the Insanity trophy left for the platinum, but I'm not too crazy about doing a whole new full out playthrough.

How much can I skip while still being able to beat the end? Loyalty missions? Recruiting? Etc. I don't care about any of the other trophies or a carry over save for 3, as my original playthrough has that covered.

You'll need 8 squad recruited to initiate the SM. You can grab Zaeed, Kasumi, Mordin, Garrus, Grunt and Jack. With Jacob and Miranda that's enough. You can totally skip Thane, Samara and Tali if you want. Horizon gets triggered after the original 4 dossiers. You'll need to do five missions (N7, DLC, Recruitment or Loyalty) to trigger the Collector Ship. Jump straight to the IFF mission to start the counter. The game will delay for 2-3 missions before

Spoiler

crew abduction

if you have open recruitment or loyalty missions in the journal. You can usually just run through 2-3 quick N7 jobs to get the end game to trigger and give you access to the Omega 4 relay.

To survive the SM get at least 2 loyalty missions done. I'd recommend Garrus and Jack. Garrus can lead the 2nd squad, 2nd stage. Jack can do the biotic shield. Take them both to the final battle with

Spoiler

baby reaper

and you should be set.

Remember to get the Armor upgrade from Jacob and Thanix from Garrus at the first opportunity early in the game. The following assumes you've only got Garrus and Jack loyal.

Take Garrus and Zaeed to the cargo bay for the Oculus fight. That results in Kasumi death from no shield upgrade from Tali.

1st stage, send Mordin through the vent and choose whoever to lead the 2nd team. It doesn't matter since Mordin dies regardless.

2nd stage, Garrus fire team leader and Jack biotic shield. Send Zaeed for escort. He'll die, but the ships crew will survive. No other casualties.

Leave Miranda, Grunt and Jacob to "Hold The Line". Take Garrus and Jack with you for the last leg. Miranda dies, Grunt and Jacob survive. Garrus, Jack and Shepard live to fight again. The End.

 

[TheYanger]

Blizzard's april fool's day on the wow forums was a MS paperclip type helper who would just blab at you the entire time. It still works if you're not logged in and I just got this one, which I found pretty awesome.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Firepower pack is worth it. Whichever is the one that gives you the laser-sight pistol. It's really strong and fun to use. The rifle is also really nice as well (they've both become my mains, meaning that between them and the SMG you get from Kasumi's mission, I roll pure DLC in terms of weaponry).

Yeah, I just went and got the bundle so I could get pretty much all the content that was missing (apart from appearance pack 2). Pretty disappointed that only one of the armors is customizable (Kestrel) since I hate using full body armor. But the new weapons are a lot of fun. I'm disgusted with myself for buying it but I am enjoying the badass handgun.

 

[Kyoufu]

Insanity is cake. I don't have any issues on it. Vanguard was a bitch though with Arrival. There was at least 5 instances in which I would attempt to charge and was not able too.

Only class that I played as thus far, plan on playing as a Sentinel and Infiltrator on my completionist runs.

I'm on my Vanguard insanity run and hmm... I don't know. Early on Shepard gets destroyed by the early missions it seems.

The problem I have with the game is you don't keep upgrades on a new game+. :/

 

[Corto]

Is it just me or the Overlord luxurious environment between the stations is just a mess graphically speaking? From afar it looks great but when you fly by it with the hammerhead you can see the vegetation pop-in and if you turn the camera down on the green you can see huge polygons... What a complete mess. The mission though was great.

 

[Mister Wilhelm]

Is it just me or the Overlord luxurious environment between the stations is just a mess graphically speaking? From afar it looks great but when you fly by it with the hammerhead you can see the vegetation pop-in and if you turn the camera down on the green you can see huge polygons... What a complete mess. The mission though was great.

It looks great until you start paying attention to it, I guess.

All of the DLC has graphical issues.

 

[Corto]

It looks great until you start paying attention to it, I guess.

All of the DLC has graphical issues.

That's really it. At first I didn't take notice, but I spent so much time in that level trying to collect the emergency data packs that I started to notice it... It was one of those things that when you see it you'll never unsee it.

 

[Mindlog]

The problem I have with the game is you don't keep upgrades on a new game+. :/

New Game + Vanguard is pretty hard.

I also just started a new Vanguard (lvl 60 import.) I'm kicking butt. I just restarted so I can get a Krogun Vanguard. I could just edit a save, but I wanted to play anyways.

 

[Kyoufu]

New Game + Vanguard is pretty hard.

I also just started a new Vanguard (lvl 60 import.) I'm kicking butt. I just restarted so I can get a Krogun Vanguard. I could just edit a save, but I wanted to play anyways.

Hmm, should I just go with it or do it on a fresh game?

 

[Mindlog]

Just depends on whether or not you are having fun :] It's not impossible, but NG+V is definitely one of the hardest starting play-throughs.

 

[My Name Is Luke]

I was really excited to get the Arrival and start up playing though all of the ME2 DLC in one go, but all of these comments are making me a little hesitant. I might just end up waiting for it to go on sale during the summer or something.

 

[Kyoufu]

I was really excited to get the Arrival and start up playing though all of the ME2 DLC in one go, but all of these comments are making me a little hesitant. I might just end up waiting for it to go on sale during the summer or something.

Its more of the same ME2 that you know and love.

More corridors, more enemies, more rooms, more med packs. Its a unique mission because its solo. Its not exactly Shadow Broker levels of greatness but its still same old ME2 design.

 

[X-Frame]

I enjoyed Arrival, though I called the

Spoiler

back-stabbing

from a mile away, and 'smh' when that happened, and it was quite different going through it alone.

I was a Soldier so I assume it was easier than most classes going solo and I still had some tough times. There were a lot of shields so a Sentinel/Engineer would do very well, and non-tech classes should ReSpec with Energy Drain or something to counter shields if they can't already.