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[CarbonatedFalcon]

Question:

Do we know if there are there going to be more types of packs in the retail release?

If not, having only two is pretty lame. Understandable for the demo though.

It's hard to tell how much longevity this mode will have. The information out there right now seems to be pretty slim. I don't know if we'll know more until launch. The gameplay is definitely fun, but the RPG/progression aspects ultimately seem pretty shallow, compared to Call of Duty 4 even.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Question:

Do we know if there are there going to be more types of packs in the retail release?

If not, having only two is pretty lame. Understandable for the demo though.

It's hard to tell how much longevity this mode will have. The information out there right now seems to be pretty slim. I don't know if we'll know more until launch. It's definitely fun, but the RPG/progression aspects seem pretty shallow in the end, compared to Call of Duty 4 even.

Take this with a grain of salt

From what iv heard on the Bioware forums, we are at least going to get a pack that guarantees one "Gold"[RARE] item. I think i read something about a pack with multiple Uncommon or above items aswell.

Obviously the price for these is going to be fairly high. 75,000+ id guess

 

[Mindlog]

Now I REALLY regret putting a point into shockwave early on. Why can't we respec?

So the turret doesn't have shields when it's first deployed? I'll keep that in mind next time, might be viable to try blowing it up then charging straight into the engineer.

Stalker, are the DLC guns or the collector rifle in that link? Just curious

Yeah, I avoided shockwave because I figured when would I ever use it? I have Nova and Charge~

However, in that gold completion video the Vanguard had a shockwave as well. So it's definitely not crippling. Actually it may have saved them because of the glitched final enemy.

Getting to the end of level 10 on gold and not being able to kill the last enemy would have sucked so bad.

 

[StalkerUKCG]

Iv yet to play Silver or Gold, is the EXP payout and Credit Payout significantly more?

 

[LumpOfCole]

Shockwave + 15 yard reach + short cooldown = Dubstep of Doom. Don't let your biotic leave home without it.

 

[rozay]

Yeah, I avoided shockwave because I figured when would I ever use it? I have Nova and Charge~

However, in that gold completion video the Vanguard had a shockwave as well. So it's definitely not crippling. Actually it may have saved them because of the glitched final enemy.

Getting to the end of level 10 on gold and not being able to kill the last enemy would have sucked so bad.

Is the glitch you're referring to an enemy whose health bar doesn't go down from shooting at it? I actually had that happen to me with a turret, and now that you mentioned it the only reason I survived was because I was able to shockwave it to death lol

Iv yet to play Silver or Gold, is the EXP payout and Credit Payout significantly more?

yeah to both, I posted a picture of a gold completion a few pages back.

 

[Milly79]

Iv yet to play Silver or Gold, is the EXP payout and Credit Payout significantly more?

Silver XP is not that much more than Bronze. Seems around 30k give or take.

Cash on the other hand guarantees at least a vet pack instead of having to play 2 bronze games.

Not sure on gold.

Also, it looks like there is enough room on the menu for 2-3 more packs being added.

I also pulled two Asari adepts today. Pretty lucky. :\

 

[Neki]

I think Overload is actually the better CC. Right now, mine arcs to a second target (I could spec to arc to the third target, but the other option is just too good), and has no travel time. The lack of travel time is notable because the enemy's combat rolls seems to also function as a dodge, while they can't dodge Overload. While you can spec Cryo Blast to hit more than one, I find that it's a lot easier to get more than one guy with Overload. On the other hand, Cryo CCs for longer, plus they take more damage when frozen.

Eh, Overload just seems so much better. "Hey look, I can destroy shields and barriers with ease, and stun two at a time, with no travel, with the same button." I barely use Incinerate anymore against normal enemies, unless I need to arc it around obstacles.

yeah, I upgraded the overload to hit three targets, so good. I barely use incinerate anymore because overlord is so good. Only use incinerate vs atlas/turrets

 

[Skilotonn]

Yesterday I finally unlocked the Drell Vanguard, so now I have all unlockable characters in the demo, and even BETTER was that I finally unlocked the Claymore, both of these unlocks happened based on a theory I had since the day before yesterday. Back then, I was playing a character with an assault rifle (Sentinel I think), bought three vet packs in a row and all three were Mattock upgrades, which pissed me off. So I figured I'll play the next four matches with the Krogan and Vanguard, with only a shotgun equipped, and lo and behold, I got both of those in a row.

Gonna try this theory later today again to finally get the Widow. But man, the Claymore is BEAST, even better than in ME2 - getting one-shot kills halfway across the map on Bronze, and it chews up Phantoms too. So worth it.

And is GAF slipping or what? I just happened to stumble on to this when I just woke up:

Mass Effect 3 CG Trailer: Take Back Earth

Man, the ME2 CG trailer already made me want a CG ME movie, and this one looked tons better than that one, especially since Shepard actually looks like Shepard, which was my only complaint about the ME2 CG trailer.

Edit - found the original video, and at the end, it says that there will be an extended cut version being shown on the 21st - awwww yeah.

 

[Mindlog]

Is the glitch you're referring to an enemy whose health bar doesn't go down from shooting at it? I actually had that happen to me with a turret, and now that you mentioned it the only reason I survived was because I was able to shockwave it to death lol

yeah to both, I posted a picture of a gold completion a few pages back.

The picture is from the video I was talking about.

Gold completed. Glitch at 32:40.

Would have sucked if they went through all that and lost because of the glitch.

 

[rozay]

Just solo'd 3 phantoms (only 2 at once) and came in clutch for my dead team to finish silver. feels good man

 

[PBalfredo]

Does anyone know if multiplayer progress in the demo carries over to the full game?

 

[EatChildren]

Does anyone know if multiplayer progress in the demo carries over to the full game?

It does not.

 

[Absoludacrous]

Was able to get through wave 6 on silver completely solo with my lvl 19 infiltrator. Good money and xp, but it took a while.

I really wish they would change the default search criteria from something other than "any" difficulty. So many fresh characters get queued up for silver difficulty. If they only knew...

 

[Arjen]

Was able to get through wave 6 on silver completely solo with my lvl 19 infiltrator. Good money and xp, but it took a while.

I really wish they would change the default search criteria from something other than "any" difficulty. So many fresh characters get queued up for silver difficulty. If they only knew...

Man, i remember the first timed i booted it up, i had the early acces so there were few people on line, i had to tackle silver with 1 other dude, we got killed in the first wave 5 times in a row, i thought it was pretty cool that the other dude stuck around and we got to 7 in the end. Good times.

 

[Bornstellar]

Went all the way to wave 9 on silver with one other guy. Vanguards are awesome. That is all.

 

[EatChildren]

20'd my Infiltrator. Maxed out everything except cryo. Focused primarily on dealing as much damage as possible and breaking defences, so I avoided branches that enhanced recharge time and stuff like that. Sticky grenades are pretty handy against atlas mechs and turrets once their shields are down, as I've got them doing extra damage against armour.

Not sure whether to stick with it and hope the loot is shaped to my equipment, get some newer rifles and attachments, or say fuck it and run with my Krogan soldier.

Or maybe I should just stop now knowing I can't take anything across to the full game and avoid burning myself out.

 

[AdventChild]

Leveling a Krogan Soldier. OMG, it's so fucking funny.

G.TAG: Pedro Alexander

 

[Enduin]

What's everyone expecting in terms of map numbers? Looking at it now the two available are both in alliance space and they both are quite close to one another at that. So there are still 4 other quadrants and ample room for more areas in the Alliance zone. So even if each zone only has two locals each, that's still 10 maps minimum. Not bad.

 

[rakhir]

yeah, I upgraded the overload to hit three targets, so good. I barely use incinerate anymore because overlord is so good. Only use incinerate vs atlas/turrets

Incinirate on the other hand will auto target enemies and is extremely good at drawing them from their covers - they will stand up while burning or will roll out in the open to avoid it and will be very easy to gun down

Went all the way to wave 9 on silver with one other guy. Vanguards are awesome. That is all.

Last night me and my friend two-manned whole silver with my engineer and his vanguard, it's really easy when you play it safe and cooperate.

 

[Moaradin]

Enemy types as well. There is a lot of variety in just cerberus troops. Can't wait to see the tactics the other enemies use.

 

[EatChildren]

What's everyone expecting in terms of map numbers? Looking at it now the two available are both in alliance space and they both are quite close to one another at that. So there are still 4 other quadrants and ample room for more areas in the Alliance zone. So even if each zone only has two locals each, that's still 10 maps minimum. Not bad.

A lot, especially since I suspect these maps were repurposed for the campaign. BioWare said that some of the N7 side missions for solo play involve touching down on war zones and exploring the region to discover survivors, materials and other goodies for evac. The special forces multiplayer trailer gives it a way, with Shepard and co landing on Benning and stating "derp derp survivors prepared for evac send in the troops"; cue multiplayer.

 

[Stantron]

Bioware must be really happy that this game mode is so well received. I might just spend the first few days with mp before I hop into sp.

 

[Enduin]

A lot, especially since I suspect these maps were repurposed for the campaign. BioWare said that some of the N7 side missions for solo play involve touching down on war zones and exploring the region to discover survivors, materials and other goodies for evac. The special forces multiplayer trailer gives it a way, with Shepard and co landing on Benning and stating "derp derp survivors prepared for evac send in the troops"; cue multiplayer.

True and I figured there could be a lot because of that, but at the same time too many could become a hassle to navigate through and simply choose from. I think two dozen would be really pushing it, 15 to 18 would be the sweet spot given the size of the galaxy and the various zones. Even that seems like a lot though.

And that would be more than enough instances for the SP. Most matches take 20+ minute to complete so that's a good 6 hours of content. Can't expect them to ask for much more than that.

 

[rakhir]

What's everyone expecting in terms of map numbers? Looking at it now the two available are both in alliance space and they both are quite close to one another at that. So there are still 4 other quadrants and ample room for more areas in the Alliance zone. So even if each zone only has two locals each, that's still 10 maps minimum. Not bad.

Not bad, especially since both of the maps in the demo are really great, with lots of different spaces that let every class shine.
I don't know if it's because there are only two of them right now, but i genuinely love them.

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

Finally unlocked the Revenant assualt rifle and M-3 Claymore, im going for gold now

 

[walbertsmith]

Whoop, just solo'ed bronze!

My score and build

Good times, and got super lucky with the objectives: assassinate, upload, upload.

 

[RS4-]

Hopefully there are at least 16 maps. I do love the variety and random factor though and the game is more tolerable than horde in Gears.

I do wish there were more body parts flying though, shooting off arms and legs.

 

[EatChildren]

Hahaha, just tried an infiltrator + shotgun build, and it worked...kinda. Fast recharge makes for quick and easy cloaking. Cloak, get in, shotgun or melee, cloak, get out.

 

[PjotrStroganov]

I play very similarly, except that I use a shuriken VI in place of the Carnifex so I can more effectively deal with shields.
That leaves me with a 200% recharge time as well, but I prefer the singularity/Warp combo (both fully upgraded) and use the shockwave to scatter enemies for a quick escape after being revived, or to stop a teammate being executed.

you just feel powerful as you rip through those assault troopers like wrapping paper. Or when you fling a singularity at a guardian at just the right angle so it lands behind him, and he gets lifted helplessly off the ground.... and then explodes when I warp him.

Yeah, I have the same strategy. Shockwave is really effective against those shield soldiers.

 

[Dork Knight]

To join the i-hate-the-randomness bandwagon: I'm a level 19 Sentinel -- only use an assault rifle -- and I have not received ONE AR mod in the 20 or so packs I've bought. Not one! What the hell? I have plenty of mods for all the other guns, but not the one I exclusively use. Kinda annoying.

On the bright side, I just completed two silver maps back-to-back with a really competent and capable team. Really, really fun when you play with folks that know what they're doing and back you up.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Whoop, just solo'ed bronze!

My score and build

Good times, and got super lucky with the objectives: assassinate, upload, upload.

Soloing is impossible if you get the hack objective, right? Are there any other objectives that are impossible to solo?

 

[exYle]

Soloing is impossible if you get the hack objective, right? Are there any other objectives that are impossible to solo?

Nope, I've done it. The objective was placed right in the middle of the enemy spawn and I was an Infiltrator (my teammates were pitifully useless so they didn't help me), so I snuck through. Completed it solo with 1:15 on the clock.

 

[X-Frame]

I'm very impressed that there's been NO lag. Especially for a "tacked on" MP. Conversely Brink was MP only and had the worst lag ever.

Also WTF is with 1 guy never queuing up? It's always just 1 guy. The lobby needs a 60 second time limit.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Nope, I've done it. The objective was placed right in the middle of the enemy spawn and I was an Infiltrator, so I snuck through. Completed it solo with 1:15 on the clock.

Huh, I thought someone in this thread said it was so slow to hack with only one person that it couldn't be done in the time allotted. Guess he was wrong.

Still, that's gotta be the hardest objective to complete solo. You're essentially stuck in one spot while waves of enemies come at you.

 

[exYle]

Huh, I thought someone in this thread said it was so slow to hack with only one person that it couldn't be done in the time allotted. Guess he was wrong.

Still, that's gotta be the hardest objective to complete solo. You're essentially stuck in one spot while waves of enemies come at you.

Wasn't too bad. My cloaking was extraordinarily fast so I was just taking potshots at anybody I could. My teammates, despite being useless, serves as an excellent distraction.

It may be worth noting that this was an objective on Wave 3, so maybe the speed of the hack was faster.

 

[Duebrithil]

Rolling as an Infiltrator for now, using only with the Mantis. Having cloak available again just after reloading is a blast, plus it's superuseful when reviving teammates or completing objectives.

I have a question regarding the Alliance Training skill though: does the power damage bonus apply only to direct damage powers such as cryoblast or does it also upgrade the damage bonus gained through cloak?

Anyway, if anyone is up for some games GT:idroj3, OriginID: Duebrithil (come retail I'll probably stick with the 360).

 

[RS4-]

I can bypass the sniper reload animation but I don't know if it's actually quicker. It's just a matter of using a power during the animation.

I do like being able to throw out cryo, get a shot and reload by the time cryo is ready again.

I may have to respec my class by the time the full game comes out and probably max out cloak just for the bonus weapon damage.

Maxing out sticky grenades wasn't a great idea, the last perks for it aren't that great.

 

[KKRT00]

I liked that they repaired bug from Mass Effect 2 where reload counted as an action and ended cloak, it was frustrating to say at least.

 

[RS4-]

Oh regarding sniper rifles and reloading; if you stick to a wall while in the middle of a reload, it stops it completely, forcing you to manually reload. Can get a little annoying at times.

 

[walbertsmith]

Soloing is impossible if you get the hack objective, right? Are there any other objectives that are impossible to solo?

'Hacking' and 'Upload' are just different names for the same objective right? If that's the case, the upload meter actually moves really fast... for me it was +176 per count. I believe with 4 players (all in the circle) it moves up at +160 per count.

 

[RS4-]

'Hacking' and 'Upload' are just different names for the same objective right? If that's the case, the upload meter actually moves really fast... for me it was +176 per count. I believe with 4 players (all in the circle) it moves up at +160 per count.

Isn't that XP related?

 

[Absoludacrous]

Hacking time seems to scale by the number of players. If you're solo (I mean completely solo, not by yourself with bad teammates), it goes by really quickly.

 

[X-Frame]

If 4 players play for 9 rounds then 2 quit and the remaining finish the mission they don't receive the XP from the quitters. Conversely, if someone joins in the 9th round I'm pretty sure they get the sum of XP for doing only 2 rounds of work (but someone confirm for me if they know).

That seems a bit unfair if true.

 

[Bornstellar]

If 4 players play for 9 rounds then 2 quit and the remaining finish the mission they don't receive the XP from the quitters. Conversely, if someone joins in the 9th round I'm pretty sure they get the sum of XP for doing only 2 rounds of work (but someone confirm for me if they know).

That seems a bit unfair if true.

It's true. I've joined in the last round and gotten a ton of XP. On the other hand I don't believe you get any credits for previous objectives.

 

[Squall516]

Isn't that XP related?

No, I'm pretty sure it's just how fast the meter moves. If I'm correct the more people inside the circle the higher the number is and the fast the bar moves to complete the objective.

Also, does anyone really know what overall the best class is to play? I keep getting stuck with shitty people and so sometimes it gets difficult especially on silver/gold. I'm partial to Vanguard I like that a lot. But I was just curious if there was overall a better class that really helps you rack up the points and win ^_^

 

[walbertsmith]

If 4 players play for 9 rounds then 2 quit and the remaining finish the mission they don't receive the XP from the quitters. Conversely, if someone joins in the 9th round I'm pretty sure they get the sum of XP for doing only 2 rounds of work (but someone confirm for me if they know).

That seems a bit unfair if true.

Why is it unfair? The last few waves are obviously the toughest, and you get separate rewards of bonus XP for both completing the difficulty and a successful extraction. The system basically gives you XP for whatever you're present for, which is entirely logical.

 

[walbertsmith]

No, I'm pretty sure it's just how fast the meter moves. If I'm correct the more people inside the circle the higher the number is and the fast the bar moves to complete the objective.

Also, does anyone really know what overall the best class is to play? I keep getting stuck with shitty people and so sometimes it gets difficult especially on silver/gold. I'm partial to Vanguard I like that a lot. But I was just curious if there was overall a better class that really helps you rack up the points and win ^_^

Correct. If you watch the ticker at the bottom right, in a 4 player game if there is only one player in the circle it moves up incredibly slow, around +50 per increment.

As far as best class? Totally dependent on your personal playstyle. If you like being up close and personal a human Vanguard is for you but if you're ace with a sniper rifle and prefer to hang back use an Infiltrator.

I solo'ed bronze with a Vanguard but that style of play (like this) is my style of play for pretty much all shooter/FPS games.

 

[X-Frame]

Why is it unfair? The last few waves are obviously the toughest, and you get separate rewards of bonus XP for both completing the difficulty and a successful extraction. The system basically gives you XP for whatever you're present for, which is entirely logical.

If you join a game in the last wave and only get 2000 XP while 3 other guys have 50,000 each, according to Bornstellar above you would get 355,000 XP (again, correct me if I am wrong).

And then let's say there's 4 people and you're playing a support role so debuffing, stripping shields, etc while your teammates get the majority of the XP for killing and dealing damage even though at the end everyone shares XP. If they all leave, they take their XP that you'd get with them.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

'Hacking' and 'Upload' are just different names for the same objective right?

They are different, but I think I'm getting the names confused. In one, you stand in one place for a long time as the meter progresses, but it's quicker with all 4 teammates in the area. In the other, you run around to 4 different terminals, each of which is easy and quick to complete. This one can be completed solo no problem.