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[walbertsmith]

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.

Where are you getting those numbers from? Bornstellar says nothing about '355,000 XP', just that he "got a ton" from joining late... which corresponds with my post about getting bonus XP for completing that difficult and a successful extraction. Not seeing a disconnect here.

And what 'support' role is there? There is no class that is solely a traditional 'support' class. Even abilities like Pull that aren't made for explicit damage can still do damage.

And ME3 has one of the most fairest XP distribution systems out there... 'you do X damage, you get X experience points.' I've gotten kills with less than 50xp but assists with more than 1000xp, which is a direct correlation to how much damage you did. Not seeing a disconnect there either.

 

[walbertsmith]

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.

Ah ok, gotcha.. yeah not sure if I have the names right either. Now that I think about it, I think they rotate the names but the type of objective stays the same.

The objectives I got in waves 6 and 10 is the one where you stay in one area to slowly progress a meter to full. I think that one is WAY easier solo in fact, as the meter progresses faster than in a 4 player game with all four players in the area. On top of that you're free to roam around a decent sized space and able to defend yourself.

I was hoping I wouldn't get the one with 4 terminals because you're entirely vulnerable and cannot move while at each terminal.

 

[X-Frame]

Where are you getting those numbers from? Bornstellar says nothing about '355,000 XP', just that he "got a ton" from joining late... which corresponds with my post about getting bonus XP for completing that difficult and a successful extraction. Not seeing a disconnect here.

And what 'support' role is there? There is no class that is solely a traditional 'support' class. Even abilities like Pull that aren't made for explicit damage can still do damage.

And ME3 has one of the most fairest XP distribution systems out there... 'you do X damage, you get X experience points.' I've gotten kills with less than 50xp but assists with more than 1000xp, which is a direct correlation to how much damage you did. Not seeing a disconnect there either.

It was an example but you are right the XP distribution is very fair and I noticed that. I don't know if the late joiner receives the total XP gained from all teammates in all the previous rounds until I can do it myself and see.

Still, the bigger issue IMO is whether the quitter's XP should be kept in the pool for the remaining teammates when they finish the game. The quitters aren't receiving that XP so it just vanishes into thin air.

 

[walbertsmith]

Still, the bigger issue IMO is whether the quitter's XP should be kept in the pool for the remaining teammates when they finish the game. The quitters aren't receiving that XP so it just vanishes into thin air.

Why should the quitter's XP be kept in the pool? Quitters shouldn't be entitled to XP for quitting and latecomers shouldn't be entitled to XP they didn't earn.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

The objectives I got in waves 6 and 10 is the one where you stay in one area to slowly progress a meter to full. I think that one is WAY easier solo in fact, as the meter progresses faster than in a 4 player game with all four players in the area.

Ahhh, maybe that's the difference. I didn't realize that objective scaled to how many people start the game. I've seen one person try to complete it when his teammates were killed, and it hardly moved at all. If it scales, then it shouldn't be all that difficult to solo.

 

[LumpOfCole]

Quitter XP staying in the pool could lead to boosting and exploits.

For every round you're short a person, just give an arbitrary XP boost. 2000xp per missing person per round for bronze, 5000xp for silver, 10000 xp for gold. That would be how I would do it.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Why should the quitter's XP be kept in the pool? Quitters shouldn't be entitled to XP for quitting and latecomers shouldn't be entitled to XP they didn't earn.

I thought the point the other person made was latecomers DO get a share of all the exp, even the exp they didnt earn AND that its the people who stay in the game who get less exp because of quitters. Theyre exp is taken out of the pool which means that the people who stayed in the game wont get it either.

 

[exYle]

I think there's a bit of confusion about the latecomer/quitter XP, so I'll try to explain to the best of my ability.

Let's the game ends and the score ranking goes like this:
Player 1 - 50,000
Player 2 - 40,000
Player 3 - 30,000
Player 4 - 20,000

Regardless of whether you are P1 or 4, you get 140,000 XP.
So let's say the reason why P4 got so few points was because he came in at wave 9. He still gets 140,000XP.

So what if P1 quit during the extraction wave? The rankings would look like this:

Player 2 - 40,000
Player 3 - 30,000
Player 4 - 20,000

Now, everybody left gets 90,000 XP. Player 1 loses out on 140,000 XP, and everybody loses out on P1's contribution of 50,000.

 

[walbertsmith]

I thought the point the other person made was latecomers DO get a share of all the exp, even the exp they didnt earn AND that its the people who stay in the game who get less exp because of quitters. Theyre exp is taken out of the pool which means that the people who stayed in the game wont get it either.

Not sure how the XP for completing the difficulty and extraction points are divvied up, but since those are the most difficult it makes sense to share those pools since (theoretically) more players means an easier wave, correct?

But nowhere is it confirmed that latecomers share xp that they *didn't* earn. The scoreboard you see during the round is the experience you earn at the end... ie, all the XP you gain is all the XP you earned (by killing enemies/doing objectives).

The only shared XP I've seen is from completing the objective waves, completing the difficulty and a successful extraction. That bonus XP gets attributed to your running score throughout the round, not at the very end. So if a quitter leaves, he takes the bonus XP he earned for prior objective waves with him... and if a latecomer arrives, he does not get bonus XP for objective waves completed before he arrived.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Not sure how the XP for completing the difficulty and extraction points are divvied up, but since those are the most difficult it makes sense to share those pools since (theoretically) more players means an easier wave, correct?

But nowhere is it confirmed that latecomers share xp that they *didn't* earn. The scoreboard you see during the round is the experience you earn at the end... ie, all the XP you gain is all the XP you earned (by killing enemies/doing objectives).

The only shared XP I've seen is from completing the objective waves, completing the difficulty and a successful extraction. That bonus XP gets attributed to your running score throughout the round, not at the very end. So if a quitter leaves, he takes the bonus XP he earned for prior objective waves with him... and if a latecomer arrives, he does not get bonus XP for objective waves completed before he arrived.

I have personally joined a game in the extraction wave and got the same exp as the others who played the full game got. Not that im against this.

Im not a fan of losing exp if people quit though. Assuming that exYle is right, and I think he is.

 

[X-Frame]

I think there's a bit of confusion about the latecomer/quitter XP, so I'll try to explain to the best of my ability.

Let's the game ends and the score ranking goes like this:
Player 1 - 50,000
Player 2 - 40,000
Player 3 - 30,000
Player 4 - 20,000

Regardless of whether you are P1 or 4, you get 140,000 XP.
So let's say the reason why P4 got so few points was because he came in at wave 9. He still gets 140,000XP.

So what if P1 quit during the extraction wave? The rankings would look like this:

Player 2 - 40,000
Player 3 - 30,000
Player 4 - 20,000

Now, everybody left gets 90,000 XP. Player 1 loses out on 140,000 XP, and everybody loses out on P1's contribution of 50,000.

This is exactly what I mean and I experienced this myself.

Player 1's XP should remain in the pool for all the players who have stayed. Despite the fact that Player 1, according to the XP distribution system, contributed the most -- this is a team game and who knows if he would have done as much if it weren't for his teammates supporting him.

 

[walbertsmith]

I have personally joined a game in the extraction wave and got the same exp as the others who played the full game got. Not that im against this.

Im not a fan of losing exp if people quit though. Assuming that exYle is right, and I think he is.

Ah ok, if that's the case then I stand corrected. I was thinking that the running totals the players earned are the basis of what they received at the end (on top of the bonus from the final objective/extraction waves).

 

[Squall516]

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.

Ya that's what I thought, cause I saw the ticket thing increase to like +176 or something when all 4 are in the circle. And ya that's pretty much what I'm like too. I like to get up close and in their face when i play games like this. That video is freakin awesome too! I have barley been using Nova is it that good? What would you recommend like the best set up for a Vanguard is?

 

[walbertsmith]

Ya that's what I thought, cause I saw the ticket thing increase to like +176 or something when all 4 are in the circle. And ya that's pretty much what I'm like too. I like to get up close and in their face when i play games like this. That video is freakin awesome too! I have barley been using Nova is it that good? What would you recommend like the best set up for a Vanguard is?

Nova is incredible, and it's basically the main weapon for this style of play.

Build recommendations:

Build up Charge/Nova to the max first. Not one skill first then the other... build them both at about the same rate, with specific milestones to target. For Charge, pick the final option that restores your barriers to 100% instead of 50%. For Nova, make *sure* to pick the ability that lowers damage at the benefit of reducing your barriers only 50%. For both skills I tended towards the skills that increased radius and do extra damage to barriers/shields/armor, but those ones are at your preference. After both of those are maxed, I maxed Fitness then after I complete that I'll do the other passive one as much as I can.

I didn't even touch Shockwave. I find Charge more useful to combat Guardians because when you use it to stagger them, you're at a consistent range every time to shotgun them in the face (versus the varying distances you can use Shockwave). On top of that, every Charge refills your barriers to full, and using Shockwave means you *can't* use Charge.

Equipment:

Shotgun. Don't need more, and having only one weapon means a quicker Charge cooldown. With one weapon and maxed skills, Charge cooldown is about 4-4.5 seconds.


Style of play:

For combat, if I even have some barriers I always lead by storming in with Nova. Yes, even if there's a mob and yes, even if all of them are shooting at me. Lead in with 2 Novas if possible then target one quickly to Charge to get your barriers back. If there are still a lot of enemies go back to more Novas but if not clean up stragglers with your shotgun/melee. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Try not to lead in with Charge if you have full barriers because that is your lifesaving skill. If I'm in trouble and need to retreat I'll actually Charge first to get my barriers back *then* retreat. I only lead with Charge if the enemy is on another plane and I want to get there ASAP. The ability to use multiple Novas is absolutely key because you're invincible during the animation and it gives you more time to wait for the Charge cooldown.

 

[RS4-]

Uhh, someone mind telling me how my Asari Adept is refilling ammo by itself without going to the ammo crates or using items?

 

[Nucks]

Uhh, someone mind telling me how my Asari Adept is refilling ammo by itself without going to the ammo crates or using items?

Picking up ammo from dead guys?

 

[Smo21]

Uhh, someone mind telling me how my Asari Adept is refilling ammo by itself without going to the ammo crates or using items?

 

[Empty Space]

Uhh, someone mind telling me how my Asari Adept is refilling ammo by itself without going to the ammo crates or using items?

You also get a refill of some amount of ammo between each wave.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Uhh, someone mind telling me how my Asari Adept is refilling ammo by itself without going to the ammo crates or using items?

Happened to my Krogan soldier too. Can't explain it.

Picking up ammo from dead guys?

Does that happen? It seems like I magically get more ammo only as the round ends, but not by refilling at an ammo crate. Maybe I'm picking it up from dead guys, I don't know.

You also get a refill of some amount of ammo between each wave.

Ah, maybe that's it. But sometimes it feels like I don't get the free refill. Shouldn't it happen every time? Maybe it only happens after completing objectives?

 

[Empty Space]

Its not always all your ammo. I think it might be one or two clips.

 

[Ikkarus]

I'm loving the multi-player. Pretty much stuck with the Infiltrator class. I also happened to swag the Widow sniper rifle too. That thing kicks some serious fire power and goes straight through Guardians shields.

 

[RS4-]

Can't be picking them up from dead enemies since I'm sniping and not going near their bodies.

I'll see if it happens with other classes/races but I've only noticed it with this one.

 

[Reikon]

Can't be picking them up from dead enemies since I'm sniping and not going near their bodies.

I'll see if it happens with other classes/races but I've only noticed it with this one.

As someone said before, you get a partial ammo refill after each wave.

 

[RS4-]

Sorry forgot to mention it in previous post but I'm getting it mid wave

 

[Stantron]

I'm loving the multi-player. Pretty much stuck with the Infiltrator class. I also happened to swag the Widow sniper rifle too. That thing kicks some serious fire power and goes straight through Guardians shields.

Damn. Sounds like some of the higher weapons will make the starter ones obsolete.

 

[Skilotonn]

Sorry forgot to mention it in previous post but I'm getting it mid wave

You probably have a mod that gives you a chance to not spend a clip when you reload.

 

[X-Frame]

Damn. Sounds like some of the higher weapons will make the starter ones obsolete.

I have the Claymore on my Krogan Soldier and it OHK's pretty much everyone on Bronze. Haven't tried him on Silver yet. I also know the range on the Claymore is very generous in MP. I am dealing respectable damage at medium range with the thing too.

 

[Ikkarus]

I have the Claymore on my Krogan Soldier and it OHK's pretty much everyone on Bronze. Haven't tried him on Silver yet. I also know the range on the Claymore is very generous in MP. I am dealing respectable damage at medium range with the thing too.

Yeah the Widow with OHK any troop which has no shield in Bronze. It will also OHK any enemy if I land a headshot on them regardless of shield / barrier. It's an awesome sniper rifle. Still I have unlocked zero races in my packs though.

 

[X-Frame]

Yeah the Widow with OHK any troop which has no shield in Bronze. It will also OHK any enemy if I land a headshot on them regardless of shield / barrier. It's an awesome sniper rifle. Still I have unlocked zero races in my packs though.

I have a Widow too but haven't used it yet. My Human Infiltrator is spec'ed more for CQC even though I realized later the Salarian Infiltrator is better suited for that role and the Human for long-range.

I'll wait until I unlock the Turian Sentinel to start using the Widow and test it out.

 

[squidyj]

so many disconnects and failed matchmaking attempts. grrrrr.

got a game with a bunch of higher levels and it failed to laod properly.

 

[Arjen]

Unlocked the widow, whoo!
Or so i thought, my mantis level 4 is superior in almost every way, widow has slighty more damge, but the fucker is waaaay to heavy.

 

[Sober]

Adept is pretty fun with only one gun but it sucks how I leveled my skills up doesn't really do much. Wish I could unlock the female one or respec to try it again.

Also, how the hell do you deal with Phantoms? I hit it with warp, either a dodge or a hit connects and almost nothing happens. Singularity won't pull it in after its barrier is down. Then I get one shot anyway.

 

[Untracked]

So yeah, I'm an idiot.

I've played through both Mass Effect games many times, but I've only ever used Soldier. I guess I didn't want to be stuck playing a 40 hour game with a class I might not like. So after reading what some of you guys have been getting up to with Nova / Charge I started a Vanguard yesterday and it's like Mass Effect just became a totally different game. I can't believe I've been absolutely oblivious to all this fun for so long! Doh.

I hope there's a multiplayer level set on Haestrom in the full game. Complete with shield piercing sun.

 

[Empty Space]

Also, how the hell do you deal with Phantoms? I hit it with warp, either a dodge or a hit connects and almost nothing happens. Singularity won't pull it in after its barrier is down. Then I get one shot anyway.

You have a vanguard wreck its face with charge, nova, heavy melee.

I just did a silver round with an Asari adept man is stasis awesome. At one point that same round engineers put down three turrets which almost wiped us. Has anybody seen any feedback on balance fixes? It seems dumb that those things can tear through most of the classes in the 2 seconds.

 

[RS4-]

Stasis is gdlk, just running Asari Adept with a sniper rifle and it's free OHKO.

I've unlocked a race for all classes but Sentinel. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the Quarian Engie. The rate of fire on the drone is lousy.

Nice round earlier with Babeslayer!

edit - thoughts on final upgrade for sentry turret? rockets or the flame thrower?

 

[walbertsmith]

You have a vanguard wreck its face with charge, nova, heavy melee.

I wouldn't risk using melee on a Phantom with a Vanguard. It's very easy to get turned around or overshoot or outright miss with heavy melee then get reamed for it. The best way is to Nova twice, Charge then shotgun (or Nova some more if it lands outside of your immediate view). This should be sufficient to take down the Phantom while staying out of harms way.

 

[walbertsmith]

So yeah, I'm an idiot.

I've played through both Mass Effect games many times, but I've only ever used Soldier. I guess I didn't want to be stuck playing a 40 hour game with a class I might not like. So after reading what some of you guys have been getting up to with Nova / Charge I started a Vanguard yesterday and it's like Mass Effect just became a totally different game. I can't believe I've been absolutely oblivious to all this fun for so long! Doh.

I hope there's a multiplayer level set on Haestrom in the full game. Complete with shield piercing sun.

If you ever go back to ME2, the Vanguard is still tons of fun without Nova. Levelling Charge to max creates about a 2 second window after a successful Charge where time slows down so you can line up your shots for shooting people in the face. Loads of fun.

 

[Woo-Fu]

Biotic grenades actually do really good damage to phantoms even at just level 3.

 

[Cels]

After getting 1 guy to level 20 and a couple others to 10 I have to say that technical issues are holding this back. Maybe they'll all be fixed in the retail release since this is just a demo.

Thoughts below come from playing the PC version.

Host migration is nonexistent both in lobby and in game, despite messages popping up when your host leaves saying host migration will kick in. Has never worked for me.

No text chat anywhere, not in lobby, not in game. (maybe I'm just cynical but they probably just copied the console lobby interface over. Perfectly understandable why the console interface doesn't have text chat).

In the lobby, being able to see where a party member is in the menu would help greatly to determine if they are AFK. Part of this is the problem of lacking text chat - but being able to see someone is in the store or tinkering with their powers/weapons means that you know they are adjusting before the next battle instead of just afk.

Joining a friend via Origin kicks you out to the main menu of the game no matter where you are -- if joining is unsuccessful you have to navigate back to wherever you were yourself -- the game should take you back there automatically.

Inability to reserve a private slot if you and 1 or 2 friends want to play.
Inability to queue for matchmaking as party.



But otherwise, multiplayer is great fun. Kind of dislike the random packs thing but I guess they want you to play a long time.

One more thought:
Adepts with stasis are broken. You should not be able to do damage to targets in stasis, as it was in Mass Effect 2.

 

[aranth]

The randomness of the boxes is really pissing me off. I got Mantis X and Viper X but no Widow unlock at all, this is some cruel idea of a joke by Bioware. The cynical bastard in me is already fearing booster packs for a few bucks to unlock new weapons and races.

I just duoed Silver with a 20 engineer and my 20 infiltrator, never ran so fast in my life away from phantoms. It was a long and grueling match, but easier than expected with overload and energy drain spam. After a few days playing, I've come to the realization that carrying just one weapon (specially the Phalanx) unbalances the game to the point that tech/biotic spam trivializes the mp difficulty.

 

[rozay]

Unlocked the asari adept and a carnifex today, this gun is unbelievable. Consistent 1-hit headshots on bronze, unfortunately don't have enough +damage boosts to do the same in silver.

 

[Moaradin]

After getting 1 guy to level 20 and a couple others to 10 I have to say that technical issues are holding this back. Maybe they'll all be fixed in the retail release since this is just a demo.

Thoughts below come from playing the PC version.

Host migration is nonexistent both in lobby and in game, despite messages popping up when your host leaves saying host migration will kick in. Has never worked for me.

No text chat anywhere, not in lobby, not in game. (maybe I'm just cynical but they probably just copied the console lobby interface over. Perfectly understandable why the console interface doesn't have text chat).

In the lobby, being able to see where a party member is in the menu would help greatly to determine if they are AFK. Part of this is the problem of lacking text chat - but being able to see someone is in the store or tinkering with their powers/weapons means that you know they are adjusting before the next battle instead of just afk.

Joining a friend via Origin kicks you out to the main menu of the game no matter where you are -- if joining is unsuccessful you have to navigate back to wherever you were yourself -- the game should take you back there automatically.

Inability to reserve a private slot if you and 1 or 2 friends want to play.
Inability to queue for matchmaking as party.



But otherwise, multiplayer is great fun. Kind of dislike the random packs thing but I guess they want you to play a long time.

One more thought:
Adepts with stasis are broken. You should not be able to do damage to targets in stasis, as it was in Mass Effect 2.

1. Host migration worked for me a couple times. Noticed it dropping every once in a while though.

2. Text chat is actually in the game. If you go into the keybinding you'll see text chat, but for some reason it doesn't work in the demo.

3. I join my friend through Origin all the time. Not sure what's the issue there.

4. You can make private lobbies as well. Every time I join my friend, the extra slots always say private.

 

[Deraldin]

1. Host migration worked for me a couple times. Noticed it dropping every once in a while though.

3. I join my friend through Origin all the time. Not sure what's the issue there.

Host migration is weird because I haven't found it to be very consistent. Sometimes it will migrate just fine, other times it will drop one extra player for no reason. It's possible that the other person is just pressing the only button on the host migration pop up which is an exit command though.

The Origin thing has to do with how you join a game. When you click "Join Game" it will bring you out of the multiplayer screen back to the main menu and pop up the "Joining game" screen. If it fails to join for whatever reason, you are now back on the main menu instead of wherever you were before hand, like say in the character screen for multiplayer. It's not a huge deal, but it is kinda annoying.

 

[Diablohead]

Best thing about this demo is trying out builds, I now know what to upgrade and what to leave for the final release.

 

[Mindlog]

Turian Sentinel can carry his Avenger for free. Then he basically gets to fire off an arc projector every 3 seconds. Crazy.

 

[Dork Knight]

Does anyone use Throw? If so, is it worth putting points into? I just unlocked an Adept Asari and have putting most of my points into Stasis and Warp.

 

[rozay]

Does anyone use Throw? If so, is it worth putting points into? I just unlocked an Adept Asari and have putting most of my points into Stasis and Warp.

Detonating warp with a high force throw is one of the best ways to deal with atlas spam as it staggers them backwards and does some decent damage. I'm still trying to figure out how to build mine but it's incredibly useful. Absolutely get bubble stasis though, it's the most broken power in the game.

 

[Dork Knight]

Detonating warp with a high force throw is one of the best ways to deal with atlas spam as it staggers them backwards and does some decent damage. I'm still trying to figure out how to build mine but it's incredibly useful. Absolutely get bubble stasis though, it's the most broken power in the game.

I was gonna pass on the bubble (I figured it wouldn't be big enough to matter), but now I may consider it. Does it do a good job of trapping nearby enemies?

 

[Psychoward]

In singleplayer, Singularity + Rank 6 throw pretty much breaks the game.


Throw auto-resets, and Singularity will have a short cooldown, unlimited Biotic Detonations.


And yeah, Stasis Bubble is awesome.

 

[Hobs]

Does anyone use Throw? If so, is it worth putting points into? I just unlocked an Adept Asari and have putting most of my points into Stasis and Warp.

I use throw to stagger guardians so I can headshot them. I don't bother with carrying the widow to shoot through their shield because it is too heavy so throw makes it a lot easier to kill them.

Too bad I didn't choose stasis bubble and there is no way to reset it right?