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[semiconscious]

30 hours in and playing on Voeld. I will take a few of my words back........game is broken as fuck. Graphics glitches, AI, crazy enemy respawn right in front of you, floating enemies....jesus. Eos was much better, this planet feels like 5 different textures mixed across the whole territory. New alien race is also very underwhelming so far.

as time goes by (i've now 100%ed the first 3 planets), it's less the graphical jank & questionable writing, & more the multiple technical glitches that're damaging my time with the game. this includes (ps4) the game going into perma-load mode on a cold start-up & 'continue'?!...

i've had multiple crashes, which, combined with crappy checkpoints, means restarting the mission from the beginning, &'ve seen repeated examples of the enemy spawning thing (so friggin' amateurish!). i'm still enjoying what's there to be enjoyed, but, damn!, if the game isn't doing it's very best to stop me! ...

 

[Zakalwe]

Also, I can't recall... was the translator used to explain how Humans communicate with the other friendly species too? Did we ever hear their original languages? I remember it was in the game before to explain certain things, but was it used specifically to explain the way Turians etc... communicate with Humans?

I can't remember it feeling this jarring before so I guess they did, or they simply wrote around it better at the time.

 

[prag16]

If it's unlocked only via DLC, it would be. The way it is now, is just stupid design.

No. You don't need DLC to unlock it. It can all be unlocked. You just can't have ALL of it unlocked at one time, just like you can't max every branch of every skill tree in one playthrough. I swear at this point people are just inventing things to complain about.

 

[Peroroncino]

Googling around and people are saying it's the avenger aax5 and it's not currently in the game outside of the default cutscene gun. There are some cosplay versions of it out there if you image search.

Ahh, that would explain it. Still, pretty weird it's cutscene exclusive, sometimes even my pathfinder is holding it, lol.

 

[semiconscious]

Also, I can't recall... was the translator used to explain how Humans communicate with the other friendly species too? Did we ever hear their original languages? I remember it was in the game before to explain certain things, but was it used specifically to explain the way Turians etc... communicate with Humans?

I can't remember it feeling this jarring before so I guess they did, or they simply wrote around it better at the time.

you want true 'jarring'? try figuring out how a translator makes the lips of the speaker conform to the language they're being translated into ...

 

[samn]

you want true 'jarring'? try figuring out how a translator makes the lips of the speaker conform to the language they're being translated into ...

nice excuse there mr bioware animator

 

[Zakalwe]

you want true 'jarring'? try figuring out how a translator makes the lips of the speaker conform to the language they're being translated into ...

Goddamn you, semi.

 

[Akai__]

No. You don't need DLC to unlock it. It can all be unlocked. You just can't have ALL of it unlocked at one time, just like you can't max every branch of every skill tree in one playthrough. I swear at this point people are just inventing things to complain about.

But it's not inventing things. If they would raise the Level Cap through DLC, that would be withholding and that was my whole point when the other poster said it could be unlocked via DLC.

And this is only a "what if" thing, so I'm not sure why you are getting so worked up about it. No need to defend stupid design decisions. We would all benefit from it, if it wasn't the way it is now.

 

[semiconscious]

nice excuse there mr bioware animator

no prob! ...

 

[Kuldar]

No. You don't need DLC to unlock it. It can all be unlocked. You just can't have ALL of it unlocked at one time, just like you can't max every branch of every skill tree in one playthrough. I swear at this point people are just inventing things to complain about.

I would have no problem with that if they didn't have the negative XP when you reach the level cap. It just feels like a cheap cut in order to force player to make a choice.

 

[Lashley]

What am I meant to do at the remnant points of interest sites?

Just fight the remnant robots?

 

[His Majesty]

What am I meant to do at the remnant points of interest sites?

Just fight the remnant robots?

Kill the robots and loot the big chest. Then the pillar on the map should turn blue.

 

[Zakalwe]

What am I meant to do at the remnant points of interest sites?

Just fight the remnant robots?

Fight, loot, scan.

 

[Lashley]

Kill the robots and loot the big chest. Then the pillar on the map should turn blue.

Fight, loot, scan.

Weird, the one on Voeld near the camp with the prisoners had no loot?

 

[Akai__]

I would have no problem with that if they didn't have the negative XP when you reach the level cap. It just feels like a cheap cut in order to force player to make a choice.

Yeah and this choice was never communicated to me. I don't think I have missed it.

It's just a cheap way to end it (especially the negatve point part), after you go through the trouble of getting all the planets to 100%.

 

[Bisnic]

I just hope they bring some Geth along for the ride.

If the Quarian ark include every(or most) minor races from the trilogy, you can bet they're gonna wait for a sequel before bringing it to Andromeda.

No way they're going to create Frosbite models for Quarians, Hanar, Drells, Geths or whatever other missing Milky Way races just for a DLC.

 

[Zakalwe]

Weird, the one on Voeld near the camp with the prisoners had no loot?

You don't always get loot. Sometimes you just have a bunch of Remnant sitting around scanning stuff.

 

[prag16]

But it's not inventing things. If they would raise the Level Cap through DLC, that would be withholding and that was my whole point when the other poster said it could be unlocked via DLC.

And this is only a "what if" thing, so I'm not sure why you are getting so worked up about it. No need to defend stupid design decisions. We would all benefit from it, if it wasn't the way it is now.

I would have no problem with that if they didn't have the negative XP when you reach the level cap. It just feels like a cheap cut in order to force player to make a choice.

I don't disagree that it's silly design. I took issue with the bold assertion that this is "locking existing content behind DLC", which this is not.

If the Quarian ark include every(or most) minor races from the trilogy, you can bet they're gonna wait for a sequel before bringing it to Andromeda.

No way they're going to create Frosbite models for Quarians, Hanar, Drells, Geths or whatever other missing Milky Way races just for a DLC.

Unless they were already planning on using all that for a sequel anyway. RE the complaint that there would be nowhere for a quarian ark to dock; did the game actually confirm there are only four "slots" for arks? And even then who says they couldn't add one. The idea behind the Nexus was to have ongoing construction to complete it after arrival in Andromeda.

 

[bati]

Would appreciate some advice on the best build for single player. I have played ME1-3 but something feels different in ME:A. I'm playing as an adept at the moment, rolling with Pull + Lance + Throw, dropped some points into Singularity but haven't tested it yet. I'm doing okay/sometimes barely survive on Normal, and I feel like I might have dumped points into the wrong skills. Re-specing costs credits so I am hesitant to try out other classes/skills.

I'm in it for the story and just want a build that can pretty much steamroll through everything. Suggestion?

Sentinel is pretty much god mode on Insanity. Energy Drain (primer evo), Cloak, Lance (shield cost evo), grab the passives that make sense. Once I hit rank 5 in sentinel I started putting points into combat tree to get the passives. For armor I use the Heleus Defender stuff.

 

[black070]

Put 10-ish hours in and had an absolute blast through the entirety of it but going to hang it up until Tuesday to see what they have planned. Haven't run into any glitches yet but would rather let them be ironed out before continuing.

 

[Tacitus_]

No. You don't need DLC to unlock it. It can all be unlocked. You just can't have ALL of it unlocked at one time, just like you can't max every branch of every skill tree in one playthrough. I swear at this point people are just inventing things to complain about.

My main complaint about it is that it's thematically weird, since the game is all about finding space for people coming out of cryo. If I manage to establish every possible outpost and get their habitability to 100%, I should be able to get everyone out.

 

[Vengal]

Ahh, that would explain it. Still, pretty weird it's cutscene exclusive, sometimes even my pathfinder is holding it, lol.

Also wierd that it's the rifle used in the mcafrlane statue for Scott rider. It also appears in several pieces of promotional art for the game. Wonder why it's not in the game. Maybe the

Spoiler

Quarian Ark

brings one lol?

 

[X-Frame]

I really hate the Research system. I craft 3 Level 5 items for Heleus and now I'm basically unable to craft anything else up to my level.

Besides the Apex strike teams and Cryo pod, is there any reliable way to gain Research after you've already explored a lot? It seems like at the end of the game you're sort of screwed if you wanted to undo any Research you spent.

 

[Schlorgan]

Finished the story this morning.

35 hours
72% completion

Excited to play more. I want that

Spoiler

Quarian Ark

DLC!

 

[Kuldar]

Stupid question, do researches made carry on in the NG+? And is 6059 the cap for research point?

 

[AsianOni]

Stupid question, do researches made carry on in the NG+? And is 6059 the cap for research point?

Yes for the first question.

 

[LightInfa]

Just finished Kadara

Spoiler

saw the twist coming before it happened, but I still felt that it was a very fun arc overall - allowing you to romance Reyes makes the choice between Sloan and him that much more difficult. I ultimately chose Reyes cause a) Sloan needed to pay for causing the mutiny and b) I wasn't gonna let my beau die. At times I've been disappointed with the C&C, so this was a nice change.

 

[exYle]

Just finished Kadara

Spoiler

saw the twist coming before it happened, but I still felt that it was a very fun arc overall - allowing you to romance Reyes makes the choice between Sloan and him that much more difficult. I ultimately chose Reyes cause a) Sloan needed to pay for causing the mutiny and b) I wasn't gonna let my beau die. At times I've been disappointed with the C&C, so this was a nice change.

Why do you think that choice was difficult? I chose the same thing as you did and it was the easiest decision of the game for me

 

[Schlorgan]

Why do you think that choice was difficult? I chose the same thing as you did and it was the easiest decision of the game for me

I went with

Spoiler

Sloane. I felt kind of betrayed by Reyes in general but when he asked for a duel and then tried to cheat, I didn't want anything to do with him. I didn't like Sloane at all, but I at least felt that she was honest. I also liked the head of security that Reyes almost killed, so that just added to it.
I shot him to try to slow him down so I could bring him in, but he escaped anyway and just hates me more now.

 

[Zakalwe]

wrong thread!

 

[UberLevi]

Just finished Kadara

Spoiler

saw the twist coming before it happened, but I still felt that it was a very fun arc overall - allowing you to romance Reyes makes the choice between Sloan and him that much more difficult. I ultimately chose Reyes cause a) Sloan needed to pay for causing the mutiny and b) I wasn't gonna let my beau die. At times I've been disappointed with the C&C, so this was a nice change.

I ended up

Spoiler

saving Sloane but not shooting Reyes during his getaway. So they're both still alive. I also saw the twist coming about a mission before it was revealed.

 

[sangreal]

Just finished Kadara

Spoiler

saw the twist coming before it happened, but I still felt that it was a very fun arc overall - allowing you to romance Reyes makes the choice between Sloan and him that much more difficult. I ultimately chose Reyes cause a) Sloan needed to pay for causing the mutiny and b) I wasn't gonna let my beau die. At times I've been disappointed with the C&C, so this was a nice change.

Why do you think that choice was difficult? I chose the same thing as you did and it was the easiest decision of the game for me

Spoiler

y'all got played. Reyes is just as bad as Sloan which is evident when you stumble across his people torturing folks and brewing poison in the collective camp. He is just using you to overthrow her. And who wouldn't want to revolt against Director Tann?

 

[Alucrid]

Spoiler

y'all got played. Reyes is just as bad as Sloan which is evident when you stumble across his people torturing folks and brewing poison in the collective camp. He is just using you to overthrow her. And who wouldn't want to revolt against Director Tann?

Spoiler

but his base has the mysterious button

 

[Fata1moose]

I went with

Spoiler

Sloane. I felt kind of betrayed by Reyes in general but when he asked for a duel and then tried to cheat, I didn't want anything to do with him. I didn't like Sloane at all, but I at least felt that she was honest. I also liked Sloane's security guy that Reyes almost killed, so that just added to it.

I had the exact same thought process when making that decision.

Spoiler

I even shot him in the back, can't trust a cheat.

 

[Schlorgan]

I had the exact same though process when making that decision.

Spoiler

I even shot him in the back, can't trust a cheat.

Spoiler

I shot him too, but I really just wanted to apprehend him.

 

[Ralemont]

People gave Fallout 4 a lot of shit for having meaningless conversation options, but ME A is just as bad. It saddens me to see so many people in this thread try to crap on the writing in ME 1-3 as if that somehow makes the writing in this game OK. Sure, the older games had their problems, but Drew Karpyshyn's work on KOTOR and ME1-2 was universally lauded and beloved by both critics and fans. This new narrative that "Mass Effect writing has always been bad and you're just complaining about nothing" is so off-base and annoying.

I don't think Mass Effect writing is bad, but I do think people are way off base suggesting Andromeda's writing is substantially worse than the OT. I also don't think Drew K is a very good writer, and demonstrably a terrible character writer. His books back this up as he has no clue how to do dialogue or characterization. That's something that at least Mac has over him. Mac doesn't know how to do overarching plotlines well of course.

I also don't know how you can say with a straight face that the OT had consistently "subtle" writing, especially when you are apparently comparing it to things like Jaal's loyalty missions. Yes, there were some ME2 loyalty quests with nuance like Tali, Legion, or Garrus, but then you had Zaeed, Samara, Miranda, etc. Let's not forget decisions like what to do with the Collector Base. In general it seems you are willing to buy into the often ridiculous nature of the OT's tales while cutting no slack for Andromeda.

Also this is everyone's daily reminder about how Drew K totally fucked up the KOTOR plotline irrevocably in his awful books and SWTOR.

 

[diaspora]

Drew K's writing can be a fucking trashfire as his conclusion to Revan and the Exile's story illustrates.

 

[Caboose]

Why can't I unequip this Deep Space Explorer armor? Am I doing something wrong? I know its a full bodysuit but I go to the chest area and I can't unequip it or select anything else...

 

[Dre_G_Writer]

Yeah, i switched from being a pull/throw adept to a charge/shockwave person.

Also, what mod do you have on your shotgun?? I also currently have the 50% faster power recharge on my chest armor.

What' I'm rocking.

It's the key component to my explosion build.

 

[LNBL]

Why can't I unequip this Deep Space Explorer armor? Am I doing something wrong? I know its a full bodysuit but I go to the chest area and I can't unequip it or select anything else...

Are you doing it at a loadout station or the forward points?

 

[Caboose]

Are you doing it at a loadout station or the forward points?

On the Tempest.

 

[sangreal]

On the Tempest.

do you have armor for all the slots you would lose by unequipping it (chest/legs/arms)?

not sure if that matters

 

[obeast]

I don't think Mass Effect writing is bad, but I do think people are way off base suggesting Andromeda's writing is substantially worse than the OT. I also don't think Drew K is a very good writer, and demonstrably a terrible character writer. His books back this up as he has no clue how to do dialogue or characterization. That's something that at least Mac has over him. Mac doesn't know how to do overarching plotlines well of course.

I also don't know how you can say with a straight face that the OT had consistently "subtle" writing, especially when you are apparently comparing it to things like Jaal's loyalty missions. Yes, there were some ME2 loyalty quests with nuance like Tali, Legion, or Garrus, but then you had Zaeed, Samara, Miranda, etc. Let's not forget decisions like what to do with the Collector Base. In general it seems you are willing to buy into the often ridiculous nature of the OT's tales while cutting no slack for Andromeda.

I was of this opinion until I played more of the game, and I still agree that the original trilogy has a lot of dodgy writing in it (I'd actually throw Garrus' loyalty quest in there, too - why does he need you to permit him to shoot some dude with a sniper rifle?), but ME:A's problem is less its off-key writing moments, which are abundant, than its lack of good moments. It just doesn't hit the same highs as the original games, ever.

Basically, in my opinion, the writing in the original trilogy runs from, say, a 3 to an 8 on some stupid, arbitrary 10 point scale; ME:A runs from around 2 to 5. I consider it worse in that sense.

Edit - also, I think it's worth noting that ME:A's well-documented problems with animation in dialogue sequences probably damage a lot of players' perception of the writing. I find it borderline unplayable without subtitles, for instance, which direct my eyes to the bottom of the screen rather than to characters' faces. But in games with better animation (The Witcher 3, or even earlier Mass Effect titles) I play with subtitles off, which a fair bit more immersive.

 

[Caboose]

do you have armor for all the slots you would lose by unequipping it (chest/legs/arms)?

not sure if that matters

Yeah that's the thing, I have multiple.

 

[X-Frame]

I really want to use that Heleus Defender armor, it looks awesome. The bonuses seem like they'd compliment almost any playstyle too.

 

[CarbonFire]

Took a break from MP to dig back into the single player last night. Man I did not like Havarl AT ALL. It felt like an early prototype they designed for last gen consoles that they just brought over. Felt way too much like a video game "level" than a place you were exploring. It even has a big, blatant "this door is for loading the level" slapped right in the middle of the map. Plus the writing on several of those quests is probably some of the weakest I've experienced so far.

Haven't gotten too far into Kadara, but it is showing promise. Voeld is my favorite so far, even with the horrible check-pointing on the main enemy base (which wouldn't be a problem if I didn't keep getting shot by enemies stuck in walls). Game continues to be mostly fun.

 

[lucius]

I am enjoying the combat more than ME3

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Goddamn this game is gorgeous, but in 4K it's simply amazing.

BioWare's level designers and environmental artist is one of the best in the industry. I would gladly shake hands with each and everyone of them.

 

[Nekrono]

Goddamn this game is gorgeous, but in 4K it's simply amazing.


BioWare's level designers and environmental artist is one of the best in the industry. I would gladly shake hands with each and everyone of them.

Absolutely.

Whatever talent/time/resources they lacked in the animation department they certainly made up for it in the visual/art team.

Game is absolutely gorgeous and the vistas are amazing.

 

[Caayn]

Did they change something? Multiplayer normally works fine for me but today I've been rubber banding like crazy and haven't yet been able to fully finish a match yet.