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Mass Effect |OT| Alien love in an elevator
- Thread starter Mr. Spinnington
- Start date
ElectricBlue187 said:
Depends on the weapon
Shotguns tend to be good with ammo that adds extra impact.
Sniper Rifle works well with Explosive ammo.
Assault Riffle works well with Chemical rounds.
Pistols well I always ended up with Cryo ammo in mine (since my pistol users were never really weapon heavy hitters).
Your results may differ a bit, but I did just recently finish my 6th play threw of the game, and these always seemed to work well to me.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Mrbob said:
Holy cats! The highest level my stuff is at is III! I'm such a wee bairn!!
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Also, about Achievement bonuses, where do they show up on your Status page? Or do they at all?
ElectricBlue187 said:
Scram Rail X + Frictionless Materials X tend to be better than Scram x2, so you can fire off more shots. Oh and Tungsten or Shredder VII has a +40% bonus damage to synthetic / organic, which is probably the nicest flat damage boost possible.
You can actually get a little more damage out of the +29% damage / +20% heat, obviously, but then you also have to deal with more heat.
Really, on Insane mode, you don't want to mess with Marksman or Overkill - you want your weapon to be capable of firing nigh indefinitely, because it will need to be able to (unless it's a Sniper rifle, obviously, and even then, you want to maximize your number of shots before overheating).
Shinjitsu said:Funny I had no problems with my Infiltrator on Insanity primarily using the Sniper Rifle. Explosive ammo works wonders, produces MASSIVE amounts of heat, but its more than worth it.
I've never even got off more than one shot with a sniper rifle with explosive rounds :lol
Domino Theory
Crystal Dynamics
I need some quick help on a side mission where I'm supposed to
help Wrex find his family's battle armor from a guy named Tom Accus or something. I've already killed the Tom guy and I'm at the base where the armor should be, but I can't find it. I'm worrying that it could be in one of the wall safes or hardened crates in which I'm not skilled enough to unlock them. I found a safe that I could just push A to open, and it gave me a crap load of armor and Krogan armor, but my journal still says I haven't found it, and the "!" sign is still on the map.
I found a safe that I could just push A to open, and it gave me a crap load of armor and Krogan armor, but my journal still says I haven't found it, and the "!" sign is still on the map.DY_nasty said:
The Mako will get damaged but will never blow up when you are not in it. However, if it is on fire, do not enter it while enemies are around; chances are one bullet will kill you if you get in.
Domino Theory said:I need some quick help on a side mission where I'm supposed tohelp Wrex find his family's battle armor from a guy named Tom Accus or something. I've already killed the Tom guy and I'm at the base where the armor should be, but I can't find it. I'm worrying that it could be in one of the wall safes or hardened crates in which I'm not skilled enough to unlock them.
It's in a safe in the middle of the back room, IIRC. I can't remember if it is locked or not, but you get normal loot followed by a text box telling you that you found the armour.
If you can't unlock it, go back to the Normandy and come back down with a tech party member you have not used in a while. If you can dump a whole bunch of point into Decryption from Tali or Garrus or Kaiden, you should be able to get hard decryption.
Domino Theory said:I need some quick help on a side mission where I'm supposed tohelp Wrex find his family's battle armor from a guy named Tom Accus or something. I've already killed the Tom guy and I'm at the base where the armor should be, but I can't find it. I'm worrying that it could be in one of the wall safes or hardened crates in which I'm not skilled enough to unlock them.
2nd floor back door safe You can just go back to the Mako and pick up a character with high enough decrypt, if you have one.
You can just go back to the Mako and pick up a character with high enough decrypt, if you have one.tabbed browsing - F5 ftl
Shinjitsu said:Funny I had no problems with my Infiltrator on Insanity primarily using the Sniper Rifle. Explosive ammo works wonders, produces MASSIVE amounts of heat, but its more than worth it.
The key word there is Infiltrator. Class ranks reduce sniper rifle heat. I bet you could fire off a Frictionless Materials X x2 + High Explosive X and not overheat a Spectre X, at least not in one shot.
You'd probably MOSTLY overheat the gun with that one shot, but the heat'll still go down faster and you'll be able to fire again faster than if you had actually overheated.
Schopenhauer
Member
DY_nasty said:
You can always return to the Normandy by hitting X on the map screen regardless of whether you are in the Mako or not.
Deku Tree said:
Well KotOR 2 is significantly inferior to having your gums scraped with a rusty crowbar, so we'll drop that one from consideration. It's also an Obsidian game, not a Bioware game, so thankfully we won't hold it against the good doctors.
Jade Empire, however, was just pointlessly simplistic / easy with forgettable NPCs... Could have been great with its music and art style, but man, it really wasn't.
But KotOR was fuck awesome. I'd say this is about on par with KotOR, yeah.
Deku Tree said:
There are some similarities, I guess. Spectre = Jedi, multi-specie council, set in space, biotics (force powers, basically). The story is a lot different though, and it's more focused about war than KOTOR (which I thought focused more on good vs evil, light vs dark). The combat's no longer turn-based either. The one thing I missed was the lack of abilities playing into the conversation. It basically turns into intimidate/charm or Paragon/Renegade/Neutral. In KOTOR, you could use repair, force choke, etc...
What I loved was the way it felt like a movie. The soundtrack helps a lot. It's not like other games that try to inject movie elements into them to make them more cinematic. There's more of a focus on that. The soundtrack and visuals really do their part into making it feel like an 80s sci-fi movie. But maybe that's just me.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
BenjaminBirdie said:
Quoted For Desperation.
Schopenhauer
Member
Shinjitsu said:
I think Shepard's male voice sounds great. I have no problems with it at all.
BenjaminBirdie said:
Check under extras on the first menu when you start the game to see gained achievements and there effect if any.
Kill Your Masters
Member
I actually like the voice. Fits the original Shepard pretty good (havent created one of my own to be honest, the original one felt somehow in place than my creation attempts)Shinjitsu said:
Anyway, I have a question about the Hardcore Achievement: I started a whole new career, forgot to switch to Hardcore while confirming everything, and changed the Level on the Normandy right before Eden Prime: does this count, or was it too late?
You should be okay, the point of no return is after eden prime's completion.
Meanwhile, killing armatures and colossi on foot is soooo much more rewarding than killing people in the MakLOL
Good tip for looking at the Achievement screen. I've got a ton of shit that I didn't even know counted for anything. Tactician, Geth Hunter, Dog of War, Pistol Expert...
Meanwhile, killing armatures and colossi on foot is soooo much more rewarding than killing people in the MakLOL
Good tip for looking at the Achievement screen. I've got a ton of shit that I didn't even know counted for anything. Tactician, Geth Hunter, Dog of War, Pistol Expert...
Kill Your Masters
Member
Good, thanks for the info.DY_nasty said:
And it's more fun too.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Schopenhauer said:
Yeah, I've found that, but unfortunately I've already got a few of them gotten by my better half on her Shepard. I want to know if there's a way to see them on my Shepards when they finally unlock them.
"Any help would be hot."
- Jar Jar Binks
Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Screenplay By George Lucas
Spirit of Jazz
Banned
Am I the only one who hates this game? WRPGs used to pride themselves on strong side-quests, Mass Effect's make JE's look like Torment's. It's beyond repetitive and the combat is just as broken due to the lack of any A.I. Rather than using small competent squads you fight a legion of men in one of the same 2 damned bunkers who can't go further than the door. It's a stupid design principle and I'm shocked at how many people are praising it. Especially the aesthetics when anything out of the main locals (90% of the game) is generic ass and mostly one huge, lifeless planet texture spread across an empty map with a varying about of bumps.
Yes the main story is alright, but it's freaking short, the plot dialog exchanges happen at predictable time (Start, meet objective, finish) with no banter between crew members and the like. Further still the dialog trees are still nowhere near the quality of Torments, mostly due to the fact Bioware are to dumb to lift the restraints on having black/white philosophies. It looks to be better than the dark/light side, until you begin to see Bioware constantly switch around what it means to be renegade.
Needless to say I'm massively disappointed by Bioware and can't understand why anybody would think this is a better title than Mask of the Betrayer or The Witcher.
Yes the main story is alright, but it's freaking short, the plot dialog exchanges happen at predictable time (Start, meet objective, finish) with no banter between crew members and the like. Further still the dialog trees are still nowhere near the quality of Torments, mostly due to the fact Bioware are to dumb to lift the restraints on having black/white philosophies. It looks to be better than the dark/light side, until you begin to see Bioware constantly switch around what it means to be renegade.
Needless to say I'm massively disappointed by Bioware and can't understand why anybody would think this is a better title than Mask of the Betrayer or The Witcher.
That's some harsh criticism, particularly when absolutely no (coming) RPG will probably ever be in the same class as Torment. But you have a small point, the other RPG's you mentioned are fucking amazing, especially Mask Of The Betrayer. Haven't played ME myself, but I have a hard time seeing a 2007 RPG being better than it.
Anerythristic
Member
Very true. While I really enjoy this game , the sidequests are very weak. There are literally a few gems mixed in there but it becomes repetative and eventually downright boring. It's so strange that all the story quests are action packed and genuinely fun. I am on my second playthrough at the moment and have been taking it slow while also playing Silent Hill Origins on PSP. I think for future playthroughs I am going to stick with only the main storyline and interesting sidequests, which thankfully this game allows you to do.
Spirit of Jazz said:
Then don't do the side quests? the game never forces you to, or makes any claims that side quests are "strong". Beyond achievements you could fully ignore the majority of all the side quests and would effect you very little (beyond being a bit lower level).
The game has a great story, the dialog is leaps and bounds better than the mass majority of cames on the market. I do agree that the side quests are a bit shallow (I still do them), but hating the entire game because of it seems a bit short sighted. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Schopenhauer
Member
BenjaminBirdie said:
If you are playing under the same gamertag then any achievement she has unlocked will already benefit you. Conversely, if you are using the same gamertag you won't be able to unlock any of achievements that she has already unlocked.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Schopenhauer said:
Wow, see I asked this a while ago and was told that they only affected the Shepard that got the achievement.
Does this mean any new Shepard on my account will have those stat boosts instantly?
Vyse The Legend
Member
BenjaminBirdie said:
Yup, they will.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Oh my fuckin' god.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Well, you have to do some in order to just level up to the point where some of the battles aren't too hard, but on casual, yeah for the most part, you could just do the story missions and skip straight through the game.
Spirit of Jazz
Banned
Shinjitsu said:Then don't do the side quests? the game never forces you to, or makes any claims that side quests are "strong". Beyond achievements you could fully ignore the majority of all the side quests and would effect you very little (beyond being a bit lower level).
The game has a great story, the dialog is leaps and bounds better than the mass majority of cames on the market. I do agree that the side quests are a bit shallow (I still do them), but hating the entire game because of it seems a bit short sighted. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
I clearer stated, you quoted it in fact, that sidequest generally are the foundation that makes WRPGs so enjoyable. JRPGs forsake this for with a 40 hour long or so main quest. Mass Effect makes neither, without sidequests it's a very short game. With sidequests about 80% of the game is terrible. Also I think you're underestimating how under-leveled you'd be, I was around level 25-30 before I really started on the main quest, I'm assuming it would be really quite difficult if I left the side-quests out. In short, if the vast majority of the game didn't consist of the side-quests it would be short sited to hate the game because of it. Fact is that isn't the case.
Beyond that I don't see the dialog to be anything other than average in the field of narrative driven western titles. In fact it's a tad generic (Wow, a crazy person that refers to herself in third person? Amazing Bioware!) and characterless. The big scenes stand out as being great (I loved the renegade path to becoming a Specter) but the rest is really quite bland.
Also I'm sorry for bringing up Torment, but since titles have gone fully 3D I think it's appalling that nothing's come close to that caliber of the writing beyond the conversation between Atris near the start of KotoR2.
Just some stuff from EGM. I know some was posted, but I'll list some stuff. Not sure what has been posted.
-Mass Effect 2&3 to be published by MS according to a close source on the game.
-UK-based Develop magazine was told by Phil Spencer(MGS) Mass Effect will continue to be an important franchise for the company.
-According to EGM EA could benefit with Jade Empire 2. John Riccitello(EA CEO) is a self-proclaimed fan.
-Bioware and EAs partnership in no way impacts Sonic(Sega) or Lucasarts/Biowares project. Sonic is on track to ship in 2008. EGM hears the game might arrive early this spring.
EGM afterthoughts with Casey Hudson
-As ME started to wrap up they had to cut some aspects of the dialogue system. Wasnt working the way they intended. Wants to focus on it more in the next ME. Not only ability to interrupt characters, but also other active things to the conversations.
-"We didn't get much negative feedback during development with inventory screen, although(if stuff doesn't work right), that's definitely something we want to fix in the future."
-Casey Hudsons fav. character is Liara
-Working on some really cool stuff for DLC(No details)
-DLC will be much, much bigger and better than KOTORS meager offering
-DLC was built into the design of ME
-Goal for trilogy is to finish it on 360. As long as 360 is around a few more years they'll be able to have them all out. And you'll get to play with the same character you created in the first game.
-Elevators weren't the most epic part of ME according to Hudson.
Nothing really new I suppose but maybe some info. people didn't know.
-Mass Effect 2&3 to be published by MS according to a close source on the game.
-UK-based Develop magazine was told by Phil Spencer(MGS) Mass Effect will continue to be an important franchise for the company.
-According to EGM EA could benefit with Jade Empire 2. John Riccitello(EA CEO) is a self-proclaimed fan.
-Bioware and EAs partnership in no way impacts Sonic(Sega) or Lucasarts/Biowares project. Sonic is on track to ship in 2008. EGM hears the game might arrive early this spring.
EGM afterthoughts with Casey Hudson
-As ME started to wrap up they had to cut some aspects of the dialogue system. Wasnt working the way they intended. Wants to focus on it more in the next ME. Not only ability to interrupt characters, but also other active things to the conversations.
-"We didn't get much negative feedback during development with inventory screen, although(if stuff doesn't work right), that's definitely something we want to fix in the future."
-Casey Hudsons fav. character is Liara
-Working on some really cool stuff for DLC(No details)
-DLC will be much, much bigger and better than KOTORS meager offering
-DLC was built into the design of ME
-Goal for trilogy is to finish it on 360. As long as 360 is around a few more years they'll be able to have them all out. And you'll get to play with the same character you created in the first game.
-Elevators weren't the most epic part of ME according to Hudson.
Nothing really new I suppose but maybe some info. people didn't know.
YES!
Edit: also while on the subject of afterthoughts, I was thinking about the so called "hard choices". There weren't really any in the game, IMO. You could pretty much do everything in one go and not think about it all that much. What I'd like to see in the sequel is time as a part of the gameplay. Make it a bit like Dead rising, so you have to choose which missions you do in one go. Force the player to make choices and deal with the consequences. And make some consequences. For example the situation with
Wrex and the genophage. I would love to see such a solution that you could cure the genophage, but as a result you'd have to fight alot more angry krogans in the future.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
I hope they don't do some shitty Metroid Prime thing and take away all your skills at the beginning. If I grinded to 60, let me start Mass Effect 2 at 60 damnit!
Kill Your Masters
Member
Sounds good, cant wait for the DLC, and I hope they can finish the Trilogy on the 360.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Uncle said:
Well, honestly, the difference between 60 and 50 isn't that much. Where other levels gave you two points per level, you only get 1 point per level in the 50-60 grind. So even if they let you start at 50, that'd be perfectly fine.
But it'd be stupid if you get dumped to level one and suddenly you lose all your stats. If they give Shepard amnesia or s/he gets some kind of disease that makes her/him lose all her skills or some other piss poor conceit, I think I'd be kind of pissed.
SeaOfMadness
Member
Domino Theory said:I need some quick help on a side mission where I'm supposed tohelp Wrex find his family's battle armor from a guy named Tom Accus or something. I've already killed the Tom guy and I'm at the base where the armor should be, but I can't find it. I'm worrying that it could be in one of the wall safes or hardened crates in which I'm not skilled enough to unlock them.
wha? how did i miss this quest on my first playthrough? how do you get this quest? is it just one that comes after talking to him after a mission?