[Megathread] Mass Effect 3

[rhorle]

I really didn't mind the star kid. My distaste for the ending was solely about the whole 'it's organics vs synthetics' thing. The whole 'the machines will rebel' thing is so trite and cliche that seeing ME fall back on it for the end of its trilogy made me face palm after how wonderfully they'd handled ai such as the geth and EDI throughout the trilogy. The extended ending made it passable by filling in plot holes but I still don't care for the endings at all because of the very weak premise for the reaper cycle.

It wasn't that machines will rebel, it was that organics and synthetics would always try to rule over each other. The only machine that rebelled was the Catalyst, the rest were not rebelling so much as they were unable to peacefully coexist with each other. One side always ignored peace to terminate the other which is why the Leviathans created the Catalyst in the first place. To find a solution that would allow for peace between Synthetics and Organics.

The question you have to ask yourself is did the cycle and solution actually work? Was it the result of countless culling and "forced" evolution that produced the circumstances that allowed Shepard to do what he did? Or was Shepard and his "peace" just a fluke of the cycle? Could anyone have brought about the catalyst or was it something that required Humanity.

If you take the ending at face value then sure it might be weak or cliche. But if you think about the ending, the questions left unresolved, and how the universe got to where it ended it is anything but.

Besides I doubt anything would have been labeled as a strong premise for a billion year old cycle.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

Which reminds me of a question I wanted to ask, for those of you that have played Leviathan. I share the same view as Florena about the ending (that the star-kid and the AI vs. organics theme cheapened the series and The Reapers). Without giving out any spoilers, will Leviathan make some sense out of the ending and make it less cliché?

(Considering whether to buy it or not)

I haven't played the ending after Leviathan but I've been told it doesn't change the ending much, just a couple extra lines of dialogue. What it changed is it gives you more insight into the Reapers and their cycles, and how it all began. I felt it was a nice change from just "Organics and synthetics don't get along. ...What? You managed to get the geth and the quarians to get along? Well... that doesn't matter! It's... it's temporary! They'll kill each other again soon, just watch!" But the whole synthetics/organics conflict remains there. Overall I would recommend getting leviathan regardless though just because it's an awesome DLC.

[rhorle]

So I just started up multiplayer again after like a 4 month break. Its soooo hard to choose between arsenal or reserve packs. >_< Also did vanguards get buffed or were they always so good? I did some golds with a 200% recharge and defensive build and I tore things apart. Female Human Charge + Nova. Charge was up so frequently that I was literally invincible. Only deaths were from banshees etc grabbing me after a charge lol. Solved that by never charging the front.

They have always been powerful. The Krogan Vanguard was one of the best choices for a lot of folks because of its near invincible status. (General Vanguard kit combined with the Krogan melee survival traits). Sync kills are really the only downfall of a properly outfitted and played Vanguard. Of course there are now easier weapon and kit combinations (Turian with Stim packs are crazy with the right weapons).

---------- Post added 2013-02-06 at 06:41 PM ----------

Which reminds me of a question I wanted to ask, for those of you that have played Leviathan. I share the same view as Florena about the ending (that the star-kid and the AI vs. organics theme cheapened the series and The Reapers). Without giving out any spoilers, will Leviathan make some sense out of the ending and make it less cliché?

(Considering whether to buy it or not)

No. The endings, and reasons for the ending, don't change with Leviathan. They only get explained a little. So it shouldn't change if you feel it is cliche or not because those same things that made it cliche are still there.

---------- Post added 2013-02-06 at 06:44 PM ----------

I felt it was a nice change from just "Organics and synthetics don't get along. ...What? You managed to get the geth and the quarians to get along? Well... that doesn't matter! It's... it's temporary! They'll kill each other again soon, just watch!" But the whole synthetics/organics conflict remains there. Overall I would recommend getting leviathan regardless though just because it's an awesome DLC.

The Geth and Quarian peace is all in the short term. Nor did the Catalyst or anything else stop there from being short term peace between Organics and Synthetics. The premise was that at some point the trouble would always break out again because of the fundamentally different reasoning processes. In another 100 years of Geth and Quarian peace what is to stop a new spark because a Quarian wanted to reprogram a geth against its will? Or that Krogan wouldn't create an AI that goes out of control?

Eventually some synthetic or organic life form would break the peace.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

The Geth and Quarian peace is all in the short term. Nor did the Catalyst or anything else stop there from being short term peace between Organics and Synthetics. The premise was that at some point the trouble would always break out again because of the fundamentally different reasoning processes. In another 100 years of Geth and Quarian peace what is to stop a new spark because a Quarian wanted to reprogram a geth against its will? Or that Krogan wouldn't create an AI that goes out of control?

Eventually some synthetic or organic life form would break the peace.

You have your universe, I'll have mine. kthxloveyoubaibai

---------- Post added 2013-02-06 at 01:49 PM ----------

I really need to replay the series again. I'm having withdrawals. I haven't played in ages. QQ

[Leonard McCoy]

It wasn't that machines will rebel, it was that organics and synthetics would always try to rule over each other. The only machine that rebelled was the Catalyst, the rest were not rebelling so much as they were unable to peacefully coexist with each other. One side always ignored peace to terminate the other which is why the Leviathans created the Catalyst in the first place. To find a solution that would allow for peace between Synthetics and Organics.

The question you have to ask yourself is did the cycle and solution actually work? Was it the result of countless culling and "forced" evolution that produced the circumstances that allowed Shepard to do what he did? Or was Shepard and his "peace" just a fluke of the cycle? Could anyone have brought about the catalyst or was it something that required Humanity.

If you take the ending at face value then sure it might be weak or cliche. But if you think about the ending, the questions left unresolved, and how the universe got to where it ended it is anything but.

Besides I doubt anything would have been labeled as a strong premise for a billion year old cycle.

It may be anthropomorphic to say this but I absolutely think it did require humanity. If Asari were writing this game then I guess it would require Asari but since the writers are (I presume Human) then no matter what the genre or setting were writing with what Faulkner described as the human heart in conflict with itself. Of course the only people who can resolve that are humans.

[Myobi]

Just got colectors rifle and the rifle, plus Piranha! ~~~ Throwing all my money at those weapon packs >.< Really need some better gear =_=

[Cat1337]

I keep getting the damn Geth SMG and Collector SMG (4 times in a row), I really need the Carnifex/Reegar/Harrier for some of my builds. In other news finally got the Black Widow muahahah, after an eternity and a half.

[Myobi]

I'm after the bloody Harrier too >.<

[aikoyamamato]

I keep getting the damn Geth SMG and Collector SMG (4 times in a row), I really need the Carnifex/Reegar/Harrier for some of my builds. In other news finally got the Black Widow muahahah, after an eternity and a half.

I just got my Reegar Carbine. I'm kinda torn on it. It totally blows things up (no shields = dead in 2 seconds) but it has such a short range! I might try it with my Krogan Sentinel.

Re:Vanguards: Would Krogan Vanguard outperform the Human (Nova)? With full Alliance training/fitness and some defensive charge abilities taken I feel pretty solid in regards to taking damage when my shields are down.

[Cat1337]

I just got my Reegar Carbine. I'm kinda torn on it. It totally blows things up (no shields = dead in 2 seconds) but it has such a short range! I might try it with my Krogan Sentinel.

Yeah I need my Reegar for my Vorcha Sentinel. Flamer + Reeger = Me turning into a pyromaniac

[Shop Ebay]

I heard theres some trick to using the reeger carbine and the flamer at the same time but I couldn't get it to work.

[The Illusive Man]

Vanguards are very high risk/high reward to begin with. They trade using their own shields for high damage. lol

Not necessarily if you take the Krogan Vanguard as example. It has tons of Shields and Health (1850 both with fitness) and Barrier absorbs a shit ton of damage and with the perk that restores 50% more Barrier after Biotic charge means that you are guaranteed to have full Barriers all the time if you have 200% power recharge.

I play a Kroguard primarily for soloing and it rips things apart. I use the Disciple shotgun because it is light and have everything except Carnage maxed (full durability and power damage). I kill most small enemies on Silver with a single Biotic charge and have a AoE perk for the charge which is kinda handy.

So Vanguards are one of the best classes for soloing because they are so durable. I enjoy the Geth Trooper too because the flamer is so amazing and the Trooper has a lot of shields too

[Oerba Yun Fang]

Not necessarily if you take the Krogan Vanguard as example. It has tons of Shields and Health (1850 both with fitness) and Barrier absorbs a shit ton of damage and with the perk that restores 50% more Barrier after Biotic charge means that you are guaranteed to have full Barriers all the time if you have 200% power recharge.

I play a Kroguard primarily for soloing and it rips things apart. I use the Disciple shotgun because it is light and have everything except Carnage maxed (full durability and power damage). I kill most small enemies on Silver with a single Biotic charge and have a AoE perk for the charge which is kinda handy.

So Vanguards are one of the best classes for soloing because they are so durable. I enjoy the Geth Trooper too because the flamer is so amazing and the Trooper has a lot of shields too

They're high risk in that you risk a lot by using your own shields to attack and mistakes can be deadly (whether in gameplay or in build), but the high reward comes in when it's played correctly (what you've described) . :P I've seen Kroguards get torn to shreds because they were played poorly.

[The Illusive Man]

It may be anthropomorphic to say this but I absolutely think it did require humanity. If Asari were writing this game then I guess it would require Asari but since the writers are (I presume Human) then no matter what the genre or setting were writing with what Faulkner described as the human heart in conflict with itself. Of course the only people who can resolve that are humans.

I think that the Asari or heck even the Krogan could have achieved what Shepard achieved because actually if you look at it then Shepard is "just" an ordinary Commander that got lucky enough to touch a Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime and thus went from "zero to hero" literally. Of course he is cool and knows how to motivate his squad but actually Shepard had nothing more than anyone else. Heck even the Shadow Broker dossier for Garrus says that he is a better leader than Shepard but Garrus just prefers to subordinate to Shepard.

If the Asari had a person that was in Shepards role, which stumbled right into a Prothean Beacon then I assure you that they possibly achieved what Shepard achieved and defeated the Reapers.

I just replayed the whole trilogy lately and I was kinda shocked how lucky Shepard got throughout the 3 games. Everyone with a strong will (like Saren) could have found the Beacon and received the vision. It´s not like Shepard is the only hope for the galaxy because I assume that there are more heroes out there that could do what he did.

[Nerraw]

I keep getting the damn Geth SMG and Collector SMG (4 times in a row), I really need the Carnifex/Reegar/Harrier for some of my builds. In other news finally got the Black Widow muahahah, after an eternity and a half.

I still don't have the Black Widow. Been almost a year.

[Adam Jensen]

I think that the Asari or heck even the Krogan could have achieved what Shepard achieved because actually if you look at it then Shepard is "just" an ordinary Commander that got lucky enough to touch a Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime and thus went from "zero to hero" literally. Of course he is cool and knows how to motivate his squad but actually Shepard had nothing more than anyone else. Heck even the Shadow Broker dossier for Garrus says that he is a better leader than Shepard but Garrus just prefers to subordinate to Shepard.

If the Asari had a person that was in Shepards role, which stumbled right into a Prothean Beacon then I assure you that they possibly achieved what Shepard achieved and defeated the Reapers.

I just replayed the whole trilogy lately and I was kinda shocked how lucky Shepard got throughout the 3 games. Everyone with a strong will (like Saren) could have found the Beacon and received the vision. It´s not like Shepard is the only hope for the galaxy because I assume that there are more heroes out there that could do what he did.

Hell, if Shepard hadn't tried to push Kaiden out of the way of the beacon, we'd be playing the game as Commander Alenko.

[Alindu]

Robin Sachs (The voice actor of Zaeed) has passed away..

tinyurl.com/b27v36f

[The Illusive Man]

Hell, if Shepard hadn't tried to push Kaiden out of the way of the beacon, we'd be playing the game as Commander Alenko.

Yeah he stole that vision from Kaidan That´s how Commander Shepard became the leading Prothean specialist in the galaxy. If Kaidan received the vision like he would have without Shepard then he would have tried to do exactly what Shep tried to do in ME1 (making sense of the vision).

It is said in ME1 that one needs a strong will to survive that vision from the Beacon but you see how Saren receives the vision prior to Shepard and walks away unscathed (Shep was unconscious because of it). That shows that Shepard is not that strong willed after all and that there are others that could have received the vision in his stead.

If I think about it then it would have been great to play as Asari commander instead of Shepard. I play SciFi games because I want to get to play as something not human and that´s why ME would have been better with an alien protagonist. Of course we identify more with a human hero but imagine Joker and the crew all were Krogans or Asari Nice twist

BTW: The whole "Save Earth" shit sounds pretty stupid in ME3. Why would the other species send all their fleets and troops to earth? It´s not like it is something special. Of course after the reapers moved the Citadel to earth it makes sense to gather there but before? Shepard looks stupid in his first meeting with the council. Shep basically wants them to leave their homeworlds behind and immediately go with him to earth. That´s silly !!

[Nerraw]

[The Illusive Man]

HAHA that pic fits perfectly.

What would you do as councilor if Shepard showed up and basically told you to leave your homeworld behind and send your whole forces to earth to save the humans?

"Yeah sure thing Shepard" is what Shepard wanted to hear at the first meeting with the council in ME3. Is Shep really that dumb and thinks that the Asari, Turians and Salarians would go with full force to earth just because it got attacked?

Yeah stupid plot is stupid. Would the Humans do the same for the other species if they weren't attacked first but instead the Asari got the first hit? Nah Shep would prolly say "Sorry but I can´t help the Asari and I will not send all troops to Thessia !!"

BTW: Who made Shepard a diplomat in ME3? He was a Soldier in ME1 and 2 and suddenly he negotiates with whole species