Mass Effect 2 Discussion - Fight for the Lost

I'm about halfway through my first Renegade playthrough of this and I've got to say that it doesn't seem like the devs had a very coherent vision of what they wanted "Renegade" Shepard to be. Half the time the renegade options seem to be governed by simple cold pragmatism, but the rest are largely irrational and at times border on sociopathic.

Case in point: Samara's loyalty mission.
I understand killing Samara is the more objectively evil choice and thus "renegade," but the game provides absolutely no justification for taking it. I mean, seriously, why would I pick psycho mass-murdering space vampire Morinth who just tried to off me not thirty seconds ago? Granted, Samara's absolutism might cause problems in the long run, but it's fairly obvious she won't turn on Shepard at least until the Collectors are dead. With Morinth, however, there's no guarantee Shepard will even make it out of the room. It just doesn't make any sense.

It's nitpicky, sure, but the various iterations of "I can't be bothered to suffer the two seconds of my time and zero negative ramifications it would take to save you, innocent. Why, you ask? Because I'm RENEGADE!" are a bit ridiculous in a game with an otherwise great narrative.
 
I liked the idea of Renegade Shepard taking insane gambles just for the hell of it. Isn't the whole plot of the game kind of an insane gamble?
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I liked the idea of Renegade Shepard taking insane gambles just for the hell of it. Isn't the whole plot of the game kind of an insane gamble?[/QUOTE]

I suppose, but in the case of Samara's loyalty mission at least, it's not really a gamble. It's just Shepard choosing a net decrease in the mission's chances of success with no discernible upside. And since Shepard's unifying feature regardless of the decisions you make is to put the mission above everything, it doesn't make much sense to risk its success on a whim and for no reason.
 
Did anyone else get an email for a survey on DLC from Bioware/EA? I did it last night. It asked if I purchased Dragon Age and or Mass Effect 2, then asked if I purchased any DLC for them, I then had to rate the value I thought they were and gave them score on the quality. Next, it went into future DLC and how soon did I expect DLC when buying a game, what kind of DLC(prologue, epilogue, alternate timeline/s, new maps, etc..).

There was more to it, but it's neat to see that Bioware is sending out feelers to see how to aproach DLC for the future games.
 
[quote name='js1']Did anyone else get an email for a survey on DLC from Bioware/EA? I did it last night.[/QUOTE]I did as well. I guess they're trying to figure out how well they handled DLC for DA1 and ME2 and planning it out for DA2 and ME3.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']As he said, new game plus is MUCH harder. So you're not going to want to do that for an Insanity playthrough.

Do a regular new game, and stick to the story missions and just plow through for the achievement.[/QUOTE]

I would assume do the same for ME 1 as well?
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I did as well. I guess they're trying to figure out how well they handled DLC for DA1 and ME2 and planning it out for DA2 and ME3.[/QUOTE]
They've already said what they learned from Darkspawn Chronicles and Leliana's Song from Dragon Age: Origins-- fans just don't want DLC that takes place outside the main timeline.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']They've already said what they learned from Darkspawn Chronicles and Leliana's Song from Dragon Age: Origins-- fans just don't want DLC that takes place outside the main timeline.[/QUOTE]Can't disagree with that logic, when I think about it. Extending the gameplay timeframe, yes, side missions, yes. Something that's way off to the side and outside the main timeframe, not so much.

I felt sort of funny saying I bought all the DLC for DA: O and ME2. :oops: Though, I did tell them that I greatly preferred an "Ultimate" collection with all the DLC versus the DLC model.
 
I can tell them what they've done wrong with ME2 dlc. None of it has anything to do with the main storyline, but then again neither did 2's story. Between the end of ME1, to the end of 2 and all the DLC...I have learned absolutely 0 things of importance about the Reapers. And now in the opening trailer for 3 they just magically appear on Earth from deep space....suuure

But hey, what does that matter when I can pay $5 to screw an old squad member from ME1!!
 
The problem with that is that DLCs are optional after all. You still want the main story to make sense and not be missing pieces for the players who only purchase the base game. So they're always going to be offshoots or side stories to some extent.
 
[quote name='js1']I would assume do the same for ME 1 as well?[/QUOTE]

actually no, starting a game with a high level character makes ME1 hell of a lot easier with the right weapon upgrades i found out. haha.
 
I'm a little late to the party, but I finally finished ME2. Incredible. I was absolutely blown away by this game, from start to finish. ME1 just didn't do it for me, and I never finished it, so ME2 was not a "must play" for me when it first came out. I'm so glad I let all the positive word of mouth eventually talk me into giving the series another try. :D

Also, I'm pretty psyched that I was able to
get the No One Left Behind achievement, even though, not knowing any better I screwed up and lost the loyalty of both Zaeed and Jack and was not able to get them back before I went into the suicide mission.

Like javeryh, I'm considering a second playthrough as a female Renegade Shepard, just to see how different the experience is. (and to get some achievements I missed, like any of the biotic combat ones, and Long Service Medal) Will I still get the credit/resource bump at the beginning if I'm creating a new Shepard? I'm not real clear on how that works. Also, I ended my first playthrough at Level 27. I'm guessing that wouldn't carry over to a new, female Shepard?
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Though, I did tell them that I greatly preferred an "Ultimate" collection with all the DLC versus the DLC model.[/QUOTE]

Me too. Mass Effect is the only WRPG I like enough to buy around launch and buy the DLC chapters individually. Things like Dragon Age, Fallout etc. I tend to wait for game of the year/ultimate editions.
 
[quote name='Danimal']Will I still get the credit/resource bump at the beginning if I'm creating a new Shepard? I'm not real clear on how that works. Also, I ended my first playthrough at Level 27. I'm guessing that wouldn't carry over to a new, female Shepard?[/QUOTE]
That's right. Any Shepard you start on the same gamertag will get a bonus 200,000 credits and 50,000 of each resource, plus a +25% boost to EXP gain.
 
Goddamn Insanity is insane. It took me 90 minutes to finish Mordin's recruitment. I use Miranda & Zaeed. I find myself relying on them waaaay too much, especially to take down enemy defenses like shields & armor.

They keep dying and sometimes they don't do what I tell them. I dunno if it's my game or if the AI is always like that. I don't remember them being this stupid in Normal, but obviously everyone dies much quicker.

Any advice on what to do next? I'm thinking I should run around gathering as many upgrades as I can so that I'll be prepared...
 
In other news, I finished up Overlord Friday night and LoTSB last night. Even picked up the Data Hound achievements, which was a huge PITA to find them all without some sense of a map, and the achievement for doing LoTSB on Hardcore. Just leaves me the Insanity achievement to get, though that's for another time.

On the Renegade front, I
left David in the care of his brother at the end of Overlord, since he might be a help against fighting the geth in the future. Certainly seemed like a "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few/one" argument, though didn't seem like a great choice to make. Curious if that'll be a decision point from ME2 to ME3.

Also, the Renegade conversation option when Tela had the hostage was pretty badass. "I'll shoot the hostage, shoot you and show you how a real Spectre works." I went the Paragon way before and this was a nice counterpoint to that.

[quote name='Danimal']I'm a little late to the party, but I finally finished ME2. Incredible. I was absolutely blown away by this game, from start to finish. ME1 just didn't do it for me, and I never finished it, so ME2 was not a "must play" for me when it first came out. I'm so glad I let all the positive word of mouth eventually talk me into giving the series another try. :D

Also, I'm pretty psyched that I was able to
get the No One Left Behind achievement, even though, not knowing any better I screwed up and lost the loyalty of both Zaeed and Jack and was not able to get them back before I went into the suicide mission.

Like javeryh, I'm considering a second playthrough as a female Renegade Shepard, just to see how different the experience is. (and to get some achievements I missed, like any of the biotic combat ones, and Long Service Medal) Will I still get the credit/resource bump at the beginning if I'm creating a new Shepard? I'm not real clear on how that works. Also, I ended my first playthrough at Level 27. I'm guessing that wouldn't carry over to a new, female Shepard?[/QUOTE]Good job on the achievement at the end, so you won't have to worry about that on a second playthrough.

If you're hunting for the biotic combat ones, you can get them from your squadmates, so you don't necessarily need to be doing them all yourself, save the Tactician one, which might be harder to do with just using two squadmates' biotics to get it and a little easier to do it when it's you + one squadmate in trying to get the achievement. Plus, the counters for the combat achievements are cumulative in-game, so if you find a spot where you can grind through it if you repeatedly reload a save, that might be something to keep in mind when trying to get them done.

If you're at Level 27, doing the three DLC missions will probably get you up to Level 30 on your first playthrough, though as you're getting 25% bonus XP on a second playthrough, you'll probably hit Level 30 without the need of the DLC.

If you do a class on a second playthrough that uses a SMG, I recommend strongly that you purchase Kasumi's Stolen Memory, since it'll give you an upgraded SMG during the playthrough of that DLC that is the best SMG in the game. Plus, Kasumi's character is a good one to have in some circumstances (fighting Collectors).

Also, what class did you play through ME2 to under? It might be good to pick a class that's different in combat styles to what you played previously to give you some further difference on your Renegade playthrough.
 
[quote name='shrike4242'] Good job on the achievement at the end, so you won't have to worry about that on a second playthrough.

If you're hunting for the biotic combat ones, you can get them from your squadmates, so you don't necessarily need to be doing them all yourself, save the Tactician one, which might be harder to do with just using two squadmates' biotics to get it and a little easier to do it when it's you + one squadmate in trying to get the achievement. Plus, the counters for the combat achievements are cumulative in-game, so if you find a spot where you can grind through it if you repeatedly reload a save, that might be something to keep in mind when trying to get them done.

If you're at Level 27, doing the three DLC missions will probably get you up to Level 30 on your first playthrough, though as you're getting 25% bonus XP on a second playthrough, you'll probably hit Level 30 without the need of the DLC.

If you do a class on a second playthrough that uses a SMG, I recommend strongly that you purchase Kasumi's Stolen Memory, since it'll give you an upgraded SMG during the playthrough of that DLC that is the best SMG in the game. Plus, Kasumi's character is a good one to have in some circumstances (fighting Collectors).

Also, what class did you play through ME2 to under? It might be good to pick a class that's different in combat styles to what you played previously to give you some further difference on your Renegade playthrough.[/QUOTE]I was surprised to learn that your squadmates can help toward the biotic combat achievements, because not only did I not get them- on most I didn't even come close. It almost feels like I should have gotten one or two of them by accident; I di use my squadmates biotic abilities, but apparently not enough on shields or barriers. I think I usually concentrated more on getting in cover and firing myself.

I played as a Soldier on this first playthrough, so I think when I do a second playthrough I may go Vanguard.

I did play LotSB on my first run, as well as the free Cerberus DLC stuff. I haven't bought Kasumi or Overlord yet (wish I had pulled the trigger on all of them when EA put them all on sale) but I'll keep Kasumi in mind, and play it early if I buy it, for my second run.

I'm a little torn about whether to start a second playthrough right away, or wait until ME3 gets a little closer. I'd like to knock another game or two off my backlog before Portal 2 and all the 2011 titles I'm waiting for start hitting. And I play games slllooooowly.
 
[quote name='Danimal']I was surprised to learn that your squadmates can help toward the biotic combat achievements, because not only did I not get them- on most I didn't even come close. It almost feels like I should have gotten one or two of them by accident; I di use my squadmates biotic abilities, but apparently not enough on shields or barriers. I think I usually concentrated more on getting in cover and firing myself.

I played as a Soldier on this first playthrough, so I think when I do a second playthrough I may go Vanguard.

I did play LotSB on my first run, as well as the free Cerberus DLC stuff. I haven't bought Kasumi or Overlord yet (wish I had pulled the trigger on all of them when EA put them all on sale) but I'll keep Kasumi in mind, and play it early if I buy it, for my second run.

I'm a little torn about whether to start a second playthrough right away, or wait until ME3 gets a little closer. I'd like to knock another game or two off my backlog before Portal 2 and all the 2011 titles I'm waiting for start hitting. And I play games slllooooowly.[/QUOTE]I didn't know that the squadmates helped on the achievements either in the beginning, though I couldn't figure out how to do Tactician otherwise.

Once I completed my Paragon playthrough first, I wanted to go back and do a second one as Renegade, so I had two import paths for ME3 when the time came around. Doing the second playthrough now might be a good idea since you still have the game's progress semi-fresh in your mind, or you might want to put it away for a while and go back to it fresh.

Kasumi's Stolen Memory is worth getting for having Kasumi and her abilities plus the SMG you get in the game, and as a mission, it's a nice diversion compared to most of the other missions you've done previously.

I did Vanguard on my first playthrough and Adept on my second, and my third playthrough will be for the Insanity completion achievement, I'll probably go Solder for that playthrough, since it seems like the best option for Insanity.

Some helpful advice from Tha X about class choices:
[quote name='Tha Xecutioner']Go to YouTube, type in "____ class trailer ME2" (filling in the blank with either "Vanguard", "Engineer", "Soldier", "Sentinel", or "Adept") and see if you can tell from those which one you think you'd like. They are all narrated by ME2's Lead Gameplay Designer Christina Norman, and they are all great examples of the kind of gameplay you can expect with your next class.[/QUOTE]

It's good advice to look over so you can decide on what you want to do for the second playthrough. I did Vanguard first and Adept second, both done previously in ME1 as imported characters.
 
Just wanted to stop in and say that I have seen the couple of questions/requests directed towards me this past week, and that I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to respond before now. I've been super busy all week/weekend*, and I'll continue to be at least until Tuesday night - so you'll have to hold out a little longer before I can fully answer you.

Thanks also to the usual crew for picking up my slack with all of the other posts over the week. Not that this thread's about me or anything :lol: but with like 500 posts or w/e it is now, I usually toss my 2 cents in when people bring up questions in here.

* - for all you would-be wise guys out there, I've been busy with school stuff and not ME-related things (I haven't played ME in over a week!), haha.
 
I heard the Insanity Trophy for PS3 is glitched. Even if you don't change your profile, sometimes it doesn't pop. Just a warning. Might happen to me, so get ready to see a rant within the next few weeks.
 
[quote name='Tha Xecutioner']* - for all you would-be wise guys out there, I've been busy with school stuff and not ME-related things (I haven't played ME in over a week!), haha.[/QUOTE]:shock:

Can you come back later? I'm doing some calibrations.

;)

[quote name='Danimal']That is good advice. I'll definitely take a look at those videos before I commit to what class to play. Thanks.[/QUOTE]Worth taking the time to watch over those YouTube items, and I can offer up some personal opinions on Vanguard and Adept. Tha X can offer up personal opinions on everything and anything.

[quote name='IRHari']I heard the Insanity Trophy for PS3 is glitched. Even if you don't change your profile, sometimes it doesn't pop. Just a warning. Might happen to me, so get ready to see a rant within the next few weeks.[/QUOTE]Guess it's one more reason to wait on trying it on the PS3. Hopefully it's part of the patch they're releasing to fix the save bug issue on the PS3 version.
 
I dunno if anyone saw the neogaf thread yet, but it looks like in the latest PS3 version patch Bioware screwed up and leaked the new trophies for the last DLC, apparently called "Arrival".

It's obvious that it means it will cover the arrival of the Reapers, since they're magically on Earth in the first trailer for ME3. The last dlc needed to go this route because of that decision to put them on Earth so soon. Either way, I can't wait.
 
Sounds awesome. Is ME3 really coming out this year?

Also, do you think Bioware will abandon the IP after ME3 or will we maybe see a new trilogy in the ME universe focusing on different characters? I'd love to play through Miranda's or Garrus's back story most any other squad member that lends itself to a back story.
 
ME3 will most likely release this year. When 2 came out in January last year, the game was already done for several months...EA just decided to delay it to avoid the yearly COD game. So we're looking at a full 2 year dev time at least.

Of course, it's slated to come out in November of this year as well so it's not improbable that EA will delay it again to avoid COD. Maybe it'll get pushed to December instead.
 
Wow, just the achievement names and descriptions make Arrival sound epic. I hope we don't have to wait too long for this!

I'm going to guess right now that the person who dies for the 'Ultimate Sacrifice' cheev will be Ash or Kaidan. Place your bets!
 
Pictures to go along with the "leak" of Arrival (second picture involves a character name, so I suppose you should consider it an actual "spoiler"):

img6371q.jpg

img6373f.jpg
 
[quote name='tmacairjordan87']
Of course, it's slated to come out in November of this year as well so it's not improbable that EA will delay it again to avoid COD. Maybe it'll get pushed to December instead.[/QUOTE]

I could see it pushed to January again. Holiday is lucrative, but lots of stuff coming out. CoD, Gears 3, Halo 1 remake etc.
 
Whoops about the trophy early release.

My guess is that we'll see "Arrival" 2-3 months before the release of ME3, so if it comes out in December, we'll see Arrival in Sep-Oct.

It wouldn't surprise me if we saw ME3 show up in January 2012, though I doubt it could get terribly lost with other big-name releases with all the praise and accolades ME2 has gotten over the year.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Whoops about the trophy early release.

My guess is that we'll see "Arrival" 2-3 months before the release of ME3, so if it comes out in December, we'll see Arrival in Sep-Oct.[/QUOTE]
Argh, no! I am thinking that they will officially announce Arrival tomorrow (which is why they allowed the new trophies to be part of the patch) for an April release, to give Dragon Age II's release a little room to breathe. Don't want to compete with yourself. Then again, they did release DLC for ME2 and Dragon Age on the same day, so what do I know. I don't think they'll wait too much longer than April or ME2 will be old news. Strike while the iron is hot and all.

Mostly I just don't want to wait until September. :bomb:
 
Yeah this looks like they're ready to announce it sometime during GDC, with a release coming sometime within the next month. I sold my 360 though so I have to hurry up and get the game and all the dlc on steam so I'm ready :O
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']Anyone willing to spoiler tag list the descriptions of the "Arrival" achievements here?[/QUOTE]
The Ultimate Sacrifice
- Complete the Arrival DLC.

Last Stand
- Survive all five waves in the battle for Object Rho.

Covert Action
- Rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson without attracting hostile attention.
 
The description for
'Covert Action' makes me wonder if it will be trivial for Infiltrators and harder for everyone else. It seems to suggest a stealth level.
 
I think it's worth noting that yesterday/today is the 2-year anniversary of the initial ME2 teaser that showcased
Legion
. (I include both days because news doesn't come out on Sundays)

Coincidence? :cool:
 
~Double-post (because I can)~

Here are some follow-up posts from producer Jesse Houston:

[quote name='Jesse Houston responding to "the leak was probably intentional"']

No and Yes :)

More info as soon as I get a green light from PR and Marketing I promise! (it's a holiday here today)[/QUOTE]


[quote name='Jesse Houston responding to "wtf happened? did you guys push the wrong button?"']

Naw, when we added the trophies to the patch we just assumed that they would be invisible. Lesson learned :)[/QUOTE]
 
How many achievement points are we talking about here? I would guess 145 to bring ME2 up to an even 1500. Also, is this going to be $10 DLC or $7 DLC?
 
If it's Hoard Mode style, my guess is $5 like that last Mass Effect one.

Oh, I beat Overlord on Friday Night, meaning I've done all of the DLC for Mass Effect 2 (I didn't get the Hardcore/Insanity Shadow Broker achievement though). For those people who told me that Shadow Broker is the best DLC for Mass Effect 2, I must say that you are all misinformed because Overlord easily trumped it.
 
I found overlord good, but not great as LOTB. LOTB was just so polished... The SB ship was so :drool:.


I liked the story of overlord but found when the guy was shouting random things and popping up randomly it was an annoyance because of the drastic change in sound levels, I had to constantly turn my sound system up and down during the mission..
 
[quote name='js1']I found overlord good, but not great as LOTB. LOTB was just so polished... The SB ship was so :drool:.


I liked the story of overlord but found when the guy was shouting random things and popping up randomly it was an annoyance because of the drastic change in sound levels, I had to constantly turn my sound system up and down during the mission..[/QUOTE]

Glad that wasn't just me. First time that happened I literally jumped and fell out of my chair cause it was so loud and came out of nowhere. Spilled my drink on me too >.
 
[quote name='javeryh']How many achievement points are we talking about here? I would guess 145 to bring ME2 up to an even 1500. Also, is this going to be $10 DLC or $7 DLC?[/QUOTE]
I know this doesn't really matter in the scheme of things, but I find it kind of galling that such an awesome and epic game is probably not going to wind up with 1750 GS. And even more so if it ends up with some dumb looking number like 1305 or something.

What is the thinking there? BioWare must know that gamerscore sells games and DLC, so why have DLC worth a measly 15 points, when comparable packs for Dragon Age get 100 points?
 
[quote name='js1']I liked the story of overlord but found when the guy was shouting random things and popping up randomly it was an annoyance because of the drastic change in sound levels, I had to constantly turn my sound system up and down during the mission..[/QUOTE]

I thought that was purposeful though. It's also loud because of the harsh timbre of the sound, but I thought it was used purposefully to create a sense of omnipresent danger and invasion.

I'm definitely not in favor of audio normalization.
 
I get that, but the audio level differences was to extreme on Overlord.

It goes from normal to super loud and back and forth. Pain in the ass for those of us in Condos or Apartments, or those living with signficant other's and kids, who mainly play at night.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']I get that, but the audio level differences was to extreme on Overlord.

It goes from normal to super loud and back and forth. Pain in the ass for those of us in Condos or Apartments, or those living with signficant other's and kids, who mainly play at night.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, I was excited the other day, a while ago, when they patched the game but then I played the Overlord DLC with a different profile and they didn't fix the vastly dynamic audio levels.

The arrival huh, awesome. Send up a chopter, ok shuttle or ship, that cycles a light pattern on its extended wing panels and see what happens (movie reference). :D
 
Sheesh, finally beat Horizon. Guess I killed Harbinger quickly on Normal, because I didn't realize that asshole bum rushes you every chance he gets. Scared the crap outta me.

Can't believe how much health the Praetorian has either. I nuked him and he still had about 1/6 of his life left. Had to snipe the shit out of him.
 
Ryuukishi, that's a nice find. Also nice how it ties to the last couple of entries in the Cerberus Network data feed right before it ended.

I had thought that we might have some more dust-ups with them after the events of Bring Down The Sky in ME1, and it looks like I might get my wish.

EDIT: Found my post where I mentioned that:
[quote name='shrike4242']Speaking of that, I was thinking of something while going through Bring Down The Sky, where I went with the "kill Balak at the expense of the hostages" situation. With all the things he was saying about the batarians rising up against the humans and that the asteroid drop was just one items of lots of things to come, I'm wondering if they'll be bringing up that as a possible item into ME3. Doing BDTS as Renegade was truly some hardcore bits of dialogue compared to trying to save the hostages for Paragon.[/QUOTE]
 
need advice: whats the best weapon/armor dlc pack to get for an insanity run? I have exactly enough for one pack on my account, i was like hell, why not!
 
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