Mass Effect 3 Discussion Thread

True. The way I was looking at it is it was free for me. I do see your point and that no matter how I get it they still see it as a download so it is a sale. I have yet to play any of the DLC outside of the MP and what came with the CE, so I don't know how much of it seems like it should have been in from the start. I will say that the DLC that came with the CE felt like it should have been in. I had to look it up to make sure it was the DLC that I was playing. I still wonder how much of all of this is EA's doing and not Bioware. EA might have told them to cut things so it can be put out later as DLC.
 
[quote name='sendme']True. The way I was looking at it is it was free for me. I do see your point and that no matter how I get it they still see it as a download so it is a sale. I have yet to play any of the DLC outside of the MP and what came with the CE, so I don't know how much of it seems like it should have been in from the start. I will say that the DLC that came with the CE felt like it should have been in. I had to look it up to make sure it was the DLC that I was playing. I still wonder how much of all of this is EA's doing and not Bioware. EA might have told them to cut things so it can be put out later as DLC.[/QUOTE]

The CE content absolutely should have been in the game at release (especially since it was available as day 1 DLC) and there has been reference to a lot of Omega's content coming from cut files at release. I havent heard that about Leviathan to be fair. I'm sure EA was pulling some of the strings, but Bioware should have been able to stand up for the fanbase and say "No, we will not do this."
 
There's a general misconception regarding "cut" content and placeholders. Considering that DLC is simply the norm in game development, it's now standard procedure to put in hooks for planned future content. Just because some lines of dialog and code were written doesn't necessarily mean the EA (or any other publisher) money machine forced extraction.

That said, I do agree that the the From Ashes DLC should have been part of the vanilla game experience. New development practices don't excuse everything. As a buyer of the CE on launch day though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to get something more than a patch and artbook.

I know that deep down, we all want game dev to revert to the golden days, but plain and simply (and unfortunately) it's never going to happen. DLC's not going anywhere.

I of course recognize and respect your stance on the matter. It's a bummer that the only way to really make a stand is to vote with your dollars, because unlike you, most people who claim to withhold buying DLC seldom actually do it. Regardless of the difference of our guns, I applaud you for sticking to yours.

______________________________


Anyone try out the Krogan Shaman yet? Despite my affinity for all things Tuchanka, I found myself not having a blast. Just made me mad that I couldn't charge.

Up to about 50% on the Biotic God title. Workin' up slowly but surely.
 
[quote name='IanKazimer']There's a general misconception regarding "cut" content and placeholders. Considering that DLC is simply the norm in game development, it's now standard procedure to put in hooks for planned future content. Just because some lines of dialog and code were written doesn't necessarily mean the EA (or any other publisher) money machine forced extraction.

That said, I do agree that the the From Ashes DLC should have been part of the vanilla game experience. New development practices don't excuse everything. As a buyer of the CE on launch day though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to get something more than a patch and artbook.

I know that deep down, we all want game dev to revert to the golden days, but plain and simply (and unfortunately) it's never going to happen. DLC's not going anywhere.

I of course recognize and respect your stance on the matter. It's a bummer that the only way to really make a stand is to vote with your dollars, because unlike you, most people who claim to withhold buying DLC seldom actually do it. Regardless of the difference of our guns, I applaud you for sticking to yours.[/QUOTE]Personally, I think From Ashes, Extended Cut and Leviathan should have been included in the base product and it would have been a better product for it.

From Ashes gives you the obvious squadmate addition and weapon addition that is pretty helpful to the game, plus the backstory is good in fleshing out the ME universe.

Extended Cut fixes for the most part the endings being abrupt and making no sense.

Leviathan does more of the same, adds in good backstory information to expand out the series a bit more than we had in the base game. Additional in-game items are also helpful.

I'd love it if they were part of the base game, though that would have delayed release by a number of months for obvious reasons.

ME and Dragon Age are the only game franchises that I pay full price for its DLC because I think it's worth the money. Any other franchise, I pay as cheap as price for its DLC as I can. Even Dragon Age, I picked up most of it on a discount, though ME, I didn't.

As much as I'd like DLC to disappear, it isn't going anywhere.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Personally, I think From Ashes, Extended Cut and Leviathan should have been included in the base product and it would have been a better product for it.

From Ashes gives you the obvious squadmate addition and weapon addition that is pretty helpful to the game, plus the backstory is good in fleshing out the ME universe.

Extended Cut fixes for the most part the endings being abrupt and making no sense.

Leviathan does more of the same, adds in good backstory information to expand out the series a bit more than we had in the base game. Additional in-game items are also helpful.

I'd love it if they were part of the base game, though that would have delayed release by a number of months for obvious reasons.

ME and Dragon Age are the only game franchises that I pay full price for its DLC because I think it's worth the money. Any other franchise, I pay as cheap as price for its DLC as I can. Even Dragon Age, I picked up most of it on a discount, though ME, I didn't.

As much as I'd like DLC to disappear, it isn't going anywhere.[/QUOTE]


Oh, I'm absolutely with you. End of the day I certainly don't want to pay for DLC. It's all about my love for the source that drives that decision.

I'm looking at you, Capcom. You dicks.
 
Developers are always going to be between a rock and a hard place with DLC. Make it cosmetic and unnecessary like weapon or costume packs, and fans demand something more substantial. Make something that feels substantial and necessary to the full experience, and fans complain that it should have been included in the base game. There's no magic formula for doing DLC the correct way and pleasing everyone.

In any case, as has been said, it's here to stay. I think the only thing to be done is evaluate each DLC release on a case by case basis and make a decision for yourself if it's worth your money or not. On balance I'm extremely glad that DLC exists, frankly. I've had lots of awesome experiences with DLC purchases and if something doesn't look like it's worth my money, well, no one's forcing me to buy it.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Developers are always going to be between a rock and a hard place with DLC. Make it cosmetic and unnecessary like weapon or costume packs, and fans demand something more substantial. Make something that feels substantial and necessary to the full experience, and fans complain that it should have been included in the base game. There's no magic formula for doing DLC the correct way and pleasing everyone.[/QUOTE]
What about expansion pack-style DLC? Awakening, Shivering Isle, that sort of thang.

Last I checked we still liked that.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']What about expansion pack-style DLC? Awakening, Shivering Isle, that sort of thang.

Last I checked we still liked that.[/QUOTE]

I was gonna say, but Crotch peered into my head and stole it from me before I could.
 
[quote name='Indignate']I was gonna say, but Crotch peered into my head and stole it from me before I could.[/QUOTE]

i don't know what to say...but I am chuckling.
 
[quote name='chubbyninja1319']It's Tuesday and no new character unlocks or new hazard maps. Weren't they supposed to come out on Monday or Tuesday?[/QUOTE]

The balance changes along with the new character/maps were delayed until tomorrow, something about there being new balance changes that required a bit more testing, I'll drudge up where I read it real quick...

Edit: Quoted from one of the Bioware employees over on the ME3 MP Forums:
Sorry everyone, there are quite a few changes this week so they need a little bit more testing. We're hoping to get them out tomorrow morning. Below is a little preview of the changes.

- Some composition changes to Geth and Cerberus waves 9, 10, and Extraction on Bronze/Silver.
- Some Geth Hunter and Geth Prime nerfs across all difficulties.
- Some buffs to Drell and the original Turians.
- One of the more highly requested kits is being released...
Click to expand...
 
I'm late to the party, but here are my 2 cents.
So Leviathan was not worth $10 imo. Luckily I rented an account from the the ps3 gameshare thread so I'm only out a dollar. I guess thats one way to not support Bioware, but still play the dlc. The best part was the jeans & jacket casual outfit for Shep, finally something a renegade Shep would wear, and the weapon mods were cool. The story was pretty good especially the lore behind Leviathan. The detective gameplay was a good change of pace, but it was too simple and it felt a bit tedious at times. That shadow broker DLC was easily the best and Leviathan doesn't compare in intensity, action and difficulty so for a $10 tag I don't feel it did enough imo.

I play an Infiltrator Shep with Ashley & Garrus both spec'd for weapon damage using Blk Widows & Revenants for the party and squad disruptor/cryo ammo. Anyone else rock this? Like I said I'm late for the party.
 
Anyone else having difficulty logging into the N7 HQ website? After I type my email and password it just reloads the login page. No error message or anything. Could be that I'm trying from my phone but it has always worked before. ??

Edit:
Nevermind, works now. Must have been a glitch.
 
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[quote name='Ryuukishi']Developers are always going to be between a rock and a hard place with DLC. Make it cosmetic and unnecessary like weapon or costume packs, and fans demand something more substantial. Make something that feels substantial and necessary to the full experience, and fans complain that it should have been included in the base game. There's no magic formula for doing DLC the correct way and pleasing everyone.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I initially thought, as I was reading that, man Rockstar really f'n blew it out of the park with their DLC, Episodes from Liberty City, for GTAIV. That's how you do DLC, very different experiences and most of the time I pick up DLC that supports that role. Shivering Isles for Oblivion and Undead Nightmare for Red Dead Redemption are two perfect examples of what I'm talking about.
 
Asari Valkyrie Sentinel kit now available as a new Rare card

New hazard maps available this week are Firebase Glacier and Firebase White

Krogan Shaman
Now moves at the same speed as other Krogan when carrying objectives
Added skin tone as a customization option

Turian Ghost and Havok
Now move at the same speed as other Turians when carrying objectives

Reaper Husk
Score rewards for kills and assists on Husks increased by 50%

Reaper Brute
(Silver) Armor increased from 7500 to 9000
(Gold) Armor increased from 9000 to 13500
(Platinum) Armor increased from 11700 to 15210

Cerberus Wave Data
(Bronze) Wave 9: Removed 1 Dragoon and added 1 Engineer
(Silver) Wave 9: Removed 1 Dragoon and added 1 Centurion
(Silver) Extraction: Removed 1 Dragoon and added 1 Centurion

Geth Wave Data
(Bronze) Extraction: Removed 1 Hunter and added 1 Trooper
(Silver) Wave 10: Removed 1 Prime and both Hunters and added 3 Troopers
(Silver) Extraction: Removed 1 Prime and both Bombers and added 3 Rocket Troopers

Geth Prime
(All Difficulties) Cooldown for spawning Turrets and Drones increased by 50%

Geth Hunter
Delay between shotgun bursts increased from [0.9-1.5] to [1.2-1.8]
Shotgun rate of fire decreased from 60 to 45
The hit reaction chance multiplier is the chance for players to hit react the Hunter
(Bronze) Hit reaction chance multiplier went from 80% to 90%
(Silver) Hit reaction chance multiplier went from 65% to 75%
(Silver) Movement speed modifier while cloaked decreased from 90% to 80%
(Gold) Hit reaction chance multiplier went from 50% to 60%
(Gold) Movement speed modifier while cloaked decreased from 110% to 90%
(Platinum) Hit reaction chance multiplier went from 40% to 50%
(Platinum) Movement speed modifier while cloaked decreased from 110% to 100%

Drell Assassin Passive Power (All Drell Kits)
Rank 1 power damage bonus increased from 5% to 10%
Evolution 1 weapon damage bonus increased from 7.5% to 10%
Evolution 2 power damage bonus increased from 10% to 15%
Evolution 3 power damage bonus increased from 15% to 20%
Evolution 4 head shot damage bonus increased from 20% to 30%
Evolution 6 weapon damage bonus increased from 10% to 12.5%

Turian Veteran Passive Power (Original 2 Turian Kits)
Rank 1 weapon damage bonus increased from 7.5% to 10%
Evolution 1 weapon damage bonus increased from 7.5% to 10%
Evolution 2 power damage bonus increased from 10% to 15%
Evolution 3 power damage bonus increased from 15% to 20%
Evolution 4 head shot damage bonus increased from 20% to 30%
Evolution 6 weapon damage bonus increased from 10% to 12.5%

Devastator Mode Power
Base magazine size bonus decreased from 25% to 15%
Rank 2 magazine size bonus decreased from 10% to 5%
Evolution 3 magazine size bonus decreased from 25% to 15%
Evolution 4 rate of fire bonus decreased from 25% to 15%

Hawk Missile Launcher Power
Base damage and force increased from 150 to 200
Evolve 1 shield penalty reduction increased from 25% to 40%

Supply Pylon Power
Base frequency for spawning ammo increased from 15 to 17.5 seconds
Base frequency for spawning grenades increased from 20 to 24 seconds
Evolution 3 weapon damage bonus decreased from 15% to 10%
Evolution 4 power damage bonus decreased from 15% to 10%

Cryo Explosion Power Combo
Damage increased from [75-200] to [100-250]
 
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Geth Faction nerfs taking this long while they simultaneously nerf both the Destroyer and Demolisher have me overjoyed I stopped playing MP. Not sure if trying out the Valkyrie is worth the few hours it will take to actually get one, but I am tempted. If only for the prospect of using it in pristine condition before gets butchered.
 
Played a quick match to see the new hazards. FBW in a blizzard is how that map is meant to be played. Very cool effect. The electric mosquito swarm on Glacier? Meh.
 
The Valkyrie is pretty good, essentially a more durable Fury. Nothing ground breaking though.

Too bad about the Detroyer and Demolisher nerfs. Seemed overkill to me.

Love the Drell buffs, hopefully they'll starting getting some more respect, especially the vanguard.
 
[quote name='IanKazimer']Claymore, Graal, GPS, and the Crusader would like a word. :)[/QUOTE]

fuck that noise. Mass Effect 1 would like to meet him outside.
 
Okay..so if I told you I just cracked into the mp I hope I wont get walked off the plank.

Loving it so far..I also have never played Gears..so horde mode is new to me as well.

Any quick tips on best classes for noobs? So far I'm a level 15 human soldier, but really want to unlock the Krogan Vanguard. Sticking only to bronze for a while.

Also, are the commendation N7 weapons unavailable at this point? I would like to get a Victory pack out of all my playing this weekend.
 
[quote name='xtreme_Zr2']
Also, are the commendation N7 weapons unavailable at this point? I would like to get a Victory pack out of all my playing this weekend.[/QUOTE]

As far as this weekend is concerned, you are pretty much locked in a paradox of weapon rewards. The only way to get a N7 weapon is in a commendation pack. And this weekend the only way to get a commendation pack is to use a N7 weapon. So I would say just keep enjoying the game and leveling up your characters to prepare for next weekends event.

As far as characters go, most of the starting humans are considered fairly weak, though human engineer is a personal favorite of mine. Build up incinerate and overload and they are a tech burst and fire explosion maniac.
 
@Feeni: No character is weak IMO, especially with tech combos being insanely good now and working off of ammo powers meaning any character can set up their own combos and detonate them.

@xtreme_Zr2: As suggested, just play around and enjoy the game. There are a lot of builds that will dominate nearly any game in the hands of a good player and practice makes perfect. A lot of the veterans of ME3 multiplayer (including myself) have been posting guides and builds here: Character Builds and Guides

A lot of this game was unfamiliar territory to me when I jumped in, I ran a plain Human character (Soldier and Engineer) and knew nothing about comboing. If you are interested in the Human Engineer like suggested above, I created a guide in that link above to that very character and listed some options. I will suggest maxing out lower tier weapons and mods first (buying recruit packs until your original weapons are at X, then move up to Veteran packs). A lot of people hate on these weapons, but all of them are fairly decent and are great starter weapons until you start earning more credits and can start being more effective. We all start somewhere, so don't worry about putting up high scores or anything, being a team player is best thing you can do.
 
[quote name='xtreme_Zr2']
Any quick tips on best classes for noobs? So far I'm a level 15 human soldier, but really want to unlock the Krogan Vanguard. Sticking only to bronze for a while.[/QUOTE]

Human soldier is not a bad place to start to get the hang of things, but the other human classes are great fun. I have unlocked so much I got away from using humans for a while, but recently have gone back to the adepts and sentinels. You can experiment and deal some real damage with your tech and biotic explosions so try them out. Just keep your weapon weight as light as possible with adepts. Also, don't be afraid to dive into a Silver; if you're with a good crew they'll back you up.
 
[quote name='xtreme_Zr2']Okay..so if I told you I just cracked into the mp I hope I wont get walked off the plank.

Loving it so far..I also have never played Gears..so horde mode is new to me as well.

Any quick tips on best classes for noobs? So far I'm a level 15 human soldier, but really want to unlock the Krogan Vanguard. Sticking only to bronze for a while.

Also, are the commendation N7 weapons unavailable at this point? I would like to get a Victory pack out of all my playing this weekend.[/QUOTE]

That is the same class I started with. I built to to be able to just spam Concussive Shot. I think the build was:

Adrenaline Rush
Damage, Duration and Power Use

Concussive Shot
Radius, Recharge Speed and Shredder

Frag Grenade
I put nothing in because at the time grenades were a pain in the ass to get. I would get one every wave and it felt pointless to use them. I still may or may not put points in this.

Alliance Training
Damage & Capacity, Power Damage and Weapon Weight

Fitness
Durability, Shield Recharge and Fitness Expert

At the time this would work for all levels of the game. I think bronze with just spamming Concussive Shot I was getting 10-20k points more than everyone else. Silver I was ranking in the top two and gold I was staying close to everyone else by two thousand points or so. Now I don't think people would let you play this above silver. It was always fun to play and seemed to level fast. The point for me was to keep the weapon weight low to have the 200+ regeneration and like I have said just spam Concussive Shot.

The human soldier is a great class to start out with.
 
The "spam concussion shot" approach works very well in lower levels but is far less effective on higher levels when the boss-to-grunt level enemies rise considerably (still useful to pick off grunts hiding in cover). For a better survivability, getting adrenaline rush with the damage reduction and shield regeneration bonuses works well is also helpful in taking down the big enemies with the higher rate of fire and accuracy. I also love grenades in general since they dishout large damage over an area of effect had have no cooldown. They are even better since most maps now dish out 2 at a time and you can equip grenade gear to carry even more. Also thermal packs, which otherwise are limited in usefulness, replenish your grenade supply.

My main build is this:

Adrenaline Rush to Rank 6 (all damage reduction/duration bonuses)

Concussion shot to 3

Frag Grenade to 6 (Damage, Max grenades, Armor piercing)

Alliance training to 5 (damage/capacity and power damage)

Fitness to 6 (all durability related)


Check out the human engineer too as it is a great, easy-to-you class and also quite viable in higher level matches.
 
WOW.

Played a ton this weekend, probably 6-8 hours. Thanks for the help everyone on the builds.

I promoted my Soldier and started a Human Engineer class, using the tech burst/fire explosion combos. That was a ton of fun. Level 19 currently on the Engineer.

I got ballsy and played a few silver matches and actually think I held my own okay. I was running the Locust only and spamming the tech burst/incinerate explosions like crazy.

I only bought recruit packs until all the starting guns were X level, and just bought three veteran packs. Managed to get the Eviscerator, Quarian Infiltrator and the PHAESTON! What a great gun, sounds sweet when it shoots and I put cryo ammo on for instant freeze.

However, what is the easiest way for Banshees/Brutes on silver? Bastards are hard to put down.
 
I remember when I thought the Phaeston was an awesome gun :). Wait until you unlock the Cerberus Harrier.

Armor piercing helps a lot against the bigger enemies. I almost always equip my main weapon's piercing mod. Using warp or incinerate ammo also helps. In the end though, power combo attacks work best especially now that tech explosions are much easier to do.
 
Harrier, get ready to run out of ammo. Either sit next to ammo boxes or come prepared with extra ordinance (forgot what the equp is called).
 
[quote name='chubbyninja1319']I have hundreds of hours logged and still no Cerberus Harrier.[/QUOTE]

Well you could always do the trick of uninstalling the DLC and buying packs, with the Rebellion Pack still installed granted, in order to focus the random luck in your favor. I saw a guy do this for the newest DLC, in order to get the new classes. That's a bit much though (since you stated how long you've been playing I think it's fine if you do that method lol).
 
[quote name='Spybreak8']Well you could always do the trick of uninstalling the DLC and buying packs, with the Rebellion Pack still installed granted, in order to focus the random luck in your favor. I saw a guy do this for the newest DLC, in order to get the new classes. That's a bit much though (since you stated how long you've been playing I think it's fine if you do that method lol).[/QUOTE]

But wouldn't that mess anything up? You're saying that if I uninstall all the DLC and go into MP then I won't see all the DLC weapons/equipment/characters I already own but if I ever later install the DLC all that stuff will still be there?
 
[quote name='Teh Nitwit']But wouldn't that mess anything up? You're saying that if I uninstall all the DLC and go into MP then I won't see all the DLC weapons/equipment/characters I already own but if I ever later install the DLC all that stuff will still be there?[/QUOTE]

Yes, it'll still be there supposedly since all the data is stored on the server side. Never did it myself, though so don't know firsthand but lots of people have done this.
 
On the mass effect forums on the bioware social site people have talked about doing the same thing. The only issue I have see is with the new classes being able to have a 6/6/6/6 build. I have had the issue with the Volus however I did't uninstall any packs. I think it is a more common issue or a guarantee of having the issue if you uninstall all the packs but the new one. For me the 6/6/6/6 issue was an easy fix. All I had to do was back out with out assigning any points. As for the older packs I have not heard of any issues with them.
 
Thanks, Spy, but I'll live without the Harrier for now. :mrgreen: no way I'm messing around with deleting and reinstalling dlc. I'll get it eventually.
 
[quote name='Feeni']Ugh. No way I'll have enough time to finish 5 matches tonight. Really wish they would let this go longer. Should have done it over a weekend.[/QUOTE]

They are running it over a weekend. The blog post says it runs Oct 31 - Nov 5.
 
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