Mass Effect 3 Discussion Thread

75% sounds about right. I forget where a couple of the major sidequests fall in to the timeline, though.

Extremely vague spoilers that don't really spoil anything:
Rannoch is the last of the big, multi-mission missions. You've still got a few big-ish areas left, but I think they're all self-contained like the rachni mission or the fight on the turian moon, rather than sprawling beasts that are the Quarian and Krogan missions.
 
[quote name='Streetskillz']The heat system from ME1 was very convenient, I thought it would be back in ME3... but apparently it only applies to the Particle Rifle. I have run into a lot of trouble in MP not allowing the reload animation to complete before I shoot off a power, and then I have to reload all over again.[/QUOTE]

This or you can't reload while moving in cover. Yeah that sort of infuriates me.

Yeah I think I use many weapons in SP that normally people wouldn't use due to the encumbrance, thank you Elder Scrolls right lol, just due to the fact that they're badass.
 
I finally beat it (been playing too much MP). I didn't like or hate the ending, it was just kinda meh. I don't think it deserves the MASSIVE amounts of hate, but whatever. I'll check out the new ending shit when it comes out, but I'm content with it for now. One thing though
am I the only one who was confused as to what path lead to what ending? I know he said I have 3 choices but I had no clue what path lead to what. I wanted to control the reapers but I ended up getting the synthesis ending, which was fine I guess but not what I wanted. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, I don't know but I was confused.
 
Ending:
Honestly, it doesn't really matter AT ALL if you understood it. Here's your real choices: (Destroy) You Die, (Control) You still die, or (Synthesis) Yeah, you die. Unless you had an EMS rating of 4000+, in which case it would be: (Destroy, meet certain criteria) You take a deep breath, (Control) you die, or (Synthesis) you die again.

Any way you slice it, you die.
 
[quote name='dualedge2']Ending:
Honestly, it doesn't really matter AT ALL if you understood it. Here's your real choices: (Destroy) You Die, (Control) You still die, or (Synthesis) Yeah, you die. Unless you had an EMS rating of 4000+, in which case it would be: (Destroy, meet certain criteria) You take a deep breath, (Control) you die, or (Synthesis) you die again.

Any way you slice it, you die.
[/QUOTE]

Shepard dying isn't even the biggest deal in my eyes, although saying "the hero has to ____" in a game like Mass Effect is pretty ridiculous. On top of the whole death thing, though, is that there is no closure in any of the endings, the mass relays still explode, and there are heaps of plotholes and unanswered questions.

But hey, at least we get LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE! Closure is overrated.
 
The ending was pretty bad imo. It's a shame since Mass Effect could've been the greatest trilogy in gaming history if the final 10 minutes of the game was well-written.
 
[quote name='bordjon']Is there an "operation" announced this weekend for multiplayer? Wondering if I missed it or something.[/QUOTE]

No operation this weekend, they are changing it to an every other weekend event, probably getting rid of the exp only weekends which weren't that popular. Next weekend is "Operation Exorcist".
 
[quote name='tcrash247']I finally beat it (been playing too much MP). I didn't like or hate the ending, it was just kinda meh. I don't think it deserves the MASSIVE amounts of hate, but whatever. I'll check out the new ending shit when it comes out, but I'm content with it for now. One thing though
am I the only one who was confused as to what path lead to what ending? I know he said I have 3 choices but I had no clue what path lead to what. I wanted to control the reapers but I ended up getting the synthesis ending, which was fine I guess but not what I wanted. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, I don't know but I was confused.
[/QUOTE]
As I said to MSUHitman: I intend to replay ME3 a couple more times.

And each time I replay it, I will go through everything, I will get my war assets, I will play it straight.

And when I kill Marauder Shields and I walk in to that beam to go up to the Citadel, I will turn the game off, and I will decide how it ends.

And yeah, Shepard's complete inability to question anything at the end was my single biggest complaint.
 
[quote name='tcrash247']I finally beat it (been playing too much MP). I didn't like or hate the ending, it was just kinda meh. I don't think it deserves the MASSIVE amounts of hate, but whatever. I'll check out the new ending shit when it comes out, but I'm content with it for now. One thing though
am I the only one who was confused as to what path lead to what ending? I know he said I have 3 choices but I had no clue what path lead to what. I wanted to control the reapers but I ended up getting the synthesis ending, which was fine I guess but not what I wanted. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, I don't know but I was confused.
[/QUOTE]

Lol well:
Basically your choices from the previous titles amount to a bar and that bar determines which path/endings are available for you to "choose" at the end. Although all the endings are fairly similar as it's ultimately one concept for the ending with slight tweaks. Shepard sacrifices himself to defeat the Reapers, either by controlling them, merging all of the galaxy with them or destroying them. Neither of these are further explained, aside from explaining the "Ghostchild" as well. You could also wake up and they also show a grandson being told this story by some old dude hinting at Shepard becoming a Legend. Joker and crew, which we don't know how the crew got back on the ship either, are running away from the explosion and supposedly happily land on a lush jungle like planet. The galaxy was thought to have been engulfed in the relay aftermath although it is said that no they just blew up and didn't take out all the star systems. So before people were mad that you just united the entire galaxy against the Reapers only to blow them up and alienate the alien species with any of their specialized food sources. You know there's also the Starchild, who we have never met before, telling us that the whole series' logic for the Reapers is a circular load of crap. You also have no player choice telling the Starchild off or at least arguing with it saying no wait a minute I just solved a 300 year war of the Quarians and Geth, EDI romantically and might I add getting along with Joker quite well.
Me personally I didn't see enough Krogan running into the battle Braveheart style.
 
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[quote name='Spybreak8']Lol well:
Basically your choices from the previous titles amount to a bar and that bar determines which path/endings are available for you to "choose" at the end. Although all the endings are fairly similar as it's ultimately one concept for the ending with slight tweaks. Shepard sacrifices himself to defeat the Reapers, either by controlling them, merging all of the galaxy with them or destroying them. Neither of these are further explained, aside from explaining the "Ghostchild" as well. You could also wake up and they also show a grandson being told this story by some old dude hinting at Shepard becoming a Legend. Joker and crew, which we don't know how the crew got back on the ship either, are running away from the explosion and supposedly happily land on a lush jungle like planet. The galaxy was thought to have been engulfed in the relay aftermath although it is said that no they just blew up and didn't take out all the star systems. So before people were mad that you just united the entire galaxy against the Reapers only to blow them up and alienate the alien species with any of their specialized food sources. You know there's also the Starchild, who we have never met before, telling us that the whole series' logic for the Reapers is a circular load of crap. You also have no player choice telling the Starchild off or at least arguing with it saying no wait a minute I just solved a 300 year war of the Quarians and Geth, EDI romantically and might I add getting along with Joker quite well.
Me personally I didn't see enough Krogan running into the battle Braveheart style.
[/QUOTE]

I was just confused about
which path lead to which ending. There was nothing that I could see telling you "Right leads to killing the Reapers, Center leads to synthesis, Left leads to controlling the Reapers" or something like that. I got the synthesis ending with the kid talking to an old man outside ending, I just didn't know how to make my decision because I expected a conversation wheel to let me pick what I wanted to do. I wasn't so much asking for an explanation as to what happened (even though I know this is everyone's gripe, I on the other hand accept what happened).
 
[quote name='The Crotch']
As I said to MSUHitman: I intend to replay ME3 a couple more times.

And each time I replay it, I will go through everything, I will get my war assets, I will play it straight.

And when I kill Marauder Shields and I walk in to that beam to go up to the Citadel, I will turn the game off, and I will decide how it ends.

And yeah, Shepard's complete inability to question anything at the end was my single biggest complaint.
[/QUOTE]

I'm on my third playthrough.


The first I had no idea which circle I was supposed to walk in to and randomly picked one. The second I quit playing when I got to the limping Shepard with just a pistol part and that is what I plan to do with any other playthroughs.
 
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[quote name='tcrash247']I was just confused about
which path lead to which ending. There was nothing that I could see telling you "Right leads to killing the Reapers, Center leads to synthesis, Left leads to controlling the Reapers" or something like that. I got the synthesis ending with the kid talking to an old man outside ending, I just didn't know how to make my decision because I expected a conversation wheel to let me pick what I wanted to do. I wasn't so much asking for an explanation as to what happened (even though I know this is everyone's gripe, I on the other hand accept what happened).
[/QUOTE]

Actually, at some point you were told exactly that ;).
I know I remember which of the 3 was which and I picked one (control). But once they told you it just let you go pick one and didn't say at that point what it was (though with control it was pretty obvious because there was a control panel to interact with).
 
[quote name='tcrash247']I was just confused about
which path lead to which ending. There was nothing that I could see telling you "Right leads to killing the Reapers, Center leads to synthesis, Left leads to controlling the Reapers" or something like that. I got the synthesis ending with the kid talking to an old man outside ending, I just didn't know how to make my decision because I expected a conversation wheel to let me pick what I wanted to do. I wasn't so much asking for an explanation as to what happened (even though I know this is everyone's gripe, I on the other hand accept what happened).
[/QUOTE]

Ahh ok then well yeah
the Starchild tells you each of the three choices (depending on how much that EMS bar is filled), then you pick whichever path which is open to you.
 
Spoiler tags: [noparse]
Pi is exactly three!
[/noparse]

Pi is exactly three!

For more, see: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/misc.php?do=bbcode[quote name='io']Actually, at some point you were told exactly that ;).
I know I remember which of the 3 was which and I picked one (control). But once they told you it just let you go pick one and didn't say at that point what it was (though with control it was pretty obvious because there was a control panel to interact with).
[/QUOTE]
On that....

Though you are told which is which (though not the significance of any of them), seeing where each of them is is a little awkward, I'll admit. You can see the synthesis beam right ahead of you, but the control handlebars/glass tube of doom are harder to see. And if you walk up to one of the side ones and see it's not what you want (implying I wanted any of them amiright), you don't have enough time to go back to the other because Harbinger destroys the Citadel or some shit.
 
So...
Miranda just died. I'm guessing me saying I wouldn't sleep with her again was too much for her to not carry on. It's the only thing I can think of since I saw her 3 times (the requirement needed to keep her alive).
Also, during this entire cutscene Shepard had no eyelids. Freaky as hell.
 
Hmm. Miranda managed to survive without my dick.

But yeah, no-eyelid Shepard is reason enough for the reapers to destroy all self-aware life.
 
I must've missed something about her side quest then. I wonder what it was. But me breaking up with her is my best. That makes Thane, Mordin, Legion and Miranda all casualties from 2, with Grunt and Jack being alive from 2. Kasumi and Zaeed are special cases though.

Also,
EMERGENCY INDUCTION PORT!
 
[quote name='The Crotch']
Hmm. Miranda managed to survive without my dick.

But yeah, no-eyelid Shepard is reason enough for the reapers to destroy all self-aware life.
[/QUOTE]

Miranda:
There's a point in the game where you can tell Miranda about Kai Leng being after her from the Spectre terminal. Doing this allows her to "take necessary precautions" and to survive.
 
[quote name='dualedge2']Miranda:
There's a point in the game where you can tell Miranda about Kai Leng being after her from the Spectre terminal. Doing this allows her to "take necessary precautions" and to survive.
[/QUOTE]

BULLSHIT!
I told her to do that and she said she would.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']BULLSHIT!
I told her to do that and she said she would.
[/QUOTE]

Wait,
when do you find out Miranda dies? I guess she didn't in mine as I saw nothing about her one way or another. Though I think perhaps at that comm terminal near the end I did talk to her - seems like I talked to everyone except the ones that die for sure (Mordin, Legion, Thane). I didn't realize you had to do anything to keep her alive. What my son told me (as he read many more spoilers than me) is that anyone not loyal in ME2 will die in ME3. I had everyone loyal on this playthough so I wasn't expecting any deaths - the 3 I mentioned above kind of surprised me. There isn't any way to avoid those 3, right?
 
[quote name='io']Wait,
when do you find out Miranda dies? I guess she didn't in mine as I saw nothing about her one way or another. Though I think perhaps at that comm terminal near the end I did talk to her - seems like I talked to everyone except the ones that die for sure (Mordin, Legion, Thane). I didn't realize you had to do anything to keep her alive. What my son told me (as he read many more spoilers than me) is that anyone not loyal in ME2 will die in ME3. I had everyone loyal on this playthough so I wasn't expecting any deaths - the 3 I mentioned above kind of surprised me. There isn't any way to avoid those 3, right?
[/QUOTE]

More on Miranda:
Those three are unavoidable. As for Miranda, it appears that keeping her alive is far more complicated than I first realized. Here's how to keep her alive, take from the Mass Effect Wiki:

She is later encountered on Horizon after Cerberus retrieves the Prothean VI from Thessia. Shepard quickly finds that Oriana is indeed being held by their father, who is operating a Cerberus facility disguised as a shelter called Sanctuary. Miranda is seen in recordings throughout the mission warning civilians of her father's true intent. Finally, Henry Lawson, who is holding Oriana as a human shield, comes face to face with both Shepard and Miranda. Shepard is either able to diffuse the situation diplomatically or to simply shoot him. If Shepard allows Lawson to leave, Miranda will refuse, using her biotics to push him out of a nearby window. Miranda, who was badly injured during a running battle with Kai Leng, dies in the company of Oriana and Shepard if she was not previously warned about Kai Leng's return to service of Cerberus. If Miranda's loyalty was not secured, or she was not given Alliance resources in an earlier conversation with Shepard, Kai Leng will mortally wound her even if warned.
If Shepard cannot persuade Lawson diplomatically and does not shoot him after diplomacy fails, Miranda will take the initiative to kill Lawson herself, but Lawson will manage to get in a shot that fatally wounds Miranda, causing Miranda to die even if Miranda was warned about both the Cerberus attack and Kai Leng's return to Cerberus.
 
Well
I didn't hear a gunshot, and the only time I "failed" a blue/red choice was
for the final part of the game with the Illusive Man
so I don't know what to tell you. Especially since everyone I had lived and was loyal in 2.

So I just beat the game, and my thoughts on the ending:
It makes no damn sense. Blue is 'you can control, but you'll be dead, so nothing is really in control' making it a bullshit answer. Green is 'everyone becomes one, but the Reapers still exist, therefore can control all life' making it a bullshit answer. Red is 'destroy us, but synthetics are gone, until you remake them.' That's also bullshit given the basic reasoning of 'there can never be peace between the two forms of life.'

I went ahead and said fuck you, Godchild, and chose Red. Got a breath. It ticks me off, and I won't play it again like I did with 2. It really does sour the mood on the rest of the series for me, since you know where it ends up, a thoughtless place.
 
Broly: Yup.

dual:
Mordin's death is avoidable, but it requires Wrex's death in ME1, the destruction of the research in ME2, and you convincing Mordin not to go through with curing the genophage in ME3.

I've also heard that Morinth appears as a banshee if you recruited her in ME2, but fuck Morinth, anyway.
 
I forgot one more thing
Synthetics will always attack Organics is bullshit because the Quarians started the fighting with the Geth.

As for the Indoctrination Theory
It's a nice theory, but at the end the Illusive Man is kinda wielding his "Space Magic" on you I guess. Without context, it makes it look like a dream or something. There's also a ton of the stuff in the game, and why is it still in the game if it's not right? I have no damn clue because it doesn't go anywhere. And even if it were true, you'd still have to write a new ending or make a damn new game.

As for "retconning" the ending in some fans' eyes, you'd have to remake the entire game to "Fix it" because the point above reaches throughout the entire game. There's no escaping it.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Broly: Yup.

dual:
Mordin's death is avoidable, but it requires Wrex's death in ME1, the destruction of the research in ME2, and you convincing Mordin not to go through with curing the genophage in ME3.

I've also heard that Morinth appears as a banshee if you recruited her in ME2, but fuck Morinth, anyway.
[/QUOTE]

Didn't know that Crotch. I'll have to research it a bit more, but that's really interesting to know.

Also,
Jack becomes a random Cerberus Phantom, if you don't get to Grissom Academy in time. And it's hilarious that Morinth becomes a random Banshee, if you chose her over Samara in ME2.
 
So I hear that
your choice of killing the last Rachni queen in ME1 is meaningless, as the Rachni are back regardless. :roll:

Also, I hate to let the last ten minutes ruin what was otherwise an amazing game, so from now on
I'm stopping right as the crucible attaches to the Citadel, and then I'll imagine Krogan and Salarian soldiers dancing to the Yub Yub song from RotJ.
 
I just beat the game last night.
For the ending, I still don't know what to make of the choices. Not that I don't understand them, it's just...I dunno. HOWEVER, I feel like the ending could have been better served if it stopped after you and anderson look out at earth. So basically, just before you meet with the ghost child.
 
[quote name='100xp']i know you keep wpns and upgrades in your next PT, do you keep your aquarium and your fish? how about your armor?[/QUOTE]
Armor yes, though you won't get a chance to actually equip anything besides the default N7 armor until after Priority: Mars. I don't know about the fish.

Pretty much the only thing character-wise that doesn't transfer is your intel bonuses, and that's so you can reacquire them and make different choices if you want to.
 
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@ ryuu - cool, i thought as much that you could keep most things. I'm at the point I need to spend what I have or lose it. hopefully my investment in the aquarium + all the citadel fish will be sound.
 
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[quote name='100xp']@ ryuu - cool, i thought as much that you could keep most things. I'm at the point I need to spend what I have or lose it. hopefully my investment in the aquarium + all the citadel fish will be sound.[/QUOTE]
Seems to me there's a giant imbalance in the game between the amount of money you can get and the amount of stuff you'd actually want to buy... On my first Soldier playthrough I bought the Cerberus Armor, Paladin, Black Widow, and a mod here and there, upgraded all of the weapons my squad used to V, and still had a ton of extra money to import into the second playthrough and upgrade everything to X right off the bat.

The only way I can see money being a problem is if you bought all three Spectre weapons and multiple armor suits, but why would you ever do that.
 
But Zelda fixed their economy woes after Twilight Princess by making everything cost an arm and a leg. And adding RPG elements for equipment in Skyward Sword.
 
15/27 towards the unwavering achievement.
just got to the first citadel battle and got my butt kicked. This is the first time I've felt outnumbered and outgunned. I've been thinking and I might have a strategy....try to use the side route once they smoke out the middle.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']But Zelda fixed their economy woes after Twilight Princess by making everything cost an arm and a leg. And adding RPG elements for equipment in Skyward Sword.[/QUOTE]
Aye, I know.

I pray God Blizzard doesn't make a functioning economy for Diablo 3, or I'm going to run out of appropriate similes for this shit.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Seems to me there's a giant imbalance in the game between the amount of money you can get and the amount of stuff you'd actually want to buy... On my first Soldier playthrough I bought the Cerberus Armor, Paladin, Black Widow, and a mod here and there, upgraded all of the weapons my squad used to V, and still had a ton of extra money to import into the second playthrough and upgrade everything to X right off the bat.

The only way I can see money being a problem is if you bought all three Spectre weapons and multiple armor suits, but why would you ever do that.[/QUOTE]

most of us are completists, we went out of our why to do a lot of side missions if not all of them. That generates a lot of credits, not sure but didn't you say the ipad app also allows you to generate both credits and galatic readiness? I upgraded a handful of guns to V mainly because they were the ones most used by the squad and myself + cerberus armor just to see how it looked. I only was able to purchase the black widow because I spent a ton of AR, Pistol, Sniper, and Shotgun mods...all medi gell upgrades, all the fish, model ships, and I think I had to buy some stuff from the spectre terminals.

you get alliance funding, sure as hell beats planet scanning.

they probably just did it so you can continue to play more pt's with different classes, paths, and imports. It's be such a pain to have to grind/farm up everytime just for cut scenes and squad banter. I know there's youtube but I'd prefer to build up to it myself for most of these.
 
I'm very confused by the planet scanning in this game.

Like, I scan a planet and I find... an Alliance spaceship? Did you fuckers forget it was there or something?
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Like, I scan a planet and I find... an Alliance spaceship? Did you fuckers forget it was there or something?[/QUOTE]
Makes as much sense as sending probes down to populated planets in ME2. "Hey sorry about your house, but it was right on top of a really sweet Palladium deposit and I couldn't really tell that there was a house there from up here in orbit, so...."

Not to mention that various governments/landowners/advocacy groups would probably have some issues with the Normandy strip-mining random planets all around the galaxy, even if they weren't populated.

ETA @ 100xp: You only generate Readiness in the iPad app, there are credits too but they're internal to the app, to buy fleet upgrades. It would be sweet if you could transfer them but it would only make the in-game economy even more ridiculous. :)
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Aye, I know.

I pray God Blizzard doesn't make a functioning economy for Diablo 3, or I'm going to run out of appropriate similes for this shit.[/QUOTE]

it wont matter to me at least, ill only be playing with my local buds. I'm more concerned how the IRS may look at the auction house.

[quote name='The Crotch']I'm very confused by the planet scanning in this game.

Like, I scan a planet and I find... an Alliance spaceship? Did you fuckers forget it was there or something?[/QUOTE]

My theory is, due to reaper presence, planet scanning and war assets are just cut off from normal rescue measures...though how you could stealth drive in and then retrieve an entire frigate or colony of ppl sure makes this a great fantasy game. ha ha...

@ ryuu - ah, thanks. Shep apparently hates andriod devices unless it starts with EDI.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Makes as much sense as sending probes down to populated planets in ME2. "Hey sorry about your house, but it was right on top of a really sweet Palladium deposit and I couldn't really tell that there was a house there from up here in orbit, so...."

Not to mention that various governments/landowners/advocacy groups would probably have some issues with the Normandy strip-mining random planets all around the galaxy, even if they weren't populated.

ETA @ 100xp: You only generate Readiness in the iPad app, there are credits too but they're internal to the app, to buy fleet upgrades. It would be sweet if you could transfer them but it would only make the in-game economy even more ridiculous. :)[/QUOTE]
I loved seeing in the flavour text "this planet is under protection of something something as a burgeoning garden world" or something about protecting the local ecology or something.

Strip mine, motherfuckers.
 
[quote name='gotdott']playing a couple of golds now if anyone wants to join[/QUOTE]

im at work @#$%'er! and at 3pm EST it will be Diablo 3 Beta for everyone...even though I already have a beta key.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']I loved seeing in the flavour text "this planet is under protection of something something as a burgeoning garden world" or something about protecting the local ecology or something.

Strip mine, motherfuckers.[/QUOTE]
That's the real reason the Normandy needed all that stealth tech, to hide from the Interplanetary EPA. Probably the real reason Shepard was in custody at the beginning of ME3 too.
 
[quote name='Allnatural']So I hear that
your choice of killing the last Rachni queen in ME1 is meaningless, as the Rachni are back regardless. :roll:

Also, I hate to let the last ten minutes ruin what was otherwise an amazing game, so from now on
I'm stopping right as the crucible attaches to the Citadel, and then I'll imagine Krogan and Salarian soldiers dancing to the Yub Yub song from RotJ.
[/QUOTE]

Squiggly
queen
insect
(Rachni)
:
Interestingly enough, I was reading about it last night. There is a difference, though everyone's definition will vary on its magnitude:

If you saved the Rachni Queen and let her go again in ME3, the Rachni become War Assets. If you didn't, the Reapers genetically create a Rachni "breeder" queen and if you let her go in ME3, she eventually betrays you and her workers destroy equipment on the way out, negatively impacting your War Assets.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']That's the real reason the Normandy needed all that stealth tech, to hide from the Interplanetary EPA. Probably the real reason Shepard was in custody at the beginning of ME3 too.[/QUOTE]

Normandy impounded due to the events in The Arrival

Or for "depleting" planets and using the resources to create WMDs... :lol:
 
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