Mass Effect - Gen. Discussion & Info - Pinnacle Station DLC Now Available 400pts

[quote name='Tha Xecutioner']I always do Noveria first to rack up the Paragon and Renegade bonus glitch (to, of course, get both sidequests).[/quote]

Which sidequests do you get for having paragon/renegade points?
 
[quote name='metaly']Which sidequests do you get for having paragon/renegade points?[/QUOTE]
The paragon one is where you have to neutralize a bunch of crazy scientists without killing them, and the renegade one is where you're sent to negotiate with an organized crime boss. You get each one when you hit 75% paragon or renegade.
 
Wow - I didn't know about that glitch. Sure makes deciding what to do a lot easier... anyway, last night after saving Liara I started talking to her and I think I'm on the right path to sexytime. So far I've completed the Artimus Tau rescue and I saved the colonists on Feros. I seem to have a TON of open assignments - should I try to finish those now or should I move on to Noveria and the next mission? I don't feel like I've explored even a quarter of the systems and I'm really having fun. I guess I want to level up my characters as much as possible - is there an "easy" way to do so? I'm finding out that I like structure and linearity in my videogames because I'm so overwhelmed...
 
Easy way to level up is just to do all the sidequests.

You can also get out of the Mako to battle to get more EXP. I never did that and got to the level 50 cap in my first play through by doing all sidequests etc. Seems like you need to do it to get to 60 on the 2nd or 3rd playthrough though.
 
after leaving the citadel how many sidequests are there to activate by returning to the citadel?
im 25 hours or so in and i havent been back other than when it was required after completing the first batch of missions.
have i missed out on a lot?
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']The paragon one is where you have to neutralize a bunch of crazy scientists without killing them, and the renegade one is where you're sent to negotiate with an organized crime boss. You get each one when you hit 75% paragon or renegade.[/quote]

Ah, thanks. After finishing my renegade playthrough I realized I didn't do the scientists mission and I figured I must have just missed it.

[quote name='javeryh']I seem to have a TON of open assignments - should I try to finish those now or should I move on to Noveria and the next mission? I don't feel like I've explored even a quarter of the systems and I'm really having fun. I guess I want to level up my characters as much as possible - is there an "easy" way to do so?[/quote]

I recommend spacing them out a bit and visiting a couple non-mission clusters after each main planet. If you end up having to do a ton of the sidequests at once, all that Mako driving can get a little tedious.

For XP building, I second the getting-out-of-the-Mako tip. Plus io mentioned how you get bonus experience for kills in close succession, so try to do that whenever possible. I've noticed a couple times where I'd get 500-1200 XP from an enemy instead of the usual ~200.

[quote name='paz9x']after leaving the citadel how many sidequests are there to activate by returning to the citadel?
im 25 hours or so in and i havent been back other than when it was required after completing the first batch of missions.
have i missed out on a lot?[/quote]

There are a handful that pop up later on, but not a huge number. There are a couple that (I think) only show up after you've finished the first four planets. Also, you have to talk to that Conrad Verner guy on a few separate occasions to complete his sidequest.
 
[quote name='metaly']Also, you have to talk to that Conrad Verner guy on a few separate occasions to complete his sidequest.[/quote]

I told him to fuck off. Maybe I'll be a little more nice when I play through as Paragon..
 
[quote name='red flare graf']I told him to fuck off. Maybe I'll be a little more nice when I play through as Paragon..[/QUOTE]
Renegade with that guy is hilarious!

Shepard: *sticks gun in his face* You think you have what it takes? I have to deal with this everyday!
Conrad: That's not how a hero is supposed to act! *runs away crying*
 
Check out my new digs. :D (Or diggs? Who knows.)

metaly.png

Maybe it's just because I was a soldier and had crazy armor (love those colossus suits) and guns, but Insanity wasn't noticeably harder than Hardcore. It was just a little tedious because all the enemies seemed to have 10x as much HP.

Going to set it back down to Hardcore and make an adept.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']Renegade with that guy is hilarious!

Shepard: *sticks gun in his face* You think you have what it takes? I have to deal with this everyday!
Conrad: That's not how a hero is supposed to act! *runs away crying*
[/QUOTE]

I scared him off in only two encounters, but not with that ending.

I more or less told him I had no interest in taking a photo with him, and he was said something to the effect of fine, I'll leave you alone.

I've stopped playing for a few days (in anticipation of starting a new playthrough when the DLC comes out), and I really do sort of miss it. I definitely think I can 1000/1000 out of this game (at 700/1000 right now), but it'll take at least 2 more playthroughs.
 
I did a few more assignments last night. It's a little tedious driving all over the different planets but I've been breaking it up with trips back to the Citadel to actually complete the missions. I also found the last Keeper which was a relief - I had 20/21 for a while and I didn't think I'd ever happen upon him.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I did a few more assignments last night. It's a little tedious driving all over the different planets but I've been breaking it up with trips back to the Citadel to actually complete the missions. I also found the last Keeper which was a relief - I had 20/21 for a while and I didn't think I'd ever happen upon him.[/QUOTE]

If you do a google search, there's a pretty good map online somewhere of where they all are. I recommend it for future playthroughs to speed through that one.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I did a few more assignments last night. It's a little tedious driving all over the different planets but I've been breaking it up with trips back to the Citadel to actually complete the missions. I also found the last Keeper which was a relief - I had 20/21 for a while and I didn't think I'd ever happen upon him.[/QUOTE]

At this point (3rd playthough) I pretty much have them all memorized. But I did waste 30 minutes or so looking for the last one on my 3rd playthrough and I totally forgot he is near the ship so you can't get him until you get ready to leave the Citadel. D'oh!
 
Hey so I'm almost done my first playthrough...and I played as an Engineer on Normal. How exactly does it work so I can get all the achievements in as few playthroughs as possible? I mean I want to play again anyway as Renegade and I'd like to try a biotic class...so I know that you can continue your old character, but you can't change the class right? So...how would I proceed from here?

I'm actually just starting Virmire now and I'm level 34...
 
[quote name='Spades22']Hey so I'm almost done my first playthrough...and I played as an Engineer on Normal. How exactly does it work so I can get all the achievements in as few playthroughs as possible? I mean I want to play again anyway as Renegade and I'd like to try a biotic class...so I know that you can continue your old character, but you can't change the class right? So...how would I proceed from here?

I'm actually just starting Virmire now and I'm level 34...[/quote]

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm a Level 27 Soldier and I'm playing on Normal. I've had Wrex and Tali in my party for almost every mission so I hope to get their achievements before this play through is over. I want to play again and maximize my achievements - any suggestions?
 
Just got done with Virmire, what a killer level.

Only problem I have with the game is the Mako missions, I hate driving that thing.
 
[quote name='ph33r m3']Just got done with Virmire, what a killer level.

Only problem I have with the game is the Mako missions, I hate driving that thing.[/QUOTE]

It took me awhile, but I got used to the Mako driving. What I hated about it was the missions where your objective is at the top of a huge mountain with only one way up, and if you find yourself on the wrong side, it's a long way around the mountain to find the trail. I'm really hoping for a helicopter equivalent for ME 2.
 
[quote name='javeryh']I'm wondering the same thing. I'm a Level 27 Soldier and I'm playing on Normal. I've had Wrex and Tali in my party for almost every mission so I hope to get their achievements before this play through is over. I want to play again and maximize my achievements - any suggestions?[/QUOTE]


I would suggest doing Asari Ally next time through. There's a great FAQs on GameFAQs that lists every mission and a good order to get through them in. And if you get Asarai Ally, you're guaranteed to get the other Ally as long as you use them each time as well.

Also, make sure to use weapons you haven't got the achievements for, and make sure you do someone with all the biotics or whatever so you can get all of them rather than a solider/biotic combo guy.
 
I'm on the moon! I destroyed some towers but got my ass handed to me inside the bunker thing. I did get a new mission and finish it - on some planet some alien had Wrex's family armor so I helped him get that back. I was going to go through my Codex last night and start knocking off assignments but I didn't have enough time to make a dent. I'm hovering around 20 hours played now and I still have Noveria and Virmire to do in the main story. I'm thinking of heading out to Noveria after I clear the moon. Oh - it was pretty sweet to see Earth up in the sky and so close. I also don't know how I'm going to get 150 kills with the pistol and sniper rifle - I'm in love with the maxed out shotgun.
 
I'm getting this game in a trade and I'm a bit wary of the time commitment and the slow start to the game with all of the speech, but I'm optimistic. It's a step up from Kane & Lynch no matter what happens.
 
[quote name='ThatDamnDave']I'm getting this game in a trade and I'm a bit wary of the time commitment and the slow start to the game with all of the speech, but I'm optimistic. It's a step up from Kane & Lynch no matter what happens.[/quote]

while it is a little talky the game is well worth it. still one of my favorite games and i typically hate rpgs
 
[quote name='ThatDamnDave']I'm getting this game in a trade and I'm a bit wary of the time commitment and the slow start to the game with all of the speech, but I'm optimistic. It's a step up from Kane & Lynch no matter what happens.[/quote]

It's more of a 3rd person shooter, then it is a RPG. While, the loading times can be a bitch, the game is awesome. It's wide-open, do what you want, when you want.
 
I am really loving this game. I just got done with Ferros. But I literally completed every single side mission before I even left the Cidital. 13 hours and I just now got down with the first mission.

Now to do another 5 hours of side quest before doing the 2nd main mission.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']I am really loving this game. I just got done with Ferros. But I literally completed every single side mission before I even left the Cidital. 13 hours and I just now got down with the first mission.

Now to do another 5 hours of side quest before doing the 2nd main mission.[/quote]

Wow. I'm on a similar pace although I've been making trips back to the Citadel. I think I'm going to tackle Noveria tonight though to move things along...
 
For people trying to get all the achievements, I'd guess that it takes at least three playthroughs. You need to do:

1) Three complete games with a different squad each time for the ally achievements
2) A game each as a soldier, adept and engineer for ability/weapon achievements
3) One game on Normal, Hardcore, and Insanity

So mix and match those, do a game each as full renegade and paragon (if you're not using the glitch), and make sure you pick up the miscellaneous stuff like Completionist, Scholar, etc. along the way. If you only care about the achievements you can probably just keep reloading a save file to grind out weapon kills/ability uses since they're cumulative (thereby skipping #2 on the list), but where's the fun in that?

You'll also probably have to replay a character at least once in order to get to level 60. I did a complete game and got to maybe level 52, and then reused the character for a missions-only (for the most part) Insanity game and was still ~100k away from 60 by the very end, so you can probably hit 60 in two games if you're thorough.

[quote name='javeryh']Oh - it was pretty sweet to see Earth up in the sky and so close.[/quote]

That was so great. I'm pretty sure they took some liberties with the scale, but it was a great decision. That was something that made the interminable Mako driving a little more tolerable -- I really got into just looking at the scenery/horizons and feeling like I was exploring an alien world.
 
[quote name='metaly']For people trying to get all the achievements, I'd guess that it takes at least three playthroughs. You need to do:

1) Three complete games with a different squad each time for the ally achievements
2) A game each as a soldier, adept and engineer for ability/weapon achievements
3) One game on Normal, Hardcore, and Insanity

So mix and match those, do a game each as full renegade and paragon (if you're not using the glitch), and make sure you pick up the miscellaneous stuff like Completionist, Scholar, etc. along the way. If you only care about the achievements you can probably just keep reloading a save file to grind out weapon kills/ability uses since they're cumulative (thereby skipping #2 on the list), but where's the fun in that?

You'll also probably have to replay a character at least once in order to get to level 60. I did a complete game and got to maybe level 52, and then reused the character for a missions-only (for the most part) Insanity game and was still ~100k away from 60 by the very end, so you can probably hit 60 in two games if you're thorough.[/quote]

So can I switch to an engineer on my next play through? I'm a soldier now. Also, what do you mean that the weapon kills/ability uses are cumulative? Are you saying I can load a save, kill 5 things, reload the same save, kill the same 5 things and the game will think I've made 10 kills?
 
[quote name='javeryh']So can I switch to an engineer on my next play through? I'm a soldier now. Also, what do you mean that the weapon kills/ability uses are cumulative? Are you saying I can load a save, kill 5 things, reload the same save, kill the same 5 things and the game will think I've made 10 kills?[/quote]

You have to create a new character to switch classes.

I'm pretty sure that's how the game tracks kills/abilities. I unlocked one of the biotic mastery ones shortly after dying and replaying the same part with similar biotic use, so it definitely counted my uses even though I reloaded.
 
Well I finally finished the game today. I would rate it a solid 9/10 and the 2nd best Bioware game I've ever played (KOTOR being the best). The story in Mass Effect is pretty cool and I loved all the back story the universe has. The last 4 hrs or so are easily the best part of the game, the conclusion is very satisfying. The game definitely has a host of issues but nothing that kept me from enjoying it. Here's to Mass Effect 2!!!
 
craaaap I am pretty much through Virmire now at 15 hours and I've done about half the sidequests, BUT I just read that you need to do ALL citadel sidequests before Virmire...so now I'm not sure what I'll do. Spent a lot of time on Virmire...but I MIIIGHT just go back, then run through Virmire super fast.

Crap my last save is 2 hours back still on FEROS!!!! DANGIT! Someone want to confirm that it IS true that you can't do citadel sidequests after you land on Virmire? I DO have all the available quests in my assignment list, I just hadn't felt like finishing them yet and I thought the game was longer. So, if its only that you can't get the quests, then I'm good...but if it also has to do with the completion of them...then..........yeah

...read on google a bit more and it seems like I MIGHT still be good. Not sure though if I still am...I still have quests that require the venture to other plants such as missing marines...then I have this lottery signal one, and asari consort...
 
It's not entirely true. Explanation with non-specific spoiler:
After you return from Virmire (assuming you finished the other three main planets, too), you'll be stuck on the Citadel for a bit, and then you won't be able to come back again once you finally leave. So you'll only be unable to do assignments that require you to talk to someone on the Citadel, leave, then come back.

I think it's possible to get a few assignments that fall into that category, like the Asari diplomacy one, without actually going to the Citadel. (The diplomat sends you a transmission on the Normandy, in that case.)
 
ok sweet so if I have all the sidequests in my assignment list for the citadel, I can first explore the other planets before going virmire and finish the ones in my list, THEN go to the citadel and get the rewards? If this works, I should still be good.
 
I am doing what I always do in this RPG type games. Just play.

My first play through will be about just enjoying the story and having fun. I will leave all of the cheesement crap for later (if at all because I dont really care about cheesements) but I am really into this game without wasting time trying to get the cheesement.

I plan on playing through this game 4 or 5 times maybe....there is just so much to do. Hopefully with each play through it will be faster.
 
Its going to be hard on my 2nd play through not having Ashley along. He has the best dialog in my opinion. I also really really hate the other two females along with Kordian. For some reason they all get on my nerves.
 
Ya well personally I find achievements make the game even more fun, particularily if you do them through your first playthrough cause it just furthers the incentive to do every little sidequest and explore every nook and cranny yet have fun while doing it. Each achievement you get is kinda like beating a level...they both mean nothing in the end but its just fun to get them. Generally I only go for achievements if they're fun to get...I used to always complete games 100%, even if there was no reward then slowly I stopped doing that, and now for games like this the achievements ARE the 100%.
 
Holy christ. I just tried to snipe a group of people while never having put any point into sniping.
3-20. I am glad Ashley was there with her sniper rifle. Ahh well. Thats why you have 3 people with you.
 
The great thing about the achievements in this is that the ones you have to work for give you bonuses in-game, like cooldown boosts or bonus talents for new characters. It's a great way to handle it. Otherwise I probably would just ignore them.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']Anyone beat Naveria yet? Do you have to bring Liara along? I hate her so much and would rather not.[/QUOTE]
You don't have to bring Liara with you.
 
So I decided to finally start my 2nd playthrough. Been wanting to play since I beat the game a few weeks ago, but I've been researching how to maximize my achievements in 3 playthroughs.

I'm continuing with my Level 50, Female, Adept. Pretty much I'm going for these achievements:
Finish 2nd playthrough, Beat game on Hardcore, Get 150 kills w/ Sniper Rifle, Get 150 kills w/ Assault Rifle, Renegade, Reach Lvl. 60, plus 2 more Ally achievements.
 
For reference, here's the achievements I got on my first 2 playthroughs:

Playthrough 1: Level 49 Infiltrator
- Distinguished Service - Eden Prime
- Spectre Inductee
- Medal of Exploration - Uncharted Planet
- Search and Rescue - Artemus Tau
- Honorium of Corporate Service - Noveria
- Medal of Heroism - Feros
- Dog of War - Organic Kills
- Geth Hunter - Geth Kills
- Rich - $1,000,000
- Pistol Expert - Pistol kills
- Sniper Rifle Expert - Sniper Rifle kills
- Sabotage Specialist - Use Sabotage
- Overload Specialist - Use Overload
- Dampening Specialist - Use Dampening
- Paragon - 75% Paragon
- Charismatic - Resolve Impossible Situation with Charm/Intimidatea
- Council Legion of Merit - Virmire
- Medal of Honor - Complete Game
- Completionist - 75% Complete Game

Playthrough 2: Level 59 Infiltrator
- Scholar - Get info about all races
- Power Gamer - Level 50
- Assault Rifle Expert - Assault Rifle Kills (did untrained)
- Shotgun Expert - Shotgun Kills (did untrained)
- Renegade - 75% Renegade
- First Aid Specialist - Use 150 Medigel
- Krogan Ally - Wrex 75% Complete
- Asari Ally - Liara 75% Complete
- Long Service Medal - 2 Playthroughs with same character
- Distinguished Combat Medal - Hardcore Difficulty
 
Does that Infiltrator class take care of all the Electronics achievements? If so, I'll probably do that next. I've been the same char all 3 playthroughs and I haven't gotten a weapon/ability achievement in a long while. I need sniper/assault, all the electronics ones, and a couple of the biotics (stasis and something else maybe?). So with the infiltrator I can get sniper as well, but not assault rifle?
 
WTF? I just finished a playthough on Hardcore without changing the difficulty, and it didn't give me the achievement...

Dur, I was on Veteran, not Hardcore. Whoopie. :bomb: Oh well.
 
[quote name='io']Does that Infiltrator class take care of all the Electronics achievements? If so, I'll probably do that next. I've been the same char all 3 playthroughs and I haven't gotten a weapon/ability achievement in a long while. I need sniper/assault, all the electronics ones, and a couple of the biotics (stasis and something else maybe?). So with the infiltrator I can get sniper as well, but not assault rifle?[/quote]

No, Infiltrator doesn't have two of the electronics skills (AI Hacking and Neural Shock). You can get the weapon ones with any class, you'll just have a harder time of it if you're using an untrained weapon due to the lack of accuracy/efficiency -- but it's perfectly doable (I did Shotgun and Assault Rifle with an Infiltrator).

If you want to do all the electronics one on a single character you'll need to make an Engineer class.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top