Help me play the Mass Effect series

I'll add just a few notes:

• You don't need to play the same character type in each game. The character import system allows you to change the class.
• Infiltrator is the most survivable character in ME1 (IMHO). The sniper rifle can hit targets at ridiculously long range once up upgrade the skills and get better rifels and mods. Adept rocks in ME3. I kinda liked Sentinel or Infiltrator in ME2.
• ME2 is more a pure action game; the roleplaying comes more from conversation than choices of upgrades. ME3 is radically different -- you can carry and use any weapon, but weight affects your ability to use powers (slows down recharge). But it has more RPG stats elements. However, ME1 kinda went overboard on the stats side.
• Always take the passive ability that maxes out paragon/renegade. You can get some pretty interesting results (and avoid some pretty hefty combat situations) with high paragon or renegade stats.

Adept is the easiest character in ME1, you unload the mother fucking alpha strike, wait and then unleash it again. And again. And again. Except everyone's dead now. Plus you use pistols, by far the deadliest weapon in the first game.

Soldier is the easiest in ME2 because Adrenaline is hugely over-powered and allows you to be a better sniper than the infiltrator. Adept is no longer as deadly because biotics no longer bypass defences.

I'm not sure about ME3. Generally it seemed much better balanced, but I haven't played all the classes. There's what I believe is a subtle change from ME2 whereby damage to shields doesn't overkill to the next layer of defence, which means accurate burst fire is generally superior to single-shot massive damage. So I'd probably vote Soldier again.

If you're playing on the Veteran difficulty or below though then combat is a cakewalk.

Everyone who tells you side-missions are worse in ME1 than in ME2 is wrong. Dead wrong.

I dunno if engineer is overpowered or not, but you get a gajillion powers in ME3 and it is delightful.

My plan now is to do everything wrong.

I think this can work.

All of the classes can work just fine in each of the games; some are a bit better, but none are gimped. Especially if you're playing on Easy.

I'd recommend just playing whatever appeals to you thematically.

NO NO THATS WRONG THERE IS ONLY ONE CORRECT WAY TO PLAY AND EVERYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS AN IDIOT RAWWRRRR

So, today Mirriam Shepard was reborn as a Soldier. So far I do find it easier, and the Assault Rifle is fun! When I unlock it I can use it on any new character I start, right? (just in case I change my mind again)

Here are some dark pictures of my FemShep, the first few cut scenes are a bit dark unfortunately:

It took me ages to get her face looking right while recreating her, she kept making a duck-face in most cut scenes. I was smart enough to screenshot the slider positions in character creation this time around though. (just in case I change my mind again)

Thanks for all the help yesterday!

No, not immediately - after you finish one playthrough with a Soldier, your future ME1 characters can equip Assault Rifles as an extra unlock, but other classes don't get Assault Rifles just because you created a Soldier. :)

Nice work on the character, too - I had the duckface problem on my FemShep in ME1 as well. IIRC most of the women in ME1 looked nearly identical.

Aren't the ME1 skill unlocks based on achievements, rather than completing with a specific class?

Oh, could be - the two were probably synonymous in my case (and it's been years) but you're likely correct. Either way, rolling a Soldier doesn't mean ARs for everybody. :)

The ME1 achievement system was something I hoped more games would copy. Alas, not even its sequel did.

YEah. It's pretty trivial to unlock all of the weapon cheevos on one playthrough. For the power cheevos: does Shephard have to be the one who uses them? Or does it no matter, as long as someone is firing it off?

Thanks to Mirriam I'm actually considering starting another ME1 playthrough. Maybe Engineer this time?

Oh god what have you done

Don't do it. ME1 doesn't hold up.

I find it does and it doesn't. By far the worst part is driving around with the Mako; if you're a relentless completionist that gets old rather quickly. The combat's also not as tight as other games, and there are some obnoxious insta kill bugs (Thresher Maws FUUUUUUUUUUUU) but if you can put up with that there's still something to be had from the game, IMO. It's got a great sense of atmosphere, and there's a certain nostalgia value in seeing the band's origins, knowing how everything plays out.

I'm sorry!




not really, join me and Creole Ned in our misery!

Mostly agreed, but the key is that SuperJay is talking about another playthrough. The mediocre combat and lousy sidequests render it not worth a revisit, which I wish I had known earlier this year when I played through it again.

And I maintain that the first game is the best one, with the notable exception of combat. So vive le difference and all that.

I just loaded up my husband's saves, and when I roll a new Shepard I can pick AR as a bonus weapon on a Vanguard for example. I can then stick points in it right away. That opens a bunch of new and fun options...

I like it and 2 for plot the most. For minute to minute gameplay, I would kill for ME1 redone in the ME2/3 combat engine.

For people replaying it: playing a purposeful failshep is quite amusing on a replay. "Only you can save us from this threat!" *Benny Hill music begins to play*

If you play a Vanguard just make sure you switch back to at least try Shotgun for ME2 and ME3 -- it's silly fun to Charge in and shotgun several foes in a row!

Without Charge a ME1 Vanguard isn't anywhere near as potent or exciting.

The Vanguard was just an example :) I more meant that I can now use the AR on any class really which is handy. For survivability I'd probably still be best off with my soldier though.

The best special abilities are, IMO, biotics. Unlock warp / etc; they're much more useful in general I think.

I did soldier first, which meant my engineer could use ARs. So he did. ALL THE TIME. <3


EDIT: I should grab some screen shots of my LadyShep, just to put to rest the idea they all look the same. I have never seen a LadyShep look like mine. <3

I've been spending most of the evening running the starter mission over and over to get a feel for the different weapons. My favorites are the the assault rifle and the sniper rifle, so unless I could fit the assault rifle on an infiltrator somehow I guess I'm sticking with my soldier.

Do post a pic of your Shep, I love seeing what others do in character creation :)

If/when you finally get around to ME2, there will come a point where you might get a particular sort of assault rifle. It's basically a bullet hose, the accuracy is 100% shit but it is HILARIOUS because it's just this giant spray of a gazillion bullets everywhere. <3

I will dig out SALLY SHEPARD later. :D

I really liked how my Shepard ended up looking in ME3. I was imagining more time had passed since ME2 than I later learned actually had, so I was trying to make her an "I'm too old for this shit"-style battleworn old lady. Although her face still looks quite young, so I guess it feels more like greying hair from stress, which also fits.

Some of these are dark, my apologies! Also her hair is in a Sensible Bun, which you can't really tell in any of these.

Sally Shepard in Mass Effect:

Sally Shepard in Mass Effect 2:

Sally Shepard in ME2, getting told by Jacob he wants to SEE THIS THROUGH because we have a GOOD THING GOING:

Actual spoiler:

And finally, when I started ME3, I had that bug where it couldn't import the way Sally looked (which they have since fixed, thankfully). I had a hard time remaking her, partly because the black lady preset I had used as a base in ME1 had mysteriously disappeared. I was full of despair. But then! Then I found the horrible purple lipstick that I hadn't noticed she was wearing until a particularly well-lit scene in ME1 (and I was in TOO DEEP to want to restart) still existed in ME3. It was far from perfect, but it helped a lot, somehow:

Shep gets an "I'm too old for this shit" card for free in ME2. It doesn't matter how much time passes before 3 for that to come into play. I'm surprised there aren't more dialog choices of "Seriously? I'm a LITTLE FUCKING BUSY HERE"

My dream game is a ME Trilogy Special Edition where the entire series is playable as one concurrent experience using the ME3 engine and combat mechanics.

For ME2, the Infiltrator is pretty good on Insanity difficulty, but not the Sentinel. You pretty much cannot rely on shields/barriers at all since they disappear in a second under any enemy fire.

The first playthrough probably (definitely) should not be on Insanity difficulty, but if one did so, the Soldier would be the best choice simply due to the amazing combination of Adrenaline Rush + Sniper Rifle for slow time (read: safety and easy head shots) and a massive damage boost. The Infiltrator accomplishes something similar, but not as effectively. On the second playthrough, when one is familiar with the environments, the Vanguard is ridiculously powerful (Charge!).

In ME2, if your first playthrough gave you the Dominate skill from a certain potential NPC, then getting it as a bonus skill on second playthrough with an Engineer is hilarious. You become a control master, getting enemies and your drone to fight amongst themselves (and on Insanity they are as deadly to each other as they are to you!) while you take pot shots from the sidelines.

That said, I doubt Mirriam is itching to play on that difficulty. :)

I don't think you can play on Insanity on the first playthrough in any of the games anyway.

If you're playing a Soldier - get access to Heavy Armor and Immunity ASAP. You now also need to bring along a biotic and a tech expert on pretty much every major mission to make combat easier and to unlock ALL the crates. You do want to unlock ALL the crates, yes? Think of the treasures they, potentially, could hold!

I spent most of last night re-running the first mission, practising when to seek cover and when to shoot, how to control the rest of my team, trying different weapons and practising my aim (I miss VATS!), hehe. I'm that inexperienced with shooters. So no, I can't imagine playing on anything beyond "Casual" any time soon :D

But... but... I need all the loot! I'm a pack-rat, dammit!

Should you ever stumble on a Quarian in your travels, bring her along and max out her Electronics and Decryption skills. And before you know it you'll be getting the INVENTORY IS ALMOST FULL - CONVERT STUFF TO MEDI-GEL STAT! message. Which means that you are doing it right.

Hehe, from what I've been told there are plenty of companions who can learn electronics and decryption, which makes a welcome change from other RPGs where you're always stuck taking the same annoying Rogue/Thief character. So I'm not really worried about that at the moment :)

Only ME1 restricts your difficulty choice, you have to complete the game twice to unlock Insanity. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a level either, it makes it a very grindy experience as enemies get more health and tons of regen. It almost forces you to use a particular ammo upgrade to compensate and there's one mini-boss that if you tackle him first is insanely hard to beat at the level you face him.

If I were to replay ME1 I'd probably go Hardcore. Okay, I'd probably go Insanity, but that's because I'm one of those people who are part of the problem, always picking the highest difficulty (unless it's Call of Duty).

For ME2 (as someone who tried Veteran, Hardcore and Insanity) I'd personally recommend starting on Insanity (Hardcore if you're that combat fresh, but by this point you've completed ME1) and then dialling it down as necessary. The game is all about the interplay between your powers and health, armour and shields and on Insanity they're common and it makes combat a far more tactical experience. Hardcore makes for a reasonable balance between difficulty and tactical combat. Veteran doesn't really have any of this and you miss what makes the combat interesting.

I've only ever played ME3 on Insanity so I don't know if they handle difficulty in the same way.

Why? Why would you punish them by exposing them to more of the mess that is ME1 inventory management?

Nuts to the Mako, the inventory was easily the worst part of the game.

I vastly prefer Hardcore over Insanity in ME2. Insanity in ME2 just made shit tedious. I COULD finish the game on insanity, but I would die of boredom before that ever happened. I gave up about halfway through my Insanity playthrough because it was just boring and felt like a grind.

I haven't bothered in ME3, I probably should. Hardcore was about what I like there too, though. I had to think about what I was doing, but I didn't have to spend 50 years killing individual people when it became clear I was going to win anyway.

This reminds me that they fixed the import bug and I should go back and re-import to see if my Shepard will more closely resemble her former self. Current Shep status:

I did what I could for 3 but I had a game to get into (!) so it was a bit of a rush job converting her over. She's a little pale and drawn. :( Though I guess it's understandable given what she's been through.

In retrospect, I should have saved a screenshot of the original import job because it was unspeakably awful in ways you can't even imagine. I don't know how that made it to release without someone saying, "hey, this is a little broken, guys..."

The difference between Insanity in ME2 and ME3 is the lack of shielding on a good percentage of enemies, giving you more tactical options. So if you found it tedious having to strip shields off every enemy in ME2, then ME3 should prove to be a much more enjoyable experience.

Personally, I didn't find Insanity particularly tedious in the second game. I always rolled with two overloads, singularity and warp which made most encounters easy enough. Oh, except for those guys with shockwave towards the end of the game. Christ, they could take a beating.

Possibly. I still unlock every single goddamn thing every goddamn time though. It could be a Colossus armor in there! It's why we play RPG's.