Kanluwen wrote:I run it with the magazine and barrel, it is silly how many rounds I can put out.
Magazine and piercing mod here. Though this choice is also influenced by my weakness for appearance - fortunately, this works just as well.
Speaking of appearance, does anyone else think that the Barrel V modification for SMGs and pistols looks incredibly stupid? Like the barrel of a drum revolver. I wish I could switch back to the IV or III version. :(
As a really, really, really fun note...
If you ever have friends you're helping level up through Bronze, take the Revenant with Piercing and the Extended Magazine on the Turian Soldier.
Proceed to walk up and down hallways holding the fire button. Don't "sight" in on anything, just fire from the hip.
I just tried the Avenger X on my Quarian infiltrator, and it is indeed pretty solid. It seems to have a little more stopping power then the Geth SMG, and I like assault rifles better anyway. it's probably worth trading off 20% recharge.
Kanluwen wrote:If you ever have friends you're helping level up through Bronze, take the Revenant with Piercing and the Extended Magazine on the Turian Soldier.
Proceed to walk up and down hallways holding the fire button. Don't "sight" in on anything, just fire from the hip.
Sort-of did this yesterday, actually, except that I actually aimed half the time. Was the first time I tried out the Revenant and we were in a good mood, so I decided to just try her out after realizing how gakky the Falcon is in terms of damage (even though I love the bouncing 'nades! it's really fun when you can cover choke points from around the corner or make corpses jump into the air ) ...
Yes, I immediately got that "Rambo feeling". Dat sound! It's got to be the loudest gun of them all, right after the Widow.
Ouze wrote:I just tried the Avenger X on my Quarian infiltrator, and it is indeed pretty solid. It seems to have a little more stopping power then the Geth SMG, and I like assault rifles better anyway. it's probably worth trading off 20% recharge.
Definitively! It may be the starter rifle, but when you have her on X she remains quite viable. Plus, I still think this is one of the best looking weapons of the entire franchise. For my Asari, it was of course a must-have because the Commandos in ME1 had her, too.
As dumb as it sounds, aiming seems to be detrimental with the Revenant. I was noticing very little vertical climb when hipfiring, even without Marksmanship on. When I went into precision aiming--I noticed the climb quite a lot.
Yeah, I'm currently the proud (or not) owner of a Crusader III. Fortunately my commendation pack from Silencer gave me a Valiant I!! I am most pleased. Best sniper rifle in the game as far as I'm concerned.
I'm honestly enjoying the Viper X. Give it a penetration mod and enhanced barrel, then let it rip as a Human Engineer with a Tempest X as back-up.
I should also add that while annoyed by the Crusader's obscenely low damage and high weight(seriously. It cannot kill a bloody Cannibal in one shot?!), I like its noise and looks.
The problem with the Crusader is it's a Black Widow with no scope. The damage is comparable to the Black Widow, and the accuracy is obscene, but you can't take advantage of it unless you headshot, and a headshot is a crapshoot at best unless you have a scope.
I don't like it. It's TOO accurate for a shotgun, which makes it tough to hit targets in close proximity, and difficult at range because it has no scope. The Geth Plasma Shotgun is super accurate but has homing bullets, so it takes care of that problem.
As for playing on Gold, just do the Fire Base White/Geth/Gold strategy I mentioned a few pages back and get your commendation pack, then go back to practicing on Silver. I gave a full outline of it, and it's very easy to do. Most people use it to farm credits, but some use it to complete the personal goal any time the challenge requires Gold play.
Aldarionn wrote:Fortunately my commendation pack from Silencer gave me a Valiant I!! I am most pleased. Best sniper rifle in the game as far as I'm concerned.
See, must've been my blessing.
But I agree - Valiant with Piercing and Extended Barrel is the way to go for the fashionable Systems Alliance sniper.
FM Ninja 048 wrote:I wish it told you if the community passed/failed.
"You know, I honestly didn’t think that batarians bled the way we did," admitted Lieutenant Girard, currently recovering from a fight against Reaper forces on Noveria. "But then, I’ve only really seen them that one time, on Mindoir. Definitely, though, provided I’ve got enough medigel, and that the mission won’t be compromised by me trying to give first aid during a firefight, I’ll be sure to use that medigel on our new friends from Khar’shan. Just as soon as I’m done helping any injured salarians, turians, drell, asari, krogan, quarians, or geth."
"You know, I honestly didn’t think that batarians bled the way we did," admitted Lieutenant Girard, currently recovering from a fight against Reaper forces on Noveria. "But then, I’ve only really seen them that one time, on Mindoir. Definitely, though, provided I’ve got enough medigel, and that the mission won’t be compromised by me trying to give first aid during a firefight, I’ll be sure to use that medigel on our new friends from Khar’shan. Just as soon as I’m done helping any injured salarians, turians, drell, asari, krogan, quarians, or geth."
I tend not to follow company/game blogs, I prefer if any information I need ingame is delivered ingame.
However, I just unlocked the M-13 Raptor, compared to when I'm Shepard, with my armour geared for damage, it's rubbish. takes almost a full clip to kill geth trooper.
Also, on a semi-related note, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is actually pretty good, affter I got past the art style (huge fantasy style weapons annoy me) I really enjoyed the demo, still not tried out the Chakarm launcher though.
The raptor isn't so bad, give it the extra barrel and clip, and aim for the noggins. I got mine upgraded to X and it's pretty good, but in the end I just don't like the sore finger it gives me. I switched back to the single shot noob sniper rifle now, till I can get the window or black widow upgraded a little.
The Raptor is basically a Mattock with a built in scope. It's a little heavier and the damage is roughly the same. The rate of fire is about the same as well, and on a Turian it's not a half bad weapon. I still take my Mattock though because I like the faster cooldowns.
FM Ninja 048 wrote:I tend not to follow company/game blogs, I prefer if any information I need ingame is delivered ingame.
You and me both - that said, there are instances where it's worth making an exception.
Necros wrote:The raptor isn't so bad, give it the extra barrel and clip, and aim for the noggins. I got mine upgraded to X and it's pretty good, but in the end I just don't like the sore finger it gives me.
So true! At first I thought it was hilarious how I could just plink away at the enemy as if I was shooting with some sort of rapid fire nail gun - but after one or two rounds my trigger finger starts to hurt a bit due to my "manual RoF" with this rifle, so I very much prefer the Valiant.
The one thing bothering me is that the Raptor is also supposed to be the gun used by Cerberus Nemesii - yet when you as a player use it, it's the absolute opposite of how a Nemesis shoots in terms of speed and damage!
Would've been cool if they had given the M-13 a built-in laser pointer and a massive damage shot that you need to charge up for whilst not moving and aiming at the target, imo.
Fun trick with Raptor X:
Enhanced Barrel
Enhanced Scope
Armor Piercing Ammunition I, II, or III (depending on what difficult you're on).
With Tactical Cloak, you can and will get off six to seven shots before your Tactical Cloak expires. With the Sniper Rifle damage bonus for Cloak, it is nasty.
Lynata wrote:
The one thing bothering me is that the Raptor is also supposed to be the gun used by Cerberus Nemesii - yet when you as a player use it, it's the absolute opposite of how a Nemesis shoots in terms of speed and damage!
Would've been cool if they had given the M-13 a built-in laser pointer and a massive damage shot that you need to charge up for whilst not moving and aiming at the target, imo.
This is my biggest problem with the Raptor. Lore says every Nemesis is armed with a Raptor, but they fire only a single shot at a time and it COMPLETELY strips shields regardless of number, and does enough damage to knock you down to a sliver of health no matter what your actual health value is. They also reload between every shot. Seems very arbitrary, especially when the player version of the gun does pitiful damage with a high rate of fire, making it infinitely worse than what the Nemeses use. Basically, they have a Widow with variable damage, a laser sight, and the skin of a far less damaging gun.
I have to say by far the most worthwhile weapon I got out of a spectre pay was the carnifex, with a scope it headshots like no tomorrow (the only problem is its rather limited amo). I have also never used my widow and my mantis is level 9 and half the weight (i was quite disappointed when i found that out). There is no day that i dont wish there was a mod that increased reload speeds on a sniper rifle.
vodo40k wrote:I have to say by far the most worthwhile weapon I got out of a spectre pay was the carnifex, with a scope it headshots like no tomorrow (the only problem is its rather limited amo). I have also never used my widow and my mantis is level 9 and half the weight (i was quite disappointed when i found that out). There is no day that i dont wish there was a mod that increased reload speeds on a sniper rifle.
The Widow will do more damage level-per-level than the Mantis, and it has built in penetration (IE it fires through walls, light cover and other creatures), which is the primary advantage to using it over the Mantis. If you use a barrel and piercing mod on a Mantis X, it will be half the weight and nearly the same damage as the Widow, and be able to penetrate a further distance through walls, until the Widow is around rank VI or so. Once the Widow does more damage, it's a better gun because you can skip the piercing mod and take a magazine mod for more spare rounds, or use the piercing mod/armor piercing ammo and give it the ability to fire through like 9 feet of walls (VERY handy on a Geth Infiltrator with Hunter mode). Admittedly, the Mantis is much easier to rank up than the Widow though, so many players prefer it.
Two other points:
1 - The weight of the Widow doesn't matter for an Infiltrator because of the way Tactical Cloak works. When you use Tactical Cloak, it has a base cooldown of 3 seconds, and the actual cooldown is determined by the amount of time you spend under the effects of Tactical Cloak. So if you pop up from cover, activate cloak, then immediately take a shot, you only ever have a 3 second cooldown even if you had -200% coldown reduction from carrying the heaviest gun in existence. Additionally, any power used while under the effects of Tactical Cloak that breaks Tactical Cloak, will be overridden by Tactical Cloaks cooldown. For example, if a Geth Infiltrator has Proximity Mine, he can activate cloak, fire a Proximity mine at his target, which will break cloak, but the damage bonus from Tactical Cloak will still be active for about 2 seconds, allowing him to fire a shot with his Widow and gain the 90% increased damage from Tactical Cloak. Because the Proximity Mine broke Tactical Cloak, he only gets the cooldown for Tactical Cloak which is 3 seconds, allowing him to reload and be ready to fire again by the time Tactical Cloak is ready to use.
2 - Reload Canceling. The Widow and the Mantis both have relatively long reload times. However, you can combat this by Reload Canceling, which I described in a previous post. Basically, even if Tactical Cloak is on Cooldown, if you press Y to activate it immediately after the reload counter ticks over (but before the reload animation ends) it will cancel the rest of the reload animation and allow you to fire again more quickly. So the rotation with a Widow would look something like Cloak > Fire > Cancel > Fire > Cloak(cancel) > Fire > Cancel > Fire > Repeat. If you are playing a Salarian with Energy Drain or a Geth with Proximity Mine it would be Cloak > Power > Fire > Cancel > Fire > Cloak(cancel) > Power > Fire > Cancel > Fire > Repeat. It takes some practice, but you get used to it and getting into the rhythm is gratifying.
I'm still using my Mantis X with barrel and penetration mod. My widow is only level 1 and no black widow yet, so Mantis is the best I got anyway.
With my salarian infiltrator, I have cloak where I can fire off another power and stay cloaked. So on weaker things with shields I can do energy drain and shoot at almost the same time and take out normal stuff with shields like centurions or nemesises. Tougher ones like pyros and hunters take 2 energy drains and a pop in the noggin.
I really hate phantoms though. I can drop their shields, but they see me cloaked every time. I'll usually do my 2 energy drains and then spray and pray with my locust X.
Got just about all my vet pack weapons maxed to X level, so I'm just buying premium specter packs now. So far just getting crappy useless weapons :(
Necros wrote:I'm still using my Mantis X with barrel and penetration mod. My widow is only level 1 and no black widow yet, so Mantis is the best I got anyway.
I'm unsure if the Black Widow is truly better than the normal one, anyways. Granted, it has three shots, but from all I've heard it also has reduced damage.
With my Infiltrator, I'm using nothing other than the Valiant with Piercing and Barrel mods right now. Well, and the 'fex, of course. Too much fun popping heads with it!
Also, grr @ Premium Specre Packs. Still missing the last customization option for both of my Asari Adepts. I swear, the game is trolling me!
For Phantoms, you can take the pressure off by dropping their barrier and doing a few points of damage to their health. At that point they will break off their attack, cloak, and attempt to take cover to regen their shields. At this point they are vulnerable because when they take cover, they drop Tactical Cloak more often than not making them easy to kill if you have penetration on your weapon. Line up a headshot through cover before they regen their barrier and you're good.
Quick-scoping is a good tactic once you get the hang of it. It helps negate their twitchy movement, and if they are close enough it will scope them while they are cloaked.
I caved and blew $25 on premium specter packs. Got a couple of characters I was missing, and got my widow up to level 3. So, if I add the extra barrel upgrade to it, the damage is like off the chart.. is there a max for damage? Or will it still add to the damage past the line? Since it's so close to max without it maybe I'd be better with a different mod for it.
Got a bunch of other guns I don't really like.. striker level 5. revanant 2, geth shotgun 2... I guess that one's ok, but I'm just not a big fan of shotguns in general, more of a sniper or assault rifle kinda guy.
And I have a batarian soldier now, but I can't really play him at all. I think I prefer having concussive shot.
Necros wrote:I caved and blew $25 on premium specter packs. Got a couple of characters I was missing, and got my widow up to level 3. So, if I add the extra barrel upgrade to it, the damage is like off the chart.. is there a max for damage? Or will it still add to the damage past the line? Since it's so close to max without it maybe I'd be better with a different mod for it.
There is no damage cap. The line is not even all that accurate, so adding a barrel mod is perfectly viable for a Widow. In fact, I'd encourage it. The best mods to take are Barrel and Clip. Since the Widow has penetration you don't need to use that mod, and ammo is always a concern with the big, single shot snipers.
A few tips for using the Widow. On Silver or lower it's fine to use on any character that you want to use a sniper build for, but on Gold it's a liability on anything but a Salarian Infiltrator. The 100% shield gate mechanic means you will need 2 shots to kill any shielded opponent, so unless you are fighting Reapers, who have the least shields of anyone, you will need a means of stripping shields before you fire. Energy Drain is the best option for this, and makes the Widow VERY good on Gold if you can get used to the Cloak > Energy Drain > Fire routine. On most enemies you won't need headshots because the Widow does so much damage.
Necros wrote:Got a bunch of other guns I don't really like.. striker level 5. revanant 2, geth shotgun 2... I guess that one's ok, but I'm just not a big fan of shotguns in general, more of a sniper or assault rifle kinda guy.
The Striker isn't that great. Usually the Falcon is the better option if you want that type of gun. The Revnant is great on a Turian Soldier once you have it at a reasonable level (higher than rank V), though on most other characters it's not really useful. The Geth Plasma Shotgun on the other hand is awesome on any character you put it on. On a Geth Infiltrator or Engineer it's top tier, probably the best weapon you can take, but it's really good on just about any class. I use it on my Batarian Soldier, my Salarian Engineer, my Asari Justicar, and all of my Krogan. It's very strong, but it takes a little getting used to because of the way it fires. Practice with it, and I promise you will like it.
Necros wrote:And I have a batarian soldier now, but I can't really play him at all. I think I prefer having concussive shot.
It's all about Ballistic Blades. I skip the grenades entirely and spec into Blades and melee damage on that character. The Sentinel is much more of a ranged combatant, somewhat like the Asari Adept, but the Soldier is all close quarters combat and doing anything else is kinda a waste of his abilities.
Here's the spec I use on my Batarian Soldier Ballistic Blades are speced to explode, and Blade Armor/Batarian Enforcer/Fitness are designed to give you the best cooldowns and the highest melee damage possible. You end up with just shy of 1,000 shields and health, and your punches will floor almost anything in the game in 1 shot. In fact, this character is so strong in CQC that I use him specifically to hunt Phantoms and keep them off my teammates. Fire Ballistic Blades to strip their barrier and force them backward, then hit Heavy Melee, which locks them into a sync animation with you and keeps them from tumbling away. 90% of the time the punch is enough to kill them outright, but if not, the explosion from Ballistic Blades will finish the job for you before they can recover. And even if they DO recover and you land a glancing blow, Blade Armor gives you 15% damage reduction from their return hit, and they take 150% of the damage they deal to you in melee, which will kill them. I've had Brutes charge me with their heavy strike and knock my shields off, only to strip half their armor or more from the hit. Follow up with a Heavy Melee and a few shots from the Geth Plasma Shotgun and they go down hard.
The Batarian Soldier is the only Soldier class I'll play anymore. They are a lot of fun, and their toolbox of tricks in close quarters is more devastating than a Novaguard or a Krogan Sentinel, and the damage for their heavy melee is surpassed only by Geth infiltrators with a specific spec.....and they are definitely more durable than the Geth.
I'll have to work with the soldier some more. I had a Krogan battlemaster who I specced for melee and I hated it. Just ended up dead half the time. so now I try to never melee anything ever.
Salarian infiltrator is my main character. I specced him to be able to use energy drain while cloaked, so I usually do the drain + headshot thing. For some tougher things I have to drain twice and try to get my shot in before cloak fades.
Aldarionn wrote:There is no damage cap. The line is not even all that accurate
Mhm, I've seen cases where the damage line barely moved at all even as I slotted a heavy barrel. Or is the damage of this mod depending on a gun's original damage, dismissing any upgrades from gained levels?
Aldarionn wrote:Usually the Falcon is the better option if you want that type of gun.
Speaking of the Falcon, is it just me or is the damage of its grenades really, really low? I love its tactical usefulness, but for killing things I do more damage pistol-whipping them in melee.
Aldarionn wrote:Ballistic Blades are speced to explode, and Blade Armor/Batarian Enforcer/Fitness are designed to give you the best cooldowns and the highest melee damage possible. You end up with just shy of 1,000 shields and health, and your punches will floor almost anything in the game in 1 shot.
T'is true, batarian soldiers are insane!
Didn't know that Blade Armor was that good until now, though. Sounds crazy and effective.
I think since it's a percetage, the barrel extra damage depends on the gun. Since the widow has super high damage, the barrel will add a lot. But adding a barrel to something like a SMG just adds a little.
I usually carry my Locust X as a sidearm, with ultra light materials 5 and extra ammo. Seems a waste to give it the extra barrel.
Necros wrote:I think since it's a percetage, the barrel extra damage depends on the gun. Since the widow has super high damage, the barrel will add a lot. But adding a barrel to something like a SMG just adds a little.
It does. The barrel I have now is at 20 or 25%. What I mean was the bar not moving by 1/5th or 1/4th but just about 1/10th.
It was just one weapon where I've seen this, though. Will have to check again to make sure which one it was. Could be a bug, could be the barrel depending on the gun's basic damage and not counting any upgrades (higher levels of the same weapon add bonus damage)...
Necros wrote:I'll have to work with the soldier some more. I had a Krogan battlemaster who I specced for melee and I hated it. Just ended up dead half the time. so now I try to never melee anything ever.
Salarian infiltrator is my main character. I specced him to be able to use energy drain while cloaked, so I usually do the drain + headshot thing. For some tougher things I have to drain twice and try to get my shot in before cloak fades.
I have not unlocked the Krogan Battlemaster yet so unfortunately I can't give you any tips for using him, but the nice thing about the Batarian Soldier is that Ballistic Blades hits a relatively wide area and staggers enemies on the initial blast, and staggers them a second time when it explodes (always spec explosion). This gives you PLENTY of time to either retreat (if you can't handle the group), fire off some shots from your shotgun (to ensure everyone dies), or punch someone in the face with your murder-fist. Option #3 is usually best saved for tougher enemies like Phantoms or Geth Hunters, or even Geth Primes, Atlases or Brutes. Of course, never do this to Banshees. That's just asking for death.
Lynata wrote:Mhm, I've seen cases where the damage line barely moved at all even as I slotted a heavy barrel. Or is the damage of this mod depending on a gun's original damage, dismissing any upgrades from gained levels?
The barrel mod is percentage based, so the lower the damage of the weapon, the smaller the benefit of equipping the barrel, however it's usually the best mod to equip on any gun. Small though the damage bonus may be, it adds up. For Snipers with Pen, take Barrel and Clip. For snipers without pen, take Barrel and Piercing. In both cases, armor piercing ammo is usually the best option, since it will extend the range of your penetration (HEY-OHHHHH!! Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Lynata wrote:Speaking of the Falcon, is it just me or is the damage of its grenades really, really low? I love its tactical usefulness, but for killing things I do more damage pistol-whipping them in melee.
It was nerfed a while back. It used to be a lot higher, and since then its gone down. The thing is, the damage is higher for direct hits than it is for glancing blows or splash damage. I tend to put a Barrel and Piercing mod on it if I use it at all, and I take Cryo Ammo, because the spash damage is enough to freeze most targets, and chill any you cant freeze. It's more of a support weapon than a kill weapon, but it can do some serious damage in the hands of an Infiltrator who knows what he's doing.
Lynata wrote:T'is true, batarian soldiers are insane!
Didn't know that Blade Armor was that good until now, though. Sounds crazy and effective.
Blade Armor is your protection against annoying melee targets like Husks, Phantoms and Brutes. It returns 150% of the damage to anyone that melees you. IE, if a Phantom has had her shields stripped and you force her into hitting you (charge her, basically), she will KO herself on your blade armor. Brutes always charge you, and their initial hit does massive damage (enough to strip shields on almost anyone) and their secondary hit does nearly as much. When they charge a Batarian though, they take enough damage to nearly kill themselves with the initial swing. Husks just die on your armor, and any basic infantry that melees you will do significant return damage to themselves. The Blade Armor is there not so much to protect you from damage directly, but to punish anyone with the balls to smack you in melee. Just be careful though, because you can still die. Phantoms at full shields will slap you, strip half their own barrier, then sync kill you with a 1 shot and walk away. There's a time and a place to dive into melee, and being familiar with that is necessary.
If your gun has penetration, wouldn't it be good to add the mod too to make it even better? or does it not really stack that good?
I was able to melee phantoms with my krogan, but all the stars had to be aligned just right for it to happen. But, I'd launch myself at em, then just keep doing heavy melee hits. This was just on silver games though. I guess the battarian would work better once I get the hang of it
Aldarionn wrote:The barrel mod is percentage based, so the lower the damage of the weapon, the smaller the benefit of equipping the barrel, however it's usually the best mod to equip on any gun.
Yeah, I'm just confused by 1/4th obviously not being 1/4th on the bar. It should be much higher, but as it looks like "almost nothing" I swapped it out for something else.
Aldarionn wrote:For Snipers with Pen, take Barrel and Clip. For snipers without pen, take Barrel and Piercing.
Yup, naturally - that's how I run my Widow and Valiant. Or used to; nowadays I've grown so fond of the Valiant that it's the only sniper rifle I take into battle. <3
Aldarionn wrote:Brutes always charge you, and their initial hit does massive damage (enough to strip shields on almost anyone) and their secondary hit does nearly as much. When they charge a Batarian though, they take enough damage to nearly kill themselves with the initial swing.
As I said, insane!
Necros wrote:If your gun has penetration, wouldn't it be good to add the mod too to make it even better? or does it not really stack that good?
This is something that would be of interest to me, too. I'm currently under the assumption that Penetration does not stack at all.
Necros wrote:If your gun has penetration, wouldn't it be good to add the mod too to make it even better? or does it not really stack that good?
It depends entirely on the situation. Only a few guns in the game have innate penetration, and those guns are the Widow, Black Widow, Javelin, and Crusader. The Black Widow has 0.25 meters of penetration, the Widow has 0.5 meters, and the Javelin has 1 meter. Not sure about the Crusader but I think it's the same as the Black Widow.
If you take Armor Piercing Ammo III it gives you something like an extra 1 meter pen, and the piercing mod gives you 1.3 meters I believe at rank V. On a Black Widow with Armor Piercing Ammo III you can penetrate over 4 feet of walls (~1.25 meters) which should be more than enough to go through light cover. On a Widow, it's even better with about a 5 foot penetration depth. The Javelin blows everything out of the water with over 6 and a half feet of penetration using Armor Piercing Ammo III. The thing is, you really can't take advantage of this penetration depth unless you can see through walls. Most of the time, if an enemy is visible, the distance of cover you need to penetrate is less than 1 meter, which means armor piercing ammo alone is enough to do the job.
That said, there is a Geth Infiltrator build that uses a Javelin + Piercing Mod + Armor Piercing Ammo for about 3.3 meters (just shy of 11 feet!) of penetration, combined with Hunter Mode to see enemies through walls. The Javelin is also the highest damage rifle in the game, and at rank 10 it can 2 shot Geth Primes through 11 feet of walls/cover. Basically, you play on Fire Base Glacier, which lets you see every enemy on the map through walls from almost anywhere. You basically move to anywhere enemies AREN'T, and fire at them through the walls. On Silver this absolutely dominates, but on Gold it's not that effective because of Shield Gate. It can be done with a Black Widow but it does cut almost 30% off your penetration depth, and significantly reduces your per-bullet damage.
Barring that situation though, the guns with penetration usually have enough penetration to do what you need them to do without adding a mod, and usually ammo is more of a concern than being able to hit someone hiding behind cover, so the extended clip capacity mod gives you a much better benefit than 1.3 meters of extra penetration.
Necros wrote:I was able to melee phantoms with my krogan, but all the stars had to be aligned just right for it to happen. But, I'd launch myself at em, then just keep doing heavy melee hits. This was just on silver games though. I guess the battarian would work better once I get the hang of it
Well I would think the Krogan Vanguard would be reasonably effective at heavy melee against Phantoms. Biotic Charge followed up by a heavy melee is a good combo, especially since it usually won't send a Phantom flying across the map. Batarians can effectively do the same thing, because Ballistic Blades will cause a Phantom to step back after the shot. It won't "stagger" them, like it does for other targets, but it will stop them in their tracks long enough for you to line up a heavy melee hit. Be careful though because they can still hit you during the wind-up for the punch. They just can't tumble out of the way.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Lynata wrote:Yeah, I'm just confused by 1/4th obviously not being 1/4th on the bar. It should be much higher, but as it looks like "almost nothing" I swapped it out for something else.
Don't use the bar as a guide. It's inaccurate and generally means nothing, and I'm really not sure why they use it or how numbers affect the bar one way or another. The numerical values of the weapon are what matters, and if a mod gives you 25% more damage, and the gun does 100 damage per shot, it will increase the damage to 125 per shot no matter how much the bar shows.
Lynata wrote:Yup, naturally - that's how I run my Widow and Valiant. Or used to; nowadays I've grown so fond of the Valiant that it's the only sniper rifle I take into battle. <3
The Valiant has surprisingly low damage listed for its numerical value considering how much it actually does in practice. It's about 3/5 what the Black Widow is listed at. A Black Widow I has 514.1 base damage, and a Valiant I has 317.2, which seems a bit low. Considering the Valiant can 1 shot almost anything the Black Widow can 1 shot, and both can 2 shot most shielded enemies, I don't see much difference between the two in practice, and the Valiant is much more stable and will stay on target for 3 shots. The Black Widow kicks like a mule and you have to pace the shots or you will miss.
Also, I didn't realize just how much more damage the Widow does than the Black Widow. Base value at rank I the Widow does 867 damage. Just shows you how inaccurate the bar is when you look at the actual numbers. I have a Widow VII, a Black Widow II and a Valiant I, which have damage values of 1011.53, 528.38 and 317.2 respectively, but my Widow VII comes just shy of filling up the damage bar. The Black Widow fills up the damage bar about 85%, and the Valiant fills it up about 75%. If the damage bar were a 1:1 ratio for numerical damage and the Widow VII filled the bar about 98%, the Valiant should only fill it up about 1/3 of the way, but that's obviously not the case. I don't really understand the formula they use.
Lynata wrote:This is something that would be of interest to me, too. I'm currently under the assumption that Penetration does not stack at all.
To be clear, yes, penetration DOES stack, at 100% value.
The Reapers are targeting our training centers, and your mission is to draw their fire and attention. Put them on the defensive! Buy us time, and the reinforcements in training will soon back you up.
Allied Goal: Promote 50,000 characters.
Squad Goal: Promote 3 characters.
Special Circumstance: Due to the failure of Operation SILENCER, more banshees will spawn with Reaper enemies and might also spawn with other enemies.
Squad Goal Success: Squad members awarded a Commendation Pack.
Allied Goal Success: All players awarded a Victory Pack (high chance of containing a Rare weapon).
Chris Priestley clarified, and the "Squad Goal" is in fact a "Personal Goal".
Oof, I just promoted some characters - this is going to take some doing.
I got the Krogan Battlemaster yesterday, though! Great fun.
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Aldarionn wrote:A few tips for using the Widow. On Silver or lower it's fine to use on any character that you want to use a sniper build for, but on Gold it's a liability on anything but a Salarian Infiltrator. The 100% shield gate mechanic means you will need 2 shots to kill any shielded opponent, so unless you are fighting Reapers, who have the least shields of anyone, you will need a means of stripping shields before you fire. Energy Drain is the best option for this, and makes the Widow VERY good on Gold if you can get used to the Cloak > Energy Drain > Fire routine. On most enemies you won't need headshots because the Widow does so much damage.
As always, you're a font of useful information. I was familiar with the shield gate mechanics but never really considered exploiting them in this way. I might try it this weekend; as I have to level up my infiltrator anyway. I really like the concept of the big sniper guns but I seem to play a lot more effectively with main battle rifle type guns like the Sabre, this might have me try it again. I still have no Black Widow, though.
Aldarionn wrote:The Batarian Soldier is the only Soldier class I'll play anymore. They are a lot of fun, and their toolbox of tricks in close quarters is more devastating than a Novaguard or a Krogan Sentinel, and the damage for their heavy melee is surpassed only by Geth infiltrators with a specific spec.....and they are definitely more durable than the Geth.
I'm with you on this one. I don't play solider as often as I did initially but the Batarian definitely seems to bring the most to the table - charging Krogan is fun but at that point it seems Sentinel is better. Batarian makes for a great all-rounder. I haven't exploited your blade theories yet though - perhaps I'll try that this weekend as well.
I have an infiltrator at 20, but I'm hesitant to promote him. I can work on other characters that are close though
But I just don't like my battarian soldier. I respecced him for all melee and he does great melee damage, but melee just isn't my play style at all. I just end up dead over and over.
I'm a habitual promoter so that won't be an issue. I have Engineer and Infiltrator both at level 20 right now and Sentinel/Soldier at 18 or 19, can't recall. Here's hoping for another Valiant upgrade!
Reinforcements are being deployed to all N7 forces, bringing out some heavy hitters thanks to the new Mass Effect 3 Rebellion DLC Pack! Arriving on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and PC on Tuesday, May 29 (Wednesday, May 30 on the PSN in Europe), the Mass Effect 3 Rebellion Pack will be bringing you more gear, more weapons, more maps, and more kits, available at no additional cost for anyone who redeemed an Online Pass for Mass Effect 3 on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360.
The Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion opens two new fronts against the Reapers: Firebase Jade’s jungle reservoir and Firebase Goddess on Thessia. In-game reinforcement packs now include three new weapons (Reegar Carbine, Krysae Sniper Rifle, Cerberus Harrier) as well as equipment, consumables, and six new characters from species that have lost lives or whole planets to the Reapers: Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator, Vorcha Soldier and Sentinel, Ex-Cerberus Adept and Vanguard. The battle continues!
NEW CHARACTERS Vorcha Soldier
Thanks to their unique physiology and their Bloodlust ability, the Vorcha are joining the fight and are perfectly suited for the utilitarian soldier kit.
Vorcha Sentinel
The innate aggressiveness found within the Vorcha make them shockingly durable combatants, and when coupled with their Flamer skill, the Vorcha sentinel is a force to be reckoned with.
Male Quarian Engineer
Quarians have spent centuries at perpetual salvage and ship repair; the survival of their species depends on this technical expertise. When bringing the new Arc Grenade to the fray, the Quarians prove their prowess as effective engineers on the battlefield.
Male Quarian Infiltrator
The Male Quarian Infiltrator must actively rely on stealth while in the heat of battle, and when they make use of their Tactical Scan ability, they quickly prove their mettle while continuously dishing out the pain.
Ex-Cerberus Vanguard
When the Illusive Man turned to indoctrination in order to ensure the loyalty of his troops, many Cerberus operatives defected and joined the Alliance in order to stop the Reapers. Now that we’re on the same team, Ex-Cerberus Vanguards (along with their new Lash attack) are quickly proving their worth.
Ex-Cerberus Adept
A result of the Illusive Man’s early experiments in enhanced human physiology, Ex-Cerberus subjects are highly skilled combat and biotics specialists. As a result, Ex-Cerberus Adepts can lay waste to the enemy with their Smash and Singularity powers.
NEW MAPS
Firebase Jade – Surrounded by huge waterfalls, Firebase Jade overlooks an ancient reservoir built by the salarians centuries ago. Set up strategic chokepoints inside the base’s main buildings to get the jump on your enemy, and work with your team to meticulously clear each room to achieve victory.
Firebase Goddess – Nestled in the epicenter of a Thessian metropolis, Firebase Goddess is one of the last strongholds of asari resistance against the Reapers. With its circular layout, Firebase Goddess is a tough location to control. This arena combines heavy cover and elevated firing positions, so stay light on your feet.
NEW WEAPONS
Cerberus Harrier Assault Rifle – These Cerberus-modified Mattock rifles are fully automatic. Cerberus gunsmiths reined in the recoil issues, resulting in a gun that stay on target, but delivers slightly less punch per round than a standard Mattock. As such, the weapon is typically utilized by Cerberus’ elite troopers, who train constantly to make every burst count.
Reegar Carbine Shotgun – This electrical weapon improves upon the arc pistol’s design by generating a sustained current on its target. This weapon is named for the Quarian Reegar family, whose marines have served valiantly against the Geth.
Krysae Sniper Rifle – This Turian antimaterial rifle is modified to kill Reaper enemies. The Krysae’s scope uses a rangefinder that adjusts to keep the target in proper proportion to the shooter, which comes in useful when the sniper is forced into close range. Its specialized ammunition is both armor-piercing and explosive. In a desperate move, the Turians released its specifications over the extranet so that nearly anyone with a fabricator could manufacture this weapon to help the war effort.
FAQ When is the Rebellion Pack available?
The Rebellion Pack is available on May 29 for PlayStation 3 in North America, Xbox 360 and PC worldwide. The pack will be available on May 30 for PlayStation 3 in Europe..
What is included with the Rebellion Pack?
Firebase Jade and Firebase Goddess are available to play on as soon as the Rebellion Pack is downloaded. The new weapons, characters, and equipment are available as rewards inside Reinforcement Packs.
Does each new character come with new abilities?
Yes the new characters will have their own unique abilities and loadouts.
How much does the Rebellion Pack cost to download?
The Rebellion Pack is available at no additional cost to download.
How do I get new characters and weapons from the Rebellion Pack?
The new items in the Rebellion Pack will be available as rewards inside existing Reinforcement Packs. Make sure to look out for promotional packs and weekend challenges for other ways to unlock the content.
The maps will be nice. I always like new environments, but I would very much like to see a new game mode. The Characters are definitely interesting. I have no interest in the Vorcha, personally I hate the race and their aesthetic, as well as their horrible voice acting and their attitude. I suppose if they tone down the voice acting I can live with them though. The Quarians and the Ex Cerberus on the other hand I find VERY interesting. The Male Quarian Infiltrator sounds cool with the new Scan power (something similar to Hunter Mode?) and the Engineer will have new powers as well. I never liked Fire/Ice for Quarian Engineer, so perhaps the new power build will bring them more in line with my style of play. The Cerberus Adept disappoints me a little because it has Singularity (not a good power in MP), but the Smash power sounds like fun. Also a Vanguard with an actual offensive power other than Nova sounds amusing as well.
I think I'm looking forward to the guns most of all, particularly the new Sniper Rifle. The dynamic scope could be very good or very bad depending on how its coded, and depending on damage/reload, it could compete with the Valiant/Black Widow on Gold. It all depends on how much Penetration it has, and how the explosive rounds work. If they bypass shield gate and are not host-dependent, it could be a very strong gun indeed. The new Mattock variant sounds like a good gun for my Engineers/Sentinels, especially Turian, and the Reegar Carbine has the coolest name of any gun. Hopefully it will compete with the current top-tier shotguns (GPS and Claymore).
Sounds cool.. now, do I farm all weekend and buy equipment packs to try and get the old stuff upgraded so there's less of a big pool of stuff later? Or, save it all and try to get new stuff out of said bigger pool?
I defiantly like the sound of the modded Mattock, i always wanted a burst/auto version of that. The ex-cerberus units also sound VERY interesting (que to never ever unlock any of those in upgrade packs). I also very much like the idea of a permanent upgrade, I hate going on gold, putting all level 3 upgrades on and then finding out I have a pathetic team and go down on wave 3.
Lynata wrote:Meh, I'd rather they give us the opportunity to play as a Phantom.
Interesting that you should mention that. A friend and I were discussing the possibility of them adding a new game mode, similar to the Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer, where 8 random people are thrown into a game, and 4 play an N7 team, while the other 4 play random enemies. The problem is the reward system is too easily abused in a PVP environment, because the etiquette becomes for one side or the other to always throw the match, allowing for the fastest possible payout.
The other mode we though would be interesting was something similar to 5 man dungeons in World of Warcraft. IE instead of a small sandbox-style map with random enemy spawns based on player location, they develop something closer to a campaign style level, with objectives that unlock new areas, culminating in a boss fight of some sort. With the galaxy being relatively well established and multiple worlds fleshed out in concept, it would not be that hard to create a 4 player co-op separate from the single player campaign but taking place at the same time, revolving around the war effort. I can think of 5 or 6 off the top of my head that would make for interesting gameplay. But unfortunately I don't see this being released for ME3. Perhaps a future project, but not ME3.
Aldarionn wrote:Interesting that you should mention that. A friend and I were discussing the possibility of them adding a new game mode, similar to the Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer, where 8 random people are thrown into a game, and 4 play an N7 team, while the other 4 play random enemies. The problem is the reward system is too easily abused in a PVP environment, because the etiquette becomes for one side or the other to always throw the match, allowing for the fastest possible payout.
Oh, I dunno. It'd basically be Counter-Strike with a matchmaking routine, wouldn't it? And humans are greedy. The vast majority will be too focused on their own gain to even consider co-operation. Unless you allow an option to choose your opponents, then I'd guess what you said is going to happen.
Aldarionn wrote:The other mode we though would be interesting was something similar to 5 man dungeons in World of Warcraft. IE instead of a small sandbox-style map with random enemy spawns based on player location, they develop something closer to a campaign style level, with objectives that unlock new areas, culminating in a boss fight of some sort.
Yup, I've seen this idea a number of times and have voiced it myself on the BSN, too. Basically just make an "assault" style map where your team has to capture or destroy certain key objectives whilst the enemy focuses on defense. Throw in stationary turrets and maybe even a boss at the end.
Even better would be if this map could be generated randomly by using pre-designed "sections" ... since there are no Waves to consider and people just need to go from A to B, the layout won't have to follow any of the rules of the maps we have now. Or, if you do fixed levels, include different paths to choose from that all pose a different challenge or opportunity (automated defenses, patrol paths, environmental hazards, etc).
But yeah, I won't get my hopes up on seeing anything like this soon. Would be fun, tho!
Ok, so, here are my guns. I know posts previously said to keep getting veteran packs until I get all my uncommons to X, which is just about done, but does that include weapon mods too?
Alright, I've just ran into two Banshees during a fight against Cerberus. They actually fight each other! It was quite fun to see the allied squad stumble right into a rather violent argument between the Banshee and a couple of Cerberus Nemesii.
Also, tried out the Crusader shotgun for the first time. I was told she sucks, but as it turns out my Justicar totally pwns with it. Using Shredder and High Calibre mods, so she's a bit on the low end in terms of ammunition - only 4 rounds until I need to reload. However, reloading goes as fast as with the Valiant and as such isn't much of an issue even in heated combat. I can actually go and aggressively hunt down Phantoms with this beast! <3
Lynata wrote:Alright, I've just ran into two Banshees during a fight against Cerberus. They actually fight each other! It was quite fun to see the allied squad stumble right into a rather violent argument between the Banshee and a couple of Cerberus Nemesii.
Also, tried out the Crusader shotgun for the first time. I was told she sucks, but as it turns out my Justicar totally pwns with it. Using Shredder and High Calibre mods, so she's a bit on the low end in terms of ammunition - only 4 rounds until I need to reload. However, reloading goes as fast as with the Valiant and as such isn't much of an issue even in heated combat. I can actually go and aggressively hunt down Phantoms with this beast! <3
Its a brilliant shotgun, but you have to be very accurate with it. If it was possible to put a scope on it it would be amazing.
Hmmh, I found scopes for weapons like assault rifles and pistols counter-productive, actually. Whilst increasing long-range accuracy somewhat, they make it harder for me to remain aware of immediate surroundings (guess I had too many enemies try to flank me ) and thus negatively impact my overall combat performance. A I am rather accurate with iron sights alone ("pistol-sniping" heads with the Carnifex is one of my favorite pastimes in ME3 MP), I would not use the scope even if it would not occupy a mod slot...
That said, it still is an interesting idea - and considering the flexibility some weapon groups now have ...
have to say, the banshees appearing was pretty sucky for me :( last night I finished 1 out of about 12 games. We're shooting geth and suddenly a banshee pops up and then everyone panics and dies.
But, still got xps and 2 out of my 3 characters are promoted .. gonna work on my last 5 adept levels and keep my level 20 infiltrator cuz I like them too much
It was a bit of a shock for me playing the usual firebase white-geth having a banshee appear out f no where. Panicked my team but we managed to take it down without too much difficulty (mainly because it seemed to be glitching on a wall when it tried to teleport next to people).
Funnily enough, the only successful Gold matches I have done so far (achieving extraction) were against Reapers, and there are easily half again as many Banshees spawning while this event is going on. I guess it's because we expect to see Banshees against Reapers, and plan for it, but against Geth or Cerberus, having a Banshee jumping around, flushing you from cover and generally being annoying makes for a much more challenging game. We got to wave 9 on a couple of matches, but when you are making a fighting retreat against a Banshee only to have a Phantom grab and 1-shot you from behind, or a Geth Hunter/Pyro step around a corner and level you, it's a pain in the ass.
So far I've got about 400k saved up for the DLC release on Tuesday. Hopefully I can get over a million between today and tomorrow.
@ Lynata - The Crusader has excellent damage and accuracy, the problem is that it's so heavy. You could get a better cooldown by actually carrying around a Geth Hunter complete with Plasma Shotgun as your weapon than using that gun. And the accuracy makes it a liability because of the type of gun it is. With a scope and actual crosshairs, it would basically be a Black Widow, but without those things it's just tough to use. For an Asari Justicar, you would do better with a Talon or a Paladin, since they get weight reduction for Heavy Pistols.
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vodo40k wrote:It was a bit of a shock for me playing the usual firebase white-geth having a banshee appear out f no where. Panicked my team but we managed to take it down without too much difficulty (mainly because it seemed to be glitching on a wall when it tried to teleport next to people).
The reason for that is because the Banshee tries to teleport through the cover you are hiding behind, but can't because you are standing on the other side where she would land so it pushes her back, and she can't grab you because there is no room for her to hold you over the cover. It's definitely a pathing bug, but it can be piled on top of the mountain of other bugs that BioWare needs to fix, and probably has a much lower priority than most.
Aldarionn wrote:@ Lynata - The Crusader has excellent damage and accuracy, the problem is that it's so heavy. You could get a better cooldown by actually carrying around a Geth Hunter complete with Plasma Shotgun as your weapon than using that gun. And the accuracy makes it a liability because of the type of gun it is. With a scope and actual crosshairs, it would basically be a Black Widow, but without those things it's just tough to use. For an Asari Justicar, you would do better with a Talon or a Paladin, since they get weight reduction for Heavy Pistols.
Yeah, this is where my style-over-substance kicks in. I play all of my Asari like the ones we've seen in the games, meaning they use pistols only as side-arms. For the Justicar I was considering an Avenger or a Phaeston, but I already have an Avenger on my Commando (normal Asari Adept) and the Phaeston on my Turian Soldier. So I tried the Crusader + 'fex combo, which gives me a hefty -83% penalty to cooldowns.
I notice the difference in weight, but I've always played by Asari more like gunbunnies than pure biotics* so this actually fits my playstyle. With the Justicar, mostly all I do is erect a shield (when I actually get a team that sticks together instead of bolting off into different directions as soon as the game starts) and occasionally cast Reave on tougher opponents. Reave + Crusader means I can finish off, say, Marauders on Silver with ~2 quick shots to the head; thanks to the stagger effect they don't even get to return fire until I kill them.
Often, I fear I'm gimping myself too much with my RPG'ish love for "canon appearance" ... but with the Crusader I still end up pwning, so in this case the experiment was a full success. I honestly did not believe it would work this good and was surprised by the results!
*: my Asari Commando is somewhat more prone to use her biotics than my Justicar; I've become used to often accompany gunfire against close opponents (up to ~10m) with an occasional Throw to temporarily neutralize one opponent whilst I kill another (returning my attention to him once I have finished off the current target with a few quick bursts from my assault rifle), or to prevent an enemy from hitting me - it's quite effective and makes you understand these warriors' reputation in the setting!
See, the problem I have with that is it doesn't really play to the strengths of an Asari. They are biotic users, and powerful ones, and while they certainly use weapons, a light Shotgun like a Disciple or a Heavy Pistol of some sort would suit their abilities better. A case can be made for an Asari Vanguard, but an Adept or a Justicar using something that impacts cooldowns THAT much seems like playing outside their abilities.
If you do well with the combo it probably speaks more to your skill as a player than to the effectiveness of the combo you are testing. To be honest though, if the Crusader had a scope, I could totally see using it on an Asari Vanguard. Stasis to hold a target, Crusader to take their head off, Biotic Charge for mobility and shield regen. Seems like the best fit of the three for the type of character you are intending to play. The Adept needs a light weapon though, so she can get decent cooldowns with Warp and Throw for max biotic explosions.
I dunno, maybe I'm taking it too far to the other extreme, but I think there is a happy medium between style and effectiveness that could easily be met here, especially with the Adept.
Aldarionn wrote:but I think there is a happy medium between style and effectiveness that could easily be met here
There always is! And I usually try to combine the "style" with the "substance" somehow. I suppose we all have our own thresholds regarding this, though - meaning what we perceive as a good balance, or how far we'd be willing to go. Nothing wrong with that, as long as we manage to have fun.
Biotic explosions I usually get from teaming up with other Adepts, unless we're talking about "boss enemies" like a Banshee or an Atlas who are alive long enough that I can bombard them with combos. That's pretty much the only instance I actually focus on biotics, though. At any other time I only employ them as utilities. Stasis for Phantoms, Throw to accompany my gunplay, etc. The Avenger's low weight works in my favour here, for my Commando has no problem with her cooldowns.
The Justicar is the only one where I can get into situations where it bothers me for a moment, but I don't encounter those more than maybe once or twice in a match, so I can live with that. For example, after erecting a shield it takes about 5 seconds until I can project anything else, which is a pretty long time if I do this in the midst of combat. So it's very circumstancial for me (deploy shield + wishing to Reave an opponent) if I even notice this drawback. On the other hand, wielding the Crusader is just an insane amount of fun, enough to have me giggle in homicidal madness from time to time at the violent effect this baby has on enemy grunts.
I messed up on the mods tho, I slot her with the Heavy Barrel and Smart Choke, not Piercing. Probably explains why I shoot her like a no-scope sniper rifle.
One style I have discovered is quite effective which works on the majority of classes is simply running round with a scoped phalanx. You get headshots very easily but it does run out of amo very quickly, its also good to have an SMG to take care of some of the heavier targets. This tactic seems particularly effective with the Turian soldier (concussive shot and marksman mode), Batarian soldier (ballistic spikes), Asari adept (stasis) and a more "defensive" type of vanguard (eg Krogan with all shield upgrades with mele used as a "secondary" form of attack).
vodo40k wrote:One style I have discovered is quite effective which works on the majority of classes is simply running round with a scoped phalanx. You get headshots very easily but it does run out of amo very quickly, its also good to have an SMG to take care of some of the heavier targets. This tactic seems particularly effective with the Turian soldier (concussive shot and marksman mode), Batarian soldier (ballistic spikes), Asari adept (stasis) and a more "defensive" type of vanguard (eg Krogan with all shield upgrades with mele used as a "secondary" form of attack).
An SMG on a Turian Soldier is actually a pretty solid combo. Marksman speced for rate of fire and spec your other skills for stability and max cooldowns, and you will almost always have Marksman available and the Tempests strips enemies clean, especially with Armor Piercing Ammo. The Phalanx also makes an excellent primary weapon on anyone that wants a reasonable cooldown, but on something like a Drell or Asari Adept, the Talon is second to none. Oh man, that thing is murderous!
So, has anyone gotten any new classes from the DLC yet? The trailer looks pretty badass, and I particularly want to play with that Biotic Whip the Cerberus Vanguard has. Looks like friggen Whiplash from Iron Man II.
I got the Cerberus Vanguard just a few minutes ago.
Lash is fun; but it's a pull--which you can direct and can talent to rip through shields and barriers.
Most of my Premium Spectre Packs though?
They've given me guns mostly.
My Reegar Carbine and Krysae are both VI now.
Yeah but you also level as a class, not as an individual, so those poor infiltrators will be level 20 again in no time. I habitually promote, and I keep 1-2 classes at level 20 for Gold matches. It builds N7 rating which appeases the elitists out there, and keeps my skills sharp playing lower level characters who don't have all the tricks available yet. When I can score 1st in a match with a level 1 Infiltrator, soldier or Engineer, I feel justified in invoking shame on the people I'm playing with, and it makes me feel like my practice paid off
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, your manifest is a little bare son. Buy them recruit packs in bundles! Gogo!
I'll also be playing some later tonight. I dunno what time zone you are in but I noticed you are on 360. Currently it's 4:30 Pacific Time (San Diego), and I expect to be on by 6:30, after work. If you want to run a few matches and flesh out your manifest I can help you out with that.
Thoughts so far:
The Turian sniper rifle?
It's not a sniper rifle. It's a ranged blender. High accuracy, explosive(AIR BURSTING TOO!) ammunition. It's freaking fantastic against Cerberus/Reapers and their more numerous enemies. You don't really "aim" for headshots, you aim for splash damage with this thing. It's truly fun, especially as it gets all the Infiltrator sniper rifle damage perks.
The Reegar Carbine is another interesting little toy. It's not a traditional shotgun; it's essentially a flamethrower. It has an AOE cone spread; and it melts things. Alot of things at once.
It's great for the male Quarian Engineer who sets himself up with Arc Grenades/Tactical Scan/Fitness and leaves out Incinerate.
The Quarian Engineer, I might add is pretty interesting. Tac Scan is a nasty/fun ability which can be a superb teammate booster if you set yourself up as a frontline shock trooper.
The two Cerberus characters seem a bit weak, but I'm not really a biotic player so that might be part of it.
Kanluwen wrote:The Turian sniper rifle? It's not a sniper rifle. It's a ranged blender. High accuracy, explosive(AIR BURSTING TOO!) ammunition. It's freaking fantastic against Cerberus/Reapers and their more numerous enemies. You don't really "aim" for headshots, you aim for splash damage with this thing. It's truly fun, especially as it gets all the Infiltrator sniper rifle damage perks.
Heh, sounds neat! I already had a feeling this one might be interesting from the description alone... Now I must try this baby out.
I had a lot of RL stuff to do today, but when I got home at 9:30, I realized I had time to get a match in before I needed to get a shower and go to work. I promoted all my characters over the weekend, so I took my level 1 Soldier through a silver. Turns out you're a lot more fragile when you have half the hitpoints, go figure. You're also a lot choosier with the grenades when only have a single one before going back to a box.
Anyway, I got through the match, and decided to buy 2 veteran packs - and got none of the new stuff. I thought that was a little weird. Then I realized I never "bought" and "installed" it.
Hi guys, I may need a little help:
I've tried downloading this through the in-game menu and it won't let me because of status code: 80150101.
It doesn't appear on the dashboard either, so I cannot download from there.
I've even tried with disc 1 and disc 2, still no luck.
I've tried turning the console on and off again, still hasn't solved the problem.
Finally I visited xbox.com to try and download it there, but when I search for Mass Effect 3 and click on any of the search results I get an error screen (something to do with a 'Runtime error'.
Well, I don't have a Xbox so I can't offer firsthand advice, but this thread shows some people had success with either deleting cache twice, switching profiles, or some combination of both of those things.
Thanks but xbox.com is down for me as well now. I keep getting a runtime error in plain text, or a 'Uh oh, that shouldn't have happened. It appears you've found a glitch in the system' error page.
I posted on another forum and no-one else seems to be having any troubles.
NoBaconz4You wrote:Thanks but xbox.com is down for me as well now. I keep getting a runtime error in plain text, or a 'Uh oh, that shouldn't have happened. It appears you've found a glitch in the system' error page.
I posted on another forum and no-one else seems to be having any troubles.
I played a few matches with the new DLC, i only unlocked the new quarian infiltrator and the new sniper. Tactical scan will be VERY useful on gold against big enemies, although it is rather slow to target. The sniper isnt even a sniper, its a mini rocket launcher and it is extremely good. However due to the rocket delay its impossible to quick scope, making it very difficult for me to use it. The new "shotgun" also seems to be very good, it essentially seems to be an "electric flamethrower" or the "ghostbuster gun". Im disappointed to find out the harrier is N7 listed, due to its limited amo it seems far worse than the other two weapons.
vodo40k wrote:However due to the rocket delay its impossible to quick scope, making it very difficult for me to use it.
The shots are semi-homing. You can still quick-scope with it because as long as the reticule is over the target when you pull the trigger the shot should hit or land close. Also, try aiming for the feet. It's an explosive, splash damage weapon allowing you to insta-kill multiple enemies within close proximity.
So far I have unlocked the following:
Phoenix Adept - Interesting, but Singularity is a complete waste on this character. There is no reason to ever put points into it over specing melee damage in Fitness. Between Smash and Heavy Melee, the adept does plenty of close range damage, and can set up/detonate biotic explosions with Lash. It can also rip targets out of cover and into the line of sight of other ranged characters, though usually Lash is enough to kill anything without a shield/barrier/armor.
Phoenix Vanguard - Biotic Charge is a minor boon on this character. I wouldn't spec all the way into it but having it around to recharge shields isn't a terrible idea. Even still, the character is almost functionally identical to the Adept. Lash/Smash/Heavy Melee do all the work.
Quarian Male Infiltrator - Best. Character. Ever. Seriously, it's the best character I've ever used. Tactical Scan is excellent party utility and increased damage. On Gold it makes a pretty big difference. The Arc Grenades are just silly! It's got an 8 meter base spread, which means it hits EVERYTHING, and does a pile of damage to shields and barriers. Combined with Tactical Cloak, and followed up by shots from the Krysae Sniper, it will rip through just about anything.
Quarian Male Engineer - Functionally inferior to the Infiltrator. Seriously, they have identical powers except the Infiltrator has Tactical Cloak instead of Incinerate. If you want to play a Male Quarian, and you have both, the Infiltrator will do more DPS and be more survivable in every instance. There is some talk that if you spec Incinerate to hit an area and set up Arc Grenades for max area and to add an electrical effect to targets, you can walk around blasting areas and detonating your own tech bursts, but the lack of Tactical Cloak means you have to be conscious of your cooldowns and your weapons choices are limited (probably a Talon with Cryo Ammo would be the best option)
Krysae Sniper Rifle VII - At rank I this gun is a monster. At rank VII it's the most OP thing I've ever used, and at rank X it's going to be silly. Seriously, it's not so much a sniper rifle as it is a scoped Cobra Launcher. There is absolutely no way BioWare will let this weapon stay the way it is unless they intend to significantly buff everything else and drastically increase difficulty. Expect a nerf in the next week or so. For those that don't know, here's how it works. It has a dynamic scope that automatically zooms based on distance, so that every target you scope will be the same proportion visually. IE if I scope a target 100 feet away, then scope a target 10 feet away, the scope will adjust so that both targets appear to be the same size in the scope. You can also hold down the right trigger to zoom further if you want. It fires armor penetrating explosive rounds that track their target. Let me say that again. Armor penetrating explosive rounds that TRACK THEIR TARGET! Granted, the tracking isn't much, but the rounds also air burst when they get close, so if you fire a near-miss, the round will explode in mid air next to your intended target and deal massive damage. The explosion doesn't have a huge spread, less than a meter, but if you fire it at the ground next to clustered enemies it WILL kill them. It also bypasses shield gate if you actually hit your target. A single shot strips the shields from a Marauder and knocks it down to half health on Gold. It has 3 rounds in the clip, but spare ammo is a little sparse so taking a clip is a good idea until you have the thing at rank X.
Reegar Carbine V - A strong weapon but it absolutely blows through ammo. It's 25 round clip is depleted in about a second and a half of holding the trigger, but the damage it does is staggering. Basically it's the flame thrower from the single player campaign but with less ammo in the clip, a faster depletion of ammo, less spare ammo, and about 50 times the damage. At rank I against a Brute, I stripped it from full health to dead in less than two clips. I could definitely see this being a strong weapon on melee type characters like Krogan, melee speced Geth Infiltrators, and anything that likes to get close like the Cerberus characters.
Cerberus Harrier II - My favorite Assault Rifle in the game, but with a major drawback. This gun has strong damage, excellent accuracy, no recoil and a good rate of fire. The ONLY drawback is that it has VERY limited ammo. At rank I it has 20 rounds in the clip and 80 spare rounds. Combined with the fact that it's an Ultra Rare, and you only get 2 extra bullets with each rank, it makes for a very difficult gun to use. On Gold you will strip an Atlas from full to dead in 100 rounds, but you will need to run to ammo boxes between every single one, and it's not uncommon to see 6-8 Atlases in a single wave on Gold. It's just not a viable weapon on that difficulty unless you plan to run from box to box for Grenades, so perhaps on the new Quarian characters it will shine. On anyone that uses a weapon as their primary means of damage, however, it won't work very well, which is a shame because if it had 150-200 spare rounds, it would be the first full-auto Assault Rifle in the game that's viable as a primary damage dealer on Gold difficulty.
I still have not gotten a Vorcha character, which is a shame. I want the Sentinel because I want another character with Cluster Grenades, but the Soldier would work fine as well. Like the other classes, they are basically the same except for a single different power. If anyone has a Vorcha and cares to review them, please do so here.
As for the new maps, I very much like Fire Base Jade, but I'm not a big fan of Goddess. Jade is effectively a ring and has reasonable cover in various locations. It presents some challenges but the scenery is nice and it has something for every class. Snipers will like it for the open visibility across the courtyard, and melee/close quarters characters will like it for the long hallways out of view where they can corner enemies and be protected from turrets/Ravagers. Goddes on the other hand is a tough map against Geth and Reapers. There are too many locations for Hunters to sneak up on you or Banshees to pin you down, which makes for a tough match if people don't stick together and cover all the angles. That said, it looks very nice, and I do enjoy playing on it, but only with a team that knows the map and knows where things are going to spawn. I've had precisely ONE extraction on Goddess out of about 8-9 games on various difficulties, and it was against Cerberus on Gold. We had a very defensive party and everyone knew how to play their class.
Anyway, that's my take on the new stuff. I'm quite pleased with this DLC.
I saw your question over on the ME3 boards, Aldarionn about the drop rate of Ultra-rares.
They didn't really "up" that drop rate, but they did change how the system works a bit. If you get multiple PSPs all at once, as you get items it will have a higher chance to repeat them.
For example:
I bought a pair of PSPs back to back. Both of them were Reegers/Krysaes. Then I bought 4 back to back to back to back--same thing happened.
It wasn't until I waited about four or five hours to space it out that I started seeing other stuff.
Ugh, out of all the N7 weapons i could get in a commendation pack I get a crusader, the only N7 weapon i already have (apart from the javelin which I hate even more).
Kanluwen wrote:I saw your question over on the ME3 boards, Aldarionn about the drop rate of Ultra-rares.
They didn't really "up" that drop rate, but they did change how the system works a bit. If you get multiple PSPs all at once, as you get items it will have a higher chance to repeat them.
For example:
I bought a pair of PSPs back to back. Both of them were Reegers/Krysaes. Then I bought 4 back to back to back to back--same thing happened.
It wasn't until I waited about four or five hours to space it out that I started seeing other stuff.
That explains it. So if I got a Harrier, a Black Widow and a Javelin in one grouping of PSP's then my chances for getting another one of either of those goes up. Interesting.
I'm getting nothing but Krysae/Reegar upgrades at this point though because every single one of my Rare weapons is maxed except those two, Once I max those, it should just be character cards and gear. I also need to buy a few Veteran Packs to get my uncommons up to par, and then I should start getting more gear options, but it's hard to pass up the chance for another Javelin/Talon/Black Widow upgrade.
Kanluwen wrote:Also:
I hate you for having the Harrier.
It's a delicious weapon, but as I said, it basically tethers you to an ammo box all game. I wish Assault Rifles had an actual upgrade for extra ammo. That alone would make the gun worth it, and it would be enough of a drawback to not be broken. You'd have to choose between Barrel and Piercing, which would be fine. Both have merit.
Oh, as a side note (and to punctuate my earlier point about the Krysae being overpowered) here's a Gold difficulty speed run with 3x Infiltrators and a Salarian Engineer, all using Krysae Sniper Rifles. It clocks in at just under 14 minutes for full extraction.
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vodo40k wrote:Ugh, out of all the N7 weapons i could get in a commendation pack I get a crusader, the only N7 weapon i already have (apart from the javelin which I hate even more).
I think you are mistaking what can actually come in a Commendation Pack.
To be clear, Ultra Rare weapons (Black Cards with the N7 Logo) are NOT the same thing as "N7" Weapons, which are what come in Commendation Packs.
The "N7" weapons are:
N7 Harrier SMG
N7 Valiant Sniper Rifle
N7 Crusader Shotgun
N7 Eagle Heavy Pistol
Those four weapons were the promotional weapons given to people who bought the Collectors Edition of the game in their single player campaigns.
The Ultra Rare weapons are a different set. They are:
Javelin
M-358 Talon
Scorpion Pistol
M-99 Saber
Black Widow
Wraith
M-77 Paladin
Cerberus Harrier
M-90 Indra
These weapons can only be obtained by buying Specter Packs (~4.5% chance to drop in each Specter Pack) or Premium Specter Packs (~9% chance to drop in each Premium Specter Pack). If you are looking for one of these weapons, just keep playing and keep buying packs and you will eventually get them. A 9% drop rate isn't terrible. That's 1 in every 10 packs or so, and Premium Specter Packs have a small chance of granting two.
So far, all I'm getting in terms of ultra-rares is pistols.
Got a Talon today and a Paladin yesterday. I guess I really need to start doing more Silvers to make more cash, and stop doing Bronze and feeling safe.
Do Silver and Gold. You will get FAR more credits that way, and it's the only way you will get better at the game. Basically, force yourself outside your comfort zone. Without that you will always be doing bronze, and your manifest won't fill up that quick. Once I started doing Gold on a regular basis, my weapon completion shot through the roof. It also makes it easier to get the characters you want because the weapons stop appearing in your packs once you have them at rank X.
Aldarionn wrote:Do Silver and Gold. You will get FAR more credits that way, and it's the only way you will get better at the game. Basically, force yourself outside your comfort zone. Without that you will always be doing bronze, and your manifest won't fill up that quick. Once I started doing Gold on a regular basis, my weapon completion shot through the roof. It also makes it easier to get the characters you want because the weapons stop appearing in your packs once you have them at rank X.
The difficulty I myself have with playing Silver and Gold is not my own ability, its what team you get. The amount of times ive tried to play on these difficulties and you have people who dont know what their doing. I wouldnt mind so much if I didnt loose all my weapon/armour upgrades every failure (yesterday my internet was being weird, i got disconnected at about wave 8 in two gold games, I didnt get given any credits but of course i lost my upgrades).
Aldarionn wrote:Do Silver and Gold. You will get FAR more credits that way, and it's the only way you will get better at the game. Basically, force yourself outside your comfort zone. Without that you will always be doing bronze, and your manifest won't fill up that quick. Once I started doing Gold on a regular basis, my weapon completion shot through the roof. It also makes it easier to get the characters you want because the weapons stop appearing in your packs once you have them at rank X.
Actually no, not until you just linked it. I've seen you online but I never knew that was you, lol. I tend to approve friend requests because I assume I know the person from somewhere. I'll throw you an invite next time I see you on.
As for your manifest, damn! And you did that on Bronze?
vodo40k wrote:The difficulty I myself have with playing Silver and Gold is not my own ability, its what team you get. The amount of times ive tried to play on these difficulties and you have people who dont know what their doing. I wouldnt mind so much if I didnt loose all my weapon/armour upgrades every failure (yesterday my internet was being weird, i got disconnected at about wave 8 in two gold games, I didnt get given any credits but of course i lost my upgrades).
Necros wrote:Yeah its the dummies I always seem to end up with that has really been turning me off lately too.
What platform are you guys on? If any of you are on 360 we should set up some games when 2 or more of us are available. I play a lot in the evenings and I'm on pacific time. Next week I have Thursday and Saturday completely free for gaming, and potentially Friday in the evening as well. I'll also be on tonight from about 6:30 to 11 or so, pacific.
If any of you want to hit me up, send me a message on 360 and I'll be happy to host some Gold runs. I may have some of you on my friends list, but unless your forum name and gamer tag are the same I might not know it, so if I'm on your list send me a message that you come from Dakka.
vodo40k wrote:The difficulty I myself have with playing Silver and Gold is not my own ability, its what team you get.
Truth. When playing with Randoms I prefer Silver, as my failure rate is comparatively low there, but Gold I only do with my friends. The only exception was that one time when we didn't manage to form a group in time for the Banshee challenge.
I've run random/random Gold and yeah, sometimes it sucks, but sometimes you get into a really strong group and just murder everything. Also, there's always FBW/G/G if you are just looking to farm some credits for a while. Take any given Infiltrator and stick the Krysae on them, and watch stuff explode. Two of us in a group had those last night and we ran FBW/G/G without any kind of decoy/engineer. There wasn't even a challenge.
Aldarionn wrote:Do Silver and Gold. You will get FAR more credits that way, and it's the only way you will get better at the game. Basically, force yourself outside your comfort zone. Without that you will always be doing bronze, and your manifest won't fill up that quick. Once I started doing Gold on a regular basis, my weapon completion shot through the roof. It also makes it easier to get the characters you want because the weapons stop appearing in your packs once you have them at rank X.
Actually no, not until you just linked it. I've seen you online but I never knew that was you, lol. I tend to approve friend requests because I assume I know the person from somewhere. I'll throw you an invite next time I see you on.
As for your manifest, damn! And you did that on Bronze?
vodo40k wrote:The difficulty I myself have with playing Silver and Gold is not my own ability, its what team you get. The amount of times ive tried to play on these difficulties and you have people who dont know what their doing. I wouldnt mind so much if I didnt loose all my weapon/armour upgrades every failure (yesterday my internet was being weird, i got disconnected at about wave 8 in two gold games, I didnt get given any credits but of course i lost my upgrades).
Necros wrote:Yeah its the dummies I always seem to end up with that has really been turning me off lately too.
What platform are you guys on? If any of you are on 360 we should set up some games when 2 or more of us are available. I play a lot in the evenings and I'm on pacific time. Next week I have Thursday and Saturday completely free for gaming, and potentially Friday in the evening as well. I'll also be on tonight from about 6:30 to 11 or so, pacific.
If any of you want to hit me up, send me a message on 360 and I'll be happy to host some Gold runs. I may have some of you on my friends list, but unless your forum name and gamer tag are the same I might not know it, so if I'm on your list send me a message that you come from Dakka.
I have a 360 and would like to join you, however being in the UK i think thats a 7 or 8 hour time difference....
Pacific Time is GMT -8 hours, though currently we are on Daylight Savings Time which means we are ahead an hour. At the time of this posting, it is 1:40PM Pacific Time. Use the time stamp for this post on your end and work out how many hours difference it is.
FM Ninja 048 wrote:
1. Is gear a permenant thing, i've not got any yet to see if it is
2. once you get all your common stuff to X if you still buy basic packs will it move to rarer stuff or just give more medigel/rockets etc.
1) "Gear" is permanent and is the new 4th slot that gives you an added bonuses of some sort. It can be ranked up like weapons and is not consumed between matches. The other consumables (Ammo, Rail Amps, Armor Bonuses) are used on a match-by-match basis and will be consumed if taken into any match, regardless of outcome.
2) Recruit Packs will only give you commons, consumables, and a chance for uncommon items. Veteran Packs give you Consumables, Common items, a guaranteed Uncommon, and a chance for rare or more uncommon items. Specter Packs give you consumables, common/uncommon items, a guaranteed rare, a chance for more rare items, and a chance for Ultra Rare items. Premium Specter Packs give you consumables, uncommon items, two guaranteed rare items, a chance for more rare items, and two chances for uncommon items. Jumbo Equipment Packs give you 5 of each consumable and then a collection of random consumables of varying quality.
Once you have Recruit Packs maxed, buy Veteran Packs until you have your uncommons maxed, then buy Premium Specter Packs for rare/ultra rare items.
Ugh. The N7 Matchmaking system needs to go. I spent 3 hours playing last night and more than half of my matches put me directly into a match in progress that was failing, and the rest of the matches I got were FBW/G/G. I think I had 4 successful matches all night, and only one of them was Gold difficulty. That is a far cry from the success I've had in the past. Spending 20 minutes in a lobby waiting for it to fill up only to have the host leave along with everyone else is not my idea of fun. Bah!
Kanluwen wrote:They're discussing rolling it back, so hopefully they do.
Yeah I saw that but there has been no update as of yet. I'm waiting til Tuesday, but if I don't hear anything by then I'll be putting the game away until I do hear something. I'll play with friends, but no more random matches because it's just too frustrating to wait 20 minutes for a lobby to fill up only for the match to never happen, or to get stuck in a failing random/random/gold match at wave 4, so I can't even get the wave 3 credits. It's BS.
So there is a cryptic sounding update on the BioWare site that they "made changes" to the matchmaking system with the server maintenance last night, but so far I haven't seen anything about what those "changes" actually are. They claim the "changes" will deliver a much better experience.
I'm not getting put into games "In Progress" as often anymore.
I'm not getting ten minute waits for a match around my N7 rank.
I'm not getting put into different difficulties than what I selected.
Bah, they also nerfed the Harrier. They made it heavier but didn't give it any additional spare ammo, which sucks because that gun would be near perfect if it had like 160 spare rounds. It would be 100% perfect with 240, which I suspect is why they haven't increased it. 80 spare rounds is just too low to be useful on anything above Silver though.
They did buff the Eagle, which I still don't have, not that I particularly care about that gun anyway.
A.) Did they change the Krysae? I haven't gotten it yet. Also, I'm not sure why any weapon can be considered OP, per se: there is no PvP so what difference does it make it players are super powered, really? Just keep adding more goodies IMO.
B.) I really only play golds now, or silvers when I'm wanting to level a class up to 15 or so. I'm still in the credit farming part of my career and a fail on Gold at wave 6 or 7 is more profitable (and possibly faster) then a win on wave 10 for Silver. I never play bronze at all for any reason anymore, but I might if I get a class I've never played before ever.
C.) Wait, so I should move directly from Vet packs to Premium Spectre ones, bypassing Spectre ones? Because that's totally not what I did, I've been getting Spectre packs. I could have sworn earlier in this thread someone said the premium spectre packs were overpriced.
D.) On a non-MP related topic: Why couldn't Legion be returned to Shepard-Commander after uploading? He's just a collection of different apps on a mobile platform, right? Why not just upload the data and then re-download to a new platform?
Something to do with Legion's code needing to be disseminated throughout the Geth. On the bright side all Geth will have Legion-like personalities now.
Just a wild guess of mine, but perhaps Geth programs are unique and cannot be copied. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense to destroy their servers in that one mission, because they'd simply re-upload themselves from elsewhere. Also, there would be no reason for them to "switch" out of their walking platforms whilst those are not needed.
As such, I also don't think that all Geth become copies of Legion now, but rather that parts of his code are assimilated by the collective, resulting in some sort of hybrid cluster. Legion's own "Synthesis", so to say.
Operation Mastiff wrote:Operation MASTIFF (June 8th-10th)
We are dropping the new reinforcements onto occupied worlds to supplement resistance movements. Retrieving data of how the Reapers conquered those worlds is of paramount importance.
Allied Goal: Complete 100K retrieval missions.
Personal Goal: Extraction on Silver difficulty with one squad member of the Rebellion Pack classes: Vorcha, Phoenix Project Defectors, or Quarian Male.
Special Circumstance: None.
Completion of the personal goal awards that player a Commendation Pack.
Completion of the Allied goal awards all players a Victory Pack that has a guaranteed N7 weapon.
Operation Mastiff begins at 6pm PST Friday June 8th and ends at 4am PST Monday June 11th.
Packs will be distributed Tuesday evening if the mission is successful.
Lynata wrote:Just a wild guess of mine, but perhaps Geth programs are unique and cannot be copied. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense to destroy their servers in that one mission, because they'd simply re-upload themselves from elsewhere. Also, there would be no reason for them to "switch" out of their walking platforms whilst those are not needed.
As such, I also don't think that all Geth become copies of Legion now, but rather that parts of his code are assimilated by the collective, resulting in some sort of hybrid cluster. Legion's own "Synthesis", so to say.
Yes, each Geth program is a unique lifeform. When it's copied it would only be the same for a moment before it diverges. That's what I think happened to Legion. All the Geth loyalists would have had the same program as him for a fleeting moment but then became their own life. Still, they would be heavily influenced by Legions life experiences.
KamikazeCanuck wrote:Yes, each Geth program is a unique lifeform. When it's copied it would only be the same for a moment before it diverges. That's what I think happened to Legion. All the Geth loyalists would have had the same program as him for a fleeting moment but then became their own life. Still, they would be heavily influenced by Legions life experiences.
Hmmh, that's a good point, actually.
Doesn't explain the need(?) to download and upload to and from platforms on an as-needed basis, or that Legion "shuts down", but still.
KamikazeCanuck wrote:Yes, each Geth program is a unique lifeform. When it's copied it would only be the same for a moment before it diverges. That's what I think happened to Legion. All the Geth loyalists would have had the same program as him for a fleeting moment but then became their own life. Still, they would be heavily influenced by Legions life experiences.
Hmmh, that's a good point, actually.
Doesn't explain the need(?) to download and upload to and from platforms on an as-needed basis, or that Legion "shuts down", but still.
A regular Geth trooper is actually a consensus of like a 1,000 Geth (or something like that). Legion was some sorta Super-Geth. Probably over 10,000 geth. He had to be taken apart to usher in the new era of Geth and afterwards he couldn't be put back together again.
Like I said, he lives on in a way but the unique entity we know as Legion is gone.
Just using biotic explosion. Probably would need to be low recharge timer abilities, and then have your evolution tree specialized to enhance those powers. I've been trying a melee sentinel build on my krogan, tech armor discharge and then heavy melee twice for the buff. No inferno as it increases the tech armor cd.
Ouze wrote:I mean, how do you do a biotic explosion? Is this a class ability for one class?
edit: nm, I googled it. Looks like you need to have at least one buddy in your group to co-ordinate this with. How well have you guys seen this work?
It took me some time to figure it out, as I didn't find it explained anywhere in the game. By now I'm regularly using these, however. You don't necessarily need someone else, depending on the class. My Asari Commando detonates Atlases, Primes, Ravagers and Banshees all the time by projecting "Warp" followed by "Throw". Cooldowns affect how fast you can do this, so of course it works better with two biotics in a team.
I've been in a match with three Asari Commandos and one Asari Justicar once. Madness! 'splosions everywhere!
(especially since the Justicar can skill her Biotic Shield so that enemies entering it are automatically "warped", making them vulnerable to Throw)
The Justicar can use "Pull" to trigger biotic explosions, and either "Reave" or the bubble to set them up. Or "Pull" them first, and then "Reave". I found that Justicars work much better when teamed up with other biotics for this, though, but that may well be influenced by my relatively low usage of Pull. I'm regularly using Throw to augment my Commando's gunplay, so in this aspect she may appear more independent than the Justicar even though the difference is negligible. As mentioned before, the Justicar is awesome in a team of Adepts, though. Coincidentally, this is fairly close to ME's fluff, where a Justicar could be the leader of a unit of Commandos.
OK perhaps I can give a more detailed explanation of what I meant by "Biotic Explosion Team"
Certain Biotic powers, when used on a target, apply an effect that persists for a period of time. Certain other powers used on the same target can "detonate" this effect, causing an explosion of biotic energy that damages nearby enemies and does significant damage to the original target. It also has a force effect as well, and can hurl targets around causing extra collateral damage.
A "Biotic Explosion Team" is a group of players designed to maximize the use of this effect, selecting characters with powers that bot set up and detonate biotic explosions over a wide area in order to cause maximum damage.
For example, Reave can set up multiple targets for Biotic Detonation, and Nova can detonate multiple targets, so if you had a pair of Asari Justicars with Reave set up to hit as many targets as possible, and at least one Human Vanguard with Half Blasts, you can run from area to area Reaving clusters of enemies while the Vanguard charges an uses Nova to detonate the explosions. Half Blasts give him the option to Nova a second time for more detonations, or retain 50% of his shields for extra durability if necessary.
Another common setup these days is any character with Reave, and one of the new Phoenix characters. Lash and Reave can both set-up and detonate Biotic Explosions from each other. It doesn't matter the order they are used in. Both will cause the explosion. The same is true of Warp and Reave.
One of the most effective groups I ever saw play was a Drell Adept with Area Reave, a Human Sentinel with Warp and Throw, and a Human Vanguard with Half Blasts on his nova and no points in Shockwave. Their 4th member was an Infiltrator who was there mainly to complete objectives and help control spawns. The idea was that the Drell and the Sentinel would throw Reave and Warp respectively in order to set up Biotic Combos, and the Vanguard would use Biotic Charge and Nova to detonate them over a wide area. Larger groups got Cluster Grenades from the Drell. It worked so well that they achieved full extraction against Reapers on Gold difficulty in under 14 minutes.
I got the Krysae tonight. Definitely underwhelming. I don't see what all the fuss is about. It took me half a round to figure out I need to scope out and tap off 3 rockets quick instead of zooming all the way in but I definitely was not impressed. I used it with my soldier though, maybe it's somehow better with an infiltrator?
I still prefer either Quarian Infiltrator + Mantis for hacking or Huntermode Infiltrator with Javelin for pure DPS in gold, I play those around interchangeable.
Also I got the Valiant, which I haven't yet used (it came right after getting the Krysae which I was hot to use). The damage seems kinda low but it seems a lot of people like it, right?
Ouze wrote:I got the Krysae tonight. Definitely underwhelming. I don't see what all the fuss is about. It took me half a round to figure out I need to scope out and tap off 3 rockets quick instead of zooming all the way in but I definitely was not impressed. I used it with my soldier though, maybe it's somehow better with an infiltrator?
It's DEFINTELY better on an Infiltrator. The Tactical Cloak damage bonus is what makes the rifle worth while. Also, they nerfed the damage on it slightly in the last Tuesday update, about an 11% decrease, which means it takes an extra shot or so to kill targets on Gold. Basically, take a Barrel mod and a Clip mod on the gun, and spec Tactical Cloak out for maximum damage and you will notice a significant difference.
I use it on my male Quarian infiltrator, and if you press the left shoulder button and the right trigger at the same time you can get Tactical Scan off on a target as you fire the weapon, getting rid of the delay that using Tactical Scan creates. Combine that with the absurdly effective Arc Grenades and the character becomes a master of area effect damage. It's a pretty solid combo.
Ouze wrote:I still prefer either Quarian Infiltrator + Mantis for hacking or Huntermode Infiltrator with Javelin for pure DPS in gold, I play those around interchangeable.
I dislike single shot snipers on Gold except on a Salarian. With Energy Drain the shield gate mechanic isn't as much of a hinderance, but without it, most single shot snipers need two shots to kill anything with a shield. Hacking does make it a bit easier to line up both shots and gives you a thrall to help kill enemies against Geth, but otherwise it's still a difficult build to use in my experience. I prefer the Valiant/Black Widow on anything not a Salarian, and a Widow/Javelin on my Salarian Infiltrator.
Ouze wrote:Also I got the Valiant, which I haven't yet used (it came right after getting the Krysae which I was hot to use). The damage seems kinda low but it seems a lot of people like it, right?
The Valiant and the Black Widow are considered the best two sniper rifles in the game, and which you use is based mostly on preference.
The nice thing about the Valiant is that is has almost no recoil and a quick rate of fire, which means you can get 3 shots off in the time it takes you to get off 2 shots with the Black Widow. Usually this means the last shot of a Black Widow won't benefit from the Tactical Cloak damage bonus. The Black Widow does more raw damage (about 40% more) but the recoil on the shots means you have to time them well enough to get head shots or you will spend all 3 killing a single trooper. The Valiant can place 3 shots on the head without much difficulty and you won't generally need all 3 if you land them.
Personally I prefer the Vlaiant. At rank I it has the same number of spare rounds as my Black Widow with a Clip mod, so I can give it a Barrel and Piercing mod which ultimately makes it a quicker version of the Black Widow with less damage. It will take a bit longer to kill something like an Atlas or a Prime, but it will deal with basic troopers more effectively. But a friend of mine swears by his Black Widow and uses it very effectively, so take that with a grain of salt. I recommend using both and deciding for yourself which you prefer.
Like I explained when we played together(which we will totally have to do again; as I need to get some credits going. ):
It feels too much like they wanted to make it as an alternate heavy weapon, not as an actual antimaterial rifle. The splash damage makes me hate it even more, as the stupid gun is balanced around that feature.
Long story short:
They should remove it and then reintroduce it later on, entirely reworked.
Lord Shiv and I discussed this in detail not long after the Krysae came out. What we came up with is that the rifle doesn't do too much damage, it does too much damage in too many ways.
For example, if I activate Tactical Cloak and fire the gun at a Nemesis (Gold Difficulty) and I score a direct hit, the damage from the hit combined with the splash damage that also hits her will bypass shield gate and she will die instantly. No other Sniper Rifle can manage this on Gold. Even the Geth Plasma Shotgun requires two hits and it blatantly ignores Shield Gate. The Claymore is the only weapon that has enough raw damage on a headshot to 1-shot most enemies (and maybe a Talon X), and Krogan Melee can get enough damage to do it because melee bypasses shield gate as well.
The solution we came up with is not to change the amount of damage it does, but instead to INCREASE the damage of the initial hit, but make the target of the initial hit immune to the splash damage. In addition, the weapon should require a hit for the splash damage to take effect (no more air-bursting/shooting at enemies feet).
Effectively, what we proposed was that the initial target take a hit that is the equivalent damage of a direct projectile hit plus the Spash Damage, but because it only comes from a single source it won't bypass shield gate. Similarly, nearby targets don't take any damage from the projectile, just splash damage, so that won't bypass shield gate either. Adding the requirement that you hit a target for the explosion to go off increases the skill required to use the weapon, and necessitates actual aiming, much like the current Black Widow/Valiant.
What would you think of it then?
Also, yes. You need to join Shiv and I for more Golds, because between the 3 of us there's no reason we shouldn't be able to complete the majority of matches against any enemy on any map. We had a pretty good run going the first night we played.
Honestly, I just think they need to do two things to really "balance" the Krysae.
1) Remove the proximity trigger. This is a Big Deal, as currently I can fire a good four feet away from the target and it will still burst to make the kill. Making it so that you have to impact the target directly or their surroundings would be quite a way to go.
2) Remove the explosive feature altogether, and give it penetration superior/equal to the Javelin but with the requirement that it can't be quick-fired.
Kanluwen wrote:Honestly, I just think they need to do two things to really "balance" the Krysae.
1) Remove the proximity trigger. This is a Big Deal, as currently I can fire a good four feet away from the target and it will still burst to make the kill. Making it so that you have to impact the target directly or their surroundings would be quite a way to go.
2) Remove the explosive feature altogether, and give it penetration superior/equal to the Javelin but with the requirement that it can't be quick-fired.
But that change basically makes it the exact same as a Black Widow, except with better penetration, or if you remove the clip it makes it a Javelin/Widow. We already have those two weapons, and making this one emulate them is not the way to go. I think the explosive, AOE damage is a good feature, but it should be at the cost of single target DPS. Currently that's not the case since it does superior single target damage (due to bypassing shield gate with the explosion damage) to any sniper rifle in the game right now, and also does splash damage with an air-burst effect.
The problem is not the damage it does, or that it does the damage to multiple targets. It's the way it does damage to the initial target and the fact that it can be fired in the vicinity of targets for nearly the same damage that's the problem. Removing the splash damage makes it a Black Widow/Valiant clone, removing the clip and adding pen makes it a Javelin/Widow clone, so it needs something to set it apart from the rest. IE, area damage at the cost of single target DPS. If they do this, the weapon would be balanced. Just reducing damage like they already did doesn't fix the weapon, it just means it takes one more shot to kill off that group of enemies than it did before, and sometimes not even that.
Kanluwen wrote:Honestly, I just think they need to do two things to really "balance" the Krysae.
1) Remove the proximity trigger. This is a Big Deal, as currently I can fire a good four feet away from the target and it will still burst to make the kill. Making it so that you have to impact the target directly or their surroundings would be quite a way to go.
2) Remove the explosive feature altogether, and give it penetration superior/equal to the Javelin but with the requirement that it can't be quick-fired.
But that change basically makes it the exact same as a Black Widow, except with better penetration, or if you remove the clip it makes it a Javelin/Widow. We already have those two weapons, and making this one emulate them is not the way to go. I think the explosive, AOE damage is a good feature, but it should be at the cost of single target DPS. Currently that's not the case since it does superior single target damage (due to bypassing shield gate with the explosion damage) to any sniper rifle in the game right now, and also does splash damage with an air-burst effect.
Having similar guns with similar attributes is not necessarily, in my opinion, a bad thing.
Especially not when we're talking about "theme guns" like the Phaeston/Krysae.
The problem is not the damage it does, or that it does the damage to multiple targets. It's the way it does damage to the initial target and the fact that it can be fired in the vicinity of targets for nearly the same damage that's the problem. Removing the splash damage makes it a Black Widow/Valiant clone, removing the clip and adding pen makes it a Javelin/Widow clone, so it needs something to set it apart from the rest. IE, area damage at the cost of single target DPS. If they do this, the weapon would be balanced. Just reducing damage like they already did doesn't fix the weapon, it just means it takes one more shot to kill off that group of enemies than it did before, and sometimes not even that.
Like I said; either of these options wouldn't be just a "simple fix". Doing it in an in-depth way and essentially "rebooting" the gun would work better.
I had an idea on the BSN about it, where the 'warhead' is instead changed to be similar to the Scorpion in that it doesn't detonate on impact but rather after a short timeframe or with a proximal trigger. But unlike said Scorpion, it would actually be able to penetrate cover to the same depth as a Javelin/Widow. The thing is--according to the lore bit--an antimaterial rifle. It's designed to deal with fortified positions and medium/light armored vehicles, parked aircraft, etc.
Allowing it to be the first "penetrating" explosive gun would make it have an interesting niche, and make it a gun which wouldn't simply be a "If you don't take this gun on an Infiltrator; you're not welcome in our matches" option but rather a "I hope you can use that effectively to deal with entrenched enemies, as it will open up some new playstyles for our group!" option.
I see your point, and I think we are closer to the same page than you might think. Personally I feel that if it were a hitscan weapon (instead of unique projectile) that caused the target to radiate an explosive effect causing damage to nearby targets, it would work a lot better. The problem right now is the projectile and the air-bursting mechanics.
I don't think a third Black Widow/Valiant option is the right answer, because it's basically a re-hash of what's already been done. Themed weapons should not be a re-skin of existing weapons, but instead should have their own unique mechanics. The Krysae is an anti-material rifle, so making it pierce cover would work, but that mechanic is likely extremely difficult to code for a unique projectile weapon, necessitating the change to hitscan like the other snipers. But to keep it unique, it should maintain the explosive radius, but it should be applied in a different way. IE, if the target is hit, nearby targets take damage as if the round exploded, but the initial target only takes one hit, not two, so it cannot bypass shield gate. Either that, or it should work like a single target version of the Batarian Soldier's Ballistic Blades ability. The weapon fires a shot, then a few seconds later it is hit by an explosion that does damage in a radius. It should do less damage than the Black Widow, but have a better rate of fire and cause the explosive effect in some form, which would make for a unique and interesting weapon design that had its own niche rather than stealing the show from an existing gun.
To be fair, I have never been kicked from any match on any difficulty for using or NOT using the Krysae on an Infiltrator. Most people don't care and are not that petty about weapon selection. I'll kick someone if I think they are using a poor weapon loadout for their class (A striker and a Widow on an Asari Adept, for example) but I'm not going to kick an Infiltrator that prefers the Widow/Javelin over the other available snipers.
Have you ever been kicked for using/not using the gun?
Well the Crusader is widely seen as a terrible weapon, and I have to agree that on an Infiltrator there are probably better options simply because it lacks a scope. That said, it's basically a Black Widow in Shotgun form with an extra round in the chamber. The damage is about the same, the penetration is about the same, and the accuracy is about the same. If you are able to score headshots with it, it can do a lot of damage. The problem is most people can't aim well with the shotgun style reticle and a lot of people immediately see it on an Infiltrator and consider it a sub-par build.
Kanluwen wrote:A few times I've had people trying to Red-X me when I've done my Crusader/Tempest combination on the HMI.
I always just wait till the last few seconds and then swap the Krysae for the Crusader.
I think this is a console-only phenomenon. I've seem lots of people complain about being gear\loadout kicked and it all seems to be on the 360 or PS3. I can't speak for all PC players obviously but in my anecdotal experience, I've never once been in a game where a player has been kicked for their loadout. I've only ever seen them kicked for
A.) taking too long to ready up in the lobby
B.) Showing up to a Gold with your lvl 5 soldier unless you have an astronomical N7 rating; and
C.) if we play a series of games with the same players, once or twice i've seen an ass clown get kicked for sucking in a previous game (I'm looking at you, Human Vanguards who like to port atop blobs, die, have us res you, repeat for 25 minutes)
Ouze wrote:
I think this is a console-only phenomenon. I've seem lots of people complain about being gear\loadout kicked and it all seems to be on the 360 or PS3. I can't speak for all PC players obviously but in my anecdotal experience, I've never once been in a game where a player has been kicked for their loadout. I've only ever seen them kicked for
It's definitely something that happens on the 360 but I cannot speak for PC users. In fact, I'm guilty of it, but only to the extent that I will kick on Gold for low ranked weapons and/or ineffective builds. I have a friend that I play with regularly (Lord Shiv, who Kanluwen has played with a few times) and we tend to do U/U/G games when we play together because between the two of us, if we are playing good classes, we can generally carry the match regardless of the other two players. Hell, both of us are fully capable of clutching wave 8-9 on Gold games before. We work well together and we know what we are doing. But we will not tolerate a level 12 Human Soldier with a Mattock I and a Shuriken III joining our matches because we KNOW he will be dead weight. The same goes for the Asari Adept using a Widow II or any power intensive class with a low rank, heavy weapon. The exceptions are Ultra Rares. If the class matches the weapon (IE Black Widow I on an Infiltrator, or a Talon I on anything that has Pistol weight reduction) then I'm more than willing to give someone a chance, even when the weapon combo is strange to me (Kanluwen's Crusader Infiltrator, for example) as long as the class is designed to use weapons, and not power dependent. I also kick people when they bring a level 1 character into Gold, regardless of weapons, with the sole exception of Infiltrators. If the person has a reasonable weapon on a level 1 Infiltrator and is N7 200+, I'll give them a chance in a match, and I've been pleasantly surprised enough times by this to not be bothered by it.
That's my policy anyway, and I think I'm relatively generous about it. At a certain point though, you have to be selfish and kick someone. I'm not going to invest 20-30 minutes and multiple consumables in a match where I feel two of the people are going to be dead weight before we even queue.
Ouze wrote:A.) taking too long to ready up in the lobby
I don't tend to kick for this unless the person is gone for an inordinate amount of time and doesn't have an active mic. Many times, people build a new character in between matches and that takes a few minutes to do. I do it, so I'm tolerant of it from other players. If I see someone change classes to a level 20 Adept that has a Predator and an Avenger equipped, I know they are allocating talents and I give them 5-10 minutes to get everything ready.
Ouze wrote:B.) Showing up to a Gold with your lvl 5 soldier unless you have an astronomical N7 rating
Guilty as charged. And I don't look at N7 rating, I look at weapons. If that level 5 Soldier is packing a Cerberus Harrier X or some other rank X Ultra Rare, I MIGHT give them a shot, but otherwise, get at least level 15 on Silver before you come into a Gold.
Ouze wrote:C.) if we play a series of games with the same players, once or twice i've seen an ass clown get kicked for sucking in a previous game (I'm looking at you, Human Vanguards who like to port atop blobs, die, have us res you, repeat for 25 minutes)
Also guilty. It's awkward though when you have TWO ineffective players in a match (two of us over 100k, and the other two both below 50k), so two of us have to vote to kick one of them and hope the other does as well, so the two of us can then kick the second guy on our own. Sometimes it's just better to leave and make a new lobby.
Ouze wrote:Also I was just playing and I GOT MY BLACK WIDOW
Gratz!! Enjoy it, it's an excellent weapon. I'm a Valiant man myself, but I used the hell out of my Black Widow before I got my Valiant, and it does arguably more damage per shot. Definitely a solid gun.
Personally (as a PC player) I only vote for kick when people take too long to ready up.
When they bring a weird weapon choice, I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt - just as I do every time when somebody plays a Vanguard. Gawd I hate this class. So many bad Vanguards give it a stigma.
The only thing I consider "too much" right away is when people join Silver or Gold matches with a character below a certain level. In these instances I do not kick, however, but simply leave and look for another match.
Gah, why is it that for the past 2 months, when I haven't had enough money and have had exams, ME3 has been £25 everywhere, supermarkets, games shops, online etc, but when I finally have enough money to buy it (at £25) it goes up in price to £40?
Raaaaaaaage.
Anyway, hopefully the extended edition will get the internet as a whole to stop ruining the story for people who havent played it yet by complaining loudly about Detailed Plot Point A, or Ending Scene C.
Goliath wrote:Gah, why is it that for the past 2 months, when I haven't had enough money and have had exams, ME3 has been £25 everywhere, supermarkets, games shops, online etc, but when I finally have enough money to buy it (at £25) it goes up in price to £40?
Raaaaaaaage.
Anyway, hopefully the extended edition will get the internet as a whole to stop ruining the story for people who havent played it yet by complaining loudly about Detailed Plot Point A, or Ending Scene C.
Hopefully anyway.
Heh, not bloody likely. If you haven't played the single player section by now, you should expect to accidentally hear spoilers unless you intend to actively avoid any part of the internet that might talk about ME3. It's just going to happen.
Aldarionn wrote:[I don't tend to kick for this unless the person is gone for an inordinate amount of time and doesn't have an active mic.
Sorry, I should have clarified this. First, if I were to make a pie chart of the reasons I kick people, taking too long to ready would actually be almost the whole damn pie, 9/10th at least. But what I was unclear on was what "taking too long to ready" means; which is the same criteria you use. I mean someone who just sits there and doesn't say anything ever. When someone appears to be idle I listen for them to say "hey will be a sec" first, or look at their equipment and see if it's moving in or out (it sometimes makes beeps and boops when they do this but sometimes not), or be aware if they are obviously levelling up; if they were level 19 last game I know perfectly well they might be allocating points. I also don't kick people lightly, I do it at most... once a weekend, maybe,
Ive had the experience where you turn up in a really "snobbish" game and get immediately kicked out, just because your a lower N7 rank than anybody else (without even looking at your load-out or character level). Time and time again it is obvious in ANY game that rank only reflects how much you have played a game and NOT player ability (although time=practice in most cases and VERY low level players can be a liability on high level games).
I also had an "amusing" experience the other day when the entirety of my team went down on I think wave 6 on silver and i was playing as an infiltrator. I was taking cover to regenerate health, because it was stupid to run through a horde of enemies to res my team/do the objective with no shield. I get taken down pretty soon after and my whole team was screaming "WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING! GET THE OBJECTIVE!" (there were still 3 devices left). I decided it would be a waste of medigel to try and save such a terrible team and I immediately get kicked afterwards. The team decided to ignore that I was the one resing everybody else before hand and had more than double the score of everybody else. I hate teams like that.
vodo40k wrote:Time and time again it is obvious in ANY game that rank only reflects how much you have played a game and NOT player ability (although time=practice in most cases and VERY low level players can be a liability on high level games).
Which is why I tend to think of character level being more important than N7 rating. ME Multiplayer is pretty easy to learn, and a fully maxed character offers much more leeway for error (more survivability, more damage, more everything) to a "noob" than a level 1 character for someone who has played longer.
Granted, N7 rating may also hint at superior equipment because a player who has played more will have purchased more packs, but he might have also just gotten crap and still uses a rank 1 standard weapon just because so far he didn't get what he wanted.
Lastly, N7 rating isn't accurate anyways, even if the above weren't true. You don't rank up beyond 20 when you don't promote your characters and only play a single class, like I did for some time. I now have promoted a couple classes multiple times, but still I keep hitting the threshold - effectively "wasting" N7 levels any time I do not immediately promote a character after getting to L20.
vodo40k wrote:Time and time again it is obvious in ANY game that rank only reflects how much you have played a game and NOT player ability (although time=practice in most cases and VERY low level players can be a liability on high level games).
Which is why I tend to think of character level being more important than N7 rating. ME Multiplayer is pretty easy to learn, and a fully maxed character offers much more leeway for error (more survivability, more damage, more everything) to a "noob" than a level 1 character for someone who has played longer.
Granted, N7 rating may also hint at superior equipment because a player who has played more will have purchased more packs, but he might have also just gotten crap and still uses a rank 1 standard weapon just because so far he didn't get what he wanted.
Lastly, N7 rating isn't accurate anyways, even if the above weren't true. You don't rank up beyond 20 when you don't promote your characters and only play a single class, like I did for some time. I now have promoted a couple classes multiple times, but still I keep hitting the threshold - effectively "wasting" N7 levels any time I do not immediately promote a character after getting to L20.
N7 rating is pretty much BS. The number of times I have out played (Not just out scored, but out played, with more medals and objectives achieved with fewer missiles used) someone with 4x my N7 rating is staggering, and I've been out played by a few people with half my N7. I'm just shy of N7 1,000 right now, and all that means is I have promoted my characters many many times.
There are actually a few key N7 levels to watch for that are a hint to whether a person promotes or not. N7 120 means a person likely got all of their characters to 20 and never promoted. N7 180 means they did the above and participated in the first promotion event. N7 270 means they have participated in both promotion events. If you see anyone playing at any of these levels, look at what gear they are using. If their guns are all rank X, or reasonable rank Ultra Rares, chances are you have someone who plays a lot, is a good player, and just doesn't promote.
Personally I look at gear and character level when kicking on Gold. Level 15 or lower for anything but Infiltrator = kick. Weapons ranked below V = kick unless the weapon is Ultra Rare, or some very specific weapons. No equipment equipped at all = kick unless weapons are rank X, and even then I'd like to see an ammo type at the least. Perhaps I'm a bit more of an elitist than most, but it's because failure on Gold for me means the loss of high ranked consumables (I use full gear in every match) and possibly wasted medi-gel, ops packs and missiles. If I don't think the team is going to make it past wave 6, I leave and find another lobby. Perhaps playing with teams of friends, all of whom are capable of soloing a wave if we all derp out, has spoiled me so that when I play with randoms who bring poorly ranked weapons and low level characters, I just don't tolerate it anymore. But at least I admit that to myself, and I make no secret of it.
No, I think we are all allowed to be a bit elitist when it comes to Gold. It's just hard enough to demand a certain level of commitment from anyone wishing to join your team - commitment that is shown in both character level and gear selection (weapons & equipment). When I can I only play Gold with friends, but I have been "forced" to do it with randoms on occasions when my buddies did not want to play but there was a limited event going on.
My favorite is still Silver. Just the right combination of challenge and room for error. You can still fail miserably, but only when more than one guy in your team is an idiot, and I've seen good players carry the team almost on their own, at least during parts of the match (like when everyone else was killed and the guy still manages to win the round).
Lynata wrote: I've seen good players carry the team almost on their own, at least during parts of the match (like when everyone else was killed and the guy still manages to win the round).
Oh that still happens on Gold. Make no mistake. Depending on what class you are playing, sometimes it's just outright easier to solo a wave than to have your team around mucking things up if they are bad players. It just takes an inordinate amount of time and resources so I'd rather not do it if I don't have to.
Seriously? there is no discussion of the Extended cut being released next week? All you guys care about is Multiplayer?
:( Don't forget what Mass Effect is about. Story, not random slaughterfests ala Call of Duty.
Anyway, seriously, I hope the extended cut actually makes me want another Mass Effect game. At this point, Mass Effect is about dead to me. I don't even feel like playing the Multiplayer. Hopefully Extended Cut will change that.
GalacticDefender wrote:Seriously? there is no discussion of the Extended cut being released next week? All you guys care about is Multiplayer?
:( Don't forget what Mass Effect is about. Story, not random slaughterfests ala Call of Duty.
Anyway, seriously, I hope the extended cut actually makes me want another Mass Effect game. At this point, Mass Effect is about dead to me. I don't even feel like playing the Multiplayer. Hopefully Extended Cut will change that.
There is already a large discussion thread about the ending of Mass Effect not that far down the page list. This thread was originally about Multiplayer and the title was changed to include other discussions as well. But primarily we discuss Multiplayer in this thread because it's the least static part of the game. There has been no single player DLC before the Extended Cut, so there is nothing to discuss that hasn't been hashed over a thousand times already. Multiplayer on the other hand gets updated every week, with community events every other week.
It's not that we don't care about the single player campaign, it's just that we've been over that a thousand times so until something new is actually released, it's not likely we will discuss it in detail. When it is released, it will probably get its own thread
GalacticDefender wrote:Seriously? there is no discussion of the Extended cut being released next week? All you guys care about is Multiplayer?
:( Don't forget what Mass Effect is about. Story, not random slaughterfests ala Call of Duty.
That comes tomorrow, brah. There isn't anything to say yet!
I think I spent at least 50 odd hours on my ME2 SP campaign. I didn't feel like it was done until I had scanned every single rock and moon in the galaxy.
Ouze wrote:I think I spent at least 50 odd hours on my ME2 SP campaign. I didn't feel like it was done until I had scanned every single rock and moon in the galaxy.
Big choice coming up, and one that will test my ability to ignore meta, over the choice my character would want to go for in game, as I've been playing her since ME1.
Basically I'm on the Geth missions, and I know there is an option that will loose Tali, and I've got to be honest when I play my Shepard, but part me isn't sure I want to sacrifice her, to play to my characters morality.
What exactly is the meta part - does your Shep know she'd die, or is this info that only you as a player have? In case of the latter, I'd probably recommend staying true to the character. There's nothing wrong with drama and sacrifice in a good story, especially if the alternative means loss of consequence and character consistency.
Not that you wouldn't be allowed to re-evaluate when the moment comes and your Shep may have a chance to change his/her decision, I guess.
Big choice coming up, and one that will test my ability to ignore meta, over the choice my character would want to go for in game, as I've been playing her since ME1.
Basically I'm on the Geth missions, and I know there is an option that will loose Tali, and I've got to be honest when I play my Shepard, but part me isn't sure I want to sacrifice her, to play to my characters morality.
Tough decisions ahead for sure.
Have you played through the game before?
If you have:
Spoiler:
Then you should know by now that if you have gained enough reputation up to that point, it's possible to talk the situation down so that nobody needs to die.
If not, then don't open the above, and let me just say that I hope you have done all of your side missions first!
Big choice coming up, and one that will test my ability to ignore meta, over the choice my character would want to go for in game, as I've been playing her since ME1.
Basically I'm on the Geth missions, and I know there is an option that will loose Tali, and I've got to be honest when I play my Shepard, but part me isn't sure I want to sacrifice her, to play to my characters morality.
Tough decisions ahead for sure.
Have you played through the game before?
If you have:
Spoiler:
Then you should know by now that if you have gained enough reputation up to that point, it's possible to talk the situation down so that nobody needs to die.
If not, then don't open the above, and let me just say that I hope you have done all of your side missions first!
Pretty sure thats the way i worked it...i believe it would also be dependant on one of the ME2 Loyalty missions....
And tbh I haven't played past this point before, so didn't realize you could resolve it.. thats a relief.. as I was going on stuff I read back at the end of March.
And Lynata, aye, I've been playing her a certain way, and I'm trying my damnedest to stay true to that. Of course as I've left it so danged late to finish her, a little spoiler action has occurred, either by me stupidly walking into the wrong area on the Bioware site, or foolishly opening up spoilers here to see what folks where discussing on varying topics.
Ouze wrote:Just beat the EC with Synthesis. Definitely better; wish they had done this the first go-round.
Seen all the ending via Youtube, couldn't be bothered playing all 3 games again atm, I must say that while they are "better" they are no where near the greatness of the other 2 game endings. Funnily enough, Control has become my fav option instead of destroy which I originally chose.
BioWare just announced that they are doing away with repeat character cards. All character cards will behave like weapon cards now (IE, once a character has no customizable options left to unlock, the card will stop appearing in packs). Instead, they have made level III ammunition bonuses Uncommon, and introduced a new level IV ammunition bonus that is rare. These cards will now appear in place of items that are already maxed. This does NOT increase your chances of unlocking new items, or your chances of getting an Ultra Rare item. On the other hand, it does guarantee that any character card you get from now on will be a class or customization option you do not have unlocked. I'm very excited about that!!
Also, they released the balance changes:
Eric Fagnan wrote:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 26, 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character Pack Changes
- Removed character kit cards as rare drops after all appearance options have
been unlocked and we've introduced new powerful Rare Ammo types that will
drop when you've maxed out your kits.
See more details here.
Tactical Cloak Power
- Base duration decreased from 8 to 4 seconds
- Evolution 1 duration bonus increased from 50% to 150%
- Base damage bonus decreased from 50% to 40%
- Evolution 6 sniper rifle damage bonus decreased from 40% to 25%
Human Adept Heavy Melee
- Base damage increased from 250 to 500
Saber Assault Rifle
- Encumbrance decreased from [2.0-1.4] to [1.7-1.4]
Wraith Shotgun
- Encumbrance decreased from [1.5-0.9] to [1.2-0.9]
Crusader Shotgun
- Encumbrance decreased from [2.5-2.0] to [2.3-2.0]
Javelin Sniper Rifle
- Encumbrance decreased from [3.0-2.4] to [2.7-2.4]
Black Widow Sniper Rifle
- Encumbrance decreased from [2.5-2.0] to [2.3-2.0]
Indra Sniper Rifle
- Encumbrance decreased from [1.25-0.7] to [1.0-0.7]
So Tactical Cloak finally got nerfed. The duration decrease is what I'm most upset about because it means I now have to choose between extra damage, or a long duration Cloak. Most of the time I use Tactical Cloak for a damage buff, but when I want to run from one area to the next it's nice to have the cloak stay active as long as it does.
Ouze wrote:Just beat the EC with Synthesis. Definitely better; wish they had done this the first go-round.
Seen all the ending via Youtube, couldn't be bothered playing all 3 games again atm, I must say that while they are "better" they are no where near the greatness of the other 2 game endings. Funnily enough, Control has become my fav option instead of destroy which I originally chose.
I actually hate the control ending seemed evil to me.
Ouze wrote:Just beat the EC with Synthesis. Definitely better; wish they had done this the first go-round.
Seen all the ending via Youtube, couldn't be bothered playing all 3 games again atm, I must say that while they are "better" they are no where near the greatness of the other 2 game endings. Funnily enough, Control has become my fav option instead of destroy which I originally chose.
I actually hate the control ending seemed evil to me.
I don't see how its evil given that the Catalyst was using them to harvest most of all organic life, at least with the DLC you help rebuild stuff when you control em. Granted the actual speech from Shepard does seem evil.
Just finished it... Can someone confirm for the RED ending.
I noticed on a youtube video that
Spoiler:
EDI was on the list of the deceased. However, I didnt particularly notice she was there when I did it, and I dont want to sit through the conversations again.
It did seem to me though that they took some care not to hammer home the "You just wiped out the Geth" thing at all. If anything, the space kid seems to assure that most things would rebuild and be fine....
I also liked the touch that it's the one ending where the plaque doesn't go up onto the wall. - The love interest 'just knows.'
It's interesting that the new 'take the 4th option'
Spoiler:
Has an Asari talking to a human child about it all instead of Buzz Aldrin. And yet, that ending is supposed to suggest that everyone was harvested as usual.
Compel wrote:
It's interesting that the new 'take the 4th option'
Spoiler:
Has an Asari talking to a human child about it all instead of Buzz Aldrin. And yet, that ending is supposed to suggest that everyone was harvested as usual.
I didn't see that, all I saw was Liara sending a message similar to the Protheans for the next cycle to find.
GalacticDefender wrote:So do you actually get to control any dialogue in the DLC?
Biggest annoyance I'm having with the TC nerf, Ald, is that it seems like it was waaaay too much.
I did a solo Bronze with the HMI doing straight damage buffs--and it was taking multiple shots to the body with a Widow X to down Cerberus Assault Troopers.
Aldarionn wrote:Also, they released the balance changes:
Oof. I'm happy about the character card change, but the nerfing is lame. This is a game that is against bots; players aren't really "in competition" with each other in a meaningful way. As such there is no reason to really ever nerf anything, especially not a mechanic that's been in since day one. Just make the other stuff better. It's not like this is a muhmorperger, where you need to slow people's progress so they pay for a few more months! If your players really do become overpowered, add a new difficulty level with harder monsters.
There was a good article about this written in 1997, and while the subject matter is more strictly muds; many of the points (especially regarding nerfing) are totally valid and analogous (you can cut to the "last logic" section if you don't want to read it all).
Seems my main character can't save both, so after the annoying reaper battle I'll stick with her choice (as it is what she would have done) and have the Geth.
Sadly unable to save both because I had Tali exiled in ME2 because I pressed an option too quickly, not noticing the paragon option till the moment I pressed the button, then thought it was an interesting twist, so didn't replay it to correct my error.
That call has cost me, as its not possible to save both sides with out Tali on the admirality board.
So oh well, it was a poetic moment, and at least my second char, a male shep with Tali as his love interest has done everything correctly.
Kanluwen wrote:Biggest annoyance I'm having with the TC nerf, Ald, is that it seems like it was waaaay too much.
I did a solo Bronze with the HMI doing straight damage buffs--and it was taking multiple shots to the body with a Widow X to down Cerberus Assault Troopers.
Hell, one actually survived two headshots.
That should not be possible. A Headshot from a Widow I without Tactical Cloak active is enough to kill any trooper level enemy in one shot. The numerical damage on most weapons is capable of achieving that, so a Widow of any level will do it. You must have hit the body or clipped him through cover or something because there is no possible way for an Assault Trooper to survive that.
As for the extended cut, here's my take on it:
Spoiler:
It replaced one set of problems with another. It closed some plot holes, and opened others or made them wider. It was nice to see Shepard say goodbye to his love interest, but Harbinger was there the whole time, firing lasers and killing people, yet he completely ignores the Normandy while she evacuates people? A ship with which Harbinger is intimately familiar?
The StarChild explained a lot more about what he is, and what would happen to Shepard, but he also explained that the people that made him unwillingly became the first Reaper, thus proving that he made synthetics to kill organics so synthetics wouldn't kill organics. It makes no sense. Also, nothing is stopping the cycle from progressing in any of the three endings.
Shepard has control, but nothing is preventing future synthetics from revolting and re-starting the cycle. In Synthesis Shepard's ideals were spread amongst the galactic races and all Synthetics and Organics became fused....but what if you chose to kill the Geth or the Quarians? What if you chose to betray the Krogan? What if you chose to exterminate the Raccni? Do we really want to all be imparted with the ideals of a man who would exterminate three races because they MIGHT start a war? Also, what's to stop the new Synthesized race from creating full Synthetics and having it all happen again? And in the destroy ending, it's not any different than it was before the extended cut. All Synthetics are destroyed and eventually the cycle continues.
It left the massive plot hole about how Anderson got to the control console before Shepard despite following him up the beam, and claiming they came out in different places. There is clearly only a single ramp to the platform with the control console, and only a single entrance to that ramp. If Anderson came out in a different place, how did he get to the same location as Shepard, and how did he get there first?
Finally, the biggest plot hole it created is that it explains what the Crucible is. It's a power source, nothing more. It allowed them to tap into the Catalyst. If all they needed was a power source to change how the "solution" worked, couldn't the Reapers have done this ages ago and implemented Synthesis? They said it couldn't be forced, but what made the current cycle special? Why were they ready for it? Why did it fail before? I just don't understand the logic behind that explanation. Perhaps I missed something, or I'm not smart enough, but it didn't seem to make sense.
I know this wasn't intended to change anything, but I think what they did explain might have made the story a little worse. Indoctrination was such a perfect fit for the ending they created, and they have done everything to steer us away from that but outright say "It's not indoctrination." So yeah, I'm disappointed by the ending, and disappointed with the extended cut.
Kanluwen wrote:Biggest annoyance I'm having with the TC nerf, Ald, is that it seems like it was waaaay too much.
I did a solo Bronze with the HMI doing straight damage buffs--and it was taking multiple shots to the body with a Widow X to down Cerberus Assault Troopers.
Hell, one actually survived two headshots.
That should not be possible. A Headshot from a Widow I without Tactical Cloak active is enough to kill any trooper level enemy in one shot. The numerical damage on most weapons is capable of achieving that, so a Widow of any level will do it. You must have hit the body or clipped him through cover or something because there is no possible way for an Assault Trooper to survive that.
It's funny, because someone repeatedly kept saying that on the BSN.
I tried it multiple times, on Firebase Hydra where there are some nice clear sight lines.
Each time, I hit him clear in the upper part of his head and he would go down, head exploding.
Then when I hit them in the middle of the head(below the eyes, but above the mouth)--it would have the effect I reported with Assault Troopers surviving headshots.
These instances, mind you, were when I cloaked and then immediately fired after having a shot lined up.
There's something wonky going on, and at the very least I've had several other people post that they've had similar happen using the Widow/Mantis.
Kanluwen wrote:Biggest annoyance I'm having with the TC nerf, Ald, is that it seems like it was waaaay too much.
I did a solo Bronze with the HMI doing straight damage buffs--and it was taking multiple shots to the body with a Widow X to down Cerberus Assault Troopers.
Hell, one actually survived two headshots.
That should not be possible. A Headshot from a Widow I without Tactical Cloak active is enough to kill any trooper level enemy in one shot. The numerical damage on most weapons is capable of achieving that, so a Widow of any level will do it. You must have hit the body or clipped him through cover or something because there is no possible way for an Assault Trooper to survive that.
It's funny, because someone repeatedly kept saying that on the BSN.
I tried it multiple times, on Firebase Hydra where there are some nice clear sight lines.
Each time, I hit him clear in the upper part of his head and he would go down, head exploding.
Then when I hit them in the middle of the head(below the eyes, but above the mouth)--it would have the effect I reported with Assault Troopers surviving headshots.
These instances, mind you, were when I cloaked and then immediately fired after having a shot lined up.
There's something wonky going on, and at the very least I've had several other people post that they've had similar happen using the Widow/Mantis.
That IS strange. I've had no trouble headshotting people with a Saber without TC and they usually die, and a Saber does much less damage than a Widow. My Valient will 1 shot any trooper enemy on Gold if I headshot them, even after the cloak. So my best guess is that the headshot location on a Cerberus Assault Trooper is coded funky now and hits below the eyes don't count as headshots? Could be that I just wasn't paying attention.
The funny thing is it's only happening with the Vulnerability VI mod, the single shot rifles(I tried it out earlier--and had it happen with a freaking Javelin), and every skill point possible being put into weapon damage.
I read through the tread on BSN where you mentioned these problems and I have to say, the video proof is pretty conclusive. He scored almost exclusively headshots in the first video and every one was a kill. That said, he was NOT using the Vulnerability VI, which I think is where the real test should be. Clearly the problem is not with the Widow. It's something else.
Either that or host lag is making you hit them with a body shot when you think you hit them with a headshot, which is entirely possible. Does this problem happen when you host or only when you play as a client?
Aldarionn wrote:I read through the tread on BSN where you mentioned these problems and I have to say, the video proof is pretty conclusive. He scored almost exclusively headshots in the first video and every one was a kill. That said, he was NOT using the Vulnerability VI, which I think is where the real test should be. Clearly the problem is not with the Widow. It's something else.
Not only that, but he was using a Salarian Infiltrator and didn't take the exact skill build I had.
He was also playing on PC, which y'never know...might actually make a difference.
The funny thing is, when I tested it using the single shots--I was able to duplicate it.
When I used the multi-shots(Raptor, Viper, Valiant) I was not.
Either that or host lag is making you hit them with a body shot when you think you hit them with a headshot, which is entirely possible. Does this problem happen when you host or only when you play as a client?
Is the character/spec really that important? Aside from Geth, all Infiltrators have the same damage bonuses in the same place.
Of course, you didn't take the headshot damage bonus, and he didn't take the Vulnerability VI, which basically cancels out any damage discrepency between the two builds, or theoretically it should.
The question at this point is whether or not the Vulnerability VI is bugged, because the video reasonably proves that the Widow is not the issue.
The fact that it's cross platform shouldn't matter unless the guy had modded files. The coding is the same from system to system and it uses the same set of EA servers. I haven't actually seen a bug so far that has no existed across all platforms except for the issues with PS3 and the events every two weeks.
Aldarionn wrote:Is the character/spec really that important? Aside from Geth, all Infiltrators have the same damage bonuses in the same place.
Of course, you didn't take the headshot damage bonus, and he didn't take the Vulnerability VI, which basically cancels out any damage discrepency between the two builds, or theoretically it should.
The question at this point is whether or not the Vulnerability VI is bugged, because the video reasonably proves that the Widow is not the issue.
Not really. It proves that with the Headshot damage bonus and the Sniper Rifle Rail Amp it was not having an issue.
But when I could only manage to have the effect happen with the Widow, Javelin, and Mantis---it reinforces my point that the issue seems to be the single shot rifles.
I have a theory, though I have no way of knowing if it's correct or not. Bear with me while I explain.
Players have Shield Gating mechanics, the same as Gold level enemies. When we take damage from a single attack and we have even 1 point of Shield remaining, we cannot take any damage in excess of our shields except from some very specific attacks (Melee, grenades, etc...). Similarly, we ALSO have Health Gating. If an attack would do enough damage to kill us, and we are above 1 hit point, it will instead leave us at 1 hit point and a SECOND attack must do the killing. This is the reason that a single Nemesis is 100% incapable of killing a player. Her shot from her rifle does 3600 damage on Gold, but unless we are at 1 hit point, it can never fire the killing blow, and because our health regenerates faster than her rifle reloads, she is incapable of killing us on her own.
I believe enemies ALSO have Health Gating, but many things negate it. Torso shots, head shots, melee, grenades, pellet weapons, etc...Effectively, if you score a limb shot on an enemy, you cannot possibly kill it in one hit, but a chest shot or a head shot should do the job as long as the gun does enough damage.
My theory is that something in the Vulnerability VI code doesn't bypass Health Gating the way it should, so sometimes headshots do not outright kill an enemy. If you have reproduced the problem with those three weapons using that gear, it must be an interaction with the code of single shot snipers that causes the problem.
Ah sweet, I was hoping so, otherwise I was going to froth at the mouth for wasted rare items on one shots.
I seemed to get four of them yesterday, where I'd had none previously over all my packs so far, just wanted to check before I started throwing them on characters for Bronze missions.
Apropos of my post on page 16, apparently Argos didn't get the memo about the ME3 increasing in price from £25 to £40, I just managed to get it for £15, which means I can also afford the From Ashes DLC as well!
Also, has the extended cut changed anyone here's opinions on the ending of the game?
Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:Ah sweet, I was hoping so, otherwise I was going to froth at the mouth for wasted rare items on one shots.
I seemed to get four of them yesterday, where I'd had none previously over all my packs so far, just wanted to check before I started throwing them on characters for Bronze missions.
BE CAREFUL! There are now rare consumables that are a 1 shot like any other consumable, so do NOT waste them on bronze difficulty.
To be more specific, Ammo Bonuses (Warp Ammo, Armor Piercing Ammo, Etc...), Armor Bonuses (Strength Enhancers, Cyclonic Modulators, Shield Power Cells, Etc...) and Weapon Bonuses (Rail Amps, Targeting VI's, Etc...) are STILL consumable, but the rank IV versions are gold cards, and the rank III versions are now silver cards. What are NOT consumable are "gear" which are what you equip in the bottom right corner on your equipment screen. Those items can be ranked up like weapon mods and don't go away between matches. You do not have to re-equip them between matches, but if you log out of the game, they will need to be re-equipped when you log back in.
So yes, it's possible your rare slots will be taken up by consumable gear, but this replaces repeat character cards so it's a tradeoff. It can be a little annoying when you haven't unlocked everything, but when your manifest looks like mine or Kanluwen's it's a blessing!
Edit: @ Goliath - No. It's basically a bunch of cutscenes that don't matter and change nothing. The ending is still crap. If you want my take on it, look at this post. I quote a post from the BioWare Social Network and it illustrates how I feel on the ending perfectly. I didn't write it, but it's so spot on I had to re-post it.
Ah cheers for the clarification, will keep an eye out. Fortunately these where all in Gear Bonus slot. (well I think they where, three for certain. need to check next time I log in.)
As I don't want to look at a walkthrough and get the entire story spoiled, roughly how far through the game is Priority:Tuchanka? Because I've gotten there after about 20 hours, but I'm not sure how much longer my game is going to be.
I have a feeling that was just before the half way point, but not one hundred percent.
I think Its like the fifth priority/key mission, and there a quite a few more to go, I won't say exactly, but I'd guess you've easily got more than the time you have out in so far, maybe double depedning on how many of the missions you do, sidetracked etc.
First time I did it I did the same thing, I saved it and than said "wait a second, I dont really trust this thing. I also killed off the original version and that was far less likely to turn on me than this one. I dont mind my chracter being a bit more renegade because of Earth but this is a bit much"
Did anyone else get a odd bug after compleating the Sanctuary mission. I get back on board and the first thing the comms girly says to me is Tali's in the common room drunk, as shes taken Miranda's death pretty hard.
To which I though, bloody hell, I'm taking that pretty hard considering she walked out of the mission alive with her sister in tow.
I did check my War room after, and Miranda is part of my war effort. So yeah, odd bug.
It should say that she's taken events on Sanctuary very hard, not Miranda's death. Not if Miranda lives at least. From what I got out of that, she got drunk because she saw what Cerberus was really capable of and it scared her ****less.
That would have made more sense, but she was talking about Miranda in past tense which was odd.
Although saying that, I have seen over on the Bioware boards, some folks had Tali show up after she committed suicide, for a love interest encounter in the captains cabin.
One of the good things with the change to the War effort requirements in single player, is promoting is not really as important unless you want N7 rating.
So I'll be leaving most of mine at 20 from now on.
Just got logged out of the EA servers. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but when I logged back in it welcomed me as if I was a brand new player, and all of my progress was lost, including any unlocked characters, weapons or mods.
Despite this my Galactic Readiness is at 100% everywhere (Woohoo!)
I reset my PS3, and the problem fixed itself, but has anyone else had any similar problems?
Yeah our Gold runs weren't bad, though fighting Reapers is never a sure thing. We could have done ANY other objective with no trouble on Glacier, but they HAD to give us the 1234 objective. That one is exceedingly difficult on that map, especially on wave 10.
Yeah my net connection has been awful the past 24hrs, so notta chance at the mo. Aura might get on this afternoon and play if she can, just to get an extraction checkout.
If you see someone on before 10:30pm UK time (5:30pm eastern) it isn't me, and she'll not respond to invites etc.
At worst I am hoping to get on tonight after work and just get in a couple of games before the weekend ends.
I'm itching to get home and download it. Unfortunately though I haven't had a lot of time to farm credits so I won't have anything new right away, but a friend of mine says the Acolyte (Heavy Pistol I believe) has a description that says it does heavy damage to shields/barriers, and in game it can 1-shot a Banshee's shields on Gold difficulty with Adrenaline Rush. That's pretty sweet!
Aldarionn wrote:I'm itching to get home and download it. Unfortunately though I haven't had a lot of time to farm credits so I won't have anything new right away, but a friend of mine says the Acolyte (Heavy Pistol I believe) has a description that says it does heavy damage to shields/barriers, and in game it can 1-shot a Banshee's shields on Gold difficulty with Adrenaline Rush. That's pretty sweet!
Not only that Ald, it can detonate biotic abilities like Warp and Dark Channel.
I got the Piranha/Acolyte up to X already. I dig 'em.
I'll be game for playing some Golds this weekend if you want.
Saw the N7 Engineer. He just kept throwing down a device that recharges shields and gives out ammo. His grenade launcher ability wrecked most geth that popped out.
Though it was my first time on one of the earth maps so I had no idea what I was doing for the first few rounds!
Also got the N7 Shotgun. Dear lord it is awesome. Only gun I need now!
kenshin620 wrote:I think the new N7 stuff is OP....
Saw the N7 Engineer. He just kept throwing down a device that recharges shields and gives out ammo. His grenade launcher ability wrecked most geth that popped out.
Though it was my first time on one of the earth maps so I had no idea what I was doing for the first few rounds!
Also got the N7 Shotgun. Dear lord it is awesome. Only gun I need now!
The Demolisher's Supply Pylon is fantastic.
It doesn't really "recharge" shields, it adds a hefty chunk(25% or so) to your maximum shields.
Outside of that Pylon, her Arc Grenades and Homing Grenades share the same grenade pool--meaning they go by quick on a lot of stuff.
@MDS:
I'll take you through some Bronzes with the new characters if y'want.
Yeah sounds good. I need to start thinking about upgrading to Silver or Gold at some point, but need to get all my potential playing characters back up to twenty first.
Thinking my best bet is with the Krogan Sentinel, love the class, allows me to use a Geth Shotgun which I am doing damage with, plus the Shield power grants me that extra level of survivability.
Although I did very well with the Quarian Engineer a week or so back as well.
Will try and get on over the next couple of days, Friday might be good, can stay up well past midnight if need be.
I'm sadly trapped at the store for three more hours, plus travelling time yet. It makes things a little confusing that we share, but it saves hassle with downloads, and of course achievements.
Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:Hehe, yeah she's probably playing ME1.
I'm sadly trapped at the store for three more hours, plus travelling time yet. It makes things a little confusing that we share, but it saves hassle with downloads, and of course achievements.
She's playing ME3 and just went from 20 to 21 on an Engineer.
In case you want to befuddle her with a texted "Grats!"
Ah cool, shes playing Alex. She was thinking about just playing through from ME1 again, but she got Alex from ME1 and ME2, would be a shame not to finish him off.
Oh and yeah, love stuff like that, gave her a grats.
kenshin620 wrote:I think the new N7 stuff is OP....
Saw the N7 Engineer. He just kept throwing down a device that recharges shields and gives out ammo. His grenade launcher ability wrecked most geth that popped out.
Though it was my first time on one of the earth maps so I had no idea what I was doing for the first few rounds!
Also got the N7 Shotgun. Dear lord it is awesome. Only gun I need now!
I hink it's more for platinum, I somehow ended up in platnum with my Lvl 7 infiltrator and if she didn't have PTSD already, she did now. The primes, so many primes.
I played my first game just now. I was playing with one of the guys with the new shields, teaming with him the whole game. Suddenly we were confronted with a turret, he instinctively dropped his shield and blocked the bullets while I blew up the turret. This was without any sort of communication, felt so Pro.
And honestly, Homing Grenades are faaaaaaaar less effective than Arc Grenades on Platinum.
Arc Grenades can be sidearmed, Homing Grenades have a "cast" animation.
It might be obnoxious but a successful platinum awards nearly double the credits of a successful gold. 135k+ easy. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's not as bad as everyone says as long as you play a reasonable class with good weapons. Some people are actually saying they find it easier than Gold in some places, because the way enemies spawn, they upgraded 2nd tier enemies to bosses, so there are drastically fewer centurions/engineers/hunters/pyros/marauders/ravagers to get in the way, and all you end up with are primes/banshees/brutes/atlases. In some cases, that provides a more predictable game, especially in the case of Atlases/Brutes.
And honestly, Homing Grenades are faaaaaaaar less effective than Arc Grenades on Platinum.
Arc Grenades can be sidearmed, Homing Grenades have a "cast" animation.
It might be obnoxious but a successful platinum awards nearly double the credits of a successful gold. 135k+ easy. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's not as bad as everyone says as long as you play a reasonable class with good weapons. Some people are actually saying they find it easier than Gold in some places, because the way enemies spawn, they upgraded 2nd tier enemies to bosses, so there are drastically fewer centurions/engineers/hunters/pyros/marauders/ravagers to get in the way, and all you end up with are primes/banshees/brutes/atlases. In some cases, that provides a more predictable game, especially in the case of Atlases/Brutes.
True, I always find Atlas very easy to dispatch, compared to say x3 or so engineers running around popping turrets
Yeah the balance changes either last week or the week before included a buff to all Cerberus units, including an HP buff for Turrets, which was not necessary. They are already the most insane units Cerberus has besides Phantoms. They didn't need to be twice as hard to kill.
Because the Combat Engineer is the enemy, not the Turret. For example, if I am the only person alive during a wave and I'm playing a Geth Engineer with an active Geth Turret when I die, the Geth Turret remains active after my death but we still fail the mission.
Unfortunately no, you do not keep the XP. If you DC you lose everything.
There seems to be an overly large number of disconnects after the recent patch BioWare released with the Earth DLC. I wonder if something specific in the update is causing instability, and if avoiding it will help avoid disconnecting.
London was a pain as we where on wave 5, had ended up in the middle of the map, killed a Marauder and turned to help a Krogan against a Brute, my shield popped and crash.
Rio was the second Wave I think, after London I was ticked but thought it was a once off. Near the bridge/ramp? (not sure first time there) and blegh, off again.
Assumed it was my net connection, if there are issues, I'm a little happier, but still do'h.
On Rio, what can happen is that a Slayer or Fury uses their dodge in certain locations--it registers as something bizarre with the game and forces them back to the original spawn.
It then will crash the game for the non-host and Slayer/Fury players.
So I'm bored at work and thought I would give a rundown of my opinions on the new classes for those that have not unlocked them yet.
N7 Fury Adept - I'm still figuring this class out. When I first unlocked it I thought the obvious build would be Dark Channel + Throw spam, but in practice that seems an underwhelming combination. The damage of that explosion is VERY sub par. Not at all like the single player version. Dark Channel certainly does a lot of damage over time (One casting kills Ravagers, and two castings kills Brutes), and the ability to jump to a new target when the original dies is nice, but for it to be truly useful the Biotic Explosions need to do more damage. In light of that, the skill to use seems to be the Annihilation Field, but I am still having trouble wrapping my head around this one. It's a very close range power, necessitating a CQC style of play, but on a character that is relatively fragile except for mobility, and that mobility consumes her Barrier.
Personally I think a 6/3/6/5/6 build will probably be the best option, with only 3 points spent in Dark Channel, but it will take some skill in order to weave in and out of enemy groups allowing the Annihilation Field to prime targets for Biotic Explosions detonated with Throw. If anyone else has commentary on how to use a build like this to better effect, feel free to add to this post, because I'm still practicing.
N7 Destroyer Soldier - Topping the list of characters for my personal favorite, tied with the Demolisher, the N7 Destroyer is an absolute monster if you completely ignore his Missile Launcher. That one power is pretty much useless due to low damage, poor firing mechanics, and the fact that it halves your maximum shields and fires completely on auto rather than at the direction of its controller. It will need a serious buff to make it useful.
The rest of the class, however, is pure gold. Devastator Mode can either give massive firepower or near indestructibility depending on how you allocate points, but at the cost of reduced movement speed. This would be a problem except that it makes the class completely immune to stuns and staggers. Rocket Troopers? Primes? Hunters? No problem! The Destroyer gives no f***s and just keeps on shooting. Additionally, the Multiple Frag Launcher is a thing of beauty. It fires much like Ballistic Blades, except instead of firing a close ranged hail of needles, it fires a medium ranged hail of grenades in a reasonable spread capable of carpet bombing an entire group of enemies.
Currently I am using the Cerberus Harrier on this character, but it was made to use the new Typhoon. Unfortunately I don't have that gun yet, but a friend of mine does and it's an absolutely brutal combo. It blows through ammo at a staggering rate, but is capable of shredding just about anything in short order. Even with the Harrier the class is a beast, and so far my favorite soldier of them all. I have yet to try this guy with the Hurricane, but I've heard that there is a bug with the firing mechanics that can cause auto-reload to not function if there is an odd number of bullets in the clip (Due to Devastator Mode's percentage based capacity increase). I'll have to test it out when I get the chance.
N7 Demolisher Engineer - My other favorite class so far. She seems purpose-built to use the Harrier, because the Supply Pylon completely negates that weapons biggest flaw, which is low spare ammunition. There are most certainly other weapons that she can make excellent use of, but so far the Harrier is my favorite. The Supply Pylon can be set up to either increase grenade/ammunition output, or increase shields/damage of nearby teammates. Personally I'm selfish and set it up for the first option, and keep it nearby and hog the ammo/grenades for myself.
Her other powers are Arc Grenades and Homing Grenades. Arc Grenades are nothing new, but Homing Grenades are kind of interesting. They can deal reasonable damage to armor, and superior damage to unshielded targets. They can also be aimed around walls much like Throw or Lash, making them very useful for picking off targets like Nemesis. They are kinda underwhelming compared to Arc Grenades, but having them at your disposal is nice. Both grenade types use the same pool of grenades, so you can pick and choose which ones you want to use without having to worry about not having the one you will need later, and with all of the grenade upgrades and a Grenade Mod, this class is capable of carrying 13 grenades, though I use a Warfighter Package (currently rank IV) and have 10, which seems to be plenty.
N7 Paladin Sentinel - I'll be blunt. If you want to kill things, do not use this class. It's pretty terrible at dealing damage, and currently Incinerate is incapable of detonating Snap Freeze, which is crippling to the Paladin. It can be useful as a mobile Decoy, but when the Omni-Shield is active it cannot move, fire or use powers, making it somewhat cumbersome to use, especially if you have a highly mobile team. I used it in a couple of games and then shelved it, never to be used again.
Some positives of the class are that Snap Freeze can be fired through walls and ignores Phantom's immunity bubble and Barrier, the standard melee strike is reasonably fast and does decent damage, and the shield has over 5,000 disposable hit points capable of absorbing an Atlas Missile without transferring any damage to you. Sadly, the negatives outweigh these in my opinion and I cannot see this class being viable on any reasonable difficulty without a significant buff. Additionally, it's kinda disappointing that this character is a "Sentinel," except it does not have a Biotic power of any kind. Effectively it's just another Engineer.
N7 Shadow Infiltrator - The Shadow is definitely a lot of fun. Shadow Strike does ungodly amounts of damage and acts as a melee attack, meaning it bypasses Shield Gate, benefits from melee damage gear and weapon mods, and if used under the effects of Tactical Cloak it can 1-shot a Phantom at full health/barrier on Gold difficulty (Haven't tried it on Platinum, so I don't know if it can 1HK on that difficulty). The class also has superior mobility, with a dodge much like the Drell characters and reasonable movement speed, making it tough to kill if you keep moving. Electric Slash is also a nice addition, giving some area-effect/crowd-control potential to the otherwise single-target class.
The one downside I have seen so far is that Shadow Strike doesn't seem to do a good job of protecting you from enemy fire. Ostensibly it's supposed to make you invisible while you jump behind the target for a massive melee attack, except that enemies can see and damage you perfectly well during the entire animation. You might be able to 1HK a Phantom, but the entire time you are moving up to her she can hit you with her palm blaster, and unless she was focusing on something else she will kill you. This can be gotten around by always using Tactical Cloak while out of Line of Sight of your target before activating Shadow Strike, but it's a step that should not be required considering the nature of the ability. If they fix this, the class will be exceptional.
N7 Slayer Vanguard - Probably the most fun I've had with a class so far. The Slayer's melee capabilities are very amusing indeed, and the wanabee Palm Blaster does reasonable damage if used correctly. The most interesting feature of this character is its ability to teleport when dodging and making melee attacks. Indeed, it's capable of phasing through walls and up or down levels in the blink of an eye. This teleportation affords the class some excellent protection since it seems to have in-built invulnerability frames when using the regular melee strike. The addition of a Shockwave equivalent gives the Slayer an impressive bag of tricks that allow it to be a master of battlefield control. Charging in to melee to deliver a whirlwind of attacks, then dodging through a wall and firing off several Biotic Slashes to kill the remaining enemies is a lot of fun, if not the highest damage potential in the game. This is definitely a class worth playing.
If anyone has anything else to add, feel free. I'm still getting acquainted with all of the new abilities this DLC provided so I'm sure there are some impressive combos yet to be discovered.
It dosent look like ill be able to play properly untill they fix the disconnecting issue. I had 30 seconds left of a gold game and it disconnected. I wouldnt care so much if I still got my credits/kept my equipment.
The disconnects are definitely a problem, but I have found that if you are in a private game and DC as the host, you can re-join the game and it will allow you to finish with full credits awarded, and your consumables will still be active when you return.
So the solution is to host your own games and play with people you know. After the room fills up, re-set the game to private and if you DC as host, re-join your friend in progress to finish your game. This happened to us the other night. Kanluwen was there so he can attest to the fact that it works. I came back and my score was in tact, and my consumables were all still there. At the end, I was awarded full credits.
I'll likely play a few tonight. I'm working for another hour and then I'll need to get some food, but after I have dinner I'll be up for some games. I would like a few more chances at a Typhoon.
Krysae Sniper Rifle
- Damage decreased from [476.0-595.0] to [429.0-548.0]
- Rate of fire decreased from [50] to [35]
- Recoil Increased from [5.0] to [10.0]
- Zoom Recoil Increased from [3.0] to [5.0]
- Total ammo dropped from [9-21] to [9-18]
N7 Typhoon
- Distance Penetration decreased from 100cm to 25cm
Cobra Missile Launcher
- Rate of fire decreased from 140 to 50
- Charge up behavior disabled to fix rocket glitch
- Fix for some uncommon gear not showing up in Spectre + Spectre Premium packs
- Increased XP bonus for common characters in Spectre + Spectre Premium from 62.5k to 250k XP
- Enemies in Gold and Platinum will stomp downed players now
Yay Krysae nerf!
Yay Cobra Missile change!
Yay gear change!
Yay increased XP bonus!
Kinda/Sorta Yay for enemies in Gold/Platinum stomping downed players!
Ehhhh okay for the Typhoon inherent penetration decrease!
Bah, that Krysae nerf was entirely too heavy handed. It works out to roughly a 35% DPS nerf and puts the gun firmly in the bottom tier of weapons (second lowest DPS in the game), meaning the only viable snipers are once again the Valiant and the Black Widow. I am disappoint. That was not the way to fix the Krysae.
The nerf to the Typhoon is pretty bad too. Before it could function without a pen mod through light cover. Now it needs the pen mod to be effective, which lowers the weapons overall DPS. It's still a very good weapon, but it effectively means it must use the same two mods as every other assault rifle, so it's kinda boring.
The fix for the missile glitch is......interesting. They changed the firing mechanic of the gun and increased the ROF so it's basically the same as it was, but it simply fires when you push the button now. That's going to take some getting used to.
Aldarionn wrote:Bah, that Krysae nerf was entirely too heavy handed. It works out to roughly a 35% DPS nerf and puts the gun firmly in the bottom tier of weapons (second lowest DPS in the game), meaning the only viable snipers are once again the Valiant and the Black Widow. I am disappoint. That was not the way to fix the Krysae.
Probably not, but I tried it out on Silver and didn't see a huge difference.
The nerf to the Typhoon is pretty bad too. Before it could function without a pen mod through light cover. Now it needs the pen mod to be effective, which lowers the weapons overall DPS. It's still a very good weapon, but it effectively means it must use the same two mods as every other assault rifle, so it's kinda boring.
It had the same penetration as a Javelin.
In no way, shape, or form was that remotely acceptable. Now it's down to Black Widow levels of penetration.
That said, I think the Typhoon was intended to be the "perfect place" for the Assault Rifle High Velocity Barrel(Piercing and Damage Bonus) but since we don't have the barrel yet...
The fix for the missile glitch is......interesting. They changed the firing mechanic of the gun and increased the ROF so it's basically the same as it was, but it simply fires when you push the button now. That's going to take some getting used to.
It did in the matches I played...but I really like it now.
Oh I agree that it should have less pen than the Javelin, but closer to the Widow. The Black Widow's penetration is something of a joke, and only useful against Guardians and very light cover.
Aldarionn wrote:Oh I agree that it should have less pen than the Javelin, but closer to the Widow. The Black Widow's penetration is something of a joke, and only useful against Guardians and very light cover.
Honestly, I think having it at Black Widow levels of penetration is perfect.
It shouldn't be firing through as much cover as a Javelin or Widow, but it should still be effective against cover.
I actually watched the whole video and I must say it's got some excellent insight into how to play that class and use that map. I think I'll be testing out some solo runs on Giant soon.
Operation OVERWATCH drops troops on Earth to tackle the most secure Reaper strongholds. Reaper anti-air defense will make for high-risk shuttle extractions.
Squad Goal: Extraction on any difficulty with at least one squad member using an Earth Pack character
Allied Goal: Extract 800,000 individual players on any difficulty, with each live member counting toward the goal.
Squad Goal Success: All squad members awarded a Commendation Pack.
Allied Goal Success: All players awarded a Victory Pack that includes a new Earth character.
Special Circumstance: Extraction time lengthened due to failure of Operation BROADSIDE.
Requirement: Mass Effect: Earth must be installed to earn these rewards.
Ald...
All N7 Silver/Gold match.
Me Paladin, you and Mackey Destroyer/Demo, Eddie with...well, whatever Eddie has.
We're gonna hold that line and stomp it like we're bosses?
OOH! Oh yeah, so the BioWare forums now have a countdown timer on there for the Operation start!
When the Operation starts, it'll countdown towards the ending!
I will definitely rock a Destroyer or a Demolisher for an N7 curbstomp match. I don't know what Eddie has but I think he has at least ONE N7 character.
Also, from the BioWare official response to questions regarding the operation, both the allied and squad goals require at least one N7 character in the party, and both can be done on any difficulty/map with any form of extraction. So for the allied goal, we must have at least one N7 character in the match for our extracted characters to count toward the goal, and in the squad goal, at least one squad member must be N7 and at least one person must extract.
That said, I would like to go for full extractions every time to avoid problems and have the highest possible contribution to the allied goal.
I'm cool with that, though not sure if Eddie has a Destroyer or not.
Saw a video on the BSN of a nice reliable spot to hold the line on Fire Base Rio and it can be done with any well designed team of characters. They were doing Platinum difficulty and it looked to be a reasonable strategy for it, so I'll have to talk to the group about giving it a try.
I'm concerned about Eddie joining us though, because he is relatively new to Multiplayer and he doesn't seem to understand a lot of the concepts we take for granted. Perhaps we could try it on Gold first and see how we do.
) ...
those poor infiltators, back to level 1
