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Post by RedCaesar97 on May 4, 2019 13:16:57 GMT
Nice. Question though: 1. I get that you can assume non-lethality. But that is no reason to exclude the most powerful biotics or tech. Under an arena simulation, the most powerful biotics or tech would still work, just as a non-lethal simulation. 2. I would totally do a 10 team bracket as I did above because the Arena is just a simulation and so could indeed simulate Rachni and Geth. 3. I also think that The Alliance N7 have come a long way since the Contact War. So yes Turians are more disciplined as a whole, but in terms of tech and biotics, Alliance have caught up. N7 also has more flexibility and better utilization of combined squad roles in their tactics (as opposed to putting biotics in "Cabal" units and not using them in tandem with the Blackwatch) 4. I do think the Batarian SIU, judging from the success of their methods via the Blue Suns, would be a very hard challenge for even the Turian Blackwatch. I agree that 1v1 Turian Blackwatch operative outclasses SIU. I agree also that equal members of squad vs squad SIU loses too b/c Blackwatch would be far better pound for pound. SIU is interesting b/c I suspect that they would show up with more guys though, in any given situation. Out of all the special forces, I think the Batarians have found a way to come as close as possible to mass producing Special Forces. Even in the real world, nobody can do that. But the success of the Blue Suns hints that the SIU has the potential to train more people than all the others. Which in a realistic scenario, there would be a smaller number of Turian Blackwatch operatives versus SIU. The outcome then would be in doubt. Turians might have more reliable weaponry, but Batarian State Arms really packs a punch. It would come down to just how much force can the SIU bring to the field to overwhelm the Blackwatch. Interesting thought. I will answer your question and provide additional clarification on your other comments. I've numbered your questions and comments above for clarity. 1. Since you asked about a tournament, I would have to assume this tournament needs to enact some form of rules to govern the competition. I had to make the assumption that this tournament was organized and run in such a way that all competing worlds would allow their special forces units to compete head-to-head. That means non-lethal with as much reduced risk of injury as possible. Each species' government has sunk millions or billions of credits into each special forces soldier (training and equipment), so there is no way they would risk those soldiers in a tournament that was a series of deathmatches. Therefore, non-lethal tournament with as little risk to injury as possible. To prevent injury and death requires limits or restrictions with what you can do with biotics and tech. From the ME1 codex, there are three branches of biotics: - TELEKINESIS uses mass-lowering fields to levitate or impel objects. - Mass-raising KINETIC FIELDS are used to block or pin objects - DISTORTION uses rapidly-shifting mass fields to shred objects Unless you restrict or limit biotics in some way, Telekinesis and Distortion biotics run the risk of harming or killing opponents. We see several examples of these biotics in the games and books. The lore (I think in the codex) states something like biotic users can put on two or three 'impressive' displays of biotics before they are exhausted. This lore is side-stepped in-game to improve the gameplay loop. We also see some 'impressive' displays of biotics in game cutscenes, almost to a comical degree (Jack in ME2 when she destroys 2-3 YMIR mechs, some Asari in Mass Effect Andromeda with massive barriers). Tech in the Mass Effect universe is much more nebulous, and can essentially boil down to "what do we need tech to do?". But tech can also do harm so it would also need to be limited or restricted in some way. It should also be noted in game, biotics started stretching or breaking the lore as the series progressed, and tech changed a bit from ME1 to ME2, and morphed again in ME3. "Tech" could also apply to various 'combat' abilities in the games. By removing or restricting biotics and tech, I am most certainly restricting or removing primary abilities or differentiators from various units. There is no way to avoid that if I am to make this tournament non-lethal. Arena simulations such as Armax Arsenal Arena or Pinnacle Station are player versus environment, not player versus player. They are designed to be non-lethal because you have an organic team competing against a virtual/simulated opponent. As soon as you pit two teams against each other, it is no longer simulated. Hence, the need to limit biotics, tech, and weapons to avoid injury or death. 2. To do a proper single-elimination bracket tournament, the number of teams/individuals in the bracket need to be an exponent of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64...). Otherwise, certain teams or individuals will get a bye into the next round. Take American Football for example. In the National Football League (NFL), you have a regular season, followed by a single-elimination bracket tournament to determine the winner of that season. In the NFL playoffs, some teams based on their regular season record will get a first-round bye, meaning they will skip the first round and then play their first playoff game in the second round. For this though exercise, it was easier to immediately eliminate 2 of the 10 teams (to get 8 teams), then it was to try to determine who gets a bye and where in the tournament bracket. 3. Turians tend to move their biotics into their own Cabals, but there is nothing to suggest that biotics are prevented from becoming members of Blackwatch. We have no way of knowing how many biotics are actually in Blackwatch. Cabals are essentially biotic-only military units, but Blackwatch can draw from any lesser military unit. 4. Do not confuse mercenary bands that have Batarian members, with the Batarian SIU. The Blue Suns are a Private Military Corporation (PMC), as are the Eclipse, Blood Pack, Talons, and so on. PMCs are privately-owned and operated; they are not run by a world/government-associated military. PMCs exist in our current world; PMCs in Mass Effect operate on similar principles. Now, that is not to say that PMCs cannot be used by governments; they most certainly can be. Governments can use PMCs as a cheaper alternative to using their own militaries for some conflicts or 'peace-keeping' measures (with all the plausible deniability), or used for state-sponsored terrorism. Modern special forces units undergo extensive training, including: extensive weapons training, environment training, tactics, and so on. Special Forces in the Mass Effect universe are like our modern special forces except on steroids; think zero/low/heavy-gravity training. Special forces are have specialists like snipers, demolitions, and communications; same would be true in Mass Effect but also on steroids such as various tech and biotic specialties. PMCs will have training and equipment, but special forces will have millions or billions of credits poured into them. PMCs are corporations that need to make a profit to survive; special forces have a budget pulled from a larger military budget pulled from a single government source of income (taxes). Batarian SIU is greater than all PMCs, but that does not mean that the Batarian SIU is on par with other special forces units. = = = For the record, a deathmatch tournament would play out much differently, but there are too many unknown variables at that point to predict a winner. It could just boil down to "who shot first"? For example, the Asari Commandos could just overwhelm their opponents with superior biotics each time, unless "damping" is still a thing, at which point their opponents would win. Or maybe the Asari Commandos attack the Salarians, only to discover they just "killed" decoys and the Salarians win. Taking off the limiters makes it really hard to determine who is actually better, but no limiters = death, and I did not think this was meant to be a deathmatch.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on May 2, 2019 11:48:29 GMT
It does not really matter. Depending on your preferred Adept build and squadmates, you are pretty much playing without shooting a weapon anyway. Basic Adept builds will be using Throw and Warp, and either Singularity or Pull (I prefer Pull), but mostly Throw and Warp. If you use Liara (Singularity) and Javik (Pull) for most of the game, you will rarely use your own Singularity/Pull. You end up just spamming Throw on health-only enemies, and Warp+Throw (and maybe Cluster Grenades) on everything else. That being said, Pistols are generally better than SMGs: - Scorpion (Sur'Kesh) can be good for its stagger when it hits.
- Executioner (DLC) because it is essentially a Mantis/Widow sniper rifle in handgun form.
- Acolyte Pistol (DLC). It is a charged-shot weapon, but it has a crazy 500% shield/barrier multiplier (meaning it deals 5x damage to shields and barriers).
- The "real" Suppressor (Citadel DLC) is always good if you can score headshots. (In the Ambush section of the Citadel DLC, you get a "fake" Suppressor that is nothing like the "real" Suppressor. The "fake" Suppressor is a noticeably a lot heavier, and I think it deals less damage.)
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 30, 2019 0:10:35 GMT
In modern militaries, special forces are the best soldiers in the world. They have gone through a rigorous selection process, and are given the best training and equipment. In the Mass Effect universe, the various special forces units are much the same, but with more 'space magic'. I find the question of "which race's special forces unit would win in a tournament" hard to judge because how would you construct such a tournament? TOURNAMENT SETUP: In the opening post, the tournament rules include "Assume Squad v Squad scenarios". This rule infers that it will be a bracket tournament system, not a series of "team versus environment" scenarios that would be scored by time or a panel of judges. So we would have to assume that these would be non-lethal team-versus-team combat scenarios, similar to paintball. So this assumes an Armax Arsenal Arena or Pinnacle Station virtual combat arena with non-lethal firearms. The rules also state "Take into account weapon differences if any" so these would have to take into account non-lethal rounds or non-lethal weapon replicas. I repeatedly state "non-lethal" because it is assumed that such a tournament was designed to avoid injuries and death as much as possible while remaining fiercely competitive. One slight change I have to make: I will only consider 8 of the 10 given units for this tournament. Using only eight units allows for a three-round bracket without needing to figure out first-round or second-round byes. Therefore, I will remove two of the following units: - Drell Assassins, on the grounds that one race cannot compete on behalf of another race (in this case, the Hanar)
- Geth Primes, on the grounds that since Artifical Intelligence banned in Citadel space, the Geth are prohibited from competing in the tournament. (Note that Batarians are not a Citadel species any more, but we can fudge their inclusion.) NOTE: It should be noted that Legion was considered a unique platform hosting over a thousand programs. It is unclear if one Geth Prime platform = one Geth program, especially if we want to limit unit size to 12.
- Rachni Brood Warriors, on the grounds that none exist anymore.
Of the preceeding three units, I will eliminate Geth Primes and Rachni Brood Warriors from the tournament. One last thing: Matchups will be based on the order that teams appear in the poll. ASSUMPTIONS: One assumption I will have to make is unit size. We will have to assume that all units are restricted to the same number of soldiers, no more or less. Another assumption I will make: in each tournament match, each team will be at their best. I make this assumption to avoid the 'luck factor'. It also allows me to assume that the winner will be the same for a single-elimination as it would be for a best-of/first-to series. Another assumption: Since I made a previous assumption that such a tournament would be as non-lethal as possible, we will assume that any use of biotics would be banned or strictly limited in how they are to be used in the tournament. Since biotics can potentially injure or kill an opponent, biotics would have to be banned or strictly limited to prevent injury or death of an opponent. One last assumption: Like biotics, tech would also have to be limited to non-lethal uses. ROUND 1: 1. Alliance N7 -versus- Asari Commandos With biotics restricted or banned, the Asari Commandos are entering into the tournament at a disadvantage. The Alliance N7 would also have some biotics in the unit, but only a few members would be affected by this rule. Some tech-heavy users may also be affected by strict tech limits, but these restrictions should affect the Alliance N7 more than it would the Asari Commandos. The Asari have much more vast experience than the human Alliance squad, measuring experience in centuries instead of years. WINNER: Alliance N7. The N7 unit are able to overcome the biotic and tech restrictions, but the biotic restrictions prove to be too detrimental to the Asari Commandos 2. Batarian SIU -versus- Krogan Aralakh Company The Batarians are essentially a third-world, uh,... world, having cut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy. As a result, the Batarians would lack proper resources for training that would be on par with other races, even the Krogan. While Krogan would be more reckless, even non-lethal replicas of their weapons would be devastating. This would be a one-sided fight. WINNER: Krogan Aralakh Company. (For the record, I think all other units in this tournament would beat the Batarians.) 3. Salarian STG -versus- Turian Blackwatch A Turian Blackwatch unit would have few biotics if any, since biotic Turians tend to be put into their own Cabal units. Turians are a more militaristic society, with mandatory military service. This mentality permeates their entire society, with the Turian Blackwatch being exemplary examples of Turian military might. Salarian STG's motto is to win a fight before it even begins. However, that philosphy is impossible in a bracket-style tournament such as this one. Restrictions on tech would also likely hinder the Salarian STG unit more than the Turian Blackwatch unit. The Salarian STG is more capable at fighting than some people give them credit for, but in this bracket, they pulled a bad matchup. WINNER: Turian Blackwatch. 4. Drell Assassins -versus- Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines The Hanar-trained Drell Assassins have been trained since childhood in all matter of combat. While assassins typically operate alone instead of a group, it is not inconceivable that they would occasionally fight as a unit when needed. However, acting as a unit is not their standard method of operation. The Quarian marines on the other hand, are trained as a unit, going up against Geth, pirates, and slavers. Their weakened immune system will not be a factor in this tournament, but the tech restrictions will hurt Quarians more than the Drell. The biotic restrictions are more likely to hurt the Drell than the Quarians, but it is unclear how many Drell are biotic. Biotic Quarians are extremely rare almost to the point of non-existence. WINNER: Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines. The Quarians are used to training fighting more as a unit than the Drell, which gave them the edge in this matchup. ROUND 2: 1. Alliance N7 -versus- Krogan Aralakh Company After an easy first-round matchup, the Krogan are now pitted against a more difficult opponent. Aralakh Company remain the same reckless, fearless group they always are, but now they are up against a better trained, better equipped, and better disciplined group in the Alliance N7. Despite the tech and biotic handicap, the Alliance N7 unit is more disciplined than the Krogan, and would exploit the reckless behavior of the Krogan unit. WINNER: Alliance N7 2. Turian Blackwatch -versus- Quarian Migrant Fleet Marines Battle of the Dextro units! The Quarians would have an edge in tech, but Turians outmatch the Quarians in every other category. This match was never really a contest. WINNER: Turian Blackwatch. ROUND 3 (FINAL ROUND): Alliance N7 -versus- Turian Blackwatch It is a First Contact War/Relay 314 Incident rematch/re-enactment. Who will win? It is a close match, but the Alliance N7 is hampered by the tech and biotic restrictions, and Turian society gives the Turian Blackwatch unit a native edge in unit cohesiveness. WINNER: Turian Blackwatch
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 27, 2019 21:30:23 GMT
It appears my capture device has failed. (I play single player on Xbox and use a capture device to record gameplay to a PC.) I am recording gameplay of Brandi Shepard -- a "Cryo DrainGuard", a Vanguard using just Cryo Ammo, Energy Drain, and Shockwave -- so I kind of want to finish recording the playthrough. All that is left for gameplay is: second half of Thessia, Sanctuary, N7: Communications Hub, then Cerberus HQ and Earth. I am not completely sure if the device itself failed or if my old crummy laptop is preventing it from capturing. The video-through works (video from my Xbox to TV monitor works) so it may just be the laptop that is not recognizing the USB input. I am going to try again later after another reboot to see if I can get it to work. Failing that, I may install the capture software on my desktop PC to see if that works. I would hate to leave this playthrough unfinished because my capture device failed. I do not want to buy a second device in less than a year. UPDATE: After some fiddling, I can confirm that my capture device is toast. Basically, none of my computers can recognize the USB, so I cannot record any gameplay with it. That sucks.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 27, 2019 17:16:48 GMT
To win a conventional victory you need superior numbers, superior weapons, or both. I would add how they go about attacking the reapers and who is leading the fleets as well. Well you did ask about a "conventional" victory. The issue is that a Reaper war is a fleet-based war that mostly takes place in vast emptiness of space. In our modern era, if you lack the numbers or equipment, you need to rely more on guerilla warfare: hit and run tactics, Improvise Explosive Devices (IEDs), and so on. One of the conversations between the Normandy crew members guarding the door (I forget their names) mention that Reapers lack more conventional avenues of attack, such as supply lines or military bases. So that leaves tactics and the leaders planning the attacks. Reaper tactics: 1. Attack on mass, destroy obvious military resistance. 2. Indoctrinate masses of people, recruiting them to your cause. 3. Use indoctrinated forces to hinder or influence further resistance, and/or help with harvesting. 4. Harvest people for new Reapers and/or turn them into ground troops to eliminate resistance and continue harvesting. So to fight a conventional war with the Reapers means to try to find ways to fight/destroy Reapers (Capital ships and destroyers), fight Reaper-created ground forces, and reduce/eliminate/cure indoctrination. In Mass Effect 1 and 3, the galaxy is only well-equipped enough to fight Reaper troops (Reaper-created creatures such as husks, cannibals, marauders, and so on), but not well-equipped enough to take out Reaper ships in a straight-up "conventional" fight. So the issue we have left is trying to come up with conventional methods for beating the Reapers but employing them in unconventional ways. But in what would amount to a lot of "air-to-air" or "air-to-ground" space battles, how do you beat the Reapers in such a way? What would be some guerrilla-style warfare methods that you could use to beat the Reapers? What would be the space equivalent of luring a Reaper into a forest, or blowing up a bridge with Reapers on it? If you have enough time and manpower and effort, you can maybe: 1. Build a giant gun (that was also a ship?) that could shoot asteroids? Although at that point you essentially have your own Mass Relay. Maybe try to turn a Mass Relay into a giant gun? And then if you did win the war, how would you prevent a species from using a Mass Relay as a weapon to threaten or destroy other species? For example, what would prevent the Krogan from using a Mass Relay to get revenge on the Turians and Salarians? Or will it (currently) be like our own nuclear powers on Earth where we hope that no one will use a nuclear weapon for fear that it will kickstart a mass extinction event? 2. Destroy Mass Relays by turning them into giant mines? Basically set up/program some sort of self-destruct sequence that destroys a Mass Relay when Reapers use it. Obvious issues: loss of star systems if they blow up like one did in the ME2 Arrival DLC; could destroy all habitable systems in the galaxy and still not kill all Reapers. Reapers can still travel using conventional FTL. - - - This is why I am wondering can you implant false data somewhere so that the Reapers will fly into a giant space trap. How would you do that? How would that work? - In ME1, Vigil says when the Reapers arrived, they took over the Citadel which had a ton of data such as census data. Could you -- and how, where would you -- plant false data to lure one or more Reapers. - Where and what kind of trap would you place to inflict as many Reaper casualties as you could while taking minimal losses. - How often would this work before the Reapers learned about this new tactic? Or are there other exploitable tactics that you could employ? Given enough time, would studying the remains of Sovereign have helped discover weaknesses in Reapers? Or perhaps studying Soveriegn's remains would have led to better weapons, ships, and shield technologies (like the Normandy weapon upgrade in ME2).
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 27, 2019 16:35:08 GMT
It appears my capture device has failed. (I play single player on Xbox and use a capture device to record gameplay to a PC.) I am recording gameplay of Brandi Shepard -- a "Cryo DrainGuard", a Vanguard using just Cryo Ammo, Energy Drain, and Shockwave -- so I kind of want to finish recording the playthrough. All that is left for gameplay is: second half of Thessia, Sanctuary, N7: Communications Hub, then Cerberus HQ and Earth.
I am not completely sure if the device itself failed or if my old crummy laptop is preventing it from capturing. The video-through works (video from my Xbox to TV monitor works) so it may just be the laptop that is not recognizing the USB input.
I am going to try again later after another reboot to see if I can get it to work. Failing that, I may install the capture software on my desktop PC to see if that works.
I would hate to leave this playthrough unfinished because my capture device failed. I do not want to buy a second device in less than a year.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 27, 2019 1:54:59 GMT
I started playing Brandi Shepard on a mission, but I was not really feeling it. then I kept dying in the same spot over and over again, until I finally quit after about 30 minutes. I'll probably pick it up again in a few days and then be fine.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 26, 2019 0:52:54 GMT
Brandi Shepard: 1. Helped a fellow N7 named Riley get a Turian Fuel Reactor back up and running.
2. Returned to the Citadel to return a bunch of presents.
3. Bumped into Wrex on the way back to the Normandy. He was pissed that Brandi would sabotage the genophage cure. C-Sec killed him before he managed to turn Brandi into swiss cheese.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 25, 2019 2:25:21 GMT
Brandi Shepard: 1. Brandi disabled some AA towers so Cortez could destroy a jamming tower so they could locate Admiral Korris. Then they rescued Korris.
2. Brandi went to the Geth Base to go destroy the Reaper signal. Turns out that the Reaper signal was being broadcast by an actual Reaper. After Brandi helped the Quarians destroy the Reaper, the Geth VI tried to upload the Reaper code upgrades to all Geth. When Brandi objected, the Geth VI tried to kill her. Tali stabbed the Geth VI to death. The Quarians then destroyed the Geth.
3. The Asari Councillor wants to meet with Brandi, but Brandi has to do a few things first.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 24, 2019 23:38:51 GMT
As a follow-up, what other weapons or strategies could you employ in a conventional war against the Reapers? We know that Reapers are machines, giant artificial intelligences. They are made of inorganic material, but also use organic material (paste made from organic beings) in some capacity.
If you cannot destroy a Reaper outright without a lot of firepower, then you have to look at getting crafty to try and beat them.
That means trying to get through their shields and destroying them from the inside. Their kinetic shields (like the shields in hardsuits and ships) are designed to stop matter. So you need to take them down as quickly as possible or bypass them somehow. Shields are inconsistent throughout the games, but generally they are designed to stop fast-moving objects. So maybe your best bet is to lay down some sort of mine that you can lay down near a Mass Relay that will attach itself to the Reaper as it passes. The mine can then punch a hole though the Reaper hull (the shield extends beyond the hull; it is not on the hull).
From there you hopefully the mine has one or two other tricks it can do. Maybe some sort of hacking techniques (like Admiral Xen's coded flashbang?). Maybe try to disrupt or corrupt the organic material, causing the Reaper to seize up?
Maybe plant false data in the Citadel computers, so when the Reapers attack, they fly into death traps, space anomalies, or something?
I don't know. I'm out of ideas.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 24, 2019 23:21:30 GMT
To win a conventional victory you need superior numbers, superior weapons, or both.
Together, the entire galaxy probably has significantly more ships than the Reapers, but those ships and their weapons are severely outclasses by the Reapers.
If X number of ships are required to take out one Reaper, and there are Y number of Reapers, then you need a minimum of X times Y ships. But does the galaxy actually have that number of ships? Probably not. You would need better weapons (and defenses/ships) to reduce the value X required to beat a Reaper.
That was a bit of preamble, but really what is required at this point is between the time that the Reapers are proved to exist and the time they actually arrive, the entire galaxy needed shift a lot of production into making ships and weapons that fight a war with the Reapers. The issue of course is that: 1. Too many governments rejected the idea of Reapers and maintained the status quo. 2. No one knew the Reapers were actually coming until the end of Mass Effect 2, roughly 6 months before the Reaper invasion.
So let's say that at the end of Mass Effect 1, 'everyone' believed that the Reapers were real and that they would arrive in the galaxy at a later date. Is 2.5 - 3 years enough time to build research, develop, and produce enough ships and weapons to successfully defeat the Reapers?
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 24, 2019 1:59:06 GMT
I finally caught up with my video editing, so I can continue playing ME3.
Brandi Shepard: 1. Visited the Quarians, found out they started a war with the Geth. (Way to go, morons.)
2. Boarded a Geth Dreadnaught, found a replica of the Legion platform. The Geth VI (sure, I'll call it that) was shackled and being used as a signal booster. It volunteered to help Brandi if she freed it. She freed it, and it shut down the Dreadnaught's drive core. Admiral Han Gerrel then used the opportunity to attack while Brandi was still on board. Brandi escaped before it exploded, then had some heated words with Han Gerrel about his reckless behavior.
3. Went to a Geth server to shut down some Geth fighters ready to attack some Quarian civilians. The Geth VI pulled a fast one and downloaded a bunch of Geth into Prime platforms. It said they would help Brandi, but she is very skeptical.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 23, 2019 23:18:08 GMT
So, after I finish the suicide mission, Overlord, LotSB and Arrival - are there any other side missions from random planets I don't want to forget? There may be one that gives me an upgrade I missed already. And, any side missions that carry over into ME3 before I start ME3? No ME2 side missions (specifically N7 missions) have any impact on ME3. UpUpAgain listed the N7 missions that contain upgrades: N7 Missions with Upgrades in Them: 1) N7: Anomalous Weather (Damage Protection) 2) N7: Strontium Mule (Heavy Skin Weave) (Note: Unlocks after doing N7: Archaeological Dig Site) 3) N7: Blood Pack Base (Heavy Weapon Ammo Upgrade) (Note: Unlocks after doing N7: Blood Pack Communications Relay)
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 23, 2019 23:15:40 GMT
EDIT: never had these amazing looking Cerberus armors before. Do they come with Pinacle Station or something? Cerberus armors (and a few other armors and equipment) are available only through console cheats on PC. They are in the base game, but never accessible anywhere in the game. Essentially, the dev team created the assets for them, but never made them available to shops or loot drops.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 19, 2019 18:53:48 GMT
I will need some time to think about this. In a 1v1 match, the winner of an actual fight would probably come down to whoever attacks first. In a free-for-all, it would probably come down to whoever gets luckiest, or whoever gets ignored during an initial skirmish.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 18, 2019 22:19:00 GMT
If you are playing mostly Paragon, then you should have enough Charm. If you are playing mostly Renegade, then maybe.
Regardless, even if you do not have enough Charm or Paragon for the initial fight, just side with one of them. Afterwards, talk to the one who is angry (the one you did not side with), and you should have enough charm/intimidate to get them back on your side. The follow-up conversation requires less Charm/Intimidate than the fight conversation.
Note: If you are romancing Tali, side with Tali otherwise you will lose the option to romance her.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 18, 2019 22:15:35 GMT
Finished the Collector Ship mission. Was tough, mainly because my AI comps didn't position themselves well - went through all my medi-gel. I did like the double warp bombs with Thane and Miranda. Picked up the Geth Plasma Shotgun. Have all loyalty missions left to do, and need to do the openers for Samara and Tali which I will do next, then do all the loyaltys. Still have some credits issues. The Personal Defense kiosk on Ilium still has about 3 upgrades I need but they aren't cheap. One more level and I can max out Warp. I assume always use Unstable Warp since its faster CD? Heavy Warp for Shepard, Unstable Warp for squadmates. Warp rank 4 is always base 6-second cooldown for Shepard. Unstable Warp only has a shorter cooldown for squadmates (from base 12 seconds to base 9 seconds)
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 17, 2019 12:25:47 GMT
Brandi Shepard: 1. Dr. Garneau started channeling his inner Leviathan and ran away. Brandi gave chase, and the Reapers started dropping in troops. After killing a few dozen baddies, she caught up to Garneau who then blew himself up. And then it turned out he was not Garneau, but some other dead guy was Garneau. Feaky.
(Took me another 2-3 tries before I finally beat this mission, once because a Reaper drop landed right on top of me. I ran away and died, but at that point no matter what I did I was going to die anyway.)
2. Then it was back to Bryson's Lab, where they tracked down his daughter Ann. Extracting Ann from a Reaper-infested territory was crazy, but Brandi was getting used to it. (Also, having better squadmates helped in this mission; wish I had them in the previous mission.)
3. Ann helped them locate Leviathan's location (she nearly died). When they went to investigate, a strange pulse caused them to crash. Then a Reaper showed up and dropped in more troops*. Brandi took care of them, then took a diving mech down and met Leviathan. She convinced Leviathan to join the war effort.
* The fight ended very strangely. Normally you know the fight ends when Cortez asks you to bring the mech over. He never did that because Liara and I think some other Reaper troops (at least a Brute?) just... disappeared. I thought I was going to have to reload, but I brought the mech over and the cutscene started so it I did not have to reload.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 16, 2019 23:11:24 GMT
There are actually two Thresher Maws on Nonuel. Dammit! It's okay, though. I still have Therum to go but will stop by the Citadel first. Is this one of the Helena Blake planets? If so, I'll be back for that second thresher maw. Jaysen really hates thresher maws and batarians since he's a Colonist and Sole Survivor. Nonuel and Chohe (or rather, the systems where these planets are located) are unlocked when you have enough Paragon or Renegade and then Hackett gives you the Paragon or Renegade-only mission. Nonuel is the planet for the Renegade-only mission (negotiate with the warlord). Chohe is the planet for the Paragon-only mission (kill the terrorists while drugged scientists run around).
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 16, 2019 12:09:54 GMT
On Nonuel ... This was the most boring plant ever. No husks, no thresher maws, no geth, no living mercenaries - nothing. I should suggest it for colonization because - weather aside - it's the safest damn planet it the galaxy! There are actually two Thresher Maws on Nonuel.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 15, 2019 22:56:29 GMT
Regarding bonus weapons: - If you take sniper rifles, only the Viper is good. only the viper? Do you mean for adepts or for all classes because I find mantis to be far better and if I am a soldier I use the widow for a bonus weapon. Viper is good for all classes. Mantis is only good for Soldier and Infiltrator until you get the Widow. If you do not pick the Widow as a bonus weapon for Soldier or Infiltrator, then use the Viper. Even when keeping up with upgrades, there comes a point when you cannot one-shot kill a fully-shielded/barrier enemy with the Mantis on Insanity. That is why you need the Widow, or you stick to using the Viper as your sniper rifle.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 15, 2019 22:51:42 GMT
You have some of your people use sniper rifles? Is that any good. I always gave zaeed and garrus the assault rifle Zaeed and Garrus with the Incisor (by ThatAverageGatsby):
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 15, 2019 11:27:41 GMT
Okay thanks guys for the input. So take Thane with Miranda on the Collector Vessel then? I won't use Grunt if he's not good. Or I guess I could take Jacob. I was thinking Concussive Shot was a good thing for Barriers, and obv. incendiary ammo is good. Which heavy weapon would you suggest for the Collector Vessel? I was gonna bring the Particle Beam again but maybe I shouldn't. Also, do you think the Geth Rifle is a good bonus weapon for an adept? I guess I consider LotSB such an epic DLC, it almost dwarfs the Suicide Mission. Doing it later seems to I guess extend the epicness of the game after the "ending." But I understand how important that respec terminal can be. I assume I can get by without doing it now, it just helps? Concussive Shot is low damage, but it deals 4x damage to barriers. It also has 12 second base cooldown. Up to you. I suggest taking the Avalanche for the Disabled Collector Ship. It makes the platforms section so much easier. You can do Lair of the Shadow Broker as early (after Horizon) or late as you want. But without the squadmate respec terminal, it will reduce the effectiveness of some of your squadmates. Regarding bonus weapons: - If you take assault rifles as your bonus weapon, I do not think the Geth Pulse Rifle is a good bonus weapon for the Adept. I think it is on par with the Avenger assault rifle which means I do not think it is a good weapon at all. The Vindicator or Mattock (DLC) are better bonus weapons. - If you take shotguns, the Geth Plasma Shotgun and Eviscerator are good on the Adept. Some players really like the Geth Plasma Shotgun since it is really good against shields and barriers; it can strip some shields/barriers in one shot, helping you with your biotics. - If you take sniper rifles, only the Viper is good.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 15, 2019 0:39:54 GMT
Brandi Shepard talked with some of her squad on the Normandy, then on the Citadel.
Then she went to go find Dr. Garneau....
... and then I started dying a lot. Just was not my day I guess. I quit before I threw my controller. I'll try again tomorrow or later in the week I guess. I may restart the mission to get different squadmates. I was using EDI and James; I may restart to use EDI and Liara.
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Post by RedCaesar97 on Apr 15, 2019 0:36:56 GMT
I usually save LotSB towards near the end. Am I gimping myself too much if I hold off on LotSB till later? I used Miranda/Grunt on Horizon, they worked pretty well. Would you suggest using those two? I debated about Mordin instead of Grunt but felt a squadmate with different weapons was better, and I still get Squad Incend Ammo. 1. Lair of the Shadow Broker: In my opinion, I think you are gimping yourself (but maybe not too much) if you save it for later. Completing Lair of the Shadow Broker gives you access to the squadmate respec terminal. It allows you to re-assign the talent points of your squadmates. This is really good for removing those pesky points out of terrible squadmate bonus powers. Completing the loyalty mission of squadmates automatically assigns them 1 point into their bonus power. Some of them have terrible bonus powers. For example, Jacob, Grunt, and Legion get assigned 1 point into the shield-boosting power (Barrier, Fortification, Geth Shield Boost) which they use constantly, locking them out of their better powers. 2. Grunt is probably the worst squadmate in the game, in my opinion. I even hate taking him on his own loyalty mission. Jacob also has Incendiary Ammo, and also Pull which is better than Grunt's Concussive Shot. Grunt's passive talent should allow him to stay alive longer than all other squadmates, but on higher difficulties he seems to go down just as easily as everyone else. I like Miranda and Thane with the Adept for dual warp bombs. Failing that, I prefer Jack or Samara (or even Jacob) for Pull. Other players like to take Garrus for his good Overload to deal with shields, and/or Mordin with Incinerate for Armor. Squadmates tend to no be really that good with their weapons, since they start with a -50% weapon damage penalty. Tempest, Vindicator, and Incisor are best weapons on squadmates, but you will generally be dealing most of the weapon damage on enemies regardless of your class.
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