Mass Effect Legendary Edition (General Discussion)

The characters rank up to level XX. The weapon ranks only go to X. There's also a mechanic (I believe) that if you haven't unlocked a UR in [x amount of time] it increases the chance, so people don't end up with huge dry spells (this would have been nice in ME3MP ).

More people, more interaction, maybe some more of the BioWare peeps will come out of hiding and poke their heads into the threads. Not just LukeBarrett... there are others, shhhhhhhhhhh.

First off, your math is slightly incorrect. Not all weapons had concussive variants. Those weapons that could not get weak point kills did not have a concussive variant. On the rare side, the Falcon, Reeger, Scorpion and Venom lack concussive variants. For URs (which is on point for your discussion), the Savoa has no concussive variant.

While it didn't start out that way, BioWare adjusted the variants (of all rarity levels) and the character cards, so that the baseline weapons and characters (Level X) at that level of rarity had to be maxed before you would see drops of variants or bonus character cards at that rarity level. So to gain max weapon damage, magazine size and min weight, you only had to max the 18 UR weapons. Similarly, you only needed to get to level X on the UR characters, to gain all the skill points (when combined with a level 20 character state). When the Batarian vanguard dropped, I had all my other UR characters at level X or higher, getting the vanguard to level X took almost no time at all, since no other UR character cards dropped until he was at level X. Same for the final UR weapon drops.

Since the baseline weapons and characters have to be maxed to get the variants and bonuses … to say there are 79 78 UR weapons and characters is more than a bit misleading. Those are bonuses to the baseline weapons and characters. They start at level X of the baseline weapon as far as damage, etc., and add the variant characteristic.

Except for those that jumped into gold almost immediately … later to platinum … almost no one got to maxed ME3MP manifests in the time you are implying. Is it possible? Yes. Did it happen … across the entire player base? Statistically almost never. And if we are going to compare apples to apples, with 18 UR weapons, MEAMP is going to require fewer drops to get to level X baseline weapons than the 21 UR weapons for ME3MP. The variants are bonuses and since they fixed the drops, they don't effect the baseline weapon drops.

MP for EMS doesn't really matter anymore since one of the first patches was released and also because all DLC are included. You will always have enough points if you don't rush too much. I didn't even start multiplayer before I had finished the SP eight times and if I remember correctly I only couldn't get the breath scene (as example) in my very first playthrough.

Which is a choice … but since the LE includes all DLC, it is a choice to act in a way that is self-defeating for a high EMS outcome.

If you choose to skip the DLC, then you are de facto choosing to not get as high an EMS.

Just like if you choose to skip various side missions in the current ME3 base game …

In effect, the DLC are now side missions to the base LE games … choose wisely paddymike.

I would definitely miss my "I can skip pretty much everything and still see that final-breath" level of EMS, from all the MP promotions.....

I like my MET mods, whether I buy the ME:LE is probably 50/50 at best, but I'm not the target audience, so it just doesn't matter.

If mods applied to consoles, you might have more of a point. But they don't and you don't … at least with respect to mods.

Bottom line: whether ME:LE succeeds or fails will not in any great degree depend on PC mods for the MET.

I have no idea about probabilities. Character cards and weapon cards are separate. There seemed to be a bias at various points as to which was more likely in a UR drop … but that's anecdotal on my part. If you max out all character cards at any rarity level, you won't get any more character cards at that level. It doesn't effect drops at other rarity levels. Same for weapons.

For example, if you have all your UR weapons maxed plus all the variants maxed, the remaining URs will be for characters, until you max out all the characters. After that, you'll only get UR consumables ... because there is nothing left to get with respect to your manifest.

If you are going to count bonuses because they are unlockables … but don't occur until the baseline weapons or characters at that rarity level are maxed … that is non-sensical. At that point, you have achieved the same status as the weapons and characters in ME3 … what you are doing after that is unlocking bonuses that ME3 doesn't have. So if you want to find fault, find it with ME3 for not having those weapon and character bonuses.

Edit add: You can't read my mind, so need to add this. You'd have a point, if BioWare had not fixed the issues with variant and expanded character card bonuses. But once they fixed that issue (either via patch or server-side change, don't remember which), the issue was mooted. Your baseline weapon pool and baseline character pool were not impacted by the variants and the expanded character cards … everything after Level X was a bonus and except for the bulwark filler, a nice thing to get, that didn't require grinding or constitute gross manifest bloat (as it's often called). I think BioWare suffered a self-inflicted would by not having the final loot mechanic figured out before dropping the variants and expanded character cards.

I get bonuses in MEA that DID NOT EXIST IN ME3 … and that's a bad thing??????

So, let's get rid of all the variants and character bonuses, what am I left with?

UR consumables.

Yup, level four ammo. Level four spare ammo boosts. Level four shield boosts.

'Cause after you max the weapon and character manifests, that's what you're left with.

Consumables.

Sorry, I'll take the *persistent* weapon and character bonuses over level four consumables.

Far from making it worse, it makes pack drops *after maxing your baseline manifest* something more than a snooze-fest.

The variants are not more exciting than the baseline … you miss my point. My point is, if I don't have the variants, then once I max the baseline … which is not a snooze at all … then I have something to purchase with my packs, beyond consumables.

You've now moved the goal posts completely off the field. I think in your initial assertion, you did not realize that the variants were segregated from the baseline weapon drops. That the variants did not delay maxing out the baseline kind of ruined your point. But when your argument was mooted, you changed the objective.

I really did not think of the variants as a grind (once BioWare fixed the drops) … a variant is a Level X baseline weapon with a bonus. For the characters, the bonuses are small with each upgrade, but they are not required to make the characters viable. If characters were not viable without the bonuses, how would folks play gold before those bonus cards dropped? All your skill points are present. You could achieve the same effect as the bonuses with consumables … the difference, the bonuses are persistent. Next you'll be telling me that the five skill bonuses for the bonus stats make a character viable or that they're grindy. Good grief.

OBTW, what in the heck does single player gunplay in ME2+3 have to do with your original argument? You really lost me there.

Exactly what builds require a variant? Operators are standing by.

Are you conflating passives with powers? Characters don't have four powers, they only have three, plus two passives … if you max out the passives and two powers, that leaves one point in the third power. Or you can max all three powers and short the passives … or mix it up in some other way.

As far as unbuffed combos, try the Asari Adept (uncommon), Krogan Engineer (uncommon), Angara Exemplar (UR) and the Human Kineticist (UR). FYI, while disrupter ammo is fine, cryo and inferno work quite well too. Generally, for my biotic characters, I equip them with cryo unless someone else on the team is using inferno ammo.  Same for Krogan, generally use inferno unless someone else is using cryo. When there is an ammo conflict with teammates, I switch to distrupter. Against Remnant, generally I use disruptor, not for combos, but specifically against Remnant.

Are you on PC?

Tell ya what, I'll take my Krogan Engineer with base weapons (no variants) and let's go do a gold match.

How about against Kett? Let's see about the combos … without ammo buffs.

Or if you prefer, how about the Krogan Gladiator … again, base weapons, no variant, against the Kett? Not for combos, but for melee.

You pick the map.

I think people are missin gthe point yes it's not as important as it was befoer the DLC came out as it'll now only affec tHackrtt's responses but the point I'm making is that the system is still in there so therefore theycan't just pretend it isn't and hope  everyone ignores it so Biowaer will have to do something they won' t be able to just leave it in there without doing something otherwise it'll lookk half assed as people will start wondering when they start playing what is this Galactic readiness and all that. Us guys who aer veterans of the series might know and understand it but nwe players won't