What did you do today in ME?

Played a bit of ME3 today. Jack Shepard escaped house arrest with a new haircut and a full scruff. Figured he was too worried about the Reapers to shave. Met up with Ash, who looked way better than he did and had finally risen up in rank. But before they could catch up the Reapers came and crashed the party.
After some glorious tech combo kills, Jack was forcibly reinstated in the military and sent to Mars. Which Jack was fine with. Mars went well, even if it was a bit tense. Then Eva and TIM happened and it was off to the Citadel.

After making sure Ash would make it and recruiting Chakwas onto the Normandy it was time to meet the Council. As Ashley had foretold, they told Shepard that humanity was the dog, the Reapers were the bear and now the dogs would get mauled while their masters ran to safety. They were a bit more tactful, but the meaning was the same. Later the turian Councillor came back to point at a small fox hole in which the dog might find allies, but it felt like a pointless gesture. But it was something to do.
On his way to the Normandy, Jack had a chat with Miss Al-Jilani and encouraged her to keep barking at the council.

The mission on Menae went as well as it could go and Jack escaped with Victus and Garrus on board. The proverbial foxes were willing to help, only if they were backed up by Honey Badgers. Since the metaphor was going south quickly, Jack did a tour around the ship and learned that EDI now occupied another mobile platform. At her request Jack took it on a test drive at Grissom Academy, accompanied by Liara. The test run went well and Jack did not die like ten times because he kept grabbing the grenades that the Cerberus troops kept tossing at him.
But even if it totally went well, lady Jack still punched him on the nose, then kissed him on the lips, to the standing ovation of her students.

After escorting the kids to safety via the Cerberus school bus, it was time to hit the Citadel again. Jack stopped by the hospital to check on Ash and reaffirm that they broke up on Horizon. They then had a friendly chat and Jack gave her something to read. During the visit he also met up with Thane, who seemed fine for a dying drell. On the way back to the Normandy Jack met up with Miranda and recruited Allers.
Next on Jack's agenda will either be the summit or some side missions. Hopefully less rambly.

I've started clearing the Sidequests before the second wave of Recruitment Missions in ME2, and was playing the Normandy Crash Site for the first time. Actually feel sad I've slept in today after an exciting MP run, and won't get to finish it till tomorrow. Too long to wait!

Huge props to Bio for making the most emotionally charged quest from collecting 20 pieces of something in the video-gaming history of me. The set-up reminds me of both Ziost and Hoth in SWTOR... and it's another thing I like seeing these creative parallels.

boabykenobi - it is a curious coincidence that both of your characters were in the same part of the story. And, yes, I think they did nail the re-playability in ME amazingly, in fact they did it so well, that I can't imagine playing it only once.

Yes it is true, although I have never done it myself. Video evidence here.

I should note that you do earn 50% less XP if you kill in the Mako, although admittedly it does not make that much of a difference by the end game. Assuming you have at least Bring Down the Sky DLC, with all XP bonuses you can get around level 53-54 when killing in the Mako versus 57-58 if you do not. 

The depth of the original game is just staggering. I'm still finding out new things about it. Like I found some Prothean pyramid on a playthrough a while back and had no idea what it was all about. Then I received some trinket from the Consort at the Citadel which was to be used with the pyramid to unlock something I honestly cant remember what it turned out to be but the game is just epic.
It did say it on the front of the case: Genuine Epic Gaming. I never realised how true that statement was until about 10 hours into my 1st playthrough. 10 hours straight mind you. Obviously I was going to the toilet and drinking diluting juice and I may even have had a snack, cant remember, but I played it for 10 hours with very little, if any at all, rest during that time. I was completely hooked.

I will never again get that feeling of playing the game for the first time again obviously, you know, when you just don't know what's coming next, but it's amazing to me how much I still enjoy going through these games, especially the original. I still come across things for the first time. It's minor stuff but still...

I finished my ME2 playthrough yesterday, and began a new import for ME3. I've been playing a full paragon Shep for the first time in forever, and the reputation bar has been so easy to fill. So that's cool. On the other hand, this means I have to actually be nice to people.

I don't think I can take being extra chummy to Liara for much longer.

The trinket from the Consort isn't used with a pyramid.  I think the pyramids have things like asari matriarch writings.  Maybe she made a link between the asari and protheans that no one else had up to that point?  In any case, the trinket is used on a prothean sphere.  This would tie into Javik knowing about humans in ME3 though there's nothing is explicitly mentioned relating to the sphere.  It does seem like something Shepard would have brought up assuming the trinket/sphere event happened.

But, yeah, there's always new things to explore, especially as I make different choices throughout the trilogy.

Kim Shepard procrastinated on meeting the Quarian Admirals for a little longer, electing instead to visit Omega and do some shopping. Harrot's shop was all out of stock, unfortunately (because NG++). She took out her aggression on the Cerberus occupiers instead.

In the end, Aria decided to let Petrovsky live. Kim, however, did not and blew his lying head off.

I just reloaded the save again for a couple more goes, trying some different things.  It's even easier to take the Renegade route, let Kal'Reegar keep shooting at it, and stay in that location.  He drops its shields to 40%-ish fairly quickly, it's an easy shot with the Cain from there, and the battle is over so quickly that he doesn't die.  Then there are just a few stragglers to mop up.  Easy

I didn't save after winning, my original victory stands for this playthrough.  Worth remembering if I ever do another playthrough though.

Miriam Shepard recruited a Jedi Knight justicar...

Returned to Nos Astra, encountered Gianna Parasini, who took down the corrupt administrator on Noveria two years ago. Helped her perform a sting on an asari smuggler. Got a free beer in return.

Met an asari-krogan couple who were having problems. Spoke to the asari and encouraged her to make up with him.

Learned from Nos Astra security that the justicar Samara had been seen at the commercial spaceport. Hailed a taxi to the spaceport, took Jack and Kasumi along.

Encountered the volus merchant Pitne For, in trouble with the Eclipse syndicate for selling biotic-enhancing drugs with toxic side-effects. His partner had been murdered in a back alley. Spoke with the detective in charge of the investigation; learned that Samara was on the scene, interrogating Eclipse mercs. Turned out to be a coincidence, Eclipse had recently trafficked an asari fugitive whom Samara was chasing down. Agreed to infiltrate the Eclipse base and find information in exchange for Samara's help with the Collectors.

Happened upon evidence that someone was swindling a Mr Thax. Forwarded the evidence to him.

Entered Eclipse base, met with moderate resistance from mechs, soldiers, vanguards and a gunship; mercs seemed somewhat more competent than those in Dantius' HQ. Progress impeded by leaking containers of Pitne For's product causing toxic hazard.

Encountered Elnora, apparently an Eclipse rookie having second thoughts. Let her go in exchange for information about Samara's fugitive. Subsequently found evidence that she was in fact guilty of murdering Pitne For's partner. Forwarded evidence to local police.

Encountered Niftu Cal, a volus adept whom Eclipse had overdosed with Pitne For's product. Out of his mind, he seemed intent on taking down Wasea, the local Eclipse boss. Convinced him to back down and take a nap, to Jack's disgust.

Confronted and killed Wasea. Obtained the name of the ship that transported Samara's target. Returned to the Normandy with Samara.

Geth pulse rifle proved disappointingly inferior to Vindicator and Mattock rifles. Also acquired Scimitar assault shotgun; found it markedly inferior to geth plasma shotgun.

[I was considering skipping Samara on this playthrough but decided to play the mission largely for Niftu Cal, he's funny During my first playthrough, I found the gunship a lot harder than the showdown with Wasea; this time, it was the other way round.

Samara will be equipped with a Mattock as a nod to how I play the justicar in ME3MP.]

Thumbs down? That's odd. I'm going to have to see that myself to figure out why.

John Shepard: (full of spoilers)

Normandy SR-2: Convinced Steve to take a break so he doesn't burn out or have another breakdown. Mordin told me that saving Maelon's genophage cure data is the thing that's going to keep "Eve" (the nickname for the nameless krogan female) alive.

Planet Scanning: Found more fuel and the Shadow Broker Wet Squad.

Tuchanka: Traynor did more of her magic and found Cerberus presence on Tuchanka. I decided to keep this low key and brought James and EDI with me rather than some who might have a more personal stake. They had taken over an ancient ground-to-air cannon. Despite its age, it would have seriously hurt the krogan. Managed to turn it against Cerberus and use the cannon to our advantage.

Since I was already here, I decided to rescue the downed turian ship. I knew Garrus would insist on coming along so didn't bother fighting it. I also took Liara for old time's sake. Turns out the commanding officer was the Primarch's son. Nothing is ever easy. One of the first things we had to do was take out a Harvester. Four of them, actually. Lt. Victus made a bad call that got a lot of his squad killed. They were there to take care of a bomb that Cerberus had gotten control of. Victus was going to abandon the mission but I told him it wasn't an option. His men hated him but he convinced them to follow his lead.

Normandy SR-2: Primarch Victus was hiding something. He knew about the bomb but still won't say how. Meanwhile, Mordin came through with his cure but needed a way to transmit it quickly. It occurred to him that the Shroud on Tuchanka, which the turians originally used to spread the genophage, was the best option. It still had the original strain of the genophage within, which would likely help with the cure. Unfortunately, I still had to deal with that damn bomb before administering the cure.

Tuchanka: On the ride down, Lt. Victus put everything into perspective. The bomb was turian and had been placed on Tuchanka centuries ago. Now that the turians were seeking krogan aid, Primarch Victus decided that they should secretly extract the bomb to avoid it ever going off. Cerberus somehow found out about it and thus this mess. It seems likely that Cerberus wanted to plant this bomb to ruin any alliance between the turians and krogan. Once Cerberus started backing out it was obvious the bomb had been programmed to detonate. Lt. Victus went about defusing the bomb while James, Garrus and I protected him. In the end, time was running out and the process killed the lieutenant. However, the bomb would not detonate.

Normandy SR-2: I was ordered by Hackett to maintain peace between the turians and the krogan at any cost. I felt like a father chastising his two bickering sons when Wrex and Victus were arguing. I told Wrex he would have done the same thing as the turians and that the Primarch's son sacrificed his life to stop the bomb. Wrex backed down but, to his credit, Victus acknowledged he and his people were in the wrong.

Benning: Side mission, but important. Ambassador Osaba had been asking for information on his son, who had gone missing on Benning. Now Cerberus was attacking. There had to be a link so I decided to check it out. Cerberus denies responsibility but who knows what might have happened with them turning their soldiers partially into husks? In any case, EDI, James and I shut them down. Also recovered the dog tags of the ambassador's son.

Normandy SR-2: Liara wanted to see me in my cabin. She had created a record of the galaxy, her own version of a prothean beacon, and wanted input on the entry on me. I let her decide what to put. She made me out to be larger than life. Not sure I'd have gone that route but I can't help wonder if that's how the galaxy sees me. James seemed to think so when he asked me to buy drinks for some marines in Purgatory.

Citadel: Met briefly with Aria to discuss her plans to retake Omega with my help. Not how I want to spend my day, especially since she doesn't trust any of my crew, just me. She did offer ships, mercs and eezo in return so I wasn't about so say no. Just not yet.

Met with Steve at the Normandy docks. We shot the shit for a bit while watching the ships come in. He wished he'd died with his husband but I reminded him that he was hope for the survival of the galaxy. He talked about putting something on the refugee memorial but was undecided.

Tuchanka: Just as we were about to leave for Tuchanka, the Dalatrass contacted me. She told me to sabotage the genophage cure in exchange for salarian scientists helping with the Crucible. I don't know why she thought I'd stab a friend - maybe two friends, if we're talking Eve - in the back. Hell, she even suggested I take care of Mordin to make it happen. No way, no how. I don't know what the krogan might become but Wiks had it right when he said they might play a role in the galaxy someday that we could never guess. No, the genophage is too brutal to continue. I stopped cures from happening twice now - on Virmire and on Tuchanka with Maelon. Maybe the fact that this issue keeps popping up is sign enough that it's meant to happen.

I decided trust was a major factor here with Wrex. That meant bringing Liara in particular, but also Garrus, since Wrex had worked with them on board the original Normandy. I revealed the Dalatrass's offer. Mordin said he could deal with it since he knew of it. Liara, Garrus and I were forced to take an alternate path through the long abandoned City of the Ancients. We saw artwork on the walls that suggested the krogan were once something greater than they were today. Also said to live in the region is Kalros, the mother of all thresher maws. Based on the art depicted on the walls, not only is kalros as old as this ancient city, but she's also larger than all the thresher maws that killed my squad on Akuze combined. Even if I had the Mako with me it wouldn't be enough to take in this thing. Also found a dead rachni, modified in some way. The look of it suggested Reaper tech. Wrex confirmed he'd also encountered them, which confirmed his suspicions regarding some missing krogan scouts I've yet to investigate.

Once we got close to the Shroud we had to figure out how to get past the Reaper that was there poisoning the atmosphere. It turned out there were these hammers that could summon Kalros. I just had to activate them. Then Wrex did something surprising. He told me that for my actions as long as he's known me that from that day forward the name "Shepard" would mean "hero" on Tuchanka. I was honored.

It was rough but we made it through. Wouldn't have been possible without a turian fighter squad distracting the Reaper. Kalros showed up and went toe to toe with that Reaper, destroying it in the process. At the Shroud, Mordin said that to counter prior STG sabotage he had to go into the tower. However, it was overheating and he wouldn't we coming back. I know people call look up to me but this man sacrificed his life to save an entire race, and not his own. That's a hero in my book.

Wrex was moved. He said he'd name one of his children after Mordin (though he joked it would be a girl). Mordin had said Wrex and Eve were promising together and would lead to a better future for the krogan and the galaxy. Eve intended to gather the krogan that were returning to Tuchanka and not squander the opportunity they'd been given. Then she revealed her true name - Bakara - and said she was my friend.

Normandy SR-2: Primarch Victus said krogan were already on Palaven and that the turian fleet would be there for Earth when the time came. He was also sending support for the Crucible.

Had another damn nightmare. It wasn't just the burning kid but also the voices of Ash and Mordin. It's like the dead are haunting me.

The salarian councilor told me he thought Udina was dirty. Somehow, this didn't surprise me and I agreed to return to the Citadel to investigate. I never did like the guy. He had stabbed me in the back while fighting Saren, which is why I had suggested Anderson to be the first human representative on the Council. Only, Anderson chose to return to Earth when I did after I destroyed the Alpha Relay, resigning his position. Udina was the natural replacement. And now it looked like he was turning on us all once again.

Had an interview with Diana Allers about the krogan. Told her that the krogan were looking to be heroes, doing what some races wouldn't (salarians, asari), and that it was time to move forward. That got some additional krogan support.

Looked at the memorial wall. One more friend up there. Hoping it'll be the last.