Melee combat

I actually wouldn't be OK with it. I don't think I've ever played a shooter with a satisfying melee combat system. I certainly haven't played one that's also a vast RPG with jetpacks and vehicle mechanics. There just isn't enough time in the world. Can't we just have our single melee attack and be happy with it?

And seriously, why did you choose a CGI trailer for The Witcher 3 to try and illustrate your point? Ignoring the fact that what looks good in CGI doesn't always translate to gameplay, The Witcher 3 is set in a fantasy universe that couldn't be more different than Mass Effect's. At a fundamental level, we couldn't have the same kind of combat encounters. We're not going to have sword fights in Mass Effect. That wouldn't make sense. Star Wars might be a more appropriate reference to make, but not by much.

The kind of melee combat we have now is the most reasonable kind of melee combat for both the setting and mechanics of Mass Effect. It should go without saying that having a greater breadth of options reduces the potential depth of the limited options we already had, but for the sake of thematic consistency, we can't have extensive melee combat. Mass Effect isn't an anime. The guns may be Hollywoodesque and biotics may be fairly fantastical, but game is ultimately quite grounded. I think it would genuinely hurt the game's atmosphere if we suddenly had zany sword fights and kung-fu battles.

It would seem as though I am stuck with just pulling a trigger for most if the combat, then. (Sigh)

I would hope for a refinement in targeting code, netcode in general, and a continuation of the ME3 melee system for the most part. Iterative perhaps, refined, but not foreign.

The difficulty of "feel" between the Unreal and FB3 in this context is what I am hopeful and also pessimistic about. The Dragon Age games make for a poor comparison, as they have always designed differently, so we have no real gauge for this beyond the BF4/Battlefront games which I have not played much of frankly.

Well, no amount of making a thread was going to change the game that's coming out anyway Larry lol. Not unless your delusional enough, or take enough drugs I guess. Then who knows wtf you think your doing instead of shooting aliens.

Now if BioWare ever makes a Star Wars RPG again (EA has the license so... it's totally possible) you might see a more melee oriented sci-fi-ish RPG from them. That is a good example though of what I was talking about. A crazy amount of people fought in melee in KoTOR even though in Star Wars most people just use blasters. There always seemed to be a buncha people with vibrating swords that could stop lightsabers.

KoTOR, btw, wasn't even real time. It was running the fake every 6 second turns thing. Even when you where using a blaster it was just kinda clicking a target and letting things play out.

But we already do have knife kills...
And rocket launchers...
And guns with with explosive ammunition...
We have hand-held nuke launcher for Christ's sake. How could you still want a hammer?

Mass Effect has already suffered enough rule of cool nonsense. 

I think that Mass Effect is fine with a basic melee system for close encounters, but probably would get a bit awkward if it started trying to create a much deeper system. However, if I was able to snap necks, I'd probably grin and leave the Andromeda galaxy with a lot of damaged vertebrae.

Yeah, remember ME3 almost toyed with stealth lol. They had the whole over cover insta-kill move where you would Omni-stab or bio-paaauuncchh something after grabbing them over said cover. I absolutely ADORED that. Also Krogan in MP just punching something was hilarious. I think honestly having actual stealth mechanics to mix up how we approach things could prove interesting.

In ME3 it mostly came down to which enemy you where going to take down first while they don't notice you (in like.. 2 missions?) before they all notice you just grabbed and stabbed a guy and it's back to shooty shooty pew pew powers. I'm all for stealth kills. Little Far Cry style mayhem never hurt anyone (except a lot of AI ).

I think ME3, particularly multiplayer, handled melee pretty well. I don't think they should go to stupid extremes like being able to parry other melee attacks, it is afterall a shooter, but adding in around about as much depth as ME3 had would be good.

Yeah, Splinter Cell had some awesome take downs once they moved to the more fluid style of gameplay. Though they'd all have to involve putting the gun directly to the armor or your looking at shield deflection. Also not entirely sure where these new recruits would learn to fight like that.

I just want some kinda minor melee upgrades via the armor suit or weapons lot or something so we aren't just awkwardly flailing are gun around like we only learned how to fight with our elbows. Though I did like in the MP when the Batarians would straight up turn the gun around and use it like a cudgel. That was hilaaarious to watch them go all out on it lol.

Man I had to re-read your post a few times to get around wtf you meant by casualize. My gut response was 'guh, wtf'. But I guess you mean make the game so easy, that in a world full of guns you'd have to make the game pretty easy to allow for a pure melee style. Which would make a lot more sense then that I originally thought and was gonna be all blah blah dark souls! blah blah other crazy combo systems, blah blah difficulty.

...reading comprehension, never been a strong suit. Yup...

Zipzap, please tell me you approve of more melee options? And more than just a rifle butt.

"Hold button to charge Krogan headbutt" could be an option.

Combat Knifes! so you can poke a 20 ft alien/mech with it! (Die!, evil scum, here comes Cerberus Humanity to reclaim this brave new world to us!)(plus, Return Casttle Wolfestein knife animation)