So I just picked up Mass Effect 2 and 3. Any tips or advice for me? Can I have lady character? Are the games difficult? PS3 versions, also, in case that matters!
Thanky
Have you played Mass Effect 1 yet? If you can, I would recommend playing the first one if only because a few plot points may be confusing. Thinking about it, starting with 2 wouldn't be so bad as compared to jumping straight into 3, but I would still recommend playing Mass Effect 1.
You can purchase it as a digital download, if you're interested.
As for difficulty, I played on 'Casual', and I never found it a massive challenge. Some sections were, at times, slow and ponderous, though that's more a commentary on my cautious style of playing than anything else.
It also depends on what class you pick: I seriously would not recommend starting as a Vanguard, as that necessitates riskier, close combat situations. It all depends on your favorite way of playing, but I never regretted going as a Sentinel. You get some solid defense and core combative skills, while maintaining the SMG as a dependable firearm. I found that you couldn't go wrong.
And yes, you can have Fem Shep. To be honest, she's the better of the two; her voice acting is far superior.
Yeah, the game is pretty easy on casual. I was able to plow through 1 and 2 as a soldier pretty well.
Loyalty missions are important. If you don't want a character to die, be sure to fulfill their loyalty mission.
Having paragon/renegade points saved for certain dialog options are pretty handy. There are a couple of moments in the second one when they put you in the middle of a confrontation and if you have to choose one side you lose the other person's loyalty, but can charm/intimidate your way out of it if you have enough points. It's annoying. I can't remember if you can hold off doing that person's loyalty mission so you can get it later. I think it only happens afterwords.
Fair enough! Starting with 2 should be okay, although a few characters that you could bring over from 1 will not be present in 2. I'd personally play Mass Effect 1, but it is perfectly possible to play through 1.
I am surprised that you only have 2 and 3. On the PS3, they released the Mass Effect Trilogy a year or two ago which had all three games.
I think it's something like $15 or something on the Playstation Network. It's not obligatory, but I do feel for such a story-driven game which relies very much on importing your current story from the previous game to create a tapestry of choices, that it is worth considering Mass Effect 1.
Having said that, Mass Effect 2 is for me the best game in the series so
You don't really *need* to play 1, it is far inferior to 2 and 3 in terms of its game mechanics. Obviously I'd recommend looking at a bit of a story primer though - the overall plot gets recapped well enough at the beginning of 2 I think, but knowing who the characters are will help. It's actually one of the better series when it comes to strong characters, creating emotional attachment and all that good stuff, so it might be a bit weird going into 2 without context for any of them.
I chose the Sentinel class as Formy suggested. I am very much not good at the combat system! I do like all of the options you get. I got some of those paragon/renegade points but I dun know how to use them. I guess they'll explain it when it comes up? I also made a decision with that guy who gave me info about whether to take him with me for interrogation or send him with the other person. Hopefully I made the right decision
There aren't really "right" decisions in Mass Effect. It boils down to a morality system, basically. And all the best perks to it only really pop up if you side very strongly with one side or the other.
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That's why I was letting you know. Otherwise you'd be confuzzled forever.
Unfortunately, Mass Effect 2 heavily incentives choosing one side over the other. Because the Paragon/Renegade system is based off of a percentage system. Every time you come to a choice that can give you Paragon or Renegade points, the game looks at what you select. If you try to split half and half evenly, it'll lock you out from most of the Paragon/Renegade specific dialogue options, because it doesn't note you as being either side specifically.
This was done instead of a pure point system (IE: This dialogue options requires X many Paragon points) to allow you to play the missions in any order. If they used a strict point system, most missions would have to either be tackled in a specific order, or be accessible to starting levels of Paragon/Renegade, which ruins the entire point of the options playing to your characterization. However, the chosen method does mean that you're better off choosing one side and sticking with it if you want to access all the extra dialogue options (especially some of the harder persuade/intimidate points that heavily influence the story).
Last edited by Skyblade; 10-04-2015 at 12:45 AM.
My friend Delzethin is currently running a GoFundMe account to pay for some extended medical troubles he's had. He's had chronic issues and lifetime troubles that have really crippled his career opportunities, and he's trying to get enough funding to get back to a stable medical situation. If you like his content, please support his GoFundMe, or even just contribute to his Patreon.
He can really use a hand with this, and any support you can offer is appreciated.