Mass effect 2 Launch and impressions (the REAL One)

[Nth Power]

Finished today and loved it.  It took me a little over 40 hours and went with the Paragon Vanguard.  Biotic Charge was fun to use, but probably didn't use it as much as some of the other powers.  I think Shockwave ended up getting more use.  I ended up with the Miranda romance and only had a couple side quests left.   I had the Inferno and Dragon Age armor which looked pretty good, but ended up using the default N7 with the Death Mask.  That thing looked pretty cool - it made Shepard look like a futuristic Spider-Man.

I was a little skeptical about the stripped down RPG aspects at first, but I think it ended up to be a good choice.  Combat was fluid and fun without being fiddly, which was a big plus in a game like this.

I didn't run across hardly any bugs except a minor movement bug a couple times.  ESCing and going back fixed it.  It's a good experience to play such a polished game that didn't need any patches at launch.  Any complaints I have are really just nitpicks.

Bioware really hit a homerun with Dragon Age and ME2 back to back.  I don't know which one I like better, but I think I'm leaning towards ME2 just a bit.  I know it's early, but it's going to be hard to beat it as GOTY for me.

Beat it tonight and lost one stinking crew member.  I guess there is a perfect choice on who you choose for the options to do things or something because in my opinion, the character I chose for a particular task should have lived (

Spoiler for Hiden:

I chose Legion to hack, when I guess I was supposed to take Tali, but either should have been a wise choice

).

At any rate, I loved the game and I think the Mass Effect series now tops the Baldur's Gate series as my favorite RPG of all time.  Will be interesting to see how all my choices play out in the third.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I used Legion as well and didn't lose a single team member. Was he loyal at the time? This is important.

Yes, he was.

Spoiler for Hiden:

He died when the doors got jamed and wouldn't close on time.  I had picked him to be the hacker while I did the vents section.

Spoiler for Hiden:

There are multiple ways for the vent specialist to die - i) be anyone other than Tali or Legion, ii) be Tali or Legion but not loyal iii) the fireteam leader is not Miranda, Jacob or Garrus, iv) the fireteam leader is one of those three mentioned, but not loyal. There is a clue in the cutscene right before as well, If the team leader calls for "covering fire", your vent specialist is about to die. If they call for "suppressing fire", your vent specialist should live. I noticed this while watching a few different people's playthroughs posted to Youtube.

Who did you use to lead the fireteam when Legion was in the vent?

Spoiler for Hiden:

Samara  I figured she was such a badass and old and wise she would be a good leader.

I did the same thing except

Spoiler for Hiden:

used Zaeed.  He was the one crew member that wasn't loyal.  Poor Legion.

[Daehawk]

Does this game seem small to anyone else? Small as in lvls? I've collected 3 squad mates and two of those felt so little in the form of lvl size and what I had to do. Also I've been to Citadel...what happened to it? It felt so much open and larger in the first game.

The planet scanning is ok but so far I have not found a single random planet to land on other than the squad mate's associated quest lines.

I feel like Im on rails and its a small world after all. I'm still having great fun with it but its a little souless compared to the first one. Looks damn beautiful though. At least its still great fun. Maybe I'm just not far enough in. I have only gotten 'Jack' , The doctor, and the merc.

EDIT: Only had one bug so far. On the mission to save the Cerberus crates I started down the path and ended up in the air and walking through the hill and such. i had to reload it. I could not get out of it but could walk all over through that map and not shoot anything.

[MaxSteele]

Does this game seem small to anyone else? Small as in lvls? I've collected 3 squad mates and two of those felt so little in the form of lvl size and what I had to do. Also I've been to Citadel...what happened to it? It felt so much open and larger in the first game.

The planet scanning is ok but so far I have not found a single random planet to land on other than the squad mate's associated quest lines.

I feel like Im on rails and its a small world after all. I'm still having great fun with it but its a little souless compared to the first one. Looks damn beautiful though. At least its still great fun. Maybe I'm just not far enough in. I have only gotten 'Jack' , The doctor, and the merc.

EDIT: Only had one bug so far. On the mission to save the Cerberus crates I started down the path and ended up in the air and walking through the hill and such. i had to reload it. I could not get out of it but could walk all over through that map and not shoot anything.

Yep, you're not far enough in.  There's a planet you'll dock on that has the size and scope of the original Citadel.  The new Citadel's in lock-down because of events of the first Mass Effect.

There are also anomalies out there you will find through planetary exploration.  More star clusters open up in the game as you recruit more people.

[ericb]

I'm not that far in either but it's opening up rapidly.  The ground areas for the most part are small but there are a lot of them and there's actually some variety.  I have 5 members and have finished 1 loyalty quest (2 more just opened).  I really like it...counting last year I would rank Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2 in my top 3 (PC versions...yes I know this is the console thread but the PC thread is pretty non-existant )

[CeeKay]

finished up tonight.  all in all I'm going to have to put ME1 a notch above it

Spoiler for Hiden:

the ending seemed to be rather easy, didn't lose anyone and the final big boss wnet down pretty quickly since I had the squad armor piercing bullets that I upgraded with advanced training.  I can't wait for ME3, especially after that ending scene.  still, it felt like there was less to do in this one than ME1.

it also seemed like there weren't a lot of big decisions, but then again even the smallest one could come back to haunt me.  the decisions I made:

blew up Collectorville.
integrated the Heretics back into the collective.
knocked helmets with Tali,, which will tick Liara off.

[ATB]

Whoever thought scanning for planets is a fun gameplay mechanic should be fired. Whoever thought having to hold the left trigger to keep the scanner on while you scan planets should be killed in the street.

[Kevin Grey]

Whoever thought having to hold the left trigger to keep the scanner on while you scan planets should be killed in the street.

Actually that's one of the few good things about planet scanning.  The preferred method to scan isn't to hold down the trigger and cover every square inch, it's to tap the trigger periodically.  Much quicker to cove an entire planet and you get all of the resources you need in a much  more reasonable amount of time. 

[ATB]

Good point. I'll try that.

How about press Y to turn scanner on. Press Y again to turn scanner off?

Mind blowingly bad mechanics:

Dev1:  let's give gamers 300 planets to scan
Dev2: mm interesting but do we really want to pull them out of the story for long stretches of time to do, you know, actual work?
Dev1: we'll force them as the stuff they pick up will be required to upgrade
Dev2: hmm. force them to do something unfun to progress in the game?
Dev1: we'll also force them to hold down a button the whole time they do it
Dev2: why not have a toggle?
Dev1: we'll also make the scanning area really small so they have to scan whole planets inches at at ime
Dev2: isn't this the future? can't they have whole planet scanners? say in one button click?
Dev1: to top it off we'll make them buy probes that are only available at certain locations and they won't be able to get the minerals for upgrading unless they keep refilling their supply of probes
Dev2: I think I'll go work on Dragon Age.

[TiLT]

There's more to the planet scanning than I first expected, according to the official game guide. It seems the valuable minerals aren't found randomly across the planets, but in logical places that depend on the planet type. A few examples:

Garden Planet: Scan the continents.
Brown Dwarf: Scan the planet bands.
Post-Garden: Scan near the equator.
Rock: Scan the impact craters.

... and so on. The planet's description will also give you a clue as to what you can find there. Another interesting note: If you're looking for Element Zero, you can skip any planet that isn't Garden or Post-Garden. Element Zero can be found only on those two types, supposedly, and in far larger quantities on the Post-Garden worlds.

In general, you can focus your scans along the equator, along the horizontal bands, or at otherwise important-looking hotspots (storms, for example).

[ATB]

Thanks Tilt.

But I don't read the descriptions.  There's enough reading in this game already!

[Kevin Grey]

The scanning is like a major trap for obsessive-compulsives.  But for most people you don't need to do much at all and still able to get the research upgrades.  Only hit Good or Rich planets and don't feel the need to deplete them.  If a planet only seems to be giving you large concentrations of elements you already have tons of then just move on. 

[lex]

I'm replaying this on Insane as an adept and man it is insane!!!

I've been stuck the mission to recruit Jack for a while now.  I'll give it one more try tonight before I knock down the difficulty.

Re:  Scanning - I found that I got enough minerals to do *most* of the research by just scanning the planets in the system where the major missions are located.

[Silky]

Scanning planets is not fun or a good mechanic but it isn't so bad on the PC.  On the 360 it is easily 2x as bad.

[CeeKay]

Scanning planets is not fun or a good mechanic but it isn't so bad on the PC.  On the 360 it is easily 2x as bad.

yeah, on the PC you just hold down the mouse button and sweep side to side.  if you keep an eye on the readout while doing it you can do it rather quickly, with the only time you need to slow down being when you try to pinpoint a spike.  towards the end of the game I ended up going to planets just to see if there was an anomaly and only scanning when I was running low on a resource.

[Razgon]

Re scanning planets...

Scanning Uranus...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-CDNLYZ0zA

[The Grue]

Scanning planets is not fun or a good mechanic but it isn't so bad on the PC.  On the 360 it is easily 2x as bad.

I didn't think it was that bad on the 360.  I did it one night for like 2 hours straight.

[CeeKay]

I finally wrapped things up last night, and am glad I can quit avoiding spoilers in this thread now.    Took me just over 27 hours, ended up a level 25 soldier.  Bioware completely outdid themselves with this game, and it truly raises the bar for any RPG that follows. A truly incredible game.  A couple end-game thoughts:

Spoiler for Hiden:

-  Does romancing Miranda or not have any effect on your conversation with the Illusive Man at the end?  When I chose to destroy the Collector ship, he turned to Miranda and gave her an order to stop me - which she promptly ignored.  Curious how that sequence would have played out if we hadn't done the nasty a couple hours before.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I didn't romance her and she ignored his order too.  I'm thinking if you haven't done her loyalty mission is would be different.

on the suiicide mission:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm trying to figure out how Shepard could die in it.  the only bit I could think of were it would be possible is if everyone else is dead (not sure how the heck that would happen either) and there's no one to grab you when you jump onto the Normandy.

also, did anyone make it to level 30?  I ended at 28 and didn't have anything left to do.

[Silky]

I think the only way to make it to 30 on the first play-through is to start with a lvl 5 character. 

[ATB]

I think the only way to make it to 30 on the first play-through is to start with a lvl 5 character. 

This reminds me of a question: It seems that unlike the first game, XP is VERY static.  I can have battle after battle, but don't get xp for the kills like in the first game, but at the end of a mission I get 1k to level up.

If I do a sidequest I get 40xp. Whoopy do.  Are there enough sidequests to warrant doing them for level accumulation or am i just wasting my time?

I'm still very early and so far have only added one team member...I'm working on the second right now...

These piddlin xp for doing stuff are surprising.

[Silky]

I think the only way to make it to 30 on the first play-through is to start with a lvl 5 character. 

This reminds me of a question: It seems that unlike the first game, XP is VERY static.  I can have battle after battle, but don't get xp for the kills like in the first game, but at the end of a mission I get 1k to level up.

If I do a sidequest I get 40xp. Whoopy do.  Are there enough sidequests to warrant doing them for level accumulation or am i just wasting my time?

I'm still very early and so far have only added one team member...I'm working on the second right now...

These piddlin xp for doing stuff are surprising.

Unlike the first one you can't go get more XP by killing Geth or whoever.  Missions and Assignments (with one other thing near the end) are the only way I know of to get XP.  It was worth it to me to do them because they also usually accompany a little money which is hard to come by.  Some assignments give 40 XP others 125.  There is enough to get at least a level, maybe 2 out of doing them all.

[CeeKay]

I think the only way to make it to 30 on the first play-through is to start with a lvl 5 character. 

This reminds me of a question: It seems that unlike the first game, XP is VERY static.  I can have battle after battle, but don't get xp for the kills like in the first game, but at the end of a mission I get 1k to level up.

If I do a sidequest I get 40xp. Whoopy do.  Are there enough sidequests to warrant doing them for level accumulation or am i just wasting my time?

I'm still very early and so far have only added one team member...I'm working on the second right now...

These piddlin xp for doing stuff are surprising.

some of the sidequests are fun, others make you scratch your head as to why they were included.  there were 2 planet anomaly missions that I think were put in to add a couple of minutes to the game.  I guess there are some areas in certain missions where the enemy constantly respawns (I remember one planet rescue mission where it seemed the enemy kept on coming) so they changed the way XP is given out.  personally I'd rather have had the individual xp for kills rather than them putting in respawns like that.

surprisingly though the XP does add up.

[TiLT]

I like portioning out XP at the end of a quest. This is what usually happens in pen & paper RPGs too (the GM hands out XP at the end of a session), and it keeps the action flowing without needless interruptions. It also means that it doesn't matter how you deal with a problem as long as you deal with it. Do you fight your enemies or run past them? Both are challenging options and end up giving the same amount of XP, which means you aren't punished for solving problems in creative ways (not that ME2 opens up for much creativity, but it's a step in the right direction at least).

[denoginizer]

I didn't think about XP at all.  I just knew I would get 2 more points to apply to my powers at the end of each mission.  I thought the side missions were useless fluff and only worth doing to get the 5 mission achievement.  If you complete all of the character recruitment and loyalty missions you will easily be powerfull enough to finish the game.

[TiLT]

You can find weapons and research material on some of the anomaly missions.

[rshetts2]

one of the best in game moments of hilarity ever.....   

Spoiler for Hiden:

I went to the Local Cluster which is our solar system.  I decided to send a probe to each planet just for the hell of it.  When I probed Uranus, I got the voice message from the computer, in Trica Helfers voice of " Really? Commander?"  absolutely made me LOL

[TiLT]

one of the best in game moments of hilarity ever.....   

Spoiler for Hiden:

I went to the Local Cluster which is our solar system.  I decided to send a probe to each planet just for the hell of it.  When I probed Uranus, I got the voice message from the computer, in Trica Helfers voice of " Really? Commander?"  absolutely made me LOL

Yeah, Razgon mentioned that a couple of posts ago. Nifty little easter egg.

[Barrakketh]

one of the best in game moments of hilarity ever.....   

Spoiler for Hiden:

I went to the Local Cluster which is our solar system.  I decided to send a probe to each planet just for the hell of it.  When I probed Uranus, I got the voice message from the computer, in Trica Helfers voice of " Really? Commander?"  absolutely made me LOL

Spoiler for Hiden:

Make sure you send a second probe. The resignation in EDI's voice is the best. Another good exchange is with Joker during the Collector attack on the Normandy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7aU0sLAcs8

[Nth Power]

Scanning planets is not fun or a good mechanic but it isn't so bad on the PC.  On the 360 it is easily 2x as bad.

I didn't think it was that bad on the 360.  I did it one night for like 2 hours straight.

It could have been better, but it wasn't too terrible on the PC.  Kind of boring, but addicting at the same time.  Like popping bubbles on bubble wrap - I just mindlessly did it.  There were a lot of systems I didn't make it too, but I had most of the upgrades by the end.
I wish they would have put some hidden stuff you could discover (other than the few missions) to make it a little more interesting.  Maybe find a trophy you could put in your quarters.

one of the best in game moments of hilarity ever.....   

Spoiler for Hiden:

I went to the Local Cluster which is our solar system.  I decided to send a probe to each planet just for the hell of it.  When I probed Uranus, I got the voice message from the computer, in Trica Helfers voice of " Really? Commander?"  absolutely made me LOL

Spoiler for Hiden:

I laughed when talking to the quarian with the funny ship name (vas quib quib) during Tali's loyalty mission.  He says he would like a better title like vas deferens or vas ectomy. lol

[MaxSteele]

In regards to side missions, there are several that are multi-part and lead up to a big conclusion.  I see the side missions as fleshing out the game universe more.  I'm sure they will also affect situations in Mass Effect 3, which is worth doing them for that alone.

[skystride]

Just finished it last night.  I loved Dragon Age but I prefer ME2 overall.  The last part of the game was so much more exciting than the final boss fight in DAO.

So now I'm wondering if Miranda is a murderer?

Spoiler for Hiden:

My LI Jack got taken by the swarm while Miranda was supposed to maintain the barrier.  Should I not have put them in the same party? 

I started hitting on Talia now that Jack is gone.  So is the helmet thing going to be like the Pulp Fiction briefcase? Sheppard got a look, why can't I?  I am Sheppard!

[CeeKay]

So now I'm wondering if Miranda is a murderer?

Spoiler for Hiden:

My LI Jack got taken by the swarm while Miranda was supposed to maintain the barrier.  Should I not have put them in the same party? 

I started hitting on Talia now that Jack is gone.  So is the helmet thing going to be like the Pulp Fiction briefcase? Sheppard got a look, why can't I?  I am Sheppard!

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

as for Tali, they just don't want to reveal the females of her race all look like Betty White.

[Bob]

It can not be stressed enough that you should not be scanning planets unless you need the minerals for research right now.  Do not spend 10 minutes scanning every planet you come across. Do not stock up to 100K of each.  You are wasting your time.

If you need a specific resource, go to a rich planet and scan till you have it.

To check for side-missions (anomalies) you don't need to scan.  Just fly to the planet and check it out.  EDI will tell you if there's something there.

Also, probe populated worlds for Element Zero, that's where I found it.

[skystride]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

[CeeKay]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

true, but IIRC there's a conversation where Shepard (or someone else) mentions Miranda is overconfident in her abilities and that set off a red flag when she volunteered.  besides, Jack is billed as being superpowerful and Samara has 400 years experience with Biotics.

[denoginizer]

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had Samara as my barrier and I still lost Jack the same way you did.  I failed on Samara's loyalty quest and took Miranda's side in the Miranda/Jack argument after Jack's loyalty mission.  I assumed one of those two circumstances caused me to lose Jack.

[CeeKay]

hmmm.. I wonder how badly it would go if you put Jack in charge of the second team at the end 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had Samara as my barrier and I still lost Jack the same way you did.  I failed on Samara's loyalty quest and took Miranda's side in the Miranda/Jack argument after Jack's loyalty mission.  I assumed one of those two circumstances caused me to lose Jack.

Spoiler for Hiden:

how did Jack get taken down?  was it a cutscene or did she wander outside the barrier?  I know Legion got caught behind some crates and was outside of the barrier for a bit but he came back.  he did have the shimmering effect that the colonists who got attacked by the swarm exhibited but I didn't lose him.

[denoginizer]

hmmm.. I wonder how badly it would go if you put Jack in charge of the second team at the end 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had Samara as my barrier and I still lost Jack the same way you did.  I failed on Samara's loyalty quest and took Miranda's side in the Miranda/Jack argument after Jack's loyalty mission.  I assumed one of those two circumstances caused me to lose Jack.

Spoiler for Hiden:

how did Jack get taken down?  was it a cutscene or did she wander outside the barrier?  I know Legion got caught behind some crates and was outside of the barrier for a bit but he came back.  he did have the shimmering effect that the colonists who got attacked by the swarm exhibited but I didn't lose him.

Spoiler for Hiden:

It was a cutscene.  Samara kept saying that she was getting weak as we approached the end.  After we got to the end it showed Jack getting carried off by a swarm.  Jack was my least favorite character so I didn't mind losing her.  Although I thought she was the most powerful party member in combat.

[skystride]

hmmm.. I wonder how badly it would go if you put Jack in charge of the second team at the end  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had Samara as my barrier and I still lost Jack the same way you did.  I failed on Samara's loyalty quest and took Miranda's side in the Miranda/Jack argument after Jack's loyalty mission.  I assumed one of those two circumstances caused me to lose Jack.

Spoiler for Hiden:

how did Jack get taken down?  was it a cutscene or did she wander outside the barrier?  I know Legion got caught behind some crates and was outside of the barrier for a bit but he came back.  he did have the shimmering effect that the colonists who got attacked by the swarm exhibited but I didn't lose him.

Spoiler for Hiden:

It was a cutscene.  Samara kept saying that she was getting weak as we approached the end.  After we got to the end it showed Jack getting carried off by a swarm.  Jack was my least favorite character so I didn't mind losing her.  Although I thought she was the most powerful party member in combat.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Same for me, Miranda said the same thing.  Also I had everyone loyal so that wasn't it.

Jack is not so bad, you're just mean!  It was quiet touching actually when she finally let her guards down.

P.S. I'm very happy I can finally create these annoying threads.  I was pissed off about them until today 

[Sarkus]

hmmm.. I wonder how badly it would go if you put Jack in charge of the second team at the end  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had Samara as my barrier and I still lost Jack the same way you did.  I failed on Samara's loyalty quest and took Miranda's side in the Miranda/Jack argument after Jack's loyalty mission.  I assumed one of those two circumstances caused me to lose Jack.

Spoiler for Hiden:

how did Jack get taken down?  was it a cutscene or did she wander outside the barrier?  I know Legion got caught behind some crates and was outside of the barrier for a bit but he came back.  he did have the shimmering effect that the colonists who got attacked by the swarm exhibited but I didn't lose him.

Spoiler for Hiden:

It was a cutscene.  Samara kept saying that she was getting weak as we approached the end.  After we got to the end it showed Jack getting carried off by a swarm.  Jack was my least favorite character so I didn't mind losing her.  Although I thought she was the most powerful party member in combat.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Same for me, Miranda said the same thing.  Also I had everyone loyal so that wasn't it.

Jack is not so bad, you're just mean!  It was quiet touching actually when she finally let her guards down.

P.S. I'm very happy I can finally create these annoying threads.  I was pissed off about them until today 

Spoiler for Hiden:

From what I've read, losing someone is intertwined with loyalty and who is chosen for each task in the endgame.  Samara (or Morinth) and Jack are the only successful choices for the barrier job, but they have to be loyal as well, otherwise you will lose someone.  However, if you didn't choose Miranda or Garrus for the squad at the same time, that may also have impacted the outcome.

[leo8877]

hmmm.. I wonder how badly it would go if you put Jack in charge of the second team at the end  

Spoiler for Hiden:

I don't think Miranda was the correct choice for the barrier as there are two much more powerful biotics on your squad.

Spoiler for Hiden:

If that's true I feel a bit ripped off.  They established that she is a powerful biotic, bred for that purpose, from the beginning of the game.  I think even her description says that.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I had Samara as my barrier and I still lost Jack the same way you did.  I failed on Samara's loyalty quest and took Miranda's side in the Miranda/Jack argument after Jack's loyalty mission.  I assumed one of those two circumstances caused me to lose Jack.

Spoiler for Hiden:

how did Jack get taken down?  was it a cutscene or did she wander outside the barrier?  I know Legion got caught behind some crates and was outside of the barrier for a bit but he came back.  he did have the shimmering effect that the colonists who got attacked by the swarm exhibited but I didn't lose him.

Spoiler for Hiden:

It was a cutscene.  Samara kept saying that she was getting weak as we approached the end.  After we got to the end it showed Jack getting carried off by a swarm.  Jack was my least favorite character so I didn't mind losing her.  Although I thought she was the most powerful party member in combat.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Same for me, Miranda said the same thing.  Also I had everyone loyal so that wasn't it.

Jack is not so bad, you're just mean!  It was quiet touching actually when she finally let her guards down.

P.S. I'm very happy I can finally create these annoying threads.  I was pissed off about them until today 

Spoiler for Hiden:

From what I've read, losing someone is intertwined with loyalty and who is chosen for each task in the endgame.  Samara (or Morinth) and Jack are the only successful choices for the barrier job, but they have to be loyal as well, otherwise you will lose someone.  However, if you didn't choose Miranda or Garrus for the squad at the same time, that may also have impacted the outcome.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Odd  I used Samara for my barrier and had Jack and Grunt with me and neither one of them died.  I had everyone at loyal and when Jack and Miranda argued, I used the Paragon selection so as not to pick sides.