Mass effect 2 Launch and impressions (the REAL One)

[TiLT]

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.

How is that odd? You're not contradicting anything he said.

[CeeKay]

I think I'm going to create a new Shepard and power my way through without doing any loyalty missions to see how that ends. LI's will be out since it appears you have to do that to develop a relationship.

Heck, I may even skip getting all the group members and see if I can avoid ship upgrades. 

[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.

How is that odd? You're not contradicting anything he said.

I was trying to respond to one of the earlier posts but quoted the whole thread.

[Daehawk]

Quick question.....on that certain ship where you can  choose a new shotgun, combat rifle, or sniper rifle....which is better between the sniper and the assault? I love the ammo supply on the assault but its not super accurate. The sniper is super powerful but low ammo load. I have a new'ish assault rifle already but no new sniper choice till now.

[Turtle]

The new assault rifle can be pretty accurate if you burst fire it, and when you get the accuracy upgrade for it.  It has the highest damage output over time of any weapon too.  That said, if you just don't like it, and you also like sniper rifles, go for the new sniper rifle.

[CeeKay]

The new assault rifle can be pretty accurate if you burst fire it, and when you get the accuracy upgrade for it.  It has the highest damage output over time of any weapon too.  That said, if you just don't like it, and you also like sniper rifles, go for the new sniper rifle.

this.  burst fire is your friend.

[Daehawk]

I went with the sniper. I like to headshot too much hehe. hoping Ill get another chance at that assault rifle.

i'm on Ilium and its got to be the funniest place i've yet seen in the game. Conrad is funny and the bachelor party group is a riot. Loving this place,. Makes me wonder how the Liara meeting would have been if she had been my love interest in ME1.

[Roguetad]

Something frustrating I noticed during my 2nd playthrough at the very end:

Spoiler for Hiden:

My teammates don't attack the human reaper, they just stand there doing nothing.  They seem to do a decent job of handling the drone waves, essentially covering me, but they can't be bothered to help me fight the boss.  I actually sat there behind a wall watching them, and one just remained permanently behind a wall, and the other stood in the open with her head and gun looking directly at the ground.  At one point, Miranda had the orange, shimmering stasis effect that the colonists had from the swarmers, and she appeared to be frozen.  I had never seen anything like that before.  I ended up expending most of my ammo to fight and kill the boss alone, while my teammates were AI brain dead.

I was too caught up in the moment on my first playthrough to notice if my teammates were shooting or using powers on the boss, but this time it was really obvious.  Has anyone else noticed this?  Maybe I need to manually control them to attack?  As a Sentinel it would have been great to have some help from my teammates that had much better weapon skills/powers than me.

 

[Daehawk]

Where are all the alien weapons at? I mean I know you get one of two but Im talking Asari, turian, Kragan...those guys all must have their own weapons made for their species. Why do they all just use human stuff?

[The Grue]

Where are all the alien weapons at? I mean I know you get one of two but Im talking Asari, turian, Kragan...those guys all must have their own weapons made for their species. Why do they all just use human stuff?

Because "The Man" has won.  Actually, you can get weapons just for them.  I've just found them out and about.

[walTer]

I went with the sniper. I like to headshot too much hehe. hoping Ill get another chance at that assault rifle.

i'm on Ilium and its got to be the funniest place i've yet seen in the game. Conrad is funny and the bachelor party group is a riot. Loving this place,. Makes me wonder how the Liara meeting would have been if she had been my love interest in ME1.

Spoiler for Hiden:

She was my love interest in 1 and she was still kinda bitchy to me...I have no problem hitting on Kelly...that cute redhead is gonna be mine!!

[Gratch]

The new assault rifle can be pretty accurate if you burst fire it, and when you get the accuracy upgrade for it.  It has the highest damage output over time of any weapon too.  That said, if you just don't like it, and you also like sniper rifles, go for the new sniper rifle.

Assault rife was by far my favorite weapon.  I'd guess around 80% of my combat was done with it.

[CeeKay]

Which class uses the submachine gun? Or is it a npc only weapon?

[Bob]

I think every class gets pistol and SMG.

[CeeKay]

I think every class gets pistol and SMG.

the soldier class had pistol, shottie, sniper, assault and heavy but no smg.

[TK-421]

I don't recall if it's been mentioned in this thread or not but:

I am the very model of a scientist Solarian....

[The Grue]

I don't recall if it's been mentioned in this thread or not but:

I am the very model of a scientist Solarian....

Which was all kinds of pure awesome.

[Thin_J]

*edit*

Didn't realize there was another page. My question was irrelevant.

[gellar]

Finished it up tonight.  Explored every planet and did every discoverable side mission - clocked in around 32 hours.

I played a renegade soldier.  Typical party was Miranda + whoever I felt like at the time.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Endgame choices:
1) Destroyed the heretics
2) Kept Genophage
3) Kept the Collector ship

I may replay again as a nice guy and make most of the opposite choices - the game was that good.  I really enjoyed it.  Best game I've played since Uncharted 2.

[CeeKay]

I don't recall if it's been mentioned in this thread or not but:

I am the very model of a scientist Solarian....

Which was all kinds of pure awesome.

I spent about 5 minutes laughing after that.

[EddieA]

I like the Cerberus Network's description of Valentine's Day - "an intriguing mix of commerce and reproduction"

[CeeKay]

I think every class gets pistol and SMG.

the soldier class had pistol, shottie, sniper, assault and heavy but no smg.

starting a new game and looking over the classes it appears the soldier is the only one that doesn't use the SMG 

[Eightball]

I went with the sniper. I like to headshot too much hehe. hoping Ill get another chance at that assault rifle.

Only on a second playthrough.

[The Grue]

I don't recall if it's been mentioned in this thread or not but:

I am the very model of a scientist Solarian....

Which was all kinds of pure awesome.

I spent about 5 minutes laughing after that.

My daughter happened to be in the room with me when that part came on.  We both laughed and then we watched it a couple more times.

[Harkonis]

I went with the sniper. I like to headshot too much hehe. hoping Ill get another chance at that assault rifle.

Only on a second playthrough.

I've heard that even on second playthrough you don't get another chance, only on a new character.

[TK-421]

On my current playthrough I spent a bit more time talking to the C-Sec Capt than I did last time.

I laughed when he talked about how spending a year dead was a popular tax dodge lately.  Seems Hotblack started a trend.

[Gratch]

I don't recall if it's been mentioned in this thread or not but:

I am the very model of a scientist Solarian....

Which was all kinds of pure awesome.

I spent about 5 minutes laughing after that.

My daughter happened to be in the room with me when that part came on.  We both laughed and then we watched it a couple more times.

Funniest moment of the game.  The throat clear at the end cracks me up.

[leo8877]

I think every class gets pistol and SMG.

the soldier class had pistol, shottie, sniper, assault and heavy but no smg.

SMG is just an upgraded pistol.  All my team could use it at the end.

[TK-421]

Nope.  SMG is a separate class and the soldier most definitely does not get one.

One really annoying thing about ME2 that I've had happen twice now is that if your controller disconnects for any reason (batteries die or a dropped controller) then instead of pausing like EVERY OTHER DAMNED 360 game it just keeps right on going.

Twice now I've had batteries die right in the middle of a firefight and Shepherd just stood there getting shot while I scrambled to find new batteries. Both times Shepherd died.

I mean seriously Bioware, every other game including ME1 will pause when the batteries die. How could you miss something so basic?

[Turtle]

The reason why the soldier doesn't get one is that he has the assault rifle.  The SMG is basically a poor man's assault rifle, a rapid fire weapon for classes that don't get the awesomeness of the assault rifle.  Considering how defenses are handled now

Veteran seems like the perfect difficulty for me, it's hard enough where I have to use tactics, cover, and combined arms or else I will die, multiple times during a single battle.  But, it's not frustratingly difficult.  You also get to see more enemy abilities in action, like health regen on the Krogan and Vorcha.

I think I've also identified one of the major things that makes me like the teammates in this game, mainly, in combat they actually fire for effect.  In a lot of other games, allied NPCs tend to just spray off a few bullets then duck back into cover, this does very little damage overall.  In ME2, they shoot to kill, if they have an automatic weapon, it means they'll keep shooting until they need to back into cover or their target is dead.

[Gratch]

I typically don't have much luck restarting a game right after completing it, but I fired up ME2 again this afternoon.   I wanted to see how a different class played (doing Vanguard instead of Soldier), as well as trying to run through as an asshole...I mean Renegade.   Maybe I'm missing something, but the Vanguard's 'Charge' skill seems pretty worthless.  You can't do it in a crowd (since after jumping in on one enemy will cause you to get mobbed by all the others), and I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've faced a single enemy that would be worth using it on.  Does it get more useful at higher levels?

[leo8877]

My mistake about the SMG, I played Engineer and I got it late in the game and it seemed like all my team was upgraded from the Shruiken pistol to the SMG.

[Nth Power]

I typically don't have much luck restarting a game right after completing it, but I fired up ME2 again this afternoon.   I wanted to see how a different class played (doing Vanguard instead of Soldier), as well as trying to run through as an asshole...I mean Renegade.   Maybe I'm missing something, but the Vanguard's 'Charge' skill seems pretty worthless.  You can't do it in a crowd (since after jumping in on one enemy will cause you to get mobbed by all the others), and I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've faced a single enemy that would be worth using it on.  Does it get more useful at higher levels?

I didn't care for it much at first for the reasons you stated, but I ended up liking it quite a bit once I maxxed it out.  I'd say it's very situational at first, but allows for more liberal use as you become more powerful.  I still wouldn't use it all the time, but mainly for flanking or to gain ground quickly and then grab some cover.  It was more of a fun power for me, rather than one that saved my ass.

I liked Shockwave better overall since sometimes Charge could be a little finicky.  One thing that got me killed a couple times was when I'd activate Charge, but something would block the path and leave me wide open.  Game over.

[Eightball]

My mistake about the SMG, I played Engineer and I got it late in the game and it seemed like all my team was upgraded from the Shruiken pistol to the SMG.

Just FYI, leo, the Shuriken is an SMG, it's just called in the weapon description a machine pistol, whereas the Tempest (the upgraded one you get later) is actually called a SMG.  However, they're both in the SMG class.

There's a separate weapon class called "heavy pistol," which has the Predator and the Carnifex.

As an engineer, you can carry 1 heavy pistol and one SMG; so, for example, you start with the predator and the shuriken.  You can never carry 2 pistols or 2 SMGs at once, however.

[DamageInc]

Sentinels start with the same package, pistol and SMG.

The third and final upgrade for the SMG is awesome. I picked up the Assault Rifle later in the game (during the "pick-one" pile) just to check out the difference and I preferred the final SMG.

Also, it is not the "poor mans" Assault rifle. They simply did this to try and balance the classes. Soldier's get more gun related firepower because they don't get Biotics or Tech powers (well for the most part)

If you run through the game with the same char again make sure you hit the weapons cabinet. For some bizarre reason (well it's not bizarre, just bad programming) they reset all your weapons to the basic defaults of each weapon.

[leo8877]

My mistake about the SMG, I played Engineer and I got it late in the game and it seemed like all my team was upgraded from the Shruiken pistol to the SMG.

Just FYI, leo, the Shuriken is an SMG, it's just called in the weapon description a machine pistol, whereas the Tempest (the upgraded one you get later) is actually called a SMG.  However, they're both in the SMG class.

There's a separate weapon class called "heavy pistol," which has the Predator and the Carnifex.

As an engineer, you can carry 1 heavy pistol and one SMG; so, for example, you start with the predator and the shuriken.  You can never carry 2 pistols or 2 SMGs at once, however.

Ahh I didn't know the Shruiken was an SMG, I just assumed it was your unlimited ammo pistol.

[CeeKay]

I started up a game with my other ME1 character and was surprised at the bonus credits and resources I got for importing and completing ME2 once through.  I got something like 300k+ credits and 55k of each resource.

[Nonnahob]

I typically don't have much luck restarting a game right after completing it, but I fired up ME2 again this afternoon.   I wanted to see how a different class played (doing Vanguard instead of Soldier), as well as trying to run through as an asshole...I mean Renegade.   Maybe I'm missing something, but the Vanguard's 'Charge' skill seems pretty worthless.  You can't do it in a crowd (since after jumping in on one enemy will cause you to get mobbed by all the others), and I can count on 1 hand the number of times I've faced a single enemy that would be worth using it on.  Does it get more useful at higher levels?

I didn't care for it much at first for the reasons you stated, but I ended up liking it quite a bit once I maxxed it out.  I'd say it's very situational at first, but allows for more liberal use as you become more powerful.  I still wouldn't use it all the time, but mainly for flanking or to gain ground quickly and then grab some cover.  It was more of a fun power for me, rather than one that saved my ass.

I liked Shockwave better overall since sometimes Charge could be a little finicky.  One thing that got me killed a couple times was when I'd activate Charge, but something would block the path and leave me wide open.  Game over.

There are a couple of videos out there on YouTube where people are using vanguard to play @ Insanity level of difficulty.

It basically went

Charge
Shoot shotgun, punch, shoot shotgun, punch... until dead
Find cover
Charge
Shoot shotgun, punch, shoot shotgun, punch... dead
Rinse, wash, repeat.

Watching it made me choose to just play through my second time with my sentinel rather than starting over (I was really interested in playing vanguard).

[Turtle]

It was a really bad decision to force you to play through a second time as the same class for new game+.

[jersoc]

http://www.bitmob.com/index.php/mobfeed/probe-away-rapping-about-mining-in-mass-effect-2-.html

awesome