Post by Rankkor
Hello hello there fellow wowheaders. This is your favorite latino, with a new post regarding the upcoming game Mass Effect 3, given that there are no other ME3 threads open, I though, "what the hell" and opened this one.
A thread for discussing the upcoming ME3 game.
In this thread I'll be doing a small review of the short demo of ME3 (Already available for download on Origin) As well as a FULL AND EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF ALL the known features that will be available for ME3. Yes, this means this post will be HUGE, so if you are interested in a specific segment of it, just jump to the highlighted parts.
As a small precaution folks, try to keep spoilers to a min at least till the game is released (Even though the plot details are VERY scarce at the moment). Having said that, spoilers for ME1 and ME2 will be aplenty, and any discussion on this thread assumes you've at least finished these 2 games (Come on, its been 4 years since ME1, and 2 years since ME2, by now you MUST have finished both if you've shown any interest in the franchise so far)
(Disclaimer: All info on this thread is taken directly from the Bioware Social Network, based on comments made by the developers, and from the Mass Effect Wikia. If you want to add anything I may have missed, unlikely as that may be xD, do add a small mention of where did you saw it.)
IMPORT/SAVESLets start by the most basic, importing your save-file from the previous games.
This feature makes a comeback on ME3, and this time with more variables than in ME2. Many desisions from the first game that had no impact on the sequel, will have an impact on part 3, over a thousand variables between the first 2 games will be taken.
If your shepard died at the end of ME2, then that save will not be importable to the third part.
If you don't import a save-file, then a "Previously On Mass Effect" interactive comic (Similar to "
Mass Effect genesis") will play out, summarizing the plot of the previous 2 games, and allowing you to make the most crucial choices from them since they will influence the plot of the third game.
Not importing a save-file will mean a hell of a lot less cameos, including those from DLCs which will only reapear on part 3 if you import a savefile where you played said DLC (Such as Kasumi and Zaheed)
Speaking of DLCs EVERY SINGLE ITEM OBTAINED FROM A DLC in mass effect 2, will be available from the start on ME3. This means if you are a hardcore Mass Effect fan like me and have all the DLCs, you will start part 3 will quite the arsenal available. Including such Overpowered weapons like the Mattock rifle, and Eviscerator shotgun.
However, the fish and model ships wont trasfer, you'll have to re-obtain them all in part 3 again (DAMN THOSE COUNCIL BASTARDS! /shakes angry fist)
There is a new feature in ME3 called "Reputation" (I'll go into detail about it later) and if you import a dual-file (A ME1 file that was imported into ME2, and then complete ME2 and import THAT ONE into ME3) you will receive a big chunk bonus of Reputation.
And my Favorite change so far: You can change the class of your shepard when importing, HOWEVER the level will not be affected. If you were a lvl 30 infiltrator on ME2, and change to a soldier on ME3, you will start as a lvl 30 soldier. This is because while ME2 had a much different leveling system than the first game, ME3 has a leveling system near-identical to ME2.
But enough about importing savefiles, lets go to what everyone REALLY wanna know about, THE GAMEPLAY.
ROLE-PLAYING ELEMENTSMany fans were disappointed to see that ME2 had almost no RPG elements on it, it was basically a shooter with some mild RPGing in the form of levels and plot decisions, but nothing major. The game was way too much streamlined.
Not anymore!
WEAPON MODS ARE BACK! And better than ever. In the first ME, all the weapons were socketed, kinda like the gear in wow, except you don't insert gems in those sockets but upgrades. And while this feature was removed on the sequel, its coming back for ME3.
This time though, weapon mods are more than just passive boosts to the weapon's stadistics, this time, weapon mods are visual modifications as well. You can modify your weapon by attaching barrels, sound suppressors, scope sights, red-dot sights, laser sights, extended magazines, and more, and these visually change the appearance of the weapon as well as its sounds.
Each weapon can have up to 5 different modifications, however, not all weapons can have all mods. For example, some sound suppressors will only be compatible with weapons from a certain brand (like on ME1) while some Reflex-sights will only be compatible with rifles and shotguns but not pistols and SMGs.
Furthermore, I have it on good authority that you can customize the color of your weapons just as you can do with your armor. It always bugged me on ME2 that I was a badass shotgun-totting Vanguard on a crimson red armor.......... and yet was wielding a shotgun in a horrible lime-green color. This time you can add camo patterns, and fully change the color of your weapons to fit the color and pattern of your armor.
neat huh?
This even extends to the squad as well, since you can customize their weapons to match their armor. And speaking of armor for your squad, did it bothered you how on ME2 all the squad-mates had only 2 outfits? (Some even being quite absurd, such as miranda going into battle with HIGH HEELS?) You will be glad to know that this time, each squad member will have multiple outfits to choose from, and no, this time they aren't just palette swaps, these are different outfits complete with different combat bonuses and stadistics, and yes, these too, like shepard's armor can be customized in color, camo, and patterns.
However, heavy weapons can't be modified in any way whatsoever. =/
This time, exp will be earned in the same way as ME1, by killing enemies, and completing individual mission objectives, rather than the simplistic 1000 exp per mission complete that was used for ME2.
This time the level cap will be 60, and there will be 178 talent points to distribute across your talent spec.
There will be a grand total of 57 different skills (some of them will be universal such as Trow and Pull, others will be unique to each class such as Charge or Singularity, and others will be unique to your squad-mates)
Yes, talent specs are NOT permanent, you can respec at any time on the normandy, both you and your squad. So don't sweat it if you screw up your build.
However, the bonus powers of ME2 wont be carried over to ME3 (U_U that means no Reave or Slam) The reason for this is because new bonus powers will be unlocked by your old and new squadmates (more on that later). As usual, shepard can choose one of the bonus powers of the squad for him/herself.
Talent Trees will be MUCH larger this time. Many fans were disappointed with how the Trees were handled on ME2, since each character had only 4 skills, each with only 4 ranks, and only the last rank had any imput of choise. As a result ,everyone had the same build and there was no customization available.
Not anymore! This time not only each class has WAY MORE skills (Old and new) but these can be upgraded multiple times with different choices along the way) I'll post a few screenshots later so you can compare the before/after.
Inventory management will be back, since this time, you can actually loot weapons, armor, and such from fallen foes, as well as scrap-yards. However, no ammo. The different ammo types (Incendiary, Cryo, Armor Piercing, ect) will remain as Powers like on ME2.
Also THANK GOD, this time the helmet CAN be toggled on/off without having to un-equip it.
I loved in the first game, to always keep the helmet on when deployed on a mission, but keep it off while off-duty on the citadel, or out of combat. Sadly that wasn't posible on the sequel, were not using a helmet meant not having a lot of bonuses, and taking it on/off would require a lenghty trip back to the normandy. This time, a simple flip switch will put the helmet on/off, or give you the option of keeping the helmet ON during gameplay, but OFF during conversations. This extends to the squad too.
Also, THANK GOD bioware finnaly fixed the issues with the HAIR on ME characters, jeez, for the past 4 years they've looked like they're made of plastic or something. This time, the game features a more realistic hair. Though no glorious skyrim-like beards for those who like to play as Male!shep.
Now that we speak of physical apereance, this time you CAN modify the look of an imported shepard. In ME2, if you imported a file from the first game, you either had to use the default face, or the imported face. No option to do some changes to the imported face at all. This has been (thank god) corrected for the third one.
The red eyes and scars for Renegade players makes a comeback on ME3 (Unless you took the surgery to get those removed). Its a shame though =/ I really love the red eyes, but dislike the scars. Wish we could keep the former while getting rid of the latter.
For those who love to play as Fem!shep (Like me =D) you will be glad to know that this time, female shepard will NOT be sharing the same animations as Male!shep. It really REALLY bugged me in the first game how she'd walk when not wearing armor, because lets face it, she looked like she had a stick up the B-hind. This time, fem!shep will have her own unique set of animations for running, walking, punching , and taking cover.
Well, that about covers the Roleplaying, but what about the Combat? how exactly are we gonna do the PEW PEW? keep on Reading.
COMBAT ELEMENTSIn this game, Melee will play a larger role than ever before.
While the first game had no melee at all, and the sequel just had pistol-whipping and smacking the enemy with the butt of your rifle, ME3 will feature melee a lot more.
Tapping F (PC version) will have shepard perform a mild melee attack that wont do much damage. Pressing F hard will make shep do a REALLY strong attack that is unique based on the class you use.
This is where the newest weapon comes into play: The Omni-blade.
if you've seen the trailers (and there's no reason why you shouldn't) shepard can now produce a small yellow-ish holographic blade out of his/her omnitool, and stab enemies with it.
As far as I know, the use of the onmiblade is like this for each class:
Soldier: Will simply stab the enemy with the blade. If used from behind this is a silent-attack that will instantly take down the enemy.
Engineer: Will ignite his omniblade ON FIRE and stab the enemy with it.
Sentinel: Will dual-wield omniblades and slash the enemy rather than stab with it.
Adepts and Vanguards will just ignore the omniblade and perform a BRUTAL Biotic Punch that will send the enemies flying back.
Infiltrators: Will charge their omni-blade with electricity and slash the enemy with it.
If you were hoping they'd go back to the regenerative ammo from ME1, be prepared to be disapointed. They still use the thermal clip system from ME2.
A very interesting change this time is that any class can use any weapon.
yep, you heard me.
While in the first game, all classes carried all weapons but were only proficient with some (adept trying to use a shotgun was laughable) and in the sequel you only were able to carry weapons you were proficient with, on this game they completely changed the whole thing.
This time, the game uses a Weight System:
Each weapon has a specific weight on it, and each class can only carry a specific amount of weight. If you go over that amount, you will have a cooldown penalty on your powers. So, if you love to unleash biotic carnage as an adept, but also are packing 5 weapons (Pistol, SMG, rifle, sniper, and shotgun) be prepared for some SERIOUSLY LONG cooldown on all your powers (up to 40 seconds).
Only soldiers can wear all weapons without penalty, while Vanguards and Infiltrators can carry up to 70% of what a soldier can without penalty. Adepts, Sentinels, and Engineers will only be able to carry 40% of what a soldier can before the penalty kicks in.
This however, leaves you freedom to pick the weapon you like, there is nothing stopping you from being a Sniper Adept, and still kick ass. Or dropping the shotgun and grabbing an Assault Rifle as an Vanguard.
This weight system also affects the speed your shepard moves when not sprinting.
This is something I noticed on the demo, where on the first segment you only had a pistol, and as such the cooldown of powers such as Pull and Throw was quite short, but then on the other half of the demo, shepard is packing 4 weapons, and so, any class who is not a soldier, will have some REALLY long Cooldowns for all their powers.
Grenades are making a return, but this time they work as actual grenades, not those weird disks you could trow on the first game. Enemy soldiers can use them too, and one of the best parts is if you have biotics, you can push them back to them.
Here is a biggie:
BIOTICS AND TECH POWERS NOW WORK ON PROTECTED ENEMIES!It was a HUGE bummer on the sequel how your powers were nearly useless on any difficulty above casual, because then all enemies would have shields, making all your biotics and techs useless unless you peel away all their layers of protection, including shields, barriers, and armor.
On ME3, there is a middle-ground on it.
Use Throw on an enemy with no protection, and he will be flung to the air for a while. Use Throw on an enemy who has shields/armor/barrier, and while he wont be flung to the air, his shield/barrier/armor will take damage. This aplies to all biotics, and tech. If the enemy is protected, the skill wont do its special effect (Such as knocking them back, or freezing them, or setting them on fire, or levitate them, ect) but it will damage their protection, and once their protection is gone, you can finish them off.
This right here, has to be my favorite part of the revamped combat. One of the reasons ME2 felt more like a shooter than an RPG was because your powers were nearly useless, unless playing on the easiest difficulty. If you wanted an enemy dead, you HAD to shoot at them. This time, if you are so inclined, you can forgo your guns, and just skill enemies via Biotic Spam like shockwave, singularity, warp, and a long ect. Kudos to bioware for this one.
I'll continue this later, as I gotta go to work. Stay classy wowhead. =D