Topic: The Presidium - A General Mass Effect Topic

I thought that the dialogue writing was bad in ME Andromeda and although Ryder (Sarah in my case) never took anything serious, I kind of quite liked her in the end. I liked Peebee and Jaal too but the rest of the crew were totally forgettable. The actual gameplay is terrific fun, though.

@FuriousMachine Thanks. I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I finally play it. Like I said, initially it may be a bit awkward without the crew from the Normandy, but treating it as a one-off spin-off will probably work well.

@KilloWertz Yeah, I think that's a very good mindset to have going in

Having just started ME2 again these past couple days... yeah, I feel you, buddy.

According to Google, only old saves from ME2 and ME3 are compatible with the Legendary Edition, I'm afraid. Sucks, but kinda makes sense, given how BioWare reinvented the wheel for ME2. That recap Genesis comic is included in the Legendary Edition though, so I suppose you could always start fresh there, and attempt to reconstruct your original ME1 save as best as possible?

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@KilloWertz I've pretty much decided to try and include Andromeda at the tail end of my current trilogy playthrough and so, if I beat you to it, I'll let you know how it holds up!

@RogerRoger You do that, although I'm not sure I should trust your judgement anymore given that you just admitted that ME2 may be your least favorite game in the trilogy...

If I decide to play it after Life is Strange 2, then I should beat you to it as I'm about to start what I think is the final boss fight in Final Fantasy XVI. You never know though. I could change my mind by the time I finish Life is Strange 2.

@RogerRoger Ah, that sucks. I'm aware of the in-game comic, but thinking about using that always gives me FOMO. I know not too many of your ME1 choices ultimately have an effect, but there's still all the little choices that the game will just not refer back to because they weren't big enough to be in the comic. It makes me feel like I'm missing out on a lot of the reactivity of the game, even though I'm mostly aware what happens either way with the consequences you face for your choices. Maybe a ME1 replay is once again somewhere in my future. I'll have to take a look if all those great mods for the trilogy are also updated for the Legendary Edition by now.

@KilloWertz Hey, I didn't "just" admit that; been bangin' that drum for a while now! Saw in another topic that you've started Life is Strange 2 now, so I hope you continue to enjoy!

@Tjuz Yeah, I know what you mean. I always forget how much flavour is generated in ME2 by your previous actions; been getting private messages following up on almost every major side quest, reminding me of which outcome I chose. It might just be a consequence-free paragraph of text (that I skip over when I realise it isn't giving me a mission) but it still counts for something, and helps me connect the unrecognisable Cerberus lapdog in front of me to the Alliance hero he once was.

@RogerRoger Well, ok, maybe I just didn't remember that. Maybe your posts aren't as memorable as you think they are.

Seriously though, I just forgot. Anyways, thanks. It's still going good so far after doing The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit and then early on in Episode 2. The former ending up being a bit disappointing though since I could only do a fraction of what was on his list of things to do.

@KilloWertz They're exactly as memorable as I think they are, considering that I barely remember 'em, and I'm their freakin' author!

I think I missed a few tasks from his checklist, too. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll still "get" the episode.

@RogerRoger Maybe old age is finally catching up with you.

I'll keep this out of spoiler tags as it's not something anybody would understand unless they've played it, but things like not being able to use the key to unlock something else because I used it on his Dad's closet is just plain stupid. At least I assume that's the key needed to open a door too, but since I used it otherwise, it wouldn't let me just take it out of the closet door.

Regardless, I progressed a bit in Episode 2 earlier today before work and it was at least worth playing the "side quest" since that's where you get introduced to their grandmother. I just got them to allow us to stay at their house, so I'm sure I still have plenty more of the episode to go. I also have a feeling I know why their mother left, but we'll see if I'm right in the end.

@RogerRoger Well, with all this talking about Mass Effect I couldn't resist...

@KilloWertz Yeah, but it won't take me alive!

Looking forward to your thoughts on the rest of Life is Strange 2. Some of my memories about what happens in which episode aren't as detailed as I'd like, so I'll tread carefully and won't elaborate on much until I know it's safe to do so. Just hope you enjoy, and get an ending you're happy with!

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@Tjuz Oh no, they got to you, too...?!

Awesome screenshots, by the way! Particularly like that third one! What class is your FemShep?

@RogerRoger Went for Sentinel this time! I remember my last two playthroughs on ME1 were Adept and Vanguard, and since I love biotics but didn't want to repeat a class, Sentinel seemed like the appropriate choice. I think it might've been my class for my first trilogy playthrough too, but I'm not 100% sure. Could've been Engineer too. I definitely never did Infiltrator or Soldier.

I actually looked up my old saves to see from when they were and I was shocked to realise my third and so far final playthrough of ME1 was back in 2017! I thought it was way more recent than that. My first two playthroughs where I did finish the whole trilogy were in 2015, which also surprised me. I didn't remember doing my second full playthrough so quickly after the first. There was only roughly half a year inbetween. That means it's basically been eight years since I played either ME2 or ME3!

I've modded the hell out of my ME1, but in this case it's mostly quality of life improvements and bug fixes. Stuff like the whole container getting looted when pressing the button instead of having to go through a menu, trackers on the Galaxy Map in the same way ME2/ME3 do it, removing the horrendous screen-shaking while running or in the Mako, going through the airlock faster when exiting the Normandy etc. Some texture stuff as well though, like making the looks of some squadmates consistent throughout the trilogy. Higher resolution textures and cutscenes as well as new and improved lighting. I made sure to get the very best I could out of this entry! The real game-changing mods are mostly not until ME3.

** Spoilers from here on out for anyone reading along **

There's one in particular I'm excited to try out with ME2 though, which (together with being able to experience Kasumi and Overlord for the first time) makes me somewhat look forward to getting to that point. There's a mod that lets you recruit the all the squadmates at the same time without them being divided into batches. Apparently the decision to put them into batches was only made late in development thanks to disc size limitations, so there's actual unique dialogue on missions from all of the second batch squadmates in missions they otherwise would not be available. It will also make bringing Legion to Tali's loyalty mission easier, since you can now recruit him from the Normandy Crash Site with this mod. That's something I've never done before but I've heard is very, very interesting for obvious reasons.

I've even planned out a little bit of my choices that I want to make this playthrough to add some fresh stuff I've never seen before. I'm planning to get Jacob, Mordin and Thane killed in the Suicide Mission. Mordin because I've heard his replacement in ME3, Padok Wiks, is actually a fairly interesting character in and of himself. It will also lead into me being able to sabotage the Genophage for the first time, which I would feel infinitely more horrible about if it meant betraying Mordin. As for Wrex... he is my favourite squadmate in the whole series, but I'm planning to get him killed by Ashley on Virmire. I would like to experience a playthrough with Wreav this time since I've heard he's also a fairly fleshed out replacement and brings a very different dynamic to the eventual Tuchanka missions. Thane I want to get killed because I've seen his fate in ME3 play out twice now, and while heartbreaking and beautifully done, I'd love to see Kirrahe get some more screentime in the final outing which I know he does if Thane is not present. Jacob is getting killed because he deserves it. Oh, and as for my final big character decisions I've made for now, I'm planning to side with Morinth in Samara's loyalty mission and recruit has a squadmate (even though I know it's highly anticlimactic considering Bioware didn't do much with her), and I will reject Chakwas' application to the Normandy in ME3 so I can have Dr. Chloe Michel on board instead. Sorry Chakwas, it's not personal! Oh, and this'll please you: I'm going to make this the playthrough where I sacrifice Ashley on Virmire. It's what she deserves for shooting Wrex. And all the while I'm mostly going for Renegade choices, because being a rude Shepard is just always more hilarious.

I figure with all that, a bunch of mods I've never played before which include cut content and new content created by modders, two DLC that I've never seen play out and a new romance... I should have plenty of fresh stuff to get me excited to play. Of course I will also be making different choices at points to add even more variables to the mix (Maelon's data goes bye-bye, sorry Eve). I even already planned out how to have Tali as the vent specialist and Jack as the biotic specialist while still getting the exact three squadmates I want killed, because I know both will comment on it in ME3 if they were in those positions. And as for the new romance, I will be romancing Kaidan for the first time in ME1 and switching over to a FemShep/Jack romance in ME2, which is enabled by mods because this was always intended to be possible and there's even voice lines for it recorded within the files. Not sure how I'm gonna deal with choosing between Kaidan/Jack in ME3, because I know Jack has some really great romance content in the final game with her development, but Kaidan is obviously way more fleshed out. I guess we'll see how much he grows on me and I'll decide in the moment!

Excited to see how this is all going to play out!

@Tjuz Damn son, that is one heavily thought out play through of ME2

But it’s amazing that there is that much variation for ME3 but I guess BioWare dug themselves into a hole allowing pretty much anyone to die in ME2. I have certainly never seen most of the stuff you mention!

@Thrillho Haha, I did get a bit obsessive with it in terms of planning out what I wanted to see/experience this time around. Though to be fair, it was a mix-and-match of many years before where I've wanted to commit to a new playthrough and did much research to find out what I could all try! There's something else I initially wanted to do, but I don't have the heart for it. If you sabotage the Genophage while Wrex is alive, he will confront you about it on your next trip to the Citadel. This will result in a scene where he tries to murder you for your betrayal and you end up killing him instead. It would also result in the loss of Krogan support with the Crucible obviously. The only way you can get away with sabotaging the Genophage without consequences is if Wrex died in the first game and Wreav is in charge.

A few shots from my exploring the Citadel over the last few days:

One fun thing I discovered while clearing the side quests this time around: Apparently, if you do not speak with Chorban (the Salarian scanning the Keepers) before you run into and talk to Jahleed (the Volus working with him), when you meet him in the Markets to mediate their situation he will actually turn hostile. Since you have no relationship with him, he assumes you're working for Jahleed and he and his bodyguards will try to kill you. When you get him down to low HP, he will surrender and beg for his life, where you get the option to either kill him or not. Since I'm going renegade and I never experienced this before, I decided to kill him. One of those scenes that wouldn't usually happen on a playthrough because Chorban is literally the first NPC you run into after exiting the Citadel Tower after the first meeting with the Council! You actively have to avoid him for this to be a possibility.