23||0|2893|2|yes 0|0|0|||||Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|zwol||22:31:54|11/24/2012|I tend to play video games for the first time years and years after everyone else has gotten bored with them%2C mostly because I%27m too cheap to buy them new. Well%2C I finally got around to picking up %5Bi%5DMass Effect%5B%2Fi%5D. The first one. I know lots of people here have had a good time with this%2C so I%27m wondering if you have any advice for a first run-through. I don%27t want plot-related spoilers%2C just things which I should know in order to make the experience more fun overall. 1|1|0|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Bad Moon||23:18:45|11/24/2012|Roll as female Shepard. Jennifer Hale%27s VA work is great. The guy VA isn%27t terrible%2C but Hale%27s is just clearly a cut above.%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C ME1%27s inventory system is horrible. %0D%0A%0D%0A------%0D%0AJon Helscher%0D%0A%0D%0AOh God%2C it was me. I was the grognard all along. 2|1|0|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Gryphon||23:23:51|11/24/2012|The %22take cover during firefights%22 mechanic%3F Not optional.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 3|1|0|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|CdrMike||00:29:40|11/25/2012|Like Gryphon said%2C first thing out of the gate is that walls are your friend. If there%27s no cover between you and your target%2C your life expectancy has just been halved.%0D%0A%0D%0ASecond%2C a balanced squad works for most missions. If you%27re a damage-dealer%2C then your squadmates should bring Engineering and Biotics to the table.%0D%0A%0D%0AThird%2C mods are a pain to keep track of and swap in and out%2C but they make a serious difference. They can turn a sniper rifle into an anti-tank gun if you build it right.%0D%0A%0D%0AFourth%2C medigel and grenade upgrades are lifesavers%2C the former because your squadmates%27 AI is not the brightest in the world and the latter because the enemies%27 AI isn%27t much better.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd fifth%2C Mass Effect is one of those games where the morality system only rewards the extremes. So once you%27ve chosen either paragon or renegade%2C it%27s best to stick to that. 4|1|0|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Droken||01:11:34|11/25/2012|If you%27re not using a guide%2C nor checking things out online%2C I%27d highly recommend keeping a running track of which systems and planets you%27ve visited%2C as the game does not. It helps later on when you%27re trying to remember something you weren%27t able to access. 5|1|0|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Polychrome||05:18:20|11/25/2012|Talk to %5Bi%5Deverybody.%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%0D%0APolychrome 6|1|0|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|BeardedFerret||01:54:48|11/26/2012|Forget every gun but the pistol. It is the only true gun. 7|2|6|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|BZArcher||11:04:06|11/26/2012|This is heresy. Place your faith in the Widow. She will bring you home.%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C for the love of God%2C %5Bi%5Dkeep your sprocking head down.%5B%2Fi%5D 9|3|7|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Gryphon||16:03:33|11/26/2012|%3EThis is heresy. Place your faith in the Widow. She will bring you %0D%0A%3Ehome. %0D%0A%0D%0AThat%27s in the second game. In the first one%2C one must admit that sniper rifles %5Bi%5Dare%5B%2Fi%5D of frustratingly limited apocalypticality.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5DI HAVE MADE A WORD%5B%2Fsmall%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 10|4|9|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|CdrMike||03:17:42|11/27/2012|%3E%3EThis is heresy. Place your faith in the Widow. She will bring you %0D%0A%3E%3Ehome. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EThat%27s in the second game. In the first one%2C one must admit that %0D%0A%3Esniper rifles %5Bi%5Dare%5B%2Fi%5D of frustratingly limited apocalypticality. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E--G. %0D%0A%3E%5Bsmall%5DI HAVE MADE A WORD%5B%2Fsmall%5D %0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0AYeah%2C I was gonna say in the first game%2C sniper rifles are pretty useless up til about mid-game%2C unless you make them your primary weapon. 12|4|9|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|BeardedFerret||05:42:09|11/27/2012|%3E%3EThis is heresy. Place your faith in the Widow. She will bring you %0D%0A%3E%3Ehome. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EThat%27s in the second game. In the first one%2C one must admit that %0D%0A%3Esniper rifles %5Bi%5Dare%5B%2Fi%5D of frustratingly limited apocalypticality. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E--G. %0D%0A%3E%5Bsmall%5DI HAVE MADE A WORD%5B%2Fsmall%5D %0D%0A%0D%0AYeah%2C this. In 2 and 3%3F Go nuts. In 1%2C however%2C the pistol is an unstoppable death machine. Invest in the Spectre version as soon as you can afford it%2C mod it with polonium rounds and watch your enemies dissolve into radioactive slime. %0D%0A%0D%0ADamn it%2C now I want to play ME1. AGAIN. 8|1|0|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|laudre||15:56:17|11/26/2012|If you%27re thinking you might pick up the sequel%2C do all of the side missions%2C and for the love of %24deity %3Ci%3Eback up your save file%3C%2Fi%3E.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28Lost two different Shepards when my wife%27s old hard drive crashed...%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Mathematics brought rigor to economics. Unfortunately%2C it also brought mortis.%22%0D%0A - Kenneth Boulding 11|2|8|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|BeardedFerret||05:31:47|11/27/2012|On this note%2C if you%27re thinking of picking up DLC%2C Bring Down the Sky is worth it and Pinnacle Station is most definitely not. FOR ME2 and 3%2C all of the story DLC is worth it%2C while the weapon and armour packs generally aren%27t. When playing ME2%2C do the Arrival DLC after finishing the substance of the main game - you can keep playing and finishing stuff off after the Climactic Final Act. 14|3|11|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Gryphon||13:40:17|11/27/2012|%3EWhen playing ME2%2C do the Arrival DLC after finishing %0D%0A%3Ethe substance of the main game - you can keep playing and finishing %0D%0A%3Estuff off after the Climactic Final Act. %0D%0A%0D%0AOh%2C yeah%2C speaking of which%2C important tip for ME2 if you decide to go on with the rest of the series. I%27ll try to frame this without spoiling anything.%0D%0A%0D%0AOh hey%2C I know%2C I%27ll set it up so you have to highlight it to read it. Guys%2C if anyone quotes this back%2C please preserve the %5Bi%5Dfont color%3D%22white%22%5B%2Fi%5D tag so it isn%27t inadvertently revealed.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22white%22%5DOK%2C you know how BioWare always gives you all the leisure you want to get all your secondary objectives done%2C however much the flavor text for the main quest pitches everything as a desperate race against time%3F I suspect they did that in all their games prior to ME2 specifically to train people to end up with the Less Satisfactory ending of ME2. When the decision gate arrives that asks%2C %22do you want to go do %24SUPERIMPORTANTTHING right now or work on some more preparations%3F%22%2C every BioWare-trained instinct you have will tell you%2C %22Ah%2C no worries%3B let%27s go do some more mining.%22 DO NOT DO THAT. Get all your crap done BEFORE that decision point arrives. It%27ll be fairly obvious when you get the hook for the mission that will trigger it.%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 17|4|14|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|SliderDaFeral||04:37:00|11/28/2012|I almost made an image macro out of this one%2C but the circumstances were a little too scarring. Fortunately for me%2C I am an acolyte of the Cult of Save Early%2C Save Often%2C so I was able to do the ending to ME2 right. Once is usually enough under those circumstances.%0D%0A%0D%0A-- Slider Da Feral %28NYAR%21%29%0D%0A%5Bsub%5DThat pistol upgrade wasn%27t worth it%2C was it%3F%5B%2Fsub%5D 13|1|0|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|ebony14||13:11:16|11/27/2012|Your teammates have never heard of muzzle discipline or fields of fire. Expect to shoot Wrex in the back at least once. Fortunately%2C he won%27t hold it against you.%0D%0A%0D%0AEbony the Black Dragon%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Life is like an anole. Sometimes it%27s green. Sometimes it%27s brown. But it%27s always a small Caribbean lizard.%22 15|2|13|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Gryphon||13:42:17|11/27/2012|%3EYour teammates have never heard of muzzle discipline or fields of %0D%0A%3Efire. Expect to shoot Wrex in the back at least once. Fortunately%2C he %0D%0A%3Ewon%27t hold it against you. %0D%0A%0D%0AOh man%2C flashbacks. Venkman in %5Bi%5DGhostbusters%3A The Video Game%5B%2Fi%5D is the worst ever for that. I lost track of the number of times he either got himself zapped or%2C worse%2C tried to cross my stream.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5D%22Ow%3F That was OW%2C there... %22%5B%2Fsmall%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 16|3|15|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|ebony14||16:02:01|11/27/2012|It was especially bad when you play a sniper and take point fast enough. Wrex especially%2C but also Alenko and Liara %28since both have short range firearms%29 will jump in front of you if you lag any%2C spoiling that nice headshot you were trying to frame. ME2 is much better%2C with the slo-mo effect on the sniper rifles. I think one of the reasons I favored Ashley Williams in the first game is because%2C with an assault rifle%2C she didn%27t step in front of her sniper but provided cover fire.%0D%0A%0D%0AEbony the Black Dragon%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Life is like an anole. Sometimes it%27s green. Sometimes it%27s brown. But it%27s always a small Caribbean lizard.%22 18|1|0|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|starless||20:36:13|12/02/2012|Ashley%27s a jerk.%0D%0A%0D%0AFuck SPACE TRUCK. I was constantly getting that thing caught in the geometry.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28Did you know that in the stage where everything%27s ruined and I think iced over and you have to drive SPACE TRUCK along this elevated highway%2C you can get SPACE TRUCK irretrievably stuck if you ride on the far edge%3F The raised section at the edge of the highway is exactly the width of your undercarriage.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AOh hey%2C I took screenshots back then%2C here%3A http%3A%2F%2Fimgur.com%2Fa%2FWsVG9 19|2|18|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Gryphon||20:55:17|12/02/2012|%3EFuck SPACE TRUCK. I was constantly getting that thing caught in the %0D%0A%3Egeometry. %0D%0A%0D%0AAnd yet%2C how you%27ll yearn for it back when you experience ME2%27s anemic%2C inaccurate%2C flimsy hovertank.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5D%22please move the vehicle away from the%3A%22 %22ACID.%22%5B%2Fsmall%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D 20|3|19|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|starless||00:04:46|12/03/2012|Mind-boggling. I thought I played ME2 to death%2C and yet I completely missed that DLC somehow. I%27ll have to see if my ME2 save files are still extant %28probably not - I%27ve upgraded since then%29 and grab that piece.%0D%0A%0D%0AI honestly cannot conceive of a vehicle mode in a game worse than what I encountered in ME1%2C though I have the lurking dread that somehow you%27re right. 21|4|20|||1||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Avatar_of_Chaos||01:44:40|12/03/2012|Oh what%27s not to love about the Mako at least it stopped when you let off the gas compared to the hammerhead.%0D%0A%0D%0ALight%2C the new avatar of chaos 22|5|21|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|CdrMike||03:47:03|12/03/2012|%3EOh what%27s not to love about the Mako at least it stopped when you let %0D%0A%3Eoff the gas compared to the hammerhead. %0D%0A%0D%0AAnd could take more than two hits before it became scrap...and had a turret that could move...and a coaxial gun to shoot individual units...and controls that made some measure of sense... 23|6|22|||||RE%3A Finally picked up Mass Effect%3B what should I know%3F|Droken||10:44:42|12/03/2012|And hot keys that were properly programmed into the system...I spent over five minutes trying to get the thing to %22scan%22 in the tutorial mission for it%2C because the hot key it wanted me to use was most definitely -not- mapped to that function.