Bioware General (Mass Effect/Dragon Age/Other)

[Raga]

Looks like 3 clips, but I don't know if it differs by ammo type.

[Vol]

It's 3 clips across all, I'm pretty sure. In MP, ammo is the entire match, same with all boosters. Some classes require ammo mods to be playable, like the Asari Huntress, since you don't have any means to prime a combo and 2 detonators on short cooldowns.

@SWM: It's a weird map. Not sure how to feel about it. I like clean firing lanes and not being flanked from 8 directions, so the back room is the best place to hold up, but eh.

The Avenger is the best solo class in the game, I hear, along with turian solja.

Edit: Strike Team gear was patched. Costs less, more effective.

[Someone With Mass]

Well, at the last rank in Avenger Strike, you can either choose between priming, stunning and doing more damage against shields and synthetic enemies or regaining a power cell for Stealth Field every time you kill something. Which is really easy.

Also, the devices have changed into little Easter baskets.

[TheodoricFriede]

Dorian's great, Gil's ok, Cortez is... there.

But im pretty sure Kallo may be my favorite gay character Bioware has ever made.

[Mazder]

Dorian's great, Gil's ok, Cortez is... there.

But im pretty sure Kallo may be my favorite gay character Bioware has ever made.

Must be because of the not shoving the fact he's gay in the player's face because I didn't even know.

[Alienmorph]

Must be because of the not shoving the fact he's gay in the player's face because I didn't even know.

Probably. Unsubtle dialogue is not BW's strongest suit, and it's nice to have someone who's only character trait isn't "Gaaaay!"

[TheodoricFriede]

Must be because of the not shoving the fact he's gay in the player's face because I didn't even know.

To be fair its an assumption based on how he talks, acts, and his choice of entertainment.

Makes me laugh though.

[Mazder]

Must be because of the not shoving the fact he's gay in the player's face because I didn't even know.

To be fair its an assumption based on how he talks, acts, and his choice of entertainment.

Makes me laugh though.

Wait what's his entertainment again? I forget.

[FrozenShadow]

I have to say, I'm curious as to where Mac Walters' obsession with space Nazis came from. Star Wars being the cheap answer.

Cerberus = Hates/works against everything that isn't human. For a while, at least.

Kett = Aryan Master Ubermench-wannabes.

I would say it's just lazy writing. Because doing Nazi type enemy is easy. You don't need to think complicated reasons for why some race(s) does whatever they do to make them villains. This type of enemy is also easy, because people can easily understand them and quite often hate them. Not necessarily hate, because they're badly written, but hate in the sense that you, as player, want to fight against them and stop them from getting their goals.

Also, Bioware did try to have a complex, interesting and not so normal villain in Reapers. Yet, we know how that turned out to be in ME3. So, making enemy with easy and understandable reasons, if not boring and "cheap", was a safe bet for Bioware.

Though, it does seem that Walters' had some personal intrigue towards Nazi type enemies.... and seemingly blue mono-gendered alien babies.

[Alienmorph]

The problem is that they tried to make an enemy like the Reapers, which was an ancient mystery and yet clearly evil, into something more grey and "simpathetic" in a matter of minutes, and had Cerberus, that COULD have been a grey zone much more interesting and easy to pull out into almost straight up bad cartoon villains. Someone got their priorities fucked up during the making of the last game in the trilogy, to say the least.

[Vol]

Kallo? Do we even ever hear a salarian express sexual interest in anyone, ever? Romantic interest, yes, but I'm coming up dry. Closet thing is the bachelor party on Illium.

But Dorian was great though, his personal quest aside. Plus I'm a big Tevinter fanboy.

@Frozen: Pretty much. Ethically, I have a big problem with wiping out the exiles, especially the ones who don't open fire first. Kett, fine, they're basically monsters. Roekarr? They're hostile, yes, but they also do good things for angarans and against the kett. A shame that our motivations are so similar, but they resort to hostility, so it's a sad necessity to fight. And Remnant are robots.

So of the 4 enemy factions, we have an ethical dilemma, monsters, robots, and a tragic conflict. Which is a decent spread of enemies.

Political babble:

► Show Spoiler

I don't see the kett as Nazis, since their goal is eugenics, sure, but it's to uplift other species into their collective DNA deal. Since we're getting all real-world here, I see them as extremist globalists, trying to force everyone to become one race, one culture, one people, with all the best of everyone. Which is achieved by silencing dissent, forcibly integrating disparate peoples, and achieving the end of diversity via the consumption of diversity.

Roekarr are your hardcore conservatives, no immigrants, no new ideas, stick to the old ways, violently. They can be reasonable as individuals, but they're clearly fanatics refusing to face the reality of the changing galaxy. Their existence as a group clearly has an expiration date, as they're "on the wrong side of history."

The main angara are an idealized socialist democratic society, enlightened and harmonious, but for the kett, and basically flawless as a people. Other than no tits. This is why I can't decide if I like them or not.

Exiles, possibly because of brain damage, are anarchists, coalescing around the strongest brute in an area, and otherwise doing whatever the fuck they want.

Remnant are robots, they follow their programming. They're animals.

[TheodoricFriede]

Kallo? Do we even ever hear a salarian express sexual interest in anyone, ever? Romantic interest, yes, but I'm coming up dry. Closet thing is the bachelor party on Illium.

You people are taking what was ultimately a joke about Kallo's personality a bit too seriously.

Wait what's his entertainment again? I forget.

Soap operas.

[Mazder]

Kallo? Do we even ever hear a salarian express sexual interest in anyone, ever? Romantic interest, yes, but I'm coming up dry. Closet thing is the bachelor party on Illium.

You people are taking what was ultimately a joke about Kallo's personality a bit too seriously.

Wait what's his entertainment again? I forget.

Soap operas.

Soap Opera's make you gay now?

I kid but if that's the case everyone should stop watching Game of Thrones and the Walking Dead immediately as they are definitely soap opera's now.

[TheodoricFriede]

Im sorry I even made the joke at this point.

[Vol]

Ah. Text is toneless, couldn't tell if I'd missed a few conversations with him, what with the greyed out options deal.

[Mazder]

Im sorry I even made the joke at this point.

By me carrying it on by adding the subversion of the traditional soap opera stereotype? Making it the "hurr durr mernly" shows which are the soap operas instead of something like Eastenders or Neighbours?

Or are soap Operas different in the USA?

Ah. Text is toneless, couldn't tell if I'd missed a few conversations with him, what with the greyed out options deal.

That is one thing that made me miss a bunch of stuff too.

[Vol]

We have male soap operas in America, it's professional wrestling, and I'm not joking.

And I'd really appreciate if they toggled options back to white if there's new text, since that should be a very simple fix.

[Someone With Mass]

And I'd really appreciate if they toggled options back to white if there's new text, since that should be a very simple fix.

Yeah, I was lucky enough to see it mentioned here. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a ton of dialogues. I like that they retread old topics with new insights after a while, but it could have been handled better.

[TheodoricFriede]

Im sorry I even made the joke at this point.

By me carrying it

Among other things.

[Mazder]

Im sorry I even made the joke at this point.

By me carrying it

Among other things.

So, I can't join you in fun? (Carrying on, as in continuing, not stealing BTW..)
right...
Okay.

Well fuck I can't join you in fun, can't join you in hate, you're making it really hard to interact with ya here, just sayin.

We have male soap operas in America, it's professional wrestling, and I'm not joking.

And I'd really appreciate if they toggled options back to white if there's new text, since that should be a very simple fix.

Well, yeah that has been for a whiiiiile. And I never really followed wrestling.

[Someone With Mass]

Man, screw the Angaran Avenger. I just made the Asari Adept stupid powerful.

Made it so that every time something in my Annihilation Field dies, I gain 30% of my shields. Every time I use a biotic power, I gain a +50% melee damage bonus for three seconds. Every time I use a melee strike, I gain about 25% shields. Everything inside my field takes +20% damage from everything. Then I got the passive melee bonus of a total 80%. Couple that with the Juggernaut Shield equipment and a shotgun melee mod (+75% and +33% respectively) and I can easily kill krogan berserkers on Silver by myself. Without firing a single shot or using powers.

Best part is that this is not even the optimized build. I can make it so that enemies take even more damage from any source while they're affected by biotics. Or I can make it so Lance drains my shield instead of having a cooldown. I don't know if the melee bonus has a cooldown, but if it doesn't, I'm a One Punch Asari.

Oh and unprotected enemies gets ragdolled during that three second melee bonus.

[SciFlyBoy]

I worked on my female infiltrator last night and won an Asari sentinel. Currently I'm having the FI cloak and blast away with the shotgun, but I still have a lot of skill points to build her up. Only downside is having to restock on the grenades, which means camping out at the crates if available. I'm not really playing any male characters, at all. Just no interest in them I guess.

[TTTX]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GD8mTAp9KU&list=WL&index=9

[Vol]

Bioware MP news: They can't do weekly server side balance changes anymore because of the new engine, so they have to roll them into SP patches because console certification is a thing. But they're working on a way to get back to the ME3 server-side option.

[Someone With Mass]

Bioware MP news: They can't do weekly server side balance changes anymore because of the new engine, so they have to roll them into SP patches because console certification is a thing. But they're working on a way to get back to the ME3 server-side option.

Man, isn't the Frostbite engine great? Totally not a waste of time and money to "upgrade" to that thing.

[Vol]

@SWM: Super great. Having to port over or rebuild 10 years of assets from Unreal to Frostbite, familiarize everyone with the new tools, and create new content pipelines was a savvy business move.

I'm hearing Drack's writer(s) left the company?

[MeaslyBinkie]

I swear they're making the Gold APEX missions as EZY-modo as they can, but hey, free Premium packs.

I do have to wonder how many Andromeda funbux this guy bought though.

[UNiT]

I swear they're making the Gold APEX missions as EZY-modo as they can, but hey, free Premium packs.

I do have to wonder how many Andromeda funbux this guy bought though.

None. I'm 9k rating and have about 40% of all rares unlocked. All uncommon and common stuff unlocked. I figure in about a week or so I'll have everything except for the ultra rares.

[Mazder]

I really should get around to playing MP at some point.

[MeaslyBinkie]

None. I'm 9k rating and have about 40% of all rares unlocked. All uncommon and common stuff unlocked. I figure in about a week or so I'll have everything except for the ultra rares.

I probably burned a lot of credits buying the premium packs before maxing out the uncommon and common stuff honestly. As a sidenote, I'm kind of surprised at the amount of rares you can get from advanced packs.

Though it would also probably help if the matchmaking actually worked.

[Vol]

I'm not even at 6k yet, maxed out commons, have uncommons roughly 50%, got a good few UR, but only 1 UR class, and then I think I have every rare. Heard it's mathematically better to buy Expert packs if you use credits, but Premium if you use Andromeda bux.

[Someone With Mass]

I got the Equalizer and it's just sad how much better it is than pretty much any assault rifle. Sure, it has a limited range, but it doesn't take a whole clip just to kill the basic mook and it doesn't spray its load all over the place instead of where I'm pointing it.

[Vol]

Pretty much. Thokin, Falcon, Avenger (on Silver anyway), Revenant maybe if you build for it, they're usable. Shotguns, Disciple on a Vanguard, but you'd still be better off with the Talon.

Really, right now, the best loadout for everyone is a sniper, Vanq, Lanat, Black Widow, Raptor, even the Incisor if you're set up for it, and then a pistol, Talon, Charger, Equalizer, unless your class has some gimmick. I hear the PAW has really fast elemental ammo priming, so if you're a detonator (Huntress, Sentinel), it might be worth using, since it's damage is pathetic.

[SciFlyBoy]

I'm still on bronze. I'll move up to silver if I feel like doing a challenge, but I still need to figure out how to play my characters.

[TLock]

Just finished my new run of ME3 with the new ending and the Citadel DLC. All I can say is that that DLC is was totally worth it. Loved it and only saddened by the fact that it did not last longer.

As for the new ending, still feel a bit disappointed by it. They really try to push the synthesis ending as the best possible outcome, which I can see why. But still, I feel unsatisfied about that there is no closure from the destroy ending. I want to see a scene where Tali sees Shepard...man that good bye was really hits the feels every single time I watch it.

[Someone With Mass]

Pretty much. Thokin, Falcon, Avenger (on Silver anyway), Revenant maybe if you build for it, they're usable. Shotguns, Disciple on a Vanguard, but you'd still be better off with the Talon.

Really, right now, the best loadout for everyone is a sniper, Vanq, Lanat, Black Widow, Raptor, even the Incisor if you're set up for it, and then a pistol, Talon, Charger, Equalizer, unless your class has some gimmick. I hear the PAW has really fast elemental ammo priming, so if you're a detonator (Huntress, Sentinel), it might be worth using, since it's damage is pathetic.

In the singleplayer, the Ruzad shotgun got to the 800 damage range when it's at the higher ranks. Sounds truly like a multi-shot Claymore. In the multiplayer, it's constantly overshadowed by the Disciple in every way. If they had just ported everything from the singleplayer, unchanged, it would have been just fine. People wouldn't have to waste that much time with killing the basic trooper all the time and melee wouldn't feel stronger than almost any gun, which it really shouldn't, unless you're a krogan or something.

[MeaslyBinkie]

I might be imagining it but it feels like they stealth buffed Destroyers on Gold, one took me out from 100% health and shields with its charged attack as a Human Soldier in cover, with maxed Combat Fitness. They also seem a lot spongier than usual, even their mounted turrets but maybe that could be due to my Falcon instead, I'm unsure.

Also I sure do love when people are sitting at the extraction point and they refuse to use a first aid kit, so they end up dying with a second left on the clock.

In the singleplayer, the Ruzad shotgun got to the 800 damage range when it's at the higher ranks. Sounds truly like a multi-shot Claymore. In the multiplayer, it's constantly overshadowed by the Disciple in every way. If they had just ported everything from the singleplayer, unchanged, it would have been just fine. People wouldn't have to waste that much time with killing the basic trooper all the time and melee wouldn't feel stronger than almost any gun, which it really shouldn't, unless you're a krogan or something.

I feel like the dodges that the troopers do now is another thing that is there just to annoy the playerbase, especially power characters.

[SciFlyBoy]

Also I sure do love when people are sitting at the extraction point and they refuse to use a first aid kit, so they end up dying with a second left on the clock.

What is a good strategy for the extraction? I was playing an engineer? and had a barrier field I could charge, so I camped the extraction and used that to keep squadmates safe, but sometimes I see others run around the map and hit the EP about 20 seconds before count down.

[Vol]

The best strategy is to camp the far end _away_ from the EP, then when the timer is around 20 seconds, everyone rushes to it. Assuming they're capable of not getting tripped up and downed, and willing to use a revive if so. Though if you're on Bronze, camping the EP is fine, since there's little they could throw at you that cannot be dealt with, and the Cobra 1 shots anything.

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA52igHqPjU

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y07ZOUzS4s

[Dragaros]

[Vol]

MP steam tomorrow, looks like a new map, maybe. No balance news until nearer to the patch.

[Someone With Mass]

Speaking of the multiplayer, I just had a match in which I clipped through the map while trying to charge someone as the krogan Vanguard. Spent the rest of the match behind a wall. I was able to climb a few rocks and ledges, but nothing I did made it possible for me to get out. This was a minute after the sound cut out.

[UNiT]

I somehow managed to get stuck inside stairs after boosting into them. Somehow managed to jump out after 3 rounds of doing nothing.

[Vol]

New mission map, finale to the Remnant plot they had going on, Silver, 100% combo damage (HELLO ADEPT)

They're still working on balance, since making assault rifles uniformly better is harder than jiggering one number.

+15% tech power is the new equipment item.

Cobras might get a slight buff, don't want them being nukes.

Might be new content (character?) next week.

[Someone With Mass]

Man, that new map reeks of laziness. It's just a slightly modified gravity well room from the singleplayer. You can even see the walled off section that leads into the room

Also this:

[SciFlyBoy]

Also this:

What are we looking at?

[Someone With Mass]

What are we looking at?

An A button floating in the middle of the map.