Poll of the Day > Best mass effect squad mate? I'm gonna exclude Garrus and Tali

(+) Yeah! (+)

No space for all of them obvs. And excludes Garrus and tali for obvs rzsns

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Yep Garrus and Tali were the obvious winners lol. Now I'm predicting Wrex.

Legion for me. Tough choice between legion and grunt

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I can't believe you left off Vega who I forgot existed until that other topic

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Blightzkrieg posted...

I can't believe you left off Vega who I forgot existed until that other topic

Who in the fuck is Vega lol

edit: oh that Freddie prinze jr guy lol fuck him

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FatalAccident posted...

Who in the fuck is Vega lol

The buff dude from ME3 who was very forgettable.

BlackScythe0 posted...

The buff dude from ME3 who was very forgettable.

lmao so much

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He's some Mandela effect bullshit is what he is

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I voted Legion but tbh I wanna change my vote to Mordin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlhNXmv80gY

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When the series was still current nobody could shut up about how awesome Wrex is. Is it just old people who like Wrex now or something?

Blightzkrieg posted...

He's some Mandela effect bullshit is what he is

Nah he was just forgettable when someone mentioned him I immediately recalled him.

SomeUsername529 posted...

When the series was still current nobody could shut up about how awesome Wrex is. Is it just old people who like Wrex now or something?

I always liked Grunt more, I never got the Wrex love

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Only played ME 1 and 2

Wrex for sure. He made me really regret not upgrading my talents differently.

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Tali

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Mead posted...

Tali

get out

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It depends.

In 1 a huge factor is what class Shepard is. No matter what you will want a tech expert on the team and a biotics-capable party member is a massive boon. In general Ashley, Tali, Liara, and Wrex are the 'best' choices. Kaiden specializes in sniper rifles which are bad in the CPU's hands in my experience, Garrus tends to be too squishy for someone who is supposed to be in the 'combat' part of the triangle. Wrex is arguably inferior to either Ashley or Liara but it really depends on your team comp. He can bring some biotics and be more durable than Liara, or be tenacious like Ashley while bringing biotics to the fight. If you're Soldier Shep, bring Liara and Tali. If you're tech-Shep, bring Ashley and Liara. If you're biotic-Shep bring Tali and Ashley. If you're a hybrid bring Wrex and the girl who is your opposite. You should have all your bases covered in that situation and be able to respond to any situation that might arise with ease. You can vary it up depending on the mission (for example, Tali and Garrus/Kaiden on geth missions) but this baseline should prove effective.

In 2 I'd say your 'best' choices depend entirely on what you actually want to DO in combat. Personally Miranda's the most consistently useful across the game IMO and Tali is generally useful; but there's little in the way of 'wrong' combinations and it's much more mission-dependent.

In 3 it's easily Liara and Tali again but, once again, it depends almost entirely on the mission. They're just the most consistently 'useful' due to their biotics/hacking. If you're going into a mission with a lot of fleshy enemies James is more desirable than Garrus for example.

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honestly

it's

legion > garrus > tali > mordin > jack > grunt > wrex > samara/morinth > jacob > ashley = kaidan > thane > liara > miranda > edi > kasumi/zaeed/javik/aria/kandros

oh and i guess that vega guy exists

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also, this vega fuck

why?

why did they make him? why does he exist? he doesn't serve a SINGLE PURPOSE i don't think

they could have easily have just put jacob there instead of him

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You fuckin bitch where is jack?

Unbridled9 posted...

In 2 I'd say your 'best' choices depend entirely on what you actually want to DO in combat. Personally Miranda's the most consistently useful across the game IMO and Tali is generally useful; but there's little in the way of 'wrong' combinations and it's much more mission-dependent.

it's garrus. give him the shitty semi-auto sniper, and have him only use that.

he'll just immediately clear rooms. the ai doesn't have to deal with aiming, accuracy, or reloading, so it's pretty much an assault rifle with him. this alone makes him the single strongest person to bring along

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omg he did forget jack

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helIy posted...

also, this vega fuck

why?

why did they make him? why does he exist? he doesn't serve a SINGLE PURPOSE i don't think

they could have easily have just put jacob there instead of him

My guess is so they could have someone who represented the Alliance Military who was consistent since you aren't guaranteed to have Ashley/Kaiden. I wish they had fleshed him out more because, once you get another squad member, there's really no reason to ever talk to him especially if you have a Soldier!Shep. His character's just... flat. I mean, Ashley could have filled the exact same role as him except she's got things like dealing with the burden of her family name, a love of poetry, and even her struggle with xenophobia. Feel free to say you don't like her but it's at least CHARACTER. James can be basically summarized as 'Oooo-RAH! *armpump*.

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he's just so

he's from like gears of war

he is a weirdly large man

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helIy posted...

also, this vega fuck

why?

why did they make him? why does he exist? he doesn't serve a SINGLE PURPOSE i don't think

they could have easily have just put jacob there instead of him

If I recall, I believe they made him to represent the perspective of newcomers to the series, which I guess doesn't really make sense considering the game he's introduced is the third in the trilogy

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he likes dinosaurs

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omg does he?

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helIy posted...

omg he did forget jack

MICHALECOLE posted...

You fuckin bitch where is jack?

bruh i have like 10 options sheesh

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helIy posted...

omg does he?

yeah

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helIy posted...

he's just so

he's from like gears of war

he is a weirdly large man

he literally looks exactly like a gears of war guy.

I remember when I beat his ass down there in the ships basement when he was talking shit.

I was always super evil though.. I remember when I shot ashley and fucking killed her and told my friend and he was like what the fuck how did you even get to that point?

pretty sure I killed groot or whatever the lizard guys name was too

Personally... FROM A PURE GAMEPLAY PERSPECTIVE.

ME1

Liara/Tali > Ashley > Wrex > Garrus > Kaiden

Edit: Not only do you always want a tech expert along on your mission but you need to balance your gunplay, tech, and biotic options. Kaiden will typically lead to a lopsided team make-up resulting in redundant skills and a generally under-performing team. The same is true for Garrus. It's easier to just off-load all tech onto Tali, who specializes in it, or Garrus, who can at least bring guns, than use Kaiden. That said Garrus isn't that good either for almost the exact same reasons. The only reason I'm ranking him 'better' is because redundant guns 'hurt' less than redundant tech/biotics. Wrex can easily fit on any team but he doesn't have the sheer stone-wall potential of Ashley or biotic power of Liara. That said a Liara/Wrex or Ashley/Wrex isn't BAD, just not as good as it could be (assuming Shep is handling the tech which is also part of the issue. You could have Shep doing the gunplay or biotics instead.). Ashley is only below the other two girls because her special power is 'not dying and shooting a lot'. Useful but Liara's got a full Biotic set and Tali excels at tech stuff and that's just BETTER.

ME2

Miranda > Tali > Grunt > Zaeed > Garrus > Jack > Samara > Jacob > Mordin > Kasumi > Thane > Legion.

Miranda's got perfect avalibility and a solid selection of powers and abilities. Tali's generally all-around useful but a bit late. Grunt is a brick wall. Zaeed less so but still solid and earlier. Garrus is kinda meh except against armored enemies. Jack and Samara are just not as stand-out as teammates on the whole. Jacob, Mordin, Kasumi, and Thane have always been squishy for me and feel like they need extra micro to be good. Legion just isn't around to do anything.

ME3

Liara > Whoever has the most fitting skillset for the mission.

However, Ashley will always trump Vega. I'm not sure if Kaiden or Garrus is better and I don't particuarly care enough about Kaiden to find out.

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joemodda posted...

If I recall, I believe they made him to represent the perspective of newcomers to the series, which I guess doesn't really make sense considering the game he's introduced is the third in the trilogy

That's the whole point. While lots of people are coming to ME3 having played both ME1 and 2, there's always going to be people who play ME3 for the first time without ever having played the earlier games.

James is basically there so he can ask Shepard questions, or Shepard can say things like "Hey James, let me explain this thing to you", in a way that doesn't make sense for most of the other characters (who've either been with Shepard since the first game, or are EDI who is basically a supercomputer who can figure stuff out way faster). And to talk about galactic politics when you're on the mission to recruit Garrus (where they talk about all the races and why some of them don't like the others, to help introduce new players to important aspects of the setting).

He's also there to hero-worship you a bit, to emphasize early on just how much of a big deal you are.

You could argue that he fills a similar role to Kaiden/Ashley (he's basically a male Ashley analogue in terms of perspective and combat skills, and basically falls into the de facto "speaking for the human race" role), but both Ashley and Kaiden will have a lot of baggage with you at that point, and aren't going to react to things the same way James does. He's more likely to call attention to things they'd be more blase about.

Also keep in mind that, even if you ARE someone who's played ME1 and 2, depending on how you've been playing the earlier games, there's a good chance that Garrus, Tali, Kaiden, AND Ashley could all wind up dead in your game. Which would basically leave you with Liara, EDI, and James. And maybe Javik, if you have the DLC. So there's definitely a need for a more grounded character both in terms of combat and dialogue, and James fits that job.
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No javik huh

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MICHALECOLE posted...

I remember when I beat his ass down there in the ships basement when he was talking shit.

I misread this part and thought you beat him up while he was on the toilet

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

That's the whole point. While lots of people are coming to ME3 having played both ME1 and 2, there's always going to be people who play ME3 for the first time without ever having played the earlier games.

James is basically there so he can ask Shepard questions, or Shepard can say things like "Hey James, let me explain this thing to you", in a way that doesn't make sense for most of the other characters (who've either been with Shepard since the first game, or are EDI who is basically a supercomputer who can figure stuff out way faster). And to talk about galactic politics when you're on the mission to recruit Garrus (where they talk about all the races and why some of them don't like the others, to help introduce new players to important aspects of the setting).

He's also there to hero-worship you a bit, to emphasize early on just how much of a big deal you are.

You could argue that he fills a similar role to Kaiden/Ashley (he's basically a male Ashley analogue in terms of perspective and combat skills, and basically falls into the de facto "speaking for the human race" role), but both Ashley and Kaiden will have a lot of baggage with you at that point, and aren't going to react to things the same way James does. He's more likely to call attention to things they'd be more blase about.

Also keep in mind that, even if you ARE someone who's played ME1 and 2, depending on how you've been playing the earlier games, there's a good chance that Garrus, Tali, Kaiden, AND Ashley could all wind up dead in your game. Which would basically leave you with Liara, EDI, and James. And maybe Javik, if you have the DLC. So there's definitely a need for a more grounded character both in terms of combat and dialogue, and James fits that job.

You can't have both Ashley and Kaiden dead.

Also even having him be a newcomer doesn't mean he, somehow, has to be a blank slate meathead. Even something as simple as making him an animal lover with a fondness for dogs, someone who admires Turian culture, and enjoys cooking could have gone a long way towards fleshing his character out and making him seem, well, like more than the token meathead.

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Unbridled9 posted...

You can't have both Ashley and Kaiden dead.

Also even having him be a newcomer doesn't mean he, somehow, has to be a blank slate meathead. Even something as simple as making him an animal lover with a fondness for dogs, someone who admires Turian culture, and enjoys cooking could have gone a long way towards fleshing his character out and making him seem, well, like more than the token meathead.

Yes you can. they both can die in 3.

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Wrex
Tali
Legion


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Kimbos_Egg posted...

Yes you can. they both can die in 3.

i thought one of them died in ME1 no matter what

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Mead posted...

i thought one of them died in ME1 no matter what

He was answering you cant have them both dead

EvilMegas posted...

Wrex
Tali
Legion

You never played with javik. hes HILARIOUS!

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

Mead posted...

i thought one of them died in ME1 no matter what

Yes. And the other one can die in 3. I'm actually up to that part.

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I did play with him. I got the dlc when it first came out. I always played with "big goddam heroes" man and kasumi

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Kimbos_Egg posted...

You never played with javik. hes HILARIOUS!

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

Yes. And the other one can die in 3. I'm actually up to that part.

The other one can die in two. I shot ashley in the face as dickshep

EvilMegas posted...

I did play with him. I got the dlc when it first came out. I always played with "big goddam heroes" man and kasumi

hes from 3. You didn't because i remember bugging you to get it and you never did.

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Also you're confusing him with zaeed.

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Zaeed, that's his name.

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EvilMegas posted...

Zaeed, that's his name.

That name again is mr Zaeed

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RIP to zaeed man

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Unbridled9 posted...

You can't have both Ashley and Kaiden dead.

One dies automatically in ME1. The other is a default character in the intro and for Mars, after which point they're immediately removed from your control. You can see them on the Citadel but you can also completely miss/ignore them from that part on, and you can eventually shoot them (or someone else with you will shoot them). If you ignore their hospital scenes, it's pretty much inevitable that they're going to die in that scene. And then, even if they DO survive, you can tell them you don't want them on the Normandy, and send them to Hackett for some war asset points. And if you DO recruit them, you've still spent most of the first half of the game not having them around to give you their perspective on things.

In other words, the developers can't rely on the idea that Kaiden/Ashley will ever rejoin your crew or voice opinions to you. Introducing James as a new character to fill that role means they don't have to have the same lines recorded by three separate voice actors.



Unbridled9 posted...

Also even having him be a newcomer doesn't mean he, somehow, has to be a blank slate meathead.

That's subjective taste, though.

Like I said, I feel like they made him that way to counter-balance the rest of the crew (if you save Kaiden over Ashley, you don't really have any grunt-type teammates - most of them lean more into tech, biotics, and precision sniping over brute force... and if you let Garrus die in ME2, you don't even have the sniper). Unless you're playing Shepard as a Soldier (or maybe a Vanguard), your team is usually going to be a bit lightweight. In the same way ME1 deliberately had one representative of each "class", and ME2 tried to span the whole spectrum (which comes into play during the final mission), ME3 needed a Soldier-type.

I feel like he's also there to counter-balance Traynor to some degree - she's the non-combat nerd girl, he's the marine. They're a deliberate inversion of the Kaiden/Ashley dichotomy in the first game.
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EvilMegas posted...

Wrex
Tali
Legion

I didnt see a "Garrus" on deck. I run this ship military.

Do you think this is all a joke?

@EvilMegas

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Garrus is like 5th or 6th to me.

Thane
Zaeed


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this fucking guy

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