Board 8 > Mass Effect Legendary Edition Part 2 *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

I forgot that I actually liked Jacob's loyalty mission

I mean it's centred around a staggeringly boring character but the setup and idea behind it and creepy atmosphere are done pretty well

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Getting gently shot down by Mordin is so great

Such a fantastic character

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XIII_rocks posted...

I forgot that I actually liked Jacob's loyalty mission

I mean it's centred around a staggeringly boring character but the setup and idea behind it and creepy atmosphere are done pretty well

Yeah, it's really good. It makes Jacob's inclusion in the series worth it.

Also, we've successfully recruited Zaeed, Mordin, and Garrus. She started getting really anxious during the Garrus one because of how many enemy waves there were, but man, it's such a good mission.

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https://i.imgur.com/XTCLPkr.jpg

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They never did rerelease that book with the much-needed rewrites did they?

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Finished 3 last night - first time seeing the "expanded" ending. I can barely remember the original, but it doesn't seem like all that much was added. Was the Normandy landing on the jungle planet new?

Anyway, it's so weird that the game pushes synthesis as the "good" ending when it's essentially mass brainwashing. That being said I think the outcry over the game's ending is still overblown and undeserved. It's perfectly fine. I guess people are mostly mad that there's no perfect ending where the reapers get blown up, Shepard lives, and so do the Geth and other synthetics. Which I'm sure Bioware is probably wishing they had right about now.

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There was no real good ending which is an interesting idea if any of the endings were still in any way satisfying.

Crash landing on the jungle planet is one of the few things they kept from the original ending!

Although in the original ending they're implied to be stranded there. They don't fly away at the end.

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PerfectChaosZ posted...

There was no real good ending which is an interesting idea if any of the endings were still in any way satisfying.

This. I couldnt give less of a shit if Shepard lives. Thats the least of the problems!

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colliding posted...

Anyway, it's so weird that the game pushes synthesis as the "good" ending when it's essentially mass brainwashing. That being said I think the outcry over the game's ending is still overblown and undeserved. It's perfectly fine. I guess people are mostly mad that there's no perfect ending where the reapers get blown up, Shepard lives, and so do the Geth and other synthetics. Which I'm sure Bioware is probably wishing they had right about now.

I saw so many people pissed off that Thane (and Legion) die regardless of what you do and it's like... the fact that you have choices doesn't give you the right to control fucking everything

(Hence why I'll choose Destroy LOL)

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I do kinda like that there isn't a "no strings attached" good ending, but that doesn't totally excuse some of the other problems it has, of course.

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I think part of the issue there is in some of the other previous difficult "choices" you are able to get the perfect result. You cure the Genophage ostensibly at the cost of Salarian support but get it back when you save the councilor (right?). You can get Tali's loyalty without selling out her dad. You can make peace between the Geth and Quarians.

I suppose certain people would be conditioned to expect the possibility of a perfect outcome given what had happened in some of the previous big moments, particularly in ME3. Doesn't necessarily justify it but I guess I see why you might expect it?

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Also I'm just thinking about murdering squadmates for fun

Am I right in saying that if you never get Javik, have a low EMS leading to James and Liara dying on the end run, and choose Destroy to kill EDI, Javik is technically the only squadmate who survives (albeit in stasis and then inevitably dies eventually, likely never awakened)

I couldn't figure out a way to kill all of them so "Javik dies in stasis" is the best I could do. Am I missing anything?

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Yeah, I don't think there's any way for Liara or Vega to die before the final run, so your only option is to not recruit Javik.

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Liara is like, weirdly protected

I guess Garrus can only die in the suicide mission but you get two chances to kill the other ME1 guys even before the end run - except for Liara who stays out of everything

Smart character I guess

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The only reason Liara isn't a permanent squadmate in ME2 is so she'd be guaranteed to be alive for ME3. I guess they thought her knowledge of the Protheans was too important to not have her available.

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XIII_rocks posted...

You cure the Genophage ostensibly at the cost of Salarian support but get it back when you save the councilor (right?).

From what I understand, you get some back but not all, and the "perfect" scenario support-wise involves a dead Wrex and Eve.

But I mean ME1 literally conditions you that there's some choices you lose no matter what (Virmire).

Also, does the Refuse ending even imply that the Reapers are defeated via conventional means? For all we know, they just build the crucible sooner and are stuck with the same three choices.

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TheRock1525 posted...

Also, does the Refuse ending even imply that the Reapers are defeated via conventional means? For all we know, they just build the crucible sooner and are stuck with the same three choices.

I mean, I think Refuse strongly implies that Shepard should have just picked one of the three choices in the first place.

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redrocket posted...

I mean, I think Refuse strongly implies that Shepard should have just picked one of the three choices in the first place.

Yeah I mean over the course of the entire series you manage to kill exactly one full fledged Reaper. The rest are Reaper variants or Leviathan killing one.

It really seems like they've ascended far beyond the ability to be wiped out by traditional methods even with prep.

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redrocket posted...

I mean, I think Refuse strongly implies that Shepard should have just picked one of the three choices in the first place.

That's how I took it too, but that might be my own dim views of the ending coloring it.

Though hypothetically I don't believe there's any reason why a future cycle couldn't somehow win conventionally... but given how the narrative keeps hammering home how impossible a task that is combined with how efficient the cycle is it's hard to believe a non-Crucible answer was reached.

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TheRock1525 posted...

Yeah I mean over the course of the entire series you manage to kill exactly one full fledged Reaper.

Don't the Turians take one or more down at Palaven in one of the news/info bits in ME3? But yeah, the actual losses suffered by the Reapers over the course of the series are pretty negligible and that's with the advantage they had from the Protheans sabotaging the original plan... that the Reapers now know of.

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Yeah, Refuse is the one ending I can't endorse, as much as the concept of Commander Yahgperd amuses me.

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Well that was weird. I just did Overlord and, after exposing the Core, used the Cain to try and end it in one hit.

Instead what I think I did was to actually kill David himself, taking away his Armor AND his Health. I got what sounded like the Game Over music for a split second - possibly because I was too close to the Cain shot - then went straight to the mission complete screen, and the Mission Summary was as if I'd chosen the Renegade route of leaving David in his brother's care.

So I reloaded the save and just used normal guns to strip away the Armor like you're supposed to. Weird though.

Related: Has anybody allowed the Normandy upload to happen? Anything special happen if you do?

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OK, at that sensitive part of ME2.

I was gonna bring Legion to Tali's loyalty mission, then bring Tali to Legion's. But I haven't actually received Legion's loyalty mission yet.

If I do Tali's, I'll get Legion's, right? But will I still be able to do it before the crew are abducted? Basically: do I have to wait to acquire Legion's loyalty mission before going to Tali's?

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You get two missions after you recruit Legion before the Collectors abduct the crew. You can save Tali for last and get those two together.

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XIII_rocks posted...

If I do Tali's, I'll get Legion's, right?

Yeah I believe Legion's loyalty activates after a single mission once he's recruited (or immediately if you've already done all the other loyalties), so you'll be fine.

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Legion's activated immediately for me since I did EVERYTHING before entering the derelict Reaper (paranoia).

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Yeah, if you've done everything before the Derelict Reaper, then Legion's becomes available immediately just because there's nothing else you can do.

I try to save some non-Loyalty stuff for after the Suicide Mission because otherwise you can't unlock all of Legion's dialogue on the Normandy.

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Ok done. Thanks. Just suicide mission and arrival to go

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Does ME3 just assume you've done Arrival and Shadow Broker even if you haven't? Because they definitely come up a lot and didn't have any huge choices.
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kevwaffles posted...

Does ME3 just assume you've done Arrival and Shadow Broker even if you haven't? Because they definitely come up a lot and didn't have any huge choices.

Well, Liara becomes the Shadow Broker on her own if Shepard doesn't help her, but yeah, Arrival is assumed to have been done regardless because it's the context for why Shepard is on Earth.

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I thought without Arrival Shepard is on Earth because of his work with Cerberus

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I'm pretty sure that the Mass Relay has to be destroyed in order to delay the Reapers' arrival.

But since it canonically takes place after the Suicide Mission, you can just say it happened offscreen between 2 and 3 for anyone who didn't do it.

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If importing a Mass Effect 2 save in which Arrival was not completed, the Alpha Relay will still be destroyed. However, responsibility will shift from Commander Shepard to the Alliance's 103rd Marine Division. In the process, the 103rd will suffer casualties, lowering their corresponding war asset by 50 points. This will also alter dialogue in several places, such as with Balak during Citadel: Batarian Codes (provided he survived Bring Down the Sky), with Ghorek during Citadel: Wounded Batarian, and with Admiral Anderson in the game's opening cinematic.

More you know, I guess

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I love how just about everyone in ME3 is fed up with the Quarian's bullshit. Serves em right.

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Even the Quarians are fed up with the Quarians, it's great.

I wish things like Legion survives and joins you but only if you pick solely the Geth and they only have to sacrifice themselves if you pick peace or, well, executed by Tali. Things should have been more mutually exclusive like that.

I love the Shadow Broker dossiers so much. What a great idea

Guess I'm done with ME2 now.

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I forgot talking to The Illusive Man automatically starts the Horizon mission.

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Legion sacrificing himself is some Sequel Trilogy level of bullshit emotional contrivance.

"direct personality dissemination required" aka "time to ham-fist another POWERFUL scene"

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and it WORKED

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Legion is geth jesus

geethus if you will

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geth confirmed to play fire emblem on classic mode

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It did feel a little out of nowhere. They could have established earlier what would happen or something.

But they laid the "he's ROBOT JESUS" shit with Legion on so thick that he absolutely had to die. On top of a mountain because of course. And for as much as I agree with it being a bit hamfisted, Leon's right - it worked

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Agree with that, but you know what doesn't work at all

Kai Leng lol

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Well, Kai Leng sort of contributed to the only scene in the series that made me cry, so that's something, I guess

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true

rip anderson's cereal

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

Kai Leng l

He didn't work because ME3 didn't have "comic badass Kai Leng" instead getting "plot convience Kai Leng."

Tragic, but a byproduct of losing your key writers in development.

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Mass Effect isn't a series that needs random 'badass' characters that are super duper strong to progress the story. It doesn't fit the tone at all. It's supposed to be a mostly-grounded sci-fi world, not an anime.

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KamikazePotato posted...

Mass Effect isn't a series that needs random 'badass' characters that are super duper strong to progress the story.

"This one has forgotten if its heat sink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate."

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