Mass Effect series discussion

[Pluvia]

Something to do with the Citadel, as there's files that suggest the new DLC might take place there. Thing is it could just be short stops, like in Leviathan, or it could be an actual DLC about the Citadel, no one knows for sure.

We do know it has Seth Green back (a first for ANY Mass Effect DLC), and all the writers, and the composers. It also has Kaidan so it's safe to assume that with Kaidan and Joker it also has Ashley and all the other ME3 squadmates.

Apart from that no one knows anything. Something will happen on the Citadel, with a possibility that the DLC will revolve around it, which could mean something to with the Keepers, but that is just pure speculation with nothing to concrete to back it up except those few files referencing the Citadel.

 

[NatP]

We do know it has Seth Green back (a first for ANY Mass Effect DLC)

Didn't he come back for EC?

Also, we really don't know anything about this DLC. I'm honestly hoping for an expansion-like DLC but unfortunately I doubt it's the case.

 

[Pluvia]

Didn't he come back for EC?

Also, we really don't know anything about this DLC. I'm honestly hoping for an expansion-like DLC but unfortunately I doubt it's the case.

No, he never.

Also the DLC has to below 2Gb, Microsoft puts a limit on DLC size, so I doubt they can make an expansion from that.

 

[LivewiresXe]

No, he never.

Also the DLC has to below 2Gb, Microsoft puts a limit on DLC size, so I doubt they can make an expansion from that.

Wasn't that whole scene were Shepard calls the Normandy on the EC one where Joker responds, and wasn't that whole "Joker, we have to go" "...Dammit..." scene from the EC too?

 

[Pluvia]

Just re-used dialogue. It would be too expensive to hire Seth Green and fly him to Canada for one line and the word "Dammit".

 

[LivewiresXe]

Just re-used dialogue. It would be too expensive to hire Seth Green and fly him to Canada for one line and the word "Dammit".

That's true. You're probably right that the only way that'd be newly recorded is if he was already in the area.

 

[Pluvia]

Yeah apparently voice actors get paid for a certain amount of lines (I think it's 150) even if they didn't record that much. It's the reason there's so much dialogue in Leviathan, even from the Catalyst, because they just got them to record it at the same time they recorded the EC dialogue.

The fact that they got Seth Green to record more means he'll probably have a lot of dialogue in this new DLC, because it costs a lot of money to fly him to Canada just for a few lines, the same with Kaidan (and most likely all the other crew if Kaidan's there). Just that alone makes this DLC big, the mere fact that there will be plenty of dialogue even from Joker.

 

[Pluvia]

Here's our teasers.

First one looks like MP, a kinda-Dead Space themed Krogan by the looks of it, probably because of that crossover Dead Space 3 has with Mass Effect:

Spoiler

Second one looks like SP, on the Citadel, which confirms the Citadel DLC rumours to some extent.

 

[NatP]

OMG, I can't believe it. The guys at montreal are geniuses. They're going to give the Krogan engineer (Krogan Mechanic, I'm betting) A FREAKING CLAW HAMMER! IT'S SO AWESOME!!!

 

[LivewiresXe]

Krogan mash, Krogan crush. Krogan flatten puny Husks with hammer.

 

[O D I N]

I LIKE.

I like A LOT.

 

[Pluvia]

Also balance changes, which are now bi-weekly:

Spoiler

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan 29, 2013
---------------------------------------------------------------------

N7 Valkyrie Assault Rifle
- Encumbrance changed from [1.75-1.25] to [1.5-1.25]
- Head shot damage multiplier increased from 2.5 to 3

Havoc Strike Power
- Base force increased from 600 to 650
- Rank 3 damage and force bonus increased from 20% to 25%
- Evolution 1 damage and force bonus increased from 30% to 35%
- Evolution 5 damage and force bonus increased from 50% to 55%

Scimitar Shotgun
- Encumbrance changed from [1.25-0.7] to [1.15-0.6]

Barrier Power
- Detonation blast damage increased from 350 to 500

 

[LivewiresXe]

Oh sweet, they're still doing actual balance changes. Nice.

 

[Pluvia]

Patch incoming. Dunno if there's anything else included or just these two things:

Hello Mass Effect fans

There is a new Mass Effect 3 patch coming for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 beginning later this evening. The Playstation 3 version is expected at Midnight tonight (between Jan 30 and Jan 31). The Xbox version is expected at 01:00am PST Jan 31. The PC version is expected at 10:00am January 31. All times are approximations.

Content:
Fixed a multiplayer issue where users could have all of their weapons use rocket ammunition.
Fixed an issue with high memory usage when initializing DLCs.

 

[LivewiresXe]

Isn't that like the 3rd time they've tried to fix the rocket glitch?

 

[Pluvia]

They actually requested help to learn how people do it a while back. They didn't want people to find another way to do it, so the community told Bioware about all these secret ways it's done, so I suspect this patch will fix it once and for all.

I'll be surprised if this patch only has 2 fixes in it though. Seeing as though it costs $40k per patch it seems awful expensive just to fix the missile glitch and memory usage.

Edit:

Oh they also confirmed they're fixing the Collectors taking 66% damage from combos too. So maybe there is more stuff, we'll just have to wait till tomorrow to find out.

 

[Pluvia]

New patch has been datamined. Apparently it's super clean, which means Bioware knew it would be datamined and didn't want anything leaked. They also politely asked the guy that leaks everything to stop, so he did, which is why there's no new information. Anyway this is all that has been found in the new leak:

- Assault rifle, shotgun and sniper rifle ultra light materials (probably primarily for multiplayer).
- Most of the recent single player DLC weapons are getting added to multi player.

 

[LivewiresXe]

So I guess we should await the stupid people whining for Executioner, Venom, Adas, and Punisher nerfs, huh?

 

[Pluvia]

Venom can stun bosses and kill them in like 4 shots, and all mooks and Phantoms in one, so I doubt it's even going to be in MP.

 

[LivewiresXe]

Venom can stun bosses and kill them in like 4 shots, and all mooks and Phantoms in one, so I doubt it's even going to be in MP.

It can? Aww man, I want that s--- in MP like...NOW.

 

[Pluvia]

Eh well there's no way it'll be in MP unless it's heavily nerfed before they import it, it'll be like a Super Krysae otherwise.

On a different note some of you might hear about a "leak" about how SP in going to be involved in MP, it's just a baseless rumour based on nothing. Here's the two biggest dataminers speaking, the first one is the one that started the rumour, this is him clarifying that it was just his opinion:

It's #1, basically.
Basically, I'm giving my opinion on the reddit "leak" based on what I could find - I'll go back in a bit and have a look for which .pcc I was referring to, since I stupidly didn't make a note of it yesterday {smilie}
But yeah, anyone can download ME3 explorer and go to town on this patch - there are also some new mods to a few core game files outside the patch folder that got done with this patch and may be worth a look.
Really though we're likely to see an announcement within a week or two.

So an opinion on the Reddit leak and some new mods. Here's the second dataminer:

So I might as well comment on this at this point:

The new weapon mods are an obvious one.

The SP weapons are less obvious. The tlk file just contains a bunch of strings to be used in tooltips and for dialogue, however this patch's tlk file contains a lot of Leviathan data which tells me that not everything contained within it is MP specific. I would not confirm that all 4 BPP, Executioner, Adas, and Venom will be added just yet(I'm not saying that they wont be in the DLC, just that it's not a confirmation simply because they're in this patch's files).

It is worth noting that there is a challenge tooltip specifically for the BPP and something called "Blood Pack Heavy Melee", which is most certainly a MP thing.

There is also something called "Biotic Protector" but as the OP mentions, it's unknown as to what this is for.

The thing about the Chakram Launcher being in a Reckoning file is because that gun is called Reckoning in the game files and has always been since launch, just as the Arc Pistol is called Thor or the Paladin is called Ivory. It is believed that this gun will be added in the DLC, however.

and the big one... co-op modes

Honestly, I see no evidence of them, unless I'm just missing something that the guy in the other thread saw(This is a 4000 line file). What I assume is that he saw a bunch of war assets that he did not recognize and thought that this was tied to the rumoured co-op modes from the reddit leak. I thought that at first until a quick Google search showed that they were really just Leviathan assets that I didn't immediately recognize.

I can't find anything else that somebody might think is related to a new game mode.

As with the weapons, this does not mean that there will be no new game mode, however I would say it that there is not enough data to call this aconfirmation.

So, some new weapon mods like the other dataminer and no evidence of the thing he said was his opinion.

Here's what Bioware said:

To the dataminers:
You might want to look at DLC_UPD_Patch01 (specifically at the date) and compare to when retaliation came out. Furthermore compare your leaked data, you might see some of this information has been in there for months.

In other words, if you hear any rumour about the next MP dlc that isn't "new weapon mods and maybe SP DLC guns" then it's a baseless rumour.

 

[LivewiresXe]

Hmm, that's kind of interesting to hear about. That being said though, I guess that rules out the Krogan Engineer thing.

 

[Pluvia]

Nah not really, the teaser looks like a Krogan Engineer.

 

[Pluvia]

Robin Sachs, the guy that voiced Zaeed, died 4 days ago. They found him today on his birthday in his home.

RIP.

 

[LivewiresXe]

Crap, that sucks...I really thought the guy did a good job too.

 

[sakuraZaKi]

RIP.

I really loved his role in Spongebob. The only Spongebob episode that made me laugh nonstop.

 

[Pluvia]

Btw that patch fixed the glitch with Collectors taking less combo damage. Anyway balance changes where they, um, subuffed a lot of stuff that was already incredibly powerful:

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Feb 12, 2013
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Biotic Charge Power
- Evolution 5 chance of not causing a cooldown increased from 33% to 50%

Annihilation Field Power
- Evolution 5 damage bonus increased from 50% to 65%

Hydraulic Joints Gear
- Melee damage bonus increased from [5%-15%] to [10%-20%]

Collector Sniper Rifle
- Damage increased from [68.3-85.4] to [73.0-91.3]

Incisor Sniper Rifle
- Damage increased from [93.3-116.6] to [98.0-122.5]

 

[Pluvia]

Embark on one last adventure with your team in Mass Effect 3: Citadel.

When a sinister conspiracy targets Commander Shepard, you and your team must uncover the truth, through battles and intrigue that range from the glamour of the Citadel's Wards to the top-secret Council Archives. Uncover the truth and fight alongside your squad – as well as the cast from the original Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, including Urdnot Wrex!

When the adventure is over, reconnect with your favorite characters from the Mass Effect Trilogy, try your luck at the Citadel's Silver Coast Casino, blow off steam in the Armax Combat Arena, or explore and furnish Shepard's own living quarters on the Citadel. With unique content and cinematics featuring your friends and romance interests in the Mass Effect trilogy, Mass Effect 3: Citadel offers one final chance to see the characters you have known for years and rekindle romances.

http://masseffect.bioware.com/downloads/citadel/ - click for more pics.

Prepare for the Reckoning! Newfound allies join the multiplayer war for survival in Mass Effect 3: Reckoning. The Geth Juggernaut, Female Turian Raptor, Talon Mercenary, Alliance Infiltration Unit, and more take up arms to stop the Reaper threat. Smash your enemies with the Biotic Hammer as you lay waste to the battlefield as the Krogan Warlord.

Wield 7 new weapons for multiplayer, including the Geth Spitfire Assault Rifle, Venom Shotgun, Lancer Assault Rifle, and amplify your arsenal with new equipment and weapon mods featuring the Geth Scanner and Assault Rifle Ultralight Materials.

Mass Effect 3: Reckoning launches on February 27th worldwide on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, at no additional cost.

http://masseffect.bioware.com/downloads/multiplayer_packs/ - click for more pics.


AAAAAAAAAAH!!!

 

[LivewiresXe]

Well well, and here I was thinking I had the game packed away. Hm...now there's ANOTHER thing for me to consider spending that $10 free PSN on.

 

[Pluvia]

I can't believe they added the Venom and a playable Geth Prime unit.

The Venom is going to be SOOOOOOO nerfed from it's SP counterpart.

 

[LivewiresXe]

I can't believe they added the Venom and a playable Geth Prime unit.

The Venom is going to be SOOOOOOO nerfed from it's SP counterpart.

But for those first 2 days....Ha ha!

 

[O D I N]

So what we've determined so far...

Based on what I've seen so far on BSN, the devs are being fairly open about some of the details about the new kits. So far:

**Geth Juggernaut: Soldier**

- Has Geth Turret
- Two New powers
- Cannot Take cover, evade, or climb over cover, but can climb ladders

**Krogan Warlord:**

- Has 'unique rage mechanic'
- Can buff hammer with various effects
- Hammer is specific to this kit only.

**Female Turian Cabal: Vanguard**

- 3 new powers never before seen in SP or MP

**Other Stuff**

- Reduced Geth Faction stagger: Geth Prime pulse shots and turret no longer stagger. [See Comment]
- All kits available when DLC drops - not staggered.

**-Severian-**: Post on BSN with additional dev responses and sources.

social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/343/index/15967535/1#15967535


I'll update as I see more or with any new things in the comments.

From Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/18z5fl/what_we_know_so_far_about_the_new_reckoning_kits/

Also

Eric Fagnan just stated:
"As part of this DLC pack, we are reducing the amount of stagger that the Geth faction will perform on players. If I remember correctly, the Geth Prime pulse shots and his turret no longer stagger players. Geth Hunters are unchanged."
social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/343/index/15964596/10#15968027

Hah. His name is bleeped out. That's hilarious.

More stuff

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/343/index/15967535

 

[LivewiresXe]

Reduced stagger from those freaking Primes? Yes! Now if only they'd get rid of Bombers entirely, then we'd be talking. And that's some pretty cool specs on some of the classes, though I expect the Juggernaut to have like...2000 health and shields or something crazy, lol.

 

[O D I N]

Reduced stagger from those freaking Primes? Yes! Now if only they'd get rid of Bombers entirely, then we'd be talking. And that's some pretty cool specs on some of the classes, though I expect the Juggernaut to have like...2000 health and shields or something crazy, lol.

Everything else I've heard/read says Juggs will have more health/shields than any other class before it.

 

[LivewiresXe]

Everything else I've heard/read says Juggs will have more health/shields than any other class before it.

Nice. I can't wait to like...smash stuff.

 

[Pluvia]

The Prime didn't need reduced stagger, I have a funny feeling this will make the Geth too easy.

 

[LivewiresXe]

The Prime didn't need reduced stagger, I have a funny feeling this will make the Geth too easy.

They Geth will never be "too Easy" as long as they have Bombers. Hell, if they reduced the stagger on Primes originally and just kept the Geth as they were originally so you could grab Pyros, they STILL wouldn't be "too easy". I mean hey, "too easy", just means "more money for me", and I will never be upset about "more money for me".

 

[sakuraZaKi]

Not grabbing Pyros was probably the stupidest thing ever, imo.

Like, how can I NOT grab them?

 

[LivewiresXe]

Not grabbing Pyros was probably the stupidest thing ever, imo.

Like, how can I NOT grab them?

I know, right? Like...they're obviously not heavier than Hunters, so if we can grab those, we should be able to grab Pyros. And I hope nobody gets the bright idea from this to make it so that we mysteriously can't grab Hunters. It's also kinda weird we can't grab Dragoons before they Smash, but that's another thing I think.

 

[Pluvia]

It's supposed to be you can't grab armoured targets, because they're too heavy. You can't grab Phantoms either because LOL.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE:

IS THAT A COLLECTOR THRALL I SEE?!? BIOWARE IMPLEMENTED ONE OF MY IDEAS?!?!? AAAAAAAAH!!!! THAT'S INSANE OMG!!!!