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[Fox Mulder]

It's all downhill after the first.

 

[Maple-Tech]

Also, I would not recommend using the digital comics. It will import the big choices, but there are a lot of tinier choices that can result in some fun outcomes.

 

[jotun?]

ME1: There are generic side quests that you simply don't need to do. Don't do them, they're a waste of your time. You will feel better if you just stick with the main missions.

But you never know which ones are the useless generic ones and which ones are actually interesting or have lasting effects until after you do them.

 

[ADS]

There are only 3 Mass Effect games.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[Hahs]

Skip Andromeda. I tried to play it as my first Mass Effect and was burned out around 6 hours. My friend told me it's the worst one and I truly believe it.

again, don't skip..yes it sucks ass, but you may get pissed enough to appreciate why it we say its so fucked up... it'll make you luv the first 3

 

[Tyraniboah]

Engineer is the most underrated class in 2 & 3. You're going to probably want to do some space magic, and that's fine, but after playing the trilogy multiple times I've found that I enjoyed engineer and sentinel the most. Play whatever you want in the first game, though I feel like soldiers and adepts wreck the game.

Take some time to enjoy the conversations. Talk to your squadmates, your crew, and just the general populace. Whoever was going on about how the writing is bad is being hyperbolic. It's not the best writing in all of the medium, but what are we to expect from game development when there are often multiple and different writers across entries that take nearly a decade to develop? Enjoy the universe that was created. Even the codex is worth a few minutes here or there.

Ignore the folks going on about how "it was all for nothing" and "your choices don't matter". You'll end up playing all of the dlc and the extended cut. The ending isn't perfect and everyone knows that by now, but the additions help. Coming in here to tell you that the trilogy is pointless doesn't serve a purpose in a discussion like this five years after the game released.

Ultimately, I hope you enjoy the trilogy as much as I did. It was unique in the sense that we won't be getting something like that again anytime soon and there really isn't anything else quite like it. Going by today's standards, no way in hell we'd get three games in an RPG franchise that are all playable on one console. Not with the sheer amount of writing involved, the many changes done between each game, or even getting bought out by one of the biggest mainstream publishers there is. These games are great on their own, but together they are fantastic. I think everyone else covered you on missables and general advice.

 

[jtb]

Can someone explain to me how the DLC works these days?

I have the games on 360, which are collecting dust in my parent's basement along with all my other junk because I'm too cheap to rent a storage unit. May like to repurchase them on PC some day.

Do none of the trilogy collections come with any of the DLC? And, if so, who's idiot decision was that?

There are only 3 Mass Effect games.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

There's one and that's fine. One of the most striking things about this series is that it never had an identity. The series - from plot to characters to core gameplay - was basically reinvented with each new game. And not for the better.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

In Mass Effect 2 there's a point where you can swap a character for another. That one is definitely the most missable, because you might like the original character and want to keep it.

Oh I forgot about that bit, but frankly the replacement character is not worthwhile, they impersonate the original character and you have to be laughably, cartoonishly evil to want to do it. I barely consider them to be a squadmate.

I think I heard in either the Citadel or Omega DLC you get to interact with all of your past squadmates and it's a good goodbye for the characters.

Do you know if that swappable character would appear in that DLC?

 

[City of Dis]

Mass Effect 3's ending will make you wish you never played the series. I suggest not playing the series.

 

[JCHandsom]

Play ME 1 and 2, play the Arrival DLC and pretend that the Reapers were trapped in Dark Space forever.

 

[shawnbuddy]

I think I heard in either the Citadel or Omega DLC you get to interact with all of your past squadmates and it's a good goodbye for the characters.

Do you know if that swappable character would appear in that DLC?

Without spoiling too much, no. The swap is kinda permanent. And the swapped to character doesn't appear in it either, for spoilery reasons.

All of the Mass Effect 3 ending complaining is bandwagon jumping hyperbole, BTW. Don't be discouraged. In its current form with the free epilogue DLC the ending is fine.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Without spoiling too much, no. The swap is kinda permanent. And the swapped to character doesn't appear in it either, for spoilery reasons.

Thanks. If I do the swap do you know if it would prevent me from getting full paragon?

 

[Ivory Samoan]

Prepare yourself for the #1 trilogy in all of gaming, life changing even.

Make sure to get every piece of DLC, it's worth it 100% in my opinion and your adventure will be spectacular.

I would seriously consider not playing Andromeda, it's OK and that's fine...but don't spoil your sweetroll meal with a draugr sandwich.

Mass Effect 3's ending will make you wish you never played the series. I suggest not playing the series.

100% disagree and I've played through the trilogy with about 10 full runs: opinions etc obviously, but with Extended Cut, Leviathan and From Ashes, it's a great third installment and a fitting ending.

 

[jtb]

Not RPGs, just regular ordinary dialogue-heavy, character-focused, quest-filled, cover-based 3rd person shooters with morality meters, hub worlds and character progression.

You can dislike them, but they're all RPGs.

Eh. I'd give them more slack if the game gave you different ways to approach encounters like other hybrids (the Deus Ex lineage). But all three games are so incredibly corridor-linear and the encounters all play the same; the different skill trees don't alter the core gameplay.

Dialogue heavy is, uh, a bit much as well. Morality meters? Come on, now.

The sequels have RPG elements - but BioWare keeps 'em pretty light.

I guess I define "RPG" by player choice, and BioWare hasn't invested any faith in the player in more than a decade.

 

[Maple-Tech]

Mass Effect 3's ending will make you wish you never played the series. I suggest not playing the series.

I've never understood opinions like these. A disappointing ending is just that, disappointing. It doesn't diminish the conversation with Sovereign, or going on the suicide mission, or Vigil.

 

[shawnbuddy]

Thanks. If I do the swap do you know if it would prevent me from getting full paragon?

I don't think it would prevent you from filling your paragon meter because that doesn't require being a perfect paragon. You might be able to make it up with other paragon deeds. But it requires doing something so evil you'd always know in your heart you're not a full paragon.

 

[MisterShine]

...
I guess I define "RPG" by player choice, and BioWare hasn't invested any faith in the player in more than a decade.

Importing an ME2 save where you've done full Paragon and did the goody two shoes approach to every problem versus an ME2 save with renegade where everyone either hates you or is dead lead to some very different context and characters for the events of the third game. The ending sequence is more or less the same but in terms of reactivity it is far beyond something like the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, and if you'd like to argue that isn't an RPG I'm sure we can all have a good laugh at your expense.

 

[jdstorm]

Have fun.

If you are going to do a custom shepard, create it in Mass Effect 2 first then copy down the code and put it into Mass Effect 1. There is a save glitch that doesn't let some Shepards carry forward into the sequels. Otherwise have fun.

Minor tidbits.

Mass Effect 1 is best as a soilder because that class gives you auto health regeneration and access to the best weapons.

Mass Effect 2 and 3 are better with powers so play as any class that isn't soilder. Infiltrator, Sentinal and Vanguard are the best.

Don't bother trying to Min/Max the decision tree, just make the choice you think is right.

Make sure to put 12 total points into either Paragon or Renegade (you get 4 for free. In Mass Effect 1 some conversations options will lock without it. Do this early as it gives you a discount at the shops.

 

[molnizzle]

Play as FemShep

FemShep is canon.

 

[Jmille99]

In ME1, do not feel obligated to stay on the Citadel at the beginning. It has stalled the interest of so many people from what I have seen (two attempts in my case), so dont try and do everything there right away.

 

[shawnbuddy]

Oh yeah, if you have a tablet play Mass Effect Infiltrator between 2 and 3. It's not essential, but it's nice as part of the full experience.

 

[jtb]

Hopefully we can all agree that "fucktoy simulator" is not on the list of "things that make Mass Effect an RPG"

Importing an ME2 save where you've done full Paragon and did the goody two shoes approach to every problem versus an ME2 save with renegade where everyone either hates you or is dead lead to some very different context and characters for the events of the third game. The ending sequence is more or less the same but in terms of reactivity it is far beyond something like the Baldur's Gate Trilogy, and if you'd like to argue that isn't an RPG I'm sure we can all have a good laugh at your expense.

Eh, I ride or die with Interplay more so than BG. I'm not even talking reactivity as much as just pure gameplay and encounter design. Nonetheless, I'd argue the critical path is identical regardless but, yes, BioWare did a very respectable job with the reactivity/character/window dressing-type stuff in ME3 after completely dropping the ball in ME2.

I think the very construct of the suicide mission is such a fucking lazy cop-out from having to build an actual RPG or narrative reactivity, and BioWare did - ending aside - work very hard to rectify that in ME3. Props where they're due.

In a lot of ways, the Mass Effect series' mirrors the flaws of its bastard step-brother Alpha Protocol, which offers an obscene amount of permutations of player choice and reactivity (many magnitudes more than the ME series put together), but gives you a bunch of poorly designed linear levels that, despite branching skill trees and promising player choice, all play exactly the same. The core gameplay loop at the heart of these RPGs is, in so many ways, less engaging and shallower than similar games with more facile RPG trappings - but these days, everything's an RPG so you really have to go all in on that narrative reactivity to really stand out. (Just talking out loud)

In ME1, do not feel obligated to stay on the Citadel at the beginning. It has stalled the interest of so many people from what I have seen (two attempts in my case), so dont try and do everything there right away.

Whaaaa-

The Citadel was my favorite part of the entire series and the lack of an RPG-esque quest hub for the remainder of the series sucked. (Can't remember if it was DLC in ME3 like it was for ME2? Or am I getting those backwards)

 

[DanielJr82]

Tali is best girl.

Agreed! I love Tali. =)

 

[crazy monkey]

First three are amazing. 1 and 3 in particular. Haven't played four. Do not read or think just play.

 

[D i Z]

Stop reading this thread and just play the games.

 

[Almighty]

The biggest thing I can tell you is to keep your expectations low when it comes to how your choices carry over from game to game. Luckily that will probably be easier since you are playing them all back to back.

 

[Van Bur3n]

Quarians are a dirty species. Do not trust them.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Have fun.

If you are going to do a custom shepard, create it in Mass Effect 2 first then copy down the code and put it into Mass Effect 1. There is a save glitch that doesn't let some Shepards carry forward into the sequels. Otherwise have fun.

Minor tidbits.

Mass Effect 1 is best as a soilder because that class gives you auto health regeneration and access to the best weapons.

Thanks a ton for the heads up on the glitch! Just read about it.

Actually the only Mass Effect I've ever played was a demo of ME2 several years ago when I was checking what games would run on my new laptop. So I've act played up to combat in that game.

Reading up on it it seems I can't put the code into Mass Effect 1. I need to convert the code for the sliders in that game. Then in the second game I use the code I generated originally. Is this correct?

Also regeneration is always something I look for in skill trees but the soldier seems pretty plain.

 

[jdstorm]

Thanks a ton for the heads up on the glitch! Just read about it.

Actually the only Mass Effect I've ever played was a demo of ME2 several years ago when I was checking what games would run on my new laptop. So I've act played up to combat in that game.

Reading up on it it seems I can't put the code into Mass Effect 1. I need to convert the code for the sliders in that game. Then in the second game I use the code I generated originally. Is this correct?

Also regeneration is always something I look for in skill trees but the soldier seems pretty plain.

Im not sure about the specifics of working around the glitch. I found out about it after i had already completed the first 2 games

As far as classes go, all combat is somewhat akward in ME1 for all classes. Soilder is supperior in Mass Effect 1 because weapons are better then powers and soilders can have both assault rifles and sniper rifles. In the next 2 games powers/tech abilities become much more fun and useful since power usage is more fluid and ammunition is no longer unlimited.

Plus if you do a 2nd playthrough you will have unlocked these weapons to use with other classes.

I also like it because i change classes for Mass Effect 2 and 3 then role play that into the story. Since you have played the begining of Mass Effect 2 already you already know why that works out pretty well.

 

[Saladinoo]

If you get fed up with 1 (the gameplay really sucks in my opinion), dump it and go onto 2, it's incredible, and it has a 'make your own decision' comic that recaps 1 so you don't have to worry about missing out on toooo much.

 

[BananasWithGuns]

Just go in blind and enjoy the ride. It really is a great series (yes, even 3 and Andromeda).

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Eh. I'd give them more slack if the game gave you different ways to approach encounters like other hybrids (the Deus Ex lineage). But all three games are so incredibly corridor-linear and the encounters all play the same; the different skill trees don't alter the core gameplay.

Dialogue heavy is, uh, a bit much as well. Morality meters? Come on, now.

The sequels have RPG elements - but BioWare keeps 'em pretty light.

I guess I define "RPG" by player choice, and BioWare hasn't invested any faith in the player in more than a decade.

The games, all three of them, are about 35% dialogue, 50% combat, 15% "other things". The combat does change up quite a bit between classes, and although you're right it's not some super hardcore game, RPG is the best classification for it we have. Third person shooting is just the combat mechanic selected for the game, it's not what the games are really "about" at their core. The stars of the show are the universe and characters on display, and the most central idea of the trilogy, the thread running through from pre-production on the first game through to the final moments of Mass Effect 3 is supposed to be "player choice" - how you and your Shepard make decisions that impact the world. Now of course, it fails to deliver that in a multitude of different ways, but fundamentally, that's the "big idea". It's even in the title, "Mass Effect".

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Make sure you get the patch/update for ME2 so you can import your character from 1.

1 wasn't ever released on PS3 until the trilogy iirc, hence why 2 needed a patch.

Get all the DLC. It's all worth it.

It's up to you but I'd just pretend Andromeda doesn't exist.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Skip all the cutscenes, turn down the game volume to 0, and listen to music. Ignore the story entirely. You're better off not getting invested.

1 is good, full of possibility. After that.... guh.

 

[SmoothRunningGun]

Don't listen to gaf about me3. It's still really good just not the masterpiece that 2 is. I love 1 but it's definitely janky.

 

[formasymphonic]

1.) Extremely vocal Femshep fans will make you believe you are doing something wrong with your life if you don't play as her — Make a character you feel like you can invest in (whether that is FemShep or MaleShep is entirely up to you), then when you play, rather than try to pick "the good answer" or "the bad answer" pick the choice that you personally would make. ME as some really good moments that will give you some internal conflict and a lot to think about if you do this. Save Paragon/Renegade optimal plays for another time.

2.) There are some characters that are entirely possible to miss, and tbh it would be a shame to play the games without them. If you notice anyone who seems to have more screen time and a better design than other NPCs then see if you can recruit them.

3.) In ME1 make sure you manage your inventory every time you return to the shop. There's nothing worse than being out mid-mission and not being able to collect new and cool weapons and armour.

4.) You can travel relatively openly after a certain part of ME1... but avoid going to Noveria until you've levelled up a fair amount. I remember when I first played, I went there too early and it didn't turn out well.

5.) In ME2, make sure you are playing with vibration for the planet scanning mini game. They don't explain it well but it will vibrate strongest at the optimal positions for mining. Only bother to mine at those locations.

There's a whole bunch of other stuff but this is enough to get you started. Bare with the combat for the first one, it's worth it for entry into the series. Enjoy.

 

[Darkfoxtrooper]

Most important part is to always be renegade

 

[PunishedOkabe]

Play all 3 Mass Effect games