A rant about Retail DLC

[L4Y Duke]

There have been no announcements for it, no hints as to whether or not this would actually happen, and no idea if the developers are even considering it, but my biggest want for the next year is not new hardware, or even a new game announcement.

No, what I'm hoping for is a retail copy of the Mass Effect 2 DLC.

You see, I'm in a situation where downloading online content is near-suicide for my bandwidth, and as such retail CD DLC releases are my only hope of actually obtaining any of the extra content developers make following the game release.

Now, for multiplayer epics like Call of Duty and Halo I can understand the neglect towards retail DLC, and I do understand that this brings with it the inherent possibility of piracy, but surely even if the pirates did freely distribute the DLC it's less of a burden than, say, them distributing the game. I can also understand that the cost of printing the CDs might seem a little daunting to them too.

But, surely a title such as Mass Effect 2, where your actions throughout the story affect your standing in the next game would alienate its non-bandwidth gifted individuals, by not offering alternative methods of obtaining these missions, which could essentially screw them over when it comes time for Mass Effect 3.

Gearbox is both a saviour and offender in this matter, with the same game, even. They released the first two Borderlands DLC on a single disc, then turned around and added Download Tokens to their GOTY edition, which is essentially a 'cashback' style ripoff, promising a lowered price/more content if the person puts in the extra effort. Oblivion is a better example of developers releasing DLC to the retail-only market, with the GOTY edition including Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, both of which were also available as individual CDs.

Plus, on a minor note, without the extra quests, it is nigh-impossible to get everyone out safely as a Soldier class without the ME1 save data bonus. There just aren't enough Paragon or Renegade points available to resolve the Miranda-Jack standoff, even if you leave one of their quests as the very last one you attempt before raiding the Reaper.

At least, I don't think so.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Plus, on a minor note, without the extra quests, it is nigh-impossible to get everyone out safely as a Soldier class without the ME1 save data bonus. There just aren't enough Paragon or Renegade points available to resolve the Miranda-Jack standoff, even if you leave one of their quests as the very last one you attempt before raiding the Reaper.

Here's what you do....

As soon as you start, begin putting points into the class-specific upgrade line. The one that gives you bonuses to damage, health, shields, paragon/renegade, etc. Just keep putting points into that until you have rank 4, then select the upgrade for it that gives you 100% paragon/renegade boost.

Also, you should talk to EVERY squad member on your ship after all recruitment and loyalty missions. And try to stick to only doing one type of response, not alternating between paragon and renegade, because you'll never get enough points then.

Jack's mission requires that you be in at least the 3rd segment of the paragon/renegade bar if you do it fairly quickly after getting it. If you wait until later, you have to be in the 5th segment. If you don't have 3 segments when you first get it, just save her mission for last, and continue putting points into the class-specific upgrade. There's no way you won't have enough paragon/renegade at this point.