Escapist Podcast: Bonus: Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

[The Escapist Staff]

Bonus: Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

We discuss some of our thoughts and impressions about the Mass Effect 3 demo, specifically about the multiplayer.

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[TorchofThanatos]

I hated those Phantoms too!
Bloodly biotic ninja's! That is way I always have a shotgun with me.

Side note: Is Overload better against Biotic barriers then Warp is? That switched form ME2.

 

[Rassmusseum]

Justin I feel your pain; my N7 level (sum of the levels of all your classes) is 114. I STILL have not gotten the Widow rifle yet!

I hated those Phantoms too!
Bloodly biotic ninja's! That is way I always have a shotgun with me.

Side note: Is Overload better against Biotic barriers then Warp is? That switched form ME2.

Yep, Overload works better against biotic barriers now. Warp is useful to set up biotic explosions though.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Justin I feel your pain; my N7 level (sum of the levels of all your classes) is 114. I STILL have not gotten the Widow rifle yet!

I hated those Phantoms too!
Bloodly biotic ninja's! That is way I always have a shotgun with me.

Side note: Is Overload better against Biotic barriers then Warp is? That switched form ME2.

Yep, Overload works better against biotic barriers now. Warp is useful to set up biotic explosions though.

My one of my friends has both the Claymore and the Widow on his Krogen.
I would like a little more structure with the unlock system.
Everything being random is a little annoying. I have level 10 in 4 different weapons! Arrrggggg! Give me a new weapon and not more of the same.

So far my biggest complaint is the fact that Warp is kind of useless. Setting up the Biotic explosion I find it not all that useful. Most enemies die before you can get hit them with two biotic powers. I haven't played Gold yet so maybe it is more useful then.

 

[toomuchnothing]

Yep, Overload works better against biotic barriers now. Warp is useful to set up biotic explosions though.

Overload can also be used to set up Tech Bursts which work in the same fashion Biotic Explosions do you just need to have the target with a Tech type of dot on them then hit them with another type of tech to make them go boom.

Warp is a great skill when evolved to weaken armor even further the biggest problem it faces in the demo is that all we fight is Cerberus who are shield enthusiasts vs armor or biotics.

I will agree to a point that the randomness can be quite frustrating when it comes to unlocks. I made a 2nd origin account to try a different build for vanguard and engineer and unlocked the 2 rare weapons my other account had yet to see. Its also worth noting according to bioware posts on the forums that only half of the items available in the full version can be unlocked atm.

 

[cynicalsaint1]

Really my biggest worry is with how the loot is going to work.
I really don't like having to unlock weapons and classes randomly - that seems like a terrible way to do things, and it sucks horribly from what I've played of it.

There are few things I hate more than the Skinner Box school of game design.
Which is really too bad because overall I like the MP - but the though of not being able to try out the class/race combos I want to annoys the piss out of me.

 

[Right Hook]

Speaking of consumables, at one point my whole team went down with at least half the wave still alive, they are all dead and I am dying, I gamble and use my medigel, my friend instantly tells me it was a waste. My Drell Vanguard gets up and I proceed to beat the second half of the wave completely alone (only bronze but is was a very late wave). Felt pretty badass, we went on to finish the mission.

Spoiler: Pretty much what the Vanguard is all about

 

[Avatar Roku]

Justin I feel your pain; my N7 level (sum of the levels of all your classes) is 114. I STILL have not gotten the Widow rifle yet!

I hated those Phantoms too!
Bloodly biotic ninja's! That is way I always have a shotgun with me.

Side note: Is Overload better against Biotic barriers then Warp is? That switched form ME2.

Yep, Overload works better against biotic barriers now. Warp is useful to set up biotic explosions though.

I actually just got the Widow and I'm underwhelmed. As an infiltrator, it really does nothing that Mantis did not do; it's more powerful, but on Bronze and Silver, the Mantis (+ cloaking) already 1-shots most enemies. It is nice for taking out Atlases, though.

What I really want to find is a Claymore, but I actually got the Phalanx pistol and I could probably go with just that alone, it's that OP. Seriously, shoot for the Phalanx.

 

[thergonomic]

Well this is coming from a person who played Mass Effect 1 and 2 as a Sentinel I have been disappointed. The new tech armor is just Bad, BAAAD, SUPER BAAAAAD. (You can't undestand it if you didn't play MF2 on insane as a Sentinel.)

First you're damn fragile now, your base cooldowns are 80% longer when you use it and the activation ability is just useless. You just can not not play an offensive Sentinel anymore. You either just sit in cover and throw pot shots or just skip your SIGNATURE skill...

Think that you if you were a Vanguard and you just wouldn't want to use Charge, ever.

 

[Rakor]

And now we need a "Take that, bridge!" t-shirt.

I'm glad to hear the multiplayer is good, now just to see the single player.

 

[Irradiated Tiger]

Fuck Phantoms.

I've been playing a Drell Vanguard and while I love my pull spam, the weak durability of the Drell seems counter intuitive to the high-risk high-reward playstyle of the vanguard. Wish they would make the drell a bit more tough.

 

[Bravo 21]

I'm usually playing a human vanguard, and I am loving the charge, shotgun, nova combo. that and the biotic falcon punch just make the game so much fun, I think I'm sold, as if I wasn't already.
EDIT: It is also a good thing that it is co-op, because playing versus would be insane chaos, with invisible snipers, adepts spamming stasis, and vangaurds charging all over the place

 

[Undead Dragon King]

And now we need a "Take that, bridge!" t-shirt.

I can see it now: Front part of the shirt is a silouette of a reaper smashing though the Golden Gate Bridge with the "Take that, bridge!" heading underneath. On the back side of the shirt would be the caption:

The Reapers. Destroying bridges (and galaxies) since I-don't-know-when.

 

[Valanthe]

I am loving the multiplayer. Playing as a soldier is a hell of a lot of fun (Also, screw phantoms.. just.. screw them, I'd rather take on three atlases than one phantom). Although I'm not liking the random crates, I've been trying to get a Widow for my infiltrator forever, so it's kind of frustrating to me, and for some reason I've been having better luck out of the recruit packs than the vet packs, is anyone else having this?

 

[dangoball]

Well this is coming from a person who played Mass Effect 1 and 2 as a Sentinel I have been disappointed. The new tech armor is just Bad, BAAAD, SUPER BAAAAAD. (You can't undestand it if you didn't play MF2 on insane as a Sentinel.)

First you're damn fragile now, your base cooldowns are 80% longer when you use it and the activation ability is just useless. You just can not not play an offensive Sentinel anymore. You either just sit in cover and throw pot shots or just skip your SIGNATURE skill...

Think that you if you were a Vanguard and you just wouldn't want to use Charge, ever.

I think I'll have to disagree with you on that. I'm playing sentinel on insane in ME2 right know and having to reload my TA after two seconds under fire is fragile. Having +40% dmg resistance in ME3 mp is not. I play turian sentinel build tanky (all bonus shield and health and dmg reduction) and I'm quite durable with acceptable CD (and I carry a shotgun and an assault rifle).
Given, I play only bronze and never used activation on TA, so I can't comment on that.

And yeah, phantom is one mean bugger.

 

[Zen Toombs]

I actually just got the Widow and I'm underwhelmed. As an infiltrator, it really does nothing that Mantis did not do; it's more powerful, but on Bronze and Silver, the Mantis (+ cloaking) already 1-shots most enemies. It is nice for taking out Atlases, though.

What I really want to find is a Claymore, but I actually got the Phalanx pistol and I could probably go with just that alone, it's that OP. Seriously, shoot for the Phalanx.

Well, the Widow kills easier on bodyshots, kills without needing to cloak, goes through Guardian's shields like butter, kills in one shot even if you're low level... the list goes on and on.

As for the Claymore, in ME 2 it was very underwhelming, and my friend that got it in a Veteran Pack found it to be more of the same. It's alright if you jam the barrel in someone's face, but beyond a foot and you might as well be throwing sand.

As for the Phalanx, I agree that it's fantastic. I've heard that the Hand Cannon is even more insane though.

 

[Avatar Roku]

I actually just got the Widow and I'm underwhelmed. As an infiltrator, it really does nothing that Mantis did not do; it's more powerful, but on Bronze and Silver, the Mantis (+ cloaking) already 1-shots most enemies. It is nice for taking out Atlases, though.

What I really want to find is a Claymore, but I actually got the Phalanx pistol and I could probably go with just that alone, it's that OP. Seriously, shoot for the Phalanx.

Well, the Widow kills easier on bodyshots, kills without needing to cloak, goes through Guardian's shields like butter, kills in one shot even if you're low level... the list goes on and on.

As for the Claymore, in ME 2 it was very underwhelming, and my friend that got it in a Veteran Pack found it to be more of the same. It's alright if you jam the barrel in someone's face, but beyond a foot and you might as well be throwing sand.

As for the Phalanx, I agree that it's fantastic. I've heard that the Hand Cannon is even more insane though.

I retract everything I said about the Widow. I just got out of a match with it and it is INSANE. I love shooting through Guardian shields.

How would you rate the Claymore compared to the Scimitar? I actually never used any shotguns at all in ME2 XD

I've seen a few people running around with the Hand Cannon and I am jealous. Looks awesome.

 

[Zen Toombs]

I retract everything I said about the Widow. I just got out of a match with it and it is INSANE. I love shooting through Guardian shields.

How would you rate the Claymore compared to the Scimitar? I actually never used any shotguns at all in ME2 XD

I've seen a few people running around with the Hand Cannon and I am jealous. Looks awesome.

In ME2, in my opinion most shotguns sucked EXCEPT for the Eviscerator and the Geth Plasma Shotgun. The Scimitar was especially bad.

In ME3 I haven't been able to play much with the shotguns, but the Scimitar is VASTLY improved.

Also, super jealous of the people I see with either Krogan, Widowmakers, or Hand Cannons. At least I got Quarian Engineer and Asari Adept. Those are fun. :3

 

[Avatar Roku]

I retract everything I said about the Widow. I just got out of a match with it and it is INSANE. I love shooting through Guardian shields.

How would you rate the Claymore compared to the Scimitar? I actually never used any shotguns at all in ME2 XD

I've seen a few people running around with the Hand Cannon and I am jealous. Looks awesome.

In ME2, in my opinion most shotguns sucked EXCEPT for the Eviscerator and the Geth Plasma Shotgun. The Scimitar was especially bad.

In ME3 I haven't been able to play much with the shotguns, but the Scimitar is VASTLY improved.

Also, super jealous of the people I see with either Krogan, Widowmakers, or Hand Cannons. At least I got Quarian Engineer and Asari Adept. Those are fun. :3

I've used the shotguns quite a bit in 3, and I do really love the Scimitar.

I have a Krogan and a Widow, and they're both awesome (not together, though). Krogan was actually the first other species I unlocked. They're basically tanks, really nice.

Wait, you have an Asari Adept and you want something else? That class is OP as hell. That's the one class I really, really want (though a Salarian Infiltrator would also be nice).

 

[Zen Toombs]

I've used the shotguns quite a bit in 3, and I do really love the Scimitar.

I have a Krogan and a Widow, and they're both awesome (not together, though). Krogan was actually the first other species I unlocked. They're basically tanks, really nice.

Wait, you have an Asari Adept and you want something else? That class is OP as hell. That's the one class I really, really want (though a Salarian Infiltrator would also be nice).

Yeah, I like doing other things as well. [small]Oh, and I have a Salarian Infiltrator too[/small] The main reason I wanted to play multiplayer was to be a Krogan, and the Widow is by all accounts a boss.