And don't get me started on certain events. Like in Mass Effect 1 the Renegade thing to do in the end of it is to let the Council die and Humanity forcefully assumed power of the entire Galaxy practically.
Actually, I think that's a reasonable choice, as ignoring the geth allows the Alliance to focus on Sovereign. Shepard's justification isn't inherently human superiority in that case, depending on what dialogue options you choose at the end.
Something common in the Renegade interrupts is how frequently are to get the upper hand in battle (like shooting at the villain at mid of his evil monologue).
Ultimately, renegade Shepard comes across as a faux wannabee badass... Some of the renegade interrupts are cool (I always headbutt the Krogan as it shows Shepard 'getting' the krogans, blowing away the goons in miranda's loyalty mission when one of them's trying to intimidate you), but a lot of them are pointlessly nasty or mean. In my renegade playthrough, I only got through because the sheer fun of playing as a vanguard made up for how awful some of the renegade choices made me feel
Like, following the Miranda example above, when you get Mordins loyalty mission and the Krogan gets to monologuing in front of you and you get this big-long prompt while constantly flashing to a feul tank, I took it expecting a nice boom, and an easier fight from a bunch of the enemies being killed... and instead I got a crappy bond one-liner and getting to watch precisely one krogan get to burn to death in lengthy way that left me uncomfortable, and hitting reload.
I vaguely remember that the idea Bioware presented before first Mass Effect for the paragon/renegade system was that they're both "good", it's just one is basically your typical knight errant, helping everyone who might need it as they encounter them and the other is more objective-focused, neglecting minor issues or willing to turn a blind eye to small scale injustice so long as it all serves the greater good of saving the galaxy as efficiently as possible. That sounded enticing, it really did, and I felt like renegade Shepard might be a complex, compelling character that I'd really enjoy.
I got a gratuitous asshole instead. Yeah, renegade Shep's a chump.
The problem with the system for me was that in ME2 you were basically forced to be a paragon or renegade in order to unlock the corresponding dialogue options.
In Thane's loyalty mission for example you couldn't tell a bad guy you were a Spectre if your renegade level wasn't high enough.
The paragon line works better I think because that is what Bioware primarily wrote for. ME2 practically drowns you in paragon points, you have to really go out of your way to get renegade ones.
I'm gonna have to join in on the never had much interest in renegade train. Sure I liked some of the options, but I've said this quite a few times.
ME 1 Renegade Shepard is a funny asshole.
ME 2 Renegade Shepard is a badass asshole.
...ME 3 Renegade Shepard is a FUCKING PSYCHOPATH!
Tayh said:
I've always preferred the Renegade path.
Ruthless, effective and fighting for the greater good.
Link to tvtropes "Good is not soft" [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotSoft]
It was perfectly possible to be 100% renegade and still have good relations with your crewmates, including romances and loyal bonds.
I never felt like I was missing out on anything when playing renegade, whereas paragon always felt like a weak, goody-two-shoes to the point where they'd let known criminals get away just because they asked nicely.
Uh, most of the Mass Effect entry on that page is dedicated to saying how PARAGON Shepard is an example of Good is not Soft. Maybe around a quarter of the parts talking about Shepard talk about Renegade Shepard.
I like Paragon!Shepard because it just feels right to me, but from ME2 onwards I would take almost all the Renegade interrupts because contextually they are either hilarious or pragmatic but conversationally I find Renegade!Shepard to be an asshole and most of the Renegade choices are kind of (unfairly) stupid. And I don't like to be a stupid asshole.
im another who plays paragon with renegade interrupts.. full renegade just came across as being a total asshat to me where as the way i play it, shepard's occasionally an asshat.. booting mouthy mercs through skyscrapper windows for example
I tried multiple times to play a Renegade Shepard. Never liked it. Then I made a Renegade Shepard named Bitchface. He died at the end of ME2, so couldn't really import him to 3.
Paragon (almost) all the way. Except for the time I kicked an Eclipse merc out of a building. And beating up the Quarian Admiral who fired on the Geth ship while I was still aboard. Oh, and telling off the Elusive Man.
Generally the "bad" path in Bioware games tends to feel less rewarding/dumber than the "good" one. In Baldur's Gate it didn't feel out of place to play as a Paladin, while being an evil dickbag felt really awkward at times(and not because i was personally repulsed by the actions of my player character or something), and all of that while SPOILER: your character was a child of the fucking God of Murder.
I've heard the Closed Fist path in Jade Empire wasn't a bad execution, though i didn't play that way yet, so can't tell.
pookie101 said:
im another who plays paragon with renegade interrupts.. full renegade just came across as being a total asshat to me where as the way i play it, shepard's occasionally an asshat.. booting mouthy mercs through skyscrapper windows for example
My problem with Renegade Shepard was just that... well, they're fucking stupid. Half the time you're just being a dick for the sake of being a dick, with no benefit for you in the long run. The only time being renegade made any sense was if you'd gone full renegade through the last two games (i.e. killed Wrex, then picked the renegade options regarding the genophage cure in 3), but even then going full renegade just made you sound like a dumb asshole rather than the 'Ultimate Badass'.
Mostly Renegade seems to go well if you pick the back story that basically says Shepard gets shit done no matter the cost and stick to it, but only in certain situations. I mean, punching a reporter and sending a high as fuck volus to their death doesn't really seem to be getting shit done, no matter the cost. That's just being a ****.
Admittedly, I'm doing a mostly Renegade playthrough right now, but I'm trying to play into the back story I picked, which was the "get shit done" one. But even then, I still put some Paragon in to it as well. Like I'm not about to let Thane's boy get taken down, damn right I'm shooting that lamp to distract him.
Well seeings how full Renegade Shepard doesn't live through the Collector's assault, yeah I assume so.
Plus he's just an unreasonable dick who responds to every situation with violence, even normal every day conversation. He's basically a Chaos Marine.
"Well seeings how full Renegade Shepard doesn't live through the Collector's assault," What? What are you talking about. I've gone FULL renegade many times in ME2 and everybody lives. I'm befuddled by this comment.
Well seeings how full Renegade Shepard doesn't live through the Collector's assault, yeah I assume so.
Plus he's just an unreasonable dick who responds to every situation with violence, even normal every day conversation. He's basically a Chaos Marine.
"Well seeings how full Renegade Shepard doesn't live through the Collector's assault," What? What are you talking about. I've gone FULL renegade many times in ME2 and everybody lives. I'm befuddled by this comment.
Full renegade means you don't get any of the second wave characters, don't do any of the loyalty missions, and hit the Collector base as soon as possible. The entire squad dies, and Shepard dies trying to jump to the Normandy in the end.
But more seriously, the best story I find is for a nice blend. My favourite playthrough has definitely been my tough as nails 'get the job done no matter the cost' femshep with the ruthless background. When it comes to military decisions always go with the most efficient option, even if it is also the most violent, while in more personal dealings just go with whatever option though when given the option do express some regret.
Obviously it's projection, but I feel like this mix makes Shepard a bit more of a compelling character to have to struggle with doing the right thing. I also like how in the 'I'll stop you if I have to' option from the above video, even assuming you don't pull the trigger, Shepard goes on to throw the gun she'd been using away in disgust. That was deliberate, and it's good character building.
Plus Shepard looks cool with just the right amount of scarring.
That scene is fucking brutal. I've seen it before but I don't think I could ever bring myself to enact in game. The voice actor brings out just the perfect amount of desperation to invoke overwhelming guilt in the player. I don't see how anyone could not feel awful taking that path.
However, this is one of the situations where renegade works really well as an option. Depending on your world view and in game interpretation of events and the actual in game course of events, (and if you can't talk him down), the brutal option can be interpreted as morally correct and as morally correct as the paragon option, especially if Wrex isn't in charge of the Krogan.
It's a horrible, sometimes haunting way of things happening, but depending on the circumstances of that scene, you might actually be doing more good than taking the paragon option. It's a very well directed scene and set of "choose your path" writing that is one of the highlights of the series and shows how Paragon and Renegade SHOULD have worked, not as good and evil options.
The paragon version of that scene is one of my favourites in the series tho if everything has lined up; Wrex is in charge, you've done good diplomacy, you've fully explored Mordins character and it all comes together in this beautiful, bittersweet absolution for everyone involved, including Shepard and the player. It makes me sad, but it's very, very well directed and acts as a perfect close for that storyline and his character arc. Having him sing too, which you can only unlock through very specific character development over the whole series is a beautiful touch.
A whole bunch of heretics in this thread. Renegade FemShep is best Shep. Paragon Shep is a doormat that only gets things done because the plot demands it.
If you say so. I did not know there was a ME2 bible where this was written as law. Not being snarky, I just believe this may be an arbitrary law said by someone somewhere. It's a game. Part of the game is you can do things paragon or renegade. Either way can lead to a win. I reject the notion that FULL renegade is defined by what you just said. Full retard maybe, but not full renegade. Unless you can post a link and quote from the developers backing up your claim I reject it as false. If my bar is 100 percent red, that's full renegade. period.
Yeah, no idea where silentpony is coming from with that.
Pretty sure Renegade can actually save more people than Paragon.
From what I recall,
in ME3 when you meet that girl at the Citadel who was your communications specialist in ME2, only Renegade Shepard gets to tell them to change their name and go into hiding, which ends up saving their life after TIM raids the Citadel.
Edit: Huh. The post I quoted disappeared. peabuddie, if you want me to remove your quote, let me know.
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