The Ending Was Not ME3's Only Problem

[Ascarus]

As long as you've imported a character from the previous games, or even just from ME2, you can get MORE than enough War Assets without multiplayer. I have over 6500 before I got too antsy and just went to the finale.

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

 

[Ascarus]

Another Mass Effect 3 thread? ANOTHER ONE?!

Hasn't this been done to death enough? Is their a rule against this sort of thing? It's really just getting old and is more and more seeming like a plea for comments since everyone of these thread seems to get a ton of comments.

I honestly think we've bludgeoned the game enough. Now we're just kicking it while it's down.

don't want to read the content of a thread that clearly states what its contents are? don't click the link.

"problem" solved.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

Like I said, I had 6500 war assets and finished the game before I ever touched the multiplayer, so I know for a fact it's 100% possible to beat the game with the required amount of EMS without playing the multiplayer once. You just have to import a game from at least ME2 to have enough.

But if you ask me, if you jump into the third game of a trilogy without playing the first two, you aren't allowed to complain about it not catering to your every whim.

 

[SweetLiquidSnake]

its been 2 months... please let it go...... please... pick up skyrim again.... just play something else... let it goo!!!!

 

[Ascarus]

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

Like I said, I had 6500 war assets and finished the game before I ever touched the multiplayer, so I know for a fact it's 100% possible to beat the game with the required amount of EMS without playing the multiplayer once.

yes it is possible to get the "special" GREEN ending. you cannot get the other part i mentioned without participating in the MP game. and that is bullshit. esp if it impacts future DLCs in some fashion ... which remains to be seen.

 

[WanderingFool]

NO. STOP. SHUT UP.

I don't care if you liked the ending.

I don't care if you didn't like it.

And I ESPECIALLY don't care that *you* don't care about the above two opinions. (You know who you are, meta-complainers of the world.)

Now then, here are the main reasons that ME3 (while still being a good game all things considered) does not deserve to be rated as objectively perfect:

1. "Galactic Readiness"

This whole concept is basically the gaming equivalent of a ham-fisted segue.

"And now, MULTIPLAYER!"

I *think* the reasoning behind putting this gobshite into the game was to try and incentivise people who were only interested in player single player into giving the multi player a shot. Now, I consider it a social faux-pas for a layperson to tell a professional how to do his job, but this clearly needs to be said:

EA, when your player base has no interest in a mechanic you're planning on adding to a game you're in the process of developing, the solution is not to coerce them into playing it. The solution is *to not fucking add the mechanic to the game*. If that's not an option? Keep it segregated from the rest of the experience. If the MP can stand up on it's own two legs? Wonderful. If not, then at least you didn't give anyone the impression of having their arm twisted to do shit they didn't wanna do.

2. The Quest Tracking

Anyone who's actually played the game can tell you what a nightmarish clusterfuck the quest menu in ME3 is. See the Angryjoe review on youtube if you want more explanation/some pretty visuals.

3. Invisible Characters

This is a pretty common graphics glitch. I'd need the use of both hands and feet to count the number of times I was catapulted from any sense of immersion by a quick chat with The Hollow Man.

4. Fuglyface Imports

If you've spent some time on the BSN, you can probably name about 12 different threads in which 1000s of people with custom Shepard faces complain that upon import into ME3 their character appears to have suffered botched plastic surgery. And if the screenshots are any indication, the problem is far from solved.

5. The Rachni

Again, putting aside the ending, the consequences of choosing to save/kill the Queen in ME1 where nowhere near as profound as advertised. Basically the choice amounts to 1 model being reskinned, and a different modulator being used to voice it.

6. "The Crucible"

Hey, a secret Prothean weapons plan archived on Mars! Why it wasn't mentioned until now? Liara? Garrus? Dr. Chakwas? Huh, I guess we'll never know...

7. Writers Playing Favorites With Squadmates

Mass Effect 1 had a relatively small party that wanted for diversity. Mass Effect 2 had a huge cast of wildly different squadmates. What's more, you had the option of gaining their loyalty by spending time with/on them- or just ignoring them completely! It seemed like we were gonna have even more control over our squad's composition in the final installment... and then it came out. Here's the rundown: Garrus & Liara are your best friends and confidants, the Virmire survivor is back, Tali shows up eventually, EDI is your tech expert... and some white guy who got run over by a tequila bootlegger is your muscle. Everyone else is sidelined, regardless of prior choice. Including your potential love interests.

Oh, and I can still call bullshit on Javik/day 1 DLC because it's got fuck all to do with the games conclusion. Javik is the ONLY interesting new addition to the crew, and he costs 10 bucks.

8. So... if The Collectors had technology that could instantly seek out an immobilize entire populations...

Why the hell did it take *THE REAPERS* -y'know, the hyper-advanced biotechnological monstrosities that built a system of interstellar FTL relays- an entire game to round up and crush the human resistance?

Seriously, I want this explained. The Illusive Man himself bangs on about how powerful/advanced The Reapers are...

"LOOK WHAT THEY CAN DO!"

So someone explain to me how guerilla tactics designed to baffle squads of human soldiers with guns held them in check for *WEEKS*. (And remember, Earth had no outside support. They were 1 planet completely cut off and overrun by the bulk of The Reaper fleet for the entire duration of the game.)

Wow... complaints about ME3 that didnt include the ending. I didnt think these existed.

As much as I loved ME3, all the points you mentioned are actually pretty accurate, and I agree with you on most. The only thing I dont is the multiplayer, as I kinda enjoy it. Though the system to unlock new weapons, mods, and characters is crap...

 

[RaikuFA]

Was this what RME was fighting for?

That confused me the most about it.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

Like I said, I had 6500 war assets and finished the game before I ever touched the multiplayer, so I know for a fact it's 100% possible to beat the game with the required amount of EMS without playing the multiplayer once.

yes it is possible to get the "special" GREEN ending. you cannot get the other part i mentioned without participating in the MP game. and that is bullshit. esp if it impacts future DLCs in some fashion ... which remains to be seen.

I went with the RED ending and even got the special little scene at the end, even without playing the multiplayer. The only way you would "need" to play the multiplayer is if you didn't have an imported character. Otherwise, yes there are not enough War Assets available in the "default" stand alone story of Mass Effect 3 to get the special scene at the end.

 

[Corporal Yakob]

Snip

I agree almost with every point you've made OP. Also despite importing my character from ME1 to ME2, then ME2 to ME3- I still get a ton of bullcrap from the Alliance and from the Council.

ME1 Council: "Oh saved us from the Reaper have you? We'll just ignore you completely and debate about politics that only involve the Citedal, nothing further then that."

ME2 Council: "Saved colonies from the Collectors have you? That is cool- wait you blew up a Mass Relay so the Reapers couldn't invade us?! We're stripping you of everything Shepard!!."
(Oh yeah, you need to buy the DLC to know why Shepard was grounded, because in ME3's opening he is on Earth without the player knowing what's going on and why Shepard isn't a Commander anymore.)

Such bullcrap. I may be an all out Paragon type of guy, but I felt like punching the Council at times for being completely useless. They have done nothing for me, if just giving me a title to do whatever I want around the galaxy. That's it while I have to work my butt off saving everyone.

Besides that, ME3 has more flaws then what the OP has addressed so far. For instance, you need to buy very expensive cargo in order to unlock decent stuff on multiplayer. Rather then unlocking everything by leveling up, you just have to spend money on cargo that's always random and for the most part- you don't get what you wanted unless you're willing to pay real microsoft points to achieve stuff.

Overall ME3 is a great game, but why can't I have all my squad mates with me? I did everything in ME2 to save them and when I met them again in ME3, they only became war assets. Ugh, luckily I didn't romance any of them but I did feel sad that Jack couldn't be with me. She was a very interesting character who became a better person thanks to me from the Paragon influence.

.. The biggest flaw is ME3's ending but everyone knows that already. It's probably the worst ending I have ever came across and honestly it left a scar on my heart- which is a very bad thing to do to your customers who've invested over 200 hours of gameplay into a series Bioware.

For the love of robo-Jesus Mass Effect multiplayer: give me my Geth character already!!!! Stop giving me pistols whenever I buy your Spectre packs!!!!

 

[Freechoice]

...Kasumi had no valid reasons not to join you...

You didn't have the priiiiiiiiiiiize.

 

[Corporal Yakob]

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

Like I said, I had 6500 war assets and finished the game before I ever touched the multiplayer, so I know for a fact it's 100% possible to beat the game with the required amount of EMS without playing the multiplayer once. You just have to import a game from at least ME2 to have enough.

But if you ask me, if you jump into the third game of a trilogy without playing the first two, you aren't allowed to complain about it not catering to your every whim.

!?!

How did you get that many war assets without going online? I've imported my save from the very first game and the most I can get is roughly 3100!

 

[WanderingFool]

Spoiler: Another complaint I have:

[sub]Image chosen for lols, not for desire of such option in game...[/sub]

WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NO KROGAN TEAMMATE!?

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

!?!

How did you get that many war assets without going online? I've imported my save from the very first game and the most I can get is roughly 3100!

You need to go around to the different systems and scan every planet you can. You'll find random assets like "Asari Sniper Squad" that aren't attached to any quests, but are just there to add to your numbers.

Spoiler: Another complaint I have:

[sub]Image chosen for lols, not for desire of such option in game...[/sub]

WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NO KROGAN TEAMMATE!?

Because you've already had two, and this time you don't have the time to go around and build a new team. They only really introduced a handful of new characters into your crew, and they were all Alliance members. I don't think there would be very many Krogan in the Alliance Military.

 

[4173]

Anyone else get massive cognitive dissonance from the conflicting "band together, life itself is at risk, your grudges are petty right now" stuff in most of the game, with the "Earth is teh awesome, racism is cool" bits.

where did you get that impression from?

Okay, I may have exaggerated a tad. But they never [even tried] selling me on the idea that Earth was some important strategic target (obviously once the Citadel is moved it is important, but that's near the end of the game). From the beginning it was "help me save Earth, and then I'll get around to your planets."

That leads into another problem; the Protheans held out for 500 years, and the current Galaxy already needs to use the McGuffin or be wiped out? Hell, if you get enough war assets, the game even tells you something to the effect "everybody is holding their own, and even winning in some key locations!"

it was frustrating that everyone was off being petty "WE R GONNA FIGHT DA GETH!!! YEEEAH QUARIANS RULE!!!" <- did you guys catch an infection that makes you retarded?

Spoiler

Especially the Salarians if you cure the genophage

Honestly, what part of "MAKE. YOU. EXTINCT." did you not understand?


It really makes me want to just take my crew, grab some fertile couples from each race and go live in a jungle on some distant planet. After all, we have no idea how the Reapers detect their targets. If they track some sort of technological emissions, going all Swiss Family Robinson might totally punk them.

 

[Vault101]

[snip.

yeah, thats a good point....why ask to save earth?

I think the Idea was before other planets got hit...once the crucible came along then I think everyone actually had a plan..and the reapers were focusing on earth (why london anyway?)

[quote/]everybody is holding their own, and even winning in some key locations![/quote]

yeah that did confuse me, I guess the organics could still hold out...plus the protheians were probably better prepared and alot more willing to strategically play with their settlments (as Javik said)

are you talking about the dallatrass? god that pissed me off...thats the problem, she thinks it all be over ina few months

I mean would you rather fight krogan or reapers?...

hmmm,,,if the reapers can controll minds theres got to be some way of detecting life..

 

[Vault101]

As long as you've imported a character from the previous games, or even just from ME2, you can get MORE than enough War Assets without multiplayer. I have over 6500 before I got too antsy and just went to the finale.

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

is *that thing you mentiond in the spoiler* possible to get with all 3 endings? or just the red one

I thourght it was only possible with red

 

[YuheJi]

Yeah, I thought that Mass Effect 3 had a lot more problems than just the ending. The main quest lines were amazing, and exactly what I expected from the game. But those side quests... Ugh... Outside of a few decent ones (like the Rachni, Victus' son) the side quests were awful.

The N7 missions were just the multiplayer maps, except now you have AI squad mates. The fetch quests were annoying, and untrackable. The "run away from the Reapers" mini game in the map was pretty dumb. And the planet scanning system was just a stripped down version of the planet scanning in Mass Effect 2. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to do the mineral scanning again, but this new planet scanning system just didn't feel complete. It was like they had more planned out, and then cut it. It just feels incomplete!

 

[Goofguy]

...Kasumi had no valid reasons not to join you...

You didn't have the priiiiiiiiiiiize.

Whining about not wanting to go on an other suicide mission does not constitute a valid reason.

 

[Jynthor]

while this is mostly true,

Spoiler

if you want the couple second end shot of shepherd taking in a breath

after choosing red, green or blue, you need an EMS > 5000 (4000?). either way that number cannot be reached without participating in the MP game.

fuck that bullshit. MP participation should never impact the SP campaign in any way. period.

Like I said, I had 6500 war assets and finished the game before I ever touched the multiplayer, so I know for a fact it's 100% possible to beat the game with the required amount of EMS without playing the multiplayer once.

yes it is possible to get the "special" GREEN ending. you cannot get the other part i mentioned without participating in the MP game. and that is bullshit. esp if it impacts future DLCs in some fashion ... which remains to be seen.

And the person you responded to said they got 6500 without touching the multiplayer. Which means it is very possible.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Let's end this once and for all.

You have War Assets and EMS.
On the end of my run(And I did pretty much everything), I had 7500+- WAR ASSETS.
However if you don't play Multiplayer your EMS setting is 50%, which means only HALF of your War Assets count. To get the "perfect" ending you need around 5000 EMS.

Thus is is NOT possible to get the "best" ending WITHOUT Multiplayer.
Yes, I'm done now.

 

[Stalydan]

NO. STOP. SHUT UP.

weve had this exact thread before

ME3 is not perfect...people know this

I'm surprised that people are still saying that it's not perfect two months after its release.