What DLC should I get for Mass Effect 2+3

[DudeistBelieve]

Doing a replay run, and I want to blaze through the DLC as I've never done them before.

However, while ME1 just has two neat little DLC packs, my god 2+3 seems to have so much content to nickel and dime us.

What DLC is worth picking up?

 

[putowtin]

2:
Lair of the Shadow Broker, especially if your a Liara fan,
Arrival, if you want the story behind why Shepard was arrested and taken back to earth
Kasumi, my favorite, gameplays a little different and you get a new team member

3:
Citadel
Citadel
Citadel

Seriously if you can only afford the one get Citadel, it's the best dlc I've played in ages

 

[DudeistBelieve]

2:
Lair of the Shadow Broker, especially if your a Liara fan,
Arrival, if you want the story behind why Shepard was arrested and taken back to earth
Kasumi, my favorite, gameplays a little different and you get a new team member

3:
Citadel
Citadel
Citadel

Seriously if you can only afford the one get Citadel, it's the best dlc I've played in ages

I'm actually debating on if I should have Femshep date Liara again or not. 2 and 3 don't introduce any new lesbian love interests do they?

 

[Asita]

Sorta kinda? On a technical note, Shepards of either gender may have a small romance with Kelly and Samara in ME2, but neither relationship ultimately goes anywhere. ME3 does allow FemShep to romance Samantha though.

More on topic, the only DLC I can personally vouch for is Lair of the Shadow Broker, which was pretty fun...I would recommend holding off on it until after the Omega 4 Relay for the sake of the story's flow, however. General consensus on Citadel is that it's also a must have, but again, can't personally vouch for it as I've never played it.

 

[The Rookie Gamer]

I'm actually debating on if I should have Femshep date Liara again or not. 2 and 3 don't introduce any new lesbian love interests do they?

Well, assuming your talking about the base games, there is a small romance with a minor supporting character who goes for either gender, but ME3 has a relatively larger romance plot with one of your crew who is lesbian(not blue space babes of indeterminate gender or bi, but said character isn't a squadmate. If you were asking whether or not the DLC adds any new options, then no.

On the recommendations of DLC, I'd go with what putowtin said, but also recommend From Ashes, Leviathan, and Omega (basically, all of the story extensions); if you can only afford one, Citadel, Citadel, Citadel.

Edit: And Asita ninja'd me on the romances, putting it better than I could have.

 

[The Madman]

Having played them all, Lair of the Shadow Broker for ME2 and Citadel for ME3 are the best. If nothing else, those two are the 'must have' while the rest are more or less optional. Here's the full rundown of paid DLC though with my thoughts:

-Arrival for ME2 is probably the shortest and least interesting gameplay-wise of the ME2 DLC but is fairly important story-wise. Worth buying if you're a completionist, but looking up what happens during it is also an option if you're feeling cheap.

-Overlord is probably the biggest ME2 DLC and quite a few people like it, but it really doesn't tie in to the main story much (if at all) and so is thoroughly optional. I thought it was merely alright.

-Kasumi for ME2 is... well, alright again. She ties in better to the series overarching story and her mission is pretty fun, if short, but she doesn't really do much as a companion character and only really makes a cameo in 3 if you're looking for major content.

-Lair of the Shadow Broker is the only DLC for ME2 which I found thoroughly satisfying in every way, and was my favourite DLC for the entire series. Ties into the main story, good length, tons of content, very well done. Even has a badass soundtrack. Shadow Broker was the DLC that made me like Liara as a character, till this I'd disliked her, but this DLC portrays her well enough to finally have won me over.

-For ME3 meanwhile Leviathan is the one that ties in most closely to the main plot and was pretty good. I enjoyed it. Not essential really, but worth considering. Some people think it makes the games ending better, I disagree... I still think ME3's ending is crap even with the details that become clear through Leviathan, but even dismissing the ending Leviathan still makes for a fun DLC I think.

-Omega for ME3 is optional. Good length and some fun combat and locations, but it's also pretty much completely separate from the main story and doesn't really go anywhere. Neat, but optional. If you're trying to save money I'd say pass, if not it's worth picking up.

-Citadel for ME3 is the biggest ME3 DLC and the best. Story-wise it's a bit of weird one since it doesn't really tie into the main story at all and kinda does it's own thing, making it optional. But it's also just very satisfying (If corny as hell) and serves as a better finale for the series than ME3's actual ending ever did.

-Finally ME3's From Ashes is another case like Kasumi. The mission is alright and the companion interesting enough, but not essential. He does have a lot of interesting insights through dialogue into the series setting, but if you're not into that sorta stuff and don't really care about the Protheans and whatnot he probably wont do much for you.

...

Also worth pointing out that if you're playing the games on the PC, you can get Mass Effect 1's first DLC for free and it's also quite good. It's called Bring Down the Sky and it can be a bit tricky to find since neither Bioware or EA really support it anymore, but it was legitimately made free for PC users and if you can find a download it's worth installing.

 

[RJ 17]

2:
Lair of the Shadow Broker, especially if your a Liara fan,
Arrival, if you want the story behind why Shepard was arrested and taken back to earth
Kasumi, my favorite, gameplays a little different and you get a new team member

3:
Citadel
Citadel
Citadel

Seriously if you can only afford the one get Citadel, it's the best dlc I've played in ages

I'm actually debating on if I should have Femshep date Liara again or not. 2 and 3 don't introduce any new lesbian love interests do they?

For starters: putowtin named pretty much all the DLC that you should get. Citadel is a MUST for ME3. As well as the Extended Cut (which is free and improves the much reviled ending).

As far as romancing Liara is concerned, if you ask me she's the "canon" girlfriend in for Shepard.
1: She can be romanced by MaleShep or Femshep.
2: She's the only romance option available in all three games
-As a side note to that, however, you need the Shadow Broker DLC in ME2 to continue the relationship if you romanced her in ME1. And even then, you don't get a love scene, but you do re-assert your love for her, steal a couple kisses from her, and have an intimate chat in the captain's quarters of the Normandy in 2. You don't have to have the Shadow Broker DLC to continue to romance with her, you just have to make sure you don't romance anyone else. During the part where there should be a love scene, you'll see Shepard looking longingly at a picture of Liara. This happens whether or not you get the DLC, but as I said: if you do get it, you get to steal a number of kisses from her.
3: She has a lot of intimate scenes - whether or not you romance her, but they're more meaningful if you do - in ME3 than any other character.
To my knowledge, there are no new lezzy scenes to be seen in ME2. I had thought you could probably get one with Jack but I've never managed to do it.

Back to the "necessary DLC". Arrival is pretty good and worth it. It was the last DLC for ME2 and is essentially a prequel mission for ME3.

Kasumi just gives you another character and a special SMG for your SMG characters to use. It also allows her to pop up in ME3 (assuming she survives ME2's final mission) which gives you access to two War Assets, where-as without her you have to pick one or the other. Same thing goes for Zaaed Massani (spelling), for that matter. Zaaed is actually pretty useful in combat, his Inferno Grenade ability is great and I love his voice actor. But neither of them necessarily add anything to the story. As far as ME2 story DLC is concerned, Shadow Broker (highly recommended) and Arrival (could be skipped because the events are mentioned in ME3 whether you do it or not, but I'd still recommend it) are the only ones you should concern yourself with.

As for ME3, again: Citadel is an absolute MUST! It's got a great sense of humor and you get to have a party with all surviving squadmates from all the games attending. Also: you can have Wrex join your team again for a couple missions which is just awesome by itself.

Leviathan adds a lot of background story for the Reapers. Specifically: you learn exactly where the Reapers came from and why they were created (if Star Child's explanation wasn't enough). I'd recommend it, but really it's not all that critical. It also allows you to unlock the Dominate special ability which lets you mind-control organic enemies for a little while, making them fight for you. It can be pretty handy

Omega was a huge disappointment, and I'd say that one can definitely be skipped. Plagued by graphical glitches during the cutscenes, it doesn't really add much at all to the story. They kinda just did it because "fans wanted to go back to Omega, so we'll make a DLC based around that." It has absolutely nothing to do with the story, the only perks to it are the fact that you actually get to have Aria from ME2 as a squadmate for the duration of the DLC, you get access to a new special ability called Flare which is a massive biotic attack (basically it's like a super-powered version of Warp that causes it's own Biotic Explosion, and makes a bigger one if you use it as the trigger for a biotic combo), and you actually get to see a female turian who joins up with you for most of the DLC. As I said though, it doesn't really add much to the story at all and can easily be skipped unless you're a huge ME fan and just want to experience everything there is to experience with regards to ME.

In short, the Must-Haves are Shadow Broker (ME2) and Citadel (ME3). Arrival (ME2) and Leviathan (ME3) come highly recommended by me, but aren't critical unless you want to have as much of the backstory and lore as you can get for the series.

 

[Silly Hats]

Project Overlord and Leviathan are my favourites by a long shot. Overlord is such a good addition and never gets the praise that it deserves. The overall theme merges perfectly with The Illusive Man's goals in ME3.

 

[RJ 17]

As far as romancing Liara is concerned, if you ask me she's the "canon" girlfriend in for Shepard.

I agree, for the same reasons you stated.

The scenes with her in ME3 (eg: time capsule scene) are far more poignant if you actually have her as a romance.

Besides, she's the only character that shows an interest in Shepard first. All the others [small](I think?, off hand?)[/small] need to be 'seduced' (for want of a better word), by Shepard.
So the Liara romance ... I dunno ... feeling more 'natural' I guess.

The end is more raw too, with all that Liara and Shepard have been through across three different games.
Her and Shepard have been through a lot together. She's not just someone you hook up with at the end.
(Which is also the reason why the Traynor / Cortez romances seem a bit ... rushed)

Spoiler: Going to use spoilers just in case, despite the OP saying that this is all for a replay-run. All talk about romance and minor story-spoilers - for Liara in particular - are contained here-in

Yeah, considering everything that Shepard's been through, jumping right into the sack with Traynor seemed pretty off to me (seeing as how you can "romance" pretty early in the game). And Cortez's entire story-arc revolves around him grieving over his dead husband...apparently it's just natural to go from grieving over the loss of your soul-mate (whom you can't find the strength to let go of until Shepard comes along) to a new relationship with someone you effectively just met. I'm not saying it'd be impossible for him to love again, just seems a bit...sudden.

But yeah, Liara's always been my favorite romance. Like I said, she's the only one that you can (more or less) romance in all 3 games. Kaiden and Ash lose faith in you (to be fair, it's for damn good reasons) in ME2, kinda hard to want to get back with them in ME3 after they basically tell you to piss-off in ME2. Liara doesn't give up on you, though.

Call me sentimental, but I couldn't stop from getting misty-eyed when I first played through the ending of the game. The part where you're walking through the base and having your final conversation with all your squadmates. Liara's, of course, is the most touching whether or not you romanced her, but it's even more-so if you do. "All those little blue children are going to be disappointed that we don't have a story." "We'll make up a good one for them." Eeeeyup, Liara's carrying Shepard's child.

And in the Extended if you take Liara with you for the final push, the Normandy comes to get her and the other squadmate (yeah, it makes NO sense, I know, but still it kinda-sorta answers the "Where's your squadmates?" question), you get to say your final farewell to her and she says "I am yours". In the first game she explains that since the Asari are likely to outlive their mates if they fall in love with a different species so they take a philosophical view upon it...celebrating the memories they have of their lost love ones as they move on. I just get the feeling that after her relationship with Shepard, there's no WAY Liara's going to be able to move on. She'll be feeling the pain of that loss for the next 900 years. Ouch.

What DLC is worth picking up?

Another one that I forgot to mention (though a couple others have) is From Ashes. yeah, it REALLY sucks that they made the Prothean character a paid DLC, but this was back when EA was essentially run by Satan (at least I think they're trying to get better, what with getting rid of the Online Pass and what-not). It's quite clear that he was supposed to be in the game all along, he adds a LOT more to the story than Zaaed and Kasumi added to ME2. You also get access to the Particle Beam Rifle (frickin' over-powered as all hell assault rifle) and his Dark Channel biotic attack. It works kinda like Reave in that it's a Damage over Time attack and can be used as a primer for biotic explosions, however this it will spread to a nearby enemies if the target it's currently on dies before the power's duration is up.

The only DLC I'd probably advise steering clear of is Leviathan (ME3). Retcons, retcons everywhere!

Now what's all this "retcon" business with Leviathan that you're talking about? I'm pretty sure that everything in Leviathan matches up with the story in the regular game, even the original non-EC version. All it does is give the details to Star Child's backstory where as in the regular ending when you asking him "Who made you?" all he tells you is "They're dead and you wouldn't know them". That's a fair enough point, really.

Beyond that, everything you learn in Leviathan matches up perfectly with what Star Child - again, even in the non-EC ending - said about his motivations. Motivations which I'll go to my grave arguing actually make perfect sense despite the "Yo Dawg" meme that popped up about it.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Lair of the Shadow Broker and The Citadel DLC cannot be stressed enough. These two are must-haves for any fan of the Mass Effect 3. However, it is suggested that you don't play either one until you've finished the game--or in ME3's case, don't play it until you are just about to attack the Cerberus base--the point of no return. You will get more out of The Citadel if you wait that long.

Everything else, here are my thoughts:

ME2 Arrival: Weak. Very, very weak. The only character to have a speaking role is Shepard, because everyone else is left out of the mission. HOWEVER, this is the first time you see Hackett in person, so that was a nice bonus. However, the thing just feels very rushed and you are already aware of what happens: Shepard blew up a relay and killed tens of thousands of aliens in the process. This is mentioned at the beginning of ME3. Should you choose to play it, play it after the suicide mission.

Zaeed: He's a fun character to have along and he has some fun dialogue options in your party. His mission is very run-of-the-mill, but his true strength comes in the suicide mission. Like Grunt, he's a tank, so he ups the odds of everyone surviving The Line if he is left to hold the door. I like him (of course, if you already have him then this is pointless).

Kasumi: Fun character again, and I think her mission is much more interesting than Zaeed's. She also comes with the best SMG in the game and makes it so non-soldier classes can finally stand up in a straight fire fight. Her cloaking ability is good at dealing massive damage to enemies, and she can't be hurt while she's cloaked. She too has some funny dialogue.

Overlord: Slightly better than Arrival, but not much. The story is better for sure, but again only Shepard really gets a speaking role (out of the original cast). Even bringing Legion along doesn't change much. And the Hammerhead is painfully weak. Playing this does unlock some extras in ME3, but this thing is touched on even less than Arrival. It's just written slightly better I think.

ME3: Leviathan. Oh man, if it weren't for the ending of the game, I think this could have been amazing. It adds a depth to the story, and some of your other characters get speaking roles. I like the mystery it introduces, and it even changes some of the ending dialogue. In my opinion it should have changed the entire game, but BioWare said no. If you like story and backstory, I would say pick this one up. If you don't mind the way the series ended, you'll most likely enjoy this.

From Ashes: Zaeed and Kasumi all over again. If you liked those two and how they were added in, you'll like him. Oh, and boy does he have some fun conversations with your crew. Especially Liara. He's worth picking up just for those in my opinion.

I had to scroll back up and read other comments to remember what the third DLC was. Omega could have been something amazing. Finally, we get to see Aria retake it like she was talking about in the game. Sadly, while it does have more action that Arrival and Overlord, it just feels...hollow. Ultimately it affects nothing in the game and really does just feel like a cash grab. You don't get to explore Omega the way you'd think you should, and again, you leave your squad behind. I don't know, I just feel that this should have been much more than it turned out to be.

But yes, get Shadow Broker (which is even more amazing if you're in a relationship with Liara and stay faithful to her) and The Citadel...? Well, let's just say that, to me, that is how the game should have ended. And so, that is where I end my playthroughs now. I pretend it takes place after the final battle and Shepard is just enjoying time with her crew.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I only ever got two of them, one for either game. Lair of the Shadow Broker and From Ashes. Lair of the Shadow Broker was rather fun, but no where near its price of $10.00. It was a massive rip off for sure. From Ashes was also a ripoff, and should not have been DLC but a part of the full game release, however Javik is the kind of character that you can't really do without since he's one of the best in the whole trilogy, so it's the kind of thing that you have to just cave in and accept a shitty deal for a good outcome.

But yeah, DLC practices like these piss me off, so I never played any of the others.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I just want to state, as far as the ending is concerned, in my head my first playthrough of the game resulted in Renegade FemShep destroying ALL LIFE in the galaxy... And I was satisfied with this. She was the Queen ***** Of The Universe that said she would deliver peace at any cost. Well fancy that, a dead universe IS a universe that finally knows peace. I'm actually aiming for this aim again, so I don't really want to download the B.S. ending if it means the whole universe isn't wiped out.

As far as romancing Liara is concerned, if you ask me she's the "canon" girlfriend in for Shepard.

I agree, for the same reasons you stated.

The scenes with her in ME3 (eg: time capsule scene) are far more poignant if you actually have her as a romance.

Besides, she's the only character that shows an interest in Shepard first. All the others [small](I think?, off hand?)[/small] need to be 'seduced' (for want of a better word), by Shepard.
So the Liara romance ... I dunno ... feeling more 'natural' I guess.

The end is more raw too, with all that Liara and Shepard have been through across three different games.
Her and Shepard have been through a lot together. She's not just someone you hook up with at the end.
(Which is also the reason why the Traynor / Cortez romances seem a bit ... rushed)

I just did a brief read through a wiki, and it looks like that yeah... Liaras the one. She is the only one automatically interested, and since I can never play as Maleshep (the voice acting sucks) that eliminates any interest I would have in Miranda or Jack.

Garrus is the only real screw through this play through, because who didn't love this son of a *****? Like Critical Miss says, he goes from Dirty Harry to BATMAN! But he has such a great Bromance with lesbian FemShep, I don't know if its worth it.

 

[ultrachicken]

Citadel is by far the best DLC in the series, followed fairly closely by Lair of the Shadow Broker. I also thought Leviathan had some very, very memorable sequences but I can't in good conscience recommend it to you unless you have a fair amount of money since it's rather short.

 

[ecoho]

Doing a replay run, and I want to blaze through the DLC as I've never done them before.

However, while ME1 just has two neat little DLC packs, my god 2+3 seems to have so much content to nickel and dime us.

What DLC is worth picking up?

ME2: overlord, kasumi, arrival, and shadow broker. All of these are worth your time.

ME3: must haves are Citadel and Leviathan. I would recommend omega if only so you can get flare its that good of an ability(and some kick ass mods are in this DLC too) from ashes is well, it really should of come with every game free but its a pretty good dlc if you got the few bucks to waste on it.

I would also recommend picking up a few of the weapon packs as some of them are pretty nice and pretty cheap(I think one of them is free)

just my opinion though and ill admit going through ME2 right now all that dlc is time consuming.

 

[RJ 17]

(edited to fix a broken quote box)

The only DLC I'd probably advise steering clear of is Leviathan (ME3). Retcons, retcons everywhere!

Now what's all this "retcon" business with Leviathan that you're talking about? I'm pretty sure that everything in Leviathan matches up with the story in the regular game, even the original non-EC version. All it does is give the details to Star Child's backstory where as in the regular ending when you asking him "Who made you?" all he tells you is "They're dead and you wouldn't know them". That's a fair enough point, really.

Beyond that, everything you learn in Leviathan matches up perfectly with what Star Child - again, even in the non-EC ending - said about his motivations. Motivations which I'll go to my grave arguing actually make perfect sense despite the "Yo Dawg" meme that popped up about it.

You're probably right. In fact, I'm not even gonna defend myself there. =P

I guess I still preferred it when the the Reapers where all 'mysterious', their origins unknown, and their motivations "unknowable" (direct quote from Legion).

And I've got a theory on that note as well.

But you go ahead and make your ME thread, and I'll be there shortly with (what will likely be) an essay in response to it.

The other thing I forgot to mention is that Liara is guaranteed to survive all three games, no matter what you do.

Yep, just further evidence to support the notion that she's the "canon" romance for Shepard. All the evidence from all the games points to the fact that you're "supposed" to romance her.

Hell, after the beginning of ME2, your entire crew disbands and goes their own separate ways.......except for Liara. She cuts a deal with a known terrorist group on the off-chance that they might be able to bring Shepard back. And that's regardless of whether or not you romance her in ME1. Apparently she was the only one who ever really cared about Shepard. :3

 

[Augustine]

Most people here are spot on.
Lair of the Shadow Broker and the Citadel are great.

From Ashes is very tempting because of the amazing team member it provides (lore-wise).

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I loved the ME2 Collector's Edition "Collector Rifle" - aesthetically my favorite gun in the game. So much so that I modded the game to make it powerful enough to run through the whole game with. Too bad it's not carried over to ME3 But that's just me, and it's a minor quibble.

 

[IceForce]

Spoiler

Yeah, the Cortez romance always bothered me. It's almost as if Shepard catches him on the 'rebound' or something; it just doesn't feel right.

Even weirder, is the way Kaidan 'becomes bi' in ME3.
But he's ONLY an option if he survived Virmire. If he didn't, Cortez is the only option for gay ManSheps.

Gay ManSheps have been given a bit of a raw deal, all things considered. They can't romance ANYONE until the 3rd game. And even then, one of the two possible romance options could well be dead.

Lesbian FemSheps have no such problems, with Liara being an option all the way through the entire series.

I guess the developers assumed more people would play as a homosexual FemShep, than a homosexual ManShep.

 

[Kotaro]

In ME1, you don't really need either one, as they don't affect anything. However, I had a bit of fun with "Bring Down the Sky," for what it's worth.

For ME2, definitely get "Lair of the Shadow Broker" and "Arrival," as they tie into the plot of ME3, even if "Arrival" isn't all that fun to play. And I loved "Overlord." It doesn't tie in to the main plot, but it has an excellent plot of its own.

As for ME3, the only one that I'd say is really required is "Citadel."

 

[Rayne360]

All of it.

That's just my opinion, no regrets.