What DLC should I get for Mass Effect 2+3

[TheSYLOH]

Here's my two cents on Leviathan.
Leviathan is a microcosm of the Mass Effect series. It's spectacularly atmospheric, fun to play, but the pay off just plain doesn't work.
As a minor spoiler, you encounter an elder race who's reasoning is so far beyond humanity's that it is indistinguishable from abject stupidity.

Spoiler

The Leviathans saw that the younger species were destroying themselves by building synthetic species, so they thought "You know what, LETS BUILD OUR OWN SYNTHETIC SPECIES! Yeah that'll show 'em how to fuck up on a truly cosmological scale!" Thus the reapers were born.

Its worth playing, just don't expect a good pay off and especially don't think to hard about it.

Otherwise all of the DLC work well, as mentioned before Citadel and Shadow Broker are probably the best of the series.
Of the lot arrival and levithan are the most iffy, I've said all I need to say about leviathan, but arrival is not really fun, but plot essential. If you find yourself wondering what the hell Shepard was doing on earth, go play it. It works best if you finish ME2 and save it for last.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

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

This.

Also, I'd say go ahead and get From Ashes for ME3. I liked the extra party member (and it was another reason to never use the guy who insisted on calling me Lola).

I really should replay ME3 here at some point and give Citadel a try. I've heard TONS of good things about it.

 

[Zeraki]

Mass Effect 2

Lair of The Shadow Broker (best story DLC in the game with the best boss fight in the series)

Overlord (really great atmospheric mission with a memorable ending).

Mass Effect 3

Citadel (just don't take it too seriously. It's basically a loving campy sendoff to the series.)

From Ashes (Javik is one of my favorite Mass Effect characters. Just warning you his recruitment mission is ridiculously short. You might want to check out a couple videos of him if you're not sure if you'd like him)

 

[Asita]

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.

If you're playing as a Femshep, Traynor drops hints that she finds Shepard attractive, during that shower scene.

So she's another one who's interested in Shepard, almost straight away.

Team Dextro also hints at it before Shepard does. Garrus even drops a comparatively subtle one[footnote]Read: you probably wouldn't notice unless you played a male and a female character[/footnote] right after you recruit him again in ME2[footnote]It comes if you choose to tell Garrus that the scars don't make him look 'any worse than usual'. The guy takes it in stride and to MaleShep retorts that now Shepard has a fighting chance with the ladies. To FemShep, he suggestively (at least that's how I'd describe the tone of his voice) comments that 'some women find facial scars attractive', which he then plays off as a joke by suggesting that most of those women are krogan[/footnote]. Similarly, you don't really start to flirt with Tali until she lets slip that the only person she felt close enough to link her suit with was Shepard[footnote]If Shepard affirms that he trusts her as well, she then embarrassedly clarifies that the act 'signifies a willingness for, um, intimacy'...so yeah, it's as direct as it sounds[/footnote] and it's only after that that the romance starts. If that wasn't enough, Kelly kinda blows the lid on Tali's feelings when she's first recruited, commenting that the quarian's body language strongly suggested her attraction, and in the aforementioned conversation Tali pretty much spells out that she'd been crushing on Shepard since the first game and later confides that she'd simply never thought he'd be interested and had resigned herself to what she thought would always be unrequited feelings. It's arguably a retcon, but by ME2's account, Tali had been interested for about as long as Liara, a point actually directly stated by the latter at the end of Lair of the Shadow Broker (provided you romanced Tali, of course).


Though yeah...DLC...I admittedly had forgotten about From Ashes and honestly that's kinda hit and miss for me. On the one hand, taking Javik out irks me something fierce. It's the kind of little thing that adds a bit more character to the verse and the background, but ultimately Sniper Team 4 is very right to compare it to Zaeed and Kasumi's DLC, because it's very similar in size, scope and nature to those...which makes it highly annoying that it's got the same price tag as Lair of the Shadow Broker, which I feel is a much better investment. Honestly, I go back and forth with this, but I feel that I cannot in good conscience suggest From Ashes unless you find it or the Digital Deluxe edition (if you don't already have ME3) on sale, because everything else notwithstanding, I don't think it's worth the regular pricetag.

 

[Kingjackl]

For Mass Effect 2, Shadow Broker is essential, and I'd also recommend Overlord and the two squadmate DLCs. The weapon packs are also good, since they add some much needed variety to the piss-poor selection of weapons in ME2.

As for 3, I'd definitely recommend From Ashes, Extended Cut, Leviathan and Citadel. Omega's kind of fun, but not really worth the price, and anything else is just fluff. Also, if you're into multiplayer, the DLC for that is essential as well. I'm pretty sure it's free, so no worries there.

 

[Zhukov]

Alrighty, hope this helps.

ME2:

Stolen Memory (Kasumi DLC) is alright. You get a crew member, a mission and a SMG that is actually good. Bit short and nothing amazing, but also nothing particularly wrong with it. Might not be worth whatever price they're asking for it. The character you get is not hugely fleshed out (think Zaeed), but generally likable. If nothing else, it's nice to have someone optimistic and cheerful among your crew of sad sacks, psychos and broken wrecks.

Overlord is good. Not great, but solid stuff. Reasonable length. Entirely unrelated to the main game, although it will lead to some nice cameos in ME3.

Arrival is pretty shit, in my opinion. Feels like a slapdash effort, like the A Team was busy working on ME3 and the B Team was on holiday, so the let the C Team out of the basement to crank out some DLC. Ridden with plot holes too. And not the easily ignorable "eh, whatver" kind of plot hole, but the big throbbing kind.

Lair of the Shadow Broker is the pick of the bunch. Ties in nicely with elements of both ME2 and ME3. Great pacing. Great mix of action and talky bits. Good character bits. I'd recommend it all round, but if you're a Liara fan to any degree whatsoever then it's a total no-brainer. Buy this one if nothing else.

The rest of the ME2 DLC is incidental and can be safely ignored. Generally just weapons, skins and other trinkets.

ME3:

Extended Cut. I thought it was worth it. Took the ending from a dear-God-what-have-they-done D to a oh-fine-I'll-fucking-take-it C in my eyes. For whatever that's worth. Your mileage may, and very likely will, vary. It's free, by the way.

Omega. Alright. I basically enjoyed it, but it's far from mind-blowing. Pretty combat heavy. If you're being economical then you won't be missing anything amazing by skipping this.

From Ashes. I'd say it's well worth it. You get a mission, a weapon and a character. The character is good and fully integrated into the campaign with proper dialogue scenes, inter-party banter and everything.

Leviathan. Ehhhh. It's not bad exactly, but I can't bring myself to call it good either. Just sorta there. Gives some major background on the main story, but it was clearly written after the whole ME3 ending business and feels like a mix of narrative damage control, post facto justification and elaboration. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to whether that's something you want.

Citadel. Okay, I'm just going to let my inner fanboy off the chain for a mement here. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, BUY THIS SUCKER. Citadel is some of the finest content Bioware has ever produced. It's 4-5 hours or so of condensed joy. It's a bit silly, and if someone had described it to me ahead of time I'd have been dubious as hell, but after playing it I promptly decided it was the best swan song for the series I could possibly have hoped for. It's hilarious from start to finish, absolutely loaded to the gunwales with self-referential humour and isn't at all afraid to poke fun at itself. You get a lengthly series of missions, tons of dialogue, with every single surviving crew member of every game getting their moment, and tons of amusing banter between said crew members. The only bad thing I can think of to say about it is that it's kinda disconnected from the main game. Also, some people might find the love-letter-to-the-fans aspect a bit cloying. But I for one cannot recommend it enough.

Aaaaand the rest is either free or is just odds-and-ends stuff of no consequence.

 

[WWWLUCIFERCOM]

Its easier to say what not to get its Citadel and here's why.
1.Fan fic the dlc tell me again why thats necessary
2.15$ American yeah no thank you
3.I get its war you want some time to unwind but did it need to be so cliche and cheesy in doing so
4.(spoiler) A GOD DAMN CLONE WTF

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Leviathan. Ehhhh. It's not bad exactly, but I can't bring myself to call it good either. Just sorta there. Gives some major background on the main story, but it was clearly written after the whole ME3 ending business and feels like a mix of narrative damage control, post facto justification and elaboration. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to whether that's something you want.

Interesting side note: There is actually a reference to the events of Leviathan as far back as ME1. I'm certainly not arguing that Leviathan was written in response to fans' outrage at how little the ending explained. But as I was recently replaying the trilogy I was shocked to discover what was clearly the genesis of the idea that Leviathan's writers ran with.

I'll spoiler it for politeness

Spoiler

In Leviathan they always referred to the creature they were hunting as "The Leviathan of Dis." I was always confused about why they called it that. Then I went to the Dis system of the Hades Nexus cluster in ME1. In the decription of one of the inconsequential planets that you can't land on (I don't even remember the name) is a story about how, a few years ago, a human exploration team discovered the corpse of what is described as a huge, incredibly advanced "organic starship." They dated the corpse to be over a billion years old. Shortly after that, a batarian ship was seen passing by the planet, and when the scientists returned the corpse was gone.

Obviously, whatever this bit of lore was intended for originally, it was seized upon as the perfect way to link to the Leviathans. It already sounds like a reaper: it's huge, it's incredibly ancient, it's unexplained and mysterious, and they fit could fit it very well into the reapers' origin story. I was actually pretty excited to see that connection. I really do wonder how far back the idea of the Leviathans and the reapers' creators goes in the production of the series.

Anyway, as far as DLC goes, I have it all and regret none of it. If you aren't a superfan, and you want to be more selective and get the most bang for your buck, The Madman's and Zhukov's guides are good ones to follow.

 

[soren7550]

I'm guessing you're only asking about the Character/Mission DLC, and not about the weapons/alternate appearance packs?

Let's get started then.

Spoiler: Mass Effect

Bring Down the Sky - One of only two Mass Effect DLCs, it doesn't really add anything to the series overall, but it's still fun. And depending on how you play it out, you can get some really rare and awesome gear at the end of it. If you have the extra cash (or are playing on PC), I guess you should go for it.

Pinnacle Station - Doesn't add anything to the series overall. It's just a combat simulator that comes with a few achievements. However, if you need to get any Ally or Power use achievements, this greatly helps you get them. An easy skip, probably should only pick it up if you want all the achievements.

Spoiler: Mass Effect 2

(not counting things that come free with the Cerberus Network)
Kasumi - Stolen Memory - I love Kasumi as a character, but you may or may not find her useful depending on what class you're playing as. Her mission is fun as hell though, and you get the best SMG in the game here. If you have the cash to spare, go for it.

Overlord - An interesting enough DLC that gets pretty disturbing, but it doesn't add much to the series. You can probably skip this one.

Lair of the Shadow Broker - This is part of a hunk of Mass Effect 2 that moves the story forward and prepares you for Mass Effect 3. Pretty fun, and epic, this is a must buy. (for story reasons, in my opinion, it's best to leave this for after the Suicide Mission)

Mass Effect: Genesis - Only get this if you *REALLY* don't want to go through Mass Effect, but even then I don't really recommend it due to all the stuff you'll miss out on. Pass.

Arrival - The other hunk that moves the story forward to Mass Effect 3. While it's interesting enough, it's kinda on the short side and it's kinda boring gameplay wise. If it weren't for the fact that this is so important to Mass Effect 3, I'd say skip it, but you kinda can't for story reasons alone. Another DLC that I'd recommend waiting to do until after the Suicide Mission.

Spoiler: Mass Effect 3

(not counting any multiplayer items)
From Ashes - Content that was clearly cut from the main game in order to have Day 1 DLC, this is a must have on the basis that Javik is so interracial to the game. It also doesn't help that you already don't have a whole lot of squadmates to pick from.

Extended Cut - The ending patch. Don't download unless you plan on doing anything Cronus Station onward.

Leviathan - You find out the origin of the Reapers here, and it's interesting enough. You get a bunch more War Assists, and several pre-order only weapons from this as well, plus a new bonus power. Also gives you a few extra lines of dialogue at the end. Buy, I suppose.

Omega - This sorta feels like it was cut from the main game, but unlike From Ashes, this is a mess, and it doesn't really come back to the main game. Littered with audio and visual bugs, you could probably pass on this.

Citadel - Buybuybuybuybuybuybuybuybuybuy. Why haven't you gotten this yet? It's loads of super fun and a much better ending to Mass Effect 3 than the actual ending and/or the patch ending. So much content to have fun with. Combat simulator! In game games! Character interactions! Apartment decorating! THE LANCER!!

Mass Effect: Genesis 2 - Unless you really, really don't want to play ME 1 & 2, and have a whole bunch of choices be left unpicked and unbothered with, then avoid, avoid, avoid.

Of course, if you have all the money needed for the Character/Mission DLC to spare (not to mention the storage space for it as well), then I say got for all of them.

Except for the Genesis DLCs. Avoid those and just play the games.

 

[Olas]

Rather than answer this with a binary buy/don't buy I'll just give you my personal impression of each.

Kasumi Stolen memory: I can't remember these missions too well, that probably says a lot right there. From what I recall you have to infiltrate a party which means dressing up and socializing, and I never cared much for those kinds of missions. Kasumi herself is an interesting character, being stealth based, but I'd consider this DLC utterly optional.

Overlord: This pack is fairly substantial, there's about 3 or 4 main missions separated by shorter ones where you pilot the Hammerhead. It has an interesting story, and the levels are pretty well designed. You won't gain any squadmates for completing it but you will get to make decisions about characters who you'll see again in ME3.

Lair of the Shadow Broker: Everyone says this is the best ME2 DLC and I can't say I don't understand why. I'm pretty impartial to Liara myself but even I think she got shorthanded in ME2, and this certainly helps make up for that. I can't say much about the story without spoiling stuff, but you won't be disappointed, or maybe you will be considering how overhyped this DLC is. It's fairly long and contains a wide variety of different things to do such as vehicle sections and mystery solving. Even after you've completed the main mission there's still more stuff you can do which helps further develop characters.

Arrival: Definitely a good DLC to get if you're interested in Harbinger and the reaper invasion. It definitely has the biggest impact on the universe as a whole and leads directly into ME3. That being said the gameplay is pretty unremarkable and nothing character-wise will be affected by it.

From Ashes: An almost must have in my book. I don't know why it wasn't included in the actual game. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that in this one you get a Prothean squadmate and learn a lot about the Protheans and their war with the Reapers. The actual mission itself is pretty unremarkable, you basically just fight a bunch of Cerberus guys for 10 minutes. It also takes place on Eden Prime, the location of the first mission from ME1 which is kinda cool but you won't see anything you'll recognize. If you're going to get any DLC at all get this one, unless the idea of having a Prothean squadmate doesn't excite you.

Leviathan: It's a fairly large piece of DLC that features some pretty cool set pieces. If you don't care about Mass Effects lore at all then you can skip it, but I think you'd be missing out. It really helps fill in the gaps of the ending and explains more about the Reapers.

Omega: Pretty meh overall. You'll go on a journey through Omega and fight some Cerberus along with some new enemies. It introduces a couple new characters but they aren't too interesting and you won't see them again after the mission's over. Mostly it just expands on Aria's character who I never really considered her very interesting in the first place. I'd say the biggest draw for me was getting to see Omega again, and yes, you will briefly return to areas from ME2. It's not bad persay, but I'd only get it if you're a completionist.

Citadel: Probably the best DLC all around, though I think it's overrated. It features quite a few varied missions, involves nearly every major character from the series and adds lots of bonus content for each character even after the main story is over. It's worth noting that the tone is decidedly quirky and comical which I feel clashes with the rest of the game and feels wrong considering it takes place in the midst of a reaper invasion. It really feels like a love letter to fans of the series and as a result tries super hard to give them everything they could want in terms of paying tribute to all the characters. But even if you aren't into all that fanservicey stuff it's still a very well crafted piece of DLC all around and it's story is pretty interesting if a little far fetched.

 

[Britishfan]

You should get all of the DLC.
OK, possibly not the alternate appearance stuff or the weapons packs if you don't want to. (Although personally I would recommend the weapon packs for ME2 regardless because otherwise there just isn't enough weapon variety in the game, you can pretty much leave them for ME3 though as there are more weapons than you could possibly ever need in that game already).

On a related note, for me ME2 exists in the golden age of DLC. Back then DLC meant "here's an extra side character & accompanying mission (Kasumi & Zaeed)", or here's a whole bunch of awesome (Shadow Brooker). Now DLC means "Here's the rest of the story"(From Ashes) or have some horse armour (Skyrim).

 

[Darks63]

Citadel: Probably the best DLC all around, though I think it's overrated. It features quite a few varied missions, involves nearly every major character from the series and adds lots of bonus content for each character even after the main story is over. It's worth noting that the tone is decidedly quirky and comical which I feel clashes with the rest of the game and feels wrong considering it takes place in the midst of a reaper invasion. It really feels like a love letter to fans of the series and as a result tries super hard to give them everything they could want in terms of paying tribute to all the characters. But even if you aren't into all that fanservicey stuff it's still a very well crafted piece of DLC all around and it's story is pretty interesting if a little far fetched.

An addendum to this is the fact that in order to Get everyone at the party you have to do it after horizon which is like the allied soldiers in ww2 throwing a party after finding a concentration camp. Not to mention Anderson sends you this "hey bro please use my place while im gone" message in the midst of fighting a global life or death struggle

The Missions and party are availible pretty early on(After The mission on Garrus's homeworld i believe) and if start it before finishing certain plot missions then you are unable to have characters that completing those missions unlock. Which means during the DLC missions you miss out on banter, better squad choices, and the party is less fun too.