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Thread: Mass Effect 3

  1. #241
    The Abominable Senior Member Hexxagon Champion Monk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to.../index/9992705

    Bioware announces the first ("of many") N7 challenge weekends. Are you a bad enough dude to beat Reapers on Silver? If you are you'll get special unlock packs. Beating the Reapers on Silver is good enough for a "commendation" pack, which contains random weapons that were originally only available through single-player DLC.

    They've also attached a metagame - if the community (across all platforms) kills a million Brutes by Sunday(i think) then everyone who plays MP gets a "victory" pack. If you want to contribute to the score tally, make sure you turn "upload game feedback" on in the online options of the game.

    Full details are at the link above.

    edit:

    Its time specific so don't bother trying to grind it RIGHT NOW if you're after the commendation packs. The event doesnt start for another couple of hours.
    Last edited by Monk; 03-16-2012 at 23:26.

  2. #242
    Member Member Greyblades's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Spoilers in the link.
    So it turns out there's a bunch of stuff they cut from the ending, maybe they kept it for this dlc ending but it really feels kinda wasted.
    Last edited by Greyblades; 03-17-2012 at 00:02.
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    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

  3. #243
    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Monk View Post
    http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to.../index/9992705

    Bioware announces the first ("of many") N7 challenge weekends. Are you a bad enough dude to beat Reapers on Silver? If you are you'll get special unlock packs. Beating the Reapers on Silver is good enough for a "commendation" pack, which contains random weapons that were originally only available through single-player DLC.

    They've also attached a metagame - if the community (across all platforms) kills a million Brutes by Sunday(i think) then everyone who plays MP gets a "victory" pack. If you want to contribute to the score tally, make sure you turn "upload game feedback" on in the online options of the game.

    Full details are at the link above.

    edit:

    Its time specific so don't bother trying to grind it RIGHT NOW if you're after the commendation packs. The event doesnt start for another couple of hours.
    I like that. If you get at least one person alive at the extraction point, the entire squad gets a single-player only weapon for multiplayer.
    And I like the idea of killing lots of Brutes. It sure takes the boredom out of playing with those idiot Quarian Infiltrators who only go against Geth.

  4. #244
    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Dear Quarian Infiltrators,
    There are other enemies besides Geth. You should try them.

    Dear Infiltrators in general,
    You are the "flag runners." Use your Tactical Cloak to get in and capture the objectives. The quicker the team finishes the objective wave, the more money you get.

    Dear Asari Adepts,
    When going up against armor, Warp then THROW. Don't just use Warp all the time. A Biotic Explosion will do more damage than Warp ever could.

    Dear Human Vanguards,
    Biotic Charge followed by a Nova will get you killed. Don't expect me to revive you.

    Dear Turian Sentinels,
    Keep being awesome.

    Dear Krogan,
    Don't melee anything with an instakill attack when they are focused on you.

    Dear Soldiers,
    Please choose a class that doesn't suck.

    Dear Bioware,
    Give me my Black Widow already!

    Dear snipers,
    Stop using the Black Widow. You're making me jealous.

    Dear Human Engineers,
    Let's face the facts: The only reason we let you play is for Overload.

    Dear Human Adepts,
    A Singularity on a Ravager will kill all Swarmers that pop out. A Singularity on anything else with armor will kill all respect for you.

  5. #245
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    It seems all the people who are useless came out of the woodwork for this weekend. By the looks of this thread, there are people here who play MP a lot more then I have, yet I keep being ahead of my Silver-Reaper colleagues by like 30 odd overall levels whilst they are generally 8 or 12.

    If anyone has Xbox version and wants to hook up, let me know.
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  6. #246
    The Abominable Senior Member Hexxagon Champion Monk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiaexz View Post
    It seems all the people who are useless came out of the woodwork for this weekend. By the looks of this thread, there are people here who play MP a lot more then I have, yet I keep being ahead of my Silver-Reaper colleagues by like 30 odd overall levels whilst they are generally 8 or 12.

    If anyone has Xbox version and wants to hook up, let me know.
    Double this but for PC. You guys know my origin name just give me a ping if you want to hook up for a few games, some useless people clogging up the lobbies at the moment. Think i may go mess around in single-player or CKII while i wait for the rush of idiots to calm down.

    As an addendum it looks like we'll be waiting until after the event to get our unlock packs.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bioware
    "PLEASE NOTE THAT REWARDS WILL UNLOCK ON TUESDAY, MARCH 20 @ 5 PM PST.
    YOU MUST REDEEM (OPEN) YOUR PACKS IN THE MULTIPLAYER STORE MENU WITHIN 7
    DAYS, AT WHICH POINT THE PACKS WILL EXPIRE AND CANNOT BE RESTORED.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bioware
    Each player can earn a maximum of one pack, and each pack contains a random N7 Arsenal Weapon. :) Just one Commendation pack. This is likely only the first of this type of challenge though, so stay tuned
    So cross your fingers you get a shotgun if you like shotguns...

    Quote Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae
    Dear Krogan,
    Don't melee anything with an instakill attack when they are focused on you.

    Dear Soldiers,
    Please choose a class that doesn't suck.
    As a Krogan Soldier I resent that! I'm a credit to team, honest

  7. #247
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Think I've found my favorite reaper-fighting class. Salarian engineer is gorgeous. Decoy is possibly my favorite thing ever. Nothing like watching 2 brutes and a banshee stupid out and wail on nothing while everyone unloads hell on them.
    It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

  8. #248
    The Bad Doctor Senior Member Chaotix's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Just got my hands on my Collector's Edition (though I still think there should be a Collector on the front ).

    Spent an entire night playing it instead of sleeping. Poor internet connection here though, so no multiplayer yet.

    Still having a ton of fun with it.
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  9. #249
    The Abominable Senior Member Hexxagon Champion Monk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by issaikhaan View Post
    Think I've found my favorite reaper-fighting class. Salarian engineer is gorgeous. Decoy is possibly my favorite thing ever. Nothing like watching 2 brutes and a banshee stupid out and wail on nothing while everyone unloads hell on them.
    I've been rocking Krogan Soldier with a Geth Plasma Shotgun. Due to how the pellets work, the plasma shotgun can double as close range mayhem and long range fire support, it also has a charge shot that makes Ravegers, Banshees and Brutes a triviality! (well not really, but it does do some damage!) I've maxed Rage and Carnage with inferno grenade up to about 5 bubbles. This means that I can charge it - hit melee, unload a fully charged plasma shot, fire off carnage (which has upgraded aoe effects) and throw down an inferno grenade. My close combat burst is insane. Carnage and Inferno grenade are specially good for taking down Brutes.

    I fear the Krogan Soldier would be a bit worse on Gold where everything has a ton more health, but on Silver the Krogan is an absolute bruiser. So far i've taken part in 6 successful extractions (2 full and 4 partial) since the event started.
    Last edited by Monk; 03-18-2012 at 01:37.

  10. #250
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Monk View Post
    I've been rocking Krogan Soldier with a Geth Plasma Shotgun. Due to how the pellets work, the plasma shotgun can double as close range mayhem and long range fire support, it also has a charge shot that makes Ravegers, Banshees and Brutes a triviality! (well not really, but it does do some damage!) I've maxed Rage and Carnage with inferno grenade up to about 5 bubbles. This means that I can charge it - hit melee, unload a fully charged plasma shot, fire off carnage (which has upgraded aoe effects) and throw down an inferno grenade. My close combat burst is insane. Carnage and Inferno grenade are specially good for taking down Brutes.

    I fear the Krogan Soldier would be a bit worse on Gold where everything has a ton more health, but on Silver the Krogan is an absolute bruiser. So far i've taken part in 6 successful extractions (2 full and 4 partial) since the event started.
    Hmm. I've got a krogan soldier myself and tried it, but I just kept falling flat against Banshees. Just feel like I can't sustain enough damage, and lack the nimbleness to avoid their attacks.

    Naturally, since my previous post complaining about a lack of soldiers to try the saber with, I've got enough Turian soldiers to customize them for everything except the skin color. O_o. I've had pretty good success combining the saber with maxed out marksman. Saber is a beautiful weapon in Turian hands. Lots of power, accurate, doubles as a sniper if you equip a scope, decent mag size, and very nice rate of fire when combo'd with marksman.
    Last edited by seireikhaan; 03-18-2012 at 06:39.
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  11. #251
    Just another Member rajpoot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3



    The horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

  12. #252
    Robot Unicorn Member Kekvit Irae's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by rajpoot View Post
    -snip-
    EMERGENCY INDUCTION PORT

  13. #253
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae View Post
    EMERGENCY INDUCTION PORT
    Just make sure you're veeeerry careful.

    And for god's sake, don't drunk dial the angry alien the deck below you. The airlock is not your friend.
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  14. #254

    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Can someone give me a few specific spoilers, please? I want to know if some of the aspects I hated about ME2's plot get an answer in 3. I'll spoiler the questions in case there are people here who have not finished ME2.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    1. Is anything done with Shepard's cybernetic implants? It's incredibly obvious that they were sourced from Reaper tech, same as Saren's.

    2. How about Cerberus? Is it acknowledged that they are part of the Alliance despite the official line that they are renegades?

    3. Skeletor the Lame End Boss. Please tell me there's some kind of explanation for that!

    4. Illusive Man. Let me guess: indoctrinated all along? Hope not, that would be the cheap way out.

    I hated the way they brought Shepard back after pointlessly killing her, despised being made to work for evil space nazis, and found the final boss unbelievably stupid. If there's something which redeems or builds on those things, great! My opinion of ME2 might retrospectively rise. If ME3 is more of the inane same, blergh.


    I loved ME1. 2 was a big disappointment, despite its better characters and numerous links to the first game. ME3 sounds like it drops the ball hard, particularly if you do not touch the MP mode.
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  15. #255
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by frogbeastegg View Post
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    1. Is anything done with Shepard's cybernetic implants? It's incredibly obvious that they were sourced from Reaper tech, same as Saren's.

    2. How about Cerberus? Is it acknowledged that they are part of the Alliance despite the official line that they are renegades?

    3. Skeletor the Lame End Boss. Please tell me there's some kind of explanation for that!

    4. Illusive Man. Let me guess: indoctrinated all along? Hope not, that would be the cheap way out.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    These answers are based from End of Mass Effect 2 and Beginning of ME3:

    1. Nothing as far as I am aware as I haven't completed ME3 and there is zero mention of this as if it was retconned from the series. There was going to be an indoctrination at the end I believe, but they scraped that idea.

    2. They are terrorists and never part of the Alliance or working with them at all. Then again, not completed ME3 and I heard nothing contrary to this, only things which reinforced this point of view.

    3. This is explained in ME2. They were trying to create a human reaper. All reapers are created using organics of specific races, this was one for the Human race.

    4. I don't believe so, he is far more ambitious and opportunistic. He wants to control the reapers for personal power.
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  16. #256

    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Thanks.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiaexz View Post
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    These answers are based from End of Mass Effect 2 and Beginning of ME3:

    1. Nothing as far as I am aware as I haven't completed ME3 and there is zero mention of this as if it was retconned from the series. There was going to be an indoctrination at the end I believe, but they scraped that idea.

    2. They are terrorists and never part of the Alliance or working with them at all. Then again, not completed ME3 and I heard nothing contrary to this, only things which reinforced this point of view.

    3. This is explained in ME2. They were trying to create a human reaper. All reapers are created using organics of specific races, this was one for the Human race.

    4. I don't believe so, he is far more ambitious and opportunistic. He wants to control the reapers for personal power.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    1. Gah! That's what I feared. All that nonsense, for nothing.

    2. If you follow the Cerberus subplot in ME1, it says they were part of the Alliance and went renegade. Considering the way ME1 and ME2 treats them, it makes sense if they are an unofficial branch of the Alliance classed as renegade in order to gain deniability. Otherwise, a lot of things get very silly.

    3. True, but Skeletor looks human whereas the rest are flying squid. How does that work? Does the human part go inside a standard-issue squid shell? Why does it need to look human in the first place? Also, if it's condensed human consciousness, when Shepard blows it up she becomes something of a murderer. That's an interesting point to address and the game ignored it.

    4. Good!
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  17. #257
    Just another Member rajpoot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by frogbeastegg View Post
    particularly if you do not touch the MP mode.
    Multiplayer is a lot of fun and the game actually stumbles only at the ending IMO. If you can just ignore the ending while playing it's really good. Already nearing the end with my second Shepard (femshep JFR).

    If you don't play a lot of multiplayer the only issue is the War Assets, and those can be fixed by some simple coalesced file editing.
    Last edited by rajpoot; 03-18-2012 at 17:16.


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  18. #258
    The Abominable Senior Member Hexxagon Champion Monk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Tiaexz View Post
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    These answers are based from End of Mass Effect 2 and Beginning of ME3:

    1. Nothing as far as I am aware as I haven't completed ME3 and there is zero mention of this as if it was retconned from the series. There was going to be an indoctrination at the end I believe, but they scraped that idea.

    2. They are terrorists and never part of the Alliance or working with them at all. Then again, not completed ME3 and I heard nothing contrary to this, only things which reinforced this point of view.

    3. This is explained in ME2. They were trying to create a human reaper. All reapers are created using organics of specific races, this was one for the Human race.

    4. I don't believe so, he is far more ambitious and opportunistic. He wants to control the reapers for personal power.
    Quote Originally Posted by frogbeastegg View Post
    Thanks.



    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    1. Gah! That's what I feared. All that nonsense, for nothing.

    2. If you follow the Cerberus subplot in ME1, it says they were part of the Alliance and went renegade. Considering the way ME1 and ME2 treats them, it makes sense if they are an unofficial branch of the Alliance classed as renegade in order to gain deniability. Otherwise, a lot of things get very silly.

    3. True, but Skeletor looks human whereas the rest are flying squid. How does that work? Does the human part go inside a standard-issue squid shell? Why does it need to look human in the first place? Also, if it's condensed human consciousness, when Shepard blows it up she becomes something of a murderer. That's an interesting point to address and the game ignored it.

    4. Good!
    No. Sorry. A lot happens in the last 3 hours that make some of those answers false.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    1. Hinted at heavily toward the end but never said one way or another. No resolution of this plot thread.

    2. The Cerberus renegade subplot was almost entirely dropped in favor of "super secret billionaire pet project." They try to revive it in an offhand way in ME3, one of your crew has one line of dialogue that brings it up, but the two threads do no mix. Period. After ME2 Cerberus became a super army antagonist, very little in the way of subtly

    3. It is explained that the reapers take on the characteristics of the race that they consume. You didnt use the investigate options before the final boss in ME2 did you? All of that is explained there, even if it doesnt make sense.

    4. No, sorry. That's wrong. The Illusive Man is exactly like Saren. He believed he was the one in charge but was indoctrinated all along. He never comes to terms with it and it results in a show down that mirrors ME1, except instead of a boss fight, you get interrupts.
    Last edited by Monk; 03-18-2012 at 17:36.

  19. #259

    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by rajpoot View Post
    Multiplayer is a lot of fun and the game actually stumbles only at the ending IMO. If you can just ignore the ending while playing it's really good. Already nearing the end with my second Shepard.

    If you don't play a lot of multiplayer the only issue is the War Assets, and those can be fixed by some simple coalesced file editing.
    Thanks for the suggestion. I played the xbox versions of 1 and 2 and want to carry my Shepard over to 3, so editing is unfortunately not an option. I have zero interest in playing MP on anything. That means I shall be one 5 second long clip* away from a full ending, and (less importantly) 1 achievement away from 100% completion. Youtubing it just isn't the same.

    *the one where
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Shepard is lying in rubble and breathes

    Quote Originally Posted by Monk View Post
    No. Sorry. A lot happens in the last 3 hours that make some of those answers false.
    Argh! Well, thanks. Some good, some bad, and 4 is terrible. I'm adopting the approach of "forewarned is forearmed" so that I don't repeat the disappointment of ME2. I've seen a bunch of spoilers for everything else I consider important, and couldn't find anything on these 4.

    On 3, I always investigate the full range of dialogue options before advancing a conversation. I didn't feel that the game provided anything remotely satisfactory on those points. It might as well have read "Blah blah, blah blah, wombats!". It's not as if I want everything answered, but I do expect things to make some basic sense instead of leaving me staring at my TV going
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  20. #260
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    I have just noticed something very interesting...

    Those who were discussing about the endings, you might want to reconsider them.

    For Froggy:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    1) Completely forget what I said,
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  21. #261
    Just another Member rajpoot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by frogbeastegg View Post
    Thanks for the suggestion. I played the xbox versions of 1 and 2 and want to carry my Shepard over to 3, so editing is unfortunately not an option. I have zero interest in playing MP on anything. That means I shall be one 5 second long clip* away from a full ending, and (less importantly) 1 achievement away from 100% completion. Youtubing it just isn't the same.

    *the one where
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Shepard is lying in rubble and breathes
    Guide on how to do it on Xbox 360.

    Will require some work, but keeping Shepard alive it worth it if they do release a post ending DLC eventually.


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  22. #262

    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by rajpoot View Post
    Guide on how to do it on Xbox 360.

    Will require some work, but keeping Shepard alive it worth it if they do release a post ending DLC eventually.
    Page says "Inappropriate Content. This post has been deleted".

    I'm happy for my CanonShep to not have that scene, been expecting that general outcome for years and quite like the concept. My other 3 Sheps, well, the whole idea is to see the variety of paths through the game and one needs to get the full ending.
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  23. #263
    Just another Member rajpoot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    I'm sorry I don't know why that pops up for you. I can still open it.
    I'll just paste it here.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Disclaimer:

    The method I am about to describe is not supported or endorsed by either Bioware/EA or Microsoft. You are strongly encouraged to play the Multiplayer portion of Mass Effect 3 in order to raise Galactic Readiness, any unauthorised manipulation of your saved game files may be detected over the XBox Live network resulting in you being banned from the service. Those of you who cannot get online with your console have little to no risk because Microsoft cannot block you from a service you do not use, nor can they detect any breeches of the XBox Live terms and conditions by users who keep their consoles strictly offline. If you use the advice in this guide, you do so at your own risk, and neither the author, Bioware/EA or Microsoft are liable for any damages or loss of data that result.

    OK with that, still with me? On with the guide.

    Everything you need to do any form of Mass Effect 3 XBox360 save file manipulation:


    Got all that stuff? OK, let's get cracking.

    Preparing your USB storage device:

    If you're already familiar with how USB storage works in conjunction with the XBox360, you can go ahead and skip this part and we'll meet up again in the next section. For those who don't, USB storage allows you to take files from your XBox360 and safely store them on a removable device. For our purposes, it allows you to port your save files from the XBox360 across to a Windows PC or laptop.

    Unless you bought a new pen specially for this, your device probably already contains some files that you may have put there at some point in the past from your PC. Now is a good time to verify if any files exist on the stick, and if so copy them across to a folder on your computer. You'll be needing to completely wipe the contents of the USB device shortly, so make sure you make copies of all the files you don't want to lose.

    When you're confident your USB device contains no data you don't want to lose, insert it into your XBox360 via the USB ports on the front or rear, and then power up your XBox360. In the Dashboard, go to the System Settings, and then to Memory. You should see at least three items in the list. Among them should be 'USB Storage Device', move down to it and select that option.

    At this point, you'll either see the 'Configure USB Device' screen or you won't. If you see the screen, click 'Configure Now' - this will erase all the content on your USB device, and split the device's 'disk space' in two. The XBox360 will allocate a chunk to itself, and your Windows PC will get the remaining chunk. Don't worry, this isn't permanent. By formatting the USB device at a later point you can remove the XBox360 file system from your USB device and give your PC access to the whole pen again. Don't worry if you get a message saying your device doesn't meet the performance recommendations, as this doesn't matter and can be safely ignored.

    Getting your file onto your USB device:

    Before you go any further, log into the user profile associated with your Mass Effect 3 save. With your XBox360-formatted USB device inserted, navigate to the hard drive, and find your Mass Effect 3 saved game. You'll notice that the saves appear to be grouped by character, for example if your Shepard is named 'Fred' there will be a save called 'Fred - Vanguard - 2005/11/22' or something similar. If you select this, you're given the option to move, copy or delete the file.

    Ordinarily I'd suggest you copy the file - but Mass Effect 3 won't let you do this. Instead, you'll have to move the file onto your USB device. This means that all your hard work only exists on the USB device and nowhere else. You'd better make a copy of that file pronto or you might make a mistake and lose it all.

    Backing up your original save:

    Unplug the USB device from the XBox360, and insert it into your Windows computer. You'll notice that if you browse the device in Windows Explorer the device appears to be empty... do not panic, this is normal. The reason you had to configure your USB device on the XBox is so that the XBox can build a file system on the device which Windows ordinarily doesn't know how to read. That's one of the reasons we need Horizon.

    With Horizon downloaded and installed, launch the program. It takes a little while, so please be patient. If you get a message telling you that the program is operating in Offline Mode then just click OK. Eventually the main Horizon interface will appear.

    To the right of the screen should be a panel called the Device Explorer. With your USB device inserted, you'll see the device and all it's virtual XBox360 folders in the lower portion of that panel. The topmost virtual folder should be 'Games'. Clicking that should expand the tree to display 'Mass Effect 3', and clicking the game's title will expand the tree to display your saved games.

    Right click on your saved game, and select 'Extract File...', then choose a location to save your backup copy to, and hit Save. You've now got a fully working backed up copy of your saved game in case anything goes wrong. It's useful to perform this procedure outside of save file hacking from time to time since an average home computer generally has a larger hard drive than an XBox360, and you can even burn your saved games to DVD for an extra layer of protection. To restore the backup, with the Device Explorer panel visible in Horizon and your XBox360 formatted USB device inserted, simply drag the file from your computer's hard drive directly into Device Explorer. Horizon is smart enough to know where to put it, so don't worry about remembering which folders things came out of.

    Extracting your saved game from your career file:

    Now, as you probably noticed - you may have several saved games associated with a single Shepard within Mass Effect 3, but you only saw one file when you came to put it on your USB drive. This is because the file you have on your USB device is basically a career file. An archive (think of it like a ZIP or RAR file) that contains multiple files, which in this case are your actual saves. Career files are not supported by WinZip, WinRAR or any other regular PC archiving utility, so you'll need Horizon again to get at these files and extract one.

    Find your Mass Effect 3 save file within the Horizon directory tree in the Device Explorer, and double click it. The Device Explorer panel will vanish and you'll get a small window in the middle of the screen with your career file as it's title. You'll also see a lot of data, numbers and buttons that look quite scary to newcomers. Don't worry about these - you won't need to touch most of them, and if you make a mistake you can always just restore the backup copy of the career file you made earlier (you did make one, didn't you?) to your USB device to get your file back to it's original state.

    Now, click where it says 'Contents'. This will change the window to show all the different save files that are contained in this Shepard's career save. If you can see all your actual saves here, as well as your autosaves and chapter saves (and even new game plus for some reason) you're all good to go. You'll easily recognise your most recent manual save here, as it's the one with the highest number in the filename. Select it, right click it, and then select Extract. You'll be asked for a location to save your file, so find a good directory to store it in and hit Save.

    At this point, I'd recommend backing up this file too - so use Windows Explorer to create a copy of the file somewhere just in case.

    Extracted the file? Got a backup of your career file and saved game somewhere? OK, let's edit.

    Editing the save file to increase or alter War Asset values:

    Horizon can't do this, but you may as well leave that window open as it will save you time since you'll need it later. For this part of the process, you'll need to fire up Gibbed's Mass Effect 3 Save Editor for PC and XBox360. You can launch this directly by double-clicking the EXE file within the archive as no installation is required.

    With the main interface open, you'll need to get your save file in there. To do this, click Open and find the saved game you extracted earlier. This is the file that has the extension 'xbsav'. There are three tabs in the main interface - Player, Plot and Raw - if 'Raw' is not selected, click it. You'll get a seemingly long list of data displayed. Again, this can be scary, though much of it is obvious and easy to figure out. You don't absolutely need to touch much of this, but if you feel like it explore away.

    What you really need to do is go down to the bottom of that list, to where it says 'Player'. It should literally be right at the bottom of the list. This will expand the tree with more items that appear underneath, one of which should be 'GAW Assets'. Find and click this, and then click the tiny button that appears to the right of this line that says '...', to gain access to the GAW Asset Collection Editor.

    This bit is a little strange. There are no names displayed for the assets, only numbers. This is why I included 'Diana Allers' in the requirements list. She's referenced in the editor as asset number 186. You'll need to scroll down the listbox until you see a '186' appear - not the 186th item, but the item that is called 186 - and then click it. If you've never edited your save file before, you'll see that she has 5 strength. If she does not, either you've clicked the wrong item (look again, make sure you have the list item with the name '186' selected) or you previously edited the file.

    When you're sure (or confident) you have the right item selected, you can manually edit the Strength value. This alters the number of points that the 'Diana Allers' GAW asset brings towards your total. You can make this as high or as low as you like. When you're done, hit OK to close the GAW Asset Collection Editor, and return to the main interface. From here, you can simply click Save (at the top of the screen) to save a copy of your modified save file. You can then safely close Gibbed's Mass Effect 3 Save Editor.

    Injecting your modified file into your Shepard's career file:

    If you kept your Horizon window open, you're most of the way there already. If you didn't, follow the steps in the sections above to bring up the list of your career file's contents. What you need to do now is right-click on the save file you extracted earlier, and choose 'Replace' from the popup menu that appears. Find your modified save file in the dialog you're presented with, and hit Open. Finally, click the big red 'Save, Rehash, and Resign' button. This will modify the file so that your XBox doesn't detect that it's been tampered with (which is essential otherwise the file will show up as corrupt on the XBox360), and also directly saves the whole career file back to your USB device. You can now close Horizon.

    Moving your modified career file back to your XBox360:

    Unplug your USB device from your computer, and insert it back into your XBox360. Navigate to your Storage Devices, and then to Memory Unit ('USB Storage Device' becomes 'Memory Unit' when it contains a XBox360 file system), and you should see your Mass Effect 3 save file present and correct. If everything went well, select the Move option to transfer it across to your XBox360's hard disk drive.

    Verifying your edit worked:

    Now it's time to see the fruits of your labour. Launch Mass Effect 3, and manually load the correct save file from among your Shepard's career saves. Hopefully you were sensible and saved on the Normandy, if you weren't... you'll have to get back there ASAP. Head to the War Room and check out your GAW Assets.

    You'll need to find 'Diana Allers', she's tucked away in 'Alliance'. If everything went well, her value should have altered from 5 to whatever value you changed it to within the editor. You may even notice that - providing you changed it significantly - your blue/green EMS bar will have updated to reflect the change. With a boosted Allers, it's much easier for a single-player only player to obtain the maximum EMS.

    Why did I choose Allers:

    Just in case you get a touch guilt-ridden over adjusting your EMS in this way, you'll be pleased to know that as long as Allers carries the burden of all your alterations - the status quo can be easily returned by simply booting her off the ship. It's true that you can always edit her values back down to 5 again and that kicking her off the ship would actually cost you those 5 points, but you always have both options so you can pick a method as you see fit at any stage down the line.

    And besides, if you're going to carry her around with you on the Normandy, this at least makes her a more valuable asset.


    The horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

  24. #264
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    That can get your game/account locked for Xbox live. Not recommended.
    Last edited by Beskar; 03-20-2012 at 14:42.
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  25. #265
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    AAAAAAAAAAAAARG.

    Made it to wave 9 on gold against reapers with my drell adept. I benny hilled the last half of the wave on my own for about 15 minutes, finished off the last two banshees, 4 brutes, and a small number of ravagers. Only to be felled by literally the last marauder.
    Last edited by seireikhaan; 03-19-2012 at 06:13.
    It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

  26. #266
    The Abominable Senior Member Hexxagon Champion Monk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by issaikhaan View Post
    AAAAAAAAAAAAARG.

    Made it to wave 9 on gold against reapers with my drell adept. I benny hilled the last half of the wave on my own for about 15 minutes, finished off the last two banshees, 4 brutes, and a small number of ravagers. Only to be felled by literally the last marauder.
    I haven't even tried Gold and don't want to until I can earn some ultra-rares. Getting my Black Widow back would be nice, if I can't get that, perhaps I should start building up a Salarian Engineer. Energy Drain is amazing.




    This just in, Bioware is full of it. (Hey, what else is new! )

    A post from their main Mass Effect account on facebook was made, saying how they had absolutely no plans to change the ending. That post has since disappeared into the ether and has been replaced by this one.

    https://www.facebook.com/masseffect/...75243029217754

    Quote Originally Posted by Mass Effect on Facebook
    We are aware that there are concerns about a recent post from this account regarding the ending of the game. In this post it was stated that at this time we do not have plans to change the ending.

    We would like to clarify that we are actively and seriously taking all player feedback into consideration and have ruled nothing out. At this time we are still collecting and considering your feedback and have not made a decision regarding requests to change the ending.

    Your feedback and opinions are of the utmost importance to us. We apologize for any confusion this has caused. Our top priority regarding this discussion is to keep communication with you, our loyal fans, open and productive.
    It was intriguing to think about what sort of games they might've been playing before, but this (in my mind) confirms they're just talking out their more unpleasant end, and playing a desperate game of PR/damage control. I think what likely happened is they had more planned for the ending but it got cut due to time, much like what happened with KOTOR 2 and Obsidian.

    What are they planning to do going forward? Your guess is as good as mine. But after this its very unlikely they have some magic "ending DLC" hidden up their sleeve, like they were wanting us to think.

    In the meantime MP is no less fun.
    Last edited by Monk; 03-19-2012 at 06:58. Reason: Really monk? A your/you're confusion? Good lord go to sleep

  27. #267
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Monk View Post
    I haven't even tried Gold and don't want to until I can earn some ultra-rares. Getting my Black Widow back would be nice, if I can't get that, perhaps I should start building up a Salarian Engineer. Energy Drain is amazing..
    Gold reapers is brutal. Brutes by wave 2, banshees by 3. From wave 4 on, it's basically wave 10 from silver and more ridiculous as it continues.
    It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

  28. #268
    The Abominable Senior Member Hexxagon Champion Monk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by issaikhaan View Post
    Gold reapers is brutal. Brutes by wave 2, banshees by 3. From wave 4 on, it's basically wave 10 from silver and more ridiculous as it continues.
    Correct me if I'm wrong but that doesn't sound fun. I think i'll stick to silver..

  29. #269
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Monk View Post
    Correct me if I'm wrong but that doesn't sound fun. I think i'll stick to silver..
    Maybe it's the souls player in me, but if you have a very competent team and very few screw ups, it's a lot of fun. Very, very challenging. But fun.

    Of course, with even just an average team you'll get rolled during wave 3.
    It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

  30. #270
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mass Effect 3

    And found my first cheater. Or, at least, the first one that didn't care about it being obvious. N7 ranking of 7,040 with a Saber X as his weapon. Yeah, because that sounds totally legit.
    It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

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