I'd been reading on the board that there was a lack of adepts, so I thought I might as well try a build that could be useful to most lobbies down the line. I do pause to longingly look at the level 3 Salarian Infiltrator I got in my starter pack but decide to stick with adept, remembering the thing of beauty Liara’s singularity was in the SP demo.
The first mistake I made was to select QuickMatch Firebase Ghost (Benning) thinking it would team me up with others of my level and in a bronze challenge. Wrong. I stumbled into a Gold game with level 20+ players. Before I even have time to think: “yikes, sorry, I’m leaving!” they’re gone. I should’ve bought a microphone for my PC.
So then I obviously took a step back thinking this QuickMatch required a tad more thought. Ah, there at the bottom : Bronze challenge. That’s where Level 1 are supposed to be, right? Or so you’d think. I entered 6 lobbies with players ranging from levels 5 to 15 who also promptly ran for the hills upon my arrival. “Wait!” I wanted to shout. “I beat ME1/ME2 on Insanity! I know what I’m doing!” Or do I? Faced with the overall reluctance of anyone to accept level 1 in their games, my confidence is shaken. What am I getting myself into?
Finally, a lobby took pity on me. One after the other, I see the green “ready” icons pop up. Promptly followed by a surge of adrenaline as my mind whirls with prayers and supplications than can be summarized quite simply: “don’t let me mess this up and become the pariah of MP.
5…4…3…2…1 The mission starts. Where am I? Where do I go? What do I do? Ah, a dumpster, let me head for that. Seems appropriate given my state of mind. I wonder if I can hide in it? My teammates bolt in the opposite direction and end up to the left of me. I stay put, thinking that I’ve got a great flanking angle. I would have, but my team makes short work of whatever pops up. I think I get +10 assist on the entire first wave. The only Singularity I manage to launch hits an already dead body. Cringe.
I have no recollection of Waves 2 and 3 other than the fact I felt I needed to pull my weight more. This promptly resulted in my first death. Here comes Wave 4 with a hacking objective popping up. My teammates bolt. As they fade into the distance, I storm to follow. My delay was actually quite helpful: I manage to gun down 2 troopers closing in on a teammate from behind. Before realizing a Guardian was behind me. Rez 2.
Waves 5-9 are another blur. Overall, the dumpster is my friend, and I manage to flank enemies according to previously unexecuted plan. It’s all going quite well until the words “dying” suddenly appear out of nowhere. I met my first Phantom. I get rezzed, start backpedaling helplessly with the Phantom still locked on me. Where’s Statis when you need it? Will my weak Singularity work on her? Can I risk trying it or do I just keep shooting her in the face, hoping for the best? I shoot to no avail, see an omniblade appear and prepare for death 4. But no, hooray! One of my teammates got her! If I could have kissed his feet right then and there, I would have. I think we need a “kiss feet” button, I really do.
Mission 10. The loudspeaker says we need to regroup in the landing area. So why do my teammates not enter it? They must know something that I don’t. Back to the dumpster it is, to what feels like the longest minute of my life. Another phantom, another death. I run in the opposite direction, ending up face-to-face with an Atlas. It seems like my screen is constantly bright red. I roll around like I’m Sonic, wait for shields to recover, melee as a variety of baddies creep up on me, wash, rinse, repeat. I come out of a red screen to see 17 seconds left on the timer. I’m nowhere near the landing zone. Turning around to look at it, I see my 3 teammates staring at me. I don’t need helmet toggle to see their expression. Does the entire mission fail if not all 4 members are in the zone? Let's not wait to find out: storm, woman, storm! I fly through the map, getting shot at on all sides, wondering for the 100th time why adepts don’t get Barrier, focusing on the one unoccupied cover at the very end of the landing pad. I have 1/3 of my last health bar left when I manage to plonk behind it. Mission complete. My hands are literally shaking.
My conclusion? I’m left thinking that my strategic playthroughs of ME1/ME2 where I attempted to control the battlefield through teammate placement and power combos felt utterly useless. Because what I just experienced was chaos and frenzy and mayhem. And that I had SO MUCH FUN!
So I want to wholeheartedly thank the 3 patient and very competent individuals who did not run for the hills when my level 1 showed up. And for rezzing me 4 times. And for killing what felt like 99% of the enemies. And for getting me through a full bronze mission on my first try. And to level 5! Will I be a little more welcome now? Probably not if you’ve read the above. Oh well.
Edited for paragraphs!
Modifié par Nina88, 19 février 2012 - 02:07 .
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