I just did a calculation for how much damage Ashley's grenades do to armor and the number is just amazing.
With Ashley specced in Inferno Grenades 4a, 5a, 6a and her passive specced for 5a her grenades will do over 3000 points of damage to armor. (1370 points to health)
I don't know what these are
I think the top one is Life is Strange and the bottom is DAI.
I just did a calculation for how much damage Ashley's grenades do to armor and the number is just amazing.
With Ashley specced in Inferno Grenades 4a, 5a, 6a and her passive specced for 5a her grenades will do over 3000 points of damage to armor. (1370 points to health)
That sounds a lot, but how much is it visually? Would it be around half the bar of an Atlas or something? Or is it depleting over time? (seemed like it on your 2nd video, if I'm not mistaken?)
Guys, does anyone know what happened to the awesome Captain Bailey at the end of ME3? I really have a soft spot for the man.
I just recently read an interview conducted with Patrick Weekes (it was unofficial and written up afterwards by a fan who took no notes I believe), and I think he stated that we could assume that all plot-important characters on the Citadel survived the aftermath of the Crucible because of emergency shelters and barriers. (Uuuh, Bailey is still on the Citadel, is he?!)
It also seems that interview was legit, as Weekes tweeted an answer to someone who asked if this was a real thing.
Ah, found it again: here
Ok, I continued a bit with Hannah last night, but no combat (will do Sur'Kesh later on), only crew talk 
I had gotten an e-mail from Kaidan, he is up and so I went to visit him right away. I don't know how things will be, but I'm just relieved he survived this. I asked Dr. Michel about his condition and everything seems to be ok. Good!
I brought him a bottle of Whiskey I had picked up earlier. We talked about him maybe becoming a Spectre, how he is and then about the inevitable topic Horizon and Mars. I assured him we are good and we have a bond that cannot be broken so easily. At least from a combat point of view, that is. I know what he can do and I hope he'll join us again as soon as he is out. I still consider him one of the best.
I felt a bit uncomfortable when he told me how much he likes me and that we're good together, so I changed topics quickly. I asked him what he has been up to since becoming Major Alenko, how his biotics are and if he heard anything from his family.
I don't know why, but then I was the one who asked about Horizon. I think I just really wanted to make sure he trusts me again after all this and follows me into battle without questioning me. He said that things were already rough between us on Mars and when I asked him how we fix it he said that maybe I should know that he's not seeing anyone and he still cares about me. I don't know what to say, but I... no, it took a lot to overcome this whole thing after Horizon, so I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice. I left him hanging there and got out as quickly as I could. I don't want to get back into this thing again, I just... want to make sure we can be friends again. Or at least loyal teammates.
I found Liara in the Apollo Café, working, and she wants to be prepared. She's definitely not wrong about that. She mentioned that Barla Von has some information about a merc group we could recruit for our efforts.
Joker sat on a bank opposite of some shops and watched EDI from there. I sat down next to him and he has the same stance on the Citadel as James, how people feel too safe here. He pointed over to EDI and that he is entitled to bring her with him because of his condition. He looks rather dreamily and I start to sense there's more to it, which EDI directly confirms. She asks me, of all people, about relationship advice, but I'm really not going there. No.
Now, while it's kinda weird for me how you could fall for a robot, I don't want to be condescending and just let them do their thing. I gave EDI some advice to do something they both like. That should suffice.
I met James at the Purgatory bar and he was already showing off his big mouth again, but I think I managed to catch him off guard for once. Ha!
He then told me about the other soldiers in the bar, intimidated by me, unlike him apparently... but actually I kinda like it he treats me like the next normal person. I may be the Commander, but I don't want to be distanced from my people anymore. I learned that trust and friendship can do amazing things on a difficult journey like this.
James realised this, too. He said the right words and told me I'm just human, like him, like them. Yeah, I did notice too many people make too much out of me. I'm still just a soldier, I just happen to be the one all the crazy stuff happens to. I listened to James' proposal to buy them a round of drinks so they can see I am still one of them. I like it, I know what that can do to morale, so I agreed.
James started a toast and expected me to say the last part. I was a bit startled, but yes, I knew that toast, though I don't have good memories about it. Back then when I was younger I would sometimes drink with the other soldiers, but it just started to make me wistful and depressed, crying myself to sleep each night while thinking about my parents. I stopped drinking since then and built a wall around me, distancing myself from the other guys. Anyway, I shouldn't think about that. The present is what's important right now.
James broke into a huge smile as he told me he hoped I knew that one. We said our goodbyes and I left for the docking area.
Here Garrus was helping out with the few turians that were injured and not actually killed in the battle of Palaven. Casualties are huge and it looks really grim, and Garrus sounds as down as I feel. This is all a bit too much, the Reapers are a big force, how are we gonna stop them? Garrus spoke about my constitution in all this, but I have to be strong and keep my hope up for the sake of everybody in my team. If they loose hope it might affect their performance in the fight, and we cannot afford that. I assured Garrus it's nothing I can't handle.
I also had the opportunity to play around with the Shepard VI. Weird thing.
And I bought some fish and the Aquarium VI! Also helped Aria unite the mercs under her so we can use them for our cause.
I followed Liara's advice to talk to Barla Von and get more help from mercs. It's funny how I never wanted to have anything to do with all these shady people and organizations, but... we are in dire need of support. Everyone we can get. Hell, I even returned an artifact called The Pillars of Strength to a batarian.
I also helped Jondum Bau, a salarian Spectre, to track down a supposedly indoctrinated hanar, but he died in the end. Pity, but now we have the drell and hanar forces on our side as I saved their homeworld in the process.
Oh, and also... I feel a bit of hostility in her eyes. Get away from James, would you 
That sounds a lot, but how much is it visually? Would it be around half the bar of an Atlas or something? Or is it depleting over time? (seemed like it on your 2nd video, if I'm not mistaken?)
That is the amount of damage over 8 seconds. I doubt it does much visually. Atlases probably have 10k-20k of armor. Maybe more.
What I do today was mostly creating these fun gifs.. anyway...
Anderson decided that it was time for him to do what he always wanted for a long time.
Curiously, everyone seems to be okay with the mutiny. Should Rev be worried? Hmm... at least, there's some perks being a space pirate.
By the time Revvie and the gang landed on Ilos, Saren was already there and Heretics were crawling the ruins. Luckily everything is a breeze when your sort-of boyfriend like to throw things in the air and your quarian bestie like to blast everything with her shotgun. It was amazing.
As predicted, Citadel was under attack. Apparently the Turian imperials hadn't anticipate several hundred geth dropships and a reaper blasting through their defenses.
Back on Ilos, Kaidan yelled at Revvie to stop admiring the view.
"Are you crazy? Can't you see those Geth things?" Revvie hissed.
"I thought you're crazier!"
"We're running out of time!" Tali pointed at the tiny mass relay.
"Don't blame me if I got everyone killed!!" Revvie step on the accelerator...
But once they're on the Citadel, the gang had to take the long road to the council chambers where Saren was waiting with bated breath.
Then Tali did the honours...
But Sovereign had other plans for its undead minion; "Henshin-suru!" Sovereign boomed.
Unfortunately for Sovereign, nobody can withstand Rev's sort-of OP heavy pistol, Kaidan's penchant for Lift and Tali's shotgun with exploding-ammo. While the reaper short-circuited itself, Joker get to play hero and demolish the bastard.
And everyone is happy...
"Now, let's go to the bar, Alenko. We're on shore leave."
Yesterday Reyes Shepard decided to blow up the Cerberus facility on Pragia, so Jack would be able to leave her past behind and fully concentrate on the fight against the collectors. Jack was unusually nervous when her Reyes and Kasumi travelled to the facility in the Normandy’s Shuttle, but Shepard told her to hold her **** together and focus on what they came for. They simply planned to plant a bomb inside an abandoned building eventhough there might have been more pressing issues, so going back and having the whole detour be for nothing wasn’t an option anymore. After that she stayed determined to do what they came for, but was obviously troubled by all the terrible memories coming back to her while the team made their way through the building. And Jack wasn’t the only one: Kasumi seemed to be in shock after discovering the morgue that was apparently used to dissect the kids that had passed away during the experiments, and Shepard didn’t feel comfortable there either. The whole place was a reminder of what atrocities Cerberus was capable of, no matter what Miranda and the Illusive Man would later say. The torture and those experiments on Pragia ran under the supervision of Cerberus and the Illusive Man, just like their previous experiments on people like Major Toombs or Kahoku.
As they continued their way through the decrepit building it turned out that the facility’s only goal had been to turn Jack into a biotic superhuman. All the other kids were treated like laboratory rats, crammed into tiny containers and later tiny cells only to be used for the experiments that were too dangerous to exact on Subject Zero. Jack didn’t want to accept that however. She had always been convinced that she was the one who had it the worst in there and only managed to escape and survive in the end due to her being the toughest of them all – not because she had been favored over everyone else from the beginning. It didn’t fit the way she always understood herself and that only seemed to ****** her off even more.
After dealing with the Blood Pack mercenaries that crossed their way, Jack and the others finally found her hold room behind the semitransparent mirror, as well as the man who had hired the krogans. It turned out his name was Aresh and he wanted to reinstate the entire facility and continue Cerberus’ experiments in order to make use of what they had discovered and give some semblance of sense to what had been done to him and Jack. She told him that no reason could ever be good enough to repeat the things that had been done to them with other children and was about to shoot him when Reyes held her back. Jack seemed angry about it, but eventually she let him go and then spent a few last moments in her old home talking about her childhood memories, before placing the bomb and blowing the place to hell.
When Reyes talked to her later on the Normandy, Jack admitted that it was the right choice to let Aresh go. Other than him, she wouldn’t stay trapped in the past and have her actions dictated by that place. She told Shepard that she didn’t know how it is to carry around **** like that and being branded by it, but Reyes responded that she went through her fair share of **** as well, but learned to leave it behind her… most of it at least. They left it at that for now, but I get the feeling that there's a connection forming between those two.
After Pragia, Shepard headed for Zorya in order to free the Eldfell-Ashland refinery from Vido Santiago’s Blue Suns and gain Zaeeds loyalty. Apparently only that last part was important to Zaeed though as it turned out that he had been out to get his revenge on Vido since that guy tried to kill him 20 years ago. When Vido showed his face for the first time, Zaeed went completely mad and set the entire refinery on fire. Once again Reyes had to tell her squadmate to keep their **** together and think before acting. Now the workers were trapped inside and in danger of burning alive, so the team had to save them before they were able to go after Vido. Zaeed suggested to simply ignore those people, but saving lives was more important to Reyes than fulfilling an old merc’s revenge fantasies. She had sacrificed lives in order to stop someone before, like on the Asteroid above Terra Nova, but other than Balak, Vido Santiago wasn’t about to kill millions of people or a direct danger to all human colonies. He was simply a mercenary leader that would’ve been replaced within a few days and for all Reyes knew there were worse guys within the Blue Suns to take the position. There also seemed to be a chance of catching up with him even after the short detour to extinguish the fire, so Reyes decided to risk Zaeed’s loyalty. In the end, the workers made it out alive, but so did Vido Santiago, although Zaeed gave him the shock of his live with thase last desperate shots (Vido’s face in that scene is priceless!). The next person he pointed his gun at was Shepard, but just like before his anger foiled his own plan a he ended up under some metal bar. Reyes got him out of there, without earning his loyalty, but maybe at least his respect and willingness to fight with her until the Collectors were defeated.
The Normandy’s next destination after that (and recovering the Hammerhead btw., I somehow didn’t consider that worth mentioning so far) was the Citadel where Reyes planned to stop Thane’s son from doing something he and his father would only regret and to help Garrus deal with his former friend Sidonis. Of course there was a little time before tackling these missions to buy new fish, a space hamster and tons of equipment until Shepard was broke – eventhough she got dicounts at almost every shop by recording that little promo line we all know and love. I almost forgot how good it sounds when Nicole Boguth says it, I like her way better than Jennifer Hale, but that might just be me being used to her after god knows how many playthroughs and only hearing Hale in Youtube videos and such.
Anyways, Reyes also met Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani (I had to look up the spelling…), the reporter that she refused to give an interview back in 2183, due to being in some entirely other place with her mind after she had just talked Talitha out of commiting suicide. This time however, Reyes was ready to give her a speech she would remember and not be able to twist into fitting her preconceptions. Al-Jilani realized that she was being humiliated in her own show, but apparently the material she recorded was too good not to show it. Hah.
After that Reyes also helped some racist C-Sec officer deal with a Volus who claimed that a Quarian girl had stolen his credit card. Of course he only forgot it in some shop around the corner – but hey, it was on Reyes’ way. When neither the human nor the Volus even thought of apologizing after the case was solved, she got a little angry though and gave them a short lecture about not acting like complete dumbasses, before she got to the more important things on the Citadel.
Dammit, I thought these posts were going to get shorter, but apparently I have too much time at my hands to play Mass Effect… or I go into way too much detail with these. Whateffs, next time I’ll write about the shortest interrogation in history, Garrus’ loyalty mission and some of my headcanon concerning the aftermath.
Shockwave was also useful for the first time ever. That power was definitely downgraded for ME3.
I would not say that Shockwave was downgraded in ME3. I think it is more of a case of 1 step forward, 1 step back.
Pros:
- you can now aim Shockwave wherever you like
- With the new mechanics it can detonate explosions
- With rank 6 Lift, it can prime explosions
Cons:
- max radius has been decreased
- distance has been decreased
- can only affect a limited number of enemies instead of every enemy it touches. Also, it is bugged in multiplayer where it will stop working
Shockwave in ME3 still has the problem where other powers, particularly Throw, are generally better for most situations.
I have not touched a Mass Effect game in several days and am a little behind in my forum reading as a result. Hopefully I will be back into the Mass Effect grind later this week to finish up my few remaing ME3 imports.
So, no Sur'Kesh today because I forgot about Javik and got him instead. Maybe tomorrow then as I spent the rest of the time with James-related stuff today and then watched some Eden Prime vids of our other posters here
Anyway, here we go! As before, long version here:
James, Liara and I went to Eden Prime to recover a Prothean artifact from Cerberus. Eden Prime... Liara reminded me how it all started, and James asked how it was back then. I told him about dead civilians and poor Jenkins. Liara turned my attention back to the present, that whatever Cerberus had found here must've been worth their big offensive. We need to get that artifact. Whatever it is, I just don't want it in Cerberus' claws.
We jumped out of the shuttle and I said that Eden Prime used to be beautiful, and when James reassured me they have rebuilt it once, they can rebuild it twice, I told him that Mindoir was rebuilt... but it was nothing like before.
When we got to the artifact, Liara was suprised and got all excited. It was a stasis pod with a Prothean, but not a Collector. No, a real, live Prothean, unmodified and sleeping for 50,000 years. Hard to believe. However we cannot break it open as that would kill the Prothean, so we were on our way to find a way to open the pod with whatever Cerberus had recovered from the dig site.
Of course Cerberus didn't wait too long until showing up and we fought our way through to get the pod data we needed. Thanks to the Cipher I could understand everything. Sad memories of a war the Protheans lost. A war that we could loose in the same manner...
Upon returning with the pod signal, we had to wait until the pod was ready to open up. In the meantime we fought more Cerberus troops until the wait was finally over.
I was nervous, not knowing how this alien would react. He seemed confused, naturally, and when I touched him I relived another memory. Strange experience.
The Prothean was calmer after this, but I had to disappoint him that no other Prothean made it. I told him I needed his help, and I think our chances are good, considering we're up against the Reapers.
We returned to the Normandy and I approached the new guest with care. You never know. He was not hostile however, and Liara and I learned a bit more about him and the Protheans in general. Unfortunately he did not know what the Catalyst is. They never finished the Crucible.
Javik, as he is called, said that those that share the same goals as him are allies, so... good thing that we are trying everything to destroy the Reapers. Javik did not believe me when I said that, and I wonder why. Do I hesitate? Is there really doubt behind my words? Whatever Javik thinks he has read, I will do my best.
Afterwards I had more chats with the crew about our new ally, and Traynor told me I should go see Steve.
Cortez was crying when I arrived. About his husband. I feel for him, I lost people too, and I told him that he is not alone and that I'm there for him. It's the least I can do.
I returned to the CIC and Kaidan had sent another e-mail. He's about to get out of the hospital, so I better get over there soon to see him again before that happens.
Despite nearly dying a couple of times, some of my highlights today were:
Today Revvie and Normandy died.... 
However, with some space magic and several billion credits (9,999,999 of those was from Rev's own account, Cerberus scum...) we got a new and improved ship plus an undead Revvie with upgrades...
Unfortunately, she found out that she was owned by a terrorist organization. Fantastic.
Fortunately, Rev was able to make some friends...
and everyone is just as crazy as her
Just finished ME1 (saved the Council for the first time) and started ME2. On my way to get Archangel.
Spoiler
I have never saved the council
I have never saved the council
It's actually pretty great as a Renegade, especially if you pick Udina as councilor. The Council can't quite believe it, they acknowledge that your 'gettin **** done' ways work and they and Udina are 100% behind you and chomping the bit to get at the Reapers with Shepard leading the charge. Then ME2 and 'Ah yes, Reapers.' happens, but it's pretty cool while it lasts.
Today, Jen Shepard (Biotic/Lash Soldier) toured a T-GES Mineral Works mining facility on an asteroid. Unfortunately, Reapers Inc. decided to try a hostile takeover while she was there. Fortunately, Jen Shepard can bludgeon through bureaucracy pretty hard, and stopped the takeover.
Then Jen Shepard was invited (sort of, not really) to an archaeological dig site. She brought along Liara, a former archaeologist. Unfortunately, the dig site was not Prothean, so Liara was not interested and ended up shooting at the local wildlife. Jen also brought Javik along, but Javik was his usual self and also shot at the local wildlife. Jen Shepard, not able to go a day without shooting something and also not wanting to feel left out, also shot at the local wildlife. Researcher Ann Bryson was surprisingly not angry at the dig site being destroyed, and in fact quite happy that the wildlife population was drastically reduced by Shepard and her squad. Bryson must really hate animals.
Played some of my canon Engineer as a gameplay test. The Avenger kicks ass with Vega's Squad Incendiary Ammo. So much that I think of not using Explosive Burst to keep things challenging. Took a few shots too 
Ash's grenades are wonderful. They can take out an entire spawn with one combo. Example 1. Example 2.
Holy sheet! I've never had them do anything like that in my game! Maybe I'm upgrading them wrong? 
I think I'll have to play around with them and find out.
I would not say that Shockwave was downgraded in ME3. I think it is more of a case of 1 step forward, 1 step back.
Pros:
- you can now aim Shockwave wherever you like
- With the new mechanics it can detonate explosions
- With rank 6 Lift, it can prime explosions
Cons:
- max radius has been decreased
- distance has been decreased
- can only affect a limited number of enemies instead of every enemy it touches. Also, it is bugged in multiplayer where it will stop working
Shockwave in ME3 still has the problem where other powers, particularly Throw, are generally better for most situations.
The cons definitely outweigh the pros for me. I found shockwave pretty useful for dealing with things like husks in ME2, but with the cons, it doesn't do much against them unless they get too close. When it comes to detonations, I much prefer throw.
Though tbh, on this last playthrough I barely used shockwave in ME2. Replaced it with Pull + Throw instead. It used to be one of my favourite powers, but I stopped using it in ME3... and then in ME2. Sorry, shockwave.
Holy sheet! I've never had them do anything like that in my game! Maybe I'm upgrading them wrong?
That is not just the grenade there. Those sequences are triggered by using the grenade, followed by chain overload to set off two fire explosions. You could use other detonators to set off fire explosions, such as double throw for two explosions. Not sure what else would give you two explosions for the price of one cast.
Of course, Ash can also combo off herself by using a grenade followed by a concussive shot.
That is not just the grenade there. Those sequences are triggered by using the grenade, followed by chain overload to set off two fire explosions. You could use other detonators to set off fire explosions, such as double throw for two explosions. Not sure what else would give you two explosions for the price of one cast.
Of course, Ash can also combo off herself by using a grenade followed by a concussive shot.
Wait, you can use her grenades in a combo? To detonate and set it up? Oh, I think that's where I've been going wrong. 
I just sort of assumed that biotics have to be involved to set up and detonate combos. I've never tried to be more creative than the standard Pull + Concussive/Throw sort of thing.
Definitely need to play around with this more. Ha, I guess it's just as well I'm not playing Insanity anytime soon!
Wait, you can use her grenades in a combo? To detonate and set it up? Oh, I think that's where I've been going wrong.
Definitely need to play around with this more. Ha, I guess it's just as well I'm not playing Insanity anytime soon!
If you are interested, here is a page listing all the primers and detonators.
Just fought Shepard's clone in Citadel, EDI was in the party and her reaction enroute to the Normandy was hilarious how she shut down then rebooted going "I'm Okay!"
Then she talked about really wanting to kill the clone and Brooks and Tali was all "Normally I would be leery of a synthetic wanting to kill organics, but I don't mind now....and this is from me."
Then I did all the citadel after-conflict content minus the party, and burst out laughing when Tali broke out in song in sing-a-long mode for the vid she's watching with her human boyfriend.
And I enjoy the combat simulator.
Videos:
My visit in the Huerta Memorial was quite short. Kaidan was up and as good as out, and he also had accepted Udina's offer to make him a Spectre. I'm glad for him, he deserves it. He is perfect for the job. We made plans about him joining us on the Normandy again, but he first has to take care of a few things.
After that it was time for the War Summit. The salarian dalatrass, Urdnot Wreav and Victus joined me in the conference room.
It's never easy with those politicians, but Wreav set the bar pretty high. In return for helping the turians he asked for a lot. Something I did not like, and neither did the dalatrass, but what choice do we have? We need krogan support, so if what Wreav wants is curing the genophage, this is what we need to do. I have strong feelings on this topic, as I destroyed Maelon's data on a cure intentionally, but now I have no other choice but to accept. I don't feel good with Wreav around, he seems violent, and thirsty for revenge. He accused the dalatrass of having imprisoned female krogan connected to Maelon's research. She denied, but then gave in as we all pressured her, and told us they were taken to Sur'Kesh.
So we headed for the salarian homeworld and the ride in the shuttle was a bit tense. Unfortunately Wreav knew that I destroyed Maelon's research data and I stood for my actions, as I still believe the genophage was necessary. This didn't put me on Wreav's good side, but he needs me as much as I need him to deal with the bigger threat to us all.
After a rough landing where Wreav once again showed his hotheadedness, Padok Wiks welcomed us to let us know how we would proceed. I told Wreav to stay put and let me handle the whole thing. I hope he doesn't cause any trouble.
I met now-Major Kirrahe again, what a pleasant surprise. I remember not being to fond of having to put my trust into him and his team on Virmire, but he was an honorable guy. I hadn't expected it, but he also told me no matter what I could count on his support for Earth, that was really kind of him to say. I said goodbye and James, Garrus and I headed down with the elevator, just as something that caused the security alarm to go off was headed for the Salarian base.
We met Wreav's inside source... Mordin! It was really good to see him. He told me that only one female survived. Damn, we need to be careful. If she is the last hope for a cure, we need to wrap things up quickly and get her out. Especially since now we knew what that something headed for Sur'Kesh was - Cerberus had arrived. Why the hell are they here? To stop the genophage cure? How did they know?!
As we proceeded to another elevator, a bomb planted inside went off and forced us to take another route.
We fought our way through and helped the female krogan and Mordin proceed through the various levels in a pod so we could get them to the landing pad, and out of here. Cerberus attacked relentlessly, but we progressed and defended the pod until the end. Mordin and the female stepped out of the pod unharmed and they boarded our shuttle, but not before the female krogan shot a few more Cerberus goons. Not bad, lady.
Back on the Normandy, I briefly spoke with Hackett and then both Victus and Wreav displayed their dislike for each other yet again, while both have a problem they assume I can fix. I'm just tired of their attitude and told them I will speak with both of them privately in the war room. The things it takes to unite a galaxy... I hope I'm up for it.
Hahaha, my favourite pic of Mordin, it looks so damn cute 
I love that while playing with my Pure Melee Krogan, upon seeing the melee kills I get, other players start trying to get their own melee kills with their current classes...without any success at all 
Keep trying!
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