28 réponses à ce sujet

[JaegerBane]

I'm just wondering whether I'm the only one. I didn't understand what on earth was going on the first time. I'm going to restart my game so that I can play through the Cerberus station without looking like a lemon. By the time I actually began to work out how to do things properly the tutorial ended, which I thought was a little frusrating.

Just some issues so far:

- Charge. I've seen this work once. It looked amazing when I first fired it off... but ever since then it makes me glow blue and does nothing else. Is it because there's too many boxes in the way? Or in cover? Do we actually get an idea as to what we can and can't do with it?

- Fragility. Shep feels like he's made out of eggshell. I remember Shep on Eden Prime feeling a bit fragile but ti soon cleared up when I started upgrading armour. Can I expect the same here?

- Thermal Clips. I don't get these at all. The second number, is that related to the number of clips, or the number of shots in reserve?

- Heavy Ammo. I've no idea how I'm picking these up. Do they look similar to thermal clips?

[xMister Vx]

No, Shepard will always be extremely fragile. Even lowly mechs can take down your shields in one second at any level.



The second number is the number of shots in reserve.



Heavy Ammo is called "Power Cells" and is found in crates on missions... usually near bosses, or randomly.

[Tattters]

For charge you have to have them locked on (box around them) and basically see them. It sometimes doesn't work so I keep spamming the button until I charge.



You're pretty fragile the whole game compared to the first, but it does get better with the upgrades and such.



The second number is the number of shots you have in reserve.



Heavy ammo is picked up from crates throughout the missions.

[JaegerBane]

Hmmm. That's a bit worrying. I'm not stranger to shooters but I did get the feeling Shep's shields lacked a serious amount of oomph.



On that matter, where is the shield and health indicator? I don't see it anywhere.

[xMister Vx]

Appears when you get hit.

Kinda weird how a direct hit from a Geth Colossus only took down 75% of my shields, while keeping my head out of cover for more than three seconds in a firefight is 100% lethal.

[Ktauliss]

for shields it is that blue arc over your squadmates, as for health the veins on screen can be considered a warning your health is getting low (there is no 'health indicator' as such)

[Eragondragonrider]

Shepard is a piece of glass even as a soldier with every up grade in the game. Dies really fast in the part of the game, pretty much everyone is glass in this game while the enemy seam to take awhile to die.

[JaegerBane]

Ktauliss wrote...

for shields it is that blue arc over your squadmates, as for health the veins on screen can be considered a warning your health is getting low (there is no 'health indicator' as such)

Ah.

Not really sure why Bioware felt that had to go, but meh.

Is there anyway of commanding my team mates via HUD? The only way I've seen so far is to use keyboard keys...

[rumination888]

Eragondragonrider wrote...

Shepard is a piece of glass even as a soldier with every up grade in the game. Dies really fast in the part of the game, pretty much everyone is glass in this game while the enemy seam to take awhile to die.

Maybe on Insanity they take awhile to die... but normal/veteran? Enemies die waaaaay too fast. Insanity isn't called "normal" for a reason.

[IceSavage]

The game is now a cover game like Gears of War. ME1 had a decent cover system, but I always felt it was more about funneling the enemies into your kill zone then cover.



Still I played as an Adept, and picking people off with "curve balls" was my SOP.

[JaegerBane]

SwobyJ wrote...
Everyone has concerns about ammo, etc, but MY dislike is the cover system. There is literally no way to survive anything without rushing to the convieniently placed cover spots.

I have to admit that I didn't mind emphasis on cover. Or the new ammo system, either (aside from the fact it's completely nonsensical - it's a bit like trying to put M16 Rifles into a star wars game).

I just wish they hadn't removed the whole bonus talent system. I have no idea why they felt this needed to be removed. I can't begin to describe my relief when I found out that you can pick an extra weapon proficiency later on...

[xdaimyox]

They did not remove the bonus talent system. If you beat the game you get to chose one bonus ability, similar to Mass Effect 1, however these bonus abilities are not explicitly stated on the achievements (as they probably should be.)

That said, I felt the "ammo" system took some getting used to, but by the middle something interesting happened: I was enjoying the shooter element FAR more than in ME1, because the ammo system was what no other ammo system is, and what every ammo system should be; a method of pacing gunplay that rewards conservation but does not punitively force you to use 1 gun because it's the only gun you have ammo for (heat clips work for every weapon universally). Then by the end, i discovered that there are thermal clips *EVERYWHERE* near the last few scenes and running out of ammo is a total non-issue unless you can't hit the broadside of the destiny ascension from 20 feet away.

I did feel exceptionally fragile when compared to ME1 but with a more robust cover system than in the previous game I'm ok with this as well. Charge is going to be a love/hate ability for you. When powered up it is absolutely devastating to an enemy who does not have a protective shield or ability up, but will often place you inside the enemy's killzone. Good use of the power wheel and disrupting/throwing abilities from your team-mates however can support a charge and absolutely destroy an entrenched enemy position in seconds, and it's very rewarding. I have a hard time (in both games) enjoying anything but a vanguard because the gameplay is so enjoyable to me.

My biggest difficulty in adapting to ME2 was the control-scheme changes believe it or not. Breaking the habit of mashing spacebar to bring up the power wheel and mashing shift to sprint was extremely difficult. I had considered inverting them in options when i noticed spacebar is also the 'activate' button due to Q and E being used by new functions. training myself to press something other than E to open things was... interesting. Honestly even at the end of the game i was still at least occasionally pausing the action when i should have been sprinting, or sprinting when i wanted to issue squad power commands. lol.

None of this prevented me from thoroughly enjoying the game however, and I'm glad you are expressing your concerns without crying like the masses i've seen since launch.

[xdaimyox]

One last thing: ME2 rewards (and encourages) swapping weapons situationally. ME1 you could basically freight train the entire game with an assault rifle, pistol, or shotgun and never swap weapons. ME2 will have you swapping (for example with a vanguard) between your SMG for shielded opponents, heavy pistol for long range armored opponents or general ranged headshot shenanigans, and shotgun for close range armored opponents. This combined with an ammo system that also allows freedom of weaponswapping is honestly a *good* thing in the gaming industry.

[JaegerBane]

Don't get me wrong, Bioware have made a few changes which I was just mystified as to why they felt they were'nt needed (the lack of shield indicator and the fact I can't HUD-Command my team mates were two things which I get the distinct feeling they simply took out just for kicks, as I can't figure out what was so bad about them).

But I'm coming across a lot more good than not. I really like how Biotics are now treated like mind weapons rather than spells. The heavy weapons are a blast, too.

Is Barrier any good for increasing resiliance? I'm not intending to keep flipping from loyalty power to loyalty power, I want to pick one and stick with it. It just seems my character could really do with a defence boost, even if it's just to give him a bit more time to run to cover. On the other hand, if it doesn't do much, I'll be going for Slam, as it sounds cool.

Also, I hear that it is impossible for you to save your whole team and crew. You don't get enough time to loyalty-ise all your team mates before having to head through Omega 4 to save your crew. That true?

And regarding bonus talents - how do they become available? What do you have to do to have a bonus talent available the next time you play?

[Br0th3rGr1mm]

I don't dislike the cover system itself, but I dislike that the Sprint/Storm button also forces you into ANY cover you come in contact with. It's very frustrating to try and run around a peice of cover (an enemy is flanking you and you need to get AROUND to another side of the cover object....instead you drop into cover on the wrong side of the object and get shredded before you can either vault over the cover object (if you can) or pull out of cover and slowly move around the object to the correct side and enter cover. Granted, you usually only get into this situation from either over extending or ignoring a possible enemy flanking direction until it's too late (poor positioning choices). Still if you HAD to use a button to enter cover, I wouldn't be accidentally taking cover where I don't want to. 

I understand they were trying to make it very easy to move forward from cover to cover (that works very well), but it makes actually moving around cover objects very difficult to do (you basicly cant Sprint/Storm AROUND a corner)..

Modifié par Br0th3rGr1mm, 29 janvier 2010 - 05:21 .

[JaegerBane]

Br0th3rGr1mm wrote...

I don't dislike the cover system itself, but I dislike that the Sprint/Storm button also forces you into ANY cover you come in contact with. It's very frustrating to try and run around a peice of cover (an enemy is flanking you and you need to get AROUND to another side of the cover object....instead you drop into cover on the wrong side of the object and get shredded before you can either vault over the cover object (if you can) or pull out of cover and slowly move around the object to the correct side and enter cover. Granted, you usually only get into this situation from either over extending or ignoring a possible enemy flanking direction until it's too late (poor positioning choices). Still if you HAD to use a button to enter cover, I wouldn't be accidentally taking cover where I don't want to. 

I understand they were trying to make it very easy to move forward from cover to cover (that works very well), but it makes actually moving around cover objects very difficult to do (you basicly cant Sprint/Storm AROUND a corner)..

I think I would have got rapidly sick of having a particular cover button. I quite liked the contextual button. Contextual controls FTW

[xdaimyox]

Brothergrim, i agree with your assessment on storming but i never had the problem myself more than a few select instances. Really sucked when it happened though for sure.

Jaegerbane, i'll try to keep my response to you concise because i had a wall of text typed up and the forum ate my post:

Shields show up as a bar at the bottom center of your screen only when you are under fire, and given the nature of how fast they deplete you may simply be missing them before they are replaced by your health bar.

Barrier, Fortification, and Shield Boost (all 3 are loyalty powers) may indeed be good ways to boost your survival.

My first playthrough i managed to preserve my entire crew. This was actually disappointing to me, because the emotional effect of playing Virmire in ME1 still remains the most impressive one to me in the time i've been gaming. It is possible to earn full-crew loyalty before entering the Omega4 Relay, and I'd recommend it simply for the sake of doing all the missions, the loyalty missions are fun.

Looking into it more closely, I believe the bonus power you can start a New Game+ with are the loyalty talents that you unlock during your previous playthroughs, *NOT* achievement power. I don't have 100% confirmation on that but off the top of my head when i started my new infiltrator, some of my options for a bonus power included Slam, Barrier, Fortification, and others that i know are certainly loyalty powers.

[xdaimyox]

On preservation of crew: Earn full loyalty, upgrade as much as you can, and make smart choices when assigning team members during the suicide mission. Don't send a full tech or full biotic character to lead a fire team, don't send a vanguard/combat character to do something tech-ish, etc. I did these steps as a matter of natural instinct and came out with my full crew. Like i said though, I almost wish i lost someone important to me, although i know it still wouldnt have the same effect as Virmire. What made Virmire so special to me was the combination of emotional tension and a truly worthy adversary (saren and sovereign).

[Inverness Moon]

Ktauliss wrote...

for shields it is that blue arc over your squadmates, as for health the veins on screen can be considered a warning your health is getting low (there is no 'health indicator' as such)

The health indicator takes the place of your shield indicator when you loose shields.

[Riot Inducer]

JaegerBane wrote...
Is Barrier any good for increasing resiliance? I'm not intending to keep flipping from loyalty power to loyalty power, I want to pick one and stick with it. It just seems my character could really do with a defence boost, even if it's just to give him a bit more time to run to cover. On the other hand, if it doesn't do much, I'll be going for Slam, as it sounds cool.

I got barrier as a bonus talent on my Vanguard for my first playthrough and it was a life-saver. I found it wasn't as useful as a buff to put on yourself before battle as much as a way to survive botched charges or extend your rampage long enough to survive enemy flanks/spawns. I'd use it after charging weakened enemy positions if I found myself taking to much fire or flanked by a new group of enemies, it always gave me enough time to either finish off the enemies or find some cover.

JaegerBane wrote...
Also, I hear that it is impossible for you to save your whole team and crew. You don't get enough time to loyalty-ise all your team mates before having to head through Omega 4 to save your crew. That true?

 
That's not true the only time you have a time crunch is after you get the Reaper IFF installed, so the only crew member you've got to worry about getting their loyalty mission done in time is Legion. Just do everyone's loyalty mission before going to get the IFF and you'll be good. 

One note though, I found out the hard way it's better if you stick with one alignment almost all the time (my first playthrough I had about equal paragon and renegade) as you'll run into several confrontations between your team members they only way to solve these without losing one members loyalty is to complete a paragon/renegade persuade option, not having high enough in one or the other can end up with a non-loyal (and thus as good as dead in the final mission) party member.

JaegerBane wrote...
And regarding bonus talents - how do they become available? What do you have to do to have a bonus talent available the next time you play?

As others have said they are unlocked by doing the loyalty missions (sounds like you even get to choose a bonus one on making a new character as well a'la ME1)

[izmirtheastarach]

The level of challenge in this game is excellent. Very well balanced, once you find the difficulty level best suited to you. Tried starting of on Insanity, but the game beat me down to Hardcore pretty quick.

[JaegerBane]

Cheers comrades. That answered a lot of questions.



Barrier it is, it seems it resembled the old-style Barrier more than I gave it credit for.



I'll also be Assault Rifle-ing it. By the sounds of things the Claymore shotty doesn't actually have any better DPS than the Assault Shotty (thanks to the reloading) and as much as I like the idea of a Sniper Rifle, I've never thought it was a particularly useful weapon for a Vanguard. Not now, anyway.



One last Q... how early can one possibly acquire the bonus weapon (i.e. when can I get my assault rifle)?

[JaegerBane]

Riot Inducer wrote...
As others have said they are unlocked by doing the loyalty missions (sounds like you even get to choose a bonus one on making a new character as well a'la ME1)

Is it possible to have two, in that case? (A bonus to start, plus unlocking one later on)