The "What should I know before I play this game for the first time?" Q&A!

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Kruller: Feb 20, 2004; It's time to restore dignity to the Farnsworth name!

Oh dear me posted:

Strongly disagree on that, since the bad poo poo is a lot more people dying. In fact that's the only place I couldn't live with what happened and had to go back and redo the whole quest chain again.

Sure, more people die, but those people are sacrificing their kids to witches. Yes, it's also worse if the Baron dies, because his men suck, but those kids did nothing wrong. Adults can handle themselves. See? All endings are lovely.

# ? Jan 28, 2017 23:35

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# ? May 29, 2024 21:57

Mayor McCheese: Sep 20, 2004; Everyone is a mayor... Someday..; Lipstick Apathy

al-azad posted:

Something for Dragon Quest VII since it just happened to me:

-When you can change classes, get the protagonist to Sage (master mage and priest) ASAP.

The character you expect to give magic classes to leaves and is replaced by an under leveled character followed by a boss that would be difficult even with maxed intermediate classes. For the first time in an otherwise well balanced game I had to grind for an hour or two and even then I only won through luck after resetting the battle a few times. If I wasn't 60 hours in with a block of free time I would've shelved the thing for who knows how long.

I'm glad you said this. The game takes an age before you can finally change classes (I had to look at the back of the box a few times just to confirm it even had them), and I'm on the desert island right after you unlock them. Maribel is my Sage, too.

If this is your first encounter where the game is a bit unbalanced, than I am in trouble. I had to grind for one battle so far: the priest that you find lying on the ground and there's been at least two boss fights where I won with one character standing at death's door.

I only play it in bursts, but good god is it obtuse, slow, and plodding. The 'gently caress you' at the vocation shrine was a nice touch, too.

Thanks for the heads-up!

# ? Jan 28, 2017 23:39

Oh dear me: Aug 14, 2012; I have burned numerous saucepans, sometimes right through the metal

Kruller posted:

Sure, more people die, but those people are sacrificing their kids to witches. Yes, it's also worse if the Baron dies, because his men suck, but those kids did nothing wrong. Adults can handle themselves. See? All endings are lovely.

I doubt the spirit spares children, and the Baron's men certainly don't. I agree that none of the endings are exactly happy, of course.

# ? Jan 28, 2017 23:54

limp_cheese: Sep 10, 2007; Nothing to see here. Move along.

Kruller posted:

See? All endings are lovely.

This is why I was unsure about what advice to give. Its poo poo all the way down.....

# ? Jan 29, 2017 00:40

CaptainRat: Apr 18, 2003; It seems the secret to your success is a combination of boundless energy and enthusiastic insolence...

Some stuff for Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse now that I've finished it.

- If you played the first one and dealt with the moderately-jacked calculation for physical skills, they fixed that in this version. Physical skills now go wholly off of Str, Gun skills go off of Dex, magic goes off of Mag. Agi is for acting sooner in combat and dodging, and Luck is for smirk rate, crits, demon recruitment, etc. I went 3 Mag / 1 Agi / 1 Luck every level and it worked very well, you can probably sub in Str or Dex instead of Mag if you want to go that route.
- There are apparently diminishing returns after 200 in a damage stat, so if you're going 3/1/1 you could probably switch to 1/2/2 or just do whatever when you hit that milestone.
- Going Physical or Gun means you'll be a little more dependent on equipment, which can get pretty pricey; Magic, conversely, is pretty taxing on the skill slots if you want full elemental coverage (whereas Physical and Gun can get away with one heavy-hitting skill of their type, maybe an all enemy skill, and then a healing spell or something).
- Good apps include: Skill Expansion and Demon Skill + X, MP Recovery 1, 2, and Party MP Recovery (trivializes healing since you can just cast infinite heal spells and walk to regain MP), Summon Discount 1-4 (not that big of an impact for the first few levels, but level 4 is a 50% discount and by the end-game this makes fusing a lot of the special demons much easier).
- Nice-to-have apps include: Extra Stock (as much as you feel like you need), Auto-Pinpoint (instead of auto-battling with R, which is just basic attacks until someone dies, this lets you hit L and auto-battle with attacks that target enemy weaknesses. Makes grinding easier if you feel like doing that / didn't buy the XP DLC), Scout Gift / Scout Bonus / Scout+ / Expert Scout (get rewards for scouting, make scouting easier, and possibly recruit another demon when you get the first one. Combined with a good Luck score you can make the recruitment process much less painful).
- Unlike SMT 4, there are many apps that are gated by level (the + skill slot apps are a good example).
- There are a bunch of 'do <thing> X times' Challenge quests that will pop up as you level; most of these are things you'll be doing anyway and I think I auto-completed them every time they became available (things like collect relics, do damage, exploit weaknesses, etc.). The one exception is that there are two quests to Fundraise money from demons; this requires buying the Fundraise app, and buying at least the Fundraise + app will make this a little easier to complete. Fundraising isn't a great source of income but if you want the quest XP do it for a little bit every once in a while to finish this off.
- Your MC is probably best suited to making GBS threads out damage since you can get his attack stats so high, but you also get plentiful items that will let you cover some support stuff if you need to. Notable skills that you can't duplicate well with items include: Makarakarn and Tetrakarn (reflect, you get items for these but they're much rarer than other ones and very expensive from an end-game shop), Debilitate / Luster Candy (debuff all enemy stats and buff all ally stats, respectively; have demons cover these), Magaon (removes enemy smirk, you absolutely want this on at least one demon going into the final dungeon).
- Speaking of the final dungeon, it's horrible, so don't feel bad for looking up and using a map.
- The route splitting is not nearly as obtuse and hard to game as SMT 4 and basically boils down to some obvious choices at certain points in the end-game. You will, however, be punished if your final choice really doesn't match up with how you acted throughout the game.

Edit to add: for Horde enemies, abilities that hit all enemies normally will hit three times, making them better to use even if you're not hitting a weakness. Also non-boss hordes have a chance for reinforcements; I've seen as many as 5 total although most of the time it's 2-3. This can be good for grinding if you identify which enemy icon on the map corresponds to the horde encounter for a given area.

CaptainRat fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Jan 29, 2017

# ? Jan 29, 2017 01:57

The Lone Badger: Sep 24, 2007

limp_cheese posted:

Its poo poo all the way down.....

Velen.txt

# ? Jan 29, 2017 03:00

al-azad: May 28, 2009

Mayor McCheese posted:

I'm glad you said this. The game takes an age before you can finally change classes (I had to look at the back of the box a few times just to confirm it even had them), and I'm on the desert island right after you unlock them. Maribel is my Sage, too.

If this is your first encounter where the game is a bit unbalanced, than I am in trouble. I had to grind for one battle so far: the priest that you find lying on the ground and there's been at least two boss fights where I won with one character standing at death's door.

I only play it in bursts, but good god is it obtuse, slow, and plodding. The 'gently caress you' at the vocation shrine was a nice touch, too.

Thanks for the heads-up!

All the intermeddiate classes have good late game abilities, specifically the pirate which is an all-hitting 120+ damage for 0 mp and I hear the champion has something similar. But the sage gets oomph and multiheal and losing the character who has those completely ruins your game.

The boss you mentioned, and another one (an ape that multi-hits you early game) are tough but I didn't get a gameover and found the game pleasantly challenging until it arbitrarily limited me. You actually have quite a ways before you hit my point so focus on getting the protagonist a sage soon.

# ? Jan 29, 2017 03:30

Kruller: Feb 20, 2004; It's time to restore dignity to the Farnsworth name!

Oh dear me posted:

I doubt the spirit spares children, and the Baron's men certainly don't. I agree that none of the endings are exactly happy, of course.

The kids the witches were going to eat end up in Novigrad at an orphanage run by a decent person, at least. I agree the Baron's men definitely make that area a shithole, but man, I just can't leave the kids to be food. The Witcher 3 is real good, ya'll.

# ? Jan 29, 2017 03:50

im cute: Sep 21, 2009

CaptainRat posted:

Some stuff for Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse now that I've finished it.

- If you played the first one and dealt with the moderately-jacked calculation for physical skills, they fixed that in this version. Physical skills now go wholly off of Str, Gun skills go off of Dex, magic goes off of Mag. Agi is for acting sooner in combat and dodging, and Luck is for smirk rate, crits, demon recruitment, etc. I went 3 Mag / 1 Agi / 1 Luck every level and it worked very well, you can probably sub in Str or Dex instead of Mag if you want to go that route.
- There are apparently diminishing returns after 200 in a damage stat, so if you're going 3/1/1 you could probably switch to 1/2/2 or just do whatever when you hit that milestone.
- Going Physical or Gun means you'll be a little more dependent on equipment, which can get pretty pricey; Magic, conversely, is pretty taxing on the skill slots if you want full elemental coverage (whereas Physical and Gun can get away with one heavy-hitting skill of their type, maybe an all enemy skill, and then a healing spell or something).
- Good apps include: Skill Expansion and Demon Skill + X, MP Recovery 1, 2, and Party MP Recovery (trivializes healing since you can just can infinite heal spells and walk to regain MP), Summon Discount 1-4 (not that big of an impact for the first few levels, but level 4 is a 50% discount and by the end-game this makes fusing a lot of the special demons much easier).
- Nice-to-have apps include: Extra Stock (as much as you feel like you need), Auto-Pinpoint (instead of auto-battling with R, which is just basic attacks until someone dies, this lets you hit L and auto-battle with attacks that target enemy weaknesses. Makes grinding easier if you feel like doing that / didn't buy the XP DLC), Scout Gift / Scout Bonus / Scout+ / Expert Scout (get rewards for scouting, make scouting easier, and possibly recruit another demon when you get the first one. Combined with a good Luck score you can make the recruitment process much less painful).
- Unlike SMT 4, there are many apps that are gated by level (the + skill slot apps are a good example).
- There are a bunch of 'do <thing> X times' Challenge quests that will pop up as you level; most of these are things you'll be doing anyway and I think I auto-completed them every time they became available (things like collect relics, do damage, exploit weaknesses, etc.). The one exception is that there are two quests to Fundraise money from demons; this requires buying the Fundraise app, and buying at least the Fundraise + app will make this a little easier to complete. Fundraising isn't a great source of income but if you want the quest XP do it for a little bit every once in a while to finish this off.
- Your MC is probably best suited to making GBS threads out damage since you can get his attack stats so high, but you also get plentiful items that will let you cover some support stuff if you need to. Notable skills that you can't duplicate well with items include: Makarakarn and Tetrakarn (reflect, you get items for these but they're much rarer than other ones and very expensive from an end-game shop), Debilitate / Luster Candy (debuff all enemy stats and buff all ally stats, respectively; have demons cover these), Magaon (removes enemy smirk, you absolutely want this on at least one demon going into the final dungeon).
- Speaking of the final dungeon, it's horrible, so don't feel bad for looking up and using a map.
- The route splitting is not nearly as obtuse and hard to game as SMT 4 and basically boils down to some obvious choices at certain points in the end-game. You will, however, be punished if your final choice really doesn't match up with how you acted throughout the game.

Thanks, man

# ? Jan 29, 2017 04:50

Kanfy: Jan 9, 2012; Just gotta keep walking down that road.

Centipeed, if it's not too much trouble could you change "Thief: The Dark Project" to "Thief Gold / Thief: The Dark Project" or somesuch on the wiki?

99% of people who are gonna play that game for the first time nowadays will be playing Thief Gold and might mistake The Dark Project for a completely different game, seeing as that name is barely used anywhere anymore.

# ? Jan 29, 2017 12:26

TheShrike: Oct 30, 2010; You mechs may have copper wiring to re-route your fear of pain, but I've got nerves of steel.

Kanfy posted:

Centipeed, if it's not too much trouble could you change "Thief: The Dark Project" to "Thief Gold / Thief: The Dark Project" or somesuch on the wiki?

99% of people who are gonna play that game for the first time nowadays will be playing Thief Gold and might mistake The Dark Project for a completely different game, seeing as that name is barely used anywhere anymore.

Filthy casuals.

# ? Jan 29, 2017 17:17

ducttape: Mar 1, 2008

A couple things to add to the entry for assassins creed:

The guys with red helmets who spot you even when you aren't doing anything suspicious and have an unfortunate tendency to be in places that you want/need to stay hidden; they don't respawn when killed.

When you save a citizen, you don't have to stick around the pile of bodies while they are thanking you.

# ? Jan 29, 2017 20:55

MockingQuantum: Jan 20, 2012

Anything for Owlboy? I've already heard it doesn't have an in-game map, which actually seems like it might make the game marginally harder for me, but anything else I should know going in?

# ? Jan 30, 2017 22:20

Drunk Driver Dad: Feb 18, 2005

I've decided to play through the mass effect games for the first time, starting with Mass Effect 1. I know a little about these games, the basics I suppose. I really love sci-fi, even if it's sometimes considered bad. Loved BSG, including season 4. Also the game's story reminds me of Revelation Space a bit. From how I understand it, as the games go on, the combat gets better but the story gets shittier? Or is the main lovely part just how it ends? Also I haven't seen any general Mass Effect thread, just the one for Andromeda that's coming out which I might get depending on how I feel about 1-3

I'll be playing on PC. I prefer using a ps4 controller if that will help any, but I'm okay with mouse/keyboard.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 10:39

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Drunk Driver Dad posted:

I've decided to play through the mass effect games for the first time, starting with Mass Effect 1. I know a little about these games, the basics I suppose. I really love sci-fi, even if it's sometimes considered bad. Loved BSG, including season 4. Also the game's story reminds me of Revelation Space a bit. From how I understand it, as the games go on, the combat gets better but the story gets shittier? Or is the main lovely part just how it ends? Also I haven't seen any general Mass Effect thread, just the one for Andromeda that's coming out which I might get depending on how I feel about 1-3

I'll be playing on PC. I prefer using a ps4 controller if that will help any, but I'm okay with mouse/keyboard.

The story stays the same quality about all the way through, the infamously lovely part is literally the last ten minutes of Mass Effect 3's main story.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 10:45

Drunk Driver Dad: Feb 18, 2005

So not all that different from BSG then. Also any tips or things to know? What about dlc stuff? I bought ME1 and 2 on steam for like 9 bucks. The first one doesn't show any dlc in the library, but 2 says "Digital Deluxe game key. Digital deluxe Cerberus key and Digital deluxe promo key" whatever all that means.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 10:51

StrixNebulosa: Feb 14, 2012; You cheated not only the game, but yourself.
But most of all, you cheated BABA

Drunk Driver Dad posted:

So not all that different from BSG then. Also any tips or things to know? What about dlc stuff? I bought ME1 and 2 on steam for like 9 bucks. The first one doesn't show any dlc in the library, but 2 says "Digital Deluxe game key. Digital deluxe Cerberus key and Digital deluxe promo key" whatever all that means.

For ME1, play as a psychic. The powers get hilariously silly and it's way more fun to play when you're throwing tanks around than if you're treating it like a standard shooter.

For ME2, do not play as a psychic. It's no longer fun.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:01

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Drunk Driver Dad posted:

So not all that different from BSG then. Also any tips or things to know? What about dlc stuff? I bought ME1 and 2 on steam for like 9 bucks. The first one doesn't show any dlc in the library, but 2 says "Digital Deluxe game key. Digital deluxe Cerberus key and Digital deluxe promo key" whatever all that means.

Pretty sure Bring Down the Sky is free and included in Mass Effect 1, but you'll have to get the story DLC for Mass Effect 2 separately. The Digital Deluxe Edition nets you some extra armor and Special Weapons.

This is a link to all the DLC for all three Mass Effects. The weapon packs for ME2 are all worth picking up, they have some really good weapons.

The only absolutely-vital DLC you need for Mass Effect 2 are Lair of the Shadowbroker and Arrival. For Mass Effect 3, you need From the Ashes because it's basically cut content, The Extended Cut for the less-lovely ending, and Citadel (save it for after you finish ME3's main story as it's basically a final light-hearted and very self-aware escapade.) All of the story DLC's generally net you a good chunk of content though.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:01

Drunk Driver Dad: Feb 18, 2005

Alright, thanks. I'll just save that whole post in a text file, as I'll only be playing ME1 for the time being. I still don't have ME3, and noticed it wasn't on steam. Any recommendations to get 3 for the best deal possible?

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:03

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Drunk Driver Dad posted:

Alright, thanks. I'll just save that whole post in a text file, as I'll only be playing ME1 for the time being. I still don't have ME3, and noticed it wasn't on steam. Any recommendations to get 3 for the best deal possible?

Mass Effect 3's only available through Origin on PC.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:04

blackguy32: Oct 1, 2005; Say, do you know how to do the walk?

Kruller posted:

The kids the witches were going to eat end up in Novigrad at an orphanage run by a decent person, at least. I agree the Baron's men definitely make that area a shithole, but man, I just can't leave the kids to be food. The Witcher 3 is real good, ya'll.

I think my game glitched then. Bloody Baron spoiler I found the tree spirit without talking to anyone, so I managed to save the wife and according to the game, the kids too

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:09

Doctor Spaceman: Jul 6, 2010; "Everyone's entitled to their point of view, but that's seriously a weird one."

Neddy Seagoon posted:

The only absolutely-vital DLC you need for Mass Effect 2 are Lair of the Shadowbroker and Arrival. For Mass Effect 3, you need From the Ashes because it's basically cut content, The Extended Cut for the less-lovely ending, and Citadel (save it for after you finish ME3's main story as it's basically a final light-hearted and very self-aware escapade.) All of the story DLC's generally net you a good chunk of content though.

It should be noted that the other DLC isn't bad, it's just not as integral to the story / experience. I enjoyed Overlord and Kasumi (for ME2) far more than Arrival, for example.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:15

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Doctor Spaceman posted:

It should be noted that the other DLC isn't bad, it's just not as integral to the story / experience. I enjoyed Overlord and Kasumi (for ME2) far more than Arrival, for example.

Omega in Mass Effect 3's not great, but it'll still net you one of the best Powers and a few kickass guns.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 11:20

juliuspringle: Jul 7, 2007

Neddy Seagoon posted:

Omega in Mass Effect 3's not great, but it'll still net you one of the best Powers and a few kickass guns.

I loved Citadel especially since I haven;t gotten around to finishing 3 yet. In the middleish of 3 it really felt like a nice bit of down time with old friends one last time before the ending everyone by now knows is coming. Especially when you put a Krogan on the door.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 14:32

Zaodai: May 23, 2009; Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.

For ME in general: There are situations where the amount of time that passes can matter.

For ME1 specifically: Plan ahead if you think a specific crewmate is going to have problems with your actions and you still want to keep them around. That's about as general a tip as I can make it without directly throwing spoilers at you.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 16:25

Oh dear me: Aug 14, 2012; I have burned numerous saucepans, sometimes right through the metal

For X3 Albion Prelude:

You will not be able to get past the second main quest (Trial by fire) if you have positive Terran approval. So do this quest early. It does require combat however so if you can trade enough to get yourself at least an M4 first you will find it easier.

The Terran economy is dying because they have no basic food producers (so their stock exchange is the least profitable). Once you've got past Trial by fire you might want to try to increase your Terran approval and set up some Protein paste factories to help them keep ticking over.

The easiest way to make money is via a Teladi stock exchange. The Index for each product is a demand vs supply rating. You want to buy products with an Index of 100+, as their price will be at the minimum; but make sure there is at least some demand for them or the price will never go up.

You can double-click on a point in the Sector map to autopilot to that position.

Oh dear me fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Feb 3, 2017

# ? Feb 3, 2017 16:52

Keeshhound: Jan 14, 2010; Mad Duck Swagger

Drunk Driver Dad posted:

I really love sci-fi, even if it's sometimes considered bad. Loved BSG, including season 4. Also the game's story reminds me of Revelation Space a bit. From how I understand it, as the games go on, the combat gets better but the story gets shittier? Or is the main lovely part just how it ends?

It depends on what you want out of a game story. Each of the games' core plots are at least serviceable when it comes to providing your motivation to "go here, shoot this thing, talk to this alien, etc." but if you have specific preferences or if you have expectations of thematic continuity, the shift from 1 to 2 can be rather jarring. In blunt terms, if ME1 is like old Star Trek, then 2 and 3 cleave much closer to JJ Abrams' Star Trek.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 17:05

limp_cheese: Sep 10, 2007; Nothing to see here. Move along.

I just picked up Ark: Combat Evolved with the expansion on Steam. I've played it long enough to build a house, have some weapons, and have started exploring but I keep getting loving mauled by raptors. Any advice would be helpful.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 17:10

Neddy Seagoon: Oct 12, 2012; "Hi Everybody!"

Zaodai posted:

For ME in general: There are situations where the amount of time that passes can matter.

For ME1 specifically: Plan ahead if you think a specific crewmate is going to have problems with your actions and you still want to keep them around. That's about as general a tip as I can make it without directly throwing spoilers at you.

I'd just spoil this one slightly, because the alternative is absolute poo poo to be honest; Your party members have sidequests, Wrex's is IMPORTANT and you'll want to stay on good terms with him.

One other thing for ME in general; Paragon's really the way to go (though the odd Renegade action like dealing with the reporter are fine) because in later games the big choices get dumb and outright counterproductive. Either way, pick a side and stick with it. Later choices need big scores, and not being able to hit those big Reputation conversation options can cost you down the road.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 17:12

al-azad: May 28, 2009

For Mass Effect go all the way paragon or renegade. You get bonuses for those and are actively penalized for trying to be neutral.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 17:13

Ainsley McTree: Feb 19, 2004

ME's story is a big ol can of worms that lots of people have strong opinions about. The thing that most agree upon is that the ending of the trilogy is not good, so get ready for that. Otherwise, just have fun and make up your own mind imo.

For ME1, the best* guns in the game are the specter weapons. To unlock them, I believe you need to obtain a million credits (that is, have 1,000,000 credits available at one time) and then your ship vendor will have them available. No other weapon or piece of gear or...anything really, is worth dropping money on so my advice is to gear yourself with drops and just sell everything else until you get the specter guns.

Don't bother with me1's pinnacle station dlc. It's just a bunch of timed combat simulations, there's no story or anything to it.

Pistols are probably the best weapon in the game, even if you pick soldier. They're easy to use with low skill points, and they're very deadly with high skill points. So don't worry too much about weapons when choosing a class, since everyone can use pistols, and they rule.

*i think there might be a few guns that drop that have higher stats, technically, but the specter guns are more than sufficient to get you through to the end of the game. They're a good goal to work toward.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 17:24

GOTTA STAY FAI: Mar 24, 2005; ~no glitter in the gutter~
~no twilight galaxy~; College Slice

al-azad posted:

For Mass Effect go all the way paragon or renegade. You get bonuses for those and are actively penalized for trying to be neutral.

Yep, pick one and stick with it. Don't fret too much about which--the benefits for either are roughly equal. Don't think of it like "good" vs. "evil," think more "I have a job to do, and if I reason with this guy he'll tell me what I need to know" vs. "I have a loving job to do and if you don't tell me what I need to know I'll shove you out a guddamn window."

GOTTA STAY FAI fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Feb 3, 2017

# ? Feb 3, 2017 18:19

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

For whatever it's worth, FemShep's VA is one of the best in the business, and she delivers the Renegade snark in a way that the male VA just can't match.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 18:23

Zaphod42: Sep 13, 2012; If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.

GOTTA STAY FAI posted:

Yep, pick one and stick with it. Don't fret too much about which--the benefits for either are roughly equal. Don't think of it like "good" vs. "evil," think more "I have a job to do, and if I reason with this guy he'll tell me what I need to know" vs. "I have a loving job to do and if you don't tell me what I need to know I'll shove you out a guddamn window."

Think of it as Picard vs Kirk.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 19:03

Vil: Sep 10, 2011

That's actually a very good analogy, and no wonder I almost always go paragon.

I do think some of the renegade moments are very satisfying though, especially as FemShep, but I have a hard time committing an entire playthrough to acting like that.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 19:53

Truman Sticks: Nov 2, 2011

For Mass Effect 1: Everybody hates the Mako, but you can get your money's worth out of it by using it to knock around the giant Geth tanks (I think they're called Goliaths) until their health is almost at zero, then exit the Mako and finish it off with your guns while its still hilariously ragdoll spazzing out on the ground. You get the full experience for the kill, rather than the reduced amount you'd get for just running it over with the Mako.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 19:53

Vil: Sep 10, 2011

Alternatively, just acknowledge that realistically you're just cheesing your way around eating the mako exp loss mechanic anyway if you're doing that, and edit the appropriate line in an .ini file so it simply gives full exp in the first place. Being able to get full exp for combat in the thing is a fitting enough reward for having to put up with driving it (which is a much greater percentage of the time spent in the mako than the time spent fighting in it).

# ? Feb 3, 2017 19:55

Ainsley McTree: Feb 19, 2004

Vil posted:

That's actually a very good analogy, and no wonder I almost always go paragon.

I do think some of the renegade moments are very satisfying though, especially as FemShep, but I have a hard time committing an entire playthrough to acting like that.

One thing to consider doing is just cheating and giving yourself maxed out renegade/paragon points and then just play however the hell you want and not worry about gimping yourself on reputation points.

This does mean that your character will be able to pass renegade/paragon checks, giving you access to all the bonuses that come with them, that you haven't actually earned, but it's up to the player to decide how much they care about that.

IIRC in ME3 they finally realize that the current system is unsatisfying, and change it so that doing either a paragon OR a renegade action give you points, and all you need to pass a check is just a threshold of overall points. But in 1 & 2, you have to make a choice early and stick with it if you want to do anything.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 19:58

exquisite tea: Apr 21, 2007; Carly shook her glass, willing the ice to melt. "You still haven't told me what the mission is."

She leaned forward. "We are going to assassinate the bad men of Hollywood."

The main problem with the Paragon/Renegade system as it works in Mass Effect is that Paragon is almost always just the generic "good guy" choice, whereas Renegade ranges from "gets results" to "racist jerk" to "unhinged lunatic" with no gradient. That being said you should try to play as a gently caress-up throughout the first two games because the third is much more interesting if certain characters are dead and you can't choose the "make everybody happy" options.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 20:56

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# ? May 29, 2024 21:57

csm141: Jul 19, 2010; i care, i'm listening, i can help you without giving any advice; Pillbug

You can always find a save editor if you're playing on PC and just give yourself maximum of both if your FOMO is severe enough that you're not enjoying the game.

# ? Feb 3, 2017 21:23

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The "What should I know before I play this game for the first time?" Q&A!

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