Mass Effect 3 Message Board older than one year ago

#masseffect3 "This one doesn't have time for your solid waste excretions." More »

#masseffect When BioWare added all sorts of new challenges, modes, and enemies to Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode yesterday, they also added a new stat-tracking page that tells you, among other things, how many hours of your life you have spent shooting down enemy waves. It is a number that I kind of wish I hadn't seen... and it just keeps going up. More »

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Mass Effect 3's multiplayer suite will be bolstered by a new enemy race and unlockables. The "Retaliation" DLC pack will be free to all Mass Effect 3 owners when it launches next week on October 9 - PS3 owners in Europe will have to wait an extra day, October 10.

Retaliation adds the Collectors as a new enemy faction to face off against and new unlockable kits: the Turian Havoc Soldier and Turian Ghost Infiltrator. You'll also be able to unlock new Collector weapons and outfit them with new upgrades, plus BioWare is adding new "hazard" versions of existing maps to Mass Effect 3's multiplayer - certain environmental dangers like sandstorms and lightning will now challenge players in addition to the enemy.

Finally, "Retaliation" adds a new challenge system to multiplayer, a database that chronicles your performance across multiplayer and awards "challenge points" for reaching certain milestones in multiplayer. Players can spend these "challenge points" on new titles and banners to customize their character profile.

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The forces of Mass Effect 3 are back at it again this weekend, running a weekly event called Operation Overdrive. Just like the other events in this series, there's both a squad and an allied goal, with separate rewards for each.

The squad goal this time will be to hit full extraction on any map in just 20 minutes or less, and that will nab you a Commendation Pack if completed. The Allied Goal is across all of the game's players, and asks for 200,000 extraction waves to be beaten in total. Completing that goal will get everyone involved a Victory Pack. Not to mention all of the lives that will be saved from repelling the Reaper invasion, right?

A sizable update is coming to Mass Effect 3 this week, aimed at fixing exploits and patching in some gameplay balances. A large deal of the changes affect multiplayer powers and enemy behaviors, like Banshees being stuck in a teleport routine and being able to grab Geth Pyros over cover.

Game crashing bugs have also been addressed, including a nasty Bionic Charge glitch that would render the match unplayable and the Singularity power has been redesigned. BioWare expects the patch will be available this Thursday, but nothing is set in stone: Xbox 360 and PS3 players will be automatically prompted to install the patch, while PC users will need to manually install the update through Origin.

For the full list (it's a full list) of changes, head on over to the BioWare forums.

#screengrab Duncan Harris of Dead End Thrills takes gorgeous, photographic game screenshots. He's previously worked his magic on titles like Skyrim, Dishonored, and Mass Effect 2, among many others. More »

The Mass Effect Trilogy includes all three games in the Mass Effect franchise, launching for Xbox 360 and PC on November 6 and at a later date for PS3, and it'll look something like that photo up there. The Trilogy will come with DLC as well, BioWare clarifies:

The PC version will get Bring Down the Sky and Pinnacle Station for the first Mass Effect; Mass Effect 2 comes with the Cerberus Network, which includes Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, The Firewalker Pack, Cerberus Assault Gear, Arc Projector heavy weapon, and Normandy Crash site mission. Mass Effect 3 includes the Online Pass with access to multiplayer.

Xbox 360 won't get Bring Down the Sky or Pinnacle Station on-disc, but both will be available as standalone DLC via Xbox Live. Mass Effect 2 gets the Cerberus Network and Mass Effect 3 the Online Pass.

Information about PS3 DLC is coming "soon." The original Mass Effect will launch as a digital standalone on PSN on the same day the Trilogy launches for PS3, for $15.

The Trilogy is compatible with other versions of the Mass Effect games, meaning players can transfer saves from previous games to the Trilogy games, and Mass Effect 3 multiplayer is playable between versions. Considering the Trilogy is Mass Effect repackaged for the holiday rush, it'd be more surprising if the games were truly a separate beast and weren't compatible with previous releases.

There's still no sign of the Trilogy coming to Wii U, which gets Mass Effect 3 on launch day, November 18 in the US. The Wii U version includes the Extended Cut ending and the From Ashes DLC.

BioWare has announced the Mass Effect Trilogy Compilation, bringing the original Mass Effect to PlayStation 3 for the first time.

Mass Effect 1, 2, & 3 are being released in an all-in-one bundle for Xbox 360 and PC on November 6, and for PlayStation 3 at a later date. The compilation, titled Mass Effect Trilogy, is priced at $59.99.

The three games tell the complete 'space opera' saga of Commander Shepard from start to finish ... unless EA and BioWare really are messing us about. EA also announced N7 Day, a "worldwide celebration of the Mass Effect franchise" that of course takes place on November 7. Whether or not fans can tear themselves away from the trilogy released the day before is another matter.

Aaryn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare Edmonton and Montreal, doesn't want fans to worry about passion or creativity within the studio following the retirement of BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.

"I know this might be concerning for some of you but the leaders at BioWare have had some time to think about it - to think about how the games, the fans, and the creative teams would move on without the two guys who started this organization back in 1995," Flynn writes.

He outlines the projects coming from BioWare, noting yesterday's reveal of Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, which has executive producer Mark Darrah at the helm.

Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series, has plans for another full game within the Mass Effect universe. The next piece of DLC for Mass Effect 3 is Omega, due out in the fall.

Hudson is also creating a brand new game, Flynn says: "While Casey continues to oversee the development of our new Mass Effect project, he and his leads are putting together their vision for an all new game set in a fictional universe, built from the bottom-up with all new gaming technology."

Flynn closes the roundup with a nod to Muzyka and Zeschuk, and to BioWare as a resilient brand. "Ray and Greg built BioWare to last. They've always known their retirement would come one day, so they developed a team of people who would ensure their standards and culture would endure. We'll humbly carry that torch and continue learning in the process.

"To the Doctors: I wish you the very best, and we will always honor your legacy. The games we develop will always share your unique creativity and steadfast integrity."

#masseffect It's no secret that I really liked Mass Effect 3. But as I wound into the last acts of the game, I began to feel like something was missing: I'd really hoped that Aria would demand Shepard's help in retaking Omega. Lines from the leaked script supported that theory, as did unearthed dialogue. That mission, at least as it exists in my head, is one I really wanted to play. Now, it looks like I might just get my wish—and relatively soon, to boot. More »

No one expected Mass Effect to really end after Mass Effect 3. Where does it go next, though?

There is more Mass Effect coming, both in the form of downloadable content for Mass Effect 3 and a brand-new game.

In the midst of announcing the “retirement” of BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn revealed new details about the series.

First, BioWare said there are more single-player stories to tell within Mass Effect 3, starting with the “Omega” downloadable content in the fall. Additionally, there are plans for “another full game.”

“‘Where to go next?’ with such a project has been a question a lot of us have been asking, and we’d all love to hear your ideas,” said Flynn.

Mass Effect executive producer Casey Hudson is overseeing the additional Mass Effect 3 content and the untitled new Mass Effect game, while also overseeing the creation of a brand-new world.

“He and his leads are putting together their vision for an all new game set in a fictional universe, built from the bottom-up with all new gaming technology,” said Flynn.

#masseffect At some point, probably after the release of, say, Dragon Age II, lots and lots of people got it in themselves to hate on BioWare. Those who ferociously voiced how crappy they felt the makers of Mass Effect games had become also had a reason: it was EA's fault. The mega-giant publisher did what it always does after it acquired a stellar game dev studio, angry fans said. They meddled with BioWare the same way they did with Pandemic or Mythic and bad things happened. More »

See if the Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC is worth your hard earned space credits.

The fight continues, brave soldiers, and the whole of creation is still counting on you and your headset-wearing friends to deliver us from the tyranny of gross space bugs, robots and guys that look like robots but aren't.

As with all previous Mass Effect 3 multiplayer events, peeps rollin' through multiplayer this weekend have two different goals to accomplish: Squads must survive until wave 10 on any difficulty, without the aid of health/ammo packs or any other consumables. As a whole, the Alliance Military forces must successfully complete 250,000 escort missions, also on any difficulty. Successful completion of Squad-level goals will earn players a Commendation Pack, while overall victory grants Victory Packs as usual.

Time has come and gone between the release of Mass Effect 3 and its Extended Cut DLC - launched to soothe the savage outcry the original ending stoked in fans back in March. As disappointing as Mass Effect 3's original ending was, to call it the worst ending in video game history - a claim many fans have made - is to be excessively hyperbolic.

What Mass Effect 3's original ending did was continue the video game industry's infamous tradition of unsatisfactory or controversial conclusions. Maybe this trip down memory lane will help you remember that, as annoying as ME3's initial use of traffic lights to denote multiple endings was, the video game industry has a bad habit of awful endings. (Obviously, the following contains spoilers.)

#masseffect I still haven't had a chance to play the new "Leviathan" DLC for Mass Effect 3, but I'm kind of loving the alternate reality advertising going on for it. More »

A quick introduction to the newest ME3 DLC, Leviathan.

#cosplay Prop creator extraordinaire Bill Doran and his wife, Brittany Sheppard Doran, gear up for DragonCon 2012 in style with a pair of expertly-crafted suits of Mass Effect armor. If that's not justification enough for me to hit up the show this weekend then I don't know what is. More »

#review The Mass Effect games we play could be so different from the ones we've been playing for the last seven years. That is one of the messages of Leviathan, the second single-player expansion to Mass Effect 3, the first since launch day. More »

The BioWare team loves Commander Shepard as much as the fans do, so after we shipped Mass Effect 3, we were excited to start creating additional content that would expand on Shepard’s adventures during the Mass Effect 3 experience. Downloadable content gives us an opportunity to do just that— it gives us the chance to write new chapters that add to Shepard’s legacy without disrupting the consistency of the full game. We approach DLC differently depending on whether it’s single player or multiplayer content, but with both, we aim to hit an extremely high quality bar to make sure the fans continue to get the full Mass Effect experience.

For multiplayer, we consider Mass Effect 3′s offerings to be more of a service than a product you purchase. We always said that we wouldn’t do multiplayer in our games unless it was done properly, and supporting it fully well after launch is something we are committed to. The ideas behind Resurgence, Rebellion and Earth were simple: we want to keep the community engaged in our game, keep the content fresh, and most importantly, we want to foster a level of progression that is synonymous with Mass Effect. Fantasy fulfillment has always been something that is extremely important to us, even in multiplayer. Allowing players to do awesome things in the Mass Effect universe that work well outside of Commander Shepard’s narrative is important. Adding amazing new weapons like the Cerberus Harrier or classes like the N7 Shadow were all about that.

Of course, story-based DLC has always been a part of the Mass Effect pedigree. At BioWare, it’s part of our culture to create emotionally charged stories for our fans. We always aim to deliver an impactful narrative while offering the player’s choice. This is challenging, but it is also extremely rewarding for us. As mentioned before, when we shipped Mass Effect 3, we knew there were many opportunities within the universe for us to tell new stories. Mass Effect 3: From Ashes, our first single player DLC, is a great example of how we were able to visit a new era in the Mass Effect universe. From Ashes also allowed our fans to gain a new squad member with Javik, something that has become signature in our previous DLC packs.

And that’s why Mass Effect 3: Leviathan is so exciting for us! It gives us the chance to jump back into Commander Shepard’s story, and to continue exploring some of the themes that are important to the trilogy, including the origin of the Reapers. We wanted to make sure that we delivered content to the fans that was unlike anything we had ever done before. Leviathan is all about exploration and mystery. Players don’t know where the story will take them next, and they’re pushed to explore these new fantastic locations that they’ve never seen. In addition to these new worlds, Leviathan is full of great new characters that help Shepard unravel the mystery of Leviathan. Players get to interact with these characters through more than 2,000 new lines of recorded dialogue and dozens of new cinematic sequences. If it’s combat and gameplay that you’re after, Leviathan delivers on that too. Players will dive into an adventure that will challenge their abilities, and they’ll be given the chance to unlock two weapons previously only available to pre-order customers earlier this year.

We’re proud to bring Mass Effect 3: Leviathan to our fans. Grab it when it goes live on PSN later today, and let us know what you think!

#masseffect There's a new $10 single-player expansion for Mass Effect 3 called Leviathan out today, but it's not readily apparent how to start it. Here's a tip: after you buy it and download it, check your in-game message terminal. You're looking for the message in the screenshot above. More »

Commander Shepard has tracked down Leviathan's signal to a planet that is all ocean. Good thing all future tech is waterproof!

#masseffect The long-awaited single-player add-on for BioWare's sci-fi threequel gets an underwater preview in this teaser. Our own Kirk Hamilton enjoyed his hands-on time with the DLC. Everyone else gets to play Leviathan when it becomes available next week. More »

Listen up, N7 troops. You'll be fighting in "Operation: Alloy" in Mass Effect 3 this weekend. IT's an all-important mission to melt down enemies and mix up the results into characters stronger than ever before. And we're not just talking metallurgy: You'll have to work to promote two of your own characters in the multiplayer game, and hope that at least 50,000 characters are promoted worldwide, across the entire field of battle.

Pull off the individual goal, and you'll get a Commendation pack reward. If the Allied goal is accomplished, all players involved will get both a Victory pack, and a medi-gel capacity increase. Roll out!

BioWare will release Mass Effect 3's single-player DLC, Leviathan, on August 28 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. European PS3 users will need to wait an extra day, unfortunately - Leviathan will be available on PS3 in Europe on August 29.

Mass Effect 3's Leviathan DLC will expand the single-player campaign, tasking Shepard with discovering "the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever." Leviathan is set during the Mass Effect 3 campaign, prior to the controversial conclusion of Shepard's tale. EA has not yet revealed a price for Leviathan.

#masseffect The next piece of single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3 will arrive August 28, BioWare said today. More »

#masseffect Day one downloadable content sucks, I think. Personally, it makes me feel like a chump. But there must be a reason for it in games like Mass Effect 3, right? BioWare's Fernando Melo has an explanation. More »