Because Ardwolf did one, I have to do a holiday loot post (not really, but I like blaming other people for things they inspire me to do).
It shouldn't take too long, as finances kept the loot rather sparse this year. However, the number one item on the list is Mass Effect 3. Having been given a pre-order of ME3, I also used a little gift cash to pick up the last ME2 DLCs I did not have. Now I just have to suffer till March/April for ME3 to actually arrive.
My other gaming score was a Turbine Point card for Lord of the Rings Online. I spent some time in LOTRO over the holiday, working my way through the Yule Festival content in order to get my horse collector alt the newest Yule horses. Besides the new 2011 one, I picked up the 2010 one as well, as I hadn't started horse collecting for him when 2010 Yule came around. Surprisingly, I haven't spent many of the TP yet, though that's mostly because starting to figure out a list of which quest packs I didn't have yet resulted in realizing there is far more stuff I'd like to have than points available. None of the stuff on my list so far is currently on sale, so in proper lazy gamer fashion I've put off making a decision on what to buy. I did break my usual "no buying cosmetic items from the store" rule twice this season. One during a sale to acquire the Helm of Rohan which I still alternate between loving and hating (those 3 combs should be just 1), and once after claiming the TP to acquire a cloak to complete an outfit.
My other gaming time, except for a brief foray into ME2 to view the alternate appearances and tinker with a couple of the new weapons, was split between Pirates of the Burning Sea and Star Trek Online.
Another blogger provided a link to an Alienware promotion for a 10-day access code to STO, so I've been giving it a try. I'm kind of liking it, and kind of looking forward to it going f2p. I discovered the menu item to go to the ship's bridge the other day, and really like being able to wander through the bridge, crew deck, and engineering. The only really odd thing was that the Bridge had two copies of each of my bridge officers at different stations.
In PotBS, my main is a Privateer who's just reached level 27, and has become involved with a pretty nice Society (Burning Sea's version of Guilds). Burning Sea does a good job of having a consistent flavor to it. Swashbuckling/Avatar combat is a little clunky to me, but the sea combat is really nicely done. I particularly like that there is a certain amount of "a cannonball is a cannonball" going on in the combat. I've joined 5-ship and 6-ship groups going up against 8-12 ship level 65 NPC fleets with my own character and ship being as low as 15-17, and have not felt completely useless. Granted, you can't go broadside to broadside with a 65 at close range and expect to live. But at longer ranges, the difficulty the big ships have in hitting a small fast ship has resulted in my being able to plink away and actually see the big ships take armor damage. My level 24 Mastercraft Locust Corvette took the concentrated attention of at least six level 65 frigates and line ships for several salvos at long range and while not unscathed was still fully operational. I would note that this only works vs the NPC ships however, which do not have the benefit of the extensive captain skill tree that other players do. Trying the same shot against six skilled up level 50 players would not likely have the same outcome!
Showing posts with label Mass Effect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mass Effect. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Max Sheppard Saves the Universe (Nicely)
Spoiler warning for ME1 and ME2.
I'm a little late on posting this, as my victory is now about two weeks old. But for the first time ever, I have completed both ME1 and ME2. Our hero, Max Sheppard, was born in the Colonies and was already a War Hero before he came to serve aboard the Normandy. A powerful Adept, he conducted himself in an almost entirely Paragon manner with a handful of exceptions, such as helping a tired Blue Suns mechanic not work so hard (ever again) and teaching an Eclipse merc squad just why fighting underneath cargo cranes and copping an attitude with Commander Sheppard is a bad idea.
Only missions I have not yet done with him are Pinnacle Station (didn't realize it also had to be done before Ilos), Lair of the Shadow Broker (don't have the DLC yet), and Arrival (also don't hve the DLC). Well, that and the Renegade alignment special mission in ME1, since he only did the Paragon one.
In the process of saving the galaxy, he talked Wrex into listening to reason on Virmire, saved Ashley and Captain Kirrahe on the same, freed the Rachni queen, completed all loyalty missions successfully in both games, was nice to Conrad Verner (even though the save game bug doesn't reflect it), saved all the scientists at Sirta Foundation (ditto), and even saved the Council despite how troublesome they were. He also talked Mr. Batia into letting the Alliance keep his wife's body for testing, and ensured that Uvenk received his proper quota of headbutting. He spared lives wherever he had the opportunity, losing only one of the Zhu's Hope colonists. Unfortunately, this included having to let the Batarian terrorist escape on X57. Fist did not get the chance to live, thanks to Wrex' presence on the squad, though Sheppard himself spared him. Thanks to him, Captain Anderson has taken humanity's rightful place on the Council. In the ME2 Suicide Mission, he completed the objective while preserving his entire team, and saved his whole crew as well. He romanced Ashley in ME1, though he did accidentally end up in a love triangle with Liara, which ended with him choosing Ashley. In ME2, he avoided romance conversations, staying true to Ashley throughout, except for the usual flirting banter with Kelly.
Once I can afford Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival, he'll do those as well.
Currently, I'm working on a new character, focused on a renegade playthrough. Smiley Sheppard, also male. Earthborn, Ruthless reputation. Paragade or Renagon, whichever one emphasizes Renegade aspects in your definition of the term. He's a Vanguard, because I really wanna play with the Biotic Charge ability once I hit ME2 with him. After him, or possibly alternating if I get bored, is my first Femshep, an Infiltrator named Rosemary. I made her Spaceborn so I could experience all three background missions in ME1 across the three chars, and I think I gave her Sole Survivor as her reputation; I don't remember for sure at this moment and I'm not at liberty to fire the game up to find out.
Next up: My Mass Effect 3 predictions.
I'm a little late on posting this, as my victory is now about two weeks old. But for the first time ever, I have completed both ME1 and ME2. Our hero, Max Sheppard, was born in the Colonies and was already a War Hero before he came to serve aboard the Normandy. A powerful Adept, he conducted himself in an almost entirely Paragon manner with a handful of exceptions, such as helping a tired Blue Suns mechanic not work so hard (ever again) and teaching an Eclipse merc squad just why fighting underneath cargo cranes and copping an attitude with Commander Sheppard is a bad idea.
Only missions I have not yet done with him are Pinnacle Station (didn't realize it also had to be done before Ilos), Lair of the Shadow Broker (don't have the DLC yet), and Arrival (also don't hve the DLC). Well, that and the Renegade alignment special mission in ME1, since he only did the Paragon one.
In the process of saving the galaxy, he talked Wrex into listening to reason on Virmire, saved Ashley and Captain Kirrahe on the same, freed the Rachni queen, completed all loyalty missions successfully in both games, was nice to Conrad Verner (even though the save game bug doesn't reflect it), saved all the scientists at Sirta Foundation (ditto), and even saved the Council despite how troublesome they were. He also talked Mr. Batia into letting the Alliance keep his wife's body for testing, and ensured that Uvenk received his proper quota of headbutting. He spared lives wherever he had the opportunity, losing only one of the Zhu's Hope colonists. Unfortunately, this included having to let the Batarian terrorist escape on X57. Fist did not get the chance to live, thanks to Wrex' presence on the squad, though Sheppard himself spared him. Thanks to him, Captain Anderson has taken humanity's rightful place on the Council. In the ME2 Suicide Mission, he completed the objective while preserving his entire team, and saved his whole crew as well. He romanced Ashley in ME1, though he did accidentally end up in a love triangle with Liara, which ended with him choosing Ashley. In ME2, he avoided romance conversations, staying true to Ashley throughout, except for the usual flirting banter with Kelly.
Once I can afford Lair of the Shadow Broker and Arrival, he'll do those as well.
Currently, I'm working on a new character, focused on a renegade playthrough. Smiley Sheppard, also male. Earthborn, Ruthless reputation. Paragade or Renagon, whichever one emphasizes Renegade aspects in your definition of the term. He's a Vanguard, because I really wanna play with the Biotic Charge ability once I hit ME2 with him. After him, or possibly alternating if I get bored, is my first Femshep, an Infiltrator named Rosemary. I made her Spaceborn so I could experience all three background missions in ME1 across the three chars, and I think I gave her Sole Survivor as her reputation; I don't remember for sure at this moment and I'm not at liberty to fire the game up to find out.
Next up: My Mass Effect 3 predictions.
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