Mass Effect 2

[GhostMachine]

I'm on the final battle...getting roasted by those rocket launching turrets.  Tali hacks one near the beginning which is handy, but I need to figure out how to get past the others.  In total playtime I'm at just over 20 hours...level 34 or so.

Who do you have with you besides Tali? And what class are you playing as?

[JeyNyce]

I'm on the final battle...getting roasted by those rocket launching turrets.  Tali hacks one near the beginning which is handy, but I need to figure out how to get past the others.  In total playtime I'm at just over 20 hours...level 34 or so.

When I beat the game I was lvl 38, but I believe you can level up to 50 or 60 if you do all the side quests in the game.

[TheMarvell]

where are you guys getting these claims that things will have a huge impact on the third game? If anything, your choices will only slightly effect the course of the third game...you know, kinda like how Mass Effect 2 was. All the major decisions you made in ME1 only matter on a smaller scale in ME2. Your love interest, who lives or dies, even the end game decision, didn't really effect the main course of the game. And from a developer perspective, this makes sense. With all the different choices you can make between both games now, it would be a big mess for a third game if it were to make a big impact, like what people here keep claiming. Not saying it won't happen, but why would it be so much different for the 3rd game?

Spoiler

oh, and as for Kelly's romance option, I heard once you have dinner with her, you can go into your personal quarters and she'll send you a message to your private terminal that you can only read from there. After you read it, apparently Kelly visits you there. Can't verify that for sure, but some people have posted that elsewhere.

I didn't know there was a timer after you get the IFF. I did a couple more side quests, and then took the Omega 4 relay. Seeing what they did to Kelly was pretty disturbing.

Anyways, I just finished the game this weekend, and it was incredible. It was a needed reminder of why I purchased a 360 in the first place.

Spoiler

During the ending, I was kind of annoyed at how certain crew members could die though. On my first playthrough, I chose Legion to go through the vents, and Samara to lead the diversion team. I thought a justicar would be a great choice, and was even reassured by Miranda. But since I didn't pick Miranda, Jacob, or Garrus instead, Legion (or Tali) gets a rocket to the face and dies. Then later on, because I didn't pick Mordin to be on my team or escort the remaining survivors, he dies randomly when defending the door. It felt really random to me. I had no way of knowing Samara was a bad choice and it kind of irked me. Then I chose the renegade ending (I was mostly paragon throughout, though) because it made more sense to me. But afterwords I felt bad, and every person on the crew doubted my decision. So I went back and played the ending again, everyone survived, and I destroyed the base. Now everyone loves me except the Illusive Man, lol.

oh, and I romanced Miranda. Tali was very tempting, mainly because I think she is one of the best written characters in the game (her loyalty mission was especially powerful, imo). But I just couldn't resist Miranda's sex appeal, lol.

[GhostMachine]

Marvell....

Spoiler

The Kelly thing is partially correct. If you keep talking to her you can eventually invite her to your cabin for dinner, but that's apparently all that happens. (No cutscene or anything showing what happens in the cabin) If you don't romance someone, and keep talking to her without picking any of the options that will shut down anything happening to her, and she survives the suicide mission, there is something that can happen with her if you continue the game after it and talk to her at least once. May have to keep talking to her for it to eventually happen, though. Its not considered an actual romance, and it won't unlock the Paramour achievement. I'm not going to reveal what exactly happens with Kelly; you have to see it for yourself. Look it up on Youtube if you don't want to play the game and find out that way....and make sure you're not eating or drinking something when you watch!

If you do the suicide mission right after the Reaper IFF mission (or Legion's loyalty mission, if you decide to do it), Kelly doesn't die. Its Lilith, the female colonist abducted during the cutscene showing the attack on Horizon, who gets turned to goop instead.

For the suicide mission, to get everyone to survive:

Spoiler

Ideally, you want everyone loyal. Depending on your Paragon/Renegade score at the time, it may be hard to keep both Jack and Miranda loyal when their fight happens (which is why I usually do Jack's loyalty mission last). If you can only keep one of them loyal and you're not romancing Jack, side with Miranda.

For the ventilation shaft, pick Legion or Tali. Don't even consider anyone else.

For the parts with two teams, pick either Garrus, Jacob or Miranda to be the leader. (Can use the same character for both teams) Zaeed won't work; he may be a mercenary with a lot of experience, but he's a follower, not a leader.

For the biotic field projector, Jack and Samara are the two best choices. If the biotic field projector is not loyal, one of the two team members with you will die.

Anyone can lead the survivors back, I assume, as long as they're loyal. I've had Mordin and Tali, who aren't exactly major tailkickers, lead the survivors back with no problems.

For the final part, don't take someone who isn't loyal with you. They'll definitely die after the boss fight, but may survive if left behind to help hold off the enemy. I had one game where Jack wasn't loyal and survived that way.

And remember one very important thing:

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I'M COMMANDER SHEPARD, AND THIS IS MY FAVORITE STORE ON THE CITADEL!

[TheMarvell]

About the the last mission,

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Everyone on my team was loyal during the last mission. What annoyed me was the vague, randomness of characters dying. Some choices are obvious: you'll need a tech specialist for the vents, so Tali or Legion are your only options. But why is Samara a bad choice for the diversion team? It's especially confusing when characters admire or curse your choices. Miranda was really impressed I picked Samara to lead the diversion team, and Jack hated Miranda leading it. So, I thought who better than a Justicar? But I was wrong, for some reason.

Mordin dying was really random though. Apparently if you don't have him with you, or have him escort the survivors back, he'll die. I know he's not a warrior, but neither is Tali, and she doesn't die if she's defending the door. It's just a little too vague and seems random to me.

I know the right choices now, but I didn't want to spoil anything before I first beat the game.

[GhostMachine]

Spoiler

No, Mordin won't always die if you don't have him with you or have him escort the crew back. I've left him as part of the team holding off the enemy on more than one occasion, and he comes out fine. But he is a good choice to send with the crew, so....

For the diversion teams you need someone with leadership skills more combat experience to be in charge. Which is why Samara and Zaeed are both bad choices. Miranda, Jacob, and Grunt are the only 3 that really fit that role.

I've done the final mission twice with everyone surviving, and one of those times Jack wasn't loyal. Here's how I did it:

Spoiler

First time (Jack not loyal):

Legion through the vent, Jack and Grunt with me.

Team 2 leader: Miranda

With me: `Samara' (Field projector), Legion, Jacob

Diversion team leader: Miranda

Leading the crew back: Garrus

With me for final boss: Legion and Jacob.

Second time (everyone loyal):

Tali through the vent, Legion and Grunt with me.

Team 2 leader: Jacob

With me: Jack (field projector), Garrus and Mordin

Diversion team leader: Jacob

Leading the crew back: Tali

With me for final boss: Zaeed and Thane (Awesome combo for the final fight if you have Inferno Grenade maxxed and at least rank 3 in Shredder Ammo; they chew Collectors up!)

[Talavar]

About the the last mission,

Spoiler

Everyone on my team was loyal during the last mission. What annoyed me was the vague, randomness of characters dying. Some choices are obvious: you'll need a tech specialist for the vents, so Tali or Legion are your only options. But why is Samara a bad choice for the diversion team? It's especially confusing when characters admire or curse your choices. Miranda was really impressed I picked Samara to lead the diversion team, and Jack hated Miranda leading it. So, I thought who better than a Justicar? But I was wrong, for some reason.

Mordin dying was really random though. Apparently if you don't have him with you, or have him escort the survivors back, he'll die. I know he's not a warrior, but neither is Tali, and she doesn't die if she's defending the door. It's just a little too vague and seems random to me.

I know the right choices now, but I didn't want to spoil anything before I first beat the game.

Spoiler

Samara is a bad choice for the diversion team because you're choosing someone to lead it - and she is not a leader of men, or women.  Grunt, Zaeed, Samara - they're all powerful fighters, but not good leaders, and people will die if you pick them.

Mordin doesn't always die in those situations, but he does have a high chance to.

[TheMarvell]

Spoiler

so Mordin dying is random? Or does he die if you picked the wrong choice for something else, and then have him defend the door? And if Samara is a bad choice, why does Miranda admire my decision to pick her? Unless she purposely wants others to be killed on the mission, it's really confusing and a bit unfair to the player. I would think an Asari Justicar would have plenty of experience in the centuries that they live. But I'm nitpicking now, lol.

[GhostMachine]

Spoiler

so Mordin dying is random? Or does he die if you picked the wrong choice for something else, and then have him defend the door? And if Samara is a bad choice, why does Miranda admire my decision to pick her? Unless she purposely wants others to be killed on the mission, it's really confusing and a bit unfair to the player. I would think an Asari Justicar would have plenty of experience in the centuries that they live. But I'm nitpicking now, lol.

Spoiler

Mordin shouldn't be dying on the door defense unless he's not loyal. I'm scratching my head bigtime over that, as I've never had anyone not loyal die during that part, and have even had Jack survive once when she wasn't loyal.

(By defending the door, you do mean having Mordin be one of the people left behind while you go fight the final boss, right?)

My recommendation next time you play would be to have him be the one leading the rescued crew back to the ship.

Honestly, though, you would think that Samara and Zaeed would be decent leaders, due to their experience. But Samara is used to being a loner, after all. And Zaeed isn't someone I'd want barking orders to me in a combat situation. He's too hot headed, which is probably why he's not a good leader. (Plus he's had situations in the past where he was the only surviving member of his team, which should raise a flag right there!)

Oh, and one thing I'm not sure if I've mentioned, but for the final boss fight:

Spoiler

Thane with lvl 3 or 4 Shredder Ammo (It should be common sense, but NEVER take the squad ammo option for any character; it'll just cause headaches) and Zaeed with Inferno Grenade maxed (the area effect dmg version) will freaking own the Collectors during the final fight. If you're running one of the weaker combat classes, I definitely recommend using those two with the powers at the levels I mentioned as your partners for that fight.

[Ares_God_of_War]

Do squad ammo's stack?

[TheMarvell]

Spoiler

so Mordin dying is random? Or does he die if you picked the wrong choice for something else, and then have him defend the door? And if Samara is a bad choice, why does Miranda admire my decision to pick her? Unless she purposely wants others to be killed on the mission, it's really confusing and a bit unfair to the player. I would think an Asari Justicar would have plenty of experience in the centuries that they live. But I'm nitpicking now, lol.

Spoiler

Mordin shouldn't be dying on the door defense unless he's not loyal. I'm scratching my head bigtime over that, as I've never had anyone not loyal die during that part, and have even had Jack survive once when she wasn't loyal.

(By defending the door, you do mean having Mordin be one of the people left behind while you go fight the final boss, right?)

Like I said, this what I did on my first playthrough of the ending:

Spoiler

Go through the vents: Legion
Lead the diversion team: Samara
(Legion dies)

Biotic to protect the team from the swarm: Samara
Lead the rest of the group: Jacob

Escort the survivors: Zaeed

Defending the door while I go fight the final boss: everyone except Garrus and Miranda, who are on my team.
(Mordin dies)

All of them were loyal.

Some people on the GameFAQs board say if you don't have enough combat specialists defending the door, then Mordin dies. In this case, Miranda, Garrus, and Zaeed were all missing from the door defense.

So, I reloaded the beginning of the mission and did it the "right" way. Garrus lead the diversion team, Tali through the vents. Jack protected from the swarm. Jacob lead the rest. Mordin lead the survivors to safety, and Miranda and Thane helped me kill the final boss while everyone else defended the door. All survived.

[GhostMachine]

I'm not going to link it because of the lyrics, but has anyone else heard "Those Minerals" yet? 

[Talavar]

More Mass Effect 2 DLC coming soon - and still free for people who bought new copies of the game: http://masseffect.bioware.com/info/cerberus/

[GhostMachine]

More Mass Effect 2 DLC coming soon - and still free for people who bought new copies of the game: http://masseffect.bioware.com/info/cerberus/

What it mentions elsewhere but not on that page for some reason is that there's a new heavy weapon coming out as well and will probably be released before the Hammerhead.

Frankly, between the Blackstorm projector, Collector Particle Beam and Cain, I think we have enough heavy weapons already. (Most of the others aren't worth bothering with)

[Talavar]

I agree about heavy weapons - there are already too many, and I only ever use the Collector Beam weapon anyway (the Cain is awesome, but most of the time I don't realize a time would have been good to use it until after the fight is over).

[Podmark]

I beat Mass Effect 2 last night.

Spoiler

I recruited everyone and completed everyone's loyalty missions but lost Miranda's loyalty during her fight with Jack. My romance was Tali. I finished all the missions before going after the IFF.

I choose Legion to go into the vents, Garrus to lead both teams, Jacob to escort the crew, and Samara as the biotic. I took Thane and Tali for the final mission and destroyed the base. Everyone survived - yay!

Highlight of the game was playing as Joker!

Great game, really enjoyed it.

Looking forward to the new DLC. Happy that it's free.

[GhostMachine]

Heavy weapons wise, I usually use the Blackstorm projector (which people only got if they pre-ordered at Gamestop) or missile launcher, but the Collector Particle Beam is handy when it comes to dealing with Praetorians. The Cain is pretty much an end boss only weapon due to the fact it needs a lot of ammo just to fire one shot and is an overkill weapon.

And is it just me or is the Eviscerator shotgun that was DLC not all that great? Its better than the default shotgun, but the Claymore is more useful than the Eviscerator, in my opinion.

Grats on beating the game, Podmark.

[JeyNyce]

I just beat the game last night and here's what happen:

Spoiler

I had a romance with Tali and did the loyalty mission for her, but when I sent her through the vents, she STILL died.  In the strategy guide it stated that as along as the person goes through the vent is loyal to you they will not died, yet she did.  I had Miranda lead the second team every chance I got and nobody else died.  What gives?

[Ares_God_of_War]

Spoiler

Did you get to each station on time before she overheated?

[JeyNyce]

Spoiler

Did you get to each station on time before she overheated?

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Got to all 8 of them.  When we try to close the door she took a headshot and died.  I was shocked!

[Podmark]

Jey

Spoiler

Who was the leader of your second team and did you have their loyalty?

In order for your specialist to survive the vents you must choose Tali or Legion and they must have their loyalty, and you must choose either Miranda, Garrus, or Jacob and they must have their loyalty.

This page outlines how the Suicide Mission works.

[JeyNyce]

Jey

Spoiler

Who was the leader of your second team and did you have their loyalty?

In order for your specialist to survive the vents you must choose Tali or Legion and they must have their loyalty, and you must choose either Miranda, Garrus, or Jacob and they must have their loyalty.

This page outlines how the Suicide Mission works.

That's explains it!  Thanks.

Spoiler

I had Miranda the leader of the second team and she wasn't loyal (big fight with Jack)

BTW: did you know:

Spoiler

You can have multiple romances!  I had one with Tali and after she died I spoke with Jack and kept being nice to her.  She broke down and told me everything and met me in my room.  This was after I beat the reapers and continue the game after the credits

[Sevenforce]

I think the hardest choice in this game is actually deciding

Spoiler

between Tali and Miranda

. Seriously! I sweated over that decision for a couple of hours.

I've had two game saves, one is my 'real' choices (as I would play it if the character were me, surprisingly high Paragon score) and I chose

Spoiler

Tali

simply because, in my mind, she fits better (I've always preferred character over smoking hot bod) - I would have chosen her in ME1 if that had been an option.

The renegade chose

Spoiler

Miranda. Need I explain why?

The Renegade is a LOT more fun to play. Seriously, it's like going GTA on the ME universe

As examples (Spoiler heavy, obviously). These both crack me up SO much, especially the second one XD

Commander Shephard is such a jerk

Commander Shephard is such a jerk part 2

Looking forward to ME3, ESPECIALLY towards what my decisions wrought. I mean...

Spoiler

You've got the Rachni, who promise to return and back you up, you have the genophage research, you have the green skinned asari returning, you have the 'oh man I am so dead' conversation with your original girlfriend to come...Did that annoy anyone else? If I'd known I was gonna have Tali as a romancable partner in ME2, I would have stayed celibate the first time round. I don't really feel like playing the entirety of the first ME1 AGAIN just for that, so now I have to look forward to possible friction in the final game. Bah.

[GhostMachine]

If you've done certain things, I think ME3 is going to be interesting, because:

Spoiler

Once the Reapers show up, the Council will have to get off their butts if they don't want to get tossed aside or told where they can go (and it ain't a Pismo Beach clam festival!). And Shepard should have a ready-made army, with the Rachni, Quarians and Geth backing him up.

Oh, and as for romances....

Spoiler

If you flirt with Kelly Chambers a lot, don't romance anyone, and she doesn't die (ie, you do the suicide mission right after the Reaper IFF or Legion loyalty mission), something interesting happens with her after reloading the game and talking to her another time or two. (You'll find something in your private messages if its going to happen, then have to have Shepard go to his cabin and look around his desk there for it to happen) Its not considered a true romance, though; it won't unlock the Paramour achievement, for instance.

Did another run at the suicide mission with no deaths, despite Jack not being loyal. This time I was playing as a Soldier with Fortification:

Spoiler

Legion through the vents, Miranda leading the fire team, Thane and Grunt with me.

Second part, Jacob leading the distraction team, Samara projecting the biotic field, Legion and Zaeed with me.

Escorting the survivors back: Tali

My team for the final part of the mission: Garrus and Samara.

I've now played ME2 all the way through as every class except Sentinel, which I have no interest in playing. Vanguard was the only character imported from ME1, and I've played it through as an Infiltrator twice (two different characters, one male, one female). I'd have to say Infiltrator and Adept were the most fun, Engineer the least fun.

[Midnight]

Spoiler

Sentinel was surprisingly fun for me. Very good change of pace from infiltrator; you're incredibly durable and have solid biotic powers. Good utility aggro magnet.

I love that video;
"You've questioned my competence through the entire mission!"
"The best way to stop that is to show me you're competent."

[JeyNyce]

Videos had me laughing.  Now I have to stop playing Bioshock 2 to play ME again!

Questions for all:
I played ME 1 & 2 back to back and now I want to play it again.  I going to play it back to back again because I can't see myself playing ME2 without playing ME1 again, especially with the choices you can make.  Does anybody else feels the same?

[Midnight]

I agree. I would've liked to have played ME again, but I loaned it to a friend. My second playthrough with a renegade FemShep just felt wrong somehow. I don't like the default decisions.

[Podmark]

I'm not really one for replaying a game right after beating it, but when I do play Mass Effect again it will be both games back-to-back.

[GhostMachine]

Btw, if you don't like the default decisions from ME2, download the saved game editor. You can go in and change the decisions, but they only take effect on a second playthrough with the same character. I did that with the Soldier I beat the game with last night, and played him up to past getting the Normandy. Have visited the Citadel and done the ice brandy and provisions side missions plus the side missions

Spoiler

Krogan Sushi and the one with the Volus accusing the Quarian of stealing his credit chit

, but no actual missions yet.

Interesting thing: I changed it so Ashley was the one sacrificed on Virmire and Liara was the one romanced, so you'd think it would be Kaidan on the Normandy at the beginning of the game, right? Nope. Liara, wearing armor. I thought only Ashley and Kaidan could show up during that part, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was her instead.

One thing I really wish would carry over in replays that doesn't? Your Paragon and Renegade ratings.

Oh, and for anyone who plays Renegade mostly, there's at least one time you shouldn't take the Renegade option, because it will shut down a side mission without you being able to complete it:

Spoiler

When dealing with the Asari who C-Sec won't let fly. If you take the Renegade option and get smart when talking to them, it shuts down the side mission so you can't complete it.

[Midnight]

Spoiler

However, if you do Garrus' loyalty mission first and find the forged identity papers you can give them to the asari and get some renegade points.

I just noticed the Kasumi option in the savegame editor. Yay, another DLC character.