Mass Effect: Everyone's favorite alien dating sim / shooter

I’ve missed some of the promotional stuff for 4. How “at will” is at will? Because in previous games you could redistribute points and change abilities if you got enough of a resource, but I wouldn’t call that at will.

From the menu, it seems.

Yeah it does seem that you can change it almost whenever. However, it does seem that some are blocked off (excuse the iPhone image editing)


I’m thinking either some classes are unlocked during game play or the classes you can switch to depend on your starting class.

The way developers have articulated it, and the way things appear in the gameplay clips, it seems like many or most abilities will be decoupled from class, with class instead treated as an unlockable prestige buff that mostly provides stat boosts. Maybe a bonus signature ability or two.

So not quite a classless system, as was reported early on, but one where class doesn’t matter as much and you can probably stick Overload on your adept if you feel like it.

Maybe Explorer is your starting class and provides more generic stat boosts.

multiplayer I’m imagining will work like 3, with rigid but numerous unlockable kits.

One thing I’m interested in, mechanics-wise, is whether grenades and other consumables will continue to be treated as ~powers, or maybe be shifted off into an expanded equipment system. Seems like that’d pair well with the more extensive crafting and inventory-management they want to implement.

I just wanna fuck a Vorcha. Bioware, give the people what they want.

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I’m still waiting to play as an Elcor Vanguard.

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I was going to make a joke about an Adept Volus, but that’s something they did in the Retaliation DLC for ME3 and now I’m just miffed that I have to play a lousy human again in ME4

“*Nnnnoooo…you CUDDLE. You CUDDLE with Skringok, first! Skringok demand ROOOOMANCCCEEEE!”

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Just let me doink a Krogan.

That’s it.

And it has to be super gay too. If I can play a dudeshep who gets all slidey with a big Krogan hulk it will be instant GotY.

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So, why does Bioware give so many squadmates daddy/mommy issues?

Spoilers inbound

Liara: Doesn’t know her dad, mom goes evil (but not her fault)
Tali: Dad is a good guy but was totally distant and then did a bad thing
Garrus: His dad doesn’t respect his renegade ways
Ashley: Her grandfather surrendered to the Turians and that a bad thing
Wrex: What Krogan doesn’t have parental issues? Answer: None.
Grunt: His dad dead, you dad now
Thane: He is the daddy issue I guess
Miranda: Her dad sucks and is a jerk, yo
Samara/Morinth: We all know how this one goes
Jacob: Dad disappears, presumed dead, is alive, has weird sex colony
Javik: I mean, yeah, they’re all dead, but that seems bad, too

I mean, I love the crew, but a lot of the same stuff crops up.

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Parental issues are almost a running joke in Mass Effect, but I think the practical reason as to why is because they’re fairly easy and relatable characterization. Even people with good relationships with their parents can at least understand parent problems. It also is an easy explanation for character motivations like what they did in their past/between game installments and why. You could argue that a lot of the motivation for both Tali and Garrus leading up to when you meet them is seeking parental approval, more so for Tali in ME2.

I’d argue that there is a thematic element going on here, but the backgrounds for each squad member don’t seem to be linked in any cohesive way and there isn’t really a theme to match it in the greater story unless parental strife that eventually leads to bucking your parents’ expectations and forging your own path is supposed to reflect the galaxy’s eventual rising up against their fate to be harvested and consumed by the reapers - which feels like a stretch. So I don’t think it’s an intentional thematic element, but something unintentional.

I always thought it was cool that the all-female race fields supposedly the best warriors in the galaxy, but on the other hand ME3 multiplayer is the only place where asari troops successfully come off as badass on-screen

Speaking of Multiplayer, and as much as I enjoyed playing through the stories of the original 3, I think the thing I’m most excited for in Andromeda is being able to sink another week into blasting dudes as a Krogan. Hopefully some of the meatier weapons make a comeback, I loved the Graal Spike Launcher and Executioner.

A little disappointed that there probably won’t be any Batarians though, I’ll miss my explosive-knife-punching son.

I don’t know about the batarians themselves, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some variation the omni-gauntlet return, given how determined they seem to be to bring over the most popular stuff from ME3’s MP.

In one of the single-player trailers you can see Ryder using the asari flash-step evasion move, for instance. I think they understand how much people enjoyed granular little things like having different melee and movement styles available.

rubs hands man I hope a more flexible class system means I can spec Ryder to have both snap-freeze and flamer

Guys… I think Kaiden might be bi.

And… Liara isn’t actually a female character because she doesn’t identify as female and her alien race is mono-gendered (and just happens to look like blue tittied babes.) So if you romance her with a female Shepherd (which is the only way to play or you’re doing it wrong) you’re not actually in a gay relationship.

Coincidentally I think Liara might be Bioware’s intended romance for Shepherd because she has the most content.

I just stopped in this thread to inform you guy’s i’ve beaten mass effect over 25 times, and I never played female Shepherd. come at me bro.

We regret to inform you that none of your playthroughs are canon and that you don’t know what good is.

But it’s okay.

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That’s over 600 hours of being objectively wrong. How did you do it?

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REBEL AGAINST THE SYSTEM! ANARCHY WOO! but i did kill Ashley everyone did that right?