Mass Effect 2 Discussion - Fight for the Lost

Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit that was the best 90-100 minutes that I think I've experienced in a long time!

I'm not going to do a wall of text (for now, at least), but I will say that I enjoy this DLC more than I do the Liar of the Shadow Broker DLC - simply for the implications that this mission brings up with regards to the future and ME3. What better way to send off my baby than with this ballin-ass DLC!? I think they truly saved the best for last.

Oh, and since we've already started with the ME3 speculations (don't dare reading until you've beaten Arrival):
Note: If you read this next part without finishing Arrival, you're only hurting yourself.
Here's some things that are currently going through my head:

"As if the Council needed another reason to not formally back me in the Reaper invasion!" The destruction of the entire Batarian system will undoubtedly be seen as a major act of aggression, probably even war. No doubt Shepard is going to catch a looot of shit for his part in the events of Arrival, not only from the Alliance and the Batarians - but also the Council. Remember, Shepard is ultimately the reason that all of those Batarians died (he even accepts responsibility for it when talking to Hackett). If they wouldn't support him because of claims that he was simply working with Cerberus, then I feel like this will be nearly impossible to recover from*, as far as Shepard/Council relations go.

* - unless you're a really high Paragon

There will definitely be a huge divide amongst the various species in the galaxy on the general view of Shepard, once word gets out about this catastrophe. I think even humans are going to be split right down the middle. I think you can use the ME3 teaser trailer to show that not everyone will think that Shepard is a ruthless monster, though - after the outcome of this inevitable trial.

Also, it's obvious that going through ME3 as a Paragon is going to be a bitch. :lol:

I get the feeling that, since Shepard was touched by Object Rho, the Reapers will be able to track Shepard towards Earth once his trial has been set in motion. Maybe this is the reason why the Reapers will apparently attack Earth first (or because they just want to crush humans first - seeing as how even they claim that Shepard is an "annoyance"). I would imagine in that situation that Shepard would have to flee Earth to rally help from the rest of the galaxy, thus setting in motion the majority of ME3.

--------------------

I'll be glad to discuss some other implications about ME3 once some more opinions start rolling in, but I think that eventually we'll have to take it to the ME3 thread and just leave the "Arrival is awesome!" comments for here. Just to be fair :cool:


Best 560 MS points I've ever spent.
 
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[quote name='Ryuukishi']Already finished and posting spoilers? Don't you people have jobs?! Argh.[/QUOTE]

LOL. Plan you day around it. Dentist appointment at 9am, Tax Accountant at 2. Just enough in-between time.

OK, I'll spoiler notes below. Check them if you are curious for general thoughts. I'll double spoiler any specific information.

This really felt more like a prequel to ME3. Since you go it alone as Shepard, it feels very separate from the rest of ME2. Running solo if pretty tough in spots, especially on a higher difficulty. I ran through on Hardcore in about 2 hours. Here are notes on the achievements

Covert Action
"Rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson without attracting hostile attention". Easier than it sounds. At the beginning, you encounter some Varren but they do NOT count towards the achievement. Just don't engage any Batarians. As you come across them, they stay exactly where you find them. No sentry movements or sudden-turning around. Just stay out of their field of vision. The path the game wants you to take will keep you away from them.

Last Stand
"Survive all five waves in the battle for Object Rho". OK, this one was harder since you are alone. When you encounter the Reaper artifact you will suddenly find yourself surrounded. If you get taken down, the plot advances as normal. In order to get this achievement, you have to beat all the waves of guards, which ends with a big YMIR mech. After that, you get knocked out anyway so it's worth restarting the last checkpoint if you fail the first 2 times like I did.

The Ultimate Sacrifice
"Complete the Arrival DLC pack". I am not going to say any more than Arikado already did. Play it for yourself. But it's a HUGE development for the story of ME3.

All in all, it was a well put together piece of DLC. I found two extra upgrades (anyone find more?) and it really doesn't change anything in the current ME2 story. So it can be played at any point in the story really once it becomes available. Big implications for ME3 and a must play.
 
Gah, I stayed up till 5:30 AM and it seemed they uploaded it around 6AM. Friggen' A. Downloading now, it's going to be about 3 to 4 hours to download it with day web traffic now. grrrr
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']Are all the cheevos unlocked by simply playing the DLC?[/QUOTE]

No. Completing the DLC is the most straightforward one.
 
I'm downloading it now and I'll get to try it out this evening. Joystiq said it stinks. Hope they're wrong. I'm confident I'll enjoy it.

And for the calls for a ME2 Ultimate Ed./......Yes Please!
 
I guess I am slightly underwhelmed by Arrival. The new environments were great, it was fun to finally meet Hackett, and the setup for ME3 is intriguing. But ME combat with only Shepard and no squadmates just feels off to me, and since this DLC was only combat, with no real character interaction or moral decision-making to speak of, it didn't quite satisfy.

Still fun, but in the pantheon of ME2 DLC I would put this a little below Overlord (at least it didn't have any annoying vehicle segments though!) and not even in the same galaxy as Lair of the Shadow Broker.

Best parts were
"assuming control" of a mech (hilarious!) and the big confrontation with Harbinger
.

Check this out iff you've completed the DLC already: The "bad ending,"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvJCtr3uyZ4&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 if you let the countdown timer run out. Brief glimpses of the Reapers melting Kelly's face, your whole squad standing around, and the Illusive Man chillin' with...
Ash Williams?!
 
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Ryuukishi, you better hope that Tha X is off playing Arrival across his 20-something playthroughs on ME2, or he's likely to hit you with holy fire for such blasphemy. :D
 
The only thing I regret about this DLC was that it wasn't longer. That being said,
I loved the story, especially the end convo with Harbinger. The Alliance scientist turning out to be under Reaper control was a great twist, and it's interesting to see a human being manipulated by the Reapers (instead of the Collectors). I'm gonna have to play through again to get the cheevos, but I really enjoyed that DLC. Can't wait for ME3!!!
 
That 'bad' ending was pretty brutal. But, I guess that's how it goes down when the Reaps roll into town. Hey that rhymed....look out Kabuto the Python!

I finished it, but have to go back to get the two missable achievements. The new environments were great and the story, although brief, was paced well and, honestly, I didn't see the twist coming. I might be dumb to have not seen that coming. But, it fit the mass effect mythos well. Overall, a good segue to ME3, but not as solid as Shadow Broker. I give it 8/10. No question it's worth the 560 points.
 
Definitely enjoyed
"assuming control" of the mech
, and the bad ending is pretty awesome as well.

Disappointing Shepard reminded me of reaper indoctrination so quickly, as I immediately realized what was going to happen after he mentioned it.

Anyway, new DLC ranking, from best to worst:
Shadow Broker
Arrival
Overlord
Kasumi

ME3 can't come soon enough!
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I guess I am slightly underwhelmed by Arrival. The new environments were great, it was fun to finally meet Hackett, and the setup for ME3 is intriguing. But ME combat with only Shepard and no squadmates just feels off to me, and since this DLC was only combat, with no real character interaction or moral decision-making to speak of, it didn't quite satisfy.

Still fun, but in the pantheon of ME2 DLC I would put this a little below Overlord (at least it didn't have any annoying vehicle segments though!) and not even in the same galaxy as Lair of the Shadow Broker.

Best parts were
"assuming control" of a mech (hilarious!) and the big confrontation with Harbinger
.

Check this out iff you've completed the DLC already: The "bad ending,"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvJCtr3uyZ4&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 if you let the countdown timer run out. Brief glimpses of the Reapers melting Kelly's face, your whole squad standing around, and the Illusive Man chillin' with...
Ash Williams?!
[/QUOTE]What has Dragon Age II done to you, man? :hot:
 
Yeah I stayed up till 5:30 yesterday to try and start the download then so it'd be ready today, freak it's past 5:30 right now, but it didn't update until 6AM I guess. I gotta hit the hay now but before, just a short paragraph on my impressions.

Holy shit, finally got to play this, download speeds really suck during the day and I think I'm being slowed down for being over 75% of our bandwidth limit, and woah def worth all the hassle lol. I loved it, I can't remember the movie but I think it was a CGI movie where a kid goes "That was totally wicked!" That's how I felt at the end. It's short, I think I was around 1.5 to 2 hours but immensely satisfying and has a great story. I really can't wait for ME3 to take all the things you did in the first two under advisement.

Man I thought it was tough and then after two deaths in a row I decide to check out my difficulty setting. Insanity! F Man no wonder! :cold: Haha I put it down to hardcore.

Did it with my first playthrough, lvl 30 Soldier, and I gotta say I forgot how much fun the Revenant, Geth Plasma Shotgun and Incisor Sniper Rifle were! I don't know how you could do this mission on Insanity, I mean solo is hard enough Insanity was brutal (had this when I was defending in that particular section).
 
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[quote name='Tha Xecutioner']What has Dragon Age II done to you, man? :hot:[/QUOTE]
I'll tell you what Dead Space has done to me-- made me keep trying to hold LB to sprint instead of A. Very irritating!
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']I'll tell you what Dead Space has done to me-- made me keep trying to hold LB to sprint instead of A. Very irritating![/QUOTE]

THIS! It took me a good half an hour to revert back to ME controls from Dead Space. I definitely died a few times because I pulled up my weapon menu instead of running for cover!
 
I still need to beat Overlord and Arrival. I get off work early today so I'm gonna smash through it while the girlfriends still visiting her parents. I thought the Shadow Broker DLC was pretty epic, so hopefully these will be of similar epicness.

I have to play through the main campaign again though because that dirty whore Jack died at the end, but this time around I wanna be more of a badass. Did anyone finish the game with everyone alive but still have more of a badass mentality?
 
You can definitely go strong Renegade and still gain everyone's loyalty (or even forgo the loyalty of a few characters, but keep them alive anyway with some deft squad assignments).

In one of my Renegade playthroughs, I kept everyone alive except Jacob, and that was only because I deliberately chose to kill him off. :lol: I believe I had Tali unloyal but kept her alive.
 
I have two playthroughs, one Paragon and one Renegade where everyone is alive at the end and everyone is loyal.

Zaeed is easier to get loyal if you go Renegade and harder if you go Paragon.
Keeping Jack and Miranda both loyal is much easier if you go Paragon than Renegade.

The main issue with keeping your crew alive, loyal or otherwise, is doing all the ship upgrades as well as being careful on how to pick your crew's assignments at the end of the game. Some of them will stay alive at the end, loyal or not loyal, if they're dropped in the right roles. If they're not loyal, some of them will die at the end if you don't pick them for the right roles, and others will die no matter what if they're placed in the wrong roles.

Don't forget that if you have less than two crew alive at the end of the game, you don't live through the end.
 
Also, and I can't believe I didn't catch this in my first reply...

[quote name='Nealocus123']that dirty whore Jack[/QUOTE]

Ryuukishi: +50 rivalry
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']Also, and I can't believe I didn't catch this in my first reply...

Originally Posted by Nealocus123
that dirty whore Jack


Ryuukishi: +50 rivalry[/QUOTE]


Well Ryu really. It's like saying she is bald or Isabelle is a dirty whore in Dragon Age II. It's just one of those things that comes with the game.

96px-Feastday_Gifts_module.png
 
So the general Interwebs reaction to The Arrival seems to be a qualified "MEH". The only person anywhere I've heard rate it better than LotSB is our very own beloved X, and I don't think he'd fault me for calling him a touch biased.

I'm still super eager to play it, but at this point my expectations are a bit lowered. The lack of teammates is a tough pill to swallow, given that successfully managing your squad, loyalty, etc. is such a fundamental part of what Mass Effect IS. All I ask is that it outshine Overlord, which doesn't seem a tall order. I guess we'll see.
 
[quote name='Tybee']So the general Interwebs reaction to The Arrival seems to be a qualified "MEH". The only person anywhere I've heard rate it better than LotSB is our very own beloved X, and I don't think he'd fault me for calling him a touch biased.

I'm still super eager to play it, but at this point my expectations are a bit lowered. The lack of teammates is a tough pill to swallow, given that successfully managing your squad, loyalty, etc. is such a fundamental part of what Mass Effect IS. All I ask is that it outshine Overlord, which doesn't seem a tall order. I guess we'll see.[/QUOTE]I think part of the "MEH" comes from the length, since LoTSB was longer for the same amount of money/XBLM points.

Another part of it comes from the "this is not the ME2 we're used to" stance, though they said the same things about Darkspawn Chronicles in DA: O. I think they've done the "Shepard is alone" scenario here to lead you into that situation in the start of ME3, since I'm sure his actions here cause issue with the galaxy going into ME3.

I haven't played it yet and probably won't until the weekend, though I'll give my opinion as well with everyone else in here that has previously.
 
Oh btw anyone think Admiral Hackett looked a lot like Zaeed's cousin? Lol maybe they used Zaeed's base model when they were creating Hackett's 3D model and face.

Also anyone pick up the voice over of the female computer voice? I knew it but couldn't place it. I don't believe these two questions are spoilers or anything.

Now on to a few spoilers:
As the resultant of this epic rescue mission you blow up a freakin Mass Relay! This takes out a whole Batarian system. Oh the Batarians aren't going to like this. I bet they become a true faction for the enemy in Mass Effect 3. This and the decision you made with the Batarian in Bringing Down the Sky (also another asteroid, hmm I see a pattern here ^^) could really add to what I feel to be a very story driven trilogy.

I really hope this becomes like a Good factions vs Evil factions story like from Star Wars. You'll have allies (Salarian/Krogan/Human/Turians/Quarians), with possibly specific previous party members leading them (ex Rex/Grunt/Leader Clan Urdnot for the Krogan) and enemies, the Reapers, with accompanying enemy factions like the Batarians, Indoctrinated Humans, Geth (amount depending on what you do with Legion's loyalty mission), Rachni (depending on what you did on Noveria).

Jesus the possibilites are endless. Just speculating what's going to happen in Mass Effect 3 makes me want to go into cryo-sleep so I don't have to bear the wait lol.:lol:
 
[quote name='Tybee']So the general Interwebs reaction to The Arrival seems to be a qualified "MEH". The only person anywhere I've heard rate it better than LotSB is our very own beloved X, and I don't think he'd fault me for calling him a touch biased.[/QUOTE]Here is the reasoning for my stance on Arrival vs. Lair of the Shadow Broker (hopefully it'll make me seem a little less crazy :lol:):

Note: I'll have to go into Arrival spoilers here in order to get my point across, so avoid this if you still haven't played it:
1. The absolute biggest, most important reason that I think Arrival outshines Lair of the Shadow Broker is simply for the feeling you get while playing it and the feeling you have after you complete it. For me, there were a lot of old feelings from ME1 brought up in this DLC: "race against the clock", hearing Hackett's voice on the comm telling you about a mission of great importance than only you as Shepard can handle (how many times have I heard that?), and generally being back on terms - in less of an official manner this time - with the Alliance. This time, though, the race against the clock is very real - watch the "bad ending" for proof enough of that. You don't just hear Hackett this time, you get to see him on video and in person! You hear about Earth and are told that you will be going there at some point in the near future to answer to the Alliance. There are things brought up from the books and the comics that spark those "Hey! I've read about that!" feelings and sense of familiarity from some of the more active fans of the series; things like ancient Reaper artifacts and indoctrination.

The biggest feeling, though, is the uncertainty of what the future holds - not just for Shepard (who seems to have enough problems as it is), but for the galaxy. There are relatively few things that we know: the Reapers are coming, and Shepard will have to answer for the "atrocities" that took place in the Bahak system. What we don't know is...everything else. How bad will Shepard get shit on by the Alliance? They will be trying to avoid open war, mind you. Will Shepard be "cast out"? Will his squadmates and/or allies be able to step in as part of his defense? Just think about the number of times you've stuck your neck out for your crew, time to return the favor right? What about Ashley/Kaidan - will this be their chance to finally come back to your side? They know personally what you did against Saren/Sovereign, and there's no way they'd let you get thrown under the bus like that. Will Liara pull some strings as the Shadow Broker to reduce the amount of "evidence" that the Alliance has against you? If Shepard gets sentenced to prison, will there be some big elaborate prison break? Will Shepard go rogue/dark for the entirety of ME3?

You just don't get those kinds of feelings with Lair of the Shadow Broker. Admittedly, the DLC is an action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end. You get a small dose of CSI, mixed in with an exciting car chase and a long fight aboard the most badass ship in the galaxy. You potentially get to reunite with a possible love interest in Liara and you get tons of nice little bonuses once she becomes the Shadow Broker. However, most of the energy and most of the feeling/emotion is contained within the parameters of the mission - once you complete it, there is hardly any "now where's this going" in terms of the storyline. Sure, everyone's going to wonder how she's going to adapt to being the Shadow Broker and, specifically, how she's going to aid Shepard against the Reapers; but there's nowhere near the amount of potential storyline backlash post-LotSB as there is post-Arrival.

Don't get me wrong, though. Lair of the Shadow Broker is like a 9.9/10 and I wholeheartedly agree that it raised the bar for me in terms of DLC - not just for Mass Effect, but for RPGs in general. The meaning and importance of Arrival, though, is a 10/10 for me - no questions asked. Lair of the Shadow Broker is not going to cause me to lose sleep over the next seven to nine months anticipating ME3's release while simultaneously avoiding information on it, but Arrival will. That's part of the criteria I use to compare the two DLC.

2. Despite what some "reviews" are saying, there are new gameplay elements to the Arrival DLC. Although rescuing Jack was technically a prison break, it wasn't quite the same as Arrival's prison break. Stealthing around was actually a nice break from the norm, and it even came with a few tense "Can I even walk past that doorway without being seen!?" moments - especially for me, as a Vanguard, not wanting to fight 20+ people all equipped with Shields. The solo mission aspect of Arrival forced you to be even more of a tactician with your abilities and weaponry, because you can no longer bank off of Miranda's Heavy Warp or Zaeed's Squad Disruptor Ammo to save the day. Just like I've said before about playing the game on Insanity - it forces you to become a better player, while not "cheapening" the experience (ex. infinite enemy spawns, constant enemy grenade spam, triple overshields compared to your non-existent shield, etc.). There's even the old gameplay elements presented in sort of a different way - fighting through a corridor of enemies who are attempting to halt your progress, holding off waves of enemies to protect yourself or an ally (Legion's recruitment, the fight aboard the Shadow Broker's ship, and now the fight at Object Rho), and the frantic fight to escape from a facility/vessel. I've even seen some of these reviews mention that all the fighting in the second half of the DLC was simply to prevent you from getting from A to B, which is the most ridiculous thing I've read regarding Arrival. Generic sentence is generic.

------------------

Two reasons really doesn't seem like much, but I honestly could've broken #1 down into about ten different things. Hopefully this post makes me seem a little less of a crazed BioWare advertiser/fanboy and less extremely biased; though those titles aren't exactly offensive to me :cool:
 
[quote name='shrike4242']I think part of the "MEH" comes from the length, since LoTSB was longer for the same amount of money/XBLM points.

Another part of it comes from the "this is not the ME2 we're used to" stance, though they said the same things about Darkspawn Chronicles in DA: O. I think they've done the "Shepard is alone" scenario here to lead you into that situation in the start of ME3, since I'm sure his actions here cause issue with the galaxy going into ME3.

I haven't played it yet and probably won't until the weekend, though I'll give my opinion as well with everyone else in here that has previously.[/QUOTE]

Actually Lair cost more. MSRP on it was $10, the other 3 were all $7 MSRP.

Also has anyone on the net tried to play this DLC if they got the everyone died ending. What happens then?
 
Played through "the Arrival" tonight...I'm definitely in the 'Meh' party.

First thing that really bothered me - despite being a solo mission, Shep still yelled out things like "They Spotted Us" and "Shield's Down." Given that he's truly alone, and only stood to alert enemies that they really did see him/her or alert them that s/he was vulnerable, Shep probably should've stayed quiet. This may be a petty criticism, but it was something that once I noticed it, I couldn't stop noticing it.

I also didn't know that the entire intro scene was supposed to be
a stealth thing. Only upon returning and checking out the medals in my room did I find that out. This is likely due to me playing it on PC, where you don't really give a damn about achievements. Given that just about the entire rest of the game revolves around shooting bad guys or talking to good guys, not killing people never seemed like an option.

I could go into more detail on things that helped pull me out of the game, but they sound admittedly petty. They include things like
Why was the medical lab the only area with LOKI mechs, did anyone on the Normandy notice I was missing for 48 hours, and why does blasting power couplings (or whatever they were) always open a door?
. To say nothing of how weird it feels to do this DLC, find out
the reapers will be in that area in hours
, and then do the actual final mission in the regular game.
 
[quote name='MSUHitman']Actually Lair cost more. MSRP on it was $10, the other 3 were all $7 MSRP.

Also has anyone on the net tried to play this DLC if they got the everyone died ending. What happens then?[/QUOTE]Whoops, forgot that LotSB was $10 / 800MSP. :oops:

For the "if you're dead, can you play this DLC?" question, that's a great question to ask. Theoretically, you shouldn't be able to play it, though I would guess you couldn't because the continuation option isn't there for a playthrough where you're dead, right?
 
I wasn't impressed with the length, but it's a solid DLC otherwise, especially if you're looking for story. It is a bit awkward when Shep yells out "shields down," etc, but I can forgive that.

I'd rate this as a 7/10.
 
Here's another quirk with the Arrival DLC, playing as an Infiltrator when you turn on cloaking the batarians will shout something about target lost even though they haven't seen you yet. Just a quirk that I noticed.

Oh, and the 'rescue the cross-eyed doctor without being detected' achievement was glitced for me. I might delete the dlc and redownload and try it again tonight.
 
Well, ran through The Arrival twice, once per active character. Picked up all the achievements as well.

First time through with my Adept, I forgot it was still on Hardcore so it was a bit more of a challenge than expected.

Second time through with my Vanguard on Normal, a little more reasonable.

One side note about anyone going for the "Last Stand" achievement:
After you make it through that sequence, you end up in an area with a weapons locker, so you have full ammo again. Don't hold back on any of the heavy weapon ammo you have when trying to make it through the enemies in this area. I had the Arc Projector and it was perfect for this area with fully-loaded heavy weapon ammo. Also, there's a heavy weapon ammo box right by one of the doors you go through on the upper level of the Project base before you make it down to the Object Rho area.

From a soundtrack/audio perspective, I think they hit a home run with the background theme for Arrival. It was matched to the gameplay and sounded excellent over the course of the DLC.

Gameplay-wise, it's certainly a bit of a change, since most people work their tactics and combat around having their teammates and their abilities with you during the missions. Working solo, it's a bit of an adjustment, though nothing too out of sorts.

Digging into the gameplay a bit more,
the stealth sequences weren't too overdone, since it's a small section of the game. The path does take a little bit of looking at from a high-level perspective to figure out, though it's not too bad. The path does give you a few "did they see me?" moments to it, so that does keep the tension level higher as you work through it. I missed this on my first pass through the game and did it on the second.

Also,
Shepard was forced to do something that he killed more than a few batartians to prevent. In Bring Down The Sky, he went to an asteroid near Terra Nova and had top stop batarian terrorists from launching that asteroid into Terra Nova. When he met Balak, Balak told him that this was being done for retribution of all the problems the humans have inflicted on the Batarians. In fact, if you don't let him go and kill him, you get this discussed in great detail about why they're doing it. The irony of Shepard doing what Balak tried to do is quite delicious.

Now, with The Project, he's being forced to do something he stopped others from doing themselves. He's killed 305,000 batarians to try and save trillions elsewhere in the galaxy, all while destroying a mass relay in the process. He's a mass murderer and a terrorist against the Batarian people, and all with the associate of Cerberus behind him. I'm sure a lot of Terra First followers will jump on what Shepard did and futher their causes, and I'm sure The Illusive Man is none too pleased with Shepard's actions while associated with Cerberus.

From a combat perspective, the first section's combat was a nice variety with a defend-the-position-while-someone-hacks-something repeat like we had from the break-in of the Shadow Broker's ship in LoTSB. The second section with the
waves of enemies in the "Last Stand" section could have been better, as there seemed to be too many areas where the environment would get you trapped and had you gang-pressed by enemies. The top section of the Object Rho room seemed like the best place to make a stand to defend and work through the soldiers.
In the section of
working through The Project base making your way to find Kenson and stop her was a good mix of combat sections in the rooms and corridors of the base.
The last section
where you work through to get to the comm relay at the end of the mission was a cakewalk if you had Shockwave or Lift, as knocking enemies off of the station's deck would launch them into space like you did on the Citadel battle at the end of ME1. Missed that the first time through.

The debrief at the end with Hackett and the dialogue choices made through there
are likely to determine how the "trial" begins in ME3, which we've seen teased in the ME3 teaser. If you went down the "I did what needed to be done" path, it's likely to make it worse for you than the "I tried to warn the colony, though I was sedated for two days by Kenson" path. I'm sure some of the ME3 pathing will come from actions you did in The Arrival in regards to how you handled the asteroid launch at the mass effect relay.

From a long-term perspective, The Arrival does seem to have the most potential hooks into ME3 for actions that will happen in the game, as well as how others look at you, both from the group that went through the actions of ME2 with you, as well as others that know you and weren't part of it (Wrex, Aishley/Kaiden). I'm sure a number of people that thought Shepard was the savior of the galaxy (twice) might think quite a bit differently after what happened in The Arrival. With the other DLC packs, Stolen Memory won't have any ME3 repurcussions, though Overlord and LotSB certainly will. Overlord's end outcome might determine how
things might go with the geth if you've let Archer's work continue with David, or if you release him, also depending if you rewrote the heretic geth or destroyed them
. LoTSB's outcome seems more likely as a repeated plot further device with
Liara being the new Shadow Broker, though of course, how well she helps you may depend on how things are in your relationship (if any) with her.

I think The Arrival is on-par with LoTSB, though there were more enjoyable gameplay elements and conversational elements in LoTSB versus The Arrival, though from a far-reaching perspective into ME3, The Arrival is more far-reaching. They're both excellent on different levels.
 
Yeah I'm back with Mass Effect 1 atm and did Bringing Down the Sky thinking of just that. It would be cool to see that and Arrival compounded with the events of Mass Effect 3. Say
the Batarians don't like Shepard, even more lol, because of the destruction of their system but if you happened to let Balak go this might help your changes with a Paragon solution. I think Shepard's trial will come down to something similar to Tali's trial where she/you're looked at as guilty until you find any evidence. I bet when Earth is invaded that'd be all the evidence you need but by then it's too late and you're saying I told you so.
 
Problem is with the post-BDTS situation is that
either you let Balak go to save the hostages, or you killed him. It's Paragon to let him go, and Renegade (very Renegade) to kill him, especially if you dragged it out for a while before killing him, which I did in my Renegade playthrough. If you let Balak go, I wouldn't be surprised if you ran into him again in ME3, especially in regard to the events in Arrival. If you killed him, I'm sure someone else will work in his stead, like the Wrex / Wreave situation for Tuchanka in ME2.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was something from BDTS that comes into play in ME3 after Arrival's events. I'm sure it would be great evidence to toss back at the Batarians if they were claiming Shepard was a terrorist for what he did. Problem woudl be in proving what happened in BDTS.
 
Haven't played this is a long time. Been sitting on all of the post-launch DLC for some time, so just got back into the game, figuring that with the arrival of...er...Arrival...it would be a good time to lay this one to rest, at least until ME3. God, this game is such a masterpiece.
 
Awesome reaction, Shrike.

I decided to start a COMPLETE playthrough of ME2. Do every mission, complete every DLC, find everything, and use that as my import for ME3. I'm REALLY getting into this game. The controls are pretty 'meh" (I've been spoiled by Gears of War), but the story and visuals are simply top notch. This game is a true masterpiece because of them.

I'm doubly excited for Mass Effect 3 now.
 
How in the world do you beat the two scions and all of the husks on Horizon playing Insanity? My teammates keep dying in seconds, and while I'm trying to deal with all of the husks, the scions kill me with their shockwave power.
 
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I'm doing the same thing but I'm on Mass Effect 1 atm.:) Also running through on Insanity to pick up that achievement (it was a lot harder in the beginning).;)
 
ARGHHHH, who do I romance? The fact that it's going to MEAN something in Mass Effect 3 is driving me insane. I've never been this emotionally invested in a videogame before!
 
[quote name='drktrpr1']ARGHHHH, who do I romance? The fact that it's going to MEAN something in Mass Effect 3 is driving me insane. I've never been this emotionally invested in a videogame before![/QUOTE]
:lol: That's role playing right there.
 
[quote name='drktrpr1']ARGHHHH, who do I romance? The fact that it's going to MEAN something in Mass Effect 3 is driving me insane. I've never been this emotionally invested in a videogame before![/QUOTE]The meaning may actually go back to ME1, depending if you romanced Ashley or Kaiden, if they make it back into ME3.

And yes, I'm sure it'll carry forward into ME3 in some way, like they did with Liara in LotSB. In one playthrough between ME1 and ME2, I romanced Liara in ME1, romanced Tali in ME2 and reconciled with Liara in LoTSB. In my other ME1 to ME2 playthrough, I romanced Liara in ME1, didn't romance anyone in ME2 and continued the romance in LoTSB.

We'll have to see how it goes into ME3 with just those two scenarios.

[quote name='Ryuukishi']:lol: That's role playing right there.[/QUOTE]That sound like a call out to Tha X, since I'm sure he's hit all the possible romance permutations in his numerous ME2 playthroughs.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']And yes, I'm sure it'll carry forward into ME3 in some way, like they did with Liara in LotSB.[/QUOTE]
It better. :lol: I'm looking forward to the scorched-earth confrontation between Ash and Jack over my male Shepard as least as much as, you know, finding out what happens to the galaxy or whatever.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']It better. :lol: I'm looking forward to the scorched-earth confrontation between Ash and Jack over my male Shepard as least as much as, you know, finding out what happens to the galaxy or whatever.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that'll be GREAT. I think if that happens, I'm gonna kick Ash to the curb since she was such a jerk about the whole "Cerberus" thing in ME2.
 
I half-expect any romance but Liara to be almost half-ignored in ME3. I mean look at it Ash/Kaiden could be dead. Anyone from ME2 could be dead. The only character they could really give a 100% big story relating to would be Liara she is the only sure survivor. (though I assume Miranda is as well since only times I've ever seen her die, Shepard also ate it)

Yeah, that'll be GREAT. I think if that happens, I'm gonna kick Ash to the curb since she was such a jerk about the whole "Cerberus" thing in ME2.
Click to expand...

And the psychotic mass murder is a great one to bring home to mommy.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']In one playthrough between ME1 and ME2, I romanced Liara in ME1, romanced Tali in ME2 and reconciled with Liara in LoTSB. In my other ME1 to ME2 playthrough, I romanced Liara in ME1, didn't romance anyone in ME2 and continued the romance in LoTSB.
[/QUOTE]

I romanced Liara in ME1. ME2 I started with Miranda, had the casual encounter with Jack, switched to Tali, had the dance scene with Kelly in the cabin etc. And then reconciled with Liara in the DLC. My Shepherd is a male slut. :D
 
It would be really cool if the "Don't f*ck with me Sheppard" Jack actually got all Renegade with you romancing another person later on. Like a little side quest where Jack is trying to hunt you down, possibility to use Paragon points to win her over again. I'm running through Mass Effect again and I'll go with Liara again, maybe just stick with her in ME2 (always shacked up with someone in 2 lol).
 
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