When the news that ME3 would have multiplayer broke, the Internet went apeshit. Of course, EA/Bioware were quick to claim that multiplayer would not have any impact on the single player campaign that you couldn't get through the story mode. I remained skeptical throughout these months, but I gave EA/Bioware the benefit of doubt. I have just read this article on PC Gamer and I fear my worries have resurfaced:

Mass Effect 3 is about a war with the Reapers, and as you play the single player game, the people and armies whose help you earn count as War Assets. The game’s still story-driven, and it doesn’t end until you’ve completed the main series of missions. But when you do, what happens in the final cut-scene depends on how many War Assets you have accumulated.

That part is kind of cool. But the balance is incredibly harsh: I did every proper* quest I could find in Mass Effect 3, made sensible decisions that didn’t conflict with my choices in the previous games, and brought people together. But I still got a gallingly bleak ending.

That’s because I’d never played the multiplayer. [...]

OK, the article does say that you can get the best (and I assume, true) ending by playing just the singleplayer. But the fact that fulfilling the requirements on your own is twice as hard as doing it on multiplayer is very off-putting for me. I don't like multiplayer, I never play it, and Mass Effect 3 will not be an exception. But, at the same time, I don't want to have to spend hours upon hours doing menial tasks and random quests just so I can get the best ending. So, my questions are, Giant Bomb: for those who have already finished the game and gotten the best ending, how hard was it? What was your completion time? Did you have to do anything special or missable to get it? (No spoilers, of course :P)

It seems like it'll be about as long-winded as doing everything to make sure the suicide mission goes perfectly in ME2. It's the same concept, but a little more obvious to the player.

you should've listened to last weeks ME3-special bombcast where that exact question got answered - yes you can get the "best" ending without ever touching the multiplayer ... you just have to put in more work

review on some site called "giant bomb"

Again, it's pretty trivial to get twice the amount you need and fill the bar completely before embarking on the game's final missions, so the multiplayer isn't a vital component to the campaign.

@drag said:

review on some site called "giant bomb"

Again, it's pretty trivial to get twice the amount you need and fill the bar completely before embarking on the game's final missions, so the multiplayer isn't a vital component to the campaign.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMB. Yeah it's all over the place that you can get the meter up doing anything. Even just playing the game.

@rmanthorp said:

@drag said:

review on some site called "giant bomb"

Again, it's pretty trivial to get twice the amount you need and fill the bar completely before embarking on the game's final missions, so the multiplayer isn't a vital component to the campaign.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMB. Yeah it's all over the place that you can get the meter up doing anything. Even just playing the game.

It seems that you've pretty much answered whatever question you wanted, not what I asked. Re-read my OP again, please. I know that you can get the best ending without playing the MP, I just want to know exactly how tiresomeand long-winded that process is, and what exactly it involves. If you read my OP (I know, crazy), the link I provided shows that getting the best ending is not as easy as you make it up to be, at least not by just completing quests.

But, hey, thanks for the smartassery, @rmanthorp.

@rmanthorp said:

@drag said:

review on some site called "giant bomb"

Again, it's pretty trivial to get twice the amount you need and fill the bar completely before embarking on the game's final missions, so the multiplayer isn't a vital component to the campaign.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMB. Yeah it's all over the place that you can get the meter up doing anything. Even just playing the game.

It seems that you've pretty much answered whatever question you wanted, not what I asked. Re-read my OP again, please. I know that you can get the best ending without playing the MP, I just want to know exactly how tiresomeand long-winded that process is, and what exactly it involves. If you read my OP (I know, crazy), the link I provided shows that getting the best ending is not as easy as you make it up to be, at least not by just completing quests.

But, hey, thanks for the smartassery, @rmanthorp.

@JoeyRavn said:

It seems that you've pretty much answered whatever question you wanted, not what I asked. Re-read my OP again, please. I know that you can get the best ending without playing the MP, I just want to know exactly how tiresomeand long-winded that process is, and what exactly it involves.

Not sure what-all it entails, but as far as being tiresome, that's a subjective enough question, lets find a measuring stick. Assuming you played ME:2 at some point, did you do all the loyalty missions? And if so, were they something you considered worthwhile?