@AngelN7: I still don't understand how this is any different from ME2. In ME2 if you fill your loyalty bar 12/12 (or 100%) then you'll get the happiest ending everyone lives galaxy is saved and if you complete 9/12 loyalty quests (or 75%) by the end of the game one of your beloved teammates dies (this may be inaccurate numbering, I'm not entire sure what having a disloyal DLC character actually does to your ending).

This doesn't mean the decisions up to this point lose their meaning. It has already been stated that ME3 will release with something akin to the motion comic that came out for ME2 when it was released for PS3 so that players starting a new ME3 game from scratch will be able to make the key decisions like whether the queen is alive or if Kaidan or Ashley is dead. I'm sure that anyone with a living Rachni queen will have a way to get a Galactic Readiness boost which means that decision made in ME1 directly effects the outcome of the plot.

@StarvingGamer: But the thing is that Mass Effect 2 that "bar" was filled up by your choices the same with crossing the Omega 4 relé earlier to rescue the crew or deciding to that latter , the fact that you can also fill this galatic readiness bar by doing the generic co-op missions is what´s making me belive that the decisions really have little impact and just progressing trough the game completing missions will fill it up , I´ll stop asuming because I really don´t know the details but what this FAQ has responded dosn´t look that promising either.

@MooseyMcMan said:

Ugh. I can just imagine there being a bunch of Achievements tied to this. This'll break my S-Ranking streak of Mass Effect games.

I hope they don't do that. But I can see them adding some BS like "Kill 5 million Geth in multi-player" - 5G

@AngelN7: But the key thing is that they're not just generic missions. They've already stated that the co-op will be to liberate key territories from enemy control which we can connect tangentially to the main story. Maybe in your universe Shepard wasn't able to do everything on his/her own to save the galaxy, but luckily there was a squad of crazy ass black ops motherfuckers working in the shadows to help turn the tide against the Reapers.

@AngelN7: I have to agree with you. If this had been a standalone element to the game, then I could learn how to live with it. But the idea that a co-op mode can effect the SP would perhaps take away from the overall feel of the main campaign. Missions might feel like they carry less weight, decision wise, if you can just run around and kill shit in co-op, thus boosting your Galactic Readiness bar. I think the angle your seeing this from is pretty accurate. While we don't know all the details, the minor answers don't really tell us what mode will entail. They seem to be attempting an integrated system, separate from the SP, but you can't have it both ways. It's a very choppy issue, with a lot of unanswered key questions that should be answered promptly, but my severe lack of motivation for this game is hitting new lows.

@Brodehouse: Yeah while I played the games by taking the shade of gray , the only way to obtain the better outcomes has always been choosing Paragon or Renegade paths, Im hopping that they take those decisions intoaccount to make each player run diferently that was and still is the appeal of the franchise it worries me that they haven´t mentioned that for ME3 specifically but Im gonna give Bioware the benefit of the doubt for now.

@StarvingGamer said:

@AngelN7: But the key thing is that they're not just generic missions. They've already stated that the co-op will be to liberate key territories from enemy control which we can connect tangentially to the main story. Maybe in your universe Shepard wasn't able to do everything on his/her own to save the galaxy, but luckily there was a squad of crazy ass black ops motherfuckers working in the shadows to help turn the tide against the Reapers.

I´ll be alright with that if the co-op stuff is an addittion rather than an extension wich is kinda what they´re saying but since everything is centered arround this galatic readiness bar the hole issue has been rather difficult to discuss because we really don´t know how would that work out in the game.

@Dookysharpgun: I was avoiding every Mass Effect 3 coverage until this Multiplayer thing popped up, and then I watched some of the trailers and I gotta say that my enthusiasm isn´t the same I had when Mass Effect 2 came arround , but I spoiled a lot of stuff myself and even tough I knew they stripped down a lot of what I liked about the first game in the end ME2 ended up being my favorite game of 2010 so while this news isn´t the most encouraging to hear I´ll still give the game a chance hopefully the game delivers and none out of the blue addition gets thrown but I don´t want to feel like Dragon Age fans after Dragon Age 2.

Sounds neat to be able to play as a Turian, Krogan, Asari or whatever, and I'm glad they kept it pretty separate from the main game. I hope this has a split screen option, that will be the only way I'll want to play it unless it's integrated easily like Uncharted does it or something.

If I can be a Krogan I am totally okay with this

@AngelN7: The coverage for this game has been fairly sketchy, and the Co-Op announcement was a bit of a gut punch to me, seeing as they already added in that Kinect voice command stuff too. I wanted to give ME3 the benefit of the doubt, but ME2, for me at least, hasn't aged well. I'd like to play ME3 over and over again, but I just have this niggling little feeling that it won't be like that...maybe I'm getting old and pessimistic but I've seen far too many games go down an unnecessary path, and get burned because of it...

Yeah Dragon Age fans got screwed...I was one of them. It's fueling my concern here as well. I know different teams are working on this, but the whole idea is making me uneasy. It's a sad situation really, as I do like Bioware, but lately, I feel as if I'm no longer the kind of person they want to appeal to...I mean...do they not want my money?

@Dookysharpgun: Well mostly is EA fault, they want your money but also money of people who doesn´t necesarelly play RPGs but like shooters so that´s why Mass Effect 2 was for all intents and purposes was a shooter with RPG elements whereas ME1 was an RPG with clunky shooting , but I did like the gameplay in ME2 what I didn´t like was the way they removed a lot of stuff like armor/weapon upgrading or some of the passive skills you could gain, and while Im not too fond on the way the franchise has changed Im still hopefull for the narrative and I´ll be holding to that to carry my interest in the 3rd game thats where Im stading regarding all this.

@FreakAche said:

Curious: Can I play as an Elcor?

Fixed

@Axxol said:

@FreakAche said:

Curious: Can I play as an Elcor?

Fixed

Grateful: Thank you for that correction.

players will create custom characters to fight on different and unique fronts in the war. This will include the ability to play as favorites like Turians, Krogans, Asari and more… each with their own unique set of abilities.

I suppose I can see where people are coming from with the doubts(actually I can't, they are stupid and should die in a fire) but I think this sounds great.

Me and a couple of friends were talking about it and we can't wait to assemble our special ops sqaud of Salarian Sentinel, Turian Vanguard, Krogan Soldier and Asari Adept. A crack team performing a multitude of missions to aid in the mission to save the galaxy.

Don't give me this "oh, this galactic readiness thing is a stupid bar I have to fill-to-win", from our point of view it seems more like this team of dudes is going to go on some missions to hinder the bad guys or help the good guys e.g. destroy a weapons factory or retrieve some intelligence about enemy fleet movements. By completing these objectives, this team are helping Shepard in the single-player game by doing things he doesnt have time for!

HE IS ONLY ONE MAN!

@AngelN7: You hit the nail on the head there. I would have loved ME2 if it had the customisation elements in it. It would have been miles better than Mass Effect. I'm praying that as more info gets released, Bioware might give us some hope that they've brought back in some of those RPG elements, along with exploration and customisation that we want so much. I get why you want to stay with it until the end, I'd like to do the same, and maybe as more info comes out, I'll be more satisfied with what the game is shaping up to be, it's just right now, I'm weary of what could happen, and I dislike when that happens. I'm hoping the narrative holds up in the long run too, it could be fine, but...some of these announcements are starting to really confuse the timeline for me. Like we have a readiness bar, but wasn't it announced at E3 that ME3 takes place during a Reapers invade? Seems like a big backtrack just to add a Co-Op...

That spoiler bit there is just in case you haven't seen the E3 gameplay trailers, just so I won't mess anything up for you, as you said you were keeping on the down low with any information about the game.

This sounds good and I hope that it is implemented correctly. People need to understand that the Co-Op is optional and there are other ways to increase Galactic Readiness through singleplayer.

Still not liking that it's connected to single player. I don't want to sit on the bridge of my Normandy, cursor over a planet, and see "Co-Op Mission, Press X to Invite Your Friends". Or to see areas of the galaxy I haven't finished or can't experience because I don't want to jump into non-story team and play through some co-op missions. Because knowing Bioware, the co-op missions will have some plot trappings and backstory behind them, even if you can still finish the game without doing them. At least most other single player experiences have had the courtesy to make their multiplayer a separate element.

And yeah, "Galactic Readiness" sounds like a really simplistic thing to determine how your game ends. Like Fable 3's "this much gold saves your kingdom" ending metric. ME2's system was much more nuanced in terms of getting character support and upgrades, and being able to see the direct impact of every choice or missing element through the end sequence. It may just have been "do everything and you'll get the best ending" but it still felt like you made choices, instead of X co-op missions being equal to 50 readiness points.

@WonderboyCoz: Wasn´t that the whole point of the game that YOU are Shepard you´re the man the puny human that´s going to save the galaxy from the Reapers, the unavoidable doom that has been wiping sentient life for ages, if they say oh this team of "rag-tag " aliens was put toghter by commander Shepard to help him fight the Reapers then sure I have no problem with that, but if it is just a bunch of dudes doing side missions like you´re saying "destroying a weapons factory" wich dosn´t even makes sense because this is not a guerrilla fight or something like that then f´d that, Im sorry but to me Mass Effect has been always about putting YOU in the protagonist seat not a bunch of randoms generic aliens this is supposed to be the grand finale not some side war before the real deal.

@GlenTennis said:

Man, why would they add this? Don't they realize that adding optional multiplayer experiences RUINED Dead Space 2 and Uncharted 2?

Ssarcasm I hope?

@Dookysharpgun: I think they said at some point can´t remember where I read it but they´re going to give stronger RPG elements to the game so I will hold on to that , and yeah just by watching some of the trailers (I´ve only watched the E3 one) you don´t get the vibe that you´re suppose to get from a Mass Effect game, but it´s just a trailer they need to make it look cool to hook people in (even tough if someone has been skeptical about the franchise after 2 games I don´t think anything is gonna make them change their mind) so you don´t necesarilly need to base your expectations out of those, if you still care enough about it just bare with it until more promising info comes up.

@AngelN7: Yeah they said it at some point, I'm hoping they get their act together and start consolidating everything about this game, at least to give us some understanding of how the whole thing is going to work. I seen the E3 gameplay, and I wasn't too hyped for it, but I'm guessing with the addition of Co-Op, the system does make a little more sense. I'll give them one more chance to get me interested, and if they manage to balance everything in a seemingly organised manner, and if the Co-Op is actually a well thought out experience, then I can forgive them outright. But right now, everything is so up in the air, I hate the fact that I'm not feeling it for this game. I've ground my teeth and bared worse for the sake of fairness, guess this time I'll have to hope and see.

"This will include the ability to play as favorites like Turians, Krogans, Asari and more… each with their own unique set of abilities."

I hope that by "and more..." they mean "Quarian, Geth, and more..."

@Zidd: That's my single fondest memory of ME1. I just wish his movie were watchable in ME2.

The addition of this mode sounds like EA is trying to appeal to new players who weren't into the SP-focused experience that the developer usually creates. Namely, the Gears of War/Call of Duty crowd who might like the online shooting but wouldn't care too much for the story.

Which sounds rather hit-or-miss considering it's Bioware. Hopefully the ME3 team has some people with good multiplayer experience. So they've claimed in the PR video, but I'd like to know specifically what those people have worked on.

@mewarmo990 said:

@Dookysharpgun: The addition of this mode sounds like EA is trying to appeal to new players who weren't into the SP-focused experience that the developer usually creates. Namely, the Gears of War/Call of Duty crowd who might like the online shooting but wouldn't care too much for the story.

Which sounds rather hit-or-miss considering it's Bioware. Hopefully the ME3 team has some people with good multiplayer experience. So they've claimed in the PR video, but I'd like to know specifically what those people have worked on.

They said Bioware Montreal was doing it. Bioware Montreal so far has been doing crappy DLC. So yeah.

@endaround said:

@mewarmo990 said:

The addition of this mode sounds like EA is trying to appeal to new players who weren't into the SP-focused experience that the developer usually creates. Namely, the Gears of War/Call of Duty crowd who might like the online shooting but wouldn't care too much for the story.

Which sounds rather hit-or-miss considering it's Bioware. Hopefully the ME3 team has some people with good multiplayer experience. So they've claimed in the PR video, but I'd like to know specifically what those people have worked on.

They said Bioware Montreal was doing it. Bioware Montreal so far has been doing crappy DLC. So yeah.

Hmm, right, I recall that. So the question is, who was added to the Bioware Montreal team for this game and what multiplayer experience do they have?

Just curious.