Mass Effect 2 mini rant...

[Juste Goose]

I've never played Mass Effect before, so I thought I'd give it a go. I borrowed ME2 from a friend.

I start up the game, sit through the opening, watch the little comic, and get to create my character. I forget the name of the class I chose, but it was one that specialized in shotguns, since I tend to favor them in other TPSs. I escape the med-bay, watch a couple more cutscenes, and start my first mission. Unfortunately, this is when I find out that shotguns in this game fire confetti, have a microscopic ammo pool, and that most enemies are hiding waaaay off in the horizon. Evidently, I should have chosen assault/sniper rifles. But now, I can't, because I'm locked in to the class I knew nothing about when I chose it. Now, my only option is to do the two-and-a-half hour intro over again, about 2/3 of which is unskippable dialogue I JUST heard. So, I gave up on Mass Effect.

annoyed exhale

Anyway, anyone else have something spoil a game for you?

edit: I slept on it and calmed down, so I think I'll give it another shot. Thanks to those who gave friendly advice on how to play the class, not-so-thanks to those who just told me I should have known better. I mean, I've never played this game before. I didn't know in class creation what powers did what. It'd be cool if they had you play the first mission then commit to a class after you find out what you like. Or maybe offer some kind of VR mission in the main menu that lets you try them out before you start the game. Or, at the very least, let you skip the intro...

 

[Doom972]

You picked Vanguard, which is a combat/biotic class. It specializes in close combat. Its most important aspect is its ability to charge. Charge+shotgun makes for a very powerful combination. If you didn't want to make much use of powers, and play this game more like a shooter, you should've picked the Soldier class.

I had similar things happen to me in the past. The one that comes to mind is my fist time playing System Shock 2, in which I quickly ran out of ammo and gave up. I recently got it on the Humble Weekly Bundle and played it through to the end. The difference is that this time I planned my character and equipment ahead by reading a guide on Game Banshee.

 

[Zhukov]

I think the class you're referring to is 'Vanguard'.

It's kinda the best class in the game, at least as far as I'm concerned. Although admittedly it's not so great for the first mission. Lots of ranged engagements and shielded enemies, who are resistant to the early game shotguns.

All I can say is reserve judgement until you do the Archangel or Mordin Solus recruitment missions.

Also, put points into the charge ability and shockwave. Charge effectively teleports you and your shotgun into an enemy's personal space while knocking them off balance. It also recharges your barrier by 50%, making it good for emergencies. Shockwave is good for crowd control.

I never bother with the pull ability or the ammo abilities. If you ignore those then you will have enough points to max out everything else. But that's a matter of preference.

Use the heavy pistol at range. Despite being, well... a pistol, it's actually pretty damn good. You get a better one early on. Save the SMG for shielded (not armoured) enemies, although it gets render obsolete by mid-game shotguns which tear through anything at close range.

 

[LetalisK]

Yeah, shotguns are kind of secondary for a Vanguard to their kamikaze powers and you don't get really good shotguns until a bit later that tend to absolutely annihilate enemies. Also, I thought only the first Lazarus project cinematic was unskippable in that game.

For me, Morrowind's horrible combat system pretty much ruined that game for me. I managed to power through to the end though because I wanted to see the various stories.

 

[schrodinger]

The Vanguard class can be quite OP if you know how to effectively play it. A fully maxed out Charge plus a upgraded shotgun, and a good shield regen, not much will stand in your way. Shockwave is decent, just make sure you aim correctly if you're using heavy shockwave.
If you stay with vanguard and keep playing on you will get the chance to pick either an assault rifle or sniper rifle as your extra main gun.
Again, If you do keep with the Vanguard class to Mass Effect 3, then it becomes almost god tier. With charge and nova I can take on enemies without firing a bullet. Just gotta have the right build and you're set.

Gameplay wise, yes the first time I played Dragon Age: Origins. The dice roll combat was just SO boring, and it nearly killed my interest if it were not for the story and characters.
Thankfully mods saved my experience~

 

[MysticSlayer]

As others have stated, you are playing as a Vanguard, and it does take a little into the game before that class becomes a worthwhile class. My first playthrough was an Engineer, and I was having loads of fun right from the start. Vanguard...not so much. Took until I started recruiting people, particularly Archangel, before I really began to see the value in the Vanguard's abilities and shotgun.

Also, considering you are playing Vanguard, you do have access to Heavy Pistols and Submachine Guns, which will be more than serviceable until you start getting better shotguns and start facing enemies where shotguns are a viable solution. Again, it would be better to judge ME2 after you reach the recruitment phase of the story, which isn't long after the first mission, and you should try to expand your gun usage a bit. ME2 has many missions that just simply aren't very shotgun compatible at times (one firefight is almost at sniper's-only range unless you manage to close the distance to Pistol/AR range). However, learning to use squad powers, particularly the Vanguard's charge, will really help if you feel overly-attached to your shotgun.

As for similar experiences, the only thing I can really think of is The Witcher's missions where you had to get to a certain place at a certain time and if you failed to be at that place at that time then you had to wait for a lengthy 24-in-game-hours that could only be sped up through wasting a campfire because Dice Poker is cursed so that time doesn't progress while you are playing, completely killing any sense of time progression they were trying to portray in forcing you to be at that place at that time! Oh, and woe to the person who forgot to keep a journal handy of every important (and dull) NPCs movements, lest he consistently spend 24-in-game-hours waiting for the NPC to show up. Other than that, the game was excellent, but boy did that kill it for me.

 

[Berny Marcus]

I think you should play as a Vanguard, it suits you, and give it time, Mass Effect 2 will really grab you once you arrive on Omega.

 

[skywolfblue]

I'd suggest turning the difficulty down if you're having trouble playing Vanguard for the first time.

I would recommend sticking with Vanguard rather then trying to go Soldier. It's a very high-risk-high-reward class, and a whole crapload of fun to play once you figure it out, but you'll get your butt kicked the first few times.

As others have said, charge is the key, you should be using it at almost every cooldown. For the enemies you can't charge, use your Pistol.

 

[mad825]

Now, my only option is to do the two-and-a-half hour intro over again, about 2/3 of which is unskippable dialogue I JUST heard. So, I gave up on Mass Effect.

Go put the kettle on? Grab a sandwich? Read some game manuals?

Ffs, if you cannot find something to do for 2 minutes then how do you live with yourself? It's hardly anything to ragequit over. I played Hl1, forgot to save, got 2 hours in and had to replay it again.

 

[sanquin]

Most cutscenes and dialogue ARE skippable in mass effect. Also, I think you played Vanguard the wrong way. Shotgun is it's main weapon yes, but that's because you have Charge as an ability as well. Basically you Charge at an enemy across the room, and it teleports you there. Then you're in melee range. And your shotgun does KILLER damage at that range. Keep charging to unbalance enemies and recharge shields, and blast away with your shotgun as much as you want. Later on you get different shotguns as well. More ammo, faster firing rate, but less power. Or even just 1 shot, but so powerful it could rip through both shields and health in 1 shot at point-blank range.

Basically, you rushed the start of the game too much. You didn't give yourself enough time to learn what to do with your class. Reading through your abilities would have been all it took for you to realise you can charge at distant enemies to get close.

 

[spartandude]

/RESTART GAME
/REROLL ENGINEER
/NEVER USE GUNS AGAIN

BUT SERIOUSLY, VANGUARD SHOTGUN IS DESIGNED ENTIRELY FOR CLOSE-RANGE COMBAT; HELL, THE WHOLE CLASS SCREAMS 'GET ME IN THEIR FUCKING FACE SO I CAN FUCK THEIR NOSE OFF', WITH CHARGE AND SHOTGUNS. SHOTGUNS IN MASS EFFECT 2 ALSO FOLLOW THE STANDARD VIDEO GAME RULE OF 'LETHAL AT 2 FEET, USELESS AT 10', SO YOU CAN'T JUST USE THE SHOTTY 100% OF THE TIME. A GOOD TACTIC I FOUND WAS USING PISTOl/SMG TO WEAKEN ENEMY DEFENSES/KILL LOW RANK FOES AND THEN GET ALL UP IN SOME GRILLS WITH SPACE BUCKSHOT, WITH HEAVY USE OF... WELL, HEAVY WEAPONS TO TAKE OUT BIG ENEMIES.

AS FOR THINGS THAT RUINED A GAME FOR ME - GEARS OF WAR. FRIENDLY AI. OH MY FUCKING GOD.

Alot of keyboards have a "Caps Lock" button.

OT
You need to remember that shotguns are only effective at close range, also the pistols are fairly good. At the risk of sounding the pretentious and elitist I always advise you to never play an RPG unless you are willing to replay the opening sequence(s) a few times before finding a class you like.

 

[BrotherRool]

People aren't selling charge enough =D It's an ability that not only lets you teleport headfirst into the first dude you lock sights on, but eventually you gain life as well. Leading to the awesome situation where the solution to charging headfirst into a dangerous situation is to keep on charging.

For a quick breakdown of Mass Effect classes, in case you do want to restart.

Soldier - The most straightforward class, you have a wide array of powerful weapons and passive abilities that increase the power of those weapons with added effects (like freezing opponents) and some slowdown for extra aiming

Sentinel - The greatest advantage is it's tech shield that saves it in dangerous systems and means you can operate fairly effectively without using cover. They also have abilities on hand to deal with both shields and barriers

Adept - Purely focused on it's abilities, has a wide array of powerful ones and gameplay revolves around chaining these abilities for detonations. For example you could lift an enemy into the air and then throw it away and the combo would create a mini explosion damaging the mook and people around it. But you do tend to stay behind cover a lot and wait for timers to run down. Warp and throw are probably the most useful abilities here at the beginning

Infiltrator - Cloaky sniper, people love playing as this one, but I've never done it so I can#t give any advice there.

Engineer - Has some powerful but situational abilities and a drone that can distract enemies and do damage. The ability that turns robots to your side is fun, but not worth getting until later in the game. It's pretty powerful, but the combat drone can be a bit boring and underwhelming

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Mate, you picked Vanguard as everyone else pointed out. This is good, because all the cool kids play vanguard.

It's pretty hit&run-y. Your charge does alot in exchange for putting you in harms way, so charging blasting a few enemies before retreating to heal is probably your best bet. Your pistol is also a good weapons. Use it.

 

[deathbydeath]

I see where you're coming from with this. I never did Vangard, but investing into Charge and Shockwave (your only abilities worth a damn) should solve your problems. Story-wise, the majority of ME2 is shit, but the bright moments are by and large very bright (just tempering your expectations in case you care about stories). Gameplay-wise, people's mileages vary a lot on it. I paid $20 for it on Steam, and I feel like I got my money's worth out of it. Bear in mind I consider this game to be one of the greatest case studies of what's wrong with modern gaming, and if I can enjoy it for $20, then you should have a blast for free.

 

[-Dragmire-]

There is a story mission where you get another gun type to use. Kind of random for why you can suddenly use it but at least that option's there.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

edit: I slept on it and calmed down, so I think I'll give it another shot. Thanks to those who gave friendly advice on how to play the class, not-so-thanks to those who just told me I should have known better. I mean, I've never played this game before. I didn't know in class creation what powers did what. It'd be cool if they had you play the first mission then commit to a class after you find out what you like. Or maybe offer some kind of VR mission in the main menu that lets you try them out before you start the game. Or, at the very least, let you skip the intro...

It sounds like you already got some good advice, but I will second (or 25th or however many there were) it.

Shotguns are weak at range, but powerful up close - use Charge to get close and let-em have it. As you level up, you can upgrade Charge to heal you which makes it even more powerful. Plus, charge stuns enemies when you hit them (which you can also upgrade).

Also, while the first mission is kinda rangy, MOST of the game is very up-close. As someone who went in as a Sniper class, I pretty much got to suck for most of the game. Only a very few missions have layouts that work for a sniper. Your shotgun will serve you FAR better - I know, I replayed as a Vanguard and loved it.

 

[KR4U55]

Except for the unreachable enemies, the shotgun has the advantage most of the time. Another fun class is the Sentinel. You probably don't like casters, but it's pretty dang satisfying to drain barriers, shields and armor and then blast the rest of the health. It became my second favorite class (after the Vanguard) after I got an assault rifle.