ME3's MP is fucking atrocious.

[Something Amyss]

I've logged perhaps 150 hours over the last month or so

The gameplay itself is okay I guess.

If everything is going to be randomized, at least make it somewhat bearable.

I'd hate to see your played time on a game you actually liked!

There was a piece in the Guardian talking with folks from Criterion regarding Burnout Paradise. They'd track the gamertags/IDs of people who complained about how awful and unplayable the game was and would see people playing like 200 hours.

It's amazing.

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I've played a lot of the ME3 multiplayer and while it does have some glitches on occasion, for the most part it has been a pretty solid experience. I have not played as much as I did when they were doing regular weekend operations, but I could still easily start it up and enjoy it for hours.

It sounds more like you don't like the item distribution system more than anything else. There are benefits to getting weapons multiple times as higher level versions are better.

 

[Jacco]

I've logged perhaps 150 hours over the last month or so

The gameplay itself is okay I guess.

If everything is going to be randomized, at least make it somewhat bearable.

I'd hate to see your played time on a game you actually liked!

There was a piece in the Guardian talking with folks from Criterion regarding Burnout Paradise. They'd track the gamertags/IDs of people who complained about how awful and unplayable the game was and would see people playing like 200 hours.

It's amazing.

As I said in a later post, I like playing with my friends more than i dislike the game so I just grin and bear it. It's not unplayable (aside from the occasional game breaking glitches), just really fucking irritating.

 

[Risingblade]

Are you buying the premium spectre packs? Those give out the best weapons and characters. Anyways I enjoyed the MP much more than I enjoyed the single player game. Your problem is that you joined late. You missed the low variety that made getting what you wanted easier as well as certain glitches that made getting credits a breeze.

 

[RJ 17]

Not that it matters since you're sick of the game, but I'd suggest playing a glass that relies more on it's powers rather than it's guns. Adepts and Engineers tend to be good at this.

That said, I'm not going to try to defend the multiplayer, it is what it is. Basically the same as Horde Mode in Gears of War, only with ME super powers to help you out. And yeah, the random boxes are a bit annoying, but they serve their purpose. People looking for something will keep playing till they find it (or, like you, get sick of the grind). The only way to stop getting a certain gun is to get it 10 times, that maxes out its level and it stops popping up, same goes for upgrades: they stop showing up once you've maxed them out. Unfortunately characters will just keep popping up no matter what.

I had the game since day 1, played it for about 3 months straight, and then off and on for a week or two here or there ever since then. To this day I still don't have a Black Widow sniper rifle. But like I said, if you don't like your weapons, use a class that's built around it's powers. I got myself a Carnifex and started using the female quarian engineer for the ice-and-fire combo and did quite well for myself with just the pistol.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

I enjoyed it. I wish they had some PvP though. But you are correct; the random packs were a terrible idea.

One thing I always wondered is why they didn't do l4d-style campaigns for multiplayer. It seems like that would fit in more with their style.

 

[Jacco]

Not that it matters since you're sick of the game, but I'd suggest playing a glass that relies more on it's powers rather than it's guns. Adepts and Engineers tend to be good at this.

That said, I'm not going to try to defend the multiplayer, it is what it is. Basically the same as Horde Mode in Gears of War, only with ME super powers to help you out. And yeah, the random boxes are a bit annoying, but they serve their purpose. People looking for something will keep playing till they find it (or, like you, get sick of the grind). The only way to stop getting a certain gun is to get it 10 times, that maxes out its level and it stops popping up, same goes for upgrades: they stop showing up once you've maxed them out. Unfortunately characters will just keep popping up no matter what.

I had the game since day 1, played it for about 3 months straight, and then off and on for a week or two here or there ever since then. To this day I still don't have a Black Widow sniper rifle. But like I said, if you don't like your weapons, use a class that's built around it's powers. I got myself a Carnifex and started using the female quarian engineer for the ice-and-fire combo and did quite well for myself with just the pistol.

I usually play with Adepts and Engineers. Vanguards are fun too usually.

 

[Jacco]

I enjoyed it. I wish they had some PvP though. But you are correct; the random packs were a terrible idea.

One thing I always wondered is why they didn't do l4d-style campaigns for multiplayer. It seems like that would fit in more with their style.

THAT WOULD BE THE GREATEST THING EVER.

Left 4 Dead: Mass Effect

 

[Apollo45]

Meh, I honestly didn't really like the multiplayer even not considering the randomization. It was fun the first few times, but it got very dull very quickly, especially when compared to other multiplayer games. The same enemies over and over on the same maps doing the same things... Bleh. The randomizer only made it that much more annoying.

 

[TorchofThanatos]

Speek for yourself, I love the MP and I have logged 280 hours playing it.
The randomness does sometimes annoy me but I just unlocked all the characters and weapons aren't really that important.

 

[BrotherRool]

The MP itself is fun, but the microtransaction system is the most BS ever. And it's a skinner box too, so it's deliberately designed to be addictive.


They've actually outlawed this type of transaction in some eastern countries because of the huge time and money traps they become.

 

[Feylynn]

I stopped playing it really quick because the single button control scheme ruined the entire thing for me.
I liked the Paladin and the Asari Biotic. Stasis head-shots are fabulous (Fact).
If we removed the sprint/cover/dodge/activate/breathe/selfdestruct/astralproject-button I might have played a lot more of it. Though realistically my other problem with the multiplayer was that I couldn't control the other players and couldn't pause it and play it tactically on my own like it was Dragon Age or something so I'm sure I've thoroughly missed the point anyways.

On the topic of space shooty mission based co-op; Warframe is free on steam and does everything ME3 MP does better and with Cybernetic Space Ninja's that can do all sort of cool acrobatic things.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I just gotta say, whoever decided it was a good idea to randomize EVERYTHING needs to be shot.

I agree with that statement.

I actually quite enjoyed the Multiplayer (as a nice side activity while playing the main story) but the random unlocks were awful.

I had Asari Adept in the preview before release, and I loved it - most fun I've ever had in a multiplayer game. And then the real game came out and everything reset to 0. I bunkered down to unlock Asari Adept.

And it NEVER HAPPENED. Hours and hours of gameplay later, having unlocked almost every other class, Asari Adept remained locked. Meanwhile, I got Drell Adept (which I hated) no less than 12 times. I counted. I unlocked every single customization option for the fucking Drell.

Never unlocked Asari Vanguard either. As an N200+, I have no Asari playable characters.

I would have PAID for a guarenteed unlock. With real money, I mean. I'd have paid real money for a DLC that let me be a fucking Asari Adept.

I finally got sick of it and gave up. No other class was a fun as the handful of days I spent playing the Asari Adept - every other class, including Human Adept and Human Vanguard (my other two favorite multiplayer classes) just reminded me of how much fun I COULD be having if only the random drops weren't trolling me so much.

Oh, and what made things worse? Every time they put out DLC with more classes... they LOWERED my chance of getting an Asari Adept. Now, instead of 1 in 24, I had a 1 in 36 chance.

....

I'm angry at the multiplayer for that alone. The randomness actually killed the fun I was having playing it.

 

[skywolfblue]

The random unlock system is indeed a lemon, but the free DLC is nice.

I looove the ME3 Multiplayer. I think I've probably played it more then any other multiplayer game (except WoW perhaps). It's flawed, buggy and rough around the edges, but damn the classes, guns and powers are FUN!

Being able to play a krogan shouting "Mwhaha!" as he heatbutts his way to victory = priceless.

 

[Zhukov]

I thought it was alright.

The random unlocks suck though. Would have preferred a system like in Black Ops.

 

[an annoyed writer]

ARBLE GARBLE! MASS EFFECT MULTIPLAYER IS BAD AND IT SHOULD FEEL BAD! RAAR!

Holy shit. Someone actually agrees with me about it, and not only that, but agrees about EVERYTHING I've complained about. The randomization especially. It just felt like a shittier version of Gears of Wars' Horde Mode, with all of the fun stripped out and replaced with a microtansaction system meant to vacuum out your wallet.

 

[Karoshi]

In my opinion, ME3 MP was the best part of the game and although it's kinda sad, it also consumed a lot of my time. The unlocks may be somewhat annoying, but it's not enough to detract of the fun.

Vanguards are awesome and incredibly fun, each new race gives to interesting variations to each class and it's pretty well executed imo.

 

[w9496]

If you're getting Avengers and Shurikens out of Premium Packs, then you should buy Recruit/Veteran packs until you square away most of the low and mid-tier stuff. That way you get mostly gold and black weapons/characters.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I really really enjoyed it my only complaint being the killscore at the end because that seems to be very imbalanced class wise and not really reflective of the team gameplay.

As an example I was the last one alive on a gold reaper map with 3 Vanguards I was a inflitrator and had to deal with them running off into mobs and dying and joggling the screen around. I took down the last banshee on my own and what do I get? Lectured about how low my kills were...

right.