Ugh... Can you get the "Good Endings" in Mass Effect 3 without Multiplayer?

[DudeistBelieve]

I flat out don't want to play the multiplayer. Is it possible to get the good ending without it?

Not for nothing, people ***** about Microtransactions, but I think forcing Multiplayer into a what is essentially a single player game in order to get the proper endings is just crap.

If not, hoohum. Looks like the bad-destroy ending for Renegade Femshep again... Hey, she said she'd bring peace to the galaxy by any means necessary, and technically killing everyone *DOES* bring peace.

 

[EternallyBored]

Maybe, they patched the game to make the Destroy tease ending possible without multiplayer, if I remember though, you're the same guy that was asking about killing off most of your crew in 2, in which case, the best destroy ending may be impossible for you to get. The game kind of screws you out of a lot of points if you go into 3 with almost no one surviving in 2.

So yeah, it might be possible if you're going for the Earth survives destroy ending, and probably, if you want to get the synthesis ending, if you do all the side missions, but if most of your crew from 2 is dead, then you're probably not going to get the clip teaser for the best destroy ending

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Maybe, they patched the game to make the Destroy tease ending possible without multiplayer, if I remember though, you're the same guy that was asking about killing off most of your crew in 2, in which case, the best destroy ending may be impossible for you to get. The game kind of screws you out of a lot of points if you go into 3 with almost no one surviving in 2.

So yeah, it might be possible if you're going for the Earth survives destroy ending, and probably, if you want to get the synthesis ending, if you do all the side missions, but if most of your crew from 2 is dead, then you're probably not going to get the clip teaser for the best destroy ending

I actually managed to do the suicide mission with no causalities. Even my first time doing it I only lost Tali.

 

[Ellie O'Daire]

You can absolutely get all of the endings without playing multiplayer. Multiplayer just makes it a little easier to get certain endings without doing as many side-missions.

 

[Auberon]

I imported "perfect" save all the way from ME1 and got it, although I did download Extended Cut.But I still ended up somewhere around... 5000-6000 EMS, been a while since I played the story proper.

So import if you don't want to do any multiplayer. Otherwise, you're screwed.

 

[EternallyBored]

Maybe, they patched the game to make the Destroy tease ending possible without multiplayer, if I remember though, you're the same guy that was asking about killing off most of your crew in 2, in which case, the best destroy ending may be impossible for you to get. The game kind of screws you out of a lot of points if you go into 3 with almost no one surviving in 2.

So yeah, it might be possible if you're going for the Earth survives destroy ending, and probably, if you want to get the synthesis ending, if you do all the side missions, but if most of your crew from 2 is dead, then you're probably not going to get the clip teaser for the best destroy ending

I actually managed to do the suicide mission with no causalities. Even my first time doing it I only lost Tali.

Then you should be fine, if you do all the sidequests and knockout the DLCs then you should be able to get the best Destroy ending or the best of all the other endings, even if you full renegade you should still have enough to at least get the Earth survives ending.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I flat out don't want to play the multiplayer. Is it possible to get the good ending without it?

Not for nothing, people ***** about Microtransactions, but I think forcing Multiplayer into a what is essentially a single player game in order to get the proper endings is just crap.

If not, hoohum. Looks like the bad-destroy ending for Renegade Femshep again... Hey, she said she'd bring peace to the galaxy by any means necessary, and technically killing everyone *DOES* bring peace.

Define 'good.' Are you talking about that tease ending footage in the Destroy ending that ends up raising more questions than answers? Or are you just talking about making sure the Citadel magic beam doesn't wipe everyone out?

If you mean the latter, then it's totally possible. It's very easy to get well over the minimum requirements for your forces to survive without touching multiplayer. Just do all the side missions and keep as many people alive as you can--which is actually really easy to do as long as you have a high enough reputation.

If you want the bonus scene from the Destroy ending, then it's a bit trickier. If you do not have any DLC installed, then I'm afraid you're out of luck. However, with the addition of the DLC, maybe even just Leviathan alone, they have made it so you can gather enough resources and people to see the ending without multiplayer. My guess is that they got some complaints that some people didn't have online, and thus couldn't view the ending, so they added new stuff. It may even be possible to get the new stuff without downloading the DLC. They might have just patched it straight into the game.
But if you can't see it, don't feel too bad. It's literally only about seven to ten seconds and it's not all that great, especially considering that they keep saying Shepard's story is done.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Im pretty sure the DLC gives you enough points, but dont quote me on that.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I flat out don't want to play the multiplayer. Is it possible to get the good ending without it?

If you have the latest update then yes you can.

If you are playing straight off the disc then no, your resources are tied to the Galactic Readiness meter in multiplayer, without it your resource are divided by up to fifty percent making getting the best ending impossible.

There was an update about four months after release that removed the multiplier from your war resources, meaning the best ending didn't require a Readiness of ninety or higher in addition to your single player stats.

 

[Gizmo1990]

If you get the extended cut then yes, they lowered the required number to 3500 which is possable without dlc but you need to get every last war asset so maybe look up a guide online.

That being said 'good' ending is a subjective term as I personaly don't think a good ending exsists. You are better off simply getting the citadel dlc and then making up your own ending in your head.

And I completly agree, of all the things BiowEAr did to ME 3 I will never understand why they took a solo, narritve driven series like Mass Effect and made multiplayer have an influence on the single player.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

While it was an appalling misstep in judgment to have multiplayer affect the possible endings in the single player game, the multiplayer in ME3 was...surprisingly not terrible. Even good. I enjoyed my time with it quite a bit, and I was one of the people scoffing at its existence pre-launch.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I managed it first time, without cheating, dlcs or multiplayer. You'll pretty much have to complete every side mission and hopefully have a few assets carry over from an imported save game. With dlc it's a little easier since there are more up for grabs.

Now tho I've modded my coalesced.bin so picking up the javelin missiles early on gives enough assets alone that I can ignore all the fetch quests entirely. Also got rid of the reapers from the galaxy map, unlocked all armour/clothing, removed weapon weight restrictions, etc. Much more fun without all the meta-stuff.

 

[Zhukov]

The Extended Cut DLC (which is free) includes an adjustment that lowers the requirements for the various endings so you can get all of them without multiplayer and without any other DLC.

 

[fix-the-spade]

And I completly agree, of all the things BiowEAr did to ME 3 I will never understand why they took a solo, narritve driven series like Mass Effect and made multiplayer have an influence on the single player.

Micro transactions dear boy, millions of them. Bioware is a wholly owned subsidiary of EA, Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is Free to Play, the decision will have been purely financial.

 

[Bluestorm83]

It is possible NOW, with the extended cut ending DLC, but out of the box NO, it isn't possible.

Also, none of the endings are the good ending.

Also, the Multiplayer is much, much better than the single player.

ALSO, none of the endings are the good ending.

Seriously, get ready to be disappointed and/or angered. Especially if you play Freedom Loving Paragon who Isn't A Racist and Thinks Robots Are Cool.

 

[Olas]

It's probably possible, with or without the DLC, but you're sure as hell shooting yourself in the foot without it. Which is absolutely fucking stupid. Why the hell did Bioware make multiplayer influence the singleplayer campaign at all? Fans of Mass Effect aren't there for muliplayer. The first two games didn't even have it. Now it's suddenly a part of the story?

To be honest I think the entire points system that Bioware created for the ending was a stupid idea. It creates the notion that one particular story outcome is objectively "better" than the others simply because it's more optimal for the people in the universe, even if it makes the story less interesting overall. For example: establishing peace between the Geth and Quarians may be the best outcome for Shepherd as well as the respective parties, but it also carries the least drama since no tough decisions are being made, no dilemma is faced. Saving everyone and sustaining zero losses is actually quite boring as I'm sure most story writers would attest. I'd rather there not be a "best" and "worst" ending and simply be different endings each of which carrying it's own moral weight.

And perhaps to some extent they succeeded in doing that, if unintentionally. By making the destroy ending available to anyone, but requiring the others to be unlocked, Bioware seemed to imply that the destroy ending was the worst one, yet fans overwhelmingly seemed to prefer it over the others. If Bioware was trying to objectively rank the endings, they completely failed. Most people think Synthesis is stupid, and chose the ending that didn't require being a goody tooshoos and/or playing lots of multiplayer.

 

[AD-Stu]

All been said above really - as long as you've got the Citadel DLC then the required EMS rating is lowered significantly and you can do it all with just single player side quests.

If the games still run (haven't tried in ages) the multiplayer is worth having a go at though. I don't do multiplayer gaming at all, and even I enjoyed it. Bioware included all sorts of fan services in it too (like getting to play as a volus "biotic god") and you don't have to participate in the microtransaction side of it. It may have been shoehorned in at EA's request, but Bioware tried hard to make it something fans will enjoy and for the most part they succeeded.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I remember playing the game with From Ashes and Extended Cut and I got access to all the endings just fine, far exceeding the useless EMS rating. I'm pretty sure Extended Cut reduced the required amount so as not to require multiplayer, because it's absolute fucking stupidity for that to have even been a factor. At least they fixed it. Not sure if the other DLCs reduce it even more or not.

 

[votemarvel]

I was greatly annoyed when Mass Effect 3 launched that single player content, even if it was just a few second scene, was locked behind the requirement of multiplayer or iOS apps.

What was more surprising though was that Bioware was seemingly unaware of this.

Users on the Bioware forum had crunched the numbers and worked out that the 'breath' scene wasn't possible to achieve without multiplayer or the iOS apps. Even with a 'perfect' import from the first two games.

Yet in multiple posts Bioware staff were saying that every piece of content in single player was possible to achieve solely in single player.

Then suddenly they realised they were wrong and the posts saying it was possible vanished from their forum. They then fixed the issue, as mentioned before in the thread, with the Extended Cut DLC.

Bioware seem to be 'stretching' the truth quite often since their acquisition by EA. They are still making great games but they seem to be burning away the great reputation they had earned beforehand.