Mass Effect

2014-04-19 02:02:14 pm

As I recall there are various "perfect" Shepards out there on the internet, but I just made mine on my own while routing 100%. That said, I would actually recommend against lv. 60 (which I've been playing at) anyway and instead try to find a nice threshold at a lower level (maybe around 40-45?) to get faster kills with your weapon and powers as in ME2.

I'm also using a "safer" build than in the NG+ WR (Assault Rifles as my bonus talent for improved weapon dps, Singularity to prevent getting thrown Thorian and Benezia fights, and Barrier to make me all but impervious). It works pretty well, but I'm thinking an optimal build would be a Vanguard with Pistols, Throw, Lift, Overload and Adrenaline Rush (lowest level of AR should be plenty). Assault Rifles may work instead of Overload, but I doubt it would be faster.

letterswords

2014-04-19 03:50:23 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Thanks, your_name_here ended up popping in my stream last night and I got a file from him. Your point about doing at a lower level is definitely interesting based on my ME2 experience, I guess its worth testing at some point. I guess I'll have to look for a lower level save at some point.

your_name_here

2014-04-20 01:52:24 pm

It's pretty easy to construct any save file you want with console commands. The hard part would be verifying that the equipment is appropriately leveled, such that the save file is able to be generated by the game. So, the first "low level" file should at least be mostly manually generated.

You need to be level 50 to get spectre X gear, so you can be exactly 50 + mandatory experience from ilos-on. So, you don't really have an appreciable damage reduction since the best ammos are level VII (and you can probably get X versions of other things at this level too). You can also neglect the XP+ achievements Extreme Power Gamer and maybe Completionist (you can neglect this for the purposes of Ilos experience in making your NG+ file, but you might want it for the run, as not having it means you can't get the ally achievements) You also have to make sure that you can be this low level after 3 playthroughs for the free persuasion stats (this is probably fine, it's just something that need to be checked)

Alec, does that Vanguard build get the quick kill on fist, or do you do it the NG way?

It's pretty easy to construct any save file you want with console commands. The hard part would be verifying that the equipment is appropriately leveled, such that the save file is able to be generated by the game. So, the first "low level" file should at least be mostly manually generated.

You need to be level 50 to get spectre X gear, so you can be exactly 50 + mandatory experience from ilos-on. So, you don't really have an appreciable damage reduction since the best ammos are level VII (and you can probably get X versions of other things at this level too).  You can also neglect the XP+ achievements Extreme Power Gamer and maybe Completionist (you can neglect this for the purposes of Ilos experience in making your NG+ file, but you might want it for the run, as not having it means you can't get the ally achievements) You also have to make sure that you can be this low level after 3 playthroughs for the free persuasion stats (this is probably fine, it's just something that need to be checked)

Alec, does that Vanguard build get the quick kill on fist, or do you do it the NG way?

letterswords

2014-04-20 03:21:43 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Thanks for the info. Definitely sounds doable, but with my lack of background knowledge about ME1, it'll probably take some work for me to actually get a file done. Since you say I want to be only 50 (pre-Ilos) after 3 playthroughs, should I only do main storyline missions in all 3 playthroughs? Also yeah, if I'm going to make a file like this, I'd want to know what class I should actually do it as

AlecK47

Edit history:

AlecK47: 2014-04-20 05:54:12 pm

2014-04-20 05:44:38 pm

I do it the NG way as of now simply because I don't have the damage output I would with Overload. But because the build I proposed would (almost certainly) have Overload I can't see why it couldn't do it. I recommended Vanguard because it has all the powers I mentioned (especially Adrenaline Rush, so you can Throw, Overload or whatever again in short succession if need be - great for Benezia, especially).

Also good call on the gear, I had forgotten about the level threshold. A really low level build (comparatively) might be good with the more basic pistol, but that might be a stretch.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I was assuming only two playthroughs for persuade stuff. You can compensate for the last playthrough by putting a point or two in on the first go, getting the full four automatic gains each time, and finishing it off with whatever you get over the course of the actual run (Paragon would be the more optimal choice when setting up, so monkeys would work).

Edit: I just had another thought: if Damping does enough damage to OHKO the Geth it's normally used on, it might be a better option because it would (in theory) prevent you from catching a Throw from an enemy you hit with it.

I do it the NG way as of now simply because I don't have the damage output I would with Overload.  But because the build I proposed would (almost certainly) have Overload I can't see why it couldn't do it.  I recommended Vanguard because it has all the powers I mentioned (especially Adrenaline Rush, so you can Throw, Overload or whatever again in short succession if need be - great for Benezia, especially).

Also good call on the gear, I had forgotten about the level threshold.  A really low level build (comparatively) might be good with the more basic pistol, but that might be a stretch.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I was assuming only two playthroughs for persuade stuff.  You can compensate for the last playthrough by putting a point or two in on the first go, getting the full four automatic gains each time, and finishing it off with whatever you get over the course of the actual run (Paragon would be the more optimal choice when setting up, so monkeys would work).

Edit: I just had another thought: if Damping does enough damage to OHKO the Geth it's normally used on, it might be a better option because it would (in theory) prevent you from catching a Throw from an enemy you hit with it.

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2014-04-20 06:00:01 pm

letterswords: 2014-04-20 05:57:18 pm

2014-04-20 05:55:59 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Ignoring the free persuade stuff for now, the difference between Spectre VII pistol vs Spectre X pistol is 256/294 (damage) 23.8/29.3(shots before overheating). So the question is how much health varies between the lowest level you can get rank VII pistols, rank VII ammos (and any skills you might want) compared to Level 50 plus Ilos->further experience. If the amount health increase is greater than what would be made up by the extra damage from having Rank X vs Rank VII, then that could change things up a lot.

EDIT: Also, since Rank VII spectre pistols require only having Rich achievement, you can get them as early as you have the money.

AlecK47

Edit history:

AlecK47: 2014-04-20 06:35:50 pm

2014-04-20 06:28:49 pm

It seems this may require some testing...

Anyway, what you'd want:
Throw: 12 points, because it's the go-to power
Weapon: 12 points, because it's the main source of damage
Lift: 7-12, depending on the duration you need to kill the final boss
Tech power: this one varies, Overload hits max damage at 9 points, Damping at 6 (though Overload hits the same 100 damage at 5)
Vanguard/Nemesis: 6-12, depending on how much extra damage for throw matters, along with the extra duration for Lift
Spectre Training: 0-12, the bonuses here are pretty low, honestly, so it might not be needed at all
Assault Training: 3, that's all you need for the basic Adrenaline Burst
Charm: 1-2, just what you need to get Saren to fight himself for you

Total: 46-74

In other words, you'd hit the low end of that threshold in the low 20's, and the high end before level 40.

Edit: Or Sabotage, which has the same damage progression as Overload but adds to tech mine damage (including its own) as you level it, might be the best tech choice.

It seems this may require some testing...

Anyway, what you'd want:
Throw: 12 points, because it's the go-to power
Weapon: 12 points, because it's the main source of damage
Lift: 7-12, depending on the duration you need to kill the final boss
Tech power: this one varies, Overload hits max damage at 9 points, Damping at 6 (though Overload hits the same 100 damage at 5)
Vanguard/Nemesis: 6-12, depending on how much extra damage for throw matters, along with the extra duration for Lift
Spectre Training: 0-12, the bonuses here are pretty low, honestly, so it might not be needed at all
Assault Training: 3, that's all you need for the basic Adrenaline Burst
Charm: 1-2, just what you need to get Saren to fight himself for you

Total: 46-74

In other words, you'd hit the low end of that threshold in the low 20's, and the high end before level 40.

Edit:  Or Sabotage, which has the same damage progression as Overload but adds to tech mine damage (including its own) as you level it, might be the best tech choice.

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2014-04-20 06:53:43 pm

letterswords: 2014-04-20 06:53:03 pm

2014-04-20 06:49:29 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

I'm doing some preliminary testing on stream and it looks like Level 50ish plus Spectre X is the way to go. Tested the following:

Geth Armature

Level 36 (Spectre VII, no ammo):
37 shots

Level 50: (Spectre VII no ammo):
38 shots

Level 50: (Spectre X, no ammo):
33 shots

Level 60 (Spectre X, no ammo):
33 shots

This was using no skills on the armature, no ammo upgrades on the pistol, and keeping my squadmates from firing at it. Level 60 might actually be better still, but this test didn't show any difference between the two, at least.

your_name_here

Edit history:

your_name_here: 2014-04-20 10:46:45 pm

2014-04-20 10:27:18 pm

If you end the game at 51, that's enough to max out all relevant skills on the Electronics Vanguard, including adrenaline burst.

You could also cut out lift and replace it with shotguns. Might be better with bosses. 2xScram Rail X + Carnage>Adrenaline Burst>Carnage+shoot is pretty good damage.

e:I'm not completely sold on vanguard over infiltrator. Vanguard gets warp, infiltrator gets better weapon damage, a weapon cooling bonus, and access to more mines. The difference isn't exactly clear. Mostly because I don't know what the effects of damage protection are, and how much each boss has.

letterswords

2014-04-20 10:58:48 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Well, as 60 vs 50 doesn't appear to be a huge difference in terms of enemy health, I can make a vanguard file and test it versus the infiltrator file you gave me. That's probably the next step.

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2014-05-07 04:00:08 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-02 10:07:48 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-02 10:07:14 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-02 10:06:40 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-02 10:02:34 pm

2014-05-02 10:00:50 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Not sure if anyone ever tested something here, but its possible to clip through the wall at the top of the elevator that takes you down to Vigil (basically by running into the left corner and getting a little lucky, its not too hard though). The Pipe things off to the side in the picture are solid surfaces (not sure if there is a way to run to them before falling too far; I tested whether they were solid using console commands). If you can get down to Vigil, you can interact with him, hit the button for the elevator (it won't actually be there, but it comes down relatively fast, and go back up. I kinda doubt whether its faster (or possible), and there is an invisible ceiling in Vigil's room over the walkway that I'm not sure can reasonably be gotten through to land on the walkway. It still is pretty cool I guess, thought I would share it anyways.

Wymorn

2014-05-03 11:18:14 am

Rank 1 Goatborn

What was the verdict on quickload binding?

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2014-05-03 12:26:42 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-03 12:26:09 pm

2014-05-03 12:23:54 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

I never started to use it, I kinda could go either way on it but lean towards thinking that it shouldn't be allowed (not normally accessible during gameplay). If you feel strongly that you want to start doing it though, I guess I'd be okay with it, but wouldn't be too happy about having to pick up NG again just to have a run using quickloads XD. I'm pretty sure no one ever tried to figure out what SDA's verdict on it would be, but unless anyone really plans on submitting another run (I don't think I ever will), I don't see why it would matter.

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2014-05-07 03:59:45 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-07 03:57:16 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-07 03:53:29 pm

2014-05-06 04:19:08 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

I've been doing some NG+ as Infiltrator (using files from your_name_here) but decided to give Vanguard a second look. At level 60, the Vanguard build I was thinking about actually appears to have more weapon damage than Infiltrator. Infiltrator gets +21% weapon damage from maxing out commando, but vanguard gets +15% pistol/shotgun from 6 points in vanguard/nemesis and 9% weapon damage from max assault training. You can still get one of damping/electronics/decryption as a bonus power. Here's the build I was thinking of. I ignore spectre training 12 and electronics past master overload, and drop a couple points in lift to give me enough to max shotguns and pistols (lift gets a 4m radius bonus from max Nemesis, so going up to max lift for the radius isn't as important). I'm not sure if electronics is the best option either, but it works for now. Charm/Intimidate should be ignored, they would be maxed too, I was just quickly using console commands to figure out a build

EDIT: After some testing, Vanguard seems pretty good. You can't kill Fist the same way you might with Infiltrator (you have to do it NG way), but Warp is really good for Thorian fight and Warp+Carnage on Saren at the end is really good (each phase easily lasts <10 seconds). The only other downside I noticed to Vanguard was on the Benezia fight--it might be a bit slower because you have less area effect stuff and overload doesn't have as much of a radius.

I've been doing some NG+ as Infiltrator (using files from your_name_here) but decided to give Vanguard a second look. At level 60, the Vanguard build I was thinking about actually appears to have more weapon damage than Infiltrator. Infiltrator gets +21% weapon damage from maxing out commando, but vanguard gets +15% pistol/shotgun from 6 points in vanguard/nemesis and 9% weapon damage from max assault training. You can still get one of damping/electronics/decryption as a bonus power. Here's the build I was thinking of. I ignore spectre training 12 and electronics past master overload, and drop a couple points in lift to give me enough to max shotguns and pistols (lift gets a 4m radius bonus from max Nemesis, so going up to max lift for the radius isn't as important). I'm not sure if electronics is the best option either, but it works for now. Charm/Intimidate should be ignored, they would be maxed too, I was just quickly using console commands to figure out a build

[hidden][img]http://imgur.com/6CCVTtl.png[/img][/hidden]

EDIT: After some testing, Vanguard seems pretty good. You can't kill Fist the same way you might with Infiltrator (you have to do it NG way), but Warp is really good for Thorian fight and Warp+Carnage on Saren at the end is really good (each phase easily lasts <10 seconds). The only other downside I noticed to Vanguard was on the Benezia fight--it might be a bit slower because you have less area effect stuff and overload doesn't have as much of a radius.

AlecK47

2014-05-07 09:43:25 pm

That build is about what I wanted to try when I got back from C4L (which I just did).

I'm not sure exactly what you're doing against Benezia, but you could use a more efficient version of the strat I tried to use at C4L (messing up squad placement cost me there, but I explained what I wanted to do - it's mostly about using Throw and the battlefield to your advantage) because of Adrenaline Rush. When done properly it is both reliable and fast.

Also I should have been using Warp against the Thorian... derp

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2014-05-07 11:52:13 pm

letterswords: 2014-05-07 11:51:20 pm

2014-05-07 11:48:43 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Here's the save if you want to test it out a bit too (there's a few saves scattered throughout the game plus a game completion save here). Yeah I mean I've only gone through the game once as Vangaurd on NG+ so Benezia seeming slow could've been solely due to me playing bad. I'll check your C4L run plus try out some different stuff I guess. Even if it is a bit slower on Benezia I think Vanguard might still be faster overall

Attachment:

vanguard ngplus.rar

AlecK47

2014-05-11 09:10:23 pm

It looks like I'll either have to get bring down the sky or remake that one for myself. Not a big deal either way, really, but thanks!

retro_gamers

2014-05-11 11:02:10 pm

You can get the bring down the sky dlc here: http://help.ea.com/en/article/mass-effect-bring-down-the-sky-dlc-redemption/ you don't need a key from EA anymore.

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2015-02-11 02:11:55 pm

letterswords: 2015-02-11 02:10:17 pm

letterswords: 2015-02-11 02:09:16 pm

letterswords: 2015-02-11 02:08:33 pm

letterswords: 2015-02-10 11:57:59 pm

letterswords: 2015-02-10 11:57:25 pm

letterswords: 2015-02-10 11:54:37 pm

2015-02-10 11:54:07 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

So I was messing around with this game on stream after doing a random run, and after some encouragement from your_name_here (who had also been working with the same "glitch"), found a pretty signficant time save (the first one in a while, I guess). The glitch is that you can use mouse wheel weapon switching to delay dialogue scenes from starting (so it doesn't work with all cutscenes, just ones with dialogue options), which your_name_here had previously established could be used to skip ashley.

But the real "break" came from two things: testing saving and reloading while under the effects of the glitch, and then testing it in a bunch of different areas. It turns out that if you use this glitch to interrupt the Liara dialogue on the Normandy after Therum you can delay it long enough to quicksave and bring up the menu, and then load the quicksave, which skips the rest of the cutscene but doesn't cause you to miss any triggers; you can just walk over to the galaxy map and you get brought back to the Citadel, and then you can go to Ilos and beyond as normal. This means its probably safe to assume that any similar post-planet dialogues on the Normandy can also be skipped this way, which means we can change the planet order around quite significantly since we can now do Therum at any point and just skip all the Liara post-mission dialogues. It would take some testing to find out what planet order changes to make, if any, and if any places other than Eden Prime and the post-mission dialogues can benefit from this glitch (some already confirmed to not be useful are Fist's dialogue and Shiala's dialogue). Here's the proof, though: http://www.twitch.tv/letterswords/c/6091425

EDIT: Here's a summary of all the possible places to use it that may save time:

Eden Prime:
You can skip both Ashley's introduction dialogue and the dialgoue where the beacon is supposed to be in one go. Just walk up the hill past where the beacon is (but before the next cutscene), quicksave, and load.
You can skip the dockworker's dialgoue, which leads to the tram only having the first destroyer spawned. If you get out of combat, you can't press the tram controls and if you quicksave and then load all the rest of the tram enemies will spawn, but if you kill them you can proceed as normal

Citadel 1:
Nothing here can be skipped to any benefit; Fist's dialogue after you kill him gets you stuck in his area, and if you save and load you get a critical mission failure whenever you load up the game.
You can delay the dialogue with Tali after killing the assassins, but you can't save, so its useless.
No other dialogues can be skipped.
Therum:
The only useful dialogue to skip is the one when you get back onto the Normandy with Liara.
Noveria:
You can skip the dialogues with Gianna and Maeko near the beginning by doing a similar thing to what you do on Eden Prime to skip 2 dialogues at the same time.
You can skip Captain Ventralis' dialogue (not sure if this saves time since its so short)
You can delay the dialogue with Benezia at the start of the fight, but I don't think this would accomplish anything.
You can skip the dialogue when you get back on the Normandy.
Virmire:
You can skip the dialogue at the beginning, but if you save and load it'll bring you back to the party selection screen and reshow the cutscene of landing on Virmire.
You can skip the dialogue after you go up the elevator from the Krogan breeding grounds, but the Geth won't spawn back in the bomb area
You can skip the dialogue when you get back on the ship.
Feros:
You can skip the first Shiala dialogue, but you get stuck in the Thorian area.
You can skip the dialogue with the colonists after talking to Shiala.
You can skip the dialogue when you get back on the ship, but it is a bit more complicated than just saving and loading. It appears that you need to save and load at least twice to fully skip the dialogue/cutscene (this is for the cutscene you'd get if you have Liara already when you complete Feros; this ultimately means that you can change planet order without suffering for it now).

Citadel 2:
You can skip the dialogue with Udina and the councilors up in the Citadel Tower but it leaves you up in the tower. You can go back to the ship and complete the rest of the game, but this is probably slower than the current method.

Ilos:
You can skip the dialogue on the approach to Ilos, but I'm not sure what this does, but it'll probably get you stuck on the Normandy
You can skip the short dialogue when you first gain control on Ilos.

So I was messing around with this game on stream after doing a random run, and after some encouragement from your_name_here (who had also been working with the same "glitch"), found a pretty signficant time save (the first one in a while, I guess). The glitch is that you can use mouse wheel weapon switching to delay dialogue scenes from starting (so it doesn't work with all cutscenes, just ones with dialogue options), which your_name_here had previously established could be used to skip ashley.

But the real "break" came from two things: testing saving and reloading while under the effects of the glitch, and then testing it in a bunch of different areas. It turns out that if you use this glitch to interrupt the Liara dialogue on the Normandy after Therum you can delay it long enough to quicksave and bring up the menu, and then load the quicksave, which skips the rest of the cutscene but doesn't cause you to miss any triggers; you can just walk over to the galaxy map and you get brought back to the Citadel, and then you can go to Ilos and beyond as normal. This means its probably safe to assume that any similar post-planet dialogues on the Normandy can also be skipped this way, which means we can change the planet order around quite significantly since we can now do Therum at any point  and just skip all the Liara post-mission dialogues. It would take some testing to find out what planet order changes to make, if any, and if any places other than Eden Prime and the post-mission dialogues can benefit from this glitch (some already confirmed to not be useful are Fist's dialogue and Shiala's dialogue). Here's the proof, though:  http://www.twitch.tv/letterswords/c/6091425

EDIT: Here's a summary of all the possible places to use it that may save time:

[hidden]
Eden Prime:
     You can skip both Ashley's introduction dialogue and the dialgoue where the beacon is supposed to be in one go. Just walk up the hill past where the beacon is (but before the next cutscene), quicksave, and load.
     You can skip the dockworker's dialgoue, which leads to the tram only having the first destroyer spawned. If you get out of combat, you can't press the tram controls and if you quicksave and then load all the rest of the tram enemies will spawn, but if you kill them you can proceed as normal

Citadel 1:
   Nothing here can be skipped to any benefit; Fist's dialogue after you kill him gets you stuck in his area, and if you save and load you get a critical mission failure whenever you load up the game.
   You can delay the dialogue with Tali after killing the assassins, but you can't save, so its useless.
   No other dialogues can be skipped.
Therum:
   The only useful dialogue to skip is the one when you get back onto the Normandy with Liara.
Noveria:
   You can skip the dialogues with Gianna and Maeko near the beginning by doing a similar thing to what you do on Eden Prime to skip 2 dialogues at the same time.
    You can skip Captain Ventralis' dialogue (not sure if this saves time since its so short)
    You can delay the dialogue with Benezia at the start of the fight, but I don't think this would accomplish anything.
    You can skip the dialogue when you get back on the Normandy.
Virmire:
   You can skip the dialogue at the beginning, but if you save and load it'll bring you back to the party selection screen and reshow the cutscene of landing on Virmire.
   You can skip the dialogue after you go up the elevator from the Krogan breeding grounds, but the Geth won't spawn back in the bomb area
   You can skip the dialogue when you get back on the ship.
Feros:
    You can skip the first Shiala dialogue, but you get stuck in the Thorian area.
    You can skip the dialogue with the colonists after talking to Shiala.
    You can skip the dialogue when you get back on the ship, but it is a bit more complicated than just saving and loading. It appears that you need to save and load at least twice to fully skip the dialogue/cutscene (this is for the cutscene you'd get if you have Liara already when you complete Feros; this ultimately means that you can change planet order without suffering for it now).

Citadel 2: 
  You can skip the dialogue with Udina and the councilors up in the Citadel Tower but it leaves you up in the tower. You can go back to the ship and complete the rest of the game, but this is probably slower than the current method.

Ilos: 
   You can skip the dialogue on the approach to Ilos, but I'm not sure what this does, but it'll probably get you stuck on the Normandy
   You can skip the short dialogue when you first gain control on Ilos.
[/hidden]

your_name_here

2015-02-13 11:16:37 am

I'm thinking therum->noveria->feros->virmire for planet order
Not sure how much the changed noveria dialogue affects time. It might still have to go first if that's an issue.

Also, here's some of my initial thoughts on a segmented route. Haven't run through this yet to see if everything works, and it's still super rough, but input is appreciated.

additional segmentation might be needed for more storm cooldown reset than I have indicated.

start to first nade run
eplanding autosave
after gas bags and 6 drones (gotta be strategic to get the save here)
ashley skip
dig site skip
save to bring back tram enemies
Normandy autosave. don't segment at bombs autosave, it kills combat. Maybe segment right after bombs to reset storm if possible.

start of citadel autosave
garrus and clip 1
clip 2
fist clip
fist autosave
fast travel
double cutscene
zip

therum landing
lava jump
double gate skip
rock skip
save just after entering mine
mine clip
right before laser puzzle
right after laser puzzle (1/1024 glhf)
forcefield clip
briefing skip

noveria landing
maeko skip
gianna skip
hella running segs
door clip
right before canyon jump
right after canyon jump
zip1
ventralis
zip2
benezia autosave
post benezia autosave
normandy cutscene skip

feros landing
feros clip
post fight (not sure if there's a good time to save mid fight. might be worth it for ability cooldowns)
briefing skip

virmire landing
camp (not sure whether there's another save opportunity mid mako-section)
start of mission autosave
bridge clip
bomb planting cutscene
clip back
briefing skip

detention clip
detention deload

ilos start
after elevator box and control room fight(damn this is a tough segment. hopefully can split in two)
autosave before conduit
clip
citadel chamber autosave
saren fight autsave
end of game

I'm thinking therum->noveria->feros->virmire for planet order
Not sure how much the changed noveria dialogue affects time. It might still have to go first if that's an issue.

Also, here's some of my initial thoughts on a segmented route. Haven't run through this yet to see if everything works, and it's still super rough, but input is appreciated.
[hidden]additional segmentation might be needed for more storm cooldown reset than I have indicated.

start to first nade run
eplanding autosave
after gas bags and 6 drones (gotta be strategic to get the save here)
ashley skip
dig site skip
save to bring back tram enemies
Normandy autosave. don't segment at bombs autosave, it kills combat. Maybe segment right after bombs to reset storm if possible.

start of citadel autosave
garrus and clip 1
clip 2
fist clip
fist autosave
fast travel
double cutscene
zip

therum landing
lava jump
double gate skip
rock skip
save just after entering mine
mine clip
right before laser puzzle
right after laser puzzle (1/1024 glhf)
forcefield clip
briefing skip

noveria landing
maeko skip
gianna skip
hella running segs
door clip
right before canyon jump
right after canyon jump
zip1
ventralis
zip2
benezia autosave
post benezia autosave
normandy cutscene skip

feros landing
feros clip
post fight (not sure if there's a good time to save mid fight. might be worth it for ability cooldowns)
briefing skip

virmire landing
camp (not sure whether there's another save opportunity mid mako-section)
start of mission autosave
bridge clip
bomb planting cutscene
clip back
briefing skip

detention clip
detention deload

ilos start
after elevator box and control room fight(damn this is a tough segment. hopefully can split in two)
autosave before conduit
clip
citadel chamber autosave
saren fight autsave
end of game[/hidden]

letterswords

Edit history:

letterswords: 2015-02-13 01:56:35 pm

2015-02-13 01:55:28 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

http://www.twitch.tv/letterswords/b/623425493?t=85m45s there's Benezia with Liara. I don't think it makes any appreciable difference. That route looks pretty similar to what I was thinking, although I was thinking of Virmire before Feros, but I guess its probably better to be as high leveled as possible for Virmire.

And for segmented, I'd have to think about it more, but I am pretty sure we can work out a save somewhere during the Feros fight, we'd have to test it some. Laser puzzle will definitely be really dumb. You could probably also save at one of the gates on Virmire while you are out of the Mako if you kill everyone, but you'd want to get out of combat just before you re-enter the mako, or you'd need to have an extra grenade that wouldn't be wasteful to use there.

your_name_here

2015-02-14 07:38:43 am

Actually, Feros last might be better. I was thinking we needed 9 intimidate for saren on virmire, which isn't true.

AlecK47

2015-02-14 05:58:52 pm

New stuff in ME? Awesome!

I doubt that I'll be able to contribute much in the immediate future because of computer issues and other things I'm busy with, but it seems like you guys already have a pretty good handle on things. Nevertheless, I'll be sure to keep an eye on things and offer whatever help I can.

Segmented stuff looks solid to me at first glance, and I do recall being able to save after the first Thorian Node at some point (iirc just before the cutscene for the Asari Clone), but I'm not 100% on that. It may require a bit more distance if it's even possible, and may not even be worth it, especially because the main reason is just for cooldowns. I don't think a save would be necessary for the Virmire Mako section, though - my issues at C4L2 notwithstanding (in hindsight totally my bad, and I should have known), it's not terribly hard to optimize. And unfortunately, the main Ilos segment is probably just going to be a bitch - I don't know of any good way to get a save opportunity quickly in that section off the top of my head, at least. Laser puzzle can probably have a fail or even two, if they're fast, but it's still going to suck (at least most resets there will be fast...).

New stuff in ME?  Awesome!

I doubt that I'll be able to contribute much in the immediate future because of computer issues and other things I'm busy with, but it seems like you guys already have a pretty good handle on things.  Nevertheless, I'll be sure to keep an eye on things and offer whatever help I can.

Segmented stuff looks solid to me at first glance, and I do recall being able to save after the first Thorian Node at some point (iirc just before the cutscene for the Asari Clone), but I'm not 100% on that.  It may require a bit more distance if it's even possible, and may not even be worth it, especially because the main reason is just for cooldowns.  I don't think a save would be necessary for the Virmire Mako section, though - my issues at C4L2 notwithstanding (in hindsight totally my bad, and I should have known), it's not terribly hard to optimize.  And unfortunately, the main Ilos segment is probably just going to be a bitch - I don't know of any good way to get a save opportunity quickly in that section off the top of my head, at least.  Laser puzzle can probably have a fail or even two, if they're fast, but it's still going to suck (at least most resets there will be fast...).

letterswords

2015-02-14 07:36:54 pm

twitch.tv/letterswords

Yeah, you should be able to get a save right after the first node. I know for NG at least (not sure if you were planning on NG or NG+ segmented) that would also be one of the best places to get a cooldown refresh just due to how the timing of the cooldowns works (I typically do the second node in NG without Warp or Marksman). Also between the second to last node and last node would be a good place if possible because I typically have to wait around a bit just killing creepers while cooldowns refresh there.

AlecK47

2015-02-14 09:39:05 pm

Between node 3 and 4 might be possible, but I'm not sure. That would definitely be a good place to have a segment break, though.