Tips for 4th playthrough: Romances, QoL Mods, DLCs

[aleq2000]

(! This post might contain spoilers !)

Hi all

I completed ME trilogy 3 times already.

First one was with male-shep: Tali romance, all the way good/paragon (I loved this playthrough, because most of the choices I made felt right and the outcome of those choices also were satisfying).

Second one was with male-shep, as well: Screwed up some romances because I wasn't aware of the romance mechanics and how my romantic choices would translate to the sequels (for instance, how you have to be loyal to ME1 romance by denying all new romantic choices in ME2 in order to continue the ME1 romance in ME3... which still confuses me). This one was a mix of paragon and renegade. (this playthrough was more intuitive where I could be a bad guy and a good guy depending on my own mood). This was a dissapointing playthrough because of my high expectations to specific romance(s) that didn't come to fruition (wanted to romance Kaiden but I couldn't because I did something in ME2 that ruined it. Wanted to romance Jack but I couldn't because I screwed her). But still, in a way that dissapointment also felt kind of good because my character felt more alone, rejected and neglected.

Third playthrough was with fem-shep who was pure evil/renegade and this was really satisfying too. Romanced Thane, got rid of Mording. Felt good, too.

Even though the entire trilogy felt long, I didn't play any of those big DLCs that many people keep talking about. It was basically just a vanilla experience. So decided to buy all the DLC bundles and I just did (60% off) and I am looking forward to relive the epicness again, but with extra spices.

I have tons and tons of questions but I will start out simple by asking:

1). Can any of you recommend any good mods to improve quality of life? To skip the dull parts, to enhance the good parts? Mods that don't change too much of the original game? Mods that don't spoil anything big in the description.

2). All these DLCs that I have now can be confusing. Which DLCs should I play in what order so that it makes the most sense story-wise, chronologically? Which DLC are just meh.. and can be skipped? What about other DLCs like vanity things, weapons, etc - are they worth it?

3). Which romances do you think are most memorable and make sense? I really can't decide.

I wish there was a formula for a "perfect playthrough" for me.. but I know it's almost impossible. BioWare games tend to give me lots of OCD-madness because of their length and the missables. I want a smooth experience as possible, not constantly regretting my choices because I "might have made a mistake" or constantly worry that do that "wrong choice / reply".

Basically, I want to find a nice balance between:

a). Just jumping back into the game with both feet and not expecting too much and not overthinking or over-analyzing, what may happen, etc.. And:

b). To plan my big choices to a certain degree so that I know what to expect, and not get dissapointed because of one tiny "mistake".

Please help me out to decide, which path and choices to take in Mass Effect trilogy to (re)experience the aspects and parts of the game that BioWare has put the most love and passion in.

Thanks and merry X-mas!

[holger1405]

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@aleq2000 wrote:

1). Can any of you recommend any good mods to improve quality of life? To skip the dull parts, to enhance the good parts? Mods that don't change too much of the original game? Mods that don't spoil anything big in the description.

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It is hard to tell what you are looking for. You can look at the Nexus section for ME3. Maybe you find something.

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aleq2000 wrote:

2). All these DLCs that I have now can be confusing. Which DLCs should I play in what order so that it makes the most sense story-wise, chronologically? Which DLC are just meh.. and can be skipped? What about other DLCs like vanity things, weapons, etc - are they worth it?

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The first you should play is "From Ashes".

The "Extended Cut" comes at the end anyway, so that gives you no choice. 

"Omega and "Leviathan" can theoretical be played after the are available.

I personally wait until after "Priority: The Citadel II" to play them, but that is just a personal preference.

Omega is the weakest DLC imho, but still worth the time.

"Citadel" is a treasure. Imho you should play it late in the game.

(You can't play anymore after starting "Priority: Cerberus Headquarters".)

There are mods on the Nexus that even allow it to be played after the main mission, quasi as new ending. 

For the Weapon and gear DLCs, that is also hard to answer without knowing what you prefer.

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@aleq2000 wrote:

3). Which romances do you think are most memorable and make sense? I really can't decide.

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That is also very subjective. I personally think the Samantha Traynor romance is one of the best. 
But you can only romance her with a FemShep, and a pure Renegade FemShep will probably put some fun out of the story.

Overall, the game is fair, if you pay attention. (As the two predecessor where too.)

Someone or something will tell you when and if you are ready to do some stuff.

[Psychotps]

@holger1405 I do it similar.

From Ashes first thing.
Leviathan early, usually just before/after the whole Krogan plot.
Omega EXTREMELY late. Last thing before final mission.
Citadel DLC, anytime after Sanctuary. Mainly because I want Miranda available. "Troubleshooting space divas"

Romances depend on who you like. Tali's is extremely sweet. Especially in Citadel DLC. Never cared for Ashley much after she brushed us off in ME2. Love how Liara always stuck by us. More of a best-friend tho.

Which mods? Best thing is to go to Nexus and see what's most popular.

[aleq2000]

Thank you guys for your replies still hoping for more replies from other users, too.

ME trilogy kind of scares me, because there is just sooo much content and a lot of it is missable. And that is without any DLC.

It's like instead of: "whoa, that is cool, that there is this exact outcome from all of my actions", I get this: "damn, what have I missed now..."

I kind of regret not playing with DLCs the first time, because I liked my romance choices, and I know, that with DLCs like Citadel, I could have gotten so much more.

I always kind of had OCD when playing BioWare games. For instance, right now I am still gathering strength and courage to start again (male-shep, mostly paragon), but there is this voice at the back of my head saying: "Yeah, but don't forget, that when you are finally done with the trilogy and all DLCs, there is still a female-shep as renegade, other romance choices, other choices, etc. etc."

It's not easy being a gamer with a mind like mine. I am still getting myself to know as a person in this sea of games and choices within those games. And how I could tackle all that.

My intuition kind of tells me: "don't worry about it so much, just play what you want, how you want it and enjoy it and when you are done with it all, then you will know, whether you are ready to replay it all again differently, or if you just want to take a long long break from the game.. or maybe even look up all the things that you have missed on Youtube, so you can put your mind to rest".

Can anyone relate?

[Psychotps]

@aleq2000Absolutely. I tend to play all (most) of the different things. Male, Female, paragon, renegade, romances...etc. Don't care for renegade much. Did it once just to say I did it. Didn't care for it.

Different romances don't really add much for replay-ability. Try to do everything though. There's a LOT there. I've played through it a hundred times and I STILL find new things. I found an entire new quest line in ME1 last week that I never saw before. There's the entire questline in ME2 regarding Aria's... father? Mentor? Can't remember. Only played it once a long time ago.

Male and female sheps are definitely different. Femshep is a lot better in regards to voice-acting. I tend to play her. Mods help too.

There's not much left in ME1 I haven't done. It's not even a challenge any longer. I can play it every time now and end up with 10 million credits and all level 10 gear on the first playthrough. I rarely play it any longer. When I do, I regret it because I absolutely LOATHE how the Mako handles. The only thing I'm sure I haven't done is the renegade Earth-born line with the gang thing. I've been meaning to do it but don't care for renegade any more... and I'm REALLY reluctant to put myself through the Mako just to do it.

[holger1405]

@aleq2000 

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aleq2000 wrote:

My intuition kind of tells me: "don't worry about it so much, just play what you want, how you want it and enjoy it and when you are done with it all, then you will know, whether you are ready to replay it all again differently, or if you just want to take a long long break from the game.. or maybe even look up all the things that you have missed on Youtube, so you can put your mind to rest".

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I think this is a good intuition.
I started the game two times with the target of a Renegade playthrough.... ended up a full bar Paragon both times.

A RPG like this should be fun, imho your decisions should feel right, not forced to see a difference. There are many little things that make a difference already. Like the ineradicable voice acting of Jennifer Hale as FemShep, (Not a dig at Mark Meer, this is purely subjective anyway.) or putting in Renegade choices at some points because they feel right as well in this moment.

If you play, that is really all that should count.

[Psychotps]

@holger1405True. I do the same. I play mostly paragon like you, but I still throw in some renegade things either because they just feel right, or they're just cool. Like pushing the guy out the window in Thane's recruitment mission or shooting the tank in Miranda's loyalty mission. Love the look on the Salarian's face.

[holger1405]

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@Psychotps  schrieb:

Like pushing the guy out the window in Thane's recruitment mission or shooting the tank in Miranda's loyalty mission. Love the look on the Salarian's face.

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Yes, that I do as well about every time I play. 🤣