Mass Effect 2 : LP Complete, Releasing Control.

[lightbane]

I like these new EXTREME decisions.

 

[RK47]

Well I suppose taking out the mechanic weakened the gunship somewhat. I'm not sure. Let me double check on a wiki. Oh yeah. Taking down Cathka will reduce its armor, making it easier to destroy.

Oh. Bad news. Will have no updates for 8 days. Sorry.

 

[Vibalist]

How come that blue woman didn't punish you for letting the Krogan die? Is this another case of Shepard being capable of changing someone's mind completely through one red/blue dialogue option?

 

[random_encounter]

Well I suppose taking out the mechanic weakened the gunship somewhat. I'm not sure. Let me double check on a wiki. Oh yeah. Taking down Cathka will reduce its armor, making it easier to destroy.

Oh. Bad news. Will have no updates for 8 days. Sorry.

Ah, okay, so there was something to it. I probably should have gone extreme in any case seeing as you pretty much wipe out the Blue Suns in that attack.

On the delay, life is life, but thanks for providing great LP stuffs thus far. Definitely looking forward to more when you come back.

How come that blue woman didn't punish you for letting the Krogan die? Is this another case of Shepard being capable of changing someone's mind completely through one red/blue dialogue option?

I also thought it was too convenient for her to see it your way in letting Patriarch die. She pretty much has the same attitude if you let him live. I assume it will have some repercussion in ME3.

 

[Sovy Kurosei]

How come that blue woman didn't punish you for letting the Krogan die? Is this another case of Shepard being capable of changing someone's mind completely through one red/blue dialogue option?

That is why I thought Aria was sending Shepard to a trap when she gave that cache location up.

 

[Jaedar]

How come that blue woman didn't punish you for letting the Krogan die? Is this another case of Shepard being capable of changing someone's mind completely through one red/blue dialogue option?

That is why I thought Aria was sending Shepard to a trap when she gave that cache location up.

SPOILER ALERT. It is not a trap. It is in fact a mission where you go to fight 3 mechs, and the faster you do it the more credits you get as a reward, but the reward is super low anyway.

 

[RK47]

The salarian scientist is located in the quarantine zone. Naturally, there's only one way in. Wait, two. Either sweet talk the guard, or tell him to fuck off.

Hmm. Humans are immune?

Enter the Shepard

: I didn't think that Omega had any law enforcement. Who gave the orders to quarantine the slums?

: Fresh off the transport, huh? Aria calls the shots around here. She's got her little blue hands on every business in this district and plague is bad for business. She hired us to keep anyone from entering or leaving the quarantine zone.

: There's a salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to get in there to find him.

: The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck, but the area is still locked down.

Blue or Red? Holy Shit! C&C!

: Take a good look at me. Do I look like a looter?

: Uh, no.

Here comes the punch line.... *Drum Roll*

: I'll call the guards. They'll let you in with no trouble.

: Wait, you're stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!

: You don't have a grenade launcher lady, get lost.

Well, good point there Garrus, but Bioware won't let you die from autocannon, I doubt they'll give you a pussy's death from swine flu. Anyway, I'm tired of Jacob, so Garrus comes.

: This mission's important. I need you to come along, even if it's dangerous.

Telling Garrus to stay back gives you Mr Nice Guy points, insisting on him coming along won't make him any less loyal, and gives Shep Mr Jerk points.

: It's you call, Shepard. If you need me, I'm not going to let a cough keep me back.

 

[RK47]

The quarantine zone is filed with pyres of corpses. Weapons drawn, tech armor activated.

: Over the years I've grown used to the smell of burning bodies. That's probably a bad sign.

We fought off a couple of looters and found a really sick batarians. He's not long for this world.

Lacking the 'put him out of misery' option IMO.

: Humans didn't create this plague.

: Lies drip from your mouth like the blood from my sores. The proof is there for all to see. Your species is the only one that does not succumb to the virus. Yours, and the wretched vorcha.

But it couldn't have been the vorchas amirite? Moron.

: I need to find Mordin Solus.

: Humans looking for the human sympathizer. I hope the vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground.

Uh...right. He's trying to cure non-humans and he sympathizes. I can never understand these conversations.

I had the choice of helping him out too with the Paragon Right Click option. But fuck him. He's not worth the medigel. Shep let him die, hacked his PDA for creds and walked off.

After a few shootouts with the Blood Pack gang and random Blue Suns mercs, Shep ran across a pair of looters helping themselves to a dead turian's apartment.

: What are you doing in this apartment? Did you kill that turian?

: What, the guy on the floor? Nah, the plague took care of him.

What kind of dialogue choice is that?! I can't even condone it? I can't even tell them 'It's mine, fuck off'!

: Stealing from the dead. That's pretty low.

Coming from a guy who just emptied a dead man's wallet.

: What's the big deal? It's not like they're going to miss anything. We're just showing a little entrepreneurial spirit. The plague doesn't affect humans, so might as well cash in.

: No more looting.

Looks like this is the place.

: Professor Mordin Solus?

The salarian ignored Shep and shifted his gaze towards Garrus instead. Quickly, he proceed to immunize Garrus from possible plague infection.

: Now,togreetings,human

: CuriousDon'trecognizeyoufromthearea

: Toowell-armedtoberefugees

: Nomercenaryuniform

: Quarantinestillineffect

: Hereforsomethingelse

: Vorcha?Crewtocleanthemout?

: Unlikely,vorchaasymptom,notcause

: Theplague?Investigatingpossibleuseofbio-weapon?

: NoToomanyguns,notenoughdataequipment

: Soldiers,notscientists

Meet Mordin. Shep raged.

 

[RK47]

Let's not beat around the bush.

: Ever heard of an organization called Cerberus?

: Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. *glances at Garrus* Turian involvement surprising. Racial tension with humans. Unlikely to help a human-centric organization.

: This mission reaches far beyond mere human interests, Professor. We all have to work together -- to take down the Collectors.

: Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of the few groups with technology to design it. Our goal may be similar.

Sigh.

: Just once I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, "Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached."

: Life is a negotiation. We all want. We all give to get what we want.

Deep.

A sudden hiss and dimming of lights broke the conversation. Something is off.

: That wasn't a good noise.

: Vorcha have shut down environmental sytem. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates. Here, take plague cure. Also, bonus in good faith. Weapon from dead Blue Suns mercs. May come in handy against Vorcha.

: A doctor doesn't have much chance against a vorcha horde. You shoudn't have sent him.

: Stubborn. Told him not to go. Odds of survival low. But he's smart. Careful. Bright future. I hope.

: Let's head for the environmental plant.

Right. Reactivate the systems. Inject the cure into the distribution. Try to find assistant. Urgh, gotta stop typing like that. Alright, a new weapon: the Carnifex hand cannon is a hard hitting pistol, with pin point accuracy similar to the Desert Eagle of modern shooters, its weaknesses being low rate of fire and lower ammo clip. I like it for long range engagement. Perfect for headshots.

The district streets are littered with Blood Packs gang, a mix of annoying vorchas and the odd Krogans. A few more battles later, Shep found Daniel.

Shep to the rescue.

Too bad he failed his stealth check.

: Let him live, I let you leave. Kill him, I do the same to you.

Looks like another situation defused by Force Intimidate.

Guess not.

: How do I know you won't shoot me in the back as soon as I turn around?

Shit. Looks like Daniel isn't gonna live, after all...

It was strange. I couldn't even direct Shep to fire. Instead gunshots were heard and the next thing I knew... Justice delivered.

: This..this is wrong! Wait until Mordin hears about this!

Things start to heat up when we start nearing the environment center. Rocket packing vorchas start to appear. But it's MUCH easier than defending Garrus from hordes of mercs. Utilize Garrus sniper rifle and biotic powers to drop them quick.

: I've had enough of this.

These guys aren't even boss fight-level of difficulty. Just four rocket vorcha and a krogan? Easy.

Kill them and put in the cure for mission complete.

Pwned.

: Shepard's right. Batarians tortured you. Would have killed you. Right to kill them.

: Professor? How can you say that? You're a doctor. You believe in helping people.

Eh...Daniel, FYI: Salarian scientists ...particularly those behind medicines like Prof here is responsible for the genophage which rendered Krogan species impotent.

: Lots of ways to heal people. Sometimes heal patients. Sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps. Go check on the patients. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said.

I like the way he thinks.

: I honored my part of the bargain, Professor. Now you need to do the same.

: Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Just need to finish up here at the clinic. Won't take long. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it.

 

[HanoverF]

How come that blue woman didn't punish you for letting the Krogan die? Is this another case of Shepard being capable of changing someone's mind completely through one red/blue dialogue option?

Because none of the choices have consequences in Bioware games.

 

[Radisshu]

Great update. Very cinematic.

What's the deal with those ginormous Biowarian cheekbones though? I've noticed them in DA as well.

 

[RK47]

Mordin Sollus, Salarian Scientist
Passive ability increases own HP, Shield & Weapon Damage

Weapons training: Pistol, SMG

Active Abilities
Incinerate: Tech power. Burns 2.4x Dmg vs Armor over time. Causes living targets to panic when set on fire. Still effective against synthetics but they will not panic. Targets will also stop regenerating health when on fire.

Cryo Blast: Tech power. Snap freeze enemies for a short duration. Low health targets may shatter when struck by range / melee.

Loyalty Power: Neural Shock. Tech power. Disables a living target for a short time. Higher ranks lower their accuracy.

Review: The fast thinking salarian has fast speech issues, preferring to voice off whatever comes up in his quick thinking brain resulting is rapid fire, short sentences. A great specialist in incapacitating living targets, he can also be deployed to incinerate armored targets. The issue with Mass Effect 2 universal cooldown on all powers causes a few powers to be underused though. Picking him up also allows weapons research to be carried out in the Normandy and allows the plot device 'anti-swarm' armor to be developed.

: You're very well informed.

: Salarian government well-connected. Espionage experts. Had top level clearance once. Retired now. Still hear things.

Huh. At least it's better than working for the Citadel Council in the Geth Wars. That was total BS.

: Salarians specialize in secret agendas. I'd expect you to understand Cerberus looking out for human interests.

: The Collectors are abducting human colonists out on the fringes of Terminus Space.

: Not simple abductions. Wouldn't need me for simple.

: Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There are no signs of any kind of attack.There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all...except that every man, woman and child is gone.

The game offers the option to do a Paragon interrupt by telling Mordin the truth. But I don't really understand why it's a Paragon choice. Why not tell him to shut the fuck up, Renegade style?

: Yes. Of course. Analyze the samples. Going to need a lab.

: There is a fully equipped lab on the upper deck, Professor. If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order.

: This ship is equipped with an Artificial Intelligence.

: An AI on board? Non-human crew members? Cerberus more desperate than I thought.

: Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we have to do to find and stop them.

: Yes. Of course. Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralize technology. Need samples. Which way to the lab?

: Follow me, Professor.

With a tech specialist on board, we can finally upgrade our weapons a bit, and perhaps research new weapons.

: Have you got a minute to talk?

: Of course. Plague on Omega dealt with. Plenty of time to analyze Collector intelligence. Impressive lab setup. Missed working for operations with a budget. AI in particular very helpful. Best setup I've since since work with Special Tasks Group.

: You said you were in STG? What kind of research were you doing?

: Not simply research. Several recon missions. Covert, high-risk. Served under a young captain named Kirrahe.

Lore: Shep did assist Capt. Kirrahes' team in the Virmire's Krogan Cloning Facility in Mass Effect 1. He provided the frontal diversion, taking Kaidan Alenko with him while Shep and his team assault the facility from the rear.

: Studied krogan genophage. Took water, tissue samples from krogan colonies.

: What can you tell me about the genophage?

: Bio-weapon designed by salarian science team. Deployed by turians against krogans to end Krogan Rebellions more than a thousand years ago. Affects every cell of the Krogan body. Commonly and incorrectly considered a sterility plague. Actually adjusts viable fertility rates to compensate for high krogan birthrate. Stabilizes to pre-industrial population growth levels.

: Why would STG study the genophage?

: Krogan Rebellions bloody, dangerous. Nearly as bad as rachni attacks.

Mmm, Rachni. Killed the last queen in Noveria. Krogans were the perfect counter for Rachni when the Alliance needed them, but after the Rachni threat is over, the Krogans refused to stop expanding and started a conquest. Scissors Paper Stones.

: All species evolve, adapt, mutate. If genophage weakens, need to be prepared.

: What was the STG preparing to do?

: Military schematics for likely krogan population growth. Political scenarios for attack points. Genophage reduced krogan numbers. Species aggression unchecked. Population explosion would be disastrous.

This is where salarians start to creep me out a bit. This race is toying with another race's birth rate and shit to keep them 'controllable' but...when will it end? Extinction?

: STG helped check Krogan Rebellions. Needed to be ready to do the same. Simple recon. Nothing to worry about.

: Nice talking with you, Mordin.

Prof.Mordin certainly holds a Degree in Extreme Bio-Warfare.

Oh above email from Dr. Chakwas clarified what improves / worsen the scarring. If you're a Jedi your skin glows with Vitamin C. If you're a Sith lord, you'll scar like a mothafucka. Of course, to reduce the penalty (is being scarred a penalty?) you can simply go take up an operation to remove it.

: It's nice to see you let your hair down.

: Guess, I hadn't realized how much those feelings need airing.

: The collectors destroyed our ship and killed our crew. They're going to pay.

: Then I have a feeling their days are numbered. You don't have many enemies -- live ones, that is.

Sure thing, Doc. Also. Ship upgrades:

This is a decent hint. Jacob can assist with armor upgrade,while Garrus can boost the Normandy's weapons. Both takes special resources that comes mainly from planetary scanning. It's not crucial at the moment so I'll skip it first.

We're done with Omega for now. Next Update: Subject Zero.

 

[Vibalist]

How come that blue woman didn't punish you for letting the Krogan die? Is this another case of Shepard being capable of changing someone's mind completely through one red/blue dialogue option?

That is why I thought Aria was sending Shepard to a trap when she gave that cache location up.

Why set up a trap when you can blast him here and now, though?

 

[random_encounter]

I had the choice of helping him out too with the Paragon Right Click option. But fuck him. He's not worth the medigel. Shep let him die, hacked his PDA for creds and walked off.

Shep's only after results...and the bling. Upgrades aren't cheap!

It was strange. I couldn't even direct Shep to fire. Instead gunshots were heard and the next thing I knew... Justice delivered.

Kind of surprised to see this myself. I also thought for sure there would have been some kind of firefight with you pressed to keep the guy alive as an objective, but if he died, I guess there would have been no one to take over the clinic. It would have then made it impossible to recruit Mordin since I can only suppose that he wouldn't be consumed with revenge against the Collectors for creating the conditions that led to his assistant's death to go anyway. Or pick someone else to run the place.

 

[Mystary!]

Meet the quarians. Soviets in space. It's interesting why the writer chose a Russian accent to represent quarians.

They sound more middle eastern to me, and their hoods are very similiar to shawls. They are hated by everyone because they're responsible for one of the biggest distasters in the galaxy, the geth. Pretty obvious what they're inspired by.

 

[Fat Dragon]

Always liked Mordin, my favorite character in the game. His loyalty mission is pretty good too, very atmospheric.

 

[Elhoim]

Not simply research. Several recon missions. Covert, high-risk. Served under a young captain named Kirrahe.

I believe you can ask him about him here and he makes a remark about the silliness of the "Hold the line" speech.

 

[RK47]

Today's Subject: Zero.

The Illusive Man paid for the release of this prisoner, so there shouldn't be any problem.

Not this again.

Same shit, different smell.

I'm not surrendering my gun. Period.

Let them proceed. Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests. We're bringing Jack out of Cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way. If you'll follow me to the out processing for the pickup, Commander.

Let's go.

Each prisoner's cell is a self-contained, modular unit. I've blown a few out of the airlocks as an example. The ship is made up of 30 cell blocks identical to this one - we house thousands of criminals. We can put the whole place in lockdown on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here.

Can you tell me about Jack?

Cerberus hasn't told you? Jack is the meanest handful of violence and hate I've ever encountered. Dangerous, crazy, and very powerful. You'll see soon enough.

Maintaining a population this size in space can't be cheap.

We cut corners that governments can't. And each prisoner brings a fee from his homeworld. These individuals are violent, and their home planets pay well to keep them here.

Errr, why not execute them?

What happens if the homeworld doesn't want to pay?

We explain that we can't maintain the prisoner without their help so we'll be forced to release him back onto his homeworld. At an unspecified place and time.

So it's an extortion racket.

You don't have to agree with my methods, but don't question my motives. These are despicable people and I am keeping them locked up.

Let's get on with this.

Suppose escape attempts are minimal in number.

We're in space - they have nowhere to go, and they know it. But still, we exercise extreme caution. These are dangerous individuals. We have many ways to control the population. I am going to confirm that the funds from Cerberus cleared. Outprocessing is straight down this hallway. Just keep going past the interrogation room and the supermax wing. I'll catch up with you later...Shepard.

Looks like they treat prisoner like shit. This guy's watching his colleague bashing a prisoner in the cell.

He certainly does.

The doors at the end of the hall opens...revealing an empty cell.

Go to hell. I'll send you there, myself.

Blue Suns Merc burst into the hall to capture the Renegade hero. Shep's ready for them.

Standard Combat Tactic: Utilize Overload to knock down their shields, then Warp/Incinerate whatever remains to dust.

We fought our way to the control room.

However, required if we want to get Jack out of stasis.

I'm doing it. Be ready.

With a out hiss, the cryo container opened and revealed Jack's face.

A slender, almost skinny figure emerged from the container. Clothed in barest of clothing, complete with tattoos at nearly every inch of her body. Jack's just not what I expected.

Her eyes opened and her arms broke free from the restraint. The metal collar choking her would not last.

The YMIR guardians stood ready.

Jack braces herself.

And launched herself at a nearby wall. Punching a hole to escape from the towering mechs.

The YMIR Mechs still lurk the burning halls. Need to be a little cautious, those rockets pack a punch.

They blew up real good when Overload is in effect and the killing blow is a headshot.

Pockets of prisoner resistance tried to take advantage of the situation.

Too bad the Warden's got it under control.

Not happening! You're a two-bit slave trader and I don't have time for it.

I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to! This is for the good of galaxy!

Warden Kuril VS Commander Shepard

The Blue Suns merc will keep respawning, so it's best to focus on disabling Kuril's shields by blasting those towers with Overload. Ignoring the mercs too long may get your squad mates wiped out like it happened to me. Because there's a goddamn Blue Suns Commander in their midst that had three layers of protection - shield - armor - health. Taking the Commander & Shield down seem to stop the Blue Suns from respawning.

Then take out your long range weapon, in my case, Heavy Pistol to snipe Kuril from range while spamming biotics power as well to whittle down his shield & armor. He will not retaliate when engaged in this manner, ensuring the safest way to victory.

Jack's still at it.

Even with her biotics ability, Jack's still stuck in Purgatory, which is in the process of being turned into a fireball from the ensuing destruction and riots.

Desperate, she looked out of the window and spotted the Normandy. A small ray of hope in her eyes until she stumbled upon the dreaded insignia.

Still reeling from shock, Jack was distracted enough to let a batarian warden get close enough. She turned towards the brute to see him dropped by a gunfire.

I just saved your ass.

My name is Shepard, and I'm here to get you off this ship.

I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy.

Shepard's combat ability impressive. Determination equally impressive. Enemies don't last long.

This ship is going down in flames, I've got the only way out. I'm offering to take you with me. And you're arguing.

We can just knock her out and take her.

It might just come to that.

You'll have to kill me. Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while.

Where the fuck is the renegade punch her lights out option here?

Tell me what you're thinking.

I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me.

I have no idea why I cannot just put a bullet on her head. Another missed opportunity. I can understand Mordin's essential to the plot, but Jack & Garrus are entirely optional. Shepard should've the option to just kill Jack on the spot.

"Sorry, no dice" with a gunshot would've done it.

I'll give you full access.

Shepard, you're not authorized to do that!

O-o-oh! It upsets the cheerleader -- even better. You better be straight-up with me. *long pause* So why the hell are we still standing here?

Phew. What a bitch. She's probably the worst NPC I've met so far. Both in combat use and writing-wise. I wish she's not a FORCED option to take.

 

[Jaedar]

Yay for update!

Jack probably has one of the best unlockable power though, so you may want to complete her mission just so you can teach it to Shephard.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Tyranny of choices

 

[Brother None]

Each prisoner's cell is a self-contained, modular unit. I've blown a few out of the airlocks as an example. The ship is made up of 30 cell blocks identical to this one - we house thousands of criminals. We can put the whole place in lockdown on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here.

Heh. And every guard is 3 days away from retirement, right? This is like a bad film script.

Then again, ME is kind of intended to be.

Kuril's still a bit too cookie-cutter for me, tho'.

At least Jack's design is...unusual, yet she's still a love interest. A big step up from DA:O's horrifying bee-stung abominations.

 

[random_encounter]

You'll have to kill me. Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while.

Err...what!? "I hate your guts, death!!!" suddenly becomes "But wait, I want data!". It actually sounds a bit better from the "nice" perspective as it actually comes off as trying to calm her ass down. This just sounds like a cop out to bringing her onboard. I agree, where's the bullet-in-the-head option?

 

[Sovy Kurosei]

Jack is the worst NPC in the game. I don't understand why the writers thought anybody would find her appealing in any way whatsoever. Well, besides one way.

 

[lightbane]

You'll have to kill me. Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while.

Err...what!? "I hate your guts, death!!!" suddenly becomes "But wait, I want data!". It actually sounds a bit better from the "nice" perspective as it actually comes off as trying to calm her ass down. This just sounds like a cop out to bringing her onboard. I agree, where's the bullet-in-the-head option?

Biotard: WHAAAT? AND KILL A LOVE INTEREST?? -and LOSE THE ACHIEVEMENTS?? NEVAR!!

something like that could be the reason why you cannot kill this bitch.

 

[PlanHex]

MOAR!!! and also new page with less loading