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Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Successful Bronze extract = +1 N7 Rank
Successful Silver extract = +2 N7 Rank
Successful Gold extract = +4 N7 Rank
Successful Platinum extract +8 N7 Rank

For >Bronze, halve it for partial extractions.

That would make N7 ranks mean something, and actually motivate people to put in more than a token effort after Wave 10 payout.

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Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
ew no that would make me even more reluctant to promote than I am already

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I also disagree that the N7 Sentinel is an improved Human Engineer. Different, sure, but I don't think it eclipses the old Engy. Chain Overload is great against low level enemies, and the Combat Drone floats around and pelts guys with Incinerate for you. It's a really nice emergency distraction power as well; tired of being down to critical health, cowering behind cover with no way out, and having an Atlas cannon you dead because it's taller than your little waist high wall? Deploy a drone behind the Atlas and get a few seconds for your shields to recharge. Doesn't work if you've got a Phantom or Banshee all up in your poo poo, unfortunately.

The drone is good at setting off combos, and more often than not actually seems to survive the wave even on Gold. It distracts and harasses groups of enemies for you as well. I usually don't bother with Incinerate because I can just deploy a drone to cast Incinerate for me instead. It's quicker and it hangs around to annoy other enemies afterwards.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I wish I'd started playing early enough to have 7/7/10/8 consumables :(

Then again I suppose it makes things less interesting.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I actually kinda welcome the Piranha buff, but then I've been running with a Piranha X since like day 2 of the Earth DLC :smug:

Having OP guns is fun and all but literally every single person on Platinum is packing a piranha right now and most of the people on Gold too. I've been running with a Scorpion on my Shadow lately and it's a lot more fun. Not as effective, sure, but definitely more fun. And at least I'm not useless during a hack objective anymore.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
yeah "kit" is their developer terminology for character class, going by the patch notes.

Valiant is kinda mediocre these days (even post-nerf the Krysae is arguably better because it chain-staggers things), Crusader is completely eclipsed by the Piranha, Harrier feels superior to Hurricane and we all know about the Eagle. Why do I particularly care what I'm going to get in this Commendation pack, again?

Sapozhnik fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Aug 8, 2012

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
No Shadow nerf, thankfully. It feels like with a little more practice I could solo waves all day with this class. Stealth Vanguard with a sword and techsmash, god drat.

Why the codpiece, though? I mean that just bugs me.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I kinda want an Indra and a Saber because those are literally the only two guns I do not have (well and the Collector Rifle obv)

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
great now I'm imagining a Larry, Curly and Moe Marauder webcomic

something sort of like this http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=9&q=mass+effect+cerberus+phantom&offset=24#/d550783

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Sniper-infiltrators took a huge nerfing anyway, so that's not really the best bet for Gold these days. Actually it's a lot more balanced than it used to be. Vanguards don't work all that well on Gold but just about everything else works quite naturally now. Real weapons are also actually useful now instead of pistols ruling everything, although they didn't so much buff the real weapons as a class, rather they added some really powerful ARs and shotguns in the latest DLCs.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Biotic Combos on trash don't do much damage though, since according to this thread a BC's damage is a function of the enemy's maximum health? If it's not trash you usually can't lift it.

I keep Pull around for Guardians, and occasionally to fish some annoying fucker out of cover.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
So I was feeling a bit cheeky and decided to try power-levelling my Level 10 Gethfiltrator by playing some Gold. I loaded up with tons of equipment to make myself more survivable, but the pub lobbies still weren't having it. So I said "gently caress it" and created a private solo game of White/Cerberus/Gold. For once I needed levels more than I needed Medigel so I thought I could get a few levels if I just survive up to Wave 5 or so.

So alright, I do a very drawn out hit-and-run Wave 1, then Wave 2 rolls around and some guy who isn't on my friends list shows up. Then two other people appear shortly afterwards. Proceeded to a very smooth and uneventful full extraction, so I'm certainly not complaining.

The lobby definitely showed up as private after the match. What gives? lol Origin.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Actually, I remembered what it was. I created the game Public and turned it Private. Game search is dumb in ME3 and updating the lobby settings doesn't cause an update to get sent to the central dispatch server.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost

Rape Jake. posted:

Literally had 90,000 score in a Gold London game and the next dude had 20,000 (we wiped on wave 8). I hardly even play this any more, and the pubs are still garbage. In other news, the Krogan Vanguard is still the best class in the game.

If this was a few days ago and you were using a Reegar then I think I was one of those garbage pubs :shobon:

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Cloaked SS + Heavy Melee = instant win button against Phantoms IF they aren't already targeting you. If they are you risk getting a gut-stab mid-Charge.

I had a Platinum game end that way once :(

Anyway even if they aren't, the post SS Melee lockon can be really hit and miss. Best bet is probably just to run away while it's flipping around and let the SS DOT finish it off.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
lol, going back to my ME2 SP run, even on Insanity this feels like a stroll in the park now. Derelict Reaper ship used to make me want to chimp out after the fifteenth reload, now it's just whatever, keep backpedalling, use AP ammo and at least one of (Incinerate|Shockwave|Conc Shot) is off cooldown at any given time. Worst comes to worst I can just cloak and PTFO. Scion comes along, bust out the Widow (remember when that was a top-tier weapon?). Piece of cake.

MP punishes mistakes way way way more quickly than SP does. On the other hand, you don't get medigels that you can use on yourself in SP. Or ops packs or thermal clips for that matter.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I kinda want to try Platinum Reapers on Condor :unsmigghh:

The only meaningful strategy on Platinum is to just hole up in The Camping Spot on every map and come out for objective waves and fire missiles all over the place, but this is just incredibly boring. Platinum Glacier in the Panic Room makes W/G/G look positively entertaining by comparison. Condor AFAIK has has some defensible areas, but none that you can hold indefinitely, so it would be challenging as gently caress but at least it would be actually interesting instead of dodge right, reave, dodge left, dodge right, reave, dodge left, dodge right, reave, dodge left, dodge right, reave.....


cmon I've maxed all of my poo poo, I don't even care about the money, I just want a fun challenge.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I finally got a Saber. Currently trying to figure out if it's better than a Crusader or not. It's not quite as ridiculously heavy, but it seems to do less damage and the ROF is much worse. Then again, that tracer is very useful, and the noise it makes is just wonderful.

So that just leaves an Indra then. Eh, can't say I feel like I'm missing much.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I still think the Valiant is mostly just a trash-killer and that just isn't all that useful from Gold upwards. Below Gold who cares, there's about five other ways to be an unstoppable murder train on Silver that don't involve getting lucky with the Commendation lottery. It's still by far the best sniper rifle, don't get me wrong, but after the infiltrator nerf sniper rifles just aren't a top-tier weapon class anymore (which is a pity, because I hate to be all :goonsay: but sniping effectively requires a decent amount of skill, which should be rewarded accordingly, as opposed to just pointing a Piranha in vaguely the right direction and mashing the trigger like a retard)



anyway yeah I just played a Silver game as a Destroyer where I literally scored bottom because I couldn't reach enemy spawns fast enough. i make a beeline to everyone else's position and everything is already dead (vorcha and shadows are a bit more mobile than i am). what is this i don't even

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
there's no shame in doing WGG, it's just incredibly boring.

I figure if you're that desperate for credits, then having to endure WGG is punishment enough for your trouble.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Playing through Firebase Glacier on SP again after nearly five months is pure :psyduck:

"ahahahaha, guys the situation's desperate, they're sending ... *giggle* MULTIPLE Centurions at us! Pretty sure I saw a Guardian downstaahahahahahaha"

kinda wish I had more than a lovely Mantis I though. My Salarian Infiltrator would have been sitting on a mountain of corpses smoking a doobie when Cortez arrived and been all like "sup". Also having time slow down whenever anything interesting happens is surprisingly distracting.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Mr Dog(TM). Playing Support Classes, So You Don't Have To

At least for about three wipes until I get pissed off enough to pull out some murdertrain class to show everyone else how it's done :smug:

yeah I just Valianted every non-hardened motherfucker on the field for the past five waves, bite me.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
If switching weapons was twice as fast as it currently is then I'd carry two. Sure I'm packing a Reegar on my back, but right now I have a Saber in my hands and a Phantom in my face and welp I might as well just try to get my Batarian on and club the bitch around the head with the assault rifle for all the good it'll do me.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
*puts in a fairly strong performance with significant lag against Gold Reapers*

*everyone else gets killed by Banshees constantly*

*reaches extraction, desperately threads past two Banshees*

*brushes past a Brute, get grabkilled by it*

That was just way too funny for me to get too annoyed about it.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I've only ever had an in-game disconnect once and I play this game way too much.

Maybe it's a US thing?

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I almost wish someone did try to votekick me for playing a Level 1 Asari Vanguard earlier

"Oh look, I comfortably out did all of you with just a single point in Stasis. Because the Valiant is just that awesome".

Yeah I take back what I said about the Valiant earlier, it still owns. Playing a Lv1 is just about enough of a handicap that it isn't rude to use that gun on Silver.

Thankfully I didn't have any problems like that because PC pubs are always really chill.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Depends what kind of Infiltrator.

If you're running as a Sniper Infiltrator, then just do what a Nemesis does. Seriously. Get a decent distance between you and the nearest clump of enemies (but not so far away that there's no way anyone can rez you if you die), hide behind cover and flank the attackers. Run away in a curving path if threatened directly (well, except Nemeses can't cloak, you can). On balance you probably want Duration Cloak.

If you're playing a Shotgun Infiltrator then just tap Cloak, then Prox Mine or Energy drain before attacking. Cloak, Prox, Shoot (repeat until off cooldown), Cloak, Prox, Shoot, repeat as necessary. DPS through the roof. Prioritise either trash or stragglers, because you are not a tank (you can comfortably take out most boss enemies if you know what you're doing, but you can't do it if you're getting shot in the back). Damage Cloak will give you a big bonus, but you might still want to go for Duration Cloak, because a good invisible ambulance or cloaked cap4 runner can turn the tide of a match. I've played a games where I was scraping people off the floor nonstop, but they didn't run too far away and that let me keep them in the fight.

Obviously if you're rezzing someone then that means there's probably something dangerous nearby. Once you've revived them then book it the gently caress out of there, if your beneficiary has any sense he'll do the same.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Watching Phantoms do somersaults into a meatgrinder with that jaunty tune in the background is just the funniest thing

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
yeah, I just specced up a fresh Stabguard and god drat you guys are right, I haven't had that much fun playing this game in a long-rear end time. It's like playing a Shadow on PCP.

Area Charge and especially Area PD made for a night-and-day difference to how the class plays, and it actually requires some quick reflexes and decision making to play effectively, too. The only thing I don't like is that getting melee to work right is really hard. It doesn't seem to lock on at all, you have to point yourself in the right direction. Except when it does and you teleport about 20m to tear someone's face off.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost

Paracelsus posted:

I unlocked a Talon tonight and took it for a spin on my Fury in place of the usual Guardian-buster Carnifex, and I... wasn't that impressed? It does decent damage per shot, I suppose, but it weighs more, has very little ammo capacity, and that recoil is ridiculous. Maybe it was just colored by the test match consisting of being thrown into a London Reapers game, but I really wasn't feeling it.

People jumped down my throat a while back for having a Talon V that I never ever use but it never really set my world on fire. It's in a weird spot; it's heavy enough that it hurts cooldowns on caster classes, and it doesn't have the kind of monstrous DPS that the Harrier, Reegar, and Piranha have that you need on shooter classes (don't even get me started on the Piranha being caster-light on top of it, I stopped using my Piranha X long ago because it just got boring winning all the time), and weapon switching takes so goddamn long that when you really need to switch to a situational weapon right the gently caress now you'll get killed halfway through the animation, so I can't think of a single weapon that works well as a situational gun except maybe the Reegar.

Basically the Piranha still makes like 70% of the armory obsolete is what I'm trying to say.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I didn't even remember that the Hurricane has recoil to be honest. Really you get used to dragging the mouse downwards while firing pretty quickly.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I got a Hurricane II :)

I still can't get over how great the Slayer is. I was tanking a clump of four Phantoms on Gold like it was no big deal. Welcome to the bizarro reality where a Nemesis is actually a meaningful threat and a Phantom isn't.

(ok so I kinda got gutstabbed by the last Phantom as I was about to kill it but that doesn't usually happen)

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost

Synonamess Botch posted:

Playing a Novaguard on insanity is like soloing bronze. It's not even fun at that point.

*tanks entire army of reapers plus death laser next to the game's final missile truck for five minutes straight*

*doesn't realise that it's supposed to be a desperate futile struggle and the final sequence won't trigger unless you are literally backed into the corner of the map*

you eventually get worn down because you literally do not have any opportunity to reload after a while

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Slayer with all Area evolutions makes four Phantoms at once into a joke. On Gold. For real. Literally you have more to fear from a Nemesis than a Phantom; if a Nemesis hits you with Assassinate just as you come out of Charge then you have no shields and no PD, which you'd normally depend on to chain-stagger everyone in a fifteen meter radius until your Charge cools down. Basically you're in really deep poo poo unless it's like one Nemesis and one Assault Trooper or something.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Gold sherpa squad reporting for duty :D

Origin id is tripthedeep

If you are just starting out then use a Human Sentinel and warp/throw all day long. This doesn't require any super fancy guns to be effective. Spec for area throw and explosion damage, carry just a predator for rapid cooldowns.

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
I've put the Valiant on the shelf for a while and used the Javelin. It's pretty fun.

Still don't understand why anyone would want to use a Gethfiltrator over a Salinf though. Yes sure let me just give up the best tech power ever in exchange for seeing through walls that are 1m in front of me and doing 10% more damage. This sounds like a reasonable trade.

Kinda been meaning to get some more mileage out of this dude though



:3:

Sapozhnik fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Aug 31, 2012

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost

Paracelsus posted:

Because it's never exactly clear when you need them, unlike medigel where you know drat well when you do and don't need it. It's really easy to say "No man, I/we got this, don't need to waste a missile," because sometimes you really can take out that Banshee, Brute, two Marauders, and three Cannibals just fine. And sometimes the Banshee will just leap from person to person doing instakills, and when you turn around to run away there's a Brute that appeared out of freaking nowhere that was already attacking you and who brings down your shield just in time for the Marauder's Phaeston to take out all your health instantly. Knowing which it's going to be beforehand is hard.

Couldn't have put it better. Also you never know if you're going to have a bullshit Wave 10 and everyone is going to need their full complement of missiles to get through it. Like, TBF if you've got a spawn right on top of a Cap4 then the correct thing to do is to kite the entire spawn to the other corner of the map and then get one guy to run back and take care of it, but I've met precisely zero pubbie groups smart enough to do this, and this is on PC where you can usually expect them to at least know their gun from their dick. So in that situation you usually have to beast your way through by unloading 15 missiles into the constantly-reappearing enemy horde.

Normally if you use missiles on Silver at all then you've seriously hosed up somewhere, but even Silver can easily become Gold-stupid in the situation described above. I think people scared to try Gold have probably had one too many insane Silver wave 10s.

Sapozhnik fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Sep 1, 2012

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
eh you think Banshees are bad, this just happened to us with an Atlas :(

*dude dies in a rather exposed position*
*I decide to risk it and revive him, get crunched by Atlas*
*Atlas puts on trollface and executes the guy I was trying to revive*

Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Does anyone play Platinum for purposes other than farming? Serious question.

Lately I've been quite fond of pulling something out of my fine selection of sniper rifles and hosting a Silver game on Hydra. It's basically my equivalent of a stress ball.

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Sapozhnik
Jan 2, 2005

Nap Ghost
Destroyer + Harrier = Ammo Box Chain Chomp

That thing is a death laser :stare:

can't believe I never tried that before, I usually went Piranha/Typhoon instead.

So like, can I have an Indra now? I literally have every single other gun (except the Collector Rifle but that doesn't count)

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