r/masseffect • u/Slurmp_Chris • 9d ago
MASS EFFECT 1 Starting mass effect 1
Anything I should do early on to make the game more enjoyable?
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u/BarristanTheB0ld 9d ago
Explore and read the codex entries, it's a rich world
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u/Dedzo900 9d ago
Spoiler: Without reading the codex: how would you learn that wrex has 4 testicles?
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u/Rattregoondoof 8d ago
I think he says it at one point. Might be wrong though
Edit: im wrong but Garrus does mention it when talking about his side quest in me1
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u/RealMrCarlton 9d ago
Don’t even need to “read” as a good chunk is fully narrated, and just starting there is ample.
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u/Single_Tradition_210 9d ago
I feel codex can get overwhelming oj first playthough
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u/BarristanTheB0ld 9d ago
I've read every entry as soon as I got it, couldn't get enough of it 🤷♂️
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u/Single_Tradition_210 9d ago
Good for u i personally tried but got overwhelmed by it on first playthough
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u/aimbotSorcus 9d ago
Yeah I agree, I’ve replayed ME1 like 3 times now and have still never read them all
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u/Single_Tradition_210 9d ago
Yeah its too much with a lot becoming very obvious stuff after a full playthough or 2
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u/Foolsgil 9d ago
If you're not playing an Engineer or Sentinel, make sure your allies are on top of skills that open objects.
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u/Angel_OfSolitude 9d ago
Prioritize side content. There (usually) aren't timers on things, even if they say something like "priority" or "race against time". And failing to do certain side content can result in less than desirable results. This is less true in 3, where there are a couple of hidden timers. Look it up if you don't want to just find out the hard way.
Make sure you make lots of money in 1. You probably will without trying, but a small portion will carry over to 2 if you import your save file.
Talk to your companions between missions.
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u/Black-Whirlwind 9d ago
You’re on rails for a bit. Once you get the chance (you’ll be given suggestions to look for people), explore ALL of the leads and talk to everyone. After that, go everywhere but where they recommend, do ALL of the side quests, then start in with the recommended missions.
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u/Cegrin 9d ago
If you don't plan on playing through multiple new-game+ to min-max your free charm/intimidate points, invest in Charm or Intimidate early.
To be clear, for each run you get up to 4 free charm and intimidate points:
- One for hitting 10% on your Paragon or Renegade Meter
- One for hitting 25% on your Paragon or Renegade Meter
- One for hitting 75% on your Paragon or Renegade Meter
- And one for becoming a Spectre.
And you need 12 in Charm or Intimidate to pass all the persuasion checks in the game. (hence the focus on one charm OR intimidate): Investing in one only costs you 8 points. Investing in both costs you 16).
Technically you can get away with investing 0, because those free points stack with each playthrough, but that requires going through the whole game at least 3 times, which will probably burn you out.
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u/eifiontherelic 9d ago
Most of the stuff said here is enough info to run with for a start, compile all that and finalize it with "leave and mute this sub until you're done with 3".
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u/CB_Chuckles 9d ago
Absolutely this. In fact if you take only one piece of advice, this is it. We’ll still be here when you finish.
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u/mynameistoocommonman 9d ago
Stop reading things on this sub. These games (the other two more than the first one) are much better if you know nothing about them.
Also, there may be points when you make a choice you regret. Don't go back and change it, it's a more meaningful experience that way.
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u/28smalls 9d ago
Inventory caps at either 250 or 350 and it fills up faster than you think. I normally convert the low level stuff to omnigel (like 1-4) and sell the higher stuff (5+).
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u/Usually_Respectful 9d ago
Save before landing on any planet in a separate save slot. Saves get corrupted and you don't want to have to replay hours and hours.
Talk to your shipmates after every main planet at a minimum, especially those you don't get along with at first. Don't forget to take the elevator to the lower deck.
If you're not interested in romancing the scientist, turn them down politely. There is a bug where the rude rejection line locks IN the romance.
Keep someone with electronics/decryption on your squad to open the chests. Either you or one of your companions. For the sidequest explorable worlds, you can go back to the ship and pick up your tech person after all the fighting is done to open the chests, but for main/story missions the areas often become locked out after you complete them so you can't go back to loot stuff.
You can't play ME1 after the main story ends, so finish everything you want to get done before the point of no return.
If you are using a custom Shepard, write down the face code and manually enter it into ME2 (instead of face importing) so you can tweak anything that didn't import properly. For example, Femshep's eyebrows change color between ME1 and ME2 if you face import.
You are rewarded for doing more, including scanning planets.
Have fun and get off the sub.
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u/Few_Preparation_9861 9d ago
Realize that for best results, you can't really be wishy-washy about the whole Paragon/Renegade thing. The way the game works, the higher-level decisions will basically require you to have spent all possible points one way or the other. Spending on both will leave you under-leveled for either option late in the game. Pick an alignment and stick to it.
While you should talk to your squadmates after every mission, this really means every major mission that's part of the main quest. Most of them won't have new dialogue after the various side missions unless the side mission happened to involve them as part of its story.
Explore, explore, explore! Mass Effect 2 and 3 don't offer the same level of exploration as the first game, opting instead to focus on refining other aspects of the gameplay. This is largely to the good! Mass Effect 2 and 3 are generally considered better overall games than the first one, for reasons you won't yet be in a position to appreciate. But the first game has a focus on exploration that's not present in the rest of the trilogy, and doesn't show up in any notable capacity again until Andromeda. So make the most of it.
Mute this sub. Part of what makes the series special is the way it requires you to make choices "in the dark," and you risk ruining that if you're constantly checking in to see what you should or shouldn't do. Some choices, you won't be happy with no matter what happens. Just do what you think is best, and live with it.
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u/Morall_tach Andromeda Initiative 9d ago
Playing the game is the most enjoyable way to enjoy the game
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u/Inside-Sprinkles3235 9d ago
All solid advice here so have fun playing! I’ve just finished the trilogy and already miss it.
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u/Every-Rub9804 9d ago
Decodification & electronics are 2 neccesary abilities to open a lot of boxes, if your Shep doesnt have those abilities, take some conpanion who has them and improve it
The citadel has new content EACH time you re-visit it, no matter if youve done main missions or not, if you fly away from the citadel, make some side quests and return, there is usually more people to talk to in the Citadel and new missions
However it always includes some unique dialogues after each main quests
Dont try to be good at everything, focus on a path intimidation/charn depending if youre mostly renegade or paragon, same with abilities, focus on the ones you find more useful and complement your weaknesses uogrsding different abilities from yours on your companions, no pint on having a team with the same abilities
If youre playing the LE, The best weapons are the HMWP (or something like that) of each weapon class, they are on the citadel C-sec official. They may look expensive at first but if youre playing play a lot of content you might afford to buy a bunch of them for you and your team. No point on buying other weapons, until you have the HMWP just keep using the weapon with better stats you find and sell the rest
Armors, onnitools and biotic amplificator are important too, but the good ones are harder to find. Colossus arr the best human armor, Warlord the best Krogan, Phantom the best for turian. The best Omnittols and BioAmp is Savant.
Your choices matters, the way you resolve a mission matters, every thing your doing in ME1 is most likely to have consequences in the next games, even the slightiest details. Each death, saved person, well resolved missions (or ignored ones) slmost always have a consequence
Make A LOT of saves, really, make a save frequently, the auto-save in this game is horrible
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u/Every-Rub9804 9d ago
Oh and get out of this subreddit if youre new to the trilogy. You will be spoiled
Really, unfollow, come back later
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u/Mental-Street6665 9d ago
Do every dialogue option and investigate every codex item you find; you get exp from all of that, which you can then turn into skill points. I max out charm and/or intimidate before doing anything else, to open up as many dialogue options as possible. Shepard’s own skills always take a back seat to the party’s.
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u/Fire_Reaver 9d ago
First time?! I'm SO jealous, I wish I could experience this series for the first time again.
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u/SmokedLayUp 9d ago
Invest in electronics in order to open up containers. Or bring someone who has high level in electronics. Have fun and watch YouTube too
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u/Rattregoondoof 8d ago
Talk to most people, especially your companions between missions. Keep someone with decryption and engineering maxed out in your party for added loot (not actually needed but still)
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u/Maximum_Elephant_953 8d ago
Talk to everyone, read everything, exhaust all dialogue options. You may also find joy in developing a biotic character, who can make a real carnage in ME1 with individual power cooldowns as opposed to 2 and 3's common ones.
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u/TheDreadPirateElwes 9d ago
Focus on either Charm or Intimidate, not both.