#ME3 Guide

[jazzfordshire]

Okay so look I see you post about mass effect and you have me curious. I love AC Odessey getting to play a woman and being able to romance all the ladies. A good storyline is what I’m interested in. Should I play mass effect?

It’s my favourite game series so I absolutely 100% recommend Mass Effect, but you have to meet it where it is - it’s an old series and the gameplay isn’t always up to the standards of current gen games, but if you lean into it it has a fantastic story and incredible characters and the Liara romance as Femshep altered my brain chemistry

#you don’t get to romance all the ladies a la Odyssey #bc it was 2007-2010 #but Liara is ENOUGH and also there’s Traynor in me3 #also I recommend a guide if you get stressed out by choices that have story repercussions because the game doesn’t hesitate to kill everyone

[swaps55]

Mass Effect 3 Soldier Guide

Other Guides: Guide to Basic Infiltrating | Shield Gate and YOU | Adept Guide | Sentinel Guide

When playing on higher difficulties like Insanity, understanding how to effectively build Shepard can dramatically improve your experience, and a well-built Shepard can synergize with any of your squadmates. 

What's awesome about Mass Effect 3 combat is that there isn't a single best way to build Shepard. All the classes can be incredibly fun, and you can play them all a variety of different ways. But because there are a lot of under-the-hood mechanics that the average player doesn't know (including bugged skill trees), knowing how to spec Shepard to do what you want to do isn't always obvious. And now that ME:LE has added in most of the DLC/multiplayer weapons, there are a lot of guns out there people aren't familiar with that are incredible assets to various playstyles.

SO, Real Life Romance Option and I put together this build guide for the Soldier. Keep in mind that Soldiers are different from most classes in that they focus almost exclusively on guns. While Vanguards are technically a combat class, they mostly play like an aggressive adept. Likewise, infiltrators revolve around sniper rifles vs. pure gunplay. The soldier, however, is not a power kit.

A Soldier Shepard is very good at driving enemies to ruin with quite literal gunfire. The key is building your ammo powers to complement your weapons and using Adrenaline Rush to make Shepard incredible at just about every facet of combat. While you can and should use any type of gun you want, I’d recommend staying away from carrying five guns at a time, and instead focus on a couple of particularly good choices. Loadout suggestions are included below, and if you want suggestions for other weapon that synergize well, just ask!

THE BUILD

Shepard has 8 skill trees + a Bonus Power. At Rank 60, you can max out 8 skills and have enough points leftover to take the 9th to level 4. For this build, I recommend only taking Concussive Shot to rank 4, and maxing everything else. 

Prioritize speccing Incendiary Ammo, Adrenaline Rush, and Combat Mastery before everything else. There isn’t a problem that copious amounts of fiery bullets won’t solve, and Combat Mastery makes all of that better. Just make sure you turn on incendiary ammo at the beginning of the mission.

Breakdown under the cut! 

Adrenaline Rush: Aka, “hang on, one of these bullets has your name on it and I’m going to keep firing until I find it.”

Oh, Rush. This is the power for soldiers. It’s what’s unique from the other two combat classes, and does so many things to every aspect of combat. Once you go into Rush you immediately get slow motion, which means you’re time hacking to be faster and thus better than everyone else in the room. You get a 50-75% damage bonus on all your guns, extra shields, potentially extra melee damage, and to top if off, a full clip of ammo slapped into your current gun! “A free reload is kinda boring,” you might say to yourself, but in response I say, two-shot Claymore. So, Rush gives you full ammo and shields to start putting those new, more damaging bullets downrange, and the time dilation gives you the accuracy and recoil reduction to stay on target. This turns your favorite gun into a dream to handle. Every aspect you love about it is just better now for you the player. While Marksman makes it faster and more accurate, Rush makes you more accurate by eliminating most of the recoil.

Rank 4: Hardening vs. Dilation and Damage: You want Dilation & Damage, to get that magnificent 25% bonus weapon damage.

Rank 5: Duration vs. Melee Damage. Choose Duration if you’re using a slow-firing weapon. Otherwise you’ll want Melee Damage, and not because we’re hitting things, but because Duration means using Rush less often, and we want free shields and free reload more often.

Rank 6: Shield Boost vs. Power Use. Remember: you are not a power class. The only choice here is shields. This is especially great since it will give you shields even if you’re taking damage. Also, the only offensive powers you have are Concussive Shot and a potential bonus power. And Concussive shot is…well, see below.

Concussive Shot: We get this last, as it’s mostly a throwaway power. Every time you use it, you’re not using RUSH and that’s SAD. If you want to spam a power all day (which is valid), there are five other classes that do that better.

Rank 4: Take Force and Damage.

Frag Grenade: Grenades are handy in an emergency, and as they run off a grenade pool and not a cooldown, they don’t interfere with Rush!  

Rank 4: Damage vs. Radius. Both are great here. If you don’t have a rapid fire weapon or aren’t the best throw, take radius. Otherwise, take damage.

Rank 5: Max Grenades vs. Bleed Damage. Both are good. Max grenades is fun, but bleed damage is better. Do keep in mind it doesn’t work on geth, because they don’t have blood.

Rank 6: Armor Piercing vs. Shield Overload. Shields. If you are using a piercing mod (you should be using a piercing mod), most guns are amazing at armor damage already, and you have the bestest, most biggest guns as the Soldier.

Incendiary Ammo: I don’t want to set the world on fire

Incendiary ammo might be one of the most brokenly overpowered skills in the game. The explosive evolution adds a flat damage value vs. a percentage on every other shot, which is insane. On rapid fire weapons that do less damage per shot, like the Tempest or the Typhoon, you're basically doubling the amount of damage you're doing. Add the area of effect you get with the explosion? You're now inflicting this chaos on anyone else who’s nearby. Are you using a piercing mod (the answer should be yes)? You now have a shot at another roll for another explosion, because the damage call can pass through the armored target and torment the cannon fodder behind it. A piercing mod reduces the damage on your bullet, but not the explosion. This is super insane on shotguns, because you get a shot at the extra damage roll per pellet, not per shot. Shotgun blasts have multiple pellets per shot.

Have I mentioned that this is affected by increases in power damage? Any power damage increases you take in Assault Mastery make incendiary ammo better.

Rank 4 – Damage vs. Squad Bonus. Choose damage. To hell with your squad. I mean, your squad is amazing. But trust me, you want to be selfish with incendiary ammo. You can do so much more with it than your squad can.

Rank 5 – Ammo Capacity vs. Headshot Damage. Are you handy with headshots? Take Headshot damage. Would you rather have more ammo capacity? Take Ammo Capacity. Whatever makes you happy.

Rank 6 – Damage vs. Explosive Burst. Always take explosive burst. There is no universe in which you want anything other than explosive burst.

Disruptor Ammo: AKA, “Oh no, I’m fighting Geth.” (If you forget to turn off fire ammo when fighting geth, you’ll still be fine.)

Rank 4 – Damage vs. Squad Bonus: Damage. I don’t like to share. However! Life hack: you can spec for squad ammo here, turn it on at the beginning of the mission for your team-mates without ammo powers of their own, and then turn on fire bullets for just you. Then you get the best of both worlds! Personally, this is how I run the two. It’s not optimal, but it is really convenient.

Rank 5 – Ammo Capacity vs. Headshots. Choose either, but mirroring what you chose on fire ammo is a good idea.

Rank 6 – Damage vs. Stun. Look, we’re already giving up explosions. If you take stun instead, incendiary ammo actually does more damage to shields because it’s that incredible. Stunning is helpful and cool, but a dead enemy doesn’t shoot back either.

Cryo Ammo: Hard skip. You already have two great ammo powers. Don’t need to waste points on a, frankly underpowered, third option. Easily your worst power. But DEBUFFS, you say? The best debuff is killing the other guy.

Combat Mastery: AKA, “I’m going to stab you. With bullets.”

Rank 4 –Damage vs. Influence & Duration. Duration can be nice for Rush, but weapon damage makes your guns better and power damage makes your ammo better which makes your guns better twice.

Rank 5 – Squad Bonus vs. Headshots. I DON’T LIKE TO SHARE. Helping your squad is nice and all, but they shoot the walls sometimes.

Rank 6 – Weight Capacity vs. Weapon Master. I mean, you could lift and carry a platoon’s worth of guns, but then you wouldn’t be a master of battle. Really though, getting weapon damage makes your guns better, and that 40% makes your ammo better, which makes your guns better twice. AGAIN! Essentially, when it comes to ammo powers, the soldier ends up with more power damage than engineers.

Fitness:

Rank 4 – Melee Damage vs. Durability: Durability.

Rank 5 – Martial Artist vs. Shield Recharge: Shield Recharge.  

Rank 6 – Melee Synergy vs. Fitness Expert. Fitness Expert. You’re a Soldier. Just shoot them.  

Bonus Power: This is the hard choice. If you take anything with a cooldown, it’s just getting between you and the magnificence the is your birthright, Adrenaline Rush, and you already have the best ammo power right here in your class (incendiary). So, what do we take? Behold: Fortification, and damage reduction. Great! Now you can take a bigger, harder punch and get more power damage, which makes even better fire bullets, fantastic. It makes you better at everything you’re trying to do: take and deal damage. Just make sure you turn it on before you activate your ammo powers. The damage bonus from Fortification will not affect an already active ammo power.  

Rank 4 – Durability vs. Melee Damage: Durability

Rank 5 – Recharge Speed vs. Power Synergy. Power Synergy. More fire!

Rank 6 – Power Recharge vs. Durability: I prefer recharge, but more protection is also great, especially if you prefer lighter weapons and won’t notice the cooldown bonus as much.

THE LOADOUT

You’re the gun class, the Soldier, with a capital ‘S’! Every gun in the game is better in your hands with one exception: I would leave the big cannon snipers to the infiltrators (but any rapid-fire sniper is fair game). I’ll list a few favorites in every weapon class. I’d highly recommend making a save on the citadel and trying out a few at the firing range, and of course, as the soldier you can and should break out those big heavy guns that slow down the other classes too much. With your extra weight capacity, it’s tempting to load up with a weapon in each category, but I say pick two. Hopefully two that complement each other, i.e. the Indra and a Revenant, but if you take your favorites it’ll be fine. Or just pin all your hopes and dreams on one super weapon, like the Typhoon or a Hurricane.

Assault Rifles: This entire class is packed with fantastic options that are full auto, accurate, have big clips, and big damage. The AR’s only downside is weight. Use a Piercing and Extended Barrel mod on all of them, except for the Lancer & Particle Rifle.

 Revenant – A personal favorite, the big loud heavy MG with the recoil to match. While it’s tempting to use a recoil mod on this gun, I highly recommend getting used to it without one. You give up too much if you swap out a piercing or extended barrel mod in favor of managing recoil.

Lancer - the Cadillac of ARs: infinite ammo, low recoil, accurate, & fast. Instead of the extended barrel, use an extended magazine to manage the heat to go along with a piercing mod (this goes for the Particle Rifle as well), and this rifle will be a smooth ride through the entire campaign. Tip: if you overheat it, going into rush will add one round to the mag and let you skip the overheat animation!

N7 Typhoon – the Revenant 2.0! Everything about the Revenant ramped up to 11: more damage, more recoil, and more accuracy. Note: You have to give the gun time to spin up to get max damage (this is also true of the Particle Rifle). If you fire in short bursts, you aren’t getting your money’s worth. If you can handle the spin up and the recoil, this is the best gun in the game. Bonus, the face plate reduces damage you take from your front arc!

Harrier – A non-overheat Lancer. While it’s solid and easy to handle, be prepared to run out of ammo all the time.

Shotguns: Inaccuracy and low ammo counts balance out raw damage output. Few things kick like a Claymore shoved in the enemy’s mouths. Fun fact: each pellet from a shotgun gets a chance to explode with Incendiary Burst. Extended barrel and piercing mods are highly recommended for all shotguns. The ultra-heavy barrel and smart choke are also a good combo if you can rank up the heavy barrel to not absolutely kill your weight.

Claymore – Well, the maxed damage bar speaks for itself here. You can fire, use Rush, and fire again. Hilarious. This gun gets infinitely better if you learn how to ‘reload cancel,’ i.e. tap a power that’s on cooldown or tap sprint while the animation is playing, but after the ammo bar fills.

Raider – the more practical little brother to the Claymore. Less damage, but two rounds, lighter, and more accurate! Again, you can empty the gun quickly, use Rush, and fire twice again. Few things survive four Raider shots at close range.

Wraith – If you can afford this, it’s a solid alternative and gold flex on these poor not-soldiers and their weak, baby guns.

N7 Piranha – Auto Shotgun. Want to clear a room or a hallway? This is your best choice. Absolutely falls off at any further range than point blank due to its accuracy. Paired with another longer-range weapon, this can be a devastating Ace to pull out in close quarters.

Sniper Rifles: Overall I split the Snipers into two categories: Big Cannon and Rapid Fire. Leave the Big Cannons to our friend the infiltrator; she uses them better anyway. But the rapid fire rifles? Those are exactly what we need. Extended barrel and piercing mods are our friends. You can stack the time dilation from Rush with the concentration mod to nearly stop time, but I personally prefer the damage from the barrel.

Indra – It’s an assault rifle with a free scope mod! This is one of the best weapons in the game and for the low price of 10k credits!

N7 Valiant – Tied for the best sniper in the game with the Indra. Rapid fire, three round clip with a damage-per-second that rivals much bigger guns. You pair that with minimal recoil and a lightning fast reload and you have a solid, easy to use rifle for every day and formal wear.

Pistols: These have some winners and make solid back ups, but as a solider you can easily take nothing but a pistol and have a great time. As with everything, go with a barrel and piercing mod.

Talon – One of the best shotguns in the game pretending to be a pistol.

Executioner pistol – Stand out, since you can give it two shots with Rush.

SMG: The Hurricane is one of the best weapons in the game, but it has a ton of recoil and limited range. If you find you need a stability dampener to use the Hurricane, try the Hornet instead. It’s a burst weapon (so easier to control recoil), also has incredibly high DPS, and you can also get it free during the Citadel Coup. Until then, just stick with the Tempest. All of these work well on power classes but, but once you use them on the soldier with the insane buff from incendiary ammo, you may not recognize them anymore.

You can use the extended barrel and ammo heat sink mods; but without a piercing mod, remember to switch to your pistol or AR for armored targets.

HOW TO PLAY: 

The tricky part about playing a Solider is trusting your gun. There is no combat situation in the game that cannot be solved by killing it to death with bullets. There is a learning curve to master the timing of when to use Rush for that free reload, and it is slightly different with each weapon. But learning it for your favorite only takes a mission or two. When you aren’t shooting, you’re vulnerable, so throw grenades, reposition, or go into Rush and keep up the barrage. Fire ammo will carry you through the game, even against shields and geth. It’s rarely worth switching weapons when you can use Rush and just shoot harder!

There you have it! Go forth and never stop shooting! 

#mass effect #mass effect 3 #soldier class #me3 #mass effect build guide #soldier build guide

[xamiipholia]

okay y'all seemed to like the last one so here's a few more Horizon 3 thoughts:

Aloy won’t die. It would completely upend the series’ themes and just be really nihilistic.

Since Nemesis is a gestalt entity I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll see Sam Witwer, Carrie-Anne Moss, etc again. I’m curious how they’re going to do it because at least structurally, it’s basically a reaper. Maybe it’ll use different Avatars when communicating like the Leviathan in ME3. 

It's gonna take some work to make a flashback/dream/vision not contrived but I would love to see Varl and Rost again. I think we deserve that.

Minerva is gonna have its work cut out for it blocking access to both the dormant Faro Swarm and the ZD terraforming system. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Nemesis has some sort of corruption function that becomes the equivalent of the corruption in HZD. It would be a really fun tech showcase if GG uses Zenith nanotech for machine corruption and leans into mechanical body horror.

If we’re going to Ban-Ur I really really hope they do the work to make the Banuk less problematic and more fleshed out as a culture. A quasi-Spartan society absolutely would not survive in an extreme environment, *especially* without megafauna to hunt. The Banuk characters are lovely and well-written; they deserve a society as well thought out as the Utaru or Carja. I’m honestly fine if there’s retcons or revamps to the cultural lore because the whole “outsider barges in and becomes chief” is rooted in racist, colonial tropes and we just don’t really need that imo.

The most recent footage of Death Stranding 2 (also running on Decima) has me SO excited for the visuals. GG’s gonna knock it out. The facial rendering and animation that Kojima Productions are doing looks industry-peak and I’m sure GG’s gonna match that. Aloy’s Gay Panic™️ scene on the beach in HBS is already top-tier nonverbal storytelling through animation. Digital Foundry actually just posted a really cool tech breakdown of the current Decima engine. I’m especially excited about the environmental stuff. The ocean simulations in HFW are already incredible and I hope they increase verticality in the world. I can’t wait to see the Sacred Lands in current gen graphics. 

I really love Kotallo’s DIY arm and it’s so so important to his development but Beta and Gaia now have access to Zenith nanotech, maybe give your buddy a sick upgrade hmm?

Speaking of, I can’t wait to see Beta come into her own. She’s one of the best parts of HFW and Aloy’s character absolutely shines in a sibling dynamic. 

I wouldn’t get your hopes up for a romance mechanic. Everyone’s feelings on that aside, it would be really odd from a game development perspective to just overhaul part of how the narrative develops Aloy’s character in the last act of the story. Yeah, there are flashpoints but I would argue that the presence of choice in Horizon is smoke and mirrors- cosmetic at best. Kentucky Route Zero (which you should play) does something similar where the player is given a certain amount of control over the substance of individual conversations and scenarios and it does absolutely nothing to alter the plot, by design. I think it’s the same here - this isn’t really a choice-based RPG, the flashpoints don’t really affect anything plot-wise or for Aloy’s character development. Olin is still out of the story, Nil lives, Regalla still dies one way or another. Aloy’s character development is pretty firmly on rails (think Jin Sakai, not Shepard - you get to guide some momentary character reactions but that’s it). I don’t think HBS is a testing ground either - If they were gonna introduce a romance mechanic I think they’d just do it, and not spend two years making a direct continuation of HFW’s main quest and establishing a specific romance hard-baked into the plot, complete with multiple leitmotifs for the character relationship (which is something they haven’t done before afaik) just to introduce a side quest mechanic coming in 5 years. I genuinely can’t think of any game or dev that has beta tested a major alteration to upcoming game mechanics that way - it doesn’t really make any sense in terms of developer resources, and these games are extremely time-consuming to make. I know this is a thing a bunch of people want and I can totally empathize with that! I just think it’s probably not on the table. 

I would bet money the series will bookend itself and the epilogue will involve a) the naming of Zo and Varl’s kid and b) Lis’ pendant. 

Mostly I'm just looking forward to being surprised. One of my favorite things that Horizon does is use carefully established elements in the world to pull the plot in unexpected directions and keeping the world grounded while they lean into speculative science fiction. I can't wait to see what Guerrilla is cooking up

#horizon 3 #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #horizon #hfw #aloy #guerrilla games #hzd #horizon burning shores #horizon theories #well not so much theories as observation and vague speculation #and some zesty takes #I love this world though #erend #sylens #varl #kotallo #beta #alva

[kaltacore]

i wish me3 had loyalty missions it would be so sooo good. assisting some shadow broker agents with liara. joining kaidan/ashley on one of their first spectre assignments to reassure them. helping garrus to evacuate his family from palaven. sticking around with tali on rannoch to make sure quarians and the geth are doing fine. handing a serious job to james and guiding him through it as a part of his n7 training. going on a task with edi to help her adjust to working with other people as a person and not as a vi. visiting javik's squad's resting place with him. doing little favors for your friends in the middle of a war because life itself hasn't ended yet and you want to make it a little easier for them while you have some time left

#'but there's no time for that the reapers are coming' there was enough time for a whole ass party #i guess shepard can spare a day to go do some good with their friends #also i really miss loyalty missions from me2 and it is a shame some guys from me3 squad didn't get anything like it #encounters on the citadel were fine but that's not It. i want a whole quest #mass effect

[theoriginalladya]

One Last Battle

Title: One Last Battle

Series: Giorraíonn beirt bóthar - Two People Shorten A Road

Summary: Every war ends with one last battle. This time it isn't Alchera, but London, and Kaidan only hopes that Shepard lives through it.

Characters: Kaidan Alenko, Commander Caleb Shepard, Dr Karin Chakwas, James Vega, Major Coats

Tags: mshenko, Irish Shepard, battle injuries, medical references, blood mention, angst, whump, MEHEM ending

Notes: Originally, this was to be the opening chapter of Kaidan and Shepard's first post-war fic. I decided it would be better to post it separately. Their first post-war story will come along soon, I promise!

Also, this is a reworking of the original prompt that created Commander Caleb Shepard. There are a few minor differences from the original as he has evolved over the years, but I think this can now be taken as his canon ending to ME3.

Excerpt:

Kaidan struggles in an attempt to pull his arm free of Vega’s hold but the Lieutenant’s arm tightens and he guides them up the ramp a step, then another, then another.   Away.  Away.  You’re going the wrong way!  No! Kaidan throws out an arm after the Commander’s retreating form, seeking, searching for a way to keep him close, keep them together, but he can’t pull free of Vega and even his biotics sputter, barely wreathing his hand in one last, desperate attempt.  This can’t be the end… it can’t!  

Huge thanks to @happychica for looking this over for me! <3

Read Story Here || Read Series Here

#One Last Battle #ladya writes #mshenko #Caleb Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #OTP: Brothers In Arms #Mass Effect

[magnoliabutters]

ANOTHER ROUTINE MISSION

pairing: commander cat shepard x garrus vakarian

warnings: 18+ content, nsfw, mdni; mass effect trilogy spoilers, post me3, gore, canon divergence, commander choices - 70 paragon, 30 renegade, etc.

word count: ~5.2k

“Can I come out now?” 

The smell of burning bacon pinched at Shepard’s brow. The love of her life could barely cook himself dextro-bacon. She practically has herself dangling off the upstair’s railing. Maybe if she moved just a little bit more to the right, would she be able to catch a glimpse of him in Glyph’s holoface?

“Just a second!”

That dark, timbre of a voice immediately flushes the worry from her body. With him by her side, nothing could ever go wrong. Her Archangel, Garrus. The one good thing in her chaotic world. Her heart still pounds with excitement at the very sight of him. She waits eagerly for whatever surprise is in store for her downstairs, burnt or not. 

Shepard crouches down, tucking her legs between the railing. She kicks her feet at the sound of his energetic humming. She wishes the calm of the storm could stay just a little bit longer. That she could stay in this apartment, snuggled up under his chin for the rest of her existence. 

Alas, no. Those nerves that wrack her soul manifest in the way her fingers pull at the hem of her shorts. How she bites onto her cuticles, causing little cuts and wounds. A bitter show of vulnerability that only he gets to see. 

Whether she liked it or not, Shepard’s mind begins to flow down a whirlwind of unfathomable realities. The thought of the upcoming battle tenses her body in ways she never thought possible. She would much rather worry about burnt breakfast, then Reapers murdering the entire galaxy. 

With a shake of her head, she attempts to pull herself from the deep, winding trail of bad thoughts. Her eyes fall upon the abstract art hanging on the cream colored walls. They appreciate the glow of the overhead light beaming off the metal statue. Appreciate the amusement bouncing in her chest. 

God, what was Anderson thinking? He has an eye for real estate, but she can only imagine that he must have bought this art during the time of his separation. Only a man enduring a midlife crisis would buy and display such gaudy things. 

A tight lipped smile spreads across Shepard’s face. A warmth spreads widely across her chest as she presses a finger against her bottom lip. She is thankful, abundantly thankful that Anderson gave her the apartment - gaudy art and all.

It provided the incredible opportunity of “breaking in” the apartment, per Garrus’ words. Flashes of last night‘s adventures form bubbles in the pit of her stomach. Suffice to say, there wasn’t a surface untouched. Certainly, the two could never give the Admiral his apartment back - not on any terms. 

She will never admit it, but she is thankful for Mordin and Joker. Garrus was definitely the most well versed in interspecies sexual positions. One bottle of dextro-wine and the angel’s smooth talking became smooth ruts against her skin. He always knows exactly where to touch her, where to make her squeal. 

Garrus Vakarian knows exactly how to crack her open like an egg - breaking off that hardened commander of a shell, just to get to the soft Shepard center. He is the light shining brightly through a thick, foggy storm. He guides her back home, no matter where they are - no matter how lost she is. 

“Okay, you better be in that bed,” he calls out in a sing-songy voice. Shepard manages to get a sneak peak of his struggles to balance the plate of food with both hands. His foot carefully lands on each step as he blindly climbs the stairs. “I wasn’t kidding about breakfast in bed.” 

Shepard jumps from her seat, slinking her legs through the railing and rushing back towards their bedroom. She digs her feet into the sheets, leaning effortlessly back onto her pillow. She pulls the blankets up to her waist, trying to really sell the idea of her patiently waiting in bed. 

With a smirk that could kill, Garrus turns the corner with the tray in hand. Her grinning mouth drops open upon the sight of a beauty stemmed rose floating amongst a thin vase. Beside it, a glass filled to the brim with orange juice. The plate holds a perfectly organized buffet of french toast, eggs, and, of course, bacon.

“You shouldn’t have,” Shepard murmurs in excitement as she hikes her shoulders up to her ears. The crimson he loves so much is flush against her cheeks. 

Garrus vibrates his mandibles with a light hum of happiness and accomplishment. He places the tray at the foot of the bed before sitting at your side. The angel places a soft hand at your cheek before whispering, “When this is all done and over with, I promise I will make you breakfast in bed every day.” His other hand reaches for hers, guiding it to rest upon his bare chest. 

“That’s a tall order, Vakarian,” Shepard scoffs as she guides that same hand to her lips. She places the softest of pecks at the back of his palm, holding her loving gaze with his bright blue eyes. “Let’s start with just Sundays.” 

Garrus shakes his head, chuckling to himself. “Only if we have date night on Fridays.” He gently places his forehead against hers. A loving, firm sensation between them. A centering feeling that rids her of any pain, any worry. He is hers and she is his. 

“Just - ” Shepard winces. The agony ripping through her body keeps her from finishing her sentence. Deep breaths in between words keep her pushing, forcing the words out. He needs to hear them. “Just as long as we go dancing.” 

The room is suddenly dark. A red tinted gloom muddied by bright moving flecks of orange and yellow. Confusion consumes her. Filling every nook and cranny. Forcing her to think so quickly, so stressfully. Truly, where the hell is she? 

A sharp ache wracks through her brain. God, it’s unbearable. She can feel her temples pulsating, begging for mercy. This is worse than any pain she’s endured before. But there is no such thing as pain with Garrus… What’s going on?  

Each breath reinforces the idea that her trachea has somehow transformed into sand paper. The noise of the air passing through her lungs closely resembles the nauseating sound of nails being dragged down a chalkboard. 

“Garrus,” Shepard calls out with a hoarse tone. Her voice is nonexistent and barely a whistling tone above the loud booms of the space around her. The last time she lost her voice this bad was when she won big on the Sunset Strip during shore leave. 

She instinctively reaches her hand to her throat, only to have her arm burst with pain at the attempt. Every cell, molecule - every atom of her being hurts. She tries to open her eyes but a harsh pressure holds one closed. The other is blurred as all hell and barely functional. 

Shepard can feel the familiar remnants of blood pooled at her upper lip. Her body sways, barely able to sit up. She is hit by tidal waves of overwhelming sensations. It forces her to press into the debris digging into her back. Her hands are bloodied, holding a puncture wound at her side.

Despite the haze, she manages to look down and assess her right arm. A huge, bloodied gash rips through her forearm. The edges of the abrasion are singed and burnt. She tries her best to ignore the bright, compound fracture of a bone peaking out from behind her tendons. 

A sharp breath in and she picks her head up. She scans the area, searching for any possible exit, any possible way to get back to their bed. Fire and smoke fill the thin corridor. The flames grow and spread across the walls. Metal beams fall from the ceiling, vibrating the ground as they crash. She spots a flickering green glow signing a door at the end of the hallway. 

She is not safe. 

She remembers the Citadel. Saving the galaxy. Destroying the Catalyst. Destroying the very synthetic life she worked so hard to stand for. Destroying the geth … destroying EDI. 

She pushes away the thought of her loss, the loss of her friend. She learned to do that back with the N7. Tough calls. Tough choices. Tough losses, but she doesn’t get to feel it. Not yet. 

With a gut curdling scream, Shepard pushes herself up from the unleveled rubble. Shock spreads across her face as she looks back to see pieces of her armor melted into the ground. She should be dead, disintegrated along with her suit. The academy never really prepared her for the “not dying” part of a suicide mission. 

“Garrus?” her voice carries down the burning corridor. “Liara!” Step after step. Each one increases the chances of her hip bursting on impact. Her body, a valuable and dependable machine, is now shutting down when she needs it the most. 

Hell, it’s given a damn good fight. It deserves the rest.

“Tali!” Shepard uses all of her strength to scream out her friends’ names. She crashes down, landing harshly against her knee and consequently her chin. Tears involuntarily fall, hugging at the surface of her cheeks.

She considers the idea of not standing, of not pushing forward, of not fighting for her life. Fortunately for the galaxy, the endless nagging of a certain handsome turian at heaven’s bar changes her mind. 

The Citadel falls around her, forcing her to pick up her pace. Pieces crumble at her sides and block the central aisle of the corridor. The only way through is over it. 

Shepard struggles to pull herself up onto the debris. The metal and concrete now resemble a scrunched up, used tissue. Yet, somehow she must crawl her invalid self over it. Easy, nothing she hasn’t done before. 

Holding her breath, she places her hands against the sharp rubble. It cuts at her palms, at the bend of her fingers. A single slip up and she lands her hands against the burning ground. 

As she yells in pain, something the size of an asteroid barrels in through the hull of the ship. Given the state of things, she isn’t shocked that the Citadel’s kinetic barriers are down. 

What shocks Shepard is that her Kawashii visor is still functional. With emergency procedures activated, a shield wraps around her face. It gives her the oxygen she most definitely needs from a hull breach. 

Zero gravity floats her off the ground, making every movement abundantly easier. She hurries her movements, swimming through the space and dodging the hovering wreckage. 

A countdown is now ticking louder and louder in the back of her mind. If any more holes wrack through the metal, she surely will be sucked out and that would be the end of Shepard’s story. The story that began about a year ago - before Liara and Cerberus brought her back 

She finally reaches the door. Out of routine, she extends her right arm to hover over the lock. Calcifying aches shoot through her extremities, almost as though she was shot and inertia threw her arm back. 

With a stroke of luck, the door miraculously opens. Shepard raises her eyes with furrowing brows. There she recognizes the salarian spectre, Jondum Bau. Her heart sinks - she made it. 

Bau’s hands reach for hers and pull her through the doorway. She rolls onto her shoulder, grunting with each pulsating ache. His words are quick and quiet, almost as though he is thinking to himself. He seals off the door, burning the metal with his omnitool and causes a makeshift airlock. 

Shepard curls onto her side, gasping for air. Warm blood begins to pool on her left side. She reaches up for the spectre. “Bau, I need you to-'' The pain is unbearable. She has to breathe through gritted teeth just to force herself to sit through the agony. “Call the Alliance. I need-”  She lets out a harsh breath, digging back onto her side as her body screams for her to stop moving. “I need a medevac.” 

Through the reach of her left arm, Shepard twists and lands upon her back. The one hazy eye becomes hazier as she feels her weight sink into the floor. “Yes, Commander,” she hears in her woozy state. Just before the world turns black. 

“Assessing damages, doctor.” 

Shepard can hear the salarian accent thick in their words. The cold metal is pressed against her skin. She feels weightless, as though she can float up into the blinding light above her. She feels cold, the familiar intergalactic cold. They must have cracked open her armor. There would be no other way to get her out. 

“She has third degree burns on eighty-five percent of her body. She has several foreign objects in her left, lower abdomen. Her arm…”

She can hear slow and steady beeps that are easily recognizable from a hospital. Although, she is usually not the patient. 

“Medi-gel, stat!” 

That voice… that voice is familiar. “Yes, doctor.” It is higher pitched and clearly another salarian doctor. It has been some time since she last heard it, but it is a voice she will never forget. 

“Wait,” the unfamiliar voice responds. The mechanic beeping quickens. Her breathing becomes harder and harder to sustain. “She’s having a react-” 

Shepard falls into unconsciousness once again…

[[{{{{////33422>]][[//

“She’s waking up.” 

“Yes, I can see that. Tighten the straps!”

“But what if we need to evacuate?”

Shepard hears a loud, cranking noise. She feels a tightness at her wrists and ankles. Soft moans escape her as she struggles to find consciousness. Suddenly, an alarm blares. It causes a harsh, ringing noise to bounce within her ears’ canals. She winces at the painful sound.

“Get the Dalatrass, now!”

Her eyes open immediately at the name. Her heart begins to race as she slowly understands her newfound reality. She is not in an Alliance hospital, no. She is still not safe. 

Shepard pulls at her restraints, lifting her eyes to the doctor closest to her. All at once, the familiar voice is clear as day. “Maelon,” she whispers with a strain to her voice. The words hurt worse than when she first woke on the remains of the Citadel. 

“Hush now, Commander,” Maelon coos. He places a soft hand at her shoulder. “I have you now.” The words spark adrenaline in her body. She tugs harshly against her restraints, pulling herself from his “comforting” touch. 

“She’s not coming,” a young salarian scientist walks up with worried black eyes. Shepard tears her eyes from Maelon, scanning the area. She recognizes the greenery and nature, almost as though the hull was decorated by Sur’Kesh. Her best bet would be that she is on a Salarian Special Tasks Group ship, which means she is some lab experiment - again. The very last thing one would ever want to be in the presence of a demented doctor. 

Maelon sighs, pressing an inquisitive finger to his lips. “They’re evacuating, doctor. We must go!” his assistant yells. He hums as thoughts run sporadically in his mind. His hands move side to side as he struggles to determine what items to evacuate with. 

Ultimately, his thoughts boil down to an endless calculation of risk. The risk of being caught with the Commander tied to a gurney. To escape before the invaders break down the door. How likely is it that he will make it out of his home planet unharmed? 

“Leave her,” Maelon spits out the words. The younger scientist rushes out without a second thought. The doctor, however, takes his time. He runs a cold, scaled finger down her cheek. A slow smile forms across his cheeks. His eyes blacken as they hover above hers. 

“The Dalatrass sends her regards, Commander.” 

He leans in closer to her. His breath is hot against her skin. “I hope you live long enough to see what I’ve done,” he whispers. As he pulls away, his hand and his presence linger, appreciating his work, before scurrying along with the other evacuating doctors. 

Shepard grinds her teeth, raising her head to watch him run away. She crashes her head back against the firm bed with deep-rooted frustration. Her eyes search for a weapon, for something to get her out from these restraints. A small part of her worries about Maelon’s words, but it rests on the arch of her brow. She has to focus on finding an escape route. 

She has done this once before - waking up in a new place after almost dying. A place that just so happens to be under attack. She wonders how many years have passed this time. 

Red lights flash in tandem with the obnoxious sounding alarm. She pulls at the restraints, practically bruising herself with each attempt. After her third attempt, she spots a sterile tray on her left side. A scalpel, prongs, and a PDA rest upon it. Her fingers stretch, as far as they can, trying to grip onto the scalpel. Her fingertips slice against the blade. 

“God damnit!” Shepard yells as blood drops onto the floor below. 

A whoosh of pressurized air releases. Her head pops up with widened eyes as the laboratory door slides open. It reveals one Lieutenant Vega and Spectre Williams.

Hope washes over Shepard. She lets out a laugh and a sigh of relief that follows her glowing smile. “James, Ash,” she happily exhales. “Get these things off of me.” 

Ash stays calm, cool, and collected. Her face never changes. She remains, as always, all about the mission. Her gun’s sights are right at eyeline until the room was deemed “clear.” Shepard hopes she could take credit for some of that.  

James, however, could not contain his expression. Eyes rake over his commander, assessing her quickly. His brows push together and form a darkened line at its center. His mouth opened, almost as though he was going to greet her, but the words never came out. 

“Vega, get her out of those restraints,” Ash demands with fierceness. Her commanding voice is enough to pull James out of whatever shock he is enduring. “Let me get you out of there, Lola,” he whispers. His smile now slightly present against his hardened lips. 

Shepard pushes the concerning thoughts from her mind. The only thing she cares about is escaping this lab, and, now, to ensure that her comrades get out unscathed. “Here, hook this arm over me,” James instructs as he pulls at her left hand and wraps her arm around his large shoulders. 

He then lifts her body weight, as she primarily leans upon him, before reaching for his pistol. She could feel her legs slipping from beneath her, as though she hadn’t used them in quite some time. “Ready, LT Commander,” he utters, slightly out of breath.  

Ash nods before opening the door. She leads with her assault rifle, ensuring the hallway remains clear before moving the commander forward. “Clear.” She guides the trio to the left and onto a glass bridgeway. 

Shepard gawks over the tropical forest beauty of the Sur’Kesh-turned ship. It’s just as gorgeous as the last time she saw the planet. How did they manage to turn the ship into this? More importantly, why? Almost as though the Reapers had never made their appearance in the Annos Basin.

At the end of the bridge, two salarian soldiers raise their rifles at Williams. They are quickly put down and forgotten by the Alliance squad. James struggles to raise his pistol toward the threats, prompting Shepard to act. 

“I can shoot, Vega,” she whispers. “Hand it over.” She crosses her right arm over her chest. The movement freezes her entire body, forcing a yell from her lack-lustered lungs. She almost slips from his grasp. 

How could her arm still be in so much pain? 

Upon hearing her scream, Ash turns back and reveals the tiniest glimpse of concern across her face. She quickly returns to her sights, but listens out behind her. “You ok, Lola?” James asks, tightening his grip onto the commander. 

“How long’s it been, James?” Shepard whispers. He keeps his head forward, pushing on with Ash’s lead. She shoots a hot breath through her flared nostrils. Did he really think that his commander could be ignored? 

“Lieutenant!” The commander directs all of her strength to pull her old N7 staff sergeant voice out. “How long?”

James and Ash exchange looks. Another thing that boils Shepard’s blood. “Ten months, Commander,” Williams answers with a tight lip. Three months and Shepard is still in pain? Was she ever given medi-gel? 

What the hell happened? 

Ash presses two fingers to her ear. “Admiral, we got her. Heading to the LZ now.” She nods upon hearing her next orders. Vega sets Shepard against a seat in what looks like a waiting room. 

James takes defensive maneuvers, standing with his back to Shepard and his gun drawn. Doctors and scientists of the STG scramble amongst the chaos and blaring alarms. He watches each and every one of them. Any one of them can suddenly become a threat. 

Shepard’s attention is entuned on the quick shifts in Williams’ body language. Ash pulls into herself, hiding her next words unsuccessfully. “She’s conscious but unaware.” She pauses. “Yes, Admiral.”

Ash turns back to the group. Her confident and strong willed demeanor returns. “Let’s move!” she demands before pushing off of her back leg. James turns back to Shepard with a harsh, yet leading hand. “You heard her, Commander,” he utters as he gently guides her arm over his shoulders once more. 

A wince leaves her lips as he stands this time. The aches are beginning to weigh on her. The way her tongue rests dryly in her mouth. The way each breath feels like a gamble - is it going to help more than hurt? She lets out another grunt as she leans heavily into Vega’s shoulder. 

“Medi-gel?” Shepard musters the words. They feel bare and unfamiliar. She can feel her dried lips crack with each word. 

“We’re almost to the landing zone,” Ash answers. Her face is sincerely concerned as she utters, “We’ll patch you up there.” 

Shepard nods her head. She can hold out, just a little bit longer, to ensure that her team makes it to the shuttle. “Is that complaining I hear, Commander?” James jokes as he limps his way behind Williams. She guides the troop to a balcony covered in trees and foliage. The perfect spot for Cortez to land and get them safely out. 

“Reapers must’ve done a number on you,” he continues with a smirk. Shepard pushes out a smile with the little energy she has left. “Not everyone can look this good after a beating like that,” she coughs out. The mundane taste of metal sprinkles across her tongue. 

Vega bustles out a laugh, tightening his grip onto her wrist. It is the first time she recognized the Lieutenant she knew back on the Normandy. “Still got it, Lola,” he utters with a beaming grin as he leads them onto the balcony with Williams’ cover. 

A booming sound vibrates the air as a blue shuttle decorated in Alliance insignia hovers perfectly beside the balcony’s ledge. Shepard manages to hold onto her smile, hoping to see a special someone on the other side of that door. 

The compressed air whizzes out of the side of the shuttle’s entrance. The first thing she sees is black dress shoes, shortly followed by the navy blues. She raises her eyes to see the Admiral. 

“Hackett,” she utters as James uses the majority of his strength to push her up and into the shuttle. He reaches for her hands, helping her onto a seat. Ash keeps guard, a classic silent and deadly spectre in the field. 

“Commander,” Admiral Hackett returns. His voice is solid and stern. She finds comfort in it, but she can’t deny how wide his eyes grew upon seeing her. She could feel that something was wrong - something in her body. She didn’t need her trusted comrades’ expressions to tell her that. 

Shepard pushes past those thoughts. She straightens her back against the cold metallic seats. Was it Cortez? Is he flying? The lighthearted feeling in her chest floats to the bottom of her throat. No offense intended for her lieutenants, but she certainly wants to see her nearest and dearest a tad bit more. 

Ash hops inside the shuttle flawlessly. Her gun is still tracking the last remaining scientists, workers, and doctors. She disarms once her sight is obstructed by the slow closing door. It hovers off into the orange sunset sky. 

James sits at Shepard’s side. She can see through her peripherals that he is assessing her injuries. His eyes scan over her body as she stares into Hackett’s pale face. Her eyes stern, her lips tight, her breathing quickens, and her heart beats faster than she thought possible. 

And yet, the Admiral turns around. He steps forward and into a huddled corner beside Ash. Shepard’s face falls. Her lashes lightly flutter as she stares into her melted boot. In an escape from overwhelming feelings, she notes the burnt hole and how the skin beneath it is an unfamiliar reddish pink. 

Sadly, Shepard was given less than a minute before a force rips through her diaphragm. She’s hunched over, despite the stabbing pain in her left side, with a closed fist at her mouth. Coughs fall from her lips, rocking her body to its core. 

With Vega’s steady hand at the base of her back, she was slowly able to recover. Her eyes immediately fall upon the two high school girls in the corner. Hackett and Williams stare at her in horror before gradually turning back into privacy. 

If Shepard could manage to say all the words, she would gladly ask, “Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?!” Alas, she is forced to prioritize her words. She leans into Vega’s side while sustaining her red lasered stare. “Medi-gel,” she whispers between her gritted teeth. 

James jumps at the word, almost as though it was on his list and he had forgotten. He dives into the medi-gel dispenser at the other end of the shuttle without another second passing. His movements call the attention of Williams and Hackett. “Grab her a water too,” the Admiral instructs with a nod. 

With a bottled water in hand, Vega returns to his seat. The crash pushes him into Shepard’s shoulder, causing a firm grunt. He hands the water to Shepard, before reaching back into the dispenser and retrieving Medi-gel in the form of an IV. His eagerness and quickness remind her of a golden retriever. 

James raises the needle, plastering a confident smile across his face. “I promise, I’ve gotten better, Commander,” he says with a breath. 

Rolling her eyes, Shepard extends her left arm. She watches as he approaches her with needle in hand and a tongue tightly held by his lips. He carefully injects the needle before holding up a bag of Medi-gel. She could feel it reaching her veins almost instantaneously. The cold liquid courses through, relaxing every ache and every pain. 

She leans deeper into her seat, resting the back of her head against the cold metal surface of the shuttle. She presses it deep against the hull, genuinely confused on how it doesn’t push past the solid. This feels incredible. She never truly understood the addicting need for red sand before, but holy shit did she know without a doubt now. 

“Thank you,” Shepard whispers as she closes her eyes and enjoys the sedative nature of the medication. 

A soft hand to her shoulder and Shepard awakes to Ash’s sweet, blushed face. They were still in the shuttle. Was it a short nap? She couldn’t tell with how deep her consciousness was laid to rest.  “Commander,” she whispers before leaning down onto her knee before her. “Can you tell us what happened?” 

Shepard moans, attempting to boost her energy before sitting up. She wishes she could take the world’s fattest cat nap, but duty calls. Her entire world turns upright alongside her rising torso. A soft clearing of her throat and she begins. 

“It was like Cerberus,” she struggles to keep her eyes open. “I woke up and I didn’t know where I was…” The words are starting to linger a bit more than she intends. 

“How did you get off the Citadel, Commander?” Hackett’s booming voice breaks the sound barrier just as he appears in the right side of Shepard’s view. “Bau, spectre,” she mumbles. “I - I asked for a medevac and … I can’t remember the rest.” 

Hackett and Williams exchange looks that piqued Shepard’s interest once more. Hackett then walked into the control room, changing the destination when speaking to the pilot. “When did you wake up?” Ash asks, blocking the view of the Admiral with her head. 

Shepard pulls back, knocking her head against the metallic wall. The crack feels like a blur. Her senses are beginning to waver - going in and out like pulsating bursts. “Minutes before you two came in,” she answers, turning to James. His brow remained thickly furrowed as he clenched his jaw. 

Ash sucks in a harsh breath through her nostrils. Her hand pats nicely against Shepard’s knee. “Get some rest, Commander,” she murmurs before standing and turning towards the Admiral. “Wait!” Shepard stops her from taking another step. The very call takes the breath right from her lungs. All of a sudden, she feels as though she ran a 10 meter dash. 

“Garrus,” she breathes. “W-where is he? Did he make it?” 

Shepard’s eyelids are growing heavier and heavier with each passing second. The pressure on her chest grows stronger and stronger. She can feel her body giving in to the Medi-gel, but she needed to stay conscious - just a little bit longer. Just long enough to hear the answer. 

“He’s alive,” Williams answers in a tone unfamiliar to the Commander. 

“Where…” The words fall with great effort. An effort that Shepard can no longer sustain. She reaches out for Ash’s hand.

Williams shudders back while sucking her lips in. She takes another soft breath, recollecting her composure, before speaking. “Get some rest, Shepard,” she instructs calmly as she walks towards Hackett and the pilot. 

Shepard drops her rejected hand flat against her thigh. The slamming of something hard crushes against the meat of her muscle. The first sinful sensation sent to her pain receptors since her IV. Her chin tucks to her clavicle. She exhaustingly follows the pain down to her leg. 

There she sees a mechanically constructed arm poorly connected just below her right elbow. Blood trickles down the sparkling clean  iridium rods. Her eyes widen in horror as she holds this hand, her hand, in front of her face. Her entire body grows cold. 

And in that moment, Shepard happily succumbed to the sedative.

note: happy n7 day! this is my first time celebrating! i completed the trilogy and truly experienced the best campaign ever. i was, needless to say, unwell when me3 ended. therefore, i began writing - hoping to find a way for garrus and shepard to reunite! but by the time i had this series idea, there was no way i could get all parts to their best by today. so i present to you the very first part of a series that probably won't come out until next year! hope you'll share some feedback!

okay, i should go.

⍟ nav ⍟ no-no plagiarism ⍟ series ⍟ requests open ⍟

banners @animatedglittergraphics-n-more, @poison-aesthetics

#shakarian #n7 day #mass effect garrus #mass effect n7 #mass effect #commander shepard #femshep #garrus vakarian #mass effect fanfic #n7month #n7 month #Ashley williams

[monowires]

i fucking love my headcanon mshenko so much. [ESSAY INBOUND LMAO]

it's about shepard, earthborn & sole survivor, wrestling with the strange feeling of enjoying the companionship of another in ME1, even platonically.

it's about him realizing he hasn't ever really had someone have his back, not the way kaidan does, not in the way that it persists beyond the battlefield. it's about both of them practically bleeding alliance, so shepard smothers his developing crush—which, really, initially it'd only been a crush, a passing oh, he's attractive—and finds contentedness in just being kaidan's friend. because that's enough for him, really, it is, because he honestly just considers himself lucky that kaidan is interested in maintaining their friendship beyond active duty.

it's about the way in which shepard carefully trains himself not to overthink every gesture, every lingering shoulder touch or the eye contact that lasts a few seconds too long. because here, kaidan didn't have feelings for shepard, not really, those didn't come until after alchera. the regrets keeping him up at night for reasons he can't quite figure out—losing people is not new to him, it comes with being in the military—but it feels a bit more like he's lost a part of himself, an extension of himself that was seamlessly melded with him, operating fluidly as a whole. and without it, without him, he feels like he's floundering, like he can't manage to steady his feet beneath him.

and when horizon happens—there's an initial warm and subdued joy within shepard when kaidan shows up. but it is quickly replaced by aches, conflicting with one another, the realization that kaidan doesn't trust him anymore, not fully—and he doesn't blame kaidan for this, not even in the slightest, but it's still hard to wrap his head around, hard to truly comprehend. those years he was gone passed in the snap of a finger to him—it hasn't been years, it feels like it was just weeks ago that he was telling kaidan to go, to evacuate the crew. and kaidan doesn't trust him, doesn't trust cerberus—and neither does he, god, he doesn't, not now, not after what he'd witnessed while hunting saren, not after akuze. but shepard doesn't have a choice—owes his life to cerberus, literally, and they're damn well using it to their advantage. it's the selfish yearning for kaidan's companionship, the selfish want for kaidan to join him again even though it'd conflict with his morals—and shepard knows that kaidan is very morally guided, he knows that it's unrealistic and unfair of him to ever want such a thing, but still his heart yearns. it is the very naivety of the human heart that makes him want kaidan's trust, that makes him want kaidan to understand, because he wouldn't do this without reasoning, really, he wouldn't, and he knows that that doesn't negate the fact that he's working for cerberus, but he wants it to.

and watching kaidan walk away on horizon—that'd felt almost as painful as dying, and he finds some cruel irony in it, that his heart had been restarted only for it to be crushed into pieces again, this time seemingly irreparable. he feels it in the way they look at him, the ones that knew kaidan, the ones from before—feels the subtle questions in their eyes, the knowing looks that say they know of his aching heart. it's in the uncomfortable silences between him and joker, it's in the way garrus looks at him almost with pity—and tali has always been empathetic towards him, but she handles him now as if he's fragile, which he very well might be.

and kelly asks him about it, about horizon, and all he can say is that he wished they'd had more time, and what a selfish, selfish want that is. for he has already been given more time, already been given a second chance, and yet still he wants more.

it's about how they find each other again in ME3, after the reapers have descended upon the galaxy, after shepard's every warning came true despite the fact that none heeded them. and shepard hadn't buried his feelings, not even close—but that was just who he was, he avoided the emotions that he couldn't handle, kept himself composed regardless. he can't stop the hope, though, when he realizes that kaidan seems to want to trust him again—but the hope is at constant battle with the ache, the sharpness of kaidan's doubts. kaidan asking if he knows anything about cerberus's behavior, like shepard hadn't cut them off immediately after destroying the collectors, like he hadn't been on house arrest for the past half year—that even though the circumstances don't permit it, the doubts still exist; that's what hurts the most.

even if he understands it, accepts it, it doesn't quite remove the sting.

and it's a desperate sort of need to prove himself to kaidan, because even though it's been months since he destroyed the collector base, he hasn't quite managed to accept the loss of the companionship they'd shared back when fighting saren. and he's willing to try, feelings be damned—he just wants kaidan to not have to glance back at him after he says something, wants the subtle doubts to stop, misses the continuity of his trust.

and then on mars, watching that happen to kaidan had felt worse than watching the normandy split apart in the vacuum of outer space—it's a panic he can't quite quell, which is discomforting, because he has always been efficient at smothering his feelings. always has had to—it comes with being a leader. it's a panic, a terror, a please, no, i've only just got him back, the familiar feeling of the threads slipping through his fingertips.

it's about shepard visiting kaidan at the hospital. telling his unconscious and battered body all of the things he couldn't tell kaidan directly—telling him the truth, because the truth is that he needs kaidan, and he doesn't quite know when that started. perhaps he's lost kaidan too many times, perhaps he's lost too much to ever be okay with losing something else. it haunts him, images of mars, the idea of kaidan dying under his command being enough to distress him to the point of sleeplessness—but god it'd be fitting, wouldn't it, for kaidan to die on the first mission under his watch in years, because shepard can't seem to stop bringing death and destruction everywhere he goes.

but kaidan doesn't die, and for reasons shepard can't ever fathom, he wants to rebuild the bridges, to strengthen their bond. and it's a strange kind of relief to realize that kaidan feels just the same as he does, that he, too, yearns for the safety of their mutual trust. and shepard thinks there's some cosmic humor in the fact that it took one of them dying and the other nearly dying for them to finally realize themselves, but if there has ever been one good thing to come out of the shitstorm he's been wrapped up in for 3 years, it's kaidan.

and that, to shepard, will always be worth it. it'll be worth the time, the anguish, the patience (and lack thereof), the healing, the uncomfortable conversations, the unfamiliarity of emotional vulnerability. it'll be worth it. and shepard finds that love is the one thing that causes him to abandon his usual calculated composure, that overrides the logical thinking he relies on. because, yeah, it's foolish and naive to think this way, but shepard doesn't particularly care. if kaidan is okay, if kaidan is there, then shepard is okay, too—everything else is secondary.

because kaidan has been a constant since everything started—not in that he was constantly there, but in that he's here now, that their trust survived every test thrown at it. and they both find stability in that, they find strength in it, because it is theirs.

#mshenko #kaidan alenko #commander shepard #male shepard #mshepard #oops i rambled #mass effect #listen i just have so many thoughts about them #so. so many thoughts #mass effect spoilers

[fontofnothing]

I have to say thank you so much and big congratulations on the release of the Dragon Effect mod! It really looks so damn good and I think a lot of people are loving it. Since you seem to be very knowledgeable about the process of modding/changing MaleShep's character, I wanted to ask... do you know if there's a guide or tutorial about the process? I really wanted to make a mod making Kaidan as Shepard for the LE version of ME3 but haven't been able to find a good place to start.

Aw, thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️

Hmm, they're not tutorials, but this mod here and the video linked in its description could help point you in the right direction. I don't think replacing Shepard with Kaidan would be too difficult - your main issues would likely be with materials and textures, since the meshes wouldn't really need much, if any, additional work.

For Cullen, I cloned already existing meshes, materials, and textures, and renamed those copies so I could customize/replace them without messing up the originals for other characters:

(Kaidan's UV mapping would already be similar to Shepard's, so you wouldn't need to have this many custom textures.)

You could try something similar with a Kaidan mod, cloning his meshes, materials, and textures, and then, like in the mod linked above, tell the game to use those instead of the defaults. Here's the Cullen mod, where I changed which head mesh should be used and also added the hair mesh that should be used:

You might have to play around with some things, because I think ME3 materials and textures for Kaidan are more meant for NPC use and may not be player character friendly without some changes. If you want to dig around in my mod for any extra help or ideas, go for it! And if anyone else knows of any tutorials for this sort of thing, please share!

#ask #artsyneurotic #mods

[daisychainsandbowties]

degree of lilith's desolation when she finishes ME3

she takes it sooo personally you know lilith is constantly in the bind of ‘i want to play paragon but the renegade options are just sometimes… extremely sexy.’ she’s micromanaging her points so she can kick the guy out of the window on the 200th floor or whatever of the Dantius towers.

but actually. try to convince me she isn’t secretly niceys to everyone. convince me she doesn’t cry and cry over miranda and point at liara like ‘that’s beatrice’ (guess who can NEVER be mean to liara?). i think she also likes jack and wrex and joker and oooh legion definitely (she chooses to destroy the pro-reaper geth over rewriting their memories. cries about it has to lay with her head in ava’a lap about it). i think ava gets really invested in the game, makes maaaybe two or three comments about miranda and how she can install mods “if you want to fuck yourself” “shut up please” as lilith vanguard smashes through a mass of cerberus agents.

god i think lilith feels very strongly about AI and geth and especially the quarian-geth conflict because she relates to being out of control, taken advantage of, changed. that’s why she adores legion and gets into arguments with tali all the time. agrees with wrex So Much about the genophage. argues with mordin but knows the ‘i am the very model of a scientist salarian’ song and one time ava’s making eggs singing it and turns around like “sunny side up!” to find lilith crying at the kitchen table.

i think honesly lilith hates the green ending, too reminiscent of her own life. she likes destroy (perhaps especially in the context of the perfect ending) and she again… feels uneasy about control. oh she’s naturally self-sacrificing (ava frowny face) but the implications of the control ending frighten her too much.

she plays through the ending with ava draped around her arm, wearing the N7 hoodie bea got her quietly for her birthday after she spent three weeks listening to ava and lilith planning for the final ME2 mission at the kitchen table. with charts. (they refuse to use online guides).

definitely cries. i think she works to get the perfect destroy ending, and that last moment has her sitting there with tears rolling down her cheeks. ava gently untangling her hands from their vice-grip on the controller ava’s modded to use with their setup. kisses lilith’s knuckles and they sit there and lilith slowly subsides into ava, the two of them falling asleep (it’s 3am) with the title screen music playing, over and over again.

#‘anon’ #idk what this is but ava and lilith play mass effect 100% #wn + mass effect #lilith villaumbrosia

[violadesdragons]

Some Mods to Consider

A mod list, in no particular order and by no means exhaustive. Primarily visual and cosmetic mods. Also, note that I don’t use every mod listed below on every playthrough. I like to mix and match as well as change it up regularly.

--------

Primitives - A Facial Appearance Overhaul (a must have in my opinion)

LEUITM (I like to mix and match pieces of this with primitives)

Mass Effect - COLOR (Reshade Overhaul)

Cora Armour for Femshep (LE1) & Peebee Armour for Femshep (LE1) 

A Lot Of Textures (ALOT)

MELLO

Saren Stages LE1

Alliance Uniform Consistency

MurderClan’s textures

Children of Rannoch - A Quarian Overhaul (LE1)

Liara Consistency Mod (ME2LE) (I use this for all the games, i prefer ME3 version but LOTSB is crispy too) (I also us virtually everything else by Marcus22Khaar)

Femshepping's Female MELE Complexions (and all the other complexions they have made too)

Mat's Femshep Textures

Complexions for FemShep

Everything by MorningAngel

Alternate Ellise Default FemShep Retexture

(ME2LE) No Headgear for Squadmates

More Hair for Femshep (ME2LE) (and all other versions, honestly, I download virtually every hair mod that comes out on nexus)

Shorter Hairstyles for Femshep (MELE3) (and all the others)

Miranda's Enhancement Project

Mass Effect 3 LE Re-Sculpted

Samara's New Armor (MELE2) (and everything else by zebbros)

Cerberus and Alliance Uniform Consistency (LE2)

Blue Scars for Garrus (LE2) & 3

Old Scars for LE2 and LE3

New Casuals for Femshep LE1 (and everything else by rngdshep)

Diana Allers Overhaul (and everything else by MentalHygiene)

Harbinger Overhaul Mod (and all consistency & gameplay mods by Tydeous)

Wraith Eyes &  Subtle Brow Enhancement

ME3 N7 Armour for LE1 (and everything else by  Audemus)

Fanciful EDI Armor Variations for FemShep (this is the mod that I first learned to retexture)

ME3 Alliance Armor for LE1

Miranda's New Outfits

Alliance Dress Blues Redesigned LE3

Ashley Consistency Project (MELE3) (and all of Jenya66 ’s other works)

(LE1) Garrus and Turians - Face and Eyes Textures (GTFET) - HR HD HQ (I also like the Benezia work by  Annabellya)

Trilogy Editor Head Morph Notes and Basic Guide (this is great for tweaking sheps)

A variety of  munchyfly work

Druu's Modding Varieties

Hair Additions & Headmorphs & Miranda Hair from BubbleButton

Alternate Squad Casuals for Casual Hubs 2

Jack complexion (LE2 and LE3)

Liara's wardrobe

#mass effect mods #mass effect modding #MELE Mods #mod list

[cr-noble-writes]

🎶 9 Ship Songs 🎶

thanks for the tag @westernlarch! Since its 9 songs, I am gonna do 3 songs per ship lol

Rules: List 9 songs for one (or more) of your ships. Optionally, tag 9 people.

Tagging: @mallaidhsomo @swaps55 @otemporanerys @nickelkeep @imbiowaresbitch @bleuzombie @ad-astra13 @theoriginalladya and @waidwn

Alex Shepard/Kaidan Alenko

I'm gonna do a song for ME1, ME2, and ME3 timeline for these two because I have way too many songs on their playlist to choose 3 in any other way haha

Collar Full by Panic! At the Disco

We've waited so damn long, we're sick and tired I won't leave any doubt or stone unturned I've got a collar full of chemistry from your company So maybe tonight I'll be the libertine

2. Here We Are by Breaking Benjamin

So here we are Fighting and trying to hide the scars I'll be home tonight Take a breath and softly say goodbye

3. Halo by Starset

When you're backed against the wall I could be the one who's always there to break your fall You are not alone You're the Sun, you're the day The light that guides me through Never run, run away I will save you

Alex Shepard/Reyes Vidal

Alone Together by Fall Out Boy

I don't know where you're going But do you got room for one more troubled soul I don't know where I'm going But I don't think I'm coming home And I said, I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end

2. Heartbeats in Quiet Rooms by Sightings

Fate has its own plans for us, doesn't it? My heart pinned to my sleeve in open view so you can see how much it bleeds Lost track of every time I sacrificed my pride And begged "could you please stay?" Autumn leaves are falling all around me But you're not here and it's not the same

3. Let Me Down Slowly by Alec Benjamin

Cold skin, drag my feet on the tile As I'm walking down the corridor And I know we haven't talked in a while So I'm looking for an open door

Jackson Shepard/Alex Atruzea

Favorite Liar by The Wrecks

But that don't change that you're a Liar, a liar Hold yourself up higher and higher 'Cause I'm not buying the things you wanna say I've heard 'em all now anyway You're such a liar My favorite liar

2. Bad Things by Jace Everett

When you came in, the air went out And every shadow filled up with doubt I don't know who you think you are But before the night is through I wanna do bad things with you

3. Bad Intentions by Niykee Heaton, Migos, OG PArker

I know we've made a graveyard of this all I know I don't feel too sober now I wanna lie awake with your black soul Count your fears if you let me

#mass effect #tag games #9 ship songs #mshenko #mshep/reyes #shep/shep #cr noble writes

[swaps55]

Mass Effect Vanguard Guide

Other Guides: Guide to Basic Infiltrating | Shield Gate and YOU | Adept Guide | Sentinel Guide | Soldier Guide |

First and foremost, this is exactly what it says: a guide. It is not the right way to play this class; it is a way that I have found very effective after well over a thousand hours spent running different builds and different classes in campaign and ME3 Multiplayer. If you build it differently and like your style better, great! If you are having fun, you’re doing it right.

But if you are struggling at all with the Vanguard class or don’t click with it, this guide might help you. The build, loadout, and strategy are designed with higher difficulties in mind. This kit can easily make quick work of insanity and is a lot of fun if you enjoy using your face as a weapon.

THE BUILD

Shepard has 8 skill trees + a Bonus Power. At Rank 60, you can max out 8 skills and have enough points leftover to take the 9th to level 4. For this build, I recommend only taking Cryo Ammo to rank 4 (or skipping it entirely), and maxing everything else. 

Prioritize Charge, Nova, Incendiary Ammo, Assault Mastery, and probably a few points in Fitness here and there.  

Breakdown under the cut! 

Incendiary Ammo: Incendiary ammo might be one of the most brokenly overpowered skills in the game. The explosive evolution adds a flat damage value vs. a percentage on every other shot, which is insane. On rapid fire weapons that do less damage per shot, like the Tempest or the Typhoon, you're basically doubling the amount of damage you're doing. Add the area of effect you get with the explosion? You're now inflicting this chaos on anyone else who’s nearby. Are you using a piercing mod (the answer should be yes)? You now have a shot at another roll for another explosion, because the damage call can pass through the armored target and torment the cannon fodder behind it. A piercing mod reduces the damage on your bullet, but not the explosion. This is super insane on shotguns, because you get a shot at the extra damage roll per pellet, not per shot. Shotgun blasts have multiple pellets per shot.

Have I mentioned that this is affected by increases in power damage? So any power damage increases you take in Assault Mastery make incendiary ammo better.

Rank 4 – Damage. To hell with your squad. I mean, your squad is amazing. But trust me, you want to be selfish with incendiary ammo. You can do so much more with it than your squad can.

Rank 5 – Are you handy with headshots? Take Headshot damage. Would you rather have more ammo capacity? Take Ammo Capacity. Whatever makes you happy.

Rank 6 – Explosive Burst. Always take explosive burst. There is no universe in which you want anything other than explosive burst.

Cryo Ammo: This is your dump stat. I don’t even put my leftover points in cryo ammo, because the circumstances in which you would choose cryo ammo over incendiary ammo do not exist, if you are going for maximizing damage. Cryo ammo is really nothing more than a debuff, and you know what’s better than a debuff? Killing it. Now, if you just want to snicker at enemies with a health bar freezing solid and toppling over, that’s different. 😊 But when it comes to higher difficulties, cryo ammo just doesn’t stand up to the effectiveness of other ammo powers.  

Pull: Pull doesn’t provide nearly as much benefit as your other skills, so I suggest speccing into it last. It can, however, be a fun way to toy with mooks if you’re bored of scattering them like ninepins, and offer an alternative for dealing with Guardians if emptying a shotgun full of fire into their mail slot doesn’t quite do it for you. Pull will also prime biotic explosions. It’s not elegant, but you can do it.

Rank 4: Duration vs. Radius: I go for Radius, because as a Vanguard nothing stays alive long enough for duration to matter. But if you are having trouble with timing to get biotic explosions, you can choose Duration here.

Rank 5: Lift Damage vs. Expose: Go for Expose, which increases all damage to the target, including biotic detonations. Again, things don’t stay alive long enough for lift damage to do much for you.  

Rank 6: Recharge Speed vs. Double Pull. DOUBLE PULL. Why would you choose one pull when you can have two? This skill already has one of the fastest recharge speeds in the game, so choosing recharge speed doesn’t gain you anything.

Biotic Charge: Biotic charge, of course, is the signature skill of the vanguard, and while there are plenty of playstyles you can use that don’t hinge on charge…why would you? Charge is stupidly fun. You can be reckless, silly, and stupid, and no one can stop you. You’ll make so many things explode you can hear colors. There isn’t a problem your face can’t solve, unless the problem is on a platform out of bounds.

Charge is also a detonator power, which means you can set up biotic explosions by painting a target with warp, reave, dark channel, and even pull, and then slamming your face into it. Charge will also create a fire explosion when you ram your face into something that’s on fire from incinerate or….incendiary ammo. Hey, who has incendiary ammo and can make their own fire explosions? VANGUARDS. 

Rank 4: Force & Damage vs. Radius. Dealer’s choice. Do you want to smash for face against one thing with all the force? Or smash your face against all the things with less force? ME3 tends to emphasize cannon fodder over high tier enemies, so if you’re a little shy about running straight into the arms of a banshee and prefer to use yourself as a bowling ball into a pile of husks, go for radius. Otherwise, go for damage.

Rank 5: Weapon Synergy vs. Power Synergy. For most playstyles, power synergy is what you want here, especially if you like to spam Nova, as power synergy makes your nova hit harder. However, if you prefer to charge into something and then stick your shotgun down its throat to set it on fire with fire bullets, take weapon synergy.

Rank 6: Bonus Power vs. Barrier: I recommend barrier here, because the number one problem vanguards have is not giving a fuck, and having charge give you your shields back when not giving a fuck lands you in a sticky situation will generally save your life. Also, the cooldowns on this kit are so fast you really don’t benefit that much from randomly getting a free one to justify giving up those shields you really need because nova.

Shockwave: Shockwave is another detonator for biotic explosions, and it’s a handy mid-range attack when you’re stuck in cover or don’t want ravager goo all over your face.

Rank 4: Force & Damage vs. Radius: Shockwave’s biggest weakness is its short reach, so I choose radius here. NOTE: In the Original Trilogy, this skill is bugged on PC. Choosing radius actually causes this skill to do ZERO damage. So if you are playing OT on PC, choose Force. This bug appeared to be fixed in LE when I tested it.

Rank 5: Detonate vs. Reach: While reach would be great, because again, range is this skill’s biggest shortcoming, detonating combos is what makes shockwave so good. I recommend detonate, unless you find yourself not using it for explosions.

Rank 6: Recharge vs. Lifting Shockwave: Either one will work here, really. Lifted shockwave is cute, and can help you set up explosions, so I tend to choose it.

Nova: The companion skill to Charge! A lot of people are afraid of Nova because it depletes your shields. But I encourage you to practice with it, because if you get comfortable with the pattern of charge + nova + shoot it on fire until it’s dead, there isn’t much of anything a vanguard can’t handle.

Yes, even banshees.

Rank 4:  Force and Damage vs. Radius: You can choose either here, though I will give the lean towards force and damage. If something manages to evade the radius, stick a fire shotgun down their throat to make them think about what they’ve done.

Rank 5: Power Recharge vs. Half Blast: I recommend power recharge here, because decreasing the effectiveness of nova means it dies slower, and Power Recharge speed increases your recharge speed by 25% across the board for 15 seconds. That means CHARGE recharges faster. Which means you can lock yourself in a continuous loop of faster recharge by charging and nova-ing until everything is dead. Remember, this kit does not have a grenade power because SHEPARD is the grenade. Realize your full potential and blow everything up.  

Rank 6: Pierce vs. Sustain: Don’t be tempted by Sustain, and the allure of sometimes not using up your barrier. Choose Pierce. Not only does this make you more effective vs. Armor and Barriers, but also shields, which is something biotics aren’t great at. If you feel naked without your shields, remember you have a FIRE GUN that can protect you until Charge is primed and ready to give you your shields back, and Rank 5 means that recharge is faster.

Assault Mastery: Here’s where things get stupid. Assault Mastery makes all your badass shit even more badass.

Rank 4: Damage vs. Influence & Force: I understand that the Influence bonus is really attractive here, but we’re focusing a build that services combat, not story, and Damage brings you to a 20% power bonus vs. the 10% if you choose I&F. Remember, power damage not only affects your biotic powers, but also your ammo power. Remember how stupid Incendiary Ammo is? This makes it stupider.

Rank 5: Squad Bonus vs. Weight Capacity: Be selfish. Your squad is great, but Shepard is a god, and do you know how your make gods even more badass? Let them bring heavier guns.

Rank 6: Shotgun Damage vs. Power Intensity: Even if you primarily use a shotgun and don’t rely heavily on powers, the 20% power damage bonus from Power Intensity is better, because it also applies to Incendiary Ammo. And it gives you the freedom to use other guns if you want to.

Fitness: Let’s make this short and sweet: As a vanguard, you are not punching things with your fists, you are punching things with your face, so for ranks 4, 5, & 6, go Durability, Barrier Recharge, and Durability.

Bonus Power: I recommend any biotic power that sets up combos, since setting up combos is what Vanguards are not great at. Between Reave and Dark Channel, I prefer reave, because you can paint multiple targets, it staggers the target, it stacks, and it gives you damage reduction. I do NOT recommend Flare. While it is a really cool power, it has a painfully slow recharge speed, and vanguards need to move fast.

Reave:

Rank 4: Duration vs. Radius: I choose radius, to paint more targets. It’s not gonna live long enough for duration to matter.

Rank 5: Damage Reduction vs. Recharge Speed: The recharge speed is a little painful, so if you aren’t having trouble staying alive, you can choose it. If you’re dying, damage reduction will help.

Barriers & Armor vs. Damage & Duration: You can go either way here, but I prefer Barriers & Armor, because you can fire a reave at a banshee and then ignore her while you go bowling with the cannon fodder. When all your toys are dead, you can then ram your face into the banshee so she explodes.     

The Weapons

The weight capacity bonus you can get from Assault Mastery means Shepard can be this powerful and carry some REALLY good guns. I recommend weapons with a high rate of fire to take advantage of Incendiary Ammo. Shotguns are the obvious choice, but any weapon with a high rate of fire that keeps you close to or at a 200% cooldown is good.

My favorites are the Piranha and the Hurricane, the latter of which can take advantage of a power mag bonus. But since you are already giving up a valuable mod slot for the power mag, if you need a stabilizer to use it comfortably, I’d recommend going with something else. The Talon is a good choice because it is lightweight, fires quickly enough, and it has a damage bonus to shields and barriers. Basically, it’s a pocket shotgun. The Reegar is a weapon that can be REALLY dumb, since it melts shields, and it benefits from a piercing mod, but its drawback is that it is very short range on a class that already struggles at range. If you want to use it, I suggest the piercing and thermal clip mods.

Speaking of the range issue. I have two words for you: The Indra.

The Indra is an automatic sniper rifle, one of the absolute best weapons in the game, and Shepard can carry it and STILL HAVE A 200% COOLDOWN. Also? It costs 10k credits on the Citadel at the beginning of the game. Is it counterintuitive to carry a sniper rifle on a Vanguard? Yup. Is it immersion breaking? Possibly. But remember, this is a combat guide, not a story guide. Put the Indra on Shepard with Incendiary Ammo, and congrats! You are now invincible.

How to Play

Vanguard is a high risk/high reward class. It’s designed to play fast and at close range, so if you are trying to play it like an adept, you might not get good results. Get comfortable playing with your shields down (you’ll get them back with the next charge), don’t be stingy with medigel, and don’t fret too much about top tier enemies like phantoms and banshees. You might occasionally get sync killed, but truthfully, your damage output is so high you can often stagger them out of their murderous intent. Even turrets can’t stand up to this kit:

Turn on incendiary ammo the moment you load into a mission and leave it on. I suggest mapping charge, nova, and reave (if it’s your bonus power) to the hotkeys so you don’t have to use the power wheel for each, and make it a muscle memory. Charge everything. Nova with impunity. Shoot everything that isn’t dead until they’re on so much fire they wish they were. Use the power wheel to pause the game and get your bearings or figure out what’s shooting you. Use your squadmates to either strip shields or set up biotic explosions. Use and abuse combat roll to get out of trouble if charge is on cooldown. If you’re about to die, charge first, then medigel. Reload canceling is your friend. (If you are not familiar with reload canceling, I plan to make a post about it.)

A vanguard should rarely stop moving, except for the occasional stint behind cover to regroup, reload your gun, or set up an explosion. If you stop charging, you’ll probably die.

This class is a hell of a lot of fun if you let it off the chain and go hog wild. Don’t be afraid to die. Taking the risk – even if it doesn’t pay off all the time – helps you get comfortable with the batshit playstyle if it’s not something you’re used to.

I love all the Mass Effect classes, but this one is my favorite because this is how I really love to play the game. I hope this guide helps!  

#mass effect #vanguard guide #mass effect build guide #vanguards: we punch with our faces

[theviridianbunny]

Top 5 video games!

AAH WASH HIIII!! thank you for the ask!!

ok these are in no particual order! not sure how coherently I can word but I will try my best!! this will be a long post- so you can find it under the cut!!! I have a lot to say about my fave viddy games (and i am not sorry~) but I am sorry for spelling errors- my brain can not keep up with my thoughts and i want to get everything down and everything goes to mush :////

METAL GEAR SOLID 2 (2001)

long before cp2077 was the main source of brainrot- metal gear solid was the main source. I picked up mgs as a series when I was at university in my second year and then would not stop talking about it to my friends (one of which played the games when they came out!!).

the art of yoji shinkawa (see his work below) becoming a source of inspo to my drawing / painting practice (it may not look like it at times -but- it's there- a lot of my old worl had very paintily lines- using a ink brush in procreate ect! maybe i will post some old art one day )

(...there was also a point where I was doing weird perfomance art where I just stuck a cardboard box on my head and called it a day- hrrng.,.. just a box?!) oh.. how i miss being a student <3

BUT ANYWAY!!! MGS2 is my fave in the series- this is due to the character design- the character design altered my brain chemisty in the best way-- the art design- colours/mood- the greens the blues- also the soundtrack- ugh it's so good. (i also had/still have the biggest crush on solid snake- husband time... also olga gurlukovich.. my dear wife ugh she she her)

OH MY GOD WAIT- WAIT- another thing about mgs 2 and it's character design- THEY GAVE OLGA BODY HAIR- yes, i know thats quite a random thing to say, but, I feel like for the time the game being released- it was progressive(?) like- in games even today- most women are like - super models ? idk how to word but- it was so empowering to see Olga like that- she is an icon and i feel empowered when i see her! <3

2. MASS EFFECT 3 (2012)

The mass effect trilogy is a series thats so close to my heart- I picked the games up during the tranistion period between covid lockdowns and coming out of lockdown.graduating from uni- finding a job- screaming to the void- yknow- adulting- no more being a art student-UGH !!

a friend of mine from uni gave me the og ps3 box set at christmas 2020 (because i only had a ps3 at the time)... for me to play over christmas between term one and term two of my final year of uni... gaming got me thru a lot of hard times then-... actually skipped me1 because it was clunky and made me want to cry- went straight to me2 (after reading all the lore of me1) and then went into me3 blind.. god i was not ready - cried my heart out so much

Mass effect 3 is my fave in the trilogy because of the characters! also like with mgs 2- the soudtrack! also also! being able to create shepard to look how I wanted her to look- YES VERY GOOD-VERY NICE! I loved playing the whole trilogy- but ME3 has a place in my heart for real. - the build up to it- the feeling of impending doom - trying to get all your squad to trust shep- the citadel dlc!!! aaAHHHHH LOVE <33

EDI is my best girl- my best girl indeed!!! I see a lot of myself in her. How she grows and evolves over time0 how she learns and understands her worth. She brings me a lot of endless joy.

I got to play the full trilogy when it came out as a remastered bundle. The trilogy got me through a rough few months- I had got me first "real job" and it was a hard few months- but coming home and playing mass effect brought me joy ! I do need to do a re run of the trilogy for the purposes of vp and gif making- I do miss my beloved Zachary Shepard! (some screenshots of her below! on the left- me1 vs me3!! she grows- evolves- cuts her hair and gets ready to kick reaper ass!!)

fun fact: I have two mass effect art books! one of the books being a book that was only released with a game guide which came out in 2007.. the other being a big chunky book with SOOOO MUCH STUFF IN IT EE... both of which i paid for with money from my first "real job" (which i only lasted three months in- but dhdhdd it's ok-)

3. DRAGON AGE INQUISITION (2014)

DAI was THE GAME that got me into gaming/ made me realise I was a gamer. I picked up the game around the same time I picked up the mass effect trilogy- maybe a bit later.. was playing on the ps3 (and it ran like it was running on a toaster or a pottato) it froze every 20 mins and none of the character models looked any good... but i loved it still- yes I couldn't play any of the dlc at the time but it did not matter- i was having the time of my life.

In 2021 I got a pc built so I could finish parts of my degree from home (bc covid and having to stay home for my health)... my pc was powerful enough to run DAI so... yknow- I got it on pc and MY GOD- I COULD RUN IT PROPERLY AND PLAY THE DLCS !!!!! the joy of running the desent for the first time, jaws of hakkon and then big boi trespasser UGH MY HEART EXPLODED !! oh my god- playing the decent for the first time and hearing david hayters voice- i YELLED SO LOUDLY- (it was like my beloved snake was back fejhdhjdhjd) playing that dlc for the first time also felt so right- so natural- my canon inquisitor, wren having connections to dwarven heritage through her father

DAI was my first adult fandom- im not actively a part of the fandom anymore- but I met some really lovely people through it (psst @virginiabackroads and @elfishtales i am looking at you <3 ) I recently got back into Dragon age by making an AU for my best girl, Viridian (... in this au she is called Viri lavellan.. or just viri!) (psst @fereldanwench im still foreveer greatful you pointed me in the right direction for modding the game!!)

4. FALLOUT 4 (2015)

now.. this is a game I have yet to finish- but- I am having SO much fun !! The post nucelar setting is interesting- i'm still trying to learn the game mechanics- but it's exciting and cosy (even if i do scream when a feral ghoul comes out of nowhere and bites me!)

100% loving nick valentine- ugh I wish he were romancable... he has so much charm, like an actor in the golden age of cinema <3 I don't have a lot more to say about fallout 4, but this game is bringing me a lot of joy!! looking forward to more adventures and more modding soon!

5. CYBERPUNK 2077 (2020)

y'all knew this was coming >:) cp2077 my beloved!!!!!! yes, the game may still be broken and glitchy and there are so many things the game could do better in areas- BUT STILL- the joy this game has given me- the friends i've made though posting about the game-- everyone is so lovely!!

the oc's ive created (...viridian and rasmus- i am looking at you both) Viridian brings me confidence- (...rammbled about that here).. THE BLORBOS I'VE GOTTEN (JACKIE WELLES MY BABEEEEEEEEEEEE) - !!

ugh buying cp2077 was one of the best things I did in 2022! also being brave and choosing to posting cp2077 vp on here last october/november was another best choice I did in 2022.

the words are going but- oh goodness this game and the world building- the soudtrack- the level of detail!!! cp2077 as a game changed my brain chemisty in ways- but in the good way. opening my eyes to the world of virtual photography- video game modding. it got me back into writing as well <3 Thank you all for all the love and support within the fandom space- I feel like im home <3

#bunny screams into the void #wanderingaldecaldo #metal gear solid #mgs #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #mass effect #fallout #cp2077 #cyberpunk 2077 #bunny writes stuff #asks

[spookyvalentine]

If you're taking the Shep asks, how about 8, 15, 28, and 49 for Mercy and Stellan?

Omg!! Yes!! to me stellan is my soft clean ragdoll cat and mercy is the feral raccoon snarling from inside the dumpster

8. What is their reaction to the Alchera mission? And after?

Man I wrote these questions without expecting I’d have to be writing answers. These are hard!!

stellan I think has it a little easier than mercy. karin chakwas was one of their aunts living away from the family commune, working for the alliance when mindoir was attacked. she took them in and together they grieve the loss of their vibrant (enormous) family. once stellan enlisted, the two of em didn’t serve aboard the same ship til the normandy. stellan was definitely boggled, wounded and a bit offended by the alliance sending them the mission, and ooooh karin was pissed at the audacity. they go down to alchera together, but explore and process the site separately. and stellan is with someone who was there, experienced the same floor cracking beneath their feet, lost the same people—they share and process grief together, again. and with joker :,)

as for mercy… well. mercy reads the message and goes what. what?? wow, fuck you! doesn’t tell anyone about the mission or where they’re going. purposely has edi guide the ship while joker is down with chakwas for pt and checkups (and the rare occasion when both are asleep during the same shift) and takes a shuttle down by themself. orders edi to lock the garage. no one’s following. stays out there until they’ve managed to claw every last dog tag out of the ice. 28 hours. mercy forces themself to lay down next to the twisted rails of what used to be the command deck and stare up at the sky and the stars past it, clutching at the dog tags and counting the seconds stretching between heartbeats (and has a total breakdown)

(and of course by this point joker n chakwas are super awake, and very aware they are orbiting goddamn fucking alchera locked inside the normandy, which is pointedly missing its commander. garrus and tali are also Not Happy. outrageously miserable start to the day. mercy what the fuck. why are you doing this by yourself. answer the phone. the rest of the gang is like what is going on. and like yeah mercy gave edi permission to share minimum biostats but that’s hardly any better, shepard)

also if you want to read extraordinary fic, the frozen sea by @zet-sway. Devastating, gorgeous, i think about it all the time, and 1701% inspired this question

15. What colors does Shepard prefer for their armor?

stellan obviously has an affinity for blues. alliance navy looks amazing on them. they settle on something that looks like moonstone for regular use, and a deep navy for stealth missions

in me1 mercy wears literally whatever color as long as the armor is good. me2 they wear this crazy stealth armor that’s not like kasumi’s cloaking but color shifts and slides to echo the environment. me3 is the GOLD ARMOR ERA that was cooked up between liara and hackett as some good promo. mercy’s like wtf is this shiny ass clown suit i will be blasted to pieces immediately. impractical. tacky.

and liara n hackett are like it’s for morale

28. What about hyperfixations? What’s the topic that will get Shepard rolling no matter the person or place

stellan can recall entire kepesh-yakshi games of legend, move by move, in the same gushing, wondering tone of a sports commentator, even hollering at times when recounting something especially remarkable. and their pet turtle along with the whole excruciatingly in depth journey of the aquascaping/aquaculture that went into building his enclosure

mercy loves music. can never get enough kind of love. to mercy, music is magic. the soul made tangible. they’ll excitedly discuss all sorts of up and coming artists across the galaxy with an awareness in trends that at first glance seems out of character. very passionate about music theory and instruments, fucking adores live performances. mercy is the type to spontaneously sweep someone into a dance

49. What is Shepard’s happy ending? What’s the dream that keeps em going

broooo why did i ask this question. hoisted by my own petard, the one petard i never thought would hoist me 🤡🙈

well by me3, stellan is thoroughly in love with shiala, who they’ve been in regular contact since that chance reunion on ilium in 2. they dream of joining her on zhu’s hope, of reconnecting and nurturing the earth beneath their feet. of watching shiala tend to her flowers while they make jam and bake bread before being swept up into an impromptu dance across the kitchen. of being warm and safe curled up in shiala’s big beefy biceps

mercy,,, im really not sure. all i can think of is that line (i am absolutely butchering) frodo knew he would not survive the journey

fifty questions for commander shepard

#grateful for the stellan cottagecore so I don’t drown in angst thinking about mercy #out here in the club hurting my own feelins #also got extremely carried away #thanks for the asks!! #oc: stellan shepard #oc: mercy shepard #themshep #commander shepard #shiala #shepard/shiala #mass effect

[irikahkrios]

i get stat buffs when i'm near images of thane. in this half price books, with four copies of me2 and a copy of the me3 official guide, i am literally unkillable right now

[mirrorhouse]

hello! if you don’t mind my asking, how did you get/make neve shepard’s hair? i’m trying to do a headmorph for the first time and i’m trying to figure out if i should just use a nexus mod for hair or if i have any other options. neve looks amazing by the way!

thank you! i was planning on converting hairs myself, but i looked on nexus mods first to narrow down some ts4 content creators that were happy with people converting their creations to other games. i found this mod, which i believe doesn't contain the hairstyle i'm using, but i converted this one (by the same original creator) myself.

since neve’s head mesh is replacing default femshep’s, i replaced the iconic/default feshep hair with the one i wanted to use. to do that and use something already converted from nexus mods, i believe you’d have to manually unpack the mesh and textures and then replace the iconic hair yourself. it might be straightforward if it has the same amount of bones (42), but if it doesn’t, you’d have to go into 3dsmax or blender and copy that hair’s bones over.

i learned how to edit/convert hairs with 3dsmax months ago using this tutorial for OG me3, but since then i’ve become more comfortable with blender so i adapted the method for that instead and used this guide for importing/exporting.

good luck! feel free to ask me any more questions but i just learn things as i go and only started attempting the whole custom headmesh thing yesterday. i also started messing w blender for fun about 5 months ago and still haven’t watched/read any proper tutorials so i don’t know a lot about how things work on like. a technical level. there’s also a mass effect modding discord that might have some helpful info about things written by people far more competent and knowledgable than me!

#i just finished typing this originally and tumblr ate the whole thing >:( #anyway sorry if this isnt super helpful! i like answering questions and helping but #i also kinda dont know anything and im learning as i go LOL #ask