We have a Steam curator now. You should be following it. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44994899-RPGHQ/
Chat client updated, if you have issues using chat press CTRL + SHIFT + R to force a hard refresh.

Junior Adventurer's Guild: January - Mass Effect

Participate in a new RPG each month with other members of the HQ
Ignore Topic

What should we play in January?

You can’t vote on this poll. Reason: You must have at least 15 posts to vote in this poll.

Darksiders II
1
4%
Golf Story
4
17%
Mass Effect
10
42%
Pokémon Unbound
1
4%
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
3
13%
Two Worlds II
5
21%
 
Total votes: 24

User avatar
J1M
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 5068
Joined: Feb 15, '23

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by J1M »

stormvermin wrote: January 17th, 2026, 23:26
logincrash wrote: January 17th, 2026, 22:43
BioWare really ****** up when they came up with the "over 1000 years" alien lifespans.
It leads to ******** timeline ****, like the Volus getting an embassy 2500 ******* years prior to ME1. Meanwhile the humans get one 20 years prior, which is just 10 years after first contact. No wonder the little Volus jew at the embassy is so pissy (this is a very clever and subtle pun for the codex enjoyers, by the way).
And the Turians got a Council seat ~1500 years prior to ME1.
The thing that bugs me is that the Asari discovered Prothean tech at least 2500 years ago but their current tech isn't really all that more advanced than Turian or even human tech. Blah blah everyone's tech develops along the Reaper premediated tech tree but that initial advantage should have catapulted them so far ahead of the Volus, the Turians, or anyone else for that matter. The entire timescale is ******.
Semi-plausible explanations: sometimes science gets bottle-necked until the establishment dies off. So longer life span is a disadvantage there. Also implies fewer children and longer time to maturity.

Human tech isn't really human-only tech. They would have learned and adopted things their allies knew to quickly retrofit, just like the Normandy's drive and stealth systems.

Perhaps humans are not average at everything and curiousity is highest in humans.
User avatar
J1M
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 5068
Joined: Feb 15, '23

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by J1M »

TKVNC wrote: January 18th, 2026, 00:01
stormvermin wrote: January 17th, 2026, 23:26
logincrash wrote: January 17th, 2026, 22:43
BioWare really ****** up when they came up with the "over 1000 years" alien lifespans.
It leads to ******** timeline ****, like the Volus getting an embassy 2500 ******* years prior to ME1. Meanwhile the humans get one 20 years prior, which is just 10 years after first contact. No wonder the little Volus jew at the embassy is so pissy (this is a very clever and subtle pun for the codex enjoyers, by the way).
And the Turians got a Council seat ~1500 years prior to ME1.
The thing that bugs me is that the Asari discovered Prothean tech at least 2500 years ago but their current tech isn't really all that more advanced than Turian or even human tech. Blah blah everyone's tech develops along the Reaper premediated tech tree but that initial advantage should have catapulted them so far ahead of the Volus, the Turians, or anyone else for that matter. The entire timescale is ******.
Well, I personally hated the Asari Commandos. They were hyped up as super deadly... then they were just trash?

Too much tell, too little show. Disappointed.

Almost completely unrelated, I liked the Turian ships. They looked like whales to me. Very cute
Consider the source. I'm sure they were real terrors going up against the Volus and Elcor.
Last edited by J1M on January 18th, 2026, 02:08, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

I've only just got the Spectre status and I'm already 5 hours in.
The Citadel is an awesome locale. You could set an entire standalone game there. It's a hodgepodge of all the kewl sci-fi **** like the Halo rings and the Rendezvous with Rama ship.
Image
The ambience is great. I love how dark the Citadel is. The twilight hours of the wards have this moody sci-fi noir feeling, contrasted sharply with the sleek and shiny Presidium.
► screenshots
Oh, and the music rocks.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

J1M wrote: January 18th, 2026, 01:59
TKVNC wrote: January 18th, 2026, 00:01
stormvermin wrote: January 17th, 2026, 23:26


The thing that bugs me is that the Asari discovered Prothean tech at least 2500 years ago but their current tech isn't really all that more advanced than Turian or even human tech. Blah blah everyone's tech develops along the Reaper premediated tech tree but that initial advantage should have catapulted them so far ahead of the Volus, the Turians, or anyone else for that matter. The entire timescale is ******.
Well, I personally hated the Asari Commandos. They were hyped up as super deadly... then they were just trash?

Too much tell, too little show. Disappointed.

Almost completely unrelated, I liked the Turian ships. They looked like whales to me. Very cute
Consider the source. I'm sure they were real terrors going up against the Volus and Elcor.
You can kill a Volus by poking his suit with a needle. He will literally burst into giblets because of the pressure difference.
And the Elcor are just ******** elephants.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
wndrbr
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 3578
Joined: Feb 4, '23
Location: Siberia
Gender: Dinosaur

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by wndrbr »

logincrash wrote: January 17th, 2026, 22:43
BioWare really ****** up when they came up with the "over 1000 years" alien lifespans.
they also kept changing their aging in the sequels. Either because they knew they ****** up, and wanted to retcon it in a subtle way, or because they just don't care about consistency of their own work, and it's all just 'turn your mind off' pulp fantasy to them.

In ME1 Liara says that she's 100 yrs old, and that she's very young - barely an adult. Then in ME2 we encounter a random asari-salarian couple, and the asari says she's 60 yrs old. Then Samara says that Morinth left home at the age of 40. In the shadow broker dlc, Liara complained how she spent whopping two years hunting down the Shadow Broker, as if it's not just a few weeks in asari metrics. Aria is implied to be like 1000 yrs old, and she acts like an edgy teenager.

They also act like these ancient ethereal know-it-all beings, and then you kill them by hundreds cuz apparently they like throwing their lives away by joining ****** mercenary groups. I can understand this behavior from the krogans because krogans are ******-*******, but the asari were supposed to be the elves of Mass Effect universe.
User avatar
rusty_shackleford
Site Admin
Posts: 45473
Joined: Feb 2, '23
Gender: Watermelon

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by rusty_shackleford »

You're telling me the foid race isn't particularly smart but everyone just tells them they are because they're attractive??
Wow
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Steam friend code: 40552640 https://steamcommunity.com/friends/add | email: [email protected]
Having trouble running an old Windows game?
Rusty's Stuff Collection
User avatar
wndrbr
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 3578
Joined: Feb 4, '23
Location: Siberia
Gender: Dinosaur

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by wndrbr »

Imagine being a creature that can live up to a thousand years, and still having to work as a prostitute or a thug.
User avatar
Tangerine
Posts: 3595
Joined: Dec 1, '24

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Tangerine »

wndrbr wrote: January 18th, 2026, 02:30
to work as a prostitute
They're "discovering themselves" for 50+ years.
User avatar
rusty_shackleford
Site Admin
Posts: 45473
Joined: Feb 2, '23
Gender: Watermelon

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by rusty_shackleford »

wndrbr wrote: January 18th, 2026, 02:30
Imagine being a creature that can live up to a thousand years, and still having to work as a prostitute or a thug.
I'm curious if you're even aware that the Asari knew all along about the reapers, and purposely hid it from the other races?
They're the worst race by far.

[edit]
By "all along", iirc it's implied to be for centuries at least.
Last edited by rusty_shackleford on January 18th, 2026, 02:33, edited 1 time in total.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Steam friend code: 40552640 https://steamcommunity.com/friends/add | email: [email protected]
Having trouble running an old Windows game?
Rusty's Stuff Collection
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

wndrbr wrote: January 18th, 2026, 02:22
In ME1 Liara says that she's 100 yrs old, and that she's very young - barely an adult. Then in ME2 we encounter a random asari-salarian couple, and the asari says she's 60 yrs old. Then Samara says that Morinth left home at the age of 40. In the shadow broker dlc, Liara complained how she spent whopping two years hunting down the Shadow Broker, as if it's not just a few weeks in asari metrics. Aria is implied to be like 1000 yrs old, and she acts like an edgy teenager.
Liara says in ME1 that she spent 20-50 years studying Protheans. Don't remember the exact number right now.
But, yes, none of the long-living species act like it. That's the reason why Frieren was so refreshing, especially with the "a few years is like a couple of days" perspective.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
wndrbr
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 3578
Joined: Feb 4, '23
Location: Siberia
Gender: Dinosaur

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by wndrbr »

logincrash wrote: January 18th, 2026, 02:36
Liara says in ME1 that she spent 20-50 years studying Protheans.
it's like the equivalent of 6 yrs old boys being obsessed with dinosaurs.
User avatar
Valter
Posts: 1740
Joined: Jun 12, '24

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Valter »

Acta est fabula!
Image
Final thoughts:

CHOICES
1. Killed the Rachni, hell no I don't believe you're going to just live and let live when we killed your entire species. Liara kinda threw a hissy fit but she's very scared of Shepard, he says pipe down and she goes yessir. She did the same thing when I sided with the Pro-Humanity rally, kinda funny.
2. Anderson on the council. Yeah Udina is supposed to be the human-focused choice or whatever, but I recall a line of his that felt really slimy, when Shepard was grounded on the Citadel and tried to refute the Council. Udina said something to the likes of "The Council needs ME, so sit down and be a good boy." with the must dismissive tone ever. This made me suspect that he benefits humanity to benefit himself, but if he gets in buddy buddy with the Council and the aliens in it he might brush away human interests if it garners him extra favor with his immediate peers or superiors. Very jewish behavior, not trustworthy.

OVERALL
Motherfucking Hackett I'm gonna start charging you for all these calls you interstellar beggar. Your saving grace is this ship looks hella cool, as do several environments in this game. Seriously, the Citadel and Noveria looked sick.
Equipment progression felt lame. You had the same weapons at the start as you did at the end, except with higher stats :////// The combat's nothing to write home about either, was only stuck a couple minutes on the first 3-krogans fight in Feros. But it served its purpose, and I really really felt cheap when companions used biotics. So stupid, just ragdoll everyone. Kinda fun to watch tho.
The lore is less impressive than I remember it. Age takes its toll I guess, but I remember the Turians being much cooler, but now I like the Asari and Salarians more.
Btw anyone that twists their jimmies over DA2's reused dungeons but pats this game on the back gets to sit in the corner

8/10 It has a mesmerizing world and lore, okay story and better individual sidequests, some really funny, with a serviceable enough combat to call it a game.

Also hell yeah, this game's got a banger credits track

Image
Last edited by Valter on January 18th, 2026, 03:34, edited 1 time in total.
Steam friend code: 1525876263
User avatar
Norfleet
Posts: 2762
Joined: Jun 3, '23

Geolocation

Post by Norfleet »

wndrbr wrote: January 18th, 2026, 02:54
it's like the equivalent of 6 yrs old boys being obsessed with dinosaurs.
Some of them never outgrow that, and become paleontologists.
User avatar
Demonic Fate
Posts: 694
Joined: Feb 19, '25

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Demonic Fate »

wndrbr wrote: January 18th, 2026, 02:22
They also act like these ancient ethereal know-it-all beings, and then you kill them by hundreds cuz apparently they like throwing their lives away by joining ****** mercenary groups. I can understand this behavior from the krogans because krogans are ******-*******, but the asari were supposed to be the elves of Mass Effect universe.
Agree with the overall point, but not a great comparison. In like 90% of video games featuring elves, they are also supposed to be rare impressive beings that live for hundreds of years, and yet they end up being just mooks that maybe move 10% faster and die by the dozen. So the asari are pretty much par for the course.
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

You can't agree with Navigator Pressly about aliens. You can only scold him for being racist :mad:
So much for role-playing.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
Valter
Posts: 1740
Joined: Jun 12, '24

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Valter »

logincrash wrote: January 19th, 2026, 20:07
You can't agree with Navigator Pressly about aliens. You can only scold him for being racist :mad:
So much for role-playing.
Pretty sure you can stay neutral in some way. I managed to say something along the lines of "I understand your concern, BUT-" . It's as good as you get. ...Or was that with Ashley? :pipe-thinking: Fuckin' hell
Steam friend code: 1525876263
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

Valter wrote: January 19th, 2026, 20:11
logincrash wrote: January 19th, 2026, 20:07
You can't agree with Navigator Pressly about aliens. You can only scold him for being racist :mad:
So much for role-playing.
Pretty sure you can stay neutral in some way. I managed to say something along the lines of "I understand your concern, BUT-" . It's as good as you get. ...Or was that with Ashley? :pipe-thinking: Fuckin' hell
Yeah, it is indeed the Ashley conversation. Interestingly enough, the Renegade options there just make Shepard go all hardass and outright call Ashley racist, while saying how the Council has a grudge against humanity. It comes off really schizophrenic. The Paragon options make Shepard go all diplomatic and analytical: "Those sound like deeply-held beliefs, Williams. What was your relationship with your parents like?"

But you can be real fuckin mean to Tali. She goes "*sigh* Oh, how I miss my home *sigh*" and Shepard can go "What the **** is wrong with you?"
She kinda deserves it, though, considering that she steals Normandy tech and gives it to her fleet along with the Geth info you get in the side quest.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
wndrbr
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 3578
Joined: Feb 4, '23
Location: Siberia
Gender: Dinosaur

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by wndrbr »

logincrash wrote: January 19th, 2026, 20:07
You can't agree with Navigator Pressly about aliens. You can only scold him for being racist :mad:
So much for role-playing.
and then in ME2's Normandy site dlc Bioware turned him into a libtard with that goofy diary.

Entry 1: can't believe Shepard would hire aliens to serve in here, Normandy should be a humans-only ship.
...
Entry 2: i ******* love aliens, i'll sacrifice my life for them, i'll let my daughter marry a krogan, aliens are better than humans, i mean the exotic food alone!
User avatar
Oyster Sauce
Site Moderator
Posts: 11295
Joined: Jun 2, '23

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Oyster Sauce »

Space aliens aren't black people. You're allowed to like them.
User avatar
rusty_shackleford
Site Admin
Posts: 45473
Joined: Feb 2, '23
Gender: Watermelon

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by rusty_shackleford »

Oyster Sauce wrote: January 20th, 2026, 09:32
Space aliens aren't black people. You're allowed to like them.
But there's no reason to like anything but the Turians, the rest are useless
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Steam friend code: 40552640 https://steamcommunity.com/friends/add | email: [email protected]
Having trouble running an old Windows game?
Rusty's Stuff Collection
User avatar
Norfleet
Posts: 2762
Joined: Jun 3, '23

Geolocation

Post by Norfleet »

Oyster Sauce wrote: January 20th, 2026, 09:32
Space aliens aren't black people. You're allowed to like them.
Wouldn't they be worse due to being FILTHY XENOS?
Last edited by Norfleet on January 20th, 2026, 12:29, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
rusty_shackleford
Site Admin
Posts: 45473
Joined: Feb 2, '23
Gender: Watermelon

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by rusty_shackleford »

rusty_shackleford wrote: January 20th, 2026, 09:35
Oyster Sauce wrote: January 20th, 2026, 09:32
Space aliens aren't black people. You're allowed to like them.
But there's no reason to like anything but the Turians, the rest are useless
I'll give some leeway to the elephants and jellyfish I guess but any other 'major' race is completely useless at best or actively detrimental at worst
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Steam friend code: 40552640 https://steamcommunity.com/friends/add | email: [email protected]
Having trouble running an old Windows game?
Rusty's Stuff Collection
User avatar
wndrbr
Turtle
Turtle
Posts: 3578
Joined: Feb 4, '23
Location: Siberia
Gender: Dinosaur

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by wndrbr »

rusty_shackleford wrote: January 20th, 2026, 12:36
rusty_shackleford wrote: January 20th, 2026, 09:35
Oyster Sauce wrote: January 20th, 2026, 09:32
Space aliens aren't black people. You're allowed to like them.
But there's no reason to like anything but the Turians, the rest are useless
I'll give some leeway to the elephants and jellyfish I guess but any other 'major' race is completely useless at best or actively detrimental at worst
the human-frog assassin guy with tuberculosis was pretty cool. Too bad the backstory for his race was that they were ****-like pests who polluted their homeworld to death, and then as refugees flooded another planet where they became slaves.
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

PSA: Do not waste omni-gel on repairing the Mako. Saving and then reloading the game restores all Mako HP.
On Feros, you can run up to the colonists and knock them down with melee if you run out of the Thorian gas grenades. This counts as not killing them for the Colonists Alive counter.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
rusty_shackleford
Site Admin
Posts: 45473
Joined: Feb 2, '23
Gender: Watermelon

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by rusty_shackleford »

logincrash wrote: January 20th, 2026, 13:42
PSA: Do not waste omni-gel on repairing the Mako. Saving and then reloading the game restores all Mako HP.
cheater
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Steam friend code: 40552640 https://steamcommunity.com/friends/add | email: [email protected]
Having trouble running an old Windows game?
Rusty's Stuff Collection
User avatar
Valter
Posts: 1740
Joined: Jun 12, '24

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Valter »

I like the quarians, they're just 3-fingered humans with ****** immune systems. And it's interesting to hear about all the **** they have to go through and rules to be adhered in order to keep their flotilla society functional.
Steam friend code: 1525876263
User avatar
logincrash
The Music Man
Posts: 6040
Joined: Sep 3, '23
Location: Niger

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by logincrash »

Valter wrote: January 20th, 2026, 14:37
I like the quarians, they're just 3-fingered humans with ****** immune systems. And it's interesting to hear about all the **** they have to go through and rules to be adhered in order to keep their flotilla society functional.
They're thieving gypsies.
"Oh, it all makes sense now, brother."
User avatar
Valter
Posts: 1740
Joined: Jun 12, '24

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by Valter »

logincrash wrote: January 20th, 2026, 14:55
Valter wrote: January 20th, 2026, 14:37
I like the quarians, they're just 3-fingered humans with ****** immune systems. And it's interesting to hear about all the **** they have to go through and rules to be adhered in order to keep their flotilla society functional.
They're thieving gypsies.
These are serious accusations which must be verified.

Let me be clear: Mass Effect 2 February.
Steam friend code: 1525876263
User avatar
stormvermin
Posts: 273
Joined: Apr 30, '25

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by stormvermin »

Valter wrote: January 20th, 2026, 14:37
I like the quarians, they're just 3-fingered humans with ****** immune systems. And it's interesting to hear about all the **** they have to go through and rules to be adhered in order to keep their flotilla society functional.
The Council doesn't want you to know this but planets in the Armstrong Nebula are free you can colonize them I've squatted 458 planets.
User avatar
rusty_shackleford
Site Admin
Posts: 45473
Joined: Feb 2, '23
Gender: Watermelon

Geolocation

Adventurer's Guild

Post by rusty_shackleford »

stormvermin wrote: January 20th, 2026, 15:07
Valter wrote: January 20th, 2026, 14:37
I like the quarians, they're just 3-fingered humans with ****** immune systems. And it's interesting to hear about all the **** they have to go through and rules to be adhered in order to keep their flotilla society functional.
The Council doesn't want you to know this but planets in the Armstrong Nebula are free you can colonize them I've squatted 458 planets.
Mass Effect, like near most sci-fi that isn't in a book written by someone like Larry Niven, falls apart if you ask too many questions.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Steam friend code: 40552640 https://steamcommunity.com/friends/add | email: [email protected]
Having trouble running an old Windows game?
Rusty's Stuff Collection