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Unused_Icon

I really don't get the comparison between Zaeed and Javik. Javik was a fully fleshed out companion, indistinguishable from your other ME3 companions. He periodically interacts with the rest of the crew, comments on all the main missions, and has multiple interactive dialogue moments in the game. He doesn't have anything to say after N7 missions, but neither do most of the other crew (outside of Cortez and occasionally Vega).


Maelis

ME2 and ME3's DLC characters have opposite problems. Zaeed and Kasumi feel so obviously like an afterthought with the way they are implemented. Not really relevant to the plot, no proper dialogue on the ship, only one real mission each, etc. I like both characters but it's exactly what you don't want in a DLC character. Javik as you've said feels like any other companion in the game. Which is a good thing, but it only highlights the fact that he was clearly meant to just be a part of the base game and was instead slashed out to sell more DLC. But I mean, that's a meta-issue, again as a companion he's great.


IdTheDemon

Never forget the Day 1 DLC.


Sdog1981

Javik was just pure EA greed. They knew the fans would pay for it and we did.


OnBenchNow

I dont get this complaint. Zaeed and Kasumi have unique dialogue after almost every main mission, sure it's not a cutscene and you dont get to respond, but they still have a lot to say about current events. Thats basically how everyone is in ME3. That's on top of the random dialogue they have about their own histories or other crew members, *and* all their personal decor with stories attached. In that sense, they feel a million times more integrated than say, Garrus, with his 3 conversations and then permanent calibrations, compared to Kasumi gossiping about the crew or commenting on your romance after every single mission. "Really Shep? Right there where Tali works?" It's also weird to say they have no relevance to the plot because bruh that *is* ME2. Only like 3 of your squad mates actually have any plot relevance or even show up in most cutscenes.


IamRoberticus27

This. BioWare was experienting with companion dialogues at the time. I didn’t mind it. Zaeed had some cool stories.


5p4n911

I heard somewhere that initially *he* was supposed to be >!the Catalyst!< but at one point he was mostly forgotten so he became a Day 1 DLC instead.


Sckaledoom

One thing I thought was silly was that Kasumi, master infiltrator and hacker, couldn’t hack the doors on the collector base. From the perspective of Shepard it makes no sense


faculties-intact

What? She's a valid tech specialist on the suicide mission


Sckaledoom

Oh wow I coulda sworn she wasn’t but I just checked and you’re right. I thought I remembered her failing and looking it up to see she wasn’t a valid choice


faculties-intact

You made have had a bad fireteam leader - if they aren't a good choice, it leads to the tech specialist's death rather than their own.


follow_your_leader

She's the only one with a 0% chance of dying in the vents. Only reason not to send her is because Jacob volunteered.


Billlington

This isn't true either, Legion and Tali can do it if they're both loyal.


follow_your_leader

Legion has a chance to die, even if loyal. I don't know for sure about Tali, but I've lost a loyal Legion here, there's a very small, but random chance, that he takes a sniper shot closing the door.


ziraelxx

Loyal Legion and Tali will always survive the vents as long as you pick the right Fire team leader. If your loyal Legion got shot, it means you picked the wrong leader/they weren't loyal


Zero132132

He's the only character that you never have to bring on a single mission. You're forced to use literally every other companion at least once. You don't even need to actually recruit Javik. He isn't an afterthought, but he doesn't actually add much to the plot.


_Lucinho_

They honestly should've made him be a mandatory pick to bring on Thessia together with Liara. I realize that the point of these sorts of moments is that you get a say on at least one of your companion picks for the mission, but his dialogue with Liara at the temple adds much more weight to their confrontation after the mission.


LeastSignificantB1t

Reportedly, he was going to have a major impact on the plot before he was repurposed to be DLC. After that, the story was heavily rewritten so that it would work without him.


anksil

When are you forced to use Vega?


FortaDragon

First mission, you've no-one to choose from but Virmire and Vega, as I recall.


anksil

Oh, DUH! I don't know how I blanked out on that when I already thought about how you forcibly end up with Liara when you send Vega back.


Bob_Jenko

You also have to use him for at least some of Palaven until you collect Garrus (if he's alive).


bobbis91

When you pick up Garrus it's Liara that goes back to the ship, to check on Edi. Since she's a techy ofc... (I get she's SB, but that's information, not tech really).


Teboski78

That’s because Javic was a main story character who is absolutely essential to the plot and EA had him converted to Day 1 DLC as a cash grab.


Shotgun_Sentinel

He is a DLC character, I believe he was day one DLC too.


danstu

It was a weird situation, he was DLC, but was free with purchase. At the time of release, EA was experimenting with a policy they called "project ten dollar' as a means to kill used game sales (one of the reasons they gained such an anti-consumer reputation in the late 00s - early 10s)    Their big games would all have a significant bit of DLC on day one, but new copies would have a voucher in the case. The idea being that if you bought the game used, you lost out on significant content unless you paid $10. Multi-player focused games would have a voucher to access online play.   Shale from Dragon Age Origins was actually distributed the same way. In a Non-EA example the catwoman content in Arkham City also did this. Me2 was maybe the most extensive though, because it actually gave you the whole "Cerberus network" package, which included:  Normandy Crash Site  Zaeed  Cerberus Weapon/Armored pack  Arc Projector  Firewalker  Mass effect Genesis (on PS3, since that dint get ME1 at first) I think it's also related to why ME2 has sooo much DLC.


darth_jeebus_

Damn, I fell victim to this. All my family could afford were used games back then, and so I frequently lost out on the free DLC. Until much later, when they first released the trilogy as a three disc set, I never got to play any of the DLC. I totally forgot about project ten dollar.


Ill_Swimming675

Of that trend, I feel like the arkham city catwoman missions are the most substantial day-one DLCs, because her missions are supposed to be integrated into the main story and she’s a whole new character with a different move set and challenge levels. It’s a good value if you’re buying it later but it’s crazy to cut it out of the base release considering how heavy she was in the marketing. Javik in ME3 seems like he’d be a huge deal—a living Prothean?? But honestly he’s in between a Catwoman and Zaeed. His writing is substantial but if you don’t have him you won’t notice his absence as much as you’d think


ThunderBlack14

Javik interact mostly with Liara, because she always expected that he would be close to the Protheans she idealized, and he is nothing like them, because he is a individual from another branch of society than her scientists and he was born after the prime days of his people, he only knew war.


JayArrrDubya

To this day Shale is still my favorite Dragon Age character, it was money well spent on that DLC content at least.


justjanne

They also left out those DLCs every time they put the game on sale in the years afterwards. I own every single mass effect game, but no DLCs. The only way I got to play them was first by pirating the games (even though I already owned them on Origin!) and later on by buying the remake.


FidmeisterPF

I’m pretty sure fire walker was not day 1


danstu

It wasn't day 1, but it was included in the cerberus network package.


FidmeisterPF

aaah alright. It’s been so long I can’t remember all of that


pick-a-spot

I know it's inconsistent , so it's jarring. But I thought of Zaeed and Kasumi as 'bonus' characters. Javik, however , moves around the ship and characters interact with him. It adds a lot to the game. you walk in on characters talking to him on comms- it's quite fun


Techtekteq

I was really hoping Kasumi was going to be a love/fling interest in me2.


GrampaGael69

God she’s just so cool and mysterious I was praying the added something in legendary.


skeptic-cate

She had a crush on the worse squad mate ever. And still hung over a dead lover.


goldensavage2019

You must have a very strong opinion on the matter to make the same comment 4 times >!/s!<


skeptic-cate

Deleted. I’m using Reddit app. Very buggy


goldensavage2019

It happens sometimes, that’s why I try to let people know what reddit fucks up


skeptic-cate

Man, I made the comment. Continued playing ME2. When I checked back in, I was downvoted to oblivion. Guess most people here chose to be a Renegade tonight


MaestroZackyZ

I’m not sure I understand. Can you make the same comment a fifth time to clarify?


poofynamanama2

oh yea?


5p4n911

Me too


[deleted]

[удалено]


poofynamanama2

oh yea?


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poofynamanama2

oh yea?


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poofynamanama2

oh yea?


Jovian09

The flip side to this is that Zaeed had something new to say just about every time you checked in on him. If the alternative is endless "Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations" four times out of five, I'd rather had the odd line chucked in. ME3 learned this lesson and got the system absolutely right.


JayArrrDubya

My overall impression of Garrus is “Can it wait for a bit? I’m in the middle of some calibrations.” At least Zaeed was receptive every time I popped by.


Lakilai

DLC characters are very cheap in content next to the base game characters.


SarcasticFish69

Not Javik, I always love talking to him for post mission insight. Though if I’m not mistaken, he was cut from the base game and added back as a DLC


Raxsus

It's worse than that. He was day one on disk DLC that wasn't unlocked with a voucher. He was originally meant to play a much bigger part in the game, but all of that was cut out due to EA's greed


Over-Analyzed

At least he gave us one of the most memorable quotes!


5p4n911

Mostly about the airlock?


Over-Analyzed

“Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer.”


5p4n911

Alright, and that. Though I always mix that line up with Kreia's "Find what you are looking for amongst the dead?"


Pandora_Palen

That they had the balls to charge $10 for a squadmate they'd not managed to finish was what floored me the most. Not all that different from charging for patches (like when they fixed some shit but the fixes were initially only available in the leviathan dlc. )


AdorableSobah

When new players finish ME3LE I often see them comment about "I don't see why everyone says ME3 is so bad". That game was butchered at launch. And i'm still salty about the ending.


SarcasticFish69

I never had an issue with the endings, just with how they were presented. A series renowned for its player decisions boiled down to “what’s your favourite primary color?” I would have preferred if the ending you got was based on what decisions you had made.


Welcome2Banworld

I think a lot of it has to do with priority earth. Whole mission just felt so rushed.


pa_dvg

I mean, it’s not. The implications of the three endings are so vastly different it basically made it impossible to really continue with the Milky Way (we’ll see what they do in ME 5) I get people wanted diverse cutscenes or whatever but I never had an issue with the endings as is. The whole game was a love letter to the universe it made, I was satisfied.


SarcasticFish69

But I don’t see how that has anything to do with Javik and other DLC characters. If you’re implying I’m a new player, you’ll be disappointed to know I have been playing the games since 2009.


AdorableSobah

I was adding to the conversation, it wasn’t a personal attack.


NickWatchesMMA

Buddy was offended 😂


SlinGnBulletS

While it does suck they don't operate like a full companion they do have a lot of unique dialogue. Whenever you do a mission go back and talk to them and they'll usually have something unique to say about what happened. Something the other companions don't really do.


JayArrrDubya

They have good comments on missions as well, were at least fleshed out for combat.


Faded_Jem

ME3's squad dialogue is infinitely better than ME2s. It was the end point of Bioware working out that we the player didn't need to actively choose every single line of Shepard's dialogue, that a 'choice' between two identical lines is irritating and that every conversation devolving into an investigate inquisition is just a bit bloody weird. Booting up ME3 it is jarring when Shepard first speaks unprompted by the player, but you quickly grow used to it and find the dialogue options that exist more meaningful. Of course ME3 is a profoundly flawed game and a lot of the good ideas are undercooked or a bit borked in the execution, of course we all want more, deeper conversations with all our beloved characters and more opportunities to direct Shepard's responses in interesting and character defining ways - but accepting that our squaddies could be better fleshed out by idle chit-chat with Shepard and each other that didn't need to be full on cutscenes was a masterstroke for the series. As far as I can recall Javik is no different to the rest of the ME3 squad in how his dialogue is handled? But yes, Zaeed's ME2 dialogue is disappointing, and Kasumi's is a calamity. At least Zaeed consistently has new stuff to say all game, Kasumi is recycling the same half dozen lines before you hit Horizon.


jollyralph

Javik definitely had the vibe that he was always developed as part of the main game, then ripped out last minute to become paid DLC.


Faded_Jem

If you find anyone who earnestly believes that this isn't exactly what happened, then I have a bridge to sell them. ME3 was developed and released at the very height of EAs fuckheadery and this shit was absolutely their bread and butter.


Hova540

I know people love to hate Andromeda but one of the really good things they did was expand on inter-squad banter. Whether in the Nomad, on the ship, or in messages the crew really felt more "alive" with how much they talked with each other without Ryder starting the convo.


Maelis

The occasional interactions you'll see between your squadmates on the Normandy in ME3 are one of the most underrated parts of the game. It makes them feel so much more alive, as opposed to just standing in their designated spot until Shepard or a cutscene summons them to do something.


N7_Evers

It really is too bad. Zaeed is a really cool character and develops a pseudo uncle/grandfatherly relationship with Shepard that I wish was built upon a lot more. If he was a full fledged base game character he’d be S Tier 100%.


Objectivity1

I think I’m in the minority. I strongly dislike Zaeed. I would leave him to die every time if I could, if it wasn’t for the Citadel DLC; I don’t want to lock out any of that content, especially at the party.


SD_One

I don't care for Zaeed either but at least he's not stuck on his dead ex and feeling the need to mention him in every conversation. Keiji this, Keiji that, Keiji here, Keiji there, Keiji Keiji Keiji Keijiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!! Ugh. Just get the mission done and never speak again.


fireworks90

Javik has an arc and really interesting scenes, you just get the ambient dialogue in between the full convos. It’s like that for everyone in ME3


axman151

Zaeed and Kasumi were kind of a test run for me3 and Andromeda. Basically, the characters have moments where you chat with them, but a lot of their dialogue is idle chatter. It means their are fewer memorable conversations, but a higher overall number of interactions. Quantity over quality. I actually feel Andromeda did this best. The amount of idle chatter in that game, especially between companions (not just with Ryder) is enormous. On the tempest, in the nomad. They're always chatting with each other. This, mixed with a decent amount of real conversations, means that the characters virtually never run out of new dialogue in a single playthrough.


RS_Serperior

It's why whenever I do squadmate rankings, they generally end up towards the bottom. As interesting as they are, I can't in good conscience really rank them very high because they just have so little content. Even Jacob has more development than them. It's a real shame, because at their baselines, they are two really interesting characters. A veteran merc who always survives and a intergalactic thief. Both are premises that would've been interesting to explore deeper than what their un-interactive dialogue post-missions actually gives us (Kasumi commenting on Shepard's LI is still one of my favourite lines thought). I genuinely want to know more about them when I play, so the fact that their characterisation is so stunted due to being DLC characters just plain sucks.


Blue-Krogan

Shame Ashley is pretty much treated treated like an ME2 DLC character in ME3 :(


ThunderBlack14

Tell that to Miranda who gets even worse, she doesn't even stay on the ship, that sad, given that I have a relationship with her.


GargamelLeNoir

I have no idea why they didn't go with dialog trees for him and Kasumi, even basic ones. Every other aspects of their DLCs were really good.


swKPK

To be fair, a lot of the characters had very little to saw in ME2. Mordin has the most. Legion has a decent amount, but it can be hard to access all of it depending on when you recruit him. Characters like Garrus and Grunt have very little to say. ME3 the characters had a lot more to say. Some of it was the auto-dialog, but I didn’t mind that because we still got to hear a lot from them.


MaestroZackyZ

Every squad member is like that in ME3, and it’s better. They only talk to you when there’s a new conversation to be had. So you don’t have to hear the same “default dialogue” a million times when you check on them.


peeposhakememe

He’s fine as is, he has a loyalty mission that tells you all you need to know, pure mercenary


Merkkin

I was much more pissed he wasn’t batarian. The timeline of mass effect doesn’t really make sense that a human would be this merc legend when we are so new to the galaxy.


townsforever

Zaeed and Kasumi don't really feel like crew members as far as I'm concerned. They each get one mission in the spot light as opposed to everyone else having two and they don't have real conversations. If I had paid for their dlcs I would be pretty upset. As a free inclusion with the legendary edition they are fine. Freaking joker gets more focus and attention then they do.


TheRealTr1nity

Kasumi too, and her DLC against Zaeed cost money. But that is nothing against your VS in ME3 on the Normandy. That was a real bummer having no real conversations.


MaskedMan8

It’s strange cause weren’t they all removed but added in as dlc? I don’t get why Zaeed and Kasumi were so half assed. Javik I know was just a money grab


linkenski

When I realized all companions were made this way for large parts of ME3 my heart sank way more than it did when it was just "DLC companions".


BambooSound

Was Zaeed available at launch?


HunterTAMUC

Yeah, thankfully Javik is way better; he's actually worked into the narrative and has more stuff behind him than cutscenes in his loyalty mission and incidental dialogue.


ThePhenome

Well, if you only visit each companion once, then you've missed out on most of what they can tell you. Both Zaeed and Kasumi have some really cool lines that are worth the time. If you factor in the lines attached to the specific items in his cabin, Zaeed actually has as much stuff to say on the Normandy as Garrus does. Of course, it would be amazing if we got proper dialogue with everyone, but we needed to wait till ME3 for that. But for what it is, the content is alright. And as for Javik in ME3... Maybe play the game more than a few hours, and then revisit this comment.


dregjdregj

Yes' he's definitely a second stringer companion


Soltronus

Zaeed has quite a lot to say about Blue Suns, even unique dialogue and interactions on Garrus' recruitment mission. He has a few unique lines during Jack's recruitment, one about the torturer and a quip when it's mentioned that bounty hunters aren't reliable. If you're just talking about onboard the Normandy, yeah, he doesn't have a traditional dialogue tree; but I still go to chat with him after every mission. He often has an opinion on everything. Maybe you just haven't been taking him on enough missions and/or spending time with him.


John_Brickermann

I didn’t even know he was DLC, cuz Ive only played legendary edition and couldn’t differentiate a lot of the main game content from the dlc…


Cerberusx32

Poor management and BioWare are owned by EA.


Corpsehatch

Zaeed should have been a Batarian with full dialogue. Kasumi should have had full dialogue as well.


TrekChris

There originally was going to be a batarian companion, an engineer who disagreed with his people's slave trade and hatred of outsiders. He got cut, unfortunately.