Mass Effect 3 characters are unique, traveling with Shepard in the first and second parts of the game. That's why fans love it. With the start of a new game, everything had to be done from scratch. Until BioWare came up with the concept of story transfer. This allowed gamers to continue playing as their favorite hero instead of recreating from scratch in the appearance editor.
The article will discuss how to transfer characters to the third part without losing the action history of the previous series of the setting.
About the game
The characters in the Mass Effect trilogy are so detailed by BioWare that fans literally fall in love with them. The main character can be male or female, respectively, and romanceable characters are selected based on the gender of the protagonist.
Romance provides progression benefits, privacy scenes (after selecting a branch in the dialogue box), special achievements, and unique badges. BioWare's creations are unique in that each character has a character that is revealed through dialogue. Increasing the trust level unlocks exclusive hero quests.
Popular to this day female characters from "Mass Effect 3":
- Ashley Madeline Williams. First appears in the first part of the Eden Prime setting during the operation to locate the Prothean Lighthouse. In the second, there is in a couple of scenes, it is present in the form of a portrait in the cabin, if the hero is faithful. Returns in the third part, it becomes possible to renew the relationship.
- Miranda Lawson. Fighter from "Cerberus" from the second part. In ME 3, he appears near the end, on a mission to rescue Oriana's sister. A number of actions of the protagonist affect the outcome: whether Miranda survives or not.
- Jack. A tattooed crazy biotic who is not easy to gain trust. If in ME 2 Shepard managed to start a romance, in the third part the girl can be found in the Purgatory club and have joint battles in the Armax Arsenal arena.
- Liara T'Soni. An archaeologist from the Azari race, who is found in the first part on the Prothean ruins. He is an expert on xenos, accompanies the hero for three parts.
- Tali'Zorah. An experienced engineer from the Quarian race, Shepard accompanies the entire trilogy. A romance is possible, during which the hero removes the mask from the girl, but the face is never shown.
What is import for?
With so many romanceable characters, a move to Mass Effect 3 is required to continue the relationship.
The history of actions and dialogues, characteristics, abilities and appearance of the protagonist are preserved. Many little things in the process of passing affect the reputation. Important decisions in the form of saving the life of a member of the squad have a significant impact on the future.
Without import, the game starts from scratch: communication, actions, relationships and novels with characters will come to naught. How to transfer a character to Mass Effect 3 is described below.
Story Builder in ME 3
Allows you to recreate the key decisions made by the player during the passage of the first two parts. Available as part of the Genesis 2 add-on, represented by an interactive comic.
Instead of importing characters into Mass Effect 3, the player flips through the pages and turns on handy options.
For Mass Effect:
- Romance: Liara T'Soni or Ashley/Kaiden (depending on the gender of the protagonist).
- Noveria: Kill the Rachni or let them leave.
- Virmire: Shoot or convince Rex.
- Dilemma on Virmire: save Ashley or Kayden.
- Sacrifice the Council of the Citadel in the battle with the Sovereign or save.
- Choose a representative of humanity on the Council: David Andersson or Donel Udina.
For Mass Effect 2:
- Number of recruits: the whole team is assembled or only a few are recruited.
- Conflicts and omissions between partners: resolve or ignore.
- Stay true to the romanceable character from the first part, or start a new romance.
- Upgrading the Normandy before the Suicide Operation or going through the Omega-4 relay.
- Collector Base: Destroy or leave Cerberus to study.
It should be understood that the designer will not replace the impressions of the game that the gamer receives during the passage. The interactive comic skims through key events, but does not convey the characters (members of the squad and ordinary NPCs), impressions and emotions from skirmishes with huskies and the sudden truth at the end of the first part.
There is no mystery that collectors from Mass Effect 2 carry, dizzying shootouts with powerful enemies and attempts to unravel the plans of Cerberus.
The fact that the player cannot taste the charm of storytelling is not worth talking about. It's like reading a book by the table of contents without turning the pages.
Import from ME 1 to ME 2
The transfer is possible after the complete completion of the game, otherwise there is nothing to import. First you need to click on the Mass Effect 2 Launcher shortcut and select the “Configure” tab (Configure), then “Saved Games” (Saved Games) click on “Copy saves” and specify the path to the folder with the game data. The program will do the rest on its own.
Usually these are in the folder "My Documents"/BioWare/Mass Effect/Save.
Import from ME 2 to ME 3
If the second part is installed, the transfer of characters to Mass Effect 3 occurs automatically. If this does not happen, copying the save folder after the battle with the final boss in BioWare/Mass Effect 2/Save is required. This is usually named like James_32__090311.
Mass Effect 3 starts, go to the "New Game" tab, then "Character Transfer from ME2", select a profile and click "Transfer".
How about Andromeda?
One of the reasons why fans disliked the fourth part is the inability to import saves from the classic Mass Effect trilogy.
Actions take place after the battle with the Lord, in parallel with the events of the second part, therefore there is nothing to transfer (in essence). The characters of the game "Mass Effect 3" are not here, although the project came out after that.
Ready saves
In the absence of files, the transfer of characters is possible only through the use of ready-made saves. Those are distributed free of charge by gamers who have completed the game. As a rule, they are laid out with a description of the decisions made by the protagonist and the criteria for creating a character (class, skills, gender).
First, the import button is pressed in the launcher, which creates a folder. The file is copied into it, as described above, then import is pressed again and the game starts.
You can do it easier: the finished save is inserted into the Save folder, the game starts, and the last autosave is loaded. In this case, there is no question of importing from one project to another: files for the current version are used.
Verdict
The Mass Effect series takes pride of place on the shelf of any gamer's games. The brainchild of BioWare is thought out to the smallest detail: actions lead to irreversible consequences, the heroes often have to make a deal with their conscience and think through every branch of the dialogue.
A wrong decision will lead to an increase in the scale of negativity and the rank of "Apostate". Relations with the characters of Mass Effect 3 (as well as the previous parts) are unpredictable: their characters are different - the decisions of the protagonist please or disappoint, and the character can withdraw into himself or leave the team.
And if two characters with whom there was an affair are placed in the squad (for example, Tali'Zorah and Ashley Williams), then the process of passing will be accompanied by replicas of funny skirmishes of the young ladies who did not share the guy.
A non-linear plot, endings that depend on the player's decisions make the project colorful and memorable. Such products push back monotonous shooters with a straightforward plot, where the ending cannot be one and the other - another reason for the failure of Mass Effect: Andromeda.
BioWare has such masterpieces as Dragon Age with a similar system for importing saved files. The bottom line is that when you start a new game, you want to see your favorite characters from the last part, and not start everything from scratch. Continue playing as the character you created once instead of redesigning the appearance in the editor.
As in the previous part, in Mass Effect 3 you can import your character from the previous game (Mass Effect 2). To import a character, you must have a saved and fully completed Mass Effect 2 game on your hard drive.
Bonuses when importing a character from Mass Effect 2
You can get the following bonuses from importing your character from Mass Effect 2:
✓ The level of your character from Mass Effect 2 will be transferred to Mass Effect 3
✓ Your crew members will also start the game with the same level
✓ You will receive points for upgrading your Skills depending on the level of the hero you imported.
✓ If you imported Shepard at level 30, you will get 1 point per Skill automatically and 59 points to use as you wish
✓ Your Hero/Renegade points will raise your reputation in Mass Effect 3 by almost a quarter of the scale. Your moral choices will be reflected.
Appearance
If you import a character, you can change their appearance, but you cannot change their gender. However, you can change the class.
Shepard import issue
Some faces cannot be imported into Mass Effect 3. In this case, you will have to select the default Shepard or create a new one.
This problem occurs when you try to import a character from your Mass Effect 1 account. However, if you make any changes to Shepard's appearance in Mass Effect 2, it will import. Bioware has fixed an issue with Shepard's face on the PC version of the game. A patch for Xbox 360 and PS3 players is in development.
Major decisions
The following choices and saves will affect how you play Mass Effect 3:
Important decisions from Mass Effect 1
✓ Kill or pardon the Rachni Queen
✓ Rescue Kaidan Alenko or Ashley Williams on the planet Virmire
✓ Save or sacrifice by the Citadel Council
✓ Urdnot Rex may die on Virmire in Mass Effect and not appear in Mass Effect 3
✓ Relationships: Mass Effect 3 crew members Ashley Williams, Kaidan Alenko, and Liara T'Soni are all romantically related characters in the first Mass Effect. Romantic relationships with them can be developed in Mass Effect 3.
Important decisions from Mass Effect 2
✓ Rewrite or destroy geth heretics
✓ Rescue or destroy Melon's genophage data
✓ Destroy or leave the Collector's base to Cerberus
✓ If any crew member does not survive the last suicide mission in Mass Effect 2, he or she will not be in Mass Effect 3. Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah you Normandy will be available as crew members if they survive. If Jack, Jacob Taylor, Kasumi Goto, Legion, Mordin Solus, Miranda Lawson, Samara, Thane Krios and Zaid Massani survive, they will appear in small episodes
✓ Relationships: Characters to hook up with - Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah and Normandy from Mass Effect 2. Other options from Mass Effect 2 (Miranda Lawson, Jack, Jacob Taylor, Thane Krios, Kelly Chambers, Samara, Morinth ) will appear in small episodes in Mass Effect 3, and they will have different dialogue if you had a relationship with them in Mass Effect 2.
If Shepard died
If Mass Effect 2 ended very sadly - Shepard died with the team, or only Shepard died, then this game cannot be downloaded! It won't work =)
Cloud Saves for Xbox 360
EA has confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will not support Mass Effect 2 saves imported from the cloud to Xbox 360. Local saves moved from the console via the cloud will also not be available.
Players who wish to transfer their ME2 save file via the cloud to a new Xbox in order to play ME3 must transfer the saved file to their original hard drive. To use an ME2 save, players must transfer the file to their original Xbox 360 and then manually transfer it to the new Xbox, either via USB or cable. Local saves that were transferred to consoles via the cloud are also useless. Therefore, players without original hard drives will run into problems as you will not be able to restore the saved file.
However, if you still have an ME2 and you've transferred your savegame to a new console (through the cloud or some other method), there is a way to import your character. Download ME2 and load your last saved game. Then create a NEW SAVE GAME that will already be on your disk and will allow you to import your character into ME3. Checked - on PS3 it works with a bang.
To date, the Mass Effect series of games is known to almost every gamer, and this is not surprising, because the space shooter has not only high-quality performance, but also very interesting gameplay, along with excellent graphics. Therefore, it is not surprising that many who started playing from the first part are interested in the possibility of transferring their character to other games in the series. We hasten to please gamers - this is quite within the power of any person who is at least a little versed in the computer, Mass Effect allows you to transfer saves without difficulty.
Transfer (transfer) character Mass Effect 1 - Mass Effect 2
So let's get started on how to transfer a Mass Effect 1 character. The first thing to know is that you can only import game autosave files. They all have the extension ".MassEffectSave", and the file name is something like this: "Char_specific code".
Procedure:
- We launch the "Launcher" of Mass Effect 2, we emphasize, it is the 2nd part.
- After opening the active window, we will be interested in the "Configure" tab ("Configure" for the English version of the game client).
- Next, look for the item "Saved games" ("Saved games").
- We press the button "Copy saves from Mass Effect 1", and then, quite habitually, specify the address for storing the files of the first part of the game. Most often, they are located in "Documents" (C:\\Users\\User_Name\\Documents). For those who still have Windows XP installed, the path looks different: C:\\Documents and Settings\\Username\\My Documents.
- In the above folders, there will usually be Bioware, which contains the necessary Mass Effect files. Saves, of course, need to be looked for in the Saves folder.
- After that, the program will independently perform the necessary actions - all that remains is to enter the game and start a new campaign. Most importantly, do not forget to select "Character Transfer" in the parameters.
If you don't have a Launcher shortcut for MassEffect 2, you'll need to do a manual transfer. To do this, in the root of the folder with the saves of the second part (Documents\\Bioware\\Mass Effect2\\Saves), you will need to create another folder "ME1". Please note, it must be named with the English letters "M" and "E"!
After that, copy the save files to the newly created ME1 and do everything that is described in paragraph 6 above.
Transfer (transfer) character Mass Effect 2 - Mass Effect 3
How to transfer a character to Mass Effect 3. If you have the 2nd part of Mass Effect installed on your computer, then the character will be transferred to the 3rd automatically (thanks to the developers for this little convenience). If the game, for some reason, is missing and you intentionally did not clean up the saves, then everything should work out too (check the Mass Effect 2\\Saves documents for a folder like John_31_123456).
Next, you should launch the “troika” and, by analogy with the second part, select “Me2 Character Transfer” in the “New Game” menu.
In order to avoid transfer errors, it is recommended to constantly check the game version for relevance and always install fresh patches.
If you want to reset skill points in order to redistribute them in a new game, you need to do this:
- Run Mass Effect 2 and load your "char".
- After the final battle with the Collectors, you need to head to the Normandy location.
- Here you can find a special research terminal that will reset your hero's skills.
- After that, be sure to save.
- Ready. You can go into Mass Effect 3 and start a new game.
The transfer of characters to Mass Effect 3 occurs automatically if Mass Effect 2 is installed on the computer. Otherwise, you need to copy the John_32__090311 folder with the save file inside, made after , to the \My Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 2\Save folder. To complete the import process, launch the Mass Effect 3 game, go to the section "New Game" > "Character Transfer from ME2". Then select a profile and press the button "Game Choice". We agree with the listed import conditions by clicking the button "Postpone". In the non-updated version of Mass Effect 3, there may be a bug with the transfer of the appearance of a character that was created back in ME1. The latest patches fix it. If you suddenly have a desire, for this you need to import the character, after returning from the final battle with the Collectors, reset all skill points through the Normandy research terminal in Mass Effect 2 and save, and only then import the resulting file.
Bonuses when importing a character from Mass Effect 2 to Mass Effect 3:
- Saving skill points.
- Access to skills acquired from companions.
- One-time 15% Hero/Renegade reputation bonus.
Bonuses when importing a character from Mass Effect 3 into Mass Effect 3:
- Preservation of the achieved level of character development.
- Saving skill points.
- Additional credits.
- Hero/Renegade Reputation Bonus.
- Access to previously collected weapons, modifications and armor.
- Ability to upgrade weapons up to level 10.
