BioWare's Mass Effect Legendary Edition is here, Commander


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It's here! Mass Effect Legendary Edition is out right now and it's time to suit up. Garrus, Tali, Mordin and Wrex are all coming back in stunning 4K and here's the latest.

LATEST - Community Tribute Video

BioWare and the team behind Mass Effect have shared a heartwarming Community Tribute video celebrating the release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition. It showcases some iconic moments from "The Epic Trilogy" and explains how this has touched so many lives and brought so much joy to the world.

It is important to note that video games are often more than just that; they are an escape, a chance at representation, and an important outlet for people to explore who they truly feel they are.

Mass Effect has helped people do this and now the Legendary Edition is bringing all of this and more to the next generation of consoles.

Welcome back, Commander Shephard.

New Trophies & Achievements

As you might imagine, the upcoming release of Mass Effect Legendary Edition is bringing a new batch of PSN Trophies and Xbox Achievements for players to unlock through playing. There's a little over 130 up for grabs across the three games, however, they're not evenly split.

For the most part, each Mass Effect title has its original Trophy / Achievement list. Mass Effect has 35, Mass Effect 2 has 45, and Mass Effect 3 has 39. This is only 119 though? Where's the rest of them?

Well... Mass Effect Legendary Edition has its own set of Trilogy-spanning Trophies / Achievements that you'll need to unlock across all three titles. Check those 11 out below:

  • Insanity I
    • Complete Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 on Insanity without changing the difficulty
  • Insanity II
    • Complete two games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Insanity without changing the difficulty
  • Insanity III
    • Complete all three games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Insanity without changing difficulty
  • Paramour I
    • Establish a romantic relationship in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3
  • Paramour II
    • Establish or rekindle a romantic relationship in two games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  • Paramour III
    • Establish or rekindle a romantic relationship in all three games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  • Long Service Medal
    • Finish Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 with the same character
  • Recruit
    • Kill 250 enemies in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3
  • Soldier
    • Kill 1,000 enemies in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3
  • Veteran
    • Kill 2,000 enemies in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3
  • Bruiser
    • Kill 100 enemies with melee attacks in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3

If you want to see the full list of Mass Effect Legendary Edition's Trophies / Achievements, we have that for you here.

How to Preload it

As of May 12, the option to preload is available to everyone regardless of their platform. Once you preorder the game, your platform should automatically start downloading it but, if you preordered in advance or don't have the storage, you might have to do so manually.

For most devices, you merely have to find the game in your library and click on it for the download to start. Just make sure you have the storage available.

The Day One Patch Is Huge

Following the information being revealed on Orbis Patches, we now know that Mass Effect Legendary Edition is due to get an 11.8GB Day One Patch. Currently, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is due to clock in at around 120GB so it's certainly not the smallest title.

Still, for a Day One Patch... It's not the biggest we've ever seen. Cyberpunk 2077 saw updates of well over 40GB on Day One.

That being said, as IGN rightfully pointed out, the Mass Effect Legendary Edition Day One patch is actually bigger than the original file sizes for the first three titles.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Garrus Tali
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SQUAD UP - Who are you taking into battle this time around?

multiplayerMass Effect was only around 6GB big, Mass Effect 2 was over 9GB and Mass Effect 3 was 10.6GB. However, how much of that was multiplayer content anyway?

All we know about the Day One Patch is that it should address the following...

  • Improves performance
  • Improves stability and fixes crashes
  • Improvements to Ambient Occlusion (AO)
  • Lighting improvements - both visual and performance-related
  • Miscellaneous content fixes

Comparison Video Released

We've seen the screenshots, but sometimes it can be a little difficult to truly appreciate the visual upgrade we're getting for the Mass Effect Trilogy in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition release that's coming.

Thankfully, Playstation has us covered with a brand-new comparison video that showcases some of the key changes to the new version of the game.

There's a complete pass on in-game textures and 3D models, new lighting details and particle effects upgrades that pull this iconic game series into the modern age. The default Male Shephard appearance still has strangely large eyes but that's nostalgic, right?

Major Overhauls Detailed

In a recent PlayStation Blog post, EA/BioWare Community Manager Jay Ingram has shared a massive update on a number of key changes that will be coming in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition release next month.

The original Mass Effect game, as you might imagine, is the game that has changed the most. In particular, there has been extensive Combat Tuning and changes to how the Mako works exclusively to this title.

READ MORE: The Pinnacle Station DLC Is The Only Expansion Not Included And Here's Why

On top of this, Gameplay Improvements and Modernization Changes have been made to all three of the core Mass Effect Titles that are coming in the Legendary Edition collection.

You'll be pleased to know that each Mass Effect title will still feel as unique as they did originally, but the changes detailed below should make each gameplay better and feel more like the titles we see released today.

Mass Effect Combat Tuning

The combat in Mass Effect, looking back, was less than fantastic. It was influenced a lot by traditional RPG mechanics and its' gunplay was frankly subpar. Thankfully, there are a lot of changes coming and you can see them below:

  • Shepard can now sprint out of combat
  • Melee attacks are now mapped to a button press rather than automatically occurring based on proximity to an enemy
  • Weapon accuracy and handling has been significantly improved
    • Reticle bloom is more controlled
    • Weapon sway removed from sniper rifles
    • Aiming down sights/”tight aim” camera view has been improved
    • Improved aim assist for target acquisition
  • All relevant enemies now take headshot damage in the first game
    • Previously some did not, including humanoid enemies
  • Ammo mods (Anti-Organic, Anti-Synthetic, etc.) can now drop throughout the whole game
    • Previously, these stopped dropping at higher player levels
    • They are now also available to purchase from merchants
  • All weapons can be used by any class without penalty
    • Specializations (the ability to train/upgrade certain weapons) are still class-specific
  • Weapons cool down much faster
  • Medi-gel usage has been improved
    • Base cooldown reduced
    • Levelling benefits increased
    • Increased Liara’s bonus to cooldowns
  • Inventory management improvements
    • Items can now be flagged as “Junk”
    • All Junk items can be converted into Omni-gel or sold to merchants at once
    • Inventory and stores now have sorting functionality
  • Some abilities have been rebalanced
  • Weapon powers (i.e., those that are unlocked on each weapon type’s skill tree) have been improved:
    • Effectiveness/strength is increased (duration reduced in some cases)
    • Heat now resets on power activation

Mako Changes - Mass Effect

In addition to the Combat Tuning, the infamous Mako Transport is getting an overhaul to help make those gameplay segments a little more enjoyable.

At long last, the instant-kill Lava issue is being resolved!

  • Improved handling
    • Physics tuning improved to feel “weightier” and slide around less
  • Improved camera controls
    • Resolved issues preventing the Mako from accurately aiming at lower angles
  • Shields recharge faster
  • New thrusters added for a speed boost
    • Its cooldown is separate from the jump jets’
  • The XP penalty while in the Mako has been removed
  • Touching lava no longer results in an instant Mission Failure and instead deals damage over time
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mako Combat
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IT'S GOT HEART - The Mako should be vastly improved in the Legendary Edition release

Additional Gameplay Improvements

That doesn't mean that Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 have been left out. There are some general changes that are being applied to the trilogy as a whole to help update and modernize the titles for their Mass Effect Legendary Edition release.

  • Squadmates can now be commanded independently of each other in the first Mass Effect, the same way you can command them individually in Mass Effect 2 and 3
  • Some boss fights and enemies in the first game have been tweaked to be fairer for players but still challenging
  • Cover has been improved across the trilogy
    • Additional cover added to some encounters
    • Entering and exiting cover is now more reliable
  • XP has been rebalanced in the first game
  • Ammo drops have been rebalanced in Mass Effect 2

Unifying Changes & Modernization

Each Mass Effect game is still going to play differently, but there are some changes being made that should make the whole experience feel much more cohesive.

Character Creation is getting an update and "hundreds of legacy bugs" are being fixed from the original releases.

  • New unified launcher for all three games
    • Includes trilogy-wide settings for subtitles and languages
    • Saves are still unique to each game and can be managed independently of each other
  • Updated character creator options, as mentioned above
    • FemShep from Mass Effect 3 is the new default female option in all three games (the original FemShep design is still available as a preset option)
  • Trophies across the trilogy have been updated
    • New trophies have been added to the trilogy
    • Progress for some now carries over across all three games (e.g. Kill 250 enemies across all games)
      • Trophies that were streamlined into one and made redundant were removed
    • A number of trophies have had their objectives/descriptions and/or names updated
  • Integrated weapons and armor DLC packs
    • Weapons and armor DLC packs are now integrated naturally into the game; they’re obtainable via research or by purchasing them from merchants as you progress through the game, rather than being immediately unlocked from the start. This ensures overall balance and progression across ME2 and ME3
    • Recon Hood (ME2) and Cerberus Ajax Armor (ME3) are available at the start of each game
  • Additional gameplay & Quality of life improvements
    • Audio is remixed and enhanced across all games
    • Hundreds of legacy bugs from the original releases are fixed
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Character Creation
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CHANGE IT UP - The updated Character Creation options should offer a uniform experience

Release Date & Platforms Information

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is due to launch on May 14th on all major platforms (except Nintendo Switch) with a huge number of improvements.

" Relive the cinematic saga in stunning 4K with enhanced visuals, textures and models. Including modern graphic improvements, updated UI, and more."

In addition to the graphical improvements, the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect will benefit from updated control schemes, UI changes, and phenomenally faster loading times.

You can check out the trailer for the game below and the Mass Effect Legendary Edition page on EA's site for more comparison photos.

PC Requirements

The official requirements for the game have been released by EA, check them out below.

Minimum Requirements

  • OS: 64-bit Windows 10
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 3570 or AMD FX-8350
  • RAM: 8 GB System Memory
  • GPU: NVIDIA GTX 760, AMD Radeon 7970 / R9280X
  • GPU RAM: 2 GB Video Memory
  • HARD DRIVE: At least 120 GB of free space
  • DIRECTX: DirectX 11

Recommended Requirements

  • OS: 64-bit Windows 10
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
  • RAM: 16 GB System Memory
  • GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1070, AMD Radeon Vega 56.
  • GPU RAM: 4 GB Video Memory
  • HARD DRIVE: At least 120 GB of free space
  • DIRECTX: DirectX 11

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