The beloved Mass Effect trilogy will soon be hitting digital shelves in a new remastered bundle, complete with enhanced graphics and plenty of rebalancing. While many original features of the Mass Effect games will be part of the new edition, EA has already announced that the multiplayer component will not be a part of Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Because of the way Mass Effect 3 was structured, the lack of multiplayer has resulted in adjustments to aspects of the single player campaign as well.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the remastered bundle of the first three games of the series. EA isn't stopping at simply releasing the game with improved graphics. The development team has made several major tweaks to the games, with Mass Effect in particular. For instance, the original game is getting a new HUD and is removing class restrictions on weapons. In addition, major changes are being made to how the Mako vehicle handles, and the character creator is getting more customization options.
A significant gameplay change coming to Mass Effect 3 in particular has to do with a single-player game mechanic known as Galactic Readiness. In Mass Effect 3, players prepare to go to war against the Reapers by assembling a coalition of allies and resources that will be used in the final assault. All of these allies and resources are reflected in the Galactic Readiness score, which also factors into decisions players made in previous games that affects the relative strength of their allies. But the Galactic Readiness could also be influenced by factors that are now defunct, like an app known as Mass Effect: Infiltrator, as well as a player's participation in Mass Effect 3's multiplayer. But with Mass Effect Legendary Edition not including multiplayer, adjustments had to be made to the Galactic Readiness mechanic.
How Will Mass Effect Legendary Edition Calculate Galactic Readiness?
The Galactic Readiness score in Mass Effect 3 no longer factors in any external apps or multiplayer as part of its calculations; the score is based completely on single-player actions and decisions. That score IS affected by decisions in previous games, with better scores achieved if players bring over save files from the first two Mass Effect games. While a good Galactic Readiness score is possible if players just jump straight to Mass Effect 3, developers warn that players will need to complete nearly every task in the game to avoid massive losses during Mass Effect 3's ending. They also warn that, in comparison to Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, which included some tweaks to Galactic Readiness, it will be much harder to prepare for the final fight in Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
As games grow older, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain online components that have fallen into disuse. While BioWare and EA could have made the decision to update and relaunch Mass Effect's multiplayer, it makes more sense to retool the game into a state that doesn't require online assets. It allows Mass Effect fans to save the galaxy for years to come without worrying if a server is going to be permanently discontinued and take the game with it.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition comes to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 14, 2021.