In a post on the official BioWare blog, Mass Effect 3 Producer Jesse Houston was nice enough to answer a long list of fan question about Mass Effect 3's recently announced co-op mode, giving tons of new details on the franchise's first foray into multiplayer.
Let's get the disappointing news out of the way first: Mass Effect 3 won't support local co-op on any platform, nor will you be able to play the multiplayer modes offline through use of system link, LAN, or any other means. However, BioWare is considering to patching these features in at a later date, so you might be able to pile onto the couch with your friends somewhere down the road.
Then there's the always thorny issue of DRM on the PC. It looks like Mass Effect 3 will be going down the online authentication road, but in the least intrusive way possible. "Mass Effect 3 PC will require the internet connection when you initially launch and authorize it," Houston revealed, "but then you will no longer require the connection." While it's not entirely clear, that sounds like he's referring to the very first time you start the game, rather than each time you boot it up.
The interview also dove into greater detail on the mechanics of co-op that BioWare had already announced. You'll be able to create a custom character from one of several humanoid races, like the Krogan, Drell, Asari, and Humans, plus a few that Houston says fans might not expect. BioWare also intends to add in new characters through DLC packs after the game's been released, so you just might get to play as a gun-toting Hanar eventually. Finger's crossed.
Once you've picked a race, you'll then choose a class, presumably from the same selection available in single-player. You won't be able to swap this selection after your character's been created, so you'll need to run multiple characters if you want to try out all the different class options. Each one of those characters will level individually, meaning there's no shared experience pool. If you want to level up a particular class and unlock new equipment, you're going to need to use that character to get kills and complete objectives. No coattail riding here, folks.
Fan feedback has been a little wary on the prospect of multiplayer in a Mass Effect game, and BioWare has been quick to assure them that the experience is entirely optional. For instance, you won't miss out on any plot details if you opt out of multiplayer, as there won't be any cutscenes or the like. Houston says they've modeled the co-op along the lines of side-missions in single player, where you might have a combat objective that's story driven in a very localized way, but nothing that impacts the overall plot of the game.
Dialogue will be limited to squad banter, orders, and whatever obscenities you shout at your fellow players via your headset. Since all of your teammates will be human-controlled and there won't be any conversation trees, the single-player game's Kinect support won't be carrying over, either.
And while your actions in co-op will affect the Galactic Readiness Level, the statistic that determines how prepared you are to defend from the Reaper threat, you'll still be able to get the best ending without ever touching co-op.
Nor will you need to worry about the decisions you made back in Mass Effect 1 and 2, as they won't affect the Galactic Readiness Level one bit. Those choices will definitely have an impact on the story, but you won't be at any sort of disadvantage if, say, you let a particular character die way back in the first game.
The technical side of things sounds promising as well. You'll be able to create private games and invite your friends, but you'll also have the option of hopping into a public matchmaking service that will pair you up with other players at a similar skill level. Co-op will support online leaderboards, and the BioWare Social Network will provide exhaustive stat tracking, though the developer hasn't pinned down exactly what data will be recorded for each player.
There will also be systems in place to deal with griefers, though BioWare has designed the game to minimize the chance that someone will ruin your game. That includes the omission of friendly fire, though the developer is considering adding the option in later on. And for those of you who hate having to constantly swap discs or reboot the game, no need to fret over Mass Effect 3. Everything will be included on the main disc for consoles and launch from within a single executable file on the PC.
Mass Effect 3 is slated to release for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC this March 6 in North America and March 9 in Europe.
