Mass Effect 3

Bastion

Are any booters playing the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer on Xbox 360? I'm thinking of getting 3 months of gold with a special they are having, but I don't want to spend the money if no one is playing it.

I know of some booters who are doing it, but they're on PC.

I'm on there...not sure how much MP I will be playing, however.

I'm on there. And I'll need to boost my readiness up to get my second playthrough ready to take on the ending. Look for Rotogar. I'll likely be playing a bunch of multiplayer this weekend (Resurgence).

Okay, I just started playing the game, and I don't really understand the readiness thing. Is the only way to boost it by playing multiplayer? I got the iPhone app codex thingy, and I thought it would boost it, too, but I don't guess it does.

I have no idea about other methods of increasing readiness. But, yes, multiplayer games increase readiness - which ups the percentage from the starting 50%. Play enough matches, and you can get it to 100%. You don't *need* to get to 100%, but you can. That readiness percentage affects your war assets (that you can access in the war room). As you play the single player game, you will gather war assets (individuals, units, tech, etc.) that add up. I guess I should add that if you build a multiplayer character up high enough (level 20), you can then promote them and they become a war asset to your single player game. The total number is multiplied by your current readiness to get your total preparedness number.

Playing a match will net you anywhere from +1% to +4% based on whether you win or loose, where you fight, etc. Every day you do not play multiplayer, your readiness slips. Which is why my readiness is back down in the 60% range (after being 100% for a single day). And why I will need to boost it back up so my Renegade Shep is ready to take on the Reapers.

Well, I was all gung ho until I read the last part. That means that if I play multiplayer now ,but I am not ready to beat the game, my readiness level will sag constantly as long as I haven't beaten it. I guess that means that I can't really do this until I am ready to beat the game.

1. As far as I know readiness rating won't drop below 50%.
2. Multiplayer is not needed to beat the game. Unless you go out of your way to activaly screw yourself over and don't do any scanning & side missions, you will get enough war assets to get "the best" ending.

Correct. Additionally, the drop is proportional to your current readiness. So if you play a single mutliplayer match and get your readiness to 54%, it would take (I believe) 4 days to fully loose the boost. Now, if you play a ton of multiplayer and get your readiness to 100%, you'll be back below 90% in three or four days. So a bit of multiplayer early is just fine and will be a big help later on. A ton of multiplater early is not a big help. But fun. I like the multiplayer.