Taking a break from DKS, after a month of playing, I decided to start a new char in the ME series. I thought I would try a female char, based on my current DKS char, Sonoura. Being a glutton for punishment, I'm playing on Insanity. I'll try to post progress as I can, and if you are or have a char in this, please post progress or comments about your experience.

I didn't touch insanity until my second playthrough on my way to level 60. But i have beaten both on insanity. ME1 honestly isn't that hard on insanity. ME2 however is well, insane. Especially if you are not playing a warrior.

^
Warriors don't exist in ME (LOL), you mean the soldier class.

I played ME as a renegade vanguard. Found the game mediocre and sold it. I picked up ME2 after hearing about how haters of the first enjoyed it and thought it was an improvement upon the original and I myself actually enjoyed it more and even had the save of my first character. I imported him into the game and changed his class to soldier (because I found vanguard to be rubbish) and even made him a paragon - regretting his past renegade actions - but he still had a bit of renegade in him.

ME3? I'll pick that up when it's cheap next year or when a GOTY edition is released.

After obliterating everything in DKS 3, D, E, F and G, Sonoura leaves Revillon, to explore the universe. Riding a wave of encapsulated energy, she comes upon a world called Earth. Being able to change form at will, she integrates with them. She studies them for hundreds of years, forming a new identity in Earth's military alliance.

She keeps her long black hair rolled into a tight bun, atop her head. She has skin the color of fresh snow, and paints her voluptuous lips black to accent her slim, runway-model face. (GOTHIC, I SAY...GOTHIC)

Her background starts, as Earthborn and Ruthless, to maximize Renegade for the dialog opts. She is an Adept, possessing all the Biotic talents of a modern day Mage. She also has training in Sniper Rifles, and proved to be very deadly at incredibly long ranges. Filling the gap of med range with her pistol.

Adept on Insane... is really insane.

Almost every enemy will have armour & biotic shields... meaning your powers are useless 90% of the time.

Once she gets to ME2 I will most likely change her class to Eng. The enemies during ME1 just have increased shld protection.

Exactly. Its nigh impossible. On Soldier however, I found it fairly easy. Adrenaline rush is a must.

Now...When start using words like 'IMPOSSIBLE', that could make me recant my previous post about changing class in ME2.

Seriously. Adept on insanity is ridiculous. Save yourself frustration and don't do it :P

We'll see once ME1 is done.

EDIT: So was The Naked Nun...She is still on standby, at lvl 30 w/lvl 10 stats, in DKS.

Sonoura made it to the Citadel, about 30 pts from lvl 4. She broke that after a brief talk with a few people and just concentrated on advancing the main story missions, leaving all but the Dr Michel assignment until later.

This is a rather tedious leveling strategy, to try to reach the next lvl with the exact number, as some of the XPs are 'supposedly' waisted and not carried over to progress the next lvl. So far this seems to be the case only with XP not carrying over gains from Codex Entries. Although I cannot tell from XPs gained from Missions and/or Assmts. The XPs from them seem to carry over, but maybe at a reduced %.

This is only being tested, in an attempt to reach lvl 60 in one playthrough, in order to transfer this char, as a lvl 60, to ME2. Through the use of this leveling method, and the use of the respawning Rocket Drones in the 'Bring Dn The Sky' DLC, we'll see how it goes. Reaching lvl 57 through normal gameplay, and not paying attention to any 'potentially waisted' XPs, makes me think it might be possible. Although, you can advance a lvl when becoming Spectre. Maybe it will/wont make a diff. I'm afraid it might be to much of a micro manage. The main thing is to have fun.

So far it's been fairly easy, but this is only the beginning. The fight with the thugs, to get Garrus, was no prob. After getting Wrex onboard, Fist was taken down rather easily as well. The thugs were a little tuff to take down, before the clock ran out to get Tali. It was close, with only 15 sec left, but we made it.

Sonoura made Spectre, and after taking care of Dr Mic, put my girl at lvl 8. Using the wheel-n-deal moneymaker, with the Dr, we were able to bank enough creds to get some Spectre Gear for Sonoura and the crew.

We headed to Noveria to grab some Titan IV armor. With the enemies scaled to the player, at lvl 8 with Spectre Weapons VII, we would dealing the most dam per shot to the enemy (without the use of talents) until lvl 50, and access to lvl X Spt Ger.

As a test run we went to Pen Station to try the simulators.(now that's insane) My last playthrough, I had to wait until Lvl 50 to complete it, because of the Tropical Hunt. I blew through them all at lvl 30. Until Trop Hnt, because the enemy had far out leveled my Spt Ger VII weapons. Lvl 50 was the only chance. With Sonoura, the first 2 hunts went fairly easy. But by leveling twice, (as well as enemies) the weak armor and weak talents proved to be the downfall for Capture Mode. Thus ending my early and poor attempt at Lvl X gear.

I don't mean to sound like 'The Fox and The Grapes', but I HATE timed events...

Sonours is now lvl 10 and it's back to the Citadel to catch up on Asmnts and do some exploration, to reach lvl 20. Gotta get that Sniper Rifle settled down before Noveria.

no offense but can we keep away from the roleplaying in this thread :P

KEEP AWAY...NEVER...HAHAHA...

Well this was obviously the wrong way to start. I have got to reload a previous save and complete everything possible, prior to becoming Spectre. Like your ment to do in the first place..

I mean prior to Sonoura taking over the GALAXY! HAHAHA...

OK...Now this is better. I went back to the fight with Fist and got Tali. This time I done all the Asmts that were available, with the exception of Schells' Gambling Data. With only 3 Asmts left, (one being Shell and the other two being, Trac Sig and Rita's Sis) I had to play around with the order of completion to try an reach lvl 11 without going over too far. By leaving Shell for later, and Killing the Krogan supplier for Chellick, I was able to break lvl 11 +140. After becoming Spectre, I went back to Shell and that put me within 400 of lvl 13.

I have 8 pts in reserve. I just need 5 more in Sniper to get it to 9 and that will settle the scope down to zero movement. The fight with the Krogan was tuff. So the extra talent points will wait, because I'm not sure where I will go just yet. If it ends up being somewhere with another tight battle, I may use those points to boost her Biotics and/or Armor, and wait until another lvl or two for Sniper.

After grinding for 2 hrs for Creds, with the cute Dr Mic, I have got it to 340K per transaction. I'm going to spend another half hr and max out the creds at 9.99 mil. That should last until the last quarter of the game. (maybe)

Then after some shoppn' and some exploration...well...we'll see.




Was that better...Flipper...

Although, I held back and thus can't make any promises for future posts...That is, posts of...

Sonoura, TAKING OVER THE GALAXY!! HAHAHAHAH...

I didn't know this, (wow big shocker) but you get a hidden bonus from your Par/Ren lvl in ME1.

Paragon Bar---Bonus
25%-----10% bonus to First Aid coldown
50%-----10% bonus to Health
75%-----5% bonus to all cooldowns

Renegade Bar---Bonus
25%-----10% bonus to First Aid cooldown
50%-----Regen +1 Health per sec
75%-----5% bonus to damage/duration of weapons/talents

With the crew (Wrex and Garrus) fully stocked with Spec Gear and some better armor, we completed the Major Kyle Asmnt. It didn't take long after landing to decide on getting Sniper to rank 9. After clearing a few pirates, and making a peaceful Renegade (man is that an oxymoron) opt for surrender, Sonoura decides to kill the Biotic Cultists anyway. Why? For XPs, of course. And because that's just the kind of girl she is. What can you say?

From here we completed the Dead Scientist Asmnt. Yes she shot him too...Thanks to the extra pts in Intimidate, to give the Renegade opt in dialog. Then, taking down her first Thrasher Maw, (on foot) put her at lvl 14. Needing to lvl more and build her Biotics, before taking on any more close combat, we set out to do the Geth Incursions Asnmt. This is a long one, covering 4 planets, and LOADED with XPs. With Sniper settled down, and peeking over the hill tops, it was like shooting fish in a bucket. 3 planets, 100 Geth and another Thr Maw later, she broke lvl 20. Amazingly, without ever taking a single hit.

As for her two companions...well, "Sometimes you must sacrifice the many for the few", as cleraly stated in the 'Renegade Reasoning Manual'. Co-authored by Sonoura herself.

We left the last planet for now, and went to the moon. By completing the Rogue VI Asmnt, that is playable after reaching lvl 20, she would gain access to the Specialty Class. This wasn't exactly a cake walk. The strategy, for all three of the bunkers, was to stay in the front room and draw the Drones into the hallway. This bottlenecking worked ok for the first two bunkers. The last one however, took about 5 tries. One hit from one of those Rocket Drones, and you're TOAST!

Now that the moon is done, she took the Bastion Specialty. That boosts Barrier and Stasis. I had enough pts banked to max Bastion out. The bonus to Stasis lets you damage the enemy. So, along with boosting Barrier strength and reducing the cooldown, it was the choice to make. Sonoura is now lvl 24 and by lvl 26, she will be able to maintain a Barrier for 1,250 HPs 100% of the time.

The last planet of Geth should get us there. Then it's off to get her a girlfriend mmmm...Liara...

Those two, twisted in blue...

As Sonoura, TAKES OVER THE GALAXY!!! HOOHOOHAHAHA!!!

There were actually 5 planets in the Geth Asmnt, and not 4, as i prev stated. After which, Sonoura leveled to 27. She now has a Barrier that rivals, even her Krogan companion, Wrex. This actually makes her as durable in combat as my Soldier build.

After the Geth, we went to get Liara. Taking out all the Geth on the trail with the Sniper Rifle, she proved herself in close combat, with the few left in the first gated area. With the use of her Biotics, coupled with Wrex's, they were able to control the battlefield completely.

The anal leveling strat proved to be more trouble than worth. I used the save/reload exploit to reach lvl 36, before talking to Liara. I still had the boss of the stage left, and I didn't want to break lvl 37. The merchants stop selling VII weapon upgrades once you pass lvl 36, and I wanted to get the ammo/weapon upgrades before they vanish for good.

The boss battle, with the Krogan and 4 or 5 Geth was surprisingly easy. I found this fight rather hard with my other playthroughs. Sonours had access to all of her Biotics and she used them to deadly effects. Using Lift, Stasis and Singularity then targeting the enemy for the others to fire on, they made short work of them. that brought her within 200 pts of lvl 37. (too close)

I visited the merchants and landed 3 VII Shreader ammos, but was unable to get them to reset their inventory. I traveled to other planets for 2 hrs and tried everything I could think of. Completing more missions seemed to be the only alternate. That will put us over the lvl cap for the merchs, so I must try to get the upgrades from crates and drops before lvl 43.

And before Sonoura...TAKES OVER THE GALAXY!! HEHEHEHAHAHA!!

Well, the rockets don't respawn on the 360. On mine at least. They stop after about 10 or so. After looking at the XP chart on the Wiki, and doing the math, it looks like 58 will be the limit. It is possible, but you must not any more quests than it takes to get to Liara. Reaching 57 to 58, thus leaving at least 75% of the game to reach 60.

As it is now, I will just be starting ME2 at lvl 3 instead of 5. -(a few K in creds) I think I can live with that...

Baby girl is at lvl 39, and about a third of the way through Bring Dwn The Sky. After this we'll catch up all the asmnts and head for Noveria. In our insane quest for...

Sonoura, TAKING OVER THE GALAXY!!! HA!

Ummmm....no offense but you know you are talking to yourself right?

It's a post Gator, not a telephone...

I may have to cut my ME1 game short. I can't wait to do this with an INSANE ADEPT

I talk to myself all the time! But I did read these posts here. I'm surprised you didn't finish DKS first as Sonoura.

It was well into my second and continuous playthrough. Just started to get a little burnt out, and needed a break for a bit. Don't doubt...It will be a return.

Yes ! Very good !

PS: My hero Jurdenson is still Level 25 now for a while. Jurdenson is "sleeping" .... because my girlfriend need my help for weeks (or more) ... So I play now the roll of "husband" (cooking, making dishes, cleaning, etc etc ... )

I'm about 75% done with ME1 on insanity. Sonoura as an Adept, has proven to be absolutely devastating. She is currently lvl 51, and has died only 2 times since maxout on her Barrier. I started playing her more aggressively, lately and she is right in there on the front lines with the rest of the crew. Using her Biotics, the enemies stay, either in the air or on the floor, pretty much all the time.

BTW..Still running with Wrex and Garrus. I may change up, when I get the boons from the Achevs granted for playing the major part of the game with their char. Sonoura is killing everything and everybody in all quest possible. Good / Bad...doesn't matter...DEAD, DEAD, DEAD...So, when we get to Virmire, and she has to confront her partner Wrex...well, guess what....BAM! At that point, it WILL be a squadmate change.

When she gets to ME2, everybody dies, Council (ME1), squad, crew...GONE! It will be interesting to see how this scenario plays out in ME3 as...


Sonoura...TAKES OVER THE GALAXY!! MooHooHooHooHaHaHaHaHa!!!

ME1 is done..It was rather easy, all the way to the end. Sonoura was all but invincible, with a Shld / Barrier totaling over 1450. She reached lvl 58, never falling in battle once since around lvl 40. The final battle with Saren lasted a while, as I opt not to have him shoot himself. This was the first time for that, as I had him commit suicide, in prev playthroughs. Sonoura is continuing as an Adept in ME3, and has made it to the new Normandy. I will find it hard to stick to my original gameplan, of killing off my squadmates. I will most likely complete their Loyalty Missions, in order to get the weapons and upgrades they provide. Thus, ensuring their survival in the Final Mission.

Oh well...It's all about having fun, as...

Sonoura, TAKES OVER THE GALAXY!!! HA!

I haven't had much time to play as of late. But, I have played enough to say that the Adept is one bad puppy. I have only done missions to advance the main story. I dome Kasumi's Loyalty Mission and Zaieed's LM, to get the Locust submachine gun and the Heavy weapon upgrade. The part of the game that i find the hardest is probably the Collector Ship mission. I took Miranda (HOT!) and Grunt. Sonoura had Stasis as her bonus power. I was nervous, as all my other playthroughs took me 8 - 10 tries to get through this part. The platforms that is. Sonoura picked up the assault rifle, and now packed the Matlock, (Yea! serious fire power...) Well, we triggered the control panel, and away we went.

The first platform came in, with the Scion right behind it. Sonoura hits the Scion with Stasis, before it reaches the stopping point and the Scion is frozen in place. The platform he was on continues to move into place, and when he comes out of Stasis, he just falls to his death. One of the Collectors was taken out with Warp, to drop his armor and then Sonoura hits him with Throw. Off the platform he goes. Harbinger takes control and here he comes. Miranda and Grunt is laying down firepower, after Miri takes his barrier down about 25% with Warp. A Warp from Sonoura, and some directed assault rifle from Grunt, and he is down to armor. Sonoura lands a Singularity right in front of Harbi. It doesn't pick him up, but it locks him in place. We take out the other Collectors first, so we deal with only on Harbi per platform. Sonoura keeps him in place with Singularity, and when the others are dead or thrown from the platform, Harbi is taken O-U-T!

This turned into the fastest time with the platforms yet. The others were taken out the same way. We made it out with the first try, and nobody fell during battle. I couldn't believe it.

We made it back to the Normandy and headed straight to get Legion. Sonoura has been packing The Caine BABY! We got the IFF and took out the core with one shot from The Caine. I was able to take legion on Tali's recruitment mission. That made for a couple of interesting and funny dialog from Regar and Tali. I will probably finish all the other missions with Legion. He is usually available in late game, but I played straight to him, so there is a lot left to do. I will next take him on Tali's LM. This should stir up quite the fuss, at he trial. (Ha Ha)

Sonoura is kickin' butt and taking names. I'm having a blast as...

Sonoura, TAKES OVER THE GALAXY!!! Har! Har! Hardi! Har! Har!