Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is a welcome sight for gamers who love the series, as well as new players who've never had a chance to experience the rich storyline and memorable characters. It's the best way to play all three games, complete with DLC content for modern systems. That being said, it isn't perfect, despite the packaging.
The modding community has already made a play for Mass Effect: LE, and more are coming every day. Even now, gamers have quite a few mods to enhance their gameplay experience, but they're also missing a few that could change the game for the better. Whether modders take up those challenges or not, remains to be seen.
10 Already Released: Flawless Widescreen
Technically, this isn't a mod, at least not in the traditional sense, but this standalone app does inject modding properties into Mass Effect: LE for the purpose of tweaking its visuals, namely when it comes to ultra-widescreen gaming. Gamers with a 21:9 or 32:9 monitor will definitely want to take advantage of this, specifically when it comes to cutscenes.
Currently, any in-game cinematics produce pillarboxes on the left and right sides of the screen, which cram the action into a rather small viewport. Simply start Flawless Widescreen before starting Mass Effect: LE, make sure the game-appropriate tweaks are active, and this problem is remedied, at least until BioWare issues a patch. Flawless Widescreen has tweaks for countless other games as well, making it an invaluable companion for gamers with a super-wide monitor.
9 What We Need: A Better Character Generator
Here's to hoping the modding community manages to crack open Mass Effect: LE and expand on BioWare's updated character creation tool. Sure, it's a step up from the original, but still vastly limited in comparison to games that have come out since that time. It could definitely use further work.
Skyrim gamers big on modding already know of several amazing ultra-detailed character creation mods that are leaps and bounds beyond anything officially released by gaming companies. It would be great if a talented modder could create something similar for Mass Effect: LE, and have it carry through all three games.
8 Already Released: Separate Keybindings For Use - Sprint - Cover
This mod is far less fancy than others out there, but it does serve a purpose. The original Mass Effect games tied the Use, Sprint, and Cover functions to the Spacebar, which wasn't terrible, but it does feel odd in an age when so many similar games utilize different keys for different moves.
By adding this mod, the first two games in the trilogy utilize separate button presses for each of the three functions. This is great for those who prefer to sprint using the Shift key, along with other rebinds that feel more natural. This file may get replaced when Mass Effect: LE updates, so gamers should be sure to back it up in order to toss it back in afterward.
7 What We Need: Space Battles
It would be quite cool to have something resembling a space battle in Mass Effect, and this could theoretically be accomplished during the Galaxy Map section of each game. Players already need to steer the Normandy between systems in order to scan planets, which means movement is already taking place.
For more dangerous areas of space, it would make sense for the Normandy to be accosted by Batarian raiders, Cerberus operatives, or the like. It would also be cool to have countermeasures available when the terrifying Reapers descend on the player in ME3, for a more tactical experience. ME1 would be the hardest to implement such a mod, but then again, we've already seen modders do what was initially thought impossible.
6 Already Released: Into Space - A Mass Effect Reshade
Reshades are a popular and easy way to inject visual brilliance into any game, with a simple preset file. Gamers will need to install Reshade first, then download this preset mod so it activates when the game starts. Afterward, it's a whole new cinematic experience with dazzling visuals.
This particular Reshade preset adjusts the color saturation and contrast (among other things) to create a rich picture. Character faces no longer look flat and washed out, environments look much more cinematic, and visual effects punch way above their weight. Check out the comparison photos on the mod page for examples.
5 What We Need: Custom Music Packs
The modding community tends to pick at every single facet of a game, and that includes both sound effects, and music. Sure, the tunes in the Mass Effect trilogy are quite memorable and atmospheric, but gamers have heard them a thousand times before. This would be a good opportunity to inject some new ear candy into the game.
Music packs are nothing new. Some are collections of tunes from a variety of artists, while others are 100% custom creations by talented composers who just happen to have a knack for modding. A new audio experience can go a long way to enhancing the story, and keeping the games fresh for a new age.
4 Already Released: Increased Mako Boost Duration
Mass Effect 1 fans were pleased to see that BioWare implemented a bevy of tweaks designed to fix the Mako's bounciness and bad aiming. They also saw fit to add a boost function to the vehicle, similar to Mass Effect: Andromeda's Nomad, but it doesn't last very long, and therefore feels a bit counterproductive.
This mod fixes that by increasing the Mako's boost function to 10 seconds, while simultaneously reducing the amount of time needed to recharge. This definitely makes it feel more realistic and practical on the surface of a planet, especially during element harvesting or scavenging.
3 What We Need: More Planetary Content For ME1
The first Mass Effect suffers the most from what can be called "traditional RPG trappings." Many actions yield little more than a message prompt with a book-style explanation of what's happening, forcing the player to make it up in their own mind. This goes double for side missions that take place on various planets. It's bare-bones, at best.
These planets are already quite barren as they are, so it would be nice if a modding team decided to expand on what's already there. This could come in the form of new missions or a more cinematic take on the existing ones. Whatever helps eliminate the drudgery of touching down on planets and getting little more than table scraps in return would be a good thing.
2 Already Released: ME2LE One Probe All Resources
Mass Effect 2 is widely regarded as the best in the series, primarily for its focus on cinematic high-octane action scenes. However, it did get bogged down in several other areas, notably the planetary exploration, scanning, and mining mini-game. The tedium of having to navigate each planet to discover multiple resources proved to be a bit much for gamers who wanted to focus more on the storyline.
For those players, this mod is the solution. It increases the deployment of each probe, and only one is required to locate all resources and anomalies per planet. This puts it more in line with Star Trek, and other sci-fi franchises that only require one probe, or a single bout of scanning to gather intel.
1 What We Need: Combat Mods
Mass Effect's combat system might be the one reason why so many purists love it. Aside from the first game, the combat does its job well, but it is starting to show its age. There's no reason why mods that affect combat shouldn't be released, especially if they can make each battle a little more engaging and fun.
Think entirely new weapons, alternate mods of fire, deployable shields, dash-to-cover enhancements, and melee weapons like swords, hammers, etc. A combination of these elements combined with some enemy AI tweaking could seriously change the impact of combat for the better.
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June 18, 2021 at 12:00AM
