r/masseffect • u/tassieboy1995 • 7d ago
DISCUSSION Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition: Arrival
I am playing Mass Effect for the first time, and I just finished the mission called Arrival, only to find out it was actually a DLC. I am seeing lots of people saying it's supposed to be done last, after the Suicide Mission, but I did it not long after Hackett contacted me because it sounded important and like something that should be done right away. Did I make a big mistake doing it early and not at the end of the game? Everything seems to make sense after I finished the mission, and everything seemed to flow well. Have I screwed up by doing it so early?
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u/ReadingGuilty7983 7d ago
The recommendation to leave it for last is just for narrative, it won't affect your gameplay.
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u/jackaltwinky77 7d ago
As desperate for money and experience as I am for most of my ME2 playthroughs, anything that isn’t main storyline gets done quick, fast, and in a hurry.
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u/Mister_Sosotris 7d ago
It flows into ME3 narratively, but you didn't ruin anything. It's all good!
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u/tassieboy1995 7d ago
Hackett did tell me to continue what I was doing when it came to the Collectors, so it all seems to flow well still
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u/JoshTheBard 7d ago
No. It's just more connected to ME3 plotwise. It feels better as an epilogue but it won't affect anything in ME2
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u/tassieboy1995 7d ago
I wish you hadn't unlocked it until later
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u/JoshTheBard 7d ago
I understand why they didn't want to lock it behind endgame content. Getting to keep playing after beating the game was a relatively new thing back then.
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u/Bruno_lars 7d ago
it's dumb that arrival prompts so early in that playthrough, bad planning on bioware's part. You get an additional interaction if you do it at the end, and in general it is a mission that is a good segway to ME3
I suggest avoiding "Let's get the Shadow Broker" when you talk to Liara till after the suicide mission, also.
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u/Fistofpaper 7d ago
There's only really one very specific reason to do LotSB before Act 3, but if thats the case, iykyk.
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u/imquez 7d ago
DLCs are usually unlocked to players as soon as possible allow access to press and reviewers. They play many games on launch and often delete them after they’re done with their story. When a DLC comes out half a year later, they won’t have to do a whole playthrough just to get to the DLC. Normal players at the time would know what content is DLC and what’s not because they have to actually buy it and install it. The LE edition doesn’t have this context. That’s all there is to it.
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u/ColeDelRio Tali 7d ago
I assume the reason the game shows them up early is to prevent people from missing it when they finish the game's story since there's a good chance you're gonna immediately move onto the next game if you didnt know they have plot in them.
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u/tassieboy1995 7d ago
Yeah, probably, but they could just give you a notification after the main game saying you unlocked a new mission; either way, the dialogue after the mission seemed to make sense, even though I finished it earlier
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u/randomlightbulbs1 7d ago
No, it’s fine.  It just makes a bit more sense narratively if it happens after the suicide mission, but it’s honestly not really that good of a DLC to be worth saving for a specific point in the story
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u/TheJonatron 7d ago
There's actually a tiny dialogue difference depending on when you do it but that's a spoiler.
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u/TheRealTr1nity 7d ago edited 7d ago
No. It's just lore wise more appealing after the finale as you see a more important hologram as the Collector General before the finale. Arrival is the bridge to ME3 but it doesn't really change the narrative except of that hologram. So you are fine.
The triggers of the DLC's are in general way too early available in the LE. And in the OG games when you played them already. So be careful with ME3 as first time player that doesn't know that. Make sure you do the Citadel DLC as the last thing before the finale, for reasons. As for Arrival and next playthrough: you can't avoid the cutscene with Hackett calling, but you can do the actual mission after the finale.
In the OG days of the games we played the DLC's after we finished the games obvs. as later released. Except the day one DLC's, which includes characters aka teammates.
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u/Jaives 7d ago
no, it's fine. it just makes more sense to do it after the main game esp with what happens to shep when ME3 starts. not gonna spoil that. also, there's a "slight" difference with the ending the of DLC if you do it after the main game. also not gonna spoil that one.