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Mass Effect 3

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Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3 cover
Developers
BioWare
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows March 6, 2012
Mass Effect 3 on Wikipedia
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2008
Mass Effect 2 2010
Mass Effect 3 2012
Mass Effect: Andromeda 2017
Mass Effect Legendary Edition 2021

Key points

Mass Effect 3 can optionally import save games from Mass Effect 2, which in turn can import save games from Mass Effect.

General information

Official game site
Official forums
Mass Effect Wiki

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Origin
Windows
Amazon.com
Origin
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Origin
Windows
Origin
Origin
Windows
All versions require Origin.
Game will not run in offline mode on Origin. You can bypass it altogether with this

DLC and expansion packs

This game has in-game micro-transactions (not listed below).
DLC can be bought through Origin by right clicking Mass Effect 3 and "View Game Details".
Name Notes
From Ashes
Windows
Extended Cut Free download.
Windows
Firefight Pack
Windows
Leviathan
Windows
Groundside Resistance Pack
Windows
Alternate Appearance Pack 1
Windows
Omega
Windows
Citadel
Windows

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Instructions

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.
In-game narrative settings.
In-game narrative settings.

Configuration file(s) location

Template:Game data/row
System Location

Save game data location

Template:Game data/row
System Location

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin

Video settings

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Template:Video settings

Anti-aliasing (AA)

By default the game only has FXAA for anti-aliasing. But is possible to force other anti-aliasing types.
Instructions

Borderless fullscreen windowed

If the taskbar appears on top, set the game to Fullscreen and then back to Window (No Border) to eliminate it.[1]

High frame rate

Instructions

Input settings

In-game general control settings.
In-game general control settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Controller support

Complete Xbox 360 interface restoration: http://me3explorer.freeforums.org/me3-controller-support-power-wheel-t1838.html

Instructions

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish
Russian
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
4 Co-op
Use ME3 Private Server Emulator.
Online play
4 Co-op
Multiplayer activity and progress affects the singleplayer storyline. Note that the Extended Cut DLC modifies the game such that playing the multiplayer is not required for the "best" singleplayer story ending.

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
UDP 5659, 6000
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game.

'Origin (EA) is no longer running. Mass Effect 3 will now close'

Instructions

64bit Version Error Message

Instructions

Mouse Causing Stuttering

Mouse movement may cause slowdowns. This can be fixed by disabling Origin overlay within the game.

Instructions

MSVCR90.dll startup Crash

Sometimes the game crashes with an error about MSVCR90.dll.
Instructions

Startup Crash 2

This error message may appear on startup:[2]

 Problem signature:
 Problem Event Name:    BEX
 Application Name:    MassEffect3.exe
 Application Version:    1.1.5427.4
 Application Timestamp:    4f46d052
 Fault Module Name:    awc.dll
 Fault Module Version:    3.2.4.6
 Fault Module Timestamp:    4ee2521d
 Exception Offset:    0008342f
 Exception Code:    c0000417
 Exception Data:    00000000
 OS Version:    6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
 Locale ID:    1033
 Additional Information 1:    636e
 Additional Information 2:    636ed4ad6e2ce5a3e01564e40133fee8
 Additional Information 3:    61e2
 Additional Information 4:    61e20e96bfcd8b3479be5a6b63429556

Going into the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Bioware\Mass Effect 3\Binaries\Win32\ and remove or rename the "atiags.dll" may fix this issue.

Crash on From Ashes DLC

Instructions

Retail DVD Install Issue

Some users experience issues installing Mass Effect 3 from a retail disc. After starting the install process and entering the product key, an error message claiming it is not a valid Mass Effect 3 serial number appears. Despite this, Mass Effect 3 will now be activated in your Origin library. Further attempts to run the installation process will still prompt for a product key, and upon entering it will result in an error message stating the key has already been used. It is impossible to continue the install process from this point.

There are two possible solutions to this issue. The first and easiest option is to simply download Mass Effect 3 via Origin. However, for those on slower or bandwidth limited internet connections, this may not be a viable option. It is still possible to install from the DVDs using the following workaround:

Instructions

Origin Install Issue

In some cases where Mass Effect 3 has been downloaded through Origin, upon installation users are met with this error message:

Error: The VC++ runtime redistributable package was not installed successfully. Setup cannot continue.

In order to solve the issue:

Instructions

Language Fix

If you buy the game on Origin and discover the in-game menu and subtitles are a different language then English, there is a way to correct it;

Instructions

DLC Error

Instructions

Unable to save any more games

Instructions

Importing

Import Save Game

Instructions

Import From Mass Effect 2 Folder

Instructions

Import Without Reinstalling

Instructions

Lost Old Save Game

Instructions

Save Game Not Detected

If a Mass Effect 2 save game is not detected, there are currently some methods to fix this.

Instructions

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Shader Model support 3
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX
Audio Speex, Wwise
Interface Scaleform
Cutscenes Bink Video

Ambient occlusion

Default NVIDIA driver profile does not have compatibility bits to enable ambient occlusion for the game. But it can be enabled by tweaking the driver profile settings.
Instructions

Mods

  • Mass Effect 3 Nexus - One of the most popular modding communities, has decent amount of mods for Mass Effect 3.
  • ME3 Explorer - A multi-tool software for modding Mass Effect 3. Also includes a Coalesced.bin editor for further tweaking.
  • smarteck's Mods - Has lots of HD retextures for improving image quality.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB (XP)
2 GB (Vista, 7)
Hard disk drive (HDD) 15 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1800
Nvidia GeForce 7900
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Shader model 3 support
AMD video cards below minimum system requirements: Radeon HD 3200, HD 3300, HD 4350
Nvidia video cards below minimum system requirements: GeForce 9300, 8500, 8400, and 8300
S3 video cards are not supported

References