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Mass Effect Hints
Character Creation Tips
1 of 7: If you're new to Mass Effect, you can do very well with the default character, though you might be able to do a bit better if you custom-create a character using the following tips.
2 of 7: Choose "Enter New ID" when you have the option, then choose either "Custom Male" or "Custom Female," depending on which gender you want your character to be. Note that there are no gender-based bonuses or penalties, so you don't need to worry about that. The only effects of gender choice are cosmetic (what you look like) and romantic (which squad members you can have a romance with).
3 of 7: After that, you get to "reconstruct your profile," which means enter specific information about your background and military specialization.
4 of 7: After optionally customizing your appearance, you'll get a list of gameplay-related options that you can set.
5 of 7: If this is your first time playing the game, I advise you to leave the combat difficulty at "normal" and let your squad members (but not your main character) level up automatically. Experienced players will probably want to change both of these settings.
6 of 7: If you're still not sure what to do, then play through the game as a soldier on "normal" combat difficulty the first time, then either as a different type of character the second time, or as a soldier on a higher difficulty setting. (Note that playing any character type other than soldier on the "hardcore" or "insanity" combat difficulties is pure suicide for anyone who isn't already a total master of the game.)
7 of 7: NOTE: After you play through the game once, you can play through it again with the very same character, with all of his equipment, credits, and talents carried over. You can't change your character's class to make him significantly different or add new talents, so this should only be done if you're determined to reach level 60, or if you really want to play on the "insanity" combat difficulty. (At least most enemies and rewards will be leveled to keep things interesting.)
