The DLC for Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 have finally made their way to Origin, EA’s digital distribution platform. This finally rectifies a baffling issue that the games have had since their release. Previously, to purchase the DLC for Mass Effect 2 and 3 you had to log onto BioWare’s website, buy BioWare Points, exchange them for the DLC, then download executable files to install it. It was a real roundabout process, and the prices on the DLC rarely went down. In fact, I don’t remember it being on sale for years.
I think a lot of gamers were in the same boat as me and figured that the Mass Effect 2 and 3 DLC was just going to stay locked to the BioWare system forever. Fortunately, someone at EA realized how much of a long-term cash cow the Mass Effect trilogy has been and decided to bring all the downloadable content for both games to Origin. The DLC is available in two bundles, and expansions can’t be bought individually, but there is a slight discount per item compared to the original prices.
Mass Effect 2 DLC Bundle Price and Contents
The Mass Effect 2 DLC bundle is priced at $25 ($22.49 for Origin Access Subscribers) and includes the following:
Expansions:
Cerebus Network content:
- Normandy Crash Site
- Zarrd – The Price of Revenge
- Cerberus Weapon and Armor pack – contains Cerberus Assault Armor and M-22 Eviscerator shotgun.
- Arc Projector heavy weapon
Weapons and Armor Packs:
- Aegis Pack – contains the M-29 Incisor sniper rifle and the Kestrel armor.
- Equalizer Pack – contains the Capacitor Helmet, Archon Visor, and Inferno Armor.
- Firepower Pack – contains the M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol, M-96 Mattock heavy rifle, and Geth Plasma Shotgun.
- Alternate Appearance Pack 1 – contains new outfits for Garrus, Thane, and Jack.
- Alternate Appearance Pack 2 – contains new outfits for Tali, Grunt, and Miranda.
- Collectors’ Weapon and Armor pack – contains Collector Armor and the Collector Assault Rifle.
- Terminus Weapon and Armor pack – contains Terminus Assault Armor and the M-490 Blackstorm heavy weapon.
- Mass Effect 2 promo bundle – contains Umbra Visor, Sentry Interface, and Recon Hood.
- Blood Dragon Armor
Extras:
- Mass Effect 2 soundtrack
- Mass Effect 2 Making of Documentary
- Mass Effect 2: Genesis digital comic
- Mass Effect 2 digital art book
Mass Effect 3 DLC Bundle Price and Contents
The Mass Effect 3 DLC bundle is a bit more expensive at $29.99 ($26.99 for Origin Access subs) and comes with:
Single-Player Expansions:
- From Ashes
- Leviathan
- Omega
- Citadel
- Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut ending
Multiplayer Expansions:
- Resurgence Pack
- Rebellion
- Earth
- Retaliation
- Reckoning
Weapons and Armor Packs:
- N7 Collector’s Edition Pack – contains four new weapons, alternate outfits, and a KEI-9 dog mech.
- N7 Warfare Gear – contains N7 Valkyrie and M-55 Argus assault rifles, and N7 Defender Armor.
- Firefight Pack – contains seven unique weapons for use in the single-player campaign.
- Groundside Resistance Pack – contains seven unique weapons for use in the single-player campaign.
- Alternate Appearance Pack – contains new outfits for Garrus, Liara, EDI, and Shepard.
Extras:
- Mass Effect 3 soundtrack
- Mass Effect 3 digital art book
- Mass Effect Genesis 2 digital comic
- Mass Effect Trilogy exclusive art
It would have been nice to see these go for a little less seeing as they’re almost ten years old, but this is the cheapest the DLC has gone for in a while. The price is a bit offset by the fact that Mass Effect 2 and 3 are pretty cheap these days and free for Origin Access subscribers.
For those of you who bought the Mass Effect DLCs with BioWare points, there’s no clear way to move those purchases to Origin. EA support might help with this, but there’s likely no plan in motion to allow those purchases to transfer to the Origin store.
