Thursday 29 August 2013

Level cap modding - Mass Effect 3

Tutorial showing how you can modify ME 3 levelcap to whatever you want.


We are going to modify the Coalesced.bin file and you should be aware of a few points:
1. Modding this file might get you banned from MP, so make sure to restore the original before you even start ME3 (for multiplayer purposes).
2. Singleplayer modding should be fine, but better safe than sorry.
3. Make a copy of the original file, and put it in a galaxy far away so you don't accidentally modify it.

We are going to need a tool to help us achieve our goal:

Grab a copy of Wenchy's Mass Effect 3 Coalesced Utility
http://wenchy.net/me3-coalesced-utility/

To use this utility you need to have
Microsoft .Net Framework 4 (Client Profile) installed.
This is the same FW required by Gibbed's ME3 save editor, if you've been save editing before then you probably already have this.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=24872


Startup Wenchy's utility, and we can begin.

1. File -> Open  -> YourInstallationLocation\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\Coalesced.bin
-Lots of game stuff in here but we really only need a few things.

2. Edit -> Find ->  Search for: maxplayerlevel
The location should look something like this:
biodifficulty.ini -> sfxgame -> sfxdifficultyhandler -> maxplayerlevel = 60
-This is the levelcap, obviously.
-My modded levelcap is set to 90 in the picture below.


















-Click on it and change the value in the right handed part of the window to whatever level you want.
-Example: maxplayerlevel = 61
-WARNING: There is another variable with this exact name, which is set to maxplayerlevel = 20
it is located in sfxdifficultyhandlermp.....MP clearly stands for multiplayer, so DO NOT touch this one at all.
-Make sure there is only one empty line beneath the line where the value (61) is stored on the righthanded side. Should be the one with an * at the left column. ME3 doesn't like lots of empty lines, and can make the game crash. They can be removed with rightclicking along the left column.

3. Search again and look for a variable called: levelrewards
Manually browsing it is located at:
biogame.ini -> sfxgame -> sfxgameconfig -> levelrewards = (multiple)




















This contains a long list of all the levels in the game. The words in the list should be pretty obvious, but I will explain them anyway:
Level = The actual number of the level.
ExperienceRequired =  XP needed to get to this level.
TalentReward = Amount of talentpoints given to Shepard on level up
HenchmanTalentReward = Amount of talentpoints given to squadmates on level up.
-All of these can be modified to suit your need.
-And adding more levels is simple:
-Copy one of the lines and put it below the last one, and modify the values to whatever you like.
-Example:
(Level=61,ExperienceRequired=122000,TalentReward=1,HenchmanTalentReward=1)
Keep on adding more to the list if your level cap is set higher.
-Like before, make sure there's just one empty line beneath the final. Should always be the one containing the *.

4. One final thing we need to do. Directly below levelrewards = (multiple) is a variable called:
maxplayerexperience = 121400 (mine in the picture is set to 4612725)
-The max xp you can ever get.
-This should be the same amount as you put in ExperienceRequired in the levelrewards list final item. This corresponds to the levelcap.
In the example I used it is 122000 so I will change it like this: maxplayerexperience = 122000
-If you set this higher than the final ExperienceRequired, you will still get exp even after reaching the level cap, but without any actual levels beyond the cap it won't do anything.

4.1 Doublecheck your changes. Make sure the spelling in levelrewards is correct, and everything is listed in the right order.

5. That should be all we need to do. Save your changes: File -> Save
6. Start ME 3 and ONLY play single player. REMEMBER to restore the original Coalesced.bin if you ever want to do multiplayer.

7. A short vid showing the levelcap in action ingame:

5 comments:

  1. hey, is there a way to enable both evolutions of a power? like for example both impact range and impact force at rank 4 of concussive shot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pls. Make a picture of levelrewards from 60 to 90.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Use whatever values work best for you.

      Delete
    2. I want to use yours. I'm not sure about the values.

      Delete