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I've read that the Galactic Readiness, the multiplicator you get for the multiplayer part of Mass Effect 3, decays in real time. So if you don't play the game for a few days, this multiplicator becomes lower.

  • How fast does the Galactic Readiness decay?
  • What is the minimum boundary where it doesn't decay anymore?
Mad Scientist
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    The minimum value is 50%. Always. – LessPop_MoreFizz Mar 07 '12 at 15:09
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    If true, this is the stupidest game design choice I've seen in quite a while. – Sterno Mar 07 '12 at 15:18
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    no kidding, force you to play the game due to some real time factor is just plain stupid – l I Mar 07 '12 at 15:25
  • I was about to ask this same thing, +1. – Shinrai Mar 07 '12 at 15:26
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    While I don't like the "time limit" it is an interesting attempt to make you FEEL pressured, as I am sure Shepard feels pressured to return to and save Earth. As a game element I am displeased, from a story telling immersion point-of-view I think it is neat. – Bravo840 Mar 07 '12 at 15:55
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    I dunno, I've only played a little bit over the last 2 days and my readiness level is already up 30%... which means I'd have to stop playing online entirely for a month for it to return to the default. – aslum Mar 07 '12 at 16:33
  • If you have an Ipod Touch or Iphone you could download the Datapad app (It's free). It gives you galactic readiness and you don't have to be at your home to do it. – Sak Mar 23 '12 at 18:16

1 Answers1

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All of this is based on observations, primarily by users here who have shared their first hand experience.

Galactic Readiness Decay seems to have multiple rates, depending on your readiness score, or perhaps on the source of the score.

In general, it appears to decay at a rate of 0.15% per hour or around 1% per 8 hours, or 3% per day to a minimum of 50%.

There have been some reports of up to 6% per day, though I haven't seen this number echoed elsewhere.

If your GR is low, between say 50-60% then it appears to slow the decay rate to around 1% per day.

It takes very little to beef this back up, if it is causing a problem for you. For example you can play multiplayer, by yourself, and complete the Geth mission ... it's fairly easy to achieve a bronze or silver victory.

As @Edwin notes, if you simply start and exit a game, it will not count as an active day. You have to finish the game, which is why I noted Bronze or Silver being fairly achievable on some missions.

Tharius
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    It should be noted that you have to finish a game in order for it to count; starting a game and not finishing it will not count as an active day. I found out the hard way when I got disconnected on the last wave of a game. – Edwin Mar 12 '12 at 02:11
  • I wouldn't put too much stock in those statements. I ended up with 7000+ total military assets by the end of the game. – kotekzot Mar 12 '12 at 12:44
  • @kotekzot In what statements? There's nothing saying you have to play multiplayer, in fact I state that it's possible to get the best ending without it... – Tharius Mar 12 '12 at 12:49
  • Statements by BioWare. Especially the ones that begin with "Well, I can't say too much, but". 7000+ is not enough to get the best ending without MP, btw. – kotekzot Mar 12 '12 at 13:00
  • @kotekzot Thanks for clarifying. I think it's established that it's possible, just really hard to get the perfect ending, but I'll update my answer to reflect your comments. – Tharius Mar 12 '12 at 13:12
  • Not at all, I should've been clearer. I don't remember seeing a user testimony that it's possible, only links to that interview. – kotekzot Mar 12 '12 at 13:13
  • @Kotekzot I think it's quite safe to assume that squeezing every single possible war asset point out of the game is much more difficult than increasing your readiness via multiplayer (even if you play alone). – Tharius Mar 12 '12 at 13:36
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    I was at 100% Galactic Readiness yesterday afternoon, 99% by 8:30PM, and 97% when I checked today around 2:00PM. Are we sure about the 1% per day thing? It looks like 3% decay per day for me, possibly at a rate at 1% on 8 hour marks. – Teryx Mar 13 '12 at 20:21
  • @Teryx Yes, I noticed this as well. It's definitely more than 1% per day. – Raven Dreamer Mar 15 '12 at 21:37
  • Stephen, your answer isn't true, I'm afraid. I'm looking into what it might actually be. – Raven Dreamer Mar 15 '12 at 21:38
  • @RavenDreamer I've added a more up to date estimate that reflect better what we've been observing here as well. – Tharius Mar 16 '12 at 00:20
  • Just from some cursory study of the Datapad app's Galaxy at War screen, it looks like it decays at around 0.15% per hour. – Teryx Mar 18 '12 at 14:43
  • My readiness is between 50% and 60%. I've only been seeing a decay of about 1%/day. Is it possible that the amount of decay is A) proportional to galactic readiness and/or B) dependent on how the galactic readiness was increased (i.e. different for multiplayer vs. Infiltrator vs. Datapad) and/or C) how "old" the readiness increase is? – MBraedley Mar 28 '12 at 19:59
  • @MBraedley It's possible that is possible. Anything's possible. :) Indeed, it seems to fit with what we've seen – Tharius Mar 29 '12 at 01:20
  • @Stephen: perhaps you should update your answer. I'd really like it if we could get a really good fix on how GR decays. – MBraedley Mar 29 '12 at 13:26