I've been holding off on playing the ME games until I got a decent PC or a 360, because the possibility of the first game coming to PS3 seemed incredibly unlikely, and I want to experience the story from beginning to end. Now that I have a source of income and the full trilogy's out on PS3, I'm finally getting around to playing it. I've been able to gather from the Bombcast that when I get to 3, From Ashes and Leviathan are pretty much required viewing.

I have no idea about the other games, though. Should Lair of the Shadow Broker wait until after I finish 2? Is Bring Down the Sky included in the PS3 release, and is it worth playing at all? My primary interest is getting the full narrative in the optimal order.

Don't know if Bring Down the Sky is included but I'd give it a skip if it's not unless it's cheap. Shadow Broker you can pick up whenever and Kasumi is the same, it's a fun little mission. Also Overlord is freakin great don't miss that one, you can also play that one whenever. I could be forgetting something but pretty much all the DLC fits in wherever I think. If you play Shadow Broker before pick up your full team make sure to go back after you do their loyalty missions you learn fun stuff about each character. Also get Zaeed he's awesome.

I have all of the DLC for all 3 games so here's my personal list of DLC from most to least essential:

1. From Ashes
2. Leviathan
3. Lair of the Shadow Broker
4. Overlord
5. Citadel
6. Zaeed - The Price of Revenge
7. Kasumi - Stolen Memory
8. Arrival
9. Omega
10. Bring Down the Sky
11. Normandy Crash Site
12. Pinnacle Station

1-3 expand on the setting's "lore" in some very meaningful ways. They are not to be missed, in my opinion. Overlord doesn't really have any major revelations, but it's an interesting little story nugget and a well-designed side mission. Citadel is silly but it's a welcome break from the ever-present doom & gloom in Mass Effect 3. For people who really enjoy the characters of the Mass Effect series a lot, it's almost as essential as the first 3 on the list. Zaeed and Kasumi are almost tied for me. They both have some fun and mildly interesting story missions. Kasumi's pack gives some insight into the humans' history in Mass Effect, which is fun, but there's nothing major there that you need to know. Both of those characters are pretty useful in fights which helps to make the packs more appealing. Arrival is kind of mediocre in terms of its design. They definitely weren't firing on all cylinders when they made it. Still, a major story event occurs in Arrival that sets up the events of Mass Effect 3. I personally wouldn't want to go without it, but I wouldn't necessarily encourage anyone to pay money for it without pointing out that seeing that major story event happen is the only real reason to buy Arrival. Omega is overpriced, in my opinion. It's a decent side mission, but it's made over-long in an obvious attempt to justify its whopping $15 price. Other than giving you the chance to finally meet a female Turian, it does pretty much nothing to expand upon the ME universe. It's easily skippable at its high price, but if you are irrationally completionist then just succumb to your temptation and buy it. I almost wanted to put Bring Down the Sky higher on the list because at the time of its release, it was significant for introducing the Batarian race, who would play a more significant role in the plot of the following two games. However, other than that, it's not fantastically well-made, nor does any major story stuff take place in it. If you do buy it and finish it, the events of Bring Down the Sky will at least get a couple of passing references in the subsequent games. The Normandy Crash Site is nothing more than a random goofabout. Nothing of consequence happens, but the area they made for it is kind of fun to look at, so at least it has that going for it. Pinnacle Station is combat and nothing more. There's absolutely nothing interesting in terms of story and worst of all, it's actually boring to the point where I'd rather sit and do nothing at all than play Pinnacle Station. Don't waste your money on that one.

Must haves:

• Zaeed - The Price of Revenge
• Kasumi - Stolen Memory
• Lair of the Shadow Broker
• From Ashes
• Citadel

Should haves:

• Overlord
• Arrival
• Leviathan
• Omega

Nice to haves:

• Bring Down the Sky
• Normandy Crash Site

Avoid like the plague:

• Pinnacle Station

In my opinion, all the character-centric DLC are the most important. The strength of the ME series to me has always been in its characters. Zaeed, Kasumi, and Javik are all key additions to the universe and Shadow Broker and Citadel provide you the most meaningful information and moments pertaining to the cast.

The should-haves are more lore focused. They enrich the overall universe and provide some better context for what is going on, but generally reduce your team's involvement to moving turrets/targets and the occasional one-liner. That's right, Leviathan was neat but in no way essential to the core story of ME3. It told me nothing I didn't already know.

The rest of it is easily forgettable. As @chrissedoff: said, the only real draw of Bring Down the Sky was the introduction of the Batarians. Otherwise it was largely combat-heavy fluff and the combat in ME1 was far from stellar. Crash Site should come with all new copies of ME2 thanks to the Cerberus Network though, so I don't see why you wouldn't end up with it anyways. Also fuck Pinnacle Station.

ME1: Bring Down the Sky

ME2: Everything except Normandy Crash Site and the small hammerhead dlc

ME3: All

Omega is the weakest of ME3 dlc but it is still really cool if you're interested in that world from the second game.

This. Though I personally got everything and enjoyed it, this is the most essential list.

All I can speak to is Mass Effect 2 because I've never played Mass Effect and Mass Effect 3 didn't inspire confidence in the DLC, but I'm a PS3 owner so my ME2 copy from the PSN came with pretty much all the DLC other than some weapons packs, I think. I can't imagine what that game would have been like without Zaaed, Kasumi or the extra story missions. Hell, going into the game I didn't know ANY of that was DLC and I was amazed to find out later that it was.

It's partially why I wish I had just been able to wait, say, five years and get the real Mass Effect 3 in a reissued edition. Because I feel like I played the real Mass Effect 2 and Brad Shoemaker played the real Mass Effect 3 then told me about it after.

I wouldn't put Overlord on top of Citadel. Overlord is a cool little episode of Star Trek adventure but I still think the goodbyes to the characters in Citadel was more important to the world.

Shadow Broker and From Ashes are what I played with. When I (eventually) beat Mass Effect 3, I'll probably end up getting Citadel.

well Mass Effect 2 on ps3 already has Kasumi, Over lord and Shadow Broker built in so all that is left is arrival and I say it is a must before picking up Mass Effect 3. As for the third game Omega, From Ashes, Leviathan, Citadel.

I think the shadow broker DLC works really well if you play it right at the end of 2. The personnel files and bits of video are great.

Bring Down the Sky is one of my favorite DLCs of all 3 games. It doesn't add anything that I can think of to the main narrative. The main narrative to Mass Effect kind of sucks though. All of the side stuff and one-off missions are the best parts - like Bring Down the Sky.

My Required Viewing for Mass Effect DLC:

• Bring Down the Sky
• Shadow Broker
• Overlord
• Kasumi
• Zaeed
• Citadel

If you want mainline story narrative then From Ashes and Leviathan are important. I didn't like them all that much. The main story is a real mess and these two pieces of DLC just kind of feel like trying to stack liquid shit.

I would argue putting Citadel lower on the list since it is a superior experience if you play it *after* finishing the trilogy, so you don't exactly need to buy it in advance.

It hasn't been mentioned, but obviously you should also download the free Extended Cut endings for Mass Effect 3, they significantly improve the end of that game. Otherwise the essentials are Lair of the Shadow Broker, Zaeed and Kasumi for ME2 and From Ashes and Leviathan from ME3. You do not want to miss Leviathan, it contains one of the biggest story revelations in the entire series.

Can Leviathan be played at any point in 3, or should I wait until just before the ending?

If you're gonna do it, may as well do it. And all of it.

Except Citadel, you should play buy that afterwards, so it only comes into the game as an Epilogue.

just before the endgame is better. You should do a mission or 2 from that dlc(I think it's 3 missions) during your playthrough and do the last part just before you assault the base(you'll know what that means when you get there.

If you don't want to get all the dlc you should get:

The zaeed stuff

The shadowbroker (play after the end of ME2)

the katsumi stuff (less crusial but good for some stuff in 3)

The extended cut and the leviatan dlc (those turn the horrible ending of 3 into something ok)

from ashes

Citadel after you finish 3 (maybe you get a breather from mass effect at that point but make sure to come back to this dlc since it's some of the best the series has to offer)

Good supplement: Overlord (it's a self contained chapter)

Finaly, very important advice: priorities side mission in ME2 or the game might bite you in the ass