Earlier we reported that a bug in the Mass Effect 3 character import feature made it so that your Commander Shepard's looks may not transfer over completely from a previous Mass Effect 2 save file. Not that big a deal: That was a purely cosmetic issue. But new information directly from EA confirms that there's simple way to import your Mass Effect 2 save file from the cloud on the Xbox 360.
There are a few ways to recover the data, but all of them require you to have the Xbox 360 on which you originally finished Mass Effect 2 on hand to re-download your endgame. EA says if you don't have that original console, you might just be out of luck. We've got the full list of potential fixes after the jump for you.
So, according to EA, here are the ways in which you might be able to salvage that Mass Effect 2 endgame file for use in Mass Effect 3:
While Mass Effect 3 supports cloud saving for new or successfully imported Mass Effect 2 saves, it does not support the importation of endgame saves directly from the cloud. Additionally, this can cause it to not recognize save files that have been transferred via cloud to a console other than the one where they originated. Therefore, the following scenarios will result in no import functionality:
- Moving your save file from the hard drive disc to the cloud.
- Moving your save file to another Xbox 360 system via the cloud (instead of a memory card, transfer cable or Xbox 360 formatted USB stick).
Solution to scenario 1:
- Move your save file from the cloud back onto the hard drive from which it originated, i.e. the Xbox 360 you originally created the save file on.
Solution to scenario 2:
- Move your save file from the cloud back onto the hard drive from which it originated, i.e. the Xbox 360 you originally created the save file on.
- Using a memory card, Xbox 360 formatted USB stick, or the Official Xbox 360 HDD transfer cable, transfer the save file to the new Xbox 360.
Currently there is one scenario in which you might not salvage the completed, endgame save file: if you have ever moved your file to the cloud and the original system is not available to transfer it back to.
One last solution EA proposes is to re-download a nearly-completed Mass Effect 2 game file, finish it and use that data to begin Mass Effect 3, but confesses nobody's tried it yet and that it's not guaranteed to work. I know chances are slim you're reading this if you picked up the game, but any Mass Effect 3 players running into these problems? Have you tried any of the above fixes?
We'll keep our ears open for any possible solutions and relay them to you as we learn ourselves.