Does anyone actually like James Vega?

[Jon_Smith]

Ok, so at first he's all nice and respectful to you, kinda idolizes you and salutes even though you don't have a rank and are under house arrest.

Then you get back on the Normandy and he mouths off and argues with you about going to Mars and doesn't accept you were re-instated, Joker just takes the order and gets on with it. Major Alenko or Williams doesn't question it, but this flipping Lieutenant, who previously thought you were great won't accept that order without a little argument....?

Then on Mars he gets all fussy again following an order when he's told to go back and guard the shuttle. He's one of the lowest ranks, arguing with a Commander who is also a Spectre cause he wants some action......

Even Traynor, who has never met you, comes on board and gets on with doing the very best she can.

James is just selfish and childish and just wants to fight, how he ever qualified for N7 is beyond me when he cannot follow basic orders and is pouty.

I always thought Jacob was the worst character before ME3 as he was just too bland, but replaying abit now and James is the worst.

Happy to hear dissenting opinions.

[Rambit]

Because I know its Freddy Prince Jr. I do like him, but wish he didnt have grenades, but a different ability.

[Ogami]

Its hard to like him, he is like the pure essence of the "dudebro" , a character type i despise with a passion.
But he is not a bad character per se, he just does nit fit into Mass Effect in my opinion.
He would be right at home in " Medal of Call of Battlefield 7.5 ".

He has like 1 good line when he orders pizza in the Citadel DLC.
Thats it. Oh and i want to punch him in his face every time he calls my Femshep "Lola".

[Outbound]

James's actions in the beginning of the game make sense. Earth's just gotten hit with the biggest invasion in human history, and he's been put on a ship and told to leave the fight. He's in shock, confused, and probably more than a little scared. He's a basic soldier, he doesn't really have the skillset for dealing with problems he can't shoot. He questions Shepard a couple of times, yes, but he does follow orders.

Jacob, on the other hand, is not only lacking in personality, he's also nearly useless in a fight.

[G_Moneh]

Escrito originalmente por caev37:

By that logic we should also be annoyed at Shepard for wanting to convince Anderson to join him on the Normandy. Remember that Shepard only agreed to leave Anderson behind after Anderson re-instated him/her and commanded him/her to leave as his/her boss. Prior to that Shepard seemed willing to force the issue as much as he/she could.

The thing is Shepard didn't disobey any orders though or refuse to leave like Vega. Just tried to convince Anderson to join. And as soon as he was re-instated, he immediately fell in-line and followed the chain-of-command, unlike Vega.

Escrito originalmente por caev37:

On that note, shouldn't we also get annoyed at Anderson for choosing to stay?

I don't know what Andersons orders were, or if he can give himself his own orders given his high position. For all I know, Hackett wants him on Earth but I'm not sure, can't remember.

I agree it was heated and I see both sides.

Escrito originalmente por Arkham99:

Escrito originalmente por G_Moneh:

My biggest issue with James is pretty much the refusal to follow orders or listen to Shepard (And Anderson/Hackett who give Shepard Orders) in the beginning

to be fair, James really doesn't know what's going on at first... does he even know that Shepard has been reinstated when they leave Earth?... Shepard was under house arrest and next thing he's supposed to abandon Earth and take orders from her?... one minute they're heading for The Citadel and then they reroute to Mars... not to mention that everyone's on edge after the sheer magnitude of the invasion, something that their military training couldn't possibly prepare them for...:-)

This is a best point I can think of for James except Anderson clearly re-instates Shepard and gives him full authority in front of Vega. He's in armor but standing right besides Shep.
https://youtu.be/4Is_epXNibQ?t=1163

Edit: Can't timestamp on Steam but it's 19:30

[Drakensson]

Jame's Carnage combined with Liara's Warp and my Nova.....enemies never stand a chance.
A gory and aggressive visual mayhem. Then of course his glorious shuttle ram on Mars.

I like him

[Outbound]

Escrito originalmente por Ogami:

Thats it. Oh and i want to punch him in his face every time he calls my Femshep "Lola".

Well, you can punch him in the face and tell him to stop in the first conversation you have with him in the Normandy.

[Ogami]

Escrito originalmente por Outbound:

Escrito originalmente por Ogami:

Thats it. Oh and i want to punch him in his face every time he calls my Femshep "Lola".

Well, you can punch him in the face and tell him to stop in the first conversation you have with him in the Normandy.

I know , thats what i do now every time i replay ME 3 but at the first time i did not know that he would be so annoying with it.

[Ka-mai19]

Escrito originalmente por G_Moneh:

The thing is Shepard didn't disobey any orders though or refuse to leave like Vega. Just tried to convince Anderson to join. And as soon as he was re-instated, he immediately fell in-line and followed the chain-of-command, unlike Vega.

I don't know what Andersons orders were, or if he can give himself his own orders given his high position. For all I know, Hackett wants him on Earth but I'm not sure, can't remember.

I agree it was heated and I see both sides.

James still did as Shepard asked/commanded. He may have not been happy about it, just like Shepard seemed unhappy to leave Earth and Anderson, but he still followed orders. If James really had ignored the chain of command he would have stolen a shuttle and returned to Earth on his own, consequences be damned.

[G_Moneh]

Escrito originalmente por caev37:

James still did as Shepard asked/commanded. He may have not been happy about it, just like Shepard seemed unhappy to leave Earth and Anderson, but he still followed orders. If James really had ignored the chain of command he would have stolen a shuttle and returned to Earth on his own, consequences be damned.

This is true in that eventually Vega did do as he was commanded. I would just say that Vega initially refused to leave, literally saying "Drop me off at the nearest depot, I'm not leaving". He did eventually fall in line though, that is true.

[AuddieD]

James is less annoying to me than Ashley is. She's cool for the first game then the next game and a half she does nothing but question everything you do - far more than James complains about things. She's the one I would tell can catch a shuttle back to Earth if she doesn't like it.

But you asked about James, not Ash. So I find James to be okay. He's not the best nor the worst.

[Six of Saturn]

James is too chicken to have sex with Femshep that is all that needs to be said about James. Though I will give him kudos for being able to melt many foes when built right and given a Revenant.

[Rhyagelle]

I like James far more than Jacob, in fact, I don't like Jacob but I do like James.

Jacob came off as a pretentious idiot. James is more grounded, like an actual person lives under that CGI skin. lol The problem with James is that he is hot-headed and you have to order him multiple times, but that's more of a personal flaw to me than a reason to dislike him.

At least Jacob or James isn't as bad as Liam or Cora.

[Jon_Smith]

Escrito originalmente por caev37:

Again, to me that's what makes him compelling as a character. He's not a generic grunt who does everything he's supposed to do, but he actually challenges you based upon what he wants or believes is best. I appreciate a character like that more than I appreciate a character who will just go, "yes sir, ok sir." the whole game. If James had been like that he'd be as bland as Jacob or worse.

But the issue is that is completely unearned, James is a Lieutenant who is arguing with orders coming from Admirals. As I said, everybody else on the Normandy, at the time, knows its not the time to argue. Joker argues with you at other times, but the guy knows when to shut up and do what he's told. The middle of a battlefield is not the time for a grunt to argue.
Furthermore he argues again, on Mars, when you tell him to go guard the shuttle. That has zero to do with helping Earth immediately. Infact its a really important job considering its their only way back to the Normandy and there are hostile forces nearby. But he wants to fight cause maybe he thinks he's better than the Major or Liara, thats the mark of a really dislikable guy.

Escrito originalmente por caev37:

By that logic we should also be annoyed at Shepard for wanting to convince Anderson to join him on the Normandy. Remember that Shepard only agreed to leave Anderson behind after Anderson re-instated him/her and commanded him/her to leave as his/her boss. Prior to that Shepard seemed willing to force the issue as much as he/she could.

I see this as different because these guys have a shared history, they know each other well and Anderson knows that Shepard respects his chain of command. If the first thing Shepard did after being put under Anderson was have a tantrum, insist he gets dropped off elsewhere and complain, then I doubt they would become the friends with the respect for each other that they have.

[Jon_Smith]

Escrito originalmente por Arkham99:

Escrito originalmente por G_Moneh:

My biggest issue with James is pretty much the refusal to follow orders or listen to Shepard (And Anderson/Hackett who give Shepard Orders) in the beginning

to be fair, James really doesn't know what's going on at first... does he even know that Shepard has been reinstated when they leave Earth?... Shepard was under house arrest and next thing he's supposed to abandon Earth and take orders from her?... one minute they're heading for The Citadel and then they reroute to Mars... not to mention that everyone's on edge after the sheer magnitude of the invasion, something that their military training couldn't possibly prepare them for...:-)

Sure, but look to your chain of command, you have either Kaiden or Ashley next to you, people with a much higher rank they never left the Alliance. He doesn't say to them 'Sir, are you sure we should follow orders from Shepard and abandon Earth'.
No he bypasses that chain of command and rants to Shepard like a child expecting special treatment. The guy is an ass and needs to earn the right to argue back like that with the senior staff. Plus like I said, there is no excuse for his actions on Mars.

[Commander Hitman2b]

Escrito originalmente por AuddieD:

James is less annoying to me than Ashley is. She's cool for the first game then the next game and a half she does nothing but question everything you do - far more than James complains about things. She's the one I would tell can catch a shuttle back to Earth if she doesn't like it.

But you asked about James, not Ash. So I find James to be okay. He's not the best nor the worst.

From her perspectif it's make sense you were dead for 2 years and forced to join cerberus to fight a new enemy ( that she discovers) but accuse cerberus of creating and not the reaper ( i'll say this was a stupid move)