I Like Miranda and Won’t Apologize For It

Miranda Lawson; Cerberus Officer

I think that Miranda more than any other Mass Effect (ME2) character evokes a strong reaction from players.  From what I see it is either a love her or hate her type thing.

Unfortunately I think much of the so-called controversy about Miranda is because she was drawn pretty, hot, sexy; insert your own adjective.  Remember the character Jessica Rabbit in the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”  She was another character drawn pretty/hot/sexy and had a famous line in the movie: “I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way.”

It's the same with Miranda; don’t hate her because she’s beautiful.  I think Miranda adds much needed depth to the game and is pretty good in most fights.  Although survivability can be an issue if she gets to far forward even in her Cerberus armor! I almost always take Miranda with me on missions.

Jessica Rabbit.  Not a bad girl...

So here is why I like Miranda.  More so than any other character in Miranda you get to experience personal growth with her.  Many of the characters during their recruitment and loyalty missions you find out a great deal about them but don’t see any growth.  With Miranda you find out much about her but you also see personal growth that you don’t get with the others.  If you follow the romantic side paths with her by the end she’s gone from being a cold bi-otch to a warm person with flaws and challenges she’s struggling to overcome despite the face she puts on to the outside world.  The only other character with as much personality growth is Grunt who is also one of my favorites.

In battle my Miranda is great.  I have Miranda set up to do as much damage as possible; she is maxed on Cerberus Officer, Overload and Warp. As such with Cerberus Officer she adds the following: Health +20%; Weapon Damage +25%, Squad Health +7.5% and Squad Weapon Damage +15%.  The Heavy Overload does Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard) 12.00 seconds (Others), Impact Radius: 1.20 meters Shield, and Synthetic Damage: 200.00 points Synthetic Stun Lenght: 3.00 seconds Weapon Overheat Length: 6.00 seconds.  Her Heavy Warp inflicts Recharge Time: 6.00 seconds (Shepard); 12.00 seconds (others), Damage: 200.00 points, Detonation Radius: 5.00 meters and Detonation Force: 700.00 newtons.  She also as a couple points in Throw but isn’t maxed out.

I’m able to use Miranda very effectively to destroy shields and armor on anything from Geth to Mechs.  This updated video shows my Shepard and Miranda using her biotics to take out shields and armor in fights and also with Kasumi in the "Suicide" mission.  Notice the damage Miranda does to shields and armor in these fights so that Sheppard and Kasumi can finish them off.  Miranda one of the better squad members for reducing shields and armor.  Also notice that she takes a couple out on her own with weapons and biotics.

So I don’t expect that this post will change the minds of those who don’t like Miranda.  However don’t exclude Miranda from missions where she can be helpful just because you don’t like her.

So do you like or dislike Miranda?

How do you use Miranda in ME2?