I just hated the idea that there was a greater power behind the Reapers who limited what my choices were at the end. They should have let you either beat them by conventional means, or have the Crucible be some generic super weapon. One of the big themes of the series was ending the cycle of the Reapers, even in the face of horrible odds.
Mass Effect 3 SPOILER THREAD: LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE
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I just hated the idea that there was a greater power behind the Reapers who limited what my choices were at the end. They should have let you either beat them by conventional means, or have the Crucible be some generic super weapon. One of the big themes of the series was ending the cycle of the Reapers, even in the face of horrible odds.
The funny thing is that Bioware hinted at a potential Deus Ex Machine way back in Mass Effect 1. They just forgot about it.
The planet description of the planet Klencory:
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
You seriously though the ending was fine? Read the thread. No one has problems with Shep dying. They have a problem with the fact that
1) It doesn't make sense. Why were Joker and the crew running away from Earth in the first place? Why are my teammates on the Normandy? Why did everyone leave Shepard to die? A giant green beam that turns everyone half synthetic makes absolutely no fucking sense. It is literally space magic. (A giant red beam deus ex machina that conveniently only kill synthetic life doesn't make much sense either).
2) The mass relays exploding means EVERYONE IN THE GALAXY IS FUCKED.
3) The choices you are given are idiotic. All of them doom every civilization, making the war asset system totally unnecessary, since everyone is fucked no matter what. You build a giant army and make alliances, and for what? So you can doom everyone to starvation?
The ending basically taught me this: "All of my hard work meant nothing, and the only way to beat the reapers is not to play Mass Effect."
It's the problem of Bioware overthinking it. A straight up normal ending would've sufficed. Now they'll just need to deal with the backlash. I only see the hate growing more as more people beat it.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
My problem is with the former, like a lot of shit the series has done, especially with ME2, the books and the comic. BioWare fumbles with too many plot holes, and has tacky implementation of cheap plot devices.
Relays exploding is something I'm quite okay with.
Empty Space
Member
I would be I honestly thought the Crucible was the weapon that killed the reaper you get the IFF from in ME2 till the child catalyst showed up. The weapon that killed that Reaper also ruined the planet it was in orbit with. That sounds like the kind of thing they needed.
chickdigger802
Banned
As much as I am disappointed with the ending... I'd probably be more disappointed if BW caved in to the silly fanbase's demands.
BTW: the ios companion app thing is out. Apparently those ME2 crew folks will 'text' you updates on the war throughout the game. Which is kinda cool.
BTW: the ios companion app thing is out. Apparently those ME2 crew folks will 'text' you updates on the war throughout the game. Which is kinda cool.
Yeah, I remember that. Also the one that Patryn brought up just a few posts up.
Instead we get Indoctrination Child.
I'd rather have a decent ending.
Forgetting the ending for a second, one of my favorite cameos was David Archer. Thought that was rather nice.
Also liked when that Rodriguez girl said to Jack "SCREW YOU, MA'AM!".
So much enthusiasm to insult Jack in a respectful way, and the fact Jack didn't slaughter her warmed my heart.
Yeah, so the whole Grissom academy part was great.
Also liked when that Rodriguez girl said to Jack "SCREW YOU, MA'AM!".
So much enthusiasm to insult Jack in a respectful way, and the fact Jack didn't slaughter her warmed my heart.
Yeah, so the whole Grissom academy part was great.
I'd rather have a decent ending. Future history and my memory of the ME games > whatever artistic integrity Mac Walters & Co. claim to have (i.e. none, because they make up shit as they go).
Zomba13
Member
I'd love it if BioWare 'caves' to fan demands. I'd love it if they act like it really was indoctrination and give us a free DLC ending update (that picks off after waking up in the Destruction ending). And this whole thing has been them showing that we are indoctrinated and some meta commentary on choices and how none of it really matters.
And yeah, Grissom Academy was great. Even made me like the character I liked the second least from ME2 (Samara was the one I disliked the most. So boring)
I WILL DESTROY YOU
that part cracked me up.
Is it true that the Renegade options can lead to you selling Jack back to Cerberus? I heard about that but it seemed completely out of character.
I saw a scene where if you don't go to the academy, they turn jack into one of those assassin type enemies and you fight her on cerberus. The game had a lot of nice touches.
Big Chungus
Member
I thought the fucking rachni queen was supposed to help me?
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I'm starting to come around to this dumb indoctrination theory. I wish this really was the case, because that would make the ending some MGS2 shit.
You also get audio logs of her being tortured and indoctrinated by Cerberus.
She gives you 100 war assets. It's under Crucible.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Hrm, maybe on the PS3, they just assume he died. The motion comic doesn't really give you many options anyway, so I've heard.
ShockingAlberto
Member
That's kinda where I am.
The ending sucked, but...it was the way the series ended. I don't care if they make a new ending, this will always be the real ME3 end.
They just flubbed it as hard as they possibly could in the pursuit of expedient development, self-indulgent assumptions of poignancy, and probably the hopes of selling DLC.
Yup, it was pretty cool, albeit too short.
Also, anyone noticed the "Is submission not preferable to extinction?" line Shepard threw at EDI? I really liked that particular fan-service to Saren's nice quote in ME1.
How does the current ending motivate hopes for selling DLC?
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I would actually be okay with an utterly depressing and awful galaxy fucking ending if it made sense at all.
The ending is nonsensical.
Chris L'Etoile, formerly at Bioware, now at ZeniMax studios. Designed the Geth, wrote much of ME1's codex, and designed Legion/Thane/EDI in Mass Effect 2.
Some of his insights are highly contradictory to things that occurred in Mass Effect 3. It would make a fantastic in-depth news article, actually.
edit: His posts were made BEFORE the release of Mass Effect 3, btw. Based on what he said, it's highly indicative that Bioware did NOT know what ending to the trilogy would be before writing the ending of Mass Effect 3. Then again, that's obvious enough by browsing in-game files (ie Joker coming to the rescue).
She does if you saved her in ME1 and free her in ME3.
I'm guessing that they wanted to imbue the game with a deeper meaning, and they wanted to surprise fans and avoid the obvious ending.
Insert rant here about how obvious isn't bad, because it's simply the natural progression of what's come before.
Any links to where we could find more stuff like it? Or is that all he wrote about ME3?
ShockingAlberto
Member
She lends some troops that assist at the crucible.
It's not really a thing that has an appreciable effect on the game.
I like his explanation. If only there was a text epilogue with that instead of grandpa.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Assuming these supposed universities were housed in Citadel space, likely on the Citadel, and it states conventional FTL travel would take 'years or decades', it's plausible that some species would be able to, in time, return to their homeworlds from Earth if given adequate fuel and food (which is pretty unlikely).
Going by the galaxy map, the distance between Ilos and the Citadel is significantly greater than, say, the distance between Earth and Tuchanka. I believe Palaven is close as well.
Very interesting. I would love to see some information or opinions on what is considered canon by the individual writers of ME, because the lack of consistency in the narrative can be a little bit overwhelming at times.
I wonder what's Chris L'Etoile's thoughts on ME3 in general are.
Zomba13
Member
But the endings were kinda obvious. In one the reapers get destroyed and in another the reapers are controlled. You built the Crucible to destroy them and TIM was going on and on throughout ME3 about controlling them. Only choice that isn't an obvious one is the one that makes the least amount of sense.
Kabuki Quantum Lover
Member
Debating if I should restart my FemShep replay so that I can play alongside the Datapad app. I only got up to the Grissom Academy mission.
...bah, I'll do it, it's just an hour of gameplay.
...bah, I'll do it, it's just an hour of gameplay.
The Krogan and Asari would definitely live long enough to make the journey.
Salarians are FUCKED.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I killed her in ME1, and got the new one in ME3, and I got the same outcome.
The Salarians didn't go to Earth (unless you decided not to cure the genophage).
If you kill her in ME1 and save the new one in ME3, the new one will eventually betray you.
Frankie Williamson
Member
It's the same with the Destiny Ascension. We're told how awesome it is, how it's power dwarfs anything the Alliance has and it's made a big deal whether we save it and the council. Then it's worth 75 asset points and you can see it during about 2 seconds of the fleets arriving on Earth cutscene.
Apophenia Overload
Member
One of my friends IRL hated Control least because it allowed him to kill EDI and save Westminster and Big Ben from being crushed by falling Reapers, lol
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
Didn't betray me. They just don't work as hard.
I fix the ending.
Anderson and Shepard arrive at the control panel for the Citadel. Before Shep or Anderson can open the arms, TIM shows up and starts controlling Shepard's body, preventing either of them from activating it. TIM says that there is a way to control the Reapers and that he isn't lying. Then depending on how Paragon or Renegade Shep is, s/he can break free from TIM's control. Shepard or Anderson kills TIM, and then Shepard goes to activate the Citadel arms. Instead of opening it, a "Reaper VI" appears, similar to that of Vigil or the one on Virmire.
He is the last known record of his species. His species created the Mass Relays, and their greatest achievement was the Citadel, a relay into dark space and beyond the galaxy. His species also created the Reapers. Their true origin was lost when the Reapers started harvesting his species. At this time there are few Reapers, but they are patient and exterminate them, thus starting the cycle. The Reapers retreat into dark space, except Sovereign who is to start the next cycle. Each species following has evolved and expanded using the creations of the first species. Each harvest meant more Reapers, and faster harvests, until the Prothean empire. This harvest took centuries, and as a result the Reapers changed the genetic code of the Protheans into the Collectors to be servants and collect species while the Reapers waited for the command from the Citadel to invade.
At this point in time the "Reaper VI" reveals that it is truly an AI with control of the Reapers. It directed Sovereign to start this cycle. (My reasoning for it not starting the cycle being that the first species wisely separated the Citadel control from Reaper control) When Sovereign failed, it directed the Reaper known as Harbinger. Harbinger is the first Reaper, the one designed from the first species(as well as Sovereign), and so the AI finds it easiest to control these one. Lastly, the AI warns against the Crucible. It was designed from previous records including his own species. It may not be complete and some may have been lost over time.
This is where the ending fully comes in. The AI asks Shepard what he wants to do. If the Crucible score is over a certain amount, Shepard can fire it deactivating all Reapers including the ones still in dark space. If the Crucible score isn't high enough, it still destroys all Reapers, but the Mass Relays(including the Citadel) are deactivated or destroyed. If the Crucible score is really low, then it wipes out all life(Halo effect for the lulz). Shepard can also use the AI to control the Reapers.
Have at it people. Hire me Bioware.
Anderson and Shepard arrive at the control panel for the Citadel. Before Shep or Anderson can open the arms, TIM shows up and starts controlling Shepard's body, preventing either of them from activating it. TIM says that there is a way to control the Reapers and that he isn't lying. Then depending on how Paragon or Renegade Shep is, s/he can break free from TIM's control. Shepard or Anderson kills TIM, and then Shepard goes to activate the Citadel arms. Instead of opening it, a "Reaper VI" appears, similar to that of Vigil or the one on Virmire.
He is the last known record of his species. His species created the Mass Relays, and their greatest achievement was the Citadel, a relay into dark space and beyond the galaxy. His species also created the Reapers. Their true origin was lost when the Reapers started harvesting his species. At this time there are few Reapers, but they are patient and exterminate them, thus starting the cycle. The Reapers retreat into dark space, except Sovereign who is to start the next cycle. Each species following has evolved and expanded using the creations of the first species. Each harvest meant more Reapers, and faster harvests, until the Prothean empire. This harvest took centuries, and as a result the Reapers changed the genetic code of the Protheans into the Collectors to be servants and collect species while the Reapers waited for the command from the Citadel to invade.
At this point in time the "Reaper VI" reveals that it is truly an AI with control of the Reapers. It directed Sovereign to start this cycle. (My reasoning for it not starting the cycle being that the first species wisely separated the Citadel control from Reaper control) When Sovereign failed, it directed the Reaper known as Harbinger. Harbinger is the first Reaper, the one designed from the first species(as well as Sovereign), and so the AI finds it easiest to control these one. Lastly, the AI warns against the Crucible. It was designed from previous records including his own species. It may not be complete and some may have been lost over time.
This is where the ending fully comes in. The AI asks Shepard what he wants to do. If the Crucible score is over a certain amount, Shepard can fire it deactivating all Reapers including the ones still in dark space. If the Crucible score isn't high enough, it still destroys all Reapers, but the Mass Relays(including the Citadel) are deactivated or destroyed. If the Crucible score is really low, then it wipes out all life(Halo effect for the lulz). Shepard can also use the AI to control the Reapers.
Have at it people. Hire me Bioware.
Nope. The new one in ME3 betrays you while the one from ME1 doesn't.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The new Rachni Queen betraying you; is this one of those war asset update things most people would probably gloss over? Like authorising the paranoid Asari in the hospital to have a gun, and her committing suicide?
Good. The Dalatrass was a bitch.
Good. The Dalatrass was a bitch.
lastplayed
Member
I wouldn't go that far. There's a lot of places outside Mass Relay networks. I saw someone earlier say it would create a galactic dark age. Even Europe's "dark age" wasn't so bad, it was just a little chaotic for a while, but it got better.
Weren't there two destiny ascensions? Or Atleast I saw another when they warped to earth.
thetrin
Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I don't know what to tell you. I never got any email saying it betrayed me.
chickdigger802
Banned
ME2: which characters can not die in your posse?
Apophenia Overload
Member
Mass Effect: On Stranger Times
I think it would be a lot easier to accept if the ending videos weren't all that there to it. An epilogue, longer end scenes, anything could help to explain what happened. Do exploding relays cause stars to go nova, or does it simply end FTL travel? Is slower travel still capable? They could have slapped in an additional scene or two of like Hackett conferring with turian or quarian military leaders about their situation "The relays are down... fortunately the energy released did not reach inhabited areas... we should be able to synthesize dextro foodstuffs with blah blah technobabble but we'll have rationing until then. Geth and Salarian scientists are working on a faster mode of transport as we speak, it may take years before we can reach your homeworlds. But it could be a lot worse. Shepard saved us." And it would be very Halo 3 but at least hint that things aren't as bad as it might be. Or if you have a low score, then maybe it would be the Dark Ages in space and everyone's fucked.
Problem with the ending is it didn't take the time to flesh any of this out.
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