ME3 starts ~6 months after ME2 ends. So Shepard’s act of destroying the relay did buy the citizens of the rest of the galaxy 6 months. Maybe it didn’t amount to much other than, well, 6 months more of enjoying life (6 months those Batarians didn’t have), but it’s not like there was no difference.
Having just finished ME1, I feel like there are just too many reapers in ME3, and that the whole situation feels hopeless. Didn’t ME1 state that the Reapers wiped out the Protheans over the course of years? With the sheer volume of them showing up, it feels like Earth should be gone within a day or two, with other systems following suit. Like a week, tops.
Shepard was locked up, the alliance and citadel basically sat on their rears. It bascially comes down to this and the fact that Shepard’s team made some progress while he/she was locked up. I think the real question is how much was Liara T’soni able to get done during this time. She is the one that laid the ground work for the crucible. Did that 6 months allow her to make real progress?
As far as I know the game never addresses that. Which is why I say it doesn’t sell that take.
Of course, my initial ME3 experience was not having played any of the ME2 DLC so I had no idea why this was even a thing.
Wow, Omega, which I didn’t buy the first time, was pretty great… and pretty clearly main-game content cut and wrapped up as DLC.
As do I.
I would say that the fact that Kenson and her team are indoctrinated and fighting against in an effort to destroy the asteroid so you can’t use it against the mass relay argues for the truthfulness of what she tells you - the Reapers are coming through the relay. Next, it also would hardly be like the Reapers to throw a swerve and be trying to manipulate you in order to “take you off the table”. They are not very subtle. Then the Reapers are rather arrogant in their own mechanical way, and I suspect they aren’t too worried about a single Council Spectre, much less the powers of the galaxy who they have handily defeated in every cycle. Also this would also assume that they have an understanding of galactic politics where they understand that Batarians and humans are at odds with a potential for war over such an incident. Lastly, your theory also assumes that the Reapers believe that Shepard would be grounded for killing 300k Batarians. Again, there’s no indication that the Reapers have such an understanding (they easily kill billions without batting an tentacle) or that they even care about what the various races of the galaxy think about such things. They are coming and there’s nothing any of the various races can do to stop them once they arrive.
We are Shepard, so any struggling over the decision is up to us before we hit the button. I guess they could have given us a cutscene where Shepard struggles over the choice, give us the option to make a different choice, whereby we don’t destroy the relay and colony, and then just give us a game over screen :) But it’s pretty clear the game itself is assuming the Reaper arrival is true, hence the total lack of choice. Hence, my rejection of your calling Shepard a “war criminal” (that nomenclature isn’t even accurate as the Earth/Council aren’t at war with the Batarians anyway). If you want to go there, Shepard’s a mass murderer :)
Actually i think thats the whole point of indoctrination. Saren was once loyal if violent Spectre, had his views subtly manipulated by Sovereign. A even better example is the Illusive man in ME2 where he is protecting the human colonies from the collector threat, and gives a wild card like Shepard carte blanch to save them. Saving humanity is a core drive of his, and pretty much a ruthless good guy in ME2. Then by ME3 he is indoctrinated (confirmed by a VI earlier in the game and the baby jesus at the end of the game). Probably from the human Reaper he has collected. He starts killing human colonies throughout ME3 to distract the alliance and Shepard. NOT alien colonies, but human ones (mostly). Very much at odds to his previous behaviors in ME2 and highlighting how his base thinking has been manipulated.
The way the games show indoctrination working is that it influences the underlying values and tendencies of the person to suit the reapers needs. That by definition and action is subtle.
Also in ME2 Harbinger and many times in ME3 the Reapers comment that Shepard is a anomaly and a threat to their plans. So they DO notice him, and consider him a threat. So its obvious that either killing him or indoctrinating him would be in their best interest.
This one i mostly accept, its likely the dont understand specifically the mechations of local politics, but they clearly are masters at influencing or manipulating the desires of organics to suit their own needs. I suspect they have tried and failed to indoctrinate Shepard, and this is part of the reason of their voiced raised concern of Shepard. So getting others to drive Shepard to do a plan that would take him off the table could be a possibility. Its at least worth a thought, if Shepard is to prevent him/her self from being a unwitting tool for the reapers.
Here is a possibility not stated by either the game or you. The reaper forces were coming through that relay, but where they coming at the stated timer?! That could have been a good reason for the reapers to push Shepard to this action. Maybe the reapers where still a few months out, but taking Shepard out of play for 6 months allowed reaper forces including the Illusive man more time to operate unfettered
Sure, the reapers are in it for the long game and dont mind taking several hundred years to wipe out organics (like it took with the Protheans) but Im also pretty sure they like to be efficient in their efforts, and operate from a efficiency mindset. Taking a anomaly that they are concerned about out of play till they are ready to attack, has to fit their agenda as beings with a efficiency mindset.
Finished ME1 last night with renegade FemShep. I felt bad about letting the council die, but this is the path I have chosen! Looking forward to starting ME2 later today.
Why doesn’t Jack wear a space suit?
And I’ve finally reached the point in ME2 where I recruited my favorite character, Samara. Damn I love her. I dig her samurai vibe and her badass biotic power and especially her tragic story arc. I forgot how she lays out the story to Shepard: ‘I had three children. There are three Ardat-Yakshi currently living. It is as it sounds.’ I would have played a game that was just following Samara as she kicked ass for her strict monastic code.
I so wish Bioware would bring ME3MP back. This gameplay is too good to just let it go to waste. And I remember having legit fun just leveling up various classes that I originally had no intention of playing, such as the different Batarian variants and so on.
They have said that it is still a possibility, but how much possibiity, no one knows. I guess it depends on how well the game sells.
Alright, so for someone who hasn’t done much except dabble (yet enjoy) Mass Effect in the past, I’ve decided to fix that flaw in my gaming ledger starting this long weekend. However, I’m stymied by the very first main choice: what is the most fun class to choose for a Legendary Edition play-through on normal difficulty, aiming for story as opposed to challenge? I noticed some tweaks were made to how the classes play. For instance, non-soldiers no longer get an aiming penalty in ME1, but only certain classes can improve certain weapons. Opinions abound online, but I’d like to get some QT3 takes.
Most Enjoyable (not always “best”) Class for LE
- Soldier
- Soldier, but change for later games
- Engineer
- Engineer, but change for later games
- Adept
- Adept, but change for later games
- Infiltrator
- Infiltrator, but change for later games
- Sentinel
- Sentinel, but change for later games
- Vanguard
- Vanguard, but change for later games
0 voters
Adepts are the best class in 1, absolute garbage in 2, and pretty fun but never as good as 1 in 3 and Andromeda.
The truth of the matter is, it really doesn’t matter all that much what class you take. I usually go soldier for survivability but on normal difficulty that’s not going to make a ton of difference. And since you can trigger your teammate’s skills and abilities manually, it’s almost like you have those abilities yourself. That’s less the case in the sequels, where you can do that cool vanguard rush and everyone has the same armor.
Just finished ME1 with Vanguard (Veteran difficulty, Femsheep, Paragon, ended lvl 29). Vanguards are a bit boring in ME1, but at least you can just put up a powerful barrier and walk up to enemies and shot them in the face with a shotgun.
Vanguards really come to their own in ME2/3 when you get Charge. Charge recharging shields leads to a satisfying (IMO) loop of charge, shot with shotgun until shields get low and then charge again.
I just finished all four games this morning as Adept, and loved it. I went hard in the paint in Adept, with a few powers maxed and felt pretty OP. Couple that with team mates who can set you up with Biotic combos and things explode no matter the game. This is on normal, difficulties. YMMV for harder settings.
Not sure I understand why soldier is so popular in that poll. It’s main advantage used to be the assault rifle, but in LE anyone can use that so what’s the point? Better to pick something more interesting.
Although, I suppose there’s also an argument in ME1 for picking a class that synergizes well with the companions you want to take with you and/or covers for companions you don’t want to take with you.
For me, class selection in ME comes down to one question: How much do I want the sniper rifle? My answer is ‘always’ so the only two realistic choices are Infiltrator and Soldier. I played Infiltrator on my original run through the trilogy so am doing Soldier this time.
Agree. Soldier is boring, it’s the mayo and white bread option.
Vanguard in ME2 is a blast though.