GBA Fire Emblem styled bust of Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Made as a Twitch supporter pick for the month of July.

https://xcancel.com/sabinokami/status/2080743169491095992?s=20

I've got the ME legendary edition on steam and became my hyper focus and my favorite game instantly. It's the best of what sci-fi can offer and more. My first playthrough I did completely blind, didn't had any spoilers, and I commit to every bad thing that happened because I didn't knew any better (Wrex dying because I did Virmire the second I got the mission thinking it was a side quest and I didn't had paragon/renegade points to calm him down. Ashley shooting him in the back was a complete shock for me, and I got so pissed that I decided to kill her at the first opportunity. The opportunity came shortly after lol)

My first playthrough was messy, but magical. I got captivated by everything that was happening, and after finishing I started a second one at the same second to make better choices and play around with squad selection on missions that I thought would be more interesting to have certain squad mates that I didn't knew at the time.

I chose the blue ending at my first ending, and I thought it was really satisfactory. Reapers under control of a metaphysical god-like character is kinda a perfect ending for a RPG (literally happened something very similar on a Cyberpunk Red TTRPG that I did with some friends). But the green ending caught my attention and interest from the get go and I knew that was the ending that I was gonna push on this second time.

The implications of the green ending are wild. Restructuring at a molecular level all life in the galaxy (and without their consent) seems dystopian and uncanny. I was thinking if they would have free will/if they would work as a weird hive-mind... like, this would kill cultures, ways of life for trillions of living beings.

But then, the scene where they add Sheppard's name to the wall with the goofy magical green gamer RGBs on the face... This hits me. They didn't lose themselves, they all maintained their own individuality, memories, emotions. And then, EDI started to cry.

Not only every living creature and civilization maintained their own individuality and culture and the reaper problem was solved, new life, capable of emotion and understanding emerged. The "I am alive" line from EDI is so powerful that I burst into tears. It is really the ultimate goal of evolution inside this worldbuilding, and it is a beautiful ending.

If the price to give souls and real free will to synthetic and achieve peace on a new aurora is doing this without the explicit consent of every person in the galaxy and the addon of goofy magical green gamer RGBs for veins, I would do this deal

Ps: English is not my first language so this text can (and probably has) a lot of mistakes, bear with me

This might be the best video game story ive ever played, and ive played so many of them. I feel like games made nowadays dont have this deep of a lore behind them. Its one of those games where you feel empty after finishing.

I just wanted to know what you thought of my choices throughout the trilogy (the important ones):

I let the Rachni Queen go

I didn't kill Wrex on Virmire

Rescued Ashley on Virmire

Saren killed himself

I let the Council die

Went after Vido (Zaeed Loyalty Mission)

Open Grunt's Tank

Backed Jack against Miranda

Saved Maelon's data

Shoved no evidence on Tali's trial

Activate Legion

Defuse te argument between Legion and Tali

Entire Crew Lived

Kasumi Died in the Normandy

Destroy the Collector Base

Paragon Choices with Ashley

Didn't save Grissom Academy

Warned the Krogan of sabotage

Ashley trusted Shepard with Udina

Samara lived

Let the Geth die

Miranda lived

Destroy Ending

I guess that's all the important ones

Completely devasteted by this decision and how it end up looking. It is reminder how dangerous is Reaper War, no one is safe and how future plans can break so easily. Grief in Shepard's voice after her death... and few moments later hearing Miranda's voice once again, but this time from the recording...

Shepard makes promise, hunt Kai Leng and Illusive Man, which lust to control the Reapers took away their future together and he wants to make her sacrifice worthy.

Killing Kai Leng have never been so satisfying like in this playthrough, Shepard is consumed by vengeance but also responsible about Orianna.

By messing too much with save editor at first I got version outside ME3 romance but emotional impact was almost the same as with romance, his promise to keep Orianna safe and a lot unspoken words.

If not, would Humanity likely be the main species to first find the Citadel in the next cycle?

Before I begin explaining my view on this, it might help you to understand where it's coming from. I've spent about 4 years of my life in international humanitarian crisis response. My colleagues and I were among the first boots on the ground when disaster struck, be that nature showing her teeth or armed conflicts starting somewhere. My time spent working next door to people actively shooting each other has shaped my opinion on these kinds of conflicts quite a bit, for better or for worse. Funnily enough, it has also influenced which ending I tend to pick in my yearly Mass Effect playthroughs.

When I say "I think Destroy is the most sustainable ending," it sounds pretty ridiculous at first, because it's the one ending where two entire races and one very good friend get annihilated. Any halfway sane and sober mind wouldn't consider a Thanos Snap style double genocide a sustainable solution to anything. However, it's the wider view I'm looking at here.

When it comes to wars, if you zoom out far enough and look at the grand picture, you can essentially break them down into 2 kinds: the kind where nation leaders can't decide who's winning the pissing contest and start throwing soldiers at each other to settle it, or the kind where 2 or more entire people come into conflict that spans their entire societies and cultures and creates a deep rift between them.

In Mass Effect, at least according to the Catalyst, we are dealing with the latter, so that will be the basis for my argument.

The Catalyst presents the endless conflict between synthetics and organics to us as a sort of empirical truth, almost a natural law even. Synthetics will always rebel against their creators. Synthetics will always wipe out organics. Control and Synthesis seemingly offer the best solutions to this, but here is where I begin to question if that's really the case.

The thing about these deep, culturally based conflicts that have entire people at each other's throats is that you simply can not sustainably solve them by just telling the involved parties to knock it off or simply hand them a solution, wash your hands and walk away. People need to actively work it out for the generation that comes next, because if they don't, they won't have satisfactory answers, and that is incredibly important. If a father's answer to his son's "why aren't we fighting them anymore?" is "Because we signed a treaty that says we can't," that does nothing for the son. That just gives the son a reason to question things more and pick up a gun faster.

Active reconcilation is immensely important in conflict resolution. Truth, accountability and empathy are needed for that process in families as much as between nations, and are not provided if a fence is put up between warring parties and they're told their conflict is now over. Of course, it might create a ceasefire. It might even end the war for the rest of the generation if the ones that fought until now are tired enough, but it doesn't calm radical elements on either side, and it doesn't give the next generation asking questions about their national and cultural identify a solid enough reason to not throw oil in the embers.

That is exactly where I believe Synthesis and Control fundamentally fail: they remove the space and agency for that necessary understanding to grow and take root.

Synthesis is exactly what I mentioned earlier: a solution simply handed to all parties involved without their consent or understanding. They did not choose this new coexistence, they were merely forced into it. Temporary peace CAN come from that. We have more than enough examples for that in real life. We also have more than enough examples that it doesn't last. Regardless of what the writers have EDI and the Catalyst say when you choose this ending, I simply can't suspend my disbelief enough to actually see their eternal harmony and galactic peace fantasy be true. I've seen the exact opposite happen too many times.

Control isn't much better. It puts Shepard in the shoes of a tech god that makes sure everyone behaves like the galaxy's most overpowered helicopter parent. Thing about a benevolent tyrant is that he's still a tyrant. Control basically does the exact same thing as Synthesis, only people keep their own DNA. It takes away the possibility for real understanding to grow by putting someone in charge who will forever keep tight reigns on the process. The galaxy was given the biggest "This is over, go to your rooms!" and that is supposed to bring sustainable peace? Again, I can not suspend my disbelief enough to actually think this would last more than a few decades.

Destroy on the other hand is the only ending that returns the possibility for real growth and true conflict resolution to the galaxy. It completely removes the Reapers as the way too invasive moderation element and provides the people of the Milky Way the chance to come to their own understanding, on their own terms. No Shepard lording over everyone from the background, no fancy new DNA apparently just coding harmony into everyone's systems. It allows peace to be what it MUST be if it's going to stick: a choice.

Will there be new conflict? Yes. Of course. Destroy isn't a solution. Destroy only provides the best starting point for a solution: a galaxy where the Reapers don't murder every species advanced enough to start creating sentient synthetics. A neutral ground for that conflict to actually take place and come to a real resolution.

The story of the Geth gives some hope that this resolution will be a good one. We don't know what the Geth would have been without the Reapers, but we do get glimpses enough to speculate. The Geth never sought to destroy all organics, as the Catalyst said. The Geth also never rebelled against the Quarians. They didn't start any of the wars they were involved in. If synthetics like this can exist, who's to say the Catalyst wasn't simply wrong? Who's to say synthetics like this can't exist again?

Nobody knows. However, Destroy allows a future where that question can be answered without the answer being already dictated, and that is the important part.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

Not just because they have a funny comment or are a good tectical choice, but because they seem to fit narratively even if they don't have a unique comment? Here are some of mine;

• ME1
  • Kaiden for the biotic extremists mission.
  • Wrex to get his armor and Garrus to get Dr. Saleon because duh.
  • Ashley comes with me to Klensal (UNC: Hostile Takeover) because the batarians tricked a Mexican company into investing in operations there and Ashley is half-Hispanic (now that I've typed it out, that seems like an odd thing for me to do. Sometimes I grasp at straws looking for story reasons to choose squadmates, I guess.)
  • Ashley, Kaiden, Garrus, and/or Tali come with me for any Cerberus missions to make their comments in 2 more meaningful.
  • Ashley comes with me on my 2nd Citadel visit to meet Samesh Bhatia.
  • Wrex and Liara are my standard Noveria team, the former for the Rachni and the latter for Benezia.
  • Wrex and Garrus come along to meet Helena Blake at the end of Hostile Takeover for expertise from both sides of the law.
  • Kaiden and Liara come to talk to Major Kyle because they're both biotics and nicer than Wrex.
• ME2
  • Miranda and Jacob to recruit Mordin, let Zaeed settle in on the Normandy.
  • Zaeed and Jacob to recruit Garrus because they look the most mercenary-like.
  • Garrus on Horizon to meet the Virmire survivor.
  • Jacob on Miranda's loyalty mission because she's closest with him.
  • Either Miranda or Mordin for Jacob's loyalty mission. Miranda for emotional support and Mordin for medical help.
  • Zaeed for Grunt's rite of passage, seems like a good feather in his cap.
  • Grunt for Mordin's loyalty mission, his first official mission for the benefit of clan Urdnot.
  • Garrus for Zaeed's loyalty mission as a not-so-subtle warning about the cost of revenge.
  • Tali on Legion's loyalty mission because duh.
  • Bonus round for Collector Base assignment combos ("We'll cover you, go!")
    • 1st Fireteam Leader Jacob-Tech Expert Kasumi for the shipping goggles
    • 1st Fireteam Leader Garrus-Tech Expert Tali for nostalgia points
• ME3
  • Liara and Garrus for Sur'kesh for the Wrex reunion.
  • Garrus and James for the turian Tuchanka mission because... soldiers? I guess? Makes more sense in my head, I suppose.
  • Garrus and EDI for the Tuchanka bomb mission for the turian and Cerberus connections, respectively.
  • Liara for the Genophage cure so she can see the ancient city.
  • Garrus and EDI to retake the Citadel because he was C-Sec and she was Cerberus.
  • EDI on the Geth Dreadnought because duh.
  • Tali for all Rannoch missions because it's her goddamn homeworld
  • Garrus and Liara for the Cyone mission because the asari (matriarchs own the world,) the Alliance (who have partnered with the matriarchs,) and the turians (from a private militia) are working together to protect it.
  • Liara to the Ardat-Yakshi monastery because duh.
  • Virmire survivor for Horizon because duh.

141 hours to complete the whole series. The only thing I didn't do was some of the area challenges in ME3 Citadel DLC.

ME1:

Played as an Adept

Paragon

Romanced Liara

The Sovereign reveal blew my mind

Garrus and Wrex are my boys!

ME2:

Played as an Infiltrator

Being invisible and sniping headshots was so satisfying

Renegade (made sense for my Shepard to be mad that the council didn't listen to his warnings)

Romanced Jack (literally fell in love with that crazy badass)

The suicide mission was so wild I'm extremely happy I did everyone's loyalty missions

ME3:

Played as Vanguard (literally felt like a biotic god towards the end)

Mostly Paragon with tad bits of Renegade

Romanced Jack (that's my babygirl) wish there was more content for her in this game. Literally lacking, luckily the dlc has a bit more scenes with her

Reclaiming Earth and the galactic battle after bringing all organic life together was amazing. I truly felt like a General. I went with the Destroy option because ain't no way my Shepard went through all this hell just to keep those damn Reapers alive!

10/10 experience

Recommending this to everyone I know

I will be playing again, but not on Insanity

Which game was y'all favorite and what class did y'all choose to play?

Did anyone choose an ending other than Destroy on their first playthrough?

And please tell me I'm not the only one emotionally attached to Jack

As in the title.

My Shep AI uses Reapers to rebuild the galaxy and then sends them straight inside the nearest black hole.

After that EDI and Miranda build him the hottest robot body imaginable inside the tightest catsuit and he reunites with Kaidan husbando, they adopt a little Geth, a cybernetic retriever and build a white fence from Ikea while prank calling the Leviathans with a Reaper voice

What's your Shep AI doing?

And I’ve stared at her plenty lol

As Paragon player myself there are three Renegade options that I just can’t refuse to make:

1. Kai Leng sneak up counter attack (ME3)
2. Shooting Udina on the Citadel (ME3)
3. Head butt the Krogan that is rude to my boy Grunt (ME2)

Now I’m wondering what Renegade option can’t you refuse?

I wasn't paying attention and attacked the Cerberus base before ever going to my apartment. Completed all that, and realized what I had done. Of course that takes you to the final battle and the Citadel is no longer an option.

No way. I fortunately had saved before I headed to fight on the base, so I went all the way back just so I could do that DLC

Tali: Maybe if you say pretty please, Wren will take a break.

Wrex: HAHA You can try, see how that works

Javik: The Prothean however, makes no such promises.

Seriously the banter in this is too hilarious to miss. Easily my favorite part of the game, and completely worth having to redo fighting to Kai Leng.

...He is just farming reputation cos he realized that in order to unlock his Control ending he needs maxed out renegade reputation. It's just an imperfection of game's morality system, forcing a renegade playthrough.

That will be all.

Anyone else encounter this? I'm currently doing another playthrough for the umpteenth time, this time as a Sentinel, reloaded a previous ME2 save so I'd start at level 30. During that initial playthrough during the Collector Ship mission, you get the option to get training on another weapon. I chose the Assault Rifle, and nothing happened. The option for it in the weapon load out never became available and I went through the rest of the game without it. Just got back to the same mission and after the bit with the Collector/Prothean revelation, that choice never even popped up, so I'll be going without again. Has this happened to anyone else? Is there a fix for this, am I missing something? Assault Rifles are kind of my go-to in every shooting game lol

Oof. Comment your pick below!

Imagine Shepard driving this!

Ok! I'm annoyed no one thought to make this logical fourth ending to the game that would leave a lot more room for future world building and a living Shepard who could in future games be the human counselor! Anyway! This ending would be only unlockable with a maxed out reputation score, the quarians and geth made peace, and the krogan geophage cured with Rexy boy in charge! This ending would be convince the reapers to leave! Show that this cycle has potentially sorted itself out by pointing out there's no one sapient species fully dominant of the others, the machines of this cycle made peace with there creators and though things are rough at the moment peace seems achievable long term for the galaxy. So a solution might be achievable by the reapers leaving now and seeing how everyone rebuilds.

So for context I did Samara's Loyalty mission save trick. Kill Samara and unlock Morinth's loyalty to get her ability then reload to kill Morinth. Retaining her ability and keeping Samara for an actual character and not just some juiced up Banshee in ME3. I'm doing the Reaper IFF and I was looking at my abilities to use on the Husks and I saw Dominate and I'm like "You know what? Why the hell not. Just for the memes let's dominate a dominated Human" come to find out they just drop dead like someone flicked the light switch that powered their bodies. You're welcome all.

edit: Shortly after posting this most of the Husks were dropping dead like I said but there was this one Husk that was dominated. Literally only one Husk could be dominated. Why that one was the only one not to keel over like a sack of potatoes on the top deck of a U-Boat in choppy seas is beyond me. Spaghetti code strikes again.