Mass Effect 3 Discussion Thread

[quote name='Lord_Kefka']This is the exact problem I have. Here it is, plain and simple. If you were fine with the ending, great. Maybe it met whatever base expectations or didn't blow as horribly as you thought it would. Fine. That's your opinion. But the general reaction from that side of the fence has been incredibly derogatory. Those of us who were unhappy with the ending have cited examples, attempted to make our stance clear and reasonable, and have invited open discussion on the merits of the ending.

And the other side says "it was fine" and then throws out some disgusting reply to paint us as ugly as possible. Your opinion on the ending is fine, but it does not make you right to insult us for holding a different opinion.[/QUOTE]

i never mean to insult or belittle.

i had a lot more issues with some of the Tekken endings as they hardly made any sense to me at all, imagination or not. I actually look fwd to more ME3 content and in some ways grateful the community made enough noise they are giving us free extended cutscenes. perhaps I'm just not as a big a fan as those that felt they needed to make a statement in contacting EA and Bioware. I enjoyed the #$% out of ME2 and ME3 + a lot of the choices made along with the results moved me.

I think with all the hype and not reading of the spoilers when I finally finished the game, I excepted something totally different would occur. I'm glad I was wrong, while the ending may not have met all my expectations the journey for the most part did.

imo, you're just a more devout fan of ME3 than I am...and/or I'm just enjoy the journey more than the destination.

game on.
 
That video shows there are a few things that catch your eye with the ending but the more you think about it and reflect on ME3's ending you go "What the heck just happened?!"

Also, glad I didn't break the page this time. :p
 
[quote name='100xp']i never mean to insult or belittle.

i had a lot more issues with some of the Tekken endings as they hardly made any sense to me at all, imagination or not. I actually look fwd to more ME3 content and in some ways grateful the community made enough noise they are giving us free extended cutscenes. perhaps I'm just not as a big a fan as those that felt they needed to make a statement in contacting EA and Bioware. I enjoyed the #$% out of ME2 and ME3 + a lot of the choices made along with the results moved me.

I think with all the hype and not reading of the spoilers when I finally finished the game, I excepted something totally different would occur. I'm glad I was wrong, while the ending may not have met all my expectations the journey for the most part did.

imo, you're just a more devout fan of ME3 than I am...and/or I'm just enjoy the journey more than the destination.

game on.[/QUOTE]

Conversely, I went into the ending having heard just a little of the ending in that people weren't happy. I powered through and completed by the end of the weekend (taking two days off during the work week). So I was very let down. I could see how reading the general backlash in the media would lead to soft-balling the ending in. Nothing short of a Reaper going anal on Shepard could be that bad from the mass media reaction.

I also greatly enjoyed the ride. The journey was great and I made my arguments on why the ending didn't satisfy for many reasons. And it was more than just "I didn't like it". Doesn't make me more of a fan at all. Just one who is willing to speak up using the power of the internet and a collective voice to speak back to the creators. Stealing from another video from that understated nerdrage series, my opinion on Mass Effect used to be "Shut up and take my money". Now it's much more guarded.

:grouphug:

game on
 
Question:

When people talk about the "best" ending what are they referring to? What is the "not-so-best" ending? I got the
Buzz Aldrin thing at the end. Is that it? What makes you not get that if so? It was pretty strange, though, because of course you watch the credits first and I saw Buzz Aldrin as "Skygazer" and I was like, WTF!? Did I miss some big section of the game? And then, oh, there it is ;).

Also, after watching that video I can see how the
destroy synthetics
ending would have been even worse. I chose
control
which the cut scene for at least makes a little more sense at that very moment than the
'sploding red ball the envelopes the galaxy triggered from destroying a tube
.
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']

:grouphug:

game on[/QUOTE]

word and I think we're in the same boat, just rocking it on different sides. I was alittle bit late to the game since I devoted several weeks into MP before even touching the SP.

I think any fan always wants more content and if the ending doesn't satisfy we want more. to me ME is the closet thing I can come to for a proper Star War experience, there aint gonna be another KOTOR and I'm not shoveling out monthly sub fees for SWOR, esp when it's set so early in the timeline. (though I'd give them lots of money if they just made cinematic trailers every quarter) I hope the continuation of ME is just as good and Bioware will learn from this instance.

now...I believe there are aliens that need t-bagging.
 
[quote name='The Crotch']You son of a bitch, Vinny.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Ryuukishi']Had to be the first post on the page too.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Arikado']:lol: At least the video is a good one.[/QUOTE]

I don't know what I did but I guess my post was fucking my the page... sorry, I deleted it.:S
 
[quote name='io']Question:

When people talk about the "best" ending what are they referring to? What is the "not-so-best" ending? I got the
Buzz Aldrin thing at the end. Is that it? What makes you not get that if so? It was pretty strange, though, because of course you watch the credits first and I saw Buzz Aldrin as "Skygazer" and I was like, WTF!? Did I miss some big section of the game? And then, oh, there it is ;).

Also, after watching that video I can see how the
destroy synthetics
ending would have been even worse. I chose
control
which the cut scene for at least makes a little more sense at that very moment than the
'sploding red ball the envelopes the galaxy triggered from destroying a tube
.[/QUOTE]

The "best" ending is the high EMS/galatic readiness score combined with the Destroy ending. This is considered the best due to it being the only one that shows the 5 second "Shepard Lives" cutscene before the end credits. It's also referred to as the best ending by the official strategy guide.

The stargazer scene is tied to either beating the game twice or once with an imported character. The implied bonus is that you get to see that humanity still lives in some farther distant time and that Shepard has become an almost biblical figure.

Without getting too deep into the arguments of the endings, the reason why Destroy is considered "best" (quotes used with purpose), is that is resolves the central theme of stopping/destroying the Reapers. For all of the vague, open to interpretation similarities of the endings, this one gives us two pieces of closure. The Reapers are destroyed, and Shepard lives. With the others, the Reaper threat appears to end, but the motivations or machinations behind them are kind of unknown. Control - does Shepard consciousness still remain in some way? Where did they go and what are they doing next? Synthesis - So they are part human now somehow? Where did they go and what are they doing next?
 
This game had midnight releases all over the place, people were lining up to buy it, with the notion that the third game would come to the conclusion of Shepard's story (wrapping everything up from previous titles) in Mass Effect. I'm all for more Mass Effect but I think the door wasn't shut here but blown off the handles from a SWAT Breach and Clear.
 
I beat one more multiplayer map no thanks to some random 4th who decided it'd be best if he didn't play, getting myself up to Level 13, almost 14 in multiplayer. It's strangely satisfying despite the weird FOV Mass Effect 3 has. I dunno, it feels worse than in ME2 (Aside from no multiplayer). It sort of takes me out of it at the same time.
 
I chose synthesis so for me the Shepard story is over in my mind. He died/synthesized and that's it. He now lives on as a "legend/hero/myth" to those future generations. When I tried to discuss my synthesis choice and why I really liked the ending all I heard was - congrats, you just sided with Saren or something along those lines... When I tried to stir some interest in theory crafting (including a link) relating to religious (specifically biblical) comparisons it also met silence so I sorta gave up... I will readily admit to not being a huge ME fan - I've played all 3 games and really enjoyed them - but I'm not a HUGE fan and definitely don't know much of any of the lore.
 
[quote name='bordjon']
I chose synthesis so for me the Shepard story is over in my mind. He died/synthesized and that's it. He now lives on as a "legend/hero/myth" to those future generations. When I tried to discuss my synthesis choice and why I really liked the ending all I heard was - congrats, you just sided with Saren or something along those lines... When I tried to stir some interest in theory crafting (including a link) relating to religious (specifically biblical) comparisons it also met silence so I sorta gave up... I will readily admit to not being a huge ME fan - I've played all 3 games and really enjoyed them - but I'm not a HUGE fan and definitely don't know much of any of the lore.
[/QUOTE]

I saw your first post but never the second one. With work and personal life, I sometimes dip back and forth. If you'd like to go over anything, I'm game. If you are just cool with it and it's over, then don't worry about it. I'll save any long-winded things for now, but an open healthy exchange of ideas is good.
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']
The "best" ending is the high EMS/galatic readiness score combined with the Destroy ending. This is considered the best due to it being the only one that shows the 5 second "Shepard Lives" cutscene before the end credits. It's also referred to as the best ending by the official strategy guide.

The stargazer scene is tied to either beating the game twice or once with an imported character. The implied bonus is that you get to see that humanity still lives in some farther distant time and that Shepard has become an almost biblical figure.

Without getting too deep into the arguments of the endings, the reason why Destroy is considered "best" (quotes used with purpose), is that is resolves the central theme of stopping/destroying the Reapers. For all of the vague, open to interpretation similarities of the endings, this one gives us two pieces of closure. The Reapers are destroyed, and Shepard lives. With the others, the Reaper threat appears to end, but the motivations or machinations behind them are kind of unknown. Control - does Shepard consciousness still remain in some way? Where did they go and what are they doing next? Synthesis - So they are part human now somehow? Where did they go and what are they doing next?
[/QUOTE]

Having just finished for the first time last night.....it's still all processing and I'm getting caught up, but this seems right on to me. Very simple, yet really boil sit all down.
 
[quote name='bordjon']
I chose synthesis so for me the Shepard story is over in my mind. He died/synthesized and that's it. He now lives on as a "legend/hero/myth" to those future generations. When I tried to discuss my synthesis choice and why I really liked the ending all I heard was - congrats, you just sided with Saren or something along those lines... When I tried to stir some interest in theory crafting (including a link) relating to religious (specifically biblical) comparisons it also met silence so I sorta gave up... I will readily admit to not being a huge ME fan - I've played all 3 games and really enjoyed them - but I'm not a HUGE fan and definitely don't know much of any of the lore.
[/QUOTE]

I'd be curious as those religious comparisons. Linked link??
 
[quote name='The Crotch']Is that for serious, or is that, like, one of those "Peter Molydeux" parody accounts?

Because... daaaaaaamn.[/QUOTE]

Nope, it's his real account.

The guy mocks not only the fans, but an entire religion/holiday. How does he not get fired for that? Can a moderator even be "fired"?
 
Well I guess my comment was wrong also. I just replied saying that I wondered if his choices came down to 3 colors.
 
[quote name='goodbyetonight']Nope, it's his real account.

The guy mocks not only the fans, but an entire religion/holiday. How does he not get fired for that? Can a moderator even be "fired"?[/QUOTE]
Making fun of fans and religions is one thing.

But dammit, show a basic understanding of writing and narrative.
 
[quote name='chubbyninja1319']I'd be curious as those religious comparisons. Linked link??[/QUOTE]

http://w11.zetaboards.com/Theorycraftng_HUB/topic/7695929/1/

Kefta - I'm cool with it - no replies meant there just wasn't much of any interest in my comments and that's no problem at all - I understand being busy as I have a wife and a kid and just don't seem to have near as much time for gaming as I use to!
 
[quote name='goodbyetonight']Chris Priestly is a dick - https://twitter.com/#!/BioEvilChris/status/188978725637992448[/QUOTE]

Okay, I'm a pretty faithful Catholic.....but that's damn funny. You guys don't see the irony there? Gotta be able to laugh at ourselves, no?

Also, I went back and made a different choice at the ending. While I was satisfied and I daresay, happy, with what went down my first trip to the end, I'd be lying if it didn't leave me feeling empty. Tonight I went back and
chose the red/anderson/renegade option. One thing stood out to me, when Catalyst boy was talking about the options, he clearly was trying to talk Shepard out of the Anderson option....Shepard's response was "maybe". If there was indoctrination going on, that was the only one that kept Shepard himself. I didn't realize this last night, but going the synthesis route I was carrying out Saren's plan from ME1. Scandalous!! Obviously going the blue/TIM/be a reaper route, you're doing what the Reapers want.

So, tonight I saw reapers go down, Alliance troops raise their weapons in victory, I saw the Normandy crash land with familiar and beloved faces walk out and I saw Commander Shepard take a breath. What else could I have asked for? Well, one thing......where the F' is my homeboy Garrus? Seriously, he's my favorite character and he's MIA. Maybe he did go down on the charge to the Citadel beam? If so, that sucks.

Last thing, remember that Casey Hudson said a few weeks ago that we haven't seen the last of Shepard. I'm dying to know what that means.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
On further reflection, that tweet shows more than anything else that Chris Priestly, despite his name, doesn't know his Bible.

That's not how it ends, dagnabbit.
 
[quote name='Spybreak8']How so, I mean because I did a ME2 import and my face was all messed up.[/QUOTE]

...the story is just richer.
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']
The "best" ending is the high EMS/galatic readiness score combined with the Destroy ending. This is considered the best due to it being the only one that shows the 5 second "Shepard Lives" cutscene before the end credits. It's also referred to as the best ending by the official strategy guide.

The stargazer scene is tied to either beating the game twice or once with an imported character. The implied bonus is that you get to see that humanity still lives in some farther distant time and that Shepard has become an almost biblical figure.

Without getting too deep into the arguments of the endings, the reason why Destroy is considered "best" (quotes used with purpose), is that is resolves the central theme of stopping/destroying the Reapers. For all of the vague, open to interpretation similarities of the endings, this one gives us two pieces of closure. The Reapers are destroyed, and Shepard lives. With the others, the Reaper threat appears to end, but the motivations or machinations behind them are kind of unknown. Control - does Shepard consciousness still remain in some way? Where did they go and what are they doing next? Synthesis - So they are part human now somehow? Where did they go and what are they doing next?
[/QUOTE]

Ok, thanks. When I get my galactic readiness up to 100% (I left off last night with it at 100% in Alliance space and 96% everywhere else) I'll run through the ending again and do that. By the way, what makes the readiness different in some places sometimes? It seems for every MP game I get a +4% readiness and it applies to every area. But when I checked last night Alliance space was 4 percent ahead of the others.

Oh, one more question - there's a red/blue dialog choice near the end that I couldn't choose, despite being through the roof with reputation/paragon. What do you need to activate that and what does it do?
I think it was to convince the Illusive Man to be on your side?
 
[quote name='io']Ok, thanks. When I get my galactic readiness up to 100% (I left off last night with it at 100% in Alliance space and 96% everywhere else) I'll run through the ending again and do that. By the way, what makes the readiness different in some places sometimes? It seems for every MP game I get a +4% readiness and it applies to every area. But when I checked last night Alliance space was 4 percent ahead of the others.

Oh, one more question - there's a red/blue dialog choice near the end that I couldn't choose, despite being through the roof with reputation/paragon. What do you need to activate that and what does it do?
I think it was to convince the Illusive Man to be on your side?
[/QUOTE]


Far as I remember, the Paragon route convinces TIM to off himself Saren-style. Renegade leads to you blasting him yourself.
 
[quote name='io']Ok, thanks. When I get my galactic readiness up to 100% (I left off last night with it at 100% in Alliance space and 96% everywhere else) I'll run through the ending again and do that. By the way, what makes the readiness different in some places sometimes? It seems for every MP game I get a +4% readiness and it applies to every area. But when I checked last night Alliance space was 4 percent ahead of the others.

Oh, one more question - there's a red/blue dialog choice near the end that I couldn't choose, despite being through the roof with reputation/paragon. What do you need to activate that and what does it do?
I think it was to convince the Illusive Man to be on your side?
[/QUOTE]

If you go to 'create match' and mess around with the maps, it shows you how many GR points you get for playing a random level vs a specific one.

To get the final paragon/renegade choice, you have to be consistent every time you talk to TIM and stick to only one color.
Then at the end you can choose either one.

Well at least it was like that for me with 90-10 para/rene.
 
[quote name='KrizB']
To get the final paragon/renegade choice, you have to be consistent every time you talk to TIM and stick to only one color.
Then at the end you can choose either one.

Well at least it was like that for me with 90-10 para/rene.
[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure I did that - I always picked Paragon every chance I got and never had it grayed out until that very last choice. Same thing happened to my son.
 
There's one on Mars if you have a high enough Rep from importing a character.
Other than that, no idea.
Sorry.
 
[quote name='io']I'm pretty sure I did that - I always picked Paragon every chance I got and never had it grayed out until that very last choice. Same thing happened to my son.[/QUOTE]

Had the same problem. Was told elsewhere there was another choice hidden underneath an Investigate option that you also have to pick.
 
[quote name='KrizB']There's one on Mars if you have a high enough Rep from importing a character.
Other than that, no idea.
Sorry.[/QUOTE]

I was maxed on my import character and did them all in this game. Oh well...

So I got my Galactic Readiness to 100% and then went to where it made sense that you would get the Master & Commander achievement. To me that was when
you go to Earth with all the fleets "checking in", etc. I had a save there so I started from that and played through most of the end and no achievement. OK, looked online and apparently it happens when you first attack the Illusive Man's base. D'oh! Well, I have a save there so I can do that tomorrow.
 
[quote name='io']I'm pretty sure I did that - I always picked Paragon every chance I got and never had it grayed out until that very last choice. Same thing happened to my son.[/QUOTE]

Thus happened to me too. I had 85% paragon/ 15%renegade and thought maybe that was why. Maybe you had to have 100% paragon. If that's not the case, maybe you had to carry over something from ME2????

Also
is there a way to save Anderson?
 
Savin' up dem credits for tomorrow. If any of you guys want to grind out some gold later, let me know. My Salarianengie/Firebase White runs are pretty much down to a science now. Even with mic-less randoms!
 
[quote name='IanKazimer']Savin' up dem credits for tomorrow. If any of you guys want to grind out some gold later, let me know. My Salarianengie/Firebase White runs are pretty much down to a science now. Even with mic-less randoms![/QUOTE]

send me an invite, even if i'm playing campaign. I need to get my readiness back up as well as get dem creds.
 
[quote name='Ryuukishi']
My DICK has a special story all its own!

Ultimate renegade interrupt.
[/QUOTE]

i might have to use that line next time I have to deal with less than favorable customer service.
 
Sounds like Ian is game, but anyone else want to tackle gold challenges for the achievement? I'm curious what kinds of exploits we'll find with these new species, classes, gear and powers tomorrow.
 
exploits? of course we will.

i'd imagine the asari justicar's stasis field will be huge...im not sure what the geth did when he did the armor lock animation, but if he's recharging his shields like that badass asian assassin (coughs), i'm going to say that'll be something to exploit as well.
 
Maybe it's just because I haven't read the books, but he hardly made an impression except for being a jackass.

Honestly I would have preferred a brainwashed Miranda be the antagonist instead of Kai Leng. Maybe in the end you chould choose to kill her or release her somehow. It would have been someone we knew instead of a brand new villain (again, if you weren't familiar with him from the books), and it would have given Miranda something to do. If Miranda was dead from ME2 then it could have just been an AI replica instead, like Eva Core.

That's one thing that stuck in my craw about the game, it seemed like Miranda barely factored into the plot despite being in the seemingly important position of knowing more about Cerberus and their plans than any living person besides the Illusive Man. It seems like she should have been more of a resource for Shepard.
 
I was always worried whenever Kai Lang showed up on screen because I knew that I would get a cutscene with some important plot setback because Shepard forgot how to shoot.
 
[quote name='IanKazimer']Savin' up dem credits for tomorrow. If any of you guys want to grind out some gold later, let me know. My Salarianengie/Firebase White runs are pretty much down to a science now. Even with mic-less randoms![/QUOTE]

^This. I'll be on most of the day to stack up for tomorrow and I'd prefer not to do it alone. I'm done with randoms though for real. I very RARELY pick them up now or revive myself when downed. Besides those third wave objective credits start to add up so f*ck it.
 
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