The ME Next trailer's imagery seemed pretty aligned with Destroy.I get the feeling that none of these endings are canon and that we'll be left to figure out what exactly the outcome of ME3 was when the next game comes out.
The ME Next trailer's imagery seemed pretty aligned with Destroy.I get the feeling that none of these endings are canon and that we'll be left to figure out what exactly the outcome of ME3 was when the next game comes out.
Time to drop my hottest take.
Control is the only ending which doesn't involve committing genocide.
Destroy is genocide against all synthetics.
Synthesis is genocide against both organic side and synthetics by combing both against their will.
Refuse is genocide since it allows the reapers to win.
Therefore the only good option is control.
Sadly, they made the Reapers too powerful for that without extending the time span of the trilogy. ME1's ending showed everybody getting clowned on until Sovereign assumed direct control of Husk Saren and Shepard bodied him, which is when Sovereign was weak enough to beat.The whole point of the Reapers in ME1 taking over the Citadel was to isolate all the species so they could pick them off one by one, implying that if they all banded together the Reapers are defeatable.
ME3 shouldn't have needed a magic "Win" button to get a definitive ending, if you made all the best choices you should have had a united army big enough to wipe the Reapers out.
The ME Next trailer's imagery seemed pretty aligned with Destroy.
Yeah, but they could have easily just made the Catalyst some anti-reaper shield weapon, or turn their indoctrination tech against them, or something like that. I don't hate the idea of a multi-cycle device that you finally get to finish, I just hate how they executed on it.Sadly, they made the Reapers too powerful for that without extending the time span of the trilogy. ME1's ending showed everybody getting clowned on until Sovereign assumed direct control of Husk Saren and Shepard bodied him, which is when Sovereign was weak enough to beat.
If the Reapers were a bit weaker and ME3 took place ten years after ME1 instead of like 3, maybe then a conventional military solution was possible. But as shown off in the games, they wrote themselves into the deus ex machina corner hard.
Control. All the other options I did not like
Did not like destroy- wipe out the Beth? No thanks
Or synthesis- forcibly alter everyone? That's a no.
Destroy: Once.
Control (Paragon): Once.
Control (Renegade): None.
Synthesis: Thrice.
Refuse: None.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool Synthesis picker, but I will absolutely respect the decision to make Destroy canon should that be the case for ME4.
the hell you got against Beth
Control. All the other options I did not like
Did not like destroy- wipe out the Beth? No thanks
Or synthesis- forcibly alter everyone? That's a no.
I get very "These people vote!" with synthesis-choosers.
Synthesis because genociding the geth (i.e. removing all their choices, forever) is worse than making one harmless** decision for all life.
**As far as we are lead to believe in the game there are literally no negative consequences to synthesis other than muh freedom violated.
I don't get people whose objection to synthesis is that it's incoherent. So is 'Mass Effect', it doesn't work in the laws of physics. You have to suspend disbelief and take the choice as it's presented.
It didn't choose one IIRC. Andromeda's plan splits off before ME3 ends as a safeguard against failing to stop the Reapers - a convenient way to not have to address the question.Btw, what was the canon ending in ME3 if we look at Andromeda?
It doesn't address it and plotholes aside, Andromeda was only a thing because of the corner ME3's endings painted the series in from a lore standpoint.Btw, what was the canon ending in ME3 if we look at Andromeda?
I get very "These people vote!" with synthesis-choosers.
There's literally no way that rewriting every living person's DNA wouldn't have massive consequences, not just psychologically and sociologically (seriously, the number of wars that would ensue is insane, and if the galaxy learns that some human decided to flip that switch, it would probably mean humanity gets fucked extra hard), but all of medical science just has to be totally rewritten. The galaxy wakes up one day to find that all sorts of medications and procedures just straight up don't work anymore because everyone's DNA is different now, and they didn't even get a heads up. Societies have collapsed under less stress.
I get very "These people vote!" with synthesis-choosers.
There's literally no way that rewriting every living person's DNA wouldn't have massive consequences, not just psychologically and sociologically (seriously, the number of wars that would ensue is insane, and if the galaxy learns that some human decided to flip that switch, it would probably mean humanity gets fucked extra hard), but all of medical science just has to be totally rewritten. The galaxy wakes up one day to find that all sorts of medications and procedures just straight up don't work anymore because everyone's DNA is different now, and they didn't even get a heads up. Societies have collapsed under less stress.
Another reason Control is dumb is that it doesn't really solve the Star Child's problem of organics eventually creating synthetics that wipes everyone out. The Leviathans were in a similar role as God Shepard where they ruled over all the others species and even actively used their indoctrination to ensure their domination and they couldn't stop the creation of more killer AIs.
How is God Shep(who presumably won't be as heavy handed as the Leviathans, especially if Paragon) gonna stop AIs from being made? Are the Geth doomed for destruction once they get too advanced and start outpacing the Reapers? Eventually an AI is gonna slip through the cracks. The solution can't be for God Shepard to be a guardian and fight off any AIs that rebel because Star Kid could have done that itself. It's exactly what the Leviathans were doing(fighting off AIs that their thrall species would create) until they got scared/tired of the endless cycle and created the catalyst to come up with a solution.
Do you just go back to doing what the Reapers were originally made to do and wipe out a society once they get too advanced? And if God Shep decides not to do anything as to not become like the Star Child, and lets organics/synthetics kill each other endlessly well then he isn't really a good guardian is he? It's nice to dream that God Shep could just negotiate peace for every AI like he could do for the Geth but I can't believe anyone would be that naive to think he could do that until the end of time, Reapers are not omniscient. The whole thing with the Star Kids argument about killer AIs is that it isn't falsifiable.
If you believe the Star Kids arguments then Control and Destroy are certainly doomed down the line, Control buys more time. It's all designed to push you towards the ending BW deemed as the "good one", human instrumentality aka Synthesis and it sucks.
If you don't believe the Star Kids words then you can't believe anything good he says about Synthesis or Control. It's now a malfunctioning AI, the fuck does he know? He thought the harvest cycle was a good idea, why would I trust that fusing all life together or turning me into an immortal god like itself is also a good idea? He did all this shit off of a broken foundation. Maybe we need another Super Duper Crucible to present it with more "options".
Anyway Destroy becomes the most sensible option as the other two are far too sus.
Paragon control the best ending of course. No genocide needed.
Not a hot take at all. Control is the best of the available options for the reasons you describe, though I don't know that I would call Synthesis genocide so much as a very weird and stupid violation of everyone in the galaxy's bodily autonomy.Time to drop my hottest take.
Control is the only ending which doesn't involve committing genocide.
Destroy is genocide against all synthetics.
Synthesis is genocide against both organic side and synthetics by combing both against their will.
Refuse is genocide since it allows the reapers to win.
Therefore the only good option is control.
No you can trust it in that the colored beams will largely do what it says they'll do. I'm not saying the Star Kid is ever explicitly lying, the Reapers don't really ever outright lie,(they just indoctrinate) the point is that it can be mistaken in its overall logic and how the future will turn out. You can't trust that Synthesis might have not some crazy batshit unforseen consequences rather than this utopia it assumes and tries to sell you on. You can't trust that God Shep will be a good thing forever if at all, look at Renegade Control Shepard who is on some God Emperor WH40k shit.I mean if you can't trust it on the other two there is no reason to suddenly trust it on Destroy either. The whole scenario is suspect.