Mass Effect 3 Ending Discussion? (Spoiler Alert!)

[usafirefly]

I played ME1,2,3 again after an absence. The ending of ME3. What did you pick? Why? Your thoughts?

EDITED: Played again and conclude the only two (2) options to get RID of the Leviathan for a "permanent solution" -- CONTROL or SYNTHESIS. Really, depending on DNA and Shepard in the energy, both could go wrong eventually? Who knows? Leviathan says they will rule over everything and we will SERVE them again. No other options can deal with Leviathan. So the Leviathan DLC is telling us the 'permanent solutions'?

---Still don't know who invented the Crucible and that could be part of MASS EFFECT 4?---

I picked synthesis: 1) Catalyst "Synthetics will kill all organics" So, stupid solution every cycle kill a bunch of organics and let children grow up (what the heck is this spirit type catalyst that is part of the Citadel anyway? -- that's never explained either). BUT now you have power for a NEW SOLUTION "more than you know" Why? This Crucible that allows us as creators to join our created with a new DNA! So? 2) Unhappy civilization all thruout the triology--made happy and peaceful 3) Leviathan would have kept going as an APEX Predator after Repears destroyed and promise they will rule over us again and we will serve them thru which the Reapers were created (the only reason they were hiding in the DARK and COLD) 4) Catalyst suggested this was the next step in development cause we are already attached to synthetics (today it's computers, robotics, AI, TV, media, phones, and synthetic body parts) Bottom line the triology is in a miserable galaxy now happier and free from threat with synthetics that now gets helpi in laborious tasks throughout the universe.

[LofLM🇵🇷]

I did every ending multiple times but my favorite remains Control. Nobody is harmed other than Shepard. And plus w/ the Reapers the galaxy can easily rebuild the Mass Relays etc. which will result in progress and perhaps better galactic stability than before the Reaper war.
I have issues w/ Synthesis, but it probably has a lot to do w/ my political beliefs. Synthesis changes sentient beings w/o their consent and I’m not okay w/ that, I’ve always been a big advocate for individualism and bodily autonomy so it’s a very obnoxious ending for me.
I dislike Destroy cuz of the Geth-Quarian bs, and it’s not cuz I’m on the Geth’s side but because the game needs a more nuanced/centrist take on the whole Geth-Quarian thing imo. I don’t hate any of the races in the game, not even the Batarians, and the fact that Destroy results in an entire race’s extinction (Geth) is something that makes me feel like ♥♥♥♥. Mass Effect has a problem w/ how it presents the Geth, like in the 1st game Shepard would angrily yell at Tali about how the Geth were right during the Morning War despite knowing almost nothing about it, ME2 then goes out of its way to clear most Geth of all responsibility for the first game with the Heretics thing, ME3 continues this obfuscation of the Geth's actions with the memory quest, while doing its hardest to push the Geth as complete victims, and also ignoring the fact that various Council contact teams were (needlessly) murdered upon entering The Veil.

[valium]

Synthesis is by far the worst option. Shepard has zero reason to believe the AI bent on erasing sentient life in the galaxy. Destroying what it is to be us on the whim of an AI is some horror movie crap. Just because bioware hand-waved it as a positive thing at the end doesnt stop it being intellectually abhorrent.

[Just Chill]

The red one with highest score is the best for Shepard, simply because you see him / her breathing in an after credit scene.

But overall it's just about pure taste and role playing.

[Jeebs]

I've done all of them and honestly, they are all bad in one way or another if you're asking which one would ensure the best outcome for the galaxy.

Why synthesis is bad has already been covered pretty well above.

The destroy option obliterates potentially innocent allies, and was also covered above.

The control option has Shepard become the new directing intelligence behind the Reapers... which at first sounds like a good idea, but consider that Shep is only a human with a human mind. They've shown themselves to be remarkably strong-willed, sure, but controlling untold numbers of Reapers is a monumental task. Whether or not that power will ultimately corrupt them or their mind would just fracture under the strain of it all over time is unknown. Schizophrenic Reapers would be ever worse than what we had before.

Even if it didn't, over the centuries or millennia to come having to watch organics go back to doing what they normally do... fighting pointless wars, inflicting atrocities on each other, etc. It is entirely possible that after a long enough time seeing the patterns repeat themselves, especially if the galaxy ends up on the brink of destruction again, that Shep could come to the same conclusion that originally drove the Reapers.

So if you really think about it, all of the endings are equally valid or bad, or whatever you want to call them. Including the one no one ever really talks about.

[Just Chill]

My luck was, that I never experienced the game without the Extended Cut DLC, simply as I boycotted Origin for a long time, as it was outside of Steam.
Yet simply as of being that much into the series, I once jumped over the fence and bought it,

With all the DLCs, I really had a nice experience (the party is one of the most interesting occurences giving away some FRIENDs-vibes just in weird and nasty. XD)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2637510863


Yet as of the intense viral backslash there was about the ending (and oh wonder, the writer went off as it got too corporate when EA took over), I've waited quite the time before I jumped into.

Big companies can often squeeze out the soul of their employees... A creative mind that has to be creative for his / her job will be crippled in such a case.



So... We never got any ending we deserved by the person that founded the whole story of Mass Effect, but some of the excuses are at least very enjoyable. ^^

[LofLM🇵🇷]

Originally posted by Jeebs:

The control option has Shepard become the new directing intelligence behind the Reapers... which at first sounds like a good idea, but consider that Shep is only a human with a human mind. They've shown themselves to be remarkably strong-willed, sure, but controlling untold numbers of Reapers is a monumental task. Whether or not that power will ultimately corrupt them or their mind would just fracture under the strain of it all over time is unknown. Schizophrenic Reapers would be ever worse than what we had before.

A lot of people think the Shepard AI would become corrupt, but that's a misconception. The AI is based on Shepard's memories and bound by their code of honor (paragon or renegade), it's a copy and paste construct, nothing more. It can't grow weary or corrupt because it's existence is fundamentally static. Now, I can get why someone would think a Renegade Shepard has the potential to become an authoritarian PoS, galactic police state etc. but I personally don’t think that Renegade is fundamentally evil, there were some actions and decisions that I kinda sorta agreed with. (I’m primarily a Paragade player btw)

But you’re right none of the endings are great and I have issues w/ Control too. But I still prefer it over the others. Synthesis is an abomination, you’re rewriting the DNA of everyone without their permission, you’re just basically making people into husks. You’re genociding (idk what word to use) practically everyone in a way. ♥♥♥♥ that.
Destroy is trash but not cuz I’m a fan of EDI and I want her to live etc. but cuz of the writing and its inconsistency throughout the trilogy (refer to my first comment).

[valium]

Losing Drew Karpyshyn was a massive blow, as Mac Walters was not up to the task. I would leave Bioware too if I was pulled from Mass Effect to work on an MMO.

[oldeschool]

only one ending stops the cycle of organics creating then going to war with synthetics -- eventually the organics will create reapers again.

[usafirefly]

Originally posted by oldeschool:

only one ending stops the cycle of organics creating then going to war with synthetics -- eventually the organics will create reapers again.

Good point for my Synthesis decision! That's something needed to be pointed out. Yeah. That was my conclusion a PERMANENT option was needed not a temporary one.

[Apollyon]

As a pure renegade player, it's always control for me. It's the only ending that makes sense for my intelligent and ruthless Shepard.

Control follows the plan of the wisest character in the series, The Illusive Man. It allows Shepard to transcend his humanity and dominate the Reapers. This not only preserves the all-powerful Reaper race but also makes them tools under Shepard's control, making him the most formidable being in the galaxy. It ensures order and stability throughout the universe, through fear and an iron fist, just how a pragmatic ruler would keep every race in line. The added bonus is that AI life gets to survive and thrive, slowly ushering in the age of true AI dominance, should the organic races ever make the tragic mistake of stepping out of line with their pointless wars. Best ending, hands down.

Destroy is short-sighted foolishness, completely lacking vision. You go ooga-booga on the Reapers due to obsession with destroying stuff and the results are a dark age galaxy. Blergh. I won't even address the cringe easter egg locked behind multiplayer that people keep thinking is "best ending". Yikes...

Synthesis is the toddler cop-out. You force every organic and synthetic being in the galaxy into a symbiotic hybrid union of sorts. Makes little sense but still better than destroy.

[Jonathan Hunt]

Billions of lost souls cry out for Vengeance. The Reapers must be destroyed.

PS
By the way, according to the teaser-trailer of the Next Mass Effect, we see that the canon is Destroy

[Apollyon]

Originally posted by jonathanhunt:

PS
By the way, according to the teaser-trailer of the Next Mass Effect, we see that the canon is Destroy

False. In no way does the teaser imply that. This just reads like wishful thinking.

[Whitey]

Wow. I'm so glad to see other opinions other than "destroy good, others bad". I favor control myself for basically the same reason as LofLM. No one is harmed, fundamentally changed, nor is the galaxy turned back into the stone age. Never understood the idea that Shepard's ESSENCE (not his brain) will become corrupt over time, and agree with LofLM again that his essence is static based on his moral values at the time of sacrifice. I've always been a believer that the intelligence doesn't have an ulterior motive. It truly is serving a purpose; it just came to a conclusion/solution that was morally reprehensible by organic standards, and that it is sincere its statement: "my solution won't work anymore."

I'd even argue that doing nothing is not a good option. You're the first organic to make it to the intelligence in millions of years. Why put the galaxy through this for even longer? At this point doing something is better than nothing.

[LofLM🇵🇷]

Originally posted by Whitey:

I favor control myself for basically the same reason as LofLM. No one is harmed, fundamentally changed, nor is the galaxy turned back into the stone age. Never understood the idea that Shepard's ESSENCE (not his brain) will become corrupt over time, and agree with LofLM again that his essence is static based on his moral values at the time of sacrifice.

[Jeebs]

Originally posted by LofLM:

A lot of people think the Shepard AI would become corrupt, but that's a misconception. The AI is based on Shepard's memories and bound by their code of honor (paragon or renegade), it's a copy and paste construct, nothing more. It can't grow weary or corrupt because it's existence is fundamentally static.

Even if that were the case, programs can get corrupted on the data level. Sometimes without any influence from other programs. Even if we assume that the reapers were sufficiently advanced to harden their systems against viruses, cosmic rays and the like, it's still not foregone that this AI won't alter its behaviour. In fact, it already has in the past.

It's definitely not static because otherwise the original guiding intelligence wouldn't have suddenly turned on the Leviathans. It didn't even discuss it's conclusions and what it considered to be the best solution because it knew they would never go along with it.

It just reassessed the situation and decided that the cycle of extinction was the best and most logical way to ensure that organic life continued in the galaxy in some fashion and just proceeded with that plan without further ado.

So I stand by my original point: I don't think it's impossible that even the most paragon of Shepards could ever reach a similar conclusion.