Is it bad that I feel bad for Maero? SPOILERS

[Famix]

He offers you 25% and a bit of a team thing, but you turn it down, kill his wife, and poison his tattoos.

I know his wife killed Carlos, BUT he wasn't involved

[Capeshifter]

I liked Maero too. I mean, he's an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but not nearly to the same degree as the other gang leaders. I think the whole thing with the Brotherhood really drives home the point that the character you're playing as isn't one of the "good guys" and certainly not a hero. So much of what happened could've been avoided with a little diplomacy.

[NecroMaster]

Turning down Maeros offer was a matter of respect.

The saints were the most powerful gang in still water and offering 25% just because they’ve fallen on hard times was very disrespectful. The saints can’t look weak.

killing his gf however was definately over the line.
that didn’t benefit the saints in any way.
It’s basically the same thing the ronin did to Aisha.

[Famix]

To be fair, his GF was because she killed Carlos.

[Famix]

Maero is who I feel bad for, though

[M E R T I 六]

Even if it was jessica who had Carlos killed without a doubt she would've at the very least mentioned it to Maero, which he could've stopped. She was a ♥♥♥♥♥ and he was an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, they both deserved to die.

[Famix]

I'm an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, do I deserve to die?

Do we ever see him kill a guy when he's mad, like Killbane does?

[Zeetarb]

I don't really feel bad for him. He knew who and what he was dealing with, and he thought he was a tough guy and that he could win. His offer was meant to be an insult - depending on when you take up his first mission remember, you may already control a big chunk of the city. Even if not, you've just killed your way out of prison and killed Johnny Gat's way out of the biggest trial in the city's history. If he actually wanted to team up, he would have made a more reasonable offer.

Originally posted by Wilson the Gentleman Scientist.:

killing his gf however was definately over the line.
that didn’t benefit the saints in any way.
It’s basically the same thing the ronin did to Aisha.

Hmm I don't really think it was, since Jessica wasn't just his girlfriend, she was also a lieutenant majorly involved in the running of his gang. Plus she was unpleasant anyway, and it was a pretty clever way to kill her off and hurt Maero. Though the retirement party is still my favourite.

[furbleburble]

Maero reiterated to the Boss that the Saints used to own the city, after the Boss had just said so. That's a very important point. What you had and what you have are two different things. I don't think Maero was disrespectful at all. In fact, I think Maero had an idea of what he might be working with and wanted a partnership with the Saints because of it. It's smart thinking on his part. He even presented himself as very likeable and business oriented. It was the Boss who took offense and acted childish about it. I can understand the Boss' point, but to take things to the extreme the Boss did just doesn't help. As far as Jessica goes, I was happy to kill her, but she actually helped calm Maero down on more than one occasion, which wound up protecting a few of Maero's people from Maero himself. So there is that. She, too, was presented as someone who could be likeable, if a relationship developed between the two gangs.

What I would have liked to have seen is, once you get a certain percantage of the town, you could then make a counter offer to Maero and his decision to accept could have been based on how much of the city you've taken over. Or something like that. I didn't like how things were portrayed between Maero and the Boss. But, something to keep in mind is, the gang mentality is generally very destructive. There is a very strong "might makes right" mentality in gangs. Defeating the Ronin and Sons of Samedi can be seen as a means of protecting the town, but what happened with Maero goes to show how destructive gang life can be.

Think about this: What does it say to a gang's members about that gang's leader if the leader can't protect their people? Often, it's about demoralization. Carlos was a lietenant, and someone the Boss cared about. Jessica going after Carlos was to send a strong message to the Boss. That backfired. Badly. Having Maero kill Jessica was sent as an even stronger message to Maero, and is one of the sweetest acts of revenge possible: having your enemy kill their own. Much of gang life isn't about destroying the other gang(s) but making your gang look the strongest. It's a show for strength. It's only after a certain line has been crossed that gangs will decide to compeletly annihilate the other gang(s). Part of this is self-preservation. Declaring a war against another gang only increases the chance of your gang being destroyed, whereas the show for strength can keep your gang alive even if members are dying. It's all counter-productive and self-destructive, but it's better to have some of your members die than all of them.

I want to say, I don't advocate or support anything of what I have spoken of. I just have some knowledge of it. I've known people in gangs and have learned things over time.

[Famix]

I mean, things like thidndo belong in fiction. In real life, it's disturbing

[Andromeda]

Honestly, i love this game because main character is not a good guy, you are a freaking sociopath who cares only about his/her gang. I don't feel bad for Maero, he got what he deserved. Though i do agree he was a badass, not like that ♥♥♥♥♥, Killbane. Also you claim that he got nothing to do with killing Carlos but if you listen to what he says in a cutscene of mission #11 you will understand that you're wrong.
P.S. You can't actually feel sorry for him, if he really did not participate in killing Carlos. In that case: what kinda Gang Leader doesn't have a leash on his GF that she kills off a lieutenant of another gang?
P.P.S. Btw, if you like Maero you might wanna listen to three of his audiotapes you can find in a simulation, if you haven't already.(Saints Row IV).

[Danish]

Originally posted by Famix:

I'm an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, do I deserve to die?

Do we ever see him kill a guy when he's mad, like Killbane does?

He tried to kill the Ultor exec, but he backed out on doing it because a firing squad stopped him. He was literally about the toss the guy out of the building from a presumably deadly height.
I'm not saying he's as bad as everyone else necessarily, but he was a gang leader. just because you didn't see it, doesn't mean he didn't do horrible things.

[Famix]

You know what, I forgot about that! And IIRC, much of what we do to him takes place after that

[Danish]

Yeah, but in general, it is pretty much (from what I've seen, actually going through SR2 for the first time after years of playing sr3 and 4) a fact that maero seems to be the coolest enemy, ignoring my inner weeb to say Jyunichi is cool.

[Zeetarb]

Originally posted by furbleburble:

Maero reiterated to the Boss that the Saints used to own the city, after the Boss had just said so. That's a very important point. What you had and what you have are two different things. I don't think Maero was disrespectful at all. In fact, I think Maero had an idea of what he might be working with and wanted a partnership with the Saints because of it. It's smart thinking on his part. He even presented himself as very likeable and business oriented. It was the Boss who took offense and acted childish about it. I can understand the Boss' point, but to take things to the extreme the Boss did just doesn't help. As far as Jessica goes, I was happy to kill her, but she actually helped calm Maero down on more than one occasion, which wound up protecting a few of Maero's people from Maero himself. So there is that. She, too, was presented as someone who could be likeable, if a relationship developed between the two gangs.

What I would have liked to have seen is, once you get a certain percantage of the town, you could then make a counter offer to Maero and his decision to accept could have been based on how much of the city you've taken over. Or something like that. I didn't like how things were portrayed between Maero and the Boss. But, something to keep in mind is, the gang mentality is generally very destructive. There is a very strong "might makes right" mentality in gangs. Defeating the Ronin and Sons of Samedi can be seen as a means of protecting the town, but what happened with Maero goes to show how destructive gang life can be.

From the boss's perspective, the last 2 years haven't happened. The last thing they remember doing is taking over the city by wiping out 3 gangs largely on their own. Clearly they are going to do the same thing again, unless you make an offer large enough to make it worth their while not to.
If Maero actually thought they were going to accept that deal "on their hands and knees" then he is just not smart. I still think the way it was phrased combined with the low percentage (which you can already have if you've done a handful of other missions first) was meant to provoke them.

Although I suppose the conversation he has with Jessica (want to kill them? Nah they'll die soon enough) and calling them washed up bangers indicates he's not that worried about them, but then why make the offer in the first place?

[Chad "The King" ThunderCuck]

you werent offered a partnership on the city, you were offered a single job with a 20% take to you, and likely all the work done by you. he mentioned sharing the city when they first met, but thats not what they discussed when they got back to the base. i literally just finished this mission (currently stuck on the next one due to having to hop in and out of cars so much and the controls being so bad i have to switch back and forth from kb/m to gamepad whenever i enter or leave a vehicile)