Mass Effect 3

[Anton]

No there's no kids part. That was cut. For the worse, I think - it's a minor omission, but it's more emotional I think.

Ending explained (somewhat)

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Actual analysis starts @2:40, but his point is good - the scene with the kid is actually Shepard's Final Battle

The child is a reaper representative attempting to trick Shepard into choosing the wrong option. The whole game - the whole series - is about destroying the reapers, and yet here's this kid trying to show you that it's the least-appealing option. He shows Anderson - your boy, paragon man - doing something evil, and the Illusive man - evil for most of the series, and for all of ME3 - choosing the route of the paragon.

Everything's backwards to you now - is that not the point of Reaper indoctrination? If the kid is representative "of all the people on Earth Shepard couldn't save", the kid who haunts Shepard's dreams, then the Reapers appearing to you as the kid is already an attempted control element.

The options are flipped - the renegade "destroy" option is actually the canon ending.

Also a little something to cheer everyone up. This is why you saved the galaxy

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In ME2, did you fail Thane's loyalty mission because you got distracted by THIS guy?

Shep: Thane you've got to see this
Thane: Shepard, do you see the target?
Shep: NO. Fuck your target, you have to come SEE THIS

Recruiting the turian is worth over 9000 war assets. Truth.

[Appie]

I saved Anderson and I remember that dialogue too, don't remeber everything in the middle (like hexagram the kids part), but the start and the ending I know for sure were the same of that convo.

edit: nvm you already posted XD

edit2
I actually like this theory about the ending presented by vrumpt and the video above though. Would make sense.

[hexagram23]

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I don't want to get my hopes up but it does make sense. Almost too much sense to not be true.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "Destroy" the only choice that ends with Shepard alive? It's the only one I've seen that ends with him alive, anyway.

If that's the case it seems kinda odd the "kid" would paint that as possible suicide for Shepard.

[Anoat]

Regarding the whole indoctrination theory, I seem to recall believing that Shepard was immune to indoctrination because of the cipher it received from the Thorian (which was doing indoctrinating of its own, but for personal gain it seemed)? If Shepard wasn't immune it would have made much more sense for the Reapers to indoctrinate him during the events of the Arrival DLC when he was held prisoner for 2 days on that space station.

[hexagram23]

Regarding the whole indoctrination theory, I seem to recall believing that Shepard was immune to indoctrination because of the cipher it received from the Thorian (which was doing indoctrinating of its own, but for personal gain it seemed)? If Shepard wasn't immune it would have made much more sense for the Reapers to indoctrinate him during the events of the Arrival DLC when he was held prisoner for 2 days on that space station.

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Regardless of whether or not he's immune....and I honestly don't remember that....it doesn't mean the Reapers know that. Or would care. They had to try something, he was about to kill them all.

Also, Shepard has never been mentally and physically broken like he was in the scenes prior to the "kid" appearing. Sure he was knocked out in "Arrival" but he's morally and mentally drained by the end of "ME3", and they hammered that point home several times in the game.

[Anton]

The video I posted suggested that exact possibility. Why is Anderson doing the renegade things, and TIM is doing paragon things, according to the kid? You're being subtly influenced already, better do what you came to do quick and get the fuck outta there.

I also heard a rumor that if you just stand around and don't pick any option...

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The reapers blow up the Crucible. TOO LATE BRO, SHOULD'VE PICKED AN OPTION LOL.

[Deejay]

How does everyone like the class balance in this game? I played the first two as a soldier, and I tried a replay as an infiltrator but I got bored with the class extremely fast. I think I'm going to roll a sentinel for this play through.

[Null]

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Mordin, Thane and Legion have to die. And lame deaths? They died pretty good deaths. Mordin died curing the genephage that he created. Legion died saving his race. Alternately Shepard could kill both of them if he made different choices. Thane was dying of old age anyways so he ended up dying helping Shepard. It wasn't bad at all.

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Don't know how to save Mordin and Legion without having Tali die. But Thane can live. So really just Mordin and Legion die.

[Prothescar]

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How exactly do you save Anderson? I had the most possible War Assets you can get, max Paragon, and I couldn't make the Illusive Man kill himself before he made me shoot Anderson. Kinda pissing me off.

[Tyrath]

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Don't know how to save Mordin and Legion without having Tali die. But Thane can live. So really just Mordin and Legion die.

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How can Thane live?

[Anoat]

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How exactly do you save Anderson? I had the most possible War Assets you can get, max Paragon, and I couldn't make the Illusive Man kill himself before he made me shoot Anderson. Kinda pissing me off.

^

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You can't save Anderson. People are getting confused on what "saving" Anderson means. Illusive Man makes you shoot Anderson no matter what. If you pass a paragon/renegade check, you can either convince Illusive Man to suicide or you kill him yourself. Either of these scenarios leads to a short scene with Anderson where you two talk for a few minutes before he finally dies. If you don't pass that paragon/renegade check, Illusive Man shoots Anderson again in the back to kill him, and THEN you have to kill Illusive Man. Bottom line is he dies no matter what. You are only "saving" him to have a few lines of bromance dialogue before he dies anyway.

EDIT: About Thane also:

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Thane dies no matter what as well. If you talked to Thane in the hospital on the Citadel before the Cerberus attack, then you'll get the scene where Kai Leng stabs him up. If you don't talk to Thane in the hospital before the Cerberus attack, then Kai Leng ends up killing Major Kirrahe instead. However, after the attack you'll see a scene on the Normandy where Garrus is adding names to the memorial wall, and Thane's name will now be on it. It is assumed he is killed during the attack off screen.

[Null]

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How can Thane live?

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nvm apparently he dies off screen, which is a shitty way for such a great character to go.

It felt like Ashley was the Meg of the Normandy. Everyone on the ship would get together, talk to each other and even send messages to one another. But nobody gave a fuck about Ashley. Even I found myself spamming through the dialogue I had with her.

[Bweigelt]

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nvm apparently he dies off screen, which is a shitty way for such a great character to go.

It felt like Ashley was the Meg of the Normandy. Everyone on the ship would get together, talk to each other and even send messages to one another. But nobody gave a fuck about Ashley. Even I found myself spamming through the dialogue I had with her.

Not entirely true, she has one memorable scene that involves James at one point.

[hexagram23]

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nvm apparently he dies off screen, which is a shitty way for such a great character to go.

It felt like Ashley was the Meg of the Normandy. Everyone on the ship would get together, talk to each other and even send messages to one another. But nobody gave a fuck about Ashley. Even I found myself spamming through the dialogue I had with her.

Eh, she was in the hospital for like half the game.

She had one of my favorite character moments though, when she's passed out on the floor drunk in the Normandy.

[Tyrath]

Eh, she was in the hospital for like half the game.

She had one of my favorite character moments though, when she's passed out on the floor drunk in the Normandy.

Even in that Tali's drunk was better

[BadKarma]

Even in that Tali's drunk was better

I have to disagree

[Tyrath]

Ashley was just passed out on the floor. Sure it was funny but Tali's dialogue was hilarious.

[Insanecyclone]

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So following mr. ninja faggot to that system is the end game, point of no return, part?

[6souls]

[Tyrath]

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So following mr. ninja faggot to that system is the end game, point of no return, part?

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Not the Horizon mission, the one after is.