[Nikki Lawrence]

My worry if they did include the indoctrination theory is that it's going to set a president for 'the fans wrote the end'. Because even if it was their intention from the get go you're always going to have people saying 'they had a crap ending so they used somone elses idea'. And I don't know how that would go down legally if they couldn't prove thats what they always intended to do?

[Mario Alcantar]

I really couldn't play as a renegade. Seeing a video of that sequence with Legion was just painful to watch.

Spoiler

But if you don't activate him in ME2 there'll be a Fakegion instead. And since in that case you don't know him or anything about the Geth, destroying them is the logical decision. As is leaving Legion unactivated in ME2, given that the Geth that have tried to kill you outnumber those that talked to you about 1 to 1000000

[Andrew Perry]

I'm very skeptical about the ending. The "closure" we will get is most likely just a buttload of more plot holes and more disappointment.

Spoiler

Thing I don't expect to be changed:
- Everyone dying in the Citadel, ranging from Bailey to the Council
- Your LI starving to death on the other side of the galaxy
- Mass Relays being destroyed with no replacement.
- Every fleet staying on Earth's orbit and thus ensuring long term destruction of Earth's biosphere and starvation of millions of non-humans.

Thus I see the upcoming DLC as a few lines to explain the space magic, nothing else. We would get some closure on the Crucible and its motives, but nothing on what happens to Shepard, his/her friends and everyone on Earth.

[Sarah Unwin]

I'm very skeptical about the ending. The "closure" we will get is most likely just a buttload of more plot holes and more disappointment.

Spoiler

Thing I don't expect to be changed:
- Everyone dying in the Citadel, ranging from Bailey to the Council
- Your LI starving to death on the other side of the galaxy
- Mass Relays being destroyed with no replacement.
- Every fleet staying on Earth's orbit and thus ensuring long term destruction of Earth's biosphere and starvation of millions of non-humans.

Thus I see the upcoming DLC as a few lines to explain the space magic, nothing else. We would get some closure on the Crucible and its motives, but nothing on what happens to Shepard, his/her friends and everyone on Earth.

Spoiler

Just with regard to the LI being stranded on a random planet....is there really no chance the planet was in the Sol system? Suggesting they could potentially get back to Earth? I've only played the end once and can't remember how specific it is about where they end up?

[Laura Richards]

My worry if they did include the indoctrination theory is that it's going to set a president for 'the fans wrote the end'. Because even if it was their intention from the get go you're always going to have people saying 'they had a crap ending so they used somone elses idea'. And I don't know how that would go down legally if they couldn't prove thats what they always intended to do?

If they went with indoctrination theory you'd have to re-beat the game. I don't see them implementing that. If you bought the game after it was released, you'd have to beat the game twice. There's no legal ramification of them doing that though.

I don't understand this 'slippery slope' precedent thing. Great Expectations had its ending rewritten. Fallout 3 had its ending neutered. Most books and films pass through focus groups and such who may suggest creative changes. The choice to implement those suggestions is up to the writer, but if they do change it, they aren't caving. They're tweaking it to make it more enjoyable.

[tiffany Royal]

Whatever clarification they're doing, I hope it explains why

Spoiler

the Normandy flies off with your squad mates, and what the consequences of the destroyed relays are actually going to be. Because I can't imagine that 'entire colonies are going to starve because they're inaccessible now and the whole war fleet of all races will be stuck at earth' is something they actually planned and fully thought through.

[katsomaya Sanchez]

Whatever clarification they're doing, I hope it explains why

Spoiler

the Normandy flies off with your squad mates, and what the consequences of the destroyed relays are actually going to be. Because I can't imagine that 'entire colonies are going to starve because they're inaccessible now and the whole war fleet of all races will be stuck at earth' is something they actually planned and fully thought through.

Not 'bittersweet' enough for you?

I'm curious: Now playing as femshep. Kaiden is dead and I romanced Thane in ME2. Is there any male LI left for shep in ME3? I heard Garrus is un-romance-able unless you went after him in ME2. And Vega's a dead end and Jacob's a [censored] so. . .?

[Bambi]

Fallout 3 had its ending neutered.

Which was a serious mistake.

Most books and films pass through focus groups and such who may suggest creative changes.

I've generally seen that called a problem, too. Movies ruined by "executive interference" & marketing/focus groups.


As I've mentioned before, I dislike the ending. But I don't like the idea of them changing it. The things I dislike about it won't be fixed by minor changes, and major changes aren't reasonable. Plus, the initial experience has already happened. No way to salvage that.
(Changing it means one of two things. Either they planned it, and are money-grubbing scum, trolling their customers. Or they didn't plan it, and are setting/supporting a bad precedent by caving to a vocal group of internet rioters. Personal opinion, of course.)

[Thomas LEON]

I've generally seen that called a problem, too. Movies ruined by "executive interference" & marketing/focus groups.

You don't know this though. You don't know how the original version looked. It could have been utter garbage that was salvaged by a focus group's suggestions, or it could have better than what was eventually released. The point is -- it's done all the time. It's not unique to Bioware or their fans as many news outlets and gamer mags seem to imply. It's ubiquitous.

Paranormal Activity had a rather lame ending until the director was persuaded to change it. Same deal.

[Mark Hepworth]

Not 'bittersweet' enough for you?

I'm curious: Now playing as femshep. Kaiden is dead and I romanced Thane in ME2. Is there any male LI left for shep in ME3? I heard Garrus is un-romance-able unless you went after him in ME2. And Vega's a dead end and Jacob's a [censored] so. . .?

Nope. AFAIK the only fresh start romance for femshep with a male LI was Kaidan.

[Amy Siebenhaar]

Spoiler

Just with regard to the LI being stranded on a random planet....is there really no chance the planet was in the Sol system? Suggesting they could potentially get back to Earth? I've only played the end once and can't remember how specific it is about where they end up?

Spoiler

True, it could be Earth, but then again it serves no purpose to have the sequence if it's Earth. It can't be any other Sol planet since only Earth has native lifeforms (moon and Mars are in their ordinary, pre-terraformed state). The planet they are on has some sort of palm trees if I recall correctly, but then again almost every ME planet has biosphere copied from Earth with a few tweaks.
What annoys me is that your LI gets teleported no matter what role he/she has. I will be leaving Liara back this time since I don't like her getting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3PQT4c_r7Q, but she still gets on the Normandy as far as internet articles on the ending are concerned.

[Emilie Joseph]

Which was a serious mistake.

Not for me: I considered it to be a mistake to force the credits to roll once the MQ is complete. There is no "right" way of doing it, but with Broken Steel, players who wanted the game to end can stop playing, and those who don't can continue; seems a better option than forcing players to stop whether they want to or not.

Of course when I say "I considered it to be a mistake" I'm replying in the same style as your comment, but really both are personal preferences. In my case, I'm glad they changed it but there's no absolutely "right" way. I think it's fair to say that there's plenty wrong with ME3's ending, though: even discounting the complete lack of effect of decisions made throughout the series, it just doesn't make sense and should be redone (not "clarified") on that basis alone.

[Chloe Botham]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MmadibTVxdU#!

[Marine Arrègle]

Emz

Spoiler

No its not in the Sol System if you look into the sky there are 2 planetary bodies, a smaller one maybe a moon and a much larger one, maybe another planet

Pistolero

Spoiler

I took Liara and Ashley with me on the last mission, in my ending of destruction, joker steps out then Liara, then Ashley, i dont know you tell me.

Spoiler

Walking up the ramp just before TIM with Anderson standing at the control panel i shot him in the head 4 times and nothing, so watching it again for the 5th time, so what the citadel is a reaper, since casper keeps saying we, we as in the reapers and the citadel is my home, also the gate for the reapers to enter the system as well.

Also all the people that keep saying that the geth dont die, casper says if you choose destruction, all synthetics die even the geth and even your partly synthetic, how much more can you interpret that, sorry ill be slightly vague your partly synthetic but your excused, even though i just said all synthetics die as in dead, snuffed it, bit the big one, squawked your last squawk, gone to the choir invisibule, you will be an ex shepard.

Also it really doesnt make much difference whether you shoot all your crew members in the head, basically tell the other races you need no assistance, because the ends based on whatever score you get and you can mess up me 1 and 2 and just play multiplayer to get your score and basically sail through me 3 doing alot of nothing till the end, as long as you get your score in multiplayer.

[Gaelle Courant]

Emz

Spoiler

No its not in the Sol System if you look into the sky there are 2 planetary bodies, a smaller one maybe a moon and a much larger one, maybe another planet

Cool - thanks for clarifying. I've only done the ending once and have to say that on my second, full playthrough.....I'm tempted to stop before London and just not let it playout.

Yep - I'm a total wuss.

[OnlyDumazzapplyhere]

Take it from me save yourself the suffering, just before i typed that reply was my 5th time, id prefer shoving knitting needles in my eyes, you cant esc out of it, you get it to the end, or even hit the space bar or, you have to put up with the whole recorded cutscene.

[Vahpie]

Yeah I've played the end and think I'd prefer not to go through it again. Even knowing how it ended I found it really emotionally draining...

[Jeremy Kenney]

Another thing i found stupid, hard to narrow down which bits really.

Spoiler

Ok in control, you say so the reapers will do as i say, well since your in control, and casper says it controls the reapers and can obviously control them without sending a pulse through all the mass relays, then why cant you just control casper, or just control them the same way casper does, recall them all back to the citadel and then kick back and tell them to exterminate each other.

[Alexander Lee]

Cool - thanks for clarifying. I've only done the ending once and have to say that on my second, full playthrough.....I'm tempted to stop before London and just not let it playout.

Yep - I'm a total wuss.

I've done this twice already. Once with an Adept in a new game plus insanity run and once with a Vanguard imported from Mass Effect 2. I actually let that single Marauder who's the last enemy in the game kill me before I continue on to the Citadel.

[Nadia Nad]

I've done this twice already. Once with an Adept in a new game plus insanity run and once with a Vanguard imported from Mass Effect 2. I actually let that single Marauder who's the last enemy in the game kill me before I continue on to the Citadel.

"That single Marauder"?! Be more respectful, he's the legend who's trying his best to save you from the ending!

[stacy hamilton]

If they went with indoctrination theory you'd have to re-beat the game. I don't see them implementing that. If you bought the game after it was released, you'd have to beat the game twice.

Why would you have to re-beat it? As long as you have a save before

Spoiler

Cronos station

you should be fine.

[BRIANNA]

So I've abandoned my soldier playthrough for now. He just doesn't have enough abilities to help him survive on Insanity, so I'm trying an Adept instead. I'm hoping since Adept owns so hard in MP, hopefully it'll carry over to the SP.

h-how??? did you not get "from ashes"? The particle Beam gun makes it ridiculously easy. I upgraded it to V as soon as I got the chance and invested quickly into maxxing Disruption ammo, as well as incendiary ammo (although I barely use the disruptor ammo at all). From there I added the AR Barrel extension and the piercing mod. It's literally the only gun i have equipped ever. I just fire lasers with Garrus at everything while Liara spams stasis bubble like its the demo all over again. I just finished Priority: Citadel II and I find myself repeatedly checking if the game didn't revert to casual difficulty.

Only thing that bugs me about Soldier in MP is when the ammo boxes don't refill your grenades. Still haven't figured out a pattern to it. Definitely don't bother upgrading to 3 grenades anymore, since it usually didn't refill all the way.

(My soldiers usually keep a reasonably light load, so I can concussion or adrenaline often. Mattock & Predator for most of them, Geth Pulse Rifle for my Krogan - gives him 200% recharge for Carnage spam. )

The MP grenades work on a respawn timer. I haven't pinned down how long before you can pick up more, but 9/10 the reason you aren't recieveing grenades is because someone else in the lobby is a 'nade user as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MmadibTVxdU#!

That was epic.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will say though I will be pretty annoyed if their ending clarification leaves more http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/140/4/7/plot_holes_everywhere_by_funnydank-d3grv6n.jpg. Seriously, was the Gurren Lagann style ending too much for them?

[Marion Geneste]

Why would you have to re-beat it?

I'm not debating the merits of indoc theory - although I don't believe it or like it - but what I mean is:

Spoiler

You would have to go up to the crucible. Talk to the illusive man. Kill him. Activate the crucible. Talk to the catalyst. Win.

Then: Wake up and activate the crucible all over again. But this time for real.

If you bought the game after the DLC was released you'd basically have to activate the crucible twice. Once in the dream. Once for real. It would be awkward and repetitive. It sounds good to us b/c we've already played the game and were let down by the ending, but to a new player it would just be. . .odd.

They'd probably go - "What? I just did this! The Reapers are supposed to be dead. What gives? Why am activating this thing again?"

[BrEezy Baby]

h-how??? did you not get "from ashes"? The particle Beam gun makes it ridiculously easy. I upgraded it to V as soon as I got the chance and invested quickly into maxxing Disruption ammo, as well as incendiary ammo (although I barely use the disruptor ammo at all). From there I added the AR Barrel extension and the piercing mod. It's literally the only gun i have equipped ever. I just fire lasers with Garrus at everything while Liara spams stasis bubble like its the demo all over again. I just finished Priority: Citadel II and I find myself repeatedly checking if the game didn't revert to casual difficulty.

Hmm, sounds like a good reason not to get that DLC. (I suppose one could just not use the gun....)

[Brian LeHury]

I'm not debating the merits of indoc theory - although I don't believe it or like it - but what I mean is:

Spoiler

You would have to go up to the crucible. Talk to the illusive man. Kill him. Activate the crucible. Talk to the catalyst. Win.

Then: Wake up and activate the crucible all over again. But this time for real.

If you bought the game after the DLC was released you'd basically have to activate the crucible twice. Once in the dream. Once for real. It would be awkward and repetitive. It sounds good to us b/c we've already played the game and were let down by the ending, but to a new player it would just be. . .odd.

They'd probably go - "What? I just did this! The Reapers are supposed to be dead. What gives? Why am activating this thing again?"

Oh, so you don't mean beating the entire game over. Okay.