Though on some level we all want our hero to survive, in many ways Shepard’s survival could be argued not to fit with the tone of the story. If there is to be a continuation of their story in Mass Effect 4, this is the only way it could happen based on what we see on screen. Though Shepard’s survival has never been officially confirmed, many players – myself included! – subscribe to the notion that this figure simply must be Shepard. In a very brief scene lasting only a few seconds, amidst the ruins of what could be either the Citadel or London, a figure wearing burnt armour with an N7 dog tag sharply inhales right before the credits roll. The biggest point in favour of this ending is that, if you have a high enough war score, it’s at least implied that Shepard might’ve survived.
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The “destroy” ending may be the most popular with fans and players. That’s what I’m basing my claim that it’s the “most popular” ending on, at any rate!
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I can’t remember where or when I read this, I think it must’ve been circa 2012-13 when Mass Effect 3 was new, but a survey was conducted asking players which ending they chose, and “destroy” received almost 75% of the votes. Let’s begin with the most popular choice by far: using the Crucible to destroy the Reapers. These options are substantially different from one another, and while many players have a gut reaction as to which is the “right” decision, each has points in its favour as well as major drawbacks. It’s possible to “fight back” against the Catalyst – but doing so dooms every race in the galaxy.Īssuming players have accrued enough war assets and done as much as possible to get ready for the final confrontation, the Catalyst will present Shepard with three options for using the Crucible: destroy the Reapers, control the Reapers, or fuse all organic and synthetic life together by rewriting everyone’s DNA. Continuing to fight a doomed conventional war when the superweapon was available seems like a bad option, and players who go down this route ultimately learn that the Reapers were successful in their harvest of humanity and everyone else – duh, right? So that option is clearly not a good one in terms of outcome, though I guess you could argue that there’s a certain satisfaction in saying “I choose not to choose” and continuing to fight. I’m going to exclude the option to not use the Crucible. The Catalyst then presents Shepard with three very different ways to use the Crucible, and it’s these three options we’re going to look at in a bit more detail today. The Catalyst tells Shepard that the reason for all of this death and destruction is to “preserve” organic life by harvesting it otherwise organic life would inevitably be exterminated by synthetic life. How should Commander Shepard bring about an end to the Reaper War?Īfter arriving at the control room for the Crucible, Shepard is able to interact with the Catalyst – an artificial intelligence in control of the Reapers. After an intense battle in space and on Earth, the Crucible docks at the Citadel, ready to be armed and fired, bringing the war to an end.
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The key to victory in the Reaper War seems to be the Crucible – an ancient superweapon that the races of the galaxy come together to build across the game. Just to recap if it’s been a while since you played Mass Effect 3, Commander Shepard and their crew spend much of the game putting together fleets and forces to defeat the Reapers.
#Mass effect 3 synthesis ending how to
In this article I’m not going to spend too much time critiquing the ending of the games from a narrative perspective, but rather try to answer a question I haven’t really seen many fans asking: which is the “best” ending? And no, this isn’t a guide as to how to achieve a specific ending or outcome it’s a consideration of the pros and cons of the various ending options.
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Like it or hate it (and my god do some people hate it) Mass Effect: Legendary Edition retains the three-and-a-half possible endings present in the Mass Effect 3 Extended Edition DLC from 2012. Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the Mass Effect trilogy – including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition – and its ending.