Mass Effect - The MINDBLOWING DLC Tie-in That We Never Got (Quarian Ark)

Today we're exploring the mindblowing Mass Effect DLC story that never grew into fruition - aswell as the Quarian Ark novel that we got instead of the DLC after the release of Mass Effect Andromeda.
Also, thank you to Ben Lo for letting me use his artwork. Considering that he was on the development team for Mass Effect Andromeda, it's so cool to see such a talented guy be willing to share this stuff with the Mass Effect community.
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10 INSANE Things That Were CUT During Development | Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• 10 INSANE Things That ...
Earthborn, Spacer, Colonist - What's the Difference? | Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• Earthborn, Spacer, Col...
00:00 - Intro & the Quarian Ark
02:12 - The Annihilation Novel
03:42 - The Unexplored Story (Ben Lo)
05:58 - What Happened?
06:35 - Should the Reapers return?

[@H240909]

I’m okay with a SINGLE Reaper showing up in the future, but not a whole fleet of them. The Reapers had their spotlight but now it’s over. If we keep resurrecting them for nostalgia’s sake, it just waters down everything that happened during the original trilogy. Seriously, all that drama and Shepard canonically fails to stop the Reaper threat? That would just be annoying.

[@Sabir_DelNorte]

Yes agree wholeheartedly

[@gunstrokethecybertronian8659]

Indeed plus it would conflict with everything in Mass Effect 3's ending regardless of the choices made. I mean sure who doesn't like to see a blast from the past? But if even one fleet of reapers would show up it's instant buzzkill

[@Winter-The-Masquerade]

The Reapers got screwed over at the end of the Original Trilogy so I would like to see them be given a better send off then what they got so I do think having a couple of Reapers survive would work as it would be better the Little Blue Troll controls them via BS that contradicts established lore for the sake of shocking the viewer. So, I would like something like this to happen as a side quest or DLC in ME4 but do have it were the Reapers are gone you must deal with a new threat.

[@SekiberiusWelkesh]

It would actually make sense if some of them showed up in the far far future, who's to say all of them participated in the harvesting.

[@maximvandepoll3008]

Personally I'd send in a small number of them, about five Sovereign classes with a few accompanying destroyers. That way the Reapers would not get easily overwhelmed by an unknown species while still holding the majority in the Milky Way.

[@RifterDask]

I don’t think the reapers should return en-masse, but ONE surviving reaper could be a very interesting figure in the story. Knowing it was the last, how would it carry out its directives? Imagine Liara 400 years in the future slowly unearthing another intelligence network not unlike her own only to eventually discover a reaper at its head

[@EricBurns1]

I honestly think this reaper storyline should’ve been the base game entirely. All Andromeda kept from the base series was the characters. Why not put a villain we all know in it?

[@petrz5474]

Imagine liara also piece in clues together from that same intelligence Network that that controlling reaper is convinced that reality is a simulation.

[@petrz5474]

@@ETERNALXGAMEPLAY yes what he said. We can even go Max tegmark way

[@Abdega]

Agreed, I think it would be better if the single reaper was trying to set up a base to create another reaper

[@leingodzelfer7227]

I'd say the reaper would integrate with the remnant tech indoctrinate the kett and enhance their tech and create a new legion of horrors that'd plague the milky way that'd be my guess

[@viktorbarney6795]

Still a damn shame we never got at least the Quarian Ark DLC in Andromeda. I recently played through the game for the first time before diving into the ME:LE and had a blast with it, despite its faults.

[@MrHulthen]

The gameplay is great if anything

[@pawli7470]

Agreed

[@fireblade295]

Andromeda is fine. It got too much unwanted hate...

[@mattd923]

It was a buggy mess on release - so playing through it now is a very different experience than playing it on launch.

[@stephenlewis3047]

I played it for the first time recently as well, and had a great time with it. I think part of the reason it was so maligned was that it was a very different subgenre from the trilogy, in my opinion. I also think the bugginess on release contributed, and I agree with the criticisms that the open worlds felt somewhat sparse and repetitive.

[@janeshepard9549]

At this point, the Reapers are like the Darkspawn of DA : Origins - once an extinction level threat but now just used for lore & DLC purposes.

[@hamstsorkxxor]

I don't think it is comparable. In mass effect, the reapers were the central to the story for the entire original trilogy. We fought the reapers (amongst others, ofc) directly and indirectly for 3 games. By the end of ME3, especially with the extended ending DLC, I felt that the story of the reapers had been told to completion. One of the reasons the Kett from Mass Effect Andromeda were such poor antagonists is that they are off-brand reapers. They felt stale, their story already having been told in a superior way in the original ME trilogy. Trying to make another Mass Effect game on the same premises again, is like M. Shyamalan trying to make yet another twist thriller, just because it worked well in the sixth sense. Yet that is what they did, with an enemie which assimilates other species (Kett/Reapers) and an ancient mysterious civilisation that disappeared (the Proteans/the Remnant).

[@javycane]

@@hamstsorkxxor i dont know why people compare the Kett to the Reapers and the Jardaan to the Protheans when they arent anything similar at all. Its how you end up making bogus comparisons and end up disappointed.

[@hamstsorkxxor]

@@javycane They make the comparison because the obvious thematical likeness is strong. They are using the same Lovecraftian toolbox of body horror, cosmic horror and fear of the unknown. I am actually a big fan of those genres, but the Kett are poorly realized and too similar to the reapers to be exciting. Also, they use a lot of the same story beats for the Kett as for the Reapers, for some missions they are almost plagiarizing themselves, such as the Kett ship infiltration compared to the collector ship mission.

[@AudeKhatru]

@@hamstsorkxxor Nope, gotta go with javycane on this one. The Kett are not bad antagonists because they are like the Reapers. They are cookie cutter bad guys. There method is capture and assimilate. The Reapers may eventually use organic material to create a new Reaper, but their pattern is destroy, capture and corrupt/mutate. They make Collectors out of Protheans, Cannibals out of Batarians, Banshees out of Asari, etc. This is fundamentally different from turning Angara into Kett, though what the Kett do to captured Krogan is closer. Though there are some surface similarities between Jardaan and Protheans, like they both had advanced technology and they both disappeared, they are otherwise dissimilar. The Jardaan built vast structures to control weather and other elements of whole planets and networked them across sections of the galaxy. We know very little of the Protheans until the third game. The Jardaan are the mystery to be solved, with the Kett as immediate threat. Until the third game, the Reapers are a future threat to be prepared for, and the Protheans are a mystery that may help with that preparation. I am not saying that your comparisons are bogus, but I find more differences than I find similarities. I am remembering that moment in the first game, when you are speaking to Sovereign on Virmire and you start to see the true scope of the enemy you are facing. Just thinking about it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up the way it did the first time. The Kett never manage that, though the Jardaan come close as you learn the true nature of Meridian.

[@Norinia]

No, the dark spawn are still a real threat. We’ve only seen two of the original group of Tevinter Magisters who invaded the golden city. The fact that they’re starting to wake up and gain awareness is a very disturbing thought to me. Whatever restrained their minds is starting to unravel. Corypheus already expressed outrage over his punishment, and by himself, unleaded utter havoc across all of Thedas. The Architect, even though he didn’t actually regain his memory, felt entitled to blight all of Thedas. He believed himself above other Darkspawn, yet he caused the 5th Blight, and planned to continue on the same path. He directed Darkspawn with purpose. That’s just two of the Magisters. Who knows how many others there are. 5? 10? 15? There could even be 20 for all we know, given it was ‘and excavation’ into the golden city (I think I’m using the wrong word 😅)(also, I’m partial to it being ether 6 or 13 Magisters. Dunno why 6 but 13 is an unlucky number, and what they did was surely unlucky) Who knows what they think, what they can do. The Darkspawn are still an extinction level threat. I worried what might happen if the remaining Magisters wake at the same time and join forces to destroy Thedas (though, knowing BioWare and how they touted ‘good peace loving Tevinters’ (aka, blind dumbasses who are about one in a million) I’m sure one or two will be ‘good Darkspawn’ who just want to save the world -_-)

[@melissaisloud7404]

Andromeda was my introduction to Mass Effect. The Pathfinder led me to Shepard. I now adore this franchise. I would love an Andromeda DLC.

[@phongvu-ju5rm]

Straggler reapers returning would be interesting. Because the first time we defeated them is by unconventional means i.e the catalyst. Would like to see how a conventional war with them look like. However I think Leviathan is more likely the villain. Now that the Reapers are gone, they might want to become the Apex species once more.

[@m3tr0id86]

That or the Reapers coming back the Milky Way are running the equivalent Windows 95 or XP and if you chose Control or Synthesis would either have Reapers in the Milky Way running with the conscience of Shepard or everyone like Demigods that are running Windows 10. I can imagine a huge fight of the original Reapers vs the Shep Reapers or Demigod via Synthesis Reapers.

[@Bateluer]

Be interesting to see that play out, though I don't think it'd be friendly to known lore. Reaper dreadnoughts and destroyers are tough, and the Initiative colonists in Andromeda don't have much more than a scout vessel and shuttles. Neither do the Angara. The Kett, perhaps? Even a couple Reaper dreadnoughts would make short work of everything we see of the Initiative. I'm still playing MEA, but I don't think I've seen any attempts to establish shipyards yet. Its all about growing food with reproduction. A time skip forward maybe? But then, you may well not be able to play as Pathfinder Ryder if you skip forward a couple decades. I also kinda think MEA should have been restricted to a single cluster of Andromeda, like they repeatedly state 'Heleous cluster' vs the entire galaxy map that the Tempest hops around on. There's no Mass Relays to pop the Tempest across Andromeda, so I assume they're using conventional mass effect drives, which require fuel and have a much more limited range. MEA's main story would have been largely fine operating in a single arm of Andromeda too, would make it a little more palatable that there's only the Angara and Kett encountered too.

[@LeganArabach]

@@Bateluer Remnant might have the capabilities to tackle a straggler Reaper armada. They would of course have to place it after the main story where the Remnant tech from Meridian and Khi Tasira was brought back online and under the control of the allied races. Also, they are only operating in the Heleus Cluster. It has 38 star systems and happens to have a black hole in the center. I'll admit, it does look galaxy-esque.

[@majora320]

@@LeganArabach I agree with you, and remember, travel in the Milky way was restricted to mass relays, so there were likely countless other systems in the milky way that haven't been explored yet.

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

@@majora320 That's a misconception. They weren't restricted to the Mass Relays, they could cross the entire Milky Way on standard drives alone if they wanted. It's just prohibitively more expensive the further from a Relay system you went .

[@robmarshall2872]

I'd of preferred the pandemic story over the Reapers returning in any fashion. It would have overshadowed the story Andromeda was starting to tell and would take away from just about everything else going on in Andromeda's story. I also don't believe Andromeda needed a civilization ending event within the first game when there's already to Kett and potentially the Jardaan.

[@jerm70]

It was fine until you had a whole fleet. The ideas of isolated reapers attacking the colonies could of been exciting content outside of the main plot. Reaper attacks becoming like hurricanes. A major natural disaster.

[@robmarshall2872]

@@jerm70 I agree

[@stubbornspaceman7201]

@@jerm70 Agreed, the idea of there being a whole fleet of reapers in Andromeda is just stupid IMO

[@oliviamoore3426]

I think if they just had one reaper that followed them and the dlc was all about destroying the one reaper it’d have been awesome, but like you brought up too many of them would impact future stories

[@jasonward720]

Having a lone and ancient Reaper could have been a cool idea, maybe tie it into the Kett exultation or had it as a part of their central religion would have also been really interesting. Same MEA had such a bad time, if had been polished and given time I think it could have been such an amazing game.

[@EternalNightingale]

If that was the case they would just make it bland like basically just a re skin of what the collectors were... the lone reaper indoctrinated major Angara and made them into kett and eventually kett can make their own

[@kevingrube2517]

kett zzzzzzzzz

[@ski11lzdatki11z]

I like this idea, but when the dormant reaper makes the reaper sound nothing should happen. No more reapers come so the player/reader still has no idea what the “canon” ending of ME3 is, but it also leaves it open, like because the reaper made the reaper sound, eventually reapers could potentially return

[@barrybend7189]

Replace Reaper with out of control massive Remnant construct and instead of a Reaper fleet its a Geth one.

[@dewdew80]

Make it to where only one character hears the Reaper noise and everybody else is all like "I didn't hear anything". Then have some subtle glowing eyes from the character that heard it. Maybe have it be related to a renegade ending involving taking something from the ship that you should have destroyed.

[@heathecliffe5928]

The fanart is amazing, but I think reapers should definitely stay dead for ME4. If reapers are introduced back in ME4 or Andromeda, it feels like all the things that we as Commander Shepard did in ME123 to stop the reaper invasion are worthless, all the choices and sacrifices that we had to make goes down the drain. Also, I think that the Quarian disease infected ark is just better narratively. The reaper andromeda fanart only produces more questions than answers. The narrative is just better if Ryder saves the infected ark than doing ME123 all over again in Andromeda.

[@masterblaster7953]

I am okay with it if harbinger fled the galaxy. We do see him leave almost if he anticipated this would happen. After all if we believe the star brat that Shepard can influence the galaxy as a whole etc. What if Harbinger waited for this moment to happen, almost killed Shepard just to make it seem like it did what it was intended to do. Harbinger then uses the citadel to move himself into dark space FOR we do know there HAS to be a relay in dark space for unless they tear a reality itself or have a mega insta jump point place. I do not see how only the the galaxies relays are only effected.

[@Cailus3542]

It can work, conceivably. Ryder is exploring on the Tempest one day, they discover an inactive mass relay, and the true scope of the Reaper threat becomes known. Worse, Ryder and the other Pathfinders discover evidence that the Reapers aren't the only threat, that they were actually 'protecting' a handful of galaxies against something far, far worse for millions of years. It's doable.

[@AudeKhatru]

Actually, I like the idea of a damaged Reaper. What if the damaged Reaper were to point the way to other damaged Reapers, and then you find that these damaged Reapers are repairing themselves. If the new game were to end up in the Andromeda galaxy, with more limited resources, it could be a battle against the Reapers, but it being an attempt to stop them before they rebuild to the point of being able to start a new harvest. And, another idea occurred to me just now. What if the Reapers, in their post Catalyst guise, don't have the overwhelming mandate to harvest advanced life? What would they do?

[@Sabir_DelNorte]

Yes this is what I also felt when I made a post. I don’t really want a reaper heavy new game at all. To me it introduces further reaper fatigue because after all we deal with them across three games and quite extensive with ME3 alone. Let them stay a past adversary to the milkyway species, or at most tie their past in more with the leviathan that brought one down in that particular dlc. By the time the new game picks up, I’d have expected that the milkyway species has figured out their technology to the degree they are better able to defend against a potential cycle harvest threat if the reapers were to return in some capacity. That is what I thought was a missed opportunity about the conclusión of ME. They destroyed that reaper when it seemed to go dormant once Saren was eliminated or at least it was weakened and no longer had a barrier up. Having had a chance to extensively study that reaper could have definitely helped to better prepare though I’m sure indoctrination is a risk with that approach. I agree, also that it would make the new game seem like It’s a round four of the milkyway species vs a nearly unstoppable reaper force. However if the cannon was control, i could see a plot of an impending showdown of unaffected reapers vs the control reapers. Aside from that, give the reapers a rest and do something different but really interesting and engaging from a gaming experience

[@Freelancer837]

There just shouldn't be an ME4 at all. There's no way they can continue off of ME3 without it ignoring big trilogy events or retconning shit. So hopefully ME4 is more just Andromeda with a hint of ME trilogy than it is actually the trilogy

[@rigbydevos5323]

Personally I like the idea that since the reapers are individuals, maybe one somehow mutated or malfunctioned to the point where they disagreed with the harvest and left the armada to explore the andromeda galaxy. Or perhaps there was a schism between reaper factions billions of years ago and a small splinter group went on to become immortal deities for some primitive species. They are no longer the bad guys, but not necessarily good guys either. But then also make it so their numbers aren't so massive that they're impossible to defeat. I think it would have been cool to see a large empire of multiple andromeda species controlled by a hidden reaper or something along that line

[@MrHulthen]

I like that idea!

[@fireblade295]

Yes.

[@jackahern4218]

Honestly, the first time I played through Andromeda, I thought that’s what the threat of the Kett was building up to, a secret reaper controlling everything from behind the scenes using the kett to collect organics for the harvest, personally think that would make for a far more interesting enemy, sort of hard to imagine Mass Effect without reapers, it’s kinda like removing the Sith from Star Wars.

[@DrumToTheBassWoop]

Reaper rogues: "this is madness, we've done this countless times, it's disgusting" Reapers: "what's wrong, you lost your stomach? O,o Reaper Rogues: "fuck this dude, we're outta here, and your sick game" 😑

[@tardelli2559]

Interesting... and quite curious... If you think about it, Who’s to say that aren’t really any Reapers in other galaxies? What if instead of hibernating between cycles they are actually harvesting other civilizations in other galaxies? Who knows... Great video as always sir...

[@MrHulthen]

Thanks for the support :D

[@Fingerscrossedout]

Yeah that's what I was thinking!

[@jylehansen2758]

I think that was supposed to tie into mass effect andromeda tbh

[@Krovos_]

There's no way Reapers exist in Andromeda. The Jardaan were way too advanced to be taken out by the Reapers.

[@juuloveh]

@@Krovos_ The Jardaan were stated to be less advanced than the Protheans. They’ve just mastered terraformation technology.

[@Sabir_DelNorte]

I agree, having a sizable reaper presence in the andromeda galaxy would overshadow anything new the andromeda series creates. I am for having a lone story of one discovered because I was curious if the reapers had done this cycle extinctions in andromeda but that dialogue didn’t come up, and no andromeda species seemed to convey that. Purposely done I assume to make a clean start to a new series. Personally, I think the reaper story should not be further mined in an Andromeda setting given what all happens with ME3, regardless of the ending selected. Sure there’s a chance they are in Andromeda as well already but dormant or perhaps investigating what happened to the armada in the Milky Way. If control is the definitive ending then I’d expect there to be a war between both armadas but this shouldn’t be the major focus with an Andromeda based game. If it is set in the Milkyway then yes, make it part of a larger story. What we don’t want is “reaper fatigue” though. I think this could harm the reception of a new entry longer term because fans are so attached to the conclusion of the war from ME3, and likely it’s best to forge a new creative story. Perhaps the origins would be interesting to deep dive but I wouldn’t want a new title that focused on the reaper and their assimilated species as the main threat to a galaxy either. We did this with the trilogy already

[@MrHulthen]

Yeah & it could possibly make them less memorable.

[@strykrpinoy]

I don't agree at all, If anything the tech in andromeda shows me that the reapers would of been overwhelmed by a more species that wasn't linear and was more fluid and evolved. Hell if the krogan weren't shackled by the genophage the would of bred to death the reapers and hurled moons at them.

[@MattGreek]

@@MrHulthen Kinda like the Borg once Voyager started having them every few episodes.

[@AudeKhatru]

@@strykrpinoy I disagree. I see nothing in the Kett or Angara to suggest that they could stand against a Reaper invasion. Having a ton of Krogan would have made things harder for the Reapers, but I still see them as winning in the end...with a Crucible. Actually, this brings up an interesting point. It does not seem like the most strategic move to rush back into the Galaxy without reconnaissance. Was that part of Sovereign's job? Did the Reapers use the Collectors for their reconnaissance? Would the Reapers do something different if they found that the galactic empire was strong enough to stop them? We have very few details on the Prothean harvest and even less on any of the harvests before that. What if other harvests went differently. What would they do, if the Krogan were breeding uncontrolled? Or, after millennia of harvests, are their so many Reapers that they can overcome any force?

[@erikhopkins9548]

Here is one I posted before that I like for this that's similar to it. What if some of the leviathans escaped millions of years ago to andromeda and have been hiding out there using the Kett to do their work while they advance them to prepare for a return to the milky way

[@vette1]

Your last point is exactly why I think the next game should continue very shortly after the reaper war and we should play as Shepard exploring the after effects of the war there's actually so much they could explore with it, splinter groups, terrorist organizations, black markets selling reaper tech, crazed folks who worship the reapers and want to bring them back etc..... there's almost endless possibilities

[@jr5687]

But I died.

[@FriedCassowary]

@@jr5687 Don't worry, we got the Lazarus tech still :)

[@yeven44]

Or... Shepard and team learn about the andromeda initiative and track reaper signatures that left after the arks. And Shepard does the only thing he's ever done, and hops his happy ass on an ark with another makeshift crucible device and yeets himself (in cryo) against whatever reapers splintered off from the milky way galaxy. Might start with finding the quarian ark, saving it from whatever reaper menace, and end with reuniting the quarians with the nexus, a few years after the events of MEA. Plus reaper hunting along the way. Oh, and here's a tie in: The reapers have already been to andromeda. Even left behind a race much like the collectors. But since they died, the collectors morphed into a standalone species. The kett. They had 600 years without supervision, after all.

[@jr5687]

@@FriedCassowary I love Shepard, I truly do. They gave so much to the universe and I wanna play them again. Low-key would be kinda mad if someone resurrected me to fight another of their wars though.

[@FriedCassowary]

@@jr5687 Oh I totally understand. I can imagine even a full paragon Shep just hunting down anyone who was involved in bring them back.

[@Zathurious]

I think, seeing the Reapers used again would have made me feel like everything Shepherd and crew went through would have been for nothing. They should stay dead. A return of the Reapers would mean my Shepherd died for nothing.

[@pkidawmbt]

Except the story of ME:A was already addressing the effect of an AI on their galaxy in a different way, and introducing the reapers to that galaxy would frankly be lazy writing IMO.

[@MattGreek]

I definitely don’t think the entire Andromeda story should be thrown in the trash. I actually really enjoyed the game. Not as good as the OT, duh, but a fun game with great visuals (not the faces, but the vistas) and the combat was very good.

[@cublue3239]

Silly to think this cycle was the first to try and escape to Andromeda. Reapers must have had to stop another cycle from trying. Would not be surprised if they had Reapers already in Andromeda or prepared to go if needed. They have nothing but time

[@Lahiss]

How about: the Kett are from Milky Way. Ancient species who ran away from the Reapers several cycles ago. Kett technology favours biology over tech, and their computers are rather rudimentary. They also have complete aversion towards AIs of any kind to the point of thinking them as unholy abominations. All of this could be explained by their ancient encounter with the Reapers. After their escape to Andromeda they'd do everything they could to prevent sentient machines from being created again. This includes keeping their own technology technology in check, and exalting other species into Kett, which in turn will stop their technological advancement towards AI.

[@LorRosengartsky]

@@Lahiss Good story, if retcon-y. What's your take on the Jaardan then? Something like a Fallen Empire from Stellaris?

[@barrybend7189]

@@LorRosengartsky the Jaardan could be indigenous to Andromeda but an event leading to the Scourge killed them off but left their Technical caretakers the Angaran to evolve as their successors.

[@Wryteous]

I think it's more the Reapers always had a hold on the Galaxy by monitoring it from their dormant state. If there was any comm traffic or work towards extragalactic colonization- they would have started the harvesting cycle. However, with the Protheans managing to block the Citadel reaper activation signal. The current species had a lot more time to research and setup potential colonization efforts.

[@fenrisvermundr2516]

@@Lahiss Interestingly. That was the idea I went for with the Kett. 200,000 years prior a species managed to develop an alternative to Mass Effect FTL Drives and escaped to Andromeda. This was thanks to their early first contact by a species that was at the time being harvested. The ancient Angarans were in their early industrial age when an alien vessel landed on their original homeworld. They warned the natives and advised them the best they could. They were of course delayed because of this but they reaped more benefits long term. The Ark's utilized an FTL drive based off of a derelict discovered prior to the first contact war and kept largely a secret by Alliance brass. As for the Arks. What was marketed was that they would be used to carry people to the possible site of a Dyson Sphere. While in truth it was to escape the coming invasion. Carried within it's databanks was information to construct a mass relay allowing them to connect it to the network.

[@Jedi_Spartan]

Started playing Andromeda today... "Addison's face is STILL tired." Also most of the other human faces look incredibly weird and like Bioware took inspiration from a few dozen Shepard abominations. That said, after a Legendary Edition playthrough as the Soldier class, it's good to use Biotic Charges again.

[@Mikoxz]

Andromeda is so fckin bad. I tried to play it a couple of times but I just simply can't. I always drop it after a few hours.

[@AntiLifeEquation1]

@@Mikoxz I tried to do a second playthrough a couple weeks ago and couldn't even get past the first planet. Other than the combat the game is just boring asf.

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

I love that the game allows you to mix and match abilities so that it allows you to build an amazing character together. Other than that plus a decent multiplayer the game is below average.

[@MegaDman16]

@@Mikoxz its ok.

[@Pir-o]

The whole game is just a bad ripoff of original trilogy with terrible writing

[@javycane]

Im gonna be honest bringing the reapers back in any capacity is lame and I want them as far away from ME4 and any Andromeda sequel. It makes the journey of 1-3 pointless.

[@AGenerationLostTM]

This would of been an awesome dlc! I hope that in ME5 we do see the minor races play a much more prominent role. I'd love to have another drell squadmate and a Volus and Batarian one too!

[@RubyRoseITA]

With hope. Maybe we could have an Elcor or Hanar Squadmate. With frustration. Even if i know we won't. With hope. I hope to see the planet shared by the hanar and the drell. With Sadness. I don't think we'll ever have something like this...

[@stevejordan7275]

It's a good way to bring the reapers back into the game, but the game would be fundamentally changed. At first blush, we have the daunting enemy to deal with. Could the kett empire be made to see this for what it is? There's a message that you can find in an ME:A side quest that reveals the Archon to be a bad actor gone rogue. Perhaps the kett were never a problem, and we had yet to discover this. And what of the Jardaan? Those guys are just a whole truckload of question marks. But the vaults were - without a doubt - a nergasm of hair-raisingly advanced technology. Let's hope they're allies. And what of the reapers themselves? Yes, the Citadel AI is no longer directing them, but each reaper "capital ship" still embodies the thoughts of an entire species of a given cycle. Now we have lots of questions to answer about the reapers as individuals: Are the distilled species' intellect distorted by the process? Let's hope not. (Working in that "dead" reaper notably drove Dr. Chandanha's team nuts. Or was that simply part of the damage done in battle, and deteriorated over the past half billion years?) Can individual reapers ultimately be reasoned with, made allies rather than antagonists? We are all, in the final analysis, fighting the Heat Death. The entire ME:A arc is confined to a single cluster in Andromeda

[@HammarPwnsYourFace]

Dude I totally on board with this one. Thank you for sharing I had a lot of the same thoughts nice to see typed out thank you

[@dewdew80]

Personally I'd like it if we lowered the scale of things rather than raising them. Bring a single reaper to Andromeda, have it begin gathering numbers like a disease inflicted on a new galaxy. Have it ruin the rosy ending we saw where all these species came together because the newcomers are now seen as having brought a deadly intelligent synthetic disease to Andromeda. Explore the anthropological outcome of this amongst all the various new and old people in Andromeda. The Reapers were coolest when they were hyped up in Mass Effect 1 and should have been left a bit more unexplained after that. I guess that's not very sci fi though...which is weird because I enjoyed the overexplained nature of the Dragon Age universe.

[@HammarPwnsYourFace]

@@dewdew80 i am a DA fan myself. Love the world and everything in it. I dig tf out of all the lore. The synthetic disease is a good twist. I like it.

[@over-confidentgaming8559]

I think what would have been cool is using this lone reaper who was asleep in the dlc but this reaper is different and crashed on its own decision to abandon the rest of the reapers. Like a mind of its own that remembered he was created from the harvested species. It would have been awesome to show that point of view and for him to somehow help you in the story line

[@MrDusty515]

Honestly the idea of the Reapers being a continued threat in Andromeda sounds cool on paper but I believe their time has ran it’s course. Another possibility is that they could have tied the Reapers to the scourge and Remnant found in Andromeda through some sort of a connection.

[@Maples01]

Only if the reapers purpose was to keep the scourge out of the milky way galaxy

[@OrkDiktator]

I'm against a Reaper reload. it looks like milking them to death. Andromeda and Milky Way need new stories and new villains. Andromeda needs a war for Liberation from the Kett.

[@jimmynicol7942]

The Palpatine reference is perfect. Bringing back the Reapers would undermine everything. I think you could get away with one Reaper, that forced the Initiative and the Kett to work together, as long as the focus was on the Initiative/Kett dynamic. Even that has the chance to go badly if not handled well though. My interest in the story dissipated when the armada turned up though.

[@austinclark5278]

I think Bioware needs to get Drew back for the lead writing team. They should relook into That Dark Energy threat and then connect the two galaxies together and create mystery around that once more.

[@codecatx5]

I don't think I'm a fan of this concept. The reapers are more than just their physical presence they're an underlying trap of the milky way for all advanced species and Andromeda doesn't have that setup. So, it feels shoe-horned to throw them into Andromeda.

[@MikefromTexas1]

I recently started Andromeda and have enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It's a shame we never got any sort of DLC.

[@CaptainSovereign]

Crucible:how many times do i have to teach you this lesson old man?

[@MrHulthen]

😂

[@guilhermehank4938]

Honestly having a lone sleeping reaper would have been cool and have this desperation from keeping it from trying to contact any other reapers that could be out there. Pity the main game was garbage

[@MrHulthen]

Indeed, it could've been a memorable boss encounter & probably would have elevated the experience imo

[@pawli7470]

I enjoyed the main game and one thing that ashured my enjoyment I belive was a fact I didn't expect it to be like the 3 main games

[@fireblade295]

The main game was fine. I found nothing wrong with it. The combat was a highlights. Too bad your kind killed the game.

[@DanielGT_93]

@@pawli7470 YES! Andromeda was great i think, it was bad executioned only. If it was given the care the trilogy had, probably would be my first one of the four.

[@strykrpinoy]

LOL at the main game being garbage, combat system was superior to every other ME before it. open world was better, story needed more guidance but to say the game was garbage because of people being butt hurt about human/asari models and too much lgbt romances (lets face it they did way too much with that imo). Andromeda underwhelmed but was not garbage.

[@hollywoodguy7594]

They should have included a quarian dlc from day one and it might have saved the game. Imagine having a Quarian teammate..

[@Maples01]

Yeah, I paid extra for my preorder to include all DLC, never saw a refund for it being canceled, #1 reason why I'll not preorder again, not touching anything from bioware until it releases and is reviewed by many gamers, not those paid to give false hopes!

[@Naadeneo]

Or an Elcore

[@Lord_IckisDickus]

exactly why i dont preorder games anymore

[@highlordlaughterofcanada8685]

Remember what happened last time a Mass Effect game has day one DLC though?

[@AudeKhatru]

One Reaper, and it is damaged. I like the setup, but not the resolution. If a primitive civilization found a Reaper, it seems reasonable that they would worship it. It is at the moment where the Reaper wakes up that I start thinking of changes. Here is my thinking. What if the Reaper is basically brain damaged? The nature of that damage would still have to be decided. What if it has become a sort of Oracle to the race on that planet? It says things, but most of it does not make any sense. Through a ritual that they created, they ask questions of their God, and sometimes it answers in ways that help advance the race. They learn certain technologies from the Reaper. Their language develops along the lines of whatever language Reapers use. The wrecked Reaper still maintains its ability to indoctrinate, but it no longer has a goal for that indoctrination. How would that play out? The second problem with this story is that we recognize a Reaper, but would they? Very few had any direct exposure to Sovereign. Only those on the Citadel and in the battle even saw Sovereign. The Council tried to bury all evidence of Sovereign. How well did they succeed? Would Quarians, Drell, Hanar. Elcor and Volus actually know what a Reaper was, and the threat that it posed? I do not think so. Unlike the primitives on the planet, they would recognize that it was technology, and with enough time, they might recognize it as an AI. This ties in with a story idea I had long ago, where the protagonist finds a massive derelict ship, and boards it and gets trapped, because the ship's computer is insane. In this case, I am thinking more of mentally handicapped rather than actually insane, but what would a mentally damaged Reaper be like?

[@scorpio69poison74]

The real reason why we never got that DLC is because a lot of people in this world love to complain.

[@BaxsStudios]

Love to complain? ME andromeda was almost a franchise killer there is so much wrong about this game Im glad they didnt waste resources to make dlcs for a game no one would have touched again. Rather they focused on the next dragon age and mass effect game and I belive we may have a halo infite situation here where they learn from their mistakes.

[@highlordlaughterofcanada8685]

​@@BaxsStudiosExcept Infinite also made mistakes that killed any DLC content it would have gotten so that's not really a good example

[@highlordlaughterofcanada8685]

And in this case it was mostly justified. The game was rushed and suffered for it, people were rightfully angry.

[@BaxsStudios]

@@highlordlaughterofcanada8685 This comment was made when Halo Infinte came out and the campaign was great potential for DlC was huge Multiplayer was fun and we didnt knew that they would make zero content for the game, and we thought forge would come out very soon not over a year after the release. Halo infinite couldnt fail if they just provided steady and good content. Some new maps and better matchmaking is all they had to do and continue the story with dlc. Man Im so sad the gameplay was finaly great again and it had a fun but short campaign. F 343 for that bull crap

[@rainman198311]

Loved the idea all the way up until the end. They should of had the communications damaged so the reaper couldn't reach back and destroy it before it can alert the others.... Also, considering how much its in the future they find it as the only reaper left with the goal for returning them glory but they destroy it before it infect non organic life with its goals and start cycle again

[@bondedcastaway3085]

Plot idea here: In ME1 there is a task to scan the keepers. Which was never possible to do before which should be ground breaking. But it isn’t because bioware. During the events of ME2 groups that started using this technology to scan the keepers themselves discover many of the hidden features of the citadel, including a link to an identical citadel in andromeda where the reapers preform the same cycle in that galaxy. Using quantum entanglement we are able to survey andromeda exactly as it is with no delays in the information.

[@Jackrazorus]

The whole point of Andromeda being in different galaxy was that they dont have to address whatever decision Shepard made in Mass Effect 3. Having live connection between Andromeda and Milky way would break it.

[@bondedcastaway3085]

@@Jackrazorus yeah but them running from it made a bad story

[@Jackrazorus]

@@bondedcastaway3085 I disagree with that. Conceptually it was very clever way to deal with those issues. I believe the Andromeda game layed out some nice groundwork for another trilogy and tied nicely to the Mass Effect universe. The problem (and now I am talking high level) really was the dissatisfying launch, poor promotion and people having very high expectations. It feels incomplete now as we are not going to get follow up.

[@bondedcastaway3085]

@@Jackrazorus andromeda introduced a sorry weak willed main character, unexplained super tech from our galaxy, and millions of plot holes… the only thing it did right was combat

[@Jackrazorus]

@@bondedcastaway3085 What kind of plot holes are you talking about? The main character wasnt weak willed, he just wasnt designated war hero like Shepard was, but he was civilian and I believe it was the right choice not to get another Shepard again. The whole game had "you are not the right person, what you are what we got" vibe, which was interesting spin on things. And what kind of super tech are you talking about?

[@jamesfoster9613]

a one-off reaper who was scouting Andromeda (though that doesn't make a lot of sense, though I got the impression the reapers might have caused the precursors to disappear while playing Andromeda, and the Kett seemed semi-indoctrinated, so I was surprised at least that the origin of the trouble there wasn't reapers) makes sense. but overall I think they should stay dead.

[@tssteelx]

That's what i think happened to jordan. They awakened a sleeping reaper and the reaper triggered the ezo fluid to make the scourge.

[@azzythechristianfurry]

A SINGLE Reaper having followed along or been sleeping in Andromeda for some reason would’ve been interesting. Or maybe even a rogue Reaper. MAYBE.

[@samnorman2167]

That sounds like an incredible DLC! I would love Andromeda to be tied in to ME4 and this would be an interesting way of doing it

[@MrHulthen]

It would, Wouldn't it? :D

[@MrGabyGaming]

I agree and there could be a link in another way here: if they will include shepard in the next game, it could be that the Jardaan Left the Andromeda galaxy a long time ago and it could heave gone anyware, the milky way is a possibility as well, if it did that then the Jardaan could heave arrived after me 3's end at the same time the milky way people started the journey to andromeda galaxy and bring some Angara with them since the Jardaan is there creator. After that they could creat a way to talk to the andromeda galaxy from the milky way.

[@samnorman2167]

@@MrGabyGaming maybe something like the Inusannon and the Jardaan are the same species? Im one of these people who fairly enjoyed ME:A so I'd like to see it incorporated some how

[@MrGabyGaming]

​@@samnorman2167 i agree i liked MEA, it still needs a little more work i will say this but i did enjoy it i finished it more then 3 times but it does feel empty because it was not finished i know it was created to be the first game of a set(trilogy) but after it did not work as they hoped i think they should heave made a DLC to complete the story. And the characters need a lot more, when i say this i mean in the way they talk and do stuff it just feels like there is no life in them, but still it is a great game, the only reason it was so hated i think it was because Rider was not at the level of Shepard and his team as well, the most empty character i think is Liam i did not like that one from all points of view and i never used him. As a story plot is good but it could heave been better. I hope they will complete its story as a small part of the next title. By a small part of the next tittle i hope as well to see the next ME game to heave a story size bigger then everything we heave seen from any game up to date, to add a new game story + the old trilogy and MEA they would need to make a game that will take you 4-5 days at least to see it all will multiple choices and stuff like that.

[@AnimeShinigami13]

I have that novel! I LOVED the characters. The characters were fantastic and I was so upset that I couldn't get them in my world in Andromeda! I think my favorite of all was the Elcor obsessed with Shakespeare!

[@stephenlewis3047]

I feel like if there were reapers in Andromeda, it would make more sense for them to have gone there a long time ago, rather than because they followed the arks. It seems like either they would exclusively care about life in the Milky Way galaxy, or would have already realized the potential for life in other galaxies and extrapolated that their directives should apply there as well. Or, another interesting idea would be for there to have been factions within the reapers that resulted in a split, similar to the geth and the heretics, which would allow exploration of the reapers' being composed of different individual species, and whether or not they are capable of ideological independence.

[@bluespartangaming1514]

I would totally like to see the Andromeda storyline continue. In fact, I came up with an idea of how it could go. Let the sequel start six months after the end of the game. Pathfinder Ryder is visiting the newest colony set up by the Initiative with their sibling and the crew of the Tempest. Meanwhile, three more characters are introduced to the story: a new recruit landing on the planet to protect it as part of the militia, a military veteran leading the militia, and a retired soldier looking to settle down. The player is allowed to choose to be one of these three characters, and they can update everything about their character choice from race and gender to their class (since they don't have access to SAM they should be focused on one of the six original classes), and choosing one of the three characters could provide special pros and cons (ex. choosing the old soldier lets you start at Level 20 and you have a damage bonus for Milky Way weapons (Heleus weapons if you choose to be an Angara) but you gain XP 10% slower and suffer a movement penalty due to your older age). The three characters would be tasked with locating a supply ship that landed outside of the colony while the Ryder twins would be helping to set up for the welcoming party being thrown for the colony. Suddenly, the Kett and a band of pirates invade, either capturing or killing most of the colonists. The chosen character from the colony's security team would be distraught from the ordeal, and would ultimately swear to hunt down the pirates responsible and reclaim the stolen supplies. Pathfinder Ryder would disappear during the battle, rescuing most of the captured colonists and taking the Kett ship to begin looking for possible solutions through the Remnant technology. Sibling Ryder would team up with SAM and the Tempest crew and be tasked with finding a means to stop the Kett Empire from invading. Along the way, Sibling Ryder would encounter the colony survivor during several missions, and depending on the player's choices both Ryder and C.S. could potentially work together by sharing information into their investigations, or they could show mistrust in each other. The Colony Survivor's story would come to a head when they find out about the Benefactor and how they had paid the pirates to invade so that the supplies could instead be used to prepare for the Kett invasion. Depending on how Sibling Ryder and C.S.'s interactions have gone the C.S. may either suspect Pathfinder Ryder of being in league with the Benefactor or be willing to share this information with Sibling Ryder so that they can plan out a way to take out the Benefactor. The game could end with any of the three characters dying by the end based on the player's choices, but the ultimate result is that the Kett invasion is stopped and the looming threat of the ones who defeated the Remnant's creators on the horizon. If Pathfinder Ryder dies, either Cora or Sibling Ryder will officially take over as Pathfinder. If Sibling Ryder dies, Pathfinder Ryder is emotionally distraught and would likely have a ghost haunt them for the third game in the Andromeda trilogy. If the colony survivor dies, a memorial is left at the colony in their honor. If all three characters survive, Sibling Ryder offers the Colonist Survivor a chance to help them further prepare for the coming storm, and the Colonist Survivor could choose to accept or turn down the offer. The Tempest would ride into the sunset, and the future threat is teased in the distance.

[@remnantproduction8518]

I can't wait to see what they are gonna do for the next mass effect

[@hamstsorkxxor]

I don't want to see much of the reapers again. In mass effect, the reapers were the central to the story for the entire original trilogy. We fought the reapers (amongst others, ofc) directly and indirectly for 3 games. By the end of ME3, especially with the extended ending DLC, I felt that the story of the reapers had been told to completion. One of the reasons the Kett from Mass Effect Andromeda were such poor antagonists is that they are off-brand reapers. They felt stale, their story already having been told in a superior way in the original ME trilogy. Trying to make another Mass Effect game on the same premises again, is like M. Shyamalan trying to make yet another twist thriller, just because it worked well in the sixth sense. Yet that is what they did, with an enemie which assimilates other species (Kett/Reapers) and an ancient mysterious civilisation that disappeared (the Proteans/the Remnant). I want something new!

[@jackahern4218]

I think that the only real way of doing that is to stick with the Milky Way and it’s politics, the depth and history between the nations there could make for interesting conflicts, just don’t think that’s possible in Andromeda

[@dillonyoung5502]

Imagine a reaper as a companion, obviously channeling it's thoughts through a puppet. Would be very cool.

[@waynek.8049]

The concept of the Quarian Ark becoming corrupted by synthetic life and turning back to invade The Milky Way for a main quest in the next Mass Effect would be stunning.

[@epiccarrot88]

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if this idea was how Andromeda ties in to the next Mass Effect. A group of Reapers chased down the Arks and destroyed them, to ensure that they don't return to the Milky Way. It's a good way to describe their return if they want them in the next game.

[@MrHulthen]

True, it could definitely work : )

[@heibytime1803]

I think the one part I would like to see implemented in the future is playing as another race such as the quarians, they're my favorite race personally but I think having a different perspective other than human would be a welcome change

[@KirstenBayes]

Love the idea of a lone reaper. Just one could be quite the handful: indoctrinating leaders, creating shock troops, blowing up ships. A Reaper guerilla war. But a whole fleet would make my face tired.

[@ghostranger5890]

Honestly, I think the bringing the Reaper's back as an antagonist for the DLC would have been a mistake. Having a single Reaper on one world, however, would be very interesting and provoke a great deal of speculations among the players. Are there more Reapers? Did they travel to other galaxies as well? How long was the Reaper there for? They would make a really cool enemy, or even just character in general. Maybe the damage this Reaper sustained actually disconnected it from it's core directive, or perhaps thousands of years of isolation on an underdeveloped world watching a primitive species grow into an early civilization would have seen it adopt a new way of thinking, desiring to preserve the lesser species of the universe. It could have been really cool to potentially see a non-hostile Reaper even.

[@MrGabyGaming]

I can't wait for the next title and to see what they will do. And i still hope for that DLC for andromeda and about the reapers, they were killed if you go with that ending but there is no proof that all the reapers did come to the milky way, maybe some of them still remain in dark space, the ones there could still be alive.

[@MrHulthen]

Me too!

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

Yeah unfortunately they decided to cut everything before we got this DLC. It would have been great to get some exploration as to what happened to that Ark.

[@nickh3205]

Imagine a reaper just hanging out trying to just “live it’s life” in the andromeda galaxy eating one species at a time and scouting, though reusing them again wouldn’t be interesting but a handful just hanging out because they got tired of the constant cycles might be interesting

[@itsturniptime3699]

The thought of hanging out with an Elcor and a Volus is just really fun

[@danashumway7090]

I still hope BioWare gives us something to tie the trilogy and Andromeda together. What if the Reapers sent large groups of Reapers to nearby galaxies to watch and wait for any species attempting to flee the Milky Way. I personally hope that Andromeda is tied in but not dominated by a Reaper threat. I think it would be more interesting to explore the civilization that created the Remnant tech and Angara in Andromeda. Maybe they return or maybe whatever caused them to leave returns... There is so much BioWare can do with this. I love the Reapers as a villain but I'm ready for something new. Fingers crossed they get this right!

[@erikhopkins9548]

I think it's an interesting story with the main characters and 1 reaper but we need to move on from them as the main villains and go for something else like the Leviathans

[@DarKGameR177]

This was an awesome idea.. thanks a ton for sharing this 🙏 This is the reason I absolutely love your content bro... keep it up 💯

[@MrHulthen]

Thank you for always supporting the channel :D

[@gibbyfraustro2509]

The kett and The reaper working together would've been a nice concept because kett are similar like the reaper and remant and reaper would've be awsome to see the fight between them

[@BlackHedgehog]

Honestly I do see your points about how it would of negatively affected sequels but at the same time. I'll take Reapers over the Kett any day.

[@MrHulthen]

haha me too man

[@BlackHedgehog]

@@MrHulthen Although imagine if the Kett were just the Andromeda's version of Collectors. Would be sad and kind of terrible.

[@epicochafausen9312]

The mass effect story so was good because of Sheppard and the reapers + iconic characters that you could relate too, such as garrus, liara, tali. Even the illusive man character was so good. After two years of playing andromeda I literally cant remember a single character other than memes "my face is tired" and krogans embarransly fighting, I cant remember not even the bad guys. IMO is totally fine if they bring back the reapers and old characters, it's what makes the game great

[@Knight1029]

I wouldn't mind this dlc if the Reapers were replaced with the Remnant or Kett. Would make it feel more related to what MEA was going for without it feeling like we were gonna do the previous games again.

[@mkinkade7103]

A Reaper would have been too much retread. On the other hand, a fight with the displaced Leviathan and his remaining species would have been more fun. It’s an easy setup, Leviathan, wanting to avoid another Reaper creation attacks the initiative to destroy SAM would be an interesting take.

[@cybergames3436]

Instead if hundreds - thousands of reapers but instead a battlegroup, maybe 10 - 30 reapers. Which is still a MASSIVE reaper force, considering what sovereign did, the quarian ark is spared and ditched after the reapers made shure indoctrination could spread without them.

[@Noschool100]

As cool of Reveal as that is I don't think it would have had a good payoff tho, like the series would end up retreading the original trilogy. Like where do you after the dlc? Uniting andromeda and finding some super weapon to defeat the reapers? And it would also lack the mystery, as players we already know everything about the reapers. To me at least star wars is a pretty good example of where mass effect needs to go. After the main trilogy a lot of the best content came out of side stories or original creations within the star wars universe. If you try to keep focusing on using the main plot you end up doing stupid stuff like bringing empower Palpatine back.

[@ay9748]

Ben Lo's favorite song: Hey, ladies drop it down Just want to see you touch the ground

[@Nosttromo]

A lone reaper drifted away to andromeda from dark space and ended up disconnected from the catalyst starts to think for itself and the many minds of the species within it start to flesh out, as a result, he becomes friendly, and now we have a 2km friend to fight the kett (who seem equally powerful, since they are a coalition of several species). He could even become a ship we use to fly around instead of the Tempest.

[@JosieJOK]

Not a fan of bringing the last big bad into a totally different galaxy and totally different story. Props to Lo and his friends for their creativity, but I think where Andromeda went wrong was not sticking *enough* to the theme of exploration and discovery. I’d have loved to see exploration of more unknown planets (not procedurally generated-leave that to NMS), and I hope if they eventually continue the story of Andromeda, they focus on that and on unraveling the mystery of the Remnant.

[@MrHulthen]

Yeah Lo & his colleagues are some talented folks! The Remnant mystery begs to be explored indeed!

[@stakeaphobicz498]

Good video, but I would rather they just keep ME and Andromeda as separated as possible. Andromeda isn't a horrible game, but it's not Mass Effect to me. Andromeda comes off very much like a fanfiction take on a break away civilization. The concept was cool but the execution didn't translate very well

[@darwoodtechnology]

This is also a good example of how Andromeda's story really fell on its face. How many other alien races from the Milky Way galaxy tried fleeing to Andromeda to escape the Reapers? How did the aliens in Andromeda react to these refugees or concern they may bring the Reapers in pursuit? We got a game where the cluster was largely empty and uninhabitable, which also lead it to be uninteresting with just two alien races and leftovers of a long-dead third.

[@MrHulthen]

Indeed. Having a larger alien community in Andromeda could have been super interesting once the Milky Way migrated, and Andromedas reaction to the extinction-level threat that pursued their neighbors

[@ijazkhan3335]

You do realize that there are other galaxies around milky way. And we just explored one cluster in Andromeda.

[@darwoodtechnology]

​@@ijazkhan3335 Yes, but only the Andromeda mission was executed accordingly to the lore. Technically, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are closer satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. However, if the real goal of your expedition is to try and escape the Reapers, you probably don't want to risk hiding in a satellite galaxy only 150k light years away. As for exploring a single cluster and general emptiness of Andromeda, no one every really says the rest of Andromeda is very populated. In the game, it is hinted that the Kett control a large empire and have subjugated at least a dozen vassal aliens with three being named. However, you never see or hear anything beyond that. Despite having FTL travel, the Angarans' first encounter with other aliens was with the Kett. You never get a sense of how large the Kett Empire actually is. You only know that what you encounter is an "expeditionary fleet" to the galactic rim from Kett Imperial Space. Is this Kett Empire the equivalent size of Citadel Space? Does it dominate the Andromeda galaxy? Are there other empires that oppose the Kett? Compare that with what we learn in ME1. You have Citadel Space that control a large portion of the galaxy. The Terminus Systems are largely a lawless region but can be a real threat if they united behind their joint distaste for the Citadel. Humanity is expanding rapidly on the galactic scene with massive colonization efforts. You have the Batarian Hegemony that threatens the Systems Alliance and is angry the Citadel allowed humans to settle in the Skyllian Verge, which the Batarians claim for themselves. The Geth are hostile to everyone but mostly stay in what used to be Quarian owned systems. You get no sense of this in Andromeda and neither the Angaran nor Kett shed any light on that. Considering how little the Angarans seem to know about their own home region or rest of Andromeda, they might as well have arrived on the Arks with everyone from the Milky Way galaxy. If Bioware was trying to move beyond the controversy of the ME3 ending, then Andromeda was not an inviting place to "soft reboot" the franchise. In ME1, we are introduced to what feels like a living galaxy full of life and adventure. In Andromeda, it feels like a largely dead place with two rather bland and uninteresting alien races to meet. You are left with more of a feeling like "Maybe we should just turn the Arks around and go back to the Milky Way galaxy," which based on the recent trailer release seems to be exactly what Bioware is doing.

[@ijazkhan3335]

I get your concern with Andromeda being very much empty. Bioware wanted to create something promising to excite fans after a long 5 year wait, but it didn't work out that well for them. I still think Andromeda needs another game where we encounter Jardaan species. They seem to be the most intelligent and highly advanced race that we hear about while playing Andromeda.

[@sergioaccioly5219]

The Reaper story would work, if it'd ended with the destruction of the single Reaper, weakened by flying from the effects of the Catalyst all the way to Andromeda,. A second Reaper Invasion would be redundant.

[@HolloVVpoint]

When I originally played Andromeda, I expected the Reapers to show up for a few reasons. Firstly the Reapers occupy dark space, so there’s now way a bunch of arks carrying thousands of people would escape them. As they would have to travel past the reapers through dark space to get to Andromeda galaxy. Secondly, the technology that all the species use is originally reaper tech, so that would of also notified the reapers. Not sure why it’s getting so much hate, Andromeda was boring and lacked urgency. The villains were very lacklustre and the reapers would of added a whole lot more in my opinion.

[@gungho9545]

That story would of been 10x better than base game Andromeda's was. I would of loved playing that one. Lets face it the Kett are just reaper-wanna-bes. They do the same thing Reapers do but for different reasons. Mostly politics/religion. Its honestly downhill from an enemy who can wipe out the entire galaxy

[@ryanmcdermott1898]

Great DLC idea with the Quarian Ark, didn't need the Reapers in Andromeda though to be honest for this plot, in my opinion

[@skynet0912]

The one problem i have with Reapers returning is the same i had with the Indoctrination Theory: If it was true, it would devalue EVERYTHING you did in the first three games! If anything, i would LOVE to see it come to pass that whatever the Remnant was, the Reapers were affraid of them, to the point where even if they did consider going to Andromeda too in order to speed up the process of finding a permanent solution, the Remnant would be able to stop them in their tracks! Let it be so that the Remnant had every advantage on the Reapers! Let them be a synthetic race that didn't have organic minds to indoctrinate, while also having the processing power to completely slave a Reaper to it's will through sheer technological advantage! We know how to fight and beat the Reapers, so what would we do if we met those who could do the same thing without breaking a sweat? I would even love it if it turns out that the reason the Remnant disappeared and Andromeda went to hell was the Remnant removing the last true weakness they had, their organic bodies, and integrated with their technology, being completely immune to whatever the Reapers could try...

[@yarogrigoriev1609]

I think the main villains in Andromeda was hinted for the milky way. "Not the Kett"

[@Avarstia_Owain]

Honestly my main idea is that Ben Lo's story sounds amazing, especially considering the the idea of the fact of the sheer mass of the Reaper Armada likely with their on actions like Soverign and Harbinger with their own actions, so a handful of Reapers surviving in other galaxies would make some sense, but I don't think an entire armada would survive, I believe perhaps a Reaper that would have crashed in Andromeda could be alone or with a small grouping that decided to look to the other galaxies in search for further destruction of technologically advanced species. It is definitely a story I prefer but one that I think could potentially need more fleshing out. Like I can totally see a Reaper leading a grouping through the edge of the Andromeda and perhaps one gets caught up in a solar storm and went derilict, crashing into a planet that had only recently cooled. Perhaps a Reaper or few could be still remaining, noticing other life that is advanced but not appearing to use technology like the Milky Way galaxy at all, prefering to observe, possibly acting closer to the Leviathans until the Arks come in and alert them to survival, causing them to begin to amass their own forces akin to the Collectors, starting from scratch and being like a Reaper Remnant of only like 5-10 surviving Reapers that strayed into Andromeda given its proximity.

[@zithro_zero]

I would love if 1 reaper lived and you get to meet it before it runs out of power and dies just have Unique Dialogue telling you about there biggest foe named Shepherd

[@MrHulthen]

That would have been awesome tbh

[@zithro_zero]

@@MrHulthen right would be a good send off to the reapers

[@Trikormadeinadon]

It also stands to reason that there is a reaper invasion armada for every galaxy to prevent AI from being developed in all galaxies. So it makes sense they would flee the milky way only to find they can't escape the reaper threat.

[@shogun8159]

The idea of a single reaper showing up would be a good idea. But, having a whole bunch of them show up would just be restarting the Reaper war again after it was spread across three games.

[@Tyler-gg6xt]

I'm actually glad they didn't go with the reaper thing.

[@rickhunter8484]

The Star Wars bit in the end was brilliant

[@murloc_rampage3856]

Honestly, the hundreds or thousands of reapers just coming out of nowhere would have been a terrible and downright awful idea. Reapers do not belong in andromeda at all because they even have admitted to having their own limits. Traveling to Andromeda would use up too much energy and not knowing anything about andromeda is too dangerous for even them.

[@EricBurns1]

I think finding the dormant reaper storyline should’ve been the base game entirely. Andromeda was a spin-off with the only things remaining the same are the species. Throw back in a villain (imo some of the coolest villains ever) and you have a really cool story. I always wondered how the ships got past the reapers in the first place anyway. But if you have this setup, where reapers find you at the very end, that’s an AMAZING setup for game 2.

[@arjanv5664]

Would have liked the idea of a rogue reaper hiding in Andromeda who is against killing organics and actually protects them but then gets hunted down by it’s kin with you stuck in the middle

[@Rigel_6]

A single, stranded Reaper, out of place, out of time, would've been awesome. But no more, only that random, lost one

[@owenwildish331]

I wouldn't mind if at least one surviving Reaper did turn up, but rather than as an antagonist maybe it could be an exile that some reason rejected what the other Reapers were doing and it broak away from them, at first everyone assumes it's a dangerous threat and an enemy to be destroyed, if possible... however it becomes a major asset against a bigger danger if you can choose to and manage to save it (or something along those lines)...

[@HammarPwnsYourFace]

I mean why not? Didn’t sovereign say that each one of them was its nation into itself? Why would they not have free will especially if the star child was really in control of all of them and now he is no longer there....

[@HolyknightVader999]

Shepard might've gotten pissed that a few of his Reapers got destroyed.

[@stormpharaoh7382]

Here's my pitch :Reaper's sent a small extermination force to Andromeda, That Reaper Extermination force overtakes the Kett as primary antagonist of the Sequel. In the sequel we destroy the Reapers. Now for the third installment we discover that the Kett as always have exploited this opportunity and elect to merge Reaper Tech into their own, and possibly all the organic information those Reapers contained. The Reapers once again prove their resilience by overtaking the Kett through the Kett's own ignorance/arrogance The Kett erupt into Civil War fighting like we did in the Shepard trilogy, at the end we Destroy the Reapers once and for all. As for the Kett we either eradicate or work out some kind of peace treaty with the remaining Kett. Propagate that! Profit! Also it is important to remember when discussing the Reaper's that they are not simple synthetic's. The Reaper's always utilize genetic material to reproduce. Since the Beginning with Harbinger giving that species and culture in a way new life. You can't build them on an assembly line.

[@maximussaktish]

I think a single surviving reaper would be cool as a sidr story in a mass effect 4, and maybe we could even find peace with it like how we found peace with the geth and rachni

[@TheMrSeagull]

It would have been better, imo, if the reaper they found eventually realized it was in a foreign galaxy and was completely alone - isolated from the other reapers and the crucible. Maybe the story could involve the reaper re-evaluating its objective, and then the player could influence it to either question its purpose, or strengthen its resolve to follow the cycle.

[@anonimus370]

As for the potential story with the reaper, nobody would even know about the reapers at that point, outside of Ryder and the benefactor. And Shepard of course.

[@FuzionFire2342]

Discovered this book in passing after getting so bored waiting for a flight that I decided to write an Andromeda fanfic about the Quarian Ark with no knowledge of Annihilation until months after putting said fic on ice. After years of putting it off, I finally finished reading Annihilation, and it was a captivating short story even if the title doesn't really convey itself well. Would have been better named Mass Effect Andromeda Outbreak IMO

[@JustaThing]

I'd like a story of a reaper rebuilding it's army, they wake up, harvest and rebuild itself, create a new husklike or indoctrinated army, and it's that single ship that is our enemy for a game, not necessarily bringing them back but giving them a presence

[@quantum_ogre]

Not sure about a fleet, but I do like the idea of a lone reaper getting into Andromeda, especially for a DLC. I'd love to see it following after the ark like a shark, and perhaps seeing the Kett's reaction to an actual advanced lifeform.

[@thundereagle4130]

In a way, it make sense. There where probably some species who tried the same thing. So the Reapers sending like 10 ships to Andromeda to eliminate those escapes would make sense. Maybe the Reapers made the Kat to eliminate Milkyway escapees. I wouldn't mind facing a few Reapers, but not a armada.

[@markw3953]

Jeeze thank goodness. The Joint-galactic Military is so Vast.

[@digimaster0024]

My though is "Why did the Reapers never conquer the Andromeda Galaxy?" It is close enough that the Reapers should expect Milky Way species would at lest send expeditions there.

[@lordmazdamundi2847]

The idea of the pandemic in the ship give me an idea, What if the plague evolve and become some kind of neurax worm / zombie virus creating an hive-mind. And it would be the next big thread to Andromeda, the plot will be you and the scientist in your crew trying to find a cure and escape the plague long enough. The Scourge in the galaxy would then be a "wall" between the non-infected and infected people.