The Reapers | A deep dive | Mass Effect

[@thomasklauser6201]

Ah yes "reapers", we have dismissed this claim

[@zeubersandvitch8882]

That bastard made it so hard for me to spare the counsel in ME1. The only credit I can give him is that he's upfront about his dislike of Shepard rather than the feigned hospitality of the Asari or the disinterest of the Salarian.

[@spartanq7781]

God Mass Effect 2 makes me so mad that line in particular.

[@shepardren8006]

I read this in his voice...I haven't played this game in a solid five years

[@josiahnunley2910]

Found this on a Reddit post: “I read an observation about the Turian Councillor that blew my mind. Namely, that the reason Sparatus is so hard on Shepard in Mass Effect 1 is because of his culture. In Turian culture, if you screw up then they put most of the blame on the person who promoted you to your position, because they should have known better than to put someone in a position that they were unqualified for. Everything Shepard does reflects on Sparatus, so no wonder he's extra critical and nit-picky. Which also explains why he's so salty in 2. The person Sparatus promoted to Spectre is palling around with a human supremacist terrorist organisation. The Hierarchs must be tut-tutting behind his back something fierce. I don't know if that's what Bioware intended, but it fits with the lore”

[@hendrikgreiner8449]

@@josiahnunley2910 That does track and from back then until now i really like the Turian Society with its focus on meritocracy and how its presented with its values in terms of promotion and subsequent responsibility. And that people through sheer merit can rise up in the hierarchy, since we know that up to ME3, Garrus is ranking above generals. Not bad for someone who was a disgraced C-Sec Officer just two and a half years before.

[@Iluvantir]

"You exist because we allow it. You will die because we demand it." It was that point in my first playthrough of the first game that I knew we were in for a wild ride!

[@spartanq7781]

Then Mass Effect 2 and 3 made the Reapers a joke.

[@user-ze3sg6ix1u]

​@@spartanq7781 lmao yup

[@MMFerreiraBruno]

Believe it or not, I took that VERY personally... lmao. Thinking to myself " Oh... I'm gonna f you up!!!"🤣🤣🤣

[@spartanq7781]

@@user-ze3sg6ix1u I wanted Harbinger in ME2 to shut the f*** up. All he does is taunt you like a Xbox live teenager from back then. Then in Mass Effect 3 the real threat was Cerberus instead of the enemy built up throughout the trilogy. Ever since Cerberus took hold of the story starting in ME2 things went downhill.

[@user-ze3sg6ix1u]

@@spartanq7781 yea I agree. No idea what the point of the collectors really were, they disappeared after. Then ME3 came along and introduced starchild, it was so absurd

[@dgalloway107]

The reaper main gun is one of my favorite pieces of science fiction technology ever. Liquefies metal then projects it into a near light speed jet of molten metal. It's so fucking sick.

[@desolation2438]

You could say it's....."Metal"?

[@seancarter1275]

Sounds like your basic shaped charge, just much bigger and faster.

[@ivanjason1863]

Hmm Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosion Munitions (MAHEM)

[@lonanderson5740]

@seancarter1275 okay calm down sapper

[@Friedrich687]

Realistically it would be useless and ineffective. However, every sci fi franchise has gotta have their unique weapon

[@capital-ism8057]

And let's not forget the Reapers' greatest soldier: Marauder Shields

[@adrianoippolito1999]

No he was actually on Shepards side, he was trying to stop him from seeing the god awful ending

[@spartanq7781]

@@adrianoippolito1999 The entire game was terribly written not just the ending. I don't know what people are on when they say the ending was the only problem. Or what killing Shepard off in Mass Effect 2 and having work with the people who got their team killed a good thing? Or fighting a threat that came out of nowhere instead of you know finding a way to stop the Reapers? The entire game doesn't advance the story so Mass Effect 3 had to very jarringly go "hey look at what we found." So Shepard doesn't find a way to stop the Reapers and is only told about it yet doesn't understand it. Then Mass Effect 3 has the main antagonists Cerberus whereas the Reapers the trilogy built up are just an afterthought. Nothing Cerberus does in the third game makes any goddamn sense.

[@vine237]

@@spartanq7781 you’re forgetting that the Illusive Man, in his arrogance and hunger for power, intensely researched and exposed both himself and Cerberus personnel to Reaper technology for extended periods of time. And this is before they even got to the point of implanting themselves with Reaper technology. Indoctrination is the Reapers’ subtlest, yet also their greatest power. And they nudged Cerberus and the IM into hampering any concerted effort by organics to stop them, while also having Cerberus and the IM convinced they were doing the right thing by seeking to control the Reapers for the benefit of humanity, all while knowing it would be impossible for the IM to ever control them. When you remember this, Cerberus actions in ME3 are very consistent with the plot.

[@jrr7031]

@spartanq7781 well, Cerberus has already been infiltrated with many indoctrinated. So, they were just a destabilization agent. Just like a gene-stealer cult. Or, like the Protheans where Javiik mentioned they had been infiltrated and the downfall came from within by sabotage while fighting the Reapers. I hadnt played 1 or 2, but loved 3. Maybe thats why?

[@friendlyreaper9012]

@@spartanq7781 exactly. The main story writing took an insane nosedive after mass effect 1. Unfortunately the writing team didn't have a script for the entire trilogy and the main writer left during Me2 development so they were just making things up as they go.

[@The-Last-Prime]

Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply... are.

[@eds1057]

@@The-Last-Prime sounds ominous as fuck. Then you find out they’re just an AI that’s gone rogue. Kinda disappointing once I found out, but while the mystery remained, I was engrossed

[@nagger8216]

@@eds1057 Saaame, infinitely prefer the original idea of galactic civilizations using too much dark energy and it led to stars burning out, so the Reapers invented the harvest to give the galaxy breathing room to recover.

[@PartOfTheGame]

Gods even years later...that piano sound still bring back chills, memories, fear, excitement and awe.

[@00dragons00]

every time i hear it i just stop

[@samtree4436]

My favourite part of pretty much any fictional world is the reaper roar, something about it just makes me smile

[@Muppetmonkee]

Not sure I'd say it makes me smile but it's heckin iconic and I reckon it would be scary as hell if you were presented with it

[@Nergal8621]

@@Muppetmonkee Very iconic, also guaranteed to rip you out of a dead sleep which is why it is my alarm on my phone.

[@AdmiralPrestonJColeTheGigaChad]

Uh oh....sounds like he's indoctrinated.

[@Esiaa]

My sms sound is their roar 😁

[@BobBob-up8fz]

Lliara: "Commander, we need to stop the Reapers." Shepard: "We can. But first... Grunt." Grunt: "SHePAaaaard!" Shepard: "Wrex..." Wrex: "SHepard, Shepard, Shepard." Grunt: "Shhhheparrrd!" Wrex: "Shepaaaard!" Shepard: "Grunt. Wrex...."

[@Baraxes]

😂😂

[@operationmisanthropia5831]

I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite party on the citadel

[@isakhagg243]

“We impose order upon the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.” - Sovereign from Mass Effect 1 on Virmire. “Know this as you die in vein. Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the arrival.” - Harbinger from Mass Effect 2 The Arrival DLC.

[@spartanq7781]

Sovereign is infinitely superior to the boring as hell Harbinger. Sovereign was actually terrifying but Harbinger is just a pathetic Saturday morning cartoon villain.

[@uoriwoh]

These quotes give me chills every time. It’s not real, but something feels absolutely eerie about it.

[@jrr7031]

Spoken like a true machine. Sound like something out of the Matrix machine wars.

[@vonneely1977]

"die in vain"

[@nothingbutlove4886]

"our numbers will darken the sky of every world"

[@necrocat9514]

I always loved all the noises the Reapers made

[@Nergal8621]

Me too, I use one as my alarm sound on my phone.

[@LORD_PINKY_DINKS]

@@Nergal8621 i use the reaper horn as my alarm as well scares me awake

[@Slobbynobby]

@@LORD_PINKY_DINKS you both are absaloutley mad 💀

[@radeczech15]

the dubstep drop sound i love it. it was used in 2016 Man of Steel too edit: 2013 sry

[@eodyn7]

Your recent videos have made me play through the Mass Effect trilogy... AGAIN. lol

[@johntaylor9096]

U me to on the PS5 went and got it on mass effect 2 now games so good we will never see games made like this again I don't think

[@spydamark]

When Sovereign said you exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it!

[@HeWhoComments]

The ME3 music draws tears from me every time like a Pavlovian response

[@fobbitoperator3620]

Ruff feels there, brah...

[@HeWhoComments]

@@fobbitoperator3620 made me giggle like I’m barking mad hahahaha

[@fobbitoperator3620]

@@HeWhoComments WWOOOOFFF!!!

[@ju5t1ce33]

The sound the Reapers make always give me chills. I remember when I completed 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' there’s an audio log you can listen to. It’s set around the time Shepherd was looking for Primarch Fedorian during 'Mass Effect 3'. One of the Turrian commanders was giving a report when a Reaper attacked. Hearing that ominous sound brought a big smile to my face.

[@Cbaeten12]

I still think Mass Effect could make such an incredible film/tv franchise in the same vein as Star Trek and Star Wars

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

definitely. But let's wait a few years until the woke wave receeds...

[@bobjason7540]

I want that too but inevitably JJ Abrams, who has never played the games, will be brought in to ruin the franchise like every other sci-fi ip.

[@cjdent90]

I'm Cjdent90, and this is my favourite video on KZbin. Mass Effect is my favourite series. Love this!

[@Fourtune1]

Yes! More Mass effect lore

[@pedropierre9594]

The writing was strong in the trilogy, whoever wrote the characters in Andromeda must have been 5

[@mayapilkey3577]

The game was given to a small studio that was understaffed and had never made a game before and bioware cut costs for the game

[@KageKobushi]

They were also more interested in throwing in random gender politics. I'll never forgive them for the worst written transgender character of all time. It was basically, "I used to be Steve, but now I'm Bobette. I left Steve behind in the other galaxy when I saw that this could be a new start. Yes, I start every conversation by throwing this into someone's face. "

[@mayapilkey3577]

@KageKobushi most transgender people don't talk or act like that outside of certain events. Btw I'm transgender and I'd never talk like that, no one would dead name themselves. They could've written in transgender characters far better, it just goes to show how badly the have was written

[@KageKobushi]

@@mayapilkey3577 As I said - "the worst written transgender character of all time." There are other examples of terrible writing in there that was supposedly meant to be in favor of all manner of gender politics, but that failed due to having all of the grace of a sledgehammer to the face.

[@mayapilkey3577]

@KageKobushi I agree, they were super badlywritten,

[@Warpriest-ww6ry]

do my eyes deceive me demon is this the helictical mass effect I've heard grunts talking about in the slums. love mass effect happy to see it on your channel now i have new stuff to watch tomorrow at work i cant wait you just made my day 00

[@eden20111]

After reading the Three Body Problem series, I just cannot see a group of alien races coming together and forming an embassy… I look at Mass Effect and Star Trek very differently now after 3BP. That series scarred me for life. So seeing this Reaper invasion on the galaxy doesn’t bother me as much now compared to a Dark Forest strike… the Dark Forest theory fkn scares the shit out of me.

[@henryneubert7798]

@@eden20111 I loved reading the trilogy (and the first parts of the spin-off). The hypothesis has some flaws, but it is a really nice idea. The Milky Way in Mass Effect is different. The frequent Reaper invasions ensure that civilizations remain primitive. There won't be a Singer who just erases worlds or entire star systems single-handedly. There was a first contact war between Humans and Turians, so the ME galaxy is not peaceful. The weapons are just less destructive, and because of that, there will be civilizations left to even have diplomatic contact. The mass relais help with that. The entire Chain of Suspiscion from the books doesn't apply here, because communication is instant. I can totally see a Space UN forming when the races look, behave and think so similarly (which is absurd) and with the circumstances I mentioned.

[@UnholyWrath3277]

The dark forest theory while compelling and valid in certain scenarios is still just that a theory. We as humans obviously eventually got out of the dark forest and conquered out surroundings it's only logical a species would eventually rise to the point they had nothing to hear from its neighbors and do the same.

[@eabutler6861]

All co-operation is based either on a hierarchy or a common threat. Humans were the new comers in ME1 and the common threat of the Reapers united the races in the ME universe. Just as the US was basically an isolationist nation until WW1 & 2 drew them into global affairs. I don't think we will ever know what alien races would truly be like until we finally encounter them, it may be peaceful like the Vulcans in Star Trek (albeit with the Vulcans holding the carrot over the heads of the humans for a century) or some all-out warface like the human and Turians in ME. we will probably never know until it happens. Anyone can write a book about this shit.....hahahahaha its all fan fiction. Even in human history, we have had several invasions, the Mongols destroyed and subjugated all they conquered, the Romans, indoctrinated and conscripted the lands and individuals that they conquered, the Moors occupied Spain for 700 years allowing people religious freedom and let individuals to come from all over Europe to study and learn how to be civilized. Not every invader would he Hitler. People need to sell books. don't go straight nerd on me in the comments, if I'm slightly off, history was fucken shitty in general, but i am sure some eras were better than others. we currently live in a best time ever to be alive as a human and tomorrow will be better. ....... actually fuck extraterrestrials hahahahahahah

[@nagger8216]

That sounds like a bunch of power scaling bullshit, honestly. Mass Effect and Star Trek are all about a utopian, bright future being challenged and making the sacrifices to ensure it stays that way. "Every mother, every son, every unborn child. They're trusting you, depending on you to win them their future. A future free from the threat of the Reapers." That's Mass Effect in a nutshell.

[@henryneubert7798]

@@nagger8216 You are wrong about the Dark Forest Hypothesis being power scaling bullshit. It's a solution to the Fermi Paradox that is more plausible then the Reapers, because it makes the universe into an ecosystem that every civilization has to adapt to, which is impossible for most other hypotheses.

[@B_heron]

YES! I am so happy you did a reaper deep dive!

[@kingsilvergrass8751]

Impressive as always, getting to know that the Reapers are the equivalent to an invasive Species, or one of the Variants to the "Fermi's Paradox".

[@Zeoran]

One of the greatest villains of all time. That infamous 'bwoom' still gives me shivers whenever I hear it. There's a mission level in Deep Rock Galactic that has whispers of the Reaper theme & it gave me PTSD.

[@jmsmys13ify]

The Reapers are another example of a group writing themselves into a corner. An enemy so powerful you have to invent a McGuffin FOR another McGuffin just to end it.

[@therealfakeAlphabet]

The Reaper motivation and background fluff i.e. "breaking the cycle", "harvesting organics to preserve them" collapses the moment anyone spends more than a minute thinking about it. It is terrible writing dressed up in highfalutin sounding concepts.

[@Cailus3542]

​@@therealfakeAlphabet I have read fanfic that portrays the Reapers as actually protecting the galaxy, and several others, from an even greater threat. The Reapers are steadily building up their numbers for a cataclysmic war. They also ensure that the organic species never develop technology that would attract the attention of that threat before the Reapers are ready. It makes much more sense to me

[@sup1602]

Well I think originally the reapers were not supposed to attack the galaxy in ME3 because in the the first game Virgil clearly says that the reapers were trapped in dark space and the only way for them to enter the milky way was though the citadel. Which is why Sovereign tried to reactivate the citadel relay and this theory gives a very good reason why they were trying to build a reaper in me 2; they still needed one to let them out of dark space. Only Arrival and towards the end of ME 2 (Drew Karpyshyn probably ended up leaving after the development of ME 2 which is why the ending sequel bait is sort of out of place) retconned everything. I kinda like this train of thought because it can explain the quite frankly dumb motivations they had in the second game, bioware didn't get that far in the writing process because their main writer leaving the project and EA wanted a big bad for the third game.

[@ed3545]

While the Reapers are fantastically overpowered, we see in the refusal ending that, with concentrated effort and preparation, the Reapers can be defeated in a "conventional" war.

[@JonBaldie]

@@jmsmys13ify care to be more specific? I’ve seen a lot of arguments constructed only to make Andromeda look less bad in comparison, and this seems like one of them.

[@parkavenue6006]

Imagine an offshoot of the original mass effect story where a group of space explorers enter dark space for the first time, eager to discover something new. As they go along they begin to see heat signatures on the radar and as they get closer to the heat source they turn on the lights to see a vast field of reapers, dormant, floating in the darkness. A red glow fills their view as it dawns on the crew that there would be no turning back from this point. They disappear into ashes as the red Lazer beam cremates the ship and crew with it. Nobody knows what happened to that crew. Some say they got lost and couldn't find their way back, others say dark space destroys technology somehow leaving all travellers stranded. None know the truth of the reapers until it's too late.

[@nagger8216]

Sounds like the good ending to Andromeda.

[@justinpederson2217]

Never been this early in my life and I’m here for it.

[@pratham295]

one of the best repear walk through i find so far.

[@dougsmith6262]

You could delve into the lore of any universe and I'd be here for it.

[@Spectre1776]

This was by far the greatest trilogy in gaming it had everything that I always wanted in a video game

[@floyddrewjr9621]

More on this please. It is by far the best explained of all that I've seen.

[@chiefshep5885]

Good breakdown, thank you my friend, cheers!

[@the_chav]

Humanity and Covenant lets say 2540... vs Reapers in a total war....

[@the_chav]

It would be a deep dive in the lore of halo at 2540...

[@spartantraveler7251]

The Covenant will win. The Reapers are just too weak and too small. There's an animation about Reapers vs a covenant carrier and the Covvies absolutely obliterated the Reapers. I believe that animation is accurate. The energy shields of the Covenant are too strong and the Reapers' Thanix cannons are too weak, even weaker than Cruiser MACs.

[@admiralalbion2279]

@@spartantraveler7251no the reapers would wing bc of sheer numbers and bc they number in the billions and the cannon on the Normandy is far weaker than the cannon used by the reapers

[@warlock64c]

​@@admiralalbion2279Cannon numbers of reapers are actually in the few thousands of my memory is correct. Also reaper shield tech simply does not protect against covenant weaponry. The reapers wouldn't stand a chance

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

​@admiralalbion2279 No. A Reaper would be about equal to a Covenant frigate or cruiser in about all aspects, except that ME shields are useless against energy weapons (hmmm, wonder if that'll matter) and the shields are much weaker in general. There is an order of magnitude more Covie ships in those classes than every single Reaper, nevermind the far larger and more powerful Covenant ships.

[@rythias975]

This is one of the only sci fi concepts that terrifies me, it’s so well thought out and almost hopeless

[@oneofthembous7359]

i hope ppl continue to support u brother. there is only so many Halo lore u can cover. ur a great writer. I'll support u till the end.

[@DallingerM]

Awesome video man! Really enjoyed it, would love to see more! Your channel is so interesting too. I’m looking forward to seeing more work from you!

[@Emanon...]

The reapers will destroy all organic civs to prevent them from destroying themselves... Wait... What?

[@theduke9292]

But they preserve them. Their collective knowledge and culture is uploaded into a gestalt consciousness that forms each reaper. Basically whilst they may be removed from the galaxy as a whole they “survive” as their knowledge, and experience is lived on by their reaper form This can be seen as preferable when the alternative is them being driven extinct and forgotten about in their entirety. Through their preservation as a reaper they endure forever

[@trentmorgan5600]

@@theduke9292 As Shepard stated, we'd rather keep our own forms. simply preserving a civilizations knowledge and culture is not surviving nor is it living, living is experiencing love, sadness, fear, happiness, and death. being stripped of those things makes you nothing more than a machine, if I were given the choice between keeping my form or reaper form, I would keep my form and fight so others can keep theirs's as well. that is why the reapers must be destroyed

[@theduke9292]

@@trentmorgan5600 oh 100% but your thinking from a “selfish” “shortsighted” organic POV the reapers think in terms of centuries, eons, and view it as a small sacrifice to pay Let’s use an example of an early harvest civilization from millions of years ago. This civilization well call them the JohnDoeians were a widespread civilization similar to the protheans. By the modern setting of mass effect the JohnDoeians would’ve long since been rendered extinct simply through natural factors and every aspect of their culture and history lost to time But because they were harvested their culture, history, and knowledge was preserved and remembered within their reaper body. In the twisted logic of a machine is that not preferable? Again it’s not something I agree with but your thinking of it from a personal point of view not a cosmological point of view

[@whocaresguy]

​@@trentmorgan5600 Stop arguing about it. It's been long known that because of a leak writers changed the reapers storyline, their motives and explanation for what they do, the ending. What the original ending was is not officially reveled, but if it was what I believe it was it would have made perfect sense. My theory was that Mass Effect technology which uses dark energy was meant to have long term side effects. Leviathans found out about it and therefore created Reapers to find a solution. The side-effects for the overuse of dark energy were causing something like a heart strain (for a lack of a better analogy) to Milky Way, if left without treatment it could cause permanent damage and eventually kill you, destroy all of life in Milky Way. Remember in ME2 Tali's mission the storyline about the early dying star, their theory was that it's some dark energy anomaly that's causing it's death. If the currently advanced civilizations were allowed to continue to use dark energy technology, these dark energy anomalies would have developed in other places, destroyed other stars, whole systems and eventually all life. That's why reapers created a harvesting cycle. For two reasons: 1st: They harvested civilizations to gain knowledge, hopefully find something that could help reapers to find a permanent fix to this problem. 2nd: They had to control and destroy civilizations to decrease the use of dark energy technology for another few thousands of years, which would help the galaxy to recover from the strain before it leads to permanent damage. When I played Mass Effect Andromeda and learned about the scourge, which was believed to be an effect of some dark energy based weapon, I had a different theory. That it was possibly a leftover from the original franchise's ending. That scourge is the final form of the dark energy's anomalies that caused the death of the sun in Tali's mission. If there were no reapers to control the use of dark energy technology in Milky Way, then dark energy anomalies would develop into the scourge and destroy everything in it's touch like it was happening in Andromeda galaxy which had no reapers to prevent that from happening.

[@jakejada1632]

@@whocaresguy Hey thanks for that's awesome info, that is a muuuuuch more satisfying reason for the reapers to exist!

[@gono4806]

I think a cool lore discussion would be what are the 'pawns' that the catalyst used to kill the Leviathans and where are they now. They are presumably even more powerful then reapers as they were used to kill the Leviathans who can mentally destroy even a Sovereign-class reaper in groups of 3. If this is the case why does the catalyst no longer use them? In addition, another cool theory is if the Leviathans even used Eezo tech or rather used alternate tech in addition to eezo based tech as we know the reapers made the relays and yet prior to this the Leviathans were able to control and travel the whole galaxy seemingly with no problem. Also, backing this up is the quote "Lasers are not blocked by the kinetic barriers of capital ships (bar the ones employed by the Reapers, whose barriers are capable of blocking them to an extent)" which shows that we might have not seen the peak of Eezo based tech as they are not designed to stop laser weapons as far as we know.

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

Part of your post here follows a bit of Fanon misunderstanding. You do not _require_ Mass Relays to travel the galaxy. With sufficient time, resources, and proper planning, a standard Eezo FTL core can cross the entire galaxy without ever touching a Relay. It's just really slow and impractical by modern Drive Standards for anyone who isn't an Asari or Krogan. The Relays are nothing more than a convenience. For example, you can totally cross North America from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast without ever getting on the Interstate. But it's significantly faster if you take the interstate.

[@gono4806]

@@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim I think you underestimate how useful relays are, the primary ones can propel ships thousands of light years and secondary ones hundreds of light years. The citadel races speculate that the reapers who are supposedly at the peak of technological evolution can only travel at 30 light years in a 24 hour period, so I just don't see how the Leviathans could of obtained and maintained galactic dominance while traveling at such slow speeds. For example, if there was a rebellion either organic or synthetic in nature roughly 3,000 light years away from the closet Leviathan ship it would take them 100 days to get there while a primary relay would probably get you there in one trip. Now would they be so far from the world in question? probably not but this is just to show that it would be extremely difficult to maintain a galactic empire with such slow FTL speeds especially when we know there was plenty of synthetic uprisings at the time. Regardless thank you for the comment.

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

@@gono4806 I'm not underestimating anything, I just stated a fact. Their use is, ultimately, one of convenience. My comparison was to try and show that, tho I suppose a better comparison would have been Flying vs Driving, but I digress. EDIT: Keep in mind that Leviathan has mind control powers, similar to Indoctrination, and can influence an organic mind through their artifacts from the other end of the galaxy.

[@gono4806]

@@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim In regards to the edit that is only so helpful when dealing with synthetics.

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

@@gono4806 Well, we see the Leviathan capable of shutting down a whole planet, but I think you might have found why the Leviathans made the Catalyst in the first place. :P

[@PlatyShroom]

YESSSS! I’m so happy you’re covering the Reapers from ME. They are the staple for Cosmic Level threats within Syfi.

[@Human_01]

You deserve waaaay more subs. Your channel is underrated imo.❤️✨

[@johntaylor9096]

Yes keep the mass effect coming

[@ShahjahanMasood]

The Reapers have been on my mind for a few weeks now. Major spoilers for the story "The Beginning After the End" are below. I highly recommend the story. It is just that good. . . .. Ok, So the Asuras of Tbate have always remained on top in their separate dimension that was once part of the planet. But in the story, we know that an ancient race was subject to an Asuran genocide and that all known knowledge was wiped out of their existence and the Genocide as well. thousands of years later that secret is uncovered and a splinter group of Asura (Basilisk) gets exiled because they dared question the ruling clan of Dragon Asuras. The exiled Basilisks expanded and ruled an entire continent that they experimented with and breaded for an eventual showdown with the remaining Asura clans. What remained free from the Basilisks' grasp is a single continent where our Main character is born. That is the setting of the story. The implications are clear. The Genocided race, the Djinn as they are called are the Protheoans. Now we know from Mass effect that the Protheoans were the latest in a long line of Genocided races and this gets revealed in a frankly horrific and chilling scene in the last portions of Volume 11. The dragons have been culling the planet in "fear" of a singularity. They have destroyed thousands of races for millions of years. And the world is slowly dying as a result. Kinda reminds me of the Silmarillion as well where the last war reshaped the lands of Baleriend, toppled mountains and rerouted rivers. Volume 11 has just ended and it will be an extremely tense last volume as we finally confront the Genocidal dragons.

[@nathanhclemmons]

Holy hell! Installation00 covering Mass Effect! All ears.

[@Hydrus-602]

Would absolutely love to see more about the Reapers and Mass Effect in general. Omni shields or Tech Armor would be amazing to see

[@danielefabbro822]

You know? I'm an Halo fan, 100%. There's no chance I'll change my passion over anything else... And yet I have to recognize that I found some things of Mass Effect really interesting. Reapers are not among these, but I like the story behind Quarian and Geth for example. That's something that really made me appreciate the universe of Mass Effect.

[@vebastiansettel1173]

My first time completed the trilogy I didn't even know how to speak English. I just enjoying the action on the game. The combat mechanic is just my taste. Especially when we can combine our own power with teammates it's just so good. And 5 years later I re-playing this game with more comprehensive English skill. And my mind was blown how good the story are. And after realizing how terrifying the reapers are I literally got goosebumps. I'm hooked forever in mass effect universe.

[@X7rocks]

Loving the mass effect content. You add great emphasis to the power these capital ships have.

[@MarcusWolfWanders]

I have yet to get into the mass effect games. bought the trilogy, played for a while and stopped. This might just be the catalyst that gets me to play through it all :) really love learning about these new universes other than Halo through you, even if Halo is my pride and joy. Thanks 00, love you.

[@son-of-Mandalore]

You should do some deep dives on warhammer 40k space marine armor, would be very interesting.

[@NaderVaderYT]

YESSIR! that would be sick!

[@voomvoom4522]

And the augmentations as well.

[@nicholaslucio6132]

Hearing lore on the Geth would be awesome

[@spartanq7781]

The geth are really interesting. I really rather have fought them in the second game instead of the boring as hell out of place Collecters.

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

​@@spartanq7781 Out of place? Esthetically, sure, but I think it makes sense for the Reapers to keep some modified members of a species from the previous cycle to act in the galaxy should they be needed. Then again, the Reapers are shown to be rather inflexible in their plans. When the Citadel relay doesn't open, they end up fighting a conventional war throughout the galaxy, allowing the galaxy's species enough time for the Crucible and all that. So it is a little out of character for them to have a back up plan in the Collectors.

[@spartanq7781]

@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem That's just the writers badly writing them. You can tell the Mass Effect 1 writers were long gone by two and three which is why they don't feel like Mass Effect to me.

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

@@spartanq7781 Not really. Even in 1, the Reapers were portrayed as extremely arrogant, which they did earn to be fair, and it ended up costing them the easy win there as well. It is a consistent character flaw from the beginning.

[@spartanq7781]

@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem I'm not talking arrogance I'm talking intelligence everything they were organizing in ME1 was clandestine. If not for Shepard no one would have saw Sovereign coming. Then in Mass Effect 2 they now always had the Collecters yet didn't have them help. The Collecters only exists because of the suicide mission stupidly put in the middle of the trilogy. The plot of Mass Effect 2 doesn't go anywhere because that kind of plot can't be followed up on. So many of the things Mass Effect 1 set up were tossed aside for a action drama narrative that like I said goes nowhere. Then Mass Effect 3 largely ingores Mass Effect 2 and finally puts the Reapers in the limelight. Only not really we actually fight the boring as hell ill-defined Cerberus more than the enemy we waited three games to stop. Mass Effect 2 stonewalled the series and Mass Effect 3 only dug the whole in deeper long before the ending. It's such a shame because Mass Effect was so masterfully written with a clear path fir the trilogy that Mass Effect 2 ingored. I would love another three game long story but they need to stick to the story and gameplay elements of one another because I can't deal with another nonsensical ending that has no prior buildup.

[@Human_01]

Amazing content (and Host) as always!

[@spartantraveler7251]

Do you know how much damage different Halo energy shields can take? They can probably easily tank the Reaper Thanix beams but i don't know how much as Halopedia doesn't state how much energy a ship's energy shields can withstand. I'm writing a large cross universe fanfic that has my OC going across the void to the Mass Effect galaxy to collect and research tech to save humanity and will have to fight the Reapers. Also have you read the Catalyst of Revenge on Ao3? It's a really good fanfic about humanity becoming Reapers and taking vengeance on the Galaxy.

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

This won't give anything close to an exact answer, but the super MACs are stated to be able to destroy 2 and damage a 3rd Covie capital ship (most likely the CCS-class battlecruiser) in a single shot. The super MACs fire a 2,000 ton projectile at 4% of light speed, far larger and faster than any dreadnaught in ME by multiple orders of magnitude (given number for the Alliance Everest class is 20 kg at 1.3% of light speed, for reference). A CAS-class assault carrier's shields are noted to be able to tank at least one super MAC round to the nose. Thanix cannons would be more powerful than they would seem from the numbers alone against shields due to the heat of the thanix projectile, similar to plasma weapons, but not as much due to lower temperatures.

[@spartantraveler7251]

@@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem thanks Allmind, good luck with the Release Project.

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

@@spartantraveler7251 The project proceeds as planned.

[@opaapo7089]

May i ask have you published it? If so can you please give the name? It sounds interesting

[@Oxideist]

Funny story, since both use railguns I once took the stated mass and velocity of rounds in the Halo and ME universes and crunched the numbers to find out how much kinetic impact they have, and while the UNSC uses much larger rounds than the Alliance in ME, the speeds that ME uses are like ten times faster and they can put more rounds downrange in the same amount of time due to energy cost savings (the mass effect is a physics loophole, after all.) So for damage output an ME ship could still drain Covenant shielding, and based on the individual shot impact force and how many can be fired a minute, they'd actually accomplish the task faster. But wait, the most significant part of naval (water or space) warfare is EFFECTIVE RANGE and speed defines that. If you fire a round faster, assuming the same maneuvering capability as your enemy, you have a further effective range than they do. So ME ships could also fire from further out, and score hits, allowing for more time to dodge incoming plasma. They'd also wreck the UNSC for the same exact reason, blasting apart the whole fleet before the UNSC could even get close enough to fire off a MAC that would actually hit something.

[@neftalicavazos8426]

I LOVE MASS EFFECT! So yes please more Mass Effect videos PLEASE!!!

[@PrideofErin__]

Ive seen people saying the reapers would stand no chance against halo weaponry because of plasma, forgetting that the protheans main weapons were plamsa weapons on both ship and rifle alike and the reapers demolished them.

[@Installation00]

I love Halo, but the Reapers are strikingly more powerful than people give them credit for.

[@jarivuorinen3878]

It's also quite misleading to compare guns agaisnt guns between these two game series because the universes and politics are widely different. Main point of Mass Effect is the collaboration that will beat the Reapers, and the loss caused by discord and distrust amongst those who came before. And the things that drives this distrust is both biological, and also induced by Reapers in form of indoctrination. In Halo there's something similar with great schism in the Covenant, but stakes are very different. Their hegemony is endangered by the discord, but existence is threatened by Flood and Halo array. In Mass Effect Reapers serve both functions.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

A Reaper could easily outmatch a UNSC cruiser.

[@jarivuorinen3878]

@@christophergroenewald5847 A reaper wouldn't attack head-on anyway. It would indicate the crew and basically create an ally ship that way. The firepower the ships harness is irrelevant, because reapers turn people agaisnt themselves. Any current era technology is within their reach.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

@@jarivuorinen3878 This is incorrect and has never been demonstrated in-universe during any battle that the reapers were involved in. Indoctrination is a slow process. Even rapid Indoctrination would take a few days to weeks.

[@JamesBlackman13]

I used this soundtrack in a presentation back in high school. It hit so hard 😎

[@bkjamesot918]

Man, youd be amazing at telling scary stories around the campfire

[@dangi6516]

"Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."

[@Bethgael]

I will never not tear up when The End of All Things starts playing.

[@coledreyer5287]

Love the multiverse stuff you do! Keep going please!

[@phillipmorgan5718]

Yes please. All mass effect lore videos.

[@JackatClearwater]

Amazing as always. Thank you!

[@michaellabrador3991]

Really good video can't wait for more mass effect videos would love to see if the mass effect universe can live through flood invasion

[@MikMoen]

I envisioned an outcome for the next cycle if the Resist ending happened, and the new dominant Species that came across Liara's data vaults would build an Expeditionary Fleet with reverse engineered Reaper weaponry, activated the Citadel Relay and traveled to Dark Space to destroy the Reapers during their hibernation. Just imagine it, a glorious Turkey shoot.

[@andrewbeehler579]

The Great Void Turkey Shoot!

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

Unfortunately, Bioware already established an ending for the next cycle. Basically, either Shepard uses the Crucible or the next cycle does.

[@stonefish1318]

Praise the Arrival of the Omnissiah Kalamarius!

[@Bluecommando10]

Love this video. More Mass Effect please! Halo is awesome, but it's in a lull. At least I hope it's a lull.

[@reallybig4868]

I would want more reaper videos for sure!

[@Overneed-Belkan-Witch]

Reaper are so good at covering their own Genocide on Galactic Scale Even made the next Newcomer Species think nothing bad has happened before them

[@CW_Smith]

One thing about the Reapers that should be noted, and really cannot be overstated, is the vastly overwhelming strength of their actual fleet when it comes to traditional space combat. The combined fleets of every spacefaring species in Mass Effect, as of 2186, cannot even begin to approach them. It is clearly demonstrated in both ME1 and ME3 that a single capital-scale Reaper outclasses the combined firepower of multiple dreadnought-class starships. According to the in-game codex, as of 2186 there are a grand total of 85 dreadnoughts in the Citadel fleet (39 turian, 20 asari, 16 salarian, 9 human and 1 volus). The geth are thought to possess nearly as many dreadnoughts as the turians, but the exact number is not known. It is also not known how many (if any) dreadnoughts exist in the batarian Hegemony, but considering the tactics they employed during the Skyllian Blitz, the batarians' fleet must be significantly smaller and weaker than that of the human Systems Alliance. The point is, even the most generous estimate possible would put the total number of dreadnoughts in service throughout the Milky Way galaxy under 150. And a single capital-scale Reaper is equivalent to at least 5-10 of them, at once. Now, to get a sense of the likely strength of the Reaper fleet, we have to do some speculative math based on the data presented in the games. And to establish the kind of scale we're talking about, I'm going to start with two assumptions that are probably wrong. Assumption #1: Each harvesting cycle results in the creation of one, single capital-scale Reaper. Assumption #2: The Leviathan of Dis, which was confirmed in ME3 to have been a derelict Reaper, represents the very first harvesting cycle. As I said, both of these assumptions are probably wrong. Considering the likelihood of at least a handful of Reapers being disabled or destroyed during each harvest, for every harvest to result in only a single new full-size Reaper, and a few smaller destroyer-class Reapers, would be too inefficient for the cycle to sustain itself. It also wouldn't really be worth the amount of time and resources required for each harvest, every 50,000 years. And even using this transparently flawed reasoning, the Leviathan of Dis *couldn't* represent the very first harvest, because if it did, the cycle would have ended there. But just for the sake of establishing a numerical baseline, let's go ahead and assume that both of these things are true (even though, realistically, neither of them probably are). The Leviathan of Dis is important because the salarians who originally discovered it determined it to be over one billion years old. And as we all know, the harvesting cycle repeats like clockwork every 50,000 years. This would mean that, operating under the two assumptions outlined above, there are AT LEAST 20,000 capital-scale Reapers in dark space. And given that both of those assumptions are almost certainly wrong, the true number is probably much higher.

[@elbowremovalservice]

On Assumption 1: We know that this isn't true, but not how untrue this is. Firstly, EDI tells us in ME2 that the Reapers failed to create a Prothean Reaper (this is speculation from EDI, so we don't know that this is true). However, we also know that they prefer to make Reapers from all sentient (or sentient enough, their actual standards for what constitutes that is unknown) species wiped out. This cycle, for instance, would presumably result in a Human, Asari, Salarian, Turian, and perhaps more (such as Batarian, Krogan, and Volus) Reapers, giving us anywhere from 0 to 7 Reapers from just our cycle. I would expect that more than one Reaper per cycle may be accurate. The Catalyst says that the organics get closer and closer to success each cycle, so it makes sense that Reaper failure was negligible for the first 700 or so cycles. Now, the Reapers have total control of Batarian space, and we don't see a Batarian Reaper. This is misleading, since the human Reaper we saw in ME2 was apparently a Reaper *core*, not a Reaper, so any Reaper we see (minus Harby of course) could well actually be a Batarian Reaper. However, we never see any attempts from Reapers to create a Reaper of any kind from our Reapers in ME3. I expect this is just a writing mistake from Bioware (although the Reapers could be waiting for longer- the Prothean extinction took centuries), but the end result is negligible, since 2 or 3 more Reapers doesn't really impact how ME3 unfortunately concludes. On Assumption 2: I have no idea where you sourced this from, but no idea if you're wrong either. If correct, however, given our rough cyclical number of 50,000 years, your provided figure of over a billion years would indicate 20,000 cycles, giving us a probably minimum of around 20,000 Reapers, and a hypothetical maximum of around 100,000 or so. However, if we assume that failing to create a Reaper isn't a super untoward occurrence, and given our data of success rates (the Human Reaper would likely have succeeded and the Prothean Reaper failed, so 50/50 so far), we reach a range of 10k to 50k Reapers. This success rate data sucks, of course, since I'd assume the Reapers are much better at this than a 50% chance, so I'd expect closer to the high end of the figure than the low. Even if the 1B years figure is wrong, from the derelict Reaper in ME2's age of 37M years (assuming TIM is correct), we have at least about 780 cycles, which lets us assume a minimum of 780ish Reapers, and a probable maximum of 4,000 or so (which our failure figures of 390 - 2,000 Reapers). I expect in the original lore, the failure of the Reapers to make a Prothean Reaper was tied to the Protheans biotics, since there were hints (I think) about biotics being something the Reapers were almost cultivating. However, the elephant in the room is quite obvious: Bioware's writing really doesn't quite hold up. The Reapers wouldn't have a *chance* of losing in any cycle with this kind of firepower in any capacity. This is ignoring the obvious awful writing of the whole Starchild garbage and dumb "muh organics and synthetics" plotline. So speculation is probably kind of useless, but it is fun!

[@CW_Smith]

@@elbowremovalservice Those are all great points.

[@elbowremovalservice]

@@CW_Smith A detail I just found playing ME3. Javik mentions that the Rachni were a threat even to the Protheans *in his time*. This is significant because Javik lived long after the initial Reaper invasion, so the fact that he's wary of the Rachni is quite something (and makes the Krogan even more badass). So, we know that the Rachni either weren't deemed sentient enough to harvest, or the Reapers failed to exterminate them (they could have made a Reaper from the Rachni still, or have failed that too).

[@samiel992]

The ME3 sad song intro still hits hard today

[@HaloFan577]

Awesome video 00!

[@DarthPingu07]

Nice to hear Legion narrating

[@hugoandre96]

Jesus christ. I thought their main gun was a laser. I didn't know it was a stream of near light speed molten metal

[@erikmasa9342]

I love the fact that you litterly speaking like the Collector commander under the Suicide mission song at 12:30

[@mprojekt72]

Adding my voice in support of more Mass Effect lore vids from you!

[@LM-pg9hy]

nice, love me some mass effect lore

[@erictaylor8865]

Im loving all the mass effect content so far lol its my second favorite space opera type sci fi after halo

[@mardenmarduk]

May be the best villain in video game history. Definitely in my top 5

[@matthewjames8802]

There has not been a more terrifying foe in any gaming space since the reapers. Change my mind.

[@VetGamer718]

I have been waiting for this. Let's go

[@drakeo.johnston1009]

I’ve been waiting for this

[@spartastic4]

2 questions... 1) Are you just moving stuff over from the MultiCore channel? 2) Can you do a breakdown on the M7/8 Lancer?

[@selectthedead]

Crush my heart into embers and I will reignite! For Earth! For the Alliance! For the Galaxy!

[@SuperheroRockstar]

Took me 4 full playthroughs to realize this: The Reapers are basically space Skynet. Shepard is basically John Connor. And then the Geth, are basically the Machines in The Matrix.

[@0x8badbeef]

I wonder where, or what, is Dark Space. Maybe the books has some background on it. Maybe is the galactic core.

[@nagger8216]

Dark space is the space in-between galaxies, the real void of nothingness. When they refer to the Reapers waiting in dark space, it means they're waiting just outside the border of the galaxy.

[@0x8badbeef]

@@nagger8216 I sort of thought that until I heard that they are trapped there until the keepers activates something.

[@nagger8216]

@@0x8badbeef Originally, the idea was about stopping the Reapers from returning altogether rather than outright defeating them like in Mass Effect 3. It was supposed to take a ridiculous amount of time for the Reapers to fly here themselves, so they used the Citadel to make the trip much quicker. But they abandoned that idea by Mass Effect 2 and made their trip only 6 months.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

​​@@nagger82166 months? Try 3 years. The Battle of the Citadel was 2183, the fall of Earth was late September 2186.

[@Rkcuddles]

I think it’s going to come down to our friendship with legion. Reapers are getting new data thatwe can get along

[@radeczech15]

Props to Protheans tho. I just Spoke with Javik he said theyve been at war with reapers for centuries

[@kallanr360]

The reapers lack of need for logistics, Ability to control minds and effectively being the Alpha species of the galaxy makes them so terrifying.

[@johljones]

I love these mass effect videos.

[@MandoSki464]

Just completed mass effect 1 for the first time in many years tonight and gotta say I ended up hating not being able to redeem Saren. Fought the dude the entire game just to feel pity for the puppet he’d become. But man was the nostalgia real

[@nagger8216]

If you have a high enough Paragon/Renegade, you can convince Saren to off himself at the very end instead of having a boss battle. So in a way, you can get him to at least somewhat redeem himself.

[@cpob2013]

Each reaper was meant to be totally unique, a robot gozilla form of whatever species was havested, but 3 was under a time and budget crunch.

[@EmeterioRuizS]

GREAT VIDEO!

[@MrDueltube]

Regardless of ME3'S ending, it is still one of the best trilogies in gaming. Good times.

[@hendrikgreiner8449]

Ah yes, more Mass Effect. Since, just to quote Cortez from the Citadel DLC: "Hell, ride long enough with us and you learn about knives, ropes, bombs, Thresher Maws..."

[@ashtonfrancis112]

Hey Baby wake up Installation00 has a new video out.

[@polrusstomakriss9001]

Letsssss gooooooo finally aomething i can get behind and note take upon

[@thanqualthehighseer]

I never accepted the Reapers come back every 50 thousand years. The development of species is never consistent it could have been faster or slower or some species die out without ever reaching the Citadel it could have been as short as 10,000 years or well over 200,000at times.

[@christophergroenewald5847]

The 50,000 years statement isn't entirely accurate. All we really know for sure is that the last harvest was roughly 48,000 years ago and it's believed to be the same for every cycle but is never confirmed in universe. What we do know is that based on this current cycle, it appears that the Reapers leave behind a sentinel (like Sovereign) to monitor organic evolution in their absence and once satisfied that organic life was at it's peak, it would inform the rest of it's kind and prepare for the harvest.

[@cjmunnee3356]

​@christophergroenewald5847 Yep. The Cycle is usually started by the Keepers, so that would allow for plenty of leeway on the timescale of individual Reaper invasions. Sovereign, or another like it, stick around and keep an eye on things in case something goes wrong with the Keepers.

[@Jarsia]

That's why there's a vanguard like Sovereign. If the cake ain't baked, he hits the snooze button for the other reapers.

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

In addition to what the others said, the Reapers leave enough ruins and tech from the harvested species that new ones reverse-engineer that tech, which generally leads the various cycles down the same paths at around the same speed as each other, as pointed out by Sovereign and Legion.

[@jonathanbates9928]

i feel like im being stalked... i literally just started replaying the entire ME series this week

[@Spalthersaar]

You have a great voice. Very relaxing

[@PunknPixels]

my name is byf and installation00 super lore video when lol

[@sambothefate3462]

One of my favourite things about Mass Effect is that there is all this technology and all these politics and biological differences betwen species and the game explains how it all works want to know how guns work it shave's of a peice of metal and then excelrates it with a rail if you want to know how somthing works the game tells you you can spend so much time in the codex and the main stuff is even voice overed so you don't have to read

[@ebusive]

Something that I only just now thought of: I know the codex and game have told us that the Reapers hibernate between cycles, but I'm thinking that Harbinger doesn't. It's well established that Harbinger, being the very first Reaper and likely the most powerful as it's created from the Leviathans themselves, is unique from the rest. It's also established the Collectors have existed since the Prothean harvest 50,000 years ago. Unless the indoctrinated "queen" was acting on their own, it's likely Harbinger has been directing the Collectors for over 50,000 years. What if Harbinger, again owing to its uniqueness, doesn't sleep?

[@jamesdouglas6977]

Yes please do more Mass Effect videos