Potential Endings for Mass Effect 3

[madmurch]

If ME3 is to be the conclusion of the trilogy, Bioware have the luxury of being completely unrestricted in how the game ends - which, possibly, might result in a greater number of potential endings for the game. With this in mind, would it be ridiculous for me to hope that one such conclusion results in Shepherd succumbing to a Reaper's indoctrination, and consequently brings about the destruction of organic civilisation? I'm not sure if it's some deep-rooted sense of nihilism or just the poetry of the linguistics (a Shepherd leading his loyal flock to the slaughter...) but that idea really does appeal to me. I can almost see the level now... originally sent on-board a weakened Reaper to survey/destroy it, our hero instead succumbs to the same immense force of will that broke Saren, and so enters the final series of missions with the sole purpose of consigning every living creature to oblivion.
Of course, with that sort of bleak finale as a possibility, a few happier endings wouldn't go amiss either. How about leading a squad, an army, an entire fleet consisting solely of elcor into the final battle? "With a foreboding but ultimately fulfilling sense of self-sacrifice: CHARGE!" Damn - now I'm thinking of an Elcor-Reaper, an idea so cool it's lowered the temperature of the room by several degrees.

Any other suggestions? Just because they probably won't make it into the game, it doesn't mean we can't imagine how fantastic they could have been...

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

I'm calling it:

Everyone dies. Everyone.

If that is done and is well executed, it will be EPIC.

 

[Vrex360]

Well first of all, I want to see Shepard and Ashley reconcile. I made the effort to stay loyal because I wanted to see how it turned out and I'm hoping that we see actual reconciliation as they rebuild their feelings for each other, not just a case of 'okay let's get back together again' but rather actual human emotions and even dare I say it, love. Perhaps she starts off as loyal to the Council but her feelings for Shepard overpower her and she runs to his side again, or maybe Shepard returns to the Alliance and makes the effort to show his desire to be with her again. Not really fussed, just as long as it's well characterised.*

... Okay, got the sissy part of it out of me, now let's get to the awesome bits. Just note, I'm only going to do the Paragon one as I am a good boy and have never gone renegade.

I saved Wrex so I expect him to be present, leading the Krogan to assist me and my army to do battle with the Reapers and hopefully the entire combination of teams A and B from the first two Mass Effects can stand by Shepard for the final epic push. I expect it'll be another really big 'explosive' ending.
Perhaps with the Alliance, the Council and Shepard's army of Krogan, Geth, Quarians and Rachni all going together for one final battle in huge epic confrontation.
There for it would be like the ending for Mass Effect 1 with the Reapers being destroyed by some kind of Deus Ex Machina. Probably found at some point earlier in the game that perhaps could only be activated if Shepard sacrifices his life to do it and that perhaps he and his whole team die in a sort of final 'blaze of glory' and Shepard's actions result in the galaxy being forever greatful and him earning a sort of messiah figure.
Or maybe Shepard can survive the encounter and when Anderson approaches him afterwards to ask him what comes next, Shepard can stare at the massive pile of scrap metal that was the Reaper fleet, then back at Ash and Garrus and everyone else and then say simply:
"Retirement."

That would be pretty sweet too.

*As is always the case, please don't flame me for saying this.

 

[L4hlborg]

Well, there is no way that Shep and his army can take on the Reapers in a fair space war. Sovereign alone took out quite a few ships while at the same time doing some random crap on a pole, and judging by the ending of ME2, there are quite a few Reapers coming.

The easiest solution would probably be just to send Shepard out in a spacesuit to fuck shit up. I think Shepard's skills in that area have been proven quite efficient during the first two games.

But what will probably happen is that we find out the origin of the Reapers, and following Finnish folklore, we will learn how to destroy/control them by singing a nice poemsong. Or maybe we just find a controlpanel. I'd see the final concluding decision to be wheather to take over the galaxy using a Reaper fleet or to destroy them and save the galaxy.

 

[MCGT]

I think what may happen is that you die and everyone dies but you do somthing like the Protheans did to fuck up the Reapers cycle and prevent them from killing the next lot of aliens.

Maybe also, as a renegade, you don't hinder the cycle but run away instead and have the opportunity to live a little longer.

 

[Sephychu]

Garrus and Kaidan are so going to fight over me. That will be awesome. Then I'll be all like, "Sorry Kaidan, I love Garrus.".
Then Kaidan will probably kill himself. Shows him for raping me.

There'll be an ending in which everyone dies, no doubt. I reckon, however, that there'll be two. Everyone dies and the Reapers win, and everyone dies after fighting the reapers.

There'll also be saccharine sweet endings. Then there'll be sacrifice but not total sacrifice endings.

I also demand a UFO ending, regardless of the game being in space.

 

[pikler2]

lets see what shall I put here hmmmmm....oh I know here's my ending for it: Sheperd gets shot somewhere in the story and he wakes up and gets a strange marking on him and he noticing that he has UNBELIEVABLE power so at the end he kills himself to destroy the planet when the humans left and...im rambling on arnt I so sum it up by saying he destroyed the planet by killing himself when the humans left

 

[HK_01]

The races of the galaxy unite under Shepard, face the Reapers - and lose, putting only a small dent in their numbers. And the cycle starts again.

 

[Shock and Awe]

"Epic Exhilaration. Charge." - The famous Elcor battle cry.

 

[lasherman]

Spoiler

Duh.

But, seriously, it will probably have multiple endings, with one where Shepard gets corrupted by a reaper, or another where everyone lives a long, shiny happy life, and another where alot of lives are lost, but the reapers are still destroyed.

 

[Doug]

Possible outcomes I can think of:

a) Reapers manage to indocorate Shepard and they win, wipe out the Galaxy's life form, and reset for the next batch to evolve.
b) Shepard wins by senting millions of aliens ships to their dooms in order to protect humantities ships (e.g. like Operation: Human Shield in South Park)
c) An allied fleet with humans taking part defeat Soverign, and everyone goes home to tea and biscuits.

 

[Doug]

"Epic Exhilaration. Charge." - The famous Elcor battle cry.

"Does the monsterous horror from beyond the Galaxy feel that it is lucky today?" - Blasto.

 

[jultub]

I'm calling it:

Everyone dies. Everyone.

If that is done and is well executed, it will be EPIC.

There's one big difference between doing this in a movie and doing this in a game. You're not just along for the ride in a video game, you're driving. When the car crashes if you're not driving, it was just a car that crashed. As horrible as it was to be in a crash, if you weren't injured severly you didn't really lose anything. If you were driving chances are pretty big that you owned the car. You can drive a car without owning it, you can play without actually being attached to your character, but it was still a lot of work that went into building up your character (at least in RPGs, which Mass Effect is ). They would make a lot of people feel like they had wasted a lot of time battling the Reapers since they lost anyway.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't be happy to see something break the trend every now and then, but I wouldn't want it to make me build up my character through three games before s/he just died off

 

[Shock and Awe]

"Epic Exhilaration. Charge." - The famous Elcor battle cry.

"Does the monsterous horror from beyond the Galaxy feel that it is lucky today?" - Blasto.

"Interruption. This is the M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon; the most powerful hand held mass effect field powered weapon in the quadrant; capable of blowing a Krogan's head clean off."

 

[Kragg]

I'm calling it:

Everyone dies. Everyone.

If that is done and is well executed, it will be EPIC.

There's one big difference between doing this in a movie and doing this in a game. You're not just along for the ride in a video game, you're driving. When the car crashes if you're not driving, it was just a car that crashed. As horrible as it was to be in a crash, if you weren't injured severly you didn't really lose anything. If you were driving chances are pretty big that you owned the car. You can drive a car without owning it, you can play without actually being attached to your character, but it was still a lot of work that went into building up your character (at least in RPGs, which Mass Effect is ). They would make a lot of people feel like they had wasted a lot of time battling the Reapers since they lost anyway.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't be happy to see something break the trend every now and then, but I wouldn't want it to make me build up my character through three games before s/he just died off

ok but look at it like this, depending on what you do in mass effect 2 you can end up with

-a full team of specialists, a kickass ship a bigass ship/base
-everyone dead but you, a rickety ship, a pile of debris you blew up

i don't know about those odds you know

they already said your love interest returns, and they hated cerberus, plus the fact that you can fuck shit up for cerberus in ME2 (see ending 2) so you are probably going back to the alliance/going solo

dying horribly could be a good ending, since it was already in ME2 and that wasn't even the "ending" ending

 

[Broken Orange]

I have no idea how it will end, but there is only one way it can begin. Getting betrayed by Cerberus.

Spoiler: Warning, references on how Mass Effect 2 ends

Either they are getting revenge for blowing up the collector base, or cleaning up shop.

 

[imaloony]

I'm calling it:

Everyone dies. Everyone.

If that is done and is well executed, it will be EPIC.

Also known as the "Gantz" ending.

I'd like to see a battle where Shepard is inside a Reaper, and not like that one in ME2, where it was partially destroyed, caught in a gravitational pull, and almost gone, I mean a full functional Reaper with tons of enemies on it and the Reaper doing everything to stop you, including screwing with your mind.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

I reakon it'l end DA style

Spoiler

Ya know sacrifice

or a choice of saving a bunch of people or your love intrest/best freind in the game.
EDIT: it would be nice to have krogan (i saved wrex) and

Spoiler

geth on your side (legions loyaty quest an' all}

would be badass.