Ash was awful anyway. Kaidan is way funnier once he's done judging you with Cerberus. Ashley becomes slightly less racist in ME3. The drunk scene is kinda funny, but Kaidan is WAY funnier.
I love how the Virmire survivor just turns their back on you and says "we'll call the Salarian counselor" all while you're still pointing a gun at them.
Personally I think having EDI in the squad should also be -1 trust After all, last time Virmire survivor saw that metal body was when it was slamming their head against a flaming shuttle.
My latest play through had Javik and EDI with me so I can only imagine the Virmire survivor was like Shepard, the synthetic tried to kill me and a strange alien that looks vaguely like some old artifacts I’ve seen what the fuck is happening?!? Then the trust meter plays out
@@milesrogers7402 Viewpoints on galactic politics. Both krogan and rachni are extremely violent and their leaders can easily be changed and it can turn them to past hostile selves. Some may not trust them enough , ( i think krogans will kill wrex , go back to their violent days ) etc
I always felt that this, among other major negative outcomes in Mass Effect, is something you need to be seeking intentionally. Because it's just so impossible to get it wrong by itself
Not to take away from Big Dan, cos it's obviously a lot of work. But back in the original release's time we had people like FluffyNinjaLlama, RedStarBolt, DanaDuchy, Lady Insanity, xLetalis, and a couple more, who did these.
I can only say how I feel about what you've shown as I've never lost them but still feel it was there. The pair are annoying and tools. They trust Udina?! The jerk that betrays you and them in every one of the games over you whom has been spot on and honest the entire time? Some times I think it a shame you save either of them.
Technically you can do that with today's tech. It's just that the ability to create such a thing is difficult, even more so when making it look authentic
Maybe 22nd century omni-tool technology has automatic detection systems to prevent fraudulent alterations on the platform, leading to a counteraction against deep fakes and other more advanced forms of editing.
What I love about Kaiden is if you’re loyal to him and hella paragon to him. His expression is so wide eyed and very hesitant. It’s clear under these circumstances he would never kill you. Kaiden forever
the fact miranda is more likely to admit she was wrong than Ashley is shocking. and yes i left ashley for miranda and no regrets here. ashley legit goes crazy in me 2 and 3.
It's weird how the survivor gives you shit for working with Cerberus even though they know the collecters wrecked the first Normandy, that Cerberus literally brought you back to life, and that they knew how bad the collecters were.
its not weird for them to distrust you for working for a god damn terrorist organization. Imagine someone important to you dying and then after 2 years of mourning later they randomly come back and are working with a nazi group.
@@willfanofmanyii3751Still doesn’t make sense that she’d turn her back on him. Literally everyone of Shepards past teammates let him know that Cerberus was sus af but they trusted Shepard on his reasoning of using them good intentions. Councilor Anderson trusted him, shit man even Admiral Hackett sent him some jobs while working for Cerberus. It was literally just Ashley. She rather trust a snake that betrayed us in the first game than the guy who not only saved her life, twice, but countless others.
@@MrWongWey That's one thing about her character I just don't understand... How she could mistrust Shepard so much despite everything they've (Accounting for both male and female versions) done, and even though just about everyone else but her has their back.
@@MrWongWey that's what makes Chakwas take so great She got a proper leave to work with Shepard and openly says they used abd stole their best respurces and projects being Miranda Edi and Normandy
Idk Ashley/Kaiden really did break up with you in ME2, I think its justified that Shep hooked up with someone else considering he was literally on a suicide mission. Liara can be cheated on sa straight up but Ash/Kaiden if free game.
I just made an interesting discovery. If you managed to use Paragon/ Renegade to convince the Virmie survivor to stand down, but you had a really bad or low reputation with them, they will actually refuse your offer to join you at the Normandy.
Actually they didnt break up with you ( at least Ashley didnt Kaiden started to see someone) they sent you a mail after that. You didnt returned.after suicide mission you took yourself in to allience. Since you were behind bars they were becoming second human spectre
I know I'm late, but I agree. I'm not sure why the devs (and Ashley/Kaiden) consider you having cheated on them when they were the ones who told you to pound sand on Horizon as soon as they find out you are with Cerberus. The only one you can really actually cheat on is Liara.
It sucks that Thane is basically doomed to die unless you don't talk to him in the hospital. The only thing you really get is both Kirrahe and the salarian councilor's support. Like, what about having it where if you save either Thane or Kirrahe, then that one dies saving the councilor, but if you save both, then the two work together to fight Kai Leng, saving both and adding additional war assets.
Thane wouldn't be a great war asset if that were the case. His time is short before Lang comes along. But I agree, it would've been a great scene to have both help fight off Lang and no one dies from the event, maybe letting Thane survive to see the ending of the game, if your assets are high enough.
After the mission to the Horizon, you can talk to the Joker, and he will ask about meeting with the former, and you can answer that it's all over. On my first playthrough, I thought the game would take this into account, but apparently not.
There's also a third option in the post-mission priority citadel where you actually have to CONVINCE the survivor to join your crew with a high enough paragon speech check. I had that with Ashley (my trust meter was neutral and convinced her to side with me at the stand-off) and she mentioned on Mars how cold I was with her.
Yes. They refuse to join, if you pick the Renegade line first, then the Paragon one next during the conversation as you before leave the Citadel. They join, if you pick both Paragon lines.
I always thought it was a bit strange that these two are good enough to get “Spectre” status. Maybe, the new squadmates are too amazing so they overshadow these two.
@@Marshal_Dunnik Very good point! Though I feel a bit bad that these two characters never had the characterization like some others did, for example, Garrus, who is pretty popular!
It's probably because of their association with Shepard; they knew how good he was so memebers of his team like them must have at least some similar skill sets in their minds. At least, Udina probably spinned this story to the other members of the council and they bought it.
For Ashley, yes, especially considering how her family is/was blacklisted--though her working with Shepard probably cleared that. For Kaidan, not so much. At this point he's got the rank of Major; he's a powerful biotic; he's proven himself as both an excellent leader and teacher to his Special Biotics Division students; of course he ran with Shepard during ME1, but even before that he had a bunch of commendations from previous postings. I don't find it far-fetched for him, personally, especially because it's no longer 'The First Human Spectre™'. And really, when you compare where he's at in ME3 to where Shepard was at when they became a Spectre, it's not that far apart.
@@newvelaric I think Kaidan had a good amount of growth and a nice character arc. Ashley otoh kinda got screwed over, a lot of which had to do with her original writer having left. So she got a barbie makeover, complete with heels and long hair, which isn't even allowed in the military (what the hell was wrong with her bun? it looked great on her), and the culmination of her character arc is passing out black-out drunk on the floor of the Normandy. Classy. Also gotta remember that Garrus had three (almost) full games of characterization, while the VS had one and... let's be generous and say a half? Depends on how much of the side content and DLC you do before the coup, I suppose. They also screwed *both* of them over by often giving them basically identical lines/actions, instead of writing according to their respective (radically different) personalities, making both of them feel more generic in the process. A good example is actually in ME2, when the seeker swarms attack: Ashley shoots at them because there's little else she can do to distract them while the civilians run, checks out. But why wouldn't Kaidan's first instinct be to put up a barrier against the things, likely shielding at least a few other people in the process? Oh yeah, because he's also Ashley and they couldn't be bothered to not have their animations be identical. I think that's actually one of the biggest reasons they don't rank very high on most people's favourite characters lists--Bioware/EA were lazy and post-Virmire condensed them into one character whenever possible, resulting in both of their personalities getting watered down.
I know how to do this already but it's nice to see someone who knows what there talking about walking people through this scenario as it's a fiddly to get right
3:10 probably something to do with the whole "Being Dead" thing. Also take into consideration that ME2 romances are AFTER Horizon... and either VS is... not super nice to Shepard on Horizon. Wouldnt be hard to justify it as a previous relationship, that route. EDIT: Now with 2 playthroughs doing this under the belt, i can confirm that Its not only possible to roleplay this way, the GAME ITSELF even gives you the option to do so. If you romanced someone else post horizon in ME2, then select the first PARAGON option when visiting them in the hospital (awake), then they call out shepard... and shepard gets to throw Horizon right back. The option for MShep and Ash (just did it) is "You Left Me". Its the renegade option, and its quite harsh, but it fits if you want to roleplay that way.
I think Kaiden and Ashley get a lot more flak for their actions on Horizon than is warranted. 1. Your CO drops off the face of the Galaxy for two years, and then (*unknown to them*, carefully disseminated rumors by TIM place Shepard within the ranks of Cerberus, so) when you finally see him the first thing out of his mouth is basically "Hey, what's up?", like nothing is wrong? That would sound a red alert in anyone's mind. 2. They both *just* got through an extremely stressful situation with lives on the line. Adrenaline is running extremely high, and juiced brains don't think straight. 3. Believe it or not, the Cerberus missions in ME1 are optional, meaning that potentially Shepard and the crew could have had next to no contact with Cerberus operations, so at the least all the Virmire Survivor knows is that Shepard is now working for a former Alliance black-ops group that is an avowed enemy of the Systems Alliance and the Citadel Council. For military people like Ash and Kaiden, who both take seriously the oath of service, this is an egregious sin, and from their perspective Shepard's lack of immediate request to be taken from the SR-2 Normandy to return to the Alliance military is very telling. *Especially* if like most people you did do all of the Cerberus missions. 4. I don't remember if this is the case if you don't romance them in 1, but if you did they will send Shepard a letter later expressing remorse for how their interaction at Horizon went and hope that you can get away from Cerberus quickly and return to them. This, for me, is the most damning of evidence against the Virmire Survivor rejecting Shepard once and for all. Naturally, I won't deny that I would have liked the situation to have gone better, but the writer of the game was definitely a hackjob who never should have been hired on for the role, and so I blame them instead of hating the character.
I fully agree, especially on the last point. Frankly I felt a bit guilty carrying on my new relationship in ME2 after I received the apology letter from Kaidan. It had been 2 years, you died, didn't manage to contact them (even though you tried), yet he still apologises and says he still loves you despite everything.
By Horizont, Shepard can either regain his Specter statute, which generally makes him dependent on the Alliance, or meet Anderson, Udina, and Hackett, who generally don't care that Shepard is working with Cerberus as long as he/she doesn't cause problems for them. So it's not even their area of expertise. The player may not even call them with him, this is purely optional. And wouldn't it be in their interest to learn more about the situation and Shepard's connection to Cerberus? But they just don't want to listen - and this is somehow unprofessional?
@@allykayalltheway6631 The difference between Kaidan and Ashley is that Kaidan is comfortable with who he is and has basically already had his development finished before ME1. I feel like he should've received more of a story arc so that players would've been interested in him, but honestly, it comes down to romance choice at the end of the day.
@@benmac7552 its een years and im replaying the games now. ashley is like hardcore racist. Like they tone it down over the trilogy but shes an awful person.
@@ubadman1 No, she’s not. I’m not anywhere near an Ash apologist, I always tell her to shut the hell up when she starts talking bad about aliens, but it’s somewhat understandable while not exactly justified. First of all, you roll with a Turian. The First Contact War was only 26 years prior to ME1. That means a year before Ashley was born, one of the bloodiest battles humanity has ever seen was fought. If you even *slightly* talk to her, you know her family’s history and why the First Contact War is such a big deal to her. It’s been a disgrace and a blemish on her family’s history and her career and their honor fell in the eyes of the Alliance, all because of how brutal the Turians were. Yes, relations are somewhat better (not by much, but they aren’t trying to kill each other anymore) and the Normandy is of Human-Turian design, but it’s still hard for her to get over everything immediately and just trust them. This is a case for literally every alien species in the game, even those that have been allies for a long time. The Krogan are also understandable. They were the most dangerous species in the galaxy and attempted to take it over with mass genocide by throwing *fucking meteors* at planets. I’d say a little distrust in them is warranted, especially when the majority still kill for a living even after they’ve been neutered. Humans are still new to the greater galaxy and, as such, are not trusted by aliens. Likewise, *they* do not trust aliens either. Xenophobia is no different from racism in ME, and that something I don’t tolerate. However, Ash isn’t a space racist, she’s the games conduit for the common mentality of humanity at this point on the galactic stage. She makes it very clear that she thinks humanity should learn to stand on it’s own because when the council races have their backs against the wall, they’ll abandon humans if that’s what it takes to survive. She was correct. It’s made excruciatingly clear time and time again that they won’t listen to humans and put their own interests above that of humanity. That is, until they need help. You can have a different perspective while still understanding where she’s coming from. Hell, I think she’s wrong as hell and that attitudes like hers will only be a detriment to the unification of the galaxy; however, her views are shared by the majority of humanity as well as the alien species throughout the franchise. The fact that she’s so against Cerberus goes to show how *not* racist she is. They’ve made it very clear over the trilogy how many people join Cerberus for pro-humanism bordering xenophobia. If she were as bad as everyone makes her out to be, she most likely would’ve joined just for that very reason. If you want to see a true space racist, look no further than Pressly. You can find his logbook in the SR-1’s wreck in ME2. He has a change of heart due to Shepard’s leadership, but he’s very clearly anti-alien at the start. People need to learn the difference between racism and skepticism. Skepticism is valid, especially when specific concerning patterns have already been established. She’s a skeptic and a misguided one at that, but there are multiple indicators over the course of the first game that give an idea of her growth and change of perspective. Since you spend the entire second game apart, there’s no way to know what eye-opening things she’s experienced between 1 and 3. By the time ME3 *DOES* roll around, she’s being considered for a Spectre position. Yes, it was Udina’s idea and he had ulterior motives, but the rest of the council has to sign off on it. This means she *HAS* to have done *something* to signify that she’s an ally to other species. All in all, space racist? No. Misguided, emotionally driven, and paranoid? Absolutely.
Guess this is why game took me so long. After every mission, side quests I would go around and talk to everyone possible. I've done so many playthrough I think I have seen all possibilities. Still good vid
This is actually one of the few occasions the player can hammer some personality into Shepard, especially Femshep with Garrus by her side. Like when you gun down Wrex on the Citadel and confess what you did later to Garrus, making your bond with him feel meaningful. - ...there is no Shepard without Vakarian. I am so sorry Tali, i really am.
The more I watch these videos the more I know how to plan my "new" Shepards on the Remastered version. I want to make each of them have as much unique story lines as possible; only thing that they would all have in common is curing the genophage and keeping Wrex alive.
Given how saving the Salarian counselor is judged by kirahe and thane being alive it would have been nice if both could show up and drive off Kailang without either one dying. Since that’s 2 others games worth of things happening.
did no one ever notice the absurdity of how the trilogy treated the Virmire survivor? without the slightest remote difference except in the dialogue itself? in ME1: one of them dies in ME2: whoever is still alive will tell you to go fuck yourself because you're with Cerberus in ME3, whoever is still alive will still be doubting you're with Cerberus after leaving earth whoever is still alive will be bruised and unconscious due to being attached by Eva whoever is still alive will go through the SAME stages: being in a coma in the hospital, waking up, being offered a position by Udina, standoff with shepard, one of them might die or live, if not then one of them will join you on the Normandy or not. Why not making them slightly different? how about AShley doubting Shepard but Kaidan not? how about Kaidan being offered the position by Udina but Ashley not? some different outcomes? different places? was that so hard to accomplish instead of treating them like butt buddies?
Oof, that's brutal... But depending on how things play out (Especially if you've got low/negative trust and have been reacting negatively consistently to them questioning you working with Cerberus), that would be a cold but fitting bit of dialogue. Really hammers in the rift that mistrust can create between Shepard and Ash/Kaiden.
I don't get why people say you "Cheat" on them in ME2, I romanced Ashley by accident in ME1, Then when I met her again in ME2 so basically said she wanted nothing to do with me because of Cerberus, I romanced Miranda in ME2, how on earth is it cheating when she told me she wanted nothing to do with me?
Huh. One would think, that saving the Council in ME1 would count differently for Ash and Kaidan. Also if it comes to "honest cheater" = "plain colleague" it may be because of the guilt felt by the VS after the meeting on Horizon. They basically betrayed Shepard 1st.
It makes sense that Ashley would be mad at you for working with Cerberus but not as much sense for Kaiden. Kaiden seems way more mature than Ashley. I wish they had different roles in ME2. It would’ve been cool
There is another possibility you missed ! If you convince Kaidan/Ash to stand down but your trust meter is not high enough, Kaidan/Ash will decline the offer to join you in the Normandy
Now this was a great video Dan! These are the kind of videos you should be making rather than upload junk that we have all seen like a million times already... Thanks for sharing this one Dan and keep up the good work! 👍😁
@@BigDanGaming Thanks Dan.. Not like I enjoy writing harsh comments.. But initially when I sub'd to your channel, I was hoping for some unique and fresh content. But I get it that you need more views and subscribers too. Keep up the good work and looking forward to seeing some great uploads from you soon. 👍😁
Renegade Shepard: “Miranda was a mistake, Ashley. Jack? You know you’re the one I have feeling for.” Ashley: “I thought we were talking about Tali...” Renegade Shepard: “ ....I should go.”
I've played this game for years now and I didn't know it was all math. I always thought being Paragon was enough but I was actually one math point away from killing Kaiden the entire time.
Crazy, I saved Kaiden (I always kill Ashley in ME1, lol) without even knowing it. Watching this just to see how I would mess it up for a new play through 😅
I didnt think it counted as cheating due to the conversation you can have with your lover when you meet them on ME2. I thought they broke it off due to being with Cerebus. So I always confused when they asked me about the person as a result.
Yeah, when I started ME3 my plan was to get back with Ashley, but then when I came to see her in the hospital she got mad at me for being with someone else during ME2. That just pissed me off, like what right does she have to be mad at me? Lol
@@DavidPeoplesTV each time I play ME3 and try to reconnect with her I change my mind after a while and just dump her for the me2 romance because the way she treats shepard pisses me off like she questions your allegiance not once or twice during the mars mission and she judges you for loving someone else while she clearly left you in ME2 which BTW she never apologized for (liara did)
after looking at the list on the Wiki, I think I would've been at +1 or +2 on my first playthrough. -1 for sacrificing the Council (in hindsight, it was 'cause of the Turian alone) -1 for being rude to Ashley on Mars (basically, getting sick of her being "adamant" about me still being with Cerberus) +2 paid her a visit the 2nd time (if including the one while unconscious) (a.k.a negating the negative scores) +1 lowered our weapons (wanting to prove I'm on her, and the councilors (minus Udina) side) (there was another +1. but I can't remember if I really did visit Ashley a 2nd/3rd time)
I feel like romancing someone in Mass Effect 2 isn't really cheating. I always felt that the scene on Horizon was a breakup. Male Shepard even says as much (In so many words) in the hospital scene.
Joker do salute you after the incident on the normalcy's bridge if you refuse to accept Ash offer to join your team and chose the second option in his conversation saying someone should show you the respect you deserve.(was nice to Ash in both ME1 2 , no romance) i guess he and the rest of the crew always saw Ash as a pain in the ass. not sure if this happens with Kaidens too or not . hope this helps
See the unconscious ones should count because she was told by the nurses that you were there earlier and she comments on you having been there while she was unconscious still
That scene is one of the best of the series. I had no idea it was so well woven into the choices. I wish it was an actual fight with your further squamate though, not one shot. It doesn't matter sense for a person with armor and barriers to die with one shot in a cutscene.
So her dying words even after being proven wrong is that she hopes the reapers win... One of the reasons I don't feel so bad about leaving her with the bomb or not let her on my ship.
Honestly, Horizon seems like a break up to me. I never considered the ME2 romance to be cheating (on the VS, not Liara). BroShep even says that Ash walked away. FemShep can't really defend herself like that for some reason, which is why I typically never romance Kaidan in ME1 unless I do a playthrough where I stick with him all the way through the trilogy.
I wish there was a few more details, such as : - Having EDI on your squad being -1 point (Because the last time Ashley/Kaidan saw EDI's body was when it slammed their head against a cerberus shuttle) - Wearing the Cerberus armor being -1 point, for obvious reasons
Hey, I'm really enjoying your videos! Could you consider turning on the in-game subtitles in the future, though? Sometimes I watch these in noisy environments and it's difficult to make out what the characters are saying. And one more thing about Ashley and Kaidan - did you know that under certain circumstances you might not have the option to recruit them after this mission? I've seen it in another video.
Save / Don't Save Council has always been a dumb choice. Retrospectively, having played through the series, we see this choice of "Save or don't save" as merely that. However, that is not how the game presents this choice to us when we first play it. The game presents this choice to us in ME1 as a commander and as a tactical decision while under massive attack from an unprecedented threat. To not choose to keep all ships attacking is to betray one's duty and purpose and entirely irrational. Similarly, the first council being unwilling to lay down their lives proves that they are unfit for duty in their role as protectors anyway. Moreover, the second council (4:45) seeing Shepard's actions as an indication he would "sacrifice" them as well, also shows that they too are unfit for the responsibilities their role entails. The fact that Shep never gets the full opportunity to call them out on this is a disappointing lapse in writing that exposes some of the skeleton of the plot structure that was never fully fleshed out/adequately addressed. It just feels crowbarred.
GODDAMNIT ASH!
Cheers for more mass effect content
Ash was awful anyway. Kaidan is way funnier once he's done judging you with Cerberus. Ashley becomes slightly less racist in ME3. The drunk scene is kinda funny, but Kaidan is WAY funnier.
I care about you ash-Miranda!
@@kaismith9388 i always saw Kaiden as a little bitch so i would always choose Ashley over him in ME1.
Whatever generates your mass effect field
I love how the Virmire survivor just turns their back on you and says "we'll call the Salarian counselor" all while you're still pointing a gun at them.
I think this is some point of trust there if they can do that
@@Alien361 indeed
"Maybe Sheperd isn't with Cerberus. Just like he told me 50 times already." :-D
_"T H I S B L U E B I T C H M I G H T B E R I G H T."_
...because you asked about it 51 times Ash... 😒
This rang so much truth though 😑 that's one of the reasons I broke up with Kaiden for Garrus 😂😂
Replayd it an houhr ago. Kadin pissed me so off iv visit him in Hospital even brought a Gift and this fcker hast the nervs
@@thethethethe111 Did you have a seizure writing that?
Personally I think having EDI in the squad should also be -1 trust
After all, last time Virmire survivor saw that metal body was when it was slamming their head against a flaming shuttle.
AND she is originally developed by Cerberus, both the body and EDI herself
My latest play through had Javik and EDI with me so I can only imagine the Virmire survivor was like Shepard, the synthetic tried to kill me and a strange alien that looks vaguely like some old artifacts I’ve seen what the fuck is happening?!? Then the trust meter plays out
I wish wrex was a party member during this part just so I can have him shoot Ashley for revenge from an alternate timeline
I can imagine his line being along like "I dunno why but it felt right" just a hint to the possible outcome if you couldn't calm Wrex down
Every time I play ME1 I recruit Wrex just so that I can shoot him later :D
@@DogOfEgypt Kinda cringe ngl
@@YaMamasAss agreed
@@YaMamasAss Big cringe
“Nah babe, I was curing the genophage! You gotta believe me!”
That line had me rolling 😂😂😂
Same, I would say I tried that line before...... but I've never cured the genophage on any play-through
@@KCCC326 why
@@KCCC326 You’ve probably also never done any side quests, I’m guessing you have a short attention span.
@@milesrogers7402 Viewpoints on galactic politics. Both krogan and rachni are extremely violent and their leaders can easily be changed and it can turn them to past hostile selves. Some may not trust them enough , ( i think krogans will kill wrex , go back to their violent days ) etc
@@ladyselin35 I understand that but even still Wrex proves that not all krogen are mindless
I was always curious how it goes wrong, it always goes right for me.
I always felt that this, among other major negative outcomes in Mass Effect, is something you need to be seeking intentionally. Because it's just so impossible to get it wrong by itself
@@p.mosheshamah4307 aye, that's what I have always felt as well.
Goddamn right
It never even occured to me it was possible for her/him to die
Same
thank God there’s guys like you to make the stupid decisions on purpose so I can watch how it plays out lol
someone has to
Not to take away from Big Dan, cos it's obviously a lot of work. But back in the original release's time we had people like FluffyNinjaLlama, RedStarBolt, DanaDuchy, Lady Insanity, xLetalis, and a couple more, who did these.
@@vodkavecz right, not taking away from the effort invested at all
SO true!! :D
@@vodkavecz how does that change anything lol
17:35 Damn, the way Garrus just silently stares at Ashley’s name is heartbreaking.
For reals I felt so horrible for him
seriously, they live in the future, does no one think footage can be altered?
Kaidan: Shepard, how could you?
Shepard: BRO, it's a DEEP FAKE!
@@BigDanGaming XD
I can only say how I feel about what you've shown as I've never lost them but still feel it was there. The pair are annoying and tools. They trust Udina?! The jerk that betrays you and them in every one of the games over you whom has been spot on and honest the entire time? Some times I think it a shame you save either of them.
Technically you can do that with today's tech. It's just that the ability to create such a thing is difficult, even more so when making it look authentic
Maybe 22nd century omni-tool technology has automatic detection systems to prevent fraudulent alterations on the platform, leading to a counteraction against deep fakes and other more advanced forms of editing.
What I love about Kaiden is if you’re loyal to him and hella paragon to him. His expression is so wide eyed and very hesitant. It’s clear under these circumstances he would never kill you. Kaiden forever
Ashley on the other hand…
I understand why Ashley’s the way she is but I still keep the lieutenant alive
Kiaden is peak.
“Whatever generates your mass effect field”
You’re literally helping so much with all this content passing the time until the legendary edition launches. Thank you and keep it up!
the fact miranda is more likely to admit she was wrong than Ashley is shocking. and yes i left ashley for miranda and no regrets here. ashley legit goes crazy in me 2 and 3.
It will be worth it if you stay faithful.
16:45 Holy crap... EDI's tone of voice there is just so soothing... as she calculated the need to jump in and be consoling... My heart!!
It's weird how the survivor gives you shit for working with Cerberus even though they know the collecters wrecked the first Normandy, that Cerberus literally brought you back to life, and that they knew how bad the collecters were.
its not weird for them to distrust you for working for a god damn terrorist organization. Imagine someone important to you dying and then after 2 years of mourning later they randomly come back and are working with a nazi group.
Except they don't, nobody knew the Collectors were responsible for Shepard's death until Shepard was able to get on a Collector ship.
@@willfanofmanyii3751Still doesn’t make sense that she’d turn her back on him. Literally everyone of Shepards past teammates let him know that Cerberus was sus af but they trusted Shepard on his reasoning of using them good intentions. Councilor Anderson trusted him, shit man even Admiral Hackett sent him some jobs while working for Cerberus. It was literally just Ashley. She rather trust a snake that betrayed us in the first game than the guy who not only saved her life, twice, but countless others.
@@MrWongWey That's one thing about her character I just don't understand... How she could mistrust Shepard so much despite everything they've (Accounting for both male and female versions) done, and even though just about everyone else but her has their back.
@@MrWongWey that's what makes Chakwas take so great
She got a proper leave to work with Shepard and openly says they used abd stole their best respurces and projects being Miranda Edi and Normandy
Idk Ashley/Kaiden really did break up with you in ME2, I think its justified that Shep hooked up with someone else considering he was literally on a suicide mission. Liara can be cheated on sa straight up but Ash/Kaiden if free game.
I remember this scene being quite intense the fist time around, a great climax to the mission.
Saving the council finally pays off. Wow
Most relatable statement in the entire series.
I just made an interesting discovery. If you managed to use Paragon/ Renegade to convince the Virmie survivor to stand down, but you had a really bad or low reputation with them, they will actually refuse your offer to join you at the Normandy.
Haha interesting
is it considered cheating when they willingly abandon you out of spite
I don't consider it. As far as I am concerned, if you romanced Williams or Alenko, and after Horrizon in ME2, they left you.
Actually they didnt break up with you ( at least Ashley didnt Kaiden started to see someone) they sent you a mail after that. You didnt returned.after suicide mission you took yourself in to allience. Since you were behind bars they were becoming second human spectre
I know I'm late, but I agree. I'm not sure why the devs (and Ashley/Kaiden) consider you having cheated on them when they were the ones who told you to pound sand on Horizon as soon as they find out you are with Cerberus. The only one you can really actually cheat on is Liara.
Right?? Like girl _you_ fucking left *me!* What'd you think was gonna happen?
It is to monogamists.
Shepard after killing Ashely: We'll bang, okay?
I mean, yeah why not? 🤷♂️
*Necrophilia*
+100 Renegade.
Is he referring to necrophilia or Tali/Miranda/Jack?
It sucks that Thane is basically doomed to die unless you don't talk to him in the hospital. The only thing you really get is both Kirrahe and the salarian councilor's support. Like, what about having it where if you save either Thane or Kirrahe, then that one dies saving the councilor, but if you save both, then the two work together to fight Kai Leng, saving both and adding additional war assets.
Thane wouldn't be a great war asset if that were the case. His time is short before Lang comes along.
But I agree, it would've been a great scene to have both help fight off Lang and no one dies from the event, maybe letting Thane survive to see the ending of the game, if your assets are high enough.
“No babe, I was curing the genophage, you gotta believe me!”
Bro I was legit laughing so hard at that skit!!!
How is it cheating?.
They legit break up with you in me2.
Look ash. I can't help it.
I couldn't resist once I looked under the mask.
Even pirimitive quarians were condered attractive in my age.shame nobody could appreciate it now. Perhaps maybe commander?
Hint: Just because we say something doesn't mean you should act based on what was said. ;)
@@cassiespencer6134 Well too bad, i'm boning the sickly girl in the engine room, she's not playing games with my fragile reconstructed heart.
After the mission to the Horizon, you can talk to the Joker, and he will ask about meeting with the former, and you can answer that it's all over. On my first playthrough, I thought the game would take this into account, but apparently not.
I never really knew any of this. I always save them in the end without really trying.
Yeah it's pretty easy to keep them alive if you're talking to them in ME3. You kind of have to go out of your way to lose their trust.
your in-depth research on these videos are well appreciated. You leave no stones unturned. Stellar work, commander.
Thank you!
Bailey sitting behind the door the entire time: *What the hell is happening out there???*
There's also a third option in the post-mission priority citadel where you actually have to CONVINCE the survivor to join your crew with a high enough paragon speech check. I had that with Ashley (my trust meter was neutral and convinced her to side with me at the stand-off) and she mentioned on Mars how cold I was with her.
I’m pretty sure if you pass the speech check but have less than 2 points they survive but refuse to join your crew
I've seen the scene before, too, where they refuse.
Specifically in a rarely seen moments video, including how Mordin can live.
Yes. They refuse to join, if you pick the Renegade line first, then the Paragon one next during the conversation as you before leave the Citadel. They join, if you pick both Paragon lines.
Ash/kaden broke up with Shepard in ME2 on horizon. Screw her fee fees on the next relationship lol.
Shepard was dead two years the relationship over with
LMAO "I was curing the genophage. I swear"
I always thought it was a bit strange that these two are good enough to get “Spectre” status. Maybe, the new squadmates are too amazing so they overshadow these two.
It’s implied that they were only granted Spectre status to be used as a tool by Udina-Cerberus, so, maybe they’re not good enough
@@Marshal_Dunnik Very good point!
Though I feel a bit bad that these two characters never had the characterization like some others did, for example, Garrus, who is pretty popular!
It's probably because of their association with Shepard; they knew how good he was so memebers of his team like them must have at least some similar skill sets in their minds. At least, Udina probably spinned this story to the other members of the council and they bought it.
For Ashley, yes, especially considering how her family is/was blacklisted--though her working with Shepard probably cleared that. For Kaidan, not so much. At this point he's got the rank of Major; he's a powerful biotic; he's proven himself as both an excellent leader and teacher to his Special Biotics Division students; of course he ran with Shepard during ME1, but even before that he had a bunch of commendations from previous postings. I don't find it far-fetched for him, personally, especially because it's no longer 'The First Human Spectre™'. And really, when you compare where he's at in ME3 to where Shepard was at when they became a Spectre, it's not that far apart.
@@newvelaric I think Kaidan had a good amount of growth and a nice character arc. Ashley otoh kinda got screwed over, a lot of which had to do with her original writer having left. So she got a barbie makeover, complete with heels and long hair, which isn't even allowed in the military (what the hell was wrong with her bun? it looked great on her), and the culmination of her character arc is passing out black-out drunk on the floor of the Normandy. Classy.
Also gotta remember that Garrus had three (almost) full games of characterization, while the VS had one and... let's be generous and say a half? Depends on how much of the side content and DLC you do before the coup, I suppose.
They also screwed *both* of them over by often giving them basically identical lines/actions, instead of writing according to their respective (radically different) personalities, making both of them feel more generic in the process. A good example is actually in ME2, when the seeker swarms attack: Ashley shoots at them because there's little else she can do to distract them while the civilians run, checks out. But why wouldn't Kaidan's first instinct be to put up a barrier against the things, likely shielding at least a few other people in the process? Oh yeah, because he's also Ashley and they couldn't be bothered to not have their animations be identical.
I think that's actually one of the biggest reasons they don't rank very high on most people's favourite characters lists--Bioware/EA were lazy and post-Virmire condensed them into one character whenever possible, resulting in both of their personalities getting watered down.
Would never side with Udina.
Good move Ash.
Even when shepard choses liara over you the has a fling with miranda. Then gose back to liara?
we watched you, unless that was doctored footage.
Likewise. Udina is a snake!
hey uuuh, sorry for leaving you behind on virmire
I know how to do this already but it's nice to see someone who knows what there talking about walking people through this scenario as it's a fiddly to get right
Your skits made my day. Absolutely hilarious.
Hahaha glad you enjoyed it
*Sees The animated video preview of Miranda stripping*
*Title is about Kaidan/Ashley*
Was not expecting that
3:10 probably something to do with the whole "Being Dead" thing.
Also take into consideration that ME2 romances are AFTER Horizon... and either VS is... not super nice to Shepard on Horizon.
Wouldnt be hard to justify it as a previous relationship, that route.
EDIT: Now with 2 playthroughs doing this under the belt, i can confirm that Its not only possible to roleplay this way, the GAME ITSELF even gives you the option to do so.
If you romanced someone else post horizon in ME2, then select the first PARAGON option when visiting them in the hospital (awake), then they call out shepard... and shepard gets to throw Horizon right back. The option for MShep and Ash (just did it) is "You Left Me". Its the renegade option, and its quite harsh, but it fits if you want to roleplay that way.
I actually had no idea it was that complicated
I think Kaiden and Ashley get a lot more flak for their actions on Horizon than is warranted.
1. Your CO drops off the face of the Galaxy for two years, and then (*unknown to them*, carefully disseminated rumors by TIM place Shepard within the ranks of Cerberus, so) when you finally see him the first thing out of his mouth is basically "Hey, what's up?", like nothing is wrong? That would sound a red alert in anyone's mind.
2. They both *just* got through an extremely stressful situation with lives on the line. Adrenaline is running extremely high, and juiced brains don't think straight.
3. Believe it or not, the Cerberus missions in ME1 are optional, meaning that potentially Shepard and the crew could have had next to no contact with Cerberus operations, so at the least all the Virmire Survivor knows is that Shepard is now working for a former Alliance black-ops group that is an avowed enemy of the Systems Alliance and the Citadel Council. For military people like Ash and Kaiden, who both take seriously the oath of service, this is an egregious sin, and from their perspective Shepard's lack of immediate request to be taken from the SR-2 Normandy to return to the Alliance military is very telling. *Especially* if like most people you did do all of the Cerberus missions.
4. I don't remember if this is the case if you don't romance them in 1, but if you did they will send Shepard a letter later expressing remorse for how their interaction at Horizon went and hope that you can get away from Cerberus quickly and return to them. This, for me, is the most damning of evidence against the Virmire Survivor rejecting Shepard once and for all.
Naturally, I won't deny that I would have liked the situation to have gone better, but the writer of the game was definitely a hackjob who never should have been hired on for the role, and so I blame them instead of hating the character.
I fully agree, especially on the last point. Frankly I felt a bit guilty carrying on my new relationship in ME2 after I received the apology letter from Kaidan. It had been 2 years, you died, didn't manage to contact them (even though you tried), yet he still apologises and says he still loves you despite everything.
By Horizont, Shepard can either regain his Specter statute, which generally makes him dependent on the Alliance, or meet Anderson, Udina, and Hackett, who generally don't care that Shepard is working with Cerberus as long as he/she doesn't cause problems for them. So it's not even their area of expertise.
The player may not even call them with him, this is purely optional. And wouldn't it be in their interest to learn more about the situation and Shepard's connection to Cerberus? But they just don't want to listen - and this is somehow unprofessional?
Like someone said:"It's like Ashley's sole purpose is to die on Virmire."
Nah, I personally prefer her to Kaidan. She's controversial but Kaidan's just straight boring.
@@allykayalltheway6631 But Ashley is racist so i'm going with Kaidan.
@@allykayalltheway6631 The difference between Kaidan and Ashley is that Kaidan is comfortable with who he is and has basically already had his development finished before ME1. I feel like he should've received more of a story arc so that players would've been interested in him, but honestly, it comes down to romance choice at the end of the day.
@@benmac7552 its een years and im replaying the games now. ashley is like hardcore racist. Like they tone it down over the trilogy but shes an awful person.
@@ubadman1 No, she’s not. I’m not anywhere near an Ash apologist, I always tell her to shut the hell up when she starts talking bad about aliens, but it’s somewhat understandable while not exactly justified.
First of all, you roll with a Turian. The First Contact War was only 26 years prior to ME1. That means a year before Ashley was born, one of the bloodiest battles humanity has ever seen was fought. If you even *slightly* talk to her, you know her family’s history and why the First Contact War is such a big deal to her. It’s been a disgrace and a blemish on her family’s history and her career and their honor fell in the eyes of the Alliance, all because of how brutal the Turians were. Yes, relations are somewhat better (not by much, but they aren’t trying to kill each other anymore) and the Normandy is of Human-Turian design, but it’s still hard for her to get over everything immediately and just trust them. This is a case for literally every alien species in the game, even those that have been allies for a long time.
The Krogan are also understandable. They were the most dangerous species in the galaxy and attempted to take it over with mass genocide by throwing *fucking meteors* at planets. I’d say a little distrust in them is warranted, especially when the majority still kill for a living even after they’ve been neutered.
Humans are still new to the greater galaxy and, as such, are not trusted by aliens. Likewise, *they* do not trust aliens either. Xenophobia is no different from racism in ME, and that something I don’t tolerate. However, Ash isn’t a space racist, she’s the games conduit for the common mentality of humanity at this point on the galactic stage. She makes it very clear that she thinks humanity should learn to stand on it’s own because when the council races have their backs against the wall, they’ll abandon humans if that’s what it takes to survive. She was correct. It’s made excruciatingly clear time and time again that they won’t listen to humans and put their own interests above that of humanity. That is, until they need help. You can have a different perspective while still understanding where she’s coming from. Hell, I think she’s wrong as hell and that attitudes like hers will only be a detriment to the unification of the galaxy; however, her views are shared by the majority of humanity as well as the alien species throughout the franchise.
The fact that she’s so against Cerberus goes to show how *not* racist she is. They’ve made it very clear over the trilogy how many people join Cerberus for pro-humanism bordering xenophobia. If she were as bad as everyone makes her out to be, she most likely would’ve joined just for that very reason. If you want to see a true space racist, look no further than Pressly. You can find his logbook in the SR-1’s wreck in ME2. He has a change of heart due to Shepard’s leadership, but he’s very clearly anti-alien at the start.
People need to learn the difference between racism and skepticism. Skepticism is valid, especially when specific concerning patterns have already been established. She’s a skeptic and a misguided one at that, but there are multiple indicators over the course of the first game that give an idea of her growth and change of perspective. Since you spend the entire second game apart, there’s no way to know what eye-opening things she’s experienced between 1 and 3. By the time ME3 *DOES* roll around, she’s being considered for a Spectre position. Yes, it was Udina’s idea and he had ulterior motives, but the rest of the council has to sign off on it. This means she *HAS* to have done *something* to signify that she’s an ally to other species. All in all, space racist? No. Misguided, emotionally driven, and paranoid? Absolutely.
Ashley: maybe this blue bish is right, just like shepard told us like 50 times already
Lmao🤣
Guess this is why game took me so long. After every mission, side quests I would go around and talk to everyone possible. I've done so many playthrough I think I have seen all possibilities. Still good vid
This is actually one of the few occasions the player can hammer some personality into Shepard, especially Femshep with Garrus by her side.
Like when you gun down Wrex on the Citadel and confess what you did later to Garrus, making your bond with him feel meaningful.
- ...there is no Shepard without Vakarian.
I am so sorry Tali, i really am.
The more I watch these videos the more I know how to plan my "new" Shepards on the Remastered version. I want to make each of them have as much unique story lines as possible; only thing that they would all have in common is curing the genophage and keeping Wrex alive.
Keeping Wrex alive and curing the genophage means your brain is working properly. :)
Given how saving the Salarian counselor is judged by kirahe and thane being alive it would have been nice if both could show up and drive off Kailang without either one dying. Since that’s 2 others games worth of things happening.
Ashley/kaiden "I dont want to talk to you"
*Shepard starts new relationship with another person*
Also ashley/kaiden:"y u cheat!?"
Thanks mate this is one of the few things in this game I hadn’t seen for myself so thank you
did no one ever notice the absurdity of how the trilogy treated the Virmire survivor? without the slightest remote difference except in the dialogue itself?
in ME1: one of them dies
in ME2: whoever is still alive will tell you to go fuck yourself because you're with Cerberus
in ME3,
whoever is still alive will still be doubting you're with Cerberus after leaving earth
whoever is still alive will be bruised and unconscious due to being attached by Eva
whoever is still alive will go through the SAME stages: being in a coma in the hospital, waking up, being offered a position by Udina, standoff with shepard, one of them might die or live, if not then one of them will join you on the Normandy or not.
Why not making them slightly different? how about AShley doubting Shepard but Kaidan not? how about Kaidan being offered the position by Udina but Ashley not? some different outcomes? different places? was that so hard to accomplish instead of treating them like butt buddies?
I really wish there was a dialog choice that went something like "I should've left your sorry ass on Virmire"
Oof, that's brutal... But depending on how things play out (Especially if you've got low/negative trust and have been reacting negatively consistently to them questioning you working with Cerberus), that would be a cold but fitting bit of dialogue. Really hammers in the rift that mistrust can create between Shepard and Ash/Kaiden.
I love the Garrus aftermath scene!
Especially Shepard saying the he appreciates Garrus looking out for him.
Ohhh fuck, Garrus is feels guilty, soo sadd. Archangel has fallen.
Given this is my favorite series and the amount of Dan’s videos I’ve watched, I feel as though I owe him a beverage at this point
If the VS survives and is not allowed on the Normandy Joker will salute the Commander and deliver one of the best lines in the game.
Made me tear up that did (it was an emotional day)
I don't get why people say you "Cheat" on them in ME2, I romanced Ashley by accident in ME1, Then when I met her again in ME2 so basically said she wanted nothing to do with me because of Cerberus, I romanced Miranda in ME2, how on earth is it cheating when she told me she wanted nothing to do with me?
Yeah the logic is a little wack
Huh. One would think, that saving the Council in ME1 would count differently for Ash and Kaidan. Also if it comes to "honest cheater" = "plain colleague" it may be because of the guilt felt by the VS after the meeting on Horizon. They basically betrayed Shepard 1st.
I really hope your tangent dialogue is added to the Legendary Edition 😂😂
Huge fan of these videos. i was one to try to save the game to try to see as many interactions as possible.
Garrus being sad about killing Ashley low key hurt
I've never heard you have so much fun as you did with those skits. Please do more of them in future vids
Thank you big Dan. You have done gods work here.
The animation for ash/kaiden when he/she gets shot looks like they're getting punched in the gut.
Crazy coincidence. I was just scouring that wiki article yesterday... and you post this video today!
It makes sense that Ashley would be mad at you for working with Cerberus but not as much sense for Kaiden. Kaiden seems way more mature than Ashley. I wish they had different roles in ME2. It would’ve been cool
There is another possibility you missed !
If you convince Kaidan/Ash to stand down but your trust meter is not high enough,
Kaidan/Ash will decline the offer to join you in the Normandy
Nah, it ain’t cheating in ME2 if you sleep with someone else. You see them on that colony and they refuse to come with you. That’s on them.
I felt nothing when I had to gun Ashly down. I always considered her to be the most boring member in ME1
Controversial, yes. Boring, no. I haven't had to gun her down but if I ever do it'll hurt like a bitch. She's come so far in her character arc.
Then why didn't you save her and not kaden?
@@johnschwalb I did. I always choose Ash over Kaidan.
Now this was a great video Dan! These are the kind of videos you should be making rather than upload junk that we have all seen like a million times already... Thanks for sharing this one Dan and keep up the good work! 👍😁
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
@@BigDanGaming Thanks Dan.. Not like I enjoy writing harsh comments.. But initially when I sub'd to your channel, I was hoping for some unique and fresh content. But I get it that you need more views and subscribers too. Keep up the good work and looking forward to seeing some great uploads from you soon. 👍😁
Thank you for this video man. I’ve always been confused about this
For the record I like that this one went off the rails you should do that more often it's hilarious
If Ash and Miranda stood there together and i had an option to set their alive parameter to 0, then i would have taken this option every single time.
Renegade Shepard: “Miranda was a mistake, Ashley. Jack? You know you’re the one I have feeling for.”
Ashley: “I thought we were talking about Tali...”
Renegade Shepard: “ ....I should go.”
I've played this game for years now and I didn't know it was all math. I always thought being Paragon was enough but I was actually one math point away from killing Kaiden the entire time.
Ash never makes it through ME1 for me, I'm too fond of Kaiden's voice actor
Gotta love Carth Onasi
@@themightymcb7310 And he was Delta-62 in Republic Commando.
Only killed ash my first time round for the romance questline
At least Ash is a woman of faith. My next play through (and every other, actually) she lives.
Ash is too hot to die
Haha, see what you did there in the end, the “I should go” Shepard Clone reference 😜
Crazy, I saved Kaiden (I always kill Ashley in ME1, lol) without even knowing it. Watching this just to see how I would mess it up for a new play through 😅
Ash had her chance to join up with Shepard in ME2 but she told us to go our selfs. Of course I went and hooked up with the crazy biotic.
I didnt think it counted as cheating due to the conversation you can have with your lover when you meet them on ME2. I thought they broke it off due to being with Cerebus. So I always confused when they asked me about the person as a result.
Yeah, when I started ME3 my plan was to get back with Ashley, but then when I came to see her in the hospital she got mad at me for being with someone else during ME2. That just pissed me off, like what right does she have to be mad at me? Lol
@@DavidPeoplesTV each time I play ME3 and try to reconnect with her I change my mind after a while and just dump her for the me2 romance because the way she treats shepard pisses me off like she questions your allegiance not once or twice during the mars mission and she judges you for loving someone else while she clearly left you in ME2 which BTW she never apologized for (liara did)
Doing a romance or platonic relationship with either Ashley or Kaidan is going off on the rails on a crazy train although more realistic.
after looking at the list on the Wiki, I think I would've been at +1 or +2 on my first playthrough.
-1 for sacrificing the Council (in hindsight, it was 'cause of the Turian alone)
-1 for being rude to Ashley on Mars (basically, getting sick of her being "adamant" about me still being with Cerberus)
+2 paid her a visit the 2nd time (if including the one while unconscious) (a.k.a negating the negative scores)
+1 lowered our weapons (wanting to prove I'm on her, and the councilors (minus Udina) side)
(there was another +1. but I can't remember if I really did visit Ashley a 2nd/3rd time)
I feel like romancing someone in Mass Effect 2 isn't really cheating. I always felt that the scene on Horizon was a breakup. Male Shepard even says as much (In so many words) in the hospital scene.
Joker do salute you after the incident on the normalcy's bridge if you refuse to accept Ash offer to join your team and chose the second option in his conversation saying someone should show you the respect you deserve.(was nice to Ash in both ME1 2 , no romance)
i guess he and the rest of the crew always saw Ash as a pain in the ass.
not sure if this happens with Kaidens too or not .
hope this helps
See the unconscious ones should count because she was told by the nurses that you were there earlier and she comments on you having been there while she was unconscious still
That scene is one of the best of the series. I had no idea it was so well woven into the choices. I wish it was an actual fight with your further squamate though, not one shot. It doesn't matter sense for a person with armor and barriers to die with one shot in a cutscene.
well Kaiden never lives past virmire for me
and your the reasosn we cant have nice things lol...
@@miloclarke6171 i did have a nice thing i had Ashley, and when she left me i had Tali
@@miloclarke6171 Kaiden didn’t have character at all he was to blame Ashley had more of a personality and saw her character growth
So her dying words even after being proven wrong is that she hopes the reapers win... One of the reasons I don't feel so bad about leaving her with the bomb or not let her on my ship.
the only reason i always try to save VS is because otherwise it feels like i let the other one die in ME1 for nothing
Honestly, Horizon seems like a break up to me. I never considered the ME2 romance to be cheating (on the VS, not Liara). BroShep even says that Ash walked away. FemShep can't really defend herself like that for some reason, which is why I typically never romance Kaidan in ME1 unless I do a playthrough where I stick with him all the way through the trilogy.
easiest way is to meet thane before citadel mission. Thane goes out well with a good fight and hes dying anyways so its worth it to do that
That assassin should be ashamed he let a sick drell stop him from getting to his target
Bro! this is only the second video of yours i watched but your comments made it so god damn funny xD
These videos are so well done what the hell
Hey man, great videos and great channel.
I hope your channel grows.
I wish there was a few more details, such as :
- Having EDI on your squad being -1 point (Because the last time Ashley/Kaidan saw EDI's body was when it slammed their head against a cerberus shuttle)
- Wearing the Cerberus armor being -1 point, for obvious reasons
I started referring people to this video when people complain that ME3 didn’t take decisions from the first two games into account.
"you Mass Effect field "
she said it!
Shepard: I’m not with Cerberus!
Virmire survivor: sounds like something someone with Cerberus would say!
Hey, I'm really enjoying your videos! Could you consider turning on the in-game subtitles in the future, though? Sometimes I watch these in noisy environments and it's difficult to make out what the characters are saying. And one more thing about Ashley and Kaidan - did you know that under certain circumstances you might not have the option to recruit them after this mission? I've seen it in another video.
Your videos are so thorough and helpful.
Save / Don't Save Council has always been a dumb choice.
Retrospectively, having played through the series, we see this choice of "Save or don't save" as merely that. However, that is not how the game presents this choice to us when we first play it.
The game presents this choice to us in ME1 as a commander and as a tactical decision while under massive attack from an unprecedented threat.
To not choose to keep all ships attacking is to betray one's duty and purpose and entirely irrational.
Similarly, the first council being unwilling to lay down their lives proves that they are unfit for duty in their role as protectors anyway.
Moreover, the second council (4:45) seeing Shepard's actions as an indication he would "sacrifice" them as well, also shows that they too are unfit for the responsibilities their role entails. The fact that Shep never gets the full opportunity to call them out on this is a disappointing lapse in writing that exposes some of the skeleton of the plot structure that was never fully fleshed out/adequately addressed. It just feels crowbarred.