If you were to ask one question for Bioware to answer, about the trilogy, what question would you as

Well probably I didnt get the full story so Im sure anybody here... or Bioware can explain me.

Here is my question. Most about Mass effect 2 plus Arrival DLC

If Harbinger wants Shepard alive (I dont know the reason) why the collectors (which are controlled by reapers) killed him/her at the beginning of ME2?

My only question: What kind of drugs were taken prior to closing the door on the rest of the staff and write this horrible (just plain horrible) ending?

I just replayed Mass Effect 1-3 this past month. The final chapter that begins where StarChild appears is the ultimate betrayal of not having your choices matter. War Assets? Meaningless. EDI and Legion's acceptance of organics disqualifies the Reapers line of thinking that synthetics are incapable of peace with organics. Control, Destroy or Synthesis? Hudson ripped off Fallout: Tactics for crying out loud. The amount of frustration that sets in, is just laughable if you think how much time has passed. Basically, this ending was a partial chapter and the Extended DLC didn't satisfy enough of me to quell that frustration. EA called out a deadline and BioWare 1.0 blew it. I bet there were other issues, but so what?

Just a personal note: BioWare 2.0 has had only two titles (and both went through some major upheaval during the development cycles) and neither disappointed me like this ending. The game is a masterpiece that was carelessly wrapped up to make the deadline. Thanks for the memories BioWare 1.0, but thank the Maker for BioWare 2.0.

BioWare 2.0, when the time comes to remaster Mass Effect (because it desperately needs it) I hope you chuck StarChild into the "bad ideas" garbage can. Give us a proper ending where our choices made as a Paragon and Renegade actually alter the ending. I also hope that those war assets will make a difference in the ending.

Why just two companions at each given moment?

And do not tell me that shuttles are small. Prior to testing the IFF there was room enough on the shuttle for Shepard plus 12 other individuals. Including a Krogan!

Why, Bioware? WHY???

As someone who doesn't loathe the ending of ME3 (maybe because I wasn't playing until it had been out for 4 years and didn't see all the anger online) or want a remaster - if they did, there's a way to perhaps work with the StarChild idea.  What if Vendetta were somehow integrated into the Crucible idea?  Vendetta - wholly neutral - then tells us what the Crucible is capable of doing and that player makes choices from there.  Not saying we need all the options (I choose Destroy regularly) but a couple would work (Destroy/Control - Refuse might be unnecessary with the Catalyst out of the picture).  Synthesis - I get that it's supposed to be some kind of best outcome, but I don't care for it.  Doesn't make a lot of sense in terms of altering organics and zero sense for changing synthetics (unless Reaper goo is transferred to synthetics so that they're the same type of horrifying hybrids).  Synthesis could be replaced with some kind of technology that would allow synthetics to create organic-like bodies synthetically (IOW, could reproduce, need to "eat", etc.), but this would be a choice.  Organics can already become cyborgs so there's no need to force that option.  (I'd personally drop the idea entirely but some people like it so maybe it can be reworked to make a little bit of sense.)

I still think war assets make a difference, but only in the slides.  It's not a tremendous impact but we see outcomes based on what we do.  Also, Shepard's own outcome is greatly dependent on war assets in the Destroy scenario.  I think what you're asking for is that BioWare be more explicit in how these assets made a difference.  Maybe show a cutscene with the fleets fighting.  More fleets = better protection of the Crucible.  Similarly, more people on board with building the Crucible = more/better options at the end.  No Kasumi or ex-Cerberus scientists?  Well, maybe they don't figure out how certain things work.  Not a big enough fleet?  Maybe something crucial is damaged in the Crucible and some options don't work.  It's not going to change the game tremendously but could make better connections.

Excellent post. It's an incomplete ending and that's the main issue. I love your solution. I also don't get synthesis because it is so stupid and altering every species is what I consider too much power in one's hands. The Catalyst became space magic instead of an anti-Reaper device.

I play on the ps3 and didn't find ME1/2 to be  buggy. In ME1, the only problem I had is when fighting saren-hopper. About halfway through the fight, the game freezes. I have to restart. It doesn't happen everytime. Its random. I had no issues with ME2.

 ME3 I agree with. After the coup, the ps3 has a hard time loading the scene with Kai Leng in the car talking with TIm and when Shepard heads down to engineering deck. It takes a few moments for the ps3 to load the scene. The times the game freezes, but not always, is when the evabot runs towards Shepard, taking the elevator up to where Miranda is and the door leading to where TIM has his chair. What's interesting, is that none of the problems I mentioned didn't show up until after the last patch was released for ME3

It could be. I don't have a super slim.

I want to know why Shepard's crumpled body is shown taking that gasp of air (if you met all the criteria and chose the Destroy ending)

This would probably be my question as well and think this is particularly appropriate regarding the final battles on Earth in ME3.  They could have still had us control only 2 companions, but had the rest along with us similar to how they did the storming of the archives in the Citadel DLC.  I would have loved a battle for Earth then where there was some possible attrition of members of the team (much like in the SM).

Thanks Fraggle, I knew that . Perhaps I should have worded it better, but why did they allow Shepard to survive?

Okay going past the one question limit to explain my curiousity:

Are they leaving Shepard's story open? How do the crew telepathically know/feel that Shep survives? How could Shep even survive being blown up like that  - it's not exactly like they'd have the life-saving, medical facilities of Cerberus ready to help out.

I enjoy happy endings too but this was just brutal imo. Leaving Shep, crumpled in a heap of burning Citadel ruins, severely injured (with possibly no way communicating). After many playthoughs I wanted mercy, even a clean death for Shepard. Not this. This was torturous, at least for me.

If Shep didn't walk towards that tube , like themikefest asks, would he/she have better survived the impending explosion?