Holy hell, all the "Choices" in this game are terrible.

Well.

You're not you. You're Ryder. The options presented to you are what Ryder would choose or say.

And Ryder is a bit of a well meaning knucklehead at times.

They want to keep it simple, left / right. Haven't to jiggle a third leg is beyond the writers. The story must go where they want. Whether the journey there is practical / immersive is not in their playbook.

I think most people playing the game would spend half the time feeling they've been railroaded into choices they don't want when they see better alternatives. I spent it feeling the writers need a kick in the ass.

This very much, I come from a long line of Navy men and this irritates the ever living shit out of me. Like you don't even need background in operating a ship to go "what if I tell Gil to run everything by Kallo first?" I get that you're trying to force a narrative that kallo is irrationally holding onto the past and Gil is insensitive but that doesn't mean you have to side with one over the other. Ugh, just so frustrating!

Yeah, almost like it's a crisis on the frontier.

If there were obviously superior third options it would remove the point of having choices at all.

This one really hurt for me as well. Only having two options in such a situation made little sense to me. I'm fully with Gil on that we should make improvements, but on the other hand Kallo is completely right that Gil cannot just go around changing everything he wants to matter what his intentions are. Things need to be done properly, and the middle ground is the way to go in that situation.

The part that gets me during all these situations is that the Pathfinder is the one making all these decisions. Being a Pathfinder isn't a military rank. Sure it has some authority, but mostly only during exploration or first contact. Like that situation with the Moshae and Jaal. Why would either of them let an alien decide the fate of their people and the facility. Heck even in the Initiative, it's Kandros that technically holds authority and command over military matters. The problem is that they keep treating the Pathfinder like a Spectre.

also this.


Seriously i walk around the nexus and everyone says "pathfinder" like i'm the great leader akin to Shepard being the jesus of space in the original trilogy when in reality, Pathfinders are just glorified scouts.

Often time the middle ground DOES present itself, though.

If you let the Angara continue working on the fish, you tell her to let the rest of her people know. With the kett facility, choosing to save the Angara causes Jaal to bring up the fact that they'll be able to blow the facility later -- though this is one instance where the lack of a middle ground is understandable. As the Moshae mentions, the Kett can just fix their shielding and go into production again once you're gone.

As someone mentioned, though, some of the choices really shouldn't have fallen to the Pathfinder to begin with. Like the interim ambassador? "Guys, shouldn't we vote on it?" "Oh, we WILL Pathfinder, but we need you to choose right now!" Yeah, nope, I'm not qualified ya ding dongs.

...because there is no formal authority in the first place.

There are no Spectres, is no all-powerful Council, because this isn't a settled galaxy with institutional authorities. There is no 'law' to appeal to, no government cavalary to enforce its dictates, only what people are willing and able to enforce. And considering that the Nexus's main coercive/punitative ability is to exile people or refuse to send aid, that means informal authority matters as much or more than any formal authority. Even if there was a Specter around, it wouldn't matter because the Council is irrelevant and the Angaara aren't a part of it. All that matters is the ability to enforce choices, and the Pathfinder has the most effective fireteam that defers to her/him.


The Moshae/Jaal isn't a matter of both parties letting the alien decide the fate of their people and the facility. It's a matter in which neither party can have their way without the Pathfinder's agreement, but lack the ability to compel it. If Ryder decides to NOT blow up the facility, there's not much the Moshae can do about it- she's hardly in a state or able to kill the PC, detonate the facility herself, and manage to escape on her own. Similarly, while Jaal WANTS to rescue people, he can't do it without the Pathfinder choosing to help for the exact same reasons: he's not inclined/able to kill the Pathfinder and do it all solo. And once the Pathfinder makes the choice, it's a fait accompli that makes any further opposition futile.

Institutional permission is irrelevant, because there are no institutions to force anyone to do what they want. The fireteam with the guns and the ability to make the choice follows Ryder, and that's all that matters.