Prediction regarding Quarian Ark DLC, regarding the new Batarian Scrapper and ME:Annihilation novel

(Yes, this is mostly to kill time until the stream.)

While we've yet to receive official word on single-player DLC and might not for a while, even with upcoming stuff BioWare is doing, the latest addition to the MP roster and their backstory has made me think about the implications.

The new character is the Batarian Scrapper. His backstory is that him and a fellow Batarian gave evidence against a pirate leader, their Alliance witness protection failed, and they made a deal with the Andromeda Initiative for asylum, being stored on the salarian ark.

Now, the backstory doesn't support or negate potential DLC. They have their lore-justified way of having shown up, without needing an explanation for any batarians beyond the two of them to be in Andromeda. After all, if their backstory was showing up on the quarian ark, then it probably wouldn't make sense when the quarian ark is still missing.

The interesting part of this is that his backstory states that he had a fellow batarian partner. So obviously, we'll be getting that second batarian. Their backstory gives a way for two batarian kits to appear in MP without needing additional justification in the main story. (Producer Fernando Melo has even said Ryder won't be giving batarians high-fives, so we're probably not going to see them in future SP DLC.)

However, let's take into consideration the APEX mission schedule. Each arc of the APEX story consists of three missions, taking place (roughly) over the weekend, with a one-week gap in-between arcs. So we can presume a new APEX arc is starting, with the Batarian Scrapper as the "lead" of the three missions. And we can presume that the second batarian will be introduced in the next set of three missions.

So how does that schedule look?

• Batarian Scrapper #1 - July 6th
• Batarian Scrapper #2 - July 13th
• Batarian Scrapper #3 - July 20th
• No APEX mission - July 27th
• Second Batarian #1 - August 3rd
• Second Batarian #2 - August 10th
• Second Batarian #3 - August 17th
• No APEX mission - August 24th
• New APEX arc #1 - August 31st

So, provided it follows the schedule and format that's been established with the last two APEX mission arcs, we'll be getting a new character on August 31st.

Why is this significant? Because Mass Effect: Annihilation, a tie-in novel formerly called "The Lost Ark", is dated to be released on September 1st, the day after. Based on the working title, we can assume it's about the quarian ark. The first tie-in novel, Nexus Uprising, tied into the plot of the main game. The third tie-in novel, Initiation, is suspected to revolve around the second anticipated DLC plotline.

So some people feel the hand-wave-esque justification for batarians being added hurts the hopes for DLC. On the contrary—their backstory doesn't conflict with any potential DLC, and as the quarians, drell, and volus are tied up in the quarian ark plotline, batarians are a race that can be added into the game without conflicting with that plotline.

I've already voiced my suspicions for a late-August release date for the Quarian Ark DLC based on the tie-in novel's release date, and this lends further credence to that idea. Because if the DLC is releasing around the very end of August, the APEX arc that starts on the 31st would be the perfect time to add a quarian character(s) to MP.

So I would say that you definitely shouldn't be discouraged about single-player DLC. Sure, the batarians' backstory is a bit hand-wave-y, but that may very well be the point, giving the batarians a way to be in MP without having any batarian presence in SP DLC. And the two batarians may simply be the only new race they can add to multiplayer for now...until the quarian ark is found.