IF we get another Mass Effect game....

But part of the complaints about leaving the Milky Way is how contrived the method was.  Which by extension reflects poorly on what follows.  This, imo is an entirely valid complaint.

I don't agree. The method of leaving and why is sufficiently explained imo.

You may not agree, but that doesn't make those who disagree "butthurt"

It doesn't have to be Ryder - but as the human Pathfinder who discovered the mysteries and has already been pursuing those issues, it makes the most sense for Ryder to continue.

If you had any other character follow-up and finish the things Ryder started, you'd need to invent some excuse why Ryder dropped the ball.

A lot of the charm of MET (and some other franchises as well) is taking a PC through multiple adventures and character arcs, and seeing relationships with other characters - as well as the characters themselves - go through growth and development.  I realize you (and others) have some misgivings about Ryder, but she's already gone through the painful process of moving from an unproven noob to an acknowledged, accomplished hero.  I think tossing all of that out now would be an awful waste.

Furthermore, there could be a lot of changes in the character and how she's written (and other mechanics) in a future installment.  Her experiences in MEA would absolutely support a more confident, badass approach going forward.  If you're trying to dispense with Ryder due to your distaste for the way she was written, don't forget that you're not going to automatically adore whatever other new PC they'd create.

maybe you aren't but the actions of some here clearly are.

Exactly, going to Andromeda seemed really forced, cheap, and desperate. When I was replaying the MER prior to MEA I always asked myself, "and why wasnt the Andromeda Initiative ever mentioned...?"

And even now, if the writers have any sort of imagination, they could still go back to the MW and make things work. They could have told stories of other heros and people in the MW as the Reaper War ranged on.

I remember high school. Ryder didn't act like that. Hell even I didn't act like that when I was a junior in HS.

The Andromeda scenario never was the problem in the first place. The execution was. MW races all over the place on supposedly inhabitable planets, which renders Ryders role even more unimportant than it already is. If they can live and establish themselves on Kadara or Eladeen, partly even on Eos, the role of pathfinder is reduced to a gimmick. Nice to have for some additional terraforming by waving the magic SAM wand, but not essential for survival.

That's at least the impression I got and that's why I stressed to never have played another ME game where it was that hard to suspend disbelief.

Ok for that matter let's look at other series that have added something that was never mentioned because it wasn't planned at the time. The NX-01. Never mentioned in any other series, Voyager ship not mentioned on TNG. Deep Space Nine maybe mentioned on the show but AFSIK first mention was in First Contact. Yet that doesn't make any of the future iterations crap or nonsense.

Idk about weapons unless you're talking about upgrades like in ME3 or some hidden weapons. But searching for weapons in an RPG not a good idea.