If Mass Effect gets another game, what would you want?

A sequel to Mass Effect: Andromeda, with Ryder, that is a sequel to Mass Effect 3, and has different characters.

That is:

-We get continuation of Andromeda and Ryder arc. Even if comics and such conclude some things, and develop other things, they can also be used more to tide people over until something more appropriate happens in the next game. I am fine with a (very, but not necessarily entirely) Andromeda setting, and fine with Ryder as protagonist with 1+ more games, though I'd prefer they are 'fixed up'. IMO, an example is that I think the Inquisitor was 'fixed up' in Trespasser. No, not prefect, just fixed (addressed well).

-I don't think the ME3 and Milky Way story needs to be done in every way yet. There can, and perhaps should be things from it, and in it, that can matter and be very enjoyable.

-In terms of different characters, I don't mean abandon (MET, MEA) all else that came before. I just don't feel a huge attachment to having the exact or nearly exact same crew as MEA. I would prefer if most or all continue in some way, but this doesn't need to be on the ship or of the same level of importance - high or low. If they can have good purpose, involve them, but otherwise, bring in the new, big time!
One thing I'd like for returning characters is the smaller romances in MEA being made to be major non-squad and squad romances in MEA2, with the MEA romance just being an optional lead-in. Reyes squad, Avela squad or non-squad, Keri non-squad. For the MEA squad or major non-squad ones, they can be a whole range of things, whatever. But the biggest thing is that Reyes should be on a path to greatness, love or loathe him, care or disregard him, I just think its the proper writing and design.




Summary: Yes, sequelize Andromeda, but call it whatever you want, and involve old (MET) and new (?) all you want. Make the Nexus the staging ground for the broader and more compelling Mass Effect story than ever before, instead of running away from it as the MW was already ran away from.



EDIT: And I don't think nothing of Shepard should every matter again. I think it can, and if the story calls for it, it should. I just don't care to play as him again, or have him return as some cameo human deal. If there's some twist, I'm open to it. If there's some legacy info, I'm open to it. Take care to not trample all over the trilogy, but I'm all in for an expansion of it, new perspectives on it, etc. And this simply includes Shepard among all other things. But no, I don't need a 'MET-2'.

Sometimes its different lines and contexts here and there. It is never going to impact everything.

Example: I'd love to be able to pick Asari, and then (with some galactic bridge established) decide whether I'm a Thessian Asari, Terminus Asari, or Heleus Asari. Different insights, different responses, sometimes different possible outcomes (mostly minor).

I don't think there was really much going on in the First Contact War. Wasn't it mostly just a few military encounters until the Council intervened? It would be just humans vs Turians, too.

The First Contact War basically would only work as a backdrop to some other story. The conflict in and of itself ends in a peace negotiation before the real war actually began.

Ryder needs to go for the sake of the series, imo. I'd resolve the ryder-Kett story in a visual/novel/comic book/made-for-tv-movie before moving the timeline forward at least 500 years onto bigger and better things:

The advantage of a big time jump besides moving on from the controversy and bad reputation of MEA would be two-fold: the setting would be so much more developed and interesting to explore and both new and old players would be in exactly the same boat. I'd produce an accompanying short, slick, pseudo-historical documentary web-series as part of the pre-release marketing effort to bring both new and old players up to speed should they want it. All of the relevant information would be provided in voiced codex entries.

No prior knowledge or experience required, another reboot essentially with all new characters and a new central conflict. The milky way species have long since expanded and colonized into the wider region beyond Helios referred to as council space. After various wars and conflicts a new council was created to ensure peace and stability: a cross-species initiative which has funded the construction of a new mass relay network to connect the different species home-systems. You play as YOU the next human spectre with full control over your name, background, personality and appearance.

Every game would be inspired by ME2's character-driven episodic structure and variety but the central conflict would always be centred around a different species either new or existing so perhaps possible future games could take you to Asari, Turian, Salarian, Krogan space, etc. The first game would take you deep into Quarian and Geth space attempting to build upon the ME1-ME2 Geth-Quarian lore and tie it into the new setting. The new council in this case has asked you to investigate unconfirmed Quarian reports regarding the possible re-emergence of a historical species known as the Geth (It's been 1000+ years since ME1!):

I don't see the point of fast-forwarding the Andromeda galaxy until its more like the Milky-Way, you might as well just use the Milky-Way, the MEA plot already picks up 18 months too late as it is.

In the Milky-Way you have until the year 2186 before the Reaper plot consumes the galaxy, up until that point stories can be about anything you like, the only things being off the table are galactic scale grand menaces and the player being able to exert massive influence on galactic politics. In any case stories can be easily constructed so no matter what happens nothing impacts the events of the MET, Star Wars writers have been doing just this for years. You could even have it with MET save import so that key events in the galaxy would transpire as they did on your MET play through. There is nothing to say that you couldn't have a player on the Citadel when Sovereign attacks and the station goes into lock-down, you just don't have the ability to affect the battle outside or the fate of the council, but you could have a whole swathe of choices and outcomes for that characters personal story and those connected to it happening while events outside transpire.

Where is it written that the galaxy needs to revolve around the player character? That unless their story touches every living being, its not worth telling? If you can have a game set in the Star Wars universe where you don't play as Luke Skywalker, I'm sure you can have a game set in the Mass Effect universe where you don't play as Commander Shepard.

I voted "A sequel to ME3" simply because I still wish we could have had the aftermath of the reaper war as a setting. It's a scenario ripe with new conflicts. People starving left and right, whole systems cut off from everyone, shifting power of the different races. Would have loved to see the underdogs rise to power now and do away with the stuck up council races ruling everything. Time to shuffle those cards and see what happens!

Shaping a new world order to the player's liking based on the choices made in ME4...
A standalone sequel that doesn't have to worry about carrying over consequences. So go all out and let us be heroes or villains.

Doesn't have to be Shepard in a sequel. Would actually be interested in a post war hero who rose from the ashes of the old world and helps build a better (?) future.
Doesn't have to be a human protagonist. Would alternately like to play a small scale personal story of one alien cut off from everyone, making interesting allies, trying to get back home. What's left of it... Maybe kinda like Farscape.

Not saying it's a good idea to return to the Milky Way again. Makes more sense to continue Andromeda. Preferably in the style of the trilogy.

But I left my heart in the Milky Way and so I voted for what I'd like to see as somebody who'd gladly take the destroy ending and forget MEA happened.

Not sure I even want another Mass Effect game, though.

So my current sentiment is:
1. Forget Mass Effect
2. If not, pick an ending and set ME4 one year after the reaper war
3. Continue with MEA2 and a Ryder who's grown up

A sequel to Andromeda (hopefully with a lot less development drama). With Ryder, because that's part of why I love the trilogy so much.

Now, obviously, I'd like MEA2 to release with plenty of polish its predecessor didn't get. And I'd like it to be crisper. But I like the characters and I want to explore setting up in Andromeda more... Especially if we can do a bit more exploring and less planting flags.

I voted sequel to Mass Effect 3 but I will also like to see what happens next in Andromeda

Andromeda 2 should pit you as the Quarian pathfinder, and start where andromeda 1 left off.

I just want MEA2, but like they did with ME2, a story-centric game, with corridors (even outdoor on planets), not a singleplayer MMO
Or if they go the MMO way, at least make it the SWTOR way so we can play with friends (with a better gameplay)