The Tempest thread (confirmed 100% weaponry free)

Yes, this is a very different situation than what Shepard faced.  Shepard always had vast resources as back-up (the entire Alliance military, TIM & Cerberus resources, other allies and fleets, etc.) in a galaxy with many friendly worlds and species.  Being in Andromeda with no back-up you didn't bring along creates much more tension in vulnerability.

The closest basis of comparison we really have is the quarian flotilla, though they had a population of 17M in 50K ships (compared to 100K pop and ?? ships), and knew the other species in the galaxy.  They scavenged what they could and looked toward the day when they could reclaim Rannoch.



The Alliance is a military organization, known to drop off combatants in hot war zones.



What would be the reason for Ryder & crew to stay in such a hostile area?



We don't yet know what the AI has in mind for defenses where a colony is to be established.

Of course, we never saw a defenseless colony established anywhere in the Milky Way, right?

And the aliens in Andromeda are going to be universally friendly? The AI is going to need a military arm to ensure the safety of their colonies from all manner of potential threats. That should include letting their recon teams travel about in something armed with more than a fare meter.



A threat to a research team? A threat to a colony? A threat to allied aliens? A threat to an ark ship?


I don't think the AI know either. All the more reason to be ready for anything.

Nope. Meta-gaming away a nonsensical decision breaks immersion, pure and simple.
It makes no sense for the Tempest to be unarmed in-game. The fact we'll never need them is irrelevant.
Also, the fact that such a decision was made in the first place does not bode well for the story, my main reason for wanting this game.
And being concerned that not having pretend weapons on my pretend space-magic powered ship does not mean I have deep seated psychological problems relating to my vulnerabilities. It means I expect rational, in-game reasons for the choices made by the AI. I have yet to see anything explaining the lack of weapons or the pathfinder's shag palace.

The part I'm failing to see - and I think others may be ignoring - is how and why we'd be encountering so many aliens, let alone of the hostile sort, in the vastness of space. Finding this small flotilla consisting of the Nexus and 4 Arks in the Helius Cluster is akin to finding a contact lens in the ocean - what are the chances of 1) anyone stumbling across it in the first place, and 2) anyone who did find it being hostile and wanting to attack them?

Residents of TMW were very aware of the existence of the quarian flotilla - but at 50K ships strong, few ever knew their location.

If the Tempest lands somewhere and is immediately attacked, the only sane course of action is to leave, posthaste. Landing on someone else's domicile without prior contact and permission is a fool's errand. Engaging in combat with alien forces who probably vastly outnumber you is suicidal.

People keep talking about "having weapons to defend yourself" as if weapons are defensive in nature.  They're not.  Armor, shields, barriers, walls, speed, maneuverability, and the ability to make a hasty retreat are defensive.



Planetary positions (research outposts, mining outposts, colonies) should only be established in areas that are deemed reasonably safe, and should have security perimeters in place. That the Tempest and Nomad are unarmed is no indication that other types of settlements won't have appropriate defenses.  I'm not sure how or why we'd be entering any alliances that would require us to defend said allies.  The Ark ships should have some turrets and fighters to deal with small, short-range threats, but otherwise FTL to another location if they're attacked.

No idea how far MEA takes the story in terms of establishing presence in Andromeda.  It could just be acquiring resources and tech, could be establishing multiple colonies on multiple planets, building a strong military and fleet, could take place over a few months or several years.

Well, I think that you're all forgetting about the stealth part of the briefing. Agreeably, he only brushed over it (focusing more on the speed), but he did say it. I'm thinking that we're gonna have something similar to the Normandy with their heat sinks, etc.

Plus, if we can upgrade the Nomad, who's to say that we can't upgrade the Tempest?

Stealth isn't everything.  It did FA against the Collectors.  

The SR1's stealth systems were engaged at the time (per Pressly before he was killed).  The Normandy was expecting a possible geth attack, after all.

And a galaxy without the Reapers means it's entirely possible, likely even to encounter advanced aliens with the tech to see through our stealth.

That's true. But because he brushed over it, I'm thinking that by the end of the game we'll have a full cloak.

Yes! I'm still amazed by this thread. 

Who in their right minds think it's okay to just rely on stealth against possible threats in which you know virtually nothing about? They might have developed technology in which we might be completely vulnerable one way or another.

The most reasonable thing to do is to use everything you can to try to protect yourself. Just as it's completely absurd to rely on stealth alone without firepower, it is to rely on firepower alone without stealth on a recon ship.

You don't need to (and can't, obviously) have the firepower of a dreadnought, but you need the least amount of it to buy you that precious few seconds to get you to safety, or to punch through enemy lines if you are somehow discovered.

It's intriguing that some people here argue that Reaper technology was an exception to the rule and imply you will only find aliens that are more in line with your level of technology and advancement.

apparently there is some awesome plot that trumps reason and logic...tho we do not know about it yet..

...and there is no time to explain