Sara a better Pathfinder then Scott (slight spoilers)

-Cora was set up best to be the best Pathfinder. And she was being intentionally prepared to do so, after initial experiences or years. However, MEA is about preparations gone awry (both in game and perhaps out of game... ha), so she doesn't become Pathfinder. Yet, at least. Personally, I don't think she ever will be, and that her character arc is about (in a lighter way than say Miranda) eschewing the safer provided paths she's been offered - while appreciating the good of them - in the name of charting her own. Just a personal prediction.

-I wouldn't say Alec is necessarily the best Pathfinder specifically. I think he was more the best human they could find to have the best overall qualifications. He is N7 archetype, perhaps even ('retconned') blueprint, not Pathfinder. But he is the ignition for the Pathfinder program.

-Scott or Sara become the best Pathfinders. There was debate about what makes each one better: guarding or support, exploration or discovery. Really it doesn't matter. They both have the primary characteristics that the role needs. Pathfinder doesn't assume that people and things will need guarding or support, and doesn't even assume that hardcore exploration or discoveries will be made. (The role does include it within parameters though. One must be able to do any of these things.) What it does assume is that a Pathfinder "is a reassurance that a planet can be settled safely and with a high expectation of success." That's what the Pathfinder is FOR. Anyone else could do anything else, in the expectations of the Ai pre-launch. They're a reassurance. They have the attitude for it, decide the actions that will encourage it, and care about optimizing it.

Reassurance for success is not a small deal. Even Shepard had a problem with it until his actions yelled 'believe in me or die' (not usually by his hand, but sometimes), and even then, it was less belief in success by itself, and more belief in Shepard's success as long as he is supported/obeyed.

Is Cora best for this? Well she might be better than many, I can imagine that, but she isn't the best we see. Is Alec best for this? He might be better than most, I can imagine that, but he also may be truly pushing himself into a role he didn't really need to take if it wasn't for his personal investments (non-spoilery and spoilery). But I'd say Scott or Sara, either of them, is the presented best characters that can not just speak with actions, but with words, demeanor, and improvisation enough to notch up peoples' confidence not just in themselves (frankly, even at end of MEA I don't see most characters looking at people like they looked at Shepard), but much more importantly, in the cause and agenda Ryder is working for. That is: settling planets for the Andromeda Initiative. Not faffing about and helping people feel secure on a station. Not fighting bad guys. Not finding ancient ruins and technologies. Not sharing the thrills of exploring unknown space. That's all things in Ryder's skillset, sure, and that's all in expectations of a Pathfinder, I suppose, but other characters we meet are all better at each of these things. The Pathfinder, I think, is supposed to be able to do these things in order to inspire a realistic hope that proper settlement in a new galaxy will be the future.

What is better: beating back the kett or utilizing Remnant tech? In the story we got, there's no objective answer. Both were essential. Could not beat back the kett without using Remnant tech, and could not utilize Remnant tech fully without kicking the kett out.
What is better: protecting Helius or discovering unknown regions of it? In the story we got, there's not objective answer. Both were essential. Could not discover more without protecting what we have, and could not protect what we have without discovering more.



Controversial: I am curious whether there's more to Liam that it seems, in this matter. He may be the generally least qualified of the five I listed, but he does have the spirit of what it seems the Pathfinder is support to primarily be, so I can see a longer term (1-2 more games) journey building him up to be more proper as next Pathfinder, as Cora finds her totally own way for once. MEA does have him as less mature and barely taking any lessons, but he does gain experience, is likely over any initial panic about the Ai's success, and has a model to follow (Ryder). While I know many dislike him, and he's not my favorite, I can very much see him as human Pathfinder down the road - after the worst crisis (those beyond his capabilities at the time of them) are over, and after he's matured some years and experienced a sobering of personality.

That a man couldn't already and more? This thread lives.