Ryder too soft

I like when you can tell Sarissa that she goofed up and Cora snaps like you just told Jesus His Birkenstocks look like trash. 

Archie is a pathetic little weasel. Hopefully Primus is a better villian

Well, he was obviously not a real combatant, just an overseer, or something of a high priest since the kett are all Borg Presbyterian. He did come pretty close to fucking things up for everyone though.

This is something I've always liked about having a silent protagonist or multiple voice sets. People who want their protag to be a dick can be happy, along with people who want their protag to be a paragon, as well as people who want something in between or something in a completely different galaxy.

Sure it does. Saren did. ME3 Cerberus did. Coming close means that the enemy tries but the protagonist ultimately prevails. If he actually accomplished what he set out to do, then it's game over. 

As for the Meridian thing, if it means anything, it really all started with Alec Ryder. Had he not successfully interfaced with the remnant tower on Habitat 7, the kett would just go back to its protracted conflict with the resistance and now the Initiative's riffraff while he tinkered with remnant junk on his army sausage spaceship.

Yeah I agree with this. My initial decision in my first playthrough was to not bother telling anyone, especially if I intend to keep her as Pathfinder. It's not like Ryder has to live with it. I didn't side with Sid either in Life on the Frontier. 

Which reminds me about the wasted opportunity the Asari ark was...

Sarissa make a hard decision to sacrifice the pathfinder for valuable data, but they never explain why this data was of any importance. They keep calling it "the kett data" and even though there is some hint that she went after it to save the whole ark it's never explained how it was supposed to help. We just never get learn anything that would help to determine whether it was a reasonable call or not. Instead, the only thing suddenly everyone cares about is that she didn't tell anyone about it and then she does a really horrible job defending herself. After that for some reason the captain of Asari ark suggest we can replace her. Just like that, even though it wasn't possible in Ryder's case.

"Vederia? Maybe a pathfinder with some humility can do better. You can look to Ryder's example."

Really? I mean, really?

Is humility the trait that a good pathfinder needs? That's what this quest is about ?

Vederia is an infantile rookie with no resolve and we're even considering her for that role? Why? Because she seems like a nice person? Seems like it.

I really don't like Andromeda's writing, it's like fantasy of saving the galaxy cluster through incompetence and politness.

I think that's fine if you don't agree with the Asari Pathfinders actions and decisions in the first place but if you do... spilling the beans just needlessly undermines the Asari Pathfinders reputation. But that's just my two cents and since it's a video game who really knows if or how Bioware will choose to play out the ramifications. 

It should have been game over. I would have held the Hyperion and Nexus hostage while heading to Meridian forcing the Rookie to choose what to do. If the Rookie comes after me, I would have the forces destroy the Hyperion and Nexus. Bye, bye Initiative. Bye, bye 20 000 humans. Bye, bye however many other species onboard.
I blame that on the Rookie. Ryder learns from the Moose that Archie knows the location of Meridian, but is unable to unlock its secret. All of a sudden it becomes a priority. What would the rookie have done if the Salarian ship wasn't captured by Archie and tethered to his ship?

Nostalgia makes you forget these things. I'm playing ME 1 all over again. Okay, enough time has passed that I'm seeing this portrait from a different perspective. You miss the fluidity of combat in Andromeda, but I still see what made ME 1 so special. It's still nostalgia. 

Heh, well, you know BioWare villains are slave to the plot. The reapers are the greatest example of all. 

But in this scenario, this banks on the idea that the Archon can fully control the situation on both ends. If the Archon leaves with Sibling to use the implant, but leaves the Hyperion behind, Ryder wouldn't really have to follow him to prevent him from controlling Meridian. All Ryder has to do is repel the kett from Nexus space with the remnant fighters and whatever other fighters the Initiative and allies have, make their way to the habitation deck and disconnect SAM. The Archon would basically be pissing in the wind and I guess he just went on a long wasteful road trip with a SAMless Sibling. Really then, it comes down to whether or not you're risking the lives of tens of thousands to save a single person. 

Blame who for whatnow? 

Good question. If Ark Paarchero wasn't captured, then I guess it would have ultimately made its way to the Nexus. As for the flagship, no doubt the plot would have provided us with some kind of access to the ship itself, be it a hatch or a hacked airlock. The Tempest is a stealth ship so it's not inconceivable. However, in a worst case scenario, it would basically be a stalemate for the moment, but ultimately bad for the kett. Ryder never being able to access the Meridian map leaves the Archon in the dark about SAM and Ryder's connection to the remnant. Regardless of actually controlling Meridian, Ryder has at least accessed the vaults on the various worlds where successful settlements can grow. Time that passes makes this considerably worse as the active population of the Initiative expands and resources become more available. This means an increasing number of people that can resist, and the Archon would have little recourse. After all, they couldn't even totally crush the angara and they've been in the cluster for decades. You'd have a growing alliance and an exponential increase in basic infrastructure as colonies start to become small cities.

Honestly it was kind of refreshing.