ME3. Indoctrination Theory, Spoilers abound. You have been warned.

[Sivin]

Playing through the ex-Cerberus scientists mission, and it strikes me why I hate Jacob and Ashley so much.

It's not just that they're so damn boring, but they bring nothing to the table! (This obviously goes back to previous games).

I don't know much about 'Star Trek', but I do happen to know that the Normandy is a lot like the Enterprise in the sense that they're both composed of the best-of-the-best crew availible. The same extends to the team(s) you put together.

Mass Effect Team:

Shepard- Experienced officer, natural leader, result-getter, all-around badass.

Garrus Vakarian- Long-time C-Sec officer, talented sniper, capable technical expert.

Urdnot Wrex- Extensive military/mercenary background, capable tacticion, close-combat specialist, walking tank.

Ashley Williams- She's a soldier...?

Kaiden Alenko- Experienced naval officer, biotic specialist, seasoned combat veteran, capable leader.

Liara T'Soni- Biotic specialist, Prothean Expert.

Tali Zorah Vas Nema- Tech specialist, master hacker, brilliant engineer.

Mass Effect 2 Team:

Shepard- Experienced badass, war hero, brilliant leader, defier of death.

Garrus Vakarian- Rugged mercenary, experianced former-law enforcement agent, master sniper, capable tech expert.

Mordin Solus- High-profile biologist, former Salarian Special Tasks Group agent, effective tech utilizer.

Jack (Subject Zero)- Devestatingly effective Biotic.

Miranda Lawson- Supposed leader, effective biotic and tech support, good accountant.

Jacob Taylor- Biotic capabilities (minor), disgraced soldier, essentially a security guard.

Smara- Master Biotic, effective in combat.

Kasumi Goto- Master thief, tech expert, effective quick-strike combat capabilities.

Thane Krios- Galaxy-renowned assassin, master sniper, capable combat skills.

Grunt- Ruthless in combat, effective close-quarters fighter, capable soldier.

Tali Zorah Vas Normandy- Tech specialist, master hacker, brilliant engineer.

Legion- Great sniper, master hacker, tech specialist.

Ashley and Jacob stand out as the most useless members of either crew. They're comparable to James Vega, but at least he has some useful skills and a personality that doesn't border on suicide-inducing.

The Normandy is supposed to be manned by the best-of-the-best. So what the fuck are Ashley and Jacob doing on my ship?

[Sivin]

Make sure your war assets are up and you will get a different (4th) ending!

Must one take part in online play to get your 4th ending?

ETA:

Just went through the Indoctrination codex entry. There's a passage "If a high-ranking political or military leader were affected, the resulting chaos can bring down nations."

I'm not connecting that to Indoctrination Theory on its own. But it makes sense that lightly indoctrinating Shepard would be an effective tactic to get all of the galaxy's forces in one place (Earth). The galaxy trusts Shepard, and that sounds exactly like the thinking of a machine to me... ;)

I don't think that those words in the codex are a hint on their own (could be, but seems a little circumstantial), but it does make sense that Harbinger would want Shepard to walk into a trap of his own creation. What better way to defeat your enemies than to make them design and spring the trap themselves?

[TheeMikeHoncho]

Playing through the ex-Cerberus scientists mission, and it strikes me why I hate Jacob and Ashley so much.

It's not just that they're so damn boring, but they bring nothing to the table! (This obviously goes back to previous games).

I don't know much about 'Star Trek', but I do happen to know that the Normandy is a lot like the Enterprise in the sense that they're both composed of the best-of-the-best crew availible. The same extends to the team(s) you put together.

Mass Effect Team:

Shepard- Experienced officer, natural leader, result-getter, all-around badass.

Garrus Vakarian- Long-time C-Sec officer, talented sniper, capable technical expert.

Urdnot Wrex- Extensive military/mercenary background, capable tacticion, close-combat specialist, walking tank.

Ashley Williams- She's a soldier...?

Kaiden Alenko- Experienced naval officer, biotic specialist, seasoned combat veteran, capable leader.

Liara T'Soni- Biotic specialist, Prothean Expert.

Tali Zorah Vas Nema- Tech specialist, master hacker, brilliant engineer.

Mass Effect 2 Team:

Shepard- Experienced badass, war hero, brilliant leader, defier of death.

Garrus Vakarian- Rugged mercenary, experianced former-law enforcement agent, master sniper, capable tech expert.

Mordin Solus- High-profile biologist, former Salarian Special Tasks Group agent, effective tech utilizer.

Jack (Subject Zero)- Devestatingly effective Biotic.

Miranda Lawson- Supposed leader, effective biotic and tech support, good accountant.

Jacob Taylor- Biotic capabilities (minor), disgraced soldier, essentially a security guard.

Smara- Master Biotic, effective in combat.

Kasumi Goto- Master thief, tech expert, effective quick-strike combat capabilities.

Thane Krios- Galaxy-renowned assassin, master sniper, capable combat skills.

Grunt- Ruthless in combat, effective close-quarters fighter, capable soldier.

Tali Zorah Vas Normandy- Tech specialist, master hacker, brilliant engineer.

Legion- Great sniper, master hacker, tech specialist.

Ashley and Jacob stand out as the most useless members of either crew. They're comparable to James Vega, but at least he has some useful skills and a personality that doesn't border on suicide-inducing.

The Normandy is supposed to be manned by the best-of-the-best. So what the fuck are Ashley and Jacob doing on my ship?

James is not that bad, maxed out Carnage is a beast!

[Sivin]

James is not that bad, maxed out Carnage is a beast!

Agreed.

So, do I have to play online to see this 4th ending you mentioned?

[Jon AS]

The Normandy is supposed to be manned by the best-of-the-best. So what the fuck are Ashley and Jacob doing on my ship?

I agree about Jacob. Well, sort of. Making fun of him is fun. His one outstanding quality is that he's basically the most well adjusted person on board*. His biotics are outstripped by pretty much every other character in the game and his armament is badly balanced. If he at least had an SMG or assault rifle he'd be much more useful. He is good enough to be used as a leader during the suicide mission, though.

Ashley on the other hand is considered an extremely competent soldier whose career never got off the ground because of her family history. That changes after Eden Prime: she goes from gunnery chief to lieutenant commander and Spectre candidate over the course of the games. That effectively puts her in the same position Shepard was in at the beginning of ME1.

Gameplaywise she's a middle ground option between Wrex and Garrus in ME1: very tough (anyone with Immunity was virtually invincible in that game) but also able to use sniper rifles effectively.

Haven't played beyond Mars with her in ME3, but her skills seem to emphasise her abilities as a marksman.

*Apparently if he's Shepard's love interest in LotSB, all Liara has to say about him is something like "Jacob...uh, he's dependable..."

So, do I have to play online to see this 4th ending you mentioned?

Yes. And it's not really a fourth ending.

[Tyrellius]

Agreed.

So, do I have to play online to see this 4th ending you mentioned?

I'm also eager to hear about this 4th ending. Had 100% Galactic Readiness and went into the final fight with about 6900 ems? There wasnt a thing I could have done better bar screwing over the Krogan and getting a few extra Solarian ships with me (that joined anyway against the Delatris/Deltarixes wishes)

ETA1: I'm thinking you mean Shep waking up in the rubble at the end of wank cutscene one?

I've just noticed that I can now Promote my level 20 Multiplayer characters to fight on the front lines in the main game. It resets the character to level 1 in MP but adds an asset in your EMS Single Player. I dont wanna level my multiplayer all over again!

[Fez]

Come to think of it, unless things have changed since L4D2's release, the DLC can't be free, as Microsoft doesn't allow the deployment of free DLC via Live (or they charge the publisher the same as they would if it were paid DLC, I don't remember which). That's why PC users go L4D2's DLC for free and 360 users, ah, didn't.

One theory is (though I think this is a stretch and that there are other reasons) is that the reason why the xbox install is significantly larger than the PC install is that there is already created content on the xbox discs that will be unlocked with a simple patch at some point whereas PC users will actually have to download it; that way no PC user could data mine and find all this in advance.

However DLC can in fact be free.

Make sure your war assets are up and you will get a different (4th) ending!

There's no fourth ending. There is a 10 second cutscene you can get after the Destroy ending, and yes, I got that.

[Tyrellius]

It looks like every level 20 Multiplayer character you promote to the main game adds 75 onto your EMS score. I've only promoted one so far so dont know if this increases per promotion.

You get a little email from Hackett about it. Even though they arent N7, they're led by 2 N7 members (the human multiplayer characters) and are nicknamed N7 Special Forces.

[TheeMikeHoncho]

Agreed.

So, do I have to play online to see this 4th ending you mentioned?

Yes, you have to do ALL the side quests and have 100% readiness in the war room. You raise your galactic readiness by playing multiplayer quests, which are pretty fun when you have a team that works as a unit and are diverse in classes. xbox:otisdriftwooddr

[Weak With The Dawn]

Playing through the ex-Cerberus scientists mission, and it strikes me why I hate Jacob and Ashley so much.

It's not just that they're so damn boring, but they bring nothing to the table! (This obviously goes back to previous games).

I don't know much about 'Star Trek', but I do happen to know that the Normandy is a lot like the Enterprise in the sense that they're both composed of the best-of-the-best crew availible. The same extends to the team(s) you put together.

Mass Effect Team:

Shepard- Experienced officer, natural leader, result-getter, all-around badass.

Garrus Vakarian- Long-time C-Sec officer, talented sniper, capable technical expert.

Urdnot Wrex- Extensive military/mercenary background, capable tacticion, close-combat specialist, walking tank.

Ashley Williams- She's a soldier...?

Kaiden Alenko- Experienced naval officer, biotic specialist, seasoned combat veteran, capable leader.

Liara T'Soni- Biotic specialist, Prothean Expert.

Tali Zorah Vas Nema- Tech specialist, master hacker, brilliant engineer.

Mass Effect 2 Team:

Shepard- Experienced badass, war hero, brilliant leader, defier of death.

Garrus Vakarian- Rugged mercenary, experianced former-law enforcement agent, master sniper, capable tech expert.

Mordin Solus- High-profile biologist, former Salarian Special Tasks Group agent, effective tech utilizer.

Jack (Subject Zero)- Devestatingly effective Biotic.

Miranda Lawson- Supposed leader, effective biotic and tech support, good accountant.

Jacob Taylor- Biotic capabilities (minor), disgraced soldier, essentially a security guard.

Smara- Master Biotic, effective in combat.

Kasumi Goto- Master thief, tech expert, effective quick-strike combat capabilities.

Thane Krios- Galaxy-renowned assassin, master sniper, capable combat skills.

Grunt- Ruthless in combat, effective close-quarters fighter, capable soldier.

Tali Zorah Vas Normandy- Tech specialist, master hacker, brilliant engineer.

Legion- Great sniper, master hacker, tech specialist.

Ashley and Jacob stand out as the most useless members of either crew. They're comparable to James Vega, but at least he has some useful skills and a personality that doesn't border on suicide-inducing.

The Normandy is supposed to be manned by the best-of-the-best. So what the fuck are Ashley and Jacob doing on my ship?

(Disclaimer: This entire explanation is based on Story, not Game play mechanics)

Eh, not so much on the "best of the best" thing.In ME1 You get Wrex and Garrus just because they happen to be working on the same problems as you. You get Tali not because of her engineering skill, but because she has evidence on Saren and you get Liara solely on the fact that she's Benezias daughter.

The fact that they end up all being competent is just a bonus you, but you didn't go out there to recruit the "best" of anything.

Ashley on the other hand is like a tone downed Akuze victim. Her entire unit was lost to the Geth, which had not been seen in centuries, and yet when you find her, she's still fighting, alone. Instead of running, giving up, or hiding, she fights back to the bitter end. In that she's very much like Shepard. She joins Garrus as the only squad mate who actually proves them self in battle before joining your squad. Technically you can include Tali, but she doesn't actually do anythig in that fight...so "proving" herself is up to interpretation.

In ME2 you wake up in a base that is being over run by Mechs that are slaughtering everyone. Yet, once again, you run into a lone fighter, holding his own against the odds; Jacob.

Jacob may not have the most exciting personality but he saved the citadel in events prior to ME2 along side Miranda. Which proves his competence. He was also a Corsair, fighting for the Alliance in secret (aka pirate) and, like Ashley, also managed to survive the events on Eden Prime from the first game. He's not a disgraced soldier either. He quit the Alliance because they didn't back Shepard and tried to sweep the Reaper threat under the rug. He's got a lot of resolve and refuses to blindly follow any organization he's in. Again, an aspect that Shepard has always exemplified.

Jacob isn't "the best of the best" combat wise. However he can keep his cool under pressure, he's got a long military background, and next to Garrus he's a leader that others feel confident with and trust, not because of his authority or predestined skill (i.e. Miranda) but because of his extensive battlefield knowledge.

Yes, you have to do ALL the side quests and have 100% readiness in the war room. You raise your galactic readiness by playing multiplayer quests, which are pretty fun when you have a team that works as a unit and are diverse in classes. xbox:otisdriftwooddr

That's not a 4th ending, it's a 2 second scene.

[Merentha]

*Apparently if he's Shepard's love interest in LotSB, all Liara has to say about him is something like "Jacob...uh, he's dependable..."

Which is hilarious, because if you romanced him in ME2, in the few months since you've been in Alliance custody, he's off and fathering children with someone else.

I've just noticed that I can now Promote my level 20 Multiplayer characters to fight on the front lines in the main game. It resets the character to level 1 in MP but adds an asset in your EMS Single Player. I dont wanna level my multiplayer all over again!

Think of it as a free respec. Now I can make my Asari Adept even more explodey and shooty! I just won't have any shields.

edit: And yeah, in ME2, he's got nothing besides a complete inability to be fazed by anything, including his dad running a sex colony full of his drugged-out crewmates. And FemShep's ridiculous sexual harassment any time you try to talk to him.

[Fez]

Which is hilarious, because if you romanced him in ME2, in the few months since you've been in Alliance custody, he's off and fathering children with someone else.

Think of it as a free respec. Now I can make my Asari Adept even more explodey and shooty! I just won't have any shields.

edit: And yeah, in ME2, he's got nothing besides a complete inability to be fazed by anything, including his dad running a sex colony full of his drugged-out crewmates. And FemShep's ridiculous sexual harassment any time you try to talk to him.

Oh wow, that happens even if he was your ME2 LI? Ha!

Also promoting raises your N7 level by 10, so if you care about that, there's that. Speak of which though, does your N7 level change how much a match raises your GR? Because completing bronze matches used to raise it 4% but now its only raising it by 3% and I feel like the game may be slowly trying to push to play silver matches.

Speaking of sexual harassment, the conversations FemShep has with James Vega are pretty high on that too (fortunately it goes both ways so I don't feel like a pervy boss abusing her authority). I was kind of worried about it at first, didn't want it interfering with my Liara romance, then I found out that Vega isn't a LI for anyone (guess he's all talk) and I decided to just roll with it.

[David Selig]

Ashley is awesome (at least in ME1, she was dead on my only playthrough of ME3 so far), her dialogue is great fun, and in combat she's very useful too. It's just wrong to compare her to Jacob "Boredom personified" Taylor, who is even more annoying when you play FemShep and he tries to hit on you all the time in the most pathetic way possible.

As for the Indoctrination theory, I think this would be just as bad as if we take the endings at face value, only in a different way.

There's one thing I don't understand about the outrage.

Clearly BW has done something right with Mass Effect. No one rages this hard about an ending they didn't like because they don't care.

So, if they were able to make a series that you were this invested in, able to write something that you pre-ordered or bought at full price and the rest of the game was awesome...why would you assume that they just scraped all of that in the last 10 minutes of the game without some kind of plan.

Sure you can point to DA2, but 1) We know DA2 was rushed, 2) It's a totally different team. Yes they were both released by BW, but that's where it ends.

If the rest of the game was terrible I would be way more understanding of the rage and lack of faith, but most people who hate the endings admit that the rest of the game was fantastic. So is it really that hard to at least keep the faith for a little longer.

I'll say right now, if they come out with a "real" ending and we have to pay for it, I'll be outraged too, because in that instance, that's totally unjustifiable, however if they have some pan, or if they even just explain what the ending really was without releasing new content, then I'm content.

I'm going to continue to have faith in a game series that has yet to let me down excluding the final 5% of the last game.

I think ME3 is really good overall, but there are enough problems with the plot and quite a few poorly written dialogues that the dumb endings don't seem completely out of place. If it was ME1 where the writing is great throughout (I am replaying it right now and purely in terms of writing, even putting endings aside, it's head and shoulders above ME3), I'd have though something doesn't add up too and there should'be more to it. But in ME3 after seeing stuff like the moment at the end of the mission on the Quarian planet where you, while moving slowly around on foot, are repeatedly able to dodge for a few minutes the laser beam of a Reaper, or the total caricature Kai Leng, I can accept that the writers just aren't that good, and screwed up the endings.

[haLobEnder]

Don't get the Vega love. Personally I despised James more than any other character in the franchise. He felt like the stereotypical meathead, forced onto my team just so military shooter fans new to the franchise had a familiar feeling 'bro' in the party. Not to mention his use of the word 'loco' every time he addressed Shepard was driving me loco. I deliberately took him on every high priority mission because I had this looming suspicion that one of the companions I rolled with was going to bite it, and I so wanted it to be him.

Ashley is a close second for worst character in the franchise, followed by Kaiden (though I haven't seen him in ME3 yet, and I don't immediately associate his voice actor with Carth anymore, so my opinion could change). Jacob on the other hand I actually like. I think ME2 needed a character like him -- someone amiable and not over-the-top, and in that regard I felt Jacob worked a lot better than Kaiden did in the first game.

[Weak With The Dawn]

Don't get the Vega love. Personally I despised James more than any other character in the franchise. He felt like the stereotypical meathead, forced onto my team just so military shooter fans new to the franchise had a familiar feeling 'bro' in the party. Not to mention his use of the word 'loco' every time he addressed Shepard was driving me loco. I deliberately took him on every high priority mission because I had this looming suspicion that one of the companions I rolled with was going to bite it, and I so wanted it to be him.

You can tell him not to call you Loco.

[haLobEnder]

You can tell him not to call you Loco.

And it works? Damn, why did I have to stay so committed to the top wheel dialogue choices in my playthrough :(

[Merentha]

You can tell him not to call you Loco.

I wondered what he called ManShep. He calls you Lola, by the way.

[Weak With The Dawn]

And it works? Damn, why did I have to stay so committed to the top wheel dialogue choices in my playthrough :(

haha yeah it works.

With the new system you don't have to be strictly renegade or paragon anymore so I've enjoyed going through multiple times and pairing different dialogue options.

[Jon AS]

Which is hilarious, because if you romanced him in ME2, in the few months since you've been in Alliance custody, he's off and fathering children with someone else.

He does that even in that case? That's both bizarre and funny.

the total caricature Kai Leng

God, that guy was awful. I was really hoping I'd at least get to make fun of his stupid mask before killing him or something (nevermind that Shepard can wear some pretty silly things, too).

[Merentha]

He does that even in that case? That's both bizarre and funny.

They somehow managed to make an reunion weirder than the ME2 Horizon meeting. He basically goes "I still love you, but did you really want me to wait forever (when you voluntarily entered custody and were capable of receiving both calls and visitors)?" It's been three to six months, dude.

With the new system you don't have to be strictly renegade or paragon anymore so I've enjoyed going through multiple times and pairing different dialogue options.

Very much appreciated this. Punch Admiral Gerrel e'ry day.