Poll: If the Citadel DLC was the actual ending of ME3

[Joseph Harrison]

After playing the Citadel DLC (and loving it btw) and reading a lot of people's comments on it, many people seem to believe that they wish that this DLC was the ending of the game or that the DLC was the ending that the game deserved. I personally felt that the scene where Shepard looked out at the Normandy with his companions walking behind him and his love interest at his side was WAY more emotionally poignant than the actual ending of the game, Extended cut included. And it's made me wonder; what if the Citadel DLC was the actual ending of the game.

Here's what I'm thinking: When the game originally came out, way back in March 2012, that DLC was a part of the game except either two things could happen:

A) You attack the Illusive Man's base but during the attack the Normandy takes damage and has to dock at the Citadel for repairs. The DLC takes place, basically the exact same as normal except with a twist. After you finish the party and have your meet ups with your crew, you have the cutscene where Shepard looks out at the Normandy the game just ends. There may be a cutscene or more afterwards but its heavily implied or explicitly stated that the Reapers won. No attack on Earth, No Red, Blue, Green, endings, No Starchild or Catalyst just that final party with your bros.

or B) The actual DLC takes place whenever you want it to, like fighting the clone and all that shit and everything is virtually the same except when it comes to the party. When someone suggests the party Shep just says "Yeah, sure maybe later" and then fade to black, DLC section is over, on with the rest of the game. THEEEN when the attack on Earth takes place everything is the same up until the part where Anderson dies. After Anderson dies then Shep passes out and cue flashback, then you have the party and the meet ups with the crew. After the cutscene with Shepard looking out on the Normandy with love interest at his side, the game ends and it is heavily implied or explicitly stated that the Reapers won.

I think that this would be better because A) No Starchild B) No Deus Ex Machina, Bioware kinda wrote themselves into a corner for ME3 so it really only makes sense that the Reapers would win unless there was some sort of Deus Ex Machina C) Alot of people, myself included, complained that the original ending lacked emotional meaning and I feel like, while this would be super depressing, it would definitely connect with me emotionally although most likely it would make me incredibly depressed D) It would bring closure, not happy closure, but closure nonetheless, which was something the original endings lacked.

TL;DR What if in the original Mass Efect instead of the ending the events of the Citadel DLC took place then everyone died cuz the Reapers won

So what do you guys think?

 

[TheCommanders]

In my head cannon, the Citadel DLC (the stuff after the combat missions) is the end of the game. Aside from one or two little bits of dialogue it actually works pretty seamlessly. I always pick the Destroy ending (as it's the only one that even remotely makes sense). I assume (in my head cannon) that the catalyst was a last reaper trick to try and prevent you from destroying them, and that to pick either of the other options would just kill Shepard. Shepard limps, barely alive, back to the beam transport thingy and then teleports back to earth just before the citadel explodes, landing unconscious in the rubble back in London. I also assume that after the breath ending scene, Shepard's LI comes and finds him/her. After s/he recovers s/he holds the party to celebrate the victory. I explain the melancholy tone at the end as the sadness of Shepard's crew drifting apart after the war. That's an ending I'm ok with. It also means that EDI doesn't die in my head cannon. Yay.

Your version would work if you feel the need to cut out the crucible entirely, but that's hard to justify within the actual confines of the current game, which is my goal whenever I have to create head cannon.

 

[Animyr]

Hell, everything I've seen suggested thus far would have been a massive improvement. Though granted it's not hard to do that. I'd already thought of the A option in the OP.

 

[major_chaos]

I was ready to hit "love it" for the poll when I read the title, but then I read what you actually wrote and changed my answer to "hate it". I don't understand why so many people seem to want giant middle finger endings. The response I sometimes get is "happy endings are cliche" but at this point I'm starting to find bittersweet/sad endings to be more rote and predictable. For as much as I hate the ending we got, a "lol reapers win thnx 4 playing" ending would have made me the first one on the "Bioware is horrible and I will never buy another product with their name on it" trend rather than the one guy telling all those people to chill like I am now.

 

[alik44]

Well if the ending was the only thing i did not like about mass effect 3 then yeah.

 

[w9496]

I'd rather there be different ways to beat the game.

Like being able to beat the reapers conventionally. It's been proven multiple times that the reapers aren't THAT hard to kill with the proper weapons or conditions. But no, we still have to use this giant power box to shoot ultrabeams or whatever into the relays.

The citadel DLC would have been a great ending if it took place after the original ending. Just set it like 6 months/1 year after the ending(assuming you picked the destroy ending, you know, the one that makes a bit of damn sense). Then meeting Joker for dinner would have been right after Shepard supposedly recovering from his injuries.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

If this would of happened after the Destroy ending without killing EDI/Anderson or Shepard, it would of been the perfect ending sendoff. It still is in my eyes, but that doesn't matter.

 

[Il_Exile_lI]

The Citadel DLC would be terrible as an actual ending to the game. This content is outstanding, my favorite DLC in the series, but it is such a huge shift tonally from everything that came before that I have a hard even considering it canon. The whole thing is self parody, fourth wall breaking, and inside jokes; this would have felt so off if it was actually part of the original game. The only reason it works is because it is DLC, which almost everyone played as a stand alone experience after they finished the core game. I guarantee playing this as part of full playthrough will feel really off.

 

[Gennadios]

My Shepard died trying to shag Morinth at the end of ME2, whatever endings the rest of you try to come up with to justify something I refuse to acknowledge exists is all gravy.

 

[redknightalex]

I think the problem with having the DLC being the ending is that, well, you wouldn't really have an ending. I believe that, regardless of your own personal feelings on the ending to Mass Effect 3, it gave some sort of closure to Shepard, the Reaper threat, and the galaxy you've been trying to save for three games now. The ending of ME3, as it stands today, has a full story-arc that doesn't leave a fade-to-black scenario, much to the chagrin of many I'd assume, but at least it ends. It ends.

In hindsight, it's easier to say that this is what we wanted when we're still all upset, in some way, over the ending. When the ending was still fresh in our minds a year ago, I read many a comments where they didn't mind the "bittersweet" ending deal except needed more info than the Starchild gave. And if we had gotten this instead -- which is an extremely light-hearted, fan-servicey affair compared to the tone of the overall series -- with no grand finale with the Illusive Man, Cerberus, and the Reapers, we would have called even more bullshit.

Or bought another sequel.

 

[Ravinoff]

I haven't played Citadel yet, but I'm gonna give this a thumbs-up, discounting how dumb some of the Citadel stuff I've seen via Youtube is. None of the ones offered have been my ideal ending, of course, but it's something.

The ideal one, by the way, should be pretty obvious. Shepard just spent three 20+ hour games bringing the galaxy together to fight the greatest threat in history. Keep everything the same (except forget the Crucible entirely) until the final assault on Earth starts. All fleets hit the Charon relay, Shepard gives an awesome inspiring speech based on whether your alignment was Paragon or Renegade. Paragon version would be to the effect of "This is where we make our stand! Not for ourselves, but for our children. For the future. For a galaxy united!" while the Renegade would be more focused on revenge ("We've lost friends. Entire worlds wiped out. Now it's our turn. Make them pay, death or glory!").

Commence gigantic battle scene, Reapers vs. allied fleets above Earth. Meanwhile, troops land on Earth, wherever Harbinger happens to be parked (because of course it'll be Harbinger). I'm talking Quarian marines fighting side-by-side with Geth, Turian and Krogan forces bashing Reaper minions united. Hell, even throw in Kirrahe and his STG unit. Shepard and company leading the charge of course, like the ending of 2.

Fast forward, Shepard and his crew are facing off with Harbinger on the ground. They fight through the mass of Reaper infantry to place a bomb large enough in theory to destroy Harbinger. It goes off, but it doesn't kill the Reaper, only damages it. Insert some kind of villain speech here if you like, I'm not sure I would. Shep et. al. are being overrun by Reaper infantry. Just when it seems like you're done for, the Normandy comes roaring in overhead and drops to a hover above the team. Marines cover them as they board. Once they're clear, Shepard gives the order, and Joker cuts loose with the dual Thanix cannons, tearing Harbinger apart.

 

[Frostbite3789]

Like being able to beat the reapers conventionally. It's been proven multiple times that the reapers aren't THAT hard to kill with the proper weapons or conditions. But no, we still have to use this giant power box to shoot ultrabeams or whatever into the relays.

Except we've only ever seen one Reaper at a time being taken down in any conventional manner and yes, it was THAT hard to do.

 

[norashepard]

I would love it with the reservation that they also give it an extended cut where I can finally buy Traynor the big house she wanted and we can live happily ever after in Vancouver until we died.

 

[w9496]

Like being able to beat the reapers conventionally. It's been proven multiple times that the reapers aren't THAT hard to kill with the proper weapons or conditions. But no, we still have to use this giant power box to shoot ultrabeams or whatever into the relays.

Except we've only ever seen one Reaper at a time being taken down in any conventional manner and yes, it was THAT hard to do.

That's only because the game broke its own story. I remember reading an entry in the codex that explained that nearly all ships are using the Thanix cannons(the ones that the normandy uses if you upgraded it), but in-game, no ships seem to use these. And since the Thanix cannons are basically scaled down versions of the reaper weapons, I'd say that their odds would have been way higher.

The game did that a lot(breaking its own descriptions). Like the Avenger rifle being used by everybody.

 

[Zakarath]

Those sound like pretty good endings. Me, I'm an advocate for what seems to me the only reasonable response to an overwhelming enemy in those circumstances: Load up all the ships you can get your hands on with people, put everyone into suspended animation, and then fuck off and hide, never staying in one place long enough for lightspeed propagation of information to reach the reapers. would've made for some interesting/touching scenes of leaving earth behind to be ravaged, with the climax being you+allies fighting a hopelessly outgunned delaying action holding off the reapers as civilians evacuate. And then an ending where these disparate peoples, maybe led by Shepard (if (s)he survived), start to put together the pieces of new civilization. Even would've let you keep those shots of the Normandy touching down on a new world, only this time they'd actually make sense.

 

[Blazing Steel]

Yes and No. I wanted the ending to have some the elements I saw in the DLC, but no I wouldn't want it to be ending itself. I always wanted to see a big space battle determined by your war assets and a ground battle showing your squad mates teaming up and kicking ass. Then everything could happen as normal except if you pick the refusal ending you get flashbacks then as you past out you see the war assets and squad making a last stand and however it goes depends on your choices.

So, no I don't think they ever need to ditch the space child ending, but some minor improves involving elements from the citadel DLC would be awesome.

 

[DustyDrB]

The spirit of The Citadel is very much in line with what I wanted from the ending of the series. It focuses on the characters. The whole idea of the DLC is "what makes Shepard special is the people who fight alongside him". And hell yeah to that.

 

[CPunchMaster]

As a post-ending epilogue? Sure thing. I dunno about it being the actual ending, not without some major edits. I haven't played ME3 since it came out, and the last hour again when the Extended Cut came out. So I felt, when I was playing Citadel, that it was something after (I picked Destroy, so my Shepard didn't turn everyone into cyborgs or anything like that) the endings.

I loved the DLC, but I don't know if it could be a good ending. The overall tone of the DLC is so silly in comparison to the rest of ME3. Again, if this were an epilogue, a get together before your teammates all go their different ways - I'd be all for it.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Doom972]

That would be a very weak ending. I would've liked it less. If the attack on the Illusive Man's base would've been the last mission, I would be very disappointed, even if I would get to fight him in the end.