as cliched as it may be, nothing that happened after the mad dash across the wasteland and the death ray blast from Harbinger was real. That whole sequence on the Citadel is a bit too weird and otherworldly to be taken at full face value, and there are too many dots that don't connect in the cutscenes that happen after the big decision.

At least, that's what I want to believe, because otherwise the ending sucks and doesn't make any sense from a storytelling perspective. Sorry, it just doesn't.

I think the point was that if "we" try and destroy the mass relays it'll be catastrophic. But this was being done by the entities that actually created the relays, so I can only guess that this particular method of destruction did not cause the catastrophic damage like we saw at the end of Arrival (and basically set the stage for everything in the beginning of the game).

Not defending the weak ending as a whole, just saying that I don't think the relays being destroyed at the end of the game is the same as if we'd just flown around and blew them all up ourselves.

even that that same image only says the systems which contain the relays are destroyed, it mentions nothing about other, nearby systems. So, even if the same cataclysmic event occurs when the creators destroy a MR, it doesn't mean the entire galaxy is wiped out.

Not to dwell on it too much, but as a direct response I'm just saying that the Codex is written from our human understandings of the galaxy. It doesn't make it true. It's like if a book told us the universe and everything in it was created in 7 solar days. It's open to interpretation and context matters

This was supposed to be my Paragon playthrough but I sided with the Geth, not realizing what would happen. Tali threw herself off a cliff and all the Quarians killed.

My last save before this mission was ten hours of playtime so I don't want to go back, but damn! I don't feel like playing anymore.

I managed to save the Quarians and the Geth in both my paragon and renegade playthroughs.

One or the other died. Apparently not.

How did you get them both to survive?

I'm not sure of the exact steps that are required, but I'm fairly certain that in the earlier mission where you go to rescue the Quarian general on that same planet, you have to talk him into coming with you to survive rather than going to save his stranded crew as he requests. He later tells you that it was the right choice, and I think he's the one who helps negotiate the peace.

When decision time came, I told Legion to upload the data to save the Geth, and then when the Quarian general was ordering the attack to continue, I had blue and red prompts to talk him into standing down, both times.

Weird. I got him, saved him and I also told Legion to save the Geth. They continued to fight after that, with the Geth taking out the Quarian.

In order to bring out peace between the Geth and Quarians during this Encounter, you must:

1. Keep Tali Alive through Mass Effect 2.
2. Kill the heretics during Legions Loyalty mission, "A House divided" in Mass Effect 2.
3. Keep Legion Alive in Mass Effect 2.
4. Complete Geth fighter Squadrons misson

If these are all true, you then gain "points" for the Following.

1. Complete "Rannoch: Admiral Koris" (+1 point)
2. Save Admiral Koris during "Rannoch: Admiral Koris" (+1 point)
3. Save Tali from Exile in Mass Effect 2 (+2 points)
4. Destroy Heretic Geth in "A House Divided" in Mass Effect 2 (+2 points)
5. Broker peace between Legion and Tali in Mass Effect 2 (+1 point)

If you have fulfilled the plot elements required and have at least 5 points, you can persuade the Quarian Fleet to stand down using Paragon Persuasion (Note: I also did it using Renegade Persuasion). This is Extremely Difficult and requires four bars of Reputation.

shot Mordin