History Headscratchers / MassEffect2

* The very last shot before the credits is the massive Reaper fleet coming to life and starting to move towards the Milky Way. Say what? This - and the entire premise of the poorly-written ME3 - pretty much contradicts ''everything'' we have been told about this universe and its sci-tech. Datum: to cover long distances fast, you need a mass relay, and to cover really long distances fast, you need a pair of primary relays. Datum: traveling by FTL takes ridiculous amounts of time over this sort of distance; we learn later it takes over ''six centuries'' to reach the near edge of Andromeda by FTL. Datum: the Reapers' Plan A was to use their deep-space relay paired with the Citadel. When that failed they went to Plan B (build a replacement for Sovereign to do the same sort of thing again). But now we are supposed to believe that the Reapers, denied a relay and so using FTL, can travel from Dark Space in just ''six months????''

** Dark Space is outside the Milky Way. At no point in the game is it said precisely how far the Reapers were from an easily-accessible relay that would let them deeper into the galaxy. More importantly, we know that the Reapers have multiple relays that connect to Dark Space, as Arrival deals with one such relay. Further, we know exactly how the Reapers got into the Milky Way galaxy: the batarian leadership was indoctrinated and opened another relay that allowed them to launch an attack from inside batarian space.

[[The final shot: massive lore hole]]
* The very last shot before the credits is the massive Reaper fleet coming to life and starting to move towards the Milky Way. Say what? This - and the entire premise of the poorly-written ME3 - pretty much contradicts ''everything'' we have been told about this universe and its sci-tech. Datum: to cover long distances fast, you need a mass relay, and to cover really long distances fast, you need a pair of primary relays. Datum: traveling by FTL takes ridiculous amounts of time over this sort of distance; we learn later it takes over ''six centuries'' to reach the near edge of Andromeda by FTL. Datum: the Reapers' Plan A was to use their deep-space relay paired with the Citadel. When that failed they went to Plan B (build a replacement for Sovereign to do the same sort of thing again). But now we are supposed to believe that the Reapers, denied a relay and so using FTL, can travel from Dark Space in just ''six months????''

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** Finding a concealed route into a strategically important enemy base involves actual stealth and reconnaissance where you sneak around and bypass enemies instead of attacking them. This is however not how Krogan fight. If you talk to the chief scout, he will tell you that their idea of scouting is actually skirmishing for the purposes of harassment and interdiction. They don't sneak around counting enemy numbers then RTB, they skirmish then count the enemy dead. This is also why there are no Krogan infiltrators or snipers - stealth, outflanking, bypassing strong points to hit the soft rear - all of these methods are seen as cowardly and dishonourable by them. So even if there was a stealthy infiltration route to the hospital, these scouts would not just stay hidden and press on. They would go into AttackAttackAttack mode once they spot any enemy patrols. Only way they could make it all the way to the hospital without spotting enemy patrols is if there are no enemy patrols.
*** I'd like a genuine cite on all of these claims that the krogan can't be stealthy, considering the entire conversation with the Urdnot scout completely invalidates most of it. Krogan can and do fight stealthily. That's why they have scouts to begin with. Hell, Garrus' recruitment mission involves the Blood Pack being the ones who have the smartest and sneakiest method of getting into the base. It wouldn't be surprising at all that the Urdnot scout knows a hidden route to get into the Weyrloc camp. And nowhere is it said that the krogan have no snipers or infiltrators; again, they have scouts, and the Urdnot scout says he would have engaged his enemies with a rifle if he'd been close enough to take a good shot. Wrex's entire story about how he was exiled involves a sudden, unexpected betrayal by hidden krogan assassins. Hell, don't forget the Miracle at Palaven, which was dependent on the krogan engaging in a massive stealth insertion and smuggling nuclear weapons into Reaper troopships. They are clearly capable of scouting and stealth when it suits them.
*** Uh, No! Ever seen Krogan enemies use sniper rifles in game? Or cloaks? Or even use cover and concealment to flank you? All they do is plod towards you out in the open. Listen to how they respond to you equipping various weapons. Equip shotguns, and they like it. Equip assault rifles or pistols and they boast that “you’ll need more than that.” However, shoot them with a sniper rifle and they complain about “damn snipers” and taunt you to “come up close and try that.” Use your cloak and they really complain, yelling “Coward” and to “fight like a warrior.” This implies that they are uncomfortable about snipers. Now let’s look at the Urdnot scout’s statement. He says that he could have taken a shot “if I could get close enough.” No true sniper worth his salt would ever complain about being too far from targets clearly in visual range. RealLife human snipers in the present day have made accurate hits from two miles out. Also, a trained scout sniper would find a way to “get close enough”. Heck, look at Thane for that. Krogan scouts don’t reconnoiter, they skirmish. The scout commander plays “hide and seek to make it seem there are more of us.” That is a skirmishing tactic, not a stealthy insertion. Now let’s look at the Blood Pack “brilliantly sneaking in.’ Listen to what the Blue Suns driver tells you - there were only two paths to Garrus’ base, and he collapsed one of those paths to force everyone to come over the bridge. The Blood Pack got to those back door because the Blue Suns blasted through while distracting Garrus with a gunship. Talk to Garn the Blood Pack leader, and he dislikes that plan - he wants to charge in, and ultimately that’s what he does. He comes through the front door, and even those coming through the back door just ZergRush you. As for Wrex, he was ambushed by Krogan who took cover, in a place where he never expected to be attacked. It wasn’t like he had minions sweep the area but found nothing because his dad’s mooks remained hidden - he never even bothered to search, and was then taken by surprise. As for the Krogan hitting the Reaper capital ships, read the Codex entry. Those Krogan pulled an ISurrenderSuckers ploy, they didn’t stealthily sneak aboard. Now look at multiplayer in 3 and Andromeda - no Krogan snipers or infiltrators available at all. They just ain’t got em.

** A spec ops soldier like Shepard would be very wary of someone with loose lips like Kasumi. Could have made for an interesting choice in the end of her LoyaltyMission. Take a chance and trust her with the grey box and she helps you as a stealthy background character on many missions, making them go much easier for you, probably even poking through crates and acquiring credits and upgrades for you, allowing you to focus on the enemies and not be a KleptomaniacHero. The same also applies if you Charm or Intimidate her into destroying the grey box. Destroy the box without convincing her and she walks away in a huff, probably stealing random upgrades and credits on your missions, denying you the capability to go into the SuicideMission fully upgraded, making it much harder and deadly for some people. Don't do her mission at all, and she just parks herself in the Port lounge kvetching at you for ignoring her request.
*** It sounds like you simply didn't like/want the character, or are sore because it cost money for the DLC. There's no logic to have her as an NPC. Not everyone is valuable just for their abilities in a straight firefight. Plus, it's been explained to you multiple times that ''TIM did not know what was beyond the Omega 4 relay''. He was recruiting a TEAM to cover all eventualities, not a squad of soldiers. That's precisely why Kasumi, Tali, Miranda and Thane are on your team! None of them are massively useful in straight-up firefights. Kasumi is an infiltrator tech specialist, Tali is a pure Engineer, Miranda is more of a biotic/tech character than a combat one and Thane's speciality is discreet, fast kills. They aren't like Zaeed, Garrus and Grunt, who are there as heavy combat hitters. It's precisely why you need those hitters - you brought a team for any eventuality, but at one point they have to hold certain ground no matter what. That's where the combat specialists come in.
** Except that, again, while she may be gossipy about ''trivial'' matters between shipmates, she keeps her lips sealed tight about stuff that is ''relevant and important.'' And ''if'' you, as Shepard, decide that its too risky to let Kasumi keep the data and that she might talk about it, you can convince her to destroy it.

** Considering that the page on MirrorChemistry itself explains that ethyl alcohol is structured such that it's the same molecule no matter how you flip it, this is probably a case of ShownTheirWork; that said there's obviously a lot more stuff in wine than just the alcohol and water, but if the setting cared that much about [[NoBiochemicalBarriers biochemical barriers]], then ''nobody'' would be able to eat the same things or even breathe the same air.

*** Relatively safe? How does she intend to kill the best assassin in the galaxy, a justicar, a baby krogan beast, a mercenary who survived a headshot and Garrus if they mess with her? Oh, and a Spectre, if all that wasn't enough. Jack's confident, not stupid. She'd be more likely to survive on Omega than on a ship full of so many powerhouses...if they ever tried to mess with her. As to why she didn't leave the ship: "Keep your friends close to you and your enemies even closer". She loathed Cerberus; keeping an eye on them from 'the inside' could prove useful. That, and she had nowhere else to go.

* So the BigReveal of Mass Effect 1 is that the Citadel is a giant mass relay that the Reapers come through when it's time to invade, and that the Keepers were a species re-engineered by the Reapers, similar to the Collectors, in charge of keeping this relay in working order and hiding its true purpose from the Citadel's residents. Why is this never brought up again in Mass Effect 2? Even if most of the Council races believe that Sovereign was just a really big geth ship, surely they'd have asked why he wanted to plug himself into the Citadel and figured out the relay by now.

** That's kind of the entire plot of the first game...
** That's exactly how they usually do things. The Protheans sabotaged the Keepers so they can't respond to the Reaper signal. That's the whole reason Sovereign had to get Saren's help: the Protheans were forcing them to improvise.

** Kar'Danna is form the Rayya, which is the same ship Tali was born on. Since Kar'Danna is the captain, that would either make him the highest ranking officer (or second highest depending on how Rael fits into the ship's chain of command, since he his an admiral). Tali mentions how the quarians are more like a very large family, so Tali would probably be close friends with the captain of her birth ship, especially since Rael is stated to be a very 'distant' father. As for the wink; I think that was just an animation error, and it looked more like her was squinting/had something in his eye.