Mass Effect Ashley Oder Kaidan
Should I save Kaidan or Ashley on Virmire? I can't decide for the life of me which one to save. I will be romancing Liara, not Ashley or Kaidan, and will be playing as a Solider, so I feel like Kaidan will be more useful, but was wondering which one will be a more interesting character in Mass Effect 3? May I ask, in what stage of the game did you throw the party (start shore leave message) that you got miranda to come over? I did the mission right after priority: citadel II and didnt get tali (although encounter), miranda. Neither did I get most of the other encounters on the silversun strip – probably my own fault for not paying attention. 17680 = Ashley Acquired (if you said Kaidan survived at start of game) 17686 = Ashley Selectable (if you said Kaidan survived at start of game) However there is something I noticed that when you have them both alive by using the save editor and making those commands true, they no longer appear in the Normandy.
Saren tried to wipe out the galaxy. The geth shot more lasers and rockets at me than I could count. They weren't that bad, really. But Kaidan? That guy's the worst .
Let me explain. It's not like Kaidan was a bad squadmate. He could be the most nuanced character in the entire Mass Effect universe, for all I know. The guy seemed fine, really. Until he opened his mouth.
I'd recognize that voice anywhere. When Kaidan started speaking on Eden Prime, I didn't hear the voice of an Alliance-trained Biotic. I heard the smarmy reproaches of Carth Onasi, goody two-shoes hero of the Galactic Republic. It was a voice I had learned to despise while abusing the Dark Side in BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic. Carth was the voice of empathy, usually—a voice I didn't need to hear while Force-choking the innocent and blackmailing aliens into handing over their meager life savings.
There I was, fifteen minutes into Mass Effect, and BioWare had already thrown a voice I despised right into my ears. He was in my squad! It was a waking nightmare. I stuck out the opening mission and spent the rest of Mass Effect paying as little attention to Kaidan as possible. And then I spent the next four years thinking of Kaidan Alenko as little as possible. It wasn't until Mass Effect 3 arrived that I realized how incredible that is—because I killed Kaidan, and he still matters.
BioWare struck gold with the personalization of Commander Shepard, as evidenced by the Internet's reaction to every Mass Effect screenshot out there ('That's not what Shepard looks like! Shepard looks like this!'). Mass Effect takes one interpretation of the 'role' in role-playing game to its logical extreme, cultivating an unusually fierce bond between player and avatar.
The way the entire Mass Effect saga handles player choice is ultimately a greater achievement, at least from a technical perspective. Dozens of minute decisions carry over from Mass Effect to Mass Effect 2 to Mass Effect 3—yet Kaidan dwarfs them all.
Think of it this way: voice actor Raphael Sbarge has dedicated several months out of the past half-decade recording dialogue for the Mass Effect trilogy. Writers at BioWare have dedicated even more time to creating that dialogue, assuring that Kaidan gets his share of unique dialogue. Artists and animators devoted dozens of hours to Kaidan's armor and movements and character expressions in each game.
I didn't care about any of that. While playing Mass Effect, I said to myself, 'Man, I hate that guy.' And BioWare responded with 'You know what? That's okay.'
In Jane Shepard's world, Kaidan's been dead for more than four years. He was never promoted from Staff Lieutenant to Staff Commander because I sacrificed him on Virmire. Actually, 'sacrificed' isn't the right word. I left him to die, gleefully, elation triggering a reaction in my head that went something like this: 'Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.'
I might have done a little dance.
If my trusty shotgun hadn't been equipped with sledgehammer rounds that sent even the mightiest of Krogan warlords ragdolling into walls, killing Kaidan would've easily been my fondest memory of Mass Effect.
But that doesn't make Kaidan a bad character. Video game characters usually earn my scorn through shoddy storytelling or dialogue: I can't stand the legions of Japanese characters like Final Fantasy VIII's Squall Leonhart, who lean far too heavily on the the Japanese tsundere archetype of aloof hostility.
Kaidan, on the other hand, fits the definition of a well-developed character. He has a complex backstory and traits that cast him as the most virtuous of the Normandy's crew (much like KotOR's Carth Onasi). Ironically, good characterization is what makes me hate Kaidan. BioWare nailed one of the key aspects of character development laid out in Jesse Schell's The Art of Game Design: using the power of the voice.
As Schell writes, 'the voice acting in games seems primitive compared to the powerful performances in film...Because the process of game development is so volatile, it is expensive to create characters around their voices.'
Mass Effect often suffers from stiff or wonky animation, but the series sets a high bar for interactive dialogue and voice acting, which games like L.A. Noire have built on with extensive motion capture. And Kaidan's voice fits his character perfectly, which is why I really can't stand him. He's just too damn genial. Evoking such a strong reaction—even a negative one—makes Kaidan an unusually memorable cog in the complex machine of Mass Effect's narrative, considering I spent less than thirty minutes interacting with him.
BioWare facilitated my hatred for Kaidan by letting me kill him, and that decision has a huge impact on Mass Effect 3. By importing my Shepard, I intentionally shut off access to a squad member, his unique dialogue and role in the game's plot. A choice I made as a sophomore in college still affects me now, four years later. I don't live in the same state, or have the same job, or even play on the same platform I once did, but Kaidan Alenko is still dead.
The way BioWare embraced that player decision created a permanence in the Mass Effect world that really doesn't exist elsewhere in gaming.
But Mass Effect's critical moments fall victim to one of interactive storytelling's most common problems, laid out in The Art of Game Design: 'time travel makes tragedy obsolete.' Schell writes:
'Freedom and control are one of the most exciting parts of any interactive story, but they come at a terrible price: the storyteller must give up inevitability. In a powerful tragic story, there is a moment where you see the horrible thing that is going to happen, and you feel yourself wishing, begging, and hoping that it won't. ... This rush of being carried along toward certain doom is something that videogame stories simply cannot support, for it is as if every protagonist has a time machine, and anything seriously bad that happens can always be undone.'
With enough Paragon or Renegade points, nearly every disaster in the Mass Effect series can be avoided, and gamers react so strongly to those moments they'll load an earlier save ('time travel') just to make a different decision. It's a natural reaction, but the sacrifice on Virmire avoids that trap through a forced binary choice between Kaidan and Ashley. Is that the most sophisticated form of interactive storytelling? No—but BioWare makes up for that by carrying the repercussions of Kaidan's death throughout the entire trilogy. Kaidan and Ashley's character arcs may be interchangeable in Mass Effect 3, but I can think of one pivotal scene that I would've handled very, very differently were Kaidan still alive.
And that's awesome. I've replayed games to fully explore content I missed the first time around. I've devoted hours to the GDI, NOD, Axis and Allied campaigns of Command & Conquer. I've blasted my way through thousands of Las Plagas in Resident Evil 4 to revel in the brain-splatting power of decked out magnums and shotguns. But I'll never create a new character in Mass Effect 3 just to see Kaidan alive again.
Partly because I hate him; primarily because BioWare let my choice matter, and as a result I felt like less of a content consumer and more of a collaborator in their storytelling. That's an accomplishment BioWare can't destroy, no matter how they modify or expand Mass Effect 3's ending . Mass Effect 3 delivers resolution for returning characters both major and marginal, but the relationship between Shepard and Ashley (or Kaidan) feels especially important from the outset. Closing or widening the gap that opened between you during Mass Effect 2 leads to a defining moment for both characters.
Killing Kaidan on Virmire and carrying that decision through the Mass Effect trilogy is a landmark moment for interactive storytelling. And so is saving him. But why would you do that?
LEGEND (Map VIR6):
1. Turret Control
A. To the Labs
Mass Effect Ashley Oder Kaidan Movie
B. To the Krogan Breeding Grounds -> (VIR7-A)
C. To the Krogan Breeding Grounds -> (VIR7-B)
D. To the Communication Tower
LEGEND (Map VIR7):
1. Landing Site
A. To the base main level -> (VIR6-B)
B. To the base main level -> (VIR6-C)
9.3.1. Deactivating anti-aircraft systems
You can enter the base in two ways. First (VIR2-A) will allow you to get to the security control and complete assignment 9.2.1. Assisting Kirrahe's Team. Your road will be longer, but you'll be able to gain some experience and morality points. Going through the other entrance (VIR2-B) will let you to avoid some encounters and get into the labs. I propose to choose the first option to get more points.
After getting inside, you'll see the security control. Use it to support Kirrahe unit (9.2.1. Assisting Kirrahe's Team) and unlock the door leading further into the base.
In the main room you'll need to fight geths and indoctrinated salarians. Then head to the security room. There you'll encounter more salarians.
I propose to choose the way leading to the detainment level (VIR3-B) first. In one of the cells you'll see a salarian with whom you'll be able to talk. He will tell you about the indoctrination. If you want to gain some paragon points, let him out, if you play as renegade, leave him there. This same goes for the other prisoners.
Come back this same way and get through another passageway (VIR3-D) to reach the labs with more cells. One of salarians will also ask you to free him. Notice though, that this way you'll let already indoctrinated prisoners out as well. Your companions will object. If you agree to let them out, you'll gain paragon points but you'll have to fight them. They won't be very dangerous.
Hint! Second exit from the room (VIR5-C) will lead you to the passageway which you would use if you chose alternative way to enter the base.
Come back the same way you got here and use the elevator (VIR3-C). It will take you to the labs main level. Here you'll need to fight a krogan, group of zombie and asari.
After leaving the room, you'll find yourself on a bridge. Geths lifted it and you'll must lower it again to pass through. Go back and search for a switch.
Go south and enter the security office. You'll meet Rana Thanoptis there. She will ask you to spare her and offer that she'll open the door to Saren's private lab. She'll tell you also about indoctrination and Sovereign. If you kill her, you'll gain many renegade points. Saving her won't bring you any paragon points though.
Use the elevator activated by Rana (VIR5-D). You'll reach the communications tower. You'll find prothean beacon there. Activate it using nearby terminal. This will give you another vision.
Then go upstairs to the communication panel. You will have a conversation with rather unexpected guest who will make you see some things from different perspective. When the conversation will be over, the interface will explode.
A moment later Joker will contact you and ask you to hurry. It will be just about time to complete your task - deactivate anti-aircraft turret.
Go back to the labs and run toward the lifted bridge. It will lower so you can pass through. You'll need to fight many geths and krogan along the way.
Fight your way through the base main level. You'll need to reach the turret control (VIR6-1) and use it to let Normandy land.
9.3.2. Set up the Bomb
After deactivating the turret, you'll be attacked by two groups of geth. Get rid of them and use nearby elevator (VIR6-B) to get to the krogan breeding ground. The place where you need to set up the bomb (VIR7-1) will be near. Before you'll reach it, you'll have to fight some geths.
About that time captain Kirrahe group will manage to deactivate the second turret. Normandy will land and deliver its special cargo.
Unfortunately geths will be so numerous that getting to Kirrahe will be slightly impossible. You need to relieve them.
Hint! At this point you'll have to choose your companions. Ashley and Kaidan will be busy (one is with Kirrahe, the other will stay to set up the bomb). It's important to complete well balanced and equipped quad.
Go through the west gate and head to the elevator which will take you to the base main level (VIR7-B). Before you'll reach it, you'll need to get rid of some geths and krogans. After clearing the area ride down.
On your way to the second turret (VIR6-D) you'll see a transporter with geths. You won't be able to save the unit in tower and some back to the bomb on time.
Hint! You will face a difficult choice. Ashley's and Kaidan's lives will depend on you. Only one of them can leave Virmire. It's your call. After making the choice, you'll have to comment it to gain some paragon/renegade points.
If you choose to save the person who stayed with the bomb, you'll have to turn back and get to the landing site (VIR7-1). If you choose to save the person who is in Kirrahe unit, continue to the second turret (VIR6-D).
Regardless of your choice, you'll encounter many geths. Among them will be prime, the strongest type of geth soldiers. Concentrate on him first during the fight for he will be very dangerous for your squad.
9.3.3. Confrontation with Saren
Then Saren himself will arrive. Talk with him to learn about his motives and (optionally) try to win him over to your side which won't be successful but will give you some morality points.
Eventually you'll have to fight him. First find a cover and change squad weapon to injury organic creatures. During the fight, use all of your talents: offensive and defensive. Control the state of shield and your squad's health and react if necessary (shield boost, medi-gel).
Ashley Or Kaidan Mass Effect 3
After the fight you'll see from the orbit big explosion which will completely destroy Saren's base.
On Normandy you'll meet your team. Liara will again try to get the information from Shepard's head. She'll manage to localize Saren's destination - planet Ilos (11).
During holoconference with the council tell what you learned about ex-spectre. Alas, they will be still ignoring reapers and Sovereign itself.
When you'll try to use the galaxy map, you'll receive the message to arrive at the Citadel immediately.
Hint 1! Before meeting the council, I suggest to complete assignments from chapter 13.Uncharted world. You won't be able to come back to Citadel and some of them require speaking with its residents.
Hint 2! If you helped captain Kirrahe unit (9.2.1. Assisting Kirrahe's Team), you'll be able to speak with him in Normandy engineering. You'll also meet a trader there so it's good to buy or/and sell some stuff. Remember, that after landing in Citadel captain and his men will leave the ship.