During the run to the Conduit, a new cinematic shows Shepard and co. dodge a few vehicles that are being tossed about by the Reaper lasers. I had Tali (LI) and Garrus with me at the time, and Tali looked seriously injured after the dodging was done (she was covered in blood, unsure if it's insinuated to be hers or not). Shepard called for Joker to bring the Normandy down and he gets Tali and Garrus on board.
With Tali as my LI, she begged me not to leave her behind on the Normandy while I went forward. You're given pretty standard Paragon/Renegade response options after this. I chose the "I love you" option and he tells her to go back to Rannoch and build a home, yada yada yada. Garrus had no interaction here besides helping Tali on board. Not sure how similar this scene is with other squadmates/LIs present, but it was pretty emotional with this circumstance.
Shepard continues his run for the Conduit, where he's (almost?) hit by Harbinger's Beam. After that you wake up from your blackout just like before the EC, and he gets to the Conduit.
After that, it cuts to a scene in space showing the Reapers doing major damage to the fleets. The Normandy is seen navigating the battle to try and escape. It cuts over to the Crucible and a few nearby ships, and then a shot of Hackett accessing the situation. He tells the fleets that somebody got on the Citadel, so they need to protect the Crucible at all costs and buy them time.
Back to the Citadel and Shepard shoots out of the Conduit receiver, hitting the ground rough (as opposed to just waking up in the vanilla ending.. Anderson contacts him on the radio, telling Shepard that he followed up the Conduit after Shepard, but ended up in a different place. The game plays out normally from there, your approach to the control room and conversation with the Illusive Man are unchanged.
You get raised up to meet the Catalyst like normal, and proceed to talk to it. After it explains the "solution" to Shepard, you get a dialogue wheel with three inquires on the left (Catalyst, Reapers, Crucile) and then a Paragon/Renegade response on the right to continue the conversation.
The Catalyst explains that it was created eons ago to stop synthetics from completely destroying organics. It was originally designed to oversee relations between organics and synthetics to maintain peace between them, but conflict always arose and the Reapers were created as a solution.
It then explains that its creators made the first "Reapers" to maintain peace and the Catalyst controlled them. The Catalyst explains that its creators became the first true Reaper (as we know them). The creators did not approve of this actions but the Catalyst believe it was the only solution and went forward with it. It then explains why synthetics always become superior to their creators and always destroy them.
This opened up a new dialogue option asking how the Reapers themselves aren't seen as a conflict. It explains that the Reapers are not interested in war and compares them to fire; fire is not interested in war thus it is not a conflict, only doing what it was created to do. It then reiterates that the Reapers are not destroying life, but preserving it.
When asked about the Crucible, the Catalyst explains that the Crucible is simply a power source on its own, but when combined with the Citadel (and by association the Mass Relays), it can release tremendous amounts of energy throughout the Galaxy; a crude method of accomplishment, but effective nonetheless and can be adapted to multiple purposes. The Catalyst apparently learned about the Crucible several cycles before this one. When asked why the Catalyst didn't stop the Crucible from being passed down, it reveals that it believed it destroyed all knowledge of it but underestimated the resourcefulness of organics.
I chose the Paragon response to move the conversation forward and was given a line I know was present in the vanilla ending. The Renegade response is new, but very similar to the Paragon response. The conversation goes on to the point where the Catalyst explains that his solution will no longer work and they need to find a new one.
It goes on to explain the
Destroy option, and that it will destroy ALL synthetic life, even Shepard. Another dialogue wheel pops up allowing me to ask for more details. It explains that the Crucible was damaged to some extent (even with 8000 EMS, so this is definitely unavoidable) so it can't target solely the Reapers. It also explains that the damage can be undone relatively easily by the survivors. There's a cutaway scene of Shepard imagining all Reapers being destroyed.
To continue the conversation I got a Paragon "It will end the war?" and Renegade "Then I won't use the Crucible." options. Since the Paragon sounds like dialogue heard in the vanilla ending, I chose Renegade. The Catalyst says that we are vastly outnumbered, sacrificing many of our resources just to get where we are, so not using the Crucible will cause us to ultimately lose the battle, and the cycle to continue. Shepard snaps back saying he doesn't believe the Catalyst, but it replies saying that Shepard's beliefs are irrelevant.
The Catalyst then goes on to explain the
Control option. Standard dialogue until another wheel, where Shepard can say "I don't understand..." when the Catalyst says that Shepard will lose everything he has. Another cutaway to an imaginative scene where the Reapers are leaving Earth, as the Catalyst explains that Shepard will no longer be organic in choosing this method. It states that while Shepard will lose connection to mankind, he will still remain aware of their existence (indicating that Shepard will become the new Catalyst).
Paragon/Renegade continue options are similar to above, either saying you think you understand or that you're not going to lose anything. I went Renegade and Shepard stated my thoughts exactly: "I didn't fight this war so I could give up everything I have." The Catalyst retorts that it is not looking forward to being replaced by Shepard, but it would be forced to accept it.
It moves on to
Synthesis afterwords. Dialogue wheel allows you to ask how that works. It explains that Shepards organic energy will be broken down and dispersed through the Crucible; cutaway to another what-if scene showing the energy washing over everyone as they experience a change. It explains that this option will alter the matrix of all life in the galaxy. Organics seek perfection through technology, while Synthetics seek perfection through understanding. Synthesis will perfect organics by integrating them with technology, while synthetics will finally fully understand organics because of their change.
The Catalyst goes on to say this the ideal solution, and now that it knows this is possible, it is inevitable that Synthesis will happen. It reveals that it has tried a similar solution in the past, but it has always failed because organics were not ready. Synthesis can not be forced on anything, but this cycle is ready (both due to the Crucible being successfully attached and Shepard being present with the Catalyst).
Paragon/Renegade options are "That's a big change" and "I won't make that decision" respectively. Once again going with the Renegade choice, Shepard says he won't force such a huge change on everyone in the Galaxy. The Catalyst asks why, stating that synthetics are already a vital part of civilization and asking if he would throw that away.
The Catalyst states that Shepard must choose now, prompting another dialogue wheel with the options "Then let's end it" and "I reject these choices." I fully believed that I would be forced to pick anyways, so I chose the rejection dialogue. Shepard says he's going to end the war on his terms, it retorting that Shepard will die while failing to save anything. Another dialogue choice, both of these similar to the last where you can cooperate or defy. Again going Renegade to defy the Catalyst, Shepard makes a powerful statement that he's fighting for everyone's freedom, and if he dies fighting then he'll at least die free, not giving in to the Catalyst's options.
The Catalyst looks like its in awe at Shepard's determination, but quickly turns around and said "So be it" in a very deep and menacing voice, scared the shit out of me and gave me goosebumps. It disappears and says the cycle continues in its normal voice. Shepard is left standing there as an explosion occurs behind him, where he sees Reapers decimating the remaining fleets, as the Synthesis beam disappears and the screen fades away.
Screen cuts to an unknown planet, lush with plant life and a device of some sort beeping. Then Liara's voice is broadcast to say.
If you're hearing this...then there is still hope. Hope that you can avoid the same mistakes we made. We fought the Reapers, but we failed to stop them. We did everything we could. We built the Crucible, but it didn't work. We fought as a united galaxy, but it wasn't enough. I only hope that the information in this capsule is enough to help you before it's too late. My name is Dr. Liara T'Soni. Herein lies the recounting of our war with the Reapers.
By the end of the scene, you see a VI of Liara in some underground bunker. The VI disappears, and the credits roll. After the credits we go to what appears to be the same snowy scene from the vanilla ending where the man is talking about "The Shepard." There's a child there along with a taller figure that looks like an Asari from this distance. The child asks if that really happened, and the taller (female) individual says "We'll never know exactly what it was like, but yes, the archives tell the true story of those who came before us. They fought a terrible war, so we wouldn't have to." There's a few more lines of dialogue, indicating that there is peace and that the information passed down to them is why they succeeded. These stories were all about the Shepard...
After this is an extended thank you message from Bioware to the fans.
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Ok so I defied the Catalyst just to see what would happen, I figured I would be forced to decide anyways but was surprised when this happened (super surprised by the Catalyst's angry voice). It's a decent ending I suppose, it shows that the Reapers are still eventually defeated, just not by your cycle (though the stargazer scene confuses that a bit). Still though, that's not the real choice I wanted, so I reloaded and got back to the choices.
In the Vanilla game I chose
Destroy for one reason: I wanted to live. Call me petty but I was not happy to learn I was going to die in all three endings, but then when I learned Shepard lives with enough EMS that became my set ending. I didn't like the idea of destroying the Geth, but I reasoned that the Catalyst was wrong about it destroying me so maybe it was wrong about destroying the Geth, and I found peace with that. So going into this I'm really hoping the Geth aren't destroyed, otherwise I'll be crushed.
So I go with
Destroy, go through the usual cinematic of shooting the power node and flashing images of companions (surprisingly I had different companions pop up, got Anderson/EDI/Tali, EDI and Tali being the squadmates I used the most). After this we get an external shot of the Crucible's energy going off, with Hackett telling the fleets to disengage and head for the rendezvous. We see Joker frantically piloting the Normandy with Liara and Traynor standing behind him; Liara then puts her hand on his shoulder and tells him that they need to go. Joker reluctantly leaves the fight and flies away from the Citadel. I'm sitting here hoping he's worried about me, and not upset about a destroyed EDI.
The Reapers start disappearing, literally; they don't blow up but vanish in a popping bubble kind of animation. Cut to Earth where there's still fighting going on, but the Reapers are soon disabled by the red wave of the Crucible (these Reapers don't vanish, they simply collapse). Another battle elsewhere shows two soldiers fighting a wave of husks as they get obliterated by the red wave of energy.
Now a solid red beam leaves the citadel and hits the Mass Relay, which starts the colored explosions all over the Galaxy as they themselves are destroyed and the wave washes over other planets (Thessia and Tuchanka are shown). Then we see inside the Normandy where the crew is frantically moving about, with Jeff trying to outrun the explosion of the Mass Relay he was near.
Then we see the Normandy wrecked on some unknown planet like at the end of the vanilla ending. Hull opens up and Joker, Tali, and Javik step out and look over the landscape. Screen cuts away after that.
Now we're in space, showing a fleet of ships while Hackett gives a monologue about the end of the war. Against all odds they survived, etc etc. He says the Relays were severely damaged, maybe hinting that they could be repaired? As his dialogue continues there are snapshots of various locations and various squadmates.
For me it was: Soldiers on Earth, Jacob with Cerberus defectors, Samara with her daughter on Thessia, Kasumi looking at her greybox, Zaeed lounging in the sunset, Wrex/Grunt on Tuchanka, several Krogan families, Krogan architects, Quarians in some city, Citadel destroyed, London HQ, rebuilt Citadel?, Legion/Thane/Mordin montage, Shepard's helmet, Anderson's name on the memorial wall in the Normandy, the entire crew looking at the memorial as Tali puts Shepard's plate on the wall, Normandy taking off from the planet it was stuck on, and lastly Shepard as he takes a breath like at the end of the vanilla ending.
Credits roll after this, then we have the stargazer scene as usual, but this time with the same man and child as in the vanilla ending. He has some extended dialogue of his own, but nothing of significance.
I can only guess the Geth were actually destroyed by my choice, since they didn't get a slide in the end, but I can live with that. I'm not going to cover Control and Synthesis here, either play it yourself or youtube it!
