Mass Effect 3focuses a large portion of the main plot on building the Crucible as a weapon to use against the Reapers. Unfortunately, the way the Crucible was introduced and used sparked a lot of hate from players, as it was quite obviously used as a deus ex machina plot device. However, with the feats that Shepard and others perform throughout the series leading up to their last stand against the Reapers, the Crucible doesn’t seem like the necessary weapon that the game tries to convince players it’s supposed to be.
The last game of the trilogy,Mass Effect 3,shows the Reapers attacking the Milky Way in full force, and the game’s NPCs and quests are designed to make them feel like a threat that’s impossible to overcome with the means available to various militaries. In their time of need, the galaxy’s denizens are able to find plans for a structure called the Crucible, which has a design that’s been improved on over various cycles with the hope it’ll eventually be used. It all feels rather convenient, given the circumstances and its uses.
Mass Effect Includes Moments That Show Reapers Can Be Defeated
With Strategy And Conventional Weapons
Even before startingMass Effect 3, Shepard has defeated Reapers. The first game ends with Shepard fighting Saren, who’s being controlled by Sovereign, and during this process, the actual Reaper husk of Sovereign is destroyed,effectively killing the first Reaper of the series. Then,Mass Effect 2’sCollector Basehas a Reaper being built within it that Shepard destroys, which kind of counts as at least a partial Reaper kill. These circumstances might be a bit unique compared to the actual Reaper War, but they’re still enough to show that the Reapers aren’t invincible.
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Then,Mass Effect 3starts, and the Reapers arrive in the Milky Way in full force, ready to proceed with this cycle of reaping. Throughout the game, it’s shown more than once thatthe species of the Milky Way are capable of defeating Reapers without the Crucible, and if it’s a galaxy-wide effort, then it’s feasible that they could put up a good fight against the Reapers, and possibly win through strategy and force alone, just like the Turians who had a stalemate against them on Palaven, taking down a fair number of them with what resources they had.
The Crucible Is Not A Satisfying Solution
It Makes The Series Feel Pointless
The Crucible left many players feeling unsatisfied withMass Effect 3’s ending. Aside from only being introduced inME3and used asthe perfect solution to this immense threat, the way it works doesn’t make a lot of sense. It has the ability to control or destroy the Reapers, but it can also merge synthetic and natural life forms so they can live in harmony. That’s a wide range of possibilities, and it doesn’t need a specific explanation as to how it works, but some explanation would be nice. It’s simply too convenient.
Part of the issue is that having these huge decisions that lead toMass Effect 3’s possible endingsfeel like theyinvalidate the choices and work that Shepard has put into their journeyup to that point. With the extended cut, it’s not as bad of an ending as it felt at release, but it still doesn’t feel like it does justice to a journey as epic as Commander Shepard’s. Considering that Shepard and others have been shown as capable of taking down Reapers, it starts to feel like a replacement for having a full war in the game.
The Crucible Should’ve Been Replaced With A Story About Determination
The Galaxy Banded Together
There are moments inMass Effectgames where groups that might not be on the best terms with each other have to put aside their differences for the greater good, and that should’ve been a bigger theme inME3, especially to replace the Crucible. It was the perfect setting for a story aboutdifferent cultures coming together to defeat a threat that feels impossible to overcome. Shepard overcame the odds more than once in the series, so it would be fitting, and it would make gathering War Assets rewarding if they decide whether the Reapers succeed or are defeated.
Mass Effectholds a special place in the hearts of many players, and it’s easy to feel like a hero when playing as Commander Shepard. That’s why the existence of the Crucible feels like it does more harm than good to the series. Instead, having seen that the Reapers can be destroyed through other means, it would’ve been better to make War Assets decide which ending is achieved, and how much damage is done in the last battle ofMass Effect 3.
