274 réponses à ce sujet

[dreman9999]

o Ventus wrote...

Miracle at Palaven disproves your claim.

Miracle of palaven has nothing to do with dreadnoughts.

[v TricKy v]

Am I the only one who wonders why no one bothers developing better Laser weapons? The Council races are using kinetic weapons and barriers that counter them for over 1000 years but never bothered researching weapons which bypass them.
It looks like someone who could develop them would have a chance against the Reapers because they have no way to defend against them.

[spiriticon]

Tritium315 wrote...

Like I said, there are only so many planets that would have to be avoided in the whole galaxy. Even if there were a thousand it would be easy enough to program it into a targeting computer to figure safe firing angles. If the round makes it out of the galaxy is it possible it will **** up someone's day in a different galaxy? Yea, but **** happens. You can't really worry about intergalactic matters in a story centered around one galaxy; just like you can't worry about aliens in a story based in medieval Europe.

So what's the issue over the endings in the first place? A big massive weapon was used killing the Reapers as well as everyone else in the universe, leading to a dark death for all. Take your bow Crucible.

As for the size of the weapon; all we know is that the rounds it fires are a great deal more desctructive than conventional ones. It's entirely possible that whatever ancient civilzation created the gun had developed mass effect fields that were capable of projecting rounds at far greater velocities. If they could figure out a way to fire a shell at just 10 times the speed it would have 100 times the destructive force.

Concerning whether that's space magic or not; no more so than the concept of mass effect fields in general. Since the mass effect has already been established in the ME universe one could hardly equate it with the space magic presented by Synthesis (how exactly do you make a PROGRAM organic).

And yet these 'space magic' mass effect fields can't be used to explain Destroy and Control? I hate synthesis so I agree with you there.

Finally, in relation to the constant need to maneuver; that wouldn't be as large an issue as you suggest. As the codex has shown us, Dreadnoughts are capable of FTLing near Reapers and hitting them before the Reapers can turn around. With a weapon that one shots said Reapers I'm sure even you can see how that'd spell bad news for them. Not to mention these guns would have astronomical effective ranges of engagement, especially if they benefit from greater velocities.

Weapons with oneshots spells bad news for ALL, not just the Reapers. There are also drawbacks in effect to the size. If you remove this drawback, by creating arbitrary explanations of technology not explained in the BioWare lore, then you are going down the dangerous path of recreating another Crucible device.

People hate the Crucible because it uses 'space magic' tech not described in the lore before. You are doing the same for your Klendagon Gun.

I could also easily invent a Reaper killing mass accelerated pistol which Shepard can keep in his back pocket whichh works through 'unexplained mass effect phenomena' but that would be just as pointless as the Crucible.

Modifié par spiriticon, 13 juillet 2012 - 02:40 .

[V-rcingetorix]

In ME2, EDI does comment that the Normandy does not have enough firepower to take down the heavily damaged Reaper Shields. Keep in mind, however, that the Normandy II is a frigate, not a Dreadnought.

But don't the Geth have a huge number of dreadnoughts, just as many as the Turians? That would peg the grand total up to around 80, plus the Quarian/Salarian/Asari/Earth ships.

[Vilegrim]

why no one in ME 3 broke out the planet killer level WMD (which with presented technology would be trivial to make) is beyond me. Anti-Matter warheads people!  Given that the shells for the mass drivers where stated in ME2 to be 20kg, and yeild 15 KT of kinetic blast on impact, and that a reaper can be bought down by 4 ships firing such weapons...well the numbers when you place half the mass as AM get insane,  10kg of antimatter will annihilate 10 kg of matter, converting 20 kg of
mass directly into energy. Use E=MC^2 to figure out how many Joules
that would be, and then you can compare that number with the
explosiveness of TNT. It ends up being 1.8*10^18 J, which would make it
more than a 2 gigaton explosion. hiroshima was 15 kilotons. so thats
about 100,000 times more explosive than hiroshima.  Or a 1 shot kill. 

Modifié par Vilegrim, 13 juillet 2012 - 03:00 .

[Tritium315]

spiriticon wrote...

Tritium315 wrote...

Like I said, there are only so many planets that would have to be avoided in the whole galaxy. Even if there were a thousand it would be easy enough to program it into a targeting computer to figure safe firing angles. If the round makes it out of the galaxy is it possible it will **** up someone's day in a different galaxy? Yea, but **** happens. You can't really worry about intergalactic matters in a story centered around one galaxy; just like you can't worry about aliens in a story based in medieval Europe.

So what's the issue over the endings in the first place? A big massive weapon was used killing the Reapers as well as everyone else in the universe, leading to a dark death for all. Take your bow Crucible.

As for the size of the weapon; all we know is that the rounds it fires are a great deal more desctructive than conventional ones. It's entirely possible that whatever ancient civilzation created the gun had developed mass effect fields that were capable of projecting rounds at far greater velocities. If they could figure out a way to fire a shell at just 10 times the speed it would have 100 times the destructive force.

Concerning whether that's space magic or not; no more so than the concept of mass effect fields in general. Since the mass effect has already been established in the ME universe one could hardly equate it with the space magic presented by Synthesis (how exactly do you make a PROGRAM organic).

And yet these 'space magic' mass effect fields can't be used to explain Destroy and Control? I hate synthesis so I agree with you there.

Finally, in relation to the constant need to maneuver; that wouldn't be as large an issue as you suggest. As the codex has shown us, Dreadnoughts are capable of FTLing near Reapers and hitting them before the Reapers can turn around. With a weapon that one shots said Reapers I'm sure even you can see how that'd spell bad news for them. Not to mention these guns would have astronomical effective ranges of engagement, especially if they benefit from greater velocities.

Weapons with oneshots spells bad news for ALL, not just the Reapers. There are also drawbacks in effect to the size. If you remove this drawback, by creating arbitrary explanations of technology not explained in the BioWare lore, then you are going down the dangerous path of recreating another Crucible device.

People hate the Crucible because it uses 'space magic' tech not described in the lore before. You are doing the same for your Klendagon Gun.

I could also easily invent a Reaper killing mass accelerated pistol which Shepard can keep in his back pocket whichh works through 'unexplained mass effect phenomena' but that would be just as pointless as the Crucible.

Are you literally retarded? I'm serious here; you keep repeating the same thing like it actually means something.

1) The gun wont kill everything because it's not difficult to aim it so you don't hit any important planets.

2) Better mass effect fields aren't space magic in the context of the story since we already have mass effect fields. It's a natural evolution of the technology. If we had mini crucibles throughout the trilogy who's function and mechanics were explained long before the ending then the crucible wouldn't be space magic either.

3) You can't use better mass effect fields to explain destroy and control because it makes no ****ing sense. 

4) A more advanced mass effect field is not "an arbitrary explanation of technology" it's an extension of what is already present within the story.

5) The Klendagon cannon was aluded to in both previous games, as opposed to the crucible which showed up out of the ****ing blue in just the third, that's how it's different.

[riesenwiesel]

V-rcingetorix wrote...
But don't the Geth have a huge number of dreadnoughts, just as many as the Turians? That would peg the grand total up to around 80, plus the Quarian/Salarian/Asari/Earth ships.

Dreadnought count:
Turians (39), Asari (20), Salarians (16), Humans (9) and Volus (1) combined have 85 dreadnoughts (according to mewiki)
+ Geth
+ Quarians
So even if you are very very optimistic, you won't hit the 200. And that is the number at the beginning of the war, don't know how many are already lost during the events of ME3, even before bringing the crucible to earth.

Modifié par riesenwiesel, 13 juillet 2012 - 02:59 .

[D24O]

Baronesa wrote...
In the case of a Reaper capital ship, these kinetic barriers can hold off the firepower of two dreadnoughts simultaneously, but three clearly causes strain, and four typically results in destruction. Weapons designed to maximize heat damage, such as the Thanix series, show better results against the Reapers than pure kinetic impacts.

The barriers of a Reaper destroyer are less formidable than those of a capital ship. It is possible for a single cruiser or many fighters to disable or demolish a destroyer if they can get within range before they are themselves destroyed.

I see it says that 4 dreadnought hits can take it down, but that Thanix weapons work better. Does that mean that 4 dreadnoughts can take it down with pure kenitic weaponry (pre-Thanix guns, IDK a good name), or am I interperting that wrong.

[Tritium315]

riesenwiesel wrote...

V-rcingetorix wrote...
But don't the Geth have a huge number of dreadnoughts, just as many as the Turians? That would peg the grand total up to around 80, plus the Quarian/Salarian/Asari/Earth ships.

Dreadnought count:
Turians (39), Asari (20), Salarians (16), Humans (9) and Volus (1) combined have 85 dreadnoughts (according to mewiki)
+ Geth
+ Quarians
So even if you are very very optimistic, you won't hit the 200. And that is the number at the beginning of the war, don't know how many are already lost during the events of ME3, even before bringing the crucible to earth.

The size of the Asari fleet brings up an interesting point:

"The Destiny Ascension is an asari dreadnought and flagship of the Citadel Fleet. It is a starship of stunning power; according to a volus visitor, it has almost as much firepower as the rest of the asari fleet combined. The Ascension is currently commanded by the asari Matriarch Lidanya." Taken from the wiki; which I'm assuming is taken from the codex.

Does that mean the DA can take on 5 Reaper capital ships?

[spiriticon]

Are you literally retarded? I'm serious here; you keep repeating the same thing like it actually means something.

1) The gun wont kill everything because it's not difficult to aim it so you don't hit any important planets.

2) Better mass effect fields aren't space magic in the context of the story since we already have mass effect fields. It's a natural evolution of the technology. If we had mini crucibles throughout the trilogy who's function and mechanics were explained long before the ending then the crucible wouldn't be space magic either.

3) You can't use better mass effect fields to explain destroy and control because it makes no ****ing sense. 

4) A more advanced mass effect field is not "an arbitrary explanation of technology" it's an extension of what is already present within the story.

5) The Klendagon cannon was aluded to in both previous games, as opposed to the crucible which showed up out of the ****ing blue in just the third, that's how it's different.

I'm not ****ing retarded. Your are just so completely in love with your goddamn cannon you refuse to see it for anyless as stupid as the ****ing Crucible. I'm serious.

1) That's a ****ing drawback in itself. IE. You can't fire the weapon UNLESS YOU DON't HIT ANY IMPORTANT PLANETS. SO you can't just fire it from the hip. What's so hard to see????? You're using targeting AI tech to ensure this. Ever thought the Reapers, who are AI beyond your comprehension, might just be better at calculating trajectories then your stupid tech? They'll know where your round lands before you do.

So what now?

2,3,4) Do you even know what Mass effect fields are EXACTLY? It's potential can be anything because it's fictional terminology. If its fictional terminology, why can't it be used to explained the Crucible's destructive power?

The Crucible can also just be a natural evolution of mass effect technology, garnered through several cycles of evolution. What makes YOU so sure that it isn't?

5) The Klandagon cannon itself is foreshadowed. HOWEVER, minitaurising it, putting in onto every ****ing ship in the galaxy, and expecting it to give the same firepower as the original ISN'T foreshadowed and requires suspension of disbelief.

Jesus H Christ.

[The Angry One]

dreman9999 wrote...

o Ventus wrote...

Miracle at Palaven disproves your claim.

Miracle of palaven has nothing to do with dreadnoughts.

The Battle of Palaven does, and involves dreadnoughts shooting down several Sovereign class Reapers.

[dirty console peasant]

 They are not even impervious to thanix fire
read this post (sorry about the length)
social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/12878011

[xI extremist Ix]

riesenwiesel wrote...

V-rcingetorix wrote...
But don't the Geth have a huge number of dreadnoughts, just as many as the Turians? That would peg the grand total up to around 80, plus the Quarian/Salarian/Asari/Earth ships.

Dreadnought count:
Turians (39), Asari (20), Salarians (16), Humans (9) and Volus (1) combined have 85 dreadnoughts (according to mewiki)
+ Geth
+ Quarians
So even if you are very very optimistic, you won't hit the 200. And that is the number at the beginning of the war, don't know how many are already lost during the events of ME3, even before bringing the crucible to earth.

At least one less for the final push because we see one get destroyed by a single reaper in Seattle/Edmonton.

[Tritium315]

spiriticon wrote...

I'm not ****ing retarded. Your are just so completely in love with your goddamn cannon you refuse to see it for anyless as stupid as the ****ing Crucible. I'm serious.

1) That's a ****ing drawback in itself. IE. You can't fire the weapon UNLESS YOU DON't HIT ANY IMPORTANT PLANETS. SO you can't just fire it from the hip. What's so hard to see????? You're using targeting AI tech to ensure this. Ever thought the Reapers, who are AI beyond your comprehension, might just be better at calculating trajectories then your stupid tech? They'll know where your round lands before you do.

So what now?

2,3,4) Do you even know what Mass effect fields are EXACTLY? It's potential can be anything because it's fictional terminology. If its fictional terminology, why can't it be used to explained the Crucible's destructive power?

The Crucible can also just be a natural evolution of mass effect technology, garnered through several cycles of evolution. What makes YOU so sure that it isn't?

5) The Klandagon cannon itself is foreshadowed. HOWEVER, minitaurising it, putting in onto every ****ing ship in the galaxy, and expecting it to give the same firepower as the original ISN'T foreshadowed and requires suspension of disbelief.

Jesus H Christ.

" Gunnery Chief: Damn straight! I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going til it hits something. That can be a ship. Or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someones day, somewhere and sometime. That is why you check your targets. That is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution. That is why, Serviceman Chung, we do not "eyeball it". This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip!  "

That is a direct quote from ME2. Any mass accelerator round will mess **** up if it misses; the targeting tech is already present. As for the Reapers being more advanced: it is infinitely easier to find a single angle of safe attack than it is to find a spot where there are is only one possible angle of safe attack. On top of that, there were not be enough no fire targets in the galaxy for a Reaper to safely plant himself in space. The Reapers could descend onto planets and use them as cover, but as stated in the codex that requires a lot of energy for a Reaper to do and so would significantly compromise their shields, opening them up to being hit by conventional weaponry.

Regarding mass effect fields: Yes, we do know what they are, exactly. Are they real? No, but their technology and operation is described in excrutiating detail throughout the various novels/games/etc. within the ME universe; this is why it's called SCIENCE fiction. We know how they work and what they do and killing all synthetics/taking control of all Reapers/making everyone's eyes glow green is most definately NOT one of their functions.

Concerning the cannon: The only description we have of it is that the rounds it fires are of "unimaginable desctructive power." That could mean they're huge, it could mean they travel really fast, or it could be a combination of both. All are equally plausible assumptions based on the evidence in the previous games. However, we should also remember that there is already a precedent present for repurposing and miniaturizing advanced technology. The Thanix Cannons were designed based on Sovereign's main gun, and, since Sovereign is significantly larger than the Normandy, said gun had to be miniaturized (gasp) to fit on the Normandy.

Where exactly is the precedent for the Crucible again?

As for being in love with this theory: I really don't care one way or another about it. I came up with it solely for the purpose of this thread. The point I'm trying to make, that I've been trying to make, is that it would have been exceedingly simple to write a conclusion to the ME trilogy that didnt a) undermine half the established lore, involve a ****load of space magic, and c) wasn't riddled with plot holes.

Modifié par Tritium315, 13 juillet 2012 - 03:57 .

[Ziguehart]

Actually if we shoot this at the reapers we win easily

[ img ] http://www.letsgomob...nokia_3330.jpg [ / img ]

Modifié par Ziguehart, 13 juillet 2012 - 04:43 .

[TookYoCookies]

Brovikk Rasputin wrote...

TookYoCookies wrote...

Brovikk Rasputin wrote...

TookYoCookies wrote...

Rasputin we get it, you would lose conventionally.

While many others would win conventionally.

Uhm no. Beating the Reapers conventionally isn't possible. 

For you.

No, for everyone. In the refusal ending, the reapers continue the cycle. What happens in the game is how it is. No amouny of speculation will change that.

Neg. Refusal ending no one gets to fight the reapers, the game just plays a cutscene before ending. This ending would be accurate for your war against the Reapers, but not for me or many others. 

Impossible for you.

Possible for many others.

[RadicalDisconnect]

The Angry One wrote...

EDI often likes being wrong, like when she remarks that Reapers wouldn't find the Quarian immune system an issue for Reaperisation in ME3.
You know, when Harbinger said the exact opposite in ME2.

Making reaper troops is one thing. Melting them down to create reaper ships is quite another.

[RadicalDisconnect]

riesenwiesel wrote...

Does the codex say anything about how Asari dreadnoughts do against Reapers? At least they are the most advanced race in the galaxy... sadly you never see one of them firing its main gun.

In a 1v1 situation, a reaper capital ship will eat the Destiny Ascension alive...

[Baronesa]

D24O wrote...

Baronesa wrote...
In the case of a Reaper capital ship, these kinetic barriers can hold off the firepower of two dreadnoughts simultaneously, but three clearly causes strain, and four typically results in destruction. Weapons designed to maximize heat damage, such as the Thanix series, show better results against the Reapers than pure kinetic impacts.

The barriers of a Reaper destroyer are less formidable than those of a capital ship. It is possible for a single cruiser or many fighters to disable or demolish a destroyer if they can get within range before they are themselves destroyed.

I see it says that 4 dreadnought hits can take it down, but that Thanix weapons work better. Does that mean that 4 dreadnoughts can take it down with pure kenitic weaponry (pre-Thanix guns, IDK a good name), or am I interperting that wrong.

That is the same interpretation I have.

Remember only the Kwunu has a main big Thannix Dreadnaught main gun. All other Dreadnaughts that use Thannix are of the Broadside types (Think about those ancient naval battles)

So, normal Kinetic weapons would require 4 Dreadnaughts (3 with some planning and luck). but if you put them with Thannix weapons then there is no difference between a Broadside  Dreadnaught and a couple of Cruisers, or a small flotilla of Frigates or a swarm of fighters. All of those use Thannix as well.

[spiriticon]

That is a direct quote from ME2. Any mass accelerator round will mess **** up if it misses; the targeting tech is already present. As for the Reapers being more advanced: it is infinitely easier to find a single angle of safe attack than it is to find a spot where there are is only one possible angle of safe attack. On top of that, there were not be enough no fire targets in the galaxy for a Reaper to safely plant himself in space. The Reapers could descend onto planets and use them as cover, but as stated in the codex that requires a lot of energy for a Reaper to do and so would significantly compromise their shields, opening them up to being hit by conventional weaponry.

I think you underestimate the Reapers and their AI capabilities. Anything that requires AI to acheive, the Reapers are king. All your possible calculated angles of attack, the Reapers will know it faster than you.

Regarding mass effect fields: Yes, we do know what they are, exactly. Are they real? No, but their technology and operation is described in excrutiating detail throughout the various novels/games/etc. within the ME universe; this is why it's called SCIENCE fiction. We know how they work and what they do and killing all synthetics/taking control of all Reapers/making everyone's eyes glow green is most definately NOT one of their functions.

I've never actually known Mass Effect fields to allow miniaturising of big cannons either without loss of firepower. If so, why not miniaturise it all the way to a pistol as I've suggested?

Concerning the cannon: The only description we have of it is that the rounds it fires are of "unimaginable desctructive power." That could mean they're huge, it could mean they travel really fast, or it could be a combination of both. All are equally plausible assumptions based on the evidence in the previous games. However, we should also remember that there is already a precedent present for repurposing and miniaturizing advanced technology. The Thanix Cannons were designed based on Sovereign's main gun, and, since Sovereign is significantly larger than the Normandy, said gun had to be miniaturized (gasp) to fit on the Normandy.

Where exactly is the precedent for the Crucible again?

So all it comes down to is a single line of codex compared to the Crucible's zero lines. Other than that you know nothing of the gun, just like the Crucible. Also, I'm not sure the gun was ever recovered, I can't find proof of it but I'll take your word for it.

Does the miniaturised Thanix Cannons have the same firepower as Sovereign's main guns? I don't believe so. So you don't know how it works, how long it takes to build, how to build it, how long it takes to minaturise and wheter it will have the same firepower as it did if you mini-me'd it. And you expect this development all in the 3 years between Sovereign's first attack and Priority Earth, in the midst of chaos?

There's a LOT of suspension of disbelief required on my part, I'm sorry.

As for being in love with this theory: I really don't care one way or another about it. I came up with it solely for the purpose of this thread. The point I'm trying to make, that I've been trying to make, is that it would have been exceedingly simple to write a conclusion to the ME trilogy that didnt a) undermine half the established lore, involve a ****load of space magic, and c) wasn't riddled with plot holes.

Let's put it this way, if your ending replaces the current endings, I would be on this forum sending cupcakes to BioWare.

[RadicalDisconnect]

Tritium315 wrote...

Additionally, even Turian Dreadnaughts are capable of outmaneuvering Reapers, as evidenced in the Battle of Palaven. Small frigates could be loaded with Turian Bombs, make precision jumps into the middle of Reaper fleets, and then kamikazed into the nearest Reaper.

Either of these ideas are far less plot hole filled and require a great deal less space magic than the Crucible and Catalyst do.

Not entirely accurate. Capital ships can outmaneuver almost any ships we have, but to do so, they must lower their mass to unacceptable combat standards. The turians got the jump and were already in firing position.

[Baronesa]

RadicalDisconnect wrote...

Tritium315 wrote...

Additionally, even Turian Dreadnaughts are capable of outmaneuvering Reapers, as evidenced in the Battle of Palaven. Small frigates could be loaded with Turian Bombs, make precision jumps into the middle of Reaper fleets, and then kamikazed into the nearest Reaper.

Either of these ideas are far less plot hole filled and require a great deal less space magic than the Crucible and Catalyst do.

Not entirely accurate. Capital ships can outmaneuver almost any ships we have, but to do so, they must lower their mass to unacceptable combat standards. The turians got the jump and were already in firing position.

Exactly... as long as the Reapers are forced to keep their kinetic barriers up, even the slow dreadnaughts cn outmaneuver them

[The_Crazy_Hand]

RadicalDisconnect wrote...

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, those are the actual numbers. Both the reaper and friendly fleets are smaller than we think.

EDIT: I can't find where the 200 ships number came from, but apparently it was found in some dialogue or codex regarding the First Contact War. I don't know how many ships the Alliance would have by 2186. Needless to say though, I can't imagine that number being any more than 400 or 500, especially considering that even by 2186, humans only had 9 dreadnoughts.

Yeah I can't help but agree, with those numbers, the war is already lost.  If they had more realistic numbers, the reapers would be ****ed if we prepared properly, used the right weapons, and took a purely pragmatic approach (ie, using cerberus' research to control husks so that ground forces can fire big guns at the reapers themselves, and not the husks).

Granted, it may still take a while and incur plenty of losses, but we'd win.

[The_Crazy_Hand]

spiriticon wrote...

You're just gonna board a Reaper and install the bomb on it? This is another weapon that destroys planets. YOu can't just fire it around like pistols. You'd kill more of your own people through friendly fire than Reapers.

I'm not sure about using these megaweapons as arguments for a conventional victory. It's pretty unconventional, just replacing the Crucible with another Crucible like device. Worse, You'd be committing genocide on a scale far more than just  EDI and the Geth.

Besides, you could you know, just use the Crucible at low EMS if you want to obliterate everything in sight.

No ****, I'm not saying it wouldn't take care in deploying it.  Hence why I advocate the diversion tactic discussed above.  Send fleets to all systems of home planets simultaneously(so that they don't have time to adapt), meet the reapers just out of planetary range, then unleash it in the middle of them.

It won't kill them all, not, but it'll seriously thin their ranks.

spiriticon wrote...

Friendly fire, big **** off destructive power is used and the galaxy is meant to be OK? You gonna stop friendly fire with Space magic?

The ONLY ship that is capable of outmaneuvring the Reapers is the Normandy. That is why they are the point of the arrow. You fire a turian bomb at a reaper, the resulting explosion will take all the other dreadnoughts in the vicinity down.

The Reapers have collective intelligence, like the geth. You may outsmart one but the same plan won't work twice.

 

That's why you have the fleets jump to FTL (like they do in the EC crucible charging up scene) right as it is being fired.  Is it still risky and tricky?  Hell yes, but we're facing extinction here.  If you're choosing between a high risk of death, and certain death, which would you choose?

Modifié par The_Crazy_Hand, 13 juillet 2012 - 10:53 .

[Tritium315]

spiriticon wrote...

That is a direct quote from ME2. Any mass accelerator round will mess **** up if it misses; the targeting tech is already present. As for the Reapers being more advanced: it is infinitely easier to find a single angle of safe attack than it is to find a spot where there are is only one possible angle of safe attack. On top of that, there were not be enough no fire targets in the galaxy for a Reaper to safely plant himself in space. The Reapers could descend onto planets and use them as cover, but as stated in the codex that requires a lot of energy for a Reaper to do and so would significantly compromise their shields, opening them up to being hit by conventional weaponry.

I think you underestimate the Reapers and their AI capabilities. Anything that requires AI to acheive, the Reapers are king. All your possible calculated angles of attack, the Reapers will know it faster than you.

Regarding mass effect fields: Yes, we do know what they are, exactly. Are they real? No, but their technology and operation is described in excrutiating detail throughout the various novels/games/etc. within the ME universe; this is why it's called SCIENCE fiction. We know how they work and what they do and killing all synthetics/taking control of all Reapers/making everyone's eyes glow green is most definately NOT one of their functions.

I've never actually known Mass Effect fields to allow miniaturising of big cannons either without loss of firepower. If so, why not miniaturise it all the way to a pistol as I've suggested?

Concerning the cannon: The only description we have of it is that the rounds it fires are of "unimaginable desctructive power." That could mean they're huge, it could mean they travel really fast, or it could be a combination of both. All are equally plausible assumptions based on the evidence in the previous games. However, we should also remember that there is already a precedent present for repurposing and miniaturizing advanced technology. The Thanix Cannons were designed based on Sovereign's main gun, and, since Sovereign is significantly larger than the Normandy, said gun had to be miniaturized (gasp) to fit on the Normandy.

Where exactly is the precedent for the Crucible again?

So all it comes down to is a single line of codex compared to the Crucible's zero lines. Other than that you know nothing of the gun, just like the Crucible. Also, I'm not sure the gun was ever recovered, I can't find proof of it but I'll take your word for it.

Does the miniaturised Thanix Cannons have the same firepower as Sovereign's main guns? I don't believe so. So you don't know how it works, how long it takes to build, how to build it, how long it takes to minaturise and wheter it will have the same firepower as it did if you mini-me'd it. And you expect this development all in the 3 years between Sovereign's first attack and Priority Earth, in the midst of chaos?

There's a LOT of suspension of disbelief required on my part, I'm sorry.

As for being in love with this theory: I really don't care one way or another about it. I came up with it solely for the purpose of this thread. The point I'm trying to make, that I've been trying to make, is that it would have been exceedingly simple to write a conclusion to the ME trilogy that didnt a) undermine half the established lore, involve a ****load of space magic, and c) wasn't riddled with plot holes.

Let's put it this way, if your ending replaces the current endings, I would be on this forum sending cupcakes to BioWare.

I give up; you are the exact kind of person this was said about.