122 réponses à ce sujet

[JerusPI]

Assuming you had the Bring Down the Sky DLC in ME1 how did you react to him? I was wonder if any of the other players {or even the developers} shared my mindset.

 

I played a Ruthless Colonist Shepard. Slaver's destroyed my home. Batarians have a whole system revolving around Slaves so my Shepard got revenge on Torfan. But then I did the side mission "I remember me" As I listened to Talitha describe what Slavers did to a six year old girl my fingers white knuckled on my controller. I felt a seething rage inside me. {I know it's just a game but still.} Later I went to Bring Down the Sky. And I met Balak and his Second in Command. Balak was a terrorist who was going to drop an asteroid and kill millions. His second in command tells Shepard {Me} He was just in it for the slaving and Balak went off and made it all political but if i'd let him go back to his slaving ways he wont get in my way as I head off to meet Balak. So after responding to the second in command's request at muzzle velocity I go off to meet Balak. He tells me that he's going to walk away now and if I try to stop him he'll blow up katie bowman and the others. So I let him go. But it's not because I care about Katie Bowman. It's because I respect Balak. He doesn't give a damn about slaves. He's not taking the time to "Do things in the dark" to defenseless little girls. He's a man on a mission. I admittedly can't let him compltete his mission but I don't have to kill him.

 

And then he shows up in ME3 and can be persuaded to join your cause. I wonder if the developers saw Balak as less of a monster then his slaving second in command as I did or if it was just another callback to them. Did anyone else spare him but kill his second in command because of the horrors of Slavery?

[DeinonSlayer]

My colonist/ruthless Shep arrested him. Shot him in the chest first, though (what can I say? He was really, really angry.)

 

We're talking about someone who just tried to kill five million people with exactly zero remorse. No way in hell does he walk out of there. No way in hell does he get another chance. He's not some low-level bomb maker, he's the kind of guy who puts these plots together (and as we learn in ME3, an acting military officer no less). The intelligence which can be extracted from him may be useful to prevent future attacks and provide leverage against the Hegemony which sanctioned the attack on Terra Nova in the first place. Besides, what's to say he wouldn't simply remote-detonate the bombs in the room you're in the second he set foot outside the door?

 

Now, don't get me wrong. I knew what I was going to do as soon as the choice was put in front of me. I still saved Bowman once, just so I'd see exactly the price I was paying - it's not a small one. Then I reloaded and did it right. While I recognize the price, I don't regret it.

 

When you get right down to it, sacrificing the hostages in the course of stopping Balak is the same calculus that goes into choosing the Destroy ending (if you recognize synthetics as being alive, that is - I do, some don't).

 

What really made no sense was how, in ME3, Balak was loose again after I turned him over to the Alliance.

 

...Oh, and that other guy?

 

 

"Over there, over there, and up there."

[teh DRUMPf!!]

What really made no sense was how, in ME3, Balak was loose again after I turned him over to the Alliance.

 

I figure he was in prison on Earth somewhere and then broke out courtesy the Reaper invasion.

 

Anyway, I killed them both.

 

Should have turned Balak in instead, but I was naiive back then.

[KaiserShep]

For my spacer/war hero Shepard, I usually let Balak go to save the hostages, though a decision that I regret but stick to because why-the-hell-not, but the second in command never made it off that rock since he had nothing to bargain for in exchange for his life.

 

If I was playing a colonist/ruthless Shepard, I would probably have offed every batarian I could without hesitation, and gladly accept the four-eyes' extinction.

[themikefest]

If I play renegade(almost all the time) I kill him if I decide to play the dlc

 

If I play paragon(which is rare) I let him go if I decide to play the dlc

[Mcfly616]

And then he shows up in ME3 and can be persuaded to join your cause. I wonder if the developers saw Balak as less of a monster then his slaving second in command as I did or if it was just another callback to them. Did anyone else spare him but kill his second in command because of the horrors of Slavery?

I'm not so sure a slaver is on the same 'monstrous' level as terrorism. Yes, slavery has and always will be deplorable and ugly. However, there was a time in history when it was just 'the way of the world', it was accepted practice in first class civilization. And while in hindsight we can say those were ugly times, I'm sure not every person who was a slave owner or grew up in a slave-owning family or played some small part in the slave-trade was necessarily a "monster".

On the other hand, there's a reason that terrorists are referred to as 'extremists'. There's no gray area. You are killing innocent people with acts of terror. 'Killing'. Dead. Terrorism has never been accepted by anybody in society but the terrorists themselves. It is literally evil.

I despise both practices. But if I have to decide who gets the bullet, it's the guy taking lives. The extremist. The terrorist.



Anyways, when it comes to Balak, I only ever kill him in ME1 if I'm playing a pure Renegade sociopath (not because I don't want to, but because imo sacrificing all the researchers isn't worth it. And wrong considering you 'can' save them if you just holster your weapon). Otherwise, I'll save the researchers and cap his ass in ME3 (no matter what). I'm a Council Spectre and I am the Law. Justice will be done.

[KaiserShep]

Heh, thankfully you can be like the Old El Paso taco girl and choose to shoot both.

[Mcfly616]

Lol ^^




Honestly, that's one thing I should add to the "I've never..." thread. I've never capped the second in command. I do like his response when you keep your word.

[ImaginaryMatter]

I use to vary between keeping him alive to be arrested or I just straight up killed him. It was a difficult decision and one I didn't feel good about but I couldn't take the chance for him to leave there in any capacity to continue his attacks -- Shepard can't be at every Terra Nova.

 

Learning in ME3 that he some how escapes custody I now make sure he's dead on all my subsequent playthroughs.

[JerusPI]

I can never forget the way Talitha talked about the Slavers. To quote the Deputy from Defiance "She was just a child you piece of shtako!" Slavery is an abomination. I could possibly be less vengeful if the Devs had been clearer that what she was describing was either the cybernetic implantation process or something I recall about slaves in a codex. Or if they specified that she was mixing up what happened when she was six with more recent events. But as it stands I get the visual of her being sexually assaulted by slavers as a child and I'd rather go with a million dead then one enduring that. As the old saying goes. "one death is a tragedy a million is a statistic."

[DeinonSlayer]

I can never forget the way Talitha talked about the Slavers. To quote the Deputy from Defiance "She was just a child you piece of shtako!" Slavery is an abomination. I could possibly be less vengeful if the Devs had been clearer that what she was describing was either the cybernetic implantation process or something I recall about slaves in a codex. Or if they specified that she was mixing up what happened when she was six with more recent events. But as it stands I get the visual of her being sexually assaulted by slavers as a child and I'd rather go with a million dead then one enduring that. As the old saying goes. "one death is a tragedy a million is a statistic."

Slavery and sexual abuse are abominations. **** anyone who says otherwise. Cultures still exist to this day where the former is commonly practiced, and where the victims of the latter are treated as criminals, but... that probably isn't something to discuss in this thread.

She is describing a cybernetic implant process ("They put the metal to their backs, stick the wires in their brains... you go too far, they take your brains away"), and rape (that was the exact meaning I derived from "lying quiet while they do things to her!").

Believe me, Jacob's father has never gotten off of that planet alive in any of my playthroughs. With that being said, just because a million dead is harder to visualize does not make it the lesser crime. The bolded above is simply not logical. A couple million people being burned alive is worse than the horrors which can be inflicted on any one person.

Emotion is nonetheless a powerful influence on peoples' judgment. If Balak had instead prepared to feed Kate Bowman's brother to some of his varren right in front of her instead of simply shooting him, I'd expect any normal person to break no matter how many lives were on the line.

[Han Shot First]

It depends on the playthrough, but on the one I consider my canon I had Shepard save the hostages.

[Zundar]

I usually let him go to save the hostages and hope he's used up most of his resources on that plan so he won't be able to do anything else until I find him. Occasionally I'll sacrifice the hostages and kill him figuring it will save more lives in the long run. I've never arrested him.

[Kabooooom]

I always let him live. My reasoning is as follows - I always make in game decisions based on what Shep could feasibly know, and try to ignore what I know as a player. I know that it works out either way - Terra Nova is saved. But see, here's the thing: when all three fusion torches are ignited, the asteroid is accelerating towards Terra Nova. Each time you shut one down, it buys you time. With all of them off, the asteroid is still flying towards Terra Nova at the speed it reached when you turned the final fusion torch off. You haven't saved the colony just by shutting the torches off, the asteroid needs to be redirected towards a stable orbit to avoid hitting the colony. Who are the best people to do that in the time remaining? The engineers on the asteroid. Hence, my Shep saves them to save millions on Terra Nova and I let Balak live.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

I spare him. 

[DeinonSlayer]

I always let him live. My reasoning is as follows - I always make in game decisions based on what Shep could feasibly know, and try to ignore what I know as a player. I know that it works out either way - Terra Nova is saved. But see, here's the thing: when all three fusion torches are ignited, the asteroid is accelerating towards Terra Nova. Each time you shut one down, it buys you time. With all of them off, the asteroid is still flying towards Terra Nova at the speed it reached when you turned the final fusion torch off. You haven't saved the colony just by shutting the torches off, the asteroid needs to be redirected towards a stable orbit to avoid hitting the colony. Who are the best people to do that in the time remaining? The engineers on the asteroid. Hence, my Shep saves them to save millions on Terra Nova and I let Balak live.

The torches were in the process of moving the asteroid into a collision course with the planet as I understood it. They're shut off before the rock has actually been adjusted to the point where it's going to hit the planet. Simply shutting them off is enough to prevent a collision.

Though I do agree that it would be interesting if we had to escort engineers to the various sites and protect them while they redirect the asteroid away from the planet, instead of simply shutting off the rockets before it gets to that point.



OK, maybe not...

[KaiserShep]

It depends on the playthrough, but on the one I consider my canon I had Shepard save the hostages.

 

Likewise. In the end, his plan seemed more like a last minute opportunity than some grand scheme, but I suppose that's neither here or there. I didn't really see the particular Shepard I was playing in my canon run letting those people get blown up. Aside from that, if I was going to stop Balak, I wouldn't bother handing him over to anyone, because I don't really see the point. Depending on the type of Shepard you had in mind, the way the personality seems to change when you opt to kill him doesn't really do it for me.

[Kabooooom]

The torches were in the process of moving the asteroid into a collision course with the planet as I understood it. They're shut off before the rock has actually been adjusted to the point where it's going to hit the planet. Simply shutting them off is enough to prevent a collision.

Though I do agree that it would be interesting if we had to escort engineers to the various sites and protect them while they redirect the asteroid away from the planet, instead of simply shutting off the rockets before it gets to that point.



OK, maybe not...

Which would have made sense, if Terra Nova wasn't already looming on the horizon. At that point simply shutting them off wouldn't be enough to avoid a collision.

[DeinonSlayer]

Which would have made sense, if Terra Nova wasn't already looming on the horizon. At that point simply shutting them off wouldn't be enough to avoid a collision.

I always thought simply shutting the torches off was way too easy, but I doubt the devs wanted to delve into orbital dynamics. I reached my conclusion from what Simon says after the Balak situation is dealt with, but to each their own interpretation.

[Mcfly616]

Slaving is wrong. But I'm not going to judge the slaver on the asteroid by the actions of 'slavers' who severely traumatized a little girl some years ago. I judge each individual based on their own actions. I'm not going judge every space pirate based on Jack's past acts of piracy. Just like I'm not gonna judge every asari based on their 'stigma'. I'm not going to look at every Spectre wearily due to Saren.

[von uber]

Batarians were a bit of a wasted opportunity really.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

I shot him in the shoulder, then in the knee, then in the other knee, then got information from him, then killed him.

[Tyrannosaurus Rex]

Saved the hostages back in ME1.

 

Shot the bastard in ME3.

[KaiserShep]

Batarians were a bit of a wasted opportunity really.

 

I have to agree. We never really get much on the hegemony, and anything remotely positive we get to see in certain batarian characters tends to be those who are in desperate situations. In the end, they are the whipping boys of the MEU. No one likes them, and barely anyone acknowledges them when their world is overrun right from the beginning. I doubt many people even cared about the 300,000 that died nearly as much as they cared about the destruction of the relay itself.

[JerusPI]

I have to agree. We never really get much on the hegemony, and anything remotely positive we get to see in certain batarian characters tends to be those who are in desperate situations. In the end, they are the whipping boys of the MEU. No one likes them, and barely anyone acknowledges them when their world is overrun right from the beginning. I doubt many people even cared about the 300,000 that died nearly as much as they cared about the destruction of the relay itself.

Which makes it kind of a shame the work the Devs put into ME3. Depending on whatever flags are at play when tracking down the batarian access codes you can have Balak using the the diplomatic codes to help his people or to kill. Then when he pulls his gun on shepard he almost comes across like Khalisah Al Jilani. All his anger and pain is being directed at Shepard because he feels powerless to save his people. {almost like the halfway point between Shepard and Javik Shepard still has billions of lives he can save Javik is the last of his kind. Balak has many lives on his shoulders but without as much hope of rebuilding as shepards has.} There are some notable batarian moments in ME3 one of which involves finding out that the surviving batarians aren't really big fans of the slaving and behavior of the former hegemony.  In an easily overlooked moment outside the memorial after the coup and possibly even further then that because i kept looking for it they have a batarian consoling a grieving human woman. The preacher in the refugee camp trying to bring hope to his people, And of course the slowly evolving friendship of the NPCs talking in the refugee camp. At first the Batarian seems like an angry human hating jerk and the human to be that obnoxious guy who wants to talk when you dont. But as it progresses you find out that the human had been on a boat on lyon when the reapers attacked and the batarian had been in a weather sattelite working as network admin. The batarian watched his home planet being assaulted by the reapers and was helpless to do anything which is why the subject was sensitive their dialogue ending with. 

 

Human: What are you going to do next?

Batarian: I'm going to try and find my wife how about you?

Human: I'm going to get drunk enlist and ask for the biggest gun I can carry.

Batarian:heh kill a few reapers for me.

Human: Right between the eyes my friend.