Mass Effects plot is really all over the place, although I admit this does make a lot of sense. Thing is, Saren has information from a Prothean beacon and an inability to understand it. His bff, Benezia, just so happens to have a daughter who is an expert on Protheans, and just so happens to be located in a relatively obscure and completely undefended mining colony at a Prothean dig site in the Traverse. If he didn't go to get her first, he would be an absolute ****** moron.Really? After playing all the different possibilities I saw it as being Feros, Therum, Virmire, Noveria.
Feros is the most urgent since a colony is under attack, and you end up with the Cipher. However you cannot understand it so you go to Therum to get Liara, a Prothean expert. You then learn that Saren has a base on Virmire, so go there to take him down. After that, you go to Noveria and get the Mu Relay location shortly after Saren does, which gets you to Ilos shortly after him thus why he is barely ahead of you. It also makes Saren's conversation about him having doubts before getting and recovering from the implants make more sense since he had more time to do that.
And he does, more or less. Or rather, the Therum and Feros and Noveria assignments become available simultaneously.
Now consider Shepard's perspective. At this point in the story, you know: 1) Saren is after Prothean information to release a race of synthetic beings called the Reapers and 2) Matriarch Benezia is aiding him and 3) she has a Prothean expert daughter located in the Traverse.
Furthermore, you know that 1) a human colony on a Prothean ecumenopolis world is under attack and 2) maybe some Geth were spotted on Noveria.
There is absolutely no reason to rush to Noveria, so you are left with a choice between Feros and Therum. At this point in the story, the only logical reason Saren would want to go to Feros is because, presumably, another Prothean beacon might be located there...on a world literally covered by Prothean ruins. A random colony attack seems unlikely otherwise. You dont know about the Thorian or the necessity of the Cipher. Saren does, but you dont. All you know is that Saren is interested in Prothean junk and he just invaded a world covered by Prothean junk.
So you have a choice: The colony is already under attack, so do you go there to try and stop it, maybe find another beacon and MAYBE get more information.... OR do you rush to snatch up an expert on the Protheans who could give you insight into the existing Prothean info from the beacon that you already have, and oh-by-the-way she is the daughter of Saren's right hand and may be able to give you insight into Saren/Benezia's motives or even potentially their location. You know nothing else about Liara besides her potential, at this point.
Arguably, I would say obtaining Liara is clearly strategically more valuable than another *possible* Prothean beacon. Because remember - at this point Shepard doesn't even know that his vision was incomplete. Liara tells him this after Feros. So for all he knows he has everything he needs to stop Saren, except the means to understand it. Liara could be the key to that.
So without metagaming, I'd say Therum then Feros definitely makes more strategic sense. But Virmire then Noveria does make more sense than the other way around, I'd agree.
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