8 replies to this topic

[Bardox9]

I thought about putting this in the Andromeda section, but it applies more directly here as this is where the decision is made.

 

With Andromeda coming, has anyone changed their minds about the Genophage cure? Whether you cured the Krogan or you didn't. Do you still retain the same point of view on the decision or has it changed?

 

When ME3 first came out, I cured the Genophage. It was an obvious choice. Just a story book wrong that is finally being made right. Something kept bugging me though. I finally did a completely new run through (ME1-ME3) and paid more attention to Rachni War and the Krogan Rebellion and re-evaluated exactly what it is to be a Spectre in the ME:U. It gave me a different view of the Krogan and the Genophage.

 

As a Spectre, your core duty is to maintain galactic stability. Curing the Genophage and restoring the Krogan, at first glance, seems like the right thing to do. It is not. It is something that opens the galactic community up to a threat it hasn't seen in nearly a thousand years. With the other races being weakened by the Reaper invasion; there will be no one powerful enough to fend off the Krogan if/when they expand again. They will over run the galaxy and the only resort the other races will have is to sterilize the Krogan completely. No more balancing of the population. Just no more Krogan. At least no more Krogan that aren't cooked up from a test tube as needed. Without the Genophage, the great Krogan race will eventually get reduced to throw away soldiers. With the genophage, the Krogan future will be no easier than it has been since long before humanity joined the galactic community, but they will have a future where their history and culture can be found somewhere other than the pages of a history book.

 

I finished the run through without doing anything you have to do in order to cure the Genophage, Kill Wrex on Virmir (hardest part), destroyed the data, convinced Mordin not to repair the sabotage to the shroud, and made that my new canon Shepard. None of the books, comics, even fan fictions has shown me anything to change that calculation.

 

What of you? Has your opinion on the Genophage changed over time or do you remain steadfast to what you started out with?

[themikefest]

It hasn't changed. I still sabotage the cure. I do it to get Salarian aid. Get as much help as possible to deal with the reapers.

[Monica21]

The first time I played ME I cured the genophage because I thought it was the right thing to do. My logic was basically that that's how the evolutionary process works so let's see how it works. And yes, that was even with the Salarians uplifting the Krogan. However, my second playthrough convinced me, and has convinced me since, that sabotaging the genophage is the right thing to do, for all the reasons stated in the OP.

It all really depends on my Shepard though. If I shoot Wrex on Virmire, it's because he's unpredictable and a liability, and I can't trust him to have my back. That makes it significantly easier to sabotage the genophage. My current Shepard however, is taking a Paragon route where she talked Wrex down, saved Maelon's data, and will cure the genophage. She trusts Wrex and Eve. She's actually even going to tell Eve about the Salarian proposition once they get to Tuchanka, which I believe still guarantees Salarian assets but I don't know how many.

Anyway, I suppose it has technically changed since my first playthrough, but it still depends on the Shepard I'm playing.

[Excella Gionne]

I remain the same with my decision to cure the genophage. Based on slides, it seems my decision didn't go to waste, although, how BioWare ever thought that krogans would be such a threat when they are demilitarized is beyond me. There's not really much they can do on their planet. I think Andromeda will make certain decisions canon if they are continuing the Shepard universe.

[Monica21]

... how BioWare ever thought that krogans would be such a threat when they are demilitarized is beyond me.

I think this is actually part of the problem. Look how much attention Wrex/Wreav gets when he jumps out of the shuttle on Sur'Kesh. That's one krogan with no intent to harm. They don't need to have their own military when they can just steal what they don't have. Take over a couple of frigates, maybe a cruiser, and then the galaxy is Manifest Destiny for the krogan.

[kalasaurus]

I sabotaged the cure once when I had Wrex die on Virmire and deleted Maelon's data. It's not so much the ethics of the Genophage that bother me- the long-term consequences of curing vs. sabotaging don't matter to me as much as the immediate and "close" consequences of A) Shooting Mordin in the back, and B ) Watching Wrex die on the Citadel (which was a lot harder to watch than on Virmire).

I understand both sides to the argument, but I don't feel strongly one way or another. I am curious to see what happens in Andromeda, though.

[Bardox9]

I am curious to see what happens in Andromeda, though.

Choices like this usually get retconed or have little to no effect on the next title.

 

If you cure the genophage, maybe everything turns out beautifully and everyone gets along and the Krogan grow into the billions, colonize a few worlds too hostile for other races, and establish a manageable population level. Or they might grow their numbers out of control, violently expand, get deemed too dangerous, and are exterminated.

 

If you sabotage the cure, maybe they go the smart route following a plan similar to what Wrex describes in ME2 and they steadily pull back from possible extinction. Or the worst happens and the realization that the cure failed drives them into full kamikaze mode.

 

If exitinction is the order of the day, the Andromeda galaxy Krogan will be a mix of refugee Krogan survivors and Krogan that are grown in labs. If they find their balance, then... I don't know... Maybe they tell stories about "The Shepard" around the Varren Pit?

[Monica21]

I sabotaged the cure once when I had Wrex die on Virmire and deleted Maelon's data. It's not so much the ethics of the Genophage that bother me- the long-term consequences of curing vs. sabotaging don't matter to me as much as the immediate and "close" consequences of A) Shooting Mordin in the back, and B ) Watching Wrex die on the Citadel (which was a lot harder to watch than on Virmire).

I understand both sides to the argument, but I don't feel strongly one way or another. I am curious to see what happens in Andromeda, though.

The bolded part, yeah, that was a lot harder. If I'm going to sabotage the genophage, I decide before ME1 so I know what to do with Wrex. That scene on the Citadel was rough.

[gothpunkboy89]

My first play thought is the only cannon play thought to me. All the rest are more What If alternate realities.

 

I cured it.

 

Wrex with Eve's help are attempting to correct the issues of the past and bring the Krogan down a better path. They deserve the chance to try.