Mass Effect 3 & Finale
All of your decisions during the games, DLC, and endings will influence a global stat called Military Strength.
This Military Strength will determine whether the end is tragic or not, regardless of Shepard's final choice. The fate of Earth and the survival of the team are directly linked to it.
Some choices are also not available if your Military Strength is not high enough. In summary, it is best to have as high a value as possible in order to have the maximum number of options and the best endings.
- Earth: Vaporized in the worst case, it can be devastated in another, and ultimately saved with a good score.
- The crew: Dead in the worst case, safe with a good score.
- Shepard: Dead in all endings except Destruction with a good score.
Optimizing your Military Strength
Here are actions to take throughout the trilogy to boost your Military Strength to the max:
- Complete as many quests and side missions as possible. In general, it is better to leave people alive, and save all who can be saved. They will become Military Strength bonuses upon completion.
- Explore as many planets as possible in the three games, and scan all the planets you come across from Mass Effect 2.
- Save as many companions as you can at the end of Mass Effect 2.
- Paragon options are generally more profitable, like saving the Council, reconciling the Geth with the Quarians, saving Queen Rachni in Mass Effect 1 and 3, and so on.
Originally, this system was combined with that of galactic preparation, which started at 50% and went up to 100%. It could be increased by playing multiplayer or through the app on iOS, but this was removed for the Legendary Edition.
Final Choice
When Shepard participates in the battle on Earth, he enters the Crucible with Anderson. He then confronts the troubled man.
It doesn't matter how it is resolved, you can drive him to suicide or shoot him yourself. You will be confronted with four choices after the dialogue with the hologram in the Crucible:
- Destruction (red): Shepard causes the destruction of the Reapers and all synthetic life in the galaxy. This is the only ending in which Shepard survives if your Military Strength score is high enough.
- Control (blue): Shepard controls the Reapers and he uses them for the greater good. Although he is no longer alive in the strictest sense, Shepard has become an AI and is the ruler of the galaxy in a way.
- Synthesis (green): To settle the opposition between organics and synthetics, Shepard forcibly merges the two. A new age is coming for all races in the galaxy, but Shepard dies during the merger.
- Refused (yellow): If you are fed up with endings or hate the universe, you can choose to do nothing, and not activate the Crucible. This will result in two new scenes -- the first is a recording of Liara in a beacon, which contains information for the next cycle to help fight the Reapers. The next is a scene with humanoids admiring the stars after defeating the Reapers, and they mention that the beacon and the efforts of the "Shepard" allowed them to survive.
