@mcsupersport wrote:
@AWDAJ
Only issue I have with the idea of staying in the Milky Way, is it would either require setting an ending...ie Destroy or Synthesis.
Reasoning on this is, IF it was control then you would have "Shepard AI" in charge of the Reapers and thus it is in control of the Galaxy. If you have Synthesis, then you would have to either modify(handwave) the whole idea of it as being all lifeforms now share understanding(hive mind or geth concept) and/or make it where Synthesis is rejected by Nature and thus didn't take on future generations and thus everything is reset. Only ending that would be supported with a short time between ME3 ending and ME5 would be Destroy and that would hack off many people who didn't choose that in ME3. So to my mind the only way they can continue with MWG, is let it be a Pre-shep time frame, OR next cycle time frame....
@mcsupersport
Other than the shoot Catalyst ending, you should be able to combine the endings, at least for a game or two, with three assumptions.
1) The Leviathans want to rule the galaxy. Based on Shepard meeting them it's not a stretch.
2) The Crucible missed a few pockets of Reapers. There has been debate on this since we first saw the Crucible blasts on the Galaxy Map, so it is relatively reasonable.
3) Control and Synthesis collapse Reaper unity. A bit of a stretch, especially in a short timeframe, but doable. Leviathans and original Reapers are already separate, and the Crucibled Reapers develop logic glitches similar to the Geth and Heretics, causing them to coalesce around major personalities, such as Shepard, Catalyst, Harbinger, and the Collector creator, and view the others as existential threats.
As a result of these assumptions the next game has the Leviathans and Reapers waging (multilateral) war on each other in the background, but mostly not actively targeting the MW Races and planet as they rebuild, although Reapers, Thralls, and Collectors could continue to be periodic enemies. While you could challenge lone capital class enemies, this wouldn't really be necessary unless one of the factions gains the upper hand in your area.
So for next game:
1) Destroy: Leviathans and original Reapers fight each other, Geth/AI characters/missions eliminated, possible Shepard interactions
2) Control: Shepard, Catalyst, Harbinger, the Collector creator, Leviathans and original Reapers (plus other Reaper factions?) fight each other, possible ShepReaper interactions
3) Synthesis: Catalyst, Harbinger, the Collector creator, Leviathans and original Reapers (plus other Reaper factions?) fight each other, possible Shepard memory unlocks/missions, EDI/Joker babies.
If you want to add an extra Reaper faction to any of these, just have everyone's favorite Quarian TIM wannabe, Admiral Xen, take over some Reapers and launch her own war for galactic dominance. I suppose someone could use Henry Lawson's work to do the same, or have it as an optional questline.
