Was The Crucible Actually Needed In Mass Effect 3?

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focuses a large portion of the main plot on building the Crucible as a weapon to use against the Reapers. Unfortunately, the way the Crucible was introduced and used sparked a lot of hate from players, as it was quite obviously used as a deus ex machina plot device. However, with the feats that Shepard and others perform throughout the series leading up to their last stand against the Reapers, the Crucible doesn't seem like the necessary weapon that the game tries to convince players it's supposed to be.

The last game of the trilogy, shows the Reapers attacking the Milky Way in full force, and the game's NPCs and quests are designed to make them feel like a threat that's impossible to overcome with the means available to various militaries. In their time of need, the galaxy's denizens are able to find plans for a structure called the Crucible, which has a design that's been improved on over various cycles with the hope it'll eventually be used. It all feels rather convenient, given the circumstances and its uses.

Even before starting, Shepard has defeated Reapers. The first game ends with Shepard fighting Saren, who's being controlled by Sovereign, and during this process, the actual Reaper husk of Sovereign is destroyed, effectively killing the first Reaper of the series. Then, Collector Base has a Reaper being built within it that Shepard destroys, which kind of counts as at least a partial Reaper kill. These circumstances might be a bit unique compared to the actual Reaper War, but they're still enough to show that the Reapers aren't invincible.

Plagued by a rushed development and a bug-riddled launch, Mass Effect: Andromeda has a bad reputation, but I’m ready to give it another chance.

Then, starts, and the Reapers arrive in the Milky Way in full force, ready to proceed with this cycle of reaping. Throughout the game, it's shown more than once that the species of the Milky Way are capable of defeating Reapers without the Crucible, and if it's a galaxy-wide