I wish they would make a sequel, not because I liked the game all that much, but because all the unanswered questions(like this) that burn in my mind lol
Was the most intriguing part of Andromeda. They couldn't make a sequel though, they'd have had to do it on a different engine because Frostbite sucks, hence why the next game will be on Unreal Engine again and I'm not sure they could've transferred save data from the first game to a sequel on a new engine not that there's any decisions you can make in the game that has any impact, except maybe who you choose to save on the Archon's ship, but even then. Since the game won't get a sequel, I wish Bioware would just tell us what the plan was for saga.
@@Jimmer93 You're crazy if you genuinely think they're going to abandon the Frostbite engine. Dead Space is using Frostbite, DA4 is confirmed to be using Frosbite. It's highly likely that the next ME game will also continue to use Frostbite.
The Benefactor is one of the reasons I need an andromeda Sequel. this had me so intrigued about the initiative as a whole and I love that there's a hidden side to it. Who can it be? Is it a fresh character? Is it someone we saw in the trilogy? I want to know so badly.
There are two other reasons for me on top of that! First is that i’m itching to see Ryder’s mother be cured and reunited with her kids in the next game, second reason i want to see what happened to quarian ark and other milky way species, that were sent accross dark space!
I feel like ME Andromeda was a stronger start to a trilogy than ME 1 was but that original title had two things going for it that Andromeda didn't: novelty and a clear, present threat for the ensuing games. The Benefactor and Garsson's death are things I hope gets some resolution in the next Mass Effect. Great video with some solid reasoning.
@@randomlyentertaining8287 Yes, but they more or less play the same role that the Geth did. They didn't have anywhere near the same level of menace that the Reapers did.
The AI theory makes perfect sense for multiple reasons. 1st, the fear of an attack: As shown in the Geth story arc, Reapers first target for Indoctrination is often the most powerful AI race they can find in each cycle. But why? Because a fully functioning AI can detect the seemingly random early signs of Reaper activity that come before an invasion on the citadel. Sovereign's pre-invasion planning was almost entirely initially focused on subjugating the Geth, then indoctrinating Saren and presenting the Geth as Sovereign's army. All major factions would and ultimately did assume that the Reaper was Geth technology which kept them distracted and misdirected. Second is the resources issue. An AI doesn't need to "make up" money. As EDI herself indicates she could rapidly destabilize the galactic economy if she chose to, exploiting a wide variety of factors to game all of the galactic market sectors simultaneously. Before long 50 companies are contributing material to the project, none of which realize they are working on behalf of a non-organic being. And that brings me to the following speculation: SAM is the benefactor. Or more specifically, SAM is a fully autonomous subroutine of the Benefactor AI. The reason for the benefactor's interest in Alec Ryder's AI theory was because as an integrated techno-organic being the AI would be less vulnerable to purely digital threats like other AIs. When the Ryders are awake, SAM is in control but unaware that it is sharing space with another personality. But during cryosleep, the Benefactor (which was left running for the entire duration to work on a cure for mama Ryder) had effectively free run of the ship and its organic partner was completely unaware of any actions it might take to secure its position in the Andromeda galaxy - such as tying up the loose end of Jien Garson a year before Alec Ryder could wake up.
The universal laws of Human Action discard the second point as nonsense, because everything that acts needs to "make up" money for their actions. Finally the act of stealling throught hacking being exclusive to IA is prettry much makes all IA in Mass Effect as quasiomnipotent beings.
Sam being a "Salvation" because he is built up to have a symbiotic nature makes so much sense considering that the benefactor knows about the Reapers and "Symbiosis" is the best solution the Reapers/Catalyst came up with. This would mean the Benefactor knew more about the Reapers before Sovereign essentially explained their existence and purpose. I also think the benefactor might be a Leviathan. First, they created them and have been aware of their timetable since they lived through each and every 50,000 year cycle, which would explain how the benefactor knew about the Reapers imminent arrival. Second, they can control lesser beings. I would imagine that the Andromeda Initiative was merely a test project to see if they can use the lesser species to create ships capable of galactic travel, the Arks, so that the Leviathans could use them to get away and take over another galaxy since the Milky Way was essentially hostile. Third, the Leviathans created the most intelligent AI in the galactic history, the Catalyst. They could have easily provided Alec with the necessary information to finish making SAM. And finally fourth, the Leviathans knew that the Catalyst was merging organics with machines to make Reapers, a faulty but still technical form of Symbiosis. It would explain why they took such an important notice of SAM since Alec was essentially trying to make a Symbiotic AI. This gives weight to the benefactors speech of "a different perspective" 9:57 as they now have the chance to do Symbiosis right using SAM instead of where the Reapers failed.
Based on our encounter with Leviathan in the DLC they do not care about other races, they are the "Apex race" that uses mind control of other races they deem as lesser as them. I don't see why they would care about saving anyone but themselves.
@@AeschylusShepherdto have workers. The leviathans are an aqautic race and they dont have hands. Thats the reason for the mind control evolving. We learn from the dlc that they used the land based species on their planet to achive space flight and to do anything that they couldnt. They cannot survive or at least do anything substantial without another organic race being around to control. So it makes perfect sense for them to want to send some to andromeda if they plan on leaving the milky way. They need someone to build shit.
I do think the theory you picked as most likely is by far the best one I've ever heard. I hadn't paid much attention to Andromeda since I played it for a couple of hours and left it alone, but I was always fascinated by it. This video was great.
Speaking as someone who is a big fan of Andromeda as well as the original trilogy, I appreciate your video taking the game seriously and not just dumping all over it. I thank you for the interesting video and theory. Might make me replay the game to see what I can come up with!
Oh come on, don't tell me the Jardaan/Remnants don't make you curious at all. I, for one, want to know what they'll do with them. The reapers were cool, but they were just a mad AI and that's not very original.
Having played again recently, I can honestly say it is a damn fine game. Not without it's issues, and over shadowed by the ME that came before it, but worthy of a sequel and then some. Especially given all the unanswered questions it presents.
Its an interesting idea to have an AI be The Benefactor. If so, the catalyst could be that AI, sending a copy of itself to Andromeda, in order to expand its influence in another galaxy. The catalyst, at the end of ME3 does seem to prefer the Synthesis solution, saying that it has tried to get to this previously, but organics weren't ready. SAM and the pathfinder's connection is very close to the Synthesis as the catalyst describes.
your point on the benefactor being an AI has merit and precedence in the trilogy. In ME1 there's a side quest where you track a signal from a gambling machine that was funneling credits all the way back to an AI that wanted to build a ship for itself to escape the citadel. Now the benefactor can't be that specific AI but another AI could have the means to funnel credits out of somewhere else to fund the initiative.
Love it. Love the theory. I love andromeda, and have Dove deep into that game. And I also have been leaning more towards that the benefactor could have been an AI of some sort. Part of me feels like it could even be a part of Sam that escaped to the net kind of like how they retconned Skynet in The Terminator series and it essentially funded itself into life, so to speak. I really wish we could get more on this in the future
Im so glad you mentioned Foster Addison for the theory, as I personally think it is her. Outside of her voice being identical to the benefactors, she is pretty much the one you answer to when successfully terraforming a planet. She briefs you in the situation when you start a planet, and she congratulates you when you succeed. Also, her attitude seems to have alot of build up behind it, as if she is frustrated from spending a tremendous amount of money only for things to fall apart the way that they have. In short, she seems concerned and involved beyond her station as a simple head of colonial affairs. Bit of trivia. I still remember when I had a hinch something was off about Solas in Dragon Age Inquisition, like he knows too much to simply be a scholar. I have a decent nose for this type of stuff.
I always found the fact that the model and more importantly complete design schematics to the under construction Normandy SR2 being on board the Nexus to be one of the more compelling reasons to think that The Benefactor was the Illusive Man and that he merely sent a few underlings to Andromeda while he himself stayed in the Milky Way.
What if not the Illusive man but someone connected to Illusive man somehow? Isn't Cora his daughter? Who is the mother? Also what about EDI? there are many sams.. why couldn't there be many EDI's ?
@@peppermint1349 Yeah this can't be the Illusive Man. It would make sense, but the Illusive Man wouldn't remotely run. His motives were entirely centered around keeping control of the Galaxy, preferably under humanity. He wouldn't have spent this much money on a pan-galactic initiative to run away. It has to be someone else. And a part of me wonders... what if it is the Reapers? Or a Reaper?
This is probably the best theory I've heard. Never thought about the need for the benefactor needing to be in andromeda from a storytelling purpose. I've heard the geth being floated before so maybe they turned around whatever they were using to travel when they heard the reapers were defeated.
Since the ark was launched the same year ME2 took place "2185". It's probably the Geth, since they have no use for money, and since Shepard was so relevant to them, it makes sense they would try to preserve humans.
Such an underrated game. Loved Andromeda. As for the Benefactor, many suspect Illusive Man, but running isn’t his style, he was all about control. Liara would have the resources but the timeline of her becoming the broker doesn’t match up.
Has anyone ever considered that maybe the Geth were somehow involved? They could easily provide great amounts resources to the project as well as tech and all. They didn't have a problem with organics really. They just wanted to be allowed to live in peace. Also, they apparently already knew about the Reapers and endless cycles of extinction. Hell, they may have even had a plan to send their own type of Ark as a backup plan, knowing the Reapers wouldn't allow them freedom after their arrival. Or even could have been a cabal of highly influential groups, governments and also individuals that didn't want to scare the whole galaxy so they did it all in secret. But I really like Geth theory more though
My theory is is that the benefactor is a Jardaan. So why do I think this? Their technology seems to be dark energy based, hence the Scourge as a byproduct from the conflict Khi Tasira, causing them to hide Meridian from their enemies (as stated in-game). Now as we know, the Kett have occupied a prescience in the cluster for the past 70 years prior to the start of the game's story; during which time the Archon (despite being obsessed with Remnant tech for his conquest) can't control the Remnant or the vaults. It's not only until Ryder and his AI arrive, is the first vault accessed and reset the planet back to life substantiating state. Now back in the events of ME2, during Tali's recruitment mission on Haestrom, it's stated that dark energy is making the system's sun unstable and causing it to age more rapidly. Sounds like like rem-tech to me when looking back. BioWare even said that the dark energy plot line was meant to be a much larger plot thread for the overall trilogy story, but was cut; so potentially Jardaan are responsible. We know that advanced beings have forms of observational tech (Protheans, Leviathan, and Reapers all use artifacts to observe and spread influence to lesser species). Perhaps while observing the Milky Way Galaxy (probably in pursuit of more resources, allies, or their own escape, they got wind of the potential Reaper threat and being aware of Ryder Sr's AI project, and the Andromeda Initiative was using Geth tech to researching Andromeda for colonization, they saw an opportunity to bring them to Andromeda with the completed AI "SAM". Seeings how it took over 600 years for the arks to make it to Andromeda, that left a long time for the Jardaan to wait, in that time, the Angara are created to enhabit the worlds terraformed through the vault network on Meridian. But this was undone when the Kett invaded the cluster and following the Scourge; once the the Nexus arrived in Andromeda, the Jardaan wanted the benefactor to dispose of those loose ends to prevent the species of the Milky Way to end up like the Kett, and possibly keep themselves concealed.
This is a very interesting theory, i like this idea as well. I also wonder if they where planning on using the the milky way spesies to seed the worlds in Andromeda for galaxy wide experiment or help against Kett or something?
@@Antibot10 Well It could go deeper; the Jardaan created the Angara, and the Kett use the Angara to spread the Kett race. What is the Jardaan and the Kett were once the same species (like how Vulcans and Romulans have a common ancestry.) This would explain the Archon's obsession with Rem technology. Another though would be that the Jardaan and Humans share similar enough physiology (a theory within the game itself), that is why they were chosen and persuaded to come to Andromeda, to rather learn of their origin or take up the mantle to defend against their adversary.
They needed her and her public persona in order to get the support they needed to move forward with the project, but they knew that precisely because of who she was that she was going to end up being a problem once they tried to finalize their goal
It's nice to find a video about this game that isn't just taking pot shots at its release and is actually engaging in a conversation with it. This theory's pretty fun imo and honestly I think that it fits with the overall theme of the universe. MEA has a special place in my heart and I really hope that the next installment is allowed an adequate development period because there are so many fun plotlines that I feel deserve to be explored
My theory was that the benefactor was an Asari, or a group of them. In ME3, it's revealed when you get the mission "priority Thessia that the Asari had ancient Prothean tech they kept secret and within was a Prothean AI. No doubt that the matriarchs knew something and if it had secret funding from one of the oldest council races, it wouldn't surprise me
Oh my God... The money siphoning AI from the citadel in ME 1... It wants to be installed on a ship. The benefactor is the money stealing AI from the citadel casino in mass effect 1 and its body IS the nexus.
The AI theory is good. It does make a lot of sense to me. I don't know if I like it or not. But it does make sense. And I actually like Andromeda. I know it's an unpopular opinion. But it's all subjective anyway.
My thought process is a bit like that, I don't know if I like the theory but it just makes the most sense considering the theme of Mass Effect on the whole. It just makes the most convincing argument within the framework of the story quality & Mass Effect mythos.
We know publicly the Council says the Reapers don’t exist. It doesn’t mean that influential people in their respective governments believe them. This seems to be a lot of “black” money being funnelled into a back up plan by said individuals. Someone or something has to manage all those people and tasks. An AI seems to be the most efficient at it.
I really want it to be the Shadow broker so ME can break the cycle with the reapers, but part of me thinks that this might be a rogue reaper who didn't share Harbringer's or Sovereign's idea of harvesting and got tired of the loop and found other means for synthesis. If memory serves me right each reaper is an "individual" and not a hive mind. Sovereign was the only reaper stationed near the milky way to observe that we know of, what if there were several of them and that one had different plans and set everything for the Andromeda initiative in motion, just like Sovereign strategically indoctrinating agents across the galaxy and this lone rogue reaper instead of indoctrinating fed information and manipulated the survival instinct of organics to act. I find it kinda stupid that reapers would just loom over the milky way and not go to other galaxies to find answers to their primary objectives. What if some of these reapers are also present in Andromeda, they may not have mass effect relay but the kett have mass effect ships and that crazy AI in Voeld makes me think that some reapers were giving technology to some of the species, like the kett using DNA to change other species just like how reapers create husk out of organics in the milky way. If I think about it this or these reapers are content to just sit back and let the organics sort out how to achieve synthesis instead of brute forcing things. I just hope Bioware would follow up on this in the next Mass Effect since this was one of the most interesting storylines in Andromeda, was really frustrated when the quest ended on a freaking cliffhanger.
It’s worth mentioning as well, another reason it’s unlikely the benefactor is the Illusive Man is Alec Ryder’s association to the Shadow Broker. Cerberus has never had a good relationship with the Shadow Broker, and working with the broker is part of why the Illusive Man doesn’t send us to collect Liara in ME2.
@@the_corvid97 You might be right but I swear they talked about finding a massive telescope that was aimed at Andromeda. It's been a few years so I might be mixing 2 different events.
@@the_corvid97 It would make sense that the geth were looking for Reapers in dark space. If i remember correctly when the keepers ignored Sovereins signal, Soverein contacted the geth first for help, explaining how the the geth knew about the Reapers.
the benefactor subplot was the like the only thing I was truly interested in for Andromeda, (and I will admit, the concept behind the main story I think is really strong but they just didn't deliver in a way I thought was satisfying)
Honestly Andromeda was the most enjoyable Mass Effect game, especially now, if we ignore how it was on release. Considering it was developed in such a short time it is an amazing game with very good writing overall. It would be such a shame if a sequel is never made.
regarding AI: they state that the nexus is almost as big as the citadel -> reapers create not only new reapers but also a new citadel in another galaxy that is of course a gateway.
Did you consider that it might have something to do with the jardaan A.I. that can be found on voeld as it is extremely hostile to organics but immediately starts playing nice when SAM is suddenly involved. So maybe, if the benefactor is an A.I., it was a Jardaan A.I. that knew of the Reapers. After all, there is nothing to say that, in 50,000 years, the Jardaan never encountered or at least learned of the Reapers.
A while back I came across a few people theorizing that the next Mass Effect installment would bridge the gap between this and the original trilogy, allowing for more answers to these questions. I don't really see that happening considering the less than stellar response to ME: Andromeda and it's overall quality. Is SAM a localized A.I. or something that can access other networks remotely (unless my timeline of events is completely off)? Making SAM the 'Benefactor' would be an interesting twist.
The benefactor is Sam. Shortly after he was activated he scoured the galaxy net and learnt of all information and learnt of the Reapers. He then disguised himself to contact Alec because Sam was aware that AIs were illegal in the Milky Way. Sam was capable of hacking and gathering the massive amounts of resources because of its nature as an AI, and became the benefactor to fund the Andromeda project. Sam made his involvement hidden and fakes his ignorance of whoe the benfactor was, only giving Ryder just enough information to make it believable that it wasn't involved. Garson was probably killed by an indoctrinated agent who got on board but Sam was unable to save her.
In regards to a well mapped out trilogy, you're probably giving them the benefit of the doubt since the original trilogy was not well thought out and was improvised right to the end.
I personally like your AI theory. let me expound on that with my own theory. I have what I believe is a very plausible theory about the mysterious benefactor in Mass Effect Andromeda. (Caution this contains game spoilers). Do not read if you have yet to finish the game at least once. Think about this, the ones that did the preliminary research on the Andromeda galaxy were the Geth. And they did it with a converted mass effect relay that focused on the Andromeda galaxy to gather faster than light data on what was there. Why would they expend the energy and resources to do that if they did not have a serious interest in going there? The faction of the Geth that opposed the old machines and aligned themselves with the organics, Shepherd in particular is the one entity that was capable of such an undertaking. They as a consensus were the only entity capable of amassing the vast, virtually unlimited financial and physical resources to fund and develop the entire Andromeda initiative, ships and all. Additionally, they are software and as such do not require a physical body to exist. They can upload into anything with enough computing power to accommodate their needs. The SAM and the Quarrian ship itself could indeed do that. The radio signal at the end of the game indicates that the Quarrians have a problem that they do not want anyone to approach them for fear of causing harm to another ship. The Quarrians would be very frightened upon discovering Geth onboard or inhabiting their ship. So, it will take time for the Geth to convince the Quarrians that they are not a threat. This of course does not explain why Jean Garson was killed. I am still trying to find a connection there. The trip to Andromeda takes place in 2176, and the reapers show up around 2186, about two years after Shepard took down Sovereign and turned himself in to serve his sentence for blowing up the Batarian relay. And ME3 begins. Shepard had already met and formed an alliance with the Geth by then in ME2 before his suicide mission through the Omega 4 relay So, the timeline fits for it to be the Geth that are against the old machines and already aligned with the organics to have become the benefactor and to have accomplished all of this to allow the Andromeda initiative to be realized and launch the arks. Now, of course, most of the Quarrian people would still be very afraid of the Geth in general. And that would certainly be the case on the Quarrian ark. The Geth that are pro-organic cooperation would also be smart enough to realize by using their newfound and integrated reaper code, the benefit of symbiotic AI would be a far better approach so they could successfully integrate them into an organic world. (This, of course, is pure wishful conjecture on my part). Does anyone want to tell me what you think?
The ai theory is a good one, cant stop thinking about it. I always thought the benefactor was the illusive man but used the extra cover name because he was hiding his daughter cora in the initiative.
I don't think it's an A.I because it wants to gtf out of the Milky-way galaxy, but an A.I would be fine with the reapers. I think that it's one of the elder races from a cycle before who's been keeping very quiet because they enjoy living. Their advanced technology could keep them safe and obscured from our investigations mostly, and they would already know what the threat of the Reapers would truly represent but doesn't want to cause fear and irrational reactions in anyone, and so lies about not knowing about it, while also having vast resources gathered from the cycle before to put towards the Andromeda expedition.
It was stories like these that made we wanna finish, I still can’t decide rather ta replay or not( & if I do, it’s only cause all tha hard work tha VA’s put in)🚀
All "Benefactor" thing is all about Reapers invading after Shepard destroyed Mass Relay in Ba'haak system to delay them for couple of years.... ME Andromeda, despite the flaw's of story, is more connected to original trilogy, than you think
I noticed that, in the theories regarding who the Benefactor might be, not one mention was made of the final ARK. At the end of the game, if your completion rate is high enough, there is a reveal that the final ARK, the one that the Quarians, Geth, and even the Hanar are on, and that launched extremely late, did manage to finally arrive in Andromeda. It, too, had come across the Scourge and had sent a distress signal. This is only revealed to the player as he/she is headed back to the ship. Perhaps the Benefactor is on that vessel? Could it be a Geth, even though they would have no true reason to be interested in credits?
As an unfinished standalone game Andromeda was ok, as some of the dialog and quests just seemed not to fit in as well due to either the game getting rushed out before it was ready or not being written all that well. That's why I think there should had been some dlc to tie up the loose ends for the scurge, missing arc, the sentient AI/VI that was taken onto the ship, quests, dialog etc With cerberus as the illusive man put it the 1 of the heads of a multi headed dog, so it could be feasible that there are other heads of cerberus working in the shadows ad aren't as vocal as the illusive man & with those heads they could or might have let the illusive man be the figure head while they went about their own plots to further humanity if not in a lesser extreme to the illusive man.
Interesting theory. While the idea of an AI makes sense, my first impression of the mystery was that the benefactor was the former shadow broker. Not the one killed in lair of the shadow broker, but the one the yag replaced. Not sure if the timing works though.
I know it's unlikely but I truly hope it's wasn't gonna be fu***** Cerberus. I got sick of them thanks to all the Extended Universe books/comics and ESPECIALLY Omega DLC.
Wasn’t there a side quest in mass effect1 with a rogue sentient AI skimming money on the citadel? I suppose that could have been the AI benefactor.. it WAS skimming money..
What if the benefactor was the shadow broker. But they were the shadow broker before ME2. Because around then, unless I'm wrong, the arks already left. And it was some time before ME2 that the shadow broker was killed and replaced by the Yorg. So it was something kept in some major low channels that were over looked by the Yorg and then Liara
With the ai benefactor the geth that helped the initiative with using the one relay as a telescope into Heleus could be the benefactor and with that in mind perhaps the quarian ark held the geth assembly named benefactor only for the scourge to accidentally cause a second morning war.
Cerberus spent ''nearly unlimited amounts of resources'' to get Sheppard back, if it were an organization that helped fund the andromeda initiative i'm quite convinced its cerberus
I started Andromeda as soon as I got it for Christmas that year... but quickly lost interest, picked it back up a couple weeks ago and I'm committed now... love the story and game, but it is a bit mundane and seems too big? Geographically mainly. I think your totally right about the AI aspect of the Benefactor. I'd even lean towards the unshackled AI version of SAM or some kind of AI indoctrinated by the reapers in the milky way. Either way, it would answer a lot of questions and I still hold hope for a sequel or incorporating Andromeda with the next ME game somehow
Well, i certaintly hope the next mass effect connect andromeda and the original trilogy, as the trailers might imply. As for the benefactor's identity, im willing to bet it is the geth collective, who escaped the milky way in digital form with the initiative's computers.
I think that the benefactor is certainly Cerberus, but I don't think is TIM. Cerberus is is a pro-human group but in me1, the Cerberus changes as TIM mentioned that the other project failed or lost. Remember the Luna mission VI, Cerberus recovered thru means and able to create Cerberus AI on to a ship with shackles, we can imagine the AI for the overlord project is the fusion of the AI mind with human mind. SAM is created with the intention of AI and human co-exist, but AI will need to experience together with human experience pain and suffering. Therefore andromeda exploration serve the needs. Me2 Shepard died and revive under Lazarus project. Miranda mentioned that she wanted to put a control chip in Shepard but stopped by TIM. And the reaper threat causes Cerberus forced to changes their focus on advancement of the pro-human to survival. TIM was on the path of controlling the reaper and the end of the me2, but I strongly believed TIM believed from the start geth and reaper is the same race and let him think it can be controlled to give Cerberus an edge for pro-human. Me3 dlc we have clone Shepard. At this point, I had an theory that Cerberus made a clone with a control chip of Shepard and sent to nexus as the first batch. All th ark have their pathfinder and I find it odd that nexus does not have their pathfinder. So we have a SAM with a clone Shepard and a Cerberus TIM executive level VIP on nexus. Benefactor is Cerberus another TIM and we may see Shepard again, with SAM.
We'll probably never see an end to this, so my money's on the slot machine AI from the original trilogy. It survived and has been gathering funds ever since. The geth didn't pan out and escaping the Citadel just wasn't enough- it had to escape the Milky Way
My personal theory of whom the Benefactor could be is she's a clone or twin sister to Jien Garson who hid incognito somehow and somewhere in the Milky Way and eventually Andromeda. When Jien threatened to expose her existence, that's when the hit was ordered.
I used to think it was at least, in part, funded or created by Cerberus or the Illusive Man. Cora Harper shares a last name with the Illusive Man (Jack Harper), so what better way to protect his daughter than to send her away? However, the more I play the Trilogy, I've had a new head cannon. What if the Andromeda Initiative was funded by the Reapers themselves? The Reapers exist in Dark Space outside the Milky Way, so being able to travel to Andromeda isn't outside the realm of possibility. The Leviathans created the Reapers to stop the killing of organic life at the hands of synthetic life. What if they funded the Council race's plans to expand to a new galaxy so they'd have a reason to go there, since they'd be chasing the Council races, and potentially "save" new and unknown species? It's weak, I know, but it's fun to think about.
I always thought the benefactor would be someone we met in me1 or 2 and just didn't show up in me3. Someone who came into contact with Shepard and was scared enough to try and get people out of the milky way
I think the benefactor being an AI has merit, what if the AI is a surviving Prothean AI, trying to save the species the Protheans were studying, knowing they hadn't yet reached the technology to fight the reapers, the AI would have known about the reaper cycle.
Damn you, pyjack! Damn you! You're way too devious! (OK, it's scary how I have threads of a story that would answer the "Who's the benefactor") in my head after playing ME:A for 1st time this year, and then you go and yank that story out of my head. Still going to write it, though, because now in listening to you, I've just answered a few plot holes that you asked about. Thank you!)
Yeah, You know what? I was about to say the Benefactor is an AI before the get to your conclusions, Because, if you "follow the money", imagine the massive amount of money for the enterprise. I think it's SAM. Well, it could be.
I actually agree with you. Let's go out a little crazier. What if the AI was the geth. Hear me out first. The geth were in contact with Harbinger 1st. The geth also had the ftl telescope pointed at Andromeda that the initiative was allowed to use to survey suitable planets. Technically the evolved into like a collect of servers linked together and they could use Andromeda Initiative to move part of their collective to Andromeda for safety. Perfect place to build a Dyson sphere. Seems crazy but, it does work even in the timeline.
Um there a datapad that mentions the benefactor in kett facility where angra are trun into kett in one of side rooms,it been a long time but it has I see your homeworld and I hope to see yours someday.
I'm fairly sure that the dev team were planning for the Benefactor to be an entity within the Andromeda Galaxy who wanted the races of the Milky Way to serve some greater purpose, possibly originating with The Remnant. If not then the fact the question goes so unceremoniously unanswsered and thinly described is a testament to why you don't hire an incompetant fool like Manveer Heir to run your game design project, when he'd much rather be boasting about how much he hates white people on social media rather than doing coherent world building.
I do think the AI theory is very plausible but I still think the Illusive Man is behind it. No Jack isn't the Benefactor but it's one of his operatives. The Illusive Man main concern is the survival of humanity no matter what, his main goal was to stop the Reapers, then after indoctrination control them. The Illusive Man would of had a back up for this incase the Reapers won which he would have an operative overseeing like Lawson over the Lazarus project. The other alien species are easy to explain, like Chambers said Cerberus doesn't hate aliens though the The Illusive Man thinks humans should be at top and he would understand humanity may need other species to survive in the Andromeda system.
I always thought it might be SAM. Because of mass effect one. Sovereign send the signal to the keepers they ignored it, and did not activate the citadel mass relay. then sovereign started planning on how to do it. Vigil said something like Saren is sovereigns agent now but hé doubts saren is the first. Sovereign might be planning for decades at that point. If something would know about the signal/reapers it would be another true AI that has the possibility to syphon funds from everywhere to pay for the Andromeda Initiative, which always gets shortend to AI. Its far fetched but thats what i always thought.
I really dont understand what everyone's problem is with Andromeda. It wasnt a perfect game, but after going back and playing Mass Effect 1, I found it much better than that game. I love the original ME, but when I take a look at the story and game play, without using nostalgia, I find Andromeda to be much better. The only reason ME1 is held in such high regards is due to ME2 continuing the story, if Andromeda was allowed the same thing, I honestly believe it could be so much better than the original.
Andromeda is an ok game, it would be cool with a sequel, they however should be their own and not in the ME branch, sure they can touch on what has happend in the ME, but it could be their own series of games. I really hope the new ME is more related to the 3 first.
That is my theorie for the next mass effect, an super intelligenz made from the geth. I am willing to bet 5 bucks on it. On the Benefactor side, i always thought it was some higher ones from the asari. They ruled the universe with protheran knowing, they know about the reapers by the beacon on tesia. I see no reason why they didn´t try to replicate the number one status in andromeda by not telling everything they know. Of course, there is no higher asari structure established in Andromeda. Would be easy to redcon tho. We have years to wait for answers, but they are in the works after all. Liked the Video.
i't reminds me about the citadel Market AI, that was funneling funds to buy a ship, been tranfered and live as a pirate hehehehehe but it fried itself and almost blow shepard too
I would suscribe to the AI theory, and add a few points to enrich it : first, setting her voice filter so that any attempt to track it would lead to an anti-AI atcivitst would be a genius move ! second, in ME1, there's the casino AI (for lack of a better name), so it's perfectly possible that a rogue was successful following a similar pattern, and kept hoarding money undercover for decades, as well as piecing together all the archeological clues accross the galaxy to see the Reapers coming WAY in advance... Last, you mentioned the Benefactor would be someone within the initiative, acting friendly until it's time to collect... My brain clicked hard on that one (I don't get these hunches often, but when I do I forget them only to go "IkNeWiT!" when the reveal happens), It's not entirely compatible with the AI theory, but she could be an agent or underling : Vetra.
it's Armistan Banes.... the unresolved plot point from ME1... he was looking for Dark Energy.....
🤔
A 40min video about Mass Effect, the perfect way to end the evening
Oh aye
Ayy i just said that
A very accurate statement
100% agreed 👍
Lmao I just got off work boy we boutta start this night
I wish they would make a sequel, not because I liked the game all that much, but because all the unanswered questions(like this) that burn in my mind lol
Was the most intriguing part of Andromeda. They couldn't make a sequel though, they'd have had to do it on a different engine because Frostbite sucks, hence why the next game will be on Unreal Engine again and I'm not sure they could've transferred save data from the first game to a sequel on a new engine not that there's any decisions you can make in the game that has any impact, except maybe who you choose to save on the Archon's ship, but even then.
Since the game won't get a sequel, I wish Bioware would just tell us what the plan was for saga.
@@Jimmer93 You're crazy if you genuinely think they're going to abandon the Frostbite engine.
Dead Space is using Frostbite, DA4 is confirmed to be using Frosbite. It's highly likely that the next ME game will also continue to use Frostbite.
@@VioletAeonSnowfield it is confirmed the next mess effect will be using unreal engine
The Benefactor is one of the reasons I need an andromeda Sequel. this had me so intrigued about the initiative as a whole and I love that there's a hidden side to it. Who can it be? Is it a fresh character? Is it someone we saw in the trilogy? I want to know so badly.
There are two other reasons for me on top of that! First is that i’m itching to see Ryder’s mother be cured and reunited with her kids in the next game, second reason i want to see what happened to quarian ark and other milky way species, that were sent accross dark space!
Andromeda concluded with a couple of cliffhangers, that needs to be unveiled in the next game…
andromeda sequel? naah... I'd prefer it being something you can find in mass effect 4
And Jardaan I also found them interesting. I really want to know more about them and learn more about Scourge.
It was supposed to be one of the 3 cancelled DLC's. Along with the Quarian Ark and the Jardaan.
I feel like ME Andromeda was a stronger start to a trilogy than ME 1 was but that original title had two things going for it that Andromeda didn't: novelty and a clear, present threat for the ensuing games.
The Benefactor and Garsson's death are things I hope gets some resolution in the next Mass Effect.
Great video with some solid reasoning.
I'd say the Kett are a clear and present threat lol
@@randomlyentertaining8287 Yes, but they more or less play the same role that the Geth did. They didn't have anywhere near the same level of menace that the Reapers did.
The AI theory makes perfect sense for multiple reasons.
1st, the fear of an attack: As shown in the Geth story arc, Reapers first target for Indoctrination is often the most powerful AI race they can find in each cycle. But why? Because a fully functioning AI can detect the seemingly random early signs of Reaper activity that come before an invasion on the citadel. Sovereign's pre-invasion planning was almost entirely initially focused on subjugating the Geth, then indoctrinating Saren and presenting the Geth as Sovereign's army. All major factions would and ultimately did assume that the Reaper was Geth technology which kept them distracted and misdirected.
Second is the resources issue. An AI doesn't need to "make up" money. As EDI herself indicates she could rapidly destabilize the galactic economy if she chose to, exploiting a wide variety of factors to game all of the galactic market sectors simultaneously. Before long 50 companies are contributing material to the project, none of which realize they are working on behalf of a non-organic being.
And that brings me to the following speculation: SAM is the benefactor. Or more specifically, SAM is a fully autonomous subroutine of the Benefactor AI. The reason for the benefactor's interest in Alec Ryder's AI theory was because as an integrated techno-organic being the AI would be less vulnerable to purely digital threats like other AIs. When the Ryders are awake, SAM is in control but unaware that it is sharing space with another personality. But during cryosleep, the Benefactor (which was left running for the entire duration to work on a cure for mama Ryder) had effectively free run of the ship and its organic partner was completely unaware of any actions it might take to secure its position in the Andromeda galaxy - such as tying up the loose end of Jien Garson a year before Alec Ryder could wake up.
The universal laws of Human Action discard the second point as nonsense, because everything that acts needs to "make up" money for their actions. Finally the act of stealling throught hacking being exclusive to IA is prettry much makes all IA in Mass Effect as quasiomnipotent beings.
💯 - I looked for this comment. I was not disappointed. It's SAM !!!
Sam being a "Salvation" because he is built up to have a symbiotic nature makes so much sense considering that the benefactor knows about the Reapers and "Symbiosis" is the best solution the Reapers/Catalyst came up with. This would mean the Benefactor knew more about the Reapers before Sovereign essentially explained their existence and purpose.
I also think the benefactor might be a Leviathan. First, they created them and have been aware of their timetable since they lived through each and every 50,000 year cycle, which would explain how the benefactor knew about the Reapers imminent arrival. Second, they can control lesser beings. I would imagine that the Andromeda Initiative was merely a test project to see if they can use the lesser species to create ships capable of galactic travel, the Arks, so that the Leviathans could use them to get away and take over another galaxy since the Milky Way was essentially hostile. Third, the Leviathans created the most intelligent AI in the galactic history, the Catalyst. They could have easily provided Alec with the necessary information to finish making SAM. And finally fourth, the Leviathans knew that the Catalyst was merging organics with machines to make Reapers, a faulty but still technical form of Symbiosis. It would explain why they took such an important notice of SAM since Alec was essentially trying to make a Symbiotic AI. This gives weight to the benefactors speech of "a different perspective" 9:57 as they now have the chance to do Symbiosis right using SAM instead of where the Reapers failed.
Based on our encounter with Leviathan in the DLC they do not care about other races, they are the "Apex race" that uses mind control of other races they deem as lesser as them. I don't see why they would care about saving anyone but themselves.
@@AeschylusShepherdto have workers. The leviathans are an aqautic race and they dont have hands. Thats the reason for the mind control evolving. We learn from the dlc that they used the land based species on their planet to achive space flight and to do anything that they couldnt. They cannot survive or at least do anything substantial without another organic race being around to control. So it makes perfect sense for them to want to send some to andromeda if they plan on leaving the milky way. They need someone to build shit.
@@AeschylusShepherd they need servants
I do think the theory you picked as most likely is by far the best one I've ever heard. I hadn't paid much attention to Andromeda since I played it for a couple of hours and left it alone, but I was always fascinated by it. This video was great.
I appreciate it
Andromeda makes want to stop and keep going simultaneously, in a very stockholm syndrome type situation
Speaking as someone who is a big fan of Andromeda as well as the original trilogy, I appreciate your video taking the game seriously and not just dumping all over it. I thank you for the interesting video and theory. Might make me replay the game to see what I can come up with!
I thought Andromeda was a fun and interesting game to play myself.
this is a joke right
@@Blox117 why do you think it is a joke?
One of the most captivating aspects of this game's story. Combat is also excellent
I thought the game offered the best world exploration mechanics in the series yet
@@rhetiq9989 it was fun to explore. I think that Elaaden was particularly awesome. That giant Abyssal worm thing blew my mind when I first saw it.
It's straight up probably the best 3rd person shooter system. Extremely fluid/smooth, dynamic, engaging, there's almost no flaws
Oh come on, don't tell me the Jardaan/Remnants don't make you curious at all.
I, for one, want to know what they'll do with them. The reapers were cool, but they were just a mad AI and that's not very original.
This was even less original ^_^
I think this would be revisited in ME4.5 along with the dark matter mystery.
Having played again recently, I can honestly say it is a damn fine game. Not without it's issues, and over shadowed by the ME that came before it, but worthy of a sequel and then some. Especially given all the unanswered questions it presents.
Its an interesting idea to have an AI be The Benefactor. If so, the catalyst could be that AI, sending a copy of itself to Andromeda, in order to expand its influence in another galaxy.
The catalyst, at the end of ME3 does seem to prefer the Synthesis solution, saying that it has tried to get to this previously, but organics weren't ready. SAM and the pathfinder's connection is very close to the Synthesis as the catalyst describes.
your point on the benefactor being an AI has merit and precedence in the trilogy. In ME1 there's a side quest where you track a signal from a gambling machine that was funneling credits all the way back to an AI that wanted to build a ship for itself to escape the citadel. Now the benefactor can't be that specific AI but another AI could have the means to funnel credits out of somewhere else to fund the initiative.
I know someone else said It, but I could see it being the council themselves. They just didn't want to openly spark chaos amongst the Milky Way.
Love it. Love the theory. I love andromeda, and have Dove deep into that game. And I also have been leaning more towards that the benefactor could have been an AI of some sort. Part of me feels like it could even be a part of Sam that escaped to the net kind of like how they retconned Skynet in The Terminator series and it essentially funded itself into life, so to speak. I really wish we could get more on this in the future
Im so glad you mentioned Foster Addison for the theory, as I personally think it is her. Outside of her voice being identical to the benefactors, she is pretty much the one you answer to when successfully terraforming a planet. She briefs you in the situation when you start a planet, and she congratulates you when you succeed. Also, her attitude seems to have alot of build up behind it, as if she is frustrated from spending a tremendous amount of money only for things to fall apart the way that they have. In short, she seems concerned and involved beyond her station as a simple head of colonial affairs.
Bit of trivia. I still remember when I had a hinch something was off about Solas in Dragon Age Inquisition, like he knows too much to simply be a scholar. I have a decent nose for this type of stuff.
I always found the fact that the model and more importantly complete design schematics to the under construction Normandy SR2 being on board the Nexus to be one of the more compelling reasons to think that The Benefactor was the Illusive Man and that he merely sent a few underlings to Andromeda while he himself stayed in the Milky Way.
Doesn't match with the Illusive Mans motives. His only interest is in humanity and himself
What if not the Illusive man but someone connected to Illusive man somehow? Isn't Cora his daughter? Who is the mother? Also what about EDI? there are many sams.. why couldn't there be many EDI's ?
Why would he send other than humans though? He doesn't give two shits if all the other races get annihilated by the reapers.
@@valtteriimmonen7757 exactly why I dont think the Illusive man himself was behind it.
@@peppermint1349 Yeah this can't be the Illusive Man. It would make sense, but the Illusive Man wouldn't remotely run. His motives were entirely centered around keeping control of the Galaxy, preferably under humanity. He wouldn't have spent this much money on a pan-galactic initiative to run away. It has to be someone else. And a part of me wonders... what if it is the Reapers? Or a Reaper?
This is probably the best theory I've heard. Never thought about the need for the benefactor needing to be in andromeda from a storytelling purpose. I've heard the geth being floated before so maybe they turned around whatever they were using to travel when they heard the reapers were defeated.
I think Andromeda is more layered than people think and truly deserves a sequel
Rogue AIs are still out there in the original trilogy. Shepard finds one on the citadel in the first game I believe.
Since the ark was launched the same year ME2 took place "2185". It's probably the Geth, since they have no use for money, and since Shepard was so relevant to them, it makes sense they would try to preserve humans.
Such an underrated game. Loved Andromeda. As for the Benefactor, many suspect Illusive Man, but running isn’t his style, he was all about control. Liara would have the resources but the timeline of her becoming the broker doesn’t match up.
You're right👍👍👍
By the way, the developers themselves said that Cerberus has nothing to do with the Andromeda Initiative
Has anyone ever considered that maybe the Geth were somehow involved? They could easily provide great amounts resources to the project as well as tech and all. They didn't have a problem with organics really. They just wanted to be allowed to live in peace. Also, they apparently already knew about the Reapers and endless cycles of extinction. Hell, they may have even had a plan to send their own type of Ark as a backup plan, knowing the Reapers wouldn't allow them freedom after their arrival. Or even could have been a cabal of highly influential groups, governments and also individuals that didn't want to scare the whole galaxy so they did it all in secret. But I really like Geth theory more though
My theory is is that the benefactor is a Jardaan. So why do I think this? Their technology seems to be dark energy based, hence the Scourge as a byproduct from the conflict Khi Tasira, causing them to hide Meridian from their enemies (as stated in-game). Now as we know, the Kett have occupied a prescience in the cluster for the past 70 years prior to the start of the game's story; during which time the Archon (despite being obsessed with Remnant tech for his conquest) can't control the Remnant or the vaults. It's not only until Ryder and his AI arrive, is the first vault accessed and reset the planet back to life substantiating state. Now back in the events of ME2, during Tali's recruitment mission on Haestrom, it's stated that dark energy is making the system's sun unstable and causing it to age more rapidly. Sounds like like rem-tech to me when looking back. BioWare even said that the dark energy plot line was meant to be a much larger plot thread for the overall trilogy story, but was cut; so potentially Jardaan are responsible. We know that advanced beings have forms of observational tech (Protheans, Leviathan, and Reapers all use artifacts to observe and spread influence to lesser species). Perhaps while observing the Milky Way Galaxy (probably in pursuit of more resources, allies, or their own escape, they got wind of the potential Reaper threat and being aware of Ryder Sr's AI project, and the Andromeda Initiative was using Geth tech to researching Andromeda for colonization, they saw an opportunity to bring them to Andromeda with the completed AI "SAM". Seeings how it took over 600 years for the arks to make it to Andromeda, that left a long time for the Jardaan to wait, in that time, the Angara are created to enhabit the worlds terraformed through the vault network on Meridian. But this was undone when the Kett invaded the cluster and following the Scourge; once the the Nexus arrived in Andromeda, the Jardaan wanted the benefactor to dispose of those loose ends to prevent the species of the Milky Way to end up like the Kett, and possibly keep themselves concealed.
This is a very interesting theory, i like this idea as well. I also wonder if they where planning on using the the milky way spesies to seed the worlds in Andromeda for galaxy wide experiment or help against Kett or something?
@@Antibot10 Well It could go deeper; the Jardaan created the Angara, and the Kett use the Angara to spread the Kett race. What is the Jardaan and the Kett were once the same species (like how Vulcans and Romulans have a common ancestry.) This would explain the Archon's obsession with Rem technology. Another though would be that the Jardaan and Humans share similar enough physiology (a theory within the game itself), that is why they were chosen and persuaded to come to Andromeda, to rather learn of their origin or take up the mantle to defend against their adversary.
They needed her and her public persona in order to get the support they needed to move forward with the project, but they knew that precisely because of who she was that she was going to end up being a problem once they tried to finalize their goal
I'm all for a direct Mass Effect Andromeda sequel, so long as they do what they did with Mass Effect 2, a vast improvement in every way.
It's nice to find a video about this game that isn't just taking pot shots at its release and is actually engaging in a conversation with it. This theory's pretty fun imo and honestly I think that it fits with the overall theme of the universe. MEA has a special place in my heart and I really hope that the next installment is allowed an adequate development period because there are so many fun plotlines that I feel deserve to be explored
My theory was that the benefactor was an Asari, or a group of them. In ME3, it's revealed when you get the mission "priority Thessia that the Asari had ancient Prothean tech they kept secret and within was a Prothean AI. No doubt that the matriarchs knew something and if it had secret funding from one of the oldest council races, it wouldn't surprise me
5:05 That reminds me of how Javik described his cycle's AI was developed.
Oh my God... The money siphoning AI from the citadel in ME 1... It wants to be installed on a ship. The benefactor is the money stealing AI from the citadel casino in mass effect 1 and its body IS the nexus.
The AI theory is good. It does make a lot of sense to me. I don't know if I like it or not. But it does make sense. And I actually like Andromeda. I know it's an unpopular opinion. But it's all subjective anyway.
My thought process is a bit like that, I don't know if I like the theory but it just makes the most sense considering the theme of Mass Effect on the whole. It just makes the most convincing argument within the framework of the story quality & Mass Effect mythos.
We know publicly the Council says the Reapers don’t exist. It doesn’t mean that influential people in their respective governments believe them. This seems to be a lot of “black” money being funnelled into a back up plan by said individuals. Someone or something has to manage all those people and tasks. An AI seems to be the most efficient at it.
Now can you explain the mystery of talis hips
The mystery of Tali’s hips?
@@Fizhy as in why they hypnotise me
@@crankyterror1597 10/10 comment game here
I really want it to be the Shadow broker so ME can break the cycle with the reapers, but part of me thinks that this might be a rogue reaper who didn't share Harbringer's or Sovereign's idea of harvesting and got tired of the loop and found other means for synthesis. If memory serves me right each reaper is an "individual" and not a hive mind. Sovereign was the only reaper stationed near the milky way to observe that we know of, what if there were several of them and that one had different plans and set everything for the Andromeda initiative in motion, just like Sovereign strategically indoctrinating agents across the galaxy and this lone rogue reaper instead of indoctrinating fed information and manipulated the survival instinct of organics to act. I find it kinda stupid that reapers would just loom over the milky way and not go to other galaxies to find answers to their primary objectives. What if some of these reapers are also present in Andromeda, they may not have mass effect relay but the kett have mass effect ships and that crazy AI in Voeld makes me think that some reapers were giving technology to some of the species, like the kett using DNA to change other species just like how reapers create husk out of organics in the milky way. If I think about it this or these reapers are content to just sit back and let the organics sort out how to achieve synthesis instead of brute forcing things. I just hope Bioware would follow up on this in the next Mass Effect since this was one of the most interesting storylines in Andromeda, was really frustrated when the quest ended on a freaking cliffhanger.
I really like this idea.
It’s worth mentioning as well, another reason it’s unlikely the benefactor is the Illusive Man is Alec Ryder’s association to the Shadow Broker. Cerberus has never had a good relationship with the Shadow Broker, and working with the broker is part of why the Illusive Man doesn’t send us to collect Liara in ME2.
If I recall, there was a point in Andromeda where they stated that the Geth were looking at Andromeda before the Reaper threat.
They were looking into dark space, nothing about Andromeda specifically as far as I'm aware. I think they were looking for Reapers.
@@the_corvid97 You might be right but I swear they talked about finding a massive telescope that was aimed at Andromeda. It's been a few years so I might be mixing 2 different events.
@@drewtheunspoken3988 The Geth aimed it at dark space, the Initiative would use it to look at Andromeda last I checked.
@@drewtheunspoken3988 I recall something about a super-advanced Geth telescope.
@@the_corvid97 It would make sense that the geth were looking for Reapers in dark space. If i remember correctly when the keepers ignored Sovereins signal, Soverein contacted the geth first for help, explaining how the the geth knew about the Reapers.
this is the best benefactor theory ive heard yet. it really makes a lot sense when you think of it.
Something on same level as Cerberus could afford this, pretty sure it's not Cerberus itself due to amount of aliens in this.
the benefactor subplot was the like the only thing I was truly interested in for Andromeda, (and I will admit, the concept behind the main story I think is really strong but they just didn't deliver in a way I thought was satisfying)
Honestly Andromeda was the most enjoyable Mass Effect game, especially now, if we ignore how it was on release. Considering it was developed in such a short time it is an amazing game with very good writing overall. It would be such a shame if a sequel is never made.
I always wondered why there was only messages about things going to hell, no messages about oh Shepard saved the day and the milky way survived
I'm thinking it's one the people that are called Shadow Broker
I'm glad you're looking into this. This is a very good question and worth figuring out both for the Andromeda game and the upcoming Mass Effect game.
regarding AI: they state that the nexus is almost as big as the citadel -> reapers create not only new reapers but also a new citadel in another galaxy that is of course a gateway.
Did you consider that it might have something to do with the jardaan A.I. that can be found on voeld as it is extremely hostile to organics but immediately starts playing nice when SAM is suddenly involved. So maybe, if the benefactor is an A.I., it was a Jardaan A.I. that knew of the Reapers. After all, there is nothing to say that, in 50,000 years, the Jardaan never encountered or at least learned of the Reapers.
A while back I came across a few people theorizing that the next Mass Effect installment would bridge the gap between this and the original trilogy, allowing for more answers to these questions. I don't really see that happening considering the less than stellar response to ME: Andromeda and it's overall quality. Is SAM a localized A.I. or something that can access other networks remotely (unless my timeline of events is completely off)? Making SAM the 'Benefactor' would be an interesting twist.
The benefactor is Sam. Shortly after he was activated he scoured the galaxy net and learnt of all information and learnt of the Reapers. He then disguised himself to contact Alec because Sam was aware that AIs were illegal in the Milky Way.
Sam was capable of hacking and gathering the massive amounts of resources because of its nature as an AI, and became the benefactor to fund the Andromeda project.
Sam made his involvement hidden and fakes his ignorance of whoe the benfactor was, only giving Ryder just enough information to make it believable that it wasn't involved.
Garson was probably killed by an indoctrinated agent who got on board but Sam was unable to save her.
In regards to a well mapped out trilogy, you're probably giving them the benefit of the doubt since the original trilogy was not well thought out and was improvised right to the end.
I picked up on the AI thing (Andromeda initiative). But I always assumed it was a nod to SAM himself.
I don't care that a few facial movements were wonky early on, I love this game. I'm sad they canceled the DLC, I was really looking forward to it.
Yeah the head twisting the head upside down and 360° right round was absolutely the best part of the game
@@vexile1239 I'm not saying I'm happy about it, I'm just sad I don't get to find out whats gonna happen in the story
@@SquashGuy02134 yea that's true when it wasn't a super buggy mess it was enjoyable
I personally like your AI theory.
let me expound on that with my own theory.
I have what I believe is a very plausible theory about the mysterious benefactor in Mass Effect Andromeda. (Caution this contains game spoilers). Do not read if you have yet to finish the game at least once.
Think about this, the ones that did the preliminary research on the Andromeda galaxy were the Geth. And they did it with a converted mass effect relay that focused on the Andromeda galaxy to gather faster than light data on what was there. Why would they expend the energy and resources to do that if they did not have a serious interest in going there? The faction of the Geth that opposed the old machines and aligned themselves with the organics, Shepherd in particular is the one entity that was capable of such an undertaking.
They as a consensus were the only entity capable of amassing the vast, virtually unlimited financial and physical resources to fund and develop the entire Andromeda initiative, ships and all. Additionally, they are software and as such do not require a physical body to exist. They can upload into anything with enough computing power to accommodate their needs. The SAM and the Quarrian ship itself could indeed do that.
The radio signal at the end of the game indicates that the Quarrians have a problem that they do not want anyone to approach them for fear of causing harm to another ship. The Quarrians would be very frightened upon discovering Geth onboard or inhabiting their ship. So, it will take time for the Geth to convince the Quarrians that they are not a threat.
This of course does not explain why Jean Garson was killed. I am still trying to find a connection there.
The trip to Andromeda takes place in 2176, and the reapers show up around 2186, about two years after Shepard took down Sovereign and turned himself in to serve his sentence for blowing up the Batarian relay. And ME3 begins. Shepard had already met and formed an alliance with the Geth by then in ME2 before his suicide mission through the Omega 4 relay
So, the timeline fits for it to be the Geth that are against the old machines and already aligned with the organics to have become the benefactor and to have accomplished all of this to allow the Andromeda initiative to be realized and launch the arks. Now, of course, most of the Quarrian people would still be very afraid of the Geth in general. And that would certainly be the case on the Quarrian ark.
The Geth that are pro-organic cooperation would also be smart enough to realize by using their newfound and integrated reaper code, the benefit of symbiotic AI would be a far better approach so they could successfully integrate them into an organic world.
(This, of course, is pure wishful conjecture on my part).
Does anyone want to tell me what you think?
It sounds like the Illusive Man to me. But I did play Andromeda before ME1-2-3.
In 2016, in an interview, the developers said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative
The ai theory is a good one, cant stop thinking about it.
I always thought the benefactor was the illusive man but used the extra cover name because he was hiding his daughter cora in the initiative.
I don't think it's an A.I because it wants to gtf out of the Milky-way galaxy, but an A.I would be fine with the reapers. I think that it's one of the elder races from a cycle before who's been keeping very quiet because they enjoy living. Their advanced technology could keep them safe and obscured from our investigations mostly, and they would already know what the threat of the Reapers would truly represent but doesn't want to cause fear and irrational reactions in anyone, and so lies about not knowing about it, while also having vast resources gathered from the cycle before to put towards the Andromeda expedition.
It was stories like these that made we wanna finish, I still can’t decide rather ta replay or not( & if I do, it’s only cause all tha hard work tha VA’s put in)🚀
Tali ALSO knew sumn was comin tho so maybe Liara & Tali
@@Rocket_Man Do you mean Tali and Liara Benefactor?
All "Benefactor" thing is all about Reapers invading after Shepard destroyed Mass Relay in Ba'haak system to delay them for couple of years....
ME Andromeda, despite the flaw's of story, is more connected to original trilogy, than you think
I noticed that, in the theories regarding who the Benefactor might be, not one mention was made of the final ARK. At the end of the game, if your completion rate is high enough, there is a reveal that the final ARK, the one that the Quarians, Geth, and even the Hanar are on, and that launched extremely late, did manage to finally arrive in Andromeda. It, too, had come across the Scourge and had sent a distress signal. This is only revealed to the player as he/she is headed back to the ship.
Perhaps the Benefactor is on that vessel? Could it be a Geth, even though they would have no true reason to be interested in credits?
As an unfinished standalone game Andromeda was ok, as some of the dialog and quests just seemed not to fit in as well due to either the game getting rushed out before it was ready or not being written all that well.
That's why I think there should had been some dlc to tie up the loose ends for the scurge, missing arc, the sentient AI/VI that was taken onto the ship, quests, dialog etc
With cerberus as the illusive man put it the 1 of the heads of a multi headed dog, so it could be feasible that there are other heads of cerberus working in the shadows ad aren't as vocal as the illusive man & with those heads they could or might have let the illusive man be the figure head while they went about their own plots to further humanity if not in a lesser extreme to the illusive man.
Interesting theory. While the idea of an AI makes sense, my first impression of the mystery was that the benefactor was the former shadow broker. Not the one killed in lair of the shadow broker, but the one the yag replaced. Not sure if the timing works though.
I know it's unlikely but I truly hope it's wasn't gonna be fu***** Cerberus. I got sick of them thanks to all the Extended Universe books/comics and ESPECIALLY Omega DLC.
I like the AI theory, makes more sense than most
You missed small data pad in kett exaltation facility that is written by benefactor if i remeber correctly.
Maybe it’ll be explored in ME 4
Plot twist: The benefactor is a surviving prothean.
Wasn’t there a side quest in mass effect1 with a rogue sentient AI skimming money on the citadel? I suppose that could have been the AI benefactor.. it WAS skimming money..
That AI never made it off the Citadel, because you destroy it (admittedly it does trap you with bombs after you find out what it is).
What if the benefactor was the shadow broker. But they were the shadow broker before ME2. Because around then, unless I'm wrong, the arks already left. And it was some time before ME2 that the shadow broker was killed and replaced by the Yorg. So it was something kept in some major low channels that were over looked by the Yorg and then Liara
With the ai benefactor the geth that helped the initiative with using the one relay as a telescope into Heleus could be the benefactor and with that in mind perhaps the quarian ark held the geth assembly named benefactor only for the scourge to accidentally cause a second morning war.
Cerberus spent ''nearly unlimited amounts of resources'' to get Sheppard back, if it were an organization that helped fund the andromeda initiative i'm quite convinced its cerberus
Developers themselves said that Cerberus is not related to the Andromeda Initiative
I started Andromeda as soon as I got it for Christmas that year... but quickly lost interest, picked it back up a couple weeks ago and I'm committed now... love the story and game, but it is a bit mundane and seems too big? Geographically mainly. I think your totally right about the AI aspect of the Benefactor. I'd even lean towards the unshackled AI version of SAM or some kind of AI indoctrinated by the reapers in the milky way. Either way, it would answer a lot of questions and I still hold hope for a sequel or incorporating Andromeda with the next ME game somehow
Well, i certaintly hope the next mass effect connect andromeda and the original trilogy, as the trailers might imply. As for the benefactor's identity, im willing to bet it is the geth collective, who escaped the milky way in digital form with the initiative's computers.
I waited for a sale, and snagged this game for ~$8 US. It was solidly worth that price point.
I think that the benefactor is certainly Cerberus, but I don't think is TIM.
Cerberus is is a pro-human group but in me1, the Cerberus changes as TIM mentioned that the other project failed or lost. Remember the Luna mission VI, Cerberus recovered thru means and able to create Cerberus AI on to a ship with shackles, we can imagine the AI for the overlord project is the fusion of the AI mind with human mind. SAM is created with the intention of AI and human co-exist, but AI will need to experience together with human experience pain and suffering. Therefore andromeda exploration serve the needs.
Me2 Shepard died and revive under Lazarus project. Miranda mentioned that she wanted to put a control chip in Shepard but stopped by TIM. And the reaper threat causes Cerberus forced to changes their focus on advancement of the pro-human to survival.
TIM was on the path of controlling the reaper and the end of the me2, but I strongly believed TIM believed from the start geth and reaper is the same race and let him think it can be controlled to give Cerberus an edge for pro-human.
Me3 dlc we have clone Shepard.
At this point, I had an theory that Cerberus made a clone with a control chip of Shepard and sent to nexus as the first batch. All th ark have their pathfinder and I find it odd that nexus does not have their pathfinder.
So we have a SAM with a clone Shepard and a Cerberus TIM executive level VIP on nexus.
Benefactor is Cerberus another TIM and we may see Shepard again, with SAM.
In 2016, the developers in an interview said that Cerberus was not related to the Andromeda Initiative.
Even a dlc would fit the bill, just to answer the questions
We'll probably never see an end to this, so my money's on the slot machine AI from the original trilogy. It survived and has been gathering funds ever since. The geth didn't pan out and escaping the Citadel just wasn't enough- it had to escape the Milky Way
My favorite theory is that it's a friendly branch of Geth.
I think its Anita Goyle or maybe someone tied to Reyes Vidal
My personal theory of whom the Benefactor could be is she's a clone or twin sister to Jien Garson who hid incognito somehow and somewhere in the Milky Way and eventually Andromeda. When Jien threatened to expose her existence, that's when the hit was ordered.
Maybe the answer will come in ME4
I used to think it was at least, in part, funded or created by Cerberus or the Illusive Man. Cora Harper shares a last name with the Illusive Man (Jack Harper), so what better way to protect his daughter than to send her away?
However, the more I play the Trilogy, I've had a new head cannon. What if the Andromeda Initiative was funded by the Reapers themselves? The Reapers exist in Dark Space outside the Milky Way, so being able to travel to Andromeda isn't outside the realm of possibility. The Leviathans created the Reapers to stop the killing of organic life at the hands of synthetic life. What if they funded the Council race's plans to expand to a new galaxy so they'd have a reason to go there, since they'd be chasing the Council races, and potentially "save" new and unknown species? It's weak, I know, but it's fun to think about.
I always thought the benefactor would be someone we met in me1 or 2 and just didn't show up in me3. Someone who came into contact with Shepard and was scared enough to try and get people out of the milky way
I think the benefactor being an AI has merit, what if the AI is a surviving Prothean AI, trying to save the species the Protheans were studying, knowing they hadn't yet reached the technology to fight the reapers, the AI would have known about the reaper cycle.
Protheans detested AI, I don't see them making one unless it was top secret.
I always thought the pyjack was suspicious
The biggest problem with MEA is that there is/was too much cut from the game in order to not mis it's launch date ...no Dlc just made it worse...
I love the ending It's mice in the milky way So must be the pijack in Andromeda So long and thanks for all the fish
Damn you, pyjack! Damn you! You're way too devious!
(OK, it's scary how I have threads of a story that would answer the "Who's the benefactor") in my head after playing ME:A for 1st time this year, and then you go and yank that story out of my head. Still going to write it, though, because now in listening to you, I've just answered a few plot holes that you asked about. Thank you!)
It’s got to be the elusive man. It all fits
In 2016, the developers in an interview said that Cerberus was not related to the Andromeda Initiative
Yeah, You know what? I was about to say the Benefactor is an AI before the get to your conclusions, Because, if you "follow the money", imagine the massive amount of money for the enterprise. I think it's SAM. Well, it could be.
I actually agree with you. Let's go out a little crazier. What if the AI was the geth. Hear me out first. The geth were in contact with Harbinger 1st. The geth also had the ftl telescope pointed at Andromeda that the initiative was allowed to use to survey suitable planets. Technically the evolved into like a collect of servers linked together and they could use Andromeda Initiative to move part of their collective to Andromeda for safety. Perfect place to build a Dyson sphere. Seems crazy but, it does work even in the timeline.
Um there a datapad that mentions the benefactor in kett facility where angra are trun into kett in one of side rooms,it been a long time but it has I see your homeworld and I hope to see yours someday.
Conrad Verner *cough*
I'm fairly sure that the dev team were planning for the Benefactor to be an entity within the Andromeda Galaxy who wanted the races of the Milky Way to serve some greater purpose, possibly originating with The Remnant.
If not then the fact the question goes so unceremoniously unanswsered and thinly described is a testament to why you don't hire an incompetant fool like Manveer Heir to run your game design project, when he'd much rather be boasting about how much he hates white people on social media rather than doing coherent world building.
I do think the AI theory is very plausible but I still think the Illusive Man is behind it. No Jack isn't the Benefactor but it's one of his operatives. The Illusive Man main concern is the survival of humanity no matter what, his main goal was to stop the Reapers, then after indoctrination control them. The Illusive Man would of had a back up for this incase the Reapers won which he would have an operative overseeing like Lawson over the Lazarus project. The other alien species are easy to explain, like Chambers said Cerberus doesn't hate aliens though the The Illusive Man thinks humans should be at top and he would understand humanity may need other species to survive in the Andromeda system.
I always thought it might be SAM. Because of mass effect one.
Sovereign send the signal to the keepers they ignored it, and did not activate the citadel mass relay. then sovereign started planning on how to do it.
Vigil said something like Saren is sovereigns agent now but hé doubts saren is the first.
Sovereign might be planning for decades at that point.
If something would know about the signal/reapers it would be another true AI that has the possibility to syphon funds from everywhere to pay for the Andromeda Initiative, which always gets shortend to AI.
Its far fetched but thats what i always thought.
The Benefactor began sponsoring the Andromeda Initiative before Alec Ryder created SAM
I'm so glad this was in my recommendations
I really dont understand what everyone's problem is with Andromeda. It wasnt a perfect game, but after going back and playing Mass Effect 1, I found it much better than that game. I love the original ME, but when I take a look at the story and game play, without using nostalgia, I find Andromeda to be much better. The only reason ME1 is held in such high regards is due to ME2 continuing the story, if Andromeda was allowed the same thing, I honestly believe it could be so much better than the original.
Andromeda is an ok game, it would be cool with a sequel, they however should be their own and not in the ME branch, sure they can touch on what has happend in the ME, but it could be their own series of games. I really hope the new ME is more related to the 3 first.
That is my theorie for the next mass effect, an super intelligenz made from the geth. I am willing to bet 5 bucks on it. On the Benefactor side, i always thought it was some higher ones from the asari. They ruled the universe with protheran knowing, they know about the reapers by the beacon on tesia. I see no reason why they didn´t try to replicate the number one status in andromeda by not telling everything they know. Of course, there is no higher asari structure established in Andromeda. Would be easy to redcon tho. We have years to wait for answers, but they are in the works after all. Liked the Video.
Do you think the benefactor is a reaper or geth infusion with reaper tech?
i't reminds me about the citadel Market AI, that was funneling funds to buy a ship, been tranfered and live as a pirate hehehehehe but it fried itself and almost blow shepard too
I would suscribe to the AI theory, and add a few points to enrich it : first, setting her voice filter so that any attempt to track it would lead to an anti-AI atcivitst would be a genius move ! second, in ME1, there's the casino AI (for lack of a better name), so it's perfectly possible that a rogue was successful following a similar pattern, and kept hoarding money undercover for decades, as well as piecing together all the archeological clues accross the galaxy to see the Reapers coming WAY in advance...
Last, you mentioned the Benefactor would be someone within the initiative, acting friendly until it's time to collect... My brain clicked hard on that one (I don't get these hunches often, but when I do I forget them only to go "IkNeWiT!" when the reveal happens), It's not entirely compatible with the AI theory, but she could be an agent or underling : Vetra.