Reapers - Mass Effect 3 Guide - IGN (2024)

The Reapers are an ancient race of machines. Called "the Old Machines" by the Geth, they waited in deep space, beyond the Perseus Veil. Their main goal is to harvest all organic species and resources in the galaxy for consumption and also to create more Reapers. Once that is complete they remove all traces of their existence and then go back into deep space where they can't be found.

The Reapers are the primary antagonists of the entire Mass Effect trilogy. Although they spend most of the first two games operating in the shadows and only reveal themselves gradually, the full threat of the Reapers is finally realised in Mass Effect 3 when they launch a full scale attack on the galaxy.

Appearance

The Reapers are extremely advanced artificial life forms constructed of both organic materials and synthetic parts.

They are an amalgamation of species that have been harvested during each cycle - it is revealed during Mass Effect 2 that the Reapers use the biological material of a species to create new Reapers, thus allowing them to use the new Reaper to begin a new harvest.

As the Reaper retains some semblance of the species it was harvested from, they generally look different. They are at the same time uniformly similar, and many of the Reapers resemble giant insects, complete with mandible-like 'mouths' which open to fire their devastating laser cannons.

It is revealed during DLC for Mass Effect 3 that the appearance of the Reapers is primarily based on the ancient race of Leviathans, who chose to hide themselves from the Reapers to prevent being eradicated during the cycle.

Legion best sums up the Reapers, stating they are "billions of organic minds, uploaded and conjoined within immortal machine bodies."

Mass Effect

The events of Mass Effect centre around Shepard's realisation of the Reapers as a threat, and this begins with the discovery that rogue Spectre Saren Arterius' flagship, Sovereign, is in fact a Reaper and not just a common starship.

During the events of the game, it is gradually revealed that Sovereign has been using the process of indoctrination to warp the mind of Saren, gradually weakening him and asserting the Reaper's dominance. Using Saren, the Reaper hopes to use the Citadel to open the pathways to dark space, thus opening the way for other Reapers to enter the galaxy and begin the harvesting cycle.

Sovereign is ultimately thwarted by Commander Shepard at the end of the game after Shepard kills Saren. Sovereign attempts one last time to use the body of Saren, controlling him remotely from afar to open the Mass Relay that will allow the Reapers entry into the Galaxy.

Shepard is able to stop the controlled body of Saren, and this causes Sovereign's shields to drop and the Reaper is ultimately destroyed by the combined might of the Citadel fleet.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the defeat of Sovereign does little to convince many that the Reapers truly exist - many still believe Sovereign was just a ship being controlled by Saren, not the other way around.

Thus begins the premise for Mass Effect 2, which sees Shepard preparing for an invasion by the highly dangerous Reaper forces.

Mass Effect 2

In Mass Effect 2, the Collectors started to abduct human colonies to prepare for the Reapers' invasion of the galaxy. The Collectors were using the humans so that they could create a giant human shaped Reaper. Once again, Shepard saved the galaxy and destroyed the Human-Reaper. At the end of ME2, It is learned that the Reaper Harbinger was in control of the Collector General and was personally directing the Collectors the entire time. There is also a scene of Harbinger and thousands of Reapers moving towards the galaxy, setting the stage for Mass Effect 3.

Indoctrination

The Reapers are extremely technologically advanced, and possess far greater powers than the organic/synthetic life they harvest.

One of their most effective weapons is the process of indoctrination, a form of extreme brainwashing that assures the Reaper's dominance over the mind of an organic or synthetic being without the indoctrinated individual being aware of the Reaper's control.

Is is indoctrination that drove Saren to serve the Reapers during the events of Mass Effect 1, and it is also the process used to enthrall the Protheans, who were later processed by the Reapers, transformed into Collectors and used to advance the Reaper's goals.

The process of indoctrination can be controlled entirely by the Reaper. For weak minded inviduals, a Reaper could assert dominance straight away - in the case of Saren, the Reaper Sovereign gradually erode away at his mind, allowing him to retain some semblance of free will until the Reaper finally assumed full control.

In Mass Effect 3, the Reaper's main indoctrinated victim is the Illusive Man, who is eventually revealed to be being controlled by the Reapers.