Talk:Aria T'Loak


 * Great. Citations please? Phylarion 22:18, November 8, 2009 (UTC)

Move & Reorganise
If we know the character's full name, this page should be moved there.

Also, infoboxes and quotes are restricted to important characters; squadmates, key antagonists, and one or two allies. Please remove 'em for now; we don't know how important this woman is yet. --Tullis 17:03, November 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * Indeed. We need some more concrete info. I mean, "Boss, CEO, Queen", really? SpartHawg948 21:32, November 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * 'Twas a quote, since she isn't 'officially' anything, it's how she designated herself. Not that it matters anymore, since it's gone. JakePT 04:58, November 30, 2009 (UTC)


 * That's fine, but use it as a quote, not as the actual rank/title. If we applied that policy throughout, Subject Zero's rank/title could be listed as "all powerful bitch". See why that might be an issue? SpartHawg948 05:06, November 30, 2009 (UTC)
 * Also, it's extremely hard to respond when every time you hit save page, it's been changed again, usually for something minor. I had to try 4 times to post my last response! :P SpartHawg948 05:08, November 30, 2009 (UTC)

The Initial Scan
Wasn't made because of weapons, she denies that fact and states to make sure that Shepherd actually was Shepherd truly. Genetic data I believe.

Aria and Mass Effect 1
Thought I should mention that once you finish the quest Omega: The Patriarch, you are allowed to ask Aria more about her back story. As she's talking to you, she mentions that she had Commando training, that she spent time as a Mercenary, and that she's changed her name before. She also mentions that the Patriarch isn't the only Krogan she's ever screwed over/pissed off.

All of this evidence points to Aria being the Asari from Wrex's story in one of his later dialogues in ME1. To top it off, she ends her cryptic back story conversation with the same phrase she gave Wrex when she let him know she hadn't died: "Better luck next time."

The Asari commando merc who Wrex described having a rivalry with was named Aleena. When Wrex happened to get a contract to kill her they agreed to a duel on a Salarian space station, home to smugglers and mercs. After both survived the contest the contractor hired Wrex to protect him from Aleena's retribution, although she never reappeared. Aria tells Shepard that she's had different names, commando training and merc leanings. She then says, "I lean toward a particular type of work. It tends to encourage professional rivalry. Sometimes you'd rather disappear than be forced to kill someone." As Aleena, she'd probably have had to kill Wrex to get back at her former associate who wanted her dead. So she disappeared. However, she also mentions having been hounded by Salarian creditors (and their "record-keeping") when she started becoming successful on Omega. ...Perhaps the same Salarians whose station she and Wrex trashed?--Phiont 22:37, February 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm just an unregistered lurker, but kudos to whoever figured that out. I played through the original Mass Effect at least five times over and noticed just about all of the relations like this during ME2. But the entire Aria conversation didn't ring a bell at all when I was playing through. 75.185.17.219 21:42, February 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * So, your only evidence for putting her as Aleena is that she's an asari that worked as mercenary?. Using the same line of thought i could argue that Liara's mother or even Samara was Aleena, or any other asari with commando training for that matter, since it seems most asari spend their youth either dancing at bars or working as mercs.
 * Without any hard evidence there's hardly a reason for having such info on the wiki page.--TGBlank 21:41, February 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * Did you even read his entire message? It's a lot more than just the fact she was a mercenary. Read her quotes. Matt 2108 22:07, February 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, those don't help either. In Wrex's story a volus diplomat wanted to erase someone from his past who knew too much (Aleena), Wrex and Aleena where sort of friends so he let her pick the place: an abandoned salarian space station overrun by mercs and smugglers; here is inconsistency #1, linking the salarian space station to the salarians who where business partners with Aria and wanted a bigger share does not compute.
 * Continuing with Wrex story, they fought for two days, Wrex cornered her at the clinic but before he could kill her, the core went critical and Wrex was barely able to escape. On the shuttle back Wrex got a message saying "better luck next time" from Aleena, afterwards, Wrex convinced the diplomat that he needed him as a bodyguard to protect him from Aleena.
 * Here we have inconsistencies #2 and #3, #2 is that if Aleena played dead and later became Aria, it doesn't make any sense to send a message to Wrex saying that she was alive. Inconsistency #3 is that this was one of the hardest fights Wrex ever had, it lasted two days, yet Aria says her hardest fight was her duel against Patriarch (which didn't ended with a destroyed space station).
 * The "not the first krogan she pissed off" doesn't count either, Anyone who deals with merc constantly will run into krogans with ease, pissing them off isn't hard either. Besides, she didn't exactly pissed off Wrex.
 * As i said, saying that Aria = Aleena is pure and sole speculation, it haves a place on the talk page or forums, but the wiki is for confirmed facts --TGBlank 23:06, February 22, 2010 (UTC)


 * Lets lay out the flaws in your logic. Aleena confirmed that she was alive to Wrex, who later had the volus hire him as a bodyguard. Now this could mean that Wrex told the volus, or that he alluded to the fact that she survived. This doesn't mean that she didn't play dead to the rest of the galaxy, and on that note, were she to have become Aria it would equate with Aleena's death as "Aleena" would no longer exist.
 * Why wouldn't it make sense for her to send a message to Wrex? They were friends. He could claim to almost anyone that he had killed her and get paid for the job, or declare she was still alive and get paid to be a bodyguard, without having to kill her. Logically makes sense.
 * Also, abandoned Salarian station? Aleena's choice? Wrex wouldn't know if it was abandoned or not if it was privately owned, why else would it be crawling with mercs? The core just happened to overload? she could have destroyed it to make a point and cover her exit and it would still fit with the story.
 * Finally, Aria's fight with Patriarch would have occured after her fight with Wrex. As that is the case, her fight with patriarch could have, in fact, been tougher then the one she had with Wrex. The fact that she uses the exact same lines as the message make enough of a connection to make assumptions. Liara connects herself with her mother that way, as do other characters throughout the game.

ProphetofTruth 01:17, February 23, 2010 (UTC)

Aria is Cocky as hell, teasing Wrex fits her personality. A normal person wouldn't play dead and tease the person that they were alive, that's why Aria isn't a normal person. Aria's lived a long time, she's fought plenty of Krogan. Just because Aria was wrex's hardest fight doesn't mean that it was also aria's. It's all perspective. "Aleena" was the toughest person Wrex ever faced, while Aria thinks that Patriarch was the toughest she'd ever faced. It just means that what mattered to wrex didn't quite matter as much to her. She was in control that whole fight from her perspective, that's why she was able to escape before the station blew and even tease wrex at the end there with what is apparently her "catch-phrase". It's a total action trope and it's VERY easy to rationalize when you consider that these are mercenaries that don't fear death like you would.
 * here's the conversation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9WULi5m-hE
 * - "She chose an old salarian space station overrun by mercs and smugglers", overrun meaning the mercs and smugglers seized it either by force or it was abandoned and then seized; it wouldn't be the first of the game.
 * - People that want to play dead don't send messages to people telling them they're alive.
 * - Aria mentions problems with salarians, nowhere does she mention any volus.
 * All in all, there is no proof that Aria = Aleena, there is no proof that she isn't either, bioware could perfectly fill out the blanks and inconsistencies or retcon them much like they retconned ammo. The point is that it is all speculation and it will remain speculation until some new mass effect dlc, game, book or designer states otherwise.--TGBlank 02:01, February 23, 2010 (UTC)


 * Why state the obvious? Of course this is all just speculation. Speculation involves both parties contributing arguments that further their own theory - neither party can prove their claims. You don't have to reiterate it so many times. That said, there are plenty of clues that hint at Aria and Aleena being the same person. Remember, Mass Effect is a creation - which means every little detail had to be intentionally introduced. You cannot write a book without knowing what's going on in your own story, or create two characters with the same catchphrase ("Better luck next time") and create so many coincidences (e.g. Aria is an asari, Wrex is an Krogan; Wrex mentions Aleena as part of his character development, and Aria mentions having dealt with a Krogan mercenary before) without being aware of it.


 * It's just not possible for the developers to create these circumstances without realizing, "Hey, wait, Aria seems very similar to Aleena!" Therefore we can safely conclude that the developers purposely created the parallels between Aria and Aleena. There is still the possibility that the developers never intended Aria to be Aleena, and left these hints as a 'red herring' of sorts to draw some speculation and discussion from the fans, but knowing Bioware - I find that very unlikely. When you're creating a huge game like Mass Effect where you face budget restraints, it doesn't make sense to just put in random tidbits of information (like Wrex's conversation with Shephard in ME1 about Aleena) without connecting it somehow. It would be bad form, imho.


 * Anyway, just my two cents on why it is extremely likely that Aria = Aleena - or, at the very least, that Bioware intended for those coincidences to be there. --evaporate 12:08, April 02, 2010


 * The "better luck next time" comment, following a lengthy pause, pretty much confirmed it for me. --Heliossoileh 00:54, February 23, 2010 (UTC)

Face
I do believe that Aria's face is modeled after that of Carrie-Ann Moss' face. Striking similarity, if nothing else.

Very intense 'look on her face...

Small Issue
I found this statement odd

"Shepard asks her for any information she may have, but she only tells the Commander not to waste her time and try a different, more ready source of news elsewhere on the station"

If you are referring to questions regarding your two potential recruits Archangel and Mordin, she readily provides you with leads on them. However, if you are referring to questions other than those I mentioned, I think it would be prudent to specify that, just to prevent confusion you understand. Incrognito 05:21, February 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. --Heliossoileh 11:06, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

Datapad
Wiki currently states that she lets you ask about her past after giving her the datapad, however, in my experience, this happens after recruiting Mordin, with the datapad's reward being her giving you the location of the N7: Eclipse Smuggling Depot mission. Can anyone confirm that if you do archangel first and give her the datapad it unlocks the dialogue about her past?

Probably not Aleena
From the way Wrex talks about her, that she had a soft side, I don't think that Aria is Aleena. It's certainly possible, but highly unlikely, Aria doesn't show much mercy or softness beyond keeping Patriarch around, and that's to serve as an example.--Allurade Dendra 00:43, March 15, 2010 (UTC)


 * Things change, don't forget how long Krogan and Asari live. Laexio 15:42, March 23, 2010 (UTC)


 * I dunno about that, Aria says she keeps Patriarch around as an example, but I think she might have a bit of a soft spot for him. I think Aria is a strong-willed, courageous character. She respects those who are like her. Sure she seems a bit cold, but I think there are undeniable undertones of begrudging respect for characters like Shepard and Patriarch, as if she secretly considers them friends; they're straight-shooters, no bull, and its that combination of strength of character and sticking to their principles (whatever they are) that she respects. Look at how much she eventually tells Shepard - sure, she doesn't give you many details, but its a lot more than she gives to anyone else. Both Wrex and Aria are strong-willed, courageous and stick to their guns (literally and figuratively). I can definitely perceive them as being both very good friends and very bitter rivals. 202.45.119.22 23:25, March 21, 2011 (UTC)FatBarry


 * When you talk about Patriach with Aria, she says hes not the first Krogan I've pissed off. That seems like a bit of a hint. Maybe they'll develope the topic in ME3 to confirm whether it is or is not Aleena. JoMac223 22:45, June 16, 2011


 * Keep in mind who your narrator is. Wrex. Wrex is a tough Krogan, who's perspective of what a 'soft side' is, is probably very different from what most people think of as a 'soft side'. He also didn't really say Aleena had a soft-side, merely spoke of her with a great deal of care and sentimental nostalgia. I mean the biggest thing we find out about her is that she had like a 2 week long duel to the death with him on a space station.

There's just way too much proof for Aleena and Aria being the same person for it to be a coincidence. --199.246.39.164 08:20, September 18, 2011 (UTC)

Speculation?
Isn't there a no-speculation policy in articles for this wikia? There's a whole speculation subsection which I felt it should be deleted until it was proven otherwise. Teugene 06:53, March 18, 2010 (UTC)
 * No. There is a rather strict set of guidelines for what speculation is and is not acceptable in articles, which can be found in the speculation section of the Mass Effect Wiki Style Guide, but it isn't a "no-speculation policy". Rather, as the Style Guide specifies, it's a "low tolerance" (as opposed to "zero tolerance") policy. SpartHawg948 08:52, March 18, 2010 (UTC)
 * I might have read that wrongly or got it confused with the no-vandalism policy. Anyway, the section seems rather out of place if compared to other character pages. Maybe it should be under trivia or something, I don't know. Teugene 02:48, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that could work. SpartHawg948 03:09, March 19, 2010 (UTC)

Personally i think the speculation policy needs and addendum, like one similiarity is a coincendance, two is uncanny, but three coincidences and things start to look like a pattern, also if the speculation makes a good deal of sense and doesnt crntradict the basis of the character or item, alsothe speculation cant be central to the article. At least those are my perceived rules, speculation still needs to be monitored heavely. ralok 03:18, March 19, 2010 (UTC)

Matriarch?
I agree with most of Unknown Primarch's recent changes, but I'm not sure where the Matriarch designation comes from. She doesn't seem particularly old, and I don't recall her saying she was a Matriarch. ShadowRanger 19:21, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * I was wondering the same thing myself. SpartHawg948 19:59, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * I've been arguing on a few forums that Aria is very old. A lot of people disagree, and think she 'looks young'. But all the mystery about her life before Omega, plus her general aura made me sure she was a lot older. Anyway, I finally found what I was looking for: page 110 (paperback), Mass Effect: Retribution. Quote: "The chances of such a mission actually succeeding were slim, but Aria hadn't survived over a thousand years by exposing herself to risk." This might well make her the oldest Asari we meet in the game (except possibly Aethyta?). This, and the fact she has a *spoiler* daughter, Liselle, suggests she's a matriarch. Matriarch = speculation, but worth putting the age thing in the article? --Charlesmatron 18:22, September 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * Hmm curious. The book clearly says over a thousand years, and the Codex states that the Matriarch stage begins around 700. Still while it is a stage in life, it may also be a title. I'm very uncertain about this one. Lancer1289 20:12, September 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * In Mass Effect: Retribution we learn she's nearly one thousand years old.

Omega
Wouldn't it be allot easier to take over omega after one of the most powerful and skilled Krogan battle master had a multi day brawl through the streets with the galaxy's most dangerous Asari commando? I understand this is mostly conjecture, but if the space station the two fought on happened to be omega (A den for smugglers, criminals and other unsavory types) and experienced quite allot of casualties...including anysort of security trying to stop this fight. So if a certain woman decided to take over there wouldn't be that much of a resistance, would there?

174.54.224.83 06:18, July 3, 2010 (UTC)The Elusive Bloke
 * Well the thing is we don't know anywhere else they fought apart from Afterlife. Omega has always been divided between merc groups, or powerful local groups, so taking over the whole station might be a challenge. Also don't forget the Blue Suns, Eclipe, and Blood Pack were teaming up to take on Aria once Archangel had been delt with. True Aria has a lot of power, but after a serious fight, other forces might have strenghed their positions preventing a takeover. A takeover of Omega would be very difficult as so many groups are fighting for power and space. Lancer1289 06:41, July 3, 2010 (UTC)

I don't get it
Why is she so dang hot?
 * Honestly, I don't think she is. She's probably the least attractive asari we've seen yet, IMO. I mean, that's still not saying that much, as even a relatively unattractive asari is pretty good looking, but she's really nothing special. SpartHawg948 06:03, August 13, 2010 (UTC)

Anto's last name
Since we know Anto's last name from one of Ish's packages (hmm, Bek'tall, was it?), should he be listed with it? It's not like it's non-canon or speculation. --Kiadony 15:08, December 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Sure if it is indeed Bek'tall or whatever it is. Lancer1289 18:06, December 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, Bek'tall. --Kiadony 18:34, December 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well then, no objections. Lancer1289 19:08, December 28, 2010 (UTC)

Image
Frankly while the current image has better lighting, I don't like it for multiple other reasons. The image is further away, the image is smaller, though that is an easy fix, the old image had more detail, and the facial expression bothers me. The old image had more of the ruthless ruler that is more appropriate for Aria, while the current one makes her look more venerable, which doesn’t seem appropriate given what she does and her position. Frankly I much rather prefer the old version given what I have put above, with the only change being better lighting sometimes that isn’t the best thing. I feel that the original image fits better with Aria's character than the current one does. Lancer1289 19:43, January 31, 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok I'll give you that lol. I can see about getting that look/mood of Aria on another playthrough. WNxSajuukCor 20:08, January 31, 2011 (UTC)
 * So would that be an ok on the original for now given what I have above? Lancer1289 20:14, January 31, 2011 (UTC)

Got the shot of Aria with her scowl with the better lighting and textures. Thoughts? WNxSajuukCor 15:32, February 3, 2011 (UTC)

the one on the right seems better to me for a character image, however if u wanted to get the dark mood of Aria across, than the image on the left would seem better. IMHO--Paladin cross 16:01, February 3, 2011 (UTC)

totally agreed. one on right looks like she's serious and sort of suspicious, like a syndicate leader would be, but left one really brings out a mood where she's ready to kill. JoMac223 22.45 June 16, 2011