User blog comment:RayShepp654/How to defeat the Reapers Theories/@comment-1221773-20101031021231/@comment-217683-20101031235847

That being said, you do have to admit that the idea of a large-scale space battle does have merit from a storyline standpoint. I'm not saying one where the combined forces of the Milky Way races actually defeat all the Reapers. I freely admit that this is extremely unlikely, to say the least. Additionally, it's not nearly "Shepard-centric" enough to be the big finish and the ultimate solution to the Reaper problem. But it would be pretty awesome from a fan standpoint, as it would allow us to see all these things we've only heard about so far, and it would be entirely possible to have a major battle that fits in with the plot. Maybe a sort of "Thermopylae in space" where a fleet fights a holding action against the Reapers, knowing full well they will die in the process, for the purpose of buying the rest of the galaxy more time, or a final desperate battle against the entire Reaper armada (or a significant portion of it) to give Shepard time to implement whatever it is that will ultimately vanquish the Reapers.

I don't find a large fleet battle to be at all "cliche". It is used quite a bit in sci-fi, but for good reason. It works. Saying the use of a major space battle in a sci-fi series is cliche is like saying that depicting a battle in a war movie is cliche. I wholeheartedly agree that a major fleet battle won't be the be-all, end-all solution, but it does have its place, can be incorporated successfully into a plot in a manner that doesn't necessitate its being the integral part, and would be pretty awesome. I for one will be disappointed if we don't get to see a major battle. It'd be like not having a big space battle in the original Star Wars trilogy.