Talk: Collector Cruiser

It's explicitly mentioned in the game that the ship that killed the SR-1, the ship that lands on the human colony, and the ship that Shepard's team boards later on are the same vessel. (EDI mentions that her scans of the derelict ship's EM signatures match the signatures of the ship from two years ago, while someone else speculates that the Turians were able to disable the derelict ship because the colony's defense batteries had damaged it.) But I'm not sure if the latter point was actually confirmed or if it was just guessing (especially due to the fact that it is mentioned that the derelict might also have been an intentional trap), so I'm not adding it in yet. UERD 07:23, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

You know, I don't think there's a reason to believe more than one of those ships ever existed. One was enough to capture the entire earth. - ~~

There's also no reason to assume that there was only one of these ships. SpartHawg948 12:19, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

It seems likely to assume a one ship theory by the end of the game. The "coincidences" that it is a ship with the same EM signature that follows Shepherd all add up by the end. Only that sole cruiser is sent out to fight you. It seems hard to imagine room for a second docking port on the station, which would surely be needed if there was a fleet. This cruiser has enough space for "all of earth's people" or something like that, why would a second be needed? We can't be certain the collectors are gone, but the game leads us to believe there was (likely, but not certainly!) only one cruiser. It bears mentioning in the article. Francis2559 04:14, February 4, 2010 (UTC)

I was an infiltrator class and had the option to train in the use of an assault rifle. It isn't listed here, so just stating it as something that can be added.

Wondering if it was necessary to add: "Shepard can either choose to learn how to use weapons not native to his or her class, which unlocks use of the 'normal' weapons of that type (but not the advanced weapons listed below). For example, a Vanguard class character can choose to either pick up the Claymore shotgun, or learn how to use normal assault rifles or sniper rifles, providing additional tactical options. Otherwise, Shepard will select one of the following weapons:" Asking, because I'd added some information within the weapon categories themselves saying which classes can pick the guns, and if they aren't that class, they simply have access to the other weapons of that category that they already own. "Soldier and Vanguard option only, choosing Shotgun as another class simply lets you use the Shotguns you already have available." Is the example of what I put after the selectable Shotgun for Vanguard/Soldier, seems redundant, and what I put seemed more compact and informative. Jaline 07:15, February 5, 2010 (UTC)

Go ahead and change it back. As long as it's clear that a character who can't already use that class of weapon won't get the special weapon, but rather simply use of the existing weapons. That's the real important thing to tell people. UERD 09:02, February 5, 2010 (UTC)

Regarding upgrades.

I would like to know, I am currently on my second playthough and I want to know when I go back to the ship will I be able to train in another weapon and if so will it replace my last weapon I trained in or will I be trained in both, or will the option to train in a new weapon not appear this time around? - RASIC^Talk 16:33, February 4, 2010 (UTC)

From what I'm aware of, if you're doing the second play-through as the same character (imported from your previous ME2 save), you will not be able to pick a new weapon (meaning Soldier cannot do 3 picks to get all of them, and an Engineer for example cannot use all Snipers/Assaults/Shotguns.) However, I'm not 100% certain about this, it's simply what I've read from others who've played through using an import ME2 character. Jaline 05:40, February 5, 2010 (UTC)

The current page page reflects the truth: You cannot get a new weapon/training on a second playthrough with an imported ME2 character. Lyriq 18:55, February 7, 2010 (UTC)

What is meant by the sentence: "The training carries through with each additional new game"?

Does the term "new game" mean additional playthroughs with the same character or subsequent playthroughs with a different character? The reason this isn't immediately obvious to me is that, after having played through once as a Soldier, I started a new game with a new character as an Infiltrator. While I was designing the Infiltrator, I was given the option of choosing one additional power from my teammates that was unlocked during the Soldier playthrough.

I assume that, if I chose a unique weapon during one playthrough (for example, my Soldier chose the unique assault rifle), and then used that same character to playthrough a second time, I'd still have that unique weapon. The question is, during the second playthrough with the same character, would I be provided with... a) the option to choose specialized training in a different weapon type OR a different unique weapon, b) The option to choose specialized training in a different weapon type BUT NOT access to other unique weapons, or c) no options for additional training NOR unique weapons?

As a seperate question, if I play a new game with a new character, I know the new character won't have access to a unique weapon choose by a different character. For example, my Infiltrator does not have access to the unique assault rifle my Soldier chose. The question is, if the first character chose to gain access to a new weapon type, will the new character start with access to that weapon type too? Servius 02:18, February 9, 2010 (UTC)

Huh?

From the article: "Collector cruiser hulls are vulnerable to sustained bombardment from Alliance anti-ship turrets, suggesting they are not warships."

Is this supposed to imply that warships are impervious to turrets? Or that Alliance turrets are only meant to be effective against non-military ships? Neither really makes sense. UERD 10:37, February 5, 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, that bit pretty much defied common sense. Just because they can be damaged by anti-ship weaponry, they may not be warships? I guess the words Anti-Ship didn't really mean anything to whoever added that in! :P I mean, what else would you call a large, heavily armed ship that goes around blowing up warships and attacking colonies? SpartHawg948 11:32, February 5, 2010 (UTC)

More than one?

How are we so sure that there are more than one Collector Cruiser? In the game, it's specifically stated that the ship that destroys the first Normandy is the same ship that attacks the Horizon colony, and the same ship that Shepard boards in the middle of the game. Then during the scene just before the Normandy SR2 crashes into the Collector station, Joker refers to the cruiser coming to attack them as their "old friend". The only appearance of a Collector cruiser that isn't specifically noted as being the same ship that Shepard encountered befor is when the IFF is activated and the Normandy SR2's crew is captured. That's like five total appearances with ships that look pretty much the same, and four of them are named as the same ship. Also the Collectors would not have needed more than one ship. While on the cruiser, Shepard and his squad talk about how many pods are in it, and that there are too many to hold just the population of human colonies in the Terminus systems. One squad member then says that the Collectors ship must be planning to go for Earth. If one ship can hold a significant fraction of Earth's population, then why build more, especially since only a many hundred thousand more humans (or a few million) would be needed to finish the proto-Reaper, not billions (which would be too much for even this ship to handle)? Also, the Collector base didn't appear to have more than one dock for a cruiser, and if there were more than one ship, then what happens to the rest of the ships after the base gets blown up or radiated? Do the Collectors on those float around and die without the general? Couldn't other races or Cerberus find their ships (since they had to be outside the Omega4 relay because we didn't see them) and use their technology? Anyway, I think what we know points to there being just one ship. 164.107.237.227 21:47, February 8, 2010 (UTC)

I thought of adding something here, because I saw that a comment about this cruiser being the only one we see in ME2 being removed. I'd have to completely agree that this cruiser is the only collector ship that we see in ME2, and I would *think* that if there was more than one, we'd have seen it, though I don't much think there's a need to say that there aren't any more collector ships, I'd say that this IS the only one we see in Mass Effect 2, we do not see any other ships in ME2 from the Collectors, as it's fairly well documented that Shepard is being hounded by the same Collector ship over and over again. So I would think that "This is the only collector ship seen in Mass Effect 2" would be a proper way to put it. Jaline 01:07, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

First of all, out of the five appearances (destruction of SR-1, Horizon surface, 'derelict' ship trap, Normandy ambush, and destruction of Collector ship), only the first three are 'confirmed' in-game to be the same ship. Perhaps it is implied that the same ship is stalking Shepard all five times, but dialogue only positively confirms the first three cases. Everything else on the motives ('they only need one ship', 'why build more?' is speculation). Finally, "This is the only Collector ship seen in Mass Effect 2" is demonstratably wrong- what do you call an Oculus? UERD 01:34, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

I call the Oculus more like a collector drone, to specifically answer your question. Even the Oculus page notes that it's unknown if these Oculus are remotely controlled or if there was actually a collector flying it. I would personally think of the Oculus as drones, or probes, that are used to remotely scout and deter any visitors that come near the collector base, even the fact that they are called Oculus leads us to the fact that they are more like a scout drone. Think of them as the collector equivalent to engineer combat drones. Also, the re-wording that I used, made it sound as if "If there is more than ONE collector cruiser, the cruiser is still the only known TYPE of collector warship" which still makes perfect sense in my opinion.. It's not as if we have confirmation that the ship that hits the Normandy was not the same ship, and it's not as if we have confirmation that the ship we blow up after the Omega 4 Relay, is not the same ship either, though I do remember Joker saying that it was an old friend and I believe Shepard actually said something about "the same ship dogging me for two years" at that time as well (though it might have been earlier). Jaline 01:50, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

I would also like to point out, since you just changed it again, and said "take a look at starships page" that we actually have no idea if the Oculus are capable of what it says on the starship page: "Starships are space craft capable of traveling between starsystems, using mass relays and the FTL mass effect drive." Where do we see an Oculus travel between starsystems or using a mass relay? We don't. We also again, like I said, have no confirmation that the Oculus was even a piloted craft, it could simply have been a remote drone, and that is even mentioned upon the Oculus page. If you can show me proof of an Oculus travelling between starsystems, using a mass relay, having for fact, a pilot and not being a remote craft, then perhaps I'll agree with you. Jaline 01:57, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

First of all, the starships page says nothing about the starship being piloted by an organic pilot, an AI, a VI, or anything. A Reaper doesn't have a crew scurrying around and we would count it as a starship.

We don't know if Oculi can travel using FTL or relays- we have no reason to say they can't. You notice the starships page has fighters as a class of starships. There is nothing in the game that states that human or any other fighters can FTL travel or make relay jumps- and they they are on the page.

Even so, let us assume for the sake of argument that the Oculus is not a starship. That still doesn't change the fact that there is no conclusive evidence that the ambush ship and the final ship are the same as the ship in the first three appearances. That, by itself, is enough to remove the statement, as we do NOT know for sure.

We can ask an admin for a decision, as they have policy control. Say, Mr. SpartHawg948. Actually, he says above, "There's also no reason to assume that there was only one of these ships." And we don't add assumptions, at least not without stating that they are assumptions. But maybe he's changed his mind. I'll leave a message and maybe he can put this matter to a rest. UERD 02:05, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

I left a message. Asking for his opinion is probably more constructive than clogging up the history with any more back and forth edits, so I'll leave it until he gives us his input. UERD 02:11, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Already left my opinion about the whole brouhaha here on this very page (although in a later section) about 6 minutes before your post saying you had asked for my opinion. Guess I'm some kind of psychic! SpartHawg948 02:14, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Not trying to re-open an old fight here, but a bit of dialogue leapt out at me the past two playthroughs. Much has been made of the line where Joker, upon seeing the vessel that the Normandy combats near the Collector base, tells Shepard that they are sending out an 'Old friend'. This line has been used to support the claim that this ship is the same one that blew up the Normandy SR-1, attacked Horizon, and was the supposedly disabled Collector ship. After all, the thinking goes, why else would Joker refer to it as an 'old friend'? Well, on the suicide mission, after first encountering the Human-Reaper and talking to EDI, Shepard will see a group of approaching Collectors and remark that they need to take care of some 'old friends'. Now, following the same logic, this must mean that these are Collectors Shepard has fought before, right? These same specific Collectors. But of course they aren't. Rather, they are simply more Collectors of the same sort that Shepard has encountered several times before. In this context, it's very easy to look at Joker's comment and interpret it simply as meaning another Collector cruiser, not the same one encountered earlier. Just throwing that out there. SpartHawg948 03:23, September 7, 2010 (UTC)

Never seen again?

So, I removed a bit that was out-and-out speculation about how, given that their base was occupied or captured, and given the possible annihilation of the Collectors as a whole (don't even get me started on how speculative that is), it's doubtful any Collector cruisers will ever be seen again. This is, of course, pure speculation. It is possible, after all, for military forces to hold out and keep fighting well past the end of hostilities even if their bases are occupied/destroyed, their governments collapse, and they are completely cut off from supply. Just look at the CSS Shenandoah, which fired the last shots of the Civil War two months after the war ended and the Confederacy ceased to exist, the Prague Offensive, which continued for three days after Nazi Germany capitulated to the Soviets, or any of the Japanese holdouts, some of whom didn't surrender until nearly two decades after the Japanese Empire surrendered in WWII. So no, it is not doubtful that Collector cruisers will ever be seen again. SpartHawg948 01:42, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

NOT the 'only ship', NOT the only one of its type

Please stop editing the article to make these assertions. Oculi are 'Collector ships'. A fighter is a ship- look at the Starships page. Also, we have no evidence that says that the ship in the final two sightings is the same ship as the one in the first three. We do not know if there is only one, we do not know if there is more than one. The correct thing to do is to not make a definitive statement either way. UERD 01:52, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

The statement I put up was saying that it's the only one we *know* of, saying that it's the only one that we *know* of is a proper way of putting it, like you said, we don't *know* if there is another collector cruiser or if Shepard encountered multiple cruisers. According to the Starships page, again, I'll say, that it says a fighter is: "FIGHTERS are one-man craft used to perform close-range attacks on enemy ships." and we have no idea at all if the Oculus were in fact manned fighter craft, they could simply be drones, and it's not as if we'd call the engineer combat drone a tiny ship would we? Jaline 02:01, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, I have to concur with Jaline. You state that the Oculi are fighters without really providing any proof. They seem much more like unmanned drones to me. The Oculi don't really appear to have any of the characteristics of fighters as described on the Starships page, and you really need to provide evidence that an Oculus is a fighter. Just calling it one doesn't make it so. As for the Collector cruiser seen in ME2 being the only known Collector ship, I read that as meaning that the Collector Cruiser (the type or class of ship, not just the individual vessel) seen in ME2 is the only known Collector ship, which is true. SpartHawg948 02:05, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Okay, I can live with that. Can we make it clear that we're talking about the only know class of Collector ship, rather than the only known individual vessel to exist? UERD 02:13, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

How, exactly? Like I stated above, it's already clear (at least to me) from the existing wording that this is exactly what is meant. SpartHawg948 02:15, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Well there we go I suppose, an answer from Mr. SpartHawg948 himself. I also think the designers pretty much wanted to imply that the same ship was going after Shepard over and over again, it makes perfect sense. I'll have to reach the suicide mission again to make sure about what it said during the fight with the collector cruiser during that time, but I believe it's said to be the same ship. The powered down collector ship is certainly said to be the same, and even if we go simply by the *looks* of the collector cruiser that we see in game, I personally wouldn't think that they would make their ships look exactly the same, the collectors aren't really a race that I would consider caring about aesthetics of their fleet of ships (if they do indeed have more than one that is), and to start off, the ship isn't really any kind of great accomplishment design structure, it looks almost like it was just kinda thrown together when you're looking at it from the outside of it. There's no 100% confirmation either way of it being the exact same ship I suppose, but I think it's heavily implied by the course of the game, that it's meant to be the exact same ship. However as stated, the text doesn't imply that there is only one cruiser, and leaves it open to the reader to determine if they believe it to be one vessel or many. Jaline 02:17, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Fair enough. I changed "only known ship" to "only known class of ship", if you don't have any objection to that. We could put in a note about how Joker calls the ship at the base an 'old friend', implying that it's the same vessel the entire game (which is not really explicit, but probably the closest to confirmation). UERD 02:24, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Fine, I see someone has to have the very last word when it comes to the exact wording, or in this case two words (class of). It'll probably get changed somewhere down the line in a couple of days anyways when someone else adds or deletes a portion of the page. At least we're not calling the Oculus a true ship anymore. Jaline 02:31, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

I don't really like using the phrase "class of ship" in that context though, because "Collector Cruiser" isn't really a ship class, it's an arbitrary designation imposed on ships about which we know very little. Plus, it's kind of clunky language, and makes the sentence it's added to correspondingly clunky. SpartHawg948 02:35, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

Alright. My apologies for wasting your time (both of you) with my stupid argument. UERD 02:38, February 13, 2010 (UTC)

In the "everyone dies" ending, there are multiple collector ships approaching the sterilized collector base. Video, relevant bit at 09:30 Also some interesting ambiguity in this ending. Mistertriplesix 19:23, February 28, 2010 (UTC)]

Actually, I don't believe those are collector ships. If you look closely at the silhouettes, there are a number of substantial differences from the known collector cruiser. My guess would be that they are Cerberus ships sent to analyze/recover the collector base, given how the Illusive Man smiles as he sees them approach. Ev0lve 15:16, March 6, 2010 (UTC)

When boarding the Collector ship, EDI says she compared the ship's signature with that of other "known Collector vessels" to confirm that it was the same one that attacked Horizon. This implies that there are more ships of the same type; it's not just a single ship. Tophvision 17:02, March 26, 2010 (UTC)

"Known Collector vessels" does not imply there are more ships the same type or class with the one that dodges Shepard for two years. We do know that the Collectors travel now and then to the Terminus system, to exchange their tech to whatever perversion they desire (twin krogan? i thought i read it somewhere). The Collectors must have several class of ships, maybe smaller ones. The Collectors existence is well known to some shadowy organizations, such as Cerberus. The STG knows it (as Mordin confirms that he knows about the Collectors). Samara knows it despite never getting out of asari space before she goes to Illium. The galactic community must have several EM signature of several classes of Collectors Ship. EDI compares the EM signature on the hunch of Joker, implying that Joker gets a goosebump about the possibility that this one is the very same ship that destroyed SR-1.

I am inclined to believe that THE ship is the only ship because it looks like the ship that is Shepard's old friend was built specifically to abduct human and, eventually, to target Earth. It must be huge. Every squad member will also comment in astonishment that the Collector Cruiser is indeed huge. Some of them have been in the military before. And, considering a typical cruiser has about 300 crews (at least turian cruiser do), the Collectors Cruiser ought to be called a dreadnought IMHO. Even the asari's Destiny Ascencion would not be able to abduct all humans in the Terminus system (squad members comment that the Collector Cruiser can abduct all humans in the Terminus system and not filling the pods to full capacity).

But all points are moot. We have no direct proof either way. 114.59.8.128 15:49, May 1, 2010 (UTC)

Article split

Right now, the article is talking about two different subjects: the Collector Ship Mission and the Collector Cruiser itself. There's a description of the Collector Cruiser and its capabilities as well as a walkthrough, mission summary, and explanation about the weapons upgrade. While the two are related, the Collector Cruiser does exist for more than just the Collector Ship Mission. Also, some people might just be interested in just reading a walkthrough for the mission part instead of reading about the ship. —Seburo 09:52, February 17, 2010 (UTC)

I've been attempting to cleanup the mission pages for ME2, and I wholeheartedly agree! In fact, I don't think any discussion is necessary, seeing as it's so straightforward. If Horizon has both Horizon and Horizon (mission), this should too :) Also, the missions page links to both this page, and the Stop the Collectors page, which is silly. This must be remedied post-haste! Creating a Collector Ship (mission) page now, and if someone doesn't like it, they can delete it :) Very little article content is being moved, so it shouldn't be a problem. --Lilliful 22:29, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Err, I just realized the title of the new article should be "Investigate Collector Ship" rather than Collector Ship (Mission), following the naming of the actual mission and the naming conventions of Reaper IFF, which is also part of the "Stop the Collectors" set. Doing that now. --Lilliful 22:34, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Look in the journal. Though "Stop the Collectors" contains entries such as "Go to Horizon," "Investigate Collector Ship" and "Acquire Reaper IFF", there are also main mission entries for "Reaper IFF," "Collector Ship," and "Horizon."—Seburo 22:44, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Hum. I created a new page entitled Investigate Collector Ship and transferred the relevant information. If you think it should be changed though, I have no issue with it. Feel free to do with that article / rename it what you will! It was just the inability to link to a specific mission page that was bothering me. :) --Lilliful 22:48, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

If you move it to a page entitled Collector Ship (mission) it should be fine too, as the redirect from Investigate Collector Ship should be included anyway. --Lilliful 22:51, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Edit Explanation

The cruiser encountered in ME2 is not the only Collector cruiser. When aboard the Cruiser, EDI says she compared the cruiser to "known Collector signatures"- first implying that there are multiple identified Collector ships, and that they are similar enough to require more identification than simple analysis of appearance. Also, we don't know if the Collector ship that defended the base was the same ship that had been hounding Shepard. In all three cases of encountering that specific ship, the Collectors were planning to encounter Shepard; they had no advance warning to plan with the assault on the Collector base.

Also, I altered the bit about the Collector ship having the Normandy's mass effect drive. The reason for suspecting so is valid, but it's still only speculation. Tophvision 00:51, April 4, 2010 (UTC)

What you do if you suspect something? You check it against the database. EDI doesn't say that it checks against "known Collector Cruisers", which implies that she checks against ALL known EM signatures from every Collector vessel known to exist. If Joker's hunch comes from looking at the visual similarities only, wouldn't it be simpler to check just against "known Collector Cruisers"? EDI only confirms that there are at least more than one Collector vessels exist. We still don't know how many of them are of the same class with the one dodging Shepard for two years. Or how many classes of the Collector vessels exist.114.59.8.128 16:11, May 1, 2010 (UTC)

Class

Isn't this thing a little big for a cruiser? Feels like more than 1km to me.95.165.198.85 16:22, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

It's certainly big for a cruiser, with a lot more volume, but there is no given number on the length. The evaluation by the Normandy's crew member at the beginning of Mass Effect 2 indicates that the length is less than that of a dreadnought, ruling out anything over 800 meters. Tophvision 17:12, April 30, 2010 (UTC)

Logical, but she wouldn't have possibly expected to detect a dreadnought so she identified it as a ship larger than a frigate - a cruiser.95.165.199.110 16:27, May 19, 2010 (UTC)

But why wouldn't she have possibly expected to detect a dreadnought? You state this as if it's fact with no evidence to back it up. I could easily say something similar, that she wouldn't have possibly expected to detect a cruiser. After all, they weren't expecting any large vessels to be present, or to be able to track them. Just because she wasn't expecting to see a cruiser doesn't mean she'd misidentify it as another type of vessel entirely. Given the fact that they were unfamiliar with Collector ships, I'm willing to bet that it's 'analogous' to a cruiser. It may be larger than most Citadel races cruisers, but she likely classed it as a cruiser based not on size, but on armament. SpartHawg948 16:47, May 19, 2010 (UTC)

They are also unfamiliar with Collectors themselves, particle beam weapons... I bet you wouldn't be able to identify the Covenant CSS-class as a cruiser or an Imperial-I class Star Destroyer as a battleship. Even with your eyes. And that ship was coming from the direction of a star, making thermal scanning practically useless. Let's just say it didn't matter. 95.165.199.43 14:13, May 23, 2010 (UTC)

She says: I THINK that is a cruiser. From vids and cutscenes, I colculated the sizes of the ships (collector ship, Normandy SR1 & SR2, human & turian Cruisers) approximately like this. Its not 100% accurate but I can say that is about 95 %. The collector ship is almost half the size of Sovereing. Its about 8+1/2 times bigger than the SR2 and 3 times bigger than the human & turian Cruisers. Also dont forget the HUGE cave-like interior with all that pods. SoulRipper 09:24, September 18, 2010 (UTC)

Now, let's be completely honest here. She doesn't say that she thinks it's a cruiser. She says that it looks like a cruiser. Looks like a cruiser, eh? But you say it looks like it isn't. Hmmm... who would be the better judge of this? Methinks it'd be the Alliance crewmember who is doing her job when she says the ship looks like a cruiser. And one question- when you "colculated" the sizes of the ships, did you take Purgatory into account? Remember, Purgatory is also a massive vessel, much larger than the human and turian cruisers seen in ME and ME2, but Purgatory is also (as stated in the Codex) a "a cruiser-weight ship". SpartHawg948 19:14, September 18, 2010 (UTC)

And now I'll come with the question: How do we know that this is a cruiser? Do we have any comfirmation from devs? We have any codex entry? Also in the artbook it says "the final design of the Collector ship", not Collector cruiser and in the game files its also called Collector ship. The woman that refers to the ship as a cruiser says that it looks (yeah, you're right about that) like a cruiser, she's not even sure if this is a cruiser. As with the geth cruiser, here its the same thing. I think that Collector Ship its more accurate. SoulRipper 19:55, September 18, 2010 (UTC)

But, unlike geth cruisers, we do have someone in-game explicitly referring to this ship as a cruiser. Now, about Purgatory... SpartHawg948 19:58, September 18, 2010 (UTC)

Explicitly referring that it looks like a cruiser. Also with the geth cruiser we have the description which explicitly refers to the geth ship as geth cruiser, what about that? The geth cruiser isn't a cruiser and the Collector Ship is? You dismissed the ingame description (also the game files) as a shop keeper's fairytale and you aprove without a second thought what a unamed ensign says? I think at least the model ship has to be changed from geth ship to geth cruiser because thats the ingame description.

Talking about Purgatory is off-topic (Im kidding). Well, the Purgatory can be a modified cruiser. After all the Collector ship is WAY bigger than the Purgatory. Take only the main chamber with the pods (wher the fight on the platforms takes place) and you'll see how much bigger is the C.S. than the Purgatory. Also Purgatoey is bigger than the Normandy so why cant it be a cruiser? Purgatory=Cruiser seems absolutely logical to me. SoulRipper 20:42, September 18, 2010 (UTC)

Ok. Let's compare - a crewmember explicitly states onscreen, no need to make stretches or comparisons, that the Collector ship "looks like a cruiser". This does not happen for the geth cruiser. We have a description of a model ship, not anyone actually stating that a ship that they see right then looks like (or is) a cruiser. Hardly a valid comparison.

Now, as to Purgatory - the Collector ship is way bigger, eh? Gotta say, they do look about the same to me. Particularly when the Normandy docks inside the Purgatory. Compare the scene where the Normandy approaches and docks with Purgatory to the scenes where the Normandy approaches the supposedly derelict Collector Cruiser. Use the outsides of the vessels, not visible portions of the insides. As the SSV Normandy shows us, the insides of ships are not the best gauge of the actual size of the ship, due to issues and limitations inherent in games. Now, to use the other portion of your argument, the Collector Cruiser is bigger than the Normandy, so why can't it be a cruiser? Collector Cruiser = cruiser seems absolutely logical to me. SpartHawg948 20:47, September 18, 2010 (UTC)

Number Taken from Horizon

I was going to revert but I think a quick discussion is in order here. The 1/3 comes from the mission summary statement after Horizon, and the 1/2 is from Delan. So while the 1/2 has been there for a while now, I still think that 1/3 is probably more accurate in this case. I just checked and the article doesn't have it but I know it said 1/3. I'll put the summary in, or if someone else wants to, when I can get back to it as I am playing ME right now. I still think that 1/3 is more accurate in this case, in my opinion. Lancer1289 01:18, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, mission summary would definitely be more accurate than Delan's hyperbole. Guess that just slipped my mind! Dammej 01:23, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

I wrote "between one-third and one-half" just to cover all the bases. :) PhoenixBlue 01:24, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

Indeed I think that will work. One says 1/3 and the other says 1/2 so that wording coves both bases and I think will be more accurate. Lancer1289 01:26, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict x3) Indeed. The 1/2 of the population figure can be chalked up to a clearly panicked mechanic who overestimated. And fear, after all, does make people tend to overestimate both the number of foes and the number of their own losses. So yeah, we can chalk the 1/2 up to inaccurate dialogue from an ill-informed and panicked individual. SpartHawg948 01:26, June 26, 2010 (UTC)

Reason for organic/metal mix - Prothean?

I realize that there is an obvious trend to avoid stating speculation as fact on this wiki (which I fully applaud) however once it is realized that the Collectors are simply repurposed Protheans, is it not equally logical that Collector ships and even the collector base would be repurposed Prothean ships and a repurposed Prothean station? After all, second almost solely to the Reapers themselves, the Protheans seems to be the most technologically advanced species in the entire Mass Effect universe. Logically then, just about the only race capable of building a "space station surrounded by exploding suns and black holes" might well be the Protheans. Either way, this would explain the reason why the organic growths seem to be covering up a more civilized steel-and-glass framework. In any case, perhaps we could add a short one-sentence mention about this? Something along the lines of "One possible explanation of the strange organic on steel architecture of Collector ships might be their previous identity as Protheans." Maybe this just bothers me but it seems like a good idea.--Chuckmoney 07:28, February 8, 2011 (UTC)

It's pure speculation. It's just as likely that the Collector ship and station are not of Prothean origin, but rather were constructed by the Reapers themselves (the Reapers, after all, being an organic/metal mix), or by the Collectors operating under the direction of the Reapers. If there was anything other than guesswork and assumption to support the theory, then maybe. But there isn't. There is literally no evidence to support it. Therefor, it is speculation. And the avoidance of speculation is no trend. It's site policy. SpartHawg948 07:29, February 8, 2011 (UTC)

Indeed. It is an interesting theory, but it is still speculation. Just because a species was repurposed, doesn't mean that their technology, ships, stations, or anything else was too. They could be left over from a previous mass extinction, or they may have been constructed after the Prothean Extinction. We just don't know and putting anything in is speculation. Lancer1289 13:52, February 8, 2011 (UTC)

Cruiser vs GARDIAN turrets

From the article:

"Although it can endure the atmospheric heat of reentry to land on planets, the Collector cruiser's hull is vulnerable to sustained bombardment from Alliance anti-aircraft GARDIAN turrets. This may also be a result of the cruiser being forced to lower any kinetic barriers in order to land (compare to the destruction of the SSV Iwo Jima)."

This particular paragraph really bothers me, but I can't figure out a nice way to rephrase it. The destruction of the SSV Iwo Jima shows us that ship hulls can be vulnerable to sustained small arms fire, and the ingame codex tells us that GARDIAN weaponry not only ignores kinetic barriers but they are apparently quite effective against warships at short ranges (10km or less).

Ingame codex has the following to say on the topic:

Space Combat: General Tactics

"Only fighters and frigates enter CLOSE "knife fight" ranges of 10 or fewer kilometers. Fighters loose their disruptor torpedoes, bringing down a ship's kinetic barriers and allowing it to be swarmed by frigates. GARDIAN lasers become viable weapons, swatting down fighters and boiling away warship armor."

Weapons: GARDIAN

"Lasers are not blocked by the kinetic barriers of capital ships. However, the range of lasers limits their use to rare "knife fight"-range ship-to-ship combat."

Weapons: Ablative Armor

"A warship's kinetic barriers reduce the damage from solid objects, but can do nothing to block GARDIAN lasers, particle beams, and other forms of Directed Energy Weapon (DEW). The inner layer of warship protection consists of ablative armor plate designed to "boil away" when heated. The vaporized armor material scatters a DEW beam, rendering it ineffectual."

Sungrass 14:33, April 21, 2011 (UTC)

Does it look like a poo?

Honestly, ever since I saw it in the opening sequence, I've always thought it looked like a giant floating turd with a laser on it!

Comments like this are not only inappropriate and uncalled for, but have no place on a talk page to begin with. Lancer1289 16:54, May 21, 2011 (UTC)

Anon, it resembles a termite mound. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 16:57, May 21, 2011 (UTC)

Again not the place for something like this. Lancer1289 17:02, May 21, 2011 (UTC)

Multiple Cruisers

Just wanted to say that the anime "Paragon Lost" has provided confirmation that the Collectors possessed more than one cruiser because (spoiler alert) there is one involved in the events of "Paragon Lost" which gets destroyed by the end. This means it has to be different than the one destroyed during the Normandy SR-2's attack on the Collector Base. I would add the information to the article, but do we even have a spoiler tag template for Paragon Lost? Tophvision (talk) 07:15, January 13, 2013 (UTC)

Multiple Beams?

So I decided to replay Mass Effect 2 and something that I noticed, is that after you send Joker into the escape pod, there is a shot of the Normandy being destroyed by beams. However something I picked up is that while one of the large beams is destroying the Normandy, another one is hitting the Normandy as well though it hits shortly before the beam finishes. Shouldn't that mean that the Collector Cruiser shot two beams at once? I know there is a third beam but that was shot after the first two faded. I'm just saying that it could be possible that the Collector Cruiser can fire multiple beams at once. TheRello99 (talk) 03:22, April 8, 2013 (UTC)