Mass Effect 2: How can reapers invade after Arrival?

In the Mass Effect 2 DLC: Arrival how can it leave off with the Reapers invading in Mass Effect 3 if Sheppard succeeded in destroying the mass relay?



Throughout the entire game I expected Sheppard to fail the mission leaving earth open for the reaper attack.



They set up the plot making sheppard go to earth for trial. I'm assuming that that is why sheppard is heading for earth when the reaper invasion starts in ME3.



So technically speaking destroying the mass relay did nothing at all to delay the reaper invasion. What the hell?Mass Effect 2: How can reapers invade after Arrival?
It delayed the invasion, but it didn't prevent it. If Sheppard didn't destroy the Mass Relay in Arrival, they would have invaded there and then. By destroying it, he's delayed the invasion until Mass Effect 3.
Mass relays are not the only only form of space travel, they just speed things up A LOT. Space travel is still possible with only an FTL drive alone, but much slower when not using the relays. Think of the relays as a vast, point-to-point, teleportation network, each relay takes a mass and accelerates it to a single corresponding relay (hence point-to-point). The reapers plan to use the Alpha Relay as their first step in from dark space. Once they get through it, they have easy access to the rest of the galaxy's mass relays. Without it, they will have to manually fly to their intended destination, which is why they are delayed by multiple months. While this would be most likely an impossible feat for any normal ship, remember, the Reapers have HUGE element zero cores allowing them to move at much greater speeds, with greater ease, than organic made ships. Also, since the Reapers themselves ARE the ships and have no living crew, there is no worry about running out of food, air, etc. The Alpha Relay was intended to make their arrival easier, but it's destruction does not make it impossible.Mass Effect 2: How can reapers invade after Arrival?
if the mass relay wasnt destroyed the reapers would have made it to earth and would have gotten there instantly and since shepard did destroy it it is now going to take the reapers months-years to reach earth now and we will see that in ME3
They're reapers. A little inconvenience like a destroyed mass relay won't stop them - they're *reapers* for god's sake, they'll find another way. ^^



Haven't played the DLC though, but that's my logic. :)Mass Effect 2: How can reapers invade after Arrival?
just because a mass relay is destroyed, doesn't mean you can't get anywhere...shep bought earth more time.....