Pathfinder Ryder

'''Pathfinder Ryder''', whose default name is either '''Scott Ryder''' or '''Sara Ryder''', is the [[player character]] in [[BioWare]]'s ''[[Mass Effect: Andromeda]]''. Ryder is a fully customizable character whose appearance, gender, and name can be altered by the player at the beginning of the game.

'''Pathfinder Ryder''', whose default name is either '''Scott Ryder''' or '''Sara Ryder''', is the [[player character]] in [[BioWare]]'s ''[[Mass Effect: Andromeda]]''. Ryder is a fully customizable character whose appearance, gender, and name can be altered by the player at the beginning of the game.

Within the story, they are a member of the Andromeda Initiative, an organization that fled the [[Milky Way]] to escape an ongoing war, and inherit the title of [[Pathfinder (military)|Pathfinder]] from their father Alec Ryder, tasking them with the exploration and colonization of new worlds in the [[Andromeda Galaxy]]. Throughout the story Ryder is tasked with exploring the Andromeda galaxy while trying to fend off the Kett, a mysterious hostile race native to Andromeda. Scott Ryder is voiced by Tom Taylorson, while Sara Ryder is voiced by [[Fryda Wolff]]. The character was designed to feel like an outsider navigating an unfamiliar world, with BioWare emphasizing personal growth over established heroism.

Within the story, they are a member of the Andromeda Initiative, an organization that fled the [[Milky Way]] to escape an ongoing war, and inherit the title of [[Pathfinder (military)|Pathfinder]] from their father Alec Ryder, tasking them with the exploration and colonization of new worlds in the [[Andromeda Galaxy]]. Throughout the story Ryder is tasked with exploring the Andromeda galaxy while trying to fend off the kett, a mysterious hostile race native to Andromeda. Scott Ryder is voiced by Tom Taylorson, while Sara Ryder is voiced by [[Fryda Wolff]]. The character was designed to feel like an outsider navigating an unfamiliar world, with BioWare emphasizing personal growth over established heroism.

Pathfinder Ryder received mixed reviews upon the release of ''Mass Effect: Andromeda'', with critics divided over their personality and characterization when compared to the series' original protagonist [[Commander Shepard]]. Ryder has since been the subject of academic analysis examining their role through [[Colonialism|colonialist]], [[gender]], and [[Narrative|narrative frameworks]].

Pathfinder Ryder received mixed reviews upon the release of ''Mass Effect: Andromeda'', with critics divided over their personality and characterization when compared to the series' original protagonist [[Commander Shepard]]. Ryder has since been the subject of academic analysis examining their role through [[Colonialism|colonialist]], [[gender]], and [[Narrative|narrative frameworks]].

==Appearances==

==Appearances==

===''Mass Effect: Andromeda''===

===''Mass Effect: Andromeda''===

The events of ''Mass Effect: Andromeda'' take place roughly 600 years after those of the original ''Mass Effect''. The selected Ryder awakens aboard the human ark, the Hyperion, and joins a small team led by their father to scout humanity's assumed first home planet, while their twin remains in cryostasis. Upon arrival, however, the team discovers that the planet's atmosphere is no longer capable of supporting human life and that it is being besieged by a mysterious hostile alien race known as the Kett. As the mission progresses, Ryder fights off the Kett and stumbles upon ancient technology capable of terraforming the planet back to a habitable state. However, Alec Ryder sacrifices his life to save his child's, leaving Ryder to inherit the role of Pathfinder.

The events of ''Mass Effect: Andromeda'' take place roughly 600 years after those of the original ''Mass Effect''. The selected Ryder awakens aboard the human ark, the Hyperion, and joins a small team led by their father to scout humanity's assumed first home planet, while their twin remains in cryostasis. Upon arrival, however, the team discovers that the planet's atmosphere is no longer capable of supporting human life and that it is being besieged by a mysterious hostile alien race known as the kett. As the mission progresses, Ryder fights off the kett and stumbles upon ancient technology capable of terraforming the planet back to a habitable state. However, Alec Ryder sacrifices his life to save his child's, leaving Ryder to inherit the role of Pathfinder.

Pathfinder Ryder then leads the Hyperion to the Nexus, an intergalactic space station that had also been sent to Andromeda alongside the four arks, only to realize that it had been badly damaged by an intergalactic space-storm known as the Scourge and that none of the other three arks had yet arrived. Ryder is then tasked with restoring power to the Nexus and exploring the Heleus Cluster's various "golden worlds" aboard the Tempest, a dedicated exploration vessel, joined throughout the journey by a rotating cast of squadmates. As the story progresses, Ryder makes first contact with a race native to Andromeda, the angara, one of whom, Jaal, becomes a permanent squadmate aboard the Tempest. Throughout the story, it is also revealed that the Initiative had sent a fifth ark, led by the quarians and including a vast array of minor alien species, toward Andromeda. After numerous confrontations with the Kett and their leader, including a daring raid on their flagship, Ryder uncovers the location of Meridian: a massive Jardaan-built megastructure that serves as the hub of the vault network responsible for rendering planets habitable. The Kett subsequently launch an assault on the Hyperion, prompting Ryder to push toward Meridian with the full support of every ally gathered throughout their efforts to locate the missing arks and terraform the golden worlds. The game concludes with Ryder defeating the Kett's leader and activating Meridian, setting the restoration of the Heleus Cluster in motion. During a small section of this final mission, the player gets to control the Ryder twin that hadn't been selected, who still sat aboard the Hyperion.

Pathfinder Ryder then leads the Hyperion to the Nexus, an intergalactic space station that had also been sent to Andromeda alongside the four arks, only to realize that it had been badly damaged by an intergalactic space-storm known as the Scourge and that none of the other three arks had yet arrived. Ryder is then tasked with restoring power to the Nexus and exploring the Heleus Cluster's various "golden worlds" aboard the Tempest, a dedicated exploration vessel, joined throughout the journey by a rotating cast of squadmates. As the story progresses, Ryder makes first contact with a race native to Andromeda, the angara, one of whom, Jaal, becomes a permanent squadmate aboard the Tempest. Throughout the story, it is also revealed that the Initiative had sent a fifth ark, led by the quarians and including a vast array of minor alien species, toward Andromeda. After numerous confrontations with the kett and their leader, including a daring raid on their flagship, Ryder uncovers the location of Meridian: a massive Jardaan-built megastructure that serves as the hub of the vault network responsible for rendering planets habitable. The kett subsequently launch an assault on the Hyperion, prompting Ryder to push toward Meridian with the full support of every ally gathered throughout their efforts to locate the missing arks and terraform the golden worlds. The game concludes with Ryder defeating the kett's leader and activating Meridian, setting the restoration of the Heleus Cluster in motion. During a small section of this final mission, the player gets to control the Ryder twin that hadn't been selected, who still sat aboard the Hyperion.

During an optional sidequest the player can complete to learn about Alec Ryder's memories, it is revealed that Ellen Ryder, Pathfinder Ryder's mother and a key figure in the development of SAM, had been secretly placed aboard the ark Hyperion under the false identity of Elizabeth Reily by Alec Ryder, having fallen gravely ill from a terminal neurological disease caused by her research. During the game's epilogue, Pathfinder Ryder also receives a distress signal from the Keelah Si'yah, the quarian ark, warning others not to make contact. During the novel Mass Effect Andromeda: Annihilation, it is revealed that a pathogen had been found within the ark, resulting in the deaths of many of those aboard.

During an optional sidequest the player can complete to learn about Alec Ryder's memories, it is revealed that Ellen Ryder, Pathfinder Ryder's mother and a key figure in the development of SAM, had been secretly placed aboard the ark Hyperion under the false identity of Elizabeth Reily by Alec Ryder, having fallen gravely ill from a terminal neurological disease caused by her research. During the game's epilogue, Pathfinder Ryder also receives a distress signal from the Keelah Si'yah, the quarian ark, warning others not to make contact. During the novel Mass Effect Andromeda: Annihilation, it is revealed that a pathogen had been found within the ark, resulting in the deaths of many of those aboard.