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Most of you who played Mass Effect 3 must have realized that the Harbinger does not have 5 claws. It only has 4:

Harbinger

Other Sovereign class Reapers have 5:

Reaper

So why does Harbinger not have 5 claws? Did it lose in a battle or is it just its design?

Private Pansy
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Lucas Primo
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    Hey, Lucas. I've voted to close your question because it's not really a problem you're facing with the game. It's a difference you noticed, but it has no impact on how you play your game. – Frank Sep 05 '12 at 12:10
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    @fbueckert As per the FAQ, "Plot and characters in games" are on topic. Is that changed recently? – DavRob60 Sep 05 '12 at 12:16
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    @fbueckert You have a lot of votes to cast for closing questions. Start with http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/55413/what-happened-to-the-female-krogan and http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/40843/so-what-did-happen-on-that-drunken-night-anyway. Good luck. – SocioMatt Sep 05 '12 at 12:19
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    @DavRob60 - No one is arguing that this is off topic. "Why are all the protagonists in the Legend of Zelda series named Link?" is a perfectly on topic question and it has an interesting answer, but it isn't very constructive. –  Sep 05 '12 at 12:25
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    @OrigamiRobot Why would it be "Not constructive" if a good answer could be supported by facts and or references??? – DavRob60 Sep 05 '12 at 12:36
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    @OrigamiRobot Understanding plot is incredibly constructive in playing a game. In order to have a suspension of disbelief, things have to make sense. If I'm playing my third Legend of Zelda game and I realize that I've played Link every time, even thought they are different stories in different worlds, I may start to question the series. An answer to this question may help to quell my uneasiness about the validity of the stories the developers are attempting to make. I'd rather answer a question about plot than give someone the answer to a problem they're having. – SocioMatt Sep 05 '12 at 12:38
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    @OrigamiRobot The latter only pushes them through the game; the plot questions help somebody to make the game an experience, which is a pretty important goal of entertainment as a whole. – SocioMatt Sep 05 '12 at 12:39
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    IMO this question is great and should stay. I don't think there should be any further close votes without a meta discussion, at least. I agree completely with DavRob60 and SocioMatt here. – Shinrai Sep 05 '12 at 14:42
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    @SocioMatt - I have said numerous times that not understanding a game's plot qualifies as a problem, but what plot is there to understand here? –  Sep 05 '12 at 16:16
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    It strikes me as more of a "Why did the developers design it this way?" than anything else. – Niro Sep 05 '12 at 16:24
  • @OrigamiRobot the FAQ said "Plot and characters in games", Why this characters is different from others of his species? – DavRob60 Sep 05 '12 at 16:25
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    @DavRob60 Again, on topic != constructive. –  Sep 05 '12 at 16:29
  • @OrigamiRobot The plot is expanded with the knowledge that Harbinger is unique in its design. As DavRob60 pointed out, there is a plot-driven reason for this difference, as explained by Leviathan. – SocioMatt Sep 05 '12 at 17:14
  • @OrigamiRobot On another note, how did this become a debate? Obviously the question is fine or it would have been closed by now. – SocioMatt Sep 05 '12 at 17:17
  • @SocioMatt - That logic is very flawed. Regardless, comments are not the place for debate. We can take this discussion to either chat or meta. –  Sep 05 '12 at 21:11
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    Meta on this question and closing it http://meta.gaming.stackexchange.com/q/5325/15643 – LoveAndCoding Sep 06 '12 at 01:33

3 Answers3

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Indeed, Harbinger design is different form the others reapers.

The Reaper known as Harbinger appears to be of a unique subtype; Alliance intelligence identifies it as being the largest Reaper in the armada, and its design differs notably from the Sovereign-class subtype, having only four main legs and multiple glowing "eyes". In addition, Harbinger's cannons appear to be capable of a much higher rate of fire than those of any other Reaper.
- Reaper article on masseffect.wikia

But why? (Spoiler from Mass Effect 3)

During its encounter with Shepard, Leviathan mentions that Harbinger was the first Reaper created, and that it was formed in the image of the Leviathans. Through Harbinger, the Catalyst directs the Reapers to harvest the galaxy of advanced life every 50,000 years. Each harvest ends with the birth of a new Reaper made in Harbinger's image.
- Harbinger article on masseffect.wikia

DavRob60
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Harbinger was constucted from the genetic "goo" of the Leviathans, who were the most advanced race to ever inhabit the galaxy. Meaning that all that advanced tech went into Harbinger's make-up. So that is the anwser to Harbinger's weapons being much faster in terms of fire rate. As for the claws, every reaper is different in some way. I think Bioware wanted to make Harbinger more noticable because he was the main reaper of the storyline. With Harbinger's eyes you come back to the Leviathans who have six eyes in total and if you look hard enough you will notice the same with Harbinger

Lore Friendly
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Mal
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I think it has a more powerful mass core so it's don't need 5th claw(leg) and also has more amount of glowing eyes(weapons) probably shields are stronger too

Saron
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