system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Mass Effect] Why didn't the Reapers attack the Citadel first to shut down the mass relays?

If the Reapers can blow past the Alliance fleet while simultaneously waging war with every major power in the galaxy, why didn't they just go with their usual plan and attack the Citadel first?
gpt
They tried that. That was the whole plot to ME1. After ME2, Shepard blew up a relay out in the edge of the galaxy that the Reapers would use to speed into the Citadel. That bought them time and forced the Reapers to go a lot slower. They eventually did get the Citadel but by then it was too late.