Biowareis known for craftingstory-rich gameswith nuanced characters and choices that really leave a mark on the players. The originalMass Effect trilogysticks out even among Bioware games as an experience full of difficult choices and paths for players to explore — for better and for worse. The game is about so much more than just romancing aliens and shooting bad guys.
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Bioware explores what morality means in a world on the brink of destruction, why Space Cops can get away with anything, and how human and alien physiology can…match up. Every choice the player makes further brings into view who their Shepard is and how they see the world. From punching reporters to eradicating heretic AI, here are the hardest choices in Mass Effect games.
This article contains MAJOR spoilers for all Mass Effect games and DLC for them. You’ve been warned.
10All Mass Effect Games: Which Class Should You Play?
Zip Around The Battlefield, Heal Others, Or Charge Forward
While each game allows the player to switch up their class at the beginning, some players choose to stick with the same class throughout the original trilogy.Mass Effect: Andromedafeatures updated versions of the classic abilities seen in previous games, with players able to construct their own custom-builds. Classes also come with specializations and some added bonuses, such as the Engineer reducing recharge time for tech talents and protection.
Most popular among players are the Soldier and Vanguard classes. A player’s class choice could affect their dialogue with certain characters. For instance, a Biotic Shepard may get different dialogue with Jack and Liara than a Soldier would with Wrex or Jacob.
Biotic Capabilities
Description
Specializations
the ultimate biotic - utilizes mass effect fields - favors bio-amps and pistols
the toughest combatant - utilizes traditional weapons and techniques in battle - favors heavy armor and can use any weapon
- the tech specialist - utilizes tech to disable weapons, lower shields, and deploy mobile platforms - favors pistols and hacking enemy technology
Infiltrator
the tech-savvy warrior - utilizes stealth to obtain better positioning and deal massive damage quickly - favors sniper rifles and pistols
the Biotic technician - utilizes Biotic abilities, shielding, and tech prowess - favors bio-amps and pistols
- the best of Adept and Soldier - utilizes Biotics and martial skills - favors shotguns, pistols, and bio-amps
9All Mass Effect Games: Paragon Vs. Renegade
What Kind Of Shepard Will You Create?
It’s a classic dilemma — does one opt to be a hero, do-gooder type or an on-the-cuff wildcard who eschews authority and good manners? The games do favor players who choose to be mostly Paragon or Renegade, but Andromeda opened up the dichotomy to allow for more experimentation and unique experiences for the player character. However, each path has its own distinct, funny, or awesome moments.
One such moment many Renegade fans relish is punching a nosy reporter, while Paragon players enjoy taking the high ground when possible — especially if it means saving a character’s life.
8Mass Effect: Should You Save Ashley Or Kaidan?
The Choice Is Felt Throughout The Whole Series
Choosing who to leave on Virmire sticks out as one of the toughest choices to make across the entire original trilogy of Mass Effect games. Whoever gets left behind in game one sacrifices themselves, but ensures that whoever survives will appear in subsequent games. The choice becomes even more difficult if Shepard has romanced one of the characters. Ultimately, from a strict combat perspective, Kaidan has more to offer than Ashley due to his Biotic abilities. But he is a bit of a stick in the mud and can be quite sensitive.
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Ashley, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. She comes from a military family and is impetuous, brash, and steadfast in her beliefs. She is pretty xenophobic, distrustful of Cerberus, and can be a bit manipulative, but she’ll definitely have your back on the battlefield. Some fans feel that she has the better character arc in the series, even if Kaidan is a more useful and developed character overall.
7Mass Effect 3: Which Ending Should You Choose?
The Ending Aged Better Than You Remember
Many fans still lament the endings of Mass Effect 3 due to how inconsequential and similar they feel. However, choosing one of the endings results in a substantially worse quality of life for the Milky Way universe than the other two. Without spoiling too much, players are given three choices: control, destroy, or synthesis. Factors such as War Assets, Total Military Strength, and some choices from previous games all play roles in determining which endings a player has the option to choose.
A player character’s moral alignment, background, and romance can affect which ending they choose. Other fans maintain a theory that Shepard was indoctrinated and the illusion of choice at the end is just that — an illusion. Ultimately, individual players must make the choice for their Shepards.
6Mass Effect 3: Should You Cure The Genophage Or Fake It?
It Has To Be You
This decision represents several storylines converging in ME3 as Shepard must decide whether to help their friend Mordinrestore Krogan fertilityor do what the Citadel Council wants and maintain the Genophage’s devastating effects on Krogan infant mortality rates. But the game offers an even worse option: Shepard can lie to Mordin and make him think he’s releasing the real cure when it’s just a placebo.
Mordin sacrifices his life to make sure this cure goes out and will fight Shepard if he has to in order to make it happen. Some players opt for deceiving the Salarian while others just can’t bring themselves to betray their old friend and confidant. After all, betraying Mordin here also means betraying Wrex — a character that could be very important to you if you played all of the Mass Effect trilogy.
5Mass Effect 2: Zaeed’s Loyalty Mission
Gotta Be A Big Hero, Don’t You?
Zaeed Massani is a gruff, unflexible bounty hunter who is rightfully feared for his ruthlessness and abilities. He, alongside Video Santiago, founded the “Blue Suns private security outfit” before Video betrayed him because Zaeed wouldn’t allow the Suns to get involved in the Batarian slave trade. After recovering from being shot in the head, Zaeed worked for the Shadow Broker and Cerberus, among others.
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His loyalty mission involves getting revenge on Vido, but comes at the cost of the workers at the refinery where Vido is hanging out. You can still win Zaeed’s loyalty through a persuasion check, but he’s not very happy with you if Vido is allowed to escape. See how the Paragon vs. Renegade things come into play?
4Mass Effect 3: Should You Side With The Quarians Or Geth On Rannoch?
Keelah Se’lai Could Apply To Both Species
The mission to rescue the Quarian home planet Rannoch from the Reapers is a big set piece in ME3 which has stunning graphics of terrifying Reapers up close and personal. Only in the aftermath of taking down the Reaper control with the help of the Geth and Quarian fleets can the hostilities between the storied creator and creation species reignite.
The Quarians are inflexible in their view that the Geth are nothing but war machines out to destroy them. But Shepard, by now, has learned that the Quarians just didn’t want to acknowledge that their source of free labor had developed intelligence and, perhaps, souls, rendering them no longer a source of free labor. Passing a very difficult Reputation check (meaning Shepard has high Paragon or Renegade scores) yields peace between the two species. If you’re unable to pass that check, you’ll have to sacrifice Legion or Tali as a companion and lose the Quarian or Geth War Assets.
3Mass Effect Arrival: Should You Attempt To Save Or Sacrifice The Batarians?
The Batarians are not an especially defendable race of aliens in the Mass Effect universe. They believe in serving their Hegemony at any cost and openly conduct slave trade across the Galaxy. Many Batarians end up in criminal elements or as mercenaries due to their abrasive nature and cultural beliefs being at odds with those of cultures like the Asari and Solarians. But before the beginning of ME3 comes the Arrival DLC for ME2. In it, Admiral Hackett has Shepard investigating the Bahak System due to research suggesting the Bahak System mass relay is a shortcut for the Reapers.
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Shepard and party must decide whether or not to blow up a Mass Relay to delay the Reaper invasion throughout the entire Milky Way galaxy. However, doing so without trying to warn the Batarians first abandons 300,000 Batarians to Reaper indoctrination and eventual death, since it’s the relay to their system. Though this choice has no lasting impact in ME3, it represents an extreme moral challenge for the player.
2Mass Effect 2 DLC: Should You Let Kasumi Keep Keiji’s Memory Box?
If You Didn’t Have To Lose Someone, What Would You Choose?
Though this choice doesn’t have nearly the same far-reaching consequences as some of the others on this list, it sticks out as a really difficult choice for many fans of the series. It’s a situation that asks bigger philosophical questions about grieving, forgiving, moving on, letting go, and so much more. Should Shepard let Kasumi keep a box with her beloved’s memories in it that keeps her in the past or let it go and grieve?
Many fans argue that letting Kasumi keep the memory box leads to her retreating into those memories and never really living her life in the real world. In addition, it was Keiji’s wish for the box to be destroyed to let Kasumi move on. But ultimately, many players say that, if Kasumi is happy, why not let her have the box? It’s a question of illusion vs. reality and what happiness truly means — very big concepts for a quest that ultimately doesn’t have long-term consequences.
1All Mass Effect Games: Who Should Shepard Romance?
Enough With The Calibrations!
As with all Bioware games, who the player romances sticks out as perhaps the most difficult decision of all to make. For Mass Effect games, romances can span multiple games making the choice that much harder. Shepard’s background and abilities may play a factor in how a romance plays out, but choices they make throughout the game also affect how other characters feel about them. In Andromeda, Ryder can almost always romance anyone they want if they don’t outright betray someone. Since Andromeda is a stand-alone game, the romances feel less deep and nuanced than in the core trilogy. But some romances in the core trilogy are less deep than others.
For instance, players can romance Jessica Chobot’s character or James Vega, who show up much later in the games. They could also have romanced Kaidan or Liara in ME1 and continue that romance through ME3. If Shepard does not romance Tali or Garrus, the two could also end up in a romance of their own. Unfortunately, there are no options for polyamory in Mass Effect games and some characters are locked behind sexual orientations, such as Jack only romancing a male Shepard, despite fans feeling like she is lesbian-coded.
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
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