Each entry in the Mass Effect series gives players plenty of freedom to dictate their own adventure. It's one of the reasons why the first three installments are considered among Bioware's best games. However, it also means that during an initial playthrough, it's easy to make the occasional mistake.
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Doing missions in a strange order, overlooking certain mechanics, or romancing the wrong person are a few errors that Mass Effect veterans can scoff at now, but in their first time playing, they likely made similar mistakes. It's forgivable as nobody can be expected to know exactly what to do in a game they've never played before. Still, it's fun to look back on some of the more common blunders.
Updated August 12, 2021 By Ben Jessey: The Mass Effect Legendary Edition has been out for a little while now, and some new players have likely come to the end of their first playthroughs. Unfortunately, they probably made a litany of mistakes like everyone else did on their initial run-through.
Thankfully, there are still players who have a chance of avoiding the many pit-falls the trilogy provides. So, we thought now was a good time to update our collection of common missteps by adding a few more. Hopefully, those players embarking on their first adventure will take heed of these warnings.
13 Rewriting The Geth Heretics
In Mass Effect 2, Shepard learns that not all of the Geth joined Saren and the Reapers. As a result, the ones that aided the villains were considered Heretics. During Legion’s loyalty mission, the Commander gets the chance to rewrite these evil programs to have them rejoin the Geth consensus. The alternative option is to destroy the Heretics.
Rewrite is the most honorable option at the time. But doing so makes it much harder to broker peace between the Geth and Quarians in the following game, meaning more death and destruction is likely to happen. And the only real benefit to the rewrite is a boost in war assets.
12 Skipping Cerberus Assignments In The First Game
Cerberus plays a giant part in the Mass Effect trilogy. Yet, many players don’t even hear about the organization until they’re suddenly a big deal in the second game – which can feel a little jarring. After all, in the first title, they only feature in a few side quests.
Players should seek out these assignments to learn about the group and discover why they’re so controversial. Admiral Kahoku’s questline – starting with UNC: Missing Marines – is where the group makes the biggest impression.
11 Doing Too Many Missions After The Cerberus Crew Is Abducted
One of the most famous moments in the second game is when the Collectors invade the Normandy and kidnap the crew. Afterward, Shepard and their squad consider flying into the Omega-4 Relay straight away to get their people back.
However, most first-time players probably have other missions they want to finish beforehand. So, they put off the final quest until later. Unfortunately, if Shepard does other assignments first, crew members will start dying. Therefore, it’s best to get all business done before the Collectors even come aboard.
10 Ignoring Manual Saving In The First Game
In modern gaming, it's easy to rely on auto-saving. Pretty much every game has the feature, and it usually works regularly enough that dying or reloading a save isn't a problem. Yet, that is not the case with the first Mass Effect game.
The auto-save function in said title rarely ever makes its presence felt. So, if the player isn't manually saving frequently, their next death could send them a long way back. Most players get stung by this at least once in their initial playthrough as they don't usually notice how often the game saves on its own. Thankfully, the Legendary Edition version of the game rectified this issue.
9 Missing Some Progress-Sensitive Missions
Like with many similar RPGs, the Mass Effect trilogy includes some missions that disappear once the player progresses too far into the story. And without prior knowledge of which ones, Shepard is likely to miss some of them. This isn't a big issue with certain missions, but there are several, particularly in the third game, that it hurts to bypass.
For instance, missing Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation means not being able to speak to Jack in the third game. Not only that, but the human biotic dies and players have to face the Phantom version of her later in the story.
8 Playing All The DLC After The Main Campaign
Typically, players purchase expansions once they've finished a game and want more. However, that is not the best way to play the Mass Effect DLC. Most of the content is designed to be played during the campaign.
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For one thing, that's where most of those stories fit into the timeline, but also, they tend to give Shepard weapons and sometimes squadmates that are useful for the rest of the campaign. So, it's a mistake to save the DLCs for later. Those who played the games immediately upon their releases were forced into this error because the DLCs didn't exist yet.
7 Exhausting All Conversations With Companions Straight Away
Shepard has many great companions in the original trilogy, and conversations with them are some of the highlights of the series. During a player's first interaction with each one, their natural instinct is to choose every dialog option. However, this leads to several long and drawn-out discussions.
Plus, it doesn't leave Shepard with much to talk to them about for the rest of the game. So, it's best to spread these conversations out over the entire campaign.
6 Trying To Romance Someone Who Isn't Romanceable
There are plenty of beautiful romances throughout the series. Although, it's not always immediately obvious who Shepard can woo. Therefore, most new players simply pick someone they like and treat them well, hoping sparks will eventually fly.
Sometimes this strategy leads to the Commander ending up all alone and players missing out on some cool romantic scenes. The non-romanceable versions of Garrus and Tali from the first game are the lead causes of unrequited love.
5 Ignoring Allies' Equipment In The First Game
Players never forget to regularly make sure that Shepard has the best armor and tools available to them throughout the original game. Without it, some sections of the game would be a lot harder to play through.
The Commander's companions don't always get the same level of treatment. It's easy to forget or not notice that it's also possible to improve squadmates' arsenal. It's useful too, as with the right equipment, Shepard's allies can be very deadly, or at least be able to avoid dying every few minutes.
4 Not Upgrading Charm Or Intimidate Skills
In the original game, the things Shepard can say in conversations aren't directly decided by the Commander's Paragon and Renegade points. Instead, the special red and blue dialog options appear depending on the protagonist's Charm and Intimidate skills.
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Although, as players tend to focus more on upgrading powerful abilities, these two dialog skills are often ignored. Yet, with them upgraded, it can allow Shepard to avoid certain fights or get larger rewards. Something plenty of people don't realize in their first run-through.
3 Not Completing All Of The Loyalty Missions
The missions where Shepard attempts to gain the loyalty of their squadmates are some of Mass Effect 2's best. Yet, there is a lot of them, and when things pick up pace in the latter stages of the game, it's tempting to avoid them and go straight after the Collectors. This is a mistake.
Not only are the missions a lot of fun, but squadmates' lives can depend on everybody being loyal to Shepard. The game, of course, doesn't give players that information. Therefore, many beginners have regretted not sparing some time to help their friends.
2 Accidentally Getting The Refuse Ending
Mass Effect 3's extended cut improves the game's conclusion in a few ways – albeit not entirely. One thing it adds is a whole new ending. If players choose a specific dialog option or fire their gun at the Catalyst then Shepard loses the opportunity to save the galaxy. Instead, the Reapers continue the cycle and wipe out every other powerful race in the galaxy. The only glimmer of hope being that Liara leaves information for future generations to use against the machines.
It's certainly not the best ending. Yet, it's surprisingly simple to accidentally trigger as there's not much else to do but shoot the child while Shepard slowly staggers towards the final decision.
1 Not Fully Upgrading The Normandy SR-2
In Mass Effect 2, the fate of Shepard's allies doesn't solely revolve around the completion of loyalty missions. Throughout the game, Shepard can ask crew members for Normandy upgrade suggestions, and some are very important.
Without those upgrades, the adversaries waiting on the other side of the Omega 4 Relay do serious damage to the ship, killing many of the main squad in the process. New players are kept in the dark about how vital these upgrades are until it's too late. It's one of the most important things to know before starting a new playthrough.
NEXT: The Ways Mass Effect Proved To Be Overrated (& Ways It's Underrated)
