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How to Romance Garrus Vakarian
This page of IGN's Mass Effect:Legendary Edition wiki guide is all about romancing Garrus Vakarian, including what you need to do to initiate and Lock In the Romance, as well as how to rekindle it in Mass Effect 3.
Started in... | Gender Preference | Romance Type | Romance Scene? |
---|---|---|---|
Mass Effect 2 | Female | Serious | Yes |
It's worth noting that there are BIG SPOILERS for Mass Effect 2 and 3 on this page. Read with caution!
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Mass Effect 2
Garrus Vakarian is only available for Female Shepards, who can begin to court him after you've completed his Loyalty Mission, Garrus: An Eye For an Eye. Once you complete it, you can begin courting him, which happens in three conversation stages. Each conversation stage is reached by initiating the one before it and then completing any Mission or Assignment.
First Stage
For the first phase, select "Just want to talk", then when you pick a right-hand option to get to the Investigate options, you can pick "Turian Preparations". This will let you pick the upper-left option in the Dialogue Wheel twice: "Full contact sparring?", "And how did it go?". Once Garrus has finished his story, you can now pick the upper-right option twice: "We could ease stress together" and "Not what I meant".
Second Stage
For the second phase, picking "Just want to talk" will have Garrus bring up the previous conversation to ask if you're really sure about it. Picking "I like you, Garrus" will continue the Romance.
If you have also courted either Jacob or Thane, it's in this conversation that Garrus will bring up not wanting to disrupt a potential love triangle. If you truly want to go with Garrus, you must pick "I don't want other options": this will effectively Lock In Garrus while permenantly ceasing any more romantic advancements with Jacob and Thane.
Third Stage
In the third phase, picking "Just want to talk" will give you the final chance to back out, which you can do by picking "I want to be your friend". If you're absolutely sure you want Garrus, picking "I feel the same way" will Lock In the Romance with him, meaning he'll visit Shepard's Cabin after you initiate the Suicide Mission.
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Romance Scene
As with many Bioware titles, the climactic Romance scene will occur automatically just before the final story Mission, in this case just after you initiate the Suicide Mission via the Omega-4 Relay. Garrus will appear in Shepard's Cabin for the romantic encounter.
The Suicide Mission
As Garrus is a member of Normandy's crew, you must also make sure he survives the Suicide Mission at the end of Mass Effect 2. To do that, first make sure that you have as many Squad Mates Loyal to you as possible before grabbing the Reaper IFF, and upgrade the Normandy's Shields, Armour and Cannon at the Research Terminal.
During the Suicide Mission itself, a Loyal Garrus is a good pick for the Leader of both Second Fireteams in the first and second parts of the Collector Base infiltration, but is a poor choice for the Vent Specialist in the first part.
If you do not have a Loyal Jack or Loyal Samara / Morinth, avoid picking Garrus as a Squad Mate for "The Long Walk" through the Seeker Swarms, as he'll be put at risk in that case. If Garrus isn't Loyal but you still want to keep him around, avoid picking him for any defined role or as a Squad Mate: that will get either himself or somebody else killed.
Mass Effect 3
In Mass Effect 3, Garrus Vakarian is only a legacy Romance inherited from Mass Effect 2. In order for him to be recognised as such, you must have Locked In a Romance with him in Mass Effect 2, which is confirmed by the Romance Scene with him in Shepard's Cabin.
You'll reunite with Garrus during Priority: Palaven, after which he'll rejoin the Squad and be found in his old spot at the Main Battery on the Crew Deck. Talking to him after the Mission will let you confirm if you still want him: pick "I'm still interested" to do so. This rekindles the Romance, but it hasn't been Locked In just yet. You'll want to talk to him immediately after: he'll reveal he can afford good wine now!
While further interactions on the Normandy and the Citadel will reference your relationship, the Lock-In moment is when you meet him at Normandy Dock: Bay D24 to do some fun activities on the Presidium before they die, which is shooting cans on top of a Presidium walkway. Before you begin, you should pick "Yes. I love you" to Lock In, or pick "We make better friends" to disengage the relationship. Luckily, the outcome of the shoot-out doesn't affect the Romance.
Aftermath
With Garrus Locked In, you'll now have a bunch of alternate scenes, including heavy involvement in the Citadel DLC and some alternate dialogue in the final Mission of the Leviathan DLC. You'll also have the climactic Romance Scene when you begin Priority: Earth, and you can talk to Garrus in the calm before the storm before the approach to the Conduit beam.
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The final time you can interact with Garrus is in the Extended Cut during the run to the Conduit beam. Here a Mako flips over and lands near Garrus. If your EMS is 1,749 or lower, Harbinger will vaporize him with his beam. If it's 1,750 or higher, he's only injured, and Shepard will call in the Normandy for an emergency extraction. Your final words with Garrus are here.
Also in the ending of the game, it'll be Garrus who exits the crashed Normandy, and puts Shepard's name up on the Memorial Wall. If you picked the Destroy Ending and have 3,100 EMS or more, he'll refrain from putting the name up, knowing Shepard is alive out there.