This page of IGN's Mass Effect Legendary Edition wiki guide covers all the key choices you can make in all three games, including what their effects and consequences are across the trilogy.

One of the hallmarks of the Mass Effect Trilogy is its ability to let you make choices for Shepard during conversations, story moments and gameplay, with effects ranging for very minor to far-reaching across the galaxy. These pages document the most notable choices and consequences across all three games.

WARNING: It goes without saying that there are HEAVY spoilers in these pages across ALL THREE GAMES. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, and don't scroll down too quickly!

If you want to go to the Choices page for each game (where we also list the Moderate Choices), click one of the links below.

Major Mass Effect Trilogy Choices and Consequences

Below, we'll list all of the major choices and consequences you make across the Mass Effect Trilogy, arranged roughly chronologically. The choices for each decision are listed first, followed by the consequences of each within a Spoiler Box.

To jump to a specific section of this page, click one of the links below.

Major Mass Effect 1 Choices and Consequences
Major Mass Effect 2 Choices and Consequences
Major Mass Effect 3 Choices and Consequences

As before, there are MAJOR SPOILERS across ALL THREE GAMES in this section of the guide. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Major Mass Effect 1 Choices and Consequences

Recruiting Garrus

It's entirely possible to complete the "Citadel: Expose Saren" Mission without meeting Garrus Vakarian at the Med Clinic (however this requires meeting and recruiting Urdnot Wrex). If that's the case, he'll be waiting for you outside the central C-Sec elevator after you've exposed Saren and been made a Spectre. From here you can decide if you want to recruit him:

Recruit Garrus

If you recruit Garrus, he'll join your squad and be with you throughout Mass Effect 1, even getting a small Assignment of his own where you can influence his approach to things. He'll be familiar with Shepard when you reunite with him in Mass Effect 2.

Ignore Garrus

If you ignore Garrus at C-Sec for the entire game, he'll be absent for the finale. If you ignore Liara as well, Wrex will automatically stand down in your confrontation on Virmire.

You'll bump into Garrus again in Mass Effect 2, where he'll be less familiar with Shepard and have to remind them of their brief encounter here at the C-Sec Academy.

Recruiting Wrex

It's entirely possible to complete the "Citadel: Expose Saren" Mission without meeting Urdnot Wrex at C-Sec (however this requires meeting and recruiting Garrus Vakarian). If that's the case, he'll be waiting for you outside the central C-Sec elevator after you've exposed Saren and been made a Spectre. From here you can decide if you want to recruit him:

Recruit Wrex

If you decide to recruit Wrex, he'll join your squad and be with you throughout Mass Effect 1, however you do have another chance to kill him on Virmire if you wish. If he survives, he'll be present throughout Mass Effect 2 and 3 as the progressive leader of Clan Urdnot.

Ignore Wrex

If you ignore Wrex for the entire game, he won't be present in Mass Effect 2 and 3, and treated as if he was dead. He'll be replaced by his brother Wreav, a much more traditional leader with little interest in the Genophage, but isn't as clever and thus able to be fooled.

Find Liara T'Soni

One of your early Missions is to search for Liara T'Soni in the Artemis Tau cluster. Her reaction to you can differ greatly depending on whether you complete more than one Mission World before going after her.

Find Liara After One or Fewer Mission Worlds

If you find Liara as your first or second Mission World, when you meet her she'll generally act normally considering the situation, although still understandably distressed.

Find Liara After Feros and Noveria

If you find Liara after two Mission Worlds, she'll think Shepard and their squad are figments of her imagination that her mind created to stop her going mad, and on the Normandy, is frustrated that all your discoveries have rendered her decades of research a total waste.

Find Liara After Virmire

If you unlock and complete Virmire before rescuing Liara, then in addition to thinking Shepard is a hallucination and getting frustrated at your discoveries, she'll cower in fear when the Krogan Battlemaster shows up as you escape.

Feros: Fate of the Colony

During this important Mission, you'll have the opportunity to complete side-quests, use Charm / Intimidate to convince Fai Dan, and use special gas grenades to help ensure the survival of the colony. The fate of the colony is then decided by a survival check based on whether you did these actions.

Save the Colony

If you are able to pass the colony check at the end of the mission, then the colony will survive. This will unlock the "Ilium: Medical Scans" Assignment in Mass Effect 2. If you spared the colony ''and'' spared Shiala, the colony will contribute to the war effort in Mass Effect 3.

Shut Down the Colony

If you are unable to spare the Colony by not passing the check, then the colony will be shut down. This locks you out of the "Ilium: Medical Scans" Assignment in Mass Effect 2, and the colony cannot aid the war effort in Mass Effect 3.

Noveria: The Rachni Queen

At the very end of the Noveria Mission line, you'll have an encounter with the Rachni Queen, and must choose whether to spare her and let her escape, or kill her with acid.

Spare the Rachni Queen

If the Rachni Queen is spared, then in Mass Effect 2 you can meet an Asari on Ilium who was saved by the Rachni. In the "Attican Traverse: Krogan Team" Mission in Mass Effect 3, you'll encounter her a second time ensnared by the enemy. You can again choose to either spare her or kill her; sparing her will help with the war effort.

Kill the Rachni Queen

If you kill the Rachni Queen, then in the "Attican Traverse: Krogan Team" Mission in Mass Effect 3, you'll encounter a genetically-engineered queen known as the Breeder. The Breeder is much less mentally stable, and you'll have the choice to either kill her or spare her.

X57: Bring Down the Sky

The DLC Mission Bring Down the Sky has an important decision at the end, where you must choose between saving the hostages and let Balak go, or sacrifice them so you can attack Balak.

Save the Hostages

If you decide to save the hostages, then Balak will escape and you'll have to disable three explosive charges before saving them. Balak will then reappear during the "Citadel: Batarian Codes" Mission in Mass Effect . He'll have some extra thoughts if you did the Arrival DLC in Mass Effect 2.

Attack Balak

If you go for Balak, the hostages will all be killed and you'll have to fight Balak and his forces (which awards more XP and other rewards). He won't appear again, being in Alliance custody or personally executed by Shepard.

The exception is if you leave him to die, in which case he'll survive as in the Save the Hostages option.

Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage

Early into the Mission on Virmire, you'll learn that Saren has found a cure for the Genophage in this lab, and Wrex is furious that it'll be destroyed. You'll have to confront him at the beach to find a resolution.

To convince Wrex to stand down, you'll need to have 8 Charm points or have completed the "Wrex: Family Armor" Assignment in order to open up the requisite options to save him. Otherwise, you can shoot him yourself, order Ashley to shoot him if you told her to "Stay Alert" earlier, or can't find a resolution that will result in Ashley killing him herself.

Wrex Lives

If you're able to convince Wrex to stand down, he'll be able to live to Mass Effect 2, where he's the leader of Clan Urdnot. In Mass Effect 3, he'll contribute to the war effort if you genuinely cure the Genophage. If you sabotaged the cure however, Wrex will find out and Shepard is forced to kill him.

Wrex Dies

If Wrex dies, then he'll be replaced by his brother Wreav in Mass Effect 2 and 3. Wreav contributes a bit less to the war effort, however he will be successfully fooled if you sabotage the Genophage cure.

Virmire: Kaidan and Ashley

Towards the end of Virmire, you'll be forced to choose to rescue either Kaidan or Ashley, who will be at the bomb site and the AA tower (who is where depends on who you assigned to Kirrahe's team before the assault).

Consequences

The Squad Mate you leave behind will be killed by the bomb, and will never appear again.

The Squad Mate you rescue will make a brief appearance in Mass Effect 2, before playing a major role in Mass Effect 3, where you can recruit them into your squad again if you play your cards right.

Saren Conversation on Virmire

At the end of the Virmire Mission, you'll get into an extended conversation with Saren over his allyship with Sovereign. Towards the end you'll have an Investigate option on the left side: this marks when the important final choice with Saren will appear.

If you pick "It's already happened!" or "You are indoctrinated", you'll open up Persuasion options that will have an effect later in the game.

Consequences

If you pick "Join me" or "Sovereign will betray you", Shepard's word will have an effect on Saren. When you next talk with Saren on the Citadel, the Persuasion option there will only require 9 Charm / Intimidate points rather than 12 points (aka maximum Charm / Intimidate).

Final Saren Conversation

In your last conversation with Saren, you'll have the option to convince him to resist the Reaper implants. This requires a full 12 points into either your Charm or Intimidate stat, but if you picked the Charm / Intimidate option back on Virmire, you'll only need 9 points. If you can't, you'll have to pick "This is pointless".

Charm / Intimidate

If you pick the Charm / Intimidate option, Saren will be convinced by Shepard, and decide to kill himself to prevent himself from causing any more harm to the galaxy in the name of the Reapers. This skips the first half of his boss fight.

"This is pointless"

If you ignore or are unable to pick the Charm / Intimidate options, then you'll be forced to battle Saren while he's atop his hover platform. This will play out just like the last encounter with him on Virmire.

The Destiny Ascension

During this Mission, after encountering Saren you'll have to choose whether or not to order the Alliance Fleet to save the Destiny Ascension, or ignore it to focus on Sovereign.

Save the Destiny Ascension

If you save the Destiny Ascension, then the Citadel Council will be saved and appear in Mass Effect 2 and 3.

The ship itself will also be a major contributor to the war effort in the third game, although the human contribution will be lessened as a result.

Focus on Sovereign

If you focus on Sovereign, then the Citadel Council will be killed as the ship is destroyed. This will give you the option at the end of the game to form a human-led Council that appears in Mass Effect 2, including an all-human Council.

The ship itself won't be able to contribute to the war effort in Mass Effect 3, although the human contribusion will be higher as a result.

The Human Councilor

Through your actions in the final Mission, you'll be able to choose the Human Councilor who will join/lead the Citadel Council, between Udina and Anderson.

Consequences

Surprisingly the consequences of this choice are minimal: your involvement with the Council is very minor in Mass Effect 2, and by Mass Effect 3 Udina is the Human Councilor even if you chose Anderson.

In the original release of the game, this choice isn't actually remembered in your save, since the game doesn't save after it. When importing a Mass Effect 1 save into Mass Effect 2, you'll be asked about this choice early on, and who you choose there will be reflected in 2 and 3.

However, this choice is correctly remembered in Legendary Edition, so you won't be asked about it in Mass Effect 2.

Major Mass Effect 2 Choices and Consequences

Vido Escapes Zaeed Choice

During Zaeed: The Price of Revenge, you'll be forced to either help some factory workers escape the exploding facility, or ignore them and go after Vido. If you chose the former Paragon option, Vido will escape and Zaeed will get himself trapped under some debris. There are three possible outcomes here.

"You brought this on yourself"

If you use this Charm option, Zaeed will join the Squad, notably as a Loyal member of your Squad. This bolsters your team's strength for the Suicide Mission and makes it more likely for them and Zaeed to live.

"I'm leaving you here"

This option is only available after Shepard has survived the Suicide Mission with Zaeed and at least two other Squad Mates.

If you pick this option, Zaeed will be left to die. As such, he won't be present in the Citadel: Volus Ambassador Mission in Mass Effect 3, instead replaced by a woman and Krogan mercenary at the very end.

You'll also be unable to pick a Charm / Intimidate option that lets you grab both War Assets on offer at the of that Mission, and will be forced to pick just one.

Any other option

If you pick either "You owe me big for this" or "Come on, Zaeed. Let's go", Zaeed will join your Squad, but will NOT be Loyal.

This means that he'll die in the Citadel: Volus Ambassador Mission in Mass Effect 3, and you'll be forced to pick one of the War Assets at the end of it rather than getting both.

Normandy Upgrades

One of the earliest ways you can affect the way the Suicide Mission plays out is to purchase three specific upgrades for the Normandy to bolster its defenses and firepower. Not purchasing one will guarantee a profoundly negative effect during a Suicide Mission scene that tests that attribute of the Normandy.

Silaris Armor Tech

The Silaris Armor Tech is unlocked by asking Jacob about Normandy upgrades, and costs 15,000 Palladium.

If you do not purchase this upgrade, then Jack WILL die during the approach to the Collector Base.

If you do purchase this upgrade, the armour will hold and Jack won't die at that moment.

Thanix Cannon

The Thanix Cannon is acquired by talking to Garrus about Normandy upgrades, and costs 15,000 Platinum.

If you do not purchase this upgrade, a Squad Mate will die during the approach to the Collector Base. They are, in order of priority:

Thane > Garrus > Zaeed > Grunt > Jack > Samara / Morinth.

If you do purchase this upgrade, nobody will die when the Collector Ship fires at the Normandy.

Cyclonic Shield Tech

The Cyclonic Shield tech can be unlocked by talking to Tali about Normandy upgrades, and costs 15,000 Platinum.

If you don't purchase this upgrade, a Squad Mate will die during the approach to the Collector Base if you did not put them in your Squad for the Cargo Bay fight. They are, in order of priority:

Kasumi > Legion > Tali > Thane > Garrus > Zaeed > Grunt.

If you do purchase this upgrade, the Shields will hold and nobody will die when the Normandy navigates the debris field.

Awakening the Tank-Bred Krogan

After you complete the Mission "Dossier: The Warlord", you'll wind up back on the Normandy with Dr. Okeer's tank-bred Krogan in lieu of the doctor. At this point, you have the choice to open the tank or keep it sealed.

Open the Tank

If you open the tank, the Krogan, who names himself Grunt, will join your Squad. He'll have his own personal storylines just like any other Squad Mate, and can survive to appear in Mass Effect 3.

Keep it Sealed

If you choose to ignore the Krogan and keep the tank sealed, you won't gain him as a Squad Mate. While it's impossible to sell him to Cerberus, if you do not awaken him at all and then import that save into Mass Effect 3, he will effectively be dead.

Miranda: The Prodigal

In the second half of Mass Effect 2, you can acquire Miranda's Loyalty Mission, The Prodigal. Completing or Ignoring this Mission will have a direct effect on Mass Effect 3.

Completed The Prodigal

If you complete Miranda's Loyalty Mission, then provided you warn her about Kai Leng in Mass Effect 3, she'll have a very high likelihood of surviving the events of Priority: Horizon. She can still die in this situation, but only if you pick "I just want Oriana" and miss the first Renegade Interrupt.

Ignored The Prodigal

If you ignore Miranda's Loyalty Mission entirely, then Miranda will NEVER survive the events of Priority: Horizon.

Jack VS Miranda

After you complete Miranda: The Prodigal and Jack: Subject Zero (their Loyalty Missions), when you next return to the Normandy you'll have to settle a big argument between the two. Successfully calming both of them down requires passing a very high Persuasion Check.

Charm / Intimidate

If you're able to pick the Charm / Intimidate option, Shepard is able to successfully calm both of them down without upsetting one of them. This keeps their Loyalty and doesn't disrupt any

"Back off, Miranda" / "Too back, Jack"

If you pick one of these options, the person you're telling to back down will be upset with you to the point of being Disloyal, and if you were Romancing them, this is enough to end the relationship.

Not all is lost: if you talk to them after the argument scene is done, if you can pass another, slightly less-demanding Persuasion check, you'll earn their Loyalty back (but not their Romantic interest in you; that'll be lost forever).

Maelon's Data

At the end of Mordin's Loyalty Mission Old Blood, you'll be faced with the choice of either destroying Maelon's research data, or holding on to it. This will have a direct effect on a character in Mass Effect 3.

Spare the Data

If you decide to spare Maelon's data to keep it for later, then at the end of Priority: Tuchanka, Eve will survive the procedure. Incidentally, this makes it impossible to sabotage the Genophage cure without having to kill the STG Doctor present.

Destroy the Data

If you destroy Maelon's data, then Eve will die at the end of Priority: Tuchanka. Incidentally, if Wrex was killed on Virmire or not recruited at all in Mass Effect 1, this allows you to sabotage the Genophage cure and convince the STG Doctor to walk away with their life.

Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi

Samara's Loyalty Mission is one of the few where it's possible to fail it, and is the only one where failure can occur at two different points. These are when you enter the club to attract Morinth's interest, and when talking to Morinth herself at the club table. If you fail to complete four club activities, or choose the wrong questions and responses at the club table, Morinth will leave.

Morinth Leaves

If you fail the activities and Morinth leaves, the Mission will be completed unsuccessfully. While this isn't a Critical Mission Failure, Samara will be Disloyal, which will put herself and others at risk during the Suicide Mission.

Morinth Doesn't Leave

If you successfully clear both club stages, Morinth will be interested in Shepard, and you'll proceed to the final stage where you retreat to her apartment.

How that will play out is detailed in the section below, but either of those outcomes will result in a Loyal Asari biotic on your Squad.

Samara VS Morinth

At the end of Samara's Loyalty Mission, Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi, you meet up with Morinth in her apartment, and Morinth will seduce you. If you can pass the extremely high Persuasion check and avoid "Can't... think...", you'll resist her, and will now be able to choose between Samara or Morinth in the final confrontation, rather than siding with Samara automatically.

Kill Morinth

If you decide to kill Morinth, she will be killed by her mother. This will make Samara Loyal to you, making her less likely to perish in the Suicide Mission at the end of the game.

Kill Samara

If you kill Samara, she will be slain by her daughter. This makers Morinth Loyal to you, and she will join you on the Normandy disguised as her mother. She can survive the Suicide Mission and have a presence in Mass Effect 3.

Thane: Sins of the Father

Thane's Loyalty Mission is yet another that can be completed with him being Disloyal to you. Towards the end of the Mission you'll be in some upper catwalks, and must periodically inform Thane of the position of a Turian politician named Talid. You'll have a limited amount of time to do so.

Keep Track of Talid

If you're able to keep Thane informed of Talid's position through all of this section, you'll successfully tail him to his apartment and intercept Kolyat. This meeting can go many different ways, but all will end with Thane being Loyal.

Lose Track of Talid

If at any point you're unable to inform Thane of where Talid is before the meter runs out, Kolyat will successfully assassinate Talid and escape. This means Thane will be Disloyal to you and be at higher risk of dying or causing someone else's death in the Suicide Mission.

Tali: Treason

Tali's Loyalty Mission is one that you can complete but have Tali come out Disloyal to you anyway. It all depends on what you pick at the end of Tali's trial, and what you choose won't just affect Tali's Loyalty, but Mass Effect 3 as well.

Charm / Intimidate / Rally the Crowd

If you pick either the Charm, Intimidate or "[Rally the Crowd]" options, Shepard will successfully convince the Admiralty Board to clear Tali of her charges. Since this was done without presenting the evidence of her father's actions on the Allerei, she'll remain Loyal.

Further, you'll be much more likely to choose a peaceful resolution to the Quarian / Geth storyline in Mass Effect 3.

"We have no evidence"

With this option, Tali will be exiled, BUT since you didn't present the evidence against her father, she'll be Loyal to you anyway.

However, you won't be able to choose a peaceful resolution to the Quarian / Geth storyline in Mass Effect 3.

"Yes. Here is the evidence"

Choosing this option will clear Tali of her charges, BUT since you did so by presenting the evidence against her father, she'll be Disloyal to you.

Not only does this put her at risk in the Suicide Mission, but if she survives you'll be unable to choose a peaceful resolution to the Quarian / Geth storyline in Mass Effect 3.

Fate of the Geth Sniper

After you complete the Reaper IFF mission at the Derelict Reaper, you'll have escaped with the shell of a Geth Sniper who shows familiarity with Shepard. Once you're back on the Normandy, you can go to the AI Core to decide whether activate the Geth to talk with it first, or sell it to Cerberus.

Activate the Geth Sniper

If you activate the Geth Sniper, you will gain it as a Squad Mate. If it survives Mass Effect 2, its presence will allow for a peaceful resolution to the Quarian / Geth storyline.

Sell the Geth Sniper

If you sell the Geth Sniper, you'll gain 50,000 Credits, and it will be inaccessible as a Squad Mate. In Mass Effect 3, they'll be replaced by the much colder Geth VI, and you will be unable to broker peace between the Quarians and the Geth.

Notably, if you tell Miranda and Jacob that you want to awaken it, but then never do, it'll be as if you sold it to Cerberus but you never got paid any Credits!

Regardless, you'll eventually have to face the original as the Legion Assassin enemy at the end of the Priority: Cerberus Headquarters in Mass Effect 3.

Tali VS Legion

After you complete both the Tali:Treason and Legion: A House Divided Loyalty Missions, when you next board the Normandy you'll find them in a big argument. As with Jack and Miranda, you'll need to pass a very high Persuasion check so you can pick a Charm / Intimidate option that settles both parties without making them Disloyal.

Charm / Intimidate

If you can pick a Charm or Intimidate option, you'll be able to successfully reason with both Legion and Tali without upsetting either of them, keeping them Loyal to you. If you're in a Romance with Tali, this will not be disrupted.

"Back off, Tali" / "Legion, stop transmitting"

If you pick either of these options, the person you're telling to back down will be upset with you and become Disloyal, and if you're in a relationship with Tali, telling her to back off will permanently end the Romance with her.

Like with the Jack VS Miranda argument, you can talk to them afterwards and pass a slightly less demanding Persuasion Check to regain their Loyalty. A Romance with Tali will still be ended, however.

Fate of the Crew

After you complete the Reaper IFF Mission on the derelict Reaper, where you pick up Legion, the Collectors eventually will show up and steal the Normandy's crew (this happens after you complete four non-DLC Missions and/or Assignments, or run out of of them, whichever happens first).

Once the crew is taken, the amount of Missions and Assignments you complete before starting the Suicide Mission directly impacts the fate of the Normandy's crew.

No Delay

If you enter the Omega-4 Relay as soon as the crew are taken, all of the crew will be alive when you find them in the Collector Base.

Delay of 1-3 Missions and/or Assignments

If you complete between 1-3 Missions and/or Assignments before going through the Omega-4 Relay, then only half of the crew will die. Victims include Kelly, Gabby, Ken and Mess Sergeant Gardner, although Dr. Chakwas will live.

Delay of 4 or More Missions and/or Assignments

If you complete 4 or more Missions and/or Assignments before using the Omega-4 Relay, all of the Normandy's crew will die with the exception of Dr. Chakwas.

Fate of the Collector Base

The very last decision you'll make at the end of Mass Effect 2's storyline will be to decide what to do with the Collector Base. You can choose to either destroy it, or save it. This may have a direct effect on Mass Effect 3.

Destroy the Collector Base

If you choose to destroy the base, then if you have an especially low EMS value at the end of Mass Effect 3, your only option at the Crucible will be to pick the Destroy ending. The low EMS means that the Mass Relays will be destroyed, and picking the Destroy ending on top of that will wipe out everyone on Earth.

Save the Collector Base

If you save the base, then if you have an especially low EMS value at the end of Mass Effect 3, you will only be able to pick the Control ending. While the low EMS value means the Mass Relays will still be destroyed, everyone on Earth will live.

Suicide Mission Choices

The Suicide Mission is easily the most important Mission in Mass Effect 2: the way you prepare for it and the Loyalties of your team will have a huge effect on how the mission will go. On top of that, specific choices and calls you make during the Mission can also major effects on the Squad and Mass Effect 3, sometimes regardless of how well you prepared beforehand.

For a full breakdown on what effects your decisions will have, visit the How the Suicide Mission Works page of the Mass Effect 2 guide.
To see how specific Squad Mate deaths will affect Mass Effect 3, visit the Suicide Mission Deaths Consequences section of Mass Effect 2's Choices and Consequences page.

Major Mass Effect 3 Choices and Consequences

Virmire Survivor on Mars

While on Mars, the first full Mission of the game, you'll be accompanied by your Virmire Survivor, who'll be either Kaidan or Ashley. Your choices here will have an effect on what they think of you later in the game, which will be very important.

Paragon Choices

If you pick primarily Paragon options, the Virmire Survivor will start to think more favourably about you. This is be important because at the climax of Priority: The Citadel 2, you'll need to pass a check for if they'll trust you or not. If you acted kindly, they'll be much more likely to side with you.

Renegade Choices

If you regularly pick Renegade options, the Virmire Survivor will not be favourable towards you. This is important because at the climax of Priority: The Citadel 2, you'll need to pass a check for if they'll trust you or not. If you acted abrasively, you may be forced to kill them to complete the Mission.

Illusive Man Conversations

Starting with Priority: Mars, you'll have four conversations with The Illusive Man about his intentions and the state of the Galaxy. Which choices you have in the first three will have a very major effect on how the fourth one will play out. It all depends on if you can pick every Charm / Intimidate option in these conversations, INCLUDING the ones hidden under Investigate options.

Used all Charm / Intimidate Options

If you were able to pick every Charm / Intimidate opportunity in the first three conversations, then in the fourth conversation on the Citadel you'll be able to pick either "But you already have" or "Then you've failed humanity". The former convinces The Illusive Man to commit suicide, while the latter enrages him to charging at Shepard, where you can use a Renegade Interrupt to kill him.

Did Not Use All Charm / Intimidate Options

If you didn't pick every Charm / Intimidate option available to you, you will NOT be able to use the final Charm / Intimidate option. This puts Admiral Anderson in danger as the Illusive Man will attempt to execute him, which you can only avoid with a Renegade Interrupt. If you miss the interrupt, you'll have to use a second one to prevent a Game Over.

War Assets and EMS

After Priority: Mars, Shepard will be able to amass War Assets by completing Missions, Assignments, and helping the citizens of the Milky Way. These increase your Effective Military Strength, or EMS, and this number will have a profound effect on the game's finale.

The numbers below apply specifically to the Legendary Edition release of the game. This is comparable to the original 2012 release with the Extended Cut installed, but the exact numbers will be different.

Less than 1,600 EMS

If your EMS is less than 1,600, you'll have only one choice, depending on your decision at the end of Mass Effect 2.

If you chose to Spare the Collector Base, you can only pick Control, which will ravage Earth and destroy the Mass Relays.

If you chose to Destroy the Collector Base, you can only pick Destroy, which ravages and kills all life on Earth, and destroys the Mass Relays.

1,600 - 2,099 EMS

If your EMS is in the range above, you can choose between either Control or Destroy. Both will ravage Earth and destroy the Mass Relays, but Destroy no longer kills all life on Earth.

2,100 - 2,599 EMS

If your EMS is in the range above, you can choose between Control or Destroy. At this range and above, both options will no longer fully destroy the Mass Relays.

Both options will also not affect the Earth, unless you picked the opposite choice for the Collector Base in Mass Effect 2, in which case minor damage will occur.

2,600 - 3,099 EMS

If your EMS is in the range above, you'll be able to pick between Destroy, Control or Synthesis. None will ravage the Earth or destroy the Mass Relays.

3,100 EMS or Higher

If your EMS is 3,100 or higher, you can choose Destroy, Control or Synthesis with no damage to Earth or the Mass Relays.

As well, Shepard will barely survive the Destroy ending.

Grissom Academy

After Priority: Palaven, you'll be given the Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation Mission. While other early Missions will also expire if you don't complete them before Priority: The Citadel 2, this particular Mission has stronger consequences if you let that happen.

Mission Completed

If you complete this Mission, you'll rescue Jack and her biotic students, where they can become War Assets. You'll also get to meet Jack again on the Citadel, and if you Romanced her in Mass Effect 2 you'll be able to continue it, particularly through the Citadel DLC.

Mission Ignored

If you don't complete this Mission before Priority: The Citadel 2, Cerberus will capture Jack and her biotic students. During Priority: Cerberus Headquarters, you can find a Cerberus Log that reveals her brainwashing and her students used as experiments. In the Human Reaper remains at the end of the level, you'll have to fight her as a named Cerberus Phantom enemy.

Priority: Tuchanka

In the finale of the Krogan storyline, you'll learn before the final Mission that the Shroud was in fact sabotaged by the Dalatrass to ensure that any Genophage cure wouldn't work. While in a vehicle convoy to the Shoud, you'll have the opportunity to bring this up to the STG Doctor (either Maelon or Wiks) and the Krogan Leaders with you in the vehicle.

This particular choice will have a direct bearing on how the end of the Mission will go, and determines the fate of the Krogan. The effects of NOT warning the Krogan leaders specifically will depend on if Wrex and/or Eve are dead.

For clarity, while Eve will always be alive when you warn them of the sabotage, if you didn't save Maelon's data she'll be dead by the time the effects play out. So, we'll refer to Eve as Alive if you saved Maelon's data and Dead if you didn't, even though she's technically always alive when this choice appears.

Warn Them of Sabotage

If you decide to warn the Krogan Leaders, your STG Doctor will know about it in advance and automatically correct the sabotage before dispersing the cure. You will not have a chance to protest their correction.

Don't Warn Them - Wrex and/or Eve Are Alive

If you decide to not warn the Krogan leaders and either Wrex or Eve are alive, then your STG Doctor won't realize this until they're at the Shroud. At this point, you must choose between letting the STG Doctor go up to disperse the cure, or gun them down to prevent them from doing so.

Don't Warn Them - Wrex and Eve Are Both Dead

If you decide not to warn the Krogan leaders and both Wrex and Eve are dead, then if you have a high enough Reputation you can convince the STG Doctor to willfully walk away, given the state of Krogan leadership. This is the ONLY outcome where you can sabotage the Genophage cure and have the STG Doctor live.

Conversations With Miranda

Throughout Mass Effect 3 you'll have three conversations with Miranda on the Citadel, provided she survived Mass Effect 2. While the first conversation is inconsequential, the second and third have requirements that you MUST meet in order to have her live through her storyline.

The first is with your second conversation with her after Priority: The Citadel 2, and requires you to have either read Kai Leng's dossier at your Private Terminal beforehand so you can warn her about him, OR kept her Loyal in Mass Effect 2.
The second is in your third conversation, where you must give her access to Alliance resources.
If you Romanced Miranda, a third requirement is to not break up with her in the third conversation.

Something also worth mentioning is that Miranda is guaranteed to die anyway if you didn't secure her Loyalty by completing Miranda: The Prodigal in Mass Effect 2.

Requirements Met

If you meet all the requirements above, then after you deal with Henry at the end of Priority: Horizon, Miranda won't die of her injuries from her fight with Kai Leng.

It is however possible to still have Miranda die anyway if you pick "I just want Oriana" and ignore the first Renegade Interrupt: Henry will fatally shoot Miranda and she'll die despite your hard work.

Requirements Not Met

If you fail to pass ANY of the relevant checks detailed above, then after you deal with Henry at the end of Priority: Horizon, Miranda will die of the injuries she sustained from her fight with Kai Leng.

Fate of the Virmire Survivor

At the end of the Cerberus coup during Priority: The Citadel 2, your choices regarding the Virmire Surivor will come into play. Each effort you made to build or erode their trust will have contributed to a points total, and the number of points will determine how this confrontation will go.

In particular, having a very high or very low amount of points will result in an automatic outcome. If you're somewhere in the middle, meanwhile, you'll have to pass a Persuasion Check to sway them. Here's how these can go:

High Amount of Points / Pass the Persuasion Check

If you have a high amount of points, or can pick the Charm / Intimidate option, you'll successfully convince the Virmire Survivor, and they'll live through the confrontation.

This allows them to appear at the Normandy Dock later so you can either recruit them or have them become a War Asset.

Low Amount of Points / Fail the Persuasion Check

If you have a low amount of points, or don't / cannot pick the Persuasion options, the Virmire Survivor won't trust Shepard, and you'll get a Renegade Interrupt prompt to shoot them. Miss it, and a Squad Mate will do it instead.

With the Virmire Survivor dead, you'll be unable to recruit them as a Squad Mate / have them become a War Asset afterwards at the Normandy Dock.

Kallini: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery

After Priority: Citadel II you'll receive this Mission, which ends with you escaping the destroyed Ardat-Yakshi Monastery with Falere, Samara's daughter. If Samara survived Mass Effect 2, she'll be present as well, which can alter how this scene transpires.

Samara is Alive

If Samara's alive, she'll attempt to commit suicide so she doesn't kill her last daughter in accordance with the Justicar Code. You'll be given a Paragon Interrupt to save her: if you miss it, Samara will kill herself, and you'll have to decide what to do with Falere.

Samara is Dead

If Samara is dead (either through the Suicide Mission or by killing herself in this scene), you'll need to decide Falare's fate. "Are you sure?" will spare her, while "I can't let you live" or "You're too dangerous" will give you a Renegade Interrupt that will kill her if you take it.

Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons

After the Geth Dreadnought Mission, you'll pick up this Mission after the debriefing. Whether you complete this before Priority: Rannoch or not will have a profound effect on your options at the end of that Mission.

Mission Completed

If you complete the Geth Fighter Squadrons Mission, then you may be able to choose "[Rally the Fleet]" or "[Warn the Fleet]" at the end of Priority: Rannoch, assuming you met its other requirements (80% Reputation bar filled plus Tali and Legion are alive).

This is the only option that doesn't guarantee the death of either the Geth or Quarian race.

Mission Ignored

If you ignore the Geth Fighter Squadrons Mission, you'll be unable to pick the two Persuasion options at the end of Priority: Rannoch.This will force you to sacrifice either the Geth or Quarian races to complete that Mission.

Priority: Rannoch

At the end of Priority: Rannoch, you'll have to try and conclude the war between the Geth and Quarians to complete the Mission. There are three possible outcomes, however one of them is locked behind a high Reputation check and specific Quarian / Geth-related decisions in Mass Effect 2 and 3.

Allow the Upload

If you choose to let Legion upload the Reaper Code, the Geth will wipe out the Quarian race completely. Your Quarian companion, either Shala'Raan or Tali, will then commit suicide.

Notably, Tali will ALWAYS kill herself in this outcome, even if she is Loyal and in a locked-in Romance with Shepard.

Let the Geth Die

If you choose to stop the Reaper Code upload, you'll be forced to take down and execute Legion / the Geth VI via a series of Renegade interrupts. This results in the annihilation of the Geth, but you'll gain the Quarian Migrant Fleet as a War Asset.

Persuasion: Rally the Fleet / Warn the Fleet

If you're able to pass the first check to unlock these two options, and pass the second that has your speech be successful, you'll successfully broker peace between the Quarians and the Geth, allowing you to get both as War Assets. Legion will still die in this outcome however as he must disseminate himself as part of the process.

Henry Lawson Interrupt

At the end of Priority: Horizon, you'll have a climactic standoff with Henry Lawson, who is holding his daughter Oriana captive. There is a very specific situation where you can get Miranda killed even if you met every requirement in the Conversations with Miranda.

The situation described here is when you pick "I just want Oriana", which you'll be forced to choose if you don't have enough Reputation to clear the Persuasion Check. When you pick this option, you'll get a Renegade Interrupt as Oriana struggles to get free.

Miranda's fate after this scene isn't detailed here; whether she lives through the scene after this one is determined by what you did in the Conversations with Miranda section, and thus isn't discussed here.

Pull the Interrupt

If you pull the Interrupt, then Shepard will shoot Oriana in the leg, shocking Henry enough for Miranda to blast him through the window to his death.

As mentioned earlier, Miranda can still die in the scene after this one if you didn't meet all the requirements described in the Conversations with Miranda section.

Ignore the Interrupt

If you ignore the Interrupt, Miranda will separate Oriana with her biotics. This allows Henry to fatally shoot Miranda, but not before she blasts him through the window to his death. Miranda will then die very quickly in the next scene.

Crucible Choice

At the very end of the game, you'll make the last decision of the Mass Effect Trilogy: how to deal with the Reapers. You can have up to three options here, and the availability and effects of each will be determined by your Effective Military Strength, or EMS. The exact details for how to access these and affect their variants are detailed above in the "War Assets and EMS" section.

It's worth noting that the EMS numbers listed below only apply for the Legendary Edition of the game. Visit the Endings page of the Mass Effect 3 guide to see the numbers for the original 2012 version, with and without the Extended Cut DLC installed.

Destroy

Picking the red option on the right chooses Destroy, where the Crucible's energy wave disables the Reapers and renders them inoperable. No matter the EMS, all non-organic life is wiped out, including the Geth and EDI.

At 2,099 EMS or less, this option will ravage Earth and destroy the Mass Relays, and less than 1,599 EMS will kill all life on Earth. But at 3,70 0EMS or higher, Shepard will live through this ending.

Control

Picking the blue option on the left chooses Control, where Shepard's being is absorbed into the Crucible and uploaded into the Reapers.

However at 2,099 EMS or lower, this will ravage Earth and destroy the Mass Relays. Additionally, Shepard's narration will differ depending on if your Reputation was primarily made up of Paragon or Renegade points, or a balance of the two.

Synthesis

This option disperses Shepard's being in the energy wave across the galaxy, transforming all life into a synthesis of organic and inorganic, giving the Reapers no reason to slaughter them and turning them into allies, with access to all of their knowledge.

This option is only available if you have 3,100 EMS or higher, and will never have any adverse effects.

Refuse

The final option has no EMS requirement. If you refuse the Catalyst's options with "I reject these options!", Shepard will have a speech on their right to choose, and the Reaper extinction is allowed to continue and is stopped in the next cycle.

You can also initiate this by shooting the Catalyst with your pistol, however this version has no speech.

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In This Guide

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

BioWareMay 14, 2021

Task Search

Checklists

Key Choices and Consequences

Major Mass Effect Trilogy Choices and Consequences

Major Mass Effect 1 Choices and Consequences

Recruiting Garrus

Recruit Garrus

Ignore Garrus

Recruiting Wrex

Recruit Wrex

Ignore Wrex

Find Liara T'Soni

Find Liara After One or Fewer Mission Worlds

Find Liara After Feros and Noveria

Find Liara After Virmire

Feros: Fate of the Colony

Save the Colony

Shut Down the Colony

Noveria: The Rachni Queen

Spare the Rachni Queen

Kill the Rachni Queen

X57: Bring Down the Sky

Save the Hostages

Attack Balak

Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage

Wrex Lives

Wrex Dies

Virmire: Kaidan and Ashley

Consequences

Saren Conversation on Virmire

Consequences

Final Saren Conversation

Charm / Intimidate

"This is pointless"

The Destiny Ascension

Save the Destiny Ascension

Focus on Sovereign

The Human Councilor

Consequences

Major Mass Effect 2 Choices and Consequences

Vido Escapes Zaeed Choice

"You brought this on yourself"

"I'm leaving you here"

Any other option

Normandy Upgrades

Silaris Armor Tech

Thanix Cannon

Cyclonic Shield Tech

Awakening the Tank-Bred Krogan

Open the Tank

Keep it Sealed

Miranda: The Prodigal

Completed The Prodigal

Ignored The Prodigal

Jack VS Miranda

Charm / Intimidate

"Back off, Miranda" / "Too back, Jack"

Maelon's Data

Spare the Data

Destroy the Data

Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi

Morinth Leaves

Morinth Doesn't Leave

Samara VS Morinth

Kill Morinth

Kill Samara

Thane: Sins of the Father

Keep Track of Talid

Lose Track of Talid

Tali: Treason

Charm / Intimidate / Rally the Crowd

"We have no evidence"

"Yes. Here is the evidence"

Fate of the Geth Sniper

Activate the Geth Sniper

Sell the Geth Sniper

Tali VS Legion

Charm / Intimidate

"Back off, Tali" / "Legion, stop transmitting"

Fate of the Crew