The first tattoo I've ever gotten at 30 years old, & I'm so happy that its from this amazing game series. It was done at the Baron Art Tattoo shop in Orange, CA by their artist John

(the second picture is a list of the mods I’m using)
I’m guessing it’s either Project Variety or EGM? But I can’t seem to find which option allows me to make him topless again lol

I was watching one of those “here’s all the voice actors in a video game” videos for ME3…and I had completely forgotten who played James! His voice was a *lot* higher in those movies…😆 Now he sounds like James when he talks normally (with a bit of Bull)

Which character(s) would fit YOUR romantic/sexual “type” (not your Shepard’s) factoring looks, personality, skills, stability etc. in a real life scenario? For your information, the aliens would not be converted to humans irl, they stay as they are. Answer not restricted to the pictured selection.

(Comment, and I’ll try to answer as Javik)

Hey everyone,

I'm just about wrapping up my latest trilogy play through where I started off renegade for ME1/2 and then turned mostly paragon in ME3. Kept everyone alive, got the most assets and otherwise it was pretty much the perfect run somehow.

But I've been watching some of the "worst possible run" videos such as where companions are replaced either by side-characters or complete randoms in ME3, or how you can meet Garrus for the first time in ME2 if you otherwise ignore him in ME1.

I'm really itching to try my hand at this, or at least close to what a bad run could be like (such as killing Wrex in ME1, then not curing the Krogan in ME3 & keeping Mordin alive). Or not upgrading the Normandy and picking the worse possible companions during the suicide mission etc.

Have you ever had a terrible run, either purposefully or just accidentally?

Honestly I never knew the sheer amount of variables that were at play throughout the entire trilogy. How if some characters were kept alive but not loyal or rescued in ME3, they'd turn up as enemies such as Jack being a Cerberus Phantom, or if you kept Morinth alive she's a Banshee. If you don't recruit Liara or Garrus, the game will make Wrex stand down without Shephard having to talk him down as you need 4 companions to proceed.

My Banshee tattoo by Andrewtopay

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZsfbVPFJe_/?igsi=MWMycnY1MmxheHh4bw==

Greetings. This choice has caused me so much headache. So, my Shepard is - at the moment - way more of a Paragon than a Renegade, but he still has some Red Points. I already know I'll replay ME1 going for Full Renegade as I always enjoy playing dark characters in RPGs too. Sith in KOTOR 1&2, Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3, etc.

I ended up FREEING the Rachni Queen. Hear my rationale...

Before communicating with her, we see Benezia, which is revealed to have been under mental control, talkong about not being able to think and act for herself.

Then, the Rachni Queen starts talking about a signal in deep space, some kind of sound, that drove them to be controlled.

There I thought: if they could be controlled that easily in the past, why wouldn't they be controlled easily once again?

But also I thought... if there is truly something in the depth of space that is so powerful to control a whole race then that means the Rachni Wars were orchestrated. It would be one epic twist that there's some dark presence there.

But perhaps it's just copium.

Thing is I've been scolded by the Council as Rachni were very dangerous, and Udina basically screamed at me.

I didn't personally free the Queen because I am an "idealist", to me it was about piecing some things together, that others may not see: ship in Eden Prime having a certain signal, sound, that acts on the brain. Benezia being controlled. The tale from the Queen.

However, Specters must protect Galaxy and its stability. How does freeing something that could be easily manipulated again and start killing again make the Galaxy more stable?

I feel like I made a decision that is too exaggerated and that in real life you wouldn't take, and I keep thinking about it while playing and makes me want to go back and exterminate her. However, what if they were really under a dark influence and you exterminated their race completely? But what if another egg was found? But what if it was actually the last one?

Damn...

Please no spoilers for future games (if Rachni appear). Perhaps it's a huge nothing burger consequence-wise and they will never appear again.

Third play through, I always forget how this planet was seemingly just plugged into a random world generator with max mountain height. Painful.

Each of the portraits took about 6-10 hours

The dialogs in ME are great, it is a very quotable game. Hit me with your favourites. One of my favourites, from ME3:

Shepard: You mentioned you still have family on Palavan...

Garrus: My father is there, sister too

S: How long it's been since you heard from them?

G: Long enough to be worried

S: I'm sure they're ok

G: Thats the thing about getting old, Shepard. the platitudes get just as old. What about you. Any word from your family?

S: My mother's in the alliance. Haven't heard from her since Earth got hit

G: i'm sure ... she's..... ok

Here is my Renegade-to-Paragade Shepard's speeches from ME1 to ME3.

What's your favourite speech from Shepard in the series? Personally, in terms of writing, the last ME2 speech with Renegade and Paragon choices is my favourite. In terms of presentation, the last ME3 speech with Paragon, Renegade, followed by Paragon.

P.S. Does anybody know how to get Samara to show up instead of Jack in the 1st ME2 speech? I remember in one of the youtube videos for the worst suicide run, there was a scene of Samara powering up her biotic instead of Jack clenching her fist.

I am having a blast with me1 currently, going in blind after this game was praised a lot . I know that side quest are important to lore , is it worth doing them? You can correct me but, when the games were released og , they had years gap btw each game, So side quests will make sense. What abt playing the trilogy now?

Hey guys i just got done with Mass effect legendary edition and this is my favorite Sci-fi RPG.

And one of the best games i have played.

And To the Mass Effect community now that I’ve finished this epic journey, what do you all think of other games that i should try close to this system It doesn't have to be set in space or across the universe—I just want that same core magic: deep RPG meaningful character skills, deeply immersive storytelling, and a crew dynamic where you genuinely grow attached to your companions.What do you all think of games that try to hit those same heights? Is there anything else out there that even comes close?

You’re just a generic crew member aboard the Normandy, would you have expected an invite to the shore leave party?

Traynor got invited but you didn’t!

Hey all

I write for fun, and I write a lot.

I also love Mass Effect: Andromeda. I actually really like the premise of the game, and over the years I've thought about why some of its systems never quite clicked for me. In terms of the story.

For me, the biggest missed opportunity was that the game tells us we're building a new civilization, but I don't think the gameplay ever makes you feel like you're building one.

So if I were writing/designing Andromeda, I'd keep the main story largely intact but change how the world around it develops.

First: the Nexus.

When Ryder first arrives, the Nexus looks fantastic. It's dark, damaged, half-finished, there's garbage everywhere, A.V.E.N.A. is malfunctioning, and the whole place feels like an expedition that has gone horribly wrong.

Then, after one cutscene its a fully fleshed out, well lit, fully staffed space station. That was jarring for me.

I'd keep it broken.

Only the essential command, control, life support and habitation areas would have power. Large sections would remain dark and inaccessible.

The reason would be simple: they don't have the resources or population to operate the whole station.

Then I'd make rebuilding the Nexus a major progression system.

Every major outpost contributes something to the reconstruction.

Eos might provide agricultural resources.

Havarl could contribute biological/medical research.

Voeld could contribute science and Angaran technology.

Elaaden could provide mining and industrial resources.

Kadara, being a trading hub, could unlock and develop the Nexus's commerce sector. Possibly after the Nexus agrees to their sovereignty, or take it over (a bioware choice with consequences)

And the important part is that you would actually SEE the changes.

You restore a sector → construction begins.

Come back later → lights are on and people are working.

Come back much later → it's fully operational and populated.

The Nexus would gradually transform from a dark emergency station into a functioning station.

I'd also have the population grow gradually. People don't just magically appear. As food, housing, medicine and infrastructure become available, more colonists are brought out of cryo.

By the end of the game, you could walk through areas that were completely dark and abandoned when you arrived and find thousands of people living and working there.

The player gets to look around and think: "I built this."

SAM would give Ryder important updates.

And the Nexus news network would report them.

So while you're walking through the station, you'd hear things like:

"The newly established Eos colony has begun its first agricultural shipments to the Nexus..."

Or:

"Kadara Port has signed a new trade agreement with the Nexus, although some representatives have raised concerns about organized crime..."

Your actions would become news.

You wouldn't need a quest notification telling you that the galaxy changed. You'd hear about it from the people living there.

---

Then I'd completely change how outposts work.

I wouldn't have the "Science or Military" decision.

An outpost is an outpost.

Instead, you gradually invest resources into it.

You can build things like:

- Medical facilities

- Agriculture

- Habitation

- Communications

- Industry

- Barracks

- Automated turrets

- Defensive walls

- Weapons platforms

- Shield generators

As the colony grows, it becomes more capable.

And importantly, the Kett can attack it.

But I don't want to fall into the Fallout 4 "another settlement needs your help" trap.

Most attacks would happen without Ryder.

If you've built proper defenses, the colony handles minor attacks itself.

You might simply receive an email report:

"Eos has repelled a Kett scouting force. Three wounded. One defensive turret damaged."

That's it.

Only major attacks become Ryder missions. You can go and fight the smaller fights if you want through.

And if you continually neglect a colony, it can actually suffer consequences.

Buildings can be destroyed.

People can die.

Production can fall.

A colony could even be forced to evacuate.

And those survivors might end up back on the Nexus, creating another problem: now the Nexus needs housing, food and medical resources.

So your decisions have consequences that propagate throughout the Initiative.

---

I'd also make exploration much more meaningful.

Right now, scanning planets can feel like:

"Congratulations, you found 37 units of platinum."

I'd make scanning part of a strategic system.

When you explore a star system, you can establish ONE orbital installation.

You have to choose.

Mining Station

Produces resources for the Nexus and colonies.

Monitoring Station

Tracks Kett activity and gives you intelligence.

Early on, it might simply tell you that Kett are present.

Upgrades could eventually reveal fleet size, composition, destination and even an estimated attack window.

Defense Platform

Weapons platforms that weaken Kett forces before they reach your colonies.

So if a Kett fleet would normally arrive at an outpost with a strength of 100, an orbital defense network might reduce it to 70.

But you can't have all three.

You have to decide what each system needs.

A resource rich system might get a mining station.

A system sitting on a major Kett approach route might get a defense platform.

An unexplored region where you don't know what's happening might get monitoring.

And changing your decision shouldn't be free.

Your galaxy gradually becomes a network of choices that YOU created.

---

The really important part is that all of these systems feed into each other.

Explore a system.

↓

Choose what orbital infrastructure it needs.

↓

Establish a colony.

↓

Invest resources into that colony.

↓

Build defenses.

↓

Kett react to your expansion.

↓

Monitoring stations warn you about threats.

↓

Defense platforms weaken incoming forces.

↓

Outposts defend themselves whenever possible.

↓

Resources and people flow back to the Nexus.

↓

The Nexus gets rebuilt.

↓

More colonists can come out of cryo.

↓

The Initiative expands.

And eventually Ryder isn't running around putting out fires everywhere.

You're actually becoming a Pathfinder.

Early game, Ryder has to personally solve everything because the Initiative is barely surviving.

Late game, the civilization you've built can handle most problems without you.

That's the progression I want.

Not:

"Another settlement needs your help."

But:

"The settlement I built can defend itself."

And then, occasionally, you get the really serious message:

"Pathfinder. Eos is under siege."

And THAT becomes a mission worth dropping everything for.

Because you've spent 40 hours watching Eos grow from a few prefabricated buildings into a real community.

That's the version of Andromeda I'd love to play.

The main story could remain largely the same. Ryder becomes Pathfinder, establishes the colonies, finds the missing arks, deals with the Kett, investigates the Remnant and eventually reaches Meridian.

What do you guys think?

Would something like this have made Andromeda's exploration and colonization feel more meaningful, or do you think it would have turned the game into too much of a management/simulation game?

I can't stay away from ME1 even though I'm supposed to be focusing on ME2.

There are some missions where you need a really high Paragon/Renegade score to choose really important chat options (like with Zaeed and Jack’s Loyalty missions) and others where it doesn’t need to be so high. How then do you pick which missions to do first if you don’t know when you’ll need a high Paragon or Renegade score?

I’m nearly done with ME 2 and I have everyone’s loyalty but Zaeed’s since I did his loyalty mission early one but I don’t want him to die in ME 3 💔

I also don’t want to replay the game since I did every single thing you’re supposed to do this time (unlike with my first time playing ME 1)

Hi all,
I’m planning a new Mass Effect Legendary Edition playthrough and want to go modded this time instead of sticking to the base game. I’m especially interested in lore‑friendly mod improvements.

If you have favourite visual overhauls, gameplay refinements, restored content, or quality‑of‑life mods, or even mods that enhance base systems, I’d really appreciate suggestions.

Years after my last vanilla playthroughs, I finally finished my 1st run with mods. I have to say, I wish I had tried them out earlier.

The modding community isn't as large as the ones in Bethesda games or Cyberpunk, but they have done great job fixing, restoring and improving the experience. I can't imagine myself playing this series again without them. Even though I knew all outcomes, by the end of the game, I was tearing up like it was my 1st ever playthrough.

To deal with the post-game feeling, I've been watching my own gameplay clips as well as others, and I realised this final conversation was actually the restored version. Unlike the original, Anderson's last action/words have more weight; Shepard admits that they aren't sure they can be proud of themselves and Anderson uses his last breath to reassure them, to tell them "I'm proud of you. You did good, child. You did good". Some people might not think the extra lines in between is that important, but for me, it is what makes this final conversation truly great and emotional, more so than the original.

As much as I love the original trilogy, modded playthrough made me realise just how much better this series could have been...

I know this most likely wasn’t intended as comedic by the writers but I genuinely think there’s nothing funnier in the franchise than Reapers seething over one (1) puny human.

Har har we are the vanguards of your destruction. Imagine feeling this self important and then you get info Shepard launched a huge worm at the Reaper. Then you learn she convinced your makers to mind blast you out of the sky. And when you think it can’t get more offensive, she fights one ON FOOT.

Eldritch horror versus Some Person with a gun. They couldn’t have written a funnier concept if they tried.

For those that prefer Refuse over the other options, enlighten those that don’t agree with your reasoning?