Each entry in theMass Effectseries gives players plenty of freedom to dictate their own adventure. It’s one of the reasons why the first three installments are considered amongBioware’s best games. However, it also means that during an initial playthrough, it’s easy to make the occasional mistake.
RELATED:Mass Effect: Things That Make No Sense About The Franchise
Doing missions in a strange order, overlooking certain mechanics, or romancing the wrong person are a few errors thatMass Effectveterans 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 July 12, 2025 by Ritwik Mitra:TheMass Effectseries is considered by many to be one of the greatest sci-fi franchises in gaming history. Even the much-lamented release ofMass Effect: Andromedahas done nothing to take away from the allure of the series. This is mainly to do with the amazing quality of the original trilogy, which fans can experience once again with the release of the Legendary Edition. Given the choice-heavy nature of the game, though, it’s possible that the first playthrough of this series by beginners can be plagued with a whole host of bad decisions. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by players inMass Effect that most people are better off avoiding.
15Trying To Play Both Sides Of The Morality Spectrum
Players who are getting intoMass Effectfor the first time should keep in mind that these games are still a product of their time. Morality systems might seem to be a little outdated in modern gaming, but they used to be all the rage around the time that theMass Effectseries came out.
Trying to maintain a neutral moral compass will directly work against the player due to how the game is designed. The plot will favor either a pure Paragon or a rebel Renegade. With neutral morality, a ton of choices and missions will be completely locked out for the player. Pick a side, and stick to it.
14Making Poor Choices During The Suicide Mission
The Suicide Mission is the bombastic finale ofMass Effect 2that puts everything the player has learned about their comrades on the line as they strive to defeat the Collectors and minimize squad losses. At this point, even the death of a single comrade will have major repercussions further down the line.
The player is recommended to either make wise decisions, or just follow a guide so that they don’t end up facing any avoidable losses during this mission. It’s a tense climax, and the last thing a player would want to feel is a deep sense of resentment and dissatisfaction at the prospect of losing out on their favorite squad members.
13Rewriting The Geth Heretics
InMass 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.
12Skipping Cerberus Assignments In The First Game
Cerberus plays a giant part in theMass Effecttrilogy. 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.
11Doing 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.
10Ignoring 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 firstMass Effectgame.
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, theLegendary Editionversion of the game rectified this issue.
9Missing Some Progress-Sensitive Missions
Like with manysimilar RPGs, theMass Effecttrilogy 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.
8Playing 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 theMass EffectDLC. Most of the content is designed to be played during the campaign.
RELATED:Mass Effect 5: The Ways It Can Improve Upon Andromeda
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.
7Exhausting All Conversations With Companions Straight Away
Shepard hasmany great companionsin 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.
6Trying To Romance Someone Who Isn’t Romanceable
There are plenty ofbeautiful romancesthroughout 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.
