Mass Effect Legendary Edition bundles the entire sci-fi trilogy together, and it all starts with the original Mass Effect. The different endings in the game depend on your in-game choices and even have consequences for the subsequent games in the trilogy. So, to help you achieve your desired end, this Mass Effect Endings guide highlights all of the endings and their requirements in Mass Effect 1.
Mass Effect Endings
As you play Mass Effect, your Shepard follows two lines of morality; The good path of Paragon or the “bad” path as a Renegade. The choices you make in Mass Effect will affect which path of morality your Shepard is on and where they end up affects the endings.
However, the major choice that will determine how the ending unfolds comes in the mission Race Against Time: Final Battle. After the mission, Shepard delivers a speech that depends on your character’s morality (Paragon or Renegade) and the status of the Council.
In the Race against Time mission, players are provided with a choice to either Save the Council or Concentrate on Sovereign. This choice will change the ending of the game.
Saving the Council Ending
The first choice is where the player decides to go and save the Council. The Alliance Fleet is commanded to protect the Destiny Ascension. This is where the Council is trapped. The mission will turn out to be successful.
Though massive casualties are suffered, Destiny Ascension is saved, and the Council is saved.
After the mission, in the epilogue, Shepard will be thanked by the councilors. This will be public for Paragons and this will be privately for Renegades. Humanity manages to secure a seat in the Council.
Shepard will decide who will take the seat. You can either vote for Captain Anderson or Ambassador Udina. This ending choice only has a little effect in Mass Effect 2.
Concentrate on Sovereign
Selecting this option has the Alliance Fleet focusing on assault on Sovereign. All distress calls from Destiny Ascension will be ignored, resulting in the total destruction of Destiny Ascension and the entire Council will be killed.
After the mission, in the epilogue, Shepard will meet with Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina, where they will reveal their plan to take over the Council. If you follow the Paragon path, the new Council will have councilors from all races with a human leader. However, if you followed the Renegade path, the entire Council will only comprise human members.
You again get to choose between Captain Anderson or Ambassador Udina to serve the Council. But, again, this choice has little impact on Mass Effect 2’s gameplay. If you decide to go with the second option for your ending, the other races will hold resentment against humans in the sequel.
