The Mass Effect trilogy is rammed full of fantastic NPCs who provide fascinating insight into many aspects of BioWare's Sci-Fi universe. In Mass Effect, NPCs are not just quest givers. The conversations one can conduct with NPCs are, for many, the highlight of any playthrough and are a significant part of what make this franchise so special.
Due to the vast array of unique characters, many of Mass Effect's conversations can make the player experience a wide array of emotions. Some conversations give players a deeper understanding of lore while simultaneously moving the plot along, others are terrific character moments that induce laughter, chills, and even tears.
10 Mordin Singing Is Uniquely Hilarious
First introduced in Mass Effect 2, Mordin Solus is one of the trilogy's most well-known characters. Encountered on the space station of Omega, this hyperactive Salarian scientist is just as likely to shoot a dangerous person as he is to cure their sickness. By speaking with Mordin onboard the Normandy, players will discover that he in fact performed in musical theatre.
Specifically, Mordin performed in a series of multi-species adaptations of Gilbert and Sullivan pieces. If Shepard inquires further about the subject, Mordin will break out in song, singing "I Am The Very Model Of A Scientist Salarian", which is a modified version of a song from The Pirates Of Penzance. This unexpected tune is by far one of Mordin's more memorable moments.
9 Trash Talk With The Clone Shows A Different Side Of Shepard
After Shepard finds out that their clone is trying to take over their life in the Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC, the clone traps Shepard and squad in an iridium vault. Before sealing the vault, however, the real Shepard can threaten the clone and traitorous Brooks. Depending on which morality route the player chooses, the threat varies in its graphic nature.
After Shepard delivers their threat, the clone brushes it off and rather creepily goes out on the classic Shepard line: "I should go." This rather bizarre and humorous conversation is unique in the franchise, and leaves even Commander Shepard at a loss for words.
8 Meeting Vigil Is Fascinating Yet Sad
Speaking with the Prothean VI Vigil, on the planet Ilos in the first Mass Effect game is one of the most intriguing conversations of the entire franchise. Vigil can be found deep in the ruins of Ilos, and will unveil to Shepard the nature of the Conduit and how the Reapers typically begin their harvest.
After Vigil reveals that the Citadel is actually an enormous Mass Relay linking to dark space, they detail how the Prothean Empire came crashing down. After leaving Vigil to power off one last time, one can not help but feel melancholic, while wondering at the greatness that was lost to the Reapers' onslaught.
7 Garrus' Farewell Provides Closure
Garrus Vakarian is perhaps the most beloved character within the Mass Effect universe. He is one of only two squadmates to stick with Shepard in all three of the trilogy's entries. By the end of Mass Effect 3, Shepard and Garrus are the closest of friends (if not lovers). The two have killed Reapers together, been to the center of the galaxy and back, and ended centuries long conflicts, among many other perilous adventures.
Just before the final assault on the Citadel Beam near the trilogy's end, Garrus and Shepard share one final intimate moment. After they say goodbye for a final time, it is difficult not to feel a bit of sadness, knowing the end is near.
6 Drugged Up Volus Becoming A God Is Perfect
During Samara's recruitment mission in Mass Effect 2, Shepard will come across a drugged up Volus named Niftu Cal. This ball with limbs claims to be a biotic god, and is rather confident that he will easily destroy a mercenary boss in the adjacent room. Shepard can take the paragon route, and gently tip Niftu over, resulting in the rotund lad realizing he is too tired and high to destroy the universe.
Alternatively, Shepard can go renegade and let this embodiment of a divine wind charge forward in to battle. Pursuing the renegade option will cause Niftu Cal to be quickly blown aside by an actual biotic, the Eclipse mercenary group's boss. Regardless of which morality path is followed, this conversation is utterly hilarious, in a sad sort of way.
5 Leviathan's Secrets Are Galaxy Shaking
Mass Effect 3's Leviathan DLC has Shepard scour the galaxy for a mysterious creature that is known to have the ability to kill a Reaper. At the conclusion of the DLC, Shepard does indeed find the creature, in the depths of an uncharted planet's ocean. This new species is in fact the first apex race. The first species to dominate the galaxy and control all 'lesser' species.
By speaking with the Leviathans, Shepard finds out that it was they who created an intelligence with a mandate to preserve organic life, which in turn created the Reapers to store that life. This galaxy-shaking revelation confirms that the Reapers had a monstrous beginning, and sheds some light on why they continue their cycle of genocide every fifty thousand years.
4 Manipulating A Serial Killer Is Risky
Samara's loyalty mission is one of just two loyalty missions in Mass Effect 2 that does not contain any combat sequences. The premise of this mission is to get Morinth, a deadly serial killer and Samara's daughter, to bring Shepard to her apartment, where Samara will confront the Ardat-Yakshi and kill her.
The most interesting part of the entire mission is speaking with Morinth in VIP section of the nightclub, Afterlife. This conversation has many options, and Shepard needs to choose their words carefully or else Morinth will lose interest and vanish, preventing Samara from becoming loyal.
3 Saving Or Dooming A Species Is Classic Mass Effect
Once Matriarch Benezia is defeated in the main research lab up at Peak 15 on Noveria, Shepard catches their first good look at the last Rachni Queen. While the Queen can not speak to Shepard directly, she can take control of a nearby dead Asari commando and speak through her. This somewhat creepy conversation gives a glimpse of how the Rachni see the universe differently from other species.
Furthermore, this conversation teases the idea that the Rachni did not go to war willingly centuries earlier during the Rachni wars. After gaining a new perspective, Shepard is presented with one of the biggest choices of the first Mass Effect game; to kill the Queen, or release her and allow for her species to start anew.
2 Urdnot Bakara Rallying The Krogan Is Inspiring
Upon arriving on the Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka with the goal of curing the Genopahge in Mass Effect 3, it becomes clear that the Krogan are not the best at cooperating when a brief exchange of words nearly causes the Krogan to start fighting each other.
Luckily, Eve takes command of the situation and delivers a short but passionate speech that inspires the Krogan to put aside their petty squabbles and fight for the future of their people. This female shaman's words stir the hearts of all who hear them, including the Commander, who helps shape the ultimate fate of the Krogan.
1 The Vanguard Of Our Destruction Haunts The Player
After breaching Saren's facility on Virmire, Shepard will come across an interface that allows them to speak with Saren's flagship Sovereign. Shepard soon realizes that Sovereign is in fact a Reaper, and the ensuing conversation contains some of the best dialogue to appear in gaming. Sovereign proceeds to describe the extermination of all sentient organic life and reveals that the mass relays and the Citadel are creations of the Reapers, not the Protheans.
This revelation leads to the understanding that organic civilizations develop near mass relays, which allow for fast interstellar travel, or along the paths the Reapers desire, so that the Reapers' harvest can be sped up. This conversation lets Shepard know that time is of the essence and gives the player goosebumps in the meantime.
0 Comments