Mass Effect Legendary Edition mission order guide

There’s an absolute shipload of missions spread throughout the three games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, from main campaigns to side quests and DLC adventures. While we highly encourage series newcomers to go in blind, there are specific mission orders for all three games that leave no stone unturned and no dialogue line unspoken. Here’s how to progress through each game without missing any of the important bits.

Mass Effect: best mission order

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Compared to its successors, the main mission list for the first Mass Effect is a lot more straightforward. The optimal mission order to tackle the game is both chronological and practical in terms of difficulty scaling. Get Liara as early as possible to get her biotic powers early, and do Noveria first since it’s easier than Feros.

• Eden Prime (Prologue)
• Citadel
  • Citadel: Garrus
  • Citadel: Shadow Broker
• Therum
  • Recruit Liara
• Noveria
• Feros
• Virmire
• Ilos

Take some time to do side missions in between story quests. The later portions of Mass Effect’s storyline get progressively harder. Getting upgrades for the crew or getting Shepard’s skill points to a high-enough level can help alleviate some of that difficulty.

Regarding sidequests, players should prioritize completing UNC: Rogue VI as soon as they hit level 20. This mission will unlock Shepard’s Specialization class, which will greatly improve their effectiveness in combat. For the rest of the optional quests, make sure to do them before the point of no return in Virmire.

DLC missions can all be done after the main storyline. However, we recommend doing X57: Bring Down the Sky right after getting Liara since it provides a generous helping of morality points for future speech checks. Unfortunately, the Pinnacle Station DLC is not included in the Legendary Edition, so players are forced to miss out on its rewards.

What order should I recruit in Mass Effect 2?

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• Dossier: The Veteran (Zaeed—DLC)
• Dossier: The Master Thief (Kasumi—DLC)
• Dossier: The Professor (Mordin)
  • Bring Miranda and Zaeed
• Dossier: The Warlord (Grunt)
  • Bring Mordin
• Dossier: The Archangel (Garrus)
  • Bring Zaeed and Grunt or Zaeed and Mordin
• Dossier: The Convict (Jack)
  • Bring Grunt and Miranda
• Dossier: Tali
  • Bring Garrus
• Dossier: The Assassin (Thane)
  • Bring Zaeed and Garrus
• Dossier: The Justicar (Samara)
  • Bring Grunt and Jack

Mandatory mission squad recommendations

Mandatory missions will trigger as soon as players finish recruiting squadmates for a particular chunk of the storyline in Mass Effect 2. This recruitment order will allow players to hear most of the unique scenes and dialogue lines that each character has for the subsequent recruitment quest. Taking Mordin to Grunt’s quest, for example, will give players some more insight regarding the Krogans from the Salarian scientist’s perspective.

Note that it’s best to bring squadmates who have direct relations to the setting of a mission, such as Grunt and Mordin in Tuchanka, Garrus in the Citadel, and Legion anywhere Quarians are involved. They often have the most to say about ongoing situations, giving players the most insight and driving the narrative even further. Still, don’t let this be the basis of squad picks, especially in higher difficulties, since synergies between characters are far more valuable when it comes to actually making progress.

• Citadel: The Council
  • Garrus and Miranda
• Horizon
  • Garrus and Miranda or Jacob
• Collector Ship
  • Thane or Grunt with Samara
• Reaper IFF (Legion recruitment mission)
  • Tali
• Omega-4
  • Miranda

Loyalty missions can be done in any order. Just pick a favorite squaddie and get to doing their special mission. Keep in mind that the entire crew needs to be loyal in order to survive the suicide mission at the end of the game. Also, make sure to do all loyalty missions before installing the Reaper IFF for reasons we won’t spoil here. Make sure to research the upgrades for the Normandy’s weapons, armor, and shield systems too.

As for the DLCs, Overlord, Project: Firewalker, and Lair of the Shadow Broker can be done at any time after the opening of the main campaign. The latter has a number of useful rewards that can help make playthroughs easier, and it also brings Liara back to the spotlight. Anyone who wants to check in on her should do so immediately, especially if they want to follow up on their relationship with her after the first game. Meanwhile, Arrival should be done after the main story since it essentially serves as a prelude to the sequel.

Mass Effect 3 priority missions list

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There are a lot of time-sensitive missions in Mass Effect 3. For example, players may want to do Citadel missions before Tuchanka, as most of them will be unavailable afterward. Likewise, other quests related to the Quarian fleet and its key people will expire if left unresolved after the Rannoch mission.

• Earth
• Priority: Mars
• Priority: Citadel I
• Priority: Palaven
• Priority: Eden Prime (DLC)
• Grissom Academy
• Priority: Sur’Kesh
• Priority: Tuchanka
• Priority: Citadel II
• Priority: Perseus Veil
• Priority: Geth Dreadnought
• Priority: Rannoch
• Priority: Citadel III
• Priority: Thessia
• Priority: Horizon
• Priority: Cerberus HQ
• Priority: Earth

N7 strike missions against Cerberus bases are almost always worth doing since they hide plenty of resources and upgrades. They are short and relatively easy to complete, assuming players are capable of holding back wave after wave of Cerberus operatives. We strongly recommend doing sidequests as soon as they become available. As a rule of thumb, if a side quest feels important, then it probably is. The fate of the galaxy is at stake here.