10 Best Mass Effect Squad Members

Assemble your crew.

Mass Effect

When feted developer BioWare released the first Mass Effect in 2007, they introduced sci-fi aficionados to a bevy of fascinating and unforgettable characters to pair with the main character of Commander Shepard. Mass Effect 2 further established its character development bona fides with perhaps even more memorable pals for Shep, and the third entry into the series wrapped up the story beautifully by featuring multiple satisfying conclusions (and some heartbreaking ones) to our favorite characters’ storylines.

With the less said about Mass Effect: Andromeda the better, we look back at the best squad members throughout the original Mass Effect trilogy. From singing Salarians to a corporeal AI, we’ve got you covered with Commander Shepard’s best party members in the Mass Effect universe.

 

10. EDI

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect 2 (as Normandy AI), first as a squadmate in Mass Effect 3

As an artificial intelligence aboard the Normandy SV-2 in the second Mass Effect, EDI delivered tactical guidance and helped Shepard and the crew through tough scrapes on numerous occasions. At first, Shepard is skeptical of the AI after duking it out with the nefarious AI tools of Saren in the original Mass Effect, but the Commander learns to accept and appreciate EDI as the game progresses.

In ME3, EDI takes control of an android body that was left behind after the events that occurred on Mars, and Joker (who would make this list if he was a playable squadmate) immediately takes a shine to the strikingly feminine bot. An expert in tech powers and quippy, deadpan one-liners, EDI leads off the top 10.

 

9. Grunt

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect 2

The first Krogan on the list but certainly not the last. Tank-bred in captivity as the only “pure Krogan” in existence, Grunt makes for a powerful ally in Mass Effect and beyond. While not advised, Grunt can be kept cooped up in his tank for the remainder of the game, but that decision would lead to missing out one of the best characters in the series.

With a throaty voice and a near-unquenchable bloodlust for action and destruction, Grunt is a deeply loveable character, as well as an interesting take on an adolescent Krogan – especially when compared to the usual depictions of the species as mercenaries or assassins.

 

8. Legion

Mass Effect

First Appearance: Mass Effect 2

Geth were the foremost villainous foot soldiers in the first Mass Effect installment, depicted as robotic AI and puppets of Saren. BioWare flipped the script in Mass Effect 2 with Legion – an emotive, highly advanced Geth who has repaired his armor using some of Commander Shepard’s old armor.

While Shepard is, much like EDI, wary of the Geth companion at first, he makes it clear that his goals align with Shepard’s throughout the course of ME2. This engaging character carries over into Mass Effect 3 with one of the most dramatic and tearful climaxes for a synthetic character to ever be conceived.

 

7. Samara

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect 2

A quiet character with immense biotic capabilities and a fascinating backstory, Samara’s debut in Mass Effect 2 (floating softly to the ground via a biotic field) certainly catches the eye. As a justicar, she has sworn off all vice and focuses only on following the Justicar’s code, which forces her to kill anyone who doesn’t adhere to its strict guidelines.

In a twist of fate, her daugher is a murderous Ardat-Yakshi, which is why Samara went down the path of the Justicar. Scenes with Samara in Mass Effect are always engaging yet somehow tense, as some of Shepard’s decisions chafe against her code. Her voice is sultry, her biotics will smash your foes’ skulls in and her loyalty mission is one of the best in the game.

 

6. Liara T’Soni

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect

My first (and favorite) romance option throughout the entire series, Dr. T’Soni starts out as a meek, inexperienced Asari who has an immediate infatuation with Commander Shepard. After the death of her mother, Matriarch Benezia, in Mass Effect 1, Liara’s character hardens – so much so that by the time Mass Effect 2’s main story begins, she is an agent of the Shadow Broker.

As a main squadmate in ME1 and ME3 (along with ME2’s tremendous Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC), Liara always cares for Shepard and is ready to blast enemies into the stratosphere with her powerful biotics. Embrace eternity!

 

5. Urdnot Wrex

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect

The original Krogan squadmate, Wrex is an absolute badass. While always a bit aloof, he takes a shine to Shepard, even when a genophage cure is left behind on Virmire during ME1’s main story.

The prototypical juggernaut Krogan, Wrex always transcended the “bloodthirsty mercenary” stereotype than many others of his race fell into throughout the series. Though not a squadmate past the first game, Wrex’s presence is still felt deeply as the leader of the uniting Clan Urdnot in ME2 and the overall leader of the Krogan in ME3. As another character who plays a large role throughout the entire series, Wrex’s gruff voice and massive offensive capabilities make him a favorite.

 

4. Tali’Zorah vas Normandy

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect

In the same vein as Liara, Tali’Zorah starts out in ME1 as a naïve Quarian on her pilgrimage to improve her peoples’ massive Migrant Fleet. As she continues on her journey with Shepard – their paths intersecting on numerous occasions throughout all three games – she grows as a person and a leader.

The subtle design changes made to her suit between ME1 and ME2 were masterstrokes and the well-realized voice acting from Liz Sroka further cement Tali’s place as a Top 5 squad member. Also, as another option that’s romance-able for Male Shepards (and heavily flirt-able as FemShep), Tali remains a fan favorite. Keelah Se’lai indeed.

3. Garrus Vakarian

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect

The final character on the list who has been a squadmate throughout the entire series, Garrus is the finest Turian around. Though he’s a bit of a spoilsport in the first game, he still manages to deliver some nice one-liners. In the next two games, he gains skills that make him a sought-after assassin (ME2) and then a commander in the Turian army (ME3).

Garrus is the one character who seems to be the best fit as Shepard’s best friend – no matter if a romance with him is kindled as a FemShep or not. An incredibly nuanced voice acting performance from Brandon Keener brings Garrus to vivid life, and just as Shepard says in his final conversation with him: “There’s no Shepard without Vakarian.”

 

2. Thane Krios

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect 2

One of the best assassins in the entire Mass Effect universe, Thane Krios is an obvious choice as a romance option for FemSheps in ME2. With a tortured backstory, in which his decisions led to the death of his wife and his son following in his extremely dangerous footsteps as a gun-for-hire, Thane tops it all off by having an incurable disease that only his race, the Drell, can contract.

Amazing character design, terrific in-game abilities combined with his habit of solipsism, or slipping into vivid flashbacks of past events, make Thane Krios the second-best squadmate in the Mass Effect series.

 

1. Mordin Solus

Mass Effect

First appearance: Mass Effect 2

A loveable loudmouth with a brilliant, scattershot brain and some of the best lines throughout the entire series, Dr. Mordin Solus crowns this list as the best squadmate in Mass Effect history.

While only a recruitable squadmate in ME2, he makes an incredible impression as one of the Salarian scientists responsible for the sterilization of the Krogan population via the Genophage virus. While racked with guilt for his responsibility in the near-extinction of an entire race, he also saw no other alternatives. Still, though, when the need arose, he was willing to sacrifice himself to preserve the future of the Krogan in one of the most touching death scenes throughout the entire series.

Uproariously funny, a great combatant and ever-willing to provide sex tips regarding other species, Mordin Solus is forever enshrined as the greatest squadmate Commander Shepard ever had. And now…

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