If you're a Spacer, both Shepard and Tali take offense when a Turian councillor speaks of his disdain for Spacers in ME1. Boy, must he have felt awkward after that!
It's impossible to go through an entire playthrough and not piss off anyone. For example, killing people is usually (but not always!) going to piss off those who knew them. I know because I've been pissing people off since I was born. >:}
for anyone here a warning do not used anyone with bioanic powers when going to virmine because during the boss fight the game will freeze if used any bioanic powers aganist saren
Earthborn actually increases renegade bonuses in ME 1 and Spacer increases Paragon. Colonist is Neutral. Sole Survivor is Nuetral. War Hero increases Paragon. and Ruthless increases Renegade.
Huh.. I never thought that War Hero/Spacer did that. It always made sense for me to go that route when playing and I always go for a paragon route too. Thanks for the info
@@HadHadHad-A @Hadrian Abdurajie Samiiieeeeessss! While renegade shep is cool and all, I'd just end up feeling feeling bad and like an ass rather than a badass if I went full renegade. 😅
I like the idea of a colonist Shepard who lost everything on Mindoir but grew up to be strong, hardened by these memories and honed by vengeance until the Butcher of Torfan, it's the kind of motivation I could understand
@@zaneex4043 I chose those background options for my Shepard. The savior of humanity has very little humanity in him, but as he goes on this journey to stop the reapers he regains it.
I like going colonist and ruthless for paragon play throughs. I roleplay it as Shepard joining the military for revenge and taking it too far at Torfan. He saw how much the deaths affect his unit and seeing the aftermath. He lives with regret and seeks to redeem himself. He still makes renegade options whenever barbarians are involved though.
Earth born is my personal favorite, I feel it fits the best for the character. Kind of like he/she started from nothing but ended up becoming the most important figure in the galaxy
Plus to me atleast. It makes the final fight on Earth feel more personal? As opposed to being say a Spacer? Who may not have even been to Earth before ME3.
@@FantasyTaco Well, to be fair, before enlisting, pretty much all Earthborn Shepard gets to see of Earth are the slums of some unnamed North American metropolis. He doesn´t get to see any of the good stuff until he´s back there for trial.
I find Spacer most fitting. Total military person => has connections and that is why even Admirals recommend him. With Spacer + War Hero even Udina doesnt say "Do we want someone like that protecting the galaxy?!" like with the others. SO I think Shepard should be Spacer + War Hero. You may enjoy other combo but this one seems to be what devs went for.
I went for Colonist + Sole Survivor. I also always end up as a Paragon with a dash of Renegade. A strong person who's seen the worst th Galaxy has to offer and has, since then, vowed to not let this happen to others. Her moral compass is solid, but if anyone deliberately hurts others for personal gain, she'll crack down like a tonne of Biotic force 😅
Spacers definitely my preferred option because you get an extra character in Shepherd's mom. A few conversations sprinkled throughout the series and even emails from time to time.
On the assault on Cronos Station in ME3, Admiral Hackett will say “This isn’t Akuze, Shepard. I want everyone out of this alive.” This comes from the Sole Survivor background. Unsure if there is dialogue in place of others.
@@ingydegmar2060 Hah xD That would’ve been pretty hilarious to see, actually. Speaking of Akuze, would’ve been interesting if that was brought up on Tuchanka in ME2/3 during the Thresher Maw bits
I've always gone with ruthless. Hackett says something like "This isn't Torfan. I'm not sacrificing you" at that part. There tends to be special dialogue with batarians for this option
I like a Colonist, war hero Shepard. His background losing his family and loved ones to an overwhelming and deadly force drives him to have the desire to become strong enough to never let something like that happen again. The skills he acquired allowed him to become a hero in the skyllian Blitz later on in life. Rallying the colonists to fight back against the slavers attacking them, something he wishes he could’ve done for his own colony. That’s my personal favourite background combo for Shepard.
I played colonist ruthless but paragon and used it as a character arc. Young soldier blinded by revenge ruthlessly slaughters Batarians to a point where he gets his own people killed in the act. Now haunted by his dark reputation, Shepard never lets a teammate die and does his best to forgive and even help his most hated enemy.
I’ve played the game quite a few times. Finally did the ruthless background for the first time. Never picked it because it seemed least interesting. But I wound up liking it. It surprisingly pairs well with paragon (most people associate it with renegade). But it gives reason for Shepherd to care about his crew. He is atoning for the previous squad that he sent to die. He even mentions it under certain paragon dialogues and how their deaths still weigh on him. Gives an extra motivation to make paragon choices as a way to make amends with his past rather than it being like “oh he’s just a good guy”
Colonist/war hero makes the most lore sense. It gives shepard a deeper connection to protect the colonies, and war hero would get them noticed by nihlus
Perhaps it's because it's Shepard's canon psychological profile selected by the developers. My thought is that the developers really wanted you to relate with earth for the series ending to have a greater impact? Protecting earth, ect...
If you have the colonist background when you recruit Javik, I had this dialogue happen: Shep - "They rebuilt Mindoir, it wasn't the same." Garrus - "It never is."
For me, I chose the Paragon Colonial/War Hero background. A guy who lost his entire family in his childhood, risked life and limb to make sure something like Mindoir never happened again. His experiences drove him to help others but shades of his hatred and trauma still emerges every now and then, especially when dealing with the scum of the galaxy.
The first game really shows that your background does make a difference for your Shepard’s personal story , personally I think spacer is the best because it’s in all three games but I love them all !
I tend to go for Colonists with biotics. My headcanon is that Shepard only escaped because she used her biotics and a gun. I play mostly paragon, but with a definite dislike for slavers and those that hurt others.
I like to play as Colonist/Ruthless, because every interaction Shepard have with Batarians seems pretty personal, even if i try a paragon route. First Torfan, then in Bring Down to Sky, the batarians you can threat, beat and even kill in Omega (ME2), the destruction of their colony in Arrival (ME2), and finally the terrorists and refugees in ME3. Most part of the game sounds like the colonist/ruthless Shepard really hate their guts for what they did in Mindoir.
If I remember right in ME3. When Liara is making Shepard's file for the future she comments on their background. And also in the citadel archives of Shepard's proposal of becoming a Spectre.
I have always chosen the Colonist background because it resonated with me, and the quest with Talitha has always hurt so much, because I know what you see there, largely. She split herself from her former identity to avoid feeling the pain of the abuse so keenly, and it works, until you have to piece the parts of yourself back together. That she is able to refrain from complete incomprehensive panic is unrealistic, but, given how charismatic Shepard is supposed to be, the presence of someone who has full authority, and does not appear to want to harm her could possibly be what does that. That she goes so quickly from third person form to first person form, particularly when confronted with what happened with her parents (and the highly probably flashback she is experiencing) is utterly unrealistic, as well as her accepting being sedated (as in taking the pills herself) given how she says she doesn't want to sleep because the slavers "made her sleep" as they abused her. I am glad they included the quest, that they don't hide the traumatised, veterans or others. Such a large portion of the world's population are dealing with all severities of PTSD, and no one should have to hide that. I always hoped to see more of her, just seeing her walking around somewhere, sometime, with her hair grown out, in civilian clothes, healing, maybe even laughing. The message from her meant a lot. It meant a lot that they put it in.
Spacer's the best of the backgrounds, if only because Shep's mom is still around and Shep really needs something grounding like that by ME 3. I really wish we got more of her, like maybe Momma Shep could've been a squaddie in the Citadel DLC or something.
On the same occasion, where you showed the Earthborne-Speech, ME3 Eden Prime, if you are Colonist, Shepard will say something like "Mindoir was never the same."
Earthborn/Ruthless was my choice. It was pretty goddamn amazing to see my Butcher of Torfan turn from an emotionally stunted Renegade into a full Paragon, baring some special exceptions cuz the Renegade life is just too damn cool sometimes XD
In ME1, your background and career are mentioned a lot throughout the game. For instance if you pick Ruthless, Major Kyle remembers you under his command and calls you the Butcher of Torfan and Balak also mentions how you killed his people who surrendered, they mention it many times. Basically ME1 is the best in bringing up your backgrounds. In ME2, they bring up your background only twice in the whole game which sucks. Jacob mentions it in the beginning and later on in the news you hear them mention how a statue was built in honor of Shepard on either Elysium, Torfan, or Akuze. If your a Spacer Hana Shepard is brought up once in ME2 in the news and she sends a email to the Normandy. In ME3, it's better than ME2 but still doesn't mention your background that much. When on Eden Prime Shepard will bring up her history wether Spacer, Earthborn, or Colonist. Hackett will also mention your career. Hana Shepard also makes an appearance in the DLC and is brought up sometimes. There's also passing mentions, but not much. This information has come from someone who has played though these games many times. You can trust it, it's good.
Im very late to the conversation, but I wanna give my spin on things. Theres an old saying; some are born great, some become great, and other have greatness thrust upon them. With that in mind, the spacer was born to be a soldier. Alliance parents and becoming a soldier was just a natural direction for their life. Spacer is born great The earthborn is a nobody gangster who decides one day to rise above it all and joins the Alliance. Earthborn becomes great The colonist is maybe a bit of a stretch, but they can be seen as having greatness pushed upon them. They had no known desire to join the alliance until their home was destroyed and they were picked up by the alliance So in conclusion the spacer was born to be the Shepard The earthborn becomes the Shepard And the colonist is forced to become the Shepard
It sucks you never get to see mindoir. You'd think Sheppard's romance would ask about her life or something but then again Garrus never tells her about his mom so I guess that's fair.
Ruthless / Earthborn is my favorite. I love the idea of renegade Shep living in one of the slums on earth, having to be cutthroat in a gang, and then being a total hard ass during his time in the alliance, all culminating in the Torfan massacre.
Colonist/Ruthless is my favorite. For a number of reasons: 1. The synergy between the pre-service history and psychological background is perfect. Shepard’s home raided by Batarian slavers and then they get revenge on Torfan. So that when you convice Garrus and Zaeed to not give in to revenge, it's because Shepard is speaking from experience. 2. If you play the trilogy as a Paragon, Shepard’s story arc could be all about being better person. I personally like to play mostly Paragon and respond in Renegade only when threatened or when dealing with criminals. Because while Shepard is trying to be better to shed their reputation as "The Butcher of Torfan", that doesn't mean their gonna let other people run them over. 3. Finishing the Collector Base mission with no casualties is a redemptive act for Shepard and it allows them to tell themselves that "Yes, I can order soldiers through a dangerous situation without getting them killed" and makes them feel prepared to take on the Reapers. 4. The ending of "Arrival" has even more weight compared to other backstories. Shepard took this as an opportunity to atone to the Batarians but it just ends in tragedy and the Batarians wanting Shepard’s head more than ever.
My favorite background combo is Colonist/War hero, it really makes ME1 (and the rest of the trilogy tbh) shine for either paragon or renegade Shepard since she/he has to deal with the trauma of surviving the slaver attack on Mindoir (Colonist) to saving colonists on Elysium from slavers in the Skyllian Blitz (War Hero) that in itself is pretty good story arch already but then after getting picked to be a candidate for the Spectres Shepard has to deal with the tragedy of Eden Prime and be reminded of their past throughout the starting mission and being especially disturbed by the Husks. After that there's the two background choice side missions dealing with the girl who also survived Mindoir as seen in this vid as the Colonist one and then the side mission where a beacon leads Shepard into a trap, the leader of the group who set the trap then calls you out for thwarting their attack on Elysium as they arm a nuke to to take Shep out. The Colonist/War Hero background choices also make the Bring Down the Sky DLC more interesting in a role play way but I don't remember any unique dialogue or details based on your background choices other than just dealing with another Batarian attack of a colony. Discovering indoctrination on Virmire and seeing its affects on the Salarians there is also very disturbing to Shep with this background and makes trying to talk Saren out of his indoctrination on Virmire and at the end much more heartfelt. This combo also makes The Arrival DLC for ME2 and the beginning to ME3 more interesting in roleplay for how you deal with the mass relay thats by the Batarian colony at the end of The Arrival DLC and how that effects Shepard's grounded/imprisoned status at the start of ME3. I also think this background makes Shepard more sympathetic to the Geth after finding out about the heretics from Legion in ME2 and about the Geth Rebellion or also called The Mourning War with the Quarians when the Geth first showed sentience
choosing the colonist background for the first time then doing Talitha mission made me hate batarians lol. didn't even try to warn them in arrival or save the sick batarian on omega didn't even care that the reapers completely cleaned their coccyx in ME3
@regi grenskii think it should be fleshed out more for sure. Part of me wonder if slavery in the ME universe was a huge galactic issue before humanity discovered the relays or after, because it seems the batarians slavers mainly target human colonies for various reasons.
When I first saw the different combos for backgrounds and profiles I always thought that Colonist~Ruthless, Spacer~Soul-Survivor, and Earth-born~War Hero made the most sense, as all of them had their challenges to overcome and they add a bit of nuance. Personally, though I played the default first because I didn’t see it having that much impact on game play. I did very much like the Talitha, “Remember Me” side quest.
I always choose Spacer as I like the idea of growing up on ships plus to me it fits with how Shepard is so devoted to the Alliance and his history with Captain/Admiral Anderson who was his father figure since you only speak to your Mom meaning your father must have died when you were young. The Spacer background also explains why Shepard rose in rank so quickly since they grew up in the life, not to mention why everyone mentions how the Normandy will always be Shepard's first love.
Having a Colonist background when doing Arrival in ME2 and the Batarian Codes mission in ME3 is always interesting. Shepard seems more aggressive in their stance on sacrificing the Bahak System, even more so than just the simple 'it slowed down the Reapers' excuse, especially dealing with Balak
It's weird how if your a spacer you save the citadel, kill a reaper, die, come back, save the galaxy from collectors, meet Anderson again, and your mom never calls then you become a galaxy wide hero and everyone knows you and then your mom finally calls you
You also contact your mom in mass effect 1 then you realise that family conversation is not a big deal among Shepard(s) She also mails you in mass effect 2, believing you've gone undercover, telling you to be safe.There's a news headline as well where she rejects admiral star and chooses to stay as captain of ship as a homage to his son. Mass effect 3, Hackett mentions that she's safe and promoted to rear admiral. And then you finally get a call in Citadel dlc as well.
As the guy above me stated Hannah Shepard briefly appears in all three games. I wish it was more or at least she's shown interacting with Shepard in person but mommy Shepard is a busy person so it is what it is.
My male shep a spacer war hero, following paragon path in me1. And then gradually get more and more renegade as the story progressess in me2 and finally finding a balance in me3.
Side note in me2 and you were the orphan lifestyle there is a scholar ship for orphans now because of Shepard being first specture and all that jazz. I found it nice to see life choice had a effect
Bioware did it the best in the Dragon Age series. Each one has an important class/race that changed the whole playthrough. Sooooo good. Cyberpunks was just lame.
Can't think of any other special dialogue, but I personally love picking Earthborn/Sole survivor. Shepard has this strong survival theme going on throughout the games and, though I think every background kind of has that in a sense, I like the feeling with this combination. Plus, it adds this extra personal feeling to ME3 and the attack on Earth. I did always feel like there were missed opportunities when it came to background-specific dialogue. There's so many Thresher Maw encounters throughout the games and ME2 entirely includes Cerberus. The faction that literally made the Sole Survivor background happen. I wish that added special dialogue for sole survivors. Or for example Thane's quest in ME2 includes some kids on the Citadel that I'm pretty sure were orphans involved in crime if I remember right. Always thought it would have been so cool if Earthborn Shepard had some dialogue there.
Good work mate I’ve done 2 paragon play throughs now time for renegade Shepard, colonist and ruthless background. Renegade Shepard is awesome 😎 😂 he is brutal and I almost made Ashley cry 😞 at the start then I apologised 😯 🙈. I can’t get enough of mass effect and mass effect videos 😉 👍
In my life I relate very closely to the colonist profile someone who grew up in an abusive household I can understand Talitha's mental struggle but at the same time I did exactly what BroShep/FemShep says in regards to getting over it. It's kind of hard seeing it from a 3rd person's perspective
The I remember me in the colonist back ground always gets to me, and I like how the renegade option is almost more understanding and emotional, in a good way
having played them all, i always preferred shepard because not only does it humanize shepard and shows they actually have relations outside the normandy but it makes sense as to how shepard is so well know and well connected and devoted to the alliance and how it's such a big betrayal they are with cerberus and the fact that characters expect shepard to always want to be on the normandy and adventure because shep always grew up on spaceships anyway another shep with a different background i could see wanting to branch out potentially
Wtf i got FIVE notifactions for this video all in a row. Its on my notification tabs five times i thought you uploaded five videos about this topic in a row and im kinda disappointed it wasnt... Oh well still another Mass Effect video to watch hell yea!
Speaking of the background quests there's an interesting link between Spacer and Colonist that I think raises some interesting questions. I'm sure you could, and that many people probably have, make some interesting theories about all possible Shepards technically existing within the same universe or something but, for me, the more direct link itself is what matters. That, of course, being that in "Old, Far Off, Unhappy Things" Zabaleta developed PTSD as a result of what he saw landing on Mindoir during the attack on the colony. The fact that the attack on Mindoir is a thing that happens regardless of background doesn't mean all that much, all major events of each background are cannon and happen regardless of background and other missions and the even the timeline in the Codex confirm that, but it does actually lead me to ask the question "was Zabaleta there in the colonist background too?" Obviously you never see the other background quest characters in playthroughs with the other backgrounds cause they're there for the respective background's quest but I can't help but imagine that, all things being equal, the historical bits of each of these backgrounds must still probably happen the same or mostly the same way, just that your own Shepard was around doing something else somewhere else. Except, of course, Colonist Shepard who was on Mindoir during the attack, the same colony Zabaleta landed on to see the horrors of what happened. So, for me anyways, I've always answered the question "was Zabaleta there?" with yes but either he landed at another settlement, presumably meaning his life story was essentially the same just without Shepard and their family to be there to help him, or, my own bit of personal headcannon, that he was at the settlement and that, in spite of the horror, they save one kid. One kid with the last name of Shepard who, against all the horror they saw, gives them one small victory, one small ray of hope they, and Zabaleta in particular, can look back on and hold onto in spite of all the horror and pain. So in my headcannon I like to imagine Zabaleta in the Colonist background holds onto that one small ray of hope and eventually goes on to seek help instead of spiraling from the trauma because that one event gives him the strength to face the trauma and seek help to deal with it. It's entirely headcannon, of course, the actual link is far more threadbare, it really is just the mention of Mindoir in the Spacer background and that's it, but it's still a piece of headcannon that I like cause I think it's a nice, hopeful tale. In reality, Bioware probably worked off the assumption that none of the characters of the backgrounds existed within the timeline of the alternate backgrounds or, if they do exist, just assumed their plot lines would never be resolved or would resolve in the worse possible way, essentially ensuring they are nonfactors in the universe of the other backgrounds. Even so, I like my headcannon and felt it worth sharing for others who might like it too.
I like to think of it as like this too. I've always thought that, basically, when you choose the other backgrounds, there is two other characters, that "could've been you" that are there, but because of basically no plot armour, they either get taken by the batarians, killed, or don't get out of the gang, or maybe they do. Two, incredibly strong people, but luck just isn't on their side. I've actually attempted to write this, but writing stuff in the Mass Effect universe is, difficult, due to all the variables. Maybe in the Spacer and Earthborn backgrounds there's someone who manages to get away from the batarian slavers, someone incredible, who just isn't Shepard, so you don't hear about them. That some other child of a Hannah is out there, piloting their own ship, calling their mum about a veteran they meet, and getting angry emails about not telling her they were actually alive after being presumed dead (though just survived, not actually ressurected). That there's an alliance soldier who gets attemptively pushed around by a member of the gang they used to belong to, who decides, you know what, I don't want this piece of shit to decide a moment more of my time, and tells on him to the Turian officer. That they're there, the "could've been Shepards", being awesome, but not in the spotlight because they're not "the Shepard".
I think Talitha is mentioned in a news article about someone distracting a group of reapers from a shuttle full of kids that were evacuating in ME3. At least, it sounded like it could be her.
In my opinion Spacer is the best background plotwise for ME1 because it has the best personal quest, Colonist for ME2 since it's about saving colonies, and Earthborn for ME3 because the whole plot is about retaking Earth. Overall my favorite is Earthborn though.
Colonist/Ruthless Male Shepard that got his entire platoon killed on Torfan to kill Batarian slavers. My shep ended up killing the council and after doing a pretty much all renegade play through (though I earned a few paragon points for romancing liara and helping Kirahe) I can confidently say that Renegade Shepard>>>>paragon Shepard. The only hard choice I had to make was to kill Wrex on Virmire.
I've been playing as a spacer, war hero with almost full on renegade towards everyone except for shipmates, close friends, and some other exceptions applicable. Where a renegade option comes to be ruthless, I pick that one. Leading to a balanced playthrough where most branches are open to me
Garrus will say "let's get you home" before priority earth in me3 at some point with a conversation with him but I'm not sure If that earthbound specific though and I'm also a earthborn/war hero
I just finished my first playthrough of LE. Doing my 2nd run soon. I was curious about this. This was really informative. I'm gonna be a spacer this time so I don't feel left out not having parental issues like everyone else 😂
My main Shepard is Earthborn/War Hero/Paragon. It sets up a nice redemption/underdog story. I also romanced Garrus because there was a mention by Finch from the 10th Street Reds about him seeing Shepard "kill turians in cold blood", I don't really know if he was exaggerating, but I came up with my own backstory for that line of dialogue. My Shepard was never xenophobic, she just stayed with the gang as a means of survival.
I was considering going for a playthrough using Earthborn, but it has the weakest mission of the three. I like that the other background missions reveal how horrific the Batarians can be.
Thou I cannot find information on it, I swear if you are earthborn and you do not free Weismen. Finch appears in Mass effect 2 in the Afterlife bar stating how He is shocked that Shepard is alive and how he thru a party once he learned Shepard died.
I made my new character a female and a spacer I look forward to meeting Shepards mom, I was always a Earthborn as my male shepard since was a badass hero! Now lets see what its like to be a renegade with her parents lol, thanks for another great video!
I usually play as a Ruthless Colonist or a Sole Survivor Earthborn because I feel like those two set up impactful sendoffs for Shepard as they try to convince the galaxy to join against the reapers
Mass Effect 2 when you're doing the LotSB DLC and you've defeated the asari specter, she will mention your a part of your background. She will at least bring up you being the sole survivor of the ambush on Akuze in her attempts to shame you for working with Cerberus
I like to mix up the backgrounds with every playthrough of ME1, it just doesn't make much difference once you move into ME2 & 3, to the point that even I forget what it is after a while until the supremely rare moments when I'm reminded
I just finished a playthrough of Mass Effect 1 with a Spacer background. I usually do colony kid, but I had never done this. I never got that mission for the Spacer background and I never got a chance to call mom. I never even saw that guy in the hallway, and since I was doing side quests so much, I know I had been in every area in the Citadel (thank you "Scan the Keepers"). It just never spawned. I saw Conrad all three times but never met that one person. I don't know why.
There should be war assets. Spacer: Zabaleta rallies the veterans. Colonist: Toomes and his men come to fight Cerberus. Earther: The Reds help Anderson on Earth.
My Shepart is a Colonist War Hero.. Although i basically played more renegade than paragon... But still i like the idea of a colony kid that took a decisive stand to save another colony and became a reluctant war hero.. even he/she doesn't really feels like one. My actual playthrough is a colonist Ruthless and i wanna play way more renegade... Like a conflicted shepard that no longer believe in peaceful resolutions..
Odd, I've completed ME1 a couple times (at least a couple!), and the Legendary Edition just now, and I don't remember *anything* about Shepard's mom! Certainly did not encounter it in the Legendary Edition walkthrough, and I did my best no to miss anything.
hu . Shepard Calling his mother and saying "hi mom" is the most humanizing thing in all the three games IMO.
If you're a Spacer, both Shepard and Tali take offense when a Turian councillor speaks of his disdain for Spacers in ME1. Boy, must he have felt awkward after that!
It's impossible to go through an entire playthrough and not piss off anyone. For example, killing people is usually (but not always!) going to piss off those who knew them. I know because I've been pissing people off since I was born. >:}
for anyone here a warning do not used anyone with bioanic powers when going to virmine because during the boss fight the game will freeze if used any bioanic powers aganist saren
@@xLatinAssazzin My game didn't freeze, and I've played Legendary edition twice.
@@xLatinAssazzin 4 playthroughs, 2 with biotics and no crashing, what system?
Earthborn actually increases renegade bonuses in ME 1 and Spacer increases Paragon. Colonist is Neutral.
Sole Survivor is Nuetral. War Hero increases Paragon. and Ruthless increases Renegade.
Huh.. I never thought that War Hero/Spacer did that. It always made sense for me to go that route when playing and I always go for a paragon route too. Thanks for the info
Huh, didn't know that. I went Spacer/War Hero and usually pick paragon choices anyway so I guess I picked kinda perfectly for my play style!
@@jjawesome1803 hey we had the same idea! :))
@@HadHadHad-A @Hadrian Abdurajie Samiiieeeeessss! While renegade shep is cool and all, I'd just end up feeling feeling bad and like an ass rather than a badass if I went full renegade. 😅
@@HadHadHad-A If you read the descriptions of each, It will actually tell you the bonuses you'll get.
I like the idea of a colonist Shepard who lost everything on Mindoir but grew up to be strong, hardened by these memories and honed by vengeance until the Butcher of Torfan, it's the kind of motivation I could understand
I go with the same background. Not interested in the gang background on earth, and also sweet Renegade points.
Hell yeah. I just started a new renegade shep with this same origin.
That's my ideal Renegade Shepard background.
@@zaneex4043 I chose those background options for my Shepard. The savior of humanity has very little humanity in him, but as he goes on this journey to stop the reapers he regains it.
I like going colonist and ruthless for paragon play throughs. I roleplay it as Shepard joining the military for revenge and taking it too far at Torfan. He saw how much the deaths affect his unit and seeing the aftermath. He lives with regret and seeks to redeem himself.
He still makes renegade options whenever barbarians are involved though.
Earth born is my personal favorite, I feel it fits the best for the character. Kind of like he/she started from nothing but ended up becoming the most important figure in the galaxy
Plus to me atleast. It makes the final fight on Earth feel more personal? As opposed to being say a Spacer? Who may not have even been to Earth before ME3.
@@FantasyTaco Well, to be fair, before enlisting, pretty much all Earthborn Shepard gets to see of Earth are the slums of some unnamed North American metropolis. He doesn´t get to see any of the good stuff until he´s back there for trial.
I find Spacer most fitting. Total military person => has connections and that is why even Admirals recommend him. With Spacer + War Hero even Udina doesnt say "Do we want someone like that protecting the galaxy?!" like with the others. SO I think Shepard should be Spacer + War Hero. You may enjoy other combo but this one seems to be what devs went for.
I went for Colonist + Sole Survivor. I also always end up as a Paragon with a dash of Renegade.
A strong person who's seen the worst th Galaxy has to offer and has, since then, vowed to not let this happen to others.
Her moral compass is solid, but if anyone deliberately hurts others for personal gain, she'll crack down like a tonne of Biotic force 😅
@@Sheikah86
This is exactly how I played my last playthrough. Most immersed I've ever been in the game.
İm gonna take a step towards you now, OK?
İm gonna take a step towards you now, OK?
İm gonna take a step towards you now, OK?
😂😂
Spacers definitely my preferred option because you get an extra character in Shepherd's mom. A few conversations sprinkled throughout the series and even emails from time to time.
Talitha's mission is gut wrenching knowing that human trafficking is still a national issue.
National? Try global.
@@GeneralBulldog54 sorry that's what I meant. The writing of this series really did reflect the real world a lot. Especially the xenophobia.
It’s international.
Intergalactic even.
One of the rare occasions my ruthless Shepard shows the paragon side of himself. Drops the cold, douchey demeanor and does something nice.
On the assault on Cronos Station in ME3, Admiral Hackett will say “This isn’t Akuze, Shepard. I want everyone out of this alive.”
This comes from the Sole Survivor background. Unsure if there is dialogue in place of others.
Shepard should have replied that, unlike Akuze, Cronos station doesn't have thresher maws.
@@ingydegmar2060
Hah xD
That would’ve been pretty hilarious to see, actually.
Speaking of Akuze, would’ve been interesting if that was brought up on Tuchanka in ME2/3 during the Thresher Maw bits
I've always gone with ruthless. Hackett says something like "This isn't Torfan. I'm not sacrificing you" at that part. There tends to be special dialogue with batarians for this option
by war hero he say "this is nor elysium, i dont need a hero" or somthing like that. cant really remembered
I like a Colonist, war hero Shepard. His background losing his family and loved ones to an overwhelming and deadly force drives him to have the desire to become strong enough to never let something like that happen again. The skills he acquired allowed him to become a hero in the skyllian Blitz later on in life. Rallying the colonists to fight back against the slavers attacking them, something he wishes he could’ve done for his own colony. That’s my personal favourite background combo for Shepard.
I play as a colonist/sole survivor
Maximum PTSD build
I go Colonist and War Hero. She lost it all and absolutely refuses to let that ever happen again to anyone.
Does the Colonist background have unique dialogue for Mass Effect 2 when hundreds of thousands of them are being taken by The Collectors?
@@ThElOneSolDIeR1 Your Shepard must really hate batarians
Colonist/Ruthless here, with my canon Shep he's an a-hole that slowly softens over the events of 1&2
I played as a colonist/ruthless. My character was always as mean as possible to any and all Batarian scum.
bastarian are cool, i wish we could have known them better
In Mass 2 with my renegade I never warn colony
I played colonist ruthless but paragon and used it as a character arc. Young soldier blinded by revenge ruthlessly slaughters Batarians to a point where he gets his own people killed in the act. Now haunted by his dark reputation, Shepard never lets a teammate die and does his best to forgive and even help his most hated enemy.
@rhino9000 Im doing a playthrough the same way
@@ByAzura Holy shit, that sounds amazing! I might have to try that whenever I play Mass Effect again.
I’ve played the game quite a few times. Finally did the ruthless background for the first time. Never picked it because it seemed least interesting. But I wound up liking it. It surprisingly pairs well with paragon (most people associate it with renegade). But it gives reason for Shepherd to care about his crew. He is atoning for the previous squad that he sent to die. He even mentions it under certain paragon dialogues and how their deaths still weigh on him. Gives an extra motivation to make paragon choices as a way to make amends with his past rather than it being like “oh he’s just a good guy”
Colonist/war hero makes the most lore sense. It gives shepard a deeper connection to protect the colonies, and war hero would get them noticed by nihlus
For Me, Colonist Ruthless Also Makes Sense, Since the Events of Mindoir Causes Shepard to Have Prejudice Against Batarians.
To you maybe for me its always spacer/sole survivor
@@LT.KILLIAN-14031 Spacer War Hero I Would Say. Especially with Shep's Mom Being an Inspiration to Do Good, Which War Hero Most Definitely Does.
I like earthborn more than any other psychological profiles, though its just me.
Shooting Finch is so satisfying
Perhaps it's because it's Shepard's canon psychological profile selected by the developers. My thought is that the developers really wanted you to relate with earth for the series ending to have a greater impact? Protecting earth, ect...
Same Here
If you have the colonist background when you recruit Javik, I had this dialogue happen:
Shep - "They rebuilt Mindoir, it wasn't the same."
Garrus - "It never is."
For me, I chose the Paragon Colonial/War Hero background. A guy who lost his entire family in his childhood, risked life and limb to make sure something like Mindoir never happened again. His experiences drove him to help others but shades of his hatred and trauma still emerges every now and then, especially when dealing with the scum of the galaxy.
I legitimately never knew you could meet her mother, as I always played earthborn and colonist.
The first game really shows that your background does make a difference for your Shepard’s personal story , personally I think spacer is the best because it’s in all three games but I love them all !
I tend to go for Colonists with biotics. My headcanon is that Shepard only escaped because she used her biotics and a gun. I play mostly paragon, but with a definite dislike for slavers and those that hurt others.
I like to play as Colonist/Ruthless, because every interaction Shepard have with Batarians seems pretty personal, even if i try a paragon route. First Torfan, then in Bring Down to Sky, the batarians you can threat, beat and even kill in Omega (ME2), the destruction of their colony in Arrival (ME2), and finally the terrorists and refugees in ME3. Most part of the game sounds like the colonist/ruthless Shepard really hate their guts for what they did in Mindoir.
If I remember right in ME3. When Liara is making Shepard's file for the future she comments on their background. And also in the citadel archives of Shepard's proposal of becoming a Spectre.
I have always chosen the Colonist background because it resonated with me, and the quest with Talitha has always hurt so much, because I know what you see there, largely. She split herself from her former identity to avoid feeling the pain of the abuse so keenly, and it works, until you have to piece the parts of yourself back together. That she is able to refrain from complete incomprehensive panic is unrealistic, but, given how charismatic Shepard is supposed to be, the presence of someone who has full authority, and does not appear to want to harm her could possibly be what does that. That she goes so quickly from third person form to first person form, particularly when confronted with what happened with her parents (and the highly probably flashback she is experiencing) is utterly unrealistic, as well as her accepting being sedated (as in taking the pills herself) given how she says she doesn't want to sleep because the slavers "made her sleep" as they abused her. I am glad they included the quest, that they don't hide the traumatised, veterans or others. Such a large portion of the world's population are dealing with all severities of PTSD, and no one should have to hide that. I always hoped to see more of her, just seeing her walking around somewhere, sometime, with her hair grown out, in civilian clothes, healing, maybe even laughing. The message from her meant a lot. It meant a lot that they put it in.
Spacer's the best of the backgrounds, if only because Shep's mom is still around and Shep really needs something grounding like that by ME 3. I really wish we got more of her, like maybe Momma Shep could've been a squaddie in the Citadel DLC or something.
I love how shooting finch somehow awards paragon.
Is it? 2 points are for telling the turian about him, and for shooting him there are renegade points. That is my gues.
Talitha literally got her parents flamethrower'ed. That's... Dark man,
"Don't get any closer....(Bang!)
....naaniiii.
Well that was dark"
Lmao
On the same occasion, where you showed the Earthborne-Speech, ME3 Eden Prime, if you are Colonist, Shepard will say something like "Mindoir was never the same."
True
Earthborn/Ruthless was my choice. It was pretty goddamn amazing to see my Butcher of Torfan turn from an emotionally stunted Renegade into a full Paragon, baring some special exceptions cuz the Renegade life is just too damn cool sometimes XD
I like to play as a colonist war hero. I like to think Shepard is exceptional due to their trauma. Kind of like Batman.
I'll always pick Spacer just to hear Shepard talk to his/her mom in the Citadel dlc. : )
In ME1, your background and career are mentioned a lot throughout the game. For instance if you pick Ruthless, Major Kyle remembers you under his command and calls you the Butcher of Torfan and Balak also mentions how you killed his people who surrendered, they mention it many times. Basically ME1 is the best in bringing up your backgrounds.
In ME2, they bring up your background only twice in the whole game which sucks. Jacob mentions it in the beginning and later on in the news you hear them mention how a statue was built in honor of Shepard on either Elysium, Torfan, or Akuze. If your a Spacer Hana Shepard is brought up once in ME2 in the news and she sends a email to the Normandy.
In ME3, it's better than ME2 but still doesn't mention your background that much. When on Eden Prime Shepard will bring up her history wether Spacer, Earthborn, or Colonist. Hackett will also mention your career. Hana Shepard also makes an appearance in the DLC and is brought up sometimes. There's also passing mentions, but not much.
This information has come from someone who has played though these games many times. You can trust it, it's good.
I always forget about my background 10 minutes into the first game, and that’s it. That’s how much it matters:)
.
Im very late to the conversation, but I wanna give my spin on things.
Theres an old saying; some are born great, some become great, and other have greatness thrust upon them.
With that in mind, the spacer was born to be a soldier. Alliance parents and becoming a soldier was just a natural direction for their life. Spacer is born great
The earthborn is a nobody gangster who decides one day to rise above it all and joins the Alliance. Earthborn becomes great
The colonist is maybe a bit of a stretch, but they can be seen as having greatness pushed upon them. They had no known desire to join the alliance until their home was destroyed and they were picked up by the alliance
So in conclusion the spacer was born to be the Shepard
The earthborn becomes the Shepard
And the colonist is forced to become the Shepard
It sucks you never get to see mindoir. You'd think Sheppard's romance would ask about her life or something but then again Garrus never tells her about his mom so I guess that's fair.
DAMN IT! I always get the feels with the colonist background.
Ruthless / Earthborn is my favorite. I love the idea of renegade Shep living in one of the slums on earth, having to be cutthroat in a gang, and then being a total hard ass during his time in the alliance, all culminating in the Torfan massacre.
I went with Earhborn War Hero i played paragon that was happy to use renegade when needed
Spacer/War Hero (Paragon)
Colonist/Sole Survivor (Neutral)
Earthborn/Ruthless (Renegade)
Colonist/Ruthless is my favorite. For a number of reasons:
1. The synergy between the pre-service history and psychological background is perfect. Shepard’s home raided by Batarian slavers and then they get revenge on Torfan. So that when you convice Garrus and Zaeed to not give in to revenge, it's because Shepard is speaking from experience.
2. If you play the trilogy as a Paragon, Shepard’s story arc could be all about being better person. I personally like to play mostly Paragon and respond in Renegade only when threatened or when dealing with criminals. Because while Shepard is trying to be better to shed their reputation as "The Butcher of Torfan", that doesn't mean their gonna let other people run them over.
3. Finishing the Collector Base mission with no casualties is a redemptive act for Shepard and it allows them to tell themselves that "Yes, I can order soldiers through a dangerous situation without getting them killed" and makes them feel prepared to take on the Reapers.
4. The ending of "Arrival" has even more weight compared to other backstories. Shepard took this as an opportunity to atone to the Batarians but it just ends in tragedy and the Batarians wanting Shepard’s head more than ever.
My favorite background combo is Colonist/War hero, it really makes ME1 (and the rest of the trilogy tbh) shine for either paragon or renegade Shepard since she/he has to deal with the trauma of surviving the slaver attack on Mindoir (Colonist) to saving colonists on Elysium from slavers in the Skyllian Blitz (War Hero) that in itself is pretty good story arch already but then after getting picked to be a candidate for the Spectres Shepard has to deal with the tragedy of Eden Prime and be reminded of their past throughout the starting mission and being especially disturbed by the Husks. After that there's the two background choice side missions dealing with the girl who also survived Mindoir as seen in this vid as the Colonist one and then the side mission where a beacon leads Shepard into a trap, the leader of the group who set the trap then calls you out for thwarting their attack on Elysium as they arm a nuke to to take Shep out. The Colonist/War Hero background choices also make the Bring Down the Sky DLC more interesting in a role play way but I don't remember any unique dialogue or details based on your background choices other than just dealing with another Batarian attack of a colony. Discovering indoctrination on Virmire and seeing its affects on the Salarians there is also very disturbing to Shep with this background and makes trying to talk Saren out of his indoctrination on Virmire and at the end much more heartfelt. This combo also makes The Arrival DLC for ME2 and the beginning to ME3 more interesting in roleplay for how you deal with the mass relay thats by the Batarian colony at the end of The Arrival DLC and how that effects Shepard's grounded/imprisoned status at the start of ME3. I also think this background makes Shepard more sympathetic to the Geth after finding out about the heretics from Legion in ME2 and about the Geth Rebellion or also called The Mourning War with the Quarians when the Geth first showed sentience
I’ve been looking for a video like this! Thank you! This is so damn awesome!
You're welcome :D
choosing the colonist background for the first time then doing Talitha mission made me hate batarians lol. didn't even try to warn them in arrival or save the sick batarian on omega didn't even care that the reapers completely cleaned their coccyx in ME3
@regi grenskii think it should be fleshed out more for sure. Part of me wonder if slavery in the ME universe was a huge galactic issue before humanity discovered the relays or after, because it seems the batarians slavers mainly target human colonies for various reasons.
When I first saw the different combos for backgrounds and profiles I always thought that Colonist~Ruthless, Spacer~Soul-Survivor, and Earth-born~War Hero made the most sense, as all of them had their challenges to overcome and they add a bit of nuance. Personally, though I played the default first because I didn’t see it having that much impact on game play. I did very much like the Talitha, “Remember Me” side quest.
I always choose Spacer as I like the idea of growing up on ships plus to me it fits with how Shepard is so devoted to the Alliance and his history with Captain/Admiral Anderson who was his father figure since you only speak to your Mom meaning your father must have died when you were young.
The Spacer background also explains why Shepard rose in rank so quickly since they grew up in the life, not to mention why everyone mentions how the Normandy will always be Shepard's first love.
Having a Colonist background when doing Arrival in ME2 and the Batarian Codes mission in ME3 is always interesting. Shepard seems more aggressive in their stance on sacrificing the Bahak System, even more so than just the simple 'it slowed down the Reapers' excuse, especially dealing with Balak
I never I could talk to Shepherd's mom!
Thanks for sharing these choices bro... I've played all these quests but it's good to see the other outcomes as well 👍😁
It's weird how if your a spacer you save the citadel, kill a reaper, die, come back, save the galaxy from collectors, meet Anderson again, and your mom never calls then you become a galaxy wide hero and everyone knows you and then your mom finally calls you
You also contact your mom in mass effect 1 then you realise that family conversation is not a big deal among Shepard(s)
She also mails you in mass effect 2, believing you've gone undercover, telling you to be safe.There's a news headline as well where she rejects admiral star and chooses to stay as captain of ship as a homage to his son.
Mass effect 3, Hackett mentions that she's safe and promoted to rear admiral. And then you finally get a call in Citadel dlc as well.
As the guy above me stated Hannah Shepard briefly appears in all three games. I wish it was more or at least she's shown interacting with Shepard in person but mommy Shepard is a busy person so it is what it is.
I like the comment on Noveria from the Director there accusing colonist Shepard of being a Communist
Lol, I think he called my Spacer a tax-dodger 😅
@@jjawesome1803 bullied my Shepard by saying how can I have so much pride in earth as it’s disgusting and polluted
My male shep a spacer war hero, following paragon path in me1. And then gradually get more and more renegade as the story progressess in me2 and finally finding a balance in me3.
Side note in me2 and you were the orphan lifestyle there is a scholar ship for orphans now because of Shepard being first specture and all that jazz. I found it nice to see life choice had a effect
I like spacer + war hero, colonist + ruthless and earthborn + sole survivor as pairings for backgrounds
That's how CD Project should've done their "corpo, street kid & nomad" thing. Watch and learn from Bioware...
They did tho Cyberpunk was a mess at release.
Bioware did it the best in the Dragon Age series. Each one has an important class/race that changed the whole playthrough. Sooooo good. Cyberpunks was just lame.
Spacer is my ultimate!
Spacer-War hero-Adept. Pure paragon, FemShep
I hope ME4 has good writing like this
Can't think of any other special dialogue, but I personally love picking Earthborn/Sole survivor. Shepard has this strong survival theme going on throughout the games and, though I think every background kind of has that in a sense, I like the feeling with this combination. Plus, it adds this extra personal feeling to ME3 and the attack on Earth.
I did always feel like there were missed opportunities when it came to background-specific dialogue. There's so many Thresher Maw encounters throughout the games and ME2 entirely includes Cerberus. The faction that literally made the Sole Survivor background happen. I wish that added special dialogue for sole survivors. Or for example Thane's quest in ME2 includes some kids on the Citadel that I'm pretty sure were orphans involved in crime if I remember right. Always thought it would have been so cool if Earthborn Shepard had some dialogue there.
I just fuckin' shot Finch lol. I'm sad you never see that guard again, he was cool.
Earthborn/ Ruthless for Renegade
Spacer/War Hero for Paragon
Colonist/Sole Survivor for Paragon or Renegade
I always did Colonist/War Hero,Skywalker background 😎
+1 Colonist WarHero = BEST
Me too it makes sense story wise
Wait, is that Turian Guard Davik Kang? Glad to see he was reincarnated as a Turian.
I always pick Spacer because I like having the Mom connection. Makes it more real feeling.
Good work mate I’ve done 2 paragon play throughs now time for renegade Shepard, colonist and ruthless background. Renegade Shepard is awesome 😎 😂 he is brutal and I almost made Ashley cry 😞 at the start then I apologised 😯 🙈. I can’t get enough of mass effect and mass effect videos 😉 👍
In my life I relate very closely to the colonist profile someone who grew up in an abusive household I can understand Talitha's mental struggle but at the same time I did exactly what BroShep/FemShep says in regards to getting over it. It's kind of hard seeing it from a 3rd person's perspective
The I remember me in the colonist back ground always gets to me, and I like how the renegade option is almost more understanding and emotional, in a good way
I never clicked the bell on a single video and proud of it
I always play Ruthless Earthborn Renegade
having played them all, i always preferred shepard because not only does it humanize shepard and shows they actually have relations outside the normandy but it makes sense as to how shepard is so well know and well connected and devoted to the alliance and how it's such a big betrayal they are with cerberus
and the fact that characters expect shepard to always want to be on the normandy and adventure because shep always grew up on spaceships anyway
another shep with a different background i could see wanting to branch out potentially
Wtf i got FIVE notifactions for this video all in a row. Its on my notification tabs five times i thought you uploaded five videos about this topic in a row and im kinda disappointed it wasnt... Oh well still another Mass Effect video to watch hell yea!
Speaking of the background quests there's an interesting link between Spacer and Colonist that I think raises some interesting questions. I'm sure you could, and that many people probably have, make some interesting theories about all possible Shepards technically existing within the same universe or something but, for me, the more direct link itself is what matters. That, of course, being that in "Old, Far Off, Unhappy Things" Zabaleta developed PTSD as a result of what he saw landing on Mindoir during the attack on the colony. The fact that the attack on Mindoir is a thing that happens regardless of background doesn't mean all that much, all major events of each background are cannon and happen regardless of background and other missions and the even the timeline in the Codex confirm that, but it does actually lead me to ask the question "was Zabaleta there in the colonist background too?" Obviously you never see the other background quest characters in playthroughs with the other backgrounds cause they're there for the respective background's quest but I can't help but imagine that, all things being equal, the historical bits of each of these backgrounds must still probably happen the same or mostly the same way, just that your own Shepard was around doing something else somewhere else. Except, of course, Colonist Shepard who was on Mindoir during the attack, the same colony Zabaleta landed on to see the horrors of what happened. So, for me anyways, I've always answered the question "was Zabaleta there?" with yes but either he landed at another settlement, presumably meaning his life story was essentially the same just without Shepard and their family to be there to help him, or, my own bit of personal headcannon, that he was at the settlement and that, in spite of the horror, they save one kid. One kid with the last name of Shepard who, against all the horror they saw, gives them one small victory, one small ray of hope they, and Zabaleta in particular, can look back on and hold onto in spite of all the horror and pain. So in my headcannon I like to imagine Zabaleta in the Colonist background holds onto that one small ray of hope and eventually goes on to seek help instead of spiraling from the trauma because that one event gives him the strength to face the trauma and seek help to deal with it. It's entirely headcannon, of course, the actual link is far more threadbare, it really is just the mention of Mindoir in the Spacer background and that's it, but it's still a piece of headcannon that I like cause I think it's a nice, hopeful tale. In reality, Bioware probably worked off the assumption that none of the characters of the backgrounds existed within the timeline of the alternate backgrounds or, if they do exist, just assumed their plot lines would never be resolved or would resolve in the worse possible way, essentially ensuring they are nonfactors in the universe of the other backgrounds. Even so, I like my headcannon and felt it worth sharing for others who might like it too.
I like to think of it as like this too. I've always thought that, basically, when you choose the other backgrounds, there is two other characters, that "could've been you" that are there, but because of basically no plot armour, they either get taken by the batarians, killed, or don't get out of the gang, or maybe they do. Two, incredibly strong people, but luck just isn't on their side. I've actually attempted to write this, but writing stuff in the Mass Effect universe is, difficult, due to all the variables.
Maybe in the Spacer and Earthborn backgrounds there's someone who manages to get away from the batarian slavers, someone incredible, who just isn't Shepard, so you don't hear about them. That some other child of a Hannah is out there, piloting their own ship, calling their mum about a veteran they meet, and getting angry emails about not telling her they were actually alive after being presumed dead (though just survived, not actually ressurected). That there's an alliance soldier who gets attemptively pushed around by a member of the gang they used to belong to, who decides, you know what, I don't want this piece of shit to decide a moment more of my time, and tells on him to the Turian officer. That they're there, the "could've been Shepards", being awesome, but not in the spotlight because they're not "the Shepard".
I think Talitha is mentioned in a news article about someone distracting a group of reapers from a shuttle full of kids that were evacuating in ME3. At least, it sounded like it could be her.
Aw man, Talitha dies a hero then 😥
Actually i think thats one of the survivors from jacks loyalty mission he used his biotics to save kids.
@@69Kazeshini yep I think his name aresh I don’t know if I pronounce it correctly tho
Rad content. Thank you for making videos.
Thank you for watching :D
In my opinion Spacer is the best background plotwise for ME1 because it has the best personal quest, Colonist for ME2 since it's about saving colonies, and Earthborn for ME3 because the whole plot is about retaking Earth. Overall my favorite is Earthborn though.
Colonist/Ruthless Male Shepard that got his entire platoon killed on Torfan to kill Batarian slavers.
My shep ended up killing the council and after doing a pretty much all renegade play through (though I earned a few paragon points for romancing liara and helping Kirahe) I can confidently say that Renegade Shepard>>>>paragon Shepard.
The only hard choice I had to make was to kill Wrex on Virmire.
I've been playing as a spacer, war hero with almost full on renegade towards everyone except for shipmates, close friends, and some other exceptions applicable. Where a renegade option comes to be ruthless, I pick that one. Leading to a balanced playthrough where most branches are open to me
I liked doing the colonist back story it adds an intense damage to Shepard that he still overcomes to be a paragon
Garrus will say "let's get you home" before priority earth in me3 at some point with a conversation with him but I'm not sure If that earthbound specific though and I'm also a earthborn/war hero
Almost always Colonist or Earthborn, but military background is always equal. Finally went for Spacer/Hero for a girlscout Paragon this last character
Soul survivor gives you a personal connection to the soldier you rescue from the Cerberus facility.
Yep until you have to betray him by temporarily joining forces with Cerberus to take down the collectors
I just finished my first playthrough of LE. Doing my 2nd run soon. I was curious about this. This was really informative.
I'm gonna be a spacer this time so I don't feel left out not having parental issues like everyone else 😂
I only choose spacer because Shepard at least has some family left that way, plus it would've been cool if we got a Hannah Shepard War Asset
"I'm going to take a step closer to you now. Okay?"
Nooo!
"I'm going to take another step closer to you now. Okay?"
My main Shepard is Earthborn/War Hero/Paragon. It sets up a nice redemption/underdog story. I also romanced Garrus because there was a mention by Finch from the 10th Street Reds about him seeing Shepard "kill turians in cold blood", I don't really know if he was exaggerating, but I came up with my own backstory for that line of dialogue. My Shepard was never xenophobic, she just stayed with the gang as a means of survival.
Strange I played the original Shepard and near 2/3rds of my game I did the talk to shepherd's mom as well
I always play as Earthborn
I was considering going for a playthrough using Earthborn, but it has the weakest mission of the three. I like that the other background missions reveal how horrific the Batarians can be.
If you spare Finch he sends you a message in ME2
Thou I cannot find information on it, I swear if you are earthborn and you do not free Weismen. Finch appears in Mass effect 2 in the Afterlife bar stating how He is shocked that Shepard is alive and how he thru a party once he learned Shepard died.
I think that’s actually Fist, if you let him live and don’t bring Wrex who just kills him before you can even attempt to stop him.
1:37 She also sends you an email during ME2
Wow. I just discovered Sheps mom while playing the game yesterday... So weird... Wish they made her different if you're renegade or paragon
I made my new character a female and a spacer I look forward to meeting Shepards mom, I was always a Earthborn as my male shepard since was a badass hero! Now lets see what its like to be a renegade with her parents lol, thanks for another great video!
I usually play as a Ruthless Colonist or a Sole Survivor Earthborn because I feel like those two set up impactful sendoffs for Shepard as they try to convince the galaxy to join against the reapers
Harvy saying "NANi" killed me
In my earthborn play through I kinda imagined myself as the founder of the reds
Mass Effect 2 when you're doing the LotSB DLC and you've defeated the asari specter, she will mention your a part of your background. She will at least bring up you being the sole survivor of the ambush on Akuze in her attempts to shame you for working with Cerberus
I like to mix up the backgrounds with every playthrough of ME1, it just doesn't make much difference once you move into ME2 & 3, to the point that even I forget what it is after a while until the supremely rare moments when I'm reminded
I just finished a playthrough of Mass Effect 1 with a Spacer background. I usually do colony kid, but I had never done this. I never got that mission for the Spacer background and I never got a chance to call mom. I never even saw that guy in the hallway, and since I was doing side quests so much, I know I had been in every area in the Citadel (thank you "Scan the Keepers"). It just never spawned. I saw Conrad all three times but never met that one person. I don't know why.
There should be war assets. Spacer: Zabaleta rallies the veterans. Colonist: Toomes and his men come to fight Cerberus. Earther: The Reds help Anderson on Earth.
Mom shep becomes a wat asset
Toombes is part of the Sole Survivor service history, not Colonist background.
Talitha is the one related to Colonist background.
My Shepart is a Colonist War Hero..
Although i basically played more renegade than paragon...
But still i like the idea of a colony kid that took a decisive stand to save another colony and became a reluctant war hero.. even he/she doesn't really feels like one.
My actual playthrough is a colonist Ruthless and i wanna play way more renegade... Like a conflicted shepard that no longer believe in peaceful resolutions..
Odd, I've completed ME1 a couple times (at least a couple!), and the Legendary Edition just now, and I don't remember *anything* about Shepard's mom! Certainly did not encounter it in the Legendary Edition walkthrough, and I did my best no to miss anything.