Romance Guide in the Mass Effect Trilogy

For each romance, you will find tips to guarantee the success of your romance as well as one to two videos of the romance in question. Note that we will use John’s given names to speak of “MaleShep” and Jane to speak of “FemShep”.

If you are a novice of Mass Effect, do not take fear in reading this file, the majority of romances is carried out without worries, with common sense and regular exchanges between each main mission. Finally, don’t be ‘disappointed’, you won’t be able to romanticize Krogans members (Grunt and Wrex), Mordin Solus Galarien or synthetic members (Legion and IDA).

Good reading and good romance!

Mass Effect 1

In Mass Effect 1, Commander Shepard Man has the opportunity to have a romance with Ashley Williams, the Shepard Woman with Kaidan Alenko, or both sexes with the asari Liara T'Soni. Commander Shepard may also have a brief sexual relationship with Sha'ira the favorite, an Asari found on the Citadel. For this, Shepard must help the asari stop Septimus and prove his innocence to Xeltan. Once this quest is complete, Sha'ira will offer you to read your future, then you can ask her for more.

You can start wooing Ashley and Kaidan after completing one of these three main missions: Thérum, Novéria or Féros. Liara was courtable from the moment she joined the crew of the Normandy. The three romances of the first episode can be continued within the next two episodes. You can also change to the next episode, but don’t think about going back to the episode after…

Kaidan Alenko



If you want to start a relationship with Kaidan, you will have to rescue him before the bomb explodes on Virmire and sacrifice Ashley. Take care of your choices when debriefing one of the missions that will lead to a confrontation between Kaidan and Liara if you have expressed an interest in the two teammates.

Ashley Williams



If you want to start a relationship with Ashley, take note that you will obviously have to rescue her before the bomb explodes on Virmire, and therefore sacrifice Kaidan. Also be careful during the Liara/Ashley clash, you could ruin your chances of closing!

Liara T’Soni



If you express an attraction to Liara as well as to Ashley or Kaidan, you will face a choice. If you don’t take Liara, your relationship will remain purely professional. If you choose her, she will not make you regret it.

Mass Effect 2

When the player imports a backup of the first Mass Effect, the romance will be automatically resumed for Mass Effect 2. Only, as none of the three characters of the first episode is part of the Shepard squad, the romance will be different. By default, a picture of the spouse will be placed in the commander’s room. If the romance has not been stopped, the commander will look at the photo before leaving for the suicide mission. But if the romance of the first episode has been interrupted, then the photo will be placed facing the desk. Fun thing, the photo will be repositioned if Shepard ends his new romance.

In this episode, Tali and Garrus become potential romances and the new teammates are almost all open to a relationship. Finally, the loyalty missions of your teammates are essential for the realization of the associated romances. The game ends on the famous «suicide mission», mission that can lead to the death of many teammates if you do not sufficiently prepare your team, so you will not be able to continue your romance in the 3 if the associated person dies. More info in the suicide mission guide.

Mass Effect Romances Sequel

Kaidan Alenko



After a romance in the first episode, Kaidan will hug Shepard on Horizon, but his joy will quickly turn to anger. He will demand to know why Shepard hasn’t tried to contact him in the last two years. Worse, he’ll totally disapprove of Jane’s transfer to Cerberus. After leaving Horizon, Shepard will receive an email from Kaidan explaining himself and apologizing briefly, leaving the door open for a suite.

Ashley Williams



Logically, Ashley will behave similarly to Kaidan when she discovers that Shepard is alive and on Cerberus' side (if you had previously romanticized him). This first romance will also place a photo of Ashley in the cabin of the SR2. She will send an apology and explanation email, and reaffirm her attachment to John, but the game will not give you the opportunity to see her again.

Liara T'Soni



When you meet Liara on Illium, she will greet Shepard with a kiss. Then she will try to explain herself and to be forgiven for not having found you, then she should not be offended. But it is with the Shadow Broker DLC that you will have a chance to revive the flame! You will have the opportunity to ensure that she has not succumbed to the charm of Drell Feron. She will assure you that she is just a friend. With this answer, you will make up for lost time.

New Romances

Miranda Lawson



Do not give Veetor to Tali in the prologue to facilitate the beginning of your relationship (not blocking in the opposite case). A clash with the dark Jack can end the dream if Shepard shows a penchant for both biotics. If you accidentally choose Jack in this dispute, you can still put the pieces back together with Miranda by acquiring enough conciliation/pragmatism points, points that will unlock new discussion choices.

Jack



Jack’s not a normal girl. That is why we should not hesitate to use pragmatic dialogue choices to convince her to trust you. The romance can be limited to a sexual relationship or a real story according to your choices. As mentioned with Miranda, we will have to put ourselves on the right side during the Miranda/Jack clash but also have enough conciliation/pragmatism points.

Tali’Zorah



You finally have the opportunity to discover what lies behind this helmet! Entrust it with the quarien Veetor in the prologue. The only obstacle that can stand in your way: Tali will ask you to make a choice after the arrival of Legion on the Normandy. If you offend her, you will always be able to reconcile by unlocking enough conciliation/pragmatism points to unlock a convincing response choice.

Garrus Vakarian



For your first romance with Garrus, you will not encounter any particular worries. As always, it will be necessary to discuss regularly and to know how to be appreciated. However, Mordin will still warn you of the risks involved if you take part in a relationship with a Turian such as Garrus. You may have an allergic reaction to close contact…

Thane Krios



Like Garrus’s romance, you are facing problems of «compatibility». Mordin will warn you of the complexity of human/drell relationships and the dreaded effects: skin itching and hallucinations. Mordin will offer you a treatment to avoid this kind of unfortunate effects. Finally, Thane will give a nickname to Shepard, that of «Siha».

Jacob Taylor



Do not give Veetor to Tali in the prologue. Jacob will not be interested for a while, probably because of the rank of Shepard. But Shepard can convince him that a relationship is possible. Then, once the veil has been lifted over the mystery surrounding his father, Jacob will surrender himself to Shepard. The relationship will never be really fiery between the two Alliance alumni but it remains a pleasant romance to try.

Possible romances with John or Jane

Kelly Chambers



After a dinner proposed by Shepard, Kelly will give food to the fish of the latter as a thank you. If she survives the suicide mission and if Shepard has not developed a relationship with another person in this game, he/she can invite Kelly into his cabin. Kelly will then be able to dance in «sexy» outfit for Shepard’s pleasure.

Samara



Samara is only romanticized with a conciliatory Shepard, having completed his mission of loyalty and not already in relationship with another person. By fulfilling these few criteria, Samara will be able to express an interest in Shepard, but will not be able to develop it given his role as asari probationer.

Morinth



This is the shortest and most dangerous relationship in the trilogy. It’s not really a romance. Morinth, daughter of Samara, will kill Shepard using his Ardat-Yakshi abilities during the romance scene. It will therefore confirm that pragmatism has its limits!

Mass Effect 3

In Mass Effect 3, you will be able to repeat or begin romances depending on the person concerned. The new characters of Mass Effect 2 (Miranda, Jack, Thane or Kelly) are no longer on the Normandy, your relationship will always be possible but will be done remotely. Kaidan Alenko is now available to both women and men. The romance with Jacob Taylor is impossible to continue (see explanation below). To guarantee the success of your romance, it is usually enough to go regularly to meet the teammate in question and adapt to his personality to never offend him/her. Also think about regularly looking at your emails, you might miss an essential meeting for the rest of your romance.

Many characters are likely to perish during the adventure, so your romance will fail… To avoid any unpleasant surprises, use our Mass Effect 3 survival guide in parallel. The Citadelle DLC has developed the romances of each Romanesque character and has integrated three new possibilities, to be discovered below. The romances already established in the base game will continue without difficulty in the DLC, that is why we do not go back on it. Nevertheless, we suggest you to discover them in videos.

Romances available from Mass Effect

Teammates present since the first episode do not need to have been romanticized in Mass Effect 2.

Kaidan Alenko



This time, Kaidan will also be interested in John. You will find Kaidan in your squad. Quickly injured at the beginning of the game, he will be transported to the hospital Huerta de la Citadelle. You’ll have to visit him regularly, Samantha Traynor and e-mails will notify you when he’s awake and ready to talk to you. Everything will then be decided during the coup attempt on the Citadel, where Kaidan will have to be reasoned against the treachery of Donnel Udinna. Then you can resume/begin your romance.

Ashley Williams



You’ll have to follow the same path as Kaidan. So you will have to visit Ashley several times at Huerta Hospital and take stock of your relationship. If you don’t see Ashley enough times, you won’t be able to convince her at the final scene of the Citadel coup, and she may well die… If you have done your job well, you can then woo her during your permissions on the Citadelle or in the SR2 quarters. You can start a romance without having previously seduced her.

Liara T’Soni



You can revive the relationship of the first Mass Effect, even if you have chosen another partner in Mass Effect 2, but you have to make a choice right from the start of the game. She will invite herself, by sending an email, in your cabin to show you a special project. Shepard can then tell him that he/she wishes more than friendship. This discussion will return to the Presidium of the Citadel. If you try to flirt with Samantha or Diana, Liara will let you know when you visit her in her office. She’s not a Shadow Broker for nothing!

Romances available from Mass Effect 2

The teammates present since the second episode require to have already been romanced in Mass Effect 2 to continue the relationship in the 3.

Miranda Lawson



Don’t look for Miranda in SR2, the pretty brunette will not put her heels there anymore. Your relationship will be established remotely and will develop during your brief meetings on the Citadel. You will meet her after the Citadelle 2 mission on the dock of the station. She will then contact you via the terminal of the Citadel’s spectra office. Then she will ask you for one last service: she will need you to meet a person in an apartment of the Presidium. This quest will give you the opportunity to revive the romance with Miranda.

Jack



After a normal romance in Mass Effect 2 (and not just a sexual relationship), you will have the opportunity to continue your story with Jack in ME3. First, you will rescue Jack and his students at Grissom Academy. Then use conciliatory discussion choices when you’re reuniting. During the extraction to SR2, you can trigger a conciliatory action in favor of romance. After the mission, Jack will invite you to join her at Purgatory on the Citadel. Use conciliatory choices again and express your interest.

Tali’Zorah



First essential point, Tali will invite you before the mission on Rannoch. Shepard will go to his quarters and can reaffirm his interest. Then, act in favor of the quariens during the debates related to Rannoch but especially during the end of this mission. Go talk to her regularly between missions and later, she will give you a portrait of her where you can discover her face for the very first time.

Garrus Vakarian



Nothing too complicated about Garrus’s romance. You can update your relationship by going to see it in the room hosting the main battery. After the Tuchanka 2 mission, Shepard can talk to him in Joker’s cockpit. Later, Garrus will invite you for an outing on the Citadel, the opportunity to reaffirm your interest in him.

Thane Krios



Romance will be possible if you had romanticized Thane in Mass Effect 2. Thane being dying, you may also choose to politely terminate your relationship. But if you want to continue, you can have a little private time with Thane. In the Citadelle DLC, you will receive some videos of Thane that were intended for you during your detention on Earth.

Jacob Taylor



Even if you had previously romanticized him, Jacob would have begun a relationship with an ex-Ceberus scientist, Brynn Cole. The latter will reveal that Jacob is still in love with Shepard. But Jacob will admit that he could no longer wait for him indefinitely. Shepard will later learn that Brynn is pregnant with Jacob and that the child should be called “Shepard”. In the Citadelle DLC, Jacob will apologize for hurting Shepard.

Romances with a member of the Normandy/ Others

Romances with a member of the Normandy/ Others

Samantha Traynor



New assistant says new romance. You will need to speak with Samantha after each mission, the arrival of your new members will be one of the recurring topics of discussion that will allow you to develop your relationship with Samantha. Later, she will offer you to play a strategy game in your cabin. You will then have the opportunity to let Samantha use your shower and then join her.

Diana Allers



During one of your first crossings on the Citadelle (quai du Normandy), Diana will offer you to board the SR2 to make reports. In the Normandy, you can go talk to him in his cabin, then allow him to interview you in your room. Diana will not be asked to put down her camera and deepen the interview. But do not expect a follow-up to this investigation without tomorrow.

Steve Cortez



Steve Cortez is the pilot of the Kodiak, you will find him in the hangar of the Normandy. Weakened by the death of her husband, Steve will need support. A trip to the Citadel will do him a lot of good and will allow you to express your interest in him. Later, you can talk to him at the refugee camp and at the Purgatory of the Citadel. At the end of the game, he will spend the night with Shepard before the attack of the Cerberus base.

Kelly Chambers



To continue your relationship with Kelly, you will have to visit her several times in the refugee zone on the Citadel. First, we must take care to protect her from Cerberus. Then once the coup is over, you can keep the flame burning until it invites you to spend an intimate moment in a… container. During your discussions, she will say that she regrets your intimate moments in the cabin of the SR2. Then she will give you a picture of her that you will find in your cabin.

Aria T’Loak



If you place yourself on Aria’s side during the reconquest of Omega (pragmatic choice during the missions and dialogues), Aria will offer a quick kiss to Shepard. Difficult to interpret the gesture of the queen of Omega. Anyway, during the kissing scene, we notice that Aria takes more pleasure in kissing Jane rather than John…

Romances between squad members

IDA et Joker



The romances between synthetic and organic are not yet a common thing in 2186, Joker and IDA will often question you about this possibility. It will be necessary to reassure and motivate both pilots, then preserve the life of IDA at the very end of the game (if you choose the end «Destruction», it will not survive since this end destroys all synthetics).

Ashley et James



It is not really a romance but rather a flirtation or the beginning of a story. Ashley will fall under the spell of James at the end of the evening. History does not tell how their relationship will evolve.

Garrus et Tali



If you do not romanticize Garrus or Tali, and if of course you preserve these two characters throughout your adventures, your two teammates will form a nice little couple. You can even see them flirting in the main battery room before the assault on the Cerberus base.

Romances from the Citadelle DLC

Javik



Your Jane Shepard must remain single throughout the trilogy. Javik will have to be an important friend of Shepard, for that, you will have to use him often in your squad and of course talk to him whenever the game allows it. Last important ingredient, you will choose an energetic party during the Citadelle DLC. If you followed these conditions, Shepard will finish the night with Javik. But of course, it will be perceived more as an error than an outcome—

Samara



When you invite Samara into your apartment, you will have the opportunity to go further than in your attempt of the second episode. But before projecting yourself, you will have to respect some criteria: you are a conciliatory Shepard, you did not romanticize anyone and you had attempted a romance in the previous episode. You can then exchange a kiss with the probationer if the age difference does not scare you.

James Vega



When James comes to see you in your apartment, he will comment on Shepard’s potential romances. This discussion will lead you to admit that you are interested in him. He will be somewhat embarrassed since you are his commander. The day after the energetic party, you will find yourself next to him in your bed. Once again, you will feel a certain embark.

[MidnightGuideWriter]

Don't come on to Samantha Traynor during the chess game in Shepard's quarters. This will lead to her turning down Shepard and losing the opportunity to join her in the shower.

Instead you'll get an awkward scene where he's standing outside the bathroom with his back politely turned while Traynor takes her clothes off and helps herself to the bathtub.

The closest thing I got to a romantic relationship in my run through was somehow a super awkward scene between Shepard and James where Shepard does 183 pull ups to break James record and I didn't follow up further after that...

[MidnightGuideWriter]

@MalachaiXero

I just beat the Legendary Edition and followed the path that you outlined and this canon ending makes a lot of sense playing into Andromeda since the Catalyst outlines the "Destroy" Option as being the least preferable because of the projected reemergence of synthetic life. That reemergence in Andromeda takes the form of the SAM AI as though Shepard had destroyed the Reapers and sacrificed themselves for the galaxy.

I got the dead Miranda story line to and was bummed that I wasted "...the best genes in the galaxy..."

[MalachaiXero]

Part 2

What you end up with is a very sad but sweet scene when rescuing Miranda's sister where Miranda dies in Shep's arms as they confirm their love to each other one last time before she passes. Romantic and tear jerking. And when you get the option, Shep kills Kai Leng for Miranda.

Continuing to the end, there is obviously no holocall from your romance, and Shep goes into the battle to stop the reapers with sadness in his heart over the loss of his love. And so he is even more willing to sacrifice himself to destroy the reapers and save the galaxy hoping to once again see Miranda in the afterlife.

To me, that was a perfect and fitting end mixed with the "Destroy" ending. Though I think canonically Liara is supposed to be the one, I think this was much better for the scene.

[MalachaiXero]

Part 1

When I played this back when it originally released on Xbox, I found an interesting romance situation that I felt made perfect sense with the "Destroy" ending if you had romanced Miranda in 2 and 3. And as it was back in 2012, it was under the assumption there was no possible Mass Effect 4 coming, or that the "Destroy" ending took Shep's life. I'll spoiler it in case you don't want to know. I think someone put a Youtube video up of this at some point too which I'll add if I can fine it.

If you romance Miranda in 2, and follow up with it in 3, eventually you will meet up with her in an apartment. When you go, you will be able to confirm the relationship as normal. But you will also be given a choice to help her with resources or not. Rejecting this help (at least back in 2012) did not end the relationship. But as players who have done this know, it leads to Miranda's death.

[GuyInDogSuit]

To clarify, for Tali's "Treason" loyalty mission, use your paragon or renegade choices when you speak in defense of her at the trial hearing, if possible. You can avoid exposing her father's involvement, as well as clear her name in this manner.

On another note, I found that staying true to your original ME1 romantic partner throughout ME2, while a decent thing to do in retrospect, apparently does NOT net you a second "Paramour" achievement. Though after that fact, I found that in the original game, apparently you can reload a save before the moment that achievement is unlocked, and simply play through it again to unlock the other two (in any one of the three, it seems). I have not gotten far enough into ME3 to test this, however, but it's worth throwing that out there.

[✝Julie05✝]

IDA is French for EDI

[-=WB=-CheapTrix]

What is your country of origin? I've never heard EDI be referred to as IDA. Is this a translation issue, or are you just winging it?

[JIN]

(:

[DJK_Grizzly]

I knew all these but am so grateful to have a guide to ultimately decide whos getting some of the Shep over the course of my legendary playthrough!

[Pyro - on vacation]

Tali survives into Mass Effect 3 in your play throughs?