The Mass Effect trilogy is a series full of different choices that can really branch the narrative off in a variety of directions. One of those decisions is whether to save either the Geth or Quarians in Mass Effect 3.

Deciding the fates of two entire species is, needless to say, a big deal. Thankfully though there is a way to save both - but it involves a plethora of outcomes extending as far back as Mass Effect 2.

Please note that, out of sheer necessity, this guide contains spoilers regarding multiple parts of the second and third games.

Updated on November 15, 2023 by Quinton O'Connor: We've replaced some images with higher-quality samples, made an effort to better organize the article, and... well, actually, that's it, but we hope you like what you see!

Introduction

Several actions and choices from the games impact whether peace between the Geth and Quarians is possible. However, not all of them are of equal value.

Some actions must be taken no matter what. If you fail to do even one of them, either the Geth or Quarians will perish. Others are influential in tilting you toward a certain end. Each of these comes with an invisible number of points. To keep both races alive, you need to accumulate at least five points.

In other words, you don't have to do everything on this list in order to save both races. Though the number of points awarded in quests can vary depending on their outcome, too, so really, it's probably wisest to do everything - just to be safe.

In this guide, actions that need to be taken are labeled "primary actions," and the points-based ones are called "secondary actions."

Intro To Key Mass Effect 2 Choices

The following choices, both primary and secondary, must be made during Mass Effect 2. Since Legion doesn't show up until late in the game, these are all made in fairly short order.

Do Not Sell Legion (Primary)

Much of what you must do to save the Geth and Quarians is tied to the second game, rather than the third. For chronology's sake, we'll begin with this.

Once you destroy the core of the Reaper husk toward the end of the main story, Shepard will take Legion's body with them aboard the Normandy. After they escape the exploding Reaper, Shepard, Miranda, and Jacob discuss what to do with this surprisingly helpful Geth.

Here you will have the option of either selling Legion's body to Cerberus or activating it in order to speak with him. To save both the Geth and Quarians, do not sell Legion off to Cerberus. Like Tali, Legion is an essential figure in formulating peace between the two species.

Just to further emphasize the point here: Not keeping Legion aboard ruins the chance for peace entirely.

Ensure Tali's And Legion's Survival (Primary)

The suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 can see multiple squadmates bite the dust permanently should Shepard go in unprepared. It is absolutely vital that both Tali and Legion survive, which is easier said than done - but not terribly difficult to do, either.

Before the mission even starts, three important ship upgrades must be acquired or else Shepard will lose three squad members straight out the gate - in the case of Multi-Core Shielding specifically, you will either lose Kasumi (if recruited) or Legion (if not).

We're covering all three ship upgrades here, even though the potential casualties for lacking Heavy Ship Armor and Thanix Cannon don't include Tali and Legion. We just figured you might want to know how to, you know, save everybody from this gruesome early end.

Ship upgrades needed are:

• Heavy Ship Armor (talk to Jacob about Normandy upgrades or complete his loyalty mission)
• Multi-Core Shielding (talk to Tali about Normandy upgrades or complete her loyalty mission)
• Thanix Cannon (talk to Garrus about Normandy upgrades or complete his loyalty mission)

After dramatically sticking the landing onto the Collector Base, a game plan is formed as to how to move further inside the base. One of which will require a tech expert to move through a series of vents. Choosing either Tali or Legion for this is best.

Don't assign either of them any other job - just the tech expert gig. It is also important that they are loyal if assigned this task; if they aren't, they will die.

If you bring either Tali or Legion along in your active party during the seeker swarm segment of the mission, you'll need to make sure you select a good biotic specialist for holding the barrier, as Shepard's companions are at risk of dying if you choose poorly. The best biotic for this task is either a loyal Samara or a loyal Jack.

After this point, the two characters have a good chance of surviving, assuming you've got loyal and powerful squad members holding the line. Alternatively, if both characters are loyal, you can pick them as your final squad - you choose it directly after the seeker swarm section. As long as they're both loyal, and part of your squad for the ending fight, they will automatically survive.

Resolve Tali's Loyalty Mission (Secondary)

Tali's loyalty mission, called 'Treason', sees her on trial for betraying her people by allegedly sending active Geth units to her father. You will eventually discover that it was her dad's fault and had nothing to do with Tali. She then begs Shepard not to show the evidence at the trial, in order to maintain her father's good name.

When the time comes to present the findings, you shouldn't snitch on her father as that will mean you can't gain her loyalty. Yet, if you want the points towards saving the Quarians and Geth, you can't let Tali get exiled either.

A charm and intimidate prompt can be selected should the player have enough paragon or renegade points, respectively. Doing this will make them rule that Tali is innocent, and her father's name will also remain clean.

Even if you don't have the paragon or renegade points, you can still get that outcome. To do so, you must do all of the following tasks:

• Allow Veetor to go with Tali in the Freedom's Progress mission early in the game.
• Convince Kal'Reegar to stand down during Dossier: Tali.
• Speak with the admirals in this loyalty mission before re-taking the Alarei.

If you do all that, you can rally the crowd during the trial, which helps save the day.

Resolve Legion's Loyalty Mission (Secondary)

Legion is likely to be the last squad member that Shepard recruits for the suicide mission. His loyalty quest should thus open up right after his recruitment. Legion's mission sees Shepard going with him to a Geth heretic station.

At the end of the mission, Legion will give you the choice of either wiping out the remaining heretics or using an EMP pulse to rewrite them. Choose to destroy them. Destroying them might seem like a morally questionable choice, but it helps save both races. Rewriting them gains you zero points; destroying them gains you two.

Don't Take A Side (Secondary)

After Legion's loyalty mission is completed, a cutscene will play out with Joker notifying Shepard that Tali has gone off to have a "chat" with Legion. When Shepard gets to their location, Tali will have a gun drawn on Legion. You'll learn what the pair are arguing over, and then you'll have to intervene.

Provided the player's ratio of earned Paragon and/or Renegade points is high enough, they will be able to end the argument without siding with one or the other. Convincing them both to stand down will result in Tali sending non-classified data to Legion after understanding his attentions, for which the latter is grateful.

Not So Easy

This is notoriously challenging, by the way. Many players lament lacking the ability to resolve this conflict without taking a side, noting that their Paragon or Renegade bar is quite close to full and yet it still doesn't work. This is because Mass Effect 2 calculates this stuff per ratio of points earned up to a given point rather than looking at the sum total.

Thankfully, this is only worth one point, so it's easy to mess up and remain on track for a peaceful resolution in ME3.

Intro To Key Mass Effect 3 Choices

There is, surprisingly, not as much to do in Mass Effect 3 when compared to its predecessor, but the effects of the decisions made before can really be seen. Resolving the argument between Tali and Legion will result in the former changing her stance on war with the Geth, with her no longer supporting it - in fact, she'll outright oppose it.

What needs to be done to achieve peace and save them all starts right after the Geth dreadnought is destroyed.

Geth Fighter Squadrons (Primary)

After the Geth dreadnought is dealt with, you will be able to get the Geth Fighter Squadrons mission from Legion. It's a side mission, but it must be done before Priority: Rannoch if you want peace between the Geth and Quarians.

Besides, it's well worth doing from a narrative perspective, too, as it allows you to enter the Geth Consensus and see their side of the conflict.

Rescue Admiral Koris (Secondary)

Another mission on Rannoch involves attempting to take down AA guns and rescuing Admiral Koris, who crashes onto the planet during the dreadnought mission. Once the guns are down, Shepard will then be engaged in a conversation with the admiral, who is under heavy attack by the Geth. Shepard urges him to send them his location coordinates, but Koris insists instead on them rescuing his people.

Having enough paragon or renegade points will enable Shepard to convince Koris to be picked up and thus rescue him, but at the cost of the other Quarians. Koris will then later back you up when you attempt to broker peace.

You'll gain a point for doing the mission at all, but you'll only gain both points if you save Koris as well.

End The War (Conclusion)

When you reach the climax of Priority: Rannoch, the fruits of your labor shall be revealed.

You must ignore Tali's protests here and tell Legion to upload the code. Shepard then tells Tali to call off the Quarians' attack before the Reaper code is uploaded. She fails, but if you've got enough reputation, done all the primary actions, and enough of the secondary ones, you will unlock an exclusive paragon or renegade option.

By selecting either the paragon or the renegade option, Shepard manages to convince the Quarians to stand down, and peace is finally achieved. You'll still be in store for some serious tearjerkers here, but when it comes to Mass Effect 3, that's rather par for the course. You've helped to broker a peace few thought possible in their wildest dreams and saved two sentient species in so doing. Congrats!

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