If I had to choose a science fiction franchise to hold above all others, it’d be Mass Effect. This was a sci-fi opera unlike any other - drastic galactic stakes, incredible futuristic technology, galaxy-spanning alliances, and a dark and terrible foe.

Perhaps best of all throughout the franchise were the alien species each game introduced. They had just the right amount of alien to make us think this wasn’t going to be another Star Trekkian ham-show of a bunch of dudes with weird ridges on their face, and just the right amount of 2 legs, 2 arms, and 1 head to make us recognize each species as a sentient thing.

Mass Effect also broke that 2 arms, 2 legs, 1 head rule enough times to first prove it’s a rule, and secondly to prove that space is weird and aliens could be even weirder.

But besides being weird, each Mass Effect species is unique. Some are older and thus have more advanced technology than others, while some show more intellectual potential, and still others are just really good at murdering things.

What I’m trying to say here is that not all species are created equal. Some are just plain better than all the rest. Here are all the Mass Effect species ranked from lowest on the galactic totem pole to the top space-faring dog.

21 Rachni

Rachni Queen Mass Effect

They’re space bugs. Think Starship Troopers but with less copyright infringement. Or maybe you just can’t copyright space bugs.

Regardless, the Rachni are a race of hive mind insects that resemble overgrown crawfish but act more like the Zerg. They were originally discovered by the Protheans who used them as a weapon of war until they grew too powerful. When they did, they destroyed as many as 200 worlds to ensure the species was eradicated.

But they missed a few, who repopulated and then eventually invaded the rest of the galaxy once the Protheans had been wiped out by the Reapers. They’re certainly scary, but I’ve never really been a bug guy, so the Rachni are at the bottom of our list.

20 Vorcha

Vorcha
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Vorcha

Right next to the bottom are the Vorcha, the intergalactic henchmen. Seriously, it’s like BioWare was trying to think of a species to specifically fulfill the role of dim-witted criminal underling and came up with the Vorcha.

While they look terrifying and are represented as buffoons, the Vorcha do have one pretty big advantage: their cells can adapt to almost anything you throw at them. Cut them, and they grow a tougher skin. Put them in a poisonous atmosphere, and their lungs adapt to the poison. Cut off a limb, and they’ll regrow it.

It’s a neat party trick, but not enough to get them higher up the list.

19 Raloi

Raloi
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Raloi

Very little is known about the Raloi. They were welcomed to the intergalactic community just before the Reaper invasion, and soon after withdrew from the Citadel to focus on protecting their homeworld. The hope was to destroy all evidence of being a spacefaring race and thus be spared the Reaper’s wrath.

The Raloi resemble giant walking birds in space suits. Those space suits are much like the Quarians, except instead of trying to keep themselves safe they’re trying to keep everyone else from getting sick. At the time of their welcoming, the Raloi species were suffering from a particularly virulent form of bird flu - a nod to the present day epidemic of H5N1 avian flu.

Sorry, Raloi - sick birdies don’t get very high up the list.

18 Collectors

Collectors
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Collectors

The original enemy from Mass Effect 2, the Collectors were a mysterious and deadly race rarely seen in the Terminus Systems. When they did show up they offered advanced technologies in exchange for very specific and peculiar hostages, such as 50 left handed Solarians or a dozen sets of Batarian twins.

What they did with those specific genetic samples nobody knew - until Mordin Solus, the Solarian doctor, discovered the Collectors were actually the remnants of the Protheans, indoctrinated by the Reapers to the point where they were essentially mindless husks. Those sentient species handed over to them were being genetically tested and harvested to create a new Reaper.

Mindless indoctrinated enemies don’t make it too high up the list either.

17 Volus

Volus
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Volus

Short, fat, and mercantile, the Volus certainly feel like a vaguely offensive stereotype, but it’s hard to say of what considering they look like mole people. So maybe they’re offensive to mole people?

Their stocky frames are actually a biological consequence of their home planet, which has a relatively high gravity. That same high gravity also means their atmosphere is unusually dense and full of greenhouse gases, thus making them unique as an ammonia-based species rather than a carbon one.

It also means they have to wear those mole-like suits whenever they’re not on their homeworld. A normal oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere is poisonous to them, and regular atmospheric pressure is so low they’d split open like melons if they were to ever walk around the Citadel disrobed.

Like Solarians, they also have a cloaca. So that’s cool.

16 Leviathans

Leviathans
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Leviathans

Before the Protheans, before the Reapers, there were the Leviathans. A race so ancient that no one knows how old they are, they regarded themselves as the apex of intelligent life. Which is pretty easy to do when you’re an enormous squid that has mind control powers.

After mind controlling the land-based sapient species that shared their home planet, they went on to conquer most of the galaxy. They saw themselves as protective stewards rather than conquerors, trying to preserve life at every turn.

They eventually noticed a weird pattern: each thrall species would create an artificial intelligence that would inevitably turn on their creators. So naturally, the Leviathans thought they could do it better and created the Reapers, tasking them with preserving all life.

That massive amount of hubris really should put them lower on our list, but I have a thing for squids.

15 Yahg

Yahg
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Yahg

Massive, deadly and predatory, the Yahg are a race that the Citadel considers to be persona non-grata. Sort of like North Korea.

While all contact with the Yahg has been severed by the greater intergalactic community (due to an unfortunate incident where they massacred a diplomatic envoy from the Citadel), the Yahg are still a highly intelligent race, with one even rising to the rank of Shadow Broker.

The mentality of Yahg is somewhat hard to understand for us Humans. The Yahg abhor equality to the point where they find it offensive. In Yahg society, someone is always a leader, and others are always subordinate. But unlike Game of Thrones, once the pecking order is established everyone is completely loyal to the leader until their death.

14 Keepers

Keeper
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Keeper

Even more mysterious than the Collectors are the Keepers, a race of insect-like creatures found only on the Citadel. They’re a curious species in that they all look the same, and seem to only exist to maintain the Citadel.

After the Asari discovered the Citadel they found the Keepers were already there, as though they were pre-built servants just waiting for their masters to return. All attempts at further study fail as once removed from their work they self-destruct. Although some Keepers occasionally die due to old age or accident, their numbers remain constant. Nobody knows where they come from, and nobody knows where they get materials for repairs.

For being helpful, but spooky, the Keepers get to be in the middle of our list.

13 Batarians

Batarians
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Batarians

Space pirates. Slavers. Criminal syndicates. These are the things most species associate with the Batarians, a race of four-eyed humanoids that have often been the villain in Mass Effect.

If the Yahg are sort of like North Korea, the Batarians are definitely like North Korea. They have an oppressive government that only allows state approved messages to go out within the wider population, and they continue to cling to a cultural history of slavery that puts them at odds with the wider galactic community.

But not all Batarians agree with their history and government, as became evident by the millions of refugees that fled the Reaper invasion. So let’s cut the poor Batarians some slack and give them another chance. Maybe they learned their lesson?

12 Reapers

Reapers
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Reapers

The original enemy, the Reapers have been harvesting all intelligent life from the Milky Way Galaxy for millions of years. Designed by the Leviathans originally to safeguard all life, they instead eventually determined that intelligent biological life was always doomed to create an AI species that would subsume them. And so, the Reapers turned on their creators and began the endless cycle of genocide against all sentient life in the galaxy.

Insidious and ultra-powerful, what they cannot destroy with brute force they can subvert through a process called indoctrination, which slowly turns the mind of any sapient creature toward the Reapers goals.

They may be the universe's ultimate evil, but they also created the Citadel. Also, I still have a thing for squid.

11 Protheans

Protheans
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Protheans

One of the largest space faring empires the galaxy has ever seen, the Protheans conquered virtually all of known space at the height of their power. They too experienced the problem of artificial intelligence eventually trying to exterminate their creators, but to combat the problem they united all the races of the galaxy under their banner - either willingly or by force.

Although their empire was mighty and their technology was incredible, they eventually fell to the Reapers following their return. After having discovered the Citadel, the helpful Keepers secretly sent a signal to a waiting Reaper that opened the mass relay for their fleet waiting in Dark Space. Thus began centuries of slow decline, until eventually, the Protheans were but a memory.

While they seem to be a bit douchey, they can also learn complex ideas through touch, which is kinda cool.

10 Humans

Humans
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Humans

Although humanity possesses a difficult and complicated history, by the time of Mass Effect we’ve mostly got all our problems sorted out. Racism, sexism, and elitism are all things of the past as we ascend to our rightful place in galactic society.

All except for Cerberus, who believe that humanity is the apex species and should subjugate all others. So much for being progressive.

Anyway, humans find themselves basically in the middle of the galactic pecking order. We’re not as fast as Salarians, not as biotically active as Asari, not as strong as Krogan, but generally somewhere in between. That’s sort of why you can make Commander Shepard (or Rider, if you still consider Andromeda to be canon) to be whatever you want him/her to be. Thus, humanity shows up in the middle of this list too.

9 Hanar

Hanar
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Hanar

I like the Hanar. ‘Cause they’re weird. They’re like jellyfish that grew strong enough and smart enough to start flying around in space ships.

Actually, they’re not really strong at all. Their tentacles are only able to lift maybe half a kilogram. They stay upright through a gravitic mechanism that keeps them about as tall as a human while using their tentacles to slowly push themselves along. They also communicate via complex bioluminescence and are so polite that diplomats have to take courses to endure other species’ lack of decorum.

They also sort of own the Drell, but not in a slave-like way. The Drell are so happy the Hanar saved them from their dying world that they willingly serve as a sort of client race, and the Hanar are so nice they usually accept the Drell into their families. Literally the nicest jellyfish in the universe.

8 Quarians

Quarians
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Quarians

So, remember when I said every species eventually create artificial intelligence that turns on their creators? The Quarians were the first of the sentient species to get there when they created the Geth, who of course turned on the Quarians, nearly wiping them out.

The Quarians now roam the galaxy as nomads, their fleet a collection of survivors from the Geth War. Their centuries of living in sterile environments have caused their immune systems to atrophy over time, making even the common cold a deadly virus to them. As such, the Quarians all live their lives in high tech enviro suits which protect the individual within from all pathogens.

Although a tear in the suit could be fatal, Quarians are still strong, smart, and tough, determined to survive despite their downfall.

7 Elcor

Elcor
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Elcor

You may be wondering why a species like the Elcor are so high up in the rankings. After careful consideration, I can assure you the Elcor are due far more respect than they get.

First off, they’re a heavy-world species that make them incredibly strong in normal gravity environments like the Citadel. A rampaging Elcor can crush nearly every other sentient species out there. But they’d never do it because Elcor are so damned nice, always welcoming to outsiders.

The most notable feature of the Elcor is their speech pattern, which prefaces every sentence with some descriptive statement as to their intended tone. This is because an Elcor normally communicates with a complex set of scents, sub-vocalizations, and tiny body movements that other species can’t recognize, forcing them to clarify their somewhat monotonous tone.

Friendly, strong, and always clearly enunciating, what’s not to love about the Elcor?

6 Drell

Drell
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Drell

Client race to the Hanar, the Drell were a race in decline as their world suffered from intense overpopulation. The Hanar were only able to save a few hundred thousand from the billions left to perish on their dying home world.

Those that lived saw the Hanar rightfully as saviors, serving them unquestioningly for centuries. Often the Drell are used as the Hanar’s ambassadors with other species as they have difficulty operating outside of their watery homes. It also means the Drell serve as the Hanar’s enforcers, and sometimes, as assassins.

Also, their skin secretes a venom mild enough not to kill, but strong enough to cause intense hallucinations in most other species. Sleeping with a Drell is thus a wild night that you’ll hopefully remember - so long as the Drell wasn’t sent to kill you.

5 Krogan

Krogan
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Giant, warlike, and tough as nails, the Krogan got a bad rap when they tried to take over the galaxy during the Krogan Wars. They were useful in putting down the Rachni menace, but after they got a taste for blood they sort of went off the rails, attacking the other Citadel species during the Krogan rebellions. This resulted in the creation of the Genophage, a manufactured virus that sterilizes the species in a horrible way by giving them an infant mortality rate of 99.9%.

Those that survive grow up in a warrior society, where might makes right. Their physiology is thus a product of their environment, with tough skin and multiple organs in case of failure.

 

4 Geth

Geth
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Geth

While the story goes that every artificial intelligence eventually turns on their masters, the story of the Geth isn’t quite so simple.

Originally designed by the Quarians, who they passingly resemble, the Geth were laborers and warriors when they began to show signs of developing self-awareness. When Geth started to question their slave-like lives, the Quarians began destroying them wholesale, forcing the survivors to fight or die.

The Geth’s power comes not from their stronger metal bodies but the fact that a Geth consciousness is actually thousands of artificial intelligence all networked together as a sort of super intelligence. Those AI’s all debate and vote ceaselessly on where to take their species, with the general consensus being to co-exist peacefully with other races. That is, if the Quarians would ever just leave them alone.

3 Turians

Turians
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Turians

Tall, sleek, and militaristic, the Turians are like the galactic police. They possess the largest military of all the sentient species and are generally terrifying due to all the talons and claws and whatnot.

Despite their generally unsettling appearance and their large, militaristic state, the Turians are not inherently violent or hostile, merely regimented. Every Turian equates their own well-being to the well-being of the group, and thus serves the state in some capacity. This made them awful entrepreneurs, which is why they took on the Volus as their business managers while they became their body guards.

While frightening, Turians are more kind and loyal than most species, which is a noble quality that gets them pretty high up this list.

2 Salarians

Salarian
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Salarian

A race of incredibly intelligent amphibians, the Salarians move and talk at a speed that makes most other species seem slow in comparison. This is a result of their increased metabolism, which has the unfortunate side effect of only allowing them to live an average of 40 years.

Despite their short lifespans, the Salarians are incredibly advanced, being the second species to locate the Citadel after the Asari. Their emphasis on the dictum “knowledge is power” has resulted in the Salarians becoming the de-facto intelligence agency for the Citadel. It also allows them to outmaneuver most foes before the shooting starts.

They also have a matriarchal society, with female Solarians leading them politically and socially, something they share with the top species.