Squadmate Recommendations: SUR’KESH - Liara and Garrus GRISSOM ACADEMY - Liara or EDI KROGAN SCOUTS - Garrus TUCHANKA - Javik and Garrus; Liara is good too CITADEL II - whoever, Garrus has some unique dialogue on C-Sec, with some more unique dialogue if things go south GETH DREADNOUGHT - EDI or James ADMIRAL KORIS - Tali and James RANNOCH - Javik ARRAE - EDI and Tali ASARI MONASTERY - Liara THESSIA - Javik CRONOS STATION - Romance… or Liara EARTH - 2 phases - bring your faves I forgot to mention Eden Prime in the video. Liara is mandatory for that mission. James, EDI and Garrus all seem to have similar dialogue so bring whoever. Ashley/Kaidan have some unique dialogue but it's honestly not worth postponing Eden Prime just to hear those comments. Just check out my video on it if you want to hear that dialogue: th-cam.com/video/4E4UKsdMFT4/w-d-xo.html
Squadmate little alterations: GRISSOM ACADEMY - Liara or EDI (EDI have a unique with David of me 2 overlord) Jack talk with Garrus too) KROGAN SCOUTS - Garrus and JAVIK (Javik have a unique dialogue) GETH DREADNOUGHT - Garrus have dialogue with Tali and is good to romance of both
Bring Javik along on every mission that you can, it’s amazing the amount of lines they gave this character and his perspective on things is eye opening. Naturally he has no love for synthetics especially for Legion & the Geth :)
Bringing Jarvik to Sur’kesh is fun because he has a conversation about eating Salarians in his cycle and the reactions from the salarians are a nice touch.
Javik and Wrex talking about eating Salarian liver and the Salarian keeping an eye on Wrex is just like "I am uncomfortable with the energy we created in the studio today"
also if mordin dies in ME2, padock wiks will take his place to find the cure and his conversation about krogan sex and his facial expression while imagining about it is priceless
I always bring Liara and Garrus to Sur’Kesh, mainly because of the Shadow Broker comments. Shepard: Careful, there goes the next shadow broker. Garrus: Could’ve sworn it was muttering T’soni the whole time. Liara: Not funny.
Bringing Garrus to Grissom Academy when you romance him has the best line from Jack: “Bite me, Garrus. Better, bite HER, that’s probably how she likes it.”
It's a shame you can't bring Kaidon considering he's Biotic. The first time I played ME3 I tried to wait until I could recruit him to do that mission. Turns out you can't do that. Grissom fell and I had to fight an evil Jack at the Cerberus Base.
Yeah, but i think Javik's the one you should bring to Grissom Academy. The following dialogue is just golden. Jack: What the f**k are you ? Javik: 50,000 years older than you. Jack: Shepard surely makes unusual friends.
Well he was studding the Collector’s DNA and killed a few. So it wouldn’t be hard for him to recognize a Prothean. Plus it’s Shepard so Mordin is just rolling with it.
@@Jedi_Spartan Most of the DLC weapons are in the Spectre Requisition Terminal in the Embassies. Some of them are in shops in the Presidium Commons. And the Kishock Harpoon Gun is in the Batarian State Arms kiosk located in the refugee docks.
@@TacoLoverPerson thanks. Once I've got it and finished ME3, I'm thinking of going to a save where I have the loadout set up, turn on Insanity and see how valid it still is.
@@Jedi_Spartan Honestly, Insanity difficulty is not really that hard on ME3. ME2 was by far a bigger challenge because every enemy in the game at least has armor, shields or a barrier to contend with before you can hurt them. Even the husks in ME2 have a layer of armor, which means you can't just hit them with singularity or lift or throw and deal with the whole horde of them at once. ME3 doesn't do that. Most basic enemies just have a health bar and so you can just mop the floor with dozens of Cannibals with a single singularity/warp combo or whatever. I think I died three times total in all of ME3 on Insanity and they were all because of the dumb 1-shot kills from enemy grenades where I got stuck on cover or something like that and couldn't escape the explosion radius in time.
I remember her talking about the little rachni in the first game in an elevator, how they were like big spiders! I was like, “Awww, don’t worry, Tali-poo! I’ll protect you!” lol
She and Garrus can talk about it after the mission too. Garrus doesn't like husks, Tali says "but they come right up to you!" "Which is fine for YOU, because you have a shotgun... Creepiest thing we've fought so far?" "Rachni, hands down" "But they also get into your best range" "(something something way they move)"
You should bring javik to the grunt mission. They have a special interaction because javik resides in grunts old room on the Normandy. Javik also talks about the rachni in his cycle. Also garrus is a good choice for cronos station. Since he’s an ME2 Squadmate.
My recommendations for the DLC missions would be having you romance partner for the last mission on Leviathan, romance again for second mission on Citadel and for the last citadel mission EDI has a fun interaction at the beginning but Liara/Wrex or Garrus/Tali have some particularly good banter in the elevator on the Normandy.
That reminds me of the Guardians of the galaxy telltales game, if you tell Drax to Hack the terminal, he does quite literally - with his daggers. They probably got the idea from this.
That build is pretty strong, but honestly, I feel like James is actually stronger if specced correctly. Spec him into Squad Explosive Ammo and give him a high rate-of-fire weapon, like the Revenant or Typhoon. If you are looking for hilarious fun, give him the Falcon, that works, too. With that build, James gets not only extremely high DPS and incredible survivability, but also buffs your entire squad with Explosive Ammo (albeit at 50% effectiveness), which is handy if your Shepard is power-based (like my Engineer). Even Liara and EDI can get decent DPS out of their SMGs this way, not to mention priming their targets for fire explosions. I honestly feel like James is very underapriciated as a squadmate, both in terms of combat and dialogue.
I like Javik's lines on Surkesh and Jack's reaction to him at Grissom Academy. Also for the last part of the Leviathan DLC I recommend if you are romancing a squad mate to bring them along as they show there concern at the end.
I did not know that about Tali, EDI, and James on the Geth Dreadnaught. The double entendre, followed by the explanation, followed by the TMI comment, finally with embarrassed Shepard, is fantastic.
I'm glad that TH-cam recommended your videos to me. They are so great and helpful. I have to admit that the work you put into your channel is very impressive. Keep going, we need enthusiasts like you ;)
Personally, for the Arrae Ex-Cerberus Scientist, I think bringing Kaidan is also a good idea, because at the end of the mission, Kaidan would talk to Shepard on the Normandy about whether everyone working with Cerberus are all bad or something like that. (I’m not sure about Ashley’s case) ...Also I brought Garrus in almost every mission. He’s just awesome ❤️
Fun fact, Garrus has the most priority when it comes to dialogue in missions in ME3, he almost always speaks first when it comes to party member dialogue unless it's a unique one. Anyone see any favouritism going on?, because i am totally okay with it.
For the final part of the final mission, I heavily recommend bringing your love interest for the final charge, as it triggers a unique final goodbye cutscene - it triggers with every squad choice, but the presence of you love interest makes it especially personal.
About Grissom Academy mission, there is also another reason to bring EDI assuming one have finished the Overlord DLC in ME2 bc she will have a rather heartwarming conversation with David.
For the people who might like some nice dialogue for Kaidan (and I assume the same goes for Ashley), I recommend bringing them to: - Eden Prime - for some dialogie about their first mission together - Tuchanka: Bomb - for some comments about Virmire - Arrae - to add context for his reaction afterwards, which is a cut scene where you can talk about the scientists and cerberus (idk if its the same for ashley) Also I recommend bringing your romance to the final Leviathan DLC mission
For the final mission on Earth, I almost always take my romance partner with me on the final push to the beam for their reaction in the final sequence when Shep goes solo.
I think that addition from extrended cut is really stupid and breaks the pace. Why bother storming the beam on foot if you cant just drop on a ship. Also normandy just casually staying right in front of the harbinger is plain stupid.
Good list. For the 2nd part of Earth you should bring your LI if they’re a squadmate for the final goodbye. Tali’s is still the most heart wrenching of them all just because the VA did so well.
I like bringing Kaidan to the Ardat-Yakshi monastery just because Shepard asking him if he could do the float thing like Falere and Samara makes me laugh every time .
"Are you sensing a trend here?" Well considering the game is more or less designed SPECIFICALLY so that characters like Tali and the other human squadmates are locked until at least the second half of the game (a problem ME2 had as well), which as a Tali fangirl I'm STILL irritated by years later...it's kinda hard NOT to notice that Garrus was given the majority of the best lines.
@@rustyjones7908 ....."designed SPECIFICALLY"...it's almost like I KNEW THAT ALREADY!!!! But thanks for techsplaining to me, always nice to know that people are willing to assume that geeks are stupid about how things work.
Bring your love interest on the very last mission. I believe there is unique dialogue when you charge the portal, when Shepherd calls the Normandy to pick the squad mates up
Ok i did not know James fixes AA guns in such.... awesome way :D i always assumed it doesnt matter who is fixing it Oh... i know this isnt a mission but theres a special scene in the Purgatory bar.. if you go there and have 3 drinks you will pass out... and wake up on a couch next to Aria
It means delaying getting Javik for a bit, but if you wait to do his recruitment until you can bring the Vermire survivor, they have some nice dialogue talking about being back on Eden Prime.
For ME2 you should bring Kasumi along for Jack's loyalty mission. I brought her along on a whim one playthrough and there was one line that she blindsided me with that had me basically weeping for the rest of the mission.
Hey Big Dan! I have a video suggestion. I think it's safe to assume most Mass Effect fans and your viewers play all 3 games in succession, importing their save files. How about making a video specifically about what players are missing OUT on when they play Mass Effect 2 or 3 without importing save files? The video could cover both "missing" content, i.e. quests or encounters that simply do not happen when you don't import a save, but also "default states", i.e. which major game decisions are being defaulted for non-imported playthroughs, e.g. the fact that Wrex is always considered dead if you don't import a save from ME1, and so is the original Council (I think). Or I'm pretty sure Mordin only appears in ME3 when you import a save from ME2 - players starting from ME3 always get Padon Wiks. Keep rocking btw, I love your content :)
I can recommend bringing Javik on Sur'kesh for Kirrahe assuming he's just a genetically engineered Drell. He also doesn't put up with Wreav's arrogance. He's also good to bring on the Krogan scouts mission so he embarrasses Grunt telling him he "left his mark" on the Normandy.
For the final Earth segment, taking your romance (if they're available) will give you some special dialogue in the final run. Full disclosure! I have only ever romanced Tali so I have only ever seen the end portion with her. I know at least she has some unique dialogue.
Garrus is just the best. He's got amazing comments for almost every mission, he's a bro to both Shepard and the rest of the crew, and, gameplay-wise, he complements most of Shepard's possible classes and builds, and he's available for ALL THREE GAMES. He's just about perfect in terms of design and writing.
I appreciate this type of content. I've been wondering if other players ever pay attention to which companions they choose because of unique dialog, because I always have. And each time I get a sense of relief when some of the characters converse about specific topics. The propositions here are pretty spot-on, just some minor deviations from my personal choices.
I have a recommendation for you, BD. *(SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T PLAYED ME3 YET)* By now everyone has heard of the Indoctrination Theory and the controversies, but I have a twist--I don't think the indoctrination attempt is just limited to London, but actually started before we actually took control of Shepherd. In the Vancouver level, right before you take control, Shepherd is launched into a wall from a Reaper laser and falls to the floor, after which everything around him blurs in vision, a visual cue in other media that we've transitioned to an internal viewpoint. What if all the conveniences, all the confrontations, all of the plotholes, occur because the ENTIRETY of ME3 takes place in Shepherd's mind as an attempt to break him into indoctrination, hence why it's possible for him to survive in the Destroy options, because technically he never left Earth? The more you analyze the details and inconsistencies between ME3 and the other two games (why so much effort is spent by Shepherd on retaking Earth instead of saving the galaxy, why plot points prominent in the first two games are blatantly ignored, why TIM goes full nutbars instead of remaining cryptic, why Kai Leng and Udina's betrayal come completely out of left field, why the Starchild looks like the Klencory beings of light in the lore, etc.), the more it seems like a legitimate possibility. I'd love to see you go in depth on this interpretation and give your thoughts on how feasible the premise could be, what reference points could support it, and whether people should re-examine the games from that standpoint to gain a bit more clarity on why ME3 seems so different and why Andromeda possibly went in the direction it did. Just a thought...
It's the one bad thing about bringing Tali and Garrus on every mission: their powers have no synergy together. They don't have any combo detonators that can play off of each other and so it falls on whatever powers Shepard has to activate explosion combos. Does that stop me from bringing them everywhere? Nope.
The best team mates to bring are your favorites buddies. In ME skills are secondary, it's all about friendships! When the bottles come, Garrus & I will be ready.
It's good to see this and figure out who to bring if you want to do it a certain way. Though I can think of others to bring for certain missions you mentioned as well (even though you did an amazing job anyway): Javik on the Rachni mission, if only for his conversation with Grunt at the beginning, any of your ME2 companions for the Ardakt-Yakshi Monestary, if only really for minor unique dialogue between them and Samara, Garrus for minor unique banter with Jack on the Grissiom Academy mission as well - especially depending on if your Shepard romanced him or not - and also either EDI and/or Garrus for when/if you encounter David Archer on the same mission (albeit, it's a minor thing again). Also I'd say bring your romanced companion - if it's one of your teammates that is - for the final part of Priority Earth, because of that unique dialogue for when they board the Normandy when you get them off Earth when Harbinger is attacking everyone near the gateway to the Citadel. Keep up the great work!
I always take Tali with me for the Admiral Koris mission. She has unique dialog. Especially when you find that dying quarian. It's really meaningful. I also always take Garrus with me for the turian platoon and bomb missions on Tuchunka
I really liked the idea of this video! Would be great to see more of them! If you could do a follow up and include some feedback on ones you get in the comments and wish for missions for 3 would be great!
Wonderful video! As a long time player, even if I try otherwise, I typically fall into the habit of just bringing Garrus and Tali with me at all times. (Loyalty evidently means a lot to me I suppose) So, it's nice to see a roadmap of the others. Also as a side note: You looks like you accidentally forgot to add Sanctuary to your printed list of companions in the comments.
I’d say nearly all of what you suggested makes great role play sense! My one change would be for the two parts of retaking Earth. When you first land, it makes the most sense to take Ashley/Kaiden and James. Both human squadmates, taking back their homeworld alongside Shep just makes it hit harder for me. And then part two of Earth I take my love interest and Javik. Love interest so you can have the heavy moment of saving them during Harbinger’s attack and getting them onto the Normandy, and Javik because the last voice of the Protheans just NEEDS to see the end of the Reapers!
As a guy who always romances Lt. Ashley Williams. I always bring her on missions. Since BioWere didn’t develop her dialogue as much as they did with with Garrus, Liara, Tail, hell it feels like even Wrex (who’s barely in the game) and James got a bit more than Ashley did. You would think they would put a bit more focus on Virmire Surviver, since they only appeared once in ME2. How disappointing BioWere 😒 Nor did I ever like BioWere ties to push Liara as the romance to go for.
@@menajack it was bullshit, and when I looked deeper it turns out that Ash had a conversation with Shepard asking them what they saw when they died! It was good, I can kinda see why they wouldn't want it in the game but it added so much more depth to her. And Kaidan apparently also has a conversation right after the Coup to apologice for being a dick? Which Ash doesn't get? This is bullshit, 100%
First off your tutorials are awesome and really helpful. For the rachni mission I would suggest bringing Javik & Garrus. Javik has some surprisingly interesting insight to the rachni about his cycle and if you piece all the info together you can kinda understand why they were so aggressively hostile when discovered, possibly because of prothean influence and what they did to the rachni in their previous cycle...
Garrus's turian rebel skill tree makes his Damage INSANELY good along with his armor piercing paired with a typhoon. Same with Ashley, Her solider skill tree makes her do over %100 bonus damage not even including the armor bonus Garrus, and Ashley took out a Cerberus mech, Banshees, and harvesters in seconds! I was playing on insanity, too!
You forgot to mention in the second half of priority earth you should bring your lover if they’re a squad mate cause you have the extended cut goodbye during the run for the beam
Love the vid! I keep EDI with me because she's just amazing dialog. My only change to this list is Surkesh, bring Javik. Wrex and him have AMAZING dialog.
I'll remember forever probably(I don't remember which mission) the banter between Tali(LI ME2-3) and Ashley(LI ME1) and how they discussed, Shepard and their relationship with him, between each other. Needless to say it was kind of mortifying for Shep.
At the end of ME3 when they're running towards the citadel beam, I like to bring whoever I romanced. It leads to a cutscene where the Normandy picks them up and you both say your goodbyes. Makes the ending a little more impactful
For Sur'kesh I bring Garrus and Vega, when Liara is not in the shuttle Garrus will take priority for dialogue and Wrex and Garrus will actually have a heartfelt moment and even shake hands with Wrex being grateful for his help.
Bringing Ashley to the Geth Dreadnought mission if you romanced her in ME1 and later cheated on her with Tali in ME2 is amazing, they have some really good passive aggressive dialogue lol
Squadmate Recommendations:
SUR’KESH - Liara and Garrus
GRISSOM ACADEMY - Liara or EDI
KROGAN SCOUTS - Garrus
TUCHANKA - Javik and Garrus; Liara is good too
CITADEL II - whoever, Garrus has some unique dialogue on C-Sec, with some more unique dialogue if things go south
GETH DREADNOUGHT - EDI or James
ADMIRAL KORIS - Tali and James
RANNOCH - Javik
ARRAE - EDI and Tali
ASARI MONASTERY - Liara
THESSIA - Javik
CRONOS STATION - Romance… or Liara
EARTH - 2 phases - bring your faves
I forgot to mention Eden Prime in the video. Liara is mandatory for that mission. James, EDI and Garrus all seem to have similar dialogue so bring whoever. Ashley/Kaidan have some unique dialogue but it's honestly not worth postponing Eden Prime just to hear those comments. Just check out my video on it if you want to hear that dialogue: th-cam.com/video/4E4UKsdMFT4/w-d-xo.html
So Garrus and Garrus, got it.
Squadmate little alterations:
GRISSOM ACADEMY - Liara or EDI (EDI have a unique with David of me 2 overlord) Jack talk with Garrus too)
KROGAN SCOUTS - Garrus and JAVIK (Javik have a unique dialogue)
GETH DREADNOUGHT - Garrus have dialogue with Tali and is good to romance of both
Will you create a similar video for ME:1 and ME:2?
Bring Javik along on every mission that you can, it’s amazing the amount of lines they gave this character and his perspective on things is eye opening. Naturally he has no love for synthetics especially for Legion & the Geth :)
Hey Big Dan can you do a similar video for mass effect 2??
Javik for the rachni mission: he recognizes grunt as the the person who occupied his room.
Tali as well, just for her reaction to seeing the Rachni (she hates spiders)
@@specdecible Wait, you can do the mission with tali? I thought the mission disappeared if you don't complete it before the citadel!
Javik: "I know you... you were blah blah..."
Grun: WAT
@@sanchoquixote1121 Has to be completed before Thessia I believe! I brought Tali and it was hilarious.
He also mentions the history between protheans and rachni if you take him as well
Bringing Jarvik to Sur’kesh is fun because he has a conversation about eating Salarians in his cycle and the reactions from the salarians are a nice touch.
"I am not sure if Normandy is freak show"
Javik and Wrex talking about eating Salarian liver and the Salarian keeping an eye on Wrex is just like "I am uncomfortable with the energy we created in the studio today"
And also Kirrahe's reaction to Javik is hilarious.
also if mordin dies in ME2, padock wiks will take his place to find the cure and his conversation about krogan sex and his facial expression while imagining about it is priceless
I always bring Liara and Garrus to Sur’Kesh, mainly because of the Shadow Broker comments.
Shepard: Careful, there goes the next shadow broker.
Garrus: Could’ve sworn it was muttering T’soni the whole time.
Liara: Not funny.
On the last mission on Earth, if you’re romancing a squad mate bring them for the final goodbye
So you ended Mass Effect 3 with the two crew members that have been with you since the beginning. I respect that
Garuss and Liara from ME1
Zaaed and Miranda from ME2
Garuss and Liara from ME3 and Zaaed and Miranda form Armax Arsenal (Citadel DLC)
I usually just pick my romance option and the squadmate that works the best with my current class if the romance doesnt
I pick James and Ash/Kaidan for Priority Earth. Humans fighting for the Human homeworld. As it should be.
Kaidan and Jenkins?
@@porsche911sbs Was thinking the same.
Tali and Garrus for the final mission makes sense as they have been with you the longest through all three games.
Garrus: "Feels like this mission has always been ours to finish."
Me: *cries in nostalgia and pride*
I always finished ME1 With Kaidan/Ashley and Wrex
Bringing Garrus to Grissom Academy when you romance him has the best line from Jack:
“Bite me, Garrus. Better, bite HER, that’s probably how she likes it.”
Yes, yes, a million times yes. I'm a straight dude, and I still practically squealed out loud when I played through my first time.
Nice I’m doing a FemShep Garrus romance in ME2 right now, everyone will live to be in ME3. I didn’t romance anyone in the first game in this replay :)
I was going to comment this, pretty much word for word 😆
Grunt’s laugh is legendary.
He, he, he...
Shotgun. Every time.
...if only I could solve my problems this way...
Just like this edition of the mass effect trilogy.
h e h, h e h, h e h
He he he he he he....
Also, for the Grissom Academy, if you bring EDI, she talks to David Archer if he's there
I HAVE to do that. The ending to Overlord almost made me cry earlier this week
So does Garrus
@@pearsemolloy9656 “it was never your fault”, that line always gets me :(
It's a shame you can't bring Kaidon considering he's Biotic. The first time I played ME3 I tried to wait until I could recruit him to do that mission. Turns out you can't do that. Grissom fell and I had to fight an evil Jack at the Cerberus Base.
@@NihilusShadow aye that happened to me on my first playthrough I had no idea the mission was timed the game should have actually let you know that.
Just bring Garrus probably to everything. Well just because it’s Garrus
Yes. The lord and savior Garrus. His damage multipliers know, no mercy
He plays on narrative the whole time
I couldn't agree more.
Yeah, definitely, I bring garrus along most of the time
Equip Garrus with an N7 Typhoon, max out his weapon damage, and he will play the game for you.
"pick your Squadmate as long one of them is Garrus"
Wow guys I think we solved mass effect
I literally always choose tali and garrus, and when tali isn't available I choose garrus.
Yeah, but i think Javik's the one you should bring to Grissom Academy. The following dialogue is just golden.
Jack: What the f**k are you ?
Javik: 50,000 years older than you.
Jack: Shepard surely makes unusual friends.
Also what he says about the students, while the other squadmates say they're defenseless, Javik bluntly and straight up says "The students are weak!"
Shepard does find the weird ones-...
If you bring Javik to Sur'Kesh, Wrex tells you that he sometimes don't know is the Normandy is a battleship or a freak show xD.
Oh my god that clip of James kicking the AA tower controls😂😂😂
yeah. shepard is trolling tali in this mission.
It's better when you have Ashley and she knows how to work on the AA gun controls and she just stares at Vega punching the buttons on his try.
lmao i did the same thing there last time
If you have him repair the tower on Palavan's moon he just bashes it with his rifle.
@@thearisen7301 yep, and you get an extra wave of enemies.
Javik on Sur Kesh is pretty amazing.
Immediately Mordin knows. "Ah a Prothean! Excellent!"
Well he was studding the Collector’s DNA and killed a few. So it wouldn’t be hard for him to recognize a Prothean. Plus it’s Shepard so Mordin is just rolling with it.
mordin does not skip a beat I wish that javik was free dlc but soon I will have legendary edition so it won't matter much
so basically Garrus and whoever Everytime
gotcha
im totally fine with it
Which works great given how broken he can get
@@nathanielspohn3004 No Kidding. Garrus and Ashley are acceded to godhood
@@majorastorm Ashley ascended to godhood when she desintegrated in Virmire? interesting
@@ZeroReaver11 funny way to spell Kaiden....
There's no Shepard without Vakarian
Depends, if you're playing on Insanity - add Garrus to your squad and let him deal with everything...
You forgot to mention he needs to be upgraded in a certain way, and given a certain weapon to make him the god of war he was destined to be.
@@electricfeverx976 Oh yeah. Also any idea where you can find DLC items like the N7 Typhoon in Legendary Edition since everything's included?
@@Jedi_Spartan Most of the DLC weapons are in the Spectre Requisition Terminal in the Embassies. Some of them are in shops in the Presidium Commons. And the Kishock Harpoon Gun is in the Batarian State Arms kiosk located in the refugee docks.
@@TacoLoverPerson thanks. Once I've got it and finished ME3, I'm thinking of going to a save where I have the loadout set up, turn on Insanity and see how valid it still is.
@@Jedi_Spartan Honestly, Insanity difficulty is not really that hard on ME3. ME2 was by far a bigger challenge because every enemy in the game at least has armor, shields or a barrier to contend with before you can hurt them. Even the husks in ME2 have a layer of armor, which means you can't just hit them with singularity or lift or throw and deal with the whole horde of them at once. ME3 doesn't do that. Most basic enemies just have a health bar and so you can just mop the floor with dozens of Cannibals with a single singularity/warp combo or whatever. I think I died three times total in all of ME3 on Insanity and they were all because of the dumb 1-shot kills from enemy grenades where I got stuck on cover or something like that and couldn't escape the explosion radius in time.
Tali also has some unique dialogue for the Krogan Scouts mission. She’s apparently afraid of spiders lol
Yes! Her fear of spiders is adorable lol
I remember her talking about the little rachni in the first game in an elevator, how they were like big spiders! I was like, “Awww, don’t worry, Tali-poo! I’ll protect you!” lol
That one is freakin hilarious.
She and Garrus can talk about it after the mission too. Garrus doesn't like husks, Tali says "but they come right up to you!" "Which is fine for YOU, because you have a shotgun... Creepiest thing we've fought so far?" "Rachni, hands down" "But they also get into your best range" "(something something way they move)"
I like to bring Javik on pretty much every mission I can because he seems to always have some sort unique dialogue.
He fucking better considering he was day 1 DLC
Me too, he's incredible on Thessia and the Citadel DLC lmaooo.
yeah well when you're 50 000 years older than everything im pretty sure u have something to say about everything
@@JAYDOG1337A He was cut from the game and then sold as DLC.
@@benjaminencarmine I know, it pisses me off
You should bring javik to the grunt mission. They have a special interaction because javik resides in grunts old room on the Normandy. Javik also talks about the rachni in his cycle.
Also garrus is a good choice for cronos station. Since he’s an ME2 Squadmate.
Cool! Is there a video with it?
"a delicacy on our time" - Javik when Wrex comment something about eating a salarian.
Came to say this. I really enjoyed this interaction.
My recommendations for the DLC missions would be having you romance partner for the last mission on Leviathan, romance again for second mission on Citadel and for the last citadel mission EDI has a fun interaction at the beginning but Liara/Wrex or Garrus/Tali have some particularly good banter in the elevator on the Normandy.
Wrex and Tali also have some nice banter
I finally picked Javik for the 3rd mission for the citadel mission his line during the ladder cutscene was hillarious.
Omg I've never even thought about having James repair the AA gun.
Holy shit that scene is so funny
Probably because he's not a tech guy. Scene is hilarious but also makes Shep look like an idiot.
@@regiman222 When you bring James and Tali, and pick James to bring down the gun, Tali just... stares at you.
That reminds me of the Guardians of the galaxy telltales game, if you tell Drax to Hack the terminal, he does quite literally - with his daggers. They probably got the idea from this.
Are you saying GotG borrowed from mass effect 3 or mass effect 3 borrowed from a game that wouldn't release until 5 years later?
@@MrJoshuaAM Probably the 1st one, or the developers are time travelers because I'm pretty sure this happened in the original as well as the remaster
When rescuing Admiral Koris Bring Garrus and Tali for some great banter about Dropping Meteors on Rannoch
For insanity all u need, is to ascend Garrus to Godhood and your golden until the end
That build is op
Seems like he's been a bit nerfed
@@212mochaman I haven't got to ME3 yet (still on ME2), but I'm gonna be disappointed if they did nerf him. lol
That build is pretty strong, but honestly, I feel like James is actually stronger if specced correctly. Spec him into Squad Explosive Ammo and give him a high rate-of-fire weapon, like the Revenant or Typhoon. If you are looking for hilarious fun, give him the Falcon, that works, too. With that build, James gets not only extremely high DPS and incredible survivability, but also buffs your entire squad with Explosive Ammo (albeit at 50% effectiveness), which is handy if your Shepard is power-based (like my Engineer). Even Liara and EDI can get decent DPS out of their SMGs this way, not to mention priming their targets for fire explosions. I honestly feel like James is very underapriciated as a squadmate, both in terms of combat and dialogue.
@@billystrife7049 not so much him but the typhoon. Doesnt seem to be long ass range anymore
Garrus shouting to his C-Sec buddies gets me every time, so I always take him on Priority Citadel II
"Could you please not alert everyone?!"
I like Javik's lines on Surkesh and Jack's reaction to him at Grissom Academy. Also for the last part of the Leviathan DLC I recommend if you are romancing a squad mate to bring them along as they show there concern at the end.
I recommend Garrus in Grissom Academy mission if you finished Overlord DLC in ME2 with paragon route. The conversation between David is PRICELESS
I did not know that about Tali, EDI, and James on the Geth Dreadnaught. The double entendre, followed by the explanation, followed by the TMI comment, finally with embarrassed Shepard, is fantastic.
I think ME1 would also benefit from a list like this. Still finding unique interactions in that game.
Especially all the elevator banter…when it’s not replaced by the citadel news and searching up profiles in courage on the extranet…lol
In ME1 the unique interaction are extremly rare. Wrex got the most and best ones. There is also Kaiden on the L2 Hostage mission, Liara on peak 15..
I always chose squadmates based on dialogue and story. Made the missions harder but the dialogue is worth it.
Man, you’re killing it with the uploads! Keep up the good work, mass effect deserves more videos on yt
EDI and Javik have some really good unique banter in Citadel II
I'm glad that TH-cam recommended your videos to me. They are so great and helpful. I have to admit that the work you put into your channel is very impressive. Keep going, we need enthusiasts like you ;)
Personally, for the Arrae Ex-Cerberus Scientist, I think bringing Kaidan is also a good idea, because at the end of the mission, Kaidan would talk to Shepard on the Normandy about whether everyone working with Cerberus are all bad or something like that. (I’m not sure about Ashley’s case)
...Also I brought Garrus in almost every mission. He’s just awesome ❤️
Fun fact, Garrus has the most priority when it comes to dialogue in missions in ME3, he almost always speaks first when it comes to party member dialogue unless it's a unique one. Anyone see any favouritism going on?, because i am totally okay with it.
Tali using garuss body: you so mean and I'm okay with that......... gawd I love garuss
Garrus is the voice of reason and experience and always remains calm. That's what you need if/when things go sideways.
@@cassiespencer6134 I’m so glad so many others are in love with dat badass Dino-man.
For the final part of the final mission, I heavily recommend bringing your love interest for the final charge, as it triggers a unique final goodbye cutscene - it triggers with every squad choice, but the presence of you love interest makes it especially personal.
About Grissom Academy mission, there is also another reason to bring EDI assuming one have finished the Overlord DLC in ME2 bc she will have a rather heartwarming conversation with David.
For the people who might like some nice dialogue for Kaidan (and I assume the same goes for Ashley), I recommend bringing them to:
- Eden Prime - for some dialogie about their first mission together
- Tuchanka: Bomb - for some comments about Virmire
- Arrae - to add context for his reaction afterwards, which is a cut scene where you can talk about the scientists and cerberus (idk if its the same for ashley)
Also I recommend bringing your romance to the final Leviathan DLC mission
I literally was hoping you’d have this exact video yesterday right after I beat ME 2. You must have some type of biotic ability. Thanks as always.
For the final mission on Earth, I almost always take my romance partner with me on the final push to the beam for their reaction in the final sequence when Shep goes solo.
I think that addition from extrended cut is really stupid and breaks the pace.
Why bother storming the beam on foot if you cant just drop on a ship.
Also normandy just casually staying right in front of the harbinger is plain stupid.
@@Gaben38 Cry about it.
THIS IS THE VIDEO I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!
please make ME1 and ME2 as well! love your content
Good list. For the 2nd part of Earth you should bring your LI if they’re a squadmate for the final goodbye. Tali’s is still the most heart wrenching of them all just because the VA did so well.
Tali is pure love 😎.
5:50 I heard Kaidan has some unique lines in the monastery too, but they're very low in priority, so you have to take Garrus or Javik with him
Should do this for mass effect 2
On the last mission if you romance Liara and bring her on the second half, she has a very special unique dialogue when your squad evacuates.
Thanks for the recommendations Dan, Thessia was definitely a different experience taking Javik along.
I like bringing Kaidan to the Ardat-Yakshi monastery just because Shepard asking him if he could do the float thing like Falere and Samara makes me laugh every time .
"Are you sensing a trend here?"
Well considering the game is more or less designed SPECIFICALLY so that characters like Tali and the other human squadmates are locked until at least the second half of the game (a problem ME2 had as well), which as a Tali fangirl I'm STILL irritated by years later...it's kinda hard NOT to notice that Garrus was given the majority of the best lines.
Yes, I agree. This also bothers me more than I want to to admit.
Especially in ME2 with Tali, Thane , and Legion !! :-/
I lost Garrus and Mordin on the suicide mission. So replaying ME3 with Garrus romanced feels particularly warmer than it did the first time.
Well Garrus is the goat
Supposedly that was due to running out of space on the discs, they had to put them on different discs.
@@rustyjones7908 ....."designed SPECIFICALLY"...it's almost like I KNEW THAT ALREADY!!!! But thanks for techsplaining to me, always nice to know that people are willing to assume that geeks are stupid about how things work.
This was a great video idea. Just the other day I was looking up unique dialog for certain missions.
Bring your love interest on the very last mission. I believe there is unique dialogue when you charge the portal, when Shepherd calls the Normandy to pick the squad mates up
Ok i did not know James fixes AA guns in such.... awesome way :D i always assumed it doesnt matter who is fixing it
Oh... i know this isnt a mission but theres a special scene in the Purgatory bar.. if you go there and have 3 drinks you will pass out... and wake up on a couch next to Aria
I'm a Goose, and this is my favorite Mass Effect channel on TH-cam.
In the mission Geth dreadnought Tali has also a unique conversation Even with Kaidan! Asking him if he still using the factotum of mass effect 1 :)
It means delaying getting Javik for a bit, but if you wait to do his recruitment until you can bring the Vermire survivor, they have some nice dialogue talking about being back on Eden Prime.
For ME2 you should bring Kasumi along for Jack's loyalty mission. I brought her along on a whim one playthrough and there was one line that she blindsided me with that had me basically weeping for the rest of the mission.
Hey Big Dan!
I have a video suggestion.
I think it's safe to assume most Mass Effect fans and your viewers play all 3 games in succession, importing their save files. How about making a video specifically about what players are missing OUT on when they play Mass Effect 2 or 3 without importing save files? The video could cover both "missing" content, i.e. quests or encounters that simply do not happen when you don't import a save, but also "default states", i.e. which major game decisions are being defaulted for non-imported playthroughs, e.g. the fact that Wrex is always considered dead if you don't import a save from ME1, and so is the original Council (I think). Or I'm pretty sure Mordin only appears in ME3 when you import a save from ME2 - players starting from ME3 always get Padon Wiks.
Keep rocking btw, I love your content :)
Nice selections in this video. My squad for all three games consisted mainly of Garrus plus one.
I can recommend bringing Javik on Sur'kesh for Kirrahe assuming he's just a genetically engineered Drell. He also doesn't put up with Wreav's arrogance.
He's also good to bring on the Krogan scouts mission so he embarrasses Grunt telling him he "left his mark" on the Normandy.
For the final Earth segment, taking your romance (if they're available) will give you some special dialogue in the final run. Full disclosure! I have only ever romanced Tali so I have only ever seen the end portion with her. I know at least she has some unique dialogue.
So as with the whole trilogy, always pick Garrus.
Garrus is just the best. He's got amazing comments for almost every mission, he's a bro to both Shepard and the rest of the crew, and, gameplay-wise, he complements most of Shepard's possible classes and builds, and he's available for ALL THREE GAMES.
He's just about perfect in terms of design and writing.
And the best lover for femshep :-P
I appreciate this type of content. I've been wondering if other players ever pay attention to which companions they choose because of unique dialog, because I always have. And each time I get a sense of relief when some of the characters converse about specific topics. The propositions here are pretty spot-on, just some minor deviations from my personal choices.
for Grissom Academy, EDI also has some unique dialogue if you did project Overlord and David Archer was saved
Definitely bring your LI along for the second squad on priority earth
I have a recommendation for you, BD. *(SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T PLAYED ME3 YET)*
By now everyone has heard of the Indoctrination Theory and the controversies, but I have a twist--I don't think the indoctrination attempt is just limited to London, but actually started before we actually took control of Shepherd. In the Vancouver level, right before you take control, Shepherd is launched into a wall from a Reaper laser and falls to the floor, after which everything around him blurs in vision, a visual cue in other media that we've transitioned to an internal viewpoint. What if all the conveniences, all the confrontations, all of the plotholes, occur because the ENTIRETY of ME3 takes place in Shepherd's mind as an attempt to break him into indoctrination, hence why it's possible for him to survive in the Destroy options, because technically he never left Earth? The more you analyze the details and inconsistencies between ME3 and the other two games (why so much effort is spent by Shepherd on retaking Earth instead of saving the galaxy, why plot points prominent in the first two games are blatantly ignored, why TIM goes full nutbars instead of remaining cryptic, why Kai Leng and Udina's betrayal come completely out of left field, why the Starchild looks like the Klencory beings of light in the lore, etc.), the more it seems like a legitimate possibility.
I'd love to see you go in depth on this interpretation and give your thoughts on how feasible the premise could be, what reference points could support it, and whether people should re-examine the games from that standpoint to gain a bit more clarity on why ME3 seems so different and why Andromeda possibly went in the direction it did.
Just a thought...
Who needs good squad setups when funny banter exists
It's the one bad thing about bringing Tali and Garrus on every mission: their powers have no synergy together. They don't have any combo detonators that can play off of each other and so it falls on whatever powers Shepard has to activate explosion combos.
Does that stop me from bringing them everywhere? Nope.
James is underrated man
My wife and I were just talking about wanting a guide exactly like this. Please do a video like this for Mass Effect 2 also!
Jack on Miranda's loyalty mission
Garrus on Mordin's loyalty mission
The best team mates to bring are your favorites buddies. In ME skills are secondary, it's all about friendships! When the bottles come, Garrus & I will be ready.
Citadel DLC, docks portion. I picked Wrex and EDI. Right as the mission started.
Garrus: Awww... I wanted to go
Ashley: I never get picked.
I’m still laughing at James kicking the AA gun. I must have played ME3 like 100 times over the years and never bought James along 🤣
It's good to see this and figure out who to bring if you want to do it a certain way. Though I can think of others to bring for certain missions you mentioned as well (even though you did an amazing job anyway):
Javik on the Rachni mission, if only for his conversation with Grunt at the beginning, any of your ME2 companions for the Ardakt-Yakshi Monestary, if only really for minor unique dialogue between them and Samara, Garrus for minor unique banter with Jack on the Grissiom Academy mission as well - especially depending on if your Shepard romanced him or not - and also either EDI and/or Garrus for when/if you encounter David Archer on the same mission (albeit, it's a minor thing again).
Also I'd say bring your romanced companion - if it's one of your teammates that is - for the final part of Priority Earth, because of that unique dialogue for when they board the Normandy when you get them off Earth when Harbinger is attacking everyone near the gateway to the Citadel.
Keep up the great work!
I always take Tali with me for the Admiral Koris mission. She has unique dialog. Especially when you find that dying quarian. It's really meaningful. I also always take Garrus with me for the turian platoon and bomb missions on Tuchunka
Javik is also good to bring for the Grunt mission as he is in Grunt’s old room.
I really liked the idea of this video! Would be great to see more of them! If you could do a follow up and include some feedback on ones you get in the comments and wish for missions for 3 would be great!
Well done Dan. I love these videos. Mass Effect fanboy here :)
Wonderful video! As a long time player, even if I try otherwise, I typically fall into the habit of just bringing Garrus and Tali with me at all times. (Loyalty evidently means a lot to me I suppose) So, it's nice to see a roadmap of the others.
Also as a side note: You looks like you accidentally forgot to add Sanctuary to your printed list of companions in the comments.
I think he did, as a point of extra context for drunk Tali afterwards
In Sur'keash, Javik is worthy replacement. If you have Wreav instead of Wrex bring EDI just to see her roast.
The banter between Tali and Kaidan at the start of the Geth dreadnought is a good way to break the ice and get the gang back together ;7
I’d say nearly all of what you suggested makes great role play sense! My one change would be for the two parts of retaking Earth. When you first land, it makes the most sense to take Ashley/Kaiden and James. Both human squadmates, taking back their homeworld alongside Shep just makes it hit harder for me. And then part two of Earth I take my love interest and Javik. Love interest so you can have the heavy moment of saving them during Harbinger’s attack and getting them onto the Normandy, and Javik because the last voice of the Protheans just NEEDS to see the end of the Reapers!
javik and garrus for sur'kesh every time. garrus still makes the shadow broker jokes, and wrex has unique dialogue with javik
In admiral Koris mission, i recomend bring in Ashley. She has a lot of dialog about the geth.
She talks about Eden Prime, nice touch.
As a guy who always romances Lt. Ashley Williams. I always bring her on missions. Since BioWere didn’t develop her dialogue as much as they did with with Garrus, Liara, Tail, hell it feels like even Wrex (who’s barely in the game) and James got a bit more than Ashley did. You would think they would put a bit more focus on Virmire Surviver, since they only appeared once in ME2. How disappointing BioWere 😒
Nor did I ever like BioWere ties to push Liara as the romance to go for.
Ashley and kaiden really got screwed over in this game when it comes to interaction's
It's a bit sad how BioWare don't gave them some love.
@@menajack it was bullshit, and when I looked deeper it turns out that Ash had a conversation with Shepard asking them what they saw when they died! It was good, I can kinda see why they wouldn't want it in the game but it added so much more depth to her.
And Kaidan apparently also has a conversation right after the Coup to apologice for being a dick? Which Ash doesn't get? This is bullshit, 100%
First off your tutorials are awesome and really helpful.
For the rachni mission I would suggest bringing Javik & Garrus. Javik has some surprisingly interesting insight to the rachni about his cycle and if you piece all the info together you can kinda understand why they were so aggressively hostile when discovered, possibly because of prothean influence and what they did to the rachni in their previous cycle...
Other than tali with the geth, it’s always Kaidan, liara and myself doing biotic combos galore. It’s all about the sound it makes 😌
Garrus's turian rebel skill tree makes his Damage INSANELY good along with his armor piercing paired with a typhoon.
Same with Ashley, Her solider skill tree makes her do over %100 bonus damage not even including the armor bonus
Garrus, and Ashley took out a Cerberus mech, Banshees, and harvesters in seconds! I was playing on insanity, too!
All those people just playing Mass Effect casually without checking TH-cam are missing out on all this great content!
Their loss, Dan!
Glad to see James makes at least one list for Mass Effect 3!
Javik has something to say at most mission, so he is always a good option.
It’s amazing after playing the trilogy for the 15+ time that I learn all of this
I’d love this type of video for ME 1 and 2
"Heh, heh..." gets me every time. Ah Grunt!
You forgot to mention in the second half of priority earth you should bring your lover if they’re a squad mate cause you have the extended cut goodbye during the run for the beam
Love the vid! I keep EDI with me because she's just amazing dialog. My only change to this list is Surkesh, bring Javik. Wrex and him have AMAZING dialog.
I'll remember forever probably(I don't remember which mission) the banter between Tali(LI ME2-3) and Ashley(LI ME1) and how they discussed, Shepard and their relationship with him, between each other. Needless to say it was kind of mortifying for Shep.
Great Video ! Do this type of video for the 2nd game or the 1st as well.
At the end of ME3 when they're running towards the citadel beam, I like to bring whoever I romanced. It leads to a cutscene where the Normandy picks them up and you both say your goodbyes. Makes the ending a little more impactful
For Sur'kesh I bring Garrus and Vega, when Liara is not in the shuttle Garrus will take priority for dialogue and Wrex and Garrus will actually have a heartfelt moment and even shake hands with Wrex being grateful for his help.
Bringing Ashley to the Geth Dreadnought mission if you romanced her in ME1 and later cheated on her with Tali in ME2 is amazing, they have some really good passive aggressive dialogue lol
Having Garrus joke about the shadow broker during that mission was even more special to me since I brought him with during the DLC