The first Mass Effect game released in late 2007 and has evolved since then into a sprawling space opera. The lore is immense and cannot possibly exist in only one brain. Players looking to catch up on the history of the universe in the last few hundred years have a tall task ahead of them.
Thankfully, Mass Effect predicted this struggle. There are tons of optional assignments in-game for players to take on as it suits them, in between the core missions of the game, in order to learn more about particular groups, places, people, and races. These ten are among the best in the first game to expand your understanding of Mass Effect lore.
10 UNC: Lost Freighter
Mass Effect may set up biotics as some kind of incredible space magic, but it doesn’t go very far in explaining them. Most context the player receives about biotic users is provided in one-off conversations and optional side quests like UNC: Lost Freighter. When they do approach the subject, though, they often approach it hard - as Shepard ventures through this eerily empty ship, they’ll discover crew logs that detail how a man, Jacob, is brain dead and going to be taken off life support, but this angered his girlfriend, Julia, and caused her biotic implants to flare up - she killed everyone onboard.
9 Citadel: Scan The Keepers
The Keepers are an insect-like race that can be spotted around the Citadel during Shepard’s excursions. They’re completely uninterested in other races - they only want to maintain the station, not even accepting payment in return.
However, a few scientists are interested in gaining data on these creatures - Jahleed, a Volus, and Chorban, a Salarian. Speaking to either one will give Shepard this assignment to go scan the Keepers. If completed, Chorban sends his data to the player during Mass Effect 2 with startling news.
8 UNC: Dead Scientists
Assignments like UNC: Dead Scientists prepare the player for Mass Effect 2 without their ever realizing it. In it, Admiral Hackett asks Shepard to protect someone called Dr. Wayne, who is believed to be in danger. When the player finally reaches the doctor, he will tell Shepard about how he was kidnapped by a group known as Cerberus and experimented on. Indeed, in Mass Effect 2, a Shepard who saved Dr. Wayne will receive a message from him, describing how horrified he is that Shepard is working for Cerberus now.
7 X57: Bring Down The Sky
Mass Effect has a number of races that appear as allies and enemies throughout the trilogy. Unfortunately, a few are almost exclusively depicted as malicious and antagonistic. The Batarians are one of these races. The game’s lore tells all about how these four-eyed aliens are known for their pirate gangs and slave trading. The assignment X57: Bring Down The Sky, available as part of the game’s DLC, teaches the player all about this race - one of the first friendly characters that Shepard meets, Simon Atwell, explains.
6 Citadel: Our Own Worst Enemy
In Citadel: Our Own Worst Enemy, Shepard must decide whether or not to endorse a political candidate. The candidate in question is Charles Saracino, a harsh xenophobe who wants to resist alien influences on humanity.
His platform - and the comments of whichever squadmates happen to be accompanying Shepard - help to set the stage for the big role that Cerberus will play in Mass Effect 2, as well as the divided human politics that are making progress difficult.
5 UNC: Hostile Takeover/A Person Of Interest
Crime hasn’t stopped just because mankind has achieved its wildest dreams. Criminal cartels have only found more potent and dangerous drugs and activities to explore. In UNC: Hostile Takeover (also may be called A Person Of Interest), Shepard is interested in a woman named Helena Blake, a high-ranking member of a crime syndicate. Shepard may get this assignment by agreeing to help Blake take out some of her associates or because they’re helping the C-Sec track her down.
4 Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage
The assignment Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage only appears if Wrex is brought on the story mission to Virmire. There, Shepard and their squad learn that Saren has come close to curing the Genophage, a debilitating biological weapon that has made Krogan prone to miscarriages for generations. The player gets to experience Wrex’s fury first-hand at this injustice. Ashley and Kaidan’s lives may be in the player’s hands on this mission, but so is Wrex’s - the player could shoot him, or talk him down peacefully.
3 UNC: Major Kyle
The quest UNC: Major Kyle confronts how biotics are treated in galactic society. An ex-Alliance officer, Major Kyle, is suffering from PTSD and seems to have established himself as the leader of a biotic commune under the name ‘Father Kyle.’
Admiral Hackett, when giving you the quest, guesses that the biotics are simply looking for someone to champion their cause, having gone so long underfoot. Shepard must go in and talk ‘Father Kyle’ down, if they can.
2 Citadel: Presidium Prophet
This assignment exposes the player to several different aspects of Citadel life. They interact with a C-Sec officer who is arguing with a Hanar civilian. The Hanar is preaching in an area where it isn’t permitted. In Citadel: Presidium Prophet, Shepard must hear both sides of the story and choose who to support. Along the way, they’ll learn a bit about C-Sec regulations and a bit about Hanar spirituality. Whoever Shepard decides to throw their weight behind, they’ll have become a little more enlightened along the way.
1 UNC: Missing Marines
Nothing will teach Shepard about the dangers of the universe better than a run-in with a Thresher Maw. During UNC: Missing Marines, Shepard must investigate a distress beacon in the Sparta System. When they arrive, it’s clear that the marines were killed by the Thresher Maw and nothing can be done. However, Shepard must still deal with this beast. Once it’s dead, they discover that a transmitter was placed here purposefully to lure people to their deaths.
NEXT: Mass Effect: 10 Best Outfits From The Games
