Bioware’s popular science fiction video game franchise, Mass Effect, developed a galaxy full of diverse and nuanced races for the players to enjoy. Fans may meet more Asari than they do Vorcha, but each species plays its part in a web of galactic politics. Many races have been squashed by larger superpowers while others have benefitted from their misfortune.
Over the course of the three games set in the Milky Way, fans got to see how humanity has progressed as a society in this galactic setting and compare their own race to the myriad of other species. This list ranks every race in the Milky Way based on their wealth and the size and influence of their economy.
This article will primarily focus on the races found within The Milky Way.
17 Reapers - Flat Broke
Despite being the most intimidating race in the galaxy, the Reapers are also the least wealthy (at least, by the standards of any other race). They have no functioning economy or home planet; in between cycles, they simply float around in “dark space” (the largely empty space between galaxies).
The only resource they do have is the bodies they collect to funnel into more Reapers; each cycle they make a few more. Not exactly a quantifiable asset, but the Reapers probably couldn’t care less.
16 Keepers - Humble (?) Servants (?)
Keepers are the housekeepers of the Citadel. They were there when the Asari discovered the station but showed no interest in compensation for their work. It’s not clear how many there are on the station - though Shepard can spot 20 or more in the first game.
These creatures have no culture, no interests beyond the Citadel’s care, and indeed no economy. Some people have insisted the Keepers should be paid somehow, comparing their work to slave labour, but any attempt to give the Keepers money has ultimately failed.
15 Yahg - Not Yet Space-Faring
The Yahg are a large, humanoid race best described as “violent and aggressive.” The only Yahg that the players meet - indeed, the only Yahg that seems to get off their planet - is the Shadow Broker. The Yahg are not yet space-faring, so their economy is limited to their own planet.
Though this places them low on the totem pole in the Mass Effect we know and love, in-game flavor text indicates that some people speculate that, in the next cycle, the Yahg could be an important leader in the galaxy. They’re getting close to creating their first space-ready vessel.
14 Vorcha - They’re Trying
Like the Yahg, Vorcha are not a space-faring race on their own. However, unlike the Yahg, many Vorcha have managed to get off their home planet and out into the galaxy. Vorcha communicate non-verbally, preferring combat to words.
The closest the Vorcha come to having a valuable resource is their military strength, but they have no official racial military. Vorcha fight for their tribes rather than as a collective unit. However, many Vorcha are skilled combatants - so much so that the Krogan mercenaries are known to take in Vorcha to fight for them.
13 Collectors - Mindless Merchants
The Collectors were Protheans once upon a time. However, when the Reapers were resetting the cycle and wiping out the Prothean race (among others), they took Protheans captive and did experiments on them. The final product was the Collector race.
This species has no particular interest in forming a collective economy; they live to serve the Reapers. They appear slightly higher than the Keepers on this list only because they are known to trade (if only seldomly) with the races. Usually, the Collectors offer technology – superior to anything the race has ever seen before – in exchange for a certain number of people of the other race.
12 Drell - Captives On A Dying Planet
The Drell are a reptilian race of humanoids that originated on an arid desert planet. However, when their planet began to die, the extinction of the Drell seemed inevitable. It was sheer luck that the Hanar made first contact with them around this time. The Hanar took pity and began to evacuate as many Drell as they could to their own homeworld.
They managed to emigrate 375,000 Drell and the species has had time to reproduce and multiply ever since. But it’s thought there can’t be any more than 1 billion Drell in the universe. They have no economy of their own and have become close companions of their Hanar saviors to the point of servitude.
11 Geth - We Do Not Need Currency
The Geth are an entirely synthetic race of AI: created by Quarians who gained sentience. This resulted in the Geth-Quarian war that devastated the Quarian population. In Mass Effect 3, the player actually gets to decide how the conflict is resolved, years after the fact. Most of what fans know about the Geth comes second-hand from the Geth companion in Mass Effect 3: Legion.
Though many people in the galaxy view them as evil, the sect that splits off and joins the Reapers is actually a small percentage of their population. The Geth control the planets (and subsequent resources) that the Quarians were driven off of in the war. But Legion explains that most Geth merely act as the planet’s caretakers - with little interest in multiplying their wealth - as they wait for the Quarians to return.
10 Krogan - Mercenaries Galore
While the Krogan have maintained an impressive foothold in the galaxy, given their situation, the genophage bio-weapon that limited their ability to reproduce has taken its toll on the race. Once an impressive species, the Krogan culture, government, and economy is now only a shadow of its former self. There is little in the way of centralized government - and, by extension, very little in the way of a formalized economy.
By Mass Effect 3, the Krogans are starting to recover from the catastrophe, but their efforts are unsurprisingly limited by their circumstances, such as how women can’t participate in the economy as much as they could, since they must prioritize having children.
9 Batarians - The Hegemony Is Fluid As Heck, Okay?
The Batarians have an active internal economy on their home planet, but they do not trade with the rest of the galaxy very much. This occurred when humanity began to colonize a region of space that the Batarians were already actively settling.
The Citadel Council refused to intervene, and Batarians subsequently stopped any economic (or diplomatic) relations with the Citadel. Batarians also actively participate in slave-trading, something deemed unacceptable by the Citadel Council, but which does stimulate their home economy.
8 Quarians - We Do Pretty Well For People At Perpetual War
The Quarians are hard to place, wealth-wise, among their peers because their economic system does not operate in the traditional sense of the word. The Geth-Quarian war left them a nomadic race, sailing around in ships known collectively as the “Migrant Fleet.” More than many other races, Quarians have a strong sense of community responsibility.
There is no currency that Quarians recognize: their most important resource is the physical space on their ships, so when an item is no longer serving its purpose, they get rid of it. Rather than throwing them away or selling them, these items are left in a communal space so that any Quarian who wants or needs it may take it.
This also results in their active interest in repairing items. Other than this, the fleet’s only resources come from what they can trade for on planets they pass by, or what they can strip from nearby asteroids.
7 Hanar - Space Jellyfish Are Also Space Investors
The Hanar are a race of jellyfish-like alien invertebrates that generally keep to themselves (making Blasto, the fictional, outspoken Hanar spectre such a fascinating subject). As a result, their economy is nothing to admire: it’s limited to their homeworld and a few small trade stations.
However, the Hanar do quite well for themselves - well enough, at least, to support the Drell, whom they saved from their dying home planet. They aren’t a prideful race - as long as they’re doing well enough to keep going, that’s usually enough for the Hanar.
6 Humans - Enough Money To Torture People With Science
Humanity was swept into a global culture with a united government after the discovery of the alien ruins on Mars. Good thing, too, since they’d soon need to interact with other species who had moved beyond regional governments to an overarching racial unity.
It’s noted that the human economy is small when compared to the most powerful and wealthy races in the galaxy, but it is impressive relative to the human population. Humanity is, unsurprisingly, very proud of this fact.
5 Elcor - Humbly: The Elcor Are Doing Just Fine
The Elcor economy is best described as “well thought-out.” The species in general does not rush to do anything, and as a result they like to make century-long development plans for their money.
It is noted that their economic system is slightly bigger than humanity’s but not so significant that it rivals any of the Council races’. The Elcor also have all the raw materials they require on their home planet, so they only deal with other races for finished products. An embargo on the Elcor’s space would hurt the Council more than the Elcor.
4 Volus - We Have What You Need (Or We Can Get It For A Price)
The Volus species is the only race whose economy can compare to the three Council races. Though they have very few valuable resources the other races need, the Volus have somehow managed to make a sprawling economic network in Citadel space.
Flavor text from the games seems to indicate that the species focused so heavily on trading, investing, and the like because they couldn’t match the other races physically. Given their economic importance, many Volus are furious that they have never been granted a seat on the Council (and one can only imagine the outrage when the Humans became the fourth member).
3 Salarians - “Sorry, I Don’t Carry Cash”
The Salarians have a significant economy compared to most other races, but theirs is the least impressive of the three council races. That is, of course, until humanity becomes the fourth member; the Salarian economy is far superior to humanity’s.
The Salarians’ ability to stay wealthy and powerful comes from their technological prowess mainly. Their species evolved a mind that moves, thinks, and processes information much faster than most other races – something exhibited through their quick speech and preference for to-the-point language.
2 Turians - Wealth Is In Gold Bars And Ship Cannons
The Turian economy is the second-most significant of all the Council races. It vastly outweighs humanity’s (which resulted in the catastrophic first-contact war between Turians and Humans). Their economic system might be even more advanced if it wasn’t for the fact that Turians as a species were culturally disinterested in the endeavor.
Despite their late start, Turians have become a powerful and wealthy race, supported by their stable military complex and its infrastructure which builds reliable, high-quality weapons and ships.
1 Asari - The Oldest Nobility
Asari are often called the most influential, well-respected race in the galaxy. The Asari are a fascinating species for a number of reasons, but none so influential as their economy. The race’s long life has encouraged their development and helped them maintain positive diplomatic relations with other species and leaders.
Asari have few enemies in the galaxy - most races are clamoring to establish good relationships with Asari and gain access or insight into their complex web of social, political, and economic relationships.
NEXT: Mass Effect: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Spectres
