Forum Discussion

EA_Shepard's avatar
EA_Shepard
Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
2 years ago

Paragon or Renegade? You Decide!

Commander, you've received a new message at your private terminal!

When we start a new playthrough of our favorite games, we are excited when the game offers multiple choices for the players. Especially when those choices have game-altering decisions later on in the story. 

Some of these may include the following:

  • Alternate endings
  • Alternate conversations
  • Different responses from each squadmate
  • Changes in DLC

Sometimes these decisions are easy. You may look up the answers online to see what choice has what consequence and sometimes you wing it. If you are like me, you basically just wing it because you have not made that decision before and you want to see what happens.

A perfect example - Wrex and the Genophage

This was an easy one for me. Wrex lived and he's my boy so I had to make sure I gained his loyalty! You may not though. You may alter this decision and see what happens later on. 

Some say you need to go full one way or full the other, and that is true for some choices because they require X amount of points in each area.

For myself, I like to mix it up but I normally go mostly Paragon, except for a few Renegade choices tossed in for good measure and some conversations.

I would love to know which way you lean and why you choose those options! 

IGN has a pretty good breakdown of the Paragon vs Renegade choices. What do you think?

Are you more Paragon and want to save everyone based on more diplomatic results, or do you lean more towards Renegade because you like to push through on intimidation to save the galaxy?

Make sure to stay up to date on all your BioWare news and info

BioWare on X

Mass Effect channel on X

Bioware on IG

Mass Effect on IG

me legendary edition

9 Replies

Sort By
  • freault's avatar
    freault
    2 years ago

    I try using both sides of the coin. I use Renegade when a person needs a good swift kick in the pants and Paragon when a person needs shoulder to cry on or a hug.

  • EA_Shepard's avatar
    EA_Shepard
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    2 years ago

    @freault You gotta give people hugs in this one. Some of the renegade choices are fun to make but yes, you gotta give that leader hug too!

  • SofaJockeyUK's avatar
    SofaJockeyUK
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    It's particularly helpful that the Legendary Edition adjusted the settings for Mass Effect 2 so that you don't have to be quite as out and out Paragon or Renegade to pass important loyalty checks. This means that whilst it's still important to lean one way or the other, you can slip in the occasional choice the other way if it's just too badass to resist.

  • EA_Shepard's avatar
    EA_Shepard
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    2 years ago
    Hi @SofaJockeyUK, I'm glad they adjusted certain aspects because you can't help make the opposite choices sometimes because the outcomes are too good to pass up. Like Conrad. You cannot help but want to help him or make him go away. I always help him as much as I can just be a good guy.

  • mcsupersport's avatar
    mcsupersport
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    LOL, I just always modded my saves to give max paragon and renegade numbers so I can just play as I wish throughout the game.  I am not bound by a style of play because I "cheat" to remove that, to me annoying mechanic.

  • EA_Shepard's avatar
    EA_Shepard
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    2 years ago

    I used to just go to masseffectsaves back in the day, find the ones I wanted with the decisions made like all Paragon or Renegade etc, and go there. Never had it modded though. I originally played through Origin and not like Steam where you mod everything.

  • holger1405's avatar
    holger1405
    Hero+
    2 years ago

    I tried to do evil runs...... and ended up as full bar Paragon, every single time..... 😂😂

    I just suck at being evil.

    And I don't mind, imho the moral system is well balanced, you can take certain renegade actions without losing the chance to interfere in important decisions later in the game.

    So yeah, Paragon for live.

  • EricWolvesbane's avatar
    EricWolvesbane
    12 months ago

    In my opinion, paragon choices reward us as players the most. We get a more continued and involved story through all 3 games. Renegade on the other hand is a lot of fun, but this game punishes us when we are too renegade. This is something I don't like, as it limits the options we have during the end game. I am choosing paragon for now, but if I had the option to take more control of the end game at a personal level, I would be renegade.

  • EA_Shepard's avatar
    EA_Shepard
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    12 months ago

    @EricWolvesbane I noticed that too a few times. I got the same feeling if I want to play Renegade to a certain point I cannot. I almost have to make Paragon choices if I want to have certain aspects of the game met later on in the series.

About Mass Effect Franchise Discussion

The fate of the galaxy lies in your hands. Join the Mass Effect community forums and tell us how you'll fight for it.19,133 PostsLatest Activity: 8 years ago