Get quick and convenient access to just the hints you need for Mass Effect, without staying on our website. Just download a free trial
version of our UHS Reader software and
a copy of these hints. You will get the
same gradual hints you see here -- unlike ordinary cheats or a
walkthrough that can spoil your game.
You can also buy the full version of the UHS Reader
for Windows or macOS. For just $14.95, you get full access to hints for
hundreds of games and 1 year of free updates. You can also search, decode, or print an entire
game's worth of hints at once.
Ask the Author
If you have questions about a puzzle that aren't answered
anywhere in these hints,
you may contact the author.
Mass Effect Hints
Morality Tips
1 of 10: Mass Effect has a morality-related alignment system that's similar to the good-vs.-evil or light-vs.-dark alignment systems that many other RPGs have.
2 of 10: One big difference is that Mass Effect's morality system is *not* a sliding scale where you're at a certain point, and can go up or down the scale depending on your actions. Instead, there are two completely separate scales involved, both of which can only go up. This allows for a sort of balanced, "both sides of the fence" type of moral development.
3 of 10: However, in game situations where you can earn Paragon ("charming good guy") and Renegade ("bullying bad boy") points, it's usually set up so that you have to choose between the two (or choose a "neutral" path that gets you neither), with no option to get some of each.
4 of 10: For instance, you can convince some opponents to surrender without a fight by either charming them or intimidating them into doing so. The charming option will earn you some Paragon points, and the intimidating option will earn you some Renegade points. There's no way to get both types of points from the same dialogue choice.
5 of 10: In situations like the above, the Paragon choice will be printed in blue text, and the Renegade choice will be printed in red text. That is, if your Charm and Intimidate talents have enough points in them to use those options. Some Paragon choices require a very high Charm talent to use, and some Renegade choices require a very high Intimidate talent. If you have insufficient talent points for such a choice, it'll be printed in gray, and clicking on it will have no effect.
6 of 10: Not all opportunities to get morality points work like that. You can often get Paragon points for talking nice to someone to spare their feelings, or Renegade points for being rough or rude with them. It doesn't matter how high your Charm or Intimidate talents are in such cases.
7 of 10: In fact, it isn't even always a choice between the two. For instance, sometimes you have to choose between getting Paragon points or no morality points at all. In such cases, you should always go for the Paragon points, even if you're a renegade at heart -- doing so won't lower your Renegade scale at all.
8 of 10: Being able to talk people into or out of things isn't the only reason to keep getting more morality points and raising your two persuasion talents. You can also get special morality-related assignments, plus bonuses like a 10% health boost or a 5% shorter cooldown time on all abilities.
9 of 10: Note that there is sort of a chicken-and-egg effect to the points, because you can only unlock the higher levels of Charm once you reach certain thresholds of Paragon points, but some of the available Paragon points can be had only by successfully using Charm -- and likewise for Intimidate and Renegade. There are plenty of missions and assignments that get you points without Charming or Intimidating, but if you want to reach the upper levels of either morality track quickly, it may help to start spending skill points on Charm or Intimidate earlier in the game.
10 of 10: For best results, you should decide which side of the morality fence you want to be on before you start a new game. Then create a new character that maximizes your starting morality score. (See the Character Creation Tips for more details.)
