Get quick and convenient access to just the hints you need for Mass Effect 2, 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 2 Hints
Morality Tips
1 of 9: As in the original Mass Effect, this game 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 9: One big difference is that the Mass Effect 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 9: 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 9: 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 9: 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 current Paragon and Renegade scores are high enough to use those options. Some Paragon choices require a very high Paragon score to use, and some Renegade choices require a very high Renegade score. If you have insufficient morality points for such a choice, it'll be printed in gray, and clicking on it will have no effect.
6 of 9: 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 Paragon or Renegade scores are in such cases. (Note what the game manual says about the conversation wheel in its "Conversations" section.)
7 of 9: In fact, it isn't even always a choice between the two. For instance, you sometimes 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 score at all. The same works for paragon players when only renegade options are available.
8 of 9: Mass Effect 2 adds in a new "morality interrupt" system which lets you press a certain key or mouse button at particular times during some conversations to take a morality-related action. The action will always get you morality points, and it'll sometime have other advantages. Some Renegade interrupts, for instance, can end combats before they even begin, or at least kill off some of the hostiles so the combat is easier. Each morality interrupt will only have one option (Paragon or Renegade), though passing them up will sometimes get you a dialogue option which earns you the other type of points.
9 of 9: For best results, you should decide which side of the morality fence you want to be on before you start a new game. Customize your character's background to support your morality choice (see the Character Creation Tips), and always go with that choice whenever you have to choose between getting Paragon or Renegade points.
