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TheMass Effect: Legendary Editiongives fans the perfect excuse to revisit the beloved franchise and play through Commander Shepard’s iconic journey again. Even if you are new to the trilogy, theLegendary Editionpacks every piece of content alongside several improvements and enhancements into one neat bundle, allowing you to enjoy thegreatest science-fiction story ever toldin video games.
For completionists though, it is all about achieving the coveted Platinum achievement/trophy forMass Effect 1in a single playthrough. That requires you to know every single missable achievement/trophy in the game, and there are several. This guide ensures that you do not have to reset your playthrough mid-game.
Mass Effect 1has amissable difficulty achievement. You mustbeatME1on Insanitywithout changing the difficulty settings. Make sure to switch your difficulty level before heading to Eden Prime, or else it will not count.
Do not sweat though. Compared to the following two installments,ME1is pretty easy.
Missable Character Missions in ME1
you’re able to recruit up to sixloyal companions inMass Effect 1, but only two can join your squad for missions. With nearly a hundred missions, you have plenty of time to switch squad members to unlock all their achievements/trophies inME1.
While there is a specific mission order where certain allies are suitable for certain missions in light of the storyline, you may take anyone anywhere without worrying about consequences. Sure, your companions will be disgruntled. Some might even be killeddepending on your choices, but having ahigh enough Paragon/Renegade leveltakes care of that.
Asari Ally
Complete 5 missions with the Asari squad member.
Include Liara in your squad. She can be recruited from Therum.
Krogan Ally
Complete 5 missions with the Krogan squad member.
Include Wrex in your squad. He can be recruited from the Citadel.
Quarian Ally
Complete 5 missions with the Quarian squad member.
Include Tali in your squad. She can be recruited from the Citadel.
Sentinel Ally
Complete 5 missions with the Alliance Sentinel squad member.
Include Kaiden in your squad. He joins you from the beginning of the game.
Soldier Ally
Complete 5 missions with the Alliance Soldier squad member.
Include Ashley in your squad. She can be recruited from Eden Prime.
Turian Ally
Complete 5 missions with the Turian squad member.
Include Garrus in your squad. He can be recruited from the Citadel.
Missable DLC Missions
Mass Effect 1: Legendary Editionincludes the Bring Down the Sky DLC mission by default. While it is not part of the main storyline,your decisions can slightly impactthe narrative ofME2andME3. Bring Down the Sky is optional, so you might accidentally miss it. Hence, ensure to complete it beforeheading to the Ilos planet, which is the point of no return forMass Effect 1. You cannot return afterwards for the DLC mission.
Complete before going to Ilos.
Missable Ability Masteries
Apart from a few abilities, all the rest can be completed using Liara and Tali if you areplaying as a Soldier class. However, you do not necessarily need to take them on missions for the achievements/trophies becausea popular glitch still worksinMass Effect 1: Legendary Edition. The orange Citadel Rapid Transit points on the Citadel (as well as the Mako) are considered a combat target. So, spamming targetable abilities on them counts towards their respective achievements/trophies.
Other Missable Achievements/Trophies in Mass Effect 1
The Archivistis the only missable achievement/trophy you should be worried about inMass Effect 1. This is because two of its codex entriescan only be unlocked during the prologue section. Hence, if you miss them, you have no choice but to restart the game. These are the Prothean and Geth codex entries. As a rule of thumb, exhaust all dialogues when speaking with someone, especially their “Investigate” dialogue wheel.
Tips
Archivist
Find all primary Alien: Council Races, Extinct Races and Non-Council Races codex entries.
Use Charm or Intimidate to resolve an impossible situation.
Accumulate 75% of total possible Paragon/Renegade points.
The Long Service Medalachievement/trophy requires you to finish all three games with the same character. Hence, after beatingME1, import the same character/class intoME2andME3.
Can You 100% Mass Effect 1 in a Single Playthrough?
Unlike the originalMass Effectgame, you do not need multiple playthroughs to unlock all its achievements and trophies. Thanks to several changes introduced with theLegendary Edition,you can 100-percentMass Effect 1in a single playthrough.
This is primarily because the Insanity difficulty is available from the start. You do not need to beat the game once to unlock it. Additionally, achievements/trophies that require you to use certain abilities can now be easily unlocked via squad members during the same playthrough. You just need to know where to invest their skill points.
The only achievement/trophy most players tend to miss is Archivist, which must be partly completed during the prologue, before taking off for Eden Prime. Other than that, you should not have any problem unlocking Platinum forMass Effect 1in a single playthrough.
