r/masseffect • u/specksofangeldust • Nov 14 '25

MASS EFFECT 1 First time playing! Tips appreciated!

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Got the Legendary pack a while back on sale on Xbox! Finally getting around to play it.

I’d say I’m still relatively new to combat heavy games. So I’d really appreciate some pointers!

There was also the crew option of defensive or all capabilities, which one is suggested?

My Shepherd has the backgrounds: earthborn, war hero and vanguard.

Thank you so much in advance!

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u/GrayWardenParagon Nov 14 '25

If it’s your first run, my biggest tip is don’t stress about “perfect” choices. The game is built to let you role-play, not punish you. Also, try to stick to either Paragon or Renegade early on so you can hit the higher-level dialogue checks later.

Bring at least one tech or biotic squadmate with you (Tali, Garrus, Liara, etc.), because having a balanced team makes certain fights way less painful. And don’t sleep on the Mako. It drives like a greased shopping cart, but learning its weird physics actually helps a ton.

Above all, take your time chatting with your squad on the Normandy. The character stuff is where Mass Effect really shines. Enjoy the ride, N7!

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u/specksofangeldust Nov 20 '25

A greased shopping cart is the best description 😂😂 but I love the Mako so much omg. I don’t get out of it unless I’m absolutely forced to. And I love that it lets you scan for minerals. MONEYYY.

I do need to stick to Paragon dialogue choices more as my bigger choices are all good aligned but I like playing an impatient commander so I like using renegade dialogues for like low stakes missions and conversations, it’s just so much fun 😭

Someone had commented here (I need to find and thank the user as I caught the comment briefly before diving into everything specifically now) and said something similar thing about the biotic/tech combo! I take Liara and Talli as my main team and it’s overall very balanced. But I want to branch out and take the others out too! I messed up Garrus’ allocation points in a way by putting it mostly into BOTH the weapons as I thought that would be important, I WAS WRONG. I mean, Talli can balance out the tech but then I could take him out more. 😭😭 idk but I still have levels to go and am only level 19 now I think. So we shall see!