TheMass Effecttrilogy sets players in the broader expanse of the Milky Way. With a whole galaxy to explore, Commander Shepard and his crew somehow manage to find the most violent and chaotic places imaginable; occasionally, however, they fly straight to a lovely, compelling, weird, or iconic location.
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Although scanning planets in Mass Effect 2 isan incredible amount of fun, the locations on this list are exclusively places where Shepard can put boots on the ground. Ranging between exoplanets, moons, space stations, spaceships, and even oceans, here are some of the many cool, unique locations in the Mass Effect trilogy.
10Ontarom (Mass Effect, Mass Effect 3)
Ontarom is one of the many planets where Shepard can land the Mako in the first game. What makes it unique, however, is the local fauna, including Space Beetles and Space Cows. The former is unique to the planet, but the latter is not; notably, there is a particular Space Cow,The Shifty Looking Cow,who will follow Shepard and steal the commander’s Credits.
In Mass Effect 3, Ontarom makes a comeback with the mission “N7: Communication Hub” and the associated multiplayer map, “Firebase Dagger.” Not as fun as Space Cows, but it will have to do.
9Omega (Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3)
An asteroid filled with mercenaries, criminals, doom-saying prophets, and the occasional plague, Omega is named after the last letter in the Greek alphabet—presumably because it is the last place that most people want to be.
The chaotic lawlessness of Omega gives it a certain charm, however, the kind that leads Shepard to his least unhinged and most-effective squadmates (Garrus, Mordin, Zaeed, and technically Aria T’Loak inMass Effect 3’s “Omega” DLC).
8Shadow Broker Base (Mass Effect 2)
Bioware put most of Dr. Liara T’Soni’s story during Mass Effect 2 in the “Lair of the Shadow Broker” DLC. In this expansion, she leads Shepard to the mysterious base which turns out to be a ship hidden in (and powered by) the volatile, electric atmosphere of the planet Hagalaz.
The logistics and the mysterious aura of the ship all add to the cool-factor, but the mystery subsides once Shepard’s old squadmate takes the “Shadow Broker” mantle for herself.
72181 Despoina (Mass Effect 3)
The Reapers are both an enduring mystery and a constant threat. The central tension of the trilogy, therefore, is how to unravel their mystery to mitigate how threatening they are. In the last mission of Mass Effect 3’s “Leviathan” DLC, Shepard uncovers the origin point of the Reapers.
Taking a Triton ADS mech to the bottom of 2181 Despoina’s ocean, the environment becomes dark, treacherous, and highly dangerous (despite the lack of gunfire, for once). At the bottom, Shepard meets a remnant of the race that created the Reapers, gaining crucial insight into their methods of indoctrination and their underlying ideology.
6Derelict Reaper (Mass Effect 2)
When the Reapers are still a massive mystery, however, the Illusive Man sends Shepard into a Derelict Reaper. Reapers are sentient machines with genocide on their agendas, and this mission turns Mass Effect 2 from sci-fi to horror.
The location is certainly unique—Shepard (thankfully) never goes inside a Reaper again. The coolest part of the mission, however, is meeting one of the most iconic characters for the first time: Legion, the friendly Geth unit.
5The Geth Consensus (Mass Effect 3)
Legion remains an enigmatic character for the remainder of the trilogy. After all, the Geth are little more than machine villains in the first game, so Shepard is suspicious of his intentions (at least at first). In the mission “Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons,” Legion offers its assistance to the Quarians by assaulting a Geth server that is attacking Quarian ships.
The mission leads Shepard into the Geth Consensus: the shared web of knowledge and democratic decision-making that Geth can share with each other. Herein, Shepard must “attack” encoded Reaper indoctrination that appear as clusters of pixels. Interestingly, this mission also functions as a series of videos showing the history of the Geth from their own perspective, a perspective that Shepard (or any non-Geth) sees for the first time.
4Luna (Mass Effect)
Even with so many moons to explore in a sci-fi game, Earth’s moon is still a special place for Shepard to explore. There are many moons in Mass Effect that have a lovely view of their respective planets; seeing Earth from Luna’s point of view, however, is a clever way to ground Mass Effect in realism.
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The views on Luna are worth investigating, too.CCCP Luna 23, a Soviet lunar lander launched in 1974 that was left on the Moon, can be found on Mass Effect’s Luna. Furthermore, Shepard can hear some interesting sounds on Luna, like a loud wind (in space?) and even the Rachni song. Oh, and did we mention he encounters the origin of the AI that would become his loyal squadmate, EDI?
3The Normandy (Mass Effect Trilogy)
The Normandy is the reliable and central hub of the Mass Effect trilogy. The Normandy SR-1 was destroyed at the beginning of Mass Effect 2, and The Normandy SR-2 was considerably upgraded into the SSV Normandy SR-2 at the beginning of Mass Effect 3. Despite these changes across the trilogy, the basic layout—and certainly the basicfunctionas the hub between missions—remains the same.
There is too much to fully cover The Normandy. Shepard bonds with the crew, navigates space, and can buy equipment and upgrades here; more importantly, this is the place where Garrus does his calibrations. In a game full of visiting exotic locations, this ship manages to feel like home.
2Cronos Station (Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3)
The feeling at Cronos Station? Creepy, evil. The smell at Cronos Station? Some kind of sci-fi cigarette. The visuals at Cronos Station? Fantastic—no notes. Cronos Station is the secret hideout of the Illusive Man. A central figure in Mass Effect 2, Shepard knows him as the head of Cerberus—a human-supremacist, terrorist organization—and as the man who brings Shepard back to life, at great financial cost.
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As awealthy antagonist, the Illusive Manreally knows how to pick a spectacular background for his plotting and scheming. Mass Effect 2 features plenty of shots showing him sitting in front of the massive star, Anadius, as the solar energy fluctuates between orange and blue. In Mass Effect 3, this is also the site of an intense (and tragic) fight with the Cerberus agent, Kai Leng.
1The Citadel (Mass Effect Trilogy)
The Normandy is the central hub for Shepard, but The Citadel is the central hub for thegalaxy. Conceptually, a space-station that is also a city is already cool enough; the sheer amount ofmemorable stories and missionsin this place, however, makes The Citadel immeasurably cooler—the coolest, even.
Even the mundane interactions here are memorable: whether it be talking to Hanar missionaries, getting a discount at Shepard’s favorite store(s) on the Citadel, or even just taking the elevator, The Citadel tops the list. Of course, this is also where Shepard becomes a Spectre, defends against a massive Geth invasion, and uses The Citadel itself as a means to defeat the Reapers.
