Highlights
- Killing Wrex in Mass Effect 1 leads to dire consequences in Mass Effect 2 and 3, as the less intelligent Wreav takes over the Krogan and isn't focused on curing the Genophage.
- Sparing the Rachni Queen and letting her go in Mass Effect 1 results in a massive outbreak of Reaper tech Rachni in Mass Effect 3, leading to the eradication of Aralak Company and Alliance engineers.
- Doing loyalty missions for certain squadmates in Mass Effect 2, such as Miranda, Samara, Thane, Jack, and Mordin, only to have them killed later in Mass Effect 3, creates a bleak outcome and removes the availability of other beloved companions like Tali and Garrus.
Choices are pivotal to how Mass Effect is played. Save the council or let them die? Cheat at gambling in Flux or hand in the device? Cure the Genophage or sabotage the cure? Each of these choices has dire consequences for the galaxy. But how dire?
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What are the worst choices to make in Mass Effect that can create the absolute worst post-game world for the franchise's beloved characters? Mass Effect's bleakest ending is a meticulously crafted disaster across all three mainline Mass Effect games. So jot this down and prepare for gaming's least enjoyable playthrough.
10 Kill Wrex
A lovely place to start is on Virmire during Mass Effect 1. The game's most prominent antagonist, Saren, is breeding a slave army of Krogan, and Wrex, the only Krogan squadmate isn't happy about Commander Shepard's plan to blow up the facility, destroying any sort of cure for the Genophage. There's a very simple solution to this disagreement: Shoot Wrex.
Killing Wrex means his brother Wreav takes over the Krogan in Mass Effect 2 and 3. Wreav is far from intelligent and prefers war to cooperation and isn't too fussed about curing the Genophage. This conveniently comes into play at a later point in the saga.
9 Kill The Rachni Queen & Spare The Reaper Breeder
On Noveria, once Liara's mother, Matriarch Benezia, has been defeated, the option to spare or kill the Rachni Queen confronts the player. Sparing the queen is too risky. She may actually help against the Reapers and that can't be allowed. Supposedly the bug problem of the galaxy has been resolved by a little poison gas from the first human Spectre.
Thankfully for evil Shepard, the Reapers create a Rachni breeder in Mass Effect 3 and are pumping out Reaper tech Rachni like crazy. This queen is fully indoctrinated by the Reapers and should undoubtedly be killed. Don't do this. Spare the Rachni breeder queen and let her go. She will later on eradicate all of Aralak Company, the Rachni workers, and some Alliance engineers.
8 Gain The Loyalty Of SOME Squadmates (So They Can Die Later On)
Mass Effect 2's loyalty missions were an excellent addition to the series to flesh out squadmates' personalities and backstories. To make a rather grim outcome to this mechanic it is preferential that players do the loyalty missions for the following: Miranda, Samara, Thane, Jack, and Mordin (make sure to destroy Maelon's data, so Eve dies in Mass Effect 3). This is done so each of these companions can be killed later on during Mass Effect 3 and companions such as Tali and Garrus are not available or replaced.
Miranda can be killed by Kai Leng, Samara can shoot herself, Thane can also be killed by Kai Leng (upgrade to Thanix Cannon in ME2), Jack can be captured and turned into a Cerberus Phantom (make sure the Normandy's Armor Tech is upgraded in ME2), and Mordin can be killed by Commander Shepard themselves.
7 Make Kelly Chambers Feel Bad
This is optional as the player may have watched Kelly get liquidated in Mass Effect 2. During Mass Effect 3 there are several encounters Shepard has with Kelly. In these encounters, there are a few ways that result in Kelly's death.
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If the player fails to tell Kelly to change her identity she will be executed by Cerberus during their assault on the Citadel during "Priority: Citadel II." Before this Kelly will reveal she secretly sent reports to the Illusive Man about her observations of Shepard. Scolding her here will result in a conversation between Gabby and Ken (if they're alive) speaking about how Kelly took a cyanide capsule, which is a bleak ending for this character, to say the least.
6 Don't Charm The Illusive Man
Throughout Mass Effect 3 Commander Shepard has multiple interactions with the game's human antagonist, the Illusive Man. During these conversations, charm options appear. If the player is smart and picks these every time the Illusive Man can be convinced to shoot himself on the Citadel at the end of the game, finally overcoming his indoctrination.
However, that option doesn't invoke the most destructive outcome. Ignore these charm options and the Illusive Man will execute Admiral Anderson if a renegade interrupt isn't activated. As a result, Shepard witnesses their father figure executed right before their eyes.
5 Be Mean To The Virmire Survivor
Whether Ashley Williams or Kaiden Alenko survived the perilous mission to Virmire in Mass Effect 1, it doesn't matter as long as the player is incredibly rude and belittling to them. Doing so will make it even harder for Shepard to convince them to stand down during "Priority: Citadel II."
This creates an opportunity for the player to execute the squadmate in question. During the end of the mission where Shepard and the Virmire survivor have their guns pointed at each other, players can choose to put a bullet in them. Ending their life creates one more black spot in Shepard's heart.
4 Have A Low EMS (Effective Military Strength) Score
During Mass Effect 3 it is imperative that the player ignores almost all side content (except the loyal companion quests where they end up dead) to keep the EMS score as low as possible. Make sure that the Collector base was destroyed in Mass Effect 2, and that the EMS doesn't reach above 1600.
The intended result is that the Destroy Ending will be the only option for the player at the end of "Priority: Earth." This will be a more powerful Destroy option, resulting in a cataclysmic event that not only wipes out the Reapers, but the Mass Relays and everyone on Earth as well. Literally scorched Earth.
3 Sabotage The Genophage Cure & Shoot Mordin
With Wrex and Eve dead and buried, Wreav is the last remaining obstacle to the inevitable (through Shepard's hands) extinction of the Krogan. Taking up the Salarian Dalatrass's deal to sabotage the Genophage cure, Wreav will be none-the-wiser. Perfect for tricking him and possibly starting another galactic war with the Krogan once the Reapers are defeated and the other races are weak and vulnerable.
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Mordin will discover this treachery and still try to force repairs. This ends in a bloody fashion with Shepard shooting Mordin in the back. A bloodied Mordin crawls towards the Shroud's console in one last vain attempt to save the Krogan. He fails.
2 Kill The Quarians And Pick The Destroy Ending To Kill The Geth
"Priority: Rannoch" is the culmination of the over one-hundred-year conflict between the Quarians and the Geth. Creator against creation. Who will live and who will die? Shepard must decide. A tough decision for most players. This Shepard build decides neither will live.
Since Tali died valiantly during the Suicide Mission back in Mass Effect 2 she won't be here to broker a peace with the Geth, meaning a choice must be made. The Geth must live, obviously. Not because they're better in any way. It's just so the player can pick the Destroy ending later on and destroy all synthetics, Geth included. In the end, Shepard solves a hundred-year war by destroying both civilizations.
1 Pick The Destroy Ending
The most pivotal decision that will determine the fate of the entire Milky Way galaxy. Was the Illusive Man right in wanting to control the Reapers? Maybe combining organics and synthetics is the next step in evolution. Maybe rejecting the choices altogether is the worst decision? No. It's obvious that Destroy is the perfect ending for the bleakest outcome in the Mass Effect universe.
With a low EMS score, the Geth still alive, the Krogan ready for another war, and few strong races left in the galaxy, Destroy is the way to go. Destroying the common enemy in the Reapers, as well as the Geth, the group that the player killed the Quarians to spare, breaking all Mass Relays, creating no way to traverse long distances, famine will strike soon after. The absolute destruction of all life on Earth from the low EMS creates an inhospitable wasteland for thousands of aliens, all with different diets now stranded together. War and death are inevitable. Players can congratulate themselves on dooming the galaxy in a way even the Reapers couldn't achieve.