A quick study guide to prepare you for the complexities of Mass Effect 2 and how they relate to the broader canon. The races, characters, locations, and events that you’ll need to be familiar with if you’re going to understand everything that’s going on.
The Mass Effect universe is vast and complex, and to fully immerse yourself in the sequel, releasing January 26, it’s important that you have a firm grasp on the fundamentals. You need to know which races hate each other, which characters you might have stumbled upon before, and who did what to whom in all of the currently available fiction. What follows is a quick primer to get you up to speed on the essentials so you’re prepared for the bulk of what Mass Effect 2 will throw at you. It’s by no means an encyclopedic resource on the lore of the franchise, but it should help demystify some of the complexities you’ll face.
Spoiler Alert: If you’ve not played the first game through to completion, but are intending to do so before playing the sequel, you may want to approach what follows with caution.
Location The Citadel
The Citadel is a massive space station constructed over 50 millennia ago in the heart of the Serpent Nebula. The Citadel serves as the center of the galactic community and acts as its political, cultural, and financial capital. It is also the seat of the Citadel Council, the primary governing body in the galaxy. At the end of the first game it came under attack from the Reaper known as Sovereign, and any reverence toward Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 2 is due to his efforts to save it. There are challenges associated with the location in the new game however, as human efforts to help rebuild after the crisis have been seen as politically motivated, and have resulted in anti-human sentiments among many alien races.
Race : The Protheans
An extinct alien race that disappeared 50,000 years prior to the events of the first Mass Effect. They were the only known species to achieve intergalactic spaceflight of their time, and it is widely (and incorrectly) believed that the protheans constructed the Citadel and the network of mass relays that allow space travel across vast distances. Humans were introduced to the galactic community after discovering prothean technology on Mars, and were subsequently introduced to the “element zero” resource that, when subjected to an electrical current, releases dark energy that can be formed into a “mass effect field” – something that affects the mass of anything within it. Mass effects are used to generate artificial gravity, create super-tough alloys for armor and spacecraft construction, and to build engines that can propel space craft at speeds faster than light.
Race : The Reapers
Revered as gods and referred to as “the old machines” by the geth, the reapers (which is the name given to them by the protheans, it is not their actual name) are an advanced race of vast synthetic creatures (they’re like gigantic, scary Lovecraftian space monsters) that reside in an unexplored region of the galaxy known as dark space. The reapers hibernate for 50,000 years at a time before returning to harvest all sentient life from the galaxy. They do this by manipulating developing sentient species with the technology they have left behind as a form of trap; notably the Citadel and the mass relay network that affords intergalactic travel. By dictating the technological development of the galaxy, they are able to “impose order on the chaos of organic evolution.” The story of the first game was essentially that of the reaper vanguard referred to as Sovereign and its attempts to signal its brethren and usher in the next reaper invasion.
Character : The Illusive Man
First introduced in the novel Mass Effect: Ascension, the Illusive Man (voiced by Martin Sheen) is the leader of Cerberus – a rogue, pro-human group considered by many to be a terrorist organization. The group’s core belief is that humans deserve a much larger role in the galactic community and that the Alliance is prevented from making the necessary moves to assert more control over other Citadel races by mindless bureaucracy. The Illusive Man states that Cerberus’ goal is for humanity to take its “rightful” place ruling over all other species. His justification is that “if humanity is to survive, sacrifices must be made for the greater good. The Alliance doesn’t understand this. Cerberus does.”
Over the course of the story in the original Mass Effect, Shepard discovered that Cerberus had conducted horrific experiments on a variety of alien creatures in order to create “super soldiers.” These included experiments on rachni and thorian creepers, and destroying a colonial settlement by turning the inhabitants into husks (the lumbering zombie-like captives that the geth leave behind in the wake of their attacks.)
Race : The Krogan
The krogan are a species of militaristic reptilians that serve, essentially, as the “Klingon” style race of the Mass Effect universe. Their history is an important part of the overall mythology, but in Mass Effect 2 it’s helpful to know their recent plight, as their fate is intertwined with that of both the salarians and the turians.
After being used very effectively by the salarians to bring an end to the Rachni Wars (an event often referenced in both games) the krogan were free to spread their influence beyond the harsh conditions of their home world of Tuchanka. Outside of the nuclear winter and tough environment on their own planet, the krogan swelled in number and began to settle on other worlds by forcibly removing resident Citadel races. Fearing that their numbers would swell to uncontrollable levels, the turians partnered with the salarians to engineer and unleash a bio-weapon that made it almost impossible for the krogan to reproduce. The weapon, known as the genophage limited the birth rate among krogan to just one out of every 1,000 offspring.
Race : The Salarians
A race of fast-talking, fast-thinking, and technologically advanced amphibians, the salarians were the second race to join the citadel council, and are an important part of the Mass Effect mythology for both their political dominance, and their role in engineering the genophage to control the krogan race.
Race : The Batarians
If you didn’t download the “Bring Down the Sky” content for Mass Effect, chances are you’ve never seen them before. They were mentioned in a few planetary scans during the main game, but it wasn’t until the DLC that they were introduced properly into the canon. The batarians are a race of four-eyed humanoids that are generally considered to be bad news. They are invariably associated with pirate activities, slavery, and drug-running. Needless to say, they’re up to no good throughout the events of Mass Effect 2.
Race : The Asari
Arguably the most powerful race in the galaxy, the asari were the first beings after the protheans to achieve interstellar flight, and the first to inhabit the Citadel. The asari is an all female species known for their unique physiology (which allows them to mate with any gender of any species,) millennia-long lifespan, and biotic ability. Reminder: Biotics are Mass Effect’s analog to the “Force” in Star Wars.
Race : The Turians
Respected for their disciplined culture, the avian turians were invited to join the Citadel council as a reward for their role in defeating the hostile krogan by partnering with the salarians to unleash the genophage. There is considerable animosity between humans and turians, though for many players the turian C-Sec (Citadel Security) officer Garrus Vakarian (pictured) was one of their favorite companions in the original Mass Effect.
Race : The Quarians
A nomadic race of technologically advanced humanoids, the quarians were responsible for the construction of the geth, and have consequently been exiled from their homeworld and now live aboard a migrant fleet that they refer to as the “flotilla.” Needless to say, they’re pretty sensitive when it comes to the geth, and any associated technology. Because of their space-faring existence, the quarians’ immune systems have deteriorated over the past 300 years due to the sterile environment in which they live. As a result quarians live their lives in hermetically sealed environment suits and hide their faces behind visors. They are able to remove these masks, but rarely do so.
Character : Miranda Lawson
Lawson was first introduced in the iPhone game Mass Effect: Galaxy as an informant assisting Alliance Marine Jacob Taylor. Currently a Cerberus operative, she is supervising the 4 billion credit Lazarus Project which is designed to bring Commander Shepard back from the dead. Lawson is voiced by, and modeled upon actress Yvonne Strahovski, who stars as Sarah Lawson in the NBC show Chuck.
Race : The Geth
Constructed by the quarians as laborers and soldiers, the geth are a network of artificial intelligences that ultimately rebelled against their masters and attempted to exterminate them. In a word, they’re Mass Effect’s cylons. As a consequence of the geth uprising, artificial intelligence is strongly regulated in the Mass Effect universe – something that’s important to remember when you first board the Normandy SR2 in Mass Effect 2.
In the first game, rogue turian Saren Arterius commanded an army of geth in an attempt to overrun the Citadel with the assistance of the reaper known as Sovereign. Ultimately their goal was to open a “conduit” to dark space and unleash their “gods” the Reapers.
Race : The Collectors
The bug-like Collectors are the primary bad guys in Mass Effect 2, but this isn’t the first time they’ve been introduced into the franchise. First seen in the Drew Karpyshyn’s second novel, Mass Effect Ascension, they are regarded by many in Citadel space as a myth. Confirmed sightings have revealed them to be highly advanced, and known for strange trade requests. They share their advanced technology in exchange for unusual biological samples – such as “pure” quarians, or human children. The Collectors are known to live beyond the Omega 4 relay, and all expedition parties to locate their homeworld failed to return.
Character : Jacob Taylor
Jacob Taylor is the first character to join Shepard’s squad in Mass Effect 2, and is a human biotic that formerly served as an Alliance Marine. Taylor was first introduced to the Mass Effect canon as the main protagonist in the iPhone game Mass Effect: Galaxy. In that game, he was first seen on vacation aboard a passenger liner before it was attacked by batarian terrorists. After the events of Galaxy he was recruited by Miranda Lawson to join Cerberus.
Arguably the most powerful race in the galaxy, the asari were the first beings after the protheans to achieve interstellar flight, and the first to inhabit the Citadel. The asari is an all female species known for their unique physiology (which allows them to mate with any gender of any species,) millennia-long lifespan, and biotic ability. Reminder: Biotics are Mass Effect’s analog to the “Force” in Star Wars.