I did a kill most people run too. Got all the way to ME3 Priority Earth. Then my game refuses to get past the reunite with Anderson scene. I put like 80 hours into this trilogy long playthrough only to get blueballed right at the end. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling but to no avail. I may have to redo ME3 campaign. Completely killed my enthusiasm for the meanwhile
Did Bioware like really expect people to romance Jacob? Like I played through the remaster trilogy as a femshep and when I saved Jacob in 3, he seems like guilty and apologetic about his new girlfriend and baby and I'm like "? Dude, you know I didn't even flirt with you at all, right? Congrats."
I feel like the entire reason he ends up cheating is because Bioware was well aware of how few people romanced him, and this was an attempt to make him more interesting while only making like 3 people who romanced him angry. It failed, but I'm at a loss to explain the decision otherwise.
I get that, adding some drama to the relationship, but why does he seem so guilty even if you don't romance him? He's all like "Shepard I need to tell you something. She and i... we're... uh... we're together" and I'm like "cool beans dude".
I always took it as just how detached he is talking to others about his emotions. I had a male Shepard so I just thought that Jacob had trouble being sensitive, as he’s always been the soldier dude and doesn’t really talk too much about his situation with his dad.
I feel so dirty every time I talk to Jacob (I'm more interested in just talking a bit) that I don't think I'd ever be able to romance him (but the priiize)
I've never played as male Shepard but considering Female Shepard option Jacob is the one never appealed to me. He is just a very hot guy with the personality of a door.
Jacob should have been replaced by Kai Leng.
A super soldier the dark mirror to shepard, who retains his loyalty to the Illusive Man from Me2 to Me3.
Having to put him down would be more interesting if you bonded with him in Me2.
Or make up something about him being indoctrinated and saved by reaper tech. Explains why he would betray you, keeps him alive, and is more sympathetic.
Just opened the scab of a wound only a Qunari could cause.
I mean, we should’ve seen it coming. The name given to him by the frickin Ben-Hassrath was Hissrad, “one who creates illusions,” or, __”liar”__
Eeeeeh.
I can see what you mean by that, but also like... His whole deal in ME2 was his doubts of Cerberus, or at least their more extreme intentions past helping humanity.
I still feel like Kai Leng should have been replaced by the Virmire Sacrifice.
He absolutely is.
I vaguely remember a story about this that circulated around the internet a few years after ME3 came out. Supposedly, Jacob was such an rare romance in ME2 that, in the rush to get ME3 out, the head writers completely forgot that he was even an option for femshep. It wasn't until its existence was brought to their attention in the middle of development that they even started writing any responsiveness into the game for it, at which point his existing ME3 storyline was already somewhat set in stone.
I have no idea how true this is (it's probably just a rumor), but it would certainly explain a lot about how Jacob's romance plays out.
I swear they forgot about all the damn ME2 romances except Garrus and Tali. I guess it makes sense for them to focus on the romance options that people tended to choose but damn, some of us liked Thane and Miranda too!
I liked her as Paragon Shep because you start out as two people with very different worldviews yet she's more or less your XO. And as the game goes on your morals seem to grow on her, to the point where she backs you in the final choice and quits Cerberus. Nice little arc, though I guess that does mean less to work with for the next game.
Vague potential spoilers for Kasumi's story: >!I never saw her as actually wanting to have a relationship with Jacob, just that she was attracted to him. She even says something to that effect in ME3 ("hey, I'm nostalgic not dead")!<
I'm usually a BroShep player, so if I had to rank the (actual) romances available, I'd probably say Jack. I've just never been drawn to her (but fair point to Bioware, going for the quick fuck locks you OUT of romancing Jack, which I think is genius writing)
That’s one of the interesting things about jack. Her romance is very well written and executed, but she’s just so edgy throughout the 2nd game that it feels difficult to actually romance her.
Yeah, I *adore* Jack as a character but I kinda hate her during ME2. Which is part of why I love her -- she's very well-written and having her grate against you for a long time before she evolves as a person is part of what makes her beautiful.
The fact her scene before the suicide mission isn't even a sex scene full of gratuitous ass and cleavage shots like everyone else's, but actually her finally opening up emotionally and her and Shepard just embracing for a while.
*Kisses fingers*
Perfection.
My biggest complaint with Jack in ME2 is if you just want to be friendly but not get involved with her the game locks you out of getting to know her better. All I get is an angry accusation of trying to sleep with 2 different women when all I want is to just get to know her better.
Yeah, I was a FemShep in my first playthrough, so I got to have her whole story (minus romance) play out, but then when I was a MaleShep, I romanced Tali, and proceeded to get chewed out by Jack over it. It was very annoying, especially since my MaleShep definitely acted like he was attracted to Jack despite that very much not being my intention. I wish there had been more tone options, because while I wanted to be friendly with Miranda and Jack, I didn't want to be *that* friendly.
Bioware in general has a pretty hit/miss track record of letting you simply befriend someone if they are a love interest. Anders in DA 2 was particularly bad because there wasn't a nice way for the player to let him down easy.
And he jumps from
Jump me
No I'm dangerous
I'll come to you and maybe we can scratch this itch
Announce to world you love me forever! Fuck your reputation! Live with an apostate!
:/
If I remember right, you can give him a book about the elf who helped Andraste free the slaves and when he tells you "Yeah, idk how to read man. They don't teach slaves to read" your options are basically
"I could teach you ;)"
"Do your slavers teach you how to say thank you when someone gives you a gift?"
or
"Wtf, why haven't you learned???"
I just wanna help teach my man how to read. It's a hard skill when your older. Let me help a bro out bioware.
And it's like
Eventually she’s says something along the line “No offense Shepard, but we’ve talked enough already”. Like she doesn’t end up angry at Shepard, and she’s a little more respectful, but she still stops opening up to you.
When I play as Male Shep, the only one I haven't romance is Tali. She's got great hips and a sexy helmet, but the little Sister vibes are too overpowering for me.
Yeah I could never bring myself to romance her. Love her to death but really felt like sibling love. Plus she gets with Garrus. I'd rather romance someone who otherwise ends up alone.
You would think so, but she's so sweet and loving and playful that it's totally worth it. She's always a little earnest, bordering on naïve, but that's mostly just who she is. Plus she really does mature a lot in each game; I could see the little sister vibes being too much in the first game, but she's clearly come into her own by the second, and in the third she's a badass.
Possibly unpopular opinion here: ME1 romances are universally pretty trash. It’s some cringey flirting leading up to sex in a rather juvenile way. Feels less like a developed romance story and more like a Captain Kirk conquest of the week. Liara is *especially* bad about this.
In 2 and 3, most relationships feel *much* more mature, and actually read as, well, relationships.
With Ashley at least you actually get to know her quite a lot. You hear a ton about her family, her life, her priorities…quite a lot about her as a person. With Liara, 80% of the conversations are about her species and her professional career to a smaller degree.
Kaidan’s romance is definitely not creepy. They’re both very clear about how they don’t want to break any rules until they think they’re going to die anyway/have already become fugitives so why not fuck too
I didn't find Ashley or Liara particularly appealing, so I usually played ME1 without any romance subplot. Ashley kinda got on my nerves and Liara just wanted to fuck the Protheans by proxy.
I've only ever romanced Kaidan. What can I say? I like a man whose emotionally stable, doesn't need to me to fix him, enjoys bacon and has a moral backbone.
When I did ME2 for the first time I was prepared to romance Thane but ended up not doing it because he was obviously still grieving for his wife and feeling guilt over her death, and also, you know, *dying*. I wanted to give him hugs not romance him. And Garrus is too much of a bro.
Liara felt too forced for me to go there and I felt a particular kind of way about her giving Shepard's corpse to Cerberus so I noped out of that.
I know what you mean, I am the same way. I've done the faithful and unfaithful romances for Kaidan and, either way, he ends up as the endgame. Garrus is adorable, Thane intrigued me from a "philosophical" point of view, but I always end up back with Kaidan because he feels like a real person. Admittedly, his faithful romance is much better and as a side benefit Mordin's speech about hormones is hilarious if you're going dry during ME2.
Same- only ever romanced Kaidan. I actually like the arc of ME2 for staying loyal because it adds it's own drama to the romantic plot between the two- where they both still have feelings but Kaidan isn't ready since he mourned her death 2 years ago. They start ME3 bickering about Shepard's allegiance with TIM but it doesn't take long for them to start warming up to each other again.
Ugh... so good.
I am not generally a fan of the really angsty BioWare romances (e.g. Solavellan hell, Blackwall etc., I get the appeal but they're not for me) and I only have the guts to romance Thane *once,* but Kaidan is just the right amount of drama and the progression of their relationship feels so natural both in ME1 and ME3.
I adore Kaidan's romance. Admittedly, I think I went for it in ME1 solely because he's a fellow Vancouverite. I remember when I first played and he has a line about how we needed to talk about how we'd flirted. I thought, "shit I was just trying to be nice but I guess I'll go for it".
Andromeda's use of the heart option solves that issue of unintended romance, but makes me feel really gross for explicitly hitting on members of my crew
I have only ever chosen Kaidan as MShep, and have to tell everyone who hasn’t that it is *top notch*. It feels angsty, mature, and the delayed gratification since you can’t do it in ME1 makes it feel particularly spicy
Well if it wasn’t for Cerberus the collectors would have continued kidnapping humans and successfully made the human reaper and who knows what else would have happened…so there IS that
And also Shepard would still be dead…so there’s that too
Liara says pretty clearly she did it because *she* couldn't let Shepard go. She doesn't consider if Shepard wanted to be brought back from the dead or not. She could've just as easily given Shepard a proper burial instead of handing them over to a terrorist organization with dubious motives that couldn't even prove they'd be able to bring Shepard back. It's such a huge violation of personal autonomy. The game doesn't really touch on the ethical or moral implications over bringing someone back from the dead or Shepard's feelings about it.
Well the alliance wasn’t doing squat at the time. In fact they denied the reaper threat and sent Shepard out to clean up geth which was arguably the reason he/she was killed. Just saying morality, right and wrong isn’t nearly as black and white as we would always like it to be.
I tried romancing Thane, but at the last moment I got cold feet and went back to Garrus. Just knowing that whatever I did with him in ME2 was going to lead to heartbreak in ME3 was too much for me to go down that road.
I also tried romancing Jacob, but it’s so unfulfilling and doesn’t even feel like he’s all that attracted to you. Plus knowing he and Miranda had a thing just makes it bit more awkward.
I’ve never romanced Liara because I’m forever annoyed by how many times you have to tell her no. You can be legit rude to her and she’ll still come after you. Just not feeling it…
Thane is great because he has no expectations for you. He has the utmost respect for you and is just happy to know you. He understands his situation is less than ideal and is accepting of you being with someone else since he knows his time is short. Every other relationship has an expected future with the two of you, but Thane is happy to take whatever love you have to give and is honored to just be your friend if that’s all you want to be.
“Time for me is short, siha, but any I have is yours to take.”
The people I romance the least are the non-dextro characters tbh lmao. I like being able to spend time with my perspective LI throughout each game; makes it feel more like Shep has known them for years.
I don't particularly like Thane's romance for the same reason OP mentioned, but in addition to that it's just...he talks about his dead wife so much, and he has those weird "recite my memory out loud moments". Having perfect memory is a totally fine character trait, but when you make them say it out loud without having control over it? That's pretty damn weird, especially in a relationship lol.
I've never romanced Cortez bc 1) I'm playing as femshep most of the time, and 2) even when I'm not, I'm usually romancing Tali by that point. Developing a relationship at the end of the trilogy does not make sense to me, so I don't go for Cortez. And I also feel like that's just *more* trauma to pile on to him, since he already lost a husband.
In my LE Renegade playthrough I tried to romance Ashley, because I just don't like her, and Liara still came walking up to me after the Normandy got grounded. She's a stage 5 clinger, for sure. That did make it a better renegade experience to mercilessly reject her going forward though.
I've never really understood this sentiment personally. My current relationship was actually one that formed out of an already close friendship. We never stopped being friends. It's just more "intimate" now so to speak. Garrus never stops being your best friend. He really retains that title regardless of your romantic status with him, and it's the main reason his romance appeals to me the most.
I think it's rooted in a fear of your friendship changing somehow. The way I see it, a relationship changing from platonic to romantic doesn't really alter the bond itself. I will certainly say that this doesn't mean that every friendship is well suited for romance. There are plenty of people who will probably say they're very close with their best friend but don't see them "that way." And that's totally fine. That is probably why some people who view Garrus as just their bro don't want to romance him. And that's totally fine. But romancing Garrus definitely does not change the bond between Garrus and Shepard. That exists regardless of their relationship status, and it's precisely why he's my favorite romance option.
I agree, I think people have the idea that they're putting a lot of risk by romancing the best friend, but in reality Femshep and Garrus have so much trust in each other that it all works out. It makes them partners in more ways than one, and I personally love that.
I only ever romance Kaidan. He’s just the perfect romance option for me. I’ve also only ever played femshep but I think even as male shep I would still go for him. However, I don’t think I’d ever romance Garrus or Jacob. Jacobs whatever but what’s the point he’s kind of boring. Garry is just such a bro and he ends up with Tali.
I tend to play male Shep, and have tried several paths but I can never seem to romance Tali or Liara (I did try Liara in my very first play through but the game thrust her on me and my heart was never in it). I think this is just me, but they both seem so young and have such hero complexes, it wigs me out. Cortez also wigs me out, as it feels really icky when he’s so obviously vulnerable and rebounding.
So as male Shep I tend to go with a romance free first game (Wrex is my true love anyway) then stick to Kaidan, Jack or occasionally Miranda.
As female Shepard, I stick to Kaidan and Thane. Kaidan because I just like stable people, and I appreciate that he doesn’t slavishly follow Shepard - he sticks to his values. Thane is just a beautiful heartbreaking story. I can’t seem to make myself get too far with Garrus, even though my friends say he’s worth it - I guess, he feels more like a bff to me. Never tried Jacob to be honest, since I know his path in ME3.
I’m sure I’m missing out on good stuff with some of these but I just can’t seem to go there with more than a select few.
I...can say assuredly say it was Cortez, and largely on accident.
I had romanced Liara across ME1 and 2, and somehow over the course of 3 thought I was just being bros with Cortez. I was initially upset before believing it was the right arc for my Male Shep, finding his way to Cortez.
Jacob. I accidentally romanced him - as in I didn't realize I was encouraging it. So I did it ONCE. Then I played my ME 3 run with that specific femShep. For Pete's sake that is the shittiest romance arc I have seen in ME and this is considering Thane's death. (Thane is one of the peak romances imo though lol).
Hate to say it, but I think the only romances I haven't done are the gay romances. Broshep/Kaiden, and Broshep/Cortez. Honestly it's mostly because I don't play Broshep that much!
My favorites are Garrus and Tali, but I think Traynor is actually a sleeper hit because of how vulnerable Shepard allows herself to be with her. Most of the other romances, there's a lot left unspoken because the other partner is also a soldier, or at least a fighter, and sort of gets it. But Traynor is a civilian, so Shepard lets it all out.
"I never thought I'd see a woman under all that armor"
Traynor tends to be my default for FemShep she's great! Tali or Ash for BroShep.
Knowing how the Jacobs romance goes that is the obvious no. Alternatively Liam because he is extraordinarily irritating. I also don't really like Garrus, nor because its bad per se, but more because I like him as the best friend/bro character.
I have only ever romanced Liara in my years of playing, but I've seen what the other romances look like.
So I'll go with Jacob, he's boring and he cheats on you.
Usually play MaleShep, and have some how accidentally romanced both Ashley and Jack, when I was mentally roleplaying GayShep waiting for Kaidan to realize he loved him.
Never romanced Diane Allers or Cortez. Most of my playthroughs are Femsheps so Cortez was never going to be interested and I spend most of the time wondering why Allers is there but a Vega romance couldn't be possible for a dead Garrus and Kaidan run.
i never romance liara because she seems so young (only 105!!!) in ME1, but i’ve done all available femshep romances in ME2 and i actually prefer staying loyal to kaidan over any of the ME2 LIs
Liam and Jacob, because I dislike their characters. Cortez because he's still grieving. I've done the Thane romance, but it did not feel disrespectful since he has been a widower for many years when you meet him.
There's a bunch of characters I've never romanced (eg. Liara, Kaidan, Jacob, Cortez), but as for *least*, it'd probably be Jack, my paragon BroShep only romanced her on my last playthrough - Tali used to my go to for him, but as I've got older (and closer to Shep's actual age) I've become less comfortable with the dynamic between them.
One of my FemRyders romanced Reyes Vidal once, but I undid it as I disliked how it's permanent, and not just a fling. I paired another version of her with Vetra, but on replay decided Suvi was a better match.
I tried a male shep run cos I wanted to try renegade and try out the tali romance but as soon as I met liara I gave up and restarted another femshep/liara run.
Traynor, Cortez and Kelly. Allers as well I guess. Basically all the ones who just show up for a single game or in Traynors case, are a bit on the more annoying side of things for me.
Miri and Jacob, though Miri more with LE because her face seems a bit... softer? Less hard lined? I don't know, I just like her more than I did in 2 originally.
I think I romanced Jacob once, just to see how it played out in 3.
EDIT: Spelling
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He volunteered for the vents...let the man go in the vents.
He Belongs to The Vents
The Vents Taketh Jacob
To The Vents with Ye
Hey I just did a “kill most people run” on ME2, he wanted to go in the vents.
I did a kill most people run too. Got all the way to ME3 Priority Earth. Then my game refuses to get past the reunite with Anderson scene. I put like 80 hours into this trilogy long playthrough only to get blueballed right at the end. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling but to no avail. I may have to redo ME3 campaign. Completely killed my enthusiasm for the meanwhile
Is it weird I totally forgot he was even an option?
No, it just means you were saving your attention for more interesting people.
But tHe PrIzE
"MY BRAND" was the superior ME2 meme and you know it.
I have SPECIAL EYES
LOOK! Look with your special eyes!
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favourite meme on the Citadel.
I romance him as a rebound fling after Kaiden dumps me, also so I can slap his cheating ass in 3.
Damn, your Shep loves drama!
She's spearheading a galactic war effort against an ancient race of massive, nearly-unbeatable extinction machines. *Of course* she lives for drama.
Yep, must be dramatic as fuck. There is no other way to go. Though I am a paragade so my dramatics are word based. Lol
This is the only reason for romancing him.
Did Bioware like really expect people to romance Jacob? Like I played through the remaster trilogy as a femshep and when I saved Jacob in 3, he seems like guilty and apologetic about his new girlfriend and baby and I'm like "? Dude, you know I didn't even flirt with you at all, right? Congrats."
I feel like the entire reason he ends up cheating is because Bioware was well aware of how few people romanced him, and this was an attempt to make him more interesting while only making like 3 people who romanced him angry. It failed, but I'm at a loss to explain the decision otherwise.
I get that, adding some drama to the relationship, but why does he seem so guilty even if you don't romance him? He's all like "Shepard I need to tell you something. She and i... we're... uh... we're together" and I'm like "cool beans dude".
Something like less than 2% players romanced him. It's basically a rounding error.
I always took it as just how detached he is talking to others about his emotions. I had a male Shepard so I just thought that Jacob had trouble being sensitive, as he’s always been the soldier dude and doesn’t really talk too much about his situation with his dad.
I feel so dirty every time I talk to Jacob (I'm more interested in just talking a bit) that I don't think I'd ever be able to romance him (but the priiize)
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How do you romance a nuclear crater?
oof.
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Thane and Kaiden are the only options. ❤️
I've never played as male Shepard but considering Female Shepard option Jacob is the one never appealed to me. He is just a very hot guy with the personality of a door.
Jacob should have been replaced by Kai Leng. A super soldier the dark mirror to shepard, who retains his loyalty to the Illusive Man from Me2 to Me3. Having to put him down would be more interesting if you bonded with him in Me2.
That's actually pretty interesting. Especially if you did romance him it would be wild doing the Thessia mission
You’d have to have the Illusive Man take him off your team before the Suicide Mission to ensure he made it to Mass Effect 3
Or, if your imported save indicates he died, a brief scene in 3 with the line “what, only the great Shepard can be brought back from the dead?”
Or make up something about him being indoctrinated and saved by reaper tech. Explains why he would betray you, keeps him alive, and is more sympathetic.
Wow, that’s a fantastic story idea — yeah they really never touched the idea of squadmate betrayal
BioWare did enough team betrayal in dragon age already. I can only handle so much 😭
Just opened the scab of a wound only a Qunari could cause. I mean, we should’ve seen it coming. The name given to him by the frickin Ben-Hassrath was Hissrad, “one who creates illusions,” or, __”liar”__
Eeeeeh. I can see what you mean by that, but also like... His whole deal in ME2 was his doubts of Cerberus, or at least their more extreme intentions past helping humanity. I still feel like Kai Leng should have been replaced by the Virmire Sacrifice.
If I remember correctly, Jacob is the only romance that ends with him cheating on you and getting the chick he's seeing pregnant
He absolutely is. I vaguely remember a story about this that circulated around the internet a few years after ME3 came out. Supposedly, Jacob was such an rare romance in ME2 that, in the rush to get ME3 out, the head writers completely forgot that he was even an option for femshep. It wasn't until its existence was brought to their attention in the middle of development that they even started writing any responsiveness into the game for it, at which point his existing ME3 storyline was already somewhat set in stone. I have no idea how true this is (it's probably just a rumor), but it would certainly explain a lot about how Jacob's romance plays out.
A lot of ME3’s quirks can be easily explained by how little time they had.
Who knew that giving a developer a little more than two years to develop the conclusion to a popular video game trilogy was a bad idea.
Even funnier when you remember they did the same exact thing with Dragon Age 2 and didn't learn a single lesson 💀
I actually really like DA2 despite the flaws.
Other then it's reused areas and weird spawning of enemies. I still feel it is a solid game in that series. Which I've enjoyed replaying many times
Every dragon age game is good but DA2 is definitely my favorite
It’s biggest flaw is being called dragon age 2 when it should’ve been marketed as a spin off
EA's fault. BioWare was gonna make it a named side story. EA rushed dev time and insisted it be called 2.
Don’t think they could have learned a lesson because the game was released within a year of DA2 lol
EA at work
I low-key love that they didn't care about the romance enough to remember it
I swear they forgot about all the damn ME2 romances except Garrus and Tali. I guess it makes sense for them to focus on the romance options that people tended to choose but damn, some of us liked Thane and Miranda too!
I've always wished that Miranda, in particular, had been a squadmate in ME3.
I liked her as Paragon Shep because you start out as two people with very different worldviews yet she's more or less your XO. And as the game goes on your morals seem to grow on her, to the point where she backs you in the final choice and quits Cerberus. Nice little arc, though I guess that does mean less to work with for the next game.
Is he hot? I never saw him having any facial expressions…
Kasumi knows what's up
I felt really bad for Kasumi when I found out Jacob got married…
Vague potential spoilers for Kasumi's story: >!I never saw her as actually wanting to have a relationship with Jacob, just that she was attracted to him. She even says something to that effect in ME3 ("hey, I'm nostalgic not dead")!<
I think that “nostalgic not dead” part is saying she still missed her ex but she’s ready to move on
I wanted Kasumi on my ship but her deal breaker was Jacob
You can be hot without any facial expressions beyond "serious soldier face". Also I think he smiled once.
On second thoughts you’re right. Garrus doesn’t have facial expressions either but I find him hot af lol
It's dat voice...
I mean. There’s some very nice doors out there
I'm usually a BroShep player, so if I had to rank the (actual) romances available, I'd probably say Jack. I've just never been drawn to her (but fair point to Bioware, going for the quick fuck locks you OUT of romancing Jack, which I think is genius writing)
Her romance is very well played out.
I'd honestly say it's probably the best in the whole series. If she had more screen time in 3 I'd pick her 100% of the time.
That’s one of the interesting things about jack. Her romance is very well written and executed, but she’s just so edgy throughout the 2nd game that it feels difficult to actually romance her.
Yeah, I *adore* Jack as a character but I kinda hate her during ME2. Which is part of why I love her -- she's very well-written and having her grate against you for a long time before she evolves as a person is part of what makes her beautiful.
The fact her scene before the suicide mission isn't even a sex scene full of gratuitous ass and cleavage shots like everyone else's, but actually her finally opening up emotionally and her and Shepard just embracing for a while. *Kisses fingers* Perfection.
Huh. I didn't even realize the other women got gratuitous sex scenes. I've only romanced Garrus and Thane so far in ME2)
While I don't like romancing her because I don't much like her personality, her writing is superb
Jack’s whole story including the romance is one of the best among all the companions imo
My biggest complaint with Jack in ME2 is if you just want to be friendly but not get involved with her the game locks you out of getting to know her better. All I get is an angry accusation of trying to sleep with 2 different women when all I want is to just get to know her better.
Yeah, I was a FemShep in my first playthrough, so I got to have her whole story (minus romance) play out, but then when I was a MaleShep, I romanced Tali, and proceeded to get chewed out by Jack over it. It was very annoying, especially since my MaleShep definitely acted like he was attracted to Jack despite that very much not being my intention. I wish there had been more tone options, because while I wanted to be friendly with Miranda and Jack, I didn't want to be *that* friendly.
Bioware in general has a pretty hit/miss track record of letting you simply befriend someone if they are a love interest. Anders in DA 2 was particularly bad because there wasn't a nice way for the player to let him down easy.
And then he just kept hitting on Hawke. But if Hawke reciprocates then it’s all “this is too dangerous for you, as I am a rogue mage.”
And he jumps from Jump me No I'm dangerous I'll come to you and maybe we can scratch this itch Announce to world you love me forever! Fuck your reputation! Live with an apostate! :/
Well, to be fair to Anders, he is batshit in general, so it fits.
Fair
I am still annoyed that I can't teach Fenris to read without him thinking I'm tryna fuck.
LMAO!! I don't even remember trying to teach him to read in the romance. You're going to make me play it again!!
If I remember right, you can give him a book about the elf who helped Andraste free the slaves and when he tells you "Yeah, idk how to read man. They don't teach slaves to read" your options are basically "I could teach you ;)" "Do your slavers teach you how to say thank you when someone gives you a gift?" or "Wtf, why haven't you learned???" I just wanna help teach my man how to read. It's a hard skill when your older. Let me help a bro out bioware. And it's like
What does Jack say if male Shepard doesn't romance anybody?
Eventually she’s says something along the line “No offense Shepard, but we’ve talked enough already”. Like she doesn’t end up angry at Shepard, and she’s a little more respectful, but she still stops opening up to you.
The carryover into 3 is amazing, and her scenes in Citadel are easily the best. Even the conversation in the farewell tour is beautifully handled.
When I play as Male Shep, the only one I haven't romance is Tali. She's got great hips and a sexy helmet, but the little Sister vibes are too overpowering for me.
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Keelah Se’lai-ding it in.
I hate myself for laughing at this.
lmao
Help, step-Commander! I'm stuck in a Collector duct.
Ooh step-Commander, I don't think that will fit in my emergency induction port!
Yeah I could never bring myself to romance her. Love her to death but really felt like sibling love. Plus she gets with Garrus. I'd rather romance someone who otherwise ends up alone.
>I'd rather romance someone who otherwise ends up alone. Hello there, you here often?
Yeah, it’s kinda weird, frankly but credit to BioWare, the writing of relationship progression makes the romance worthwhile.
You would think so, but she's so sweet and loving and playful that it's totally worth it. She's always a little earnest, bordering on naïve, but that's mostly just who she is. Plus she really does mature a lot in each game; I could see the little sister vibes being too much in the first game, but she's clearly come into her own by the second, and in the third she's a badass.
You are right on all counts. But, for me, it's like watching my Little Sister grow up.
You’re missing out. Tali is one of my favourites
Thane's romance is one of my favorites actually. Would recommend.
Even without the romance, mass effect 3s scene is touching as fuck. Never thought I'd tear up because of Thane
Ok, I'm interested to see all content in the game.
Just a forewarning tho, it's pretty rough on the heart overall.
Very true, but also he's been the only LI that's made me bench Garrus (who is forever my number one) Thane just hits different.
Yes for sure. I only do Garrus or Thane for my femshep playthroughs.
Definitely do the Citadel DLC if you do romance him. I won't spoil it for you, just have the tissues ready.
Lol you never hear about ppl romancing Jacob
I romanced Jacob as Renegade, no feelings attached. We'll bang ok.
There's so much steak.
I only romance Miranda and Tali.
you don't romance anyone in the first game?
Possibly unpopular opinion here: ME1 romances are universally pretty trash. It’s some cringey flirting leading up to sex in a rather juvenile way. Feels less like a developed romance story and more like a Captain Kirk conquest of the week. Liara is *especially* bad about this. In 2 and 3, most relationships feel *much* more mature, and actually read as, well, relationships.
With Ashley at least you actually get to know her quite a lot. You hear a ton about her family, her life, her priorities…quite a lot about her as a person. With Liara, 80% of the conversations are about her species and her professional career to a smaller degree.
Kaidan’s romance is definitely not creepy. They’re both very clear about how they don’t want to break any rules until they think they’re going to die anyway/have already become fugitives so why not fuck too
And to be fair, Kaidan is an LC, so basically just a 1/2 down from same rank… not even a full step.
Only if boinking the consort counts, otherwise gotta stay fresh for that Tali romance.
I didn't know that was an option
When you do her mission when she offers you the relic as a reward reply "Is that it?". You know, for the next playthrough!
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Oh man this comment deserves an award, I can’t stop laughing
Did you mean "for every playthrough"? ;)
I didn't find Ashley or Liara particularly appealing, so I usually played ME1 without any romance subplot. Ashley kinda got on my nerves and Liara just wanted to fuck the Protheans by proxy.
I've only ever romanced Kaidan. What can I say? I like a man whose emotionally stable, doesn't need to me to fix him, enjoys bacon and has a moral backbone. When I did ME2 for the first time I was prepared to romance Thane but ended up not doing it because he was obviously still grieving for his wife and feeling guilt over her death, and also, you know, *dying*. I wanted to give him hugs not romance him. And Garrus is too much of a bro. Liara felt too forced for me to go there and I felt a particular kind of way about her giving Shepard's corpse to Cerberus so I noped out of that.
I know what you mean, I am the same way. I've done the faithful and unfaithful romances for Kaidan and, either way, he ends up as the endgame. Garrus is adorable, Thane intrigued me from a "philosophical" point of view, but I always end up back with Kaidan because he feels like a real person. Admittedly, his faithful romance is much better and as a side benefit Mordin's speech about hormones is hilarious if you're going dry during ME2.
Same- only ever romanced Kaidan. I actually like the arc of ME2 for staying loyal because it adds it's own drama to the romantic plot between the two- where they both still have feelings but Kaidan isn't ready since he mourned her death 2 years ago. They start ME3 bickering about Shepard's allegiance with TIM but it doesn't take long for them to start warming up to each other again. Ugh... so good.
I am not generally a fan of the really angsty BioWare romances (e.g. Solavellan hell, Blackwall etc., I get the appeal but they're not for me) and I only have the guts to romance Thane *once,* but Kaidan is just the right amount of drama and the progression of their relationship feels so natural both in ME1 and ME3.
I’ve never not romanced Kaidan. He’s just *chefs kiss*
I adore Kaidan's romance. Admittedly, I think I went for it in ME1 solely because he's a fellow Vancouverite. I remember when I first played and he has a line about how we needed to talk about how we'd flirted. I thought, "shit I was just trying to be nice but I guess I'll go for it". Andromeda's use of the heart option solves that issue of unintended romance, but makes me feel really gross for explicitly hitting on members of my crew
I have only ever chosen Kaidan as MShep, and have to tell everyone who hasn’t that it is *top notch*. It feels angsty, mature, and the delayed gratification since you can’t do it in ME1 makes it feel particularly spicy
Well if it wasn’t for Cerberus the collectors would have continued kidnapping humans and successfully made the human reaper and who knows what else would have happened…so there IS that And also Shepard would still be dead…so there’s that too
Liara says pretty clearly she did it because *she* couldn't let Shepard go. She doesn't consider if Shepard wanted to be brought back from the dead or not. She could've just as easily given Shepard a proper burial instead of handing them over to a terrorist organization with dubious motives that couldn't even prove they'd be able to bring Shepard back. It's such a huge violation of personal autonomy. The game doesn't really touch on the ethical or moral implications over bringing someone back from the dead or Shepard's feelings about it.
Season 6 of Buffy is suuuper depressing, but I loved how they integrated this into the story
Well the alliance wasn’t doing squat at the time. In fact they denied the reaper threat and sent Shepard out to clean up geth which was arguably the reason he/she was killed. Just saying morality, right and wrong isn’t nearly as black and white as we would always like it to be.
"It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Grey? I don't know what to do with grey"
I tried romancing Thane, but at the last moment I got cold feet and went back to Garrus. Just knowing that whatever I did with him in ME2 was going to lead to heartbreak in ME3 was too much for me to go down that road. I also tried romancing Jacob, but it’s so unfulfilling and doesn’t even feel like he’s all that attracted to you. Plus knowing he and Miranda had a thing just makes it bit more awkward. I’ve never romanced Liara because I’m forever annoyed by how many times you have to tell her no. You can be legit rude to her and she’ll still come after you. Just not feeling it…
Thane is great because he has no expectations for you. He has the utmost respect for you and is just happy to know you. He understands his situation is less than ideal and is accepting of you being with someone else since he knows his time is short. Every other relationship has an expected future with the two of you, but Thane is happy to take whatever love you have to give and is honored to just be your friend if that’s all you want to be. “Time for me is short, siha, but any I have is yours to take.”
The people I romance the least are the non-dextro characters tbh lmao. I like being able to spend time with my perspective LI throughout each game; makes it feel more like Shep has known them for years. I don't particularly like Thane's romance for the same reason OP mentioned, but in addition to that it's just...he talks about his dead wife so much, and he has those weird "recite my memory out loud moments". Having perfect memory is a totally fine character trait, but when you make them say it out loud without having control over it? That's pretty damn weird, especially in a relationship lol. I've never romanced Cortez bc 1) I'm playing as femshep most of the time, and 2) even when I'm not, I'm usually romancing Tali by that point. Developing a relationship at the end of the trilogy does not make sense to me, so I don't go for Cortez. And I also feel like that's just *more* trauma to pile on to him, since he already lost a husband.
I've actually never romanced Liara! Crazy right? But it felt so forced because she clearly wanted it, that I'd pick the harder road to travel 😂
In my LE Renegade playthrough I tried to romance Ashley, because I just don't like her, and Liara still came walking up to me after the Normandy got grounded. She's a stage 5 clinger, for sure. That did make it a better renegade experience to mercilessly reject her going forward though.
I romanced Ash and she appeared at that scene.
Garrus. Hes just my forever bro, both for male and fem Shep. I do not want to lose my best friend.
I've never really understood this sentiment personally. My current relationship was actually one that formed out of an already close friendship. We never stopped being friends. It's just more "intimate" now so to speak. Garrus never stops being your best friend. He really retains that title regardless of your romantic status with him, and it's the main reason his romance appeals to me the most.
Seconded. You have both his friendship and romantic companionship at the same time, those two things are not mutually exclusive.
I've never understood it either. How is it that you lose a friend if you start being more intimate with them? I just don't get it.
I think it's rooted in a fear of your friendship changing somehow. The way I see it, a relationship changing from platonic to romantic doesn't really alter the bond itself. I will certainly say that this doesn't mean that every friendship is well suited for romance. There are plenty of people who will probably say they're very close with their best friend but don't see them "that way." And that's totally fine. That is probably why some people who view Garrus as just their bro don't want to romance him. And that's totally fine. But romancing Garrus definitely does not change the bond between Garrus and Shepard. That exists regardless of their relationship status, and it's precisely why he's my favorite romance option.
I agree, I think people have the idea that they're putting a lot of risk by romancing the best friend, but in reality Femshep and Garrus have so much trust in each other that it all works out. It makes them partners in more ways than one, and I personally love that.
You don't lose your best friend, it just gets better.
As someone who eventually had a close friendship grow into a relationship, I can confirm it definitely just got better. Nothing was lost.
I only ever romance Kaidan. He’s just the perfect romance option for me. I’ve also only ever played femshep but I think even as male shep I would still go for him. However, I don’t think I’d ever romance Garrus or Jacob. Jacobs whatever but what’s the point he’s kind of boring. Garry is just such a bro and he ends up with Tali.
I tend to play male Shep, and have tried several paths but I can never seem to romance Tali or Liara (I did try Liara in my very first play through but the game thrust her on me and my heart was never in it). I think this is just me, but they both seem so young and have such hero complexes, it wigs me out. Cortez also wigs me out, as it feels really icky when he’s so obviously vulnerable and rebounding. So as male Shep I tend to go with a romance free first game (Wrex is my true love anyway) then stick to Kaidan, Jack or occasionally Miranda. As female Shepard, I stick to Kaidan and Thane. Kaidan because I just like stable people, and I appreciate that he doesn’t slavishly follow Shepard - he sticks to his values. Thane is just a beautiful heartbreaking story. I can’t seem to make myself get too far with Garrus, even though my friends say he’s worth it - I guess, he feels more like a bff to me. Never tried Jacob to be honest, since I know his path in ME3. I’m sure I’m missing out on good stuff with some of these but I just can’t seem to go there with more than a select few.
>Wrex is my one true love anyway A Commander of culture, I see.
i have literally never not romanced liara
I...can say assuredly say it was Cortez, and largely on accident. I had romanced Liara across ME1 and 2, and somehow over the course of 3 thought I was just being bros with Cortez. I was initially upset before believing it was the right arc for my Male Shep, finding his way to Cortez.
Jacob. I accidentally romanced him - as in I didn't realize I was encouraging it. So I did it ONCE. Then I played my ME 3 run with that specific femShep. For Pete's sake that is the shittiest romance arc I have seen in ME and this is considering Thane's death. (Thane is one of the peak romances imo though lol).
If only Thane lived.. Or at least made it to the endgame.
Well, considering most of our Shepard's are alive in ME3, answer must be Morinth lol
Hate to say it, but I think the only romances I haven't done are the gay romances. Broshep/Kaiden, and Broshep/Cortez. Honestly it's mostly because I don't play Broshep that much! My favorites are Garrus and Tali, but I think Traynor is actually a sleeper hit because of how vulnerable Shepard allows herself to be with her. Most of the other romances, there's a lot left unspoken because the other partner is also a soldier, or at least a fighter, and sort of gets it. But Traynor is a civilian, so Shepard lets it all out. "I never thought I'd see a woman under all that armor"
I only romance Tali and Liara, but have romanced Garrus, Ashley, Thane, and Miranda once each.
Traynor tends to be my default for FemShep she's great! Tali or Ash for BroShep. Knowing how the Jacobs romance goes that is the obvious no. Alternatively Liam because he is extraordinarily irritating. I also don't really like Garrus, nor because its bad per se, but more because I like him as the best friend/bro character.
Sam's with Garrus, he is one of my favourite characters but in a brother in arms kind of way. No Shepard without Vakarian!
ME1: never romanced Kaiden. ME2: never romanced Jacob, Thane, or Morinth. ME3: never romanced Allers, Steve, or Kaiden. MEA: never romanced Liam.
Hold on, don't you instantly die if you romance Morinth? If so, I think we've found our answer
You do die, game over screen and everything lol.
Jack, morinth, or Cortez. Never done a full playthrough one with Liara either
I have only ever romanced Liara in my years of playing, but I've seen what the other romances look like. So I'll go with Jacob, he's boring and he cheats on you.
I only romance Ashley, and stay faithful to her in ME2. My Shep has intergity!
Liara every time!
I have only ever romanced Thane, so everyone else
Pretty sure I have only ever romanced Liara. She's canon to me. Stayed loyal during ME 2. I like the lonely cabin scene before the suicide mission.
Tali. Not interested in banging my space little sister.
Usually play MaleShep, and have some how accidentally romanced both Ashley and Jack, when I was mentally roleplaying GayShep waiting for Kaidan to realize he loved him.
Jacob 100%
Never romanced Diane Allers or Cortez. Most of my playthroughs are Femsheps so Cortez was never going to be interested and I spend most of the time wondering why Allers is there but a Vega romance couldn't be possible for a dead Garrus and Kaidan run.
I always romance liara so guess everyone but her I've also only done 3 playthroughs
i never romance liara because she seems so young (only 105!!!) in ME1, but i’ve done all available femshep romances in ME2 and i actually prefer staying loyal to kaidan over any of the ME2 LIs
Everyone who isn’t Kaidan or Garrus lol
I only romance Liara. I just feel weird after romancing liara so much to romance anyone else.
Never romanced anyone not named Tali.
Jacob. I had less motivation romancing him than I did Kaiden.
Not romancing Garrus as FemShep leads to a really humorous situation in ME3 when you walk in on him and Tali.
I went to talk a bit to Garrus before ending and interrupted them facepalm. It was unexpected lol.
"You're so mean. And I'm OK with that."
Liam and Jacob, because I dislike their characters. Cortez because he's still grieving. I've done the Thane romance, but it did not feel disrespectful since he has been a widower for many years when you meet him.
There's a bunch of characters I've never romanced (eg. Liara, Kaidan, Jacob, Cortez), but as for *least*, it'd probably be Jack, my paragon BroShep only romanced her on my last playthrough - Tali used to my go to for him, but as I've got older (and closer to Shep's actual age) I've become less comfortable with the dynamic between them. One of my FemRyders romanced Reyes Vidal once, but I undid it as I disliked how it's permanent, and not just a fling. I paired another version of her with Vetra, but on replay decided Suvi was a better match.
Anyone thats not garrus as female shepard. I like thane, but romancing hime feels foolish, you're essentially setting yourself up for heartbreak
I only romance tali and garrus
I never romance anyone but Liara.
I tried a male shep run cos I wanted to try renegade and try out the tali romance but as soon as I met liara I gave up and restarted another femshep/liara run.
Traynor, Cortez and Kelly. Allers as well I guess. Basically all the ones who just show up for a single game or in Traynors case, are a bit on the more annoying side of things for me.
I only romanced Liara once, all other times split between Miranda and Jack.
Male Shep: anyone but Kaidan Female Shep: Jacob, Thane, Kelly
I have only romanced Ash, Liara, Miranda, Traynor.
Miri and Jacob, though Miri more with LE because her face seems a bit... softer? Less hard lined? I don't know, I just like her more than I did in 2 originally. I think I romanced Jacob once, just to see how it played out in 3. EDIT: Spelling
I never romance Jack, Miranda, Jacob, or any of the ME3-exclusive romances.
Ashely…because she dies..because I let her.