Mass Effect 3 - Reviewing All Characters Who Replace Dead Squadmates 

The reason why there is like no actual SQUAD replacement for Garrus is because they didn’t expect you to fail that bad.

It’s kinda funny how Mass Effect 3 just kinda breaks apart if almost all of your squad mates are dead

"Did you send Jacob into the vents at the end of ME2", I chocked on my tea

The Rannoch arc is incredibly emotionless if you have BOTH Legion and Tali dead.

Padok Wiks is the equivalent of that one friend who is into very strange things, but will take the fall for everyone.

Dude, Shepard's reaction and unnatural stillness after oriana and her dad fall out the window is hilarious.

It's good that Mordin's replacement Padok is the best substitute character in the game considering that Mordin himself is the most likely squadmate to die during the Suicide Mission.

The only advantage of Wreav is that he's too dumb to know the truth about the sabotage, which isn't that much to go for as most players would choose to cure the genophage.

"In the interest of science, how do Krogan mate?" "Very clumsily!" Oh my goodness, I love Eve so much. One of my favorite characters, she's such a great character. She truly is the Krogan Queen 👑

As Wrex said about Wreav "That guy was a pain in the ass anyways." I'll take my trigger happy, shotgun wielding, illustrious leader Krogan any day. Wrex is always welcome on my ship.

I really like that both Padok and Mordin have very understandable reasons for curing the genophage. For Mordin, it's more of a personal drive to fix something he views as a mistake. For Padok, it is more of a general ethical issue of the Salarians interference with Korgan, that is still very believable and not forced.

A major thing left out of the commentary on the Geth VI I'd say is the heartbreaking Shepard interactions with it, if Legion was recruited but died on the Suicide Mission (happened on my first playthrough). Shep numerous times will try to be buddy-buddy with the VI, and it just... rejects them every time. It's a very interesting dynamic with Shepard grappling with the imperfect resurrection of an old friend. "We fought the Collectors together! We were friends, Legion!" "And then we died." gets me every time.

Padok also drops a nice bit of Krogan Culture on us by explaining how the Krogans name their children; all the males of the clan would get together for a belching contest, the sound the loudest belch makes becomes the new Krogan's name.

Been playing ME for years and there's still stuff I don't know about. That's what's great about this channel teaching me new stuff.

4:25 "Homeboy gets ganked by a Cerberus trooper" Geez lol I never realized prangley is popped by just one trooper in that cutscene.

Garrus, Tali, Wrex, Miranda, Kasumi, Jack, Grunt, Legion, Mordin, and Zaeed were such an integral part of my Mass Effect experience that I honestly forget it's even possible for them to die.

I can't play Mass Effect 3 without Garrus or Tali. Even if there's an option to get them killed on the Collector base, I just hate the fact that this is even possible.

Bailey and Kirrahe also replace Thane even if he survived ME2 but you forget to meet with him at the hospital before Cerberus attacks the citadel.

It kinda makes sense that Shepherd might not have much reaction to Raan's possible death at the end without Tali. Shepherd would have seen up to four people die by suicide via gunshot at that point.

Imagine playing mass effect 1 without realising there's an explosive shot on the mako

It always baffled me how Admiral Raan was less useful than ordering The quatrains to stand down than Tali.

As much as I love Mordin, with Padok Wiks being a great character in his own right I think it’s worth letting Mordin die at least once just to experience him.

Urdnot Dagg- "Time to die!" Shepard- "That's the spirit" Dagg- "No I mean me... I'M about to die!!"

Jondum Bau's complete passivity and lack of struggling or fighting back when the random C-Sec guy was choking him to death always makes me laugh my ass off. You're a Spectre, dude, handle this situation. If they wanted to make it more believable. Have the random C-Sec guy be the one at the terminal and you don't suspect him. Then the Hanar says "My colleague has just uploaded the virus." That's when the camera focuses on C-Sec guy. Shepard can go take out the C-Sec guy and have the Hanar use his tentacles to immobilize and strangle Bau. If you've talked to Zaeed in ME2, he mentions that Hanar are surprisingly strong and have good grip. So this would pass as possibly threatening to a Spectre. Much more than a random red shirt C-Sec guy at least.

man, I freaking loved Dagg. He left a fairly big impression on me in the short time he was given. Yeah, he's a stereotypical Krogan in many regards, but unlike most of them, he's not an asshole in the least. He just likes fighting. A LOT. And there's something really engaging about someone who seems to be enjoying himself so much. He really did die doing what he loved most. Plus, he seems pretty honorable, a trait I usually value a lot Definitely among my top 4 Krogans, and part of a very short list of Krogan I think are worth a damn.

1:10 Wreav is so frustrating that I decided to help Aria retake her couch midway through the Genophage arc. 8:28/9:00 Are these just the default in original Mass Effect 3 for players who didn't purchase the respective ME2 DLCs?

I never had anyone die during my playthrough and I'm glad for that, but man, I wish I got to know some of these characters!

They could have inspired like a whole 10% more playthroughs of the game if you could invite Mordin to the Citadel DLC party after keeping him alive.

it's amazing how much extra work they made for themselves by having soo many squadmates that can kick the bucket.

In my opinion, Xen is pretty damn good as a character, probably one of the most unique ones in ideology amongst her people, plus Morrigan's voice gives her an extra edge. Unfortunately we can only see more of her if Tali dies.

Bioware punishes in the sequel if you get squadmates killed.

Iirc Falere has a line where she mentions that Shepard got Samara killed if she dies during the suicide mission. Dunno what she says if you never recruit Samara though.

Garrus and Tali are two of my favorite characters🙂❤️😊 thanks for this awesome video BigDanGaming 💯🔥🙃

Still breaks my heart if you betray Wrex in ME3 and sabotage the cure. He finds out and confronts you on the Citadel, and you have to kill him

I love how they made it safe to kill off Jacob 🤣😂

Thane survived my Mass Effect 2, but I never noticed him in the hospital before the Cerberus attack. Kirrahe stood in during the attack as if Thane was dead, but Shepard still said "That was for Thane, you son of a bitch!" when killing Kai Leng. It confused that hell out of me when I played!

Thank goodness this guy was willing to let the squad die to find out what happens because I sure didn't have the guts to. Also poor Kirrahe at 7:10. "Hold the line" to the bitter end.

Hope the new mass effect has such a dynamic choice and effect system. Even for a first playthrough, having a bad choice feel worse later, would be inspiring.

Imagine how much more fleshed out it could have been provided the not having like 18 .months to make the entire game

I’ve been looking for a video on this for so long man

It's so weird that Tali is a full, permanent squadmate in 3, since she has the highest chance of dying: She can die to a lack of ship upgrades, and has the second lowest "hold the line" score behind Mordin. Mordin however will likely be safe in your squad, or escorting the cr3w.

If I remember correctly, you can still have Kirrahe show up to save the councilor. Even if Thane is still alive, by not talking to Thane in Mass Effect 3.

Viks is so good that i wish we could have had both him and Scientist Salarian at the same time.

You finally made the video. Thanks Dan. Thank you for accepting my suggestion

5:51 that look Shepard gave her after she offed herself was hilarious. 🤣

I've played ME through probably a dozen times or more, and most of this stuff I've never seen before. I just can't bear to let any of my homies die! Good video!

I kept everyone alive and was looking for a video exactly like this, thank you.

This is the video I've been waiting for.

Dude simply mentioning the scene with Legion and what he says when deciding what happens in the Quarian vs. Geth war has me on the verge of tears.

I genuinely like Kirrahe “holding the line” till the end, more then Thane.

The reason there wasn't an actual person to replace Garrus (like how Wiks replaced Mordin or Wreav replaced Wrex) is because they didn't expect anyone would want to kill him... Especially not those who wanted to romance him. But since there was a possibility of him accidentally dieing in ME2 they just gave the lines over to Corinthis.

You could finish ME2 without ever recruiting Tali. I never did that, and I wonder if Tali would be there in ME3?

Hey Dan! I have an awesome idea for the next video! You know that you can replace Doctor Chakwas in ME3 with some other younger doctor (can't remember her name). You could make a video showing differences if you have Chakwas and when you instead chose the other one. Just FYI if you are wondering about the next video.

One thing I love about Padok Wiks is his interesting views on the universe. He's a scientist, so he looks at life with a logical and academic outlook. But he's also very spiritual, believing that our actions have a lasting effect in the universe. Both of them helped create the genophage, and Mordin cures it because of his regrets, but Padok does it because he believes he has a moral obligation to fix it.

Every time I watch your videos I always get a big sense of deja vu despite it being a new video 😂 I have no idea why

I've played the Mass Effect trilogy numerous times and I've never lost any companion. I didn't know there where replacements, so your video is very informative to me.

So it just zaps all of the emotion from the choices that matter in me3

I made sure to keep all of my team members alive in original release of ME2, so I could have them all in ME3. I didn't learn that there were substitute characters in ME3 until last year (2020). I felt like Sally Field in restaurant dinner scene in MRS DOUBTFIRE... "THE WHOLE TIME!? THE WHOLE TIME!? THE WHOLE TIME!?"

I like that you make these videos. Because no matter how many times I replay the games I always have to make sure everyone lives no matter what lol

I would have never seen most of these, so...thank you! Like, I wondered! But had no idea how they fit in all those possibilities!

It wasn't there considering the footage in the video used male Shepard, but in the scene where Traynor talks to Shepard instead of Garrus, if you play as Femshep, you get a somewhat amusing scene of Traynor being...ahem...'distracted'...by Shepard's bottom. Definitely not worth killing Garrus for, but rather amusing nonetheless.

If Padok Wiks is the second Wrex's source of information in STG, in case Mordin is dead, does Wrex find out about your betrayal when you choose not to cure the genophage?

About this from 9:45 there is one dialogue. Falere mentioned that she've heard her mother was working with shephard and she died on collectors base and it appear only in this outcome.

Thanks for going over these so I never have to sacrifice my besties myself ❤️

Just saying.... Totally felt ya when you said, "Goddess forbid" during Garrus's.... Ahem.... Death.....

Padok is a great character, I would’ve loved to see him and Mordin interact

Good vid, this felt like it was almost an entirely new story when I saw this I knew a few of these but never saw most cause I always try to save everyone.

These videos are like reading the pages you didn’t turn to in a choose you own adventure book!

This is what makes these games so great, idk how many times I’ve replayed the trilogy and always find something new or something I haven’t done

When I first played Mass effect 2 and 3 it simulated all my actions in ME1 it simulated that I killed Wrex on Ilos and let Ashley die on Virmire. So when I played through these two games I liked Weeav a lot but had no idea one of the GOATS Wrex was even a character until I replayed the trilogy. Ashley too. Mass Effect is amazing

It does make you appreciate how much detail BioWare did for mass effect even you didn’t get everyone killed

Quite interesting. Thank you for your work :)

I had a few of these outcomes during some of my playthroughs just to see how it played out. But I never had the guts so let either Garrus or Tali die during the suicide mission. Now that I watched this, I'm glad I didn't.

I played ME3 before any of the others. For a while, I thought most of these were the main characters

What efforts have been behind this scrutinr. Nice

I don’t know why but “what’s up everyone, big Dan here” gets me so hyped 😂

In my latest Playthrough i will meet nearly all of them. Only Tali, Legion and Garrus survived

For these things I love Mass Effect. I have played each game at least five times but in each playtrough I find new things that never cease to amaze me.

thank you for making this. you are saving time for me. now I won't have to replay the game an extra several times.

Hey Dan! Good video, mate!👍🏻

I laughed when Oriana and Henry fell

Correction wrex doesn’t have to die on virmire for wreave to be leader instead. If you don’t recruit him wreave will still take over

Have you ever made a video about what happens if you take Dr Michel in ME3 instead of Chakwas ? Ive never had the heart to do it

Happily one of your videos shows how to save all my squad mates therefore my faves always survive thanks for showing what replacements some get that I didn't know about

Conclusion: *SAVE YOUR GODDAMN SQUADMATES*

Wiks was funny af. XD

another thing worth mentioning could be the mentions of Tali and Garrus when being on Menae/Rannoch (which is also very sad because it reminds you they are dead ooooofff)

Thanks for the video

I prefer morinth over Samara but they literally just ganked morinth into a renamed banshee and a few emails, would have chose to kill Samara but morinth adds nothing to me3, I'm disappointed

10:00 That's exactly why I laugh when people complain that "your choices didn't matter in the end" thingy. Can you imagine how much extra content they'd have to create for ALL the unique choices you made over all three games? We'd have like a hundred different endings, if not more! The games provided a good story, beginning middle and end, and the choices you made did have an impact, as this video pointed out. But ultimately the story had to end with Shepard defeating the enemy they fought over the course of the entire trilogy, there wasn't really any other ending than that!

I'm surprised you didn't actually play the line "i punched him in the face" from padok

Thank you for the great video! Currently doing a zapp brannigan run and making all kinds of bad decisions. 🤣

Why anyone would do this is beyond me

Here's an incredibly dark idea I had (at least in part based on Big Dan's joke from 'not releasing Grunt' video of Grunt becoming a mega Krogan Husk), have any squadmates who died during 2 or 3 becoming an enemy in the final missions of ME3 (like the Jack Phantom and Morinth Banshee). Eg: have Cerberus recover Legion and have it still become the 'Legion Assassin' unit the same as selling it to Cerberus and Morinth still become a Banshee if she slips away in a failed version of Samara's Loyalty Mission. Or (the darkest idea I came up with) have GARRUS become Marauder Shields if he died during the Collector Base or have him merged into a Brute with Grunt if the Krogan also died. Also maybe have Jacob take Kai Leng's role if he survives rather than having him in the Ex-Cerberus Scientists mission (either have him remain committed to Cerberus or for a hideout he's located in get raided on The Illusive Man's orders and have him forcibly indoctrinated in an attempt to throw Shepard off balance during Citadel, Thessia and Cerberus HQ).

Hey Dan, I have question about Anderson and ME3 ending, can you save him at the end without final paragon/renegade conversation option or no?

Probably already known, but Claudia Black also plays Liara's other mom. She's the bartender in Conrad's bar in ME2 and the bartender in ME3. Some nice dialog if you've hooked up with Liara.

This video exemplifies why I can’t rate Mass Effect 3 as a perfect game. Well, this and the very ending. Just having a few minor differences in dialogue is a far cry from the ‘your actions have consequences’ promise of the series. Those consequences seem pretty superficial in the final analysis. Another major issue I have is the way Ashley and Kaidan became a single character after Virmire. It’s highly absurd that both Ashley and Kaidan would have pretty much the same exact dialogue on Horizon in ME2, and that they would both be assigned there in the first place. And that only becomes more absurd in ME3 when they both have the exact same dialogue in a number of places in the story, and both have the exact same story trajectory. Ashley and Kaidan had very different career trajectories prior to ME1, and very different personalities. The only thing they have in common is that they are Alliance soldiers. It would have been much more realistic to have only Ashley or Kaidan show up on Horizon and berate Shepard about Cerberus. If they are dead in that playthrough, then the Alliance sent someone else, and no confrontation occurs. You could then encounter the Virmire Survivor at a different point in the story, with different dialogue, and a different outcome. And that could all continue in Mass Effect 3, with only Ashley or Kaidan being a Spectre candidate, and the other doing something else entirely. Just having them both living the same exact life with the same exact dialogue after one of them dies feels really ‘game-y’ in a game that otherwise feels very realistic and immersive. I think it makes a lot more sense to have Surviving Kaidan's story play out as we see it in the games, with him being assigned to Horizon and becoming a Spectre, since he was an officer and a biotic, and pretty much the poster boy for the Alliance. I think if Ashley's story had taken a very different turn, being sort of drummed out of the Alliance because of her family history, we could have had a much better story with her that would really make people want to replay the game. Maybe Ashley became involved with Aria T'Loak on Omega, and her story ends with her helping to save the galaxy in a very different way that feels much more personalized. I just think it could have been so much better.

"Did you lost your teammates do to bad decision? Call the R*-Team." *Replacement Think about a whole parallel universe story where Shepard never became Specter or died in the past and we get a weird replacement with this as his/her team... Seems priceless to me. Also because they aren't specters or even military they just hopp around in a Black Cargo freighter with a red stripe on the side... And the Krogan wears Gold chains arround his neck and hates Planetary Landings. Okay enough weird A-Team references no one gets...😅

Since we are coming up to Halloween, are there any plans to explore the scariest moments of the Mass Effect Trilogy?

I do love Padok Wicks face during his dialouge.