One of the big selling points for theMass Effectseries is that choices made in earlier games can impact things throughout the entire trilogy. Now thatMass Effect: Legendary Editionis out, fans of the series can play all three of the games back to back and really seewhich choices have long-lasting effects. One path weaves throughMass Effect 1,2,and3and is the difference between saving Mordin Solus' life or letting him die inMass Effect 3.
First introduced inMass Effect 2as a party member, Mordin Solus is a Salarian scientist who specializes in genetics. He plays a major part in the creation and modification of the genophage, a bioweapon that is meant to drastically decrease the birthrate of Krogans. Despite not coming to the series until midway throughMass Effect 2, Commander Shepard begins impacting Mordin’s storyline inMass Effect 1. For those who just picked upMass Effect: Legendary Edition, be warned, saving Mordin requires a renegade playthrough.
This article contains spoilers for Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3.
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Saving Mordin in Mass Effect 3
Because of the many branching paths throughout the entireMass Effectseries, it’s tricky to know if certain small decisions made in earlier games will drastically affect outcomes later on. For example, Wrex doesn’t necessarily need to die inMass Effect 1for Mordin to live inMass Effect 3, but his death certainly makes things easier. If he doesn’t die early on, it’s likely that both Wrex and Mordin will die during the mission Priority: Tuchanka inMass Effect 3. Making therenegade choice to kill Wrex inMass Effect1completes the first step to save Mordin later on.
Mordin’s loyalty mission inMass Effect 2plays a big part in the overarching genophage storyline. The mission, Mordin: Old Blood, culminates in a confrontation between Mordin and his former pupil, Maelon. At the end of the scene, Shepard has a few options for what to do with Maelon’s data. To keep Mordin alive inMass Effect 3, the data needs to be destroyed which will ultimately also kill Eve, the only surviving Krogan from Maelon’s attempts to cure the genophage.
Finally, if Mordin survives untilMass Effect 3, Shepard will need to be careful about what they tell their team on the way tothe mission Priority: Tuchanka. Before the mission, Shepard will be contacted by Dalatrass asking them to sabotage the distribution of the genophage cure in exchange for Salarian help in the game’s final battle.
To save Mordin, don’t tell anyone about sabotage plans. After fighting through the mission, Mordin will tell Shepard that Eve is dead and that he needs to go up to the top of the shroud to help. If Shepard has a high enough renegade bar, they’ll be able to convince Mordin to wait on curing the genophage saving his life in the process.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionis available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
