Mentions of Shepard's background | Mass Effect 3

[@Jilktube]

Reapers: *invade* Hackett: “BRING ME THE MAN FAMOUS FOR HIS WAR CRIMES.”

[@mickeyj5922]

Well what else did you expect him to recruit lol

[@vicioussatire482]

@@mickeyj5922 the one and only conrad verner

[@hb6x8]

Only Hackett could tell a man he's got word on their mother and it not sound like an insult.

[@PetersaberHD]

"She's alive and well, and she's been promoted to replace the Big Ball Thing at the front of the Crucible. 'cause she so fat."

[@victorgz2907]

"Oh?"

[@Awesomewithaz]

Is it possible to add an audio file where he insults his mom

[@charlieseen]

Mindoir and Survivor. Let's go ahead and make Shepard's life as tragic as possible.

[@victoriasharpe1661]

Dante Cowie With this character/background it makes sense when javik on number 3 asks you, ‘is this why you fight, for their affection?’ Then Shepard says, ‘yeah, otherwise all I’ve got in my life is death.’ It asks the same with the other backgrounds as well but it seems most realistic and deep with the colonist survivor one

[@Glamuel]

This is what I did. And then romanced thane, and you know how that ends..

[@Bryan-Cysive]

Everyone Shepard loves and/or cares about keeps dying. 😢

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

It would make sense then why he/she develops such a family-like bond with the whole Normandy crew; because Shepard never had one

[@aeronblack9249]

Dante Cowie Been there done that

[@KrakenCube]

When the giant thresher maw showed up on techunka my Shepard was having ptsd flashbacks every five seconds

[@georgemartyn5268]

that thresher was fuuuuuuucked if you've the survivor background

[@curtishamilton5342]

Shepherd: “Payback time you sonofabitch!” Thresher Maw: *“I don’t even know who you are.”*

[@Strawberry-12.]

There coming out of the ground man

[@themars2011]

m-920 cain makes quick work of him

[@000mjd]

And he takes revenge like used it liki his killer reaper gun

[@Dreamdecipher-pj1nt]

Spacer/War Hero. A cool soldier with nice parents.

[@chrisspink8873]

Best background for the ultimate paragon Shepard!

[@furion3511]

@@chrisspink8873 I don't know, I ran Earthborn/War Hero myself. there's something to be said for people who've been dealt a rough hand in life and manage to make the most of it.

[@murat8210]

@@furion3511 Yeah i picked Earthborn/War Hero aswell. Reason why i picked Earthborn is, all the other backgrounds Shepard has no real connection to Earth, he didnt live there or grow up there. With Earthborn, he has reason and motivation to save it at all cost.

[@thewhitephonix5933]

@@furion3511 that's actually hakkits background

[@luissera1296]

@@thewhitephonix5933 For renegade I’ve always went with colonist/ ruthless make him hate batarians.

[@Junjou0305]

For a second I thought Hackett was gonna drop a yo momma

[@SadTreeButler]

"Like more than Torfan, where you put your whole damn squad through a meatgrinder." ....Gee way to shove that painful choice back in Shepard's face with the worst wording possible Joker...

[@SadTreeButler]

petargrad I thought it was up to interpretation whether Shepard did it over brainless ruthlessness or if it was because he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

[@SadTreeButler]

petargrad Yeah, but then why does Shepard have the option to say "I wish there had been another way" in one of his reponses to Cerberus's questions about Torfan? Like to me, that just sounds like Shepard had to make a choice regardless of whether or not he wanted to leave his men to die. I mean, as someone who plays mainly as a mostly Paragon Mindoir to Torfan Shepard, I got a little offended at Joker.

[@ricocintron4456]

I know it goes with the rough background but regardless that would have realistically ended with shepherd breaking every bone in jokers body like they were toothpicks

[@windwind3170]

One of My Shepard was colonist so to her it was more like revenge for what Batarians did to Mindoir's colonist.

[@windwind3170]

petargrad Attacking human colonies to get some Slaves is never right.

[@matchboxrider]

1:24 is like a good start for a yo mamma joke. like "She's alive and well, though we had to borrow a quarian liveship because she grew out our other ships."

[@josend]

"I got word on your mother" "Oh?" .... worst reaction ever

[@mark_thurwanger]

I laughed so hard at this... like is that the best reaction they could think to give him lmao

[@thescribeinyellow3985]

One thing I really wish they did re Shepard's pre-service history mixing with the war was not restrict the focus to Hackett finding the Spacer's mother. I was thinking, for Earthborn, you get word from either Hackett saying that the Tenth Street Reds have joined the military efforts to combat Reaper ground forces, or you get word from Anderson that the Reds' familiarity with the Earth slums are helping the Resistance movement to stay alive and sneak under the Reapers' nose. For Colonist, I was thinking that Hackett gives word of an influx of new recruits from Mindoir, each of them wanting to follow Shepard's example and enlist to do their part. Maybe they can, in a move reminiscent of what saved their home years ago, assist with colony evacuation and provide support for refugees.

[@s-094cam5]

Or word about how Reapers obliterated your home colony from orbit as a galaxy-wide attack on morale.

[@BlazinVoid59]

I can't tell if it's a false memory but I swear I remember seeing a flash news report while running around the citadel which said the Tenth Street Reds were opening up their stashes of weapons to the Resistance in honor of Shepard.

[@tini6841]

@@BlazinVoid59 I was wondering how to trigger this ... I mean whether or not I had to help Finch back in ME1 ...

[@Kenny-o6i]

Shepard was the only survivor on mindoir though, the rest were either killed or taken in as slaves.

[@empirednw6624]

@@Kenny-o6icorrect. It’s implied you were drafted into the militia and were the only one left.

[@MasterRaven0707]

It would be interesting to see Hannah's reaction, to all of her son's or daughter's romantic interests, how she would comment on each of them.

[@JyujinPlus]

Thought about that replaying Mass Effect 1 recently. Garrus specifically mentions in that game that his father wouldn’t like you, being a Spectre who takes advantage of the ability to disobey orders and procedure. But I like thinking about meeting the families. Makes very real romances seem more real. That said, I think Hannah Shepard is incapable of not being proud of her child

[@CABRALFAN27]

That sounds like prime Citadel DLC material. You could also meet with Talitha or Finch for the other two backgrounds, but they don't seem like they'd be that funny. Then again, like Thane's funeral, they don't all need to be.

[@williamr.c.4168]

Mindoir+Elysium. Only after losing everything to Batarians can Shepard have the strength to slaughter thousands of them.

[@danielcooper3332]

Shepard: You took everything from me Aratoht: I don't even know who you are Shepard: Oh you will

[@JyujinPlus]

After so many years of playing Colonist Shepard, Mindoir just sounds like home

[@CABRALFAN27]

Colonist works well with every background. War Hero and Ruthless are just two sides of the same coin when it comes to Shepard fighting back against the ones who destroyed their home, and Sole Survivor is just maximum trauma points. Spacer doesn't gel super well with any of them, except maybe War Hero, born and bred military, and Earthborn is great for the whole "Take Earth Back" narrative of ME3 when it otherwise shouldn't matter that much.

[@noitsbecky1278]

I’m partial to the Spacer/Sole Survivor, myself. We can generally assume that Spacer Shep joined the Alliance because it was always what they expected to do, right? Well, combine that with the horror of seeing your squad die, and realizing exactly what being in the Alliance means. Not fun.

[@discospider4120]

All the combos have great ways to logic them out. I've never done a spacer playthrough but this has to be one of the coolest ways to interpret this combo.

[@moodymaranda]

I'm sure a Spacer/Sole survivor Shepard really looked at Jenkins with painful regard and saw themselves in him. Really great combo 👌 gotta try it sometime

[@RappinPicard]

I have a colonist/ruthless Shepard for my main playthrough. She had some unresolved issues after Mindoir that came to the surface on Torfan. She’s mostly paragon but has a deep seated anger at batarians that can come to the surface sometimes, scaring everyone.

[@moodymaranda]

@@RappinPicard my colonist Shepard is romancing Thane. I feel like they have common ground with the batarians killing their loved ones.

[@Smashguy96]

I have a similar backstory for my Paragon Engineer FemShep. I like to add a little more angst by imaging that it was her first command post. Great things were expected from her because of her parents and that was the result.

[@lunarm4]

I have two favorite background mixes. 1 is Earthborn/War Hero and the other is Colonist/War Hero. Now i do love them both i think most people like number two the most, and i can definitely understand that. Me however, I favor Earthborn/War Hero and theres 3 reasons i go with this in a roleplaying aspect 1. The first reason is representation. I look at one as Shepard being from Earth is like the thing that makes most sense to me. It's like the kid who was born with nothing scavenging and being a small-time crook on this planet grew up and became its savior. Thats what it represents to me. Its a bit of irony in it added with a big level of inspiration. 2. My second reason deals with the word "dream". I roleplay my canon Shepard as being a gang member kid who always had a dream to see space and travel away far to see new things, but because of his circumstances he never could achieve that dream. He probably tried to inspire other gang members of the Reds to push to expanding and they didn't listen. Then someone in the military picked Shepard up off the streets and gave him the opportunity to achieve his dream by joining the Alliance. Which is why I pick the "to see space" option when Ashley asks me why I'm here. When my Shepard became famous after Elysium, the Reds finally decided that maybe his dream was worth noting and they expanded which is what Finch tells you. 3. My last and favorite reason is family. Earthborn Shepard was an orphan as we all know. I roleplay it as he joined the gang to survive but being in it made him finally feel like he was part of a family in an odd way. Joining the Alliance was a hard decision because of this but he had to make his dream a reality. Now what makes me like Earthborn so much is the orphan part of it because throughout the trilogy u connect with all of the squad mates and ship mates that you've met along the way. So much so that they've become the one thing that Shepard never really had since the Reds, a family. and this time on the deepest of levels. With Earthborn background you can view the Normandy and everyone thats been on it as the family Shepard never had, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep that family. So this is why this combo is my favorite and my canon. Representation, dreams, and family.

[@jonbartolo8067]

I honestly think Colonist/War Hero makes the most sense, lore-wise. The slaughter of Mindoir happened because of the sector disputes in the Skyllian Verge (A sector in space), with the Batarian's claiming the sector is theirs and Systems Alliance claiming otherwise. Batarian's attacked Mindoir as retaliation. Shepard being a victim of that conflict, witnessing the brutality and slaughtering and raping of his friends, neighbours and family at the hands of Batarian Pirates is a strong motivator to enlisting in the Alliance, and to fight back. Specifically in the War Hero Background, Shepard avenged his colony by fighting in the "Skyllian Blitz". The Blitz was a Batarian assault on the colony of Elysium, a would-be sequel to the slaughter of Mindoir. Shepard took command and united the disparate troops and civilian colonies to fight back the Batarians, and under impossible odds Shepard won. That's motherfucking poetic---talk about book-ends.

[@LyonTheGreat]

Personally I've been drawn towards Colonist/Ruthless for that exact reason. Shepard does participate in the Skyllian Blitz regardless of their background (although only War Hero has any lasting consequence). With the Ruthless background, one can see it as Shepard not feeling like their involvement in the Alliance victory during the Blitz was enough payback for Mindoir, and so they volunteer for the raid on Torfan. The way I like to interpret Shepard's actions in the Torfan raid is them going into a blind rage and pushing through until the last batarian is dead, not quite realizing the effect it had on the squad until after the dust settled. From here, we can either play Shepard as Renegade, being the logical continuation of their emotional/mental scarring, or as Paragon, with our hero realizing just how far they slipped and working to atone for their actions. I love the combinations of Earthborn/War Hero (showing that heroes can rise from anywhere) and Spacer/Sole Survivor (showing that even the most promising of soldiers can suffer tremendously), but Colonist/Ruthless is a more interesting, damaged Shepard in my opinion.

[@Nobody-sh4pu]

holy shit SAME! this is exactly why i loved my Earthborn/War Hero Shep. adding to 1. that because of the time Shep had on earth, s/he grew to somehow dislike the place because what she had gone through there. playing the final battle in ME3 and going home to save it feels so fitting

[@lemonismq4642]

With that enthusiasm about dreams, you should definitely play Yakuza 5 ngl lol

[@lunarm4]

@@lemonismq4642 Really? Something about the Yakuza games always had me interested but i never acted on it. Maybe I will now 😀

[@CrazyBook95]

Earth Born and Ruthless.

[@jackhammertwo1]

ahem, earth born/Survivor here

[@bunsonbaker4156]

Same

[@michaelarcher1577]

Earthborn/Survivor Infiltrator here.

[@Jackyb96]

Colinist/Survivor/Vanguard here

[@vicentserrano9268]

colonist/war hero,sentinel here.

[@VenhedisKaffas]

Same, it just sounds like the most logical one to me so I can hardly pick another. All up to personal preference but I always found it adds more emotion to the attack on Earth, as Shepard grew up there. And both earthborn and survivor backgrounds are very focused on survival, which is exactly Shepard's big thing. They survive literally everything to fight another day, and with this background it explains how they learned it.

[@LostMercenary99]

There's actually another background scene when you are attacking Cerberus HQ.

[@vicentserrano9268]

LostMercenary99 yes but only you pick the sole survivor in the first mass effect game.

[@emmanuel4989]

Vicent Serrano it works with the other options too. I picked war hero and Hackett said something like "this isn't elysium commander, I'm not looking for a hero".

[@alexcavazos3341]

@@emmanuel4989 he says the same about torfan

[@windwind3170]

Colonist/Ruthless for everyday i live and every firefight i survive.

[@Nineteen1900Hundred]

Colonist/War Hero 4 ever

[@franpe6522]

Colonist/ Sole : trust issues role xD perfect for 0 survives ME2 play

[@hyhena-gaming9986]

I like earthborn and war hero, it’s an interesting dynamic

[@hannibalburgers477]

@@hyhena-gaming9986 were you a soldier too?

[@zzxp1]

I always need to pick either ruthless or war hero, I need that batarian beef in my soul.

[@Allaiya.]

I always went with Colonist/ War Hero. The idea that when Shepard was young & everyone around him died, he was helpless to stop it. So he joined the Alliance & vowed never again. Hence his motivation & resolve that made him into the War Hero.

[@DownWithPlankers101]

Earthborn/Warhero.

[@Savage--]

The way Hacket says I've got word on your mother... sounds like he's setting up an epic joke or insult. Any chance we can talk the voice actor into reprising this role to do just that?

[@Bat-Twenty-Two]

My Shep has the Ruthless background but goes for the Paragon options. I'm glad they've given Torfan enough vaguery to allow for that.

[@Wilahelm2]

I always wondered why there was never a good fan fic or novel that fleshes out Shepard's back story. If you think about it none of the back stories really conflict with each other that much and you could actually combine them all into one story line without really changing that much. Born to parents who are Alliance officers and lives on bases and ships till he's around 10. Parents decide to retire from the service and family becomes colonist on Mindoir. Slavers attack the colony when Shepard is 16 killing his family and most of the colony. Shepard is taken back to earth while the Alliance tries(and fails) to find any other relatives to place him with. Shortly after arriving on Earth Shepard runs away and spends the next few years surviving on the street of one of earths major cities as part of the 10th Street Reds street gang. At around 18-19 Shepard decides he wants more then being in a street gang the rest of his life and also to honor his parents memory decides to enlist in the Alliance. While training on Akuze thing go bad and a Thresher Maw kills the rest of Shepard's squad but he survives. The Skyllian Blitz happens but Shepard is on Elysium recovering from the events on Akuze and is able to rally the defenders saving the colony and becoming a war hero. Keeps fighting in the Alliance anti-piracy actions till they conclude in the battle of Torfan. Pirate bases are underground so there is no air support and fighting becomes a brutal no holds bar slugging match between the Alliance and pirate armies(think Stalingrad but underground). In the chaos prisoners are killed and casualties are high but Shepard helps take down the main pirate base.

[@Jarock316]

I would change one small thing and add one thing, his mother was thought to have been KIA before his father retired to Mindoir, when infact she was stranded on an uncharted world. It was only after Shepard enlisted into the Alliance that she was found.

[@Wilahelm2]

@@Jarock316 thought about it but Shepard as an orphan seems like to important a part of their back story to change. Shepard's mom being alive isn't a real factor in the game and almost seems like an afterthought if you go with the spacer backstory. While the events that happen to Shepard after they enlist can be adapted without any change since they all happen one year apart from each other(2176-Skyllian Blitz, 2177-Akuze, 2178-Torfan) Shepard's life before enlisting doesn't mesh quite as well so some editing is needed to make them all fit together.

[@pwnranger3496]

What ive always thought was a smart touch is that all theae events take place in the lore of Mass Effect, the only difference is if Shepherd was there or not. Like a parallel universe type of thing

[@grandmasterace4785]

There is another mention by Hackett when you invade Cerberus Headquarters. Though I think it's just for War Hero and Ruthless.

[@GenericUsername-qp1ww]

Joker: "like more than the internet where you sacrificed your squad in order to locate and kill TheLegend27"

[@trishahernz7809]

Colonist/Ruthless. And it’s implied the cybernetics kept Shepard from having a stroke because of the stress they’re under.

[@cherylxiu1945]

I have always had a fondness for Paragon Colonist/Ruthless Shepard. Everything Shepard loves is destroyed by the batarian pirates. They narrowly escape with their life (and what a life it is, floating aimlessly in the system for two years!) and enlists because they want to be the Alliance soldier that found them in the ruins of their family home to someone else. Years later, they're fighting in the Skyllian Blitz, and are sent to clear Torfan. Something inside them snaps, and they don't rest until every last batarian in that base is dead. When the dust settles, and they realise what they've done, they're horrified. We pick up in Mass Effect 1 with a Shepard who's trying to atone for what they did.

[@silverlance100]

my wee head cannon for my Shepard , earth born, akuze happened on his 3rd tour of duty with the marines, he then participated in the skilyian blitz ( which no matter what choice u make in background Shepard was apparently there) and fought off the pirates but due to the highly sensitive political nature of the conflict was never given any due credit or medals but was instead invited a chance to participate in the training and selection for the N7 special forces group, he was then put under andersons command as a protege , in which anderson furthermore became a surrogate father figure to shepard, teaching shepard most of his badass skills, he then later lead the torfan operation and became renowned in the alliance special forces as "the team butcher" , lead up to countless operations with n7 later all the way up to me1, i like to ignore all the galactic hero crap , my shep is an unsung hero and just a full blown solider and spectre

[@nathangordon4891]

Spacer/sole survivor I like the idea that Shepard has these huge shoes to fill in a family that’s always been part of the alliance military. Also, sole survivor seems appropriate for someone that clearly values her team more than anything, something like the suicide mission must have been terrifying for her given her history of losing her entire squad.

[@Jedi_Spartan]

I sort of wish that you got a background exclusive War Asset (probably worth 25 each). Spacer would obviously be Shepard's mother (either individual/unique or as an update to one of the Systems Alliance Fleets), Earthborn would be the gang Shepard was a part of (either as fighters on Earth or a specialised mission for Aria and the Terminus Fleets - possibly filling an infiltration role or having communication with Earth - since in Mass Effect 1 they're wide spread enough to be causing trouble for Turians), Colonist could be something you'd get by scanning the planet Shepard came from.

[@cytorakdemon]

Wish Mass Effect had more instances where Shepard's background was brought up. Earthborn/War Hero were always my favorite combo for Shepard, grew up in the slums, escaped it and made a name for himself as someone who could do the impossible.

[@koldraiynedownskayle5744]

Earthborn Shepard: *Kills Reaper* "For the Set. Tenth Street, bitch."

[@linkieloos]

My last playthrough before Andromeda was Spacer/Ruthless (Infiltrator), one of the weirder background mixes. Let's just say he was determined to get to the top... One headshot at a time. My favourite mix by far is Colonist/Ruthless (Vanguard class). In ME1 she was initially cold-blooded, detached and anti-batarian (didn't hesitate to kill Balak). Saw the Normandy as a means to an end. But after the colonist sidequest, meeting/romancing Liara, Ashley's sacrifice and saving the Council (reluctantly though) she began to realise the battle was beyond personal. In ME2 she's more of a renegon towards things (i.e. stops Garrus from killing Sidonis, Jacob from killing his dad, Mordin killing Maelon) and decides to destroy the collector base. Then in ME3 she's more paragon then ever before. I like to think she chose the Destroy ending as a form of redemption from what she did at Torfan. Yep that's my crazy headcanon. Every ME players got one.

[@sarahhayes1138]

I almost always play femshep, Infiltrator with a Spacer/Ruthless background. And I feel that shep did get see some of Mindoir because if you play Spacer your mom was part of the alliance crew that showed up. So Shep in this instance would know what happened and what their mom and those colonist went through.

[@shootingstar3371]

thats the dumbest thing ive ev3r heard your head is bad and you should feel bad too!!!!!!!!!!

[@DarkPaladin24]

Colonist/War Hero. Things haven't gone well most of Shepard's life, but he/she doesn't let that change who he/she was destined to be. He/she continues to fight while inspiring those to follow his/her courage.

[@deltahalo241]

I wasn't the only survivor Hackett, never forget Toombs!

[@morpheusbutasasquirtle4431]

Joker and Tiptree is connected to the asari commando with ptsd on the citadel. Youll hate me after looking it up

[@garrusvakarian7810]

Squad through a meat grinder? Jeez Joker.

[@dc4296]

I love how Shepard's demeanor changes based on his background. this game was way better than they give ir credit

[@OhEmilyRosa]

Earthborn war hero. Street kid gangster grown up to save lives.

[@gabrielchan6475]

You left out Hackett's dialogue during the assault on Cerberus HQ when Shepard tells him to bombard the base without restraint "This isn't Elysium, Shepard. I don't need a hero." "This isn't Akuze, Shepard. I want everyone to come out of this one alive." "This isn't Torfan, Shepard. I'm not risking you unless I have to."

[@aribasultan]

Imagine if he went through all 3 of jokers examples and that was one big rant. Jeez....

[@Atreides22222]

Colonist/War Hero for the win

[@Akash-xc9mh]

Atreides22222 amen brother

[@alexreznov45]

the one that makes more sense for me.

[@deltahalo241]

I like Colonist/Sole Survivor for ultimate Trauma playthrough

[@Toneai2007]

I like the Spacer/War Hero myself. Shepard maybe not the ultimate good guy(or gal) on paper, but a child destined to become a solider, who in turn becomes a hero. Also a bonus, Shepard's mom is alive. Then again, Earthborn/Ruthless for Ultimate Bastard/Bitch starter pack.

[@lordshaodeus1021]

Colonist/Ruthless Be a real soldier

[@jowjowbaby]

Earthborn/ruthless here. Always wondered how things would be different with different backgrounds.

[@matro2]

Spacer, because I take Shepard as something of an Alliance lifer. And you get to see Hannah Shepard. Don't have a particular preference for his psyche valuation, but maybe war hero as it sets a precedent for Shepard's saviour reputation throughout the trilogy.

[@gerald1495]

I imagine colonist to be a "lifer" too, everything they knew and loved was destroyed and they devote their life to saving others from tragedy in the Alliance

[@couchmaster3773]

Earthborn and Ruthless. Shadiest possible Shepard.

[@harrisonspary1068]

Colonist/Survivor, but I had a side quest on ME1 where there's another survivor from Akuze, called Toombs, and he takes a Cerberus scientist hostage, and another on the citadel where another survivor, this time from Mindoir, her name was Talitha I think, threatens suicide. What are the other scenarios for the other backgrounds like?

[@bruxistkodiak]

Spacer Shepard gets to help his mother's old colleague (who also happened to be one of the soldiers who tried to save Mindoir, and probably picked up Colonist Shepard in another timeline).

[@windwind3170]

Earthborn meets his old "friend" from when he was a part of a gang named Tenth Street Reds. Another gang member, Curt Weisman, has been arrested by the turians for a "minor offence", although he was in turian space at the time. Finch wants you to talk to the turian guard in Chora's Den to secure Weisman's release. Finch also threatens to reveal Shepard's shady past with the Reds if you refuse. War Hero will get UNC: Espionage Probe mission where he will meet and kill Elanos Haliat the Turian bastard that did Skylian Blitz. And Ruthless can have more dialogue options with Major Kyle(that psycho who started Biotic cult) about what Shepard did on Torphan because he was your Commanding officer back in the day.

[@epsilon1572]

War Hero just gets unique dialogue in Espionage Probe. You can still do the mission regardless of military history.

[@Aurilion44]

@@windwind3170 Quite a Necro, but correction. You were Major Kyles Commanding Officer. He was your XO/second in command. He ends up a broken man due to those events and can be quite bitter that you aren't, or at least seems to, bothered by them at all

[@windwind3170]

@@Aurilion44 That's impossible. Shepard's only 29 during the events of ME1. He would have been even younger during Torfan massacre. There's no way in hell that Major Kyle could be Shepard's underling. Either you don't understand how military hierarchy works or you're misremembering something.

[@mbzeppa]

I feel bad you couldn't ever close the circle with Joker and his family at Tiptree. After listening to the Asari commando at the hospital he should know :(

[@yearofthebeastable]

thanks, this was very interesting. the game should have more on Shep's background.

[@asevril2530]

I either play as Spacer/War hero or Eartborn/Ruthless. First one is pretty self-explainatory, you're just a good girl. Second makes me think that Shepard had it hard from the beginning and knows a lot about her survival, as well that hard decisions must be made

[@theaustinsanity7501]

Earthborn/Sole Survivor was always my go to backstory for Shepard. And after all that,i remained a Paragon.

[@Tlevids]

Elysium wasn't attacked by batarians - it was hit by a mix of pirates (led by a human) that were sponsored by the batarians.

[@Tlevids]

TheDarkSider True, though if his model was accidentally made human then it's likely canon now. 'Your kind' could also mean the Alliance specifically I guess, though I agree that it's strange that a batarian sponsored pirate crew would be led by a human!

[@Tlevids]

petargrad Not necessarily - most of the pirate groups that we encountered in the ME series were a mix of races - turian, asari, krogan, human etc.

[@Tlevids]

petargrad But in all three games, most of the merc/pirate factions we fight are mixed.

[@Tlevids]

petargrad Not necessarily. We see a hell of a lot of krogan and vorcha mercs in ME2 and even many turian, asari and salarians etc. I have no doubt that many batarians would have been present amongst the pirates that hit the Skyllian Verge, but seeing as the leader of the attack wasn't even a batarian, it seems likely to me that the pirate army would have been very mixed.

[@dragonknightleader1]

You see Batarians in the Blue Suns in ME2. Zaeed specifically says that the reason why they got meaner was because Vigo was recruiting them. "'Cheaper labor,' he said. 'Goddamn terrorists,' I said."

[@alanrosete3855]

Earthborn/Ruthless = Ultimate Renegade

[@Immagonko]

Imagine being shepard's parent

[@ragnaroksolstice5832]

Been looking for vids of Shep's backgrounds, thanks!!!!

[@Hunterstiq]

I usually do Spacer/War Hero or Colonist/War Hero. Spacer is kind of worth it to hear Shepard's Mommy but Colonist mission in ME1 is really heart wrenching. Wasn't there a dialogue at the end of ME3 where you talk to your mother through the QEC?

[@alexcavazos3341]

Ohh God the "I remember me" quest wassss something. And everytime someone mentions mindor literally give that face of "hey dude I'm sorry"

[@Jarock316]

The only time Shepard can talk with his mother is in the Citadel DLC.

[@CrazyWizza]

Spacer/War Hero

[@d22777]

Spacer/War Hero-so far every single time(thinking about Earthborn-War Hero) I kinda like that s/he does not have a tragic backround(both of his/her parents are alive(as far as we know) at least his/her mother. And s/he still becomes a hero a leader and the savior of the galaxy Sometimes you just don't need the tragic family backround

[@ishaanthalla9715]

I usually go for Colonist/Ruthless, My personal Headcanon is that Shephard wasn't as brutal as the reports made him out to be. His men died not due to his cold tactics, but because of the general incompetence of the Alliance Fleet during the invasion, and he never killed any prisoners, the surrendering Batarian's were in fact a trick to catch Shephard's men off guard, but due to intelligence failures, this was left out of the reports. However, Shephard didn't bother to deny any of these because he thought there was merit to people thinking he's the toughest, meanest son of a bitch in the Alliance Military.

[@hj4569]

Oh joker. Your sister is dead The asari commando at Huerta killed her bc she was being too loud around the banshee

[@sarahj7507]

Torfan's description in the character creation screen is mild enough that I didn't realize what it meant until much later. I had intended for my Ruthless Colonist to have become hard and determined after Mindoir, a Paragon who was also pragmatic and able to make hard choices, but I didn't mean for that to include an episode of brutal vengeance at the expense of his own troops. By the same token, though, the backgrounds are all thankfully vague enough to roleplay even the same combo differently with different Sheps.

[@Erebus04]

Is that really all of the background references in ME3? Dam

[@funbro99]

Spacer/ruthless: Wiping out batarians is a civic duty for humanity.

[@maxwilson9730]

Earthborn/ Ruthless

[@victoriasharpe1661]

Max Wilson I always do this if I want a pure ruthless character. Then I like playing another renegade but also part paragon too, not so ruthless

[@HalfTangible]

Same, though I ended up going Paragon for the actual run. My headcanon on that is that Shepard started as very callous, due to his upbringing. He saw the worst a human could go through and while it didn't break him he did find himself regretting it all. But as he went through his military career, he grew to understand the importance of comraderie with his fellow soldiers. And then on Torfan he had to send them all to die, and it finally broke him. Yeah, it was needed but it also hurt more than he could express. Losing the Reds was one thing, but at least they were still alive somewhere on earth. So from then on, whenever he saw a better way, he took it. Sometimes, such as with the council, it was necessary to make terrible calls and cruel decisions ("Wait for a shot at Sovereign - nothing else matters"). But whenever he thought about sacrificing an ally, it was with the faces of Torfan's ghosts in his mind. If it weren't for Torfan, he'd have shot Wrex. But they had fought together on the battlefield, and he knew Wrex wasn't the threat here. "I'm not afraid to spend [my soldiers], but I never waste men." -Lord Commander Costor of the Imperial Guard This sort of reasoning ("I don't want to go through that again") also works with Lone Survivor, but I feel Ruthless works better because it makes his decision to sacrifice his comrades an ACTIVE choice, something he had to decide to do.

[@NizarElZarif]

I usually play Colonist/sole survivor, someone who is has been into hell and lost everything and still walked out.

[@risuna23]

Colonist and ruthless/survivor

[@burningman04]

Colonist/War hero got a draw a line in the sand when dealing with batarian slaver's it just meshes so damn well to

[@DrawQuick2014]

"do you really think I can help win this war admiral?" "Idk but you killed those surrendering prisoners and got your whole squad killed that one time"

[@KennyG881]

You forgot Liara's Time Capsule Project.

[@TheOriginalSB]

I like to Choice Tali to Eden Prime(By romancing her in Me2) and Words of Shepard lives In ships(Tali told that she also spent her childhood on a ship)

[@ThePepper538]

Would’ve loved an option that combined all the backgrounds. A morally grey Commander Shepherd. He ultimately does strive to do the right thing, but is still only human.

[@cobaltaeg1453]

Shepard's Mom gets mentioned on the other choices? My Shepard's Mom died on Mindoir, and I think somehow I chose the same background for all of my 3 playthroughs, otherwise I would have heard it otherwise. Strange.

[@toughmilk]

James Wadland I know your comment was a month ago but if you were still wondering, Spacer background Shep is the only one to have mentions of his/her mother throughout the trilogy as she's still alive.

[@Android2137]

Personally, I heard a touch of "Don't want to get my hopes up" in it.

[@onyxthelifebringer]

Lost friends and family on mindoir, lost entire unit on akuze and lost everyone except kasumi and samara

[@onemoreminute0543]

Earthborn/Sole Survivor for me. My Shepard had it tough growing up orphaned on the streets and came out of Akuze severely hardened. Worse was to come.... my Mass Effect trilogy playthrough was literally 'the tragedy of Commander Shepard'

[@Sparking_Ram]

Been so long I forgot my Shepard's backstory, Colonist Ruthless I believe.

[@DaWhiteWolffie]

Shepard was busy growing up.

[@Sk4tman91]

Cerberus HQ Hackett: This isn't Elysium/Akuze/Torfan, Shepard. I don't need a hero./I want everyone make it out alive./I sacrifice you only if I have to.

[@Phoenix87401]

My Shepard is a Colonist/Sole Survivor who only romances Thane. I also end up making sure to have enough assets in ME3 to ensure she survives the Destroy ending as well.

[@empirednw6624]

Earth born and sole survivor are must haves. Makes fighting for earth and wanting to save everyone more impactful.

[@gerald1495]

Colonist makes far more sense for wanting to save everyone, especially during ME2. Earthborn Shepard was an orphan gang member, I doubt they have great memories about Earth anyways. Sole survivor is just lame as a feat compared to War Hero and Ruthless

[@DarthUchiha91]

I'm old fashioned in my back stories, so I always did earth/war hero, all too common in these types of stories.

[@tywinlannister8015]

Try Earthborn/Colonist Ruthless. ;)

[@Jaceblue04]

I always choose the Colonist backstory, mainly because I like the sidequest it gives you in the first game, especially if you go paragon for it like I do.

[@basedkaiser5352]

Colonist/Sole Survivor you’ll hate the batarians even more and hate Tuchanka for having that big ass Thresher Maw.

[@legoferrari14]

My Shep is Spacer/Ruthless - in my interpretation, the spacefaring Shepard had, shall we say, "anger issues and personal biases" that her mother was never able to fully address due to military service, and they only got worse as reports of slaver attacks came in during her career, until those internal tensions boiled over on Torfan. If it weren't for the council's interest in a human Spectre candidacy then she would have been dishonourably discharged. Once she got her position, Shepard made sure she pushed humanity's interests forward as far as she can as a Renegade; even if she did help others, she made sure to tie up as many loose ends as possible so they wouldn't be a danger in the future; and when the Alliance made their approach for the final assault on Sovereign, she sacked the original council not only to deal with the threat but to also remove any future roadblocks to humanity's expansion; establishing a human council and nominating Ambassador Udina to the chairmanship. I've only got to early ME2 at this point, but death and a Cerberus reconstruction has started to put things in perspective; while she's still very coldblooded, my Shepard now has softened up a bit in the way she helps, but still for her ulterior motives in pushing forward humanity or as a means to an end.

[@Knownascomic]

All of them 20 Shepard play throughs here

[@kevinhenry4047]

My background is always spacer/sole survivor.

[@ids5621]

The fact Shepard has literally no beef with Cerberus in me2 especially after what they did to him in one of his backgrounds always pissed me off

[@Aurora-313]

Would've been nice to have an option to say 'I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you over the sound of Admiral Kohaku and my unit's blood on your hands.'

[@sarahj7507]

​@@Aurora-313 Being able to work as a double agent after meeting with Anderson would have redeemed a lot. It was bad enough for my Paragon Sheps to blindly follow along with Cerberus, but my Renegade Sole Survivor feels like he's trapped in some alternate nightmare timeline. His Suicide Mission is going to be a bloodbath for Cerberus.

[@victorgz2907]

Spacer - War hero Earthborn - Sole survivor Colonist - Ruthless

[@koldraiynedownskayle5744]

Earthbound Shepard: Soowoo!

[@MBOmnis]

Joker's eyes are weirder than I remember

[@civilmagpie1454]

I like to do the survivor back Story, because of Cerberus, but still I feel like shepard would hate cerberus if he found out the truth of that experiment

[@Aurora-313]

I really wish we got _some_ unique dialogue as Sole Survivor Shepard when you talk to TIM for the first time. Something spiteful and petty like: "I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you over the sound of _my unit's blood on your hands."_

[@BethanyEvams]

I don't know why,but I always had the impression that Spacer Shepard has problems with his/her mother. Maybe something on their past...

[@Dreamdecipher-pj1nt]

Puberty.

[@physical_insanity]

Gotta love being a Spacer/War Hero. It's vaguely melancholic.

[@discospider4120]

How so?

[@physical_insanity]

@@discospider4120 You still have your family to fight for, at least part of it, even though you don't see them much, and despite everything you've seen you're still optimistic and virtuous in your endeavours. You know you were loved and grew up fairly normally, and yet you still decided to face the unknown and risk your life. The fact you could lose either your life in the line of duty or your family at any moment is what makes it melancholy.

[@jumeauxelaine3960]

Earthborn War Hero all the way :)

[@emeraldwitch4817]

I'm playing ME for the first time through Legendary Edition, and my current background is Spacer/War Hero, but I wish I could've changed it to Spacer/Sole Survivor. I like Spacer the best because it gives me a personal connection to Shepard through her mother that I wouldn't have with the other backgrounds. Then I like sole survivor because of the encounter with Toombs (and you bet your a** I'm killing that scientist). It also makes Cerberus more personal (but it infuriates me that Cerberus being the reason for Akuze, is never properly brought up even if you're survivor in ME2). Why couldn't the geth have brought us back instead to make both Ashley's and Kaiden's refusal to work with us make sense while also giving the player the moral high ground because we would know that most geth aren't like the ones who followed Saren, but it would make sense for the Virmire survivor to not trust them regardless (Ash because her squad was wiped out by geth and Kaiden because That being said, War Hero isn't all that bad because the war hero background gets brought up all the time and makes it feel like something Shepard (for better or for worse) is remembered for. I don't know if it's like that for the other backgrounds, but I'm not dissatisfied with War Hero.

[@yazidefirenze]

Mass Effect 4 better have Conrad Verner as a companion Conrad Verner Specialisation: Jack (Like the Explorer but better) Abilities: Overload (for Shield Busting, Tech) Lift (for Cover Removal, Biotic) Adrenaline Rush (makes Conrad hyper-aggressive but deadlier, Combat) Variety Ammo (every clip has a random effect from the other ammo types, Ammo) Class Power: Benevolent Idoliser (increases health and damage, decreases Shepard ability cooldown times)

[@skyfawkes7844]

Colonist/ Sole Survivor because war war never changes

[@jedibateman9452]

I think you should of had more contact from your parents. In 2 and 3 should of either been in person or holo

[@b_krasowicz]

Let's ignore the fack that before Hackett said it he called Shepard son of a bitch

[@ltjerryl]

Spacer and Sold Survivor over here