History YMMV / MassEffect2

* StrawmanHasAPoint: "[[HeadInTheSandManagement Typical Alliance attitude.]] So focused on hating Cerberus you're completely blind to the real threat." She makes other fair arguments to, namely how the Council SHOULD have listened to Shepard a long time ago and also being qualified to lead the fire-team during the Suicide Mission both times despite Jack (or Garrus)'s objections. Plus Miranda is unaware that the Illusive Man is strategically leaking information to encourage the exact attitude she's criticizing.

* HarsherInHindsight: Take Jack with you on Legion's loyalty mission, and she'll say, "If you screwed with my head, made me nod and smile at everything, I'd
rather you blew my head off, let me die as me.
• Grunt: Kill them or pull their teeth, what's " If you don't go to the Grissom Academy side mission in ''3'', Shepard will have to kill a BrainwashedAndCrazy Jack.

** The Lazarus project required Cerberus to take the original Shepard, keep what worked, and then rebuild & fix what didn't work without straying too far from the original - a challenge ''Bioware'' would also face about a decade after this game's release with the remastering process of ''[[UpdatedRerelease Mass Effect Legendary Edition]]''. The developers themselves actually referenced the Lazarus project [[https://www.ea.com/games/mass-effect/mass-effect-legendary-edition/news/visual-improvements on the blog post]] about the remaster's visual changes and additions.

* HarsherInHindsight: Take Jack with you on Legion's loyalty mission, and she'll say, "I'd never want to be brainwashed like that. Just kill me instead, please." If you don't go to the Grissom Academy side mission in ''3'', Shepard will have to kill a BrainwashedAndCrazy Jack.

** Mordin's recruitment level is rather infamous for being EarlyGameHell. Being one of the first levels of the game, and the one that the game itself encourages you to do first proves to be rather challenging as you are stacked up against [[DemonicSpiders Vorcha with Pyros and long-distance rocket launchers]]. Being one of the first missions of the game also means your party will likely be limited to just Miranda and [[TierInducedScrappy Jacob]]. And while Jacob's Squad Incindeary ammo, in particular, can be incredibly useful for this Armored-Enemy dominated level, if you are not playing with a Max-Leveled imported Shepard, then the chances are you will not be anywhere close to unlocking this skill.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** The companions with the shotgun/pistol combination as a part of their loadout aren't as popular combat wise because, without the Geth Plasma Shotgun in the [[BribingYourWayToVictory Firepower Pack]], their damage output is simply pathetic compared to squadmates with assault rifles and sniper rifles (as part of all non-GPS shotguns in general being [[ScrappyWeapon Scrappy Weapons]]). The GPS somewhat fixes this and makes them ''actually'' capable of doing more than picking off the occasional {{mook}} with their pistols, but even with this upgrade they still lag behind the AR users.
** Jacob and Jack take this even further in Insanity mode because they have no means of stripping away defenses. Their powers only work on enemies without shields or heavy armor, which ''every enemy'' has on Insanity, so you're better off leaving them in the Normandy for most part.
** Tali is recruited about halfway through the game, has the dreaded shotgun/pistol combo, and one of her powers is useless on levels without geth or mechs, which comprises around 80% of the game. Her Combat Drone is useful as a distraction, especially on Insanity where enemy DPS is insane, but deals next to no damage on its own and takes ''30 seconds'' to recharge. Compared to Jacob and Jack, she at least has the redeeming factor of Shield Drain, which increases her survivability while acting as a slightly weaker Overload. Legion has nigh-identical powers yet can use assault rifles and sniper rifles, which functionally makes him a straight upgrade over her. There's a reason that the third game boosted all her powers and weapon selection and decreased the charge time for her drone by ''80%''.
** Miranda, in a rare case of a Bioware party member that can be interpreted as both high and low tier. Having Warp and Overload makes Miranda the only squadmate that can strip all defenses on her own, and her passive tree boosts the health and weapon damage of everyone else. The argument comes down to how favorably or negatively a player views her versatility; Many players swear by Miranda being the best squadmate and use her from beginning to end because she can be slotted onto any team without issue, while those who only see her as a JackOfAllStats argue that by the time you've recruited your full team -- and possibly even as early as the Horizon mission, depending on Shepard's own class -- everything that Miranda can do, another squadmate can do much better.

* TierInducedScrappy: Jacob was the unfortunate victim of having mediocre utility as far as abilities go and buggy A.I.. While Incendiary Ammo and Pull can be useful for classes like Adept and Sentinel, there was a bug in the system that caused Jacob to Auto-cast Barrier making him next to useless. [=Future DLCs=] helped to repair the damage; giving the player the ability to remove the Barrier ability and gave Jacob access to a long range shotgun.

* NarmCharm: All of the Harbinger's combat lines. They are all extremely over-the-top, cliché EvilOverlord gloating done in an EvilSoundsDeep LargeHam voice, but they do serve to keep the fights with Collectors entertaining.

'''Kal'Reegar'''

* EnsembleDarkhorse: To the degree that some fans wanted him back in ''[=ME3=]'' as a squadmate. Most people wanted him as a squadmate as early as in ''[=ME2=]'' after seeing him for the first time in one of the pre-release trailers. Of course, being voiced by Creator/AdamBaldwin doesn't hurt.

* WMG/PoisonOakEpilepticTrees: So, how did the [[http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/105/index/1506800/1 varren scale-itch]] get on board? [[BestialityIsDepraved Do you really want to know?]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[MemeticMutation Memetic]] PrecisionFStrike. JerkWithAHeartOfGold. WorthyOpponent to one of the most popular characters in the fandom ([[EpilepticTrees probably]]). Her popularity ''far'' overshadows [[OneSceneWonder her screen time]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Quite a few players have expressed the desire to [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe take Urz back to the Normandy with them]] after watching him follow Shepard adoringly around Tuchanka.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: She's at least as popular as some of Shepard's squad thanks to her combination of being a CoolOldLady and DeadpanSnarker.
* EpilepticTrees: Some believe she's Liara's father. Yep, father, with asari being one sex and all. The game itself seems to heavily imply this, as one of the videos Shepard can watch [[spoiler: in the Shadow Broker's archives]] is footage of Aethyta sitting at home alone, drinking, and staring at a holograph of (what is almost undeniably) Liara. [[spoiler: Confirmed in Mass Effect 3.]]

'''The Collector General'''

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Mostly on the account of being a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For such a short amount of screen-time, she's quite a popular character. Possibly due to an [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames awesome boss fight]], her being a total badass, and a remarkable ShutUpKirk speech.

* GameBreaker: With a level 3 or higher Charge, the Vanguard's signature move goes from being a DeathOrGloryAttack to just AttackAttackAttack. Since charging and shotgun blasts stun lock your opponents when they don't outright kill them, you can use Charge to get up close and tank with even the toughest damage sponges like Krogan, Scions, Enyala, Eclipse Commandos, [[HumongousMecha YMIR mechs]] even multiple Scions at the same time. All you have to do is Charge, blast away at opponents, wait till Charge cools down and use it again. Charge has the same knock back and barrier boost effect even if done to an opponent already in melee range.

* AngstWhatAngst: Shepard DIED and yet seemingly takes it all in stride over the course of Mass Effect 2, casually joking that he/she “got better” to virtually anyone who brings this up. Its possible Shepard believed that he/she thought he/she was only severely wounded and that the line “only mostly dead” was the truth, but in Mass Effect 3 [[spoiler: when you invade the Cerberus base, you find some data logs about the Lazarus project where it is put to rest once and for all that Shepard was DEAD. Full stop, deader than a door nail, DEAD. Shep reveals that he/she has actually been having an existential crisis, wondering if he/she is just a clone or an advanced VI that only thinks it’s Shepard.]] Made worse when you realize that the Citadel DLC has to happen before this moment to be canon and Shepard literally has to fight [[spoiler: his/her clone.]]

* AngstWhatAngst: The strongest complaint fans have is that he is "boring." Even after his loyalty mission where Shepard and company find out that [[spoiler: Ronald Taylor has forced his crew to eat toxic food, driven off or murdered the males, and kept the women as sex slaves]], he merely shrugs it off (and becomes offended if Shepard insists that he should express anything otherwise). This becomes FridgeBrilliance when Shepard gains access to the [[spoiler: Shadow Broker]]'s dossiers and finds Jacob was placed on the team because he's a "stabilising element." He's supposed to be this way, and with [[DysfunctionJunction good reason, considering how screwed up the rest of Shepard's squaddies are]].

* AngstWhatAngst: Loyalty mission greatly disturbing. However, salarians deal with emotions at highly accelerated rate. Fine by return to ''Normandy''. [[spoiler: Or not.]]
** [[spoiler:But also too eager to atone if Eve Dead. Implications of Wreav as lone Krogan leader - Problematic!! Would have compounded error.]]

* AngstAversion: Due to her determination in following her justicar Code to the letter in spite of the price being her obligation to kill [[spoiler:her own daughter]].

%%* UglyCute
* ValuesDissonance: A lot of Legion's dialogue involves it explaining how the geth operate in terms both Shepard and the player can understand. During its loyalty quest, Legion will agree with Renegade Shepard's point that organic and synthetic moral values are fundamentally different when the other teammate questions the moral ramifications of rewriting the programming of the heretics, explaining that organics are individuals and that consensus takes time and effort whereas there are no individuals among synthetics and that communication between them is instantaneous. Legion will even go as far as saying that it would be racist to think otherwise.
** While there are a lot of differences between the geth and organic life, it is still possible to find common ground. The following quote can be ValuesResonance for a lot of people:
--->'''Legion:''' The geth believe all intelligent life must [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination self-determinate]].

* RewatchBonus: Keep an eye out for someone who has [[MemeticMutation assumed direct control]] when watching the surveillance footage on Freedom's Progress.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Because [[spoiler:Legion]] shows up so late in the game and with a hard time limit for the GoldenEnding afterward, it's really unlikely you'll see the hours of interactions and dialog they have available on all the other main and side quests.

* MemeticMutation: Heavy risk... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4ze_R3TevE But the PRIIIIIZE]].

* TheScrappy: In the second game Jacob got hit with this for being TheGenericGuy in comparison to the more colorful squadmates and for being very opinionated (notably [[KickTheDog towards Thane]]). The third game opens an entire different can of worms to players with a Female Shepard who romanced him. He ends up cheating on Shepard and was indifferent about it when confronted.

* MemeticMutation: DAT ASS (Effect)[[labelnote:Explanation]]Some conversations with Miranda on the Normandy involve the camera being pointed at her ass for no reason other than blatant MaleGaze. It quickly crashes headlong into {{Narm}} and eroded the seriousness of certain conversations, as she could be talking about something important... but the camera doesn't care, it's more focused on her butt. Naturally, jokes ensued, especially from her detractors.[[/labelnote]]
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Her actions in the third game did help sway former haters around by indirectly helping out the Alliance and [[TookALevelInKindness taking many levels in kindness]] as well as [[BigBrotherInstinct protecting her sister]].

* TheScrappy: She is not well liked at all due to being a sociopath, and having no relevance to the story at all compared to her mother. Having an unsettling face even though she almost looks exactly like her mother doesn't help, and there's also the fact that most of her dialogue is identical to her mother's.

* MemeticMutation: Once more: "Don't ''[[PrecisionFStrike fuck]]'' with Aria."

'''Warlord Okeer'''
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: A krogan scientist would have been an interesting addition to the team. Sadly, he dies shortly after being introduced and Shepard settles for Grunt instead.

* MemeticMutation: Again, almost ''all'' of his lines.

'''Councilor Sparatus'''

* MemeticMutation: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Oc-pstqpc All together, now!]]
* NeverLiveItDown: Sparatus becomes a crucial ally to Shepard and the Alliance early in ''3'', and winds up being the only councilor who doesn't make Shepard's job harder in a very substantiatal way. Doesn't change the fact that he'll never get away from the infamy of the above clip.
[[/folder]]

** She's obviously very physically attractive, but while some fans think she has a legitimate reason to be sexualized (being something of a FemmeFatale character), others find her blatant status as Fanservice annoying (complete with many a close-up shot of her ass; let's just say Miranda is responsible for most of the "Ass Effect" puns). A third camp pointed out that [[DoubleStandard those who bemoan Miranda's]] MsFanservice [[DoubleStandard status neglect or ignore Thane's]] MrFanservice [[DoubleStandard status]] - [[WordOfGod Bioware outright said ''every aspect of Thane'' was deliberately developed to be fanservice for women]].

** She's obviously very physically attractive, but while some fans think she has a legitimate reason to be sexualized (being something of a FemmeFatale character), others find her blatant status as Fanservice (complete with many a close-up shot of her ass) annoying (let's just say Miranda is responsible for most of the "Ass Effect" puns). A third camp pointed out that [[DoubleStandard those who bemoan Miranda's]] MsFanservice [[DoubleStandard status neglect or ignore Thane's]] MrFanservice [[DoubleStandard status]] - [[WordOfGod Bioware outright said ''every aspect of Thane'' was deliberately developed to be fanservice for women]].

* PlayerPunch: [[spoiler:Remember when you told her you'd get everyone through the mission alive? If you didn't go through the Omega 4 Relay quickly enough after the Collectors invaded the Normandy, you get to watch her disintegrated alive and screaming.]]

** Some find her hot and think she has a legitimate reason to be sexualized (being something of a FemmeFatale character), while others find her blatant status as Fanservice (complete with many a shot of her ass) annoying. A third camp pointed out that [[DoubleStandard those who bemoan Miranda's]] MsFanservice [[DoubleStandard status neglect or ignore Thane's]] MrFanservice [[DoubleStandard status]] - [[WordOfGod Bioware outright said ''every aspect of Thane'' was deliberately developed to be fanservice for women]].

* ContestedSequel: There has been something of a anti-''Mass Effect 2'' sentiment resurging with the ''Legendary Edition'''s release as many fans of the first game still resent or downright hate ''Mass Effect 2'' for removing planetary exploration, RPG mechanics and control over Shepard's morality plus the game [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] and [[HotterAndSexier sexier]] direction it went which they feel aged the game badly. You only need to look for comments sections on videos discussing the franchise to see people that enjoy and resent the game fighting each other over the game's quality, mechanics and writing.

* FairForItsDay: While the portrayal of [[spoiler: David's autism isn't perfect, it's surprisingly well-done for a story made in 2010, and it accurately portrays how sensory overload can lead to panic and meltdowns.]]

'''Ken Donnelly'''
* ValuesDissonance: Ken's constant sex jokes and objectifying women were at the time considered to be nothing more than eye-rolling jockish behavior, and the fact that pretty much no one besides him finds his quips funny helps. However, as society has grown more sensitive to these chauvinistic remarks in the time since the game's release, it makes him come off less as a quirky horndog and more just an outright sexist.

* MemeticMutation: DAT ASS (Effect).

** An unnamed Krogan who you talk to Illium has been dubbed "the most polite Krogan in the universe", for how unfailingly, well, ''polite'' he is. Which, if you know anything about how [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Krogan society operates]], speaks ''volumes'' about how frighteningly badass this dude must be to be so calm.

* CompleteMonster: [[ItsAllAboutMe Ronald Taylor]] is Jacob Taylor's father and cares only about himself. Serving as Acting Captain when his ship crashed on a remote planet, Ronald discovered the food on the planet caused neural decay in whoever ate it. Restricting the ship's rations to him and his officers before killing them, Ronald exiled all the men so that he could keep all the women as his [[SexSlave own personal harem]] for years. Ronald eventually activated the distress beacon only to [[DirtyCoward save himself]] after the men became dangerous, and when confronted on what he's done, Ronald only [[NeverMyFault comes up with excuses on why he wasn't to blame]].

** A portion of the fan base believe that Shepard’s death at the beginning of the game was wasted potential, as it had little to no ramifications to the overall story and just appeared to be nothing more than marketing hype. Once the game starts proper, nothing really seemed to change with time while everyone in the universe is already aware and unsurprised by Shepard is seemingly back from the dead, including Anderson who immediately sends an email asking you to come visit him once you board the Normandy. Even Shepard does not treat it as a big deal or have any moments where he questions himself. They could have simply said he was in a coma and nothing would change.

** If you chose to enter a relationship with a teammate in the previous game, that subplot is barely advanced during the base game of ''Mass Effect 2''. You get to meet the your loved one, but they won't join your team, and your relationship with them is only addressed in a short exchange, after which it doesn't affect the plot at all. It's almost as if the game wants you to break up with them and enter into a new relationship with one of your new teammates (as having a polyamourous relationship with multiple partners is not possible). If you romanced Liara in the previous game, the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC ameliorates the situation somewhat, as it adds some dramatic relationship moments with her, and at the end you can choose to [[spoiler:continue your relationship with her, which leads into a sweet, poignant love scene.]] But if you romanced one of your human teammates, there's no such content available.
** On Korlus, you meet and talk to a Tank-Grown Krogan, one of many that Okeer created and rejected during his experiments. He's the only friendly Tank-Grown Krogan you come across in the world and Shepard learns a lot about Okeer's operation from him but he refuses to come with you after he shows you the path to Okeer's lab and instead chooses to follow an instilled command to stay on guard until he is released, meaning he'll likely either die to the Blue Suns or stay on guard until he starves due to Okeer dying, with you having no option of convincing him to leave or coming back for him later.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Ask about Mordin's [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments singing career]]. Although it ''is'' completely in character for Mordin.

** The process by which the Collectors process captured humans. The Collectors are an insectoid race and store their victims in pods that resemble conventional insect pupa. Why use these to liquify the captives? In real life, insects that have an intermediary pupation stage between the larval and adult (imago) state do not simply grow into their adult form like a vertebrate or amphibian would. Instead, the entire body is ''liquified'', after which the blueprints within their genetic material re-arrange the cells in such a way that the adult body can then be grown. Opening an insect pupa mid-transformation will yield a liquified body. The Collectors simply apply the same process through their pupas, but abort the process halfway through with their captives.

* CompleteMonster: [[ItsAllAboutMe Ronald Taylor]] is Jacob Taylor's father and cares only about himself. Serving as Acting Captain when his ship crashed on a remote planet, Ronald discovered the food on the planet caused neural decay in whoever ate it. Restricting the ship's rations to him and his officers before killing them, Ronald exiled all the men so that he could keep all the women as his [[SexSlave own personal harem]] for years. Ronald eventually activated the distress beacon only to [[DirtyCoward save himself]] after the men became dangerous, and when confronted on what he's done, Ronald only [[NeverMyFault came up with excuses on why he wasn't to blame]].