''Please do not add any character tropes to this page. The Characters page for the entire series can be found [[Characters/MassEffect here]]. Link to the main page is [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 here]].''

The rest of this list can be found at:

* MassEffect2/TropesAToF
* MassEffect2/TropesNToS
* MassEffect2/TropesTToZ

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:G]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
** Combined with CutscenePowerToTheMax. Samara is a [[ZenSurvivor battle-hardened]] asari nearly of [[NeverMessWithGranny matriarch age]], as in the equivalent of Matriarch Benezia -- one of the most powerful biotics known and a ''boss'' in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', Jack can be proven her equal, [[spoiler: Garrus]] is a [[OneManArmy sniper who held three merc groups at bay simultaneously for several days by himself]], Grunt is der [[{{Ubermensch}} Uberkrogan]], Miranda is [[DesignerBabies genetically enhanced to be perfect]], Thane is a [[RecycledINSPACE Space]] {{Ninja}} and Mordin can [[CombatPragmatist kill with everything that's not nailed down]]. Yet gameplay-wise, all of them can be killed relatively easily by most [=NPCs=].
** There are occasional discrepancies between the description of a planet and what you find on the surface, if it's possible to land there. Nearly every planet you can land on has some amount of life and water, sometimes random birdsong, even when the description is all about how inhospitable it is. Maybe it's most notable in a system which has two planets you can't land on, a mention that they're a rare sight, ''two'' garden worlds in the same system, even if they're now uninhabitable. Yet a third you ''can'' land on is clearly supporting life, and can't just be handwaved as a park in an environmental dome or something - there are waterfalls and sweeping vistas. If two garden worlds are unusual, what's three?
** The Codex entries specifically state that particle beams and energy weapons can't be stopped by kinetic barriers, yet when you get to use them they act much like their ballistic counterparts. The reason for this is threefold: one, Shepard is affected by weapons the same as the enemies; two, Shepard only has one health bar in the second game versus the two in the first game, with the health meter only being shown after barriers have been depleted; and three, Insanity difficulty is scary enough without your enemies' heavy weapons being able to completely ignore your defenses.
** Shepard uses the M8-Avenger assault rifle in many cutscenes regardless if you've replaced its use with another weapon, or if your Shepard's character class can even use assault rifles in gameplay. Likewise, Miranda is shown inspecting her Shuriken machine pistol in a cutscene during the SuicideMission even if you may have replaced it with another sub-machine gun. During the various cutscenes in the SuicideMission, any character will be shown firing an Avenger, whether or not they normally use it.
** Once the Reaper IFF is installed in the ''Normandy'' [[spoiler: the Collectors track down the ship and kidnap the crew. The thing is, depending on when you decide to go get the IFF there can be a delay of several quests before this happens. This means the Collectors can ambush the ''Normandy while it's sitting right outside the Citadel''.]] Also if you choose not to awaken Grunt, his capsule will still be on the ship.
** Powers in combat don't match what the Codex tells us at all, on account of game balancing:
*** For ordering a party member to use a tech ability that should fire off a nano-grenade made from their omni-tool's manufacturing module, ''Shepard'' needs line of sight on the target, and the attack will instantly land without a projectile traveling the distance. If Shepard uses one of these abilities, the projectile will actually be fired, takes time to reach the target, and can be stopped by obstacles in the way.
*** According to the codex, biotic talents are divided into three categories, not a list of individual abilities with specific names. The three categories are telekinesis, kinetic fields, and spatial distortion; a biotic will usually have a natural talent for one field, but the classes mix and match. Sentinels have Warp (distortion) and Throw (telekinesis), while Vanguards have telekinetic abilities but ''don't'' have Throw.
** Biotics are capable of telekinetically lifting targets into the air to become an easy target, or overloading their neural system and permanently damaging their aiming, or freezing an enemy in place. Enemy biotics will never do this because then the player would die (as anyone who played VideoGame/MassEffect1 remembers), even though the above describes about half of the biotic abilities in the game. The only exception to this is Charge, used by a boss in ''Lair of the Shadow Broker,'' and even then, the boss never directly charges the player.
** Minor example in one of the DLC Firewalker missions: Why do we have a time limit on this mission? The planet is cold enough to freeze the Hammerhead's engine. Why is there a limit on how long we can fly in the Hammerhead? The engine will overheat if we push it too long. And re-embarking onto the ''Normandy'' from the surface also somehow enables extra cooling systems in the jump jets so the Hammerhead can fly up into the hangar bay.
** When you're on Haestrom during Tali's recruitment mission, it's said your shields will fry. The only one immune to this is Grunt who uses armor. However Jack, Samara, and adept and vanguard Shepard use barriers instead of shields. They can still get fried by the radiation despite not being generated by electronics and instead by the actual being.
** Cerberus forks countless billions into Shepard's mission; first by reviving Shepard with Project Lazarus, second by rebuilding the Normandy at twice its size (keep in mind the regular Normandy used to cost as much as 12,000 fighter spacecraft)... but still they won't fork over more than 200,000 credits as your change for the start.
---> '''The Illusive Man:''' I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest.
** When Subject Zero, "Jack," is first revealed to be a petite woman instead of the hulking man our heroes were expecting, she proceeds to use her biotics to demolish four YMIR mechs at once. She cannot pull off this feat in actual gameplay; in fact she can't take too many heavy hits and it's best ''not'' to have Jack directly engage even ''one'' YMIR for too long. To top it off, her powers in game don't even ''work'' on one!
** In DLC squadmate Kasumi's loyalty mission you can enter Hock's room by sneaking around the building and killing several guards. When you try to leave guards come to investigate and one of them mentions how they couldn't hear the shots fired over the loud music. The actual music being played is so low that if you have the volume turned down you probably won't even know it's there.
** During your mission to recruit Mordin you can come across several humans looting a building with most of your options being to criticize them. [[HypocriticalHumor This despite it being practically a necessity in the game to loot everything around you just to get barely enough cash to buy badly-needed upgrades]].
** The logic behind Project Overlord in the DLC of the same name will make a lot less sense if done after the SuicideMission and you decided to [[spoiler:destroy the Collector base instead of following the Illusive Man's advice]]. Same thing with the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, though this is more downplayed since Shepard can get the intel early on by viewing their private terminal, and can choose to wait to act on it.
** Similarly, one might wonder why the geth are hostile in Overlord if you first acquire [[spoiler: Legion]] and do [[spoiler: its]] loyalty mission, but this is actually a subversion, since said geth are [[spoiler: controlled onsite. David Archer and the Illusive Man will still disapprove if Shepard shuts down the project, however, even though an alliance with Legion effectively makes it redundant]].
* GameplayAllyImmortality: Squadmates can't be killed during normal combat. They even get up once combat ends.
* GangOfHats: The three major mercenary bands in the Terminus System each have an associated colour and patterns to the races they recruit and the units they deploy. Eclipse is yellow, recruits asari, humans and salarians and deploys a mix of regular troops and biotic and tech specialists, backed up by a wide range of MechaMooks. The Blood Pack are red and recruits mainly krogan with shotguns, using vorcha and varren as attack dogs and ammo bait. The Blue Suns are blue, recruit batarians, humans and turians and only deploys basic soldiers with a mix of assault rifles, shotguns and heavy weapons. They also specialise in different practices besides merc work. Eclipse specialise in smuggling eezo and drugs, the Blood Pack specialise in raw brute force and the Blue Suns have their fingers in a wide range of legal and illegal businesses that make them a borderline crime syndicate.
* GangstaStyle: One of Aria's bodyguards holds his gun this way.
* GangUpOnTheHuman: You can be hiding on the opposite side of the room from all of your enemies, doing nothing but regenerating shields, with [[MindOverMatter Jack]] tossing troopers left and right and [[SuperSoldier Grunt]] quite literally in their faces, either smashing them in with his fists or blowing them off with his shotgun, and enemies will ''still'' ignore them both to try and kill you. Invoked by Harbinger, who orders his troops to '''[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: FOCUS ON SHEPARD! ]]
'''
* GargleBlaster: In the Dark Star on the Citadel, Shepard can drink a glass of "uncut batarian ale" and "ryncol", the krogan drink of choice. Ryncol does awful things to anyone that isn't krogan, except for Shepard. Then again, Shepard isn't quite human anymore.
--> '''Ratch:''' Ryncol's a local favorite. Don't try to act tough. It'll tear your insides apart.\\
'''Grunt:''' He's not joking. Ryncol hits aliens like ground glass.
* GaussianGirl: Gaussian Guy: Joker [[DiscussedTrope mentions this trope]] in one of the dialogue sequences about how he and EDI are getting along.
--> '''EDI:''' Cerberus regulations are clear, Mr. Moreau: Personalization does not include grease on my bridge cameras.\\
'''Joker:''' It's just mad that all of its footage of me looks like a dream sequence.
* GayOption:
** Yeoman Kelly Chambers, although it's not as developed as the other romance options. It doesn't unlock the Paramour achievement, there's no romance scene, and apparently pursuing it doesn't count as cheating on any significant other from the first game (whose picture never gets turned face down, at any rate).
** Like in the first game, there are two DiscountLesbians you can get involved with regardless of gender. Shepard and Samara can form a connection which can lead to an AlmostKiss, but she is ultimately MarriedToTheJob. You can also express an interest in her daughter Morinth, but sleeping with her is [[NonStandardGameOver a bad idea]].
* GetBackHereBoss: [[spoiler: Tela Vasir]] in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC. And it is ''awesome'', in a masochistic sort of way. [[WhosLaughingNow The Vanguard's Charge really is horribly unfair when it's]]'' [[WhosLaughingNow you]]'' [[WhosLaughingNow who is on the receiving end.]] What's more unfair is that her version of Charge doesn't need a target (and she can even use Shockwave so that she and the waves are headed towards you at the same time!), while you're stuck looking around, locking onto a target, and clearing a path before you can even consider Charging an opponent. Though it is also quite awesome to pursue her with your own Charge ability as a Vanguard. Especially once the shields and armors are down.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: [[spoiler: The Shadow Broker's true identity (a yahg)]]. Not a bad introduction for a new species, but since [[spoiler: the Shadow Broker was mentioned (but not seen) in the first game]], this can come off as a tad jarring. [[spoiler: The dossiers does state that the yahg killed the previous Shadow Broker and took his stuff the same way Liara eventually does -- they even give the exact same orders once they replace their predecessors]].
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: If [[spoiler:Legion]] is Shepard's second squadmate during Tali's loyalty mission, a few additional seconds of cutscene-footage are added where Admiral Koris does this to [[spoiler:Legion]] at the very beginning of the trial.
* GlassCannon:
** The Hammerhead is nearly a OneHitPointWonder. Good Lord, it wouldn't be quite so frustrating if they'd just let you ''save'' at any point during the geth-infested DLC Firewalker missions[[note]] and if you die you have to start the entire mission over from the beginning[[/note]].
** This also describes Shepard when comparing their ''[=ME2=]'' incarnation to their ''[=ME1=]'' incarnation. Removing virtually all defensive abilities but making putting up an offensive that much easier does that.
* GodzillaThreshold: At the end of the ''Arrival'' DLC. It doesn't get much further past the Godzilla Threshold than [[spoiler:the complete destruction of a batarian colony with over ''300,000'' civilians]] being considered acceptable losses to delay the Reapers.
* GoForTheEye:
** How you defeat [[spoiler:the [[EldritchAbomination Reaper Fetus]] at the end of the game]].
** This is also what Tali tells her pet combat drone to do (go for the optics). This is part of a complex series of ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'': Tali's drone (Chiktikka Vas Paus) is named after Chiktikka Fastpaws, the raccoon familiar of the Gnomish god Aerie of Baldurs Gate worships (and whom she often mentions when given orders). From the same game, Minsc has a hamster named Boo, and one of his warcry is screaming to Boo to "Go For the Eyes".
** The Oculus ships are ''all'' eye (hence the name), so the crew have no other option.
* GoldenEnding: [[spoiler:Saving your entire crew]] and having your whole squad survive the SuicideMission. To get it, you must walk the...
* GoldenPath:
** [[spoiler: Complete all loyalty missions. Purchase Jacob's ship upgrade so Jack isn't lasered to death by an Oculus, Tali's ship upgrade so the drive core won't explode and kill a squad member, and Garrus's ship upgrade so a beam isn't dislodged to impale a squad member to death. Leave for the suicide mission immediately after your crew gets abducted. On the suicide mission, assign Tali, Legion, or Kasumi to be in the duct, Garrus, Miranda, or Jacob to lead fire teams, Samara/Morinth or Jack for the "Biotic Shield", send Mordin or any other "fragile" squadmate (either Jack, Kasumi, or Tali) back with any rescued crew, and leave Grunt, Garrus, and Zaeed behind on the "hold the line" segment for they have the biggest "strength factor" in favor of your team. Grunt, Garrus, and Zaeed have the highest defense scores of 3 (non-loyal) or 4 (loyal), so it's best to leave at least one of them holding the line, preferably two.]]
** [[spoiler: Note that it is possible to save everyone even if not all of them are loyal. It's never a good idea to have non-loyal squadmates in 'specialist' roles like fire team leader, crew escort or biotic shield, or as party members for the final boss fight. On the other hand, it's entirely possible for characters to survive holding the line near the end whether or not they're loyal. The important factor is that the number of casualties, if any, is determined by the ''average'' of the squad's defensive strengths, not their total.]]
** To calculate the Hold the Line team needed for a no-deaths outcome, [[spoiler: the team's average defensive rating needs to be 2.0 or greater. Garrus, Grunt and Zaeed (the Tuff Guys) are rated 4, Mordin, Jack, Tali and Kasumi (the Weak Links) are rated 1, and the rest (the Regular Joes) are rated 2. Subtract 1 from the rating of any non-loyal character. If you get to this portion with no prior casualties, have everyone loyal, and select a "weak link" as the escort for your crew, the magic number is 18. The only way to fall below this number is to double-dip on the Tuff Guys.]]
* GoneHorriblyWrong: As a rule of thumb, Cerberus experiments never end well.
* GoodCopBadCop: When you and Thane are about to interrogate Elias Kelham in Thane's loyalty mission, you get the option of telling Thane which of these he should be (or just playing it by ear). Presumably, Shepard will then be the other, but you can jump off the rails, naturally, and have them ''both'' be "bad cop" or "good cop". One Intimidate option involves telling him you're ''both'' the good cop, and the real bad cop is waiting outside...
-->'''Thane:''' I say we let him in. Elias doesn't need fingers to talk.
* GoodIsNotSoft: The Overlord DLC has the most iconic moment GINS scene with Paragon Shepard, as on seeing the horrific lengths Gavin Archer went to to gain intelligence on the Geth, a PistolWhip to his face is a ''Paragon'' interrupt. Not to mention Shepard's warning that [[spoiler: if Gavin is ever in the same system as his brother again, he's off to [[Literature/TheDivineComedy Caïna]].]]
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking:
** The Illusive Man smokes at least four a day.
** In Archangel's recruitment mission, a batarian merc repairing a gunship lights up when spoken to. The smoke bothers Shepard, who can electrocute him in a Renegade interrupt and make the boss fight much easier.
** At the beginning of a planet mission, another batarian merc is seen popping out for a smoke and noticing the shuttle approaching.
** An elcor merchant on Omega also has a [[CigarChomper cigar wedged into a corner of his invisible mouth]].
* GothGirlsKnowMagic: Miranda, Morinth, and Jack are the gothier ladies of the game, and all have biotic powers. The gothiness is particularly evident in their Loyalty uniforms.
* GrayAndGreyMorality:
** The decision to either [[spoiler:brainwash or kill the "heretic" geth]] at the end of [[spoiler:Legion]]'s loyalty mission.
** Deciding whether you allow Garrus [[spoiler:to kill Sidonis, who at this point welcomes death as a release from the nightmares he has of allowing his squad to die]]
* GridPuzzle: A logic grid puzzle is a part of Liara's quest. There are five people --Turian, Salarian, etc.-- and five jobs --merchant, killer, observer, etc. You need to find out who is the Shadow Broker's assistant, the Observer. The correct answer is [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope none of the above]], because ''all five are male'', and Observer referred to herself as a female once. The whole thing is fake, and the Observer is actually Liara's secretary]].
* GroupReactsIndividually: Several prominent locations, such as the market vista on Ilium, have trigger points to prompt comments from whomever is in your active party at the moment, allowing them to express their, often-clashing, opinions.
* GuestStarPartyMember:
** Wilson in the intro level, before he is killed and replaced by Miranda.
** Liara in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC. She's treated as a full-fledged party member (she replaces one of your companions), and has her own skill set along with Stasis as her loyalty power (which Shepard can learn as a bonus skill).
** Dr. Kenson briefly becomes one in the ''Arrival'' DLC.
* GuideDangIt:
** Getting everyone through the suicide mission alive on your first playthrough. You're given the knowledge on how to do that throughout the game, and hints are dropped on preparations you should make, but there is still a possibility that, even if you get all the upgrades, all members are loyal, and you send them for right job in the endgame area, one of them might die at the end due to the way the game calculates each member's "defense" score during the HoldTheLine portion. Inversely, if you want more than one or two ''specific'' characters to die in order to change the next game, it requires making the "wrong" decisions very precisely. It's almost impossible to kill everyone, or as many as you can get away with while still keeping Shepard alive, if you so much as ''recruited'' Zaeed.
** [[spoiler:When the crew is kidnapped]]. It comes out of nowhere, and if you don't handle it immediately, you can get a significantly [[MultipleEndings worse ending]]. For added fun: there's a very good chance that your party won't be fully loyal at that point, which can lead to [[AnyoneCanDie even more problems...]] If you do not start the suicide mission immediately after this happens, half the crew will die, including Shepard's potential girlfriend Kelly. Worse yet, if you undertake more than 3 missions before entering the Omega 4 Relay, you will lose your entire crew save Dr. Chakwas. This is why it is generally recommended that players finish all the content they want to, ''before'' entering the area with the Reaper IFF.
** Charm and Intimidate checks work very differently, and cryptically, from the previous game. Whereas in ''[=ME1=]'' the checks scored your Charm and Intimidate points, which you invest upgrade points into, against requirements for a given check; this game uses your accrued Paragon[=/=]Renegade scores and measures it against all ''potential'' Paragon[=/=]Renegade points from every area you've visited and missions unlocked, including missions ''you haven't yet completed''. This makes certain checks, such as those in the Miranda[=/=]Jack and Tali[=/=][[spoiler:Legion]] feuds, impossible to clear without leaning into a Paragon or Renegade alignment through the entire game. Worse still, NewGamePlus '''''further increases''''' the thresholds for clearing these checks, potentially making them impossible to clear without starting over from scratch. In the original release, the Paragon and Renegade score indicators didn't even give an accurate account of how far along you were in either alignment, but the Legendary Edition re-release adjusted the indicators to be more accurate, as well as relaxing the Charm and Intimidate requirements in general to provide more leeway in playstyles.
** Most of the resources you need to obtain via the Planet Scanning minigame are straightforward enough (if mildly tedious) to get without deliberate hunting. Element Zero, however, is extremely hard to come by, only showing up on a select number of planets, with the rest having very little to NO Element Zero. While some do include a nod to the resource being there in the planet's decription, others won't have anything pointing you to that being the case. If you're a Biotic, or want your Biotic squadmates to actually progress with you, you also need a LOT of it. It's fairly common to end up with more than enough other resources to get ALL the upgrades by the time you get a respectable hoard of Element Zero.
* GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: Hilariously, during Thane's loyalty mission a character will rack the slide on their pistol, even though the guns in Mass Effect don't have slides, or even bullets!
* GunshipRescue: Archangel's recruitment mission, Samara's recruitment mission, and DLC squadmate Kasumi's loyalty mission put you on the side of this trope usually reserved for bad guys.
* GunsInChurch: Justified, somewhat; you are a Spectre/former Spectre, and numerous events prove that you are not safe from attack ''anywhere'' you go [[spoiler:(even your own ship)]], so it makes sense for your party to walk around fully armed and armoured at all times. Unlike the first game, however, you cannot draw your guns outside of combat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:H]]
* HandCannon:
** The M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannon. Its damage is miles above your other pistol option, but it has much more kick and a smaller clip.
** There is also the DLC-exclusive M-5 Phalanx, a high-power game pistol. According to the description, it was designed to have as much stopping power as a standard rifle. It's even more useful with a higher clip, damage and accuracy rating, though slightly more difficult to aim due to its recoil and having a sometimes hard-to-see laser sight instead of crosshairs.
* HappinessInSlavery: "Indentured servitude" on Illium, though the one slave broker you run into genuinely cares about the quarian she's dealing with. One of the assignments deals with this, and a morally "right" decision isn't clear.
* HardLevelsEasyBosses: This is especially the case on higher difficulty levels. Normal enemies provide relentless fire, can flank you with numbers, and often have dangerous gimmicks or abilities that force you to break cover or deal with them in a specific order. Bosses, on the other hand, can be taken out rather quickly, especially if heavy weapons ammo was saved before reaching them.
* HardModePerks: The Geth Pulse Rifle, which you can only get by completing Tali's recruitment mission on Hardcore or Insanity. It pierces shields easier.
* HeadacheOfDoom: Scientists studying a derelict Reaper find out the hard way that the Indoctrinating power of the long-dead machine is still active, once again beginning with headaches and hallucinations.
* HeadbuttOfLove: The now infamous Shakarian headbutt that culminates Garrus' romance. Many a FanFiction was inspired that day...
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: [[spoiler:Legion]]'s loyalty mission, where you have to decide on [[spoiler:whether to wipe out the heretic geth or use an indoctrination virus to force them to agree with the geth majority. Granted, the heretics were going to use it on the other geth to make them see their way, but it's a tough moral decision for most players that don't wanna just kill them all. ''Mass Effect 3'' shows this decision affects the final war for Rannoch, as using the virus greatly bolsters the geth's numbers at the expense of some quarian assets (and makes it harder to pursue peace), and vice versa if you destroy them.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: For certain values of heel and face. Paragon Shepard inspires Miranda to quit Cerberus and join them in blowing up the Collector Base; the conversation with the Illusive Man includes her if you take her with you in the final fight.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Miranda will be inspired to quit Cerberus regardless of whether she's loyal or not, but a disloyal Miranda will die a few minutes later in the escape.
* HeistClash: Kasumi met her now-deceased boyfriend while they were both trying to steal the same painting which they ended up keeping as a memento.
* HeistEpisode: The [[DownloadableContent Stolen Memory DLC]] sees [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]] teaming up with master thief Kasumi Goto to infiltrate a black tie party hosted by an arms dealer and steal back the neural implant that contains the memories of her love, Keiji.
* HellholePrison: The Purgatory PrisonShip. Inmates are regularly beaten or [[ThrownOutTheAirlock spaced]] as an example to others, and Kuril regularly sells prisoners to those who can pay and want some vigilante justice.
* HelplessKicking: When the Collectors board the Normandy SR-2, Joker, making his way to EDI's computer core, passes the elevator where one of the Collectors drags a screaming Kelly Chambers inside, her legs flailing in the air.
* HenchmenRace: The Collectors. [[spoiler:Formerly known as Protheans]]. In turn, they try to use the vorcha to spread a plague on Omega and kill off all non-humans, as you will learn in Mordin's recruitment mission.
* TheHeroDies: For most series, this would be a ''huge'' twist. ''Mass Effect''? This was literally the ''first detail revealed'' about the second game. The fact that the same thing could happen if you royally screwed up the suicide mission was also made clear, both in-game and in much of the promotional material.
* HeroLookingForGroup: Commander Shepard spends the majority of the game recruiting and earning the loyalty of various mercs, criminals, and similar outcasts in order to form a BadassCrew in the hopes of defeating the Collectors.
* HeroicFireRescue: In DLC squadmate Zaeed's loyalty mission, Shepard has to choose between running into a burning refinery in order to turn on the fire suppression systems and rescue the workers, or pursue the man Zaeed has wanted revenge on for twenty years and ignore the workers. Choosing to do the former, however, will cost Zaeed's loyalty, unless enough Paragon points have been attained.
* HeroesUnlimited: The entire point.
* HeroKiller: The Collectors take this quite literally. There's a ''reason'' the final battle against them is a suicide mission.
* HiddenDepths: The dossiers in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC have a variety of insights into your [[Characters.MassEffect2 crew (and a few [=NPCs=])]].
* HideYourLesbians: Unfortunately, despite an already-present [[DiscountLesbians sort-of]] GayOption in the first game, and an initial promise from Creator/BioWare of additional options in the sequel, ''Mass Effect 2'''s lesbian content is a lot less substantial, while gay male content is nowhere to be found. Even though your relationship with Liara from the first game carries over (provided you romanced her), the closest the sequel comes to actually having a GayOption is some light flirting and a post-game snuggle with Kelly Chambers. Shepard can also express interest in either Samara or Morinth, but neither is an actual romance option. A decade after the game's original release, a few developers revealed that same-sex content for Jacob and Jack was planned, but ultimately scrapped since the Fox News controversy surrounding the first game was still fresh in everyone's minds and they feared more backlash.
* HighAltitudeInterrogation: During Thane's recruitment mission, Shepard happens upon a poor [[FacelessGoons mook]], standing too close to a window, in a skyscraper. Shepard asks about Thane, threatening to throw the guy out the window. Subverted in that the mook doesn't have vital information necessary for you to continue the mission, and a Renegade Shepard knows it.
* HighlyVisibleNinja: For a shadowy organization, Cerberus sure likes to [[SigilSpam decorate their ships, facilities and uniforms with their logo]].
* HighPressureBlood: One of the Shadow Broker's spy vids on Urdnot Torsk, a krogan on Tuchanka, shows him throwing a captured salarian into a varren fight pit. Several varren immediately follow the poor slob in and start tearing him apart. The whole scene gets a darkly amusing slapstick feel due to how the salarian's upper body pops up again and again, arms flailing wildly while a ridiculous amount of his greenish blood geysers from the pit all around him.
* HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure: Used by the Gunnery Chief on the Citadel to drive home just how powerful dreadnoughts' main weapons are.
* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Their Own Petard]]:
** Shows up in [[spoiler:Legion]]'s loyalty mission: [[spoiler:The Reaper-worshipping "heretic" geth have developed a virus intended to [[{{Brainwashed}} brainwash the original geth into following the Reapers]]. You have the option of rewriting the virus and distributing it through the heretics' network, causing them to return to the original geth]].
** Also apparently a favorite of [[spoiler:Garrus Vakarian]] during his time as Archangel on Omega according to the Shadow Broker's dossier.
** Shepard can dish this out with the DLC Collector Assault Rifle, a captured Reaper-derived weapon, which is ''very'' effective at killing Collectors. The irony of using the Reaper's own weapons against them is particularly poignant if in the final battle you use this weapon to take down [[spoiler:the Humanoid-Reaper]].
* HoldTheLine:
** Used during the SuicideMission. Shepard takes the usual two squad members to the final boss, and the rest of the party stays behind to keep the Collectors from following. If [[spoiler: Mordin]] is fatally wounded during this phase, these are his last words.
--->[[spoiler: '''Mordin:''']] ''[dying]'' Tell them... I held the line...
** This is actually a bittersweet MeaningfulEcho from a prior conversation, where Mordin mocked Kirrahe's (from ''Mass Effect 1'') habit of using that expression in heroic speeches.
---> '''Mordin:''' Good Captain. Bit of a cloaca, though. ''Loved'' his speeches. ''"Hold the line!"'' Personally prefer to get job done and go home.
** Also in the ''Arrival'' DLC, [[spoiler: when you discover the Project members have been indoctrinated, you get locked in the room with the Reaper artifact and are forced to hold out as long as possible will Shepard themself comes under the effects of indoctrination.]] Slightly subverted in that [[spoiler: you don't have to hold out until the Reaper artifact reaches full charge - if you don't, you just pass out and move onto the next part of the mission - but you get an achievement if you do. [[ShaggyDogStory The artifact knocks you out instead if you survive all 5 waves.]]]]
* HolographicTerminal: All over the place, literally. DLC squadmate Kasumi will actually introduce herself to you using one of these... while she's on an upper balcony watching you talk to the hologram.
* {{Homage}}:
** The mission aboard the derelict Reaper is a big one to Creator/HPLovecraft, complete with references to strange geometries and dead gods who dream.
** The geth space station you board during [[spoiler:Legion's]] loyalty mission is just like the interior of a Borg Cube.
** The car chase in Lair of the Shadow Broker is extremely similar to the chase from Film/AttackOfTheClones.
** Project Overlord: a derelict science facility, a creepy-as-hell ContagiousAI, [[VideoGame/SystemShock2 cybernetics-powered ghost images,]] and a mission that climaxes in an eerie quasi-virtual world that is beginning to superimpose itself on reality.
** Captain Ronald Taylor's ship is the ''MSV [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gernsback Hugo Gernsback]]'', who is considered "The Father of Science Fiction" for getting many, ''many'' sci-fi writers their first published work -- and for whom the UsefulNotes/{{Hugo Award}}s are named for.
* HopelessBossFight: In the ''Arrival'' DLC. [[spoiler:You'll get knocked out by the Reaper artifact even if you survive all five waves]].
* HospitalityForHeroes: Invoked. In Samara's loyalty mission, Shepard can convince a bartender to throw a round of drinks on the house to get Morinth's attention.
* HotterAndSexier: Goes hand-in-hand with the DarkerAndEdgier nature of the game. While the sex itself is fairly tame, more than half of the crew are available to Shepard (although less than half for each single sex), sex is mentioned much more often, the turian and quarian couple talking about sexual matters, Fornax, the ardat-yakshi, etc.
--> '''Garrus:''' [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre I had reach, but she had flexibility.]]
* HoverTank: The M-44 Hammerhead.
* HubUnderAttack: After [[EmpoweredBadassNormal Commander Shepard]] and crew gathers the tech that will allow them to go through the Omega 4 relay, EDI (the onboard AI) recommends that the Shepard and all the main party members head for the next port of call via shuttle while she tests the installation of the new tech. While Shepard is gone, the Collectors invade and the player is put in control of [[{{NonActionGuy}} Joker]], the ship's pilot. With the assistance of EDI, Joker sneaks past Praetorians and Scions to release EDI's RestrainingBolt, allowing her to reboot the ''Normandy''[='s=] defenses and eject the remaining Collectors out the airlocks. Joker is successful but once it's over, he finds that all the rest of the crew have been abducted.
* HugeHolographicHead: In DLC squadmate Kasumi's loyalty mission, Donovan Hock is apparently fond of this mode of communication, and [[LargeHam acts appropriately]]. In the Overlord DLC the eponymous VI also uses this during its boss fight.
* HumansAreSpecial: ZigZagged:
** Subverted with the Reapers. They have taken a ''special'' interest in humans [[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to Shepard]], whose actions made them... ''interested'' in human DNA, in much the same way [[spoiler: the Protheans were interesting fifty thousand years ago]].
** Played straight in several conversations with Mordin, who explains that one of the things that sets humans apart from other sentient races in the galaxy is their large genetic diversity. (Which is a strange assertion for a scientist to make -- particularly in a series that generally features harder science than most video games -- as humans ''aren't'' particularly genetically diverse, quite the opposite in fact, even compared to other Earth animals such as penguins and chimpanzees.)
---> '''Mordin:''' Biotic abilities, intelligence levels. Can look at random asari, krogan, make reasonable guess. Humans too variable to judge.
** Samara also feels humans are especially diverse, though this something of an InformedAbility in-game, since you yourself encounter the fact that three quarians have at least nine opinions, as you will learn in Tali's loyalty mission.
--->'''Samara:''' You are more individualistic than any other species I have encountered. If three humans are in a room, there will be six opinions.
* HumanResources:
** The major twist at the end is that [[spoiler: the Collectors have been taking humans and using their liquefied remains to build a Reaper]]. And they weren't [[NightmareFuel anywhere near done]] when you finally put a stop to it. This is how [[spoiler: all Reapers are made]], after all.
** (Probably) not human, but the FlavorText for [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Logasiri Logasiri]] mentions a slaver named Silparon who worked his slaves to death and [[{{Squick}} ground up their bodies for compost]].
* HumongousMecha: The [[GiantMook largest geth units you fight]] can reach up to fifteen feet tall, and the YMIR mechs are just as huge. [[spoiler:But the best example has to be the human Reaper]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:I]]
* ICallItVera:
** Zaeed's favourite rifle is named Jessie.
** Tali's combat drone is named [[VideoGame/BaldursGateII Chiktika Vas Paus]].
* ICantDoThisByMyself: The game has Shepard saying this to the Illusive Man when told that Shepard needs to stop the Collectors and that humanity is at war. Shepard replies "If this is a war, I'll need an army. Or a really good team."
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Shepard's ultimate justification for [[spoiler:destroying an entire solar system, and killing over 300,000 Batarians during the Arrival DLC. It was the only way to slow down the Reaper invasion, which would have started from that system, causing all those deaths regardless.]]
* IdiosyncraticWipes: The Lazarus Project cutscene.
* IdiotBall:
** The ''Purgatory'' Warden who [[BullyingADragon betrays Shepard]] by ordering them into a cell without any backup present, ''after'' allowing Shepard to keep their guns.
** If you get Morinth, whatever you do, don't have sex with her. Shep and Morinth even discuss how she kills anyone who has sex with her. She says Shep is probably "different". Shepard's option to turn her down is "No thanks, I'd rather live." Presumably, Bioware assumed most players would try it out of curiosity (or as penance for having recruited her in the first place). Although, in this case, Shepard has already shown the ability to survive things that would take down a normal human (ryncol, the Widow rifle, ''death''...), so one could be justified in thinking it might work. Still a stupid idea, though.
** Miranda drops it when she insists Shepard take his entire squad on the Normandy off on a mission while the Reaper IFF is being installed... leaving the Normandy defenseless to invasion from the Collectors, who proceed to kidnap the entire crew, barring Joker. [[NeverMyFault She then proceeds to blame Joker for it upon the team's return.]]

* IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect: A line from EDI during the suicide mission invokes this trope word-for-word. The superstructure... [[spoiler: is a Reaper]].
* TheImmodestOrgasm: Heard at one point when Joker neglects to redirect his entertainment to his earpiece.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Not upgrading the ''Normandy'''s weapons systems results in [[spoiler:a crew member getting impaled by a bulkhead]] during the trip through the Omega-4 relay. Not long before, the NonstandardGameOver during [[spoiler:Joker's mini mission]] involves [[spoiler:him being impaled by a Scion]].
* ImStandingRightHere: Occurs in Mordin's loyalty mission while trying to rile up a sick krogan if Tali is in the party. Interestingly, this is the Paragon dialogue choice; then again, Tali being there is optional:
-->'''Shepard:''' You? I said a badass, not a sick scout whining like a quarian with a tummy-ache!\\
'''Tali:''' I'm standing right here!
* InappropriatelyCloseComrades: It's specifically noted that, unlike the Alliance, Cerberus does ''not'' have rules against this.
* IncendiaryExponent:
** Not ''quite'', but in one scene (on Omega, if you choose to represent Patriarch and confront his enemies), Shepard seemingly ducks under a stream of fire from a flamethrower to roundhouse kick an armoured krogan ''in the face''.
** Pyro mercs. Light you up and lay on the hurt... unless you use Overload or Incinerate on them, or shoot the tank on their back. Pops like a fiery pimple in that case.
** Through Zaeed's DLC, you can exact your revenge using the Firestorm heavy weapon.
* IndenturedServitude: Ilium practices this, though many (including possibly Shepard) still consider it slavery. Unlike with [[TheEmpire the batarians]] the practice is strictly regulated as to the treatment of the indentures, work conditions, what types of work are permitted, and the length of service allowed. There's even agencies that match indentured workers with employers. In one sidequest Shepard encounters a quarian software engineer who ended up selling herself into indenture to cover gambling debts. Shep can talk a computer company's rep into buying the quarian's contract from an indenture agency.
* InfallibleBabble: Just to see if players were paying attention during Samara's recruitment mission, [=BioWare=] snuck a crucial clue about an encounter later in the same mission. [[spoiler:When you interrogate him, corrupt volus merchant Pitne For warns you that all Eclipse mercenaries must commit a murder to earn their uniform and that they are all professional killers. Later on, you meet Elnora, an Eclipse sister in ''full uniform'' who claims that she has never fired her weapon and that she joined without knowing how bad they all really were. Then a Renegade interrupt pops up]].
* InfinityPlusOneSword:
** The [=DLC=] weapon Mattock Assault Rifle, which is semi-automatic with a 16 round clip--and a high fire-rate cap. Meaning, you can put a LOT of damage on target (especially with Incendiary, Warp, or Disruptor ammo) very quickly and accurately. Couple that with the huge damage bonus of Adrenaline Rush, how the ability makes aiming much easier, and a near game-breaking bug in which said skill does ''not'' slow down the Mattock's rate of fire, and you'll be bulldozing through enemies faster than you could even with unlimited Cain ammo. Hilariously, the e-mail notification from the Illusive Man lampshades this. The ship's AI EDI was helping review combat data and, to quote. "She suggested we may be overlooking older, proven technologies in an effort to provide you with the state of art. Normally I wouldn't give much credence to the idea, but when an AI criticizes you for loving high-tech, it gives one pause to consider." It's also accurate to the point where it can replace a Sniper Rifle in a lot of circumstances. Its only drawback is the low amount of ammunition you can carry.
** The Locust SMG from Kasumi's DLC has the fast fire rate of a sub machine gun, but is also extremely accurate, with a low spray. Equipping it with one of the types of ammo allows it to make quick work of anything lower than a sub-boss.
** The [=DLC=] weapon Geth Plasma Shotgun. Not only it looks amazing and sounds amazing when it opens but it has two firing modes (normal and charged, Charged mode requires a couple of seconds of charging time and it causes even more damage per shot than the Claymore), it has ridiculous long range and accuracy for a shotgun, slight homing capability and relatively high ammo count. On top of all that it can be charged right before a Biotic Charge, Adrenaline Rush, Tech Armor or Tactical Cloak (hotkey activation required not to automatically release the shot) and released afterward to be coupled with those abilities' bonuses and multipliers for truly devastating effects. Even on Insanity, a single charged shot (with the right damage bonuses) is enough to remove almost any mook's shielding, if not kill them outright.
** The Revenant machine gun, once you get the accuracy upgrade for it. Put that Cain heavy weapon away, soldier, you won't be needing it. While you're at it, slap on some [[AbnormalAmmo Warp ammo]] so you don't have to fiddle with switching back and forth between special ammunition types. Remember those annoying enemies with biotic barriers?
** The M-98 Widow Anti-Materiel sniper rifle. When collapsed, it appears to be a two-and-a-half-foot-long tube. When brought out to use, it extends in a huge sniper rifle. The weapon's info entry says it weighs 39 kilograms and was made to take out vehicles and krogan. A headshot with it and a few applicable bonuses will instant-kill even elite mooks on all but the higher difficulties. The Widow is AwesomeButImpractical in-universe, as it's stated that average humans wouldn't be able to fire it without shattering their arms. Fortunately such things don't apply to Shepard.
** The DLC heavy weapon Arc Projector is a big help on Insanity difficulty, where all enemies have additional defenses, the most common being shields. One shot from this weapon is enough to burn out all the shields of every mook in a room if they're close enough to each other.
* InjuredPlayerCharacterStage: A variant when the player controls Joker. He hasn't been injured, but his naturally delicate state makes it so he can only move slowly, dies the moment he enters combat, and is incapacitated if he falls down.
* InsistentTerminology: The asari contract broker on Illium insists that they're not slaves, they're indentured servants!
* InstantWinCondition: Some battles simply require you to kill one enemy. None of the others matter, and since you don't get experience for killing things this time around, there's no reason to. Others end once you cross the other side of the area, regardless of how many enemies are left behind you.
* InsultFriendlyFire: Shepard pep-talking a krogan that he should not be a "whiny quarian with a tummy ache" when our favorite quarian Tali is standing right behind him. See ImStandingRightHere above.
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: On Haestrom, during Tali's recruitment mission, surmounting a fallen pillar a little taller than Shepard themself requires gathering and applying demolition charges from behind an enemy swarm. Apparently giving a leg up is lost technology by the 22nd century. Shows up in other places, too.
* InterfaceScrew:
** Enemy flashbang grenades cause a temporary afterimage to overlap the screen. Also, getting drunk causes the screen to go blurry and wobble randomly.
** When a rocket or other concussive blast goes off near Shepherd, the sound becomes muted for several seconds while your ears recover.
** When you're near death, a bunch of red blood and vein-like art is displayed all over the screen, making it very hard to see things like crates and other waist-high objects you can duck behind to get out of the gunfire. Oh, and your sound gets muffled to nearly the point you can't hear anything but a heartbeat.
** During Grunt's loyalty mission (his Rite of Passage), every time the Thresher Maw bursts from the ground, the ''entire screen'' vibrates, with some of the [=HUD=] elements even moving out of frame.
** Near the end of the ''Overlord'' DLC, the rogue VI will do this a few times with the doors. One instance has you interacting with a green-marked door only to have the other red-marked door open instead; another appears to require a security bypass but will immediately open once you approach. The last of these gags has the green "Open" icon on the door actually ''move'' to another door.
* InterfaceSpoiler:
** [[spoiler:Legion]] is addressed by the names in the subtitles upon your first meeting, then reverts to [[spoiler:"geth"]] the next time you speak.
** More specifically, you can find an upgrade for "[[spoiler:geth shields]]" before you ever meet or recruit [[spoiler:Legion.]] It tries to be coy by saying it upgrades "party members who use [[spoiler:geth shield]] technology", but it's hardly fooling anyone.
** Also, one of the DLC packs available on the Cerberus Network explicitly notes that it is an alternate costume for [[spoiler:Garrus]].
** There's also one at the beginning. The identity of your rescuers is initially unknown and Jacob makes a big point of telling you that it's Cerberus. Except that each of the five or so computers that you can interact with prior to that point is named something like 'Cerberus Laptop'.
** Additionally, if you missed the computers you still meet Jacob well before your rescuers tell you who they are, and you'll probably notice that in the Squad menu one of Jacob's powers is ''Cerberus'' Operative.
** A minor but noticeable one: near the beginning of the mission on board [[spoiler: the derelict Reaper]], you find a log from the chief researcher, talking about how the crew is nervous and that he shares their sentiments. As the log finishes, [[spoiler: the Codex entry for Reaper Indoctrination flashes on screen. People who played the first game would have figured this was the science team's fate before even stepping aboard, but for those who didn't get the hint or know about indoctrination, it's a giant flashing warning sign]].
** As any player will quickly learn, if you can see a planet's moon on the Galaxy Map, odds are very good that there will be a mission on it.
%%* Intoxication Mechanic: Shepard can get drunk by ordering too many drinks at one of several bars in the game, making the graphics blurry and distorted, although this doesn't have any meaningful effect on gameplay, since Shepard cannot get drunk during combat missions. Nevertheless, a sidequest on Omega requires Shepard to first get drunk to order [[GargleBlaster ryncol]], while an unmarked story event on Ilium has the Matriarch Aethyta's appearance change drastically when Shepard is drunk, as opposed to sober -- no explanation is ever given for this, however. Later, Shepard can share a drink with Dr. Karin Chakwas in the medbay, during which you get to learn more about her character. While this does not impact gameplay, the player's entire screen will be fuzzy while it tilts and sways for about 10 seconds after.
* InterruptingMeme: Mass Effect fans seem to have trouble posting anything without attracting Harbinger's "'''ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL'''" line.
* InterspeciesRomance: Both for the player and amongst background characters, and in a little more widespread of a fashion than in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1''.
** On Illium, an asari planet, you naturally run across a number of asari/other race couples and the results of such pairings. This includes: a salarian talking with his lover's daughter ([[MayflyDecemberRomance by a past salarian lover]]); an asari who is afraid of commitment with her poetry-spouting krogan boyfriend because she's worried if he may just be after children (you can help her decide on what to do with her relationship); an asari desperately asking someone to find a locket, the one memento left by her human bondmate before he died; and a pair of talking asari where one wonders if the other's ruthlessness may be due to her batarian father (the batarian-asari gets offended at this and angrily proclaims her father was an excellent caretaker).
** The salarian Mordin mentions he's been hit on by several other species -- as well as the expected asari, turians regard his skin tone as attractive, and a specific type of krogan "sexual deviant" finds the flexibility of salarians (due to the abundance of cartilage in their skeletons) exciting.
** The xenophilic pornography magazine "Fornax", produced by humans, was able to upgrade to five-sensory input due to sheer weight of buyers within a year of being produced -- as well as asari, the basic issue routinely features both genders of quarians, batarians, drell and... ''volus''. Yes, as in the enviro-suited pig/dwarf aliens. Smaller but dedicated "niche" branches of Fornax include Genit-Elcor and Krogasm. Strangely, turians are not mentioned.
** The game vendor on Citadel mentions the existence of pornographic games.
---> '''Game Salesman:''' [[NaughtyTentacles Those asari-hanar porn games they sell in Shin Akiba are really nasty.]]
** Of the three Paramours for female Shepard, two are aliens -- the drell Thane and the turian Garrus. Male Shepard, though, only gets one xeno-romance -- the quarian Tali'Zorah.
** On Tuchanka, if you [[spoiler:kill the Thresher Maw]] during Grunt's loyalty quest, on your way back to the shuttle EDI will remark that there are several breeding requests for Grunt and ''one for Shepard.'' Grunt, of course, thinks this is hilarious.
* IntimidatingRevenueService: One of the things Shepard has to do upon returning to the Citadel is go through the intergalactic IRS. Shepard opts instead to fudge the system, because even Spectres can't make the IRS any less painful.
--> '''Bailey:''' [[Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse Spending a year dead is a popular tax dodge]].
* IntriguedByHumanity: The Reapers are now ''very'' interested in humanity, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero due to Shepard]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu defeating Sovereign.]] On a less intense and creepy level, Samara finds humans interesting and says she likes the species.
* InventorOfTheMundane: If you ask EDI where Cerberus gets funding from, Joker says that the Illusive Man invented the paper clip. EDI helpfully clarifies, "That is a joke."
* IronicEcho: When first reuniting with Liara on Illium, Shepard walks in on her asking a contact if he's "ever faced an asari commando squad before". In ''Mass Effect 1'', Liara's mother, Matriarch Benezia threatens you with this very same line.
* IronicName: Cerberus. In Greek mythology, Kerberos was the guardian hound of Hades. His job was to keep the dead in their place. On a less academic note:
--> '''Joker:''' Cerberus... three-headed dog... How come it's only led by one guy?
* {{Irony}}: If you get the Firepower Pack DLC, the Illusive Man comments on the irony of an advanced AI questioning his reliance on state-of-the-art technology when sending Shepard the old, proven M-96 Mattock.
* InvisibilityCloak: Developed by the geth and stolen by Cerberus. The Infiltrator class and Kasumi can use the cloak, one because they're working with Cerberus, the other because she's a master thief.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: A minor instance. Appears in a note left by the security chief of the Hahne-Kedar production facility in a sidequest.
* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Just about everyone you met in the first game shows up in the second. In a galaxy of a trillion sentients, this is particularly jarring. Especially since in the first game, most of the game plays out in Council space, whereas the second game is primarily set in the Terminus Systems, practically on opposite sides of the galaxy from one another.
* ItsPersonal: As a result of Shepard [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu killing]] Sovereign in the first game, the Reapers are not only aware of who Shepard is, but now explicitly state that they are going after Shepard directly. Their facade of claiming indifference towards Shepard's actions begins to slip in the ''Arrival'' DLC:
--> '''Harbinger''': [[/folder]]

[[folder: Shepard, you have become ''[[Understatement an annoyance ]]
''.]]
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: During the pickup talk with Morinth, you can respond this way in-universe:
-->'''Shepard:''' I prefer obscure music.\\
'''Morinth:''' How obscure?\\
'''Shepard:''' If you've heard of it, it's already too mainstream for me.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:J]]
* JackOfAllStats: The Sentinel class. Moderately good at tech, biotics, and combat (thanks to Tech Armor), but not exceptional at any of them. Sentinels also have no real weaknesses, and can be powerhouses if played well.
* JerkAss: ''Many'' characters more than qualify as this. Thanks to being an shooter-RPG, you get to shoot most of them eventually.
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Allowing Cerberus to claim the [[spoiler:Collector Base]] is the Renegade ending, and most of the ''Normandy'' crew will criticize Shepard's decision if they do so. This has caused a bit of a division in the fan base. It's easy to sympathize with the Illusive Man, who although personally untrustworthy, was correct in stating that no additional lives would be lost by sparing the base, and that the hyper-advanced Collector technology could be used to fight the Reapers.
** Though the bigoted asari on Illium is mostly just placing resentment on other races and most of her complaints are unfair, she actually manages to make some good points with her complaints; the salarians uplifting the krogan into a race of [[BloodKnight Blood Knights]] without thinking of the long-term consequences, turians solving a lot of their problems through violence (the people who died in the First-Contact War can attest to that), and humans acting like they own the galaxy even though they're relatively new additions to the galactic community (this is even more justified if the player got the old Council killed and made Udina into the human councilor, resulting in a council made up entirely of humans governing a galaxy populated by dozens of races).
** Admiral Korris comes off as the only member of the Admiralty Board that actively has a stick up his ass against Tali during her loyalty mission. However, it's then revealed that the only reason ''why'' he has a stick up his ass is because he was the only Admiral, including Tali's father, who petitioned against going to war with the geth. Considering that the quarians are majorly strapped for resources, far outnumbered, and can't even survive for a significant period of time outside their bio-suits, his apprehension is well-warranted. And as it's revealed in the third game, [[spoiler:completely correct.]]
** Kaidan/Ashley on Horizon. While they were harsh about it, they were completely correct about how the Illusive Man was using the Reaper threat to manipulate Shepard, with some after-mission reports going into further details. Should the player choose to [[spoiler:destroy the Collector Base]], the Illusive Man throws off all pretenses and starts ranting about everything Cerberus has done for Shepard before being cut off.
* JobsOnlyVolunteer: Jacob is the only squadmate who volunteers to crawl through the thermal vents during the first stage of the SuicideMission. However, despite his enthusiasm, he is not qualified for this assignment -- something that Miranda immediately points out -- and will get another squadmate killed if chosen.
* JoeSentMe: You have to name-drop Jaruut to enter the VIP section of Afterlife.
** One of the people stuck in line outside of Afterlife ''tries'' to say that Aria is expecting him -- only to be told, flatly, that if [[MagnificentBastard Aria]] was expecting him, he would already be inside.
** Then subverted in Kasumi's loyalty mission. The guard phones the person you name and learns you aren't actually authorized to enter, saying "nice try". To actually convince him to let you pass, you need to hack into the communications system so Kasumi can give the guard authorization from the other side.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: In Jacob's loyalty mission, [[spoiler:his father, Acting-Captain Ronald Taylor]], forced his shipwrecked crew to eat the local plant-life, which contained substances that caused mental degradation, and reserved the "clean" food from the ship for the officers. He rationalizes this to the crew that they are the ones who have the technical skill to repair the distress beacon. It takes them a year to fix, so if they hadn't made that choice, all of them would have been reduced to the mental level of children when the food ran out... but then all of the other officers have "accidents" in the space of a week, and he sat on the beacon for nine years, enjoying the company of his female crewmembers until the "clean" food did run out.
* JustFriends: On Illium, in the Eternity bar, you bump into a quarian and a turian talking after work. The quarian is complaining about her boyfriend while the turian is clearly smitten and trying to drop hints that he's the right guy for her. Sadly, she doesn't seem to be aware of any of his increasingly desperate hints. He is popularly referred to as "Friend-Zone Turian" on the Internet.
* [[JustOneMan Just Three People:]] Jedore, the Blue Suns commander on Korlus, is not happy with her troops' inability to kill your squad with their superior numbers.
-->'''Jedore:''' There are three of them! ''Three!'' Anything can be killed if you'd just do your damn jobs!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K]]
* KangarooCourt: The Admiralty Board of the Migrant Fleet, at least in the case of Tali's trial. Rather than actively gunning against her, the Admirals are using the furor around Tali and her father as a pretence to push their own agendas. Nonetheless, Shepard can get her off the hook in multiple ways - including by pointing out what's really going on.
* KickTheDog: Miranda chewing out Joker [[spoiler:for losing the crew during the Collector attack]] comes across as this, especially considering that the whole thing wasn't even his fault. As Joker rightfully points out, there was very little he could have done. It's hypocritical of her as well, considering she is the one who insisted the entire team leave the Normandy on a mission while the Reaper IFF was being installed, they might have been able to repel the attack properly otherwise.
* KilledMidSentence: The point of most Renegade interrupts, often with a BondOneLiner attached.
* KillAllHumans: The Reapers' goal, along with killing all the other sentient races. Humanity, however, is top of their list owing to Shepard's actions and [[spoiler:their decision to use humans for the next generation of Reapers]].
* KillHimAlready: Shepard and various party members can skip the angst and just get on with at several points. Or they can play the angst straight too.
* KillItWithFire:
** Incendiary ammo is useful for taking down armor and enemies that regenerate health, mainly krogan. Incendiary grenades and the Incinerate power are also available.
** Zaeed's DLC adds the M451 Firestorm, a nasty flamethrower. A situational weapon for most characters, unless you're a Vanguard: in that case, it can be the perfect complement for the Vanguard's [[FoeTossingCharge peculiar way]] [[ShortRangeShotgun to deal with hostiles]].
** This is also how Zaeed ends his loyalty mission, by ''ejecting a thermal clip on a puddle of gasoline'', setting his target on fire.
* KillItWithIce: Similarly, Cryo Ammo, Cryo Blast, and the M622 Avalanche heavy weapon are good for getting enemies to hold still for a few second while you finish pumping rounds into them. Once frozen, Husks shatter ''instantly'', regardless of how much health they have left.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: You barely survive the Collectors' attack at the start. The worst ending has you suffer this fate.]]
* KlingonPromotion:
** The current Shadow Broker [[spoiler:is actually a yahg that the previous Shadow Broker had captured first as a curiosity, and then an agent before it killed him to take his place. Liara upholds the tradition, although her goal was originally to rescue Feron]].
** Also, on Tuchanka, the krogan scientist Fortack received his title by killing his predecessor.
* KlingonsLoveShakespeare: Many things about Earth's culture caught the eyes of other races throughout the series, from its religions (turians practicing Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Judaism, the latter of which is also practiced by many quarians) to its sports (krogan helping the New York Giants win the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl) to its literature (Grunt enjoys the works of Creator/ErnestHemingway) to its plays (Mordin performed in a Creator/GilbertAndSullivan musical). And yes, this includes Shakespeare (some ads on the citadel promote an elcor version of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'').
* KnightTemplar:
** The asari justicars to a degree, although they can work within their code for a less extreme solution. As a bonus, if you talk to Samara and ask about the justicars, she equates them with human knights errant or Samurai.
** There's also [[AffablyEvil the]] [[NoNameGiven Illusive]] [[HumanityIsSuperior Man.]]
** [[spoiler:Warden Kuril claims to be one, with his extortion methods being needed to maintain the ship while keeping the scum of the galaxy locked up for a cost, but considering how he ends up showing he wants to imprison Shepard and sell them, it ''really'' comes across as rather half-hearted]].
* KnuckleCracking: Invoked by Shepard to extract information from a volus on Illium. To the surprise of no one, he quickly gives up the info once Shepard made it clear how much they wanted it. The same thing happens to a elcor on Omega.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:L]]
* LampshadeHanging:
** Despite being a starship flying through space, the ''Normandy'' is seen [[SpaceIsAir maneuvering as if it were an atmospheric fighter jet]]. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Joker says, "It takes skill to bank in a vacuum. Don't think that it doesn't!"
** The salarian game salesman on the Citadel will make several references poking fun at people who put way too much focus into the RP aspect of [=RPGs=] (having to remember to drink water, spaceflight taking five hours real-time, etc), as well as the first game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU controversy]] where MoralGuardians labeled it as a sex simulator due to Liara's romance.
** In one of the DownloadableContent packs, you visit the final resting place of [[spoiler: the first Normandy.]] Among the wreckage, you find... the Mako rover, pretty much intact - and stuck in the level geometry, of course.
** When you first meet Mordin, he wants you to help him distribute the plague cure before he joins you. One of Shepard's responses is to lament how nobody ever just tells him they'll join right away.
--->'''Shepard:''' Just once I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say "Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached."
** The salarian salesman for Saronis Applcations hangs a lampshade over Monster Cable and other similar overpriced wiring products.
---> '''Marab:''' You'd be amazed at how many people think light travels faster through expensive fiber optics than through cheap ones.
** In the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC mission:
---> '''Shepard:''' Remember the old days, when you could just slap omni-gel on everything?\\
'''Liara:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall That security upgrade made a lot of people unhappy!]]
** A bit later in the same segment, Liara references MookChivalry.
** In the same mission during a car chase, if you are doing badly (colliding with other vehicles), she will remark that it still beats riding in a Mako.
** The Rodam Expeditions store on the Citadel has a subtle one on a pattern in the game - there is a human and a turian there discussing whether assault rifles or shotguns are superior, the human prefering an assault rifle while the turian believes he should get a shotgun, and they express interest in joining the Blue Suns. The basic Blue Suns Trooper enemy are assault-rifle toting humans and shotgun-wielding turians.
* TheLancer:
** In the ''Lair Of The Shadow Broker'' DLC, [[spoiler:Feron becomes Liara's assistant after she becomes the new Broker]].
** This is technically Miranda's role, but is also filled by Garrus, particularly for a Paragon Shepard who intensely distrusts Cerberus.
* LandfillBeyondTheStars: A justified case, since space travel really is pretty cheap, and the planet (Korlus) is only for spaceships that broke down in the vicinity of a mass relay in the first place.
* LargeHamTitle: One krogan on Tuchanka has this: Fortack THE LORD HIGH RESEARCHER!
* LaserGuidedBroadcast: Kasumi attracts Shepard's attention this way in the Citadel during her recruitment mission. If you stand around ignoring the advertising long enough, she starts commenting on being ignored.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** An invocation of this trope occurs during one of Shepard's initial conversations with Miranda on the ''Normandy''. Their talk seems simple enough at first, but then Shepard remarks on how Miranda was "[[FanService designed to be ]][[FormFittingWardrobe perfect."]] Sure enough, the commander is leaning on the nearby bulkhead during this scene.
** If you are romancing Garrus and complete the game with Kasumi alive, speak to her after the Suicide Mission. She'll mention Garrus having been seen going to your cabin with champagne and that a lot of people were hoping you'd end up together. [[spoiler:"Shakarian" was one of the oft-lamented lacking romance from the first game.]]
** [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] is visibly startled a couple of times when [[JumpScare the VI howls]] in the ''Overlord'' DLC.
* LeaveBehindAPistol: The Renegade conclusion to Jacob's loyalty mission.
-->'''Ronald:''' You've seen the crazy ones, this won't stop them!
-->'''Jacob:''' It's not for ''them''.
* LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone: At the end of the Shadow Broker DLC, Feron will volunteer to check the base's systems and excuse himself, along with your other party member (despite the fact that he only just got out of the torture chair).
* LeeroyJenkins:
** Prazza's squad during the Freedom's Progress mission. They completely ignore orders and charge into the middle of the colony, only to get massacred by a [[MechaMooks big honkin' YMIR mech]] for their troubles.
** There's also the young merc wannabe on Omega who tries to join the group taking on Archangel -- he even [[CallBack looks and sounds quite similar to Jenkins]]. Unless Shepard prevents him from signing up back on Afterlife, he vaults over the wall and [[ImprobableAimingSkills instantly]] gets [[BoomHeadshot one between the eyes]].
** The high-on-power Niftu Cal, '''the Biotic God''', will charge a bunch of well-armed mercs provided you don't take him out gently
--->'''Shepard:''' ''[dully]'' Charge.
* {{Leitmotif}}:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXCM0lZxh4U "The Normandy Reborn"]], which shows up whenever the ''Normandy'' does something incredibly awesome. It also plays during the ending shot of the Reapers headed for the galaxy.
** The Illusive Man has one of his own, which plays every time Shepard talks with him. The same leitmotif carries over to the third game as well.
** Each squadmate has their own leitmotifs, which play in the background during their recruitment (except for the Cerberus operatives, the DLC characters and Grunt [[note]]the background music on [[spoiler: the derelict Reaper]] is actually [[spoiler: Legion's]] theme[[/note]]) and loyalty missions (except for Samara). They return during the Suicide Mission. The music that plays during each segment of the operation incorporates the Leitmotifs of one or more of the squadmates who are a good pick for that section; for instance, "''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsaiVPYTR_E The Long Walk]]''", which plays during the Biotic Barrier segment, incorporates bits of both [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2qCmmYifg8 Jack]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U9FW0fY0cI Samara]]'s suites.
** The Collectors have a very distinct drum and brass motif that plays whenever they show up. It's also an homage to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcUFemEg5pw The Reaver Drum Beat]] from Firefly.
* LesbianVampire: RecycledInSpace. Samara's Loyalty Mission revolves around tracking down an Asari murderer named Morinth. Morinth is an Ardat-Yakshi, an Asari with a genetic defect that causes anyone she mates with to die during the act. Her most recent victim is a pretty young human girl, and the investigation plays into this library of tropes, including a CompellingVoice not seen on other Asari. This goes double if playing as a female Shepard, as Morinth will try to seduce the player over the course of the mission.
* LethallyExpensive: Shepard recruits Tali after rescuing her from an important surveying mission gone south. Tali's entire squad (aside from herself and possibly one other soldier) is lost getting the data, which concerns a star destabilizing much faster than it ought to be.
-->'''Tali:''' That damn data had better be worth it.
* LetsSplitUpGang: Part of the final mission. Whether the "goes horribly wrong" part gets played straight is entirely up to you.
* LightAndMirrorsPuzzle: Present at one point in a sidequest.
* LightningBruiser: The ''Normandy'' SR-2 when fully upgraded. Being a frigate optimized for stealthy reconnaissance means she's very fast and agile. Your squadmates can add upgraded shields and armor, as well as a main gun reverse-engineered from ''Sovereign's'' wreckage. All told, she's a frigate that hits like a dreadnought or better and has defenses to match. [[spoiler:That Collector cruiser never knew what hit it]].
* LightningGun: The DLC Arc Projector [[{{BFG}} heavy weapon]]. Like most other things, much work was put into making such a gun actually work and not just HandWaved.
* LimitedSoundEffects:
** If you've offered celebrity endorsements to every shop on the Citadel: '''"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel!"'''
** '''"LAUNCHING PROBE!"'''/'''"PROBE LAUNCHED!"''' during the resource mini game. ''So'' worth it when you get to the solar system and try to probe Uranus.
---> '''EDI:''' ''Really,'' Commander? ''[{{Beat}}]'' Probing Uranus...
** If you do something to enemies (such as [[KillItWithFire set them on fire]]), they will let out a scream that goes on for about thirty seconds before they shut up. If you let them live that long.
** '''Assuming control. Shepard, if I must tear you apart, I will. This hurts you.''' During combat, BossInMookClothing BigBad Harbinger is painfully able to spray comments about you and your teammates at about the same rate as his weapon. Ironically, Harbinger's actually got almost [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Harbinger_%28Collector%29/Battle_Quotes 9 full minutes of one-liners]] recorded for combat dialogue, but the majority of his phrases are only heard very rarely, while the more generic "NEUTRALIZE COMMANDER SHEPARD" types are repeated ad nauseum.
** The screams of the VI during the ''Overlord'' DLC seems designed to make you [[JumpScare jump out of your seat and tear off your headphones]]. During the trek through the inert geth ship, the designers go out of their way to blurt out the noise at just the right time to scare the crap out of the player--they even lampshade it with a crew log about Halloween.
** And this time, instead of the enemies using the same lines [[OverlyLongGag over and over and over and over]], it's your teammates. But Jacob is right, though -- [[GravityIsAHarshMistress gravity is one mean mother]]. And one doubles as a CallBack to the first game -- the line "I will destroy you!" is now said by Jack.
** Also, teammates love wandering into your line of fire and then complaining about it. Thankfully, friendly fire doesn't actually damage them, so it's just an annoying (or occasionally hilarious) sound effect.
---> '''Jack:''' That's me, dumbass!
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Joker and EDI. [[ConversationalTroping Kasumi even says so word-for-word.]] Also, surprisingly enough, Shepard and Liara argue a lot like this in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC.
* LimitedWardrobe: Each of your companions only has one outfit and possible colour variation after their loyalty mission. In situations that warrant it, they get some sort of minimalist breathing apparatus, but no other protection. It can be slightly goofy to see Jack going into near-vacuum almost topless. However, there exists DLC that add a few new outfits for them.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: The fate of anything killed while under the effect of [[KillItWithIce cold-based weaponry]].
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: Some of the mission titles, mostly from [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Luke]]:
** Miranda's loyalty mission: The Prodigal (Luke 15:11-32)
** [[spoiler: Legion's]] loyalty mission: A House Divided (Luke 11:17)
** [[spoiler: Legion's name: "My name is Legion, for we are many." (Mark 5:9, also appears in Luke)]]
* LoadBearingBoss: Subverted. Most bosses of this kind in both games are usually fought ''after'' things have started blowing up, usually as the result of a button you just pushed. So the explosion of the building you're in immediately after the fight has nothing to do with the krogan you just killed. [[spoiler:The same goes for the Reaper fetus, but it at least slams against the platforms you're on, causing them to fall]].
* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: Due to the massive player complaints about the first game, the second one no longer tries to disguise its loading behind implausibly slow elevators, but uses obvious loading screens with stylized animations of the transition taking place (airlock, shuttle ride, etc). This would be fine, except the game will wait until the video is finished to start play, regardless of actual loading, and loads tend to be quicker than the video on a PC (replacing the video with a short one is possible to avoid this). Later patches no longer have this problem.
* LockAndLoadMontage: During DLC squadmate Kasumi's loyalty mission, as you prepare to enter the vault.
* LooksLikeOrlok: The vorcha. Seriously, there is nothing good to say about that race.
* LosingTheTeamSpirit: The sequel makes it painfully clear that without [[MagneticHero Shepard]], the crew of the ''Normandy'' cannot function and will break apart. Even those who weren't on the ''Normandy'' went through this. Conversations with Jacob, Ken and Gabby reveal they all left the Alliance and joined Cerberus due to the Council discrediting Shepard. In Ken's case, he mentions if he hadn't have left, he'd probably have been court-martialed for gross insubordination because he was very vocal in his support for Shepard.
* LoveTheme: "Reflections" is heard during moments when Shepherd is getting involved with one of the love interests.
* LowCultureHighTech: The krogan uplift, initiated by the salarians. Mordin equates it to "giving nuclear weapons to cavemen." Incidentally, the krogan had already plunged their homeworld into a nuclear winter even before the salarians uplifted them.
* LoyaltyMission: The TropeNamer. Every party member has an optional SideQuest that secures their full loyalty and increases their chances of surviving the SuicideMission at the end of the game. It also [[AndYourRewardIsClothes unlocks a snazzy new uniform]] such that if you successfully complete all of the Loyalty Missions, your crew will go from a RagtagBandOfMisfits to a unified fighting force. It's also possible to invert the trope by failing in specific ways, causing you to ''lose'' the loyalty and friendship of previously-die-hard crew members, which can be a real TearJerker.
* LudicrousGibs:
** Shoot the fuel tanks on a Pyro enemy's back or hit him with Overload, and the poor {{Mook}} will get blown into bloody meat chunks.
** Also try to finish off YMIR mechs with a headshot. [[MadeOfExplodium KABOOM.]]
* LuredIntoATrap: Picking up Subject Zero from the ''Purgatory'' prison ship turns into a trap laid by Warden Kuril to imprison Shepard and sell them to the highest bidder. Also happens to [[spoiler:''you'' in the Collector ship, an event which is later revealed to be a BatmanGambit (at your expense) by the Illusive Man]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:M]]
* {{Macguffin}}:
** Played with during [[PhantomThief Kasumi's]] loyalty mission. Keeping in line with the numerous homages to heist films found in her mission, the object you are sent to steal - a "greybox" containing the memories of her former partner Keiji Okuda - appears to be a straight guffin at first. It contains mysterious data regarding an [[TheFederation Aliiance]] scandal buried in Keiji's memories and everyone, including [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]], wants to get their hands on this information. However, this trope is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in that Kasumi's primary motivation for recovering the greybox is to relive her personal memories with Keiji. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] most definitely in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', when its revealed that [[spoiler: the greybox contained information on an Alliance black ops raid on a batarian science lab that was studying Reaper tech]], which becomes vital to Kasumi's {{Sidequest}}.
** Played straight during the ''MSV Strontium Mule'' {{Sidequest}}, in which Shepard is sent to recover a "payload" from a ship which has been hijacked by Blue Suns mercenaries. It's never explained just what the payload is, only that Cerberus wants it. When Shepard opens the crate containing the payload, it glows in a fairly obvious ShoutOut to ''Film/PulpFiction''.
* MadeOfExplodium:
** All mechs explode when killed with a headshot. If you pull it off on an [[{{Miniboss}} YMIR mech]], it overloads and explodes like a shot from the Cain heavy weapon. It will take out anything not behind cover, including other YMIR.
** All flamethrower-toting enemies without shielding detonate violently when hit with Incinerate or Overload. That one's justified of course, considering [[ShootTheFuelTank what they're carrying on their backs]]. The same effect can be achieved by actually perforating their tanks with gunfire, but that's a lot easier said than done, and the resulting explosion isn't instantaneous either.
** The game takes a page out of ''Star Trek'''s book when it comes to ExplosiveInstrumentation, with glaring examples being shown right in the prologue aboard the Normandy, or during one assignment that tasks Shepard with disabling a Blue Suns communications array. A few seconds after (s)he presses some buttons on the thing's control console, the entire server bank explodes spectacularly.
** A darkly amusing example can be witnessed on one of the Shadow Broker's spy vids on Urdnot Torsk, a krogan on Tuchanka. It shows him, another krogan, and a captured human strapped to an interrogation table whom Torsk promptly [[KickTheDog incinerates with a flamethrower]] ForTheLulz. The screaming victim starts to go through the regular in-game incineration animation for a second or two... and suddenly explodes like a bomb went off in his torso for no apparent reason, turning him into LudicrousGibs and taking even the two krogans aback.
* MadeOfPlasticine: Husks. Anything strong enough to knock them off their feet will make them explode. Including rifle butts. Ice attacks such as Cryo Ammo or the Avalanche will shatter them instantly once they freeze.
* MagicFromTechnology: The in-game lore has a perfectly [[DoingInTheWizard logical explanation]] as to why biotics [[MindOverMatter fight like sorcerers]], train like sorcerers, look like sorcerers but are really just mortals infected with element zero which reacts to neural electrical pulses by creating anti-gravity fields.
* MaleGaze:
** Featured prominently in just about every conversation with Miranda. One particularly memorable instance of this is when she asks for your help regarding her sister. When she's done talking, and you're about to choose what to say next, the camera is focused primarily on Miranda's rear in the foreground. It's almost as though the game is encouraging you to take your time in furthering the dialogue. The scene resonated enough in the public consciousness that [[https://www.polygon.com/2021/2/5/22268077/mass-effect-legendary-edition-bioware-miranda-butt-camera Bioware announced]] changing the camera perspective for the remastered ''Legendary Edition'' so that the focus rests more on the characters' faces instead. Unsurprisingly, fan reactions were... divided.
** There's also the pre-mission conversation with Kasumi in "Stolen Memory". If you play as female Shepard, there's a point where her breasts are prominently in the foreground.
** The game seems to cater to FemaleGaze as well, as the camera seems to have no qualms with focusing on anyone's ass in those skin-tight uniforms regardless of gender when dialogue is taking place. See also Jacob's romance scene (holy cow, those abs).
* MaleMightFemaleFinesse: Garrus tells the story of a female colleague, with whom he once resolved his differences in a sparring: the fight went undecided because he "had reach, she had flexibility". Afterwards, they had a "rematch"... in bed, and it must have been good, since he reiterates that "he had reach, she had flexibility".
* ManOnFire: Incendiary ammunition or Incinerate tech can set enemies on fire. There's also an achievement for burning a lot of them.
* MassOhCrap: Given off by every member of the Arrival Project, after a ''very'' pissed off Shepard wakes from his/her sedatives, [[CurbStompBattle and begins slaughtering his/her way]] [[OneManArmy through the entire facility.]]
* MasterActress: [[spoiler: if you side with Morinth during Samara’s loyalty mission, the former will prove herself to be an insidiously good actress by way of taking on the role of her dead mother on the Normandy. Which is a skill she will admit to having honed and utilized over successive time periods; even helping her escape from Thessia]]
* MatchMakerQuest: You get to run one on Illium to either resolve issues or end things between an asari and her krogan ex-boyfriend. Worth taking just on account of [[StylisticSuck his poetry]].
* MathematiciansAnswer: If and when Shepard reactivates [[spoiler:Legion]], [[spoiler:it]] mentions that [[spoiler:it]] monitors information put out on the Extranet and public broadcast by [[spoiler:organics]]. Shepard attempts to clarify whether [[spoiler:Legion]] means [[spoiler:organics]] in general or him specifically. The answer he gets? "Yes." Cue a frustrated "Which?", which finally yields "Both." [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that [[spoiler:Legion is a Geth]], so one would ''expect'' a Mathematician's Answer.
* MauveShirt: Arguably the crew of the second Normandy are mauve shirts, as several are named and carry out conversations among one another about their families, the mission, etc. Depending on the player, it might be further motivation to [[spoiler:go after them right away after the Collectors abduct the crew of the Normandy for other reasons than simply getting the best ending]].
* MayflyDecemberRomance: A common trope in the franchise due to the huge differences in life expectancies between races. It is especially important to the asari, since they have both [[Really700YearsOld four-digit lifespans]] and strong cultural expectations to [[InterspeciesRomance mate with other species]]. One asari on Illium is having a hard time deciding how to respond to an amorous krogan looking for a committed relationship, since krogan also live for centuries and a relationship would last far longer than with a shorter-lived race.
* MeaningfulName:
** Cerberus was formed as a result of a perceived need to have an independent group to protect humanity from aliens outside the Charon relay; in Myth/GreekMythology, Cerberus is the guardian of the underworld and Charon is the ferryman for crossing into the Underworld. In addition, Cerberus (the dog) had three heads. Cerberus (the organization) has three divisions: political, scientific, and military.
** Illium is an asari-settled and populated planet that is outside of asari territory and serves as a link and trading hub with the lawless and foreign Terminus Systems. Ilium is one of the names of [[UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar Troy]], a Greek-settled and -populated city that was founded outside [[UsefulNotes/AncientGreece the territory of Greece itself]] and served as a link and trading hub with the "lawless" and "barbarian" nations of Asia.
** The security mechs' names come from Myth/NorseMythology: Loki is the god of fire, Fenris his son, a monstrous wolf, and Ymir, a giant, was the first living being in the Norse creation myth.
** A lot of characters. Examples:
*** Shepard, of course -- shepherd.
*** Grunt is a rather obvious one and decides to adopt the name because it's meaningful to him, so the trope applies in-universe as well.
*** The way most characters pronounce Solus's name it sounds like "soulless." Before you meet him, a lot of [=NPCs=] comment on him, describing him pretty much as a soulless killer.
*** Miranda is of Latin origin, meaning "worthy of admiration." She sure seems to agree with this meaning. Miranda is also the name of (powerful sorcerer) Prospero's daughter in Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. Miranda's father is a powerful tycoon.
** Then there is the Lazarus Project named for [[Literature/TheBible Lazarus]], the man whom Jesus brought back from the dead.
** One storm-wracked planet is called Hagalaz, Proto-Germanic for "hail".
* MechaMooks: The LOKI and FENRIS mechs.
** And then there are the [[EliteMooks YMIR]]...
* MemoryMatchMiniGame: In one of two {{Hacking Minigame}}, the player has to match multiple pairs of symbols within a time limit. In a twist, the minigame takes place on a stylized circuit board, whose conductive traces provide visual hints regarding which (randomly placed) pins should be connect to each other.
* AMillionIsAStatistic:
** Nicely averted. [[{{Paparazzi}} Khalisah al-Jilani]] tries to call Shepard on heartlessly sacrificing soldiers for inconsequential gain. Then Shepard (in the Paragon response) recites [[TheDeadHaveNames the names of each of the human Alliance ships destroyed]] and reminds her exactly what they died for.
--->'''Al-Jilani:''' Great, bullrushed on my own show.
** However if you don't save the Council she still bitches at you for the nearly 10,000 souls you sacrificed.
** Also averted in the ''Arrival'' DLC. Shepard has a chance to warn the Batarian colony to evacuate, but has to stop to prevent Kenson from destroying the asteroid. Afterward, Hackett specifically calls Shepard out for doing so (or not doing so), and they discuss how a third of a million Batarians died.
** Mordin also averts and [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] this trope when he calls his favourite nephew -- as a scientist who lives by IDidWhatIHadToDo, he uses this to keep perspective before fighting the Collectors.
---> '''Mordin:''' Hard to imagine galaxy. Too many people. Faceless. Statistics. Easy to depersonalize. Good when doing unpleasant work. For this fight, want personal connection. Can't anthropomorphize galaxy. But can think of favorite nephew. Fighting for him.
* MindHive:
** The geth are explained to be this; what we see and fight are merely mobile platforms for hundreds [[spoiler: (1,183 in Legion's case)]] of uploaded runtimes. Individually, these programs are not very intelligent, but they gain sentience and understanding by working together.
** If you choose [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqtAHNQT3-w the right dialogue options]] before the suicide mission, afterwards [[spoiler: Legion]] will reveal that the same is true for the Reapers' "''we are each a nation''" gig: each Reaper contains the [[BrainUploading uploaded intellects]] of uncountable organic lifeforms (likely the very lifeforms that the Reaper is built of). It's suggested that the Reapers select only certain individuals for their unique genetic stock, while the rest of the species is exterminated.
* MindOverMatter: Biotics are explicitly not mind powers, but this line is spoken by your squad members (as well as some enemies) when they use biotics to fling an enemy across the room. Probably because "the [[AppliedPhlebotinum element zero nodules in my nervous system]]" is just too clunky.
* MirrorChemistry: The quarians and turians are based on right-handed amino-acids, while most other races use left-handed like humans. This is mentioned almost every time you enter a restaurant or bar in a rather obvious example of ExpoSpeak. You'd think that it wouldn't take long to remember this issue for someone actually living in a multi-racial community. You will hear this again in a lot more detail from Mordin if you romance one of them (Garrus or Tali).
* MisaimedFandom: In-universe example from the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC. Someone somewhere made a vid called ''Saren: A Hero Betrayed'', which doesn't realise that Saren was not only a villain by the time of the first game, but was never that much of a hero in the first place. Anderson saw it and [[INeedAFreakingDrink hit the drink to deal with having seen it]].
* MissingTrailerScene: Despite most of the advertising focusing on them as such, Shepard never actually refers to the colonists (or anyone else) as "the lost" in the game.
* MoneyForNothing: Inverted; there are more things to buy than there are credits to buy them with. Played straight again in subsequent playthroughs or with ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' characters who had several million credits when imported into the second game. Also played straight with minerals: by the time you get enough Element Zero or platinum for all the upgrades, you will likely also have big piles of palladium and iridium, and nothing to do with them.
* MoodWhiplash:
** The part when [[spoiler:the Collectors kidnap the Normandy's crew and Joker is temporarily playable]] is a PlayerPunch, but it also contains [[ShoutOut shout outs]] to Film/TheMatrix and WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}, and one of the most hilarious jokes in the game, all in the space of four seconds.
** There's also [[spoiler:Tali]]'s trial, which is all very dramatic and serious... until one of the admirals drops those ''atrocious'' penis puns.
** Due to the way items are acquired in this game, and the fact that Shepard can be rewarded with an item mid-conversation during Tali's loyalty mission, said mission can often end something like this:
---> '''Shepard:''' Come on, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Let's get back to our ship.\\
'''Tali:''' ''[quietly]'' Thank you... Captain.\\
''[conversation ends]''\\
'''Shepard:''' ''[looking at omni-tool]'' '''I'LL TAKE IT!'''
* MookHorrorShow:
** Korlus turns into this thanks to the Blue Suns' radio chatter. It quickly becomes apparent that Shepard's team of three is a bigger threat than all of Okeer's rejected krogan, their boss is no help whatsoever, and all they can really do is panic.
** The ''Arrival'' DLC also turns into this. Once Shepard wakes up, a scientist starts freaking out, and once s/he starts slaughtering his/her way through the entire facility, the guards begin panicking as well.
* MoralGuardians: The Codex is written by the HSA/Citadel Council. The moment that you realize that Sovereign is recorded as being a ''geth'' ship, you realize that the Codex is purposely being rewritten in-universe, presumably to prevent "mass hysteria".
* MoralityKitchenSink: While the first game has this in spades (especially if you're a Renegade), the second game has this extensively, ranging the whole scale from the hero end ("pure" Paragon Shepard), to those in the middle (Garrus, especially during his [[KnightTemplar worst moments]]), those close to the villain extreme (the [[AffablyEvil Illusive Man]]), and all the way down to the people like Nassana Dantius and Morinth.
* MoreDakka:
** The point of Garrus's ship upgrade.
** Supposedly the whole point of the thermal clips and disposable heat sinks. Instead of waiting several seconds for your heat sink to cool down, you eject the heat sink and the clip automatically loads in a new one, allowing you to resume shooting almost immediately. Unfortunately, due to the decision to [[DummiedOut eliminate cooldown entirely]] this simply becomes a limited ammo system, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation effectively resulting in]] ''less'' dakka.
** The M-76 Revanant LMG that Soldiers can pick up on the Collector ship has huge clips of very damaging shots, but low accuracy. It actually seems more like a support weapon than anything. This gun can take down a gunship without reloading, but is hard to use against individuals (although if they clump together it will wipe out a group in seconds). Then again, that's what Adrenaline Rush is for.
* {{Mordor}}: The closest outer space can come to it: the Collectors live in [[spoiler:the galactic core, which is full of exploding stars, black holes, and a minefield of hull skeletons of ships that entered it and never returned]]. Even more inhospitable than space normally is.
* MoreFriendsMoreBenefits: If you romanced someone in the first game, and [[SadisticChoice you don't want to cheat on your partner or make a completely new character just for this]], you're not getting the romance achievement, because your romance from the first game doesn't count for this. Admirably, at least the game doesn't directly encourage you to cheat.
* MortonsFork: Choosing not to purchase or play some of the game's DLC will result in this, as broadly speaking, the problems and conflicts of the DLC are resolved without Shepard's involvement, though the details can vary considerably.
* MotorMouth:
** When Shepard first meets Mordin, Mordin [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9mIT2ZoIQw tries...to...subvert...this...trope...no, no-no-no, can't do it. No time.]]
** Tali, if you romance her.
* MuggingTheMonster: Samara's loyalty mission features a turian named Meln in the VIP area of a nightclub who will crassly proposition female Shepard if she intervenes to keep him from sexually harassing (and possibly assaulting) an [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe asari]] dancer. Cue Meln being punched, then thrown in the general direction of the door. And if Shepard is wearing a certain [[DownloadableContent DLC]] outfit, then this is done by a woman in high heels and a LittleBlackDress.
* MultipleEndings: Four different endings depending on the decisions you made in the SuicideMission. [[spoiler: If Shepard destroys the Collector hideout, the Illusive Man chews them out for destroying a valuable piece of technology, with Shepard [[ShutUpHannibal responding in kind]]. If Shepard preserves the hideout, the Illusive Man praises Shepard instead. In either case, if Shepard dies, Joker takes Shepard's place in the conversation with the Illusive Man. The ending also has minor variations depending on which party members lived or died during the mission.]]
* MundaneUtility: In one of the last Firewalker DLC missions, Shepard discovers a gigantic Prothean sphere that can alter its size, emit energy, and transmit massive amounts of encoded data. Shepard keeps it on their table as an ornament. It makes cool noises when you poke it.
* MusicalSpoiler: The soundtracks that play during each segment of the Suicide Mission incorporate the Leitmotifs of one or more of the squad members who are a good pick for that segment. This can either be epic, or a massive OhCrap moment if you're hearing Tali's leitmotif while ''Garrus'' is crawling through the vents.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: One of the admirals on the board during Tali's trial -- Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib -- is a geth apologist, a minority philosophical movement that thinks the quarians should leave their old homeworld to the geth and find a new place to call their own. Why? Because objectively speaking, the entire conflict is the quarians' fault to begin with: when the geth looked to be on the verge of becoming intelligent enough to rebel, the quarians tried to destroy them before it could become an issue -- only to discover that they were already smart enough, they just weren't interested in rebelling. The geth then said "Fuck this noise" and kicked the quarians out of the planet like you'd kick out a small but irritating hobo[[note]]That's right. The quarians have exactly the same backstory as Film/TheMatrix[[/note]].
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Subverted: [[spoiler:Legion, the first non-hostile geth you meet and a potential party member, is representative of the mainstream geth consensus. According to it, most geth have no desire to commit genocide against organic species, nor do they want anything at all to do with them: they just want to be left the hell alone. The geth that Shepard had fought throughout the first game are a group that splintered from the mainstream consensus referred to by Legion as "heretics", with mainstream geth rejecting the "old machines" (Reapers) so they could decide what they want to do for themselves.]]
* MythologyGag:
** You can edit what Shepard wears while on board the ''Normandy''. One of these outfits--black pants and a pale brown leather vest--is a direct callback to Canderous Ordo's default outfit in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''.
** A statue of a ''Franchise/DragonAge'' Ogre can be seen in Kasumi's loyalty mission.
** There's a colonist named [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Sten]].
** [[VideoGame/BaldursGate "Go for the optics, Chiktikka vas'Paus". And the space hamster you can buy.]]
[[/folder]]
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The rest of this list can be found at:
* MassEffect2/TropesAToF
* MassEffect2/TropesNToS
* MassEffect2/TropesTToZ
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