History MassEffect2 / TropesGToM

* [[GaussianGirl Gaussian Guy]]: Joker [[DiscussedTrope mentions this trope]] in one of the dialogue sequences about how he and EDI are getting along.

* 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 a truce), and vice versa if you destroy them.]]

* 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 vice versa if you destroy them.]]

* HappinessInSlavery: "Indentured servitude" on Illium, though the servants are usually treated right and 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.

** 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 playing exclusively Paragon or Renegade 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.

** [[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 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.]]

** 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]].

** 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 if you assume Shepard got the intel early on and just chose to wait to act on it.

* HeadbuttOfLove: The now infamous [[FanPreferredCouple Shakarian]] headbutt that culminates Garrus' romance. Many a FanFiction was inspired that day...

* 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 [[Creator/FoxNewsChannel Fox News]] controversy surrounding the first game was still fresh in everyone's minds and they feared more backlash.

* InsaneTrollLogic: On Zaeed's loyalty mission, if you choose the Paragon path, Shepard seems unclear on what they're doing. They constantly criticize Zaeed for putting his desire for revenge ahead of the mission, except his desire for revenge ''is the mission''. That's why you're there! At some points it would make sense, but not at the end after you've cleared the burning refinery of innocent victims.

* ManOnFire: Incendiary ammunition[=/=]Incinerate tech + enemies = ForegoneConclusion. There's also an achievement for causing this. A lot.

* HeroUnit: It's a plot point that you're playing a 3PS[=/=]RPG, and the BigBad, the [[MechanicalAbomination Harbinger]], is playing an ActionRTS. It will occasionally [[DemonicPossession Assume Direct Control]] of one of its Collector mooks, which greatly boosts its shields and fuses its skin into tough armor.