Nightsolo's Mass Effect 3 Guide Introduction

Disclaimers

The use of game-editing programs has unpredictable effects. If you use one of these programs, consider this fair warning.

I realize I've published the cheats, but I'll say this anyway: using cheats can ruin your gaming experience. Cheat with caution.

This guide is not 100% complete, and probably never will be. No matter how many times I go through this guide, I'll always miss something. If you find any errors please let me know (see How to Contact Me, below).

Also, most of the stuff mentioned in this guide is copyright Bioware, Demiurge, Electronic Arts, or somebody else.

Stuff to Know

I assume you've read the manual (available in the game's installation directory) and have some idea how to play, how the interface works, etc.

Even though this guide provides all the solutions to puzzles and such, you still need to perform all the actions for the solution to work. The game won't give you something unless it recognizes that you've performed the prerequisites for it.

I occasionally get confused when talking about directions. Up, down, left, and right are usually towards that side of the screen. North, South, East, and West are usually map directions, but can correspond to screen directions as well.

Most places you go don't have in-game maps, and the few places that do have really good maps. Therefore I'm not going to publish any of my own. Hold the M key to pull up an on-screen blue diamond, and that should be enough to get you where you're going. The maps don't branch so much that you'll get lost. As far as finding stuff, just look around very carefully, and reference the Items pages.

I use several abbreviations in this guide. Here are some:

EXP or XP - EXPerience Points
DLC - Downloadable Content
HP - Hit Points
NPC - Non Player Character
ME1 or ME2 - Mass Effect 1 or Mass Effect 2, the first two games in the series.
SMG - Sub-Machine Gun

Certain things are highlighted in color:

Items and Codex Entries are written in bold. e.g. Medi-Gel
Locations are written in green. e.g. The Citadel
Abilities are written in yellow. e.g. Throw
Actions are written in orange. e.g. Talk
Paragon Choices are written in blue.
Renegade Choices are written in red.

How to Contact Me

Email me: patrick@nightsolo.net
Or
Use this form: http://www.nightsolo.net/contact/

Stuff I Do/Don't Need to Know

I DO need the following information:

How to use the console to give yourself a specific item (weapon, armor, omni-tool, upgrade, whatever).
Any items, weapons, encounters, inside jokes that I've missed.
Any tips or secrets not already in here.
Any typos.
Comments. Questions. Rude remarks.

I DO NOT need the following:

Tips that are already in here.

Release Info

The author of this guide has no relation to Bioware, or Demiurge, Electronic Arts, or anyone else related to the Mass Effect game.

This walkthrough can be distributed however you like as long as you don't claim credit for it.

Version History:
Version 1.0: 31 March 2013 - Initial release.
Version 1.02: 14 July 2013 - Fixed a few confusing sentences. Corrected some spelling and grammar errors, probably created new ones.
Version 1.03: 14 October 2013 - Reordered the Side Missions to reflect the order in which they are completeable. Not only on that page but in the checklists and walkthough as well.
Version 1.04: 27 December 2014 - Typos, typos, and more typos. Some gramatical errors, too.
Version 1.05: 17 February 2016 - Checklist update, minor fixes here and there, moved the Effective Military Strength list from the very end to just before the end, so you can read it before commiting to the final push.
Version 1.06: 7 April 2018 - Checklist update. Gramatical fixes throughout. Clarifications in many places, especially the fight with the Reaper on Rannoch. Cleaned up many of the lists of outcomes (like Tuchanka and Horizon).
Version 1.07: 18 July 2021 - Grammar fixes, checklist updates, blah blah blah.