Mass Effect Legendary Edition recently launched on Game Pass, giving players who have never experienced Bioware’s sci-fi trilogy before a chance to see what all the fuss is about. And giving veteran players the perfect excuse to jump in for yet another playthrough, perhaps with a few Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods added into the mix for some fresh gameplay.
Whether you’re new to the game or are thinking about romancing Liara for the fifth time, it’s worth looking into a few Mass Effect Legendary mods before you get started. Despite adding a number of improvements, especially for the first game, Mass Effect Legendary Edition still feels outdated in many ways. Which shouldn’t be too surprising given that even Mass Effect 3 is almost a decade old at this point.
Luckily, the modding community has been very busy ever since MELE came out and already created close to 800 mods as of this writing. Some of these mods are designed to improve upon existing aspects of the game while others try to bring something new to the table. However, don’t expect any DLC-sized mods like the ones you can find for Skyrim Anniversary Edition. There are a few big ones but most Mass Effect Legendary mods are a lot more subtle.
We’re sorting the mods based on category to make it easier to find the ones you’re interested in. With that out of the way, join us as we take a look at the best Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods available in 2022.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mods: Gameplay
Expanded galaxy mod
Expanded Galaxy Mod is a fairly sizeable mod that adds a number of interesting changes to Mass Effect 3. Among other things, you can expect a handful of new weapons, better mission timings (also available as a standalone mod), a few tweaks to the interior of the Normandy, and more. There are also various gameplay improvements, including the ability to change armor at mission launch and change your weapon loadout at any time.
If you’re looking for some extra customization for your squadmates, you can get quite a bit of it with Expanded Galaxy Mod. Every squadmate gets some new casual outfits and a couple of characters also get some extra armor. Though the Squadmate Pack is entirely optional so you can take it or leave it.
Speaking of optional things, you can opt-in for EGM’s Normandy Immersive Overhaul BETA. This module brings to the table a whole slew of changes to the Normandy, including new crew members, customization, weapon imports from ME2, and a bunch of other features to boot.
Expanded Galaxy Mod was originally created for the old version of Mass Effect 3 and contained even more improvements and content. The mod is gradually being ported to the Legendary Edition but it’s a slow process. A good chunk of the original mod is already playable in MELE but make sure to check often for updates because there’s a lot more to come.
Take earth back
You spend the majority of Mass Effect 3 roaming around the galaxy gathering war assets for the fight against the Reapers. Many of us hoped that the hassle would eventually pay off in the final mission when all the allies we made along the way would help us take Earth back. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and there was hardly anybody there to help when you needed them most. Worst of all, not even most of your previous squadmates bothered to show up.
But thanks to the Take Earth Back mod we can finally make the ending of Mass Effect 3 a bit more bearable. The mod adds troops and characters from all races to the Earth hub while also introducing appropriate dialogues, videos, events, models, and more. Even more impressively, Take Earth Back plays well with other overhaul mods like EGM and Spectre Expansion Mod, making the final mission truly epic. Well, at least that specific portion of the mission.
Spectre expansion mod
We briefly mentioned this one earlier but it’s worth going into a bit more detail. Spectre Expansion Mod’s original goal was to enhance the Spectre Terminal but has since also added improvements to the Shadow Broker terminal while also introducing a bunch of other exciting new content.
Among other things, Spectre Expansion Mod adds new shops, missions, star clusters, war assets, and even a powerful new enemy type. SEM is currently in beta but it’s already shaping up to be one of the best Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods out there.
Spectre Expansion Mod requires EGM to run so make sure you grab that one first before you attempt to install it.
LE3 community patch
This Mass Effect Legendary Edition mod provides a lot of bug fixes and tweaks for the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 3. The full list of changes is too extensive to go over here but just know that this community patch is a must-have if you’re serious about modding since it is required by a slew of other mods. Including a few of the ones found on this list. LE1 and LE2 have similar community patches you can, and should, install.
Dlc timings mod (Me2le)
This is a great mod to have if you want to delay some of Mass Effect 2’s DLC content. There are a bunch of reasons for wanting to do this, primarily to help with the flow of the story. For instance, the mod makes Lair of the Shadow Broker unlock only after you meet Liara and help her with her quests on Illium. Under normal circumstances, the DLC unlocks after completing Horizon regardless of whether you met Liara or not, which doesn’t really make sense.
Some of the other DLCs affected by the mod include Normandy Crash Site, Overlord, and Arrival. You’ll be able to choose during the installation process by how much you want to delay some of the DLCs. It’s worth noting that the mod can’t remove DLC quests that were already triggered before it was installed. For the best results, you’ll want to start a new game after installing the DLC Timings Mod.
Spectre – a gameplay rework for LE1
This is one of the best Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods to consider if you want to overhaul LE1’s gameplay in a quick and easy way. Some of the changes and additions found in Spectre can also be found in other mods, but this is a package deal that replaces the need to download a bunch of smaller mods to achieve similar results.
Some of the changes made by Spectre include things like infinite boost for Shepard, infinite boost for the Mako, increased maximum inventory limit, weapons rebalancing, difficulty tweaks, and more. In short, Spectre has a little bit of everything. It even adds cheat commands for those who want to make certain aspects of the game a bit easier or faster.
Because Spectre makes so many changes it’s not recommended to be used alongside a ton of other mods. Ideally, you’ll want to install Spectre first and then maybe add a couple of other small mods on top. You can check the mod page for a list of gameplay mods that don’t conflict with Spectre.
Black market license (LE1)
Black Market License is a Mass Effect 1 mod that gives the player access to hidden items. Including weapons, armors, and mods. You can unlock these items by first buying a Black Market License from the Normady requisition store. After you have installed the mod, of course. Doing so will open up the stocks of four Black Market manufacturers – Batarian State Arms, Cerberus Skunkworks, Hahne-Kedar Shadow Works, and Jormangund Technology.
The items unlocked by this mod were already partially implemented into the game by Bioware but were left on the cutting room floor for one reason or another. Some of them are crazy powerful, which may explain why they never made it into the full game. This mod rebalances them to a certain extent and makes them unavailable until your character reaches around level 20ish. Pair that with the fact that these items are very expensive and you shouldn’t run into a situation where you become overpowered early on by using them.
Items added by Black Market License appear naturally in selected stores throughout the game. You can sometimes also find them randomly by killing enemies or opening containers.
Installing Black Market License can be a bit of a hassle depending on what other mods you’re already using. Make sure to pay close attention to the instructions found on the mod page. On the bright side, if you ever want to turn it off, you can simply buy a Revoke Black Market License item in-game.
Unrestricted weapon upgrades
There are a couple of Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods that let you upgrade weapons to rank 10 on your first playthrough of ME3, but this is our favorite one due to its simplicity. And also because its abbreviation is UWU. Please don’t judge us for that.
With UWU enabled you can rank your weapons up to max level right off the bat, provided you can afford it of course. One thing worth noting is that the mod automatically gives weapons found during missions a higher rank than they would otherwise have. These weapons start at rank 3, which is not a huge deal, but it does affect the balance somewhat.
The mod creator mentioned wanting to work on a way to make that an optional feature but they didn’t get around to it as of this writing. Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades hasn’t received any updates in a while but should still work fine regardless.
Better camera
Better Camera is one of the oldest Mass Effect Legendary mods around, having launched just one day after the remastered trilogy came out. All this simple mod does is allow you to increase the camera’s field of view but don’t underestimate that small change because it makes a big difference.
With Better Camera you can bump up your FOV up to a whopping 110 degrees. The default FOV is only around 65-70 so you probably don’t want to go too crazy with it otherwise your game might end up looking weird. Keep it at around 80 or 90 tops for the best results. Better Camera works for all three games.
F.I.S.H.
This might be one of the most niche Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods on this list, but you’ll want to grab it regardless. Fight Institutional Sexual Harassment, or F.I.S.H. for short, is a mod that makes Kelly Chambers give you your fish back when you talk to her in the refugee camp on the Citadel in Mass Effect 3. Assuming she survives ME2’s suicide mission.
Normally, you would have to flirt with her and invite her to dinner before she decides to return your fish, which feels a bit odd to say the least. You can skip the date entirely by simply installing this mod. The mod also makes some dialogue changes to reflect Shepard’s current relationship with Kelly.
Security scan skip
You’ll run into questionable design decisions in a lot of Bioware games. Mass Effect 3 is no exception. By far one of the most annoying ones is the security scan found on Deck 2 of the Normandy. While it makes sense story-wise to scan guests, there’s no reason why high-ranking crew members like Shepard should have to submit to a scan every time they visit the War Room. Thankfully, you can easily get rid of that little annoyance by installing the Security Scan Skip mod.
LEME2 – allow all weapons
Under normal circumstances, Shepard’s class dictates the types of weapons they can use. This mod essentially removes that restriction and lets you use all available weapons regardless of your class. This particular mod only works for the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 2 but there are similar mods for the other two entries.
LEME2 – Allow All Weapons comes with a few more features borrowed from other mods. These include the ability to increase the FOV and hide the HUD by pressing F11. It also incorporates the Shepard Can Run mod, which allows the Commander to sprint for much longer than usual.
ME2 le combat remastered
This is somewhat similar to a couple of other Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods we’ve already covered, especially Spectre. However, just as its name suggests, this one overhauls Mass Effect 2’s combat. The primary goal of the mod is to make combat more action-packed and less sedentary. Instead of hiding behind cover and taking pot shots every now and then, you are encouraged to move around the battlefield to try and flank enemies.
ME2 LE Combat Remastered achieves this by making changes to both player weapons and the AI. The AI is no longer absurdly accurate, especially when firing while on the move, giving you the opportunity to move around more. Which you should definitely do (a lot) because the AI also receives penalties when firing at moving targets.
Aside from that, the mod also does a lot of weapon rebalancing, adds new weapon sound effects, and more. Some of the changes might interfere with the Allow All Weapons mod so it’s probably not a good idea to use both during the same playthrough.
The collectors cabin
This is easily one of the best Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods for Commanders who love collecting and displaying trinkets from all over the galaxy. The Collectors Cabin adds statues, figurines, toys, and an assortment of other objects you can hang around in your cabin. Including the iconic Shepard hologram.
To make things a bit more immersive, a lot of these objects need to be purchased from the Spectre Requisitions store. Meanwhile, others can be found by simply completing certain missions.
Early recruitment
This Mass Effect 2 mod does exactly what it says on the tin and allows you to recruit certain companions earlier than in the vanilla game. Namely, Thane, Samara, and Tali. The mod also gives Shepard early access to Illium and Tuchanka, but only if Wrex is the clan leader there.
With this mod installed, Thane and Samara become recruitable immediately after completing the Freedom’s Progress mission. Tali becomes recruitable a bit later on but before Shepard has to deal with the situation on Horizon. You can speed things up a bit by completing a couple of missions in the meantime. The best way to go about it to complete Kasumi and Zaaed’s loyalty missions as these can be unlocked near the start of the game.
LE2 liara squadmate
Yes, you read that right. There’s a mod that lets you recruit Liara as a squadmate in Mass Effect 2. She already acts as a temporary squadmate during Lair of the Shadow Broker but we’re talking about her being a permanent addition to the team. Liara doesn’t have any voice lines for a lot of ME2 content so don’t expect her to talk much, but she will be able to accompany you on missions anywhere you go. Her appearance and powers will be identical to the ones she has in Lair of the Shadow Broker.
Last person standing (LE2)
Next up on our list of best Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods, we have something a bit… different. Most people strive to get the best ending in Mass Effect 2 i.e. the one where everyone survives the suicide mission. However, the game also has a bad ending where everyone dies and if you (somehow) manage to get this ending you won’t be able to import your save into Mass Effect 3. Or can you?
Thanks to the Last Person Standing mod you can have your entire squad killed during the suicide mission and still import your save into ME3. Assuming you don’t get Shepard killed, too, of course. Now, the game wasn’t really designed for this outcome so you’re likely to run into some issues by doing this. There shouldn’t be any game-breaking bugs but expect a lot of general weirdness.
Xp rescale
This is a very simple mod for the first Mass Effect that gradually increases the XP from kills, missions, and other sources. With XP Rescale you can finally reach max level in a single playthrough, which isn’t possible in the vanilla version of the game.
Story
Audemus’ happy ending mod
This is one of the most popular Mass Effect Legendary mods at the moment as it has been featured quite a bit in the news lately. And it’s easy to see why. AHEM brings closure to fans of the trilogy by allowing Shepard to survive the final mission of Mass Effect 3. Not just that but Shepard returns to the Normandy and is present during the memorial scene.
The makers of this mod really did an incredible job creating alternative cutscenes, videos, ending slides, and more to go along with the new ending. The mod also does away with the annoying Starchild. Good riddance!
Pinnacle station dlc
The Legendary Edition includes every piece of DLC for the Mass Effect trilogy, except one – Pinnacle Station. Personally, I never liked the DLC but there are quite a few people who enjoy it and they can keep playing it thanks to this mod. The Pinnacle Station mod also fixes some bugs and adds some improvements here and there, making it arguably even better than the original DLC.
More gay romances
There aren’t any Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods that add new squadmates for you to romance but you can get the next best thing with More Gay Romances. The mod adds two new romance options for FemShep in the form of Jack and Miranda in Mass Effect 2 LE. If you decide to romance either of them, the romance will carry over into Mass Effect 3 LE.
More Gay Romances was made using repurposed dialogue and a bunch of cut content. Jack and Miranda were meant to be romance options for FemShep from the get-go until Bioware decided to remove them for whatever reason. Luckily, a good chunk of the content was fully voiced and can be added back into the game thanks to this mod.
There’s a similar mod called Same-Gender Romances for LE1 that lets both male and female Shepard to romance Ashley and Kaidan in the first game.
Conrad verner remembers
There are a few Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods that seem a bit redundant but you may want to download them anyway. This is one of them. Conrad Verner Remembers fixes a bug from Mass Effect 1 where Conrad “remembers” you pointed a gun at him during one of your encounters even when you didn’t.
Instead of fixing the bug, Bioware decided to implement an explanation for Conrad’s apparent memory loss and make it canon. That’s why we mentioned that this mod is a bit redundant. But if you want to ignore Bioware’s fix for a better sense of continuity you can use this mod instead.
Safely skip conversations
This one is pretty straightforward. You know how you sometimes skip certain dialogues to get through conversations faster, only to find that you ended up choosing a wrong option in the process? Yeah, we’ve all been there. But not anymore! This mod allows you to safely skip conversations without having to worry about also skipping selections. The best part is that the mod works for the entire Mass Effect Legendary Edition trilogy.
Visuals and Apparel
A lot of textures (Alot)
Next up we have the obligatory textures mod. This one has been around for years and actually served as one of the main sources of inspiration for Mass Effect Legendary Edition. But even though Bioware bumped up the resolution of a lot of textures for MELE, you’ll still find quite a few that don’t look as good as those included in this mod.
In addition to textures, ALOT also improves lighting and shadows to a significant degree. Shadows, in particular, haven’t been improved by Bioware as much as they should have for MELE. If you can’t stand the sight of blocky shadows, bad lighting, and low-res textures, ALOT is the perfect mod for you.
ALOT doesn’t upscale videos but you can grab another mod for that. Suitably titled A Lot of Videos (ALOV), the mod makes all in-game videos run at 4K resolution and 60 FPS. Just keep in mind that ALOV is easily one of the largest Mass Effect Legendary mods out there, requiring well over 20 gigs of space.
Egm armors for LE2 and LE3
If you’re looking for Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods that add armor you’ll definitely want to pick this one up. Created by the maker of Expanded Galaxy Mod, EGM Armors for LE2 and LE3 adds a total of 16 new armors complete with unique power sets.
Some of these armors were simply ported over from Expanded Galaxy Mod while others were taken from Ark Mod. You can of course simply get those two mods instead and skip this one if you want, but you would be missing out on a few casual outfits and texture enhancements by doing so.
Expanded shepard armory
While we’re on the subject of armor mods, you should also consider getting Expanded Shepard Armory. This is a mod for the Legendary version of Mass Effect 2 that adds armors and casual outfits from ME1, ME3, and even Mass Effect Andromeda.
The Andromeda armors are somewhat immersion breaking and a few of them look strange on Shepard, but having more options to choose from is never a bad thing. Speaking of which, the mod also adds helmetless versions of DLC armors. These include the Collector armor, Cerberus armor, Dragon Age promotional armor, and all the other ones.
The cherry on the top is that you can combine armors with helmets from different sets to create new looks. A very welcome feature considering the mod also adds shades along with several other neat accessories to play around with.
Aria outfit for femshep
Aria T’Loak has one of the best outfits in the trilogy. A shame you can’t wear it yourself, huh? Well, now you can thanks to this mod. The mod gives a black version of Aria’s outfit to Femshep that features a couple of other modifications. Most notably, the Omega emblem is replaced by an Alliance one. Aside from that, it’s pretty much identical and Femshep looks great while wearing it.
No headgear for squadmates
In Mass Effect 2 you can unlock alternative outfits for your squadmates by completing their loyalty missions. Unfortunately, most of them come with some pretty awful headgear that can’t be removed. Or can it?
As it happens, you can get rid of the headgear along with other accessories such as piercings by simply installing this mod. In a couple of instances, primarily with Garrus, the headgear is altered as opposed to being completely removed.
Liara consistency project
This one makes Liara’s appearance consistent throughout the entire trilogy. More specifically, the mod makes Liara look like she does in Lair of the Shadow Broker in all three games. Not much else to say about it, so let’s move on to the next one.
Saren stages LE1
It always bothered us how the Council was oblivious to Saren’s indoctrination in ME1 despite the fact that he looked more machine than Turian. This mod fixes that by gradually transforming Saren from a largely normal-looking Turian to the version we all know and love (or hate). Expect Saren to look less cybernetically enhanced than usual when you first encounter him, only to gradually see him metamorphosise into his regular self throughout the course of the game.
User Interface
One probe all resources
Hands down one of the best quality of life mods for Mass Effect Legendary Edition. True to its name, this mod makes it so that you only need one probe to collect the resources of an entire planet in Mass Effect 2. Sure, the scanning minigame is fun at the start of every new playthrough but it becomes incredibly annoying just a couple of hours into the game. No need to worry about that any more thanks to this mod.
As an added benefit, launching a probe on a planet will also detect any anomalies that might be present. One more thing you don’t have to scan for anymore. The icing on the cake is that while installing the mod you can find an option that also increases probe speed by 100%.
Skip minigames for LE2
Since we’re already talking about annoying Mass Effect 2 mechanics we’d rather not have to deal with, we also have to mention Skip Minigames for LE2. This is another one of those small Mass Effect Legendary mods that does exactly what it says on the tin. Namely, it lets you avoid both the hacking and bypass minigames.
There are two different versions of this mod you can install. With the Classic version you still have to open the UI but the minigame is automatically completed as soon as you hit start. Meanwhile, the Modern version completely removes the minigames along with the UI.
A similar mod called Skip Minigames (LE1) is available for the first entry in the trilogy.
Galaxy map trackers
Galaxy Map Trackers adds a feature that should have honestly been present from the beginning in the original Mass Effect. Namely, the ability to track active UNC assignments and anomalies on the galaxy map. Even better, the mod also tracks undiscovered anomalies and assignments much in the same way.
Granted, that secondary feature does make you feel like you’re cheating a little bit, but since you’re reading an article about Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods chances are you’ve already played through ME1 at least a couple of times. If you have, you’ll probably want to save some time by skipping unnecessary gameplay mechanics and that’s exactly what this mod provides.
Charted worlds
Charted Worlds is a Mass Effect 1 mod that complements Galaxy Map Trackers perfectly. Whereas the previous mod shows you all the most important points of interest in the galaxy map, this one marks their location on UNC world maps. We’re talking mineral deposits, bases, Thresher Maw locations, and more.
Charted Worlds is even more useful than Galaxy Map Trackers in many ways because it lets you avoid aimlessly wandering around planets in search of points of interest. Bioware made a series of improvements to the Mako for MELE but exploration in Mass Effect 1 still remains the worst part of the game. Luckily, you can skip the vast majority of it thanks to this mod.
No reapers and unlimited scan range on galaxy map
Exactly what it says on the tin. This mod allows you to freely move around the galaxy map in Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition without being chased by Reapers. It also significantly bumps up the scan range so you can spend even less time on the galaxy map.
Utilities
Me3tweaks mod manager
This is your go-to manager for Mass Effect Legendary mods. If you’re planning on getting just one or two basic mods you don’t necessarily need this, but if you want to install lots of mods across all three games this is a must-have. The mod manager makes installing, updating, and just generally keeping track of everything so much easier.
ME3Tweaks Mod Manager supports both the regular versions of all three Mass Effect games as well as their Legendary counterparts. It also comes with support for the LE launcher along with tools for modders and game diagnostics. All in all, a very useful manager.
We recommend getting this one first because it will make installing the rest of your mods significantly faster. Not just that but certain mods require you to have this manager before you can even install them.
Trilogy save editor
This first mod is a must-have for anyone planning to play through all three games back-to-back. The Trilogy Save Editor is exactly what it says on the tin and allows you to edit your save files in a wide variety of ways.
Do you wish you killed the Council instead of sparing it in ME1? How about changing history so that Kaiden dies on Virmire instead of Ashley? Or maybe you just want to see how your first encounter with Garrus plays out in Mass Effect 2 if you’ve never recruited him on The Citadel.
Well, with the Trilogy Save Editor you can do all that and more. In addition to giving you the opportunity to change past decisions, the mod also lets you change Shepard’s attributes, powers, and alignment, among other things. However, doing so does feel a bit like cheating so I would personally stick to just the save editing functions. But the choice is up to you.
Final Thoughts
You can find all of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods we discussed in this article, along with many others, on NexusMods. As with most games, only the PC gaming version of Mass Effect Legendary Edition supports mods. Bioware might decide to make something similar to Bethesda’s Creation Club for console players but, so far, the company hasn’t said anything about a service like that.
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