Mass Effect Legendary Edition introduced some nice improvements to the original game along with a few minor changes to its two sequels. Perhaps even more importantly, especially if you haven’t played the trilogy before, the remaster includes every DLC pack aside from Pinnacle Station. However, if you’re on PC, you can access that one as well thanks to the Pinnacle Station mod.
But even without Pinnacle Station, you’re still looking at around 40 pieces of DLC that you don’t have to purchase separately. Buying Mass Effect DLC used to be a needlessly complicated process involving BioWare Points, platform-exclusive items, pre-order bonuses, weird promotions, and other such annoyances. Being able to get access to everything for one simple price is definitely a lot more convenient.
If you’re new to the series or haven’t played the trilogy in a while, you may find the number of DLC included with Mass Effect Legendary Edition a bit overwhelming. The good news is that a lot of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition DLC consists of weapons, armor, skins, and various other items. You don’t really have to worry about those.
Things do get a bit tricky when it comes to the content-related DLC packs, though. You’ll have to plan your playthrough around some of them while others can easily be ignored. Playing the DLC in a less than ideal order can lead to some confusing moments you’ll probably want to avoid. But don’t worry because we’ve put together this little guide/ranked list to help you figure out which pieces of content are worth prioritizing, and when would be the best time to play through them.
With that out of the way, let’s start off with the worst DLCs before slowly making our way to the best ones.
13. Extended Cut (ME3)
It’s debatable whether the Extended Cut should be on this list since it’s just a regular part of Mass Effect Legendary Edition. But we still wanted to give it a quick shoutout anyway. The Extended Cut is Bioware’s attempt to appease long-time fans who weren’t happy with how Mass Effect 3 originally ended.
The DLC introduces a number of new cutscenes and dialogue options along with a fourth ending. While the Extended Cut does make the ending more bearable, it doesn’t fix most of the problems people had with it. The DLC is integrated into the main game in LE so you can’t play without it even if you wanted to.
12. Firewalker Pack (ME2)
The Firewalker Pack is a pretty lackluster DLC that adds a bunch of new missions and locations to explore. Unfortunately, they’re all quite boring. The M-44 Hammerhead is fun to ride around in for a while but the hover vehicle quickly outstays its welcome. It doesn’t help that pretty much everything you do in this DLC revolves around the Hammerhead.
Firewalker Pack is inconsequential to the rest of Mass Effect 2, so feel free to do the missions whenever you want. You won’t be missing out on anything if you skip them entirely. The only interesting reward is a small Prothean relic that can be interacted with in your cabin.
11. Normandy Crash Site (ME2)
Normandy Crash Site is one of the shortest Mass Effect Legendary Edition DLC packs. It involves exploring the area around the crash site of the SSV Normandy. While there, you can collect the dog tags of your former crewmates and place a monument at the crash site. The DLC is meant to bring Shepard some closure following the destruction of the original Normandy.
It makes the most sense to visit the crash site while the memory of ME2’s opening sequence is still fresh in your mind. We recommend doing this mission shortly after unlocking access to the galaxy map in Mass Effect 2.
10. Zaeed – The Price of Revenge (ME2)
One of the founders of the Blue Suns mercenary group, Zaeed Massani is an infamous bounty hunter you can meet near the start of Mass Effect 2. While he may seem a bit generic at first, you will eventually grow fond of him if you spend enough time listening to his war stories. He’s also quite useful in a fight, especially once you unlock his last ability.
Zaeed is a fairly interesting character, but what drags this DLC down is his loyalty mission, which is extremely forgettable. We recommend doing the mission as soon as possible just to get it out of the way. And because unlocking access to his Inferno Grenades early on will give you a big advantage in combat.
9. Arrival (ME2)
Arrival is a pretty decent DLC you unlock pretty early on in Mass Effect 2. However, you’ll want to hold off actually playing it until much later. The story is all about delaying the impending Reaper invasion and is one of the only missions where you don’t get to take your companions with you. Though you will be joined by a temporary companion at certain points.
The events of Arrival are considered canon and happen even if you don’t actually play through the DLC. But we do recommend playing it because it gives important context for everything that’s happening at the start of Mass Effect 3. Considering that Arrival’s primary goal is to set up ME3, the DLC is best experienced at the very end of your Mass Effect 2 playthrough.
8. Kasumi – Stolen Memory (ME2)
Kasumi Goto isn’t exactly one of the best-developed characters in the series, but her loyalty mission is easily among the most memorable ones. The part where you attend the party as space warlord Solomon Gunn is already pretty entertaining. But things get even more interesting once you descend into Hock’s vault.
To top it all off, you’ll also have to deal with some of the most difficult fights of any loyalty mission. You won’t be able to rely on a second party member during these fights so make sure you’re well prepared before starting Kasumi’s loyalty mission.
The main drawback of the DLC is that Kasumi has very little dialogue on the Normandy. The few lines she does have are substantially less interesting than those of Zaaed.
7. From Ashes (ME3)
Bioware and EA received a lot of flak for releasing From Ashes as a day-one DLC given how integral the content is to the overall story. Luckily, the DLC doesn’t need to be purchased separately anymore thanks to Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
The mission leading up to the recruitment of Javik isn’t anything to write home about. However, Javik himself is a great character. There’s a lot of funny dialogue involving the Prothean and he’s also a great exposition machine. Make sure to bring him along on missions as often as you can.
From Ashes unlocks after the Mars mission and should ideally be completed either before or immediately after going to Palaven. That way, you’ll gain access to a powerful ally early on and you’ll also get to enjoy everybody’s reactions when they see you walking around with a living Prothean by your side.
6. Bring Down the Sky (ME1)
The original Mass Effect only received two pieces of DLC. Pinnacle Station didn’t make it into the Legendary Edition so that only leaves us with Bring Down the Sky, a DLC that revolves around stopping an asteroid from crashing into the colony of Terra Nova.
Bring Down the Sky introduces the Batarians, a race you’ll come across often during ME2 and ME3. Despite being the oldest DLC in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Bring Down the Sky still holds up pretty well. The events of Bring Down the Sky aren’t connected to the rest of the story. No need to worry about having to plan your playthrough around it.
5. Overlord (ME2)
Overlord is easily one of the creepiest DLCs in the trilogy. Things start off pretty standard – a remote research base went silent and it’s your job to investigate it. The DLC starts to get interesting once you discover the true purpose of the base and the entity that’s been causing all the havoc.
A good portion of the DLC involves planet exploration, which has never been a strong suit of the trilogy. But at least some of the new locations are pretty to look at. You’ll spend most of your remaining time fighting Geth and learning about the disturbing experiments conducted by Cerberus.
The DLC is best completed early on as it gives you some interesting information regarding the people you’re working for and might influence some of your decisions further down the line.
4. Leviathan (ME3)
Leviathan is probably the most important Mass Effect Legendary Edition DLC in terms of narrative. While From Ashes gives us a lot of important backstory for the Protheans, Leviathan takes things one step further and explains how the Reapers came to be. The DLC introduces us to the mysterious race that created the Reapers and reveals the reason behind their mission to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy.
In stark contrast to Omega, Leviathan focuses on exploration and investigation rather than action. We recommend doing Leviathan immediately after Omega if you want to switch things up. But you can also leave it for later if you’re looking to complete some of the main story missions first.
3. Omega (ME3)
Omega is a very divisive piece of DLC that not everybody will enjoy. The DLC switches things up by preventing you from teaming up with your usual companions during its duration. Instead, you’ll join forces with Aria T’Loak and Nyreen Kandros, a new character who happens to be the first female Turian to appear in Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
Aria is easily one of the best secondary characters in Mass Effect and you get to interact with her a lot in Omega. That alone is reason enough for putting the DLC so high up on the list. However, your enjoyment of the DLC will greatly depend on how much you like these characters and Omega as a location.
The DLC is action-packed and not particularly long, making it ideal to play when you need a change of pace. The best time to begin Omega is shortly after completing the quests you get from Aria on the Citadel.
2. Lair of the Shadow Broker (ME2)
Lair of the Shadow Broker is a fantastic DLC for a game that’s already filled to the brim with amazing character-driven content. The DLC tasks you with helping your old friend Liara as she attempts to take down the mysterious Shadow Broker.
Things start off slowly but quickly ramp up as you engage in a car chase, fight against an Asari Spectre, and ultimately infiltrate the Shadow Broker’s base of operations.
Unfortunately, Liara doesn’t join your team once the DLC is complete but she does provide help by giving you access to the Shadow Broker’s resources. Which include, among other things, surveillance footage and dossiers on most of the main characters in ME2.
We feel it works best to complete Lair of the Shadow Broker either shortly before or after assaulting the Collector base.
1. Citadel (ME3)
Last but not least we have Citadel, hands down the best Mass Effect Legendary Edition DLC.
Citadel is Bioware’s love letter to fans of the trilogy and does a fantastic job at bringing together everyone for one last adventure before your final confrontation with the Reapers. If you want to leave Citadel for last, which we recommend, make sure to do the missions just before assaulting the Cerberus headquarters. You won’t be able to go back afterward.
That said, you can access the content a bit earlier if you want to avoid the tone shift that comes with hosting a lighthearted party immediately before launching a mission that decides the fate of the galaxy.
Truth be told, a DLC that centers so much around comedy can feel a bit awkward considering the grim tone of Mass Effect 3 but that certainly shouldn’t stop you from enjoying it.
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