Mass Effect: Should You Be Paragon or Renegade?

One of the staples of the Mass Effect series is that players have a lot of different choices to make regarding the outcome of conversations or overall situations. And while there are plenty of these that fall into a shade of grey, the biggest decisions tend to come down to a Paragon or Renegade action. So which one do you pick? Here is everything you need to know about if you should be Paragon or Renegade in Mass Effect.

Should You be Paragon or Renegade in Mass Effect?

For the most part, this decision really comes down to your preferred playstyle. Players that focus on teamwork and are more passive will want to go with Paragon. Players that are more aggressive and enjoy wracking up kills will likely go with Renegade.

Mass Effect isn’t just a game where you get into firefights, though, as there is a lot of diplomacy as well. Depending on your choice of morality, your Shepard will either approach conversations compassionately as a Paragon or ruthlessly as a Renegade.

Lastly, each choice also comes with specific stat boosts and buffs, both for combat and dialogue. We will break down each one individually below.

Paragon

Anyone who wants to make their Shepard a true hero will want to pick Paragon in Mass Effect 1. This will lead to conversations that inquire about the character’s feelings and motivations and is always represented by the blue dialogue choice.

This line of morality often leads people to be more friendly to Shepard, as it leans heavily into their charming side. In Mass Effect 1, the Charm upgrade will open up more Paragon dialog options for you, whereas in the other two games you simply need to do Paragon actions and as your bar fills up, the dialog options will become automatically available to you.

Renegade

Anyone who just wants to sow chaos will love playing as a Renegade Shepard in Mass Effect. This path leads to a lot of sarcastic and mean conversations with enemies and friends alike, leaning heavily into the use of intimidation and is always represented by red dialogue choices.

This leads to people fearing Shepard, resulting in plenty of situations where they must encourage people to tell or give them more information than they otherwise would. In Mass Effect 1, the Intimidate upgrade will open up those Renegade dialog options for you, and in the other two games it behaves just as Paragon does.

That is everything you need to know about if you should be Paragon or Renegade in Mass Effect. For more tips, tricks, and answers to your every question, be sure to check out our Mass Effect Legendary Edition wiki guide for more helpful info.