Continue Playing Mass Effect 1 After Ending

This page of IGN's Mass Effect wiki guide details all the various changes, adjustments and improvements made in the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 1.

The Legendary Edition of the Mass Effect Trilogy released on May 14h 2021, and included an updated version of Mass Effect 1. Of the three games in the trilogy, the original Mass Effect received the most changes given that it has aged the most of the three. This page documents all of the significant and notable changes.

advertisement

• General Changes
• Graphical Changes
• Combat Changes
• M35 Mako Changes
• Character Creator Changes
• Inventory Changes
• Achievements / Trophies Changes
• Miscellaneous Changes

General Changes

• All three games are accessed via a single "Game Select" launcher, however they are still considered separate games. You can return to this launcher from each game's main menu.
• From the Game Select Menu, you now have the option to Resume the most recently-used save for the last game you played. In Mass Effect 1's case, you will have to pass through the title screen first.
• Loading times have been significantly reduced. For example, the elevator from C-Sec to the Presidium now takes 14 seconds, where on Xbox 360 it took 52 seconds. Elevator shafts are still the same height; the lifts physically move faster now.
  • You can also press a button to skip news alerts and squad mate chatter, further reducing elevator wait times.
• There is now a "Legendary Mode" for levelling up, where each level up occurs half as often but gives double the rewards, and thus has a cap of Level 30 rather than Level 60. This is purely presentational, and you can revert back to "Classic Mode" at any time.
• As confirmed by Mac Walters on Twitter, a Photo Mode has been added, allowing you to pause the game, move the camera and apply various filters and effects to take screenshots.
• In "casual" environments such Port Hanshan on Noveria and The Citadel, the camera is now closer to Shepard, like in Mass Effect 2 and 3.
• The HUD is now in the Mass Effect 3 style, putting Shepard's health in the bottom-center of the screen, with Squad Mate's health and the Medi-Gel count underneath. Shields are also represented by a bar above the health meter rather than as blocks next to it, and Grenades are displayed above the weapon icon.
• The Weapon and Power Wheels no longer use name tags for each section of the wheel. They now use the new headshots from the bottom of the screen, while Shepard has none at all.
• Biotic UI elements are now blue while Tech UI elements are now purple. This is swapped from the original version in order to match Mass Effect 2 and 3.
• Sound effects for weapons have been enhanced, and the audio mix overall has been improved for better clarity. This has the most impact in scenes such as Shepard with the Beacon, where the sound effects were originally very quiet.
• The Bring Down the Sky DLC is included. The Pinnacle Station DLC however is not, as the source code was corrupted by the time Mass Effect 1 was ported to PS3 in 2012.
  • If you want to play Pinnacle Station, you must do so via the original Mass Effect 1 on PC or on Xbox 360 (which is supported on Xbox One and Series X). However you will NOT be able to carry this progress into the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 2. Pinnacle Station is entirely optional, and has no effect on the story in Mass Effect 1 or its sequels.
• While individual Shepard Profiles are limited to 50 saves, the trilogy as a whole no longer has any internal save cap, and is only limited on a console level (for example, 1GB on PlayStation 5).
• You no longer need to complete one playthrough of the game to raise the level cap to 60 on all future playthroughs. The level cap is now 60 right from the beginning.
  • However, it is still not possible to actually reach Level 60 in a single playthrough. To compensate, Mass Effect 2 treats all saves at Level 57 or above as if they were Level 60.
• The Pause Menu options have been reshuffled so that their placement is consistent across all three games. Mass Effect 1 is the outlier, having to put Equipment in the bottom-right slot and forcing Main Menu into the Options menu.
• In the Galaxy Map, the button assignments for Zoom Out and Exit have been reversed to match Mass Effect 2. This makes it less likely to accidentally quit out of the Galaxy Map when you meant to zoom out.

Graphical Changes

advertisement

• 4K resolutions and higher frame rates are now possible, allowing consoles to play the game at 60fps for the first time (and 120fps on Xbox Series X). Legendary Edition also allows you to select modes to favour the resolution quality or the frame rate.
• The overall UI font size has been decreased to look better on 1080 and 4K displays.
• The graph below details the specific targets the game will aim for depending on the console platform and graphical mode:

Mode	PS4	PS4 Pro	PS5	XBO	XBO-X / Series S	Xbox Series X
Favor Quality	1080/30	4K/30	4K/60	1080/30	4K/30	4K/60
Favor Frame Rate	1080/30	1140/30	1440/60	1080/60	1440/60	4K/120

• PC players can enjoy native controller support, 21:9 widescreen, UI navigation improvements, and compatibility with DirectX 11.
• HDR (High Dynamic Range) is now supported.
• The title screen has been completely remade, with a new, populated planet and a much larger moon. The original lives on in the Game Select Menu as Mass Effect 1's banner.
• In all areas, the logos have been updated to the "Andromeda" style, with a flat look and the modern font for "Effect".
• On many assets, details that were previously textures, such as Tali's straps, are now models.
• Textures have been upscaled for 4K presentation using smart AI, with the original uncompressed textures used as the starting point.
• Texture response to light has been improved for added realism, including plastics, fabrics, metals, skin, hair and eyes.
• Assets that appeared in higher quality in Mass Effect 2 and 3 have been reverse-implemented into Mass Effect 1, if they didn't age noticeably throughout the trilogy. For example, all Elcor now use the improved model used for Xeltan in Mass Effect 3's Omega DLC.
• Particle effects have been added and enhanced, such as chunks of rubble added to explosions.
• Muzzle flashes now emit light that is cast on nearby objects, such as Shepard.
• Lens flares are now much more cinematic, to match the aesthetic seen in the second and third game.
• Many cutscenes have had their lighting revised to match the look of the later two games.
• Any cinematic videos that were made in-engine have been re-rendered in 4K with the improved assets of the Legendary Edition, with additional details, effects and color correction added.
• Cinematics taking place around the Citadel exterior now have added environmental effects, such as the pink nebula gas, for added scale and atmosphere.
• Shadows and post-processing effects such as ambient occlusion and anti-aliasing have been added or improved. Several features from Mass Effect 3 such as dynamic volumetrics have been brought into Mass Effect 1.
• Depth of field effects have been improved to give a cinematic "bokeh" effect, rather than being a transparent blur layer.
• Blooming effects have been significantly adjusted and improved to be more immersive and less distracting.
• Real-time reflections have been added to select surfaces, such as the floor of the Normandy's Drive Core room or the windows in Flux.
• The Alliance Military Database sequences when setting up a profile have been completely redesigned.
• Every story Mission level has been given a new world-building pass by comparing them to their concept art, design intentions and artistic inspiration. Screenshots of the levels with their improved assets were sent to Derek Watts, the Art Director of the original Trilogy, who then provided new concept art paint-overs to guide level improvement. Specific examples are listed below.
  • Eden Prime has added buildings and rail networks, as well as assets taken from the From Ashes DLC from Mass Effect 3, to make it feel more populated and closer in feel to that level.
  • The Presidium is now visually closer to Mass Effect 3, with a more saturated colour palette, flocks of birds, and aerial traffic. The walkway beams also now match Mass Effect 3's "Huerta Memorial Hospital" design.
  • The skybox in the Wards has been redone to show buildings more clearly, while the lighting in the windowed areas is closer to its brief appearance in Mass Effect 2.
  • Feros now has more assets to fill out the surrounding city and add to the sense of destruction. Various indoor windows now have actual views of the outside rather than a generic "exposure bloom".
  • Noveria's Port Hanshan Mezzanine bar is now lit by its teal holograms and many reflections, visually differentiating it from the Synthetic Insights office that uses the same layout.
• The larger Geth units (Geth Primes, Destroyers and Juggernauts) have been adjusted to fit their depiction in Mass Effect 3, with a slightly thinner build and three lights on the head instead of just one. Their coloring still matches the original release, so Primes are white, Destroyers are grey/brown and Juggernauts are red.
• Docking Bay 422's atmospheric barrier wall now matches the one seen at the end of Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC storyline.
• The orange holograms used by characters like the Council and Saren are more opaque and have scanlines.
• The Earth texture visible from Luna (the Moon) has been corrected so that it is no longer mirrored and upside-down.
• Elanos Haliat, originally a human character met in the UNC: Espionage Probe Side Quest, has been changed to a Turian. His voice processing, name, use of "your kind" towards Shepard, and being the instigator of the Skyllian Blitz, all suggested he was intended to be Turian. He still doesn't wear a helmet however, despite Agebinium being -97.6F with an atmosphere of carbon dioxide and krypton.
• Outside of the various Pause Menus, the game's "body text" font has been changed to Myriad Pro, the font used in Mass Effect 2 and 3.

Combat Changes

• The Hardcore and Insanity difficulties are now available from the start of the game, rather than requiring a first playthrough to unlock Hardcore and then a Hardcore playthrough to unlock Insanity.
• The Storm ability now works as in Mass Effect 2: it's slower but lasts much longer.
  • As well, it's now possible to use it outside of combat, also like in Mass Effect 2. In the original release, holding down Sprint only gave the camera a fish-eye lens effect and didn't change Shepard's speed at all.
• Melee attacks are now mapped to a button like in Mass Effect 2 and 3, rather than being used with the Fire button when close to an enemy.
  • Because of this, the button to put away your weapon is now the View Button on Xbox, or the Touchpad Button on PlayStation (this is the same mapping as in Mass Effect 2).
• The Grenade button and Holster Weapon button are now swapped, meaning Holster Weapon is now on the same button as it is in Mass Effect 2.
• Reticle bloom, which is the effect of your targeting ring expanding as you fire your weapons and / or move around, is less extreme.
• Aiming reticles now feature a central crosshair in addition to the original circle reticle, which lets the player know when shots connect and when you've landed a headshot.
• Sniper rifles no longer sway while aiming through the scope, making them more viable to use for all classes.
• Aiming down sights now zooms in more, similar to the sequels.
• Aim assist is now improved for aiming at targets.
• All enemies now take headshot damage. In the original release this wasn't applied to all enemies, even some humanoid ones.
• Player, Squad Mate and Enemy shots are now much more visible. This allows you to more easily tell where enemies are so you can react accordingly, similar to the second and third games.
• Enemy shots also move a bit more slowly, making it possible to dodge them at extreme distances by moving.
• Some weapon manufacturers now have different firing modes than before, to give them more personality and align with Mass Effect 2 and 3. For example, a Sniper Rifle can fire three quick shots rather than one big one, or a Shotgun can fire a single slug rather than a spread.
• Certain Ammo mods (such as Shredder and Tungsten Ammo) continue dropping through the entire game, rather than vanishing once you've hit a certain Level. They do not get stronger however: they still cap at VII.
• All weapons can be used by any Class without accuracy penalties. Specializations are still Class-specific however for balancing, so Adepts cannot increase their Sniper Rifle damage, for example.
  • The Specializations limit is lifted entirely after beating the game at least once, which lets all Classes be viable with all weapons if you so choose.
• Weapons now cool down more quickly overall, unless they've been hacked to overheat by an enemy of course.
• Base Medi-Gel cooldown has been reduced, as well as Liara's Medi-Gel cooldown bonus.
• Medi-Gel benefits unlocked in the Squad menu have been increased.
• Enemies with biotics throw their biotic attacks less frequently.
• Squadmates can now be directed to specific spots independently like in Mass Effect 2 and 3, rather than both going to the same spot as a pair.
• Several boss fights and enemies have been tweaked to be a bit fairer.
• The boss fight arena at the end of Noveria has been adjusted to be less cramped and provide much more cover, however a lower area with two Crates has been removed in the process.
• Additional cover objects have been added to some combat areas.
• Some abilities and weapon powers have been rebalanced. For example, Immunity now grants a temporary but powerful defense buff, where before it was a small buff that lasted the entire fight.
• Using a Power now resets weapon cooldown, letting you immediately use a gun again.
• Entering and exiting cover is now more reliable:
  • You no longer need to crouch to duck behind low cover objects: this can now be done while standing.
  • You can now enter cover while sprinting into a cover object, just like in Mass Effect 2 and 3.
  • If Shepard is hiding behind cover, then turns 180 degrees to fire behind them, they'll automatically re-enter cover when they turn back again. This only works if you don't move, however.
  • Returning to cover after popping out to aim now takes longers.
• You can no longer vault on top of low crates while having a gun drawn, due to the automatic cover entry change noted above.
  • As a result of the above, a few of the loot objects that required vaulting on top of crates in the original release have been moved so that you don't have to vault up to reach them.
• In the boss battle at the end of Noveria, the arena now has much more cover and fewer enemies in each wave. The boss also now has a biotic shield around them, to explain why you can't damage them during the first three rounds.
• The boss arenas at the end of Virmire are no longer flanked with Fuel Tanks, and the boss will now summon waves of Geth during the fight.
• The final boss area now has more cover and the boss will continuously summon waves of Geth (although the battle ends instantly when the boss' health is gone).

M35 Mako Changes

advertisement

• The Mako's physics are now heavier, meaning it doesn't bounce nearly as much on undulating terrain (which lifts the wheels off the ground and loses speed), nor will it slide out during tight turns.
  • Because of the added weight, the Mako isn't quite as adept at climbing as before, requiring use of the new thrusters to briefly compensate.
  • As confirmed by Mac Walters and Kevin Meek in a PC Gamer interview, you'll have the option to revert to the original handling if you wish, but this is exclusive to the PC version.
• New thrusters have been added to briefly boost the Mako's ground speed, similar to the ND1 Nomad from Mass Effect: Andromeda. Their cooldown is independent from the existing jump jets.
• The main cannon will now always fire at where the reticle is targeting, meaning it isn't affected by limits on the cannon's pitch at low angles.
• The Mako's shields now recharge more quickly.
• You can now move the Mako while it's being repaired.
• The XP penalty for killing enemies in the Mako has been removed. In the original release, you only received 50% XP for a Mako kill, or 40% on Hardcore and Insanity difficulties.
• First-Person aiming in the Mako has been changed:
  • The First-Person UI in the Mako has been overhauled. Notably, the Mako's health and turret cooldown are still visible, allowing you to keep track of your health and weapon usage without having to exit First-Person mode.
  • Clicking R3 no longer cycles between three zoom settings: now it toggles between just two, meaning you can't zoom in as far as in the original release.
• UNC Mako worlds have been improved, including higher terrain polygon count, terrain shadows, and extra ground details such as rocks and grass.
• Touching the pools of lava on Therum no longer results in an instant Game Over; they now deal damage over time. However the Nonuel lava pools still destroy the Mako instantly.
• A guardrail has been added to the lower edge of the Prothean Skyway on Feros, making it less likely for the player to drive off of it.
• Thresher Maws are much more difficult: they now fire many acid shots in a shotgun spread, can lead their shots, and release Sensory Tentacles out of the ground that can deal damage.
• When fighting Thresher Maws, the time where it moves underground now lasts longer, and there is now a dirt cloud trail that shows where it's moving. This reduces the chance of it appearing under the Mako and flipping it since you can tell where it is. If there are any Sensory Tentacles, the Thresher Maw will chase the Mako until the tentacles are all gone.

Character Creator Changes

• The Shepard creator is now unified across all three games by being based on the Mass Effect 3 creator, bringing its added hair colours and styles into Mass Effect 1.
  • This also applies to NPC characters. For example, Doctor Chakwas now uses the version of her hairstyle from Mass Effect 3.
  • Because of this change, face codes from the original Mass Effect 3 can be used in any game in the Legendary Edition.
• The Female Shepard redesign made for Mass Effect 3 is the new female default and is available in Mass Effect 1. The original Female Shepard from 1 and 2 is still available as the first preset option, but does need to be adjusted for complete accuracy.
• The Shepard creator lighting now matches the creator used in Mass Effect 3 for consistency.
• The options in the Shepard creator have been given visual improvements to the hair, makeup, eye colour and skin tones.
• New customization options have also been included, including hair styles, hair colours and skin colours, many of which come from Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Inventory Changes

• The Inventory capacity has been doubled from 150 to 300.
• As well, the "low on Inventory space" warning appears with 50 slots remaining rather than 10, giving players much more advance warning.
• The Inventory now has a "Mark as Junk" feature. This allows you to mark items as Junk in the Pause Menu or at a Merchant, then use a single button to either sell all of them at once or melt them down into Omni-Gel, rather than one-by-one.
• Inventory items can now be sorted by Name and Level. Originally they could only be sorted by when they were acquired in the Inventory. Merchant's stock can also be sorted, including by Price.
• The Preview and Details functions have been combined into a single function.
• The Helmet Toggle has been moved from the Inventory menu to the Squad Menu, where you have a better view of a Squad Member's head.

Achievements / Trophies Changes

advertisement

• Achievements/Trophies are now unified across the trilogy.
• New Achievements have been added.
• Milestone Achievements are recorded across all three games, such as Kill 250 Enemies or Melee 100 Enemies.

Miscellaneous Changes

• The Main Menu has been overhauled, with both the planet and the moon being much larger. The lighting has also been changed so that cities are now visible on the planet, giving a stronger implication that the planet is Earth in the future.
• The Alliance Military Database visual sequences when setting up a profile have been completely redesigned.
• The visors on the helmets used by Shepard, Kaidan, Ashley and Liara are more transparent, to distract less from the facial performance.
• The starting point on Eden Prime has been changed so that the player faces forward to progress through the level. Originally, Shepard and their Squad started looking at the vista over the nearby cliff.
• In the Decryption / Electronics minigame, Hard puzzles have extra button presses, while Easy ones have less. This is derived from the PS3 port of the original release: on Xbox 360, all of these puzzles required five button presses no matter the difficulty.
  • That said, most encounters of this minigame require an extra button press compared to the PS3 port: 4 for Easy, 6 for Medium and 8 for Hard.
  • Additionally, if Shepard has enough Omni-Gel to force an object open, they can actually retry the Decryption/Hacking minigame as many times as they like.
• Emily Wong no longer disappears from the Wards if you don't talk to her before getting the OSD from Chora's Den.
• The Codex entry for Batarians is now given when Anderson reveals the details of his ill-fated Mission with Saren. In the original release, this Codex entry was added in the Bring Down the Sky DLC and unlocked when first encountering them on Asteroid X57, since that was the first time you met them.
• The Scan the Keepers Assignment now only requires you to scan 20 Keepers rather than all 21.
• The Geth Console in the mountains of Casbin can now be turned off more reliably. This doesn't affect the story or gameplay, but it meant the marker on the map couldn't be changed from a ? to an X to mark that it was done.
• Several walls, such as those in Port Hanshan on Noveria, have been removed for better navigation. These were originally placed to obscure parts of the larger levels from being rendered to aid performance, which is no longer a problem on the newer hardware.
• The cutscene that occurs in the middle of the final boss now occurs when they're down to 50% health, rather than 25% as in the original release.
• The game now saves one last time before the credits; in the original release, the last time the game is saved is at the start of the final boss. This is a problem because there is still one important choice to make at the end of the game, which wasn't remembered. In the Legendary Edition, this save is correctly remembered, meaning Mass Effect 2 no longer checks for it in the Prologue.

Up Next: Basics

Was this guide helpful?

In This Wiki Guide

The Little Mermaid - Official Teaser Trailer

Check out the teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid, the upcoming live-action reimagining of the animated musical classic. The film stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Noma Dumezweni as Queen Selina, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton's daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father's crown – in jeopardy. The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall, opens in theaters nationwide on May 26, 2023.

pottersirstee.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.ign.com/wikis/mass-effect/Legendary_Edition_Changes

Share this post