The originalMass Effect game trilogy features Commander Shepard as its star, the hero of the human Systems Alliance navy and the first-ever human Spectre. Players can customize many details about Commander Shepard, from the Commander's sex to Shepard's combat style and even their personality. As far as personality goes, paragon and renegade are the two main options.
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Commander Shepard can get the job done either way, but players might have a distinct preference between paragon and renegade, and the story will unfold in startling ways depending on which the player chooses. Some differences are merely aesthetic during conversations, while others can change the course of history, all based on how many actions Shepard takes that fall more on the side of paragon or renegade and how it ultimately shapes his/her personality.
10 Renegade Shepard Worsens Humanity's Image In The Eyes Of Aliens
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As of the 2180s, humanity is still a newcomer on the galactic stage, and well-established alien civilizations such as the Turian people, the Asari republics, and others are carefully appraising this new species. As a war hero and Spectre, Shepard is an unofficial ambassador of the entire Systems Alliance.
Paragon Shepard will aim for cooperation and trust with aliens, even the tough Turians, while renegade Shepard has a "humanity first" approach and antagonizes people in the news cycle, such as slugging a Westerlund News reporter. More than a few alien eyebrows will be raised at all this.
9 Paragon Shepard Is More Popular Than Renegade Shepard
Players can choose paragon or renegade as they please, and they can easily play the trilogy more than once to explore the story through each lens. According to some official poll taken a few years ago, though, paragon Shepard triumphed over renegade Shepard.
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A substantial percentage of Mass Effect players favor paragon Shepard, perhaps because they found renegade Shepard's antagonism repulsive or they felt that renegade Shepard was doing more harm than good in the lore. It seems that having a stellar personality counts for a lot, even with the galaxy at war.
8 Renegade Shepard Has More One-Liners
Everyone enjoys quippy one-liners, and in the Mass Effect games, it's often Joker the pilot who delivers them— especially in the second and third installments. However, renegade Shepard is also packing some barbed dialogue, setting them apart from the paragon version.
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Both paragon and renegade Shepards have interesting things to say, but it's renegade Shepard who has some of the most memorable (and vicious) dialogue in the entire game, such as saying "I'll cut your balls off and sell them to a Krogan!" to intimidate a local crime lord during an interrogation.
7 Paragon Shepard Will Save The Krogan Race
During the events of Mass Effect 3, the Salarian scientist Mordin Solus will engineer a genophage cure with Urdnot Wrex acting as a sponsor of sorts, and it's up to Shepard to finish the job. However, the Salarian dalatrass named Linron makes an offer that only renegade Shepard will accept.
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Renegade Shepard will sabotage the genophage and thus doom the Krogan race to extinction, and Wrex will actually confront Shepard over this. Paragon Shepard will actually deliver the cure, and thus save the Krogan for real (and earn Wrex's eternal gratitude).
6 Renegade Shepard Will Appeal More To Garrus, Grunt & Javik
The crewmates aboard the Normandy will favor either paragon or renegade Shepard, based on their own personalities and needs. Shepard can't appeal to them all, but some of the toughest squadmates, including Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Grunt, and Javik the Prothean, will all like renegade Shepard.
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Paragon Shepard will bore these characters or frustrate them, while renegade Shepard will enable and validate these characters and drive them to great extremes. Grunt loves the tough talk of renegade Shepard, and Garrus appreciates the "get results at any cost" viewpoint that renegade Shepard has.
5 Paragon Shepard Will Spare Fist's Life
Aboard the great Citadel, a minor crime lord name Fist got himself involved with Saren the rogue Spectre, the Shadow Broker, and Tali'Zorah. He tried to play every side to get ahead, but ended up paying the price. Before long, Shepard had him cornered at gunpoint, but how should this be resolved?
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Renegade Shepard will simply shoot and kill Fist out of spite, and to tie up a loose end. Meanwhile, paragon Shepard will spare his life, since paragon Shepard doesn't believe in needless killing. If spared, Fist will appear again in the Afterlife nightclub in Mass Effect 2, still bitter about the loss of his criminal empire. It should be noted that if Urdnot Wrex is in the party, then he will shoot and kill Fist, no matter Shepard's preference.
4 Renegade Shepard Has A Scary Face
When Mass Effect 2 launched, Commander Shepard was brought back to life with cutting-edge medical technology, but the Commander will get a few facial scars. Paragon Shepard will have these scars heal over time, but in renegade Shepard's case, the scars only deepen.
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In fact, renegade Shepard's scars will start glowing as though molten lava was under the surface, and Shepard's eyes will glow red, Terminator-style. It's a terrifying face, though characters don't often comment on it aside from Dr. Chakwas.
3 Paragon Shepard Can Appeal To Saren's Good Side
During the final battle of Mass Effect, Commander Shepard will face the game's archvillain once again: Saren Arterius. Saren is totally the puppet of Sovereign the Reaper, and both renegade and paragon Shepard can talk Saren into taking his own life to escape Sovereign's grasp.
However, paragon Shepard can appeal to Saren's good side, saying how there is still good in Saren and that he can help save the galaxy by destroying himself as Sovereign's puppet, for the sake of others. Given how brutal and cold Saren's personality is in the books and other lore, it's remarkable that paragon Shepard can appeal to Saren's tiny good side.
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2 Renegade Shepard Kills Off Ronald Taylor
Jacob Taylor was in for a shock when he and Shepard visited the crash site of his father's spaceship, the Hugo Gernsback. Ronald Taylor and his crew didn't die; they were still alive as rugged survivors, and Ronald had taken command of the survivors as a selfish king of sorts. Jacob was horrified, to say the least.
Paragon Shepard will make sure Ronald ends up in an Alliance prison, but renegade Shepard will take a more hands-on approach. Renegade Shepard hands Ronald a pistol with one charge, and Ronald follows the wordless cue to shoot himself before the violent survivors can mob their fallen king and tear him apart.
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1 Paragon Shepard Is More Skeptical Of Cerberus Than Renegade Shepard
During the events of Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard has no choice but to team up with the Cerberus organization to take on the Collector threat, but Shepard's view on Cerberus is up to the player. Renegade Shepard will even talk up Cerberus or make excuses for the organization, but paragon Shepard won't.
Instead, paragon Shepard will be highly cautious around Cerberus and keep the Illusive Man at arm's length during the entire game, not to mention criticize the organization's extreme methods and borderline xenophobia. Paragon Shepard is ready for Cerberus to become a real problem at any time, and paragon Shepard is proven right when Cerberus sides with the Reapers during Mass Effect 3.
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