Mass Effect 1: Which Citadel NPCs Are Worth Ignoring

In the Mass Effect games, the Citadel effectively serves as the player’s hub world, a place they return to either find new quests or continue existing ones. The Citadel presents a large area to explore, with dozens of NPCs for Shepard to speak to over the course of the game, but not all of them are worth the time. Some of Mass Effect 1‘s Citadel quests have little to no impact on future games or give Shepard very few benefits, making them ultimately worth skipping over.

There are many interactive characters in the Citadel not associated with quests, existing only to distribute information about the world of the game. These are useful for filling up the Codex, so players aiming to 100%-complete Mass Effect will just want to talk to every possible NPC, completing their quest or conversation regardless of benefits. If hoping to get through the area quickly, players can instead focus on only the Citadel assignment side missions, determining which ones are worth doing from there and skipping any NPCs not associated with the chosen quests.

In order to compensate for the removal of Mass Effect 3‘s multiplayer in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, BioWare has confirmed choices from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 carry over into the third game, contributing to the player’s Galactic Readiness. With this in mind, players may want to consider completing every possible assignment in order to maximize their Galactic Readiness. But for those who aren’t too concerned about their score or want to explore only essential story content, here are the Citadel NPCs to ignore.

Mass Effect 1: Citadel NPCs You Can Safely Skip

Citadel Assignment: Family Matter

Rebekah and Michael are two skippable NPCs that can be found outside of Barla Von’s office. Shepard can overhear their conversation concerning Rebekah’s future child and the rare heart disease the baby could inherit, then help sway her to be either for or against gene therapy for the child. Although these NPCs can be found in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, they have no real story relevance, and the Paragon or Renegade points gained from this interaction are minimal. Add in the fact that Shepard doesn’t have any real reason to get involved in a personal argument, and these characters end up being relatively pointless.

Citadel Assignment: Presidium Prophet

The hanar preacher located on the Presidium leads to another tiny side quest that has Shepard resolve an argument for a small amount of Paragon or Renegade points. This has no impact on future games, so unless players are looking to learn a little about the hanar species early on, this character is worth skipping over.

Citadel Assignment: Our Own Worst Enemy

In the Upper Wards, players can find Charles Saracino, a NPC who is seeking support in an upcoming election. As part of the human-centric Terra Firma Party, Saracino’s stance on aliens can be seen more significantly in ME2‘s Cerberus, a much more prominent organization and story element. Other than sparking some companion dialogue, he ultimately isn’t worth either endorsing or condemning.

Players looking to fully explore and understand the world of Mass Effect will most likely find it worth their time to talk to every NPC. But for those who only want to get through worthwhile story content, these characters are better left alone.

About The Author

Ky Shinkle
(531 Articles Published)

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Ky Shinkle is a Senior Gaming Features Writer for Screen Rant as well as an overall avid gamer and writer. Her prior experience is primarily that of a narrative designer for video games, although her writing has covered all formats from screenplays and novels to stage scripts. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, when she isn’t writing she works on digital media projects and other types of fiction writing. Ky currently works out of Ohio and enjoys spending her free time either playing RPGs or running with her dog.

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