Mass Effect: How to Avoid Romancing Squadmates

It can be remarkably easy for squadmates in Mass Effect to get the wrong idea, just because Shepard chooses Paragon dialogue options. Based on these kinder dialogue choices, Shepard can inadvertently begin flirting and even start a relationship with a squadmate without realizing it. Only three squadmates are romanceable in Mass Effect: Kaidan Alenko for a female Shepard, Ashley Williams for a male Shepard, and Liara T’Soni for both male and female Shepard. None of these squadmates can join Shepard on their mission in Mass Effect2, but if Shepard begins a romance with one of them, it can create awkward situations later, especially if Shepard wants to move on.

There are many reasons Shepard may not want to begin a romance with one of these characters. They may simply not be interested, may not care for a romantic subplot in general, or may be waiting for their preferred squadmate romance in the sequels like Miranda, Tali, or Garrus. Whatever the reason, Shepard can use specific dialogue options when conversing with Kaidan, Ashley, or Liara to express their lack of interest and shut down the romantic arcs before they begin. Here’s how to avoid romancing Kaidan, Ashley, and Liara in Mass Effect.

How to Avoid Romancing Kaidan, Ashley, and Liara in Mass Effect

There are a few ways to avoid romance in Mass Effect. The easiest method is to choose more aggressive dialogue options, often from the first few conversations they have with their squadmates between missions. These tend to be the bottom right choices. The necessary dialogue options are:

• Ashley: First conversation after the hearing; When she expresses concerns about recruiting Wrex and/or Garrus, choose the middle-left option, You’re out of line.
• Kaidan: First conversation after the hearing; When he apologizes for getting informal, choose the bottom-right option, Just be ready.
• Liara: Second conversation after rescue; When she asks if there is something between them, choose the middle-right option, I just want to be friends.

Players can also avoid romance by refusing to talk to Liara and either Kaidan or Ashley at all during the downtime between missions. While this causes them to miss some backstory for each character, it will prevent a romance from triggering.

If Shepard accidentally triggers a romance with Kaidan or Ashley, they can also get out of it by leaving their accidental lover on Virmire. Because one of them always must be left behind anyway, this can be one solution, if not a rather dark one.

If Shepard can’t manage to avoid an accidental romance over the course of Mass Effect, there are a few chances to break things off before the endgame. When the Normandy is grounded, the romanced squadmate will come to comfort Shepard. Shepard can dismiss them during this conversation using the bottom-right dialogue options. If that doesn’t work, ahead of the mission on Ilos, the squadmate Shepard romanced will visit them in the captain’s cabin. During this conversation, Shepard can once more reject them using the bottom-right conversation option to avoid sharing an intimate night and committing to the relationship.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition launches May 14, 2021 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with forward compatibility for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

About The Author