Ever since Bioware announced that they were remastering the original Mass Effect trilogy, people were excited. The hype quickly grew as more and more footage of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition was released. However, most of the pre-release screenshots and trailers focused on how beautiful the new versions looked. Bioware wasn't too generous when it came to gameplay footage.
So, fans started to question what the developers would do to alter how each game plays. Now that the Legendary Edition is out, it's clear that they've made a few significant improvements. The first game needed a lot of work, so most of the changes impact that title. But here are the biggest alterations that Bioware has made across the entire remaster.
10 Sprinting Outside Of Combat (Mass Effect 1)
Throughout the first Mass Effect game, Shepard spends plenty of time on the Citadel, going from place to place. Traversing the space station could be quite tiresome because, inexplicably, the highly trained Spectre couldn't run.
Thankfully, in the Legendary Edition, Bioware improved movement outside of combat by adding a sprint function. Unfortunately, the developers also decided to add a quickly depleting fatigue bar, meaning the Commander can only run for a few seconds.
9 Improved Aiming (Mass Effect 1)
One of the most easily noticeable changes Bioware made to the first game is the aiming system. The crosshair in the Legendary Edition is much tighter, making hitting specific spots a lot easier. Plus, when players aim down sights, the camera zooms much more, giving them a better chance of seeing long-range targets.
Although, the sniper scope might be the most crowd-pleasing change when it comes to aiming. Sniping in the original game was difficult because there was an unreasonable amount of sway on the rifle; it's much steadier now for all classes.
8 More Ammo (Mass Effect 2 And 3)
During the first Mass Effect game, every gun worked on a cooldown system, so there was no need for ammunition. The sequel, however, added thermal clips, which meant players had to start reloading, but the benefit was that weapons couldn't overheat.
Yet, in both the second and third games, there wasn't always enough ammo laying around. The lack of clips was particularly problematic on higher difficulties when enemies were tougher to take down. However, there are a lot more ammo drops in the Legendary Edition.
7 Immunity Power No Longer Lasts Forever (Mass Effect 1)
An alteration to one power doesn't sound like a major change, but when the ability in question is Mass Effect 1's Immunity, it's significant. So many enemies in the original version of the first game could use Immunity. And the power gave them a defensive boost until the end of the fight.
The ability made Insanity runs so much harder as it turned typical enemies into bullet sponges. Thankfully, Bioware has made Immunity a lot more reasonable in the Legendary Edition as it only lasts for a short time.
6 Separate Instructions For Squadmates (Mass Effect 1)
Throughout the trilogy, Shepard teams up with a litany of great companions. And the Commander is so well-respected that all of the fierce warriors are willing to listen to his orders. Unfortunately, squad commands weren't particularly good in the original version of the first game.
Players weren't able to command their troops separately, which sometimes created problems. For instance, players could order their teammates to get into a specific cover, and both allies would try to go to the exact same position, getting in each other's way in the process. The Legendary Edition allows Shepard to give each companion individual orders.
5 Altered Battlefields (All Games)
A wonderful aspect of Mass Effect that fans often overlook is the environment and combat areas. So many battles in the series are enhanced because of where they take place.
And not only do the battlefields look nice, they typically have interesting cover placements and different levels to cater to both long and short-range tactics. The remaster alters some of the games' classic combat areas, most notably the boss room on Noveria. Thankfully, none of the changes hamper the well-designed battlegrounds.
4 Different Weapon Firing Modes (Mass Effect 1)
Weapons are abundant in the original Mass Effect game. Although, in the original iteration of the title, each type of gun only differed in look and stats alone. A Raikou pistol, for instance, felt no different to fire than an Edge sidearm.
For the Legendary Edition, though, Bioware has given guns specific firing modes. From three-round bursts to semi-automatics, weapons shoot in various distinct ways. Bioware goes further in regards to shotguns as, along with firing modes, there are also a few different bullet types to add an extra layer of uniqueness to each boomstick.
3 The Addition Of Photo Mode (All Games)
In recent years, Photo Mode has become a beloved part of the video game industry. The system allows players to take beautiful or creative pictures within a game world. When Bioware released the original Mass Effect trilogy, Photo Mode had not yet become widely popular.
The developers decided to include the mode for the remaster, though. With how beautiful the Legendary Edition looks, a way to capture the prettiness is very welcome. And there are plenty of options in the mode to create some unique images.
2 Specialized Weapon Training Isn't As Restrictive (Mass Effect 1)
During the first Mass Effect game, every class of Shepard carried an assault rifle, pistol, shotgun, and sniper. The large arsenal should've meant players had plenty of options in firefights, but they didn't. Weapons the Commander wasn't specially trained in were pretty much unusable because of the giant crosshair that accompanied them.
The Legendary Edition has now changed the first game, so weapons work the same regardless of what class of Shepard is holding them. Fans could argue it takes away some of the individualism of each class by allowing everyone to use each firearm. However, it's nice that players don't have to be a Soldier to use an assault rifle.
1 The Many Changes To The Mako (Mass Effect 1)
No feature in the original Mass Effect title received as much fan scorn as the dreaded Mako. The land terrain vehicle was slow, awkward to control, and tended to flip through the air multiple times after a slight bump. It seems Bioware spent significant time trying to make the vehicle better for the Legendary Edition.
While still not the smoothest thing to drive in video game history, the Mako is still better than before. The handling is much improved, as the vehicle doesn't bounce around as much, and sharp turns are easier to perform. Plus, LE's version of the Mako is sturdier than the original because its shields recover much quicker, so it's harder to destroy. Overall, the changes to the tank are some of the biggest alterations Bioware made to the entire remaster.