The Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is full of interesting alien species for Commander Shepard and company to meet and bring aboard the Normandy as a part of their crew. While mystery and wonder surround just about every alien race, none are as mysterious in the Mass Effect universe as the suit-toting Quarians. The most familiar Quarian throughout the series is Tali'Zorah vas Normandy as she, like Garrus, joins the Normandy at the start of the first game and is a part of Shepard's crew for the entire trilogy (as long as she doesn't die in Mass Effect 2's suicide mission).

Having Tali aboard the Normandy serves as an eye-opening window into Quarian life and culture, as much of her character arc throughout Mass Effect: Legendary Edition revolves around her pilgrimage and adjustments to leaving the Migrant Fleet. One aspect of Quarian life that she sheds light on is the nature of the suits that the Quarians seem to wear at all times. It is a rare sight to see a Quarian without their suit on, and as it turns out there's a very good reason why.

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The Fragile Quarian Immune System

Despite the many Quarians who are involved with the violent conflicts throughout the Mass Effect trilogy, their bodies are frailer than their outward appearance might suggest. While their sophisticated suits seem to give off the impression that the aliens are battle-hardened veterans, the suits aren't made for combat at all. Instead, they're made to keep the Quarians alive due to their fragile immune systems.

Quarian immune systems are poor because their homeworld had a lack of pathogens. When the Quarian homeworld was lost and they were forced to live as nomads in the Migrant Fleet, their immune systems didn't have the chance to adapt to the many viruses and bacteria that lived in the outside world, so they keep their flotilla of ships as sterile as possible. Unfortunately, because complete sterility is extremely difficult to achieve with the nature of salvaging old ships and adding them to the flotilla, Quarians rarely take their suits off even in the safety of the Migrant Fleet.

Suit wear and damage are to be expected, especially in the many combat scenarios in the Mass Effect universe, so when a Quarian is exposed it's sometimes a death sentence. If it's not, however, it means that the Quarian will need immediate care and medical attention. As the Quarians are technologically advanced and responsible for the creation of the Geth, the suits are able to compartmentalize themselves if a breach occurs, but while that might keep infection out for a while, it's not a permanent fix and still requires attention.

When Quarians Remove Their Suits

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As stated above, it's risky business for Quarians to remove their suits. While the many alien races in Mass Effect have adjusted to their new environments easily, the weak Quarian immune system makes that a difficult task. There certainly are times when each Quarian can remove their suits, but it never comes without the risk of major infection.

Physical acts of love and giving birth are the two main reasons why most Quarians will remove their suits, however, doing so requires the individual to take immune system boosters, supplements, and a healthy dose of antibiotics. Giving birth usually happens in designated "clean-rooms" aboard the Migrant Fleet. Most hospitals in the Mass Effect universe have clean-rooms, however they're a necessity for Quarian life as they also serve as potentially safe places for them to remove their suits.

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There are a few suitless Quarians in the Mass Effect universe, but they all suffer greatly for their lack of suit and end up dying from disease and exposure. Both characters are introduced and die in extended universe novels, so they have very little to do with the main Quarian stories in Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Additionally, because of the nature of their book-based introductions, they provide no further glimpses into what Quarians look like underneath their suits.

Beneath the Quarian Mask

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One of the big questions surrounding the alien race is what Quarian faces look like when their masks come off. When Shepard talks to and interacts with Tali aboard the Normandy, her general face outline can be seen and looks relatively comparable to human facial structure, but her eyes are the most noticeable part that peak through her face shield. While she never takes her mask off in front of Shepard throughout the trilogy, fans who romance Tali in both Mass Effect 2 and 3 are able to catch a glimpse at her face in the form of a photograph.

The controversial picture of Tali'Zorah's face was changed for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition from a stock photo of a model in a field, to a render of her on her homeworld with her mask off. She looks relatively similar to a human except for her glowing white eyes, which are seen in muted colors through her mask. She also has some interesting forehead markings coming from below her hood that imply the Quarians have further body differences from humans in places other than their faces, feet, and hands.

The recent face update gives a better insight into what Quarians look like beneath their masks because until the release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, the only image of a suitless Quarian was the stock photo model and the obscured Quarian face in Mass Effect 3's extended cut DLC. While not the most important detail in the trilogy, the stock photo implied that underneath the suits, Quarians were essentially human. The image was clearly something of an afterthought as it's an easily findable stock photo that features a model with human hands, clearly contradicting the three-digited appendages that Quarians have.

So far, that's all the information available about what's underneath the Quarian suits, but the upcoming Mass Effect 4 might shed more light on what life is like for the aliens. Mass Effect 4 might even give a proper look at Tali without her helmet for Shepard to see with their own eyes instead of simply through a photograph.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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