The story of Mass Effect predominately follows General Shepard and the fight against the Reapers. If you are new to the entire history of this intergalactic story, this guide will go into everything you need to know about each entry and how the plot follows from one game to another.
Shepard’s story takes place across the entire galaxy, but when exactly do the most crucial events in the Mass Effect franchise take place? This is everything you need to know about Mass Effect‘s timeline.
Understanding the entire story of Mass Effect
Going back to ancient times: Leviathan’s origins (BCE)
Before humanity became what it’s known to be today, the ancient species Leviathan ruled the Milky Way. The Leviathan were such an advanced species that they ruled dominions over all sapient species who in turn served them. While the exact date is unknown, the Leviathan eventually mastered space travel. As they moved across the galaxy, they were worshipped by their intelligence and ability to communicate across species.
With every planet they overruled, synthetic life was created by those who worshipped the Leviathan, which inevitably led to rebellion and civilizations getting wiped out. To counter this, the Leviathan created the Catalyst (or The Intelligence), an ancient AI that served to preserve organic life at all costs.
The Catalyst rebelled against the Leviathan after determining their creators were part of the organic and synthetic problem. The result was to destroy their own creators and surpass them. The Leviathan were destroyed, and the first Reaper (Harbinger) was created using the Leviathan’s DNA. The preservation of life was quickly twisted into a form of harvesting organisms, as seen with the Collectors.
While this is millions of years into the future since Leviathan’s origins, this species showed time and time again how synthetic life would rebel against their creators. The events of the first Mass Effect revolve around the Geth, who forced their creators the Quarians to flee from their home (1895 CE), and the Krogan, whose population is controlled by the Salarian by a deadly genetic disease (710 CE).
The Reaper’s genocide (Unknown BCE)
When the Reapers were created, their primary goal was to create synthetic hybrids of Reapers through the harvesting of organic life they found across the galaxy. Millions of species were wiped out but their bodies were used to create more Reapers to continue The Intelligence’s cycle. The Reapers remained on top, pushing the remaining Leviathan into hiding, and becoming so advanced they were feared across the galaxy.
The Reapers increased their grasp across the galaxies by creating mass relays, which sped up their process of harvesting species. Years into this timeline, the Protheans (another ancient species around 68,000 BCE) began their rebellion against the Reapers with the creation of the Citadel and the development of the Crucible.
The Reapers and Protheans fought across the galaxies until eventually being wiped out by the Reapers in 48,000 BCE where the Reapers then awaited their next harvester cycle.
The events of Mass Effect (2183)
All of the playable events in Mass Effect take place from the year 2183 when the first discovery is made by sentient lifeforms on the Leviathans and Reapers’ existence. Our journey as Shepard begins here, who is training to become a Spectre (Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Unit). The first showing of the Reapers is within the Eden Prime War against the Geth. The Spectre at the time, Saran Arterius attacks Shepard and Nihlus, killing Nihlus in the process.
Shepard is shown a vision of the Reaper’s upcoming harvesting cycle that leads him down an investigation after Saren. Shepard becomes the Normandy’s Commander, tasked to stop Saren from bringing back the Reapers.
Although Saren is the villain throughout the first game, his research into whether his actions are by his own free will or through the manipulative powers of the Reapers confirms Saren is forced to do the Reaper’s bidding by its indoctrination.
Saren’s plan is revealed when the Conduit is found by Shepard. The Conduit is a mass relay that teleports the Reapers directly to the Citadel. Shepard puts a stop to Saren but only to reveal the power of the Reapers once more as his body is reborn as a synthetic hybrid. The Reapers are stopped and the Citadel Council is changed forever.
What happened in Mass Effect 2? (2186)
The Citadel Council focus on the Geth but leaves Shepard and the Normandy open to attacks by an unidentified spaceship at the beginning of Mass Effect 2. Shepard and most of his crew are killed in the process. Shepard’s body is preserved and revived by the Illusive Man and Miranda Lawson who tasks him to investigate the human colony disappearances inside the Terminus Systems.
The Reapers are revealed as the assailants. Their harvesting cycle has already begun. The hybrid of Reapers are the Collectors in Mass Effect 2; a synthetic version of the Protheans.
The events of the second Mass Effect look primarily at completing loyalty missions that count towards who dies in the final mission. Each character has their own story related to the events of the first game, and asks you to complete their quests to increase your bond. These follow stories relating to the Krogan Genophage, the Quarians versus the Geth, and Illusive Man’s primary goal to preserve human life.
The game ends after the Normandy dives into the relay and infiltrates the Collectors’ base. The main decision of this entry is for Shepard to decide whether to destroy the base with human testing and hybrid experimentation, or hand it over to the Illusive Man. Regardless, the game ends with the lead antagonist revealed as Harbinger.
The war between Shepard’s story: Mass Effect Andromeda (2185)
Mass Effect Andromeda steps away from Commander Shepard and towards Ryder, who is tasked to find a new home away from the Reaper’s grasp. This goal was shared by multiple species (Human, Salarian, Krogan, Asari, and Turian) who embarked on the Andromeda Initiative. The journey took place on six separate Ark ships which crossed the galaxies and lasted a duration of 600 years. The journey was one-way and each Ark required a Pathfinder to guide each Ark to safety. This is where main character, Ryder steps in.
Ryder and his Ark members slept for 634 years and passed the events of Mass Effect 3. They awake from cryosleep inside Heleus Cluster. The result of their journey brings uncertainty towards Habitat 7 (the new world for humanity). Ryder surveys Habitat 7 only to conclude the planet is hostile, with danger around every corner, alongside advanced technology left behind by the sentient species, the Jardaan.
The Jardaan created the Remnant, which terraformed the entire Heleus Cluster (2400-2500 CE). Prior to the Ark’s arrival in the Cluster, the Jardaan were attacked and a dark energy called the Scourge formed across the system. The Jardaan abandoned Heleus Cluster leaving the result of the Scourge to devast the all Arks arriving via the Initiative. This is a summary of what happened to each Ark when they arrived in the Heleus Cluster:
- Nexus – A rebellion takes place against the Initiative against their leadership. Those who rebelled were exiled from the Ark.
- Hyperion (Ryder’s Ark) – Entered the Heleus Cluster with no damage from the Scourge or attacks from the Kett.
- Leusinia – Attacked by Kett.
- Natanus – Suffered structural damage from Scourge collison.
- Paarchero – Attacked by Kett.
Ryder discovers the Jaargon’s Remnant technology via their vaults and uses it to make “golden planets” habitable for the Initiative’s Arks. They find the Angara but face the main antagonist of the game, Archon, leader of the Kett. The Angara Jaal’s story reveals the Kett are in fact hybrid Angara, transformed by the Reapers; Archon is yet another cog in the Reaper’s machine.
The main mission for Ryder is to make the planets on Haleus System habitable for the Initiative, while putting a stop to Archon’s plans on controlling the Remnant.
The latest of Mass Effect‘s story: Mass Effect 3 (2186)
Mass Effect 3 resumes Shepard’s story just a few months after the events of the second game. The Reapers attack Earth where Shepard flees but is left with a recurring nightmare of a boy he was unable to save during the Reaper invasion.
The main plotline is that Cerberus (Illusive Man) want the discovered Prothean technology, the Crucible for themselves but Shepard is trying to stop them.
What follows is more political actions and war stemming from years of hatred across the main species that make a recurring appearance throughout Mass Effect (Turian, Krogan, Salarian, and Quarian). It revisits previous events that need resolving through Shepard’s decision. Each decision made has severe consequences depending on which you pick and often results in a beloved character’s death.
Every choice made dictates who will be with you in the final battle to save Earth. It is revealed the Illusive Man was working alongside the Reapers, who kept hold of hybrid Humans as a result of the Reaper’s attack in Mass Effect 2. Yet another cog, the Illusive Man can either be persuaded away from his indoctrination or killed by Shepard. The Catalyst makes its appearance in Mass Effect 3 in the form of the boy that haunted Shepard’s dreams.
The Catalyst offers Shepard multiple choices after gaining access to the Crucible:
- Destroy all synthetic life.
- Control the Reapers.
- Merge all synthetic and organic life into one.
- Do nothing and let the Reaper cycles continue.
Regardless of what is chosen, Mass Effect 3 ends with an unpredictable future where the Reapers are either destroyed, or Shepard is killed. Will Shepard return to the next Mass Effect? Who knows? But the story of the Reapers ends here.
