Mass Effect Legendary Edition is here, bringing back the Mass Effect trilogy with better graphics, slightly tweaked gameplay and modernised camera angles. It’s a great way of revisiting one of the best Sci-fi RPGs in gaming history or falling into it for the first time. For better or worse, the gameplay is mostly unchanged, letting you experience the games as they were designed.
If you don’t feel like slogging through dated mechanics or just want something exciting after pouring hours into the trilogy when they originally came out, you might want to try some Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods.
The game is still in its infancy and the modding tools that enabled modders to change everything from armour textures to the entirety of Mass Effect 3’s ending haven’t arrived yet. That hasn’t stopped people from making mods that change the game into a more entertaining incarnation. So, here are 7 Mass Effect mods that will give you something fun to enjoy.
Our Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mods List
Utility Mods:
- Trilogy Save Editor
- Better Camera
- LEME1 Autosave and QOL Console Hack
- Manual - How To Edit Coalesced_XX.bin
Gameplay Mods:
- Spectre-A Gameplay Rework
- ME2 LE Combat Remastered
- ME3LE Coalesced Tweaks and Armor Appearances
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Utility Mods
1. Trilogy Save Editor by Karlitos
This is what the save editor looks like
One of the key features of the Mass Effect Trilogy are the consequences that come with many of your decisions. These consequences could be as simple as getting you a little more cash up to the fate of your team. With Mass Effect 3’s ending being changed to be influenced solely by your decisions and not how much you play Multiplayer, these decisions slowly build up to eventually decide the fate of the galaxy.
You might also not feel like sitting through the same dreary side quests you saw Shepard mumble through over a decade ago or you might have accidentally failed to get enough Paragon or Renegade points to get someone to listen to you.
At that point, you might decide to reject reality and substitute your own with a save editor. Karlitos’ Trilogy Save Editor is pretty much the only save editor out right now. While not as powerful as the old Gibbed Save Editor, it does pretty much all of the most important things. With it you can alter story flags, effectively making sure that the game is following the plot you intended, and alter your own inventory, making sure that you have as much money as you think you deserve.
It’s easiest to understand the Save Editor after you’ve beaten the trilogy as it’s hard to know the ramifications of each decision on your first playthrough.
2. Better Camera by Jade
Mass Effect 1 at 100 FOV | Jade/Mass Effect Legendary Edition Nexus
Field of View is a criminally underlooked setting that’s seen more consideration in recent years. Some people might suffer from simulation sickness if the FOV isn’t what they need it to be. Others simply find it unpleasant to use an FOV below what they are used to. Unfortunately, without this Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mod, it’s not possible to change the FOV in any of the games as a consequence of their age.
While a little clunky, this mod will allow you to set the camera to 80, 90 and 100 FOV in any of the games in the trilogy, giving a degree of choice to players.
3. LEME1 Autosave and QOL console hacks by Tromador
Something incredibly frustrating about the first Mass Effect is the lack of an autosave. You could spend half an hour exploring a planet and lose it all just because you forgot to quicksave before accidentally stumbling across a Thresher Maw. This mod changes that, making the game save periodically and letting you avoid the frustration that usually follows such mistakes.
It also comes with some handy cheats that let you be a bit more experimental than usual. While you could do the same with a save editor, you’ll only need to use hotkeys with this, which is a huge bonus.
4. Manual - How To Edit Coalesced_XX.bin by DukeOfKiewit
This isn’t a mod. It’s an incredibly useful guide to help you edit the file that all the mods change for Mass Effects 1 and 2. Due to the nature of Mass Effect’s modding, you can’t lead two mods at once. If you want to mix them, you’ll need to follow the instructions in the guide to apply the changes. It does take quite a few steps and with better, Bioware-supported, modding tools on the horizon, perhaps it would be best to wait for those instead of attempting a fully-modded playthrough now.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition Gameplay mods
5. Spectre-A Gameplay Rework by ModelsOfBots
Mass Effect’s gameplay definitely shows its age. Honestly, if the story wasn’t so good, using a save editor to simulate playing the game might be preferable to slogging through it. Fortunately, this Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mod gets around it by tweaking weapon performance.
Broadly speaking, this mod works to change gunplay to be more mobile by making Shepard hipfire with greater accuracy, removes movement penalties for aiming and generally tightens weapon spread. At the same time, it gives squadmates more health while increasing enemy damage. In gameplay, fights are more reliant on skill as you’ll be able to out-aim deadlier enemies and can babysit your squadmates a little less.
It comes with some small tweaks like infinite sprint, letting you get about quicker, and gives you a bigger inventory which is always welcome.
6. ME2 LE Combat Remastered by Eudaimonium
Eudaimonim/Mass Effect Legendary Edition Nexus
While Mass Effect 2’s gameplay isn’t as clunky as its predecessor, having the gameplay changed makes playthroughs a little more exciting. This mod goes about it by rebalancing all the weapons to take on new, distinct identities while changing enemy behavior.
It works really well. For example, the M3 Predator, the first weapon you get, is transformed into a low-damage, high-capacity weapon that has its niche in closer distances than the M6 Carnifex, which typically serves as a direct upgrade of the weapon. It also allows all classes to bring Assault Rifles while merging hand cannons and SMGs in the same slot. It lets classes that don’t typically get to use larger guns have more fun in combat when their abilities are on cooldown.
Enemies suffer from movement penalties while getting benefits from setting up and aiming. It allows Shepard to take a few more risks in combat by being a little safer when dashing from cover to cover while punishing them for being too stationary and letting enemies pin them down.
Small tweaks like increasing the Normandy’s fuel capacity help make the mod change more than just the basic elements of the mod.
7. ME3LE Coalesced Tweaks and Armor Appearances Combined by Skellin
Skellin/Mass Effect Legendary Edition Nexus
While not as combat focused as ME2 LE Combat Remastered, this mod tweaks most aspects of Mass Effect 3’s gameplay while adding some content. For the most part, it eases much of the game’s exploration content by giving the Normandy a longer range while slowing down Reapers and making them less observant. It also gives Shepard infinite sprint to speed up moving from one spot to another.
On the combat side, weapons are reworked though much of the changes focus on Squadmates being able to deal more damage and being more aggressive in combat by spending less time in cover. Biotic combos are incentivised by having a wider range and being able to penetrate cover.
It’s also combined with another mod, created by the Nexus user Mistyvail, to add more armour customisation options from past games and NPCs for Shepard to wear.
Overall, this mod streamlines Mass Effect 3 to a more enjoyable experience
Are these Mass Effect Legendary Edition Mods worth installing?
All of these mods will change the game in one way or another so if you just need some utility mods to ease your way through a well-worn road or if you need a combat mod to shake up the game as a whole, you’re set. The mods are light enough to add just a bit of spice to the games without any particularly dramatic changes.
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