Do Backgrounds Matter in Mass Effect? (Sole Survivor vs War Hero vs Ruthless)

In this video, we’ll be taking a look at the differences between the psychological profiles (aka reputation) in the Mass Effect Trilogy. These backgrounds are Sole Survivor, War Hero and Ruthless. I’ll show you how these backgrounds impact gameplay and unique dialogue.

THE FULL STORY OF AKUZE
   • Sole Survivor: The FULL STORY of AKUZ...  

EARTHBORN MISSION - SHEPARD USED TO BE A GANGSTA
   • Shepard Used to Be a Gangsta! (Earthb...  

COLONIST MISSION - THE MOST HEARTBREAKING QUEST IN MASS EFFECT
   • The Most Heartbreaking Quest in Mass ...  

0:00 Introduction
1:27 Overview of All Reputations
4:01 NPC Comments on Shepard's Reputation
5:39 Ruthless Unique Dialogue (UNC: Major Kyle)
7:07 War Hero Unique Dialogue (UNC: Espionage Probe)
8:45 Sole Survivor Unique Dialogue (UNC: Dead Scientists)
10:25 Reputation Dialogue in Mass Effect 2 & 3

During character creation, there are two different types of backgrounds you will select for your character - pre-service history and psychological profile. The pre-service histories - Earthborn, Colonist and Spacer - determine what happened to Shepard before he or she joined the Alliance Military. We won’t be talking about those particular backgrounds in this video.

Today we’re focusing on the psychological profiles, which are Sole Survivor, War Hero and Ruthless. These determine Shepard’s claim to fame in the military as well as the leadership style for the Commander.

If you’re expecting the psychological profiles to have a massive impact on the game, you’re going to be disappointed. They are mostly meant for roleplaying and character building purposes. That being said, there are some minor differences in morality scores, as well as some unique dialogue that is worth exploring.

Each psychological profile grants you a bonus to your morality score at the beginning of the game. Sole Survivors are granted an equal amount of paragon and renegade points, making them good middle of the road characters who can lean either way. War Heroes get a boost to paragon points and Ruthless ones get a renegade bonus.