Mass Effect 3 romance guide

This game has Reapers in it?

Words: Matt Hughes on March 9, 2012

Bioware has done a brilliant job managing the ripple effects of your decisions over three massive games, and your romance choices are certainly no exception. Depending on who your Shepard was close to in the first two games, you can choose to continue a romantic relationship or start a new one. Even those who haven’t played ME1 or ME2 can find love in ME3, though sadly, two characters will be off the table: Tali and Garrus can only be romanced by a returning love interest.

Above: ME3 has romance options for EVERYONE

Loyalty missions are a thing of the past, but there are missable opportunities to make or break your chances at romance. The following guide outlines the important moments for every potential love interest in Mass Effect 3 to help you do things the right way on your first playthrough, likely so you can do things differently on your second. And of course, we’ve included video of the naught bits.

Disclaimer 1: While we made sure to avoid them when possible, this guide may contain minor spoilers. However, it does not contain any details regarding any of the game’s major branches, final missions, or potential endings.

Disclaimer 2: Don’t let any of our transparent personal preferences deter you from following your heart. We may prefer Liara’s head-tentacles to Ashley’s flowing locks, but we’ll still tell you what it takes to win them both (not simultaneously, of course) and aren’t here to judge you. After all, this is a romance guide for a video game.

Be sure to check our other Mass Effect 3 guides and walkthroughs:

Mass Effect 3 walkthrough

Mass Effect 3 weapons and armor guide

Mass Effect 3 planet scanning guide - war assets, artifacts, intel, and credits

...

Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Topics:

guide, Mass Effect 3 guide, Mass Effect 3 romance guide, PC, PS3, walkthrough, Xbox 360

28 comments

View as:
Newest first
Oldest first

Jayman33 - April 7, 2013 6:09 p.m.

Why are they giving us a demonstration of romance to Liara with female sheppard?? Smh. Stop playing around and do it the right way with MALE Sheppard. Geez always tryna show gay stuff. Enough already!
- Reply
- Report
Joshin69 - July 10, 2012 11:25 a.m.

Where the Miranda Lawson? She and i just did the horizontal shuffle. Guess you had to give her sugar in 2 but still strange to not see her in the guide.
- Reply
- Report
cary-allen - June 16, 2012 11:11 p.m.

I know Jack is hot but Tali is so much hotter inside that suit of hers. I mean once you get past the whole humanoid thing and the Arabian accent she is so much hotter. I even bought Mass Effect 2 and played through the whole thing to just to see what she looks like. Also in my opinion its not wise to buy and play Mass Effect 3 and then buy and play Mass Effect 2 because the graphics and a lot of other things are different. For Example the Normandy is designed one way in 2 but designed another way in 3. Plus the graphics are awesome in Mass Effect 3 but Mass Effect 2 has cruder graphics.
- Reply
- Report
Sjoeki - July 7, 2012 12:26 p.m.

Agree completely about Tali, she is the best choice if you ask me. IMO it might be a good idea to play the games in the order they came out, did you know there is a mass effect game? It was the first one and it was so new back then that they didn't even give it a number! That the normandy has a different design in 2 was even mentioned in 3 but that was because the very first normandy (the one where you start in in 2) is an alliance vessel and it gets destroid, after that cerberus builds a new one and they design it the way they think is best. At the start of 3 the alliance confiscated the normandy and they placed the armory back on the lowest deck where it was in the first place. And I don't really think it's fair to compair the graphics of a 2012 game to a 2009 game.
- Reply
- Report
Sjoeki - April 26, 2012 11:37 a.m.

You can keep Kelly Chambers (your yeoman from mass effect 2, who can now be found on the docks in the citadel) alive by telling her that she should change her name. If you do that and you don't go for another relationship you have some fun with her. And a question for the Ashley Romance, do I need her to back down at that stand off with Udina? Cause I didn't wait for that and just shot Udina in the chest, does that ruin the romance?
- Reply
- Report
Person5 - March 27, 2012 4:14 p.m.

I wanted to continue my romance with Ashley in ME3 but she's so bland once she joins my crew, I go to talk to her on my ship but I can never engage in conversation with her, I can't do this with most people actually, which is severely annoying
- Reply
- Report
Stegga - March 21, 2012 1:56 p.m.

Has anyone actually kept Kaidan alive all the way through? Of all the people I know not a single one kept him alive in ME1. Although for my second playthrough I really don't want Ashley as a squad member, she's such a moany bitch
- Reply
- Report
Wayne985 - April 26, 2013 8:43 a.m.

I did. He's fleshed out incredibly well in ME3 and makes for a better character than Ashley in the long run. I also like his combat style, which supplements my soldier class really well.
- Reply
- Report
Mishmonster - March 15, 2012 9:14 a.m.

They finally made a FemShep, but they still didn't improve the romance options for her. They're crap! Three females, some not human; one human male that possibly didn't make it thru ME1; and a Turian? WTF??
- Reply
- Report
dakingzmen - March 10, 2012 6:38 a.m.

ashley williams guide, 2nd paragraph: "Both new and imported female Shepards can romance Ashley, but actions you took in previous games can complicate things." I assume this is just a typo, or is it possible to romance ash as a femshep??
- Reply
- Report
Matt Hughes - March 10, 2012 8:29 a.m.

Oops, definitely a typo, thanks for the catch :)
- Reply
- Report
inkyspot - March 10, 2012 4:19 a.m.

I romanced Miranda Lawson, so I guess I don't get to bang before the final mission, (Sad) That dude who takes care of the ships in the cardo bay tried to romance me in the club (what gives?) Needless to say, while I was flatered my male Shepard kindly turned him down ... lol
- Reply
- Report
LEGOMatrix - March 10, 2012 4:14 a.m.

That image is hlarious! I wish your love interest got turned into a husk at some point in ME3 now, but you could still "complete the romance"!
- Reply
- Report
Al_Capwn - March 9, 2012 3:17 p.m.

i stayed home from work tuesday to punish liara it was anal sex night on the normandy
- Reply
- Report
agrizzl - March 28, 2012 5:28 p.m.

Man.. That is the funniest thing iv ever heard
- Reply
- Report
sutrebla15 - March 9, 2012 1:58 p.m.

No Miranda Lawson in this game? :(
- Reply
- Report
GhostbustTyler - March 9, 2012 2:33 p.m.

She's in the game and you can have a relationship with her, but it's a long distance one, and I'm not sure if there is a romance scene. All I know is that you need to have a ME 2 save where you have a relationship with her.
- Reply
- Report
SentientSquidMachine - March 10, 2012 11:40 a.m.

They made up for it with Ashely...visually, still wanted to punch her in the face a couple of times though. And Jack's hot now.
- Reply
- Report
majorsuave - March 11, 2012 11:22 a.m.

Mini spoiler about Jack ------ Jack's hot as hell now... When I talked to her at Grissom Academy she said "You want to pin me against the wall of the cargo bay again?" Which my Carlos Sheppard did in ME2 before romancing Tali.
- Reply
- Report