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The 10 Best Mass Effect 3 Mods

Published

1 year ago

July 26, 2023

What are the best Mass Effect 3 mods?

Mass Effect 3 serves as the end of the saga of Commander Shepard, and while it was relatively well-received, there is still room for improvement.

No matter what your grievances about the game are, there are sure to be mods that make the changes you want.

Today, we’re looking at the best Mass Effect 3 mods on the Nexus, particularly the ones that improve the overall gameplay experience.

The 10 Best Mass Effect 3 Mods

There is no shortage of mods for Mass Effect 3 on the Nexus, but we’ve been able to sort them to find the ones truly worth downloading.

We’ve selected mods based on their popularity, number of downloads, and how significant their impact on the vanilla game is.

So, before you pick your favorite color ending, enjoy reading our list of the 10 best Mass Effect 3 mods:

10. EGM – Expanded Galaxy Mod

Kicking off our list, we have EGM – Expanded Galaxy Mod, which really does a lot to flesh out the world of Mass Effect 3.

This mod does a number of things, including improving the galaxy map so that all locations from the series are open and clusters change as the Reapers advance.

On this improved map, you can find 17 new assignments where you can make paragon or renegade choices while earning new war assets.

Speaking of war assets, now they’re not just a static number. Instead, you can see which troops you’re earning and losing as the conflict goes on.

If that wasn’t enough, you can also customize the Normandy by picking senior crew members and recruiting new marines, engineers, and medics.

The Normandy can also be upgraded like in Mass Effect 2, and the upgrades actually have a real impact on gameplay!

Now, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything this mod covers, so be prepared for a completely unique experience!

ME3 may have been one of the best Xbox 360 games when it first debuted, but this mod easily makes it a must-play on PC.

9. Enhanced DLC Integration

The DLC in Mass Effect 3 is some of the best in the entire series, and this mod puts it all together in a very cohesive way.

Now, instead of giving you the option to start DLC missions pretty much whenever you want, this mod makes it so they fit into the main narrative.

Everything this mod does is quite impressive, and it really goes the extra mile to make each DLC fit into the story and lore.

For example, the Leviathan DLC will now only trigger after the mission on Thesia, but it will be hinted at before through emails.

Likewise, the Omega DLC will only trigger after Tuchanka and once all of Aria’s quests on the Citadel are complete, and Shepard agrees to help her retake the station.

However, one major change is that the Citadel DLC is set up to take place after the end of the game, where a prompt states that the Stargazer has another story to tell.

What we really love about this mod is that it makes informed changes based on context and what makes sense in the story.

It also adds back a ton of cut content, especially when it comes to the Omega DLC, where Aria has triple her vanilla dialogue.

Moreover, it pairs well with the Unofficial Mass Effect 3 Patch by the same mod creator, which restores even more content and fixes over 100 bugs.

We seriously can’t play without this combo anymore, and if you haven’t tried either of these mods, you’re really missing out!

8. Bonus Power Packs

Mass Effect multiplayer wasn’t extremely popular, but it did let fans play around with some unique powers and abilities that weren’t available in single-player.

Unfortunately, Bioware never released an update to bring these powers to the single-player story, so modder AVPen created this mod!

There are two packs of this mod to choose from, each of which provides 5 new powers based on the abilities found in multiplayer.

Pack 1 includes ballistic blades, biotic sphere, smash, arc grenades, and the submission net, all of which are incredibly fun.

Meanwhile, Pack 2 contains the annihilation field, multi-frag grenades, biotic slash, Geth turret, and tactical scan abilities.

Once installed, these abilities will become available when Shepard boards the Normandy, but you do have to create another manual save to make them permanent.

All of the abilities will be available for purchase on the Medbay menu, and they can all be leveled up to become more effective.

This mod makes Mass Effect 3 much more like the best PS5 fighting games, and nothing beats slapping a Cerberus agent with an annihilation field!

7. Project Variety

This mod is a major overhaul of Mass Effect 3, and it does a ton of things that make the game more enjoyable.

Not only does it fix several bugs, but it also restores some cut content that makes the story feel more fleshed out.

However, where this mod really shines is in the numerous NPCs it adds to central hubs to make the world actually feel alive.

Hundreds of new NPCs of all species have been added to the Citadel alone, including female Turians, which we never see outside of Nyreen on Omega.

Basically, every part of the game has been tweaked with this mod, and the list of everything it does is 40 pages long!

Using this mod makes ME3 feel like one of the best open-world PS5 games with a much more diverse and thriving world.

Project Variety is, by far, one of the biggest content mods for Mass Effect 3, and we love that it really makes the galaxy feel like a much larger place!

6. Extended Final Anderson Conversation

Every Mass Effect fan loves Captain Anderson. He was there from the very beginning, and he’s there for us at the very end.

However, in the vanilla game, the final conversation you get to have with him is significantly shortened, which, we feel, is a real shame.

Fortunately, this mod restores all of the cut dialogue during this conversation so that Anderson can get the send-off he deserves.

While this doesn’t change how the game plays out at all, we love this mod because it gives us more time with one of the most popular video game characters in the series.

If you love Anderson as much as we do, this is a must-have mod that makes a bitter-sweet moment last just a bit longer.

5. ENB Or Reshade With SweetFX

This mod is all about making ME3 look its best by emphasizing realistic colors and definition to provide a cleaner, sharper picture.

There are two different options to choose from with this mod, the ENB with SweetFX version and the Reshade with SweetFX version.

Either of these options makes the game look incredible, though the ENB does sometimes cause a drop in FPS.

However, if you have a powerful PC, the EMB with SweetFX should run with little trouble, though less powerful computers can benefit from the simple Reshade.

We love that this mod brings out more details in the environment and characters by increasing the sharpness and color contrast.

You really can’t go wrong with either version of this mod, especially if you want to improve the appearance of Mass Effect 3!

4. Female Texurepocaalypse

Mass Effect 3 is a gorgeous game, but like the best Fallout games, sometimes the characters end up looking a bit wonky.

Custom Commander Shepards, in particular, have a bad tendency to look much worse than their default counterparts!

Female Texurepocaalypse solves this issue by improving the appearance of custom Femsheps and a majority of female NPCs.

It does this by changing a few complexions, textures, and makeup masks to make them look less harsh and more realistic.

We love that this mod makes the custom female Shepard look a little less like she’s made of clay and a bit more like a real person.

If you’re someone who prefers playing Femshep, you’re not going to want to pass up this great mod!

3. Alliance Warpack

The Alliance is one of the most powerful military organizations in the galaxy, but unfortunately, they don’t really toss any help toward Commander Shepard!

This mod aims to change that by providing 8 new armor options for Ashley, Kaidan, and James, so they can stop wearing the bare basics.

Both Ashely and Kaiden get three outfits to choose from each, including their own unique Spectre armor.

James gets a new prototype armor that looks absolutely badass, and even EDI gets new assault armor to make her look like she’s actually ready for combat.

We’re not going to lie; since downloading this mod, we’ve been taking EDI out on missions a lot more because she looks awesome.

With this mod, you can finally get the Alliance brand support your companions need so that they’re not stuck in their default outfits!

2. Intuitive Controls Mod

ME3 is one of the best PS3 games, and it was clearly designed with console play in mind as opposed to PC.

The PC controls for Mass Effect 3 often leave a lot to be desired, which is why N1ftucal created this mod, which makes them feel more intuitive.

The biggest change this mod makes is removing conflicting controls to help make it easier to avoid unwanted actions.

It also streamlines the controls for entering and exiting cover, eliminating the delay that can cause players to get shot.

Moreover, this mod allows you to customize all of the keybindings, so you can create your own unique layout if you want.

The Intuitive Controls mod makes playing ME3 on the PC a lot smoother, and it really gives you more accurate control over Commander Shepard.

While the vanilla controls are by no means bad, this mod definitely gives them the much-needed tweaking we’ve been waiting for!

1. JohnP’s Alternate MEHEM

Taking our number one spot is an incredible mod that completely remakes the ending of Mass Effect 3.

If there is one thing that most fans can agree on, it’s that the ending is a major letdown that really needs to be remade.

Thankfully, that’s exactly what the Mass Effect Happ Ending Mod (MEHEM) does, and we can’t play without it.

With this mod, there is a whole new ending scene where Joker keeps the Normandy around to rescue Shepard, culminating in a nice reunion.

This alternative version also allows you to choose to remove the weird catalyst child altogether or keep it around for the default three-color choice ending.

What we really love about this mod is that, with high enough EMS, there is a whole sequence that shows Shepard being rescued.

The Normandy also doesn’t randomly crash land, and instead, there is a lovely scene with Shep memorializing David Anderson.

If you have an LI, you also get a touching moment with them, and overall, this really is what the ending should have been all along.

Seriously, Bioware should take note for Mass Effect 5, because these simple changes really make a huge difference!

Summary

We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of the 10 best Mass Effect 3 mods and found some you haven’t tried out yet!

ME3 is one of the greatest games of all time, and with the release of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, there has never been a better time to replay it.

While it unquestionably has its flaws, these mods, especially JohnP’s Alternate MEHEM, help fix a majority of the biggest issues!

Here’s a quick recap of the 10 best Mass Effect 3 mods: