For many fans, Mass Effect's characters are what makes this franchise so special. The bread and butter of Mass Effect is the game's assortment of iconic squadmates. Everybody knows and loves Mordin, Garrus and Tali as some of the game's most memorable squadmates. What makes these squadmates so memorable is their relatability, their character journey, loyalty to the player character, and intriguing backstory.

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Out of the twenty-five squadmates across the Mass Effect franchise (excluding the doomed Jenkins and a handful of other temporary ones), there is a sizeable fraction that just did not quite live up to their potential. All these squadmates certainly had positive qualities, but either circumstance or character faults kept them from reaching true greatness.

10 Ashley Is Victim To (And A Perpetuator Of) Prejudice

ashley mass effect saluting

When gamers initially get to know Ashley Williams in the first Mass Effect game, she is a tad insufferable. She is openly racist towards aliens, spouts poetry at odd times, and is somewhat too aggressive. That being said, Ashely is undoubtedly an exceptional soldier but was handed garbage assignments because of her family history.

During the First Contact War (or the Relay 314 incident to the Turians), Ashley's grandfather surrendered the human colony of Shanxi to the attacking Turians. At the time the first Mass Effect game takes place, Shanxi was the only human world to be occupied by an alien force. This stigma kept Ashley from advancing up the Alliance ranks but fortunately for her, after Saren is defeated, Williams becomes an important figure within the human military.

9 Jacob Could Have Had Glory

Jacob Taylor on the Normandy in Mass Effect

After becoming frustrated with Alliance rules and regulations, Jacob Taylor joined the human supremacist group Cerberus. Jacob eventually ended up on Commander Shepard's team to help take down the Collectors. Aside from being a bit too generic of a character, Jacob was a capable soldier with decent leadership skills. In the final game of the trilogy, Jacob assumes the role of protector of a group of ex-Cerberus scientists and their families.

While with the scientists, Jacob falls in love with one of them and starts a family. One can not help but wonder what Mr. Taylor could have achieved had he stayed with the Alliance or put his personal goals aside for the time being, at least until the Reapers were dealt with.

8 Liam Is Naïve And It Leaves Him Vulnerable

Liam Kosta is a member of Pathfinder Ryder's team in Mass Effect Andromeda. A former crisis response officer, Liam, like many others, joined the Andromeda Initiative for the opportunity to attempt a new beginning. Liam's exceptional performance within his crisis response team caught the eye of Alec Ryder, who hand-picked Liam to join the Pathfinder team.

For better or worse, Liam always speaks his mind and is eternally optimistic. While these attributes may seem positive, they are what hold Liam back as always wanting to help everyone leaves Liam vulnerable to manipulation and an inability to cope with failure.

7 James Lacks Confidence

Mass Effect 3 James

James Vega was an Alliance Marine who was introduced in Mass Effect 3 and joined Shepard's team upon leaving Earth at the game's opening. Yet another capable soldier, James was one of the few humans in Mass Effect who did not seem to be too impressed with Shepard's galaxy-saving feats.

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Little information is given on James' background, aside from a mission in which he lost his whole team and a comic that gave a glimpse into his difficult life before joining the Alliance. The mission where Vega lost his team likely caused him to doubt himself and his abilities. For this reason, James does not live up to his full potential, even questioning whether or not to accept the rank of N7, a true honor for any Alliance personnel.

6 Kasumi Can Not Let Go Of The Past

Kasumi Goto was perhaps the most skilled thief in the galaxy. She joined Shepard's team in Mass Effect 2 and her loyalty mission was a highly enjoyable one. Unfortunately, Kasumi's partner, Keiji Okuda, was killed and Kasumi is unable to let him go.

If players encourage her to keep Keiji's graybox (a neural implant that can store memories), then Kasumi will lose herself in her former lover's memories and seemingly lose touch with reality. With her abilities, Kasumi could have achieved incredible feats, but her unwillingness to move on weighs her down.

5 Cora Is An Uninspired Character

At the onset of Mass Effect Andromeda, Cora Harper was Alec Ryder's second in command and was slated to replace him as Pathfinder should the need arise. As Operations Specialist, Cora was in charge of ground operations and with her biotic abilities, she was a force to be reckoned with. Cora's character, unfortunately, sees little development throughout Andromeda. 

Furthermore, she is not terribly interesting to learn about. Aside from having trained with Asari huntresses (which Cora will repeatedly remind Ryder of over the course of the game), Cora has little going for her. However, the novel Mass Effect Andromeda: Initiation provides additional depth to this rather bland squadmate.

4 Javik Never Got His Chance To Shine

javik in mass effect

When the announcement that a Prothean squadmate would be included in Mass Effect 3 was made prior to the game's launch, the Mass Effect community was abuzz with excitement. Being the last surviving Prothean, Javik provided fascinating insight into Prothean culture. Depending on Shepard's dialogue choices, Javik's ultimate fate varies wildly. In his day, Javik was a high-ranking warrior and was meant to lead the rise of a new Prothean Empire had his species' plan to put one million people into cryogenic stasis worked out.

Sadly, only Javik's pod survived and so he was relegated to being under the command of a human, as opposed to leading vast armies to victory over the Reapers.

3 Kaiden Does Not Trust His Commander

Mass Effect Kaiden Alenko

Another case of a slightly too generic squadmate, Kaiden Alenko was a powerful human biotic who was assigned to the Normandy under Captain Anderson in the first Mass Effect game. Unlike the SSV Normandy SR-1's other human squadmate, Ashley Willians, Kaiden was not a xenophobe but instead saw the necessity to work with other races. After the fall of Saren, Kaiden suffers a similar problem as Ashley; he loses trust in Shepard despite the truth of Shepard's motivations being obvious.

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This mistrust carries into Mass Effect 3 where Kaiden will draw a gun on Shepard during the Cerberus Citadel coup. Kaiden's inability to trust his old friend (and possible lover) ensures that he will not be able to see the big picture and make crucial informed decisions based on what is clearly true.

2 Time With Legion Costs The Lives Of The Crew

Mass Effect's only Geth squadmate has a very intriguing story arc. Until Legion is activated, players had never had the opportunity to speak with a Geth, who were the main enemy faction in the first game of the franchise. Soon after first speaking to Legion, it becomes apparent that the Geth who served Saren in the first Mass Effect game were only a small faction within the entirety of the Geth. This shows that even before the Geth obtain full individuality in Mass Effect 3 (if players choose that route), not all Geth think alike.

The main problem with Legion is that it only joins the team late into Mass Effect 2's story. Veteran players will know, that if one wants to save their entire crew after they are abducted by the Collectors and complete all missions, then getting Legion on the team is one of the last things players will do in the game. This sadly means it is difficult to hear everything Legion has to say before the end of the game.

1 Garrus Is Outshined By Shepard

garrus on menae

While Garrus Vakarian is arguably the most beloved character within all of Mass Effect, he only comes closest to achieving his full potential after returning to Palaven, post Mass Effect 2. Garrus is an incredible leader, inspiring confidence in those who are under his command while also knowing how to best make use of their talents. This leadership capability is mostly put to waste, however, since Garrus is almost always under the command of Shepard.

While it is certainly not Shepard's intention, the Commander tends to outshine Garrus, and only makes use of the Turian's leadership capabilities on rare occasions. This sentiment is echoed in notes that can be found on the Shadow Broker's ship in Mass Effect 2. 

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