Mass Effect: Andromeda – Contagion – Save Ruth or Kill Her?

Infect Others or Save Ruth

After you find out about Ruth and the virus that she carries in Mass Effect: Andromeda, you’ll need to complete the side quest and find Ruth’s crashed shuttle on Kadara. You learn that she’s been abducted by Roekaar, and you must save her from their outpost.

As you near the end of this quest, though, you must make a very important choice—do you kill Ruth to keep her from infecting others, or do you let her live until science can find a cure? In this article, we’ll break down the differences between each choice to help you decide which path works best for you.

Kill or Save Ruth?

Like many of the choices that players make in Mass Effect: Andromeda, Contagion’s final decision has less repercussions than one might expect. After infiltrating the Roekaar compound and battling it out with the outlaws, you find yourself face to face with Ruth Bekker, who is being held at gunpoint by the Roekaar leader.

Ruth tells you that she’s infected and that the Roekaar leader has a sample of the virus, which could potentially lead to even bigger issues for the Nexus down the road. The leader wants to leave, though, and threatens to kill Ruth if you do not let him go. Now comes the time to make a choice.

Kill Ruth

If you choose not to let the leader leave the base, then Ruth is killed and you must battle the Roekaar leader. Once he is defeated, Ruth is returned to the Nexus, placed in a stasis pod and the mission concludes with the threat of the virus being removed for good. You earn a ton of experience and Andromeda Viability Points (or AVP).

Save Ruth

If you choose to ignore the obvious threat of an outlaw leader having a sample of a deadly and incurable virus, then the leader is allowed to leave and Ruth is left alive. She is placed in Stasis to keep her from infecting anyone else, and the mission concludes.

You earn a good amount of experience towards your next level, and your Andromeda Viability Points go up as well. Unfortunately, you also have to live with the fact that you let a murderous outlaw go free with a deadly virus that could potentially be used against the Nexus in the future.

Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be any big gameplay implications based upon your decision to save or kill Ruth. Because of this, players should choose the option that lines up with their current playstyle and stick to it.

Now that you know what happens if you kill or save Ruth, be sure to return to our Mass Effect: Andromeda guide where we have more helpful articles like how to complete Apex Missions and how to re-spec your character.