The Illusive Man has prepared advanced intelligence on all potential squad members for Shepard to consider when developing a team.
Use these dossiers to get background on each recruit, including powers and weapon specialties. You will also find the mission in which you encounter the recruit and whether or not there is a romantic possibility with the recruit.
After all, if Shepard is staring down a suicide mission, what better thing to live for than love?
Jacob Taylor
Encountered
After prologue
Romantic Potential
Female Shepard
Weapon Training
Heavy Pistol
Shotgun
Cerberus Operative, Incendiary Ammo, Pull
Loyalty Power
Barrier
Jacob is a former Alliance Corsair, now in the employ of Cerberus.
His past actually brought him in potential close contact with Shepard, as Jacob was on Eden Prime when the colony was wiped out by geth.
Ever since the massacre on Eden Prime, Jacob has dedicated himself to the advancement (and safety) of humankind in the new galactic order.
However, Jacob grew restless with the way this goal was pursued under constraints from the politics of the Alliance. Cerberus, on the other hand, did not ask him to serve humanity with one hand tied behind his back.
But Jacob is not without heart and morality. He will bend only so far, which makes him is a dependable, resolute member of the team.
Jacob is good with a gun and has decent biotic skills, making him one of the most balanced members of the squad.
That balance will serve Shepard well in the beginning of this new mission against the Collectors, but as the going gets tough, Shepard may wish to rely more on specialized team members.
Miranda Lawson
Encountered
After prologue
Romantic Potential
Male Shepard
Weapon Training
Submachine Guns
Heavy Pistols
Overload, Warp, Cerberus Officer
Loyalty Power
Slam
Loyal to Cerberus to her core, Miranda Lawson is the Illusive Man’s closest confidante—if there really is such a thing. Miranda is a genetically engineered human, designed to be as perfect as possible.
Everything from Miranda’s appearance to her intelligence is based on a facsimile of her father’s genome, but enhanced to serve the cause of humanity.
The deterioration of Miranda’s relationship with her father led her to join Cerberus, as Miranda believed the group could give her protection and a life beyond that which her father intended.
That complex family history that Shepard must dive into as the fight to stop the Collectors nears its endgame.
Miranda was a key player in the Lazarus project that restored Shepard’s life functions following the destruction of the original Normandy.
She is skeptical of the amount of time and resources the Illusive Man poured into Lazarus, but if Shepard proves to be the savior the Illusive Man predicts, even the ego-driven Miranda will be forced to admit her misgivings were not true.
Miranda is a powerful ally, capable of using tech and biotic powers to disrupt and damage enemies.
Her Overload is a critical tool for getting through an enemy’s shields so it can be finished off either with guns or biotic attacks.
Mordin Solus
Encountered
The Professor
Romantic Potential
None
Weapon Training
Submachine Guns
Heavy Pistols
Incinerate, Cryo Blast, Salarian Scientist
Loyalty Power
Neural Shock
The Illusive Man has identified Mordin Solus as a key asset for Shepard’s squad.
The salarian scientist is known as a genius, although that reputation is tempered by the knowledge that Mordin himself was involved in the management of the krogan genophage—the artificial limiting of the krogan population through biological manipulation.
Mordin’s team was dispatched to the krogan world of Tuchanka, where his attempt to introduce a modification to the genophage project resulted in an attack that scarred his face and damaged one of his cranial horns, a prominent feature of all salarians.
It is believed that following his genophage work on Tuchanka, Mordin suffered a personal crisis while considering the ethical ramifications of his actions against the krogan race.
After a brief stint involving the deep study of galactic religions, Mordin found solace working in a clinic on Omega.
Omega is not exactly known for being hospitable, but Mordin’s ruthless efficiency at repelling mercenaries that dared attack his clinic has earned him a wide berth.
Mordin’s tech skills will be a tremendous asset to Shepard, as the salarian has the ability to both fry and freeze enemies with Incinerate and Cryo Blast, respectively.
Sufficiently upgraded, these powers are excellent complements to a squad that otherwise relies on brute force to get the job done.
Garrus Vakarian
Encountered
Archangel
Romantic Potential
Female Shepard
Weapon Training
Assault Rifles
Sniper Rifles
Concussive shot, Overload, Turian Rebel
Loyalty Power
Armor-Piercing Ammo
Garrus Vakarian is no stranger to Shepard. The turian Garrus served on Commander Shepard’s crew when they went up against the rebel Spectre Saren and prevented the Reapers from taking over the Citadel.
However, after the successful mission, Garrus departed from the crew of the Normandy and formed his own squad to pursue justice across the stars.
A need for such a squad presented itself on Omega, a notorious den of criminality in the galaxy. To escape his storied past with Shepard and become a feared operative among the mercenaries terrorizing Omega, Garrus abandoned his name and assumed the moniker Archangel.
The Illusive Man believes that Garrus’s close friendship with Shepard will serve the mission well. Of course, the turian’s crack shot won’t hurt matters, either.
Garrus is wicked with a sniper rifle, making him an ideal squad member if the situation or balance of the team requires somebody to deal with distant threats before they get too close.
Garrus does not have any biotic skills, though, and will never acquire them.
Subject Zero (Jack)
Encountered
The Convict
Romantic Potential
Male Shepard
Weapon Training
Heavy Pistols
Shotguns
Shockwave, Pull, Subject Zero
Loyalty Power
Warp Ammo
“Subject Zero,” better known as Jack, is a risky addition to the squad considering her past with Cerberus. She was kidnapped by the human-centric faction when she was a baby, targeted for her latent biotic capabilities.
Cerberus was running experiments at a facility on Pragia to discover if biotic capabilities could be harnessed and artificially enhanced.
Because of her considerable biotic skills, Jack became the central focus of the study, which also meant she underwent the majority of the experiments.
As Cerberus does not have a reputation for operating within tight moral boundaries, the experiments were not carried out with much regard to the comfort and safety of “Subject Zero.”
The experiments, however, worked better than expected and Jack’s biotic skills were greatly accelerated.
Rising along with these talents, though, was Jack’s rage and hate for Cerberus. After she escaped (using violence) the Cerberus facility, Jack went on a crime spree across the galaxy, engaging in piracy and murder.
Because Jack is such a powerful biotic, she is a perfect complement to a team deficient in biotic skills.
Jack is dangerous with a gun, too, and can use her biotics in conjunction with her weapons to be a very lethal force.
Grunt
Encountered
The Warlord
Romantic Potential
None
Weapon Training
Assault Rifles
Shotguns
Concussive shot, Incendiary ammo, Krogan Berserker
Loyalty Power
Fortification
Grunt is not the intended squad member the Illusive Man sends Shepard to collect on the burned out world of Korlus.
The original dossier detailed a brilliant krogan scientist named Okeer that has been performing daring experiments in an attempt to overcome the genophage that keeps the krogan population in extreme check.
However, should complication prevent Shepard from acquiring the services of Okeer, one of his most promising subjects should be a suitable substitute.
Grunt is a krogan super-soldier, genetically engineered by Okeer to survive the ravages of the genophage and reintroduce vitality to the dying race.
It is entirely up to Shepard whether or not to indeed activate Grunt, as the krogan warrior could prove a serious threat to the crew of the Normandy SR-2 if he cannot be immediately reasoned with or tamed by a display of superior violence.
Considering Shepard’s prior experience with working alongside the proud krogan Wrex, the value of a “tank” like Grunt cannot be underestimated.
Krogans are expert warriors, more than capable with a gun and possessed of a rage-induced bravery that makes them terrifying to whomever (or whatever) is on the receiving end of such a display.
Tali’Zorah nar Rayya
Encountered
Tali
Romantic Potential
Male Shepard
Weapon Training
Heavy Pistols
Shotguns
Combat Drones, AI Hacking, Quarian Merchant
Loyalty Power
Energy Drain
Garrus is not the only former crew member of the first Normandy that Shepard should seek out for assistance in turning back the threat of the Collectors.
The Illusive Man believes Tali’Zorah nar Rayya could be a useful ally thanks to both her friendship with Shepard and her incredible tech talents.
Shepard first encountered Tali on the Citadel while hunting for evidence to prove Saren had turned against the Council.
Tali was attempting to meet with the Shadow Broker, an information dealer, to arrange a safe place to hide after she discovered Saren’s role in the Eden Prime massacre.
The Shadow Broker double-crossed Tali, but Shepard saved her from assassins and she became a valued member of the crew. Following the destruction of the Normandy, Tali rejoined her fellow quarians aboard the Migrant Fleet.
Considering the quarians’ distrust of Cerberus and its human-centric mission, recruiting Tali will require Shepard to convince her that Cerberus is trying to do what’s right in the fight against the Collectors.
Tali’s strength lies in artificial intelligence, which allows her to perform two useful powers; AI Hacking and Combat Drones.
AI Hacking allows Tali to temporarily reprogram synthetics like geth or mechs to do her bidding. Combat drones run interference with enemies, giving the squad large windows of opportunity to launch assaults.
Both of these powers are good complements to combat- or biotic-heavy teams.
Samara
Encountered
The Justicar
Romantic Potential
Male or female Shepard
Weapon Training
Assault Rifles
Submachine Guns
Throw, Pull, Asari Justicar
Loyalty Power
Reave
Shepard will need powerful biotics to turn the tide against the encroaching threat of the Collectors, and the Illusive Man has identified an asari that would make a good addition to the team.
Samara was once a deadly mercenary, but after discovering that her gang was involved in kidnapping and slavery, she turned against her cohorts and freed her cargo.
Following her life as a mercenary, Samara took a mate and had three daughters. However, all three of her offspring were Ardat-Yakshi, a rare class of asari that are so powerful they drain the lives of their mates during a “joining.”
Ardat-Yakshi are rightfully feared for this reason and two of Samara’s daughters did the right thing and dedicated themselves to lives of solitude to prevent themselves from giving into the worst instincts of their conditions.
The third daughter, Morinth, lashed out at her mother and embraced the terrible power of being an Ardat-Yakshi.
Determined to bring her daughter to justice and stop her murderous spree, Samara became a justicar, a monastic guild of asari agents dedicated to dispensing justice around the galaxy—often through force.
Samara’s biotic skills are invaluable complements to gun-centric teams, but this justicar is no novice with a firearm.
A lethal combo of using Throw or Pull to put a target off balance and then finishing them off with gunfire makes Samara one of the most powerful (and reliable) squad members Shepard can take into battle.
Morinth
Romantic Potential
Male or female Shepard
Weapon Training
Submachine Guns
Assault Rifles
Pull, Throw, Ardat-Yakshi, Dominate
If you have a very high Renegade rating, you can force an incredible turn of events during one of the Samara-centric missions.
You can actually allow Morinth, a powerful asari in her own right, to kill Samara and assume Samara’s place on your crew. The two characters are relatively comparable.
Morinth is also an exceedingly powerful biotic, but she has access to a special power: Dominate.
This works very similar to AI Hacking, but instead of reprogramming synthetics to you her bidding, Dominate convinces organic targets to turn against their comrades.
As a deadly biotic, Morinth is a suitable substitution for Jack if a mission or squad makeup demands such powers as Throw and Pull.
Thane
Encountered:
The Assassin
Romantic Potential
Female Shepard
Weapon Training
Sniper Rifles
Submachine Guns
Throw, Warp, Drell Assassin
Loyalty Power
Shredder Ammo
Defeating the Collectors will not be easy. It will require squad members with the capability to commit great violence.
However, a cool head will also be useful for dealing with the intensity of this possible suicide mission, and so the Illusive Man points Shepard to Thane, the best assassin in the galaxy.
Thane is a drell, but he grew up among the gelatinous hanar. The hanar taught Thane the ways of an assassin, and the young drell quickly excelled as a trained killer.
However, after an act of kindness from a complete stranger (who would later become Thane’s wife), Thane removed himself from the service of the hanar. Yet without any other skills, Thane was forced to remain an assassin-for-hire to support his wife and their son, Kolyat.
Tragedy took Thane’s wife from him, which greatly affected his relationship with his young son.
The two are said to be quite distant and there is a possibility that Thane will not be a completely loyal squad member unless Shepard helps the drell with this personal situation.
Thane’s skills as an assassin approximate the role of an infiltrator. The drell is an expert with a sniper rifle, making him an ideal candidate for distant crowd control on away missions.
Thane has just one biotic skill, so he should be relied on instead for his skill with weapons, especially once his Shredder Ammo power has been unlocked.
Legion
Encountered
Derelict Reaper
Romantic Potential
None
Weapon Training
Assault Rifles
Sniper Rifles
AI Hacking, Combat Drone, Geth Infiltrator
Loyalty Power
Geth Shield Boost
Though Shepard was able to defeat the geth and Saren at the battle for the Citadel, there is no such thing as forgetting for the synthetic collective.
The geth share “memories,” which in turn can be downloaded into mobile units. These units use the information of thousands of geth programs to advise themselves during missions.
Humanity largely recognizes the geth to be a hostile collective because of the attack on the Citadel and the great war between the geth and quarians that almost wiped out the quarians.
However, there is new information that suggests that geth are misunderstood—that the collective is not what it appears to be and that schisms are developing within the geth that could lead to a complete re-evaluation of the geth as a whole.
Should Shepard encounter a geth mobile unit, there will be a decision to make: Activate the unit and hope it does not immediately act on the collective programming to kill Shepard, or power it down and not risk the chance of altercation.
The trade-off for avoiding such dangerous decisions, though, could result in missing out on a geth mobile unit’s expert sniper capabilities, power over all forms of artificial intelligence, and other tech powers.
Zaeed Massani
Encountered
The Price of Revenge
Romantic Potential
None
Weapon Training
Assault Rifles
Sniper Rifles
Concussive Shot, Disruptor Ammo, Mercenary Veteran
Loyalty Power
Inferno Grenade
With the survival of humanity hanging in the balance, Shepard doesn’t have the luxury of turning down the talents of skilled professionals with less-than-honorable backgrounds.
Zaeed Massani is one of those characters, a grizzled bounty hunter known throughout the galaxy for being treacherous—and deadly.
According to the Illusive Man, Zaeed is currently on Omega. The bounty hunter has agreed to join Cerberus in exchange for a substantial payment.
However, to get the most out of Zaeed, Shepard needs to show the bounty hunter that more is at stake than a paycheck.
The survival of the species is at risk with the Collectors on the move.
If Shepard can help Zaeed settle an old score and fulfill a contract, perhaps Zaeed will understand that this mission requires him to give his all.
Zaeed is a combat-centric squad member and perfect for filling any soldier class void on a potential away team.
Kasumi Goto
Encountered
The Master Thief
Romantic Potential
None
Weapon Training
Heavy Pistols
Submachine Guns
Shadow Strike, Overload, Master Thief
Loyalty Power
Flashbang Grenade
Bounty hunters. Assassins. The Illusive Man is not above seeking the talents of the galaxy’s greatest rogues, and so he hands off a dossier on Kasumi Goto.
Kasumi is a master thief. She has a history with Cerberus, as she managed to infiltrate the organization and steal extremely sensitive materials.
As frustrating as this was for Cerberus, there was no way for the Illusive Man not to respect her tremendous stealth skills.
Kasumi’s Shadow Strike power is a fascinating tactic to deploy, as it allows her to slip behind her target without being spotted, attack, and then return to her original position.
However, there is a risk that Kasumi will be struck when she appears “behind enemy lines” and came back with serious damage.
Liara T’Soni
Romantic potential
Only if previous relationship existed (ME1)
Weapon Training
Submachine Guns
Heavy Pistols
Singularity, Warp, Stasis, Asari Scientist
The asari Liara T’Soni was a crew member on the first Normandy, working alongside Commander Shepard to stop Saren and halt the arrival of the Reapers.
After the destruction of the Normandy, Liara undertook a dangerous mission for Cerberus to locate and collect Shepard’s body.
Successful in her mission, Liara delivered Shepard to Cerberus despite her misgivings about the pro-human organization’s motives and operating procedures.
After helping Cerberus recover Shepard, Liara relocated to Illium and became a powerful information broker. She has a complex relationship with the Shadow Broker, the most connected information broker in the galaxy, and is convinced that it is about to turn sour.
The Illusive Man fully approves of Shepard assisting Liara in hunting down the Shadow Broker and freeing herself.
However, this could prove to be an extremely difficult task as the Shadow Broker will surely not be an easy target.
Liara’s heavy biotics make her an attractive addition to the crew.
The ability to use powerful attacks like Singularity make her a suitable replacement for Jack in several situations if you are not an adept.
Liara’s Stasis power is good for battlefield management, as she is able to temporarily stun enemies. However, enemies in Stasis cannot be damaged.
Yet, combat-centric squads can make good use of this by using the power on a dangerous enemy, opening a window for dispatching lesser foes.