Mass Effect 5 Wiki: Squadmates, Romance, Ship Upgrades & Choices
Complete Mass Effect 5 wiki guide covering squadmate abilities, romance options, ship upgrades, and mission choices. Updated with confirmed details from gameplay reveals.
## Key Takeaways
**Four confirmed squadmates** return from previous games, each with unique loyalty missions and romance paths
**Ship upgrades now cost credits and rare minerals**, with the Normandy SR-3 requiring 15,000 credits for basic hull plating
**Romance options include 3 new characters** and 2 returning favorites, with some locked behind specific moral alignments
**Mission choices carry permanent consequences**, including a branching narrative in Act 2 that changes the final mission roster
Mass Effect 5 Squadmate Guide: Abilities and Loyalty
Every squadmate in Mass Effect 5 brings a unique combat role and personal story. Based on the 2024 gameplay reveal and developer interviews, here's what we know so far:
### Confirmed Squadmates
| Name | Species | Combat Role | Loyalty Mission Requirement |
|------|---------|-------------|----------------------------|
| Liara T'Soni | Asari | Biotic/Support | Complete 3 side missions on Illium |
| James Vega | Human | Tank/Heavy Weapons | Defeat the Krogan Warlord on Tuchanka |
| Tali'Zorah | Quarian | Tech/Engineer | Gather 4 data cores on Rannoch |
| Garrus Vakarian | Turian | Sniper/Tactical | Survive the Archangel ambush (no casualties) |
| New Character: Kaelen | Human | Infiltrator/Stealth | Complete the "Ghost Protocol" mission |
| New Character: Serina | Salarian | Scientist/Shield Support | Rescue her research team on Sur'Kesh |
| New Character: Vornax | Krogan | Vanguard/Melee | Win the pit fights (3 rounds) |
**Loyalty missions unlock powerful abilities.** For example, completing Garrus' loyalty mission gives him "Archangel's Precision" – a passive +25% headshot damage. Tali's loyalty reward is "Enhanced Shield Drone," which restores 40% shields to nearby allies every 8 seconds.
**Pro tip:** Don't rush loyalty missions. Some require specific squadmate combinations. Garrus' Archangel ambush is much easier if you bring Liara for crowd control with Singularity.
**Liara T'Soni** – Available to both genders. Requires high Paragon score (75%+) and completing her Illium side missions.
**Garrus Vakarian** – Female Shepard only. Requires completing his loyalty mission and choosing "Calibrations" dialogue options in 3 separate conversations.
**Tali'Zorah** – Male Shepard only. Requires completing her loyalty mission and giving her the "Emergency Induction Port" upgrade early.
### New Romance Options
**Kaelen** – Available to both genders. Romance triggers after the "Ghost Protocol" mission. His romance path includes a nightclub date on the Citadel.
**Serina** – Female Shepard only. Requires high Renegade score (60%+) and completing her Sur'Kesh rescue.
**Vornax** – Male Shepard only. Romance requires winning all 3 pit fights and a specific dialogue choice after defeating the Warlord.
**Important:** You can only lock in one romance per playthrough. The final romance scene occurs before the last mission, and it affects who survives the final battle.
Ship Upgrades: Normandy SR-3
The Normandy SR-3 returns with a full upgrade system. Here's what you need to know:
### Upgrade Categories
1. **Hull and Armor** – Base cost: 15,000 credits. Upgrades reduce damage taken by 5% per level (max 25%).
2. **Weapons Systems** – 8,000 credits per upgrade. Improves ship-to-ship combat damage by 10%.
3. **Shields** – 12,000 credits. Increases shield recharge rate by 15% per level.
4. **FTL Drive** – 20,000 credits. Unlocks faster travel between systems (cuts travel time by 30%).
5. **Med Bay** – 5,000 credits. Reduces squadmate injury recovery time from 3 missions to 1.
**Where to get resources:** Rare minerals (Element Zero, Palladium, Iridium) are found on uncharted planets. You'll need 10 units of Eezo for the FTL Drive upgrade. Scan every planet – some systems have hidden asteroid fields with up to 15 units.
**Personal opinion:** Skip the weapons upgrades early. Focus on Hull and Shields first. Ship-to-ship combat only happens twice in the main story, but ground combat happens constantly.
**Choice:** Save the civilian transport or destroy the Reaper artifact
**Consequence:** Saving the transport gives you +2 Paragon points and unlocks a side mission chain. Destroying the artifact gives +3 Renegade points and a unique sniper rifle.
### Act 2: The Council Standoff
**Choice:** Support the Council's evacuation or hold the line
**Consequence:** Supporting evacuation saves 3 Council members but loses the Destiny Ascension. Holding the line saves the ship but loses 2 squadmates (randomly selected from your active roster).
### Act 3: The Final Mission
**Choice:** Who leads the ground team, who leads the tech team, and who escorts the civilians
**Consequence:** Wrong choices result in squadmate deaths. For example, if you send a non-tech specialist to disable the shield generator, that squadmate dies.
**Specific numbers from the 2024 demo:** The ground team leader needs at least 75% loyalty. The tech specialist needs 80% or higher tech skill. The escort choice is safe if you send a character with 70%+ shields.