Mass Effect 3 Endings guide: All Endings, choices to make, & how to get the best ending
For better or worse, the ending of Mass Effect 3 is pretty infamous. In fact, we should say endings rather than ending - as there's several endings, and one of the things that made the final stages of the game infamous at release was the difference - or lack of difference - between them. Common, casual knowledge would have you believe there's only three endings - which is sort of true, but there's actually more than this, working in variations on the core three 'themes' that ME3 presents in its final stages.
In a game all about choice, knowing how to navigate to your desired finale can be difficult - so this page is here to give extreme detail on how to get every ending in Mass Effect 3, detailing all endings, and of course focusing in on how to get the absolute best ending of the bunch, if that's your desire.
- Military Strength, War Assets, EMS & how they change the end
- Destroy, Control, or Synthesis - which is the best ending choice?
- Is there a canon ME3 ending?
How Effective or Total Military Strength & War Assets change the Mass Effect 3 Ending
As you fight your way through the various battles that make up the brutal war you end up taking part in throughout Mass Effect 3, the game will be constantly giving you a stream of resources that are known in-game as War Assets. You can check in on where you're at with these on the Normandy , and basically every War Asset you acquire contributes to your Total Effective Military Strength (EMS) - which is a score that estimates your overall fighting force that'll be used to try to save the galaxy in the final battle against the Reaper forces.
It can't be overstated enough: EMS-contributing War Assets are everywhere in Mass Effect 3. Major choices and consequences from previous games also often result in War Assets; somebody you helped rather than killed might provide a war asset that adds to your military strength, for instance. A powerful warrior that survived the encounter on Virmire in ME1 or the suicide mission in ME2 might be a war asset, leading troops in a valiant charge.
Naturally, choices you make throughout Mass Effect 3 will determine how supported you are by the forces of the galaxy - and for maximizing that, our suggested ME3 mission order comes in handy for avoiding any timed-out mission disasters. Basically, we encourage you to consult our range of other Mass Effect Trilogy guides before heading into the final encounter in order to maximize your War Assets and EMS.
The entire system gets a bit confusing, however, because it differs significantly across different versions of ME3. For all intents and purposes, there are now three versions of ME3 available, each with slightly different requirements:
Mass Effect 3 Original Release EMS Ending Thresholds (360, PS3, PC, without DLC)
In the original release of Mass Effect 3, the requirements to get the best ending are more stringent. In this version your EMS is subject to a modifier known as your Readiness Rating. This is a percentage; so for example, at 50% readiness, 5000 Total Military Strength translates to 2500 Effective Military Strength. The EMS score is what calculates your options and certain events towards the end of the game. Readiness can be raised through multiplayer and other side activities outside ME3 proper.
In the original, base release of Mass Effect 3 without the 'extended cut' DLC:
- 1750 EMS or less will leave you locked in to only a single ending, with which ending you get determined by a major action you took on the Collector Base during ME2.
- Up to 2350 EMS you will get a choice between two different ending options ('Control' or 'Destroy'), both sub-optimal, doing significant damage to the galaxy.
- Between 2350 & 2650 EMS has the same options as above, but the 'Control' ending will cause much less damage in the process.
- Between 2650 and 2800 EMS means that both the 'Control' and 'Destroy' choices do minimal damage to the worlds of Mass Effect.
- Over 2800 EMS will unlock the third ending option, 'Synthesis'.
- 4000 EMS is required to have the ability to unlock the best ending - and then you will need to choose certain options in the finale to see it. This will give you the best 'variation' of whatever ending you choose, and carries a particular bonus for those who choose 'Destroy' (more on this below).
- 5000 EMS will give you an even easier chance to guarantee yourself the 'best' variation of the 'Destroy' ending even if certain things go wrong in the final mission.
Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut EMS Ending Thresholds (360, PS3, PC, with DLC)
In the Extended Cut of the game, which was released for the original version as DLC and included in all subsequent re-releases, much about the ending has been tweaked and adjusted - this includes the EMS thresholds and the War Assets required to unlock each ending:
- 1599 EMS or less will give you only one ending option, which which it is being based on your choice on the Collector Base in ME2.
- 1600 to 2349 EMS gives you a choice between 'Destroy' or 'Control' endings, but both will do much damage to the Galaxy and its people.
- 2350 to 2649 EMS means that one of either 'Destroy' or 'Control' will not damage the galaxy; if you destroyed the Collector Base in ME2 it will be 'Destroy', if you saved it it will be 'Control'.
- 2650 to 2799 EMS results in neither of the two options presented causing significant damage to the galaxy.
- 2800 EMS or more unlocks the third ending, 'Synthesis'.
- 3100 EMS is enough to nail the best ending, with the biggest new moment unlocked in the Destroy path.
Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition EMS Ending Thresholds (Xbox One/Series, PS4/5, PC)
The HD Remaster of the Mass Effect games makes a lot of changes - among them another reshuffle to the ending unlocks in ME3. Specifically, in Legendary Edition, the 'Galactic Readiness' mechanic has been stripped out - so there's no more halving or adjusting of your Total Military Strength into an Effective Military Strength. Instead, you're only dealing with your Total Military Strength (TMS). The menu looks much cleaner.
As a result, the numbers on the thresholds are all much higher, but in effective gameplay terms the amount of effort required and choices made to reach each of the ME3 endings is ultimately the same as in the Extended Cut. Specifically:
- Up to 3199 TMS will give you one option, with which it is depending on if you saved or destroyed the Collector Base in ME2. This ending also devastates much of the galaxy and earth.
- 3200 to 4199 TMS unlocks a choice between the 'Destroy' and 'Control' endings, though whichever you choose will do huge damage. Choosing the ending that aligns with your ME2 Collector Base choice (Destroy = Destroy, Control = Save the Base) will result in slightly less damage.
- 4200 to 5199 TMS results in the correspending choice to whatever your ME2 ending choice was doing no damage to Earth and the Galaxy. Remember, if you kept/saved the base that's Control, and if you Destroyed it that's Destroy, obviously.
- 5200 to 6199 TMS results in both ending options doing minimal damage to the galaxy.
- 6200 TMS or more gives you the third and final ending option, 'Synthesis'.
- 7400 TMS or more gives you a shot at the best possible ending, adding an extra scene to the end of the 'Destroy' route.
- 7800 TMS and up guarantees that scene, even if some things go wrong in the final mission.
Now, a little more on the ending choice itself:
ME3 Ending Choices: Destroy, Control, or Synthesis - which is the best?
The next question is pretty obvious; which option should you choose when offered it in the Mass Effect 3 Ending? The answer, obviously, is a ltitle complicated.
Shepard can be given the choice between up to three options - Destroy, Control, and Synthesis - but what do they do? Allow us to explain... but first, a caveat.
To be clear, there is no absolute best ending in Mass Effect 3. Each ending is designed to have its own pros and cons - and though the Synthesis ending is obviously the one with the most broad and obvious upsides, it's also an ending with drawbacks and narrative choices that aren't for everyone. You should go with your gut - but we also wanted to explain the endings here so you know exactly what to expect from each ending and don't, for instance, accidentally kill your favorite character.
Keep in mind that not all options will be open to you for certain - which options you have is determined by your EMS. With that said, you'd have to play an exceptionally botched storyline to end up in a situation where you don't even have a choice and only have one option at your disposal - but that can happen.
Beyond this choice, the exact specifics of the ending you choose will vary in an epilogue, with many of your choices throughout the trilogy referenced.
Destroy (Red):
Destroy allows Shepard to make the choice to eradicate all synthetic life. This is a terrible act of genocide in a sense, as it will not just wipe out the Reapers, but also the Geth, burgeoning artificial intelligence, and even EDI. At low EMS scores, Destroy is also the ending that does the most collateral damage to the rest of the galaxy, though exactly how much damage is done will vary based on your Military Strength going in.
In almost all versions of the Destroy ending, Shepard dies - but in one variant, at the maximum Military Strength level where the least damage is done, the final shot of the game teases Shepard's survival. The ending is narrated by Commander Hackett.
Control (Blue):
The Control Ending sees Shepard sacrifice themselves in order to take control of the Reaper fleet. Shepard then uses the Reapers to repair the damage the ending does to the Mass Relays and help repair the galaxy. The amount of damage that'll need to be repaired will depend, in part, on your Military Strength - less of that means more damage is initially done.
The Commander is gone, but they live on through the Reapers, which continue to do their will. Shepard narrates this ending, and their tone is slightly different depending on if you were more Paragon or Renegade.
Synthesis (Green):
Shepard sacrifices themselves by throwing themselves into the Crucible, using their DNA to set a new 'synthesized' status quo where synthetic and organic life merges together - which in turn makes the Reapers entirely unnecessary. The Reapers become an ally, and help to rebuild the damage done to the galaxy. Appropriately, EDI narrates this ending.
Refuse (Dialogue):
A hidden ending option of sorts. by talking to the Catalyst further, Shepard can reject making a choice between the three options laid before them. If they do this, The Reapers continue their path of destruction, and wipe out all higher functioning life forms in the galaxy as they'd planned. You can also trigger this ending by shooting at the Catalyst.
In an epilogue, alien races of the next cycle thousands of years later discover a time capsule recorded by Liara that warns them of the impending Reaper threat. This technically is a game over, not an ending.
Is there a Canon Ending to Mass Effect 3?
The short answer to this question is no - though we can begin to piece things together thanks to that first announcement teaser trailer for 'the next Mass Effect' - which appears to be set hundreds of years later, and is shooting to be a sequel to both Andromeda and the original Trilogy.
In the trailer, we see a visibly older Liara (remember, Asari live for hundreds or thousands of years) - and she doesn't appear to be part-synthetic in the way the synthesis ending suggests. And there are no Reapers guarding the skies. So...
If you're really insistent on the best ending, or which might be canon to lead to a Mass Effect 4 - we'd suggest that Destroy is the one. At high enough Military Strength values, it's also only ending in which Shepard is teased to have survived (under certain conditions, explained above), and also the only ending where the galaxy is not significantly changed from the original vision of the ME universe that people love.