Background & Psychological Profile Choices
Your character's background and psychological profile are more than just flavor text; they have tangible impacts on your gameplay experience in Mass Effect. These choices influence your starting skills, grant unique dialogue options, and can even unlock specific side missions. The three available backgrounds are Spacer, Colonist, and Earthborn. A Spacer background provides a +10 bonus to your Pistols skill and a +5 bonus to your Assault Rifles skill, reflecting a life spent in the military or on starships. They also gain access to a unique dialogue option when discussing their upbringing with Admiral Hackett. A Colonist background offers a +10 bonus to your Shotguns skill and a +5 bonus to your Heavy Weapons skill, stemming from a life on frontier worlds. Colonists can also unlock a specific dialogue path when discussing the hardships of colonial life with Conrad Verner. An Earthborn background grants a +10 bonus to your Sniper Rifles skill and a +5 bonus to your Pistols skill, representing a rough upbringing in the crowded, often harsh environments of Earth. Earthborn characters can access a unique dialogue option when confronting the reporter Emily Wong about their past. These starting skill bonuses can give you an early edge in combat, allowing you to specialize in certain weapon types from the outset.
Beyond background, your psychological profile offers further customization. The three options are Sole Survivor, War Hero, and Ruthless. A Sole Survivor background provides a +10 bonus to your Shields skill and a +5 bonus to your Biotics skill. This choice reflects a traumatic past where you were the only survivor of a devastating attack, often leading to a more cautious and defensive approach. A War Hero background grants a +10 bonus to your Assault Rifles skill and a +5 bonus to your Pistols skill, portraying a character who has faced and overcome sificant military challenges. This often unlocks more heroic and assertive dialogue options. A Ruthless background offers a +10 bonus to your Heavy Pistols skill and a +5 bonus to your Shotguns skill, depicting a character who has made difficult, often morally ambiguous, decisions to survive. This can lead to more pragmatic and sometimes aggressive dialogue choices. These psychological profiles not only affect your starting skills but also shape your Paragon/Renegade alment throughout the game. For example, choosing War Hero might naturally steer you towards more Paragon choices, while Ruthless might encourage more Renegade decisions. Consider how these choices al with the kind of Commander Shepard you want to play and how you want to interact with the galaxy.