Morality

Morality is measured in Mass Effect games by "Paragon" and "Renegade" points. Unlike many contemporary role-playing games, such as BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, that represent morality as a single sliding scale of good and evil, Mass Effect keeps track of the Paragon and Renegade points on separate scales. A good action will not make up for an evil one; therefore, being nice occasionally will not stop people from fearing a killer or remove the reputation of an unsympathetic heel, but nor will the occasional brutal action significantly damage the reputation of an otherwise upstanding soldier. This also means there is no gameplay-driven motivation for avoiding a particular type of action.

Commander Shepard's Paragon and Renegade scores affect the availability of special "good" or "bad" dialogue options with significant impact. In Mass Effect, a higher score will unlock potential ranks for the Charm and Intimidate skills, where Shepard must invest skill points to make new dialogue choices available. In Mass Effect 2 the skills no longer exist; instead, the Paragon/Renegade scores unlock extra dialogue options directly.

Paragon Points
Paragon points are gained for compassionate and heroic actions. The Paragon measurement is colored blue. Points are often gained when asking about feelings and motivations of characters. Paragon or Charm dialogue choices (colored blue in dialogue trees) often lead to people being more open and friendly with Shepard, and can sometimes avert entire battles that would otherwise be triggered.

Mass Effect
Shepard starts the game with 3 open Charm ranks. The Paragon scale affects Charm and more as defined below:
 * 10% – Opens 2 Charm ranks, gives 1 Charm point.
 * 25% – Opens 2 Charm ranks, gives 1 Charm point, 10% shorter First Aid cooldown.
 * 50% – 10% Bonus health.
 * 75% – Achievement, opens 2 Charm ranks, gives 1 Charm point and 5% reduction in cooldown on all powers.

After reaching 80% Paragon points, Admiral Hackett will give Shepard the UNC: Besieged Base assignment.

The "free" bonus skill points can be gained again if importing the character for another playthrough.

Mass Effect 2
In Mass Effect 2, there is no separate Charm skill; the success of Charm (blue) dialogue choices is determined directly from the Paragon score instead. Choosing Paragon options will cause the scars on Shepard's face begin to heal and disappear.

Renegade Points
Renegade points are gained for apathetic and ruthless actions. The Renegade measurement is colored red. Many sarcastic and joking remarks are assigned Renegade points. Renegade or Intimidate dialogue choices (colored red in dialogue trees) generally lead to people disliking and even fearing Shepard, and occasionally "encourage" people to tell or give more than they otherwise would. Like with Paragon/Charm options, Shepard can sometimes avert entire battles that would otherwise be triggered.

Mass Effect
Shepard starts with 3 open Intimidate ranks. The Renegade scale affects Intimidate and more as defined below:
 * 10% – Opens 2 Intimidate ranks, gives 1 Intimidate point.
 * 25% – Opens 2 Intimidate ranks, gives 1 Intimidate point, 10% reduction in weapon powers cooldown.
 * 50% – 1 health regeneration per second.
 * 75% – Achievement, opens 2 Intimidate ranks, gives 1 Intimidate point, 5% increase in damage/duration on all weapons and powers

After reaching 80% Renegade points, Admiral Hackett will give Shepard the UNC: The Negotiation assignment.

The "free" bonus skill points can be gained again if importing the character for another playthrough.

Mass Effect 2
In Mass Effect 2, there is no separate Intimidate skill; the success of Intimidate (red) dialogue choices is determined directly from the Renegade score instead. Renegade points will also deepen the facial scarring Shepard has after the Lazarus reconstruction.

Spectre Bonus
Becoming a Spectre in Mass Effect opens 3 more ranks and gives 1 skill point in both Charm and Intimidate.

Endings
The closing shot of Mass Effect always shows Shepard, but varies according to morality choices. If the commander is a Paragon, Shepard is standing empty-handed against a blue-hued planet with an unknown space station in orbit. If the commander is a Renegade, Shepard is standing against a silhouetted planet in a red nebula, holding an assault rifle.

At the end of Mass Effect 2, when Shepard is having the final discussion with the Illusive Man, the star in the background will change color depending on the choice made regarding the Collector base. If the Paragon option (destroy the base) was made, the star will be blue; if the Renegade option (to keep the base) was made, the star will be red instead.

Mass Effect
1. On Noveria. You are given a side-quest leading you to speak to Lorik Qui'in, a turian, at the bar. A quest progression choice enables you to encourage him to testify in a court case. You can choose from either a Paragon or Renegade dialogue option if you have at least 5 points in charm and/or intimidate. Choosing either of these options will give you a reward of 25 Paragon/Renegade points respectively. The conversation will end but you can talk to him again. Ask about a different topic (i.e. Matriarch Benezia), then choose "Another question". The option to convince him to testify will reappear. Repeat this for infinite Paragon and/or Renegade points. This bug appears to also work for the PC version of the game (tested on a 1.02 English/German version).Note: Using the "Lorik Qui'in Glitch" has been known to corrupt save files. Certain decisions in Mass Effect 1 are flagged improperly, preventing certain characters from returning, or certain emails from being sent to Shepard in Mass Effect 2. If importing the save file, to prevent corruption of data, it is highly advised to avoid the glitch as it is not required to maximize Paragon and Renegade Points.

2. During the UNC: Lost Module quest on Eletania, using the space monkeys. After finding and searching the monkey holding the data module and then saving the game, reload, and again search the monkey. This will result in the Paragon point reward being reissued to the player, despite it already being claimed before the reload.

Note: You only need to save/reload after the initial search. You are only awarded Paragon points if you retrieve the data module without killing any monkeys. If you continue to push the "A" button (360) to search the monkey, your Paragon points will continue to climb until you stop.

Mass Effect 2
1. The conclusion of Samara's loyalty mission, if Morinth is dead, asking Samara if she is okay and then telling her you're not ready to leave will give you 2 Paragon points. You can repeat those two choices and get another 2 points an infinite number of times.

Note: This is a very poor way to gain Paragon points, because Samara must complete her dialogue before you can talk to her again, making it very tedious. It is recommended that the dialogue be skipped with the X button (Xbox 360) or Spacebar (PC).

2.  At the beginning of the game when Shepard must escape the station. After the Commander heals Wilson and Overloads the explosive crates, while heading for the exit, Jacob interrupts to explain that Cerberus funded the Lazarus project. During the conversation you may choose "That sounds familiar..." and "I'll never work for Cerberus!" for paragon points or "You lied to me." and "What are you after?" for renegade points. After the conversation, go into cover against the box on the left, then save. Reload that save file and Shepard should be at the same spot, albeit not in cover. As you approach the exit, the conversation will start up again. This process can be repeated, with points carrying over, allowing you to fill both Paragon and Renegade meters.

Note: Saving and reloading can take up time and, as Shepard receives only 4 points for each conversation, can take up a lot of saves (500 saves total with a ME2 import Shepard with 4 ranks in class specialist, with 250 saves for each meter). Also, the player is unable to see their Paragon/Renegade meter until they leave the station (just before they see the Illusive Man). It is recommended for the player to first fill the Renegade option so that Shepard's scars get worse as you repeat it, allowing you to guess how many you have acquired.