Citadel: Party

To properly celebrate shore leave, crew members have suggested throwing a party. Gather party ingredients, and invite friends over.

Acquisition
After retaking the Normandy, Joker suggests throwing a party.

Preparation
After Joker suggests throwing a party, you will have to go the kiosk at the bar on the second floor of the Silver Coast Casino and purchase Party Provisions for 100 credits (90 if both discount bonuses were chosen at the Intel Terminal). Afterwards, return to the office in the apartment and send out invitations using the private terminal.

The bare minimum of people whose survival from the first two games are assured are auto-invited: Joker, EDI, Liara, James Vega, Steve Cortez, and Samantha Traynor. Everyone else, including present ME3 squadmates not yet mentioned, are optional invites. Only surviving full squadmates from all three games can be invited in provided their Mass Effect 3 story arcs have been completed.

Curiously, none of the other Normandy shipmates past or present may be invited in: Rupert Gardner, Diana Allers, Karin Chakwas/Chloe Michel, Kelly Chambers, Greg Adams, Kenneth Donnelly and Gabriella Daniels are all absent so don't bother looking for prerequisites. Traynor later explains that Dr. Chakwas is unavailable because of an emergency medical consult elsewhere on the Citadel.

Garrus just needs to survive the suicide mission to be available. Grunt will be available if he returned to Shepard after wrestling some rachni in Attican Traverse: Krogan Team. Jacob is available after meeting him on the Citadel providing he survives Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists. Jack needs to be rescued in Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation and then met in Purgatory (club) to be available. Javik is available from the moment you opened his pod on Priority: Eden Prime. Kasumi needs to join the war effort after Citadel: Hanar Diplomat to be available. Samara is available as long as you prevented her from offing herself in Kallini: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery and met with her on the Citadel. Zaeed is available provided he survived the shootout in Citadel: Volus Ambassador.

Wrex will be available, as he was for the DLC's other missions, as long as he survived the events of Virmire and the  genophage cure was real, not sabotaged. Ashley/Kaidan will be available provided they survived Priority: The Citadel II and were not sent to Admiral Hackett. Tali is available provided she survived Priority: Rannoch. Miranda Lawson will not be available until after Priority: Horizon.

Squad members who are doomed to die at the conclusion of their ME3 story arcs (Legion, Thane Krios) will not physically appear. Mordin Solus, even if convinced to sabotage the cure and lay low, will not break cover to attend the party. Morinth is nowhere to be found until Priority: Earth, where she certainly is in no position to be attending parties by then.

In short, it's highly recommended to first complete all relevant missions short of storming Cerberus Headquarters to get the most out of this party.

Dialogue from the 1-to-1 meet-ups with characters down in the Silversun Strip or at the apartment can affect dialogue during the party. While these chats offer no effect onto the storyline itself, they often include a more comical value. Thus it is recommended to see everyone you wish to see before the party. For example an unromanced female Shepard who flirts with James Vega during their apartment meet will later have an option to hook up with James at the party.

Choose a party theme
When the invites go out, Glyph will ask the Commander what type of party should be held: Quiet or Energetic. These choices will affect the initial dialogue in the first part of the party but not the group arrangements which are determined by the guest list.

Liara and Traynor will be standing in the kitchen, joined by Tali, Samara, and Garrus. EDI and Joker will be at the bar near the window, joined by Miranda and Jacob. James and Cortez will be sitting on the couches near the piano, joined by Ashley/Kaidan and Jack.

If both Wrex and Grunt are invited they will stand upstairs on the balcony overlooking the lower area, where they will be joined by Zaeed and Javik. Javik is seated in the kitchen and Zaeed will be loitering near the couches' fireplace if one or both krogan are missing, and the lone krogan present will stand near the couches occupied by James and Cortez. Kasumi will flit between the bar group and the kitchen group uncloaking to interject into the conversation.

Second part
After speaking to two groups, Shepard can speak to Glyph a second time and either keep the theme going (Keep it relaxed/Let's get louder!) or change to the other (Mellow out/Kick it up!). The second theme can be considered a continuation of the first, but it is in no way dependent on the previous choice. It has the exact same character positions, group arrangements, and resulting dialogue regardless of the first half. Each variant will have some disagreements which Shepard can resolve.

In the Quiet Party's second part, different groups will form. Wrex and Grunt will sit on the couches by the piano. Liara and James will sit in the downstairs den comparing the merits of the SSV Normandy and the Normandy SR-2, which Shepard can weigh in on, joined by Tali, Miranda and Jacob. If Tali is there, she will assist by acting out the flight handling and engine noises of both ships.

EDI will stay at the bar by the window, but will be joined by Cortez, along with Javik and Jack. Shepard can choose whether to serve more drinks (by highlighting Cortez) or to serve more snacks (by highlighting EDI).

Traynor and Joker will be in the upstairs lounge, somewhat awkwardly discussing Traynor's comments about the attractiveness of EDI's voice, joined by Ashley or Kaidan. Samara will meditate in the the stone garden by the upstairs lounge. Garrus and Zaeed will stand on the balcony discussing the defensibility of Shepard's apartment.

Kasumi will flit cloaked from place to place, appearing with Tali's group if she's around, and on Joker's group.

In the Energetic Party's second part, Liara and James will be on the balcony, joined by Ashley/Kaidan, Jacob, and Miranda/Jack. They will be arguing about whether biotics or muscle is more powerful, and Shepard chooses which to support. Kasumi uncloaks trying to goad Vega to do sit-ups if Shepard chooses biotics over his muscle. Traynor and EDI will be in the upstairs lounge, extremely awkwardly discussing Traynor's comments about the attractiveness of EDI's voice, joined by Tali.

Joker will remain at the bar by the window downstairs, arguing with Cortez and joined by Garrus, Wrex, and Javik/Zaeed. All of them will criticize Joker's refusal to keep a gun in the cockpit for emergencies, and try to convince him to do some target practice later. Shepard may side with Joker or Cortez.

Samara will be meditating under the staircase nearest to the entrance, unless Zaeed is also present, in which case they will be together in the downstairs conference room, admiring the painting, while Zaeed unsuccessfully hits on Samara.

Grunt will be at the door, turning away party crashers on the intercom, and Shepard can either attempt to screen prospective guests (by supporting 'Invite Up'), or take a turn to reject a few (by supporting 'Turn Away'). Either way no new people get in as Shepard gets creeped out by some fans if the Commander tries to be welcoming.

If both Miranda and Jack are present, they will be in the den, bickering and insulting each other. Shepard may either encourage them to reconcile, or encourage further conflict. Kasumi uncloaks at their conversation whatever Shepard decides for extra hilarity.

In addition to intruding on conversations, regardless of party setting Kasumi will uncloak in the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, by the bookshelf in the upstairs lounge, on a seat near the bar, outside next to the door, and on the bed in the upstairs guest bedroom.

Wrap up
After talking to Glyph a third time, you can choose to begin the final phase of the party. In this case, the groups and interactions are set by the choice of theme for the second part, and Shepard can only decide which group Glyph will appear with.

In the final part of the Quiet Party, Liara and James will be playing cards in the den, along with Javik and an initially cloaked Kasumi, with Glyph acting as the dealer if sent there by Shepard. Traynor and EDI will either be preparing more food in the kitchen or more drinks in the bar, with Glyph's help if Shepard sends the drone there. Grunt and Kaidan joins them in anticipation of getting whatever is served first. Tali will be half passed out in the downstairs bathroom (she gets much more drunk in the quiet version than the energetic one).

Joker and Cortez will be upstairs with Ashley, Jacob, Wrex, Jack, Miranda and Samara. They will be discussing the different Normandy crews, with dialogue varying depending on Shepard's decision in the party's second part. Zaeed will be by the hot tub, and Garrus by the door, setting up traps for intruders, and coordinating with each other if both are there.

In the final part of the Energetic Party, Liara and James will continue their confrontation on the balcony, along with Miranda, Jacob, and Ashley/Kaidan. Glyph will be there if sent by Shepard to check on them. If Shepard supported Liara, she will lift James off the floor with biotics, while if James was supported, he and Jacob (and Kaidan, if present) will be doing push-ups. Kasumi uncloaks on Vega's back, having sat there for quite a while. After Shepard talks to the group, they will all start dancing, and Kasumi disappears once more. Meanwhile, Grunt is passed out in the shower in the upstairs washroom.

If Ashley is at the party, and Shepard locked in a different love interest (or expressed interest at one or none of the other nonstandard romances aside from James) at the time of the party, she and James will not dance. Instead, they will go to the upstairs lounge area together and flirt, which Shepard can encourage or discourage. In any other condition, both of them will show off their dance moves along with their groupmates on the balcony.

Downstairs, Traynor and Cortez will dance in the area between the kitchen and conference room, along with Jack, Samara, Garrus and Tali. Glyph will be here if sent by Shepard to set up a dance floor. Kasumi is in the closet of the downstairs bedroom nearby going through Shepard's underwear drawer.

Wrex, Zaeed and Javik are by the bar near the window, and they will be setting up a shooting gallery if Shepard supported Cortez. Joker and EDI are at the couch near the piano, where EDI is trying to convince Joker to dance. Joker doesn't want to, and Shepard may side with EDI or Joker in this. Either choice results in Joker dancing even if Shepard lets him do as he wants since EDI serves up more alcohol to get the pilot inebriated anyway.

After speaking to all groups and listening to as much dialogue as you wish, approach the couch to assemble the team for a Group Photo.

Aftermath
Shepard wakes up, potentially with their love interest in their arms, and assesses the aftermath. If Mordin survived Mass Effect 2 up to the completion of the genophage arc in Mass Effect 3, a datapad containing recordings from him will be available on the floor immediately beside the bed.

After the party the characters are more spread out, with no groups at all if only the mandatory guests were invited. Javik nurses a hangover by Shepard's hot tub, while Tali is on the bed in the guest bedroom on the same floor, doing the same. Liara is in the upstairs lounge along with Garrus and Glyph. Samara meditates in the same place as in the second part of the Quiet Party: the rock garden near Liara and Garrus. Kasumi is on the balcony.

James is cooking breakfast in the kitchen, joined by Miranda, Grunt, and Ashley/Kaidan. Steve is on one of the couches near the piano, along with Zaeed, while EDI is standing beside the piano, looking out the window. Joker is hung-over at the bar by the window, with Wrex sitting on a couch nearby. Traynor is in the den, hiding from EDI and searching the extranet for embarrassing recordings from the previous night. Jacob is doing sit-ups in the downstairs bedroom while Jack does chin-ups.

Most characters' dialogues are no different regardless of the second theme, while others are more sobered up or hung over.

It is possible for a female Shepard who is not in a romance (or who is locked into a romance with Kelly Chambers) to wake up with either James Vega or Javik, depending on dialogue choices made during the party.

After exiting the apartment, signal the Rapid Transit beside Armax Arsenal Arena to return everyone to Docking Bay D24, reminding them that the war is still going on. The Mass Effect 3 crew and Shepard's love interest gathers at the observation post looking at the Normandy. If Shepard romanced Thane, his spirit appears after everyone else but Shepard has boarded the ship, offering words of support for his siha. Shepard enters the Normandy last as the DLC comes to a close.