User blog comment:The Milkman/The Shepard Fan Club/@comment-5306852-20120720040503

I do have to disagree on the idea of Shepard having 'plot-proof armour' as you put it. I understand that having a character who excels at everything in a book is dull and boring, but with an RPG like Mass Effect the character turns out flawless because of the player's choices for the character. While someone with less experience playing the games might slip up in combat or make poor decisions, someone who knows the games well know how to get the best outcomes and how to make their Shepard an all-around buttkicker. He can fail during parts of the story, but that's only if the player chooses for them to fail or they don't have the prerequisites for the best outcome (Charm/Intimidate, prior choices, etc).

Shepard has lost before Leng though. In the first game, they're pretty beat up over the Normandy getting locked down and being sidelined by Udina. It takes Anderson rising to Shepard's aid for them to overcome that obstacle.