User blog:Temporaryeditor78/squadmate-mission matchups for maximum dialogue immersion

if you're one of those shepards who bring squadmates just to hear their take on whatever it is you're doing (and couldn't care less if whoever you're bringing is gameplay-optimal for the mission or not), feel free to look around/add your own suggestions. i made this for myself in order to save some time on who to bring on what missions on upcoming future playthroughs. i always found having to choose which squadmates to deploy time-consuming, sometimes picking the "wrong" squadmate for the mission then restarting after completion (no dialogue compared to others or just the wrong feel for the character="wrong").

i know there are unique dialogue pages for everyone, but those are listings per character. i find it easier to peruse lists of the relevant stuff on a per-mission basis, and i'll be adding notes here that won't be permitted under MoS rules anyway. this will be a perpetual work in progress so i apologize in advance for any RC clogging in the future.

i'll start with things i can list off the top of my head + stuff from the UD pages.

=mass effect=
 * therum: Find Liara T'Soni: wrex + tali. extra lulz if you did this mission late game because as we all know liara goes crazy. the obvious drawback is you'll miss out on benezia, among other things.
 * noveria: once you leave port hanshan your choice of squadmates is locked. the choices below may be mutually exclusive.
 * talking w/ anoleis: tali for the conversation about spacers and tax evasion.
 * Noveria: Peak 15: tali / garrus if you want callbacks for things concerning rachni way ahead on ME3 (not because of dialogue per se, but it'll just make their reminiscences about this mission way more appropriate).
 * Noveria: Matriarch Benezia: liara's a no-brainer. bring wrex for extra bit about rachni.
 * feros: once you leave zhu's hope for the exogeni building your choice of squadmates may be locked. the choices below may be mutually exclusive. also, if you want to jeong to live leave this world for later until you've attained 12 charm / 10 intimidate points.
 * Feros: The Thorian: everyone reacts incredulously upon first seeing the thorian. garrus and tali will reminisce about this in ME3 regardless of whether you brought them or not. bring them if you want the moment to be more appropriate.
 * virmire:
 * Virmire: Saren's Plan: wrex + virmire victim. this could be the last moments you get to play them especially if you're really planning to execute wrex.
 * Virmire: Assault: wrex if you let him live + virmire victim again. wrex to rub it in his face you're destroying the genophage cure (mean, yeah), virmire victim because this is literally the last time you get to use him/her. if you aren't a meanie though, substitute anyone else for wrex.
 * citadel:
 * talk to pallin: wrex.
 * Citadel: Homecoming: ashley.
 * Citadel: Asari Consort: wrex when speaking to oraka.
 * Citadel: Expose Saren: ashley + wrex (although it's unwise to bring wrex if you want to see fist alive in ME2)
 * Citadel: Signal Tracking: tali.
 * Citadel: Rita's Sister: ashley and kaidan.
 * Citadel: Our Own Worst Enemy: ashley, wrex, liara.
 * UNC: Hostage: kaidan.
 * UNC: Depot Sigma-23: wrex / ashley / kaidan / liara. wrex has the longest lines.
 * UNC: Geth Incursions: tali (no dialogue but given her history w/ geth this feels appropriate)
 * UNC: Listening Post Theta + UNC: Listening Post Alpha: ashley + kaidan or wrex. you'll either go starship troopers on this or you'll want to see a reenactment of the rachni wars (no dialogue, however).
 * Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon: garrus.
 * Wrex: Family Armor: wrex. duh.
 * ilos: your choice of squadmates is locked the moment you dropped down on the planet until you finish mass effect.
 * liara for the obvious prothean connections
 * tali compares the quarian situation to the protheans' on the conversation with vigil
 * your love interest if you want to go thematically appropriate even if there's no dialogue to be had.
 * talk to squadmate dynamics (for those moments the other squadmate replies):
 * chora's den: ashley + kaidan, kaidan + ashley
 * krogan monument: everyone else + wrex

=mass effect 2=
 * Normandy: FBA Couplings: recruit tali before doing this assignment. for the foursome poker game.
 * omega:
 * Omega: Batarian Bartender: everyone has lines when you get knocked out. even tali and legion. though i highly doubt you would have done this only after acquiring those two.
 * Dossier: Archangel:
 * when asking aria about archangel, you -will- want to bring mordin if you got him first.
 * grunt + zaeed for blood pack and blue suns interaction, respectively.
 * Dossier: The Professor: any two non-human squadmates. they'll be coughing soon enough. kasumi / zaeed / jack have their own amusing takes on this, miranda and jacob are plain boring.
 * Omega: Packages for Ish: miranda + jacob.
 * Dossier: The Warlord: mordin for extra dialogue w/ okeer. may be mutually exclusive to his own recruitment mission if you chose to get grunt first. also, almost everybody comments on that canned orders over loudspeaker bit, the injured merc and the tankbred krogan scenes.
 * Dossier: The Convict: grunt's talkative here. he likes jack.
 * Dossier: Tali: grunt and... hmm. kasumi / garrus / miranda / ...
 * Jacob: The Gift of Greatness: zaeed or kasumi. because we know kasumi likes BBC (big black CORSAIRS. get your heads off the gutter).
 * Horizon (mission):
 * mordin groundside relishes opportunity to test solution to seeker swarms.
 * jack emotes.
 * garrus will have something to say to the virmire survivor.
 * illium:
 * Dossier: The Assassin: the points of interest here are: merc defenestration, nervous salarian, and pre-elevator battle. jacob / jack / grunt have lines here.
 * Dossier: The Justicar: the points of interest here are: anaya and survival odds, elnora and biotic god. zaeed / thane / jack / grunt / garrus / kasumi will have something particularly amusing here.
 * tuchanka:
 * talk to urdnot leader about grunt's puberty: garrus / jack / samara / tali / thane
 * talk to fortack: mordin
 * talk to ratch about ryncol: grunt
 * Mordin: Old Blood: tali / garrus / jacob / kasumi / zaeed. depending on your choice of humor.
 * Grunt: Rite of Passage: no one in particular. bring mordin if you go for that duality thing with grunt.
 * citadel:
 * bring legion around on your very first visit to the citadel. depending on your playstyle this might be difficult to pull off - that is, if you're hoping for a coherent sense of events progression and quest completion given the shortened time frame between IFF installation and collector kidnapping.
 * at c-sec entrance, both doors (human and turian gatekeepers).
 * when you're speaking to the council.
 * kasumi at c-sec entrance: "i swear i didn't touch anything!"
 * talk to the council (if saved from original mass effect): garrus or jacob
 * talk to avina:
 * kasumi does double quotes, zaeed and miranda say something else when avina's asked about reapers.
 * kasumi, samara, thane, jack and mordin will have something to say about utopia technology.
 * talk to bailey about new c-sec measures: tali or garrus.
 * Citadel: Found Forged ID: 1 nonhuman squad member + 1 human squad member if you didn't save the council on original mass effect. all of your human squad members will have something to say to the asari, the nonhuman squaddie's just there so you'll notice the individual effects.
 * Citadel: Crime in Progress: tali and the ones who'll react: jack / zaeed / miranda / kasumi / jacob / garrus.
 * Garrus: Eye for an Eye: tali if you're planning to hook them up in ME3. no special dialogue but it's thematically appropriate.
 * Thane: Sins of the Father: garrus or tali when mouse brings up the shepard VI.
 * bring zaeed on any of the merc missions (especially those dealing with blue suns). no dialogue but again thematically appropriate.
 * Collector Ship (mission):
 * grunt will liken the pods to his tank.
 * samara will note the injustice.
 * mordin also has something unique here, i think. (needs confirmation)
 * everyone will have something to say when the trap is sprung. usually about cerberus and betrayal.
 * Reaper IFF:
 * tali + thane. tali for reasons below (special notes), thane because he rarely gets any dialogue (he says something about the dragon's teeth).
 * kasumi's afraid of rats.
 * Legion: A House Divided: tali optimal, grunt amusing, jack emotes.
 * Tali: Treason: if you gave veetor to cerberus miranda will have something to say here. although i would wonder why anyone would bring miranda there when legion's a much better choice.
 * Overlord: legion. first mission will suffice when gavin archer comments on his presence. optional afterwards. but again, you want to go thematically appropriate on this just bring tali / legion / miranda / jacob for the next missions.
 * Lair of the Shadow Broker (mission): doesn't really matter as nobody has extra lines and shadow broker comments on anyone you bring with you. you can play this out, however, as a "just like old times" mission with ME squadmates for thematic consistency: garrus and tali.
 * talk to squadmate options. because certain squadmates will have replies to the other and because certain squadmates will have changed dialogue depending on events. the first name is the one with the talk to option, the second name/s is/are the one/s who'll reply:
 * omega: jacob + miranda
 * tuchanka:
 * tali + (grunt / mordin)
 * jacob + grunt
 * grunt (after loyalty mission)
 * morinth + (mordin / grunt)
 * mordin + grunt
 * jack + grunt
 * zaeed / kasumi (if urz has been injured)
 * illium:
 * grunt + jacob
 * jacob + (samara / miranda / kasumi)
 * jack + (samara / grunt / jacob / garrus)
 * citadel:
 * thane + garrus
 * grunt AND kasumi (one hates ramen, the other loves it. bring them both to the same stand at the same time for maximum lulz)
 * horizon: kasumi has an exclusive here.
 * derelict reaper: (tali / garrus) + (miranda / samara / thane)

=mass effect 3=
 * Priority: Eden Prime:
 * everybody asks if liara has ever uncovered a dinosaur.
 * javik identifies your squadmates by race. maximize this by getting tali first (see special notes). otherwise, use EDI for early lulz.
 * the virmire survivor is also appropriate here, thematically speaking. supported by some dialogue to boot. this, however, requires shooting udina first on Priority: The Citadel II.
 * Priority: Sur'Kesh:
 * on the shuttle ride down if you destroyed maelon's data and urdnot leader says something these two react uniquely: javik, james
 * everyone will have a reaction on the first yahg: javik says they were smaller in his time, james clueless, liara / EDI / garrus clues in.
 * liara + garrus for the yahg (both times) and wrex interactions.
 * if wreav's the leader, javik or EDI for grade-A pwning.
 * there is a clickable vista here. squadmates will voice their opinions about beauty, javik will reminisce about its lack in his cycle.
 * certain squadmates will voice out if tolan is present instead of kirrahe. currently known: garrus, liara, james
 * essentially, kirrahe will react to the presence of your ME squad members. and he won't ever believe javik is prothean.
 * Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation:
 * garrus / EDI for interaction with jack and david archer. jack may or may not comment on EDI's body depending on whether she greeted garrus first.
 * liara comments a bit about biotics and hunger correlation.
 * james eyeballs jack. notes hotness. says something in-mission and after mission.
 * Tuchanka: Turian Platoon:
 * garrus for the insight on turian military
 * james
 * Tuchanka: Bomb:
 * garrus again
 * james again to make his comment about liking victus post-mission more appropriate
 * EDI has a bit but only in the shuttle ride back.
 * Priority: Tuchanka:
 * the points of interest here are the catacombs, the murals (kalros but not kakliosaur paintings), and the reaper destroyer. most everyone will have an opinion here.
 * Priority: The Citadel II:
 * james + javik: "you're like sun tzu, but with more eyes!" may be a bit problematic if you don't want javik's first time on the citadel be the one infested with traitors.
 * garrus for his c-sec roots.
 * Attican Traverse: Krogan Team:
 * the dialogue will change if you did Priority: Tuchanka first. shep and company will be aware of the rachni as opposed to dropping here first and they don't know (yet) what they're up against. and an obvious drawback is you're never going to hear what the urdnot leader has to say after this mission (there are reputation points there)
 * javik + tali. one because he shares a room with grunt, the other... SPIDERS. see special notes below.
 * james will be against setting the rachni queen free.
 * garrus: just like old times.
 * aftermission lines:
 * traynor nerds out on rachni method of communication
 * joker and EDI discuss a salarian-krogan rachni joke. and joker makes comments about grunt and the rachni queen (no idea if same lines with breeder)
 * james, javik and garrus will have comments on rachni and grunt.
 * allers and traynor intercom conversation: rachni.
 * Kallini: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery:
 * if shep's biotic, kaidan + garrus. one for the note about using biotics to float, the other for samara's greeting recognition. tried kaidan/tali or kaidan/liara combos but kaidan's lines are superseded by whoever it is he's paired with except garrus.
 * squadmates will note if liara is present in this mission or not. bring her if you must - she'll have extra lines anyway.
 * if kaidan's dead, ashley a good snarky alternative.
 * aftermission lines:
 * allers and traynor intercom conversation: "the hidden side to the most beautiful race in the galaxy"
 * Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists:
 * EDI and tali / garrus for interaction with jacob. EDI will note jacob didn't recognize her.
 * aftermission lines:
 * kaidan will hold a heart to heart session in the crew quarters. forgot if this is also valid for ashley, and if dialogue differs whether you romanced them or not (current playthrough romanced kaidan in ME for reference)
 * javik and EDI: intercom conversation about EDI's cerberus origins.
 * garrus and joker will have opinions on jacob.
 * traynor and stamps. dialogue may change whether you also chose to do Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation or not.
 * Priority: Geth Dreadnought:
 * if tali is romanced, EDI will speak up if other squadmate is clueless (or if she's the other squadmate).
 * even if tali's not romanced their dialogue's worth listening to anyway. especially if they meet legion instead of geth vi.
 * if you went for ash / liara (ME) and tali (ME2), observe the conversation dynamics. it's hard working with the ex and the current squeeze at the same time.
 * james nicknames tali on this mission.
 * tali and kaidan nerd out on omnitools.
 * javik compares the past to the present (geth / zha'til, dreadnought / penumbra apex)
 * garrus, dextro chocolate, and romance subtexts.
 * aftermission lines:
 * traynor, joker, EDI, steeeeeeeve, kaidan, legion / geth vi
 * james (will change depending on whether you brought him)
 * javik-tali intercom conversation (factors change on whether you brought javik and if you romanced tali)
 * garrus-tali intercom conversation (factors change on whoever's the urdnot leader)
 * garrus will hold a lengthy heart-to-heart session about leadership and the war
 * javik draws geth-zhatil parallels. and states how organics lack purpose while machines know theirs.
 * amusingly, even if you sold legion to cerberus, javik will still refer to geth VI as "LEGION" MACHINE.
 * Rannoch: Admiral Koris:
 * ashley and tali will have a spontaneous discussion.
 * garrus drops a minor line.
 * james is a good option in this. see special notes.
 * tali an obvious choice unless you want lines from other squadmates.
 * Priority: Rannoch: tali required here.
 * javik a good choice. see special notes.
 * N7: Fuel Reactors:
 * liara + ashley.
 * virmire survivor + james if you want to do this alliance style.
 * Priority: Thessia:
 * javik highly recommended, although other squadmates will be talkative here as well. the difference is that javik turns this mission into Asari's Creed™ upon reaching the temple. and the extra interaction with lt. kurin.
 * ashley and her typical gung-ho attitude on this.
 * Priority: Horizon:
 * you can bring tali for thematic consistency of the after-mission dialogue.
 * on the normandy after the mission, tali and javik will converse over intercom. to get the drunk version, speak to tali first on the lounge before heading to javik downstairs. for the sober version, vice versa.
 * Priority: Cerberus Headquarters: edi required here.
 * ashley for amusing bit about cerberus phantoms.
 * if you abandoned jack, any of your me2 squadmates will do for thematic consistency.
 * whoever your love interest is.
 * Priority: Earth:
 * before meeting up with anderson at least, you may want to bring along your human squadmates for the ride, being alliance soldiers and all. after you meet up with anderson the squad selection is really now up to you: whoever you want to see during the extended cut sequences.

=special notes=
 * bring characters with loyalty conflicts on each other's recruitment and loyalty missions to bring their issues full circle: miranda and jack, legion and tali. the latter two can't be stressed enough - although it may be inadvisable to get tali so late in the game if you want legion in her recruitment mission: IFF countdown and everything.


 * doing side missions with tali right after kidnapping her from the migrant fleet (everything that's not in between Priority: Geth Dreadnought and Priority: Rannoch) presents an urgency dilemma: the geth dreadnought is tearing through the fleet while you're off saving grunt (and/or samara on the other side of the galaxy). if you can wait, though, you can do the missions after Priority: Rannoch. aralakh company will be languidly waiting outside cave, and this may or may not fit into your perception of the time frame it takes for everyone except samara and her daughters to die in the monastery. or eden prime.


 * bring james to all missions requiring squadmates to fix something (in order of increasing lulz value: Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists, N7: Cerberus Fighter Base, Priority: Palaven, Rannoch: Admiral Koris) for that certain running gag feel of him having to fix things not normally within his expertise.


 * bring EDI on missions where transmissions are jammed if you want your suspension of disbelief stretched a bit (well she's still just controlling the body from normandy, right): Rannoch: Admiral Koris, Priority: Horizon
 * missions where you talk to her as if she's replying from the ship when her body's beside you also work.


 * javik is optional for all missions involving reaper destroyers (Priority: Tuchanka, Priority: Rannoch, Priority: Earth) - makes it seem like you're helping fulfill his purpose of killing reapers.