Save File Transfer

The Mass Effect series is designed as a trilogy, which allows the player to import their characters from any completed Mass Effect playthrough to subsequent games. This means that several decisions Commander Shepard makes in Mass Effect will carry over and have the potential to impact the story of Mass Effect 2, which in turn will affect Mass Effect 3.

Mechanics
To import save games on the Xbox 360, the game must be being played on the hard drive the saved game was completed on, since it is not possible to transfer the file that Mass Effect 2 imports using the Xbox 360's file management tools (although it is possible when transferring the entire contents of the drive using a transfer cable). As it is possible to transfer regular save files using the Xbox 360's file management tools, the player may choose to transfer a save file right before the final battle and complete it again in order to transfer the completed game file. This will need to be repeated for every playthrough the player wishes to import. Alternatively, run Mass Effect 2 on the old Xbox to import the character, then save the game and move the resulting save file to the new Xbox.

For the PC version, players will use the Mass Effect Configuration Tool to select the .MassEffectSave files they wish to import. These files can easily be transferred between computers, between legitimate versions of the software and pirated versions, and even downloaded from the internet if the player wished they had taken different actions in the original game but do not wish to re-play it. The site Masseffectsaves.com is a useful resource for this.

Another way of getting the save game variables that you want is by using Gibbed's Mass Effect 2 Save Editor. This save game editor allows you to change variables and checks placed within your Mass Effect 2 save file, which contains data from your Mass Effect save file (if you imported one). Instructions for using this tool can be found in this forum post.

If a player beats Mass Effect multiple times on a single Shepard, either by saving and re-loading or by starting a new game plus, each "victory" will be a separate Shepard that the player may import to Mass Effect 2. The player need not worry that they are over-writing one of their Shepards, and may review all the major specifications and decisions of a Shepard before they choose to import the file to ensure it is the right file.

Character Transfer
Character Stats and Levels

Due to several gameplay changes, your character's level and abilities will not transfer over to Mass Effect 2. This is explained in-game as being a result of the Lazarus Project. However, the game will acknowledge your character's level and morality and adapt it in ways that map across to the new system as well. The higher the level of the imported character, the greater the bonuses granted upon importing.
 * A portion of the character's Paragon/Renegade points (up to 190 each) are transferred over.
 * Importing a level 1 through level 49 character will grant 1,000 XP (the player starts at level 2), 20,000 credits, and 2,500 of each resource.
 * Importing a level 50 thorugh level 59 character will grant 2,000 XP (the player starts at level 3), 30,000 credits, and 5,000 of each resource.
 * Importing a level 60 character will grant 4,000 XP (the player starts at level 5), 50,000 credits, and 10,000 of each resource.
 * Having the "Rich" achievement from Mass Effect will grant an additional 100,000 credits.
 * The import bonuses will stack with the Mass Effect 2 completion starting bonuses (200,000 credits and 50,000 of each resource).

Character Personal Attributes

Shepard's first name, gender, background (Colonist, Earthborn, or Spacer), and career history (Sole Survivor, War Hero, or Ruthless) cannot be changed. The player, however, may alter the class of their new character, as well as Shepard's appearance. It is worth noting that if the player opts to change the latter, they must start from scratch to re-design their character's look -- one cannot simply change the hair color or nose of the previous character.

Romance
Shepard's romance interest from Mass Effect carries over to Mass Effect 2, as evidenced by a photo of said individual on Shepard's desk in the captain's quarters, and a slightly different scene when the two encounter each other again. However, there is no option to engage in any romantic repartee with the love interest, as they are not part of Shepard's squad. Despite this, Shepard is considered to still be in a relationship with that individual, and does not have the option to break up, however Shepard may choose to pursue an additional love interest, with someone from Mass Effect 2, though this is expected to have consequences for Shepard's relationship with their Mass Effect love interest in Mass Effect 3.

It should be noted that Mass Effect romances can carry over to Mass Effect 2 without consummation, or even when the player is fairly certain they have rejected the character in question. Merely speaking with a potential love interest once is enough to trigger a romance if paragon options are chosen. In some cases, even extensive renegade dialogue choices do not prevent the formation of a romance. Thus, if you wish to avoid carrying over a love interest to Mass Effect 2 you must leave that character behind on Virmire. However, if you wish to play through Mass Effect 2 with that particular squad member surviving Virmire but want to avoid carrying over a romance while still being able to talk to them in Mass Effect, you must select the appropriate dialogue choices that terminates the romance subplot when you speak to them after the first plot world. (see Talk:Romance)

Major Plot Decisions

 * Rescuing Kaidan Alenko or Ashley Williams during the Virmire mission.
 * The character who was left behind will not appear in any subsequent games in the Mass Effect series. It is a permanent character death.


 * Killing Wrex during the Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage confrontation.
 * If Wrex survived, he returns to Tuchanka and has united all the krogan under Clan Urdnot to combat the genophage and strengthen the krogan. If Wrex is killed, the more traditional Urdnot Wreav becomes the leader of Clan Urdnot, and little changes for the krogan.


 * Deciding the fate of the Council during the battle with Sovereign, and the nomination of either Captain Anderson or Donnel Udina to the Council.
 * If the Council is saved with Anderson as a representative, Shepard is granted an audience with the Council and has the opportunity to be reinstated as a Spectre. All other options will result in no audience with the Council, but Shepard will still be reinstated as a Spectre if either Anderson was made a Councillor (even if the original Council was lost) or if the Council was saved (but Udina was made the human Councillor). If the Council was not saved, aliens you meet on on the Citadel will be somewhat bitter against humanity, and Avina will have a fascist streak, repeatedly notifying Shepard that certain inquiries have been forwarded to C-Sec, and to surrender if approached for arrest.
 * Note: The nomination of Anderson or Udina to the Council is not actually included in the save file per se; rather, when importing a character from Mass Effect, the player must actually tell Miranda whether Anderson or Udina was nominated to the Council after their escape from the Cerberus facility. This is because the save file that is carried over from Mass Effect is created after the destruction of Sovereign, and the decision of whether to back Udina or Anderson is made after that.
 * If the Council was saved in Mass Effect, the following text is displayed after the first cutscene showing a conversation between The Illusive Man and Miranda Lawson:

"One month after the devastating geth attack on the Citadel, the galactic community struggles to rebuild.

The Alliance fleet made a tremendous sacrifice to save the Citadel Council and earned humanity membership in this prestigous group. Now the Council is forced to respond to evidence that the Reapers -- enormous machines that eradicate all organic civilization every 50,000 years have returned. To quell the rumors, the Council has sent Commander Shepard and the Normandy to wipe out the last pockets of geth resistance. Officially, they blame the invasion on the geth and their leader, a rogue Spectre.

But for those who know the truth, the search for answers is just beginning."


 * If the Councilors are killed in Mass Effect, and replaced by a multi-racial group led by the humans, the following text is displayed:

"In 2183, the heart of the galactic community suffered a devastating attack.

The Citadel space station was invaded by a synthetic geth army attempting to open a portal for the Reapers: enormous machines that eradicate all organic civilization every 50,000 years. Commander Shepard led the defense, but the Citadel Council was lost.

Now, the new human-led Council attempts to quell rumors of the Reapers' return. Hoping to ease public concern, they've sent Commander Shepard and the starship Normandy to wipe out all remaining geth resistance."
 * If the Councilors are killed in Mass Effect, and replaced by an all-human Council, the following text is displayed:

"One month after the devastating geth attack on the Citadel, humanity seized political control of the galaxy.

Now the human-led Council is forced to respond to evidence that the Reapers -- enormous machines that eradicate all advanced civilizations every 50,000 years &mdash; have returned. To quell the rumors, the Council has sent Commander Shepard and the Normandy to wipe out the last pockets of geth resistance. Officially, they blame the invasion on the geth and their leader, a rogue Spectre.

But for those who know the truth, the search for answers is just beginning."

Other Plot Decisions

 * Fist on the Citadel
 * If Fist is spared, Shepard encounters him at Afterlife, where Fist angrily admonishes Shepard for ruining his life and making the effort of harassing him across the galaxy despite him being a small time criminal.


 * Colonists and Shiala on Feros
 * If sufficient numbers of colonists survived (or if Shepard persuaded Ethan Jeong to commit ExoGeni resources toward rebuilding the colony,) Shepard encounters a representative of the colonists on Illium who need help extricating themselves from a medical contract. If Shiala was spared, she is the representative. (Note: Even if the Thorian enslaved colonists are killed but Shiala is spared, Shiala still references Shepard saving them.)


 * Rachni Queen on Noveria
 * If the Rachni Queen is set free, she will send a message through an asari, on the planet Illium, thanking Shepard for freeing her, with further dialogue ensuing. There is a news report of small scout ships seemingly rachni in design that, when approached, quickly retreat.


 * Gianna Parasini on Noveria
 * If Shepard aided Gianna, she is found on Illium where she again requests help, and will buy Shepard the promised beer. If a male Shepard aids her, she will additionally give him a kiss. This quest also appears in Mass Effect 2 without an imported save file, or on an imported save file where you got what you needed via another method that does not involve Gianna, but male Shepard will not be able to receive a kiss.


 * Encouraging Garrus to be more renegade or paragon
 * If Paragon, Garrus will have attempted to join C-Sec but lament that he could do little good there in the chaotic aftermath of the attack on the Citadel. If Renegade, Garrus will be confused if Shepard questions the plan to kill Sidonis.


 * Helping Tali with her personal pilgrimage quest
 * When first encountering her on Freedom's Progress, mentioning the gift of the geth data can serve to prove Shepard's identity.


 * Rana Thanoptis on Virmire
 * If Rana is spared, Shepard encounters her during Grunt's recruitment mission on Korlus while seeking Okeer. Rana insists her second chance was not put to waste, but Shepard once again has the option to kill her.


 * Captain Kirrahe on Virmire
 * A dialogue option will open during which Mordin Solus will reference Kirrahe's "Hold the Line" speech during ship conversation if a Mass Effect save is imported. The dialogue will change slightly depending on whether or not Kirrahe survived the mission.

Assignment Decisions
These result merely in e-mail to private terminal or news reports unless noted otherwise.
 * Shepard's resolution of the pre-service history quest:
 * Spacer -- Citadel: Old, Unhappy, Far-Off Things
 * Earthborn -- Citadel: Old Friends
 * Colonist -- Citadel: I Remember Me
 * Shepard's choice to aid Sha'ira in Citadel: Asari Consort.
 * Shepard's choice to aid Samesh Bhatia in Citadel: Homecoming.
 * If the body was released to Samesh, Shepard receives an e-mail from Samesh thanking Shepard for the help. There will also be a news story indicating that the Alliance is having difficulty in meeting recruiting quotas due to fears of 'superior' geth technology.


 * Shepard's treatment of Conrad Verner in Citadel: The Fan
 * Shepard will run into him on Illium, but the interactions are identical regardless of prior treatment. This is due to a glitch in the first Mass Effect which activates both the "Charmed" and "Intimidated" flags, but forces the "Intimidated" option as the default.


 * Shepard's choice to aid Emily Wong in Citadel: Reporter's Request.
 * Shepard's choice to aid Chorban in Citadel: Scan the Keepers.
 * Chorban sends an e-mail about his scientific findings about the keepers; the text of the e-mail will vary depending on the number of keepers Shepard scanned in Mass Effect.


 * Shepard's choices while being interviewed by reporter Khalisah Al-Jilani in Citadel: The Fourth Estate.
 * This quest occurs in Mass Effect 2 regardless of whether or not you completed it in Mass Effect. There is slightly different dialogue based on how Shepard interacted with the reporter in Mass Effect.


 * Shepard's choice to help Dr. Chloe Michel in Citadel: Doctor Michel.
 * If the assignment was completed in Mass Effect, an email will be received in Mass Effect 2, in which Dr. Michel says that she is happy that Shepard is alive and wishes the Commander can visit her on the Citadel.


 * Shepard's advice to Rebekah Petrovsky regarding her baby in Citadel: Family Matter.
 * Their conversation can be overheard in one of the shops on the Citadel, which differs depending on Shepard's advice. This conversation occurs in Mass Effect 2 without an imported save file.


 * Shepard's interaction with Helena Blake in UNC: Hostile Takeover.
 * If Blake survived in Mass Effect, Shepard will run into her at Afterlife on Omega. The dialogue will vary depending on how Shepard resolved the mission.


 * Shepard's interaction with Corporal Toombs in UNC: Dead Scientists.
 * While Shepard's actions in UNC: Geth Incursions have no effect on Mass Effect 2, hacking geth data files during the mission is necessary to trigger Tali's personal quest, which does have an effect on Mass Effect 2.
 * If the entire string of Cerberus quests (UNC: Missing Marines→UNC: Cerberus→UNC: Hades' Dogs) are completed, you can talk with Miranda about these activities, and will hear news reports about an investigation, which can involve additional testimony from UNC: Dead Scientists depending on how or whether you completed that assignment. Finishing every assignment will cause Garrus to question Shepard's choice to work with Cerberus, reminding Shepard about the experiments they had done.
 * Shepard's decision in UNC: Hostage.
 * Shepard's completion of UNC: Rogue VI.
 * This allows for additional dialogue options with EDI and Miranda regarding AIs.


 * A news report will reference the events on UNC: Besieged Base, but regardless of Shepard's choices, will claim the Sirta Foundation never recovered from the attack and will likely be shutting down.
 * Shepard's decision to aid Nassana Dantius in UNC: Asari Diplomacy.
 * Nassana will recognize Shepard, and comment on the irony that Shepard has been "sent to kill her", referencing her sister's murder.


 * Shepard's choices in Bring Down the Sky (DLC).
 * There will be different news reports depending on whether or not Shepard let Balak go to save the hostages. If Bring Down the Sky was not played, the news story indicates that the hostages died.

Mass Effect 2 → Mass Effect 2 (Existing Characters, New Characters)
After completing the game a single time (regardless of importing a Mass Effect character) all new Mass Effect 2 characters receive the following, and existing Mass Effect 2 characters that are imported from a save file get to keep their weapons and armor on top of these bonuses.


 * +25% Bonus Experience - Able to reach level 30 with a new character in a single playthrough.
 * +200,000 Credits
 * +50,000 Iridium
 * +50,000 Palladium
 * +50,000 Platinum
 * +50,000 Element Zero - Will not have to scan for element zero at all.
 * +500 Fuel and +30 Probes - Existing Mass Effect 2 characters can carry over extra fuel and probes if the save file possesses the Extended Fuel Cells and Modular Probe Bay upgrades and both are fully stocked. The Normandy SR-2 will possess 1500/1000 fuel, and 60/30 probes following the Freedoms Progress Mission.

Mass Effect 2 → Mass Effect 3
Few details are currently available as to which decisions will have a direct impact on Mass Effect 3. Currently, it is known that Mass Effect 3 will not accept save files where Shepard has died in Mass Effect 2, and that all character deaths during the suicide mission are permanent. In addition, cheating on your Mass Effect love interest in Mass Effect 2 will have consequences for Mass Effect 3.