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“Make no mistake — this is a one-way trip.” — Spoilers for Mass Effect: Andromeda follow. |
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Jaal Ama Darav is a native of the Andromeda galaxy. Shortly after the arrival of the Andromeda Initiative in their corner of the universe, Jaal joins forces with the human Pathfinder Ryder and their team.
Jaal is a potential romantic interest for a Ryder of either gender.
Background
Jaal is 27 angaran years old. He comes from a famous angara family and is a high-ranking member of the Angaran Resistance against the kett. He joins Ryder's team as an observer for the Resistance because the angara are wary of the intentions of new species after the kett invaded the Heleus Cluster.[1]
Jaal's biological mother is named Sahuna. His father was a technician at a mine who went to work one day and never returned, presumed victim of the kett.
Growing up, Jaal used to have a pet kaerkyn named Alfit.
During his time with the Resistance, Jaal once participated in assaulting a kett base on Voeld. It was a desperate battle that they barely won.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
When Pathfinder Ryder makes first contact with the angara in search of Aya's Remnant vault, Jaal volunteers to join the Tempest crew as an observer, though Evfra de Tershaav warns him to be prepared if the human decides to kill him. He is assigned to steer the outsiders to either Voeld or Havarl for Resistance business that can demonstrate the Initiative's trustworthiness to the angara.
Aboard the Tempest, Jaal takes up residence in the Tech Lab, though he can often be found elsewhere on the ship interacting with the crew. On the Nexus he can be seen hanging out at the Cultural Exchange studying the Initiative races' culture.
On comms, Jaal asks Liam if the buildings on Prodromos are typical human houses. On hearing there's a lot of variance, he then inquires what Liam's house looked like, so the latter warns he might get sentimental. Jaal asks if that's shameful since angara cry and laugh together (and sometimes even fight like adhi), causing Liam to chuckle that it sounds like home.
On Havarl, if Ryder doesn't bring him with the squad on first landing, he goes ahead to Pelaav Research Station and converses with Kiiran Dals. He tells her he offered to accompany the Pathfinder, but they don't seem to need his help. If talked to, Jaal asks again if Ryder's certain they don't want him around, pointing out it's unwise to be in angaran territory without an angaran escort and that the outsiders are already in danger of being shot on sight by Roekaar. Whichever Ryder's response, Jaal may briefly summarize Havarl's role in angaran history.
Once the Pathfinder has proven their capabilities to Evfra, Jaal joins the squad to infiltrate a kett facility on Voeld where the Moshae Sjefa is being held. As nobody has ever returned from such a facility, he is baffled to observe captive angara seemingly offering no resistance to the cult-like activities of their overseers.
Soon it comes to light that all these rituals are in service of kett exaltation. Jaal is horrified to learn he has been killing his own people for so long he doesn't even know how many, weeping over the corpse of a Chosen that he personally saw transformed from an angara. Thus when the Moshae has finally been located, Jaal frantically rushes out determined not to let her suffer the same fate.
Later upon securing the Moshae, Jaal is insistent the captured angara within the base must be liberated first, against her wishes that the facility must be destroyed. Ultimately though, it is up to the Pathfinder to make that call.
Back on the Tempest, Jaal's attitude towards the Pathfinder depends whether they followed his advice or not. If the base was destroyed, Jaal initially gives Ryder the cold shoulder, but relents since saving the Moshae sort of evens it out. He confesses to missing his family, giving Ryder the chance to inquire about it, or/then establish closeness or distance with their own. Whichever the case, Ryder feels the Tempest crew is almost a family at times, prompting Jaal to admit he felt he never had a purpose until he came aboard. He's dissatisfied about his place in the Resistance even with people idolizing him, as he feels the Pathfinder is going to do something more important. Whichever way Ryder phrases their response, Jaal anticipates further adventures with the team even though afterward he still needs some distance to process his disagreement with the Pathfinder.
During conversation with the Moshae when she's safe, she jokingly claims that Jaal snores in his sleep. This may have had some truth to it, as Liam can catch Jaal napping and confirm it by asking if all angara indeed snore. Jaal counters by asking if all humans whimper in their sleep like Liam does.
Sometime after the exaltation facility, Dr. Lexi T'Perro invites Jaal to the medbay to see her findings about exalted kett. Even when shown evidence that there's nothing angaran inside, Jaal insists that the physical can be deceiving. Should Ryder encourage hoping for a way to fix these kett, Jaal thanks them for the support before leaving. If not, Lexi urges him to remember what they talked about: examining the issue objectively. Jaal sighs and excuses himself out.
Eventually, Jaal's exploits with Ryder gain him enough clout in the Resistance that he has received offers of advancement and his own command. He is to lead a small covert tech ops squad for infiltrating advanced kett sites. Regardless of Ryder's responses, Jaal makes it clear that working with the Pathfinder enabled him to break free of expectations and find his better self.
When Ryder asks if they should return to Aya, Jaal replies he already declined the offer. If the Pathfinder expressly wished for him to stay, Jaal opines they have become more open with their feelings like true angara. Otherwise, he muses how chance can change lives in an instant; Ryder gets what he means, and Jaal adds their father would've been proud of them. Now that Jaal is stuck with the Pathfinder's crew till the end of the mission, he cockily brags how they need him. Ryder jokingly warns him not to push his luck, but the angara sputters a retort before realizing it was only an idiom.
Loyalty
Jaal brings up the Roekaar to the Pathfinder and describes how they were founded. Knowing that the Roekaar would have to be dealt with sooner or later, Jaal suggests making contact with the Roekaar leader, Akksul, through a friend of the latter's, Thaldyr. When they arrive on Havarl, they find Thaldyr's sanctuary besieged by kett. After clearing out the hostiles, they find that Thaldyr had committed self-inflicted injuries to herself in order to avoid capture by the kett. After she dies, Jaal laments that Akksul used her devotion to him to spread xenophobia. Reluctantly, Jaal reaches out to the Moshae to secure a meeting between Ryder and Akksul.
The Roekaar later attack Prodromos, only to be repelled by Ryder and the team. Akksul sends a message afterward to the Tempest, labeling Jaal a fool for siding with aliens ahead of his own people. Jaal notes that Akksul sought to provoke them into reacting recklessly and advises against obliging him.
Three of Jaal's siblings, Teviint, Lathoul and Baranjj have run off to join the Roekaar. Jaal's mothers ask that he brings them back. Traveling to the Forge, the ancestral birthplace of the angara on Havarl, Jaal is puzzled to discover that the Roekaar had forced the civilian scientists out. Eventually, they run into his siblings, who open fire on the squad, before Jaal called to them to cease fire. After punching Baranjj twice in the face before hugging him, Jaal tried to convince his siblings to abandon the Roekaar, introducing them to Ryder to prove that Akksul was wrong. Lathoul saw reason and revealed that Akksul planned to destroy the Forge with explosive stolen from the Initiative to further demonize aliens, before being shot in the back by Teviint, though not fatally.
After disarming the bombs, Teviint came running to Jaal, believing she had killed Lathoul before being told otherwise, before speaking her desire to leave the Roekaar. Akksul then showed up and attempted a grandstanding speech before his followers. Jaal countered his views, citing how Ryder made their worlds habitable and how the human rescued their beloved Moshae. Akksul then raised a gun to his face, labeling him a traitor. If Ryder shoots Akksul first, it will only embolden the Roekaar. Otherwise, Akksul will scar Jaal's right cheek, causing his followers to disband.
Skills
| Powers | Energy Drain |
| Sticky Grenade | |
| Avenger Strike | |
| Passives | Rebel Soldier |
| Resilience | |
Note: Rank 6 of each Skill is unavailable to Jaal until his loyalty mission Jaal Ama Darav: Flesh and Blood is completed.
Armament
Jaal is armed with a modified Lanat sniper rifle that he calls "Darav".
Romance
When he first joins the team, he's quite distrustful of Ryder and will give almost no information about himself. If Ryder befriended him and flirted with him at every opportunity that they get, at one point he can be asked if he's interested to get to know each other better. Jaal agrees, claiming that it would be a privilege to get to know a person such as Ryder better.
After the final confrontation with Akksul, Jaal invites Ryder to meet his family, including Sahuna. She tells Ryder a few things about Jaal, embarrassing him, and then leaves for a meeting. He shows the place he spent most of his childhood days, which is packed with his family members at the time, and leads Ryder to his room, his "tiny sanctuary".
He shows Ryder some schematics of a weapon he received from his aunt when he was seven and the remains of a pet Kaerkyn that he had. After showing Ryder these items, he says he never showed anyone these things and tells Ryder that he wants them to be together. If Ryder accepts, they share a kiss and afterwards he presents a project he started long ago. He expresses his wish to complete the project, and he now has someone to do it with.
Later he sends an email saying he has a special place on Aya he wants Ryder to see. He and the Pathfinder can consummate their relationship there.
Correspondence
First email once Jaal has joined the Tempest:
Received after completing A Dying Planet:
Received after completing A Trail of Hope II:
Received after the gifts conversation:
Trivia
- According to Michael Gamble, Jaal's name in angaran means "guy with cloak which moves".[2]
- Jaal is listed as 193 cm tall and and 121 kg.
- Originally, Jaal could only be romanced by female Ryder. Since Patch 1.08, Jaal can now be romanced by either male or female Ryder.
- As with all squad members, Jaal has unique dialogue that can be heard at various locations, during missions or assignments, or if a specific squad member is in the selected team.
References
- Jaal Ama Darav - Mass Effect: Andromeda
- MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA | Combat Profiles & Squads | Official Gameplay Series - Part 2
- https://twitter.com/CabLivingstone/status/840328033986789376
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Mass Effect: Andromeda Squad |
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|---|---|---|
| Cora Harper • Nakmor Drack • Jaal Ama Darav Liam Kosta • Pelessaria B'Sayle • Vetra Nyx |