Powers (Mass Effect 3)

This article is about abilities in Mass Effect 3. For abilities in the original Mass Effect, see Talents. For abilities in Mass Effect 2, see Powers. For an alphabetized list of all Powers across both games, see Category:Powers. For abilities in Mass Effect: Andromeda, see Skills.

The abilities used in combat in both single-player and multiplayer Mass Effect 3 are called powers. This article emphasizes single-player mode; more on the various classes and their available powers in multiplayer mode can be found on the Character Customization page. The individual pages for specific powers also have information on single-player versus multiplayer variations of each power where applicable.

Mechanics

Each power used by the player or a member of the squad (with the exception of First Aid) follows the same general pattern as Powers from Mass Effect 2, but now two additional ranks are possible up to a maximum rank of 6. As with Mass Effect 2's rank 4, Mass Effect 3's ranks 4-6 give two power choices with the sixth always being passive. Ammo powers also return in Mass Effect 3 though with some differences from how they worked in the previous game; for more information see the Weapons page.

As in the previous game, most powers in Mass Effect 3 automatically lock on to enemies and either hit home instantly or fire seeking projectiles some of which are capable of arcing around cover. In Mass Effect 3, many power projectiles are noticeably faster with faster possible recharge times compared to in the previous game, though on the downside many enemy types are now capable of dodging powers. As in Mass Effect 2, powers utilized by squadmates almost never fire actual projectiles and instead impact targets instantly and thus can't be evaded by enemies the vast majority of the time. Also like in Mass Effect 2, biotic or other powers that can lift or knock enemies around only work fully against enemies unprotected by barriers, shields, or armor, however there are more powers in Mass Effect 3 that are capable of affecting enemies still with some protection.

Shepard's powers and bonus power, plus the powers of all of the major squadmates with the exception of Javik, can be reassigned at two terminals located in the medical bay of the Normandy SR-2. Reassigning powers resets every skill point to be unassigned for Shepard or the desired squadmate. You can immediately reallocate Shepard's points from the Squad screen, but you won't be able to reallocate squadmate points until you take that squadmate on a mission or into a combat situation. The first reassignment is free, but if repeated the cost increases by 5,000 credits with each purchase, up to a maximum of 25,000 credits per reassignment for that individual. Reassigning Shepard's bonus power always costs 5,000 credits, with the pool of available powers expanding by earning achievements mostly relating to the squadmate the power belongs to (see below).

Commander Shepard

Shepard can earn up to 181 points to allocate to powers. A new game starts Shepard at level 1 with 3 predetermined points. The following table shows the amount of points earned per level with the total amount at level 60. Levels that are grouped reward the same amount of points per level, with the total amount awarded for that series of levels shown in the far right column.

Level(s)	Points Per Level	Total
1	3	3
2 - 30	2	58
31 - 60	4	120
Total	-	181

This gives you the option of fully maxing out 8 powers with 13 points remaining at level 60, enough to bring one other power up to level 4 with 3 points remaining unspent, though of course other combinations are entirely possible.

Imported Mass Effect 2 Saves

Depending on Shepard's level in a completed save you can have up to 51 points to carry over to Mass Effect 3. However, imported saves of levels 26 - 30 will give two additional points per level totaling up to 61 points.

With one exception you can decide how your points are allocated before importing Mass Effect 2 saves. For an easier explanation, let's assume you have a level 30 Shepard.

• Any class ranks you had in Mass Effect 2 will be given in Mass Effect 3 (e.g. rank 3 Warp).
• You will start with 61 points between spent and unspent points (55 unspent + 6 spent in rank 3 Warp).
• Any points in a Loyal Power (e.g. Miranda's Slam) will be given back as unspent points.
• If you wish to start Mass Effect 3 with all 61 points unspent, import a save that has 51 unspent points or choose a different class than your Mass Effect 2 import during character customization. You may also reset your points in the med bay once aboard the Normandy. This is useful if you use the same class in Mass Effect 3 as your imported Mass Effect 2 Shepard, but want to reallocate points.

Base Powers

Each player class has access to First Aid, a power that uses medi-gel to revive fallen squadmates and restore a portion of Shepard's health; Fitness, to increase health, shields and melee damage; a passive class power, to increase reputation and other class-specific bonuses; and 6 active powers.

The following is a list of powers available to each class. Powers available from the very beginning are marked with a ✓, while powers that need to be unlocked by leveling up are marked with a •.

	Power	Adept	Engineer	Infiltrator	Sentinel	Soldier	Vanguard
Combat
	Adrenaline Rush					✓
	Concussive Shot					•
	Fitness	•	•	•	•	•	✓
Ammo
	Cryo Ammo			•		•	•
	Disruptor Ammo			✓		•
	Incendiary Ammo					✓	✓
Grenade
	Cluster Grenade	•
	Frag Grenade					•
	Lift Grenade				•
	Sticky Grenade			•
Biotic
	Biotic Charge						✓
	Nova						•
	Pull	•					•
	Shockwave	•					•
	Singularity	✓
	Throw	•			✓
	Warp	✓			•
Tech
	Combat Drone		✓
	Cryo Blast		•		•
	Overload		•		•
	Incinerate		✓	•
	Sabotage		•	•
	Sentry Turret		•
	Tactical Cloak			✓
	Tech Armor				✓

Class Powers

In addition to their active starting powers, each class has a passive class power that grants a bonus to Reputation as well as other unique bonuses, depending on the class.

	Class	Power
	Adept	Biotic Mastery
	Engineer	Tech Mastery
	Infiltrator	Operational Mastery
	Sentinel	Offensive Mastery
	Soldier	Combat Mastery
	Vanguard	Assault Mastery

Bonus Powers

Each player class is able to learn one additional bonus power. These are unlocked through conversations with your squad or through completion of DLC missions (most of which are included in Legendary Edition). Each squad member can unlock two bonus powers. Since Ashley Williams and Kaidan Alenko both can't be present in one playthrough, to unlock both powers from each of them requires playing at least one game of Mass Effect 3 with each of them being the Virmire Survivor to unlock their bonus powers (unless PC Tweaks or save editors are used). Fortunately, it isn't necessary to play through an entire game to unlock the bonus powers, it's only necessary to play until the required event in the story that unlocks them (see below). As in Mass Effect 2, once a bonus power has been unlocked it becomes available for all future characters and games of Mass Effect 3, and one of the available bonus powers must be picked during the character creation process. Any unlocked power can be chosen with the exception of Dominate.

	Power	Squadmate	How to get this power
Combat
	Inferno Grenade	Ashley Williams	This power unlocks immediately after recruiting Ashley after Priority: The Citadel II.
	Marksman	Ashley Williams	Talk to Ashley in the Starboard Observation after Priority: The Citadel II. She invites you to the Memorial Wall; talk to her there.
	Proximity Mine	Garrus Vakarian	Talk to Garrus after Priority: Thessia.
	Fortification	James Vega	Talk to James in the Shuttle Bay after Priority: Mars. He will offer to "dance" (spar); have the fight and you get the power.
	Carnage	James Vega	Call James up to your cabin after Priority: The Citadel II
Ammo
	Armor-Piercing Ammo	Garrus Vakarian	Talk to Garrus in the Main Battery after Priority: Palaven.
	Warp Ammo	Liara T'Soni	Talk to Liara in her quarters after Priority: Sur'Kesh, when she's sitting by the computer near her bed instead of her Shadow Broker screens.
Tech
	Defense Matrix	EDI	Talk to EDI on the Bridge after Priority: The Citadel II.
	Decoy	EDI	Talk to EDI on the Bridge after Priority: Horizon.
	Defense Drone	Tali'Zorah vas Normandy	Talk to Tali in the Presidium Commons after Priority: Rannoch.
	Energy Drain	Tali'Zorah vas Normandy	Invite Tali to your quarters after Priority: Perseus Veil.
Biotic
	Stasis	Liara T'Soni	Speak to Liara after Priority: Thessia. Note: if you do not talk to her immediately after Priority: Thessia, you will miss it.
	Barrier	Kaidan Alenko	This power unlocks immediately after recruiting Kaidan after Priority: The Citadel II.
	Reave	Kaidan Alenko	Talk to Kaidan in the Starboard Observation Lounge after Priority: The Citadel II. Note: if you do not talk to him when you first return to the Normandy, you will miss it.
	Slam	Javik1	Talk to Javik after he joins you on the Normandy.
	Dark Channel	Javik1	Talk to Javik right after Priority: Horizon.
	Dominate	N/A2	Complete Mass Effect 3: Leviathan.
	Lash	Aria T'Loak3	Complete Mass Effect 3: Omega.
	Flare	Aria T'Loak3	Complete Mass Effect 3: Omega.

¹ Requires Mass Effect 3: From Ashes DLC (Legendary Edition: included by default)
² Requires Mass Effect 3: Leviathan DLC (Legendary Edition: included by default)
³ Requires Mass Effect 3: Omega DLC (Legendary Edition: included by default)

Squadmates

See also: Squad Members Guide (Mass Effect 3)

Powers

Each squadmate has 4 active powers and 1 passive class power. They can attain 90 squad points total by level 60, earning 1 point per level from levels 1-30, and 2 points per level from levels 31-60. The main storyline squadmates all start with one point already allocated to one of their active powers (whichever power is in the top row on the squad menu screen). The bonus squadmates available in Mass Effect 3: Citadel receive one point fewer.

Squadmate	Power 1	Power 2	Power 3	Power 4
Ashley Williams	Disruptor Ammo	Concussive Shot	Inferno Grenade*	Marksman
James Vega	Incendiary Ammo	Carnage	Fortification*	Frag Grenade
Kaidan Alenko	Reave	Barrier*	Overload	Cryo Blast
Garrus Vakarian	Concussive Shot*	Overload	Armor-Piercing Ammo	Proximity Mine
Liara T'Soni	Singularity*	Warp	Stasis	Warp Ammo
Tali'Zorah vas Normandy	Defense Drone	Energy Drain*	Combat Drone	Sabotage
EDI	Incinerate*	Overload	Defense Matrix	Decoy
Javik1	Dark Channel*	Lift Grenade	Slam	Pull
David Anderson	Concussive Shot*	Frag Grenade	Fortification	Incendiary Ammo
Aria T'Loak2	Flare*	Reave	Carnage	Lash
Nyreen Kandros2	Biotic Protector	Lift Grenade	Incinerate*	Overload
Urdnot Wrex3	Carnage	Lift Grenade	Barrier	Stimulant Pack
Miranda Lawson3	Overload	Warp	Incinerate	Reave
Jacob Taylor3	Incendiary Ammo	Lift Grenade	Barrier	Pull
Jack3	Shockwave	Pull	Warp	Warp Ammo
Grunt3	Concussive Shot	Incendiary Ammo	Fortification	Frag Grenade
Samara3	Reave	Warp	Pull	Throw
Zaeed Massani3	Carnage	Concussive Shot	Disruptor Ammo	Inferno Grenade
Kasumi Goto3	Tactical Cloak	Overload	Armor-Piercing Ammo	Decoy

*Starts at rank 1

Class Powers

Each squadmate has their own unique passive class power. All of these powers grant varying bonuses to health and weapon damage, with many offering additional bonuses.

	Name	Power
	Admiral Anderson	Alliance Admiral
	Ashley Williams	Alliance Officer
	EDI	Unshackled AI
	Garrus Vakarian	Turian Rebel
	James Vega	Arms Master
	Javik1	Vengeful Ancient
	Kaidan Alenko	Alliance Officer
	Liara T'Soni	Pure Biotic
	Tali'Zorah vas Normandy	Quarian Machinist
	Aria T'Loak2	Biotic Boss
	Nyreen Kandros2	Turian Huntress
	Urdnot Wrex3	Krogan Battlemaster
	Miranda Lawson3	Cerberus Officer
	Jacob Taylor3	Cerberus Operative
	Jack3	Subject Zero
	Grunt3	Krogan Berserker
	Samara3	Asari Justicar
	Zaeed Massani3	Mercenary Veteran
	Kasumi Goto3	Master Thief

¹ Requires Mass Effect 3: From Ashes (Legendary Edition: included by default)
² Requires Mass Effect 3: Omega (Legendary Edition: included by default)
³ Requires Mass Effect 3: Citadel (Legendary Edition: included by default)

Power Combos

Main article: Power Combos

See Also

• Biotics
• Tech
• Grenades
• Squad