The best Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods start with ME3Tweaks Mod Manager and the three community patches, then build out to Expanded Galaxy Mod, the Diversification Projects, Take Earth Back, and A Lot Of Textures. These 100 mods for Mass Effect Legendary Edition are the most loved on Nexus Mods, all free from their creators’ pages and grouped by what they change.
Nearly everything here installs through ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, so read our guide to installing mods first and make the backup it tells you to make. Each game is modded separately, and each entry says which one it touches: LE1, LE2, and LE3 are the Legendary Edition versions of Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3, and our list of every Mass Effect game in order shows where they sit in the series.
Essential Tools and Community Patches
1. ME3Tweaks Mod Manager
ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, also called M3, is the tool almost every other mod here installs through, and with more than 32,000 endorsements it is the most endorsed mod for the game. It keeps a library of your mods, checks for updates on the ones that support it, and has a backup and restore menu that its page tells you not to skip. Vortex cannot install mods for this game, so start here, and follow our step-by-step install guide for your first mod. Game: LE1, LE2, LE3, and the launcher. Creator: ME3Tweaks. Download: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager on Nexus Mods.
2. LE1 Community Patch
LE1 Community Patch is the bugfix mod for the first game: small edits that fix bugs, improve basic usability, and restore broken content while keeping the game close to vanilla. Since version 2.0 it also includes a framework and sideloader that make it much easier for mods to work together, plus a Mod Settings Menu on the pause screen. A long list of LE1 mods further down requires it, so install it first. Game: LE1. Creator: LE1 Community Patch Team. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: LE1 Community Patch on Nexus Mods.
3. Unofficial LE2 Patch
Team Pyjak’s patch is the comprehensive bugfix for Mass Effect 2, still labeled a stable public beta. Its changelog runs from small visual repairs (male quarians can now blink, vorcha eyes no longer pop out of their sockets) to gameplay fixes such as planets in the Pamyat system no longer being locked behind a single renegade point. Several bigger mods here require it, and Expanded Shepard Armory needs version 0.9.6 or later. Game: LE2. Creator: Team Pyjak. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Unofficial LE2 Patch on Nexus Mods.
4. LE3 Community Patch
LE3 Community Patch is a bug and continuity fix for Mass Effect 3 with a companion piece, the Community Framework, that lets mods change NPCs without needing compatibility patches. It fixes the kind of thing you notice once and never forget, such as Anderson turning pitch black as he runs for the Normandy, or your squad’s weapons vanishing at interaction points. Its page says it works on existing saves and must go in before any texture mods. Game: LE3. Creator: LE3 Community Patch Team. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: LE3 Community Patch on Nexus Mods.
5. Trilogy Save Editor
Trilogy Save Editor opens your saves and lets you change a lot inside them: thousands of plot flags, bonus powers, your head morph, and your LE1 inventory. It is also how you apply most custom hair mods, including More Hair for Femshep and Halcyon Hairpack further down. It runs as its own program rather than through M3. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: Karlitos. Needs: Visual C++ Redistributable. Download: Trilogy Save Editor on Nexus Mods.
6. LE2 Prologue Framework
You will not see any difference from this mod on its own. It changes how the game loads characters from the opening scene through leaving Minuteman Station, so that mods editing the same NPCs stop stepping on each other. Expanded Shepard Armory, Casual Hubs, and Cerberus and Alliance Uniform Consistency all require it. Its page warns that incompatible mods can cause a softlock, and that the similarly named Liara Consistency Project does not work with it (that is a different mod from the Liara Consistency Mod further down). Game: LE2. Creator: beccatoria. Needs: Unofficial LE2 Patch 0.9.5.2 or later, installed first. Download: LE2 Prologue Framework on Nexus Mods.
7. Expanded Universe Mod Menu
This menu lets you mark which Mass Effect books, comics, games, and films you have seen, and other mods read those answers to tailor their content. Take Earth Back, Spectre Expansion Mod, LE3 Diversification Project, and both Retrofits mods on this list name it as a requirement, so most LE3 setups end up with it. Game: LE3. Creator: Tydeous. Needs: Nothing else listed on its page. Download: Expanded Universe Mod Menu on Nexus Mods.
8. Appearance Modification Menu
This comes as two separate mods with different jobs. The LE1 version lets you pick casual and combat looks for Shepard and the whole squad from hundreds of outfits, purely as a cosmetic layer that leaves stats alone, and other mods can add outfits to it without conflicts. The LE3 version, still labeled beta, opens a menu that changes Shepard’s face and hair with a live preview, doing everything the character creator and save editor can. The LE3 page says it does not work with mods that replace head mesh vertices through an imported file. Game: LE1 and LE3. Creator: DropTheSquid. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Appearance Modification Menu LE1 and Appearance Modification Menu LE3 on Nexus Mods.
Big Overhauls and New Content
9. Expanded Galaxy Mod
Expanded Galaxy Mod is the big one for Mass Effect 3, with more than 12,000 endorsements. Its core adds four weapons (the Collector SMG, Collector Sniper, Geth Spitfire, and M-57 Gladius), lets you change armor at mission launch and swap loadouts at any time, and lets you preset when DLC unlocks. Optional modules overhaul the Normandy into a lively base with crew you choose, and rework the war asset system. You set up what you want from a settings app in M3’s Tools menu. Game: LE3. Creator: Kinkojiro. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE3 Community Patch 1.7.5 or later (the Normandy module also needs its Framework). Download: Expanded Galaxy Mod on Nexus Mods.
10. LE1 Diversification Project
This large immersive overhaul gets past the memory limits that kept the first game’s crowds so uniform. Female turians now appear across the game as civilians, scientists, C-Sec officers, and mercs, hubs get more outfits, faces, hair, and weapon models, and barren spots such as Dr. Michel’s clinic get more people. It also restores more than 500 lines of cut dialogue, plus missing NPCs and items. Its page recommends pairing it with MELLO. Game: LE1. Creator: Audemus. Needs: LE1 Community Patch and Framework, Advanced Weapon Models for LE1, Halcyon Hairpack (LE1). Download: LE1 Diversification Project on Nexus Mods.
11. LE3 Diversification Project
The Mass Effect 3 counterpart stops humans from dominating the Citadel by adding far more aliens, makes C-Sec a multi-species force in lore-accurate gear, and lets the Citadel change over time, with its advertisements, club music, and passing ships all randomized. Those ships also reflect the allies you have gathered, and new ambient dialogue reacts to your character’s history. It is built to work on its own and as a base for other content mods, with patches included for the Retrofits series. Game: LE3. Creator: TheModBreaker. Needs: LE3 Community Patch and Framework (latest version), Expanded Universe Mod Menu. Download: LE3 Diversification Project on Nexus Mods.
12. Take Earth Back
Take Earth Back overhauls Mass Effect 3’s final mission so that it shows the allies you spent the trilogy gathering, with more than 28 war assets represented in the Earth hub, restored cut content, new conversations, and new cutscenes. The Hades gun sequence and beam run get minor overhauls, and the turret sequence gets a bigger one. It works with an unmodded campaign as well as Expanded Galaxy Mod and Spectre Expansion Mod, and its page says nothing past the beam run is touched, so ending mods should stay compatible. Game: LE3. Creator: TheModBreaker. Needs: LE3 Community Patch and Framework, Expanded Universe Mod Menu. Download: Take Earth Back on Nexus Mods.
13. Spectre Expansion Mod
Spectre Expansion Mod started as a rework of the Spectre Terminal and grew to cover the Shadow Broker terminal, a new shop and items, and a galaxy map expanded with homeworlds and anomalies. It also turns scan-and-fetch side quests into real missions: the Obelisk of Karza becomes a dig site you explore, and the Book of Plenix becomes a combat mission on the volus homeworld. A separate LE2 version, still in alpha, reworks the emails and adds two star clusters to that game’s galaxy map. Game: LE3, with a separate LE2 page. Creator: TheModBreaker. Needs (LE3): Expanded Galaxy Mod with its Galactic War module, LE3 Community Patch and Framework, Omega Hub, Expanded Universe Mod Menu. Download: Spectre Expansion Mod for LE3 and for LE2 on Nexus Mods.
14. Pinnacle Station DLC
Pinnacle Station is the first game’s DLC that Legendary Edition left out because its source code was lost, and ME3Tweaks ported it back in full, with new music and many fixes. You get a combat training station with four simulator maps and four modes, and beating the other competitors on all 12 simulations gives you a shot at a unique prize. Head to the Argos Rho cluster, Phoenix system, to start it. ME3Tweaks warns that saves made inside its maps will crash the game if you remove the DLC later. Game: LE1. Creator: ME3Tweaks. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Pinnacle Station DLC on Nexus Mods.
15. Audemus’ Happy Ending Mod
AHEM reworks the end of Mass Effect 3 so that Shepard can survive the final mission, with tweaked cutscenes, edited videos, new ending slides, and an overhauled memorial scene. Two new Codex entries give the Crucible a lore-friendly explanation, and you still have to earn it: its page sets the default at 5,200 war strength, and a low score can still bring a dark ending. It already contains Anderson’s Final Conversation Restored and works with Take Earth Back. Game: LE3. Creator: Audemus, Scottina123, and KoshVader. Needs: LE3 Community Patch and Framework 1.7.8 or later. Download: Audemus’ Happy Ending Mod on Nexus Mods.
16. Citadel Epilogue Mod
This one moves the Citadel DLC to after the credits, removing references to the Reapers, the war, and Cerberus, so the party plays as a true send-off. Choose Full for the whole DLC or Lite for just the party. Its page says the edits are trimmed original lines or splices from elsewhere in the series, with no AI involved. It works on the normal ending, but that forces the destroy option, so it fits best with Audemus’ Happy Ending Mod, which includes a transition patch. It supports English voices only for now. Game: LE3. Creator: Deager, Autoola, Audemus, and Scottina123. Needs: LE3 Community Patch and Framework 1.6.4 or later. Download: Citadel Epilogue Mod on Nexus Mods.
17. Omega Hub
BioWare once planned Omega as a Mass Effect 3 hub, then cut it. This mod brings the idea back by porting the hub areas from Mass Effect 2, including the upper level of Afterlife. Its page is upfront that it is a beta with slim content: you can talk to Aria, visit Harrot’s store and Nyreen’s memorial, hand in the Omega: Mechanic assignment, and hear new ambient dialogue. Its creators call it a foundation for others to build on, and Spectre Expansion Mod requires it. Game: LE3. Creator: Elcor Hamlet Appreciation Society. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Omega Hub on Nexus Mods.
18. Legendary Edition Multiplayer
BioWare left Mass Effect 3’s co-op out of the remaster, and this full conversion from ME3Tweaks brings the mode back, along with new heavy weapons, aim assist and field of view options, and full controller support. It only arrived on Nexus Mods in November 2026, so it has not had the years the other picks here have had to collect endorsements. It earns its place as the one way to play that mode in Legendary Edition. It is a large, separate install that sits apart from your campaigns and does not support other mods yet, and our multiplayer guide covers the setup. Game: Its own separate install. Creator: ME3Tweaks. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 10.0 or later, and an unmodded Mass Effect 3 or a backup of one. Download: Legendary Edition Multiplayer on Nexus Mods.
19. Early Recruitment
Early Recruitment lets you pick up Thane and Samara right after Freedom’s Progress, recruit Tali early, and reach Illium early, plus Tuchanka if Wrex leads his clan. A separate module does the same for Legion. Early recruits use vanilla lines that the game normally cannot reach, so they are voiced in most missions before Horizon, though taking two unvoiced characters at once makes for a quieter trip. Install the Unofficial LE2 Patch first and Optional Flirting Mod afterward. Game: LE2. Creator: beccatoria. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Early Recruitment on Nexus Mods.
20. Dreams Remade
Dreams Remade rebuilds the three dream sequences of Mass Effect 3 so that they reflect your choices and give less time to the child. Shepard also moves faster during them, though it is still slow motion, and the mod menu can put Shepard in a casual outfit instead of armor. It is natively compatible with Expanded Galaxy Mod. Game: LE3. Creator: Pauju. Needs: LE3 Community Patch and Framework. Download: Dreams Remade on Nexus Mods.
21. Immersive Citizens LE2
Mass Effect 2’s hubs can feel oddly empty, and Immersive Citizens fills them. It raises the number of NPCs on Omega, the Citadel, and Illium, and adds props such as couches, benches, and tables so that those places look lived in. Game: LE2. Creator: Daxvapik. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Immersive Citizens LE2 on Nexus Mods.
22. Cerberus Retrofits
Cerberus Retrofits puts Assault Troopers, Centurions, and Guardians back in armor closer to their Mass Effect 2 look, so the faction matches the rest of the trilogy. It also adds Heavy Troopers and Heavy Centurions, which keep the vanilla armor but carry more health and hit slightly harder. Its page says it is compatible with Expanded Galaxy Mod and Spectre Expansion Mod. Game: LE3. Creator: Tydeous. Needs: LE3 Community Patch and Framework, Expanded Universe Mod Menu. Download: Cerberus Retrofits on Nexus Mods.
23. Reaper Retrofits
Reaper Retrofits gives husks and abominations the same look they had in Mass Effect 2, and it aims to bring more of the trilogy’s other husk monsters into Mass Effect 3 over time. Its page still calls it an alpha that needs a lot of testing. It is compatible with Expanded Galaxy Mod and Spectre Expansion Mod. Game: LE3. Creator: Tydeous. Needs: LE3 Community Patch, Expanded Universe Mod Menu. Download: Reaper Retrofits on Nexus Mods.
24. The Collectors Cabin
Shepard’s cabin slowly fills with trinkets as you finish the major priority missions, such as a Prothean beacon after Mars and turian model ships after Palaven, with a notification waiting each time you come back. If you only want some of it, a store-only version lets you buy what you like. Game: LE3. Creator: D3. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: The Collectors Cabin on Nexus Mods.
Textures, Lighting, and Video
25. A Lot Of Textures
ALOT carries over the textures from its original trilogy version that still beat the remaster’s, and its Improved Static Lighting component reprocesses about 40,000 light and shadow maps to get rid of blocky shadows. With more than 790,000 downloads, it is one of the most downloaded mods for the game. Choose your install carefully: the MEM version must go in after every content mod, and content mods cannot be updated afterward, while the M3TO version counts as a content mod that you can toggle at any time. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: CreeperLava. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager or Mass Effect Modder. Download: A Lot Of Textures on Nexus Mods.
26. A Lot Of Videos
ALOV remasters every prerendered cutscene in the trilogy, the part of the game that texture mods cannot reach, to 4K and in most cases 60 frames per second. Its page describes shot-by-shot AI upscaling, plus in-game remakes and corrected errors. It is not a texture mod and its page calls it compatible with all mods, but you need to run the game at 60 frames per second or higher for smooth results. A separate Ultrawide Edition exists for 21:9 screens. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: Audemus and the ALOV Team. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: A Lot Of Videos on Nexus Mods.
27. MELLO
MELLO restores the dynamic lighting that the first game lost in the remaster, aiming for the new engine’s detail with more of the original’s cinematic mood. Eden Prime and Feros keep their Legendary Edition look with working dynamic lights, while Noveria, Ilos, and the late Citadel change much more. Its page notes that it is separate from ALOT’s Improved Static Lighting, so one does not replace the other. Game: LE1. Creator: CATACHR1SM. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE1 Community Patch. Download: MELLO on Nexus Mods.
28. LEUITM
LEUITM and LEUITM2 are lore-friendly HD texture packs for the first two games, built to fix bugs that show up at the texture level, such as leftover upscaling artifacts, UV mapping problems, and misaligned character teeth. They come from the same author as MELLO and complement it, but work without it. If you use LE1 Diversification Project, pick the asari file made for it. These are .mem texture mods, so they go in last. Game: LE1 and LE2. Creator: Catachrism. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: LEUITM and LEUITM2 on Nexus Mods.
29. Primitives
Primitives is a large overhaul of human and asari faces across the trilogy, with high-quality textures based on Ellise’s original trilogy complexions. It leans on several other mods, so check its list before you start. Its Diana Allers requirement is the soft one: skip that mod, and she simply keeps her vanilla textures. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: CawCrowche. Needs: LE1 Community Patch, Unofficial LE2 Patch, LE3 Community Patch, both Liara Consistency Mods, Sheploo Appearance Consistency Project, Anderson and Hackett Consistency Mod. Download: Primitives on Nexus Mods.
30. SJC’s Better Eyes
This is a simple, popular texture edit that gives human and asari eyes more detail in all three games, including both renegade looks. Each game has its own file, and a vanilla texture file is there if you want to go back. Install through Mass Effect Modder, which comes with M3. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: SammyJC. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: SJC’s Better Eyes on Nexus Mods.
31. Vignette Remover
Vignette Remover takes away the darkening at the corners of the screen, producing the same picture as turning vignette off in photo mode. One download covers all three games. It turns the effect off everywhere, so you lose the option in photo mode as well. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: ME3Tweaks. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Vignette Remover on Nexus Mods.
32. Remove Screen Shake (LE1)
If sprinting or boosting in the first game makes you queasy, this removes the screen shake from sprinting and from the Mako’s boost and jump jets. An option keeps a reduced shake for the Mako if you still want a little weight behind it. Another mod that edits screen shake may override it, depending on install order. Game: LE1. Creator: HenBagle. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Remove Screen Shake on Nexus Mods.
33. Remove Storm Screen Shake (LE2)
Mass Effect 2 shakes the camera hard every time you run. This small ME3Tweaks mod removes that, and it does nothing else. Game: LE2. Creator: ME3Tweaks. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Remove Storm Screen Shake on Nexus Mods.
34. Relay Jump Remaster (LE2)
You see the relay jump video a lot in Mass Effect 2, and this replaces it with a completely new 4K version that combines a fresh 3D render of the Normandy SR-2 with an edited Mass Effect 3 relay jump. It is listed on ALOV’s page as an optional bonus, and it is built to work with Early Recruitment. Game: LE2. Creator: Audemus. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Relay Jump Remaster on Nexus Mods.
35. LE3 Opening Remaster
This extends and improves Mass Effect 3’s opening cinematic using remastered footage from an early Xbox 360 demo, in a 4K, 60 frames per second video made by the ALOV Team. The opening text scroll also changes if you completed the Arrival DLC. Game: LE3. Creator: Mellin and Audemus. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: LE3 Opening Remaster on Nexus Mods.
36. Myriad Pro Begone
The remaster put the plain Myriad Pro font on things like subtitles and the dialogue wheel. This swaps it for Domyouji, the body text font from the original Mass Effect, across the whole trilogy and the launcher, and it fixes misaligned text and HUD elements along the way. Its page says it is partly incompatible with the HUD Enhancements mods, whose new target and health selector will not appear with both installed. Game: LE1, LE2, LE3, and the launcher. Creator: Audemus. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Myriad Pro Begone on Nexus Mods.
Galaxy Map, Scanning, and Getting Around
37. One Probe All Resources
Planet scanning is the chore most people want gone from Mass Effect 2, and this is the most endorsed fix, with more than 14,000 endorsements. A single probe now drains every resource on a planet and reveals all its anomalies, and you can choose a faster probe speed during install. Game: LE2. Creator: ThievingSix. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: One Probe All Resources on Nexus Mods.
38. No Reapers and Max Scan Range
The same idea for Mass Effect 3’s galaxy map: scanning no longer brings the Reapers after you, and one scan covers the entire system at once. It is built for M3, so it can sit alongside other mods that change the same settings file. Game: LE3. Creator: NStriker. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: No Reapers and Max Scan Range on Nexus Mods.
39. Galaxy Map Trackers
Mass Effect 1 sends you all over the galaxy with no help on where your assignments are. This marks active UNC assignments on the galaxy map, and flags ones you have not found yet as “Anomaly”, though not always right away. Its page says it works with LE1 Community Patch and should not clash with other mods. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Galaxy Map Trackers on Nexus Mods.
40. Charted Worlds
Charted Worlds picks up where Galaxy Map Trackers stops, marking mineral deposits and other points of interest on the maps of the uncharted worlds, with warning signs at the likely spots for Thresher Maws. It makes collection assignments much less of a slow drive around in the Mako. It includes the LE1 Community Patch fixes for the files both mods touch. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Charted Worlds on Nexus Mods.
41. Keepers Finders
Hunting Keepers on the Citadel is far easier with this: unscanned Keepers show up on the map and radar while the quest is active, and you can scan all 21 of them. Doing that opens a secret, light-hearted assignment that is entirely optional, and it stays out of your journal unless you pursue it. Install it before you start scanning, since the new Codex entries only unlock with the mod in place. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE1 Community Patch and Framework 2.0 or later. Download: Keepers Finders on Nexus Mods.
42. Infinite Fuel (LE2)
Its creator calls it a very minor cheat: top up a little at a fuel depot once, and the Normandy never burns fuel again. It should work alongside anything else, according to its page. Game: LE2. Creator: Gittun. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Infinite Fuel on Nexus Mods.
43. Faster Normandy
The little Normandy crawls across the galaxy map in the later games, and this speeds it up, both inside systems and across clusters. Fuel use stays the same. It is tuned so that you should not overshoot too often, though it can take some practice, and the LE2 version offers an intermediate speed at install. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Faster Normandy for LE2 and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
44. Normandy Rapid Transit
This adds the Normandy to the Citadel’s Rapid Transit destinations, so you can get back to the ship from any terminal, whenever the ship can be boarded. Before you first leave the Citadel, the option reads “Docking Bay” and starts the normal docking bay conversation with Anderson and Udina. Game: LE1. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE1 Community Patch. Download: Normandy Rapid Transit on Nexus Mods.
45. Faster Airlock
Decontamination wears thin by the tenth trip. With this, entering the Normandy brings up a confirm box and goes straight to the loading screen, and leaving opens the airlock door at once instead of waiting for the VI’s announcement. It also skips the tram ride when you leave Rift Station on Noveria. Game: LE1. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Faster Airlock on Nexus Mods.
46. Security Scan Skip
A one-job mod for Mass Effect 3: it removes the security scan animation on Deck 2 of the Normandy, so you can walk straight through. Its page warns that it clashes with anything editing the same files. Game: LE3. Creator: Scottina123. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Security Scan Skip on Nexus Mods.
47. Various QOL Gameplay Tweaks
This page is a menu of separate small downloads for the first game, so you take only what you want: camera field of view options, an instant dialogue wheel, better Mako handling, shop price changes, faster photo mode, more XP, higher inventory limits, and unlimited Storm. Its page notes that the Improved Mako file does not work with mouse and keyboard, and that all of them go in before texture mods. Game: LE1. Creator: timasahh. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Various QOL Gameplay Tweaks on Nexus Mods.
48. N7 MAKO
N7 MAKO gives the Mako a stronger engine and a tweaked suspension, so it drives faster and climbs better. A boosted Mako can be less stable, so you choose from three options at install. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: N7 MAKO on Nexus Mods.
49. Mako Squadmate Banter
Those long Mako drives get company: this plays the elevator banter between your squadmates at random while you ride around uncharted worlds, with a timer you can adjust. It stays quiet during main story Mako sections, and files for every voiced language are included. Game: LE1. Creator: HenBagle. Needs: LE1 Community Patch 2.0 or later. Download: Mako Squadmate Banter on Nexus Mods.
50. M-44 Battle Tank
The Hammerhead is fragile for a tank, and this mod agrees. Its armor goes up 500%, self-repair and missile damage and radius each go up 300%, and boost, jump, and regeneration all improve. It also removes the vehicle movement while you are mining nodes or artifacts. Game: LE2. Creator: RepugnantPear. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, Unofficial LE2 Patch. Download: M-44 Battle Tank on Nexus Mods.
Quality of Life
51. Skip Minigames for LE2
The hacking and bypass minigames go away in one of two styles. Classic still opens the minigame screen and you win when you click start, while Modern skips it completely and hands you the win when you click the object. It does not touch the galaxy map probes, so One Probe All Resources is still a separate install. Game: LE2. Creator: ME3Tweaks. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Skip Minigames for LE2 on Nexus Mods.
52. Skip Minigames (LE1)
The first game’s version removes the minigames on mineral deposits and artifacts outright and lets you bypass the ones on containers at no omni-gel cost, while you still earn the same XP. A few unique minigames, such as the towers of Hanoi, stay as they are. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Skip Minigames (LE1) on Nexus Mods.
53. Unlimited Sprint and Boost Duration
Sprint as long as you like, in any of the three games. Each game has its own file, and the LE1 file also makes the Mako’s boost unlimited. Its page says it works with mods that replace the game’s settings file, as long as they leave sprinting alone. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: Sapphire. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Unlimited Sprint and Boost Duration on Nexus Mods.
54. Safely Skip Conversations
It is easy to pick the wrong line while mashing through dialogue you have heard before. This changes the skip button so it can only skip lines, never choose a response. In LE1, the game’s limits mean the safe skip moves to right Alt or down on the D-pad, and that file replaces the whole settings file, so it will not work alongside other mods that edit it. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: ccboxes. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Safely Skip Conversations on Nexus Mods.
55. Quick Loot
Quick Loot stops the Recovered Items menu from popping up every time you open a container or loot an enemy, unless your inventory is nearly full. A small notification appears on the right of the screen instead, and the items go straight into your inventory. Game: LE1. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Quick Loot on Nexus Mods.
56. No Skill Check Required for Loot
Every character now automatically passes the Decryption and Electronics checks on loot, so you can bring whichever squadmates you like without worrying about who can open the crates. It does not give anyone those talents, and it works with Skip Minigames. Game: LE1. Creator: RepugnantPear. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: No Skill Check Required for Loot on Nexus Mods.
57. Replenish Grenades
This adds a locker near Shepard’s own on the Normandy that restocks your grenades, working just like the medi-gel dispenser, so you can stop digging through crates. You unlock it by buying Grenade Upgrade I. Its page says it will not work with anything that edits the BIOA_NOR10_06_DSG file. Game: LE1. Creator: HenBagle. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Replenish Grenades on Nexus Mods.
58. Easy Pull-up Competition
Beating James’ record in the Citadel DLC’s pull-up contest takes 183 pull-ups and a long run of interrupts. This lets you remove the interrupts, shorten the contest, or do both, and it restores a few of James’ lines that never triggered. Game: LE3. Creator: LLinden. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE3 Community Patch. Download: Easy Pull-up Competition on Nexus Mods.
59. A Little Help From My Friends
Your squad finally pitches in on the first game’s collection assignments. Joker, Wrex, Liara, Tali, Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus, and Kirrahe send emails at different points of the playthrough, along with items that make those hunts shorter. The emails arrive at a Private Message Terminal added to the Normandy, which comes from a separate mod that other email mods also use. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, Private Message Terminal (LE1). Download: A Little Help From My Friends and Private Message Terminal on Nexus Mods.
60. Easy Armor Stats
Easy Armor Stats adds detailed statistics to every weapon and moves armor stats above their descriptions, so you stop scrolling to compare gear. The numbers are fixed text and do not account for worn armor or skills. It has to go in before texture mods such as ALOT. Game: LE2. Creator: Herobrine24. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Easy Armor Stats on Nexus Mods.
61. Elements of Comparative Weaponry
The first game’s weapon numbers are hard to compare because the damage per second shown is adjusted by hidden, inconsistent factors. This mod works out more accurate and useful figures and shows those instead. It changes only the display, so balance stays exactly as it was. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Elements of Comparative Weaponry on Nexus Mods.
Combat, Weapons, and Progression
62. Black Market License
Buy the Black Market License at the Normandy’s requisition store, and weapons and armor from four hidden manufacturers (Batarian State Arms, Cerberus Skunkworks, Hahne-Kedar Shadow Works, and Jormangund Technology) start appearing in stores and as loot. They were mostly in the game but locked away, and this also repairs and rebalances those weapons, which were broken in Legendary Edition. Install it after LE1 Community Patch. Its page says it does not work with Kill Balak and Save Hostages. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Black Market License on Nexus Mods.
63. XP Rescale
XP Rescale gradually raises the XP you earn after level 15 so that you can reach level 60 in one run of the first game, with Quick Run, Casual, and Default settings depending on how much side content you plan to skip. It works with both Legendary and Classic experience modes, and its creator recommends Classic. Game: LE1. Creator: 55tumbl. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: XP Rescale on Nexus Mods.
64. Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades
Weapons in LE3 stop at rank 5 on a first playthrough unless you start New Game Plus. This lets you upgrade all of them to rank 10 from the start, as long as you have the credits. As a side effect, weapons you pick up during missions start at rank 3. Game: LE3. Creator: columnFive. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades on Nexus Mods.
65. Advanced Weapon Models for LE1
Every weapon in the first game gets a unique model, backported from the later two games and mostly matched to how the gun fires, and the geth now carry recognizable sniper rifles, shotguns, and heavy weapons. It no longer has special install rules and can go in at any time. LE1 Diversification Project requires it. Game: LE1. Creator: Knighthawk1895. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Advanced Weapon Models for LE1 on Nexus Mods.
66. ME2 LE Combat Remastered
Mass Effect 2 rewards hiding behind cover, and this overhaul pushes back. Weapons hit harder and feel distinct from each other, enemy accuracy now depends on recoil and on how both of you are moving, and each class gets more loadout choices, all inspired by the first game’s combat. A separate file keeps heavy weapons in play. Game: LE2. Creator: Eudaimonium. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: ME2 LE Combat Remastered on Nexus Mods.
67. Combat Evade Maneuvers
Combat Evade Maneuvers brings Mass Effect 3’s evade to the second game, as an asari dash for biotics and a soldier roll for everyone else. A well-timed dodge can get you out of the way of warps and rockets, and enemies can use evades against you too, so it changes the feel of a fight on both sides. Game: LE2. Creator: Tajfun403. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Combat Evade Maneuvers on Nexus Mods.
68. LE1 Streamlined Weapon Loadouts
In the first game, everyone carries every weapon whether or not they can use it. This cuts each character down to what they are proficient with, like the later games, and adds weapons back in cutscenes so no one holds an invisible gun. Your class decides the loadout, so it is worth a look at which class suits you best before you commit. Game: LE1. Creator: Knighthawk. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE1 Community Patch. Download: LE1 Streamlined Weapon Loadouts on Nexus Mods.
69. LE3 Sensible Stores and Early Weapon Access
Every weapon can be bought early from the stores as you visit them, including the Collector Rifle, so you no longer wait until the endgame for the Falcon or the Citadel DLC for the Lancer. Nearly every item also costs a tenth of its usual price. Its creator suggests pairing it with Weapon Class Upgrades to simplify upgrading. Game: LE3. Creator: Neightrix. Needs: Nothing else listed on its page. Download: LE3 Sensible Stores on Nexus Mods.
70. Morlan’s Iconic Armor Store
This adds a store in the Citadel’s lower wards that sells the squad’s signature armors, leveled up to match you, so everyone can keep their familiar look through the whole game. Its page says the one gap is Kaidan’s Bastion Armor, which could not be made to work reliably in LE1. Game: LE1. Creator: Kinkojiro. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Morlan’s Iconic Armor Store on Nexus Mods.
Story Fixes and Restored Content
71. Anderson’s Final Conversation Restored
This restores cut content in Shepard’s last talk with Anderson, with facial animation, camera work, gestures, and music all reworked to make it feel finished. Its page warns that the video shows spoilers for the end of the game. It does not work with No Anderson Final Conversation, and you can skip it if you run Audemus’ Happy Ending Mod, which already includes it. Game: LE3. Creator: beccatoria. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Anderson’s Final Conversation Restored on Nexus Mods.
72. Immersive Emails
BioWare wrote messages for its Mass Effect 3 companion app, and this delivers them to your game at key moments. Some are sweet and some hurt, and since BioWare wrote them, they fit the canon. Game: LE3. Creator: delawana. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Immersive Emails on Nexus Mods.
73. Mission Timings (LE1)
Mission Timings delays the Council’s message about Virmire until you have finished Therum, Feros, and Noveria, instead of sending it after two of the three. It also holds back Kahoku’s message about Cerberus until you have done Feros and Noveria, since that assignment uses enemies introduced there. It works with LE1 Community Patch and all localizations. Game: LE1. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Mission Timings on Nexus Mods.
74. DLC Timings Mod
This delays most of Mass Effect 2’s former DLC so it fits the story better: Normandy Crash Site, for example, now waits until after one main mission instead of unlocking as soon as you get the ship. You can pick one option per DLC, and you need to choose before your first visit to the Normandy. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 9.1 or later. Download: DLC Timings Mod on Nexus Mods.
75. Overlord Morality Fix
The Overlord DLC never gives a single morality point, even for its biggest decision. Now, your choice about David Archer grants 30 points, Paragon or Renegade depending on what you pick. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 8.1 or later. Download: Overlord Morality Fix on Nexus Mods.
76. Conrad Verner Remembers
A bug in what carries over from the first game makes Conrad Verner always believe you pulled a gun on him. This puts a picture of him in your cabin, and inspecting it lets you set what really happened. You have to do this before you ever land on Illium, or it will not work. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 8.2 or later. Download: Conrad Verner Remembers on Nexus Mods.
77. Admiral Daro’Xen Restored
The Admiral Daro’Xen war asset went missing from the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect 3, and this puts it back, earned the same way as before by finishing Priority: Rannoch. It cannot award the asset if you have already passed that mission. See our guide to how many war assets you need for what the total buys you. Game: LE3. Creator: columnFive. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Admiral Daro’Xen Restored on Nexus Mods.
78. Kirrahe Makes Good
Normally, Mass Effect 3 only gives you the Salarian Special Tasks Group war asset if Major Kirrahe died in the first game, which makes little sense given what he says when you meet him. Now, speaking to him during Priority: Sur’kesh earns it, though not if you have already finished that mission. Its page says any mod that alters the same file is incompatible. Game: LE3. Creator: columnFive. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE3 Community Patch and Framework. Download: Kirrahe Makes Good on Nexus Mods.
79. Fish Feeder Mod
Keeping your cabin fish alive normally means remembering to feed them or inviting your yeoman to dinner. This adds a Fish Feeding VI that you can buy on the Citadel. It works with F.I.S.H. Mod, Expanded Shepard Armory, and DLC Timings Mod. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 7.0 or later. Download: Fish Feeder Mod on Nexus Mods.
80. F.I.S.H. Mod
F.I.S.H. removes the need to flirt with Kelly Chambers just to look after your fish. In LE2, she offers to feed them once you buy some. In LE3, she appears in the Citadel’s refugee camp and returns your fish as long as she survived the suicide mission, with her dialogue adjusted to your actual relationship. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: beccatoria. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: F.I.S.H. Mod for LE2 and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
81. Zaeed’s Wholesome Revenge
Zaeed’s loyalty mission normally makes you choose between the workers and Vido. Here, you can have both if you finish the paragon route in under six minutes, and your time is saved so a reload does not reset it. Its page says it does not work with Liara Squadmate or Last Person Standing. Game: LE2. Creator: RepugnantPear. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, Unofficial LE2 Patch. Download: Zaeed’s Wholesome Revenge on Nexus Mods.
Romance
82. More Gay Romances
More Gay Romances makes Miranda and Jack romance options for FemShep in LE2 and LE3, fully voiced in English, by combining cut content from the game files with dialogue repurposed from elsewhere in the game. You can install it at any point in a playthrough, but the normal rules for romancing a squadmate still apply. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: Mentlegen. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: More Gay Romances on Nexus Mods.
83. Same-Gender Romances
Both Shepards can pursue Ashley and Kaidan in LE1 and Tali and Thane in LE2, with every line voiced and animated through unused or repurposed dialogue, and no one calling Shepard the wrong gender. In LE1, those romances no longer start on their own, so you have to choose to flirt. Both are available only for the English-voiced game. Game: LE1 and LE2. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, plus LE1 Community Patch 2.0 or later for LE1, or the Unofficial LE2 Patch for LE2. Download: Same-Gender Romances for LE1 and for LE2 on Nexus Mods.
84. Optional Flirting Mod
Being friendly in Mass Effect often gets read as flirting. This moves romantic and flirty lines to the left side of the dialogue wheel, and the LE3 version keeps a friendly alternative on the right, so you get a real choice. The LE2 page warns that not every left-side line is a flirt. The LE3 version has patches for other mods, so install it after those mods to be able to select them. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: phoenixsoul13. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Optional Flirting Mod for LE2 and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
Armor, Outfits, and Characters
85. Expanded Shepard Armory
Finally, you can see Shepard’s face in Mass Effect 2’s DLC armors: the Inferno, Collector, Cerberus, Terminus, and Blood Dragon sets all get helmetless versions you can pair with any headgear, and more armors arrive from the other two games with new textures. Some gear now has to be earned in-game. Its page says it does not work with basegame settings-file mods or with Invisible Vanilla Armour Parts. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima and stasismind. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, Unofficial LE2 Patch 0.9.6 or later, LE2 Prologue Framework, plus Sheploo Appearance Consistency Project for default male Shepard’s tint. Download: Expanded Shepard Armory on Nexus Mods.
86. EGM Armors for LE2 and LE3
Sixteen armors, each with its own power set, including the N7 kits from Expanded Galaxy Mod and the Initiative and Pathfinder sets from Mass Effect Andromeda. In LE3, they unlock as soon as you first board the Normandy, while in LE2, you send agents after the schematics through a procurement section at the research terminal. If you use the Community Patch, apply it first and use version 1.7.5 or later. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: Kinkojiro. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, plus Expanded Shepard Armory for the Ark Mod armors in LE2. Download: EGM Armors on Nexus Mods.
87. Saren Stages
Saren looks heavily modified from the moment you meet him in the first game, which takes something away from his slide later on. Saren Stages adds new hand-made meshes and HD textures that show earlier forms of him, so his transformation plays out across the game. It has built-in support for MELLO. Game: LE1. Creator: CATACHR1SM. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE1 Community Patch. Download: Saren Stages on Nexus Mods.
88. Sheploo Appearance Consistency Project
In Mass Effect 2, default male Shepard has a painted orange tint on his face and scalp that does not match any outfit. This restores the unpainted textures from the first game so that his skin tone matches everything, and it brings his eyelashes back in line with the other two games. Its page recommends installing it on a game without textures. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 7.0 or later. Download: Sheploo Appearance Consistency Project on Nexus Mods.
89. Halcyon Hairpack
A dozen new hairstyles based on The Outer Worlds, used by the NPCs in LE1 Diversification Project. The LE1 pack is a required part of LE1 Diversification Project. To put one on Shepard, you need Trilogy Save Editor, and the page lists the codes. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: Mellin and Audemus. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Halcyon Hairpack for LE1, for LE2, and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
90. Alliance Uniform Consistency
All Alliance personnel on the Normandy, the Citadel, and the uncharted worlds now wear the uniforms from Mass Effect 3, which matches the trilogy and makes it easier to tell the Alliance apart from C-Sec and civilians. Game: LE1. Creator: Mistyvail. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, LE1 Community Patch. Download: Alliance Uniform Consistency on Nexus Mods.
91. Cerberus and Alliance Uniform Consistency
The LE2 counterpart changes Cerberus personnel on the Normandy, Lazarus Station, the Derelict Reaper, and Project Overlord to their Mass Effect 3 uniforms, along with the Alliance soldiers on the Citadel, and it adds five casual outfits for Shepard. It does not work with LE2 Alternative Bodies. Game: LE2. Creator: Audemus. Needs: Unofficial LE2 Patch, LE2 Prologue Framework, plus Anderson and Hackett Consistency Mod if you also use Expanded Shepard Armory. Download: Cerberus and Alliance Uniform Consistency on Nexus Mods.
92. Casual Hubs
Why is the whole squad in full armor at the Citadel? With Casual Hubs, Shepard and the squad wear casual clothes in safe hubs once the local combat missions are done: the Citadel and Noveria in LE1, and the Citadel, Omega, and Illium in LE2. Armor stat bonuses still apply. Game: LE1 and LE2. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, plus LE1 Community Patch 2.0 or later for LE1, or the Unofficial LE2 Patch and LE2 Prologue Framework for LE2. Download: Casual Hubs for LE1 and for LE2 on Nexus Mods.
93. Liara Consistency Mod
Liara changes looks more than anyone in the trilogy, and she even shifts within Mass Effect 2. These mods settle on a single appearance: you choose her face at install, and the LE1 version offers her Lair of the Shadow Broker or Mass Effect 3 look, including her romance body. Primitives requires both. Game: LE1 and LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, plus LE1 Community Patch for LE1, or the Unofficial LE2 Patch and LE2 Prologue Framework for LE2. Download: Liara Consistency Mod for LE1 and for LE2 on Nexus Mods.
94. Anderson and Hackett Consistency Mod
Admiral Hackett, and optionally Anderson, wear their unique dress blues from Mass Effect 3, and you can pick Anderson’s face from either the first or third game. It also swaps Anderson’s picture of Kaidan for Kahlee Sanders, and it is fully compatible with Expanded Shepard Armory. Game: LE2. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager 9.2 or later. Download: Anderson and Hackett Consistency Mod on Nexus Mods.
95. More Hair for Femshep
This brings Anto’s hairstyles, first ported to the original Mass Effect 3 by Kittentails, to FemShep across the Legendary Edition. They do not appear in the character creator, so you set them with Trilogy Save Editor, or in LE3, with Appearance Modification Menu in-game. Each game has its own page. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: Khaar Machinima, Anto, and Kittentails. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, Trilogy Save Editor. Download: More Hair for Femshep for LE1, for LE2, and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
96. Oriana Looks Like Miranda’s Twin
Miranda’s genetically identical twin looks nothing like her in the base game. This small mod fixes that, using textures from Ellise that give Oriana a younger, softer version of Miranda’s face, with a choice of keeping her vanilla hair or using a new style. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: Khaar Machinima. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Oriana Looks Like Miranda’s Twin for LE2 and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
97. No Headgear for Squadmates
The Alternate Appearance Pack puts visors and shades on several squadmates, and this lets you remove or change them: Miranda’s, Jack’s, and Grunt’s visors, Thane’s shades and piercings, or Garrus’ visor and mic, among others. Install it before .mem texture mods. Game: LE2. Creator: stasismind. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: No Headgear for Squadmates on Nexus Mods.
98. Shepard Movement Animation Replacer
Replaces Shepard’s idle, walking, running, and sprinting animations in the later two games, either by bringing back the first game’s animations or by swapping the male and female sets. It is natively compatible with LE3 Community Patch. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: rondeeno. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: Shepard Movement Animation Replacer on Nexus Mods.
99. Tali Remastered
This model replacer gives Tali a fully animated face, with jaw, teeth, and eyelashes, in all three games, each on its own page. The LE1 and LE3 pages lead with versions made for the Community Framework, with standalone files if you do not want it. It will not work with any other mod that changes Tali’s appearance. Game: LE1, LE2, and LE3. Creator: CreativeMachinima. Needs: LE1 or LE3 Community Patch and Framework for the main LE1 and LE3 files. Download: Tali Remastered for LE1, for LE2, and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
100. Invisible Vanilla Armour Parts
Full-body armors added by other mods tend to leave your vanilla shoulder, arm, and leg pieces clipping through them. IVAP adds invisible versions of every vanilla armor part, with the same unlock requirements, so you can wear a full suit and still pick armor bonuses that suit your class and playstyle. Expanded Shepard Armory’s page says the two mods do not work together, which matters for the LE2 version. Game: LE2 and LE3. Creator: mrjack. Needs: ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Download: IVAP for LE2 and for LE3 on Nexus Mods.
Install Order
ME3Tweaks Mod Manager’s page says mods need to go in a specific order, and the rule that matters most is that .mem texture mods come last. Our install guide has the full steps. For the mods on this list, this order works:
- ME3Tweaks Mod Manager and a backup of each game. The backup is what lets you undo everything later.
- The community patches. Install LE1 Community Patch, the Unofficial LE2 Patch followed by LE2 Prologue Framework, and LE3 Community Patch with its Framework. Many other mods expect them to be there.
- The big content mods. Expanded Galaxy Mod goes in before Spectre Expansion Mod, which needs it. Early Recruitment goes in before Optional Flirting Mod (LE2).
- Everything smaller. Optional Flirting Mod (LE3) goes after the mods it patches.
- Textures, last of all. A Lot Of Textures (MEM version), LEUITM, and SJC’s Better Eyes are all texture mods. Use M3’s Batch Installer, which keeps them in the right order.
Texture mods are the one step you cannot easily take back. ALOT’s page says content mods cannot be updated once a texture mod is installed, and M3’s page says texture mods cannot be uninstalled, only cleared by restoring or redownloading the game. If you would rather keep your options open, ALOT’s M3TO version counts as a content mod and can be toggled at any time, as long as it goes in before any .mem files. A Lot Of Videos is not a texture mod, so it can go in whenever you like.
How We Chose These Mods
Every mod here is for the PC version of Mass Effect Legendary Edition and comes from its creator’s page in the game’s section of Nexus Mods, which holds more than 2,600 mods. We ranked candidates by Nexus Mods’ own endorsements and downloads, checked that each one is still published with a file to download, and took the most loved mods that change how the game plays or looks. Mods that ship separate pages for each game share one entry. The one exception to the popularity bar is Legendary Edition Multiplayer, which is too new to have the numbers but is the only way to play that mode in Legendary Edition.
We left out adult and nude mods and anything that needs them, mods with AI-generated voice lines, paid or paywalled mods, modder tools such as Legendary Explorer, and near-duplicates of mods already listed.
Download only from the creator pages linked above, so you get the current file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Mass Effect Legendary Edition mods should you install first? Start with ME3Tweaks Mod Manager and back up each game inside it, then add LE1 Community Patch, the Unofficial LE2 Patch, and LE3 Community Patch with its Framework. Most of the larger mods on this list need one of them.
Can you use Vortex for these mods? No. Vortex cannot install mods for this game, so everything goes through ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Our install guide walks through it.
Do these mods work on PS5 or Xbox? No. Mods only work on the PC version of Legendary Edition, and ME3Tweaks says mods will never be available on other platforms.
Why do texture mods have to go last? M3’s page says .mem texture files must be installed after all content mods, or the texture map falls out of sync. M3 warns you if you try it the wrong way around. ALOT’s M3TO version is the exception, since it counts as a content mod.
Is there a multiplayer mod for Legendary Edition? Yes. Legendary Edition Multiplayer from ME3Tweaks restores Mass Effect 3’s co-op as a separate install. Our multiplayer guide covers what you need.
Can mods change what carries over between the games? Some can. Conrad Verner Remembers fixes a choice the game imports wrongly, and Trilogy Save Editor can change plot flags by hand. Our guide to what carries over covers the base game.
Are these mods free? Yes. Every mod here is free to download from Nexus Mods, which needs a free account. You still have to own Legendary Edition, and ME3Tweaks does not support pirated or cracked copies.