Mass Effect Legendary Edition takes about 67 hours to beat if you stick to the main story in all three games, and about 100 hours with side missions and the included DLC. Doing everything takes about 143 hours.
These are averages and your pace will move them, so here is the split by game, what each DLC adds, and how to plan around it.
How Long Each Game Takes
| Game | Main story | With side missions and DLC | Everything |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass Effect | About 17.5 hours | About 27.5 hours | About 42 hours |
| Mass Effect 2 | About 24.5 hours | About 35.5 hours | About 50.5 hours |
| Mass Effect 3 | About 24.5 hours | About 36 hours | About 50 hours |
| Full trilogy | About 67 hours | About 100 hours | About 143 hours |
The hours come from long-running completion averages across many saves. The first game’s figures leave out Pinnacle Station, which is not in the collection. Andromeda is not in the bundle either, so it is not counted here.
How Long the DLC Takes
Everything in the middle column above assumes you play the story DLC, and it adds up. The longest add-ons are in the sequels.
| Game | DLC | Rough length |
|---|---|---|
| Mass Effect 2 | Zaeed and Kasumi’s missions together | About 3 hours |
| Mass Effect 2 | All story DLC, including those two | About 10 hours |
| Mass Effect 3 | Citadel | Up to 5 hours |
| Mass Effect 3 | Leviathan | About 3 hours |
| Mass Effect 3 | Omega | About 3 hours |
| Mass Effect 3 | From Ashes | About 1 hour |
| Mass Effect 3 | All story DLC | Up to 13 hours |
The Extended Cut does not add a separate block of hours. It is built in, and BioWare made it the default finale in Legendary Edition. Genesis and Genesis 2, the optional comics that recap earlier choices, are short.
What Makes Each Game Longer
Mass Effect. The critical path is the shortest in the trilogy. The time goes on optional planets, where you explore in the Mako, and on Citadel side quests. BioWare improved the Mako and sped up other travel in the remaster, but the optional worlds still add many hours.
Mass Effect 2. Most of the game is recruiting a squad and doing each member’s loyalty mission. A “main story only” run skips much of what makes this game work, so we would treat the middle column as the real number here. The mineral scanning you need for upgrades adds time as well.
Mass Effect 3. The side missions tie into your war effort. BioWare says that if you only play Mass Effect 3 and start with no import, reaching the best ending means doing just about everything in the game. A carried-over save eases that, which is one reason a trilogy run is worth more than its parts.
How to Plan a Playthrough
| Your pace | Main story | With side missions and DLC |
|---|---|---|
| 5 hours a week | About 13 weeks | About 20 weeks |
| 10 hours a week | About 7 weeks | About 10 weeks |
| 20 hours a week | About 3 to 4 weeks | About 5 weeks |
We would plan around the 100-hour figure if this is your first time. Story choices are the reason to play, and many of the conversations that set them up are optional. If you are short on time, cut the first game’s unmarked planets and scanning before you cut any squad missions or companion conversations.
The content is the same on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, so plan around your own pace rather than your platform. If you are unsure which game comes next, our list of every Mass Effect game in order covers release order and story order. And if you came here for the co-op, the original’s multiplayer is a separate question with no hours in the totals above.
Should You Play All Three Back to Back?
You do not have to. Saves stay separate for each game, and an end-of-game save waits for you whenever you are ready to import it. A break between games can be easier than 100 hours in a row. The one thing to keep is that final save, because the next game reads it to carry over your Shepard.
For a sense of why people put in these hours, our 10 best BioWare games ranks the trilogy against the studio’s other work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is Mass Effect 1 in Legendary Edition? About 17.5 hours for the main story, about 27.5 hours with side missions, and about 42 hours to do everything.
How long is Mass Effect 2? About 24.5 hours for the main story and about 35.5 hours with story DLC. Doing everything takes about 50.5 hours.
How long is Mass Effect 3? About 24.5 hours for the main story and about 36 hours with DLC. Doing everything takes about 50 hours.
How long is the Citadel DLC? Up to about 5 hours, which makes it the longest of Mass Effect 3’s add-ons.
Can you beat Mass Effect Legendary Edition in a weekend? Not the full trilogy at a normal pace. The main stories alone run about 67 hours. The first game’s main story, at about 17.5 hours, is the only one that could fit in a long weekend.
Does the difficulty setting change how long it takes? It changes how long fights last and how often you reload, but not how much story there is.
Does the total include Mass Effect Andromeda? No. Andromeda is a separate game that is not part of Legendary Edition.