The Citadel Council in Mass Effect Legendary Edition is meant to represent the interests of all the races who call the Milky Way home, but they are put in immediate danger by the attack on the Citadel at the end of Mass Effect. The Citadel Council has three members initially, representing the three major alien races in Citadel space: asari, turian, and salarian. Shepard interacts with the Council many times throughout the Mass Effect series, even checking in with them after every mission in the first game. During the final mission in Mass Effect, Race Against Time: The Final Battle, Shepard will need to decide whether to expend Alliance resources and lives to save the Council's evacuating ship or sacrifice them to focus on defeating Sovereign.
The consequences associated with the decision to save or sacrifice the Council in Mass Effect has a few consequences in the short-term, as well as several consequences in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. While the choice is often down to Shepard's moral alignment, there are benefits and drawbacks to both choices. Additionally, when Shepard is prompted, only one dialogue option results in the Council being saved, while the other two will get them killed. Here's how to save the Council in Mass Effect, and the consequences of this major decision.
How to Rescue the Destiny Ascension in Mass Effect
During the final battle in Mass Effect, the Citadel Council will be aboard the Destiny Ascension, the flagship of the Citadel Fleet. Thanks to Sovereign's attacks, they will lose shields and their engines will go offline. Shepard will receive the distress call and need to make a choice. Their squadmates will share their opinions on the matter, but the final decision will be up to the Commander.
There are three possible dialogue options:
- Save the Council
- Let the Council die
- Concentrate on Sovereign
The only way to save the Council is to choose the Save the Council dialogue prompt. Though Concentrate on Sovereign is not an outright refusal to save the Destiny Ascension, it still results in the Council's death.
Choosing to save the Council will result in 28 Paragon points toward Shepard's morality score. The Alliance will rescue the Council but will suffer a few losses. The Council will be grateful for Shepard's decision and will finally grant humans a seat. Shepard may choose who should serve as humanity's first Councilor between Udina and Anderson. The same Councilors will appear in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. In the long-term, the Council will continue to extend their gratitude toward Shepard for saving them and will grant them their Specter status again in Mass Effect 2, which can be beneficial when working on missions. In Mass Effect 3, Shepard can continue to build rapport with the same Councilors and will receive the Destiny Ascension along with the Alliance Fleet as War Assets toward their Total Military Strength.
If Shepard chooses to sacrifice the Destiny Ascension and the Council to protect the Alliance fleet, the outcomes are somewhat different. Shepard gains 29 Renegade Points for this decision. An all-new Council will be installed, and humanity still earns a seat that Shepard can fill. Shepard can only become a Specter again in Mass Effect 2 if they choose Anderson as the human Councilor. Udina will refuse to do so. NPCs on the Citadel will be more hostile toward Shepard, often referencing the sacrifice of the Council and expressing distaste that the new Council is filled with human sympathizers. In Mass Effect 3, only the Alliance fleet becomes a War Asset.
Players who choose the more neutral Concentrate on Sovereign dialogue option receive the same consequences as they would if they allow the Council to die on purpose. However, their Renegade score increase is significantly lower than it would be if they simply Let the Council Die.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.