Dialogue in Mass Effect differs from BioWare's previous titles. Instead of the traditional dialogue choices, which show you every word of your response verbatim, you are presented with paraphrases of your available dialogue options on a "conversation wheel". For example, one choice may appear as "Don't try to study me," while the actual spoken line is "I'm not some artifact you can take back to your lab, doctor."

The conversation wheel was designed to be intuitive. The left side of the wheel is normally reserved for options that will continue the conversation in depth including Charm and Intimidate options (see below); occasionally an "Investigate" option is given in the middle, which allows Shepard to ask about multiple topics. The right side of the wheel is divided into three sections, and tend to move the conversation towards quicker completion. Paragon responses, generally more selfless or cooperative, are on the top segment, the middle segment presents a more neutral option, and Renegade responses, often more aggressive and hostile, are on the bottom segment.

Characters can also be influenced by the use of Charm or Intimidate. In the conversation wheel, Charm responses are blue while Intimidate responses are red. Use of those skills is affected by Commander Shepard's morality; if insufficient ranks in Charm or Intimidate have been unlocked, the options are greyed out. The harder a character is to persuade, the more ranks in the respective skills are needed.

Dialogue choices impact how others react to Shepard, the rewards for completing quests, possible discounts from merchants, romance paths and, most importantly, the commander's morality. It is also possible to defuse tense situations without violence, or actually provoke it.

It should be noted that due to the large amount of gameplay changes in Mass Effect 2, the reworked skill system no longer has Charm or Intimidate as trainable skills. Instead, your ranks in Charm/Intimidate are now tied to your morality level, gauged by how high your Paragon and Renegade scores are. Whether or not you can use a particular Charm or Intimidate option is based on how many of the available Paragon or Renegade points you've earned up to that point in the game, rather than the raw values. This is why sometimes Charm or Intimidate options can be used with less of the meter filled in one play through, but the next play through the same options are grayed out, but more of the meter is filled.

CharmEdit

Charm is used in dialogue to persuade people with compliments, clever diplomacy or a pleasant demeanor. Using Charm often encourages people to be more forthcoming or even willingly give extra rewards for assignments. In some cases, Charm can defuse tense situations and resolve them peacefully.

Paragon points increase the available ranks in Charm; you also get extra Charm points from becoming a Spectre. As you obtain more Charm points, additional dialogue options will become available and you can unlock the 'Store Discount' which gives lower prices when buying from merchants.

Using Charm to resolve an apparently impossible situation can unlock the 'Charismatic' achievement.

Players should note that in the course of working toward 75% Paragon, four of the 12 points you can assign to Charm can be obtained simply by playing the game. So, to effectively assign skill points, a player could assign only eight points for Charm and still max out their Charm skill once their character reaches 75% Paragon. Additionally, as skills carry over from each playthrough of the game, it's possible to max Charm without spending any skill points through multiple playthroughs. (Each time you become a Spectre, you'll get a free point, as well as each time you raise your Paragon bar to a certain level, since the Paragon bar resets for each playthrough.)

IntimidateEdit

Intimidate is used in dialogue to browbeat people with coercion, insults or threats. Using Intimidate can frighten or threaten individuals into cooperating or handing over extra rewards for assignments.

Renegade points influence Intimidate and affect its advancement. You also get extra Intimidate points from becoming a Spectre. As you obtain more Intimidate points, additional dialogue options will become available. Maxing out this ability will also unlock 'Motivated Buyer'—this increases the yield (amount of credits earned) by selling items to merchants (i.e. they give you a better deal because they're afraid of you).

Again, using Intimidate to resolve an apparently impossible situation can unlock the 'Charismatic' achievement.

Players should note that in the course of working toward 75% Renegade, four of the 12 points you can assign to Intimidate can be obtained simply by playing the game. So, to effectively assign skill points, a player could assign only eight points for Intimidate and still max out their Intimidate skill once their character reaches 75% Renegade. Additionally, as skills carry over from each playthrough of the game, it's possible to max Intimidate without spending any skill points through multiple playthroughs. (Each time you become a Spectre, you'll get a free point, as well as each time you raise your Renegade bar to a certain level, since the Renegade bar resets for each playthrough.)

Known Dialogue IssuesEdit

• There are certain NPC's (Non Player Character) that upon trying to initiate a conversation with them, or choosing a certain dialog option, the game cannot start the conversation or action as part of the conversation. This issue has been addressed in patch 1.02.
• Skip Dialog and Select Answer are both mapped to the space-bar (PC), X button (X360), and Square Button (PS3) which can very easily result in choosing dialog options by accident.