For abilities in the original Mass Effect, see Talents.

For abilities in Mass Effect 3, see Powers (Mass Effect 3).

Contents 1 Mechanics 2 Commander Shepard 2.1 Base Powers 2.2 Class Powers 2.3 Bonus Powers 3 Squadmates 3.1 Powers 3.2 Class Powers 4 Upgrades 4.1 Bio-Amp Upgrades 4.2 Omni-Tool Upgrades 4.3 Squadmate Specific

Mechanics Edit

Powers are divided into four categories: ammo, biotic, combat and tech. The category a power belongs to will determine how it responds to upgrades, and how they will affect the various defense types.

Biotic powers will generally do extra damage when used against biotic barriers, while tech powers will generally do extra damage against shields. Some powers, however, will also give bonuses against other defense types.

Each power, with the exception of Unity, has 4 ranks. When the player levels up, each character is awarded 'squad points' that can be used to unlock each rank. Each rank costs the same number of points as its rank. Unlocking all 4 ranks requires a total of 10 points.

Upon unlocking rank 4 of a power, the player will need to choose one of two more powerful versions to evolve the power into. Each version typically improves a different aspect of the original power.

Commander Shepard Edit

Commander Shepard can earn up to 51 squad points to assign to powers. 2 points are automatically assigned at the beginning of the game and 2 squad points are earned each time the player levels up until level 20 is reached, after which 1 point is earned per level for levels 21 to 30. An additional point is earned when acquiring a bonus power.

These points can be reassigned at any time after completing Horizon by using the Retrain Powers research project.

Base Powers Edit

Each player class starts with Unity, a power that uses medi-gel to revive fallen squadmates, and 5 active powers, including one unique power unavailable to other classes or characters.

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 levelling up are marked with a •.

	Power	Adept	Engineer	Infiltrator	Sentinel	Soldier	Vanguard
Combat
	Adrenaline Rush					✓
	Concussive Shot					•
Ammo
	Cryo Ammo			•		•	•
	Disruptor Ammo			✓		✓
	Incendiary Ammo					•	✓
Tech
	AI Hacking		•	•
	Cryo Blast		•		•
	Combat Drone		✓
	Incinerate		•	•
	Overload		✓		•
	Tactical Cloak			✓
	Tech Armor				✓
Biotic
	Charge						✓
	Pull	•					•
	Singularity	✓
	Shockwave	•					•
	Throw	•			✓
	Warp	✓			•
Universal Power
	Unity	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Class Powers Edit

In addition to their 5 active starting powers, each class has a passive class power that increases health and Paragon/Renegade points as well as granting other unique bonuses, depending on the class.

	Class	Power
	Adept	Biotic Mastery
	Engineer	Tech Mastery
	Infiltrator	Operative
	Sentinel	Defender
	Soldier	Combat Mastery
	Vanguard	Assault Mastery

Bonus Powers Edit

Each player class is able to learn one additional bonus power. After obtaining the achievement for earning a squadmate's loyalty, the player can use the Advanced Training research project to choose that character's unique power as their bonus power. The bonus power can be changed at any time by using Advanced Training again.

As available bonus powers are determined by achievements, as long as the achievement has been earned by the player, in any playthrough, any of their characters will be able to learn the associated power.

If the player starts a new game after earning any of the achievements, they will be required to choose a bonus power as part of the character creation process.

	Power	Squadmate	Mission	Achievement
Combat
	Flashbang Grenade	Kasumi Goto	Kasumi: Stealing Memory	Broke, Blind, and Bedlam1
	Fortification	Grunt	Grunt: Rite of Passage	Battlemaster
	Inferno Grenade	Zaeed Massani	Zaeed: The Price of Revenge	Revenge!1
Ammo
	Armor-Piercing Ammo	Garrus Vakarian	Garrus: Eye for an Eye	Fade Away
	Shredder Ammo	Thane Krios	Thane: Sins of the Father	Cat's in the Cradle
	Warp Ammo	Jack	Jack: Subject Zero	Catharsis
Tech
	Energy Drain	Tali'Zorah vas Neema	Tali: Treason	Treason
	Geth Shield Boost	Legion	Legion: A House Divided	A House Divided
	Neural Shock	Mordin Solus	Mordin: Old Blood	The Cure
Biotic
	Barrier	Jacob Taylor	Jacob: The Gift of Greatness	Ghost of the Father
	Dominate	Morinth	Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi	Doppelganger2
	Reave	Samara	Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi	Doppelganger2
	Slam	Miranda Lawson	Miranda: The Prodigal	The Prodigal
	Stasis	Liara T'Soni	Lair of the Shadow Broker	Catching Up1

1. Requires Downloadable Content.
2. Either Dominate or Reave will be unlocked depending on the player's choices in the associated mission.

Squadmates Edit

For a comparison of powers amongst squad members, see Squad Members Guide (Mass Effect 2).

Squadmates can earn up to 30 squad points each, with the exception of Miranda and Jacob, who can earn up to 31, and Liara, who joins the squad temporarily in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, who can only earn up to 29 points because she lacks a loyalty mission. One of these points is automatically assigned to the character's loyalty power when it is unlocked.

2 points are automatically assigned at the beginning of the game to Miranda and Jacob, while the rest of the squad gets 1 point. Your squadmates earn 2 squad points each time the player levels up until level 5 is reached, and starting from level 7, they will earn 2 squad points every two levels, which is reduced to 1 squad point starting from level 21, and making an exception to the rule at level 30, gaining 1 final squad point.

The Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC adds the ability to reassign a squadmate's squad points at any time by using the Advanced Training console in the Shadow Broker Base.

Powers Edit

Each squadmate has 3 active powers, comprising a starting power, a second power unlockable and a loyalty power that becomes available if the character becomes loyal.

Unlike Shepard's bonus powers, it is necessary to earn the characters loyalty in each game to unlock the power, as they will not become unlocked by simply having the associated achievement.

Squadmate	Power 1	Power 2	Loyalty Power
Garrus Vakarian	Concussive Shot	Overload	Armor Piercing Ammo
Grunt	Concussive Shot	Incendiary Ammo	Fortification
Jack	Shockwave	Pull	Warp Ammo
Jacob Taylor	Pull	Incendiary Ammo	Barrier
Kasumi Goto	Shadow Strike	Overload	Flashbang Grenade
Legion	AI Hacking	Combat Drone	Geth Shield Boost
Liara T'Soni	Singularity	Warp	Stasis
Miranda Lawson	Overload	Warp	Slam
Mordin Solus	Incinerate	Cryo Blast	Neural Shock
Morinth	Throw	Pull	Dominate
Samara	Throw	Pull	Reave
Tali'Zorah vas Neema	Combat Drone	AI Hacking	Energy Drain
Thane Krios	Throw	Warp	Shredder Ammo
Zaeed Massani	Concussive Shot	Disruptor Ammo	Inferno Grenade

Class Powers Edit

In addition, each squadmate also 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
	Garrus Vakarian	Turian Rebel
	Grunt	Krogan Berserker
	Jack	Subject Zero
	Jacob Taylor	Cerberus Operative
	Kasumi Goto	Master Thief
	Liara T'Soni	Asari Scientist
	Legion	Geth Infiltrator
	Miranda Lawson	Cerberus Officer
	Mordin Solus	Salarian Scientist
	Morinth	Ardat-Yakshi
	Samara	Asari Justicar
	Tali'Zorah vas Neema	Quarian Machinist
	Thane Krios	Drell Assassin
	Zaeed Massani	Mercenary Veteran

Upgrades Edit

See also: Upgrade Guide, Research

Bio-Amp Upgrades Edit

• Biotic Cooldown (Smart Amplifier)

Provides +20% faster biotic cooldowns.

• Biotic Damage 1 - 6 (Hyper-Amp)

Provides +10% biotic damage for all biotic powers.

• Biotic Duration (Neural Mask)

Provides +20% biotic power duration for all biotic powers.

Omni-Tool Upgrades Edit

• Tech Cooldowns (Hydra Module)

Provides +20% faster cooldown on tech abilities.

• Tech Damage 1 - 6 (Multicore Amplifier)

Provides +10% tech power damage for all tech powers.

• Tech Duration (Custom Heuristics)

Provides +20% duration for all tech powers.

Squadmate Specific Edit

• Subject Zero Power Boost (Multicore Implants)

Provides Jack with a +20% biotic damage boost.

• Mordin Tech Damage (Custom Tech Upgrade)

Provides Mordin with a +20% tech damage boost.