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Note: This guide contains some spoilers for Mass Effect 1, so if you’re hoping to go into Mass Effect: Legendary Edition as blind as possible, we recommend you stop reading now.
The engine that drives the Mass Effect games is player choice, and in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, one of those choices is who among your crew to pursue a romantic relationship with. In Mass Effect 1, you’ll have some human options, as well as a non-human possibility: Liara T’Soni. You can romance Liara whether you’re playing as a male or female Shepard, and it’s actually pretty easy to do, if you know how.
The main trick with romancing anyone in the Mass Effect games is to speak with them often and exhaust all dialogue options. Interacting with your crew between missions is how you to get to know them (and, really, how you get the most out of these games), but it’s essential to building relationships that can go beyond friendships. Here’s what you need to get Liara interested and how to lock in a relationship with her.
Save Liara From Therum
The first and most essential item is, of course, that you need to have Liara on your team before you can worry about building a relationship with her. Recruiting Liara is one of the three missions that become available after you receive Spectre status and leave the Citadel early in the game. You’ll need to search for Liara in the Artemis Tau sector of the galaxy, and you’ll eventually find her on the planet Therum. You don’t have to do this mission first–in fact, you can hold it until nearly the end of the game–but the earlier you have Liara on the team, the easier a time you’ll have in building a rapport with her.
Talk With Liara Between Missions
As mentioned, talking with your team between missions is key to advancing your relationships with them, whether romantic or otherwise. Once you have Liara on the squad, seek her out on the Normandy and speak with her after every major planetary mission–namely, after Therum, Feros, Noveria, and Virmire. During those conversations, make sure choose the “Investigate” dialogue options, the ones on the left side of the dialogue wheel, in order to open up new discussions with Liara and to learn more about her backstory.
You’ll also want to choose flirty dialogue options and avoid Renegade choices that seem like they’d upset Liara. Put another way, you should be nice to her, as you should probably expect. Treat her poorly and she’ll lose interest.
At some point in these conversations, Liara will admit to having a fascination with Shepard and talk about human relationships. Pick dialogue options that show you’re open to the relationship and you’ll get started down that path.
If A Love Triangle Forms, Pick Liara
It’s possible to flirt with and pursue a relationship with more than one character in Mass Effect 1. If you’re a male Shepard, you can also pursue a romantic relationship with Ashley Williams; if a female Shepard, then Kaidan Alenko is your other option. At some point, Liara and the other option will ask if you’re interested in the other one. If you tell Liara you’re interested in someone else, she’ll respect that and it’ll close off your relationship with her. (You can also shut it down by insisting on your relationship remaining professional.)
However, it’s possible to actively pursue both relationships at once, which will result in a scene where both love interests confront Shepard about the situation. At that point, you’ll have to choose; your choice locks in one option but shuts down the other, so be careful about your dialogue options at that point. But obviously, if Liara is your choice, you should pick her.
Key Moments
Talking with Liara will reveal a few key things about her. She’ll mention that she’s never pursued a romantic relationship before and that she’s hesitant to do so now, so make sure to reassure her by telling her it’s not something you need to rush into.
You’ll have another important romantic moment with Liara on the Citadel after completing Feros, Noveria, Therum, and Virmire. Keep choosing the flirty, Paragon dialogue options that make your desires clear.
Finally, after leaving the Citadel on the final leg of the game, you’ll have one last romantic moment with Liara. Again, you’ll need to make Paragon choices here. This will trigger the conclusion of the romance and a sex scene between Liara and Shepard.
Rekindle With Liara In Mass Effect 3
It’s worth noting that if you’re playing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition all the way through, you’ll have another opportunity to romance Liara, whether you choose to do so in Mass Effect 1 or not. The chance comes up again in Mass Effect 3, when you can either start a new relationship with her or rekindle your old one, depending on your past choices.
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