The player-controlled protagonist and first human Spectre. Shepard is a battle-hardened leader tasked with uniting a fractured galaxy against the Reaper threat.

A cynical but fiercely loyal Turian sniper and former C-Sec officer. He becomes Shepard's tactical right hand and is a fan-favorite romance option.

A brilliant Quarian technician and engineer. She is an expert on synthetics who struggles to help her exiled people reclaim their homeworld from the Geth.

An Asari researcher specializing in Prothean history. Over the trilogy, she transforms from a shy archeologist into the galaxy's most powerful information broker (The Shadow Broker).

A tough, traditional Human Alliance soldier with a complicated family history. She is fiercely protective of humanity and highly skeptical of alien factions.

A disciplined Human Alliance biotic Sentinel who suffers from severe migraines due to his early-generation biotic implants.

A terminally ill Drell assassin who views his body merely as a tool used by his employers, seeking spiritual redemption before his impending death.

A cynical, aging Krogan mercenary. He fights to save his dying race from the "Genophage," a genetic bioweapon that sterile-strikes his people.

A genetically engineered human Cerberus officer. She possesses flawless biotics and intellect, acts as Shepard’s second-in-command, and struggles with her creator-father's legacy.

Jacob Taylor is a human squadmate and former Alliance soldier in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. He joins Commander Shepard at the start of the Cerberus mission to stop the Collectors and serves as the biotic and tactical expert of the team.