Han Shot First wrote...
The most important squadmates as far as plot relevance are Liara, Tali, and Miranda. Note that I'm talking about the series as a whole and not individual games, as Liara obviously isn't very relevant in Mass Effect 2 and Miranda has less plot relevance in Mass Effect 3.
Liara: Prothean expert that divines the location of Ilos. Without Liara in ME1, Saren wins the Conduit race by a mile and the Reapers keep on reaping. Between Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 she prevents the Shadow Broker from obtaining Shepard's corpse, and thus foils a plot by Harbinger and the Collectors to obtain said corpse. By doing so she also plays a supporting role in the Lazarus Project, enabling Shepard's resurrection. In ME3 she plays a crucial role in the development of the Crucible, the superweapon that ultimately defeats the Reapers.
Tali: Obtains the crucial data the implicates Saren in the attack on Eden Prime, thus getting him stripped of his Spectre status and declared an outlaw. Her evidence also contains the first mention of the Reapers, and exposes Benezia as an accomplice. (which in turn leads to Liara's eventual recruitment). Without Tali, Reapers keep on reaping.
Miranda: Project lead for the Lazarus Project. Was also involved in recruiting Liara to obtain Shepard's corpse. Without Miranda the Collectors both obtain Shepard's corpse and Shepard never gets resurrected. Reapers keep on reaping.
Honorable mention: The Illusive Man.
Although not a squadmate he is arguably right up there with the three above mentioned hotties as far as plot relevance. Obviously he plays a central role in both the Lazarus Project and the decision to recruit Liara to obtain Shepar's corpse. Without TIM, the Collectors are not stopped in ME2. Furthermore he prevents Miranda from implanting a control chip, would have ultimately prevented Shepard from saving the galaxy. If the control chip did not hamper Shepard in ME2 it would have in ME3, where the now indoctrinated TIM would have had a method for controlling Shepard.
On the bolded part, if only the humans weren't so stupid and didn't want to keep that stuff a secret on Mars, she would of been irrelevant, but I agree about the rest.
Modifié par spirosz, 04 août 2012 - 08:30 .