You should put Udina or Anderson on the board

Mass Effect makes Commander Shepard a character whose opinions carry weight. However, there are many situations where Shepard is put in a position where he needs to make a decision, but the best choice to make may not be clear at the time, and the consequences of that choice are only revealed later. On the other hand, some situations do not have exactly significant consequences or impact on the overall narrative of Mass Effect. In fact, it often feels like most of Shepard’s choices aren’t as impactful as they seem when making the choice.

A group in Mass Effect What seems to hinder Shepard more than help them is the Council, which supposedly has the galaxy’s best interests in mind when it makes decisions. As they grant Mass Effect Specter statuses on Shepard, it seems like they work more against Shepard than they help them in most other cases. That’s why the decision to finally have some effect on the Council by placing a new member on it to represent humanity may seem like a turning pointbut the reality is that it may not be that significant.

What happens if you put Udina on the board

Choosing a career politician

Udina is a more typical politician compared to Shepard’s other option, Anderson. Why Udina has a rather hostile attitude towards Shepardit may not seem like he would offer help if Shepard requested any, which is frustrating considering how often the Council ignores Shepard in the first game alone. Fortunately, there isn’t much that Udina affects in Mass Effect 2 while on the Council.

The biggest downside would be that he is against giving Shepard Specter status again, but it can be nullified if the Council is saved in ME1. His hostility lasts until Mass Effect 3but fades away as larger issues take priority, and he becomes frustrated at not being able to receive support for the Alliance to recover Earth after the Reaper invasion in the game’s opening. However, his position on the Council in ME3 it makes no difference to the events that occur in relation to the Council.

What happens if you put Anderson on the board?

Choosing a familiar face

Choosing Anderson over Udina to the Board brings only one change, and it’s not that significant overall. If Shepard didn’t save the Council in ME1then Anderson will help Shepard reestablish his Specter statusalthough the new Council is against it. However, having the Specter status or not doesn’t make a big difference in the game, and it’s easy to complete all missions with or without it. For roleplaying purposes, it can be fun to be a Specter returned from the dead or a former Specter turned renegade.

Unfortunately, placing Anderson on the Board at the end of the ME1 does not mean that he remains on the Council. He will be a member during ME2but then he will send a message to Shepard saying that he prefers to lead a more active life, stating that he is ceding his position to Udina instead of. He decides he can serve the Milky Way in Mass Effect better off putting his military experience to the test against the Reaper invasion rather than trying to be a politician.

It doesn’t matter who you put on the board in ME1

The end result is the same

While it may seem like deciding who will represent humanity on the Council is a big deal, it’s actually not a choice with many, if any, consequences. Anderson makes it easier to become a Specter again, but it can still be done by putting Udina on the Council after saving them at the end of ME1and even not having that status reestablished doesn’t change much. It is also disappointing that Anderson will step down and hand over to Udina either way, but understandable given what Shepard saw of his character.

Throughout the trilogy, Commander Shepard has to make a lot of decisions, and it seems like who he puts on the Council of Humanity should be an important choice. Unfortunately, the consequences are quite disappointing, and this makes the decision ultimately meaningless, because Udina will be on the Council later, no matter what, leaving the events of the end game to play out in the same way for the Council. Of course, not all choices can have significant consequences, but this one should at least have more impact on the Mass Effect.