4
Character Creation
After selecting Commander Shepard’s gender and the Role-Playing or Story experience types, you
enter the Alliance Headquarters Active Duty Reactivation Protocol. From here, you can choose
between default options or customize the following:
X First Name
X Appearance
X Military Class
X Personal History
X Service History
X Combat Losses
Until you confirm your selections on the Review screen, you can return to the previous screens to
change Shepard’s characteristics.
Choosing the Action experience type jumps you straight into the game, skipping these screens. By
default, Shepard was born on Earth, was the sole survivor of a failed mission years ago, and takes
the default appearance.
Importing an ME2 Character
Importing Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 2 maintains your old character’s level as well as
the decisions you made that impact Mass Effect 3’s story.
If you have completed Mass Effect 2, your old career will be available to import after selecting
IMPORT ME2 CHARACTER.
The Mission Computer
The Mission Computer is the
in-game menu. To access the Mission
Computer, press ESC after gaining full
control of Commander Shepard in the
game. Select RESUME on the
bottom-right of the screen to exit
the Mission Computer and return to
the game.
NOTE: All controls listed in this manual
are based on the default control setting.
To change your controls, go to Options
under the Extras menu and select to
adjust the Keybinding.
Squad Screen
Select SQUAD on the Mission Computer to review the powers available to Commander Shepard and
squadmates. As you level up and gain points, you can spend them here to upgrade your powers.
Journal Menu
Go to the Journal menu to view your progress, review your mission’s objectives, and read codex
entries about the Mass Effect universe.
For more information on the Journal, see The Game Journal.
