How to Save Tali - Mass Effect 3 Guide - IGN (2024)

This page of IGN's Mass Effect 3 wiki guide is all about how to save Tali and pull off a successful ceasefire, and what you need to do in order to make this happen.

Needless to say, this section has HEAVY SPOILERS for this section of Mass Effect 3. READ WITH CAUTION.

• Prelude
• Allow the Upload
• Let the Geth Die
• Persuasion: Rally the Fleet / Warn the Fleet
  • Persuasion: Genesis 2

Prelude

This scenario takes place in the final mission dealing with the Quarians and the Geth, titled "Priority: Rannoch". With the Reaper defeated, the Geth are free from its control, and now the Quarian fleet turn their guns at the Geth ships.

Legion (or the Geth VI if Legion died in Mass Effect 2) wants to upload the Reaper code to the Geth collective, as it gives them true intelligence. Tali (or Shala'Raan if Tali died in Mass Effect 2) will protest this decision: since the Quarians are already attacking the Geth, uploading the code will cause the Geth to retaliate and wipe them all out.

Initially, you're given the option to pick "Upload the code" or "We're letting the geth die". Similar to Virmire, this is actually a false choice; it doesn't matter what you pick here, the true decision comes immediately afterwards.

Once Legion / The Geth VI starts uploading the Reaper code and Tali / Shala'Raan's pleas to call off the attack do nothing, you'll now have up to four options to pick, each with drastically different results. Below is how each plays out, and what you need to do in order to unlock the Persuasion options.

Allow the Upload

Picking this option will allow Legion / the Geth VI to upload the Reaper Code. They will sacrifice themselves to make this happen, and the Geth fleets gain full sentience. Their fighters will overwhelm the Quarian fleet and wipe them all out.

Your Quarian companion will witness this on the ground, seeing Quarian ships burn up in Rannoch's atmosphere. If your companion is Tali, she will remove her mask and commit suicide by letting herself fall off the cliff. You will be given a Paragon interrupt to try and save her, but it will be unsuccessful. If your companion is Shala'Raan, she'll shoot herself in the head.

Significantly. your Quarian companion, either Tali or Shala'Raan, will ALWAYS die if this option is picked. Not even being in a locked-in Romance with Tali will prevent her from killing herself in grief.

Let the Geth Die

Picking this will cause Legion / the Geth VI to attack Shepard, and the Quarian will disable them (Tali using her boot knife the only time in the trilogy). You can then use a trio of Renegade interrupts to finish Legion / the Geth VI, but they will die from Tali's strike regardless.

After their death, the Quarians will continue to attack the Geth fleet and destroy them. Tali / Shala'Raan will live, and the Quarians will become War Assets for your cause.

Persuasion: Rally the Fleet / Warn the Fleet

If you've played your cards right, you can have a third and/or fourth option available to you: the "[Rally the fleet]" Charm option, and the "[Warn the fleet]" Intimidate option. These are two of the hardest-earned options in the game, and have Shepard make a plea to the Quarians to call a ceasefire so that both them and the Geth can live. There are TWO checks for this.

The first check is whether you can even pick these options in the first place. You must meet ALL FOUR of these requirements, or else you cannot select these options. The requirements are:

• 80% of the Reputation Bar needs to be filled.
• Tali must have survived Mass Effect 2's Suicide Mission to be present in Mass Effect 3.
• Legion needs to have been activated in Mass Effect 2 and survived the Suicide Mission so that they can be present in Mass Effect 3. The Geth VI does not count.
• The Mission "Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons" needs to have been completed.

If you do not meet all four of these requirements, you CANNOT pick either of the Persuasion options, and you will have to choose between either the Quarians or the Geth using the options on the right side of the Dialogue Wheel.

That's not the end of it, however. While you can pick these options to attempt your plea with the Quarians to cease fire, there's a second check that determines whether you'll be successful with it or not. Past actions will give Shepard enough clout for their words to actually convince the Quarians to stand down.

Each of the actions listed below have a points value to them. You'll need to attain five points to pass the check. The actions are:

• +2 Points for preventing Tali from being exiled in her Loyalty Mission in Mass Effect 2, without presenting the evidence of her father's Geth experiments. If Tali was exiled, or you presented the evidence, you get no Points.
• +2 Points for destroying the Heretic Geth at the end of Legion's Loyalty Mission in Mass Effect 2.
• +1 Point for successfully resolving Tali and Legion's conflict after completing their Loyalty Missions. This point is NOT counted if you had to pick one and patch things up afterwards.
• +1 Point for completing "Rannoch: Admiral Koris".
• +1 Point for saving Admiral Koris during "Rannoch: Admiral Koris"; he will give his support for Shepard's ceasefire.

If you have less than 5 Points, your plea will be unsuccessful, and the results will be as detailed in the Allow the Upload section of this page.

If you DO have 5 Points or more, your plea will succeed, and both the Geth and Quarians will live, as will Tali / Shala'Raan. Legion however will still die, sacrificing himself to disseminate the Reaper code among the Geth. Overall though, you will have just pulled off the impossible and ended a war 300 years in the making, and gain both the Geth and Quarians for your cause.

Persuasion: Genesis 2

If you started with Mass Effect 3 and want to use this ceasefire option, you'll need to use the Genesis 2 DLC comic at the start and make very specific choices, which will give you enough points to have a shot at passing the both of the checks listed above.

• First, when debating how many Squad Mates to recruit, you need choose "Take your time. Recruit all", which means that both Tali and Legion join the squad and survive the Suicide Mission, helping you pass the first check.
• Second, when debating about their conflicts, you'll want to pick "Resolve the conflicts". This will have two effects:
  
  • In Tali's Loyalty Mission, Tali will be cleared of treason without the use of the evidence against her father. This gives you +2 Points for the second check.
  • In Legion's Loyalty Mission, the Geth Heretics will be destroyed. This gives you +2 Points for the second check.
• Third, when debating whether to go through the Omega-4 Relay immediately after the Normandy's crew is abducted, you'll want to choose "Prepare ship and team". While this sacrifices half of the Normandy's crew, it will ensure that Legion will survive into Mass Effect 3, which is part of the first check.

Once you've done that, all you need to do to pass the check is make sure you fill 80% of the Reputation Bar and complete "Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons" to meet the requirements of the first check, then complete "Rannoch: Admiral Koris" to give you +1 Point so you can clear the second check.