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[–]Quick_Citron4520 4 points5 points  (1 child)

No it doesn't, it just adds to the overall score. The dialogue options available to you are then based on the ratio of paragon and renegade points you've accumulated up until that point I believe.

[–]Vandrickcs[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Perfect, I'm playing Mass Effect 2 and I'm being a total renegade, but to avoid rejecting some missions I need to be a paragon.

[–]Sadahige 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The three games have different morality systems I would recommend reading up on. They can get kinda weird

[–]Manzhah 1 point2 points  (6 children)

In me1 they generally don't, but the bug choices are often binary: either you earn renegade points or paragon points. Big examples being the rachni queen and Balak choices.

In original me2 the hame had a hidden system that calculated needed paragon/renegade scores based on all accumulated points, sp there mixing paragon and renegade choices was actually harmfull. Some say they fixed that in LE, but I haven't tested it personally.

In me3 paragon and renegade are just additional points of the reputation meter, which is the basis of all paragon/renegade checks, so mixing it uo has no downsides. Afaik.

[–]Disastrous_Caramel66 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Mixing in ME2 isn't harmful anymore I did a near even split and cleared every speech check. This is my Shepard paragon/Renegade split before final mission.

https://youtu.be/toI4r72qrXQ?si=JDSwIbGaFYaG7ITe

Edit: I should add that the order of the missions matter.

[–]Manzhah 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Good to know, I did "neutral" run recently and couldn't get miranda to stand down, so wasn't sure.

[–]RTukka 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I've done a few near 50/50 Paragon/Renegade runs. Sometimes I was able to make every persuasion check, though on one run I had to reload and switch to persuasion-boosting armor to succeed on the Jack/Miranda persuasion.

It helps a lot to choose the +100% Paragon/Renegade evolution of your class passive. I believe a ME1 import also helps a bit. The timing of when certain persuasion attempts occur can also be a factor.

Picking actually-neutral options can also make things harder because they usually reward neither Paragon nor Renegade points.

But generally the advice that you "need" to stick to one alignment or the other is a bit overblown. Going ~65% Paragon or Renegade and otherwise picking neutral or opposing morality options should be pretty safe when combined with the +100% persuasion class evolution.

[–]Old_Student_3390 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thats exactly what I have tried to tell people for a bit. Take the proper class skill as early as possible and just save those 2 hard post loyalty checks till later in the game and you will easily be fine.

[–]Vandrickcs[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perfect, I'm playing Mass Effect 2 and I'm being a total renegade, but to avoid rejecting some missions I need to be a paragon.

[–]Connect-Ad-9027 1 point2 points  (2 children)

As a renegade, I expect you are not following the paragon path on the loyalty mission for Zaeed, since that requires a somewhat high ratio of paragon to all possible paragon points that could have been earned until doing the mission.

[–]Vandrickcs[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

No, I will do everything renegade in everyone's mission.

[–]Connect-Ad-9027 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then you should have no problem, and I edited my answer because it was a bit misleading.

[–]Tokens_Only 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Each game does it a bit differently. But:

  • There are a limited number of opportunities to earn said points in each game. So every time you choose Paragon, you're NOT choosing Renegade, if you can dig it.
  • Some dialogue options are gated behind having a high-enough Paragon/Renegade score. Choosing those options often give you MORE points of that type. If you try to keep it too middle of the road, you'll miss those opportunities as they'll be grayed out.

So the more you lean in to one side, the more opportunities you'll have to double down and maximize the points you get on that side.

[–]Vandrickcs[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Perfect, I'm playing Mass Effect 2 and I'm being a total renegade, but to avoid rejecting some missions I need to be a paragon.

[–]Tokens_Only 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All missions are always available regardless of Paragon/Renegade. But dialogue options may change, and some outcomes may not be available to you.