Mass Effect 3 is already a very tragic story full of death and sacrifice, but players’ decisions can make it even worse. Over the course of the series, BioWare got fans connected to a compelling cast of characters from ex-C-Sec officers like Garrus to wise justicars like Samara. The cast is quite large, and some of their fates cannot be avoided in Mass Effect 3, like the death of Mordin, Thane, and Legion.

However, there are some companions that can meet a terrible fate based on player choices. These companions include Jack, Tali, Kaiden/Ashley, Wrex, Miranda, Grunt, Zaeed, Samara, and EDI. Of course, a lot is dependent already on previous games and whether certain characters survived the Suicide Mission in the second game. These are also just the companion characters, as a lot of other Normandy crewmates such as Cortez and can die depending on the player.

Jack And Miranda

Jack is one of the characters fans loved most for her development. However, that development can be cut quite short if Shepard does not come to Grissom Academy’s aid in time. Some fans consider her tragic fate to be one of the cruelest in the game, as she becomes what she never wanted to be, a tool for Cerberus as a Phantom. Players have to kill Jack themselves if this happens while they raid Cerberus’ Headquarters. A tape can even be found, showing that Jack tried her best to resist Cerberus until the end.

Miranda can die in Mass Effect 3 from wounds given by Kai Leng based on various conditions. One condition is that her loyalty was never secured in Mass Effect 2 and another is that she was not given Alliance resources. There is a third as well, which is if Shepard neither shoots her father nor persuades him with diplomacy. If any of these conditions are met, Miranda dies from her wounds by Kai Leng and possibly her father.

Kaiden,Ashley, And Wrex

Kaiden or Ashley, depending on who lives through the first Mass Effect game, can die during the coup of the Citadel. They are put in charge of protecting the Councilors during the coup, however, they do not know that Udina is working with Cerberus. Shepard has to talk them down and will succeed or fail depending on their past interactions. If Shepard has not been visiting them in the hospital, they will have to shoot them. If Shepard does not do it, a companion with them will.

Urdnot Wrex’s tragic end only happens if Shepard betrays him by helping the salarians sabotage the cute for the genophage. Wrex will find out and attack Shepard with a shotgun. Shepard is forced to either kill Wrex themselves or call C-Sec to kill him. His last words are “I know what you did Shepard,” and to add insult to injury, his death is whitewashed in media by being depicted as just an overreactive mercenary rather than the leader of the krogan people.

Tali And Samara

Tali’s possible death is one that hit players very hard. It occurs if Shepard allows the geth to be upgraded and Legion is not around to help broker peace with the quarians. If this happens, the Migrant Fleet crashes and burns. Tali, watching this, gives up all hope and after removing her mask, she throws herself off a cliff in an act of suicide. Shepard can try to catch her via interrupt, but it does not work.

Samara is another character that can be doomed to suicide depending on Shepard’s actions or lack thereof in this case. After escaping the monastery with her surviving daughter, Samara decides to kill herself instead of killing her daughter, which is what her justicar code demands. If Shepard does not stop her, she shoots herself, leaving Shepard to either murder or leave her last daughter alone.

Grunt, Zaeed, And EDI

Grunt and Zaeed share similar fates in Mass Effect 3, as either they live or die depends on whether their loyalty mission was done in Mass Effect 2. In Zaeed’s case, he will die saving Korlack in Mass Effect 3 if his loyalty was never gained. Grunt dies fighting rachni ravagers and swarmers if his loyalty isn’t gained on top of if Shepard spared the rachni queen. EDI is a death that happens off-screen and only at the very end of Mass Effect 3 if Shepard chooses the destroy ending. This ending destroys races based on technology outside just reapers such as geth, and this would include EDI.

Mass Effect 3 is available on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U.