How to Save Wrex - Mass Effect Guide - IGN (2024)

This page of IGN's Mass Effect guide is all about how to save Wrex on Virmire. There are in fact multiple different approaches to accomplishing this, all detailed below.

WARNING: Given the subject matter, this page is HEAVY on spoilers, moreso than other pages in this walkthrough. If you haven't reached Virmire, only read on if you're comfortable with this!

• Wrex and the Genophage Explained
• How to Get Wrex to Stand Down Automatically

Wrex and the Genophage Explained

The decision to spare or kill Wrex revolves around the "Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage" Assignment, which you must do on Virmire at the Salarian Base camp after the opening Mako section.

When you arrive at the camp, Captain Kirrahe will inform everyone that Saren's base has a cure for the Genophage in order to breed a Krogan army, but Wrex is angry that the only plan to destroy Saren's base is to also destroy the cure. Your challenge is to convince Wrex to stand down and co-operate, a near-impossible task for anybody, let alone a Krogan.

The earliest thing you can do is in the conversation with Kaidan and Ashley once both Wrex and Captain Kirrahe leave. At the end of the conversation, you can pick "You're right" or "Be ready" to enable the later option to signal Ashley to kill Wrex.

The discussion with Wrex is itself determined by actions you've taken elsewhere in the game. Wrex makes it clear that he's starting to see Shepard as a foe in this particular situation, and asks Shepard to justify themselves before drawing a gun on them.

First, if you completed the Wrex: Family Armor Side Quest, you'll get an extra Dialogue Wheel that would not otherwise be available to you:

• If you pick either "I wouldn't do this otherwise" or "We are", Wrex will trust Shepard's judgement enough to stand down, and you get +28 Paragon Points.
• If you pick "This isn't up for debate", Wrex won't trust Shepard and you'll move on to the second Dialogue Wheel.

If you didn't do the Family Armor Side Quest (or you did and picked "This isn't up for debate"), you'll go to the second, more treacherous Dialogue Wheel with up to six options:

• If you have 8 Charm Points, you can pick "These aren't your people!", which convinces Wrex to stand down. This gives you +28 Paragon Points.
• If you have 8 Intimidate Points, you can pick "Don't be so naive", which convinces him to stand down. This gives you +9 Renegade Points.
• If you pick "[Shoot Wrex]", Shepard will knock Wrex down and kill him personally, getting you +25 Renegade Points. After this, saying "Damn it" will get you +2 Paragon Points.
• If you picked "You're right" or "Be ready" when talking to Kaidan and Ashley earlier, you can pick "[Signal Ashley to kill Wrex]" to signal her to kill him. This also gives +25 Renegade Points.
• If you pick "Calm down" or "We can work this out", Ashley decides to kill Wrex in the middle of the conversation whether you asked her to or not. You can then pick "I'm in command" for +8 Paragon Points.

If Wrex dies, you'll automatically get all of his gear back in your Inventory, which you can sell to the Salarian Merchant on the East side of the beach (not like you'll need that Krogan armor, right?).

If Wrex was killed by either Shepard or Ashley, then when you talk to Captain Kirrahe again, you have one final spot for Morality Points:

• If you pick "He was my friend" or "He deserves respect", you get +2 Paragon Points.
• If you pick "Dump him", you'll get +2 Renegade Points.

How to Get Wrex to Stand Down Automatically

There's also a very obscure outcome where Wrex automatically stands down, which only happens if you don't have Garrus or Liara and thus only four Squad Mates. Here's how to accomplish this:

• Complete only Citadel: Wrex during Citadel: Expose Saren. When accepting Wrex, he'll suggest recruiting Garrus; ignore this suggestion and instead go for Fist at Chora's Den.
• After you've been made a Spectre, Garrus will be waiting in C-Sec next to the central elevator up to the Docking Bay, and ask to join you. Decline him by picking "Forget it" and then "No". He'll still hang around in C-Sec, so continue to ignore him.
• Lastly, avoid landing on Therum and recruiting Liara T'Soni.
• When you get to the Wrex confrontation on Virmire, you can genuinely pick whatever option you want: Wrex will accept Shepard's decision and stand down!

The reason why this happens is spoilery, so only read the section below if you've completed Virmire or don't mind knowing in advance.