Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Save Editor — Credits, Paragon & Talents
Last verified: 2026-10-01
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Save\<profile>\*.pcsav
Mass Effect Legendary Edition PC saves are .pcsav files in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Save (inside a profile folder). The standard tool now is KarlitosVII's Trilogy Save Editor - the open-source successor to Gibbed's original Mass Effect Save Editor - which supports ME1/ME2/ME3 both as the separate Trilogy and as Legendary Edition. Open a .pcsav and you can edit credits, Paragon and Renegade points, talent/power points, level/XP, squad and appearance, and - the real draw of ME editing - plot flags: add or edit any plot, which lets you fix a broken imported decision, set a romance, or repair a choice that didn't carry forward between games. Crucially, editing saves with the Trilogy Save Editor does NOT disable achievements, unlike console commands in some games. It also converts saves by writing a different file extension, which is how people move a legacy-trilogy save into Legendary. Always duplicate the .pcsav first: plot-flag edits are powerful and an inconsistent flag set can soft-lock a conversation or mission.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition PC saves are .pcsav files you open with KarlitosVII's Trilogy Save Editor, the successor to Gibbed's ME tools - it parses the save so you can edit credits, Paragon/Renegade, talent points, plot flags and romance across all three games.
What you can edit and which tag to change
| What it changes | XML tag | Example value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | currency |
Set credits to 9,999,999 |
Simple numeric field per game. Resources (ME2 minerals, ME3 war assets handling) are separate. |
| Paragon / Renegade | morality points |
Max both bars |
Edit the raw point totals; charm/intimidate checks read these, so maxing unlocks dialogue options. |
| Talent / power points | character progress |
Add unspent points |
Add points to respec or over-cap powers; pair with level if you want it consistent. |
| Level / XP | character progress |
Set level 60 |
Set level and XP together so the game doesn't re-derive an inconsistent value on load. |
| Plot flags | story state (bool/int) |
Fix an imported ME1 decision |
The headline feature - add/edit any plot. Powerful but easy to make inconsistent; change one decision at a time. |
| Romance / squad | plot + character |
Set a romance flag |
Romance is a set of plot flags; use the editor's romance helper rather than flipping raw flags blindly. |
How to edit your Mass Effect Legendary Edition save by hand
- Fully quit the game and pause Steam/EA cloud sync so it can't overwrite your edited .pcsav.
- Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Save\<profile> and copy the .pcsav you want to edit somewhere safe.
- Download KarlitosVII's Trilogy Save Editor (Nexus/GitHub), launch it and Open the .pcsav - it detects which game (ME1/2/3) the save belongs to.
- Edit what you need: credits and Paragon/Renegade on the character/general tabs, talent points for a respec, or the Plot/Head-Morph tabs to fix an imported decision or romance.
- Save (it rewrites the same .pcsav, or a new extension to convert), load it in-game to confirm the character and dialogue states are intact, then delete the backup.
Prefer a save editor instead of raw XML?
Mass Effect is single-player, so there's no multiplayer ban risk, and the Trilogy Save Editor is specifically noted to NOT disable achievements - the main reason people prefer it over cruder methods. The real danger is internal consistency: the trilogy threads plot flags between games, so an edited or imported decision that conflicts with later flags can break a conversation or mission trigger. Change one plot decision at a time and test a load before continuing.
Mistakes that corrupt the save
- Editing with the Trilogy Save Editor does NOT disable achievements - but flipping plot flags inconsistently can soft-lock a scene.
- Legendary Edition and the old separate Trilogy use the same .pcsav format but different save folders - edit the file from the right game's folder.
- A legacy-trilogy save is moved into Legendary by saving with a different extension in the editor; don't just rename blindly.
- Steam/EA cloud can restore the pre-edit .pcsav if you leave sync on during editing.
- Imported ME1->ME2->ME3 decisions are plot flags; fix a missed import in the editor rather than replaying, but change one at a time and test.
Not sure where the file is? See the full Mass Effect Legendary Edition save file location guide (every platform path), or the corrupted-save recovery guide if an edit broke your file.
FAQ
Where are Mass Effect Legendary Edition saves on PC?
.pcsav files in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect Legendary Edition\Save, inside a profile folder. Press Win+R and paste the path.
What save editor works for Legendary Edition?
KarlitosVII's Trilogy Save Editor (Nexus/GitHub) - the open-source successor to Gibbed's Mass Effect editor. It supports ME1/2/3 in both the separate Trilogy and Legendary Edition.
Does editing my save disable achievements?
No - the Trilogy Save Editor is specifically designed so that editing a save does not disable achievements, unlike some console-command methods.
Can I fix a decision that didn't import between games?
Yes. Those are plot flags; open the later game's .pcsav in the editor and set the flag to match your earlier choice. Change one at a time and test a load, since the games thread flags together.
Other games
- Dune: Awakening Save File Location (PC)
- Dying Light: The Beast Save File Location (PC)
- Elden Ring Nightreign Save File Location (PC)
- Mafia: The Old Country Save File Location (PC)
- Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater Save File Location (PC)
- Silent Hill f Save File Location (PC)
- South of Midnight Save File Location (PC)
- The Alters Save File Location (PC)
Need another game or a quick backup? Use the Save Location Finder — pick any game to get its exact save path plus a ready-to-run backup command.