Mass Effect Legendary Edition: Level Scaling Explained – Legendary Mode vs Classic Mode

When you start a new game in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, you’ll be presented with a choice between Legendary Mode and Classic Mode for the game’s level scaling option. This is a new feature for the remastered collection, and it’s mainly used to make the first game’s leveling system feel more in line with the rest of the trilogy. This will affect your squad’s progression throughout the game, so it’s an important choice. Here’s the difference between Legendary Mode and Classic Mode level scaling in Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

What is the Difference Between Legendary Mode and Classic Mode?

Classic Mode and Legendary Mode have two different level caps and distribute skill points at different rates. Classic Mode is similar to the original release of Mass Effect, featuring a level cap of 60, while Legendary Mode is rebalanced for the remastered collection, including a level cap of just 30. If you choose Classic Mode, you’ll level up more often but receive fewer skill points when you do because of the increased level cap. Playing on Legendary Mode will give you more skill points per level, but you won’t level up as often because of the lower level cap.

In the original Mass Effect, multiple playthroughs were required to reach the maximum level of 60, but the game has been rebalanced so players should be able to hit the level cap within a single playthrough provided they earn enough experience. If you’re a first-time player, you should play the game on Legendary Mode. This is the default setting in the remaster, and the Classic Mode is really just there for fans of the original release.

That being said, you can select Classic Mode if you want the most faithful experience to the original games. Thankfully, you can swap between the two level scaling modes at any time, so you aren’t locked into one or the other. At the end of the day, you’ll still earn the same amount of skill points, you’ll just receive them at different rates based on which level scaling option you end up choosing.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Check out our review of the game here.