How to Import Your Mass Effect Saves Between Games in Legendary Edition

To carry a Commander Shepard career forward in Mass Effect Legendary Edition, finish the current game, create a normal end-of-career save, start the next game from the Legendary Edition launcher, and choose its character-import command. On PC, an eligible original Mass Effect 2 or Mass Effect 3 save can be copied into the matching Legendary Edition save folder. An original 2007 Mass Effect save cannot be imported directly because its format is incompatible with the remaster.

That in-game career import is different from moving save files between computers or console generations. The instructions below separate those two jobs so you can use the correct method for your edition, game transition and platform.

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What a Legendary Edition import actually does

Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a single collection containing the single-player campaigns of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, along with more than 40 downloadable-content items, according to Electronic Arts’ 2021 product description. It is available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. The trilogy is designed as a chain: you complete one game, then select that completed career when starting the next.

The import is not a generic save-file merge. The next game reads a completed career and uses the prior character’s level and story decisions that affect its campaign. The official Mass Effect 3 manual describes the result as importing Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 2 while maintaining the old character’s level and decisions that affect Mass Effect 3’s story.

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There are therefore two different tasks:

• Trilogy continuity: selecting a completed career inside the next Legendary Edition game.
• File migration: copying a compatible PC save, or moving saves between machines or console generations.

A file can be in the right location and still be unusable if it comes from the wrong edition. Conversely, a valid career will not appear if its character folder is one level too high or too low in the PC directory.

Choose the right method for your situation

Import a completed career inside Legendary Edition

Step 1: Finish the current game

Play the current title through its ending and make a normal end-of-career save. Do not rely on an autosave that is about to be overwritten. On PC, keep a second copy of the save directory before starting the next game. A completed career is the object the import screen is looking for; an ordinary mid-campaign save may not qualify.

Step 2: Return to the Legendary Edition launcher

Exit to the collection’s launcher or game-selection screen and open the next title. Starting the next game from the same collection keeps the import path within the remastered trilogy rather than mixing editions.

Step 3: Open the character-import command

Choose the option to import a character when the new game presents its career or new-game choices. In Mass Effect 3, the official PC manual labels the command IMPORT ME2 CHARACTER. That option becomes available after a completed Mass Effect 2 career has been created or made visible to the game.

Step 4: Select the intended career

Pick the Shepard career you just completed. If you keep several careers, use the date, character name or other identifying information shown by the game to avoid choosing an older run. The selected career supplies the prior level and the story decisions that the next game is designed to read.

Step 5: Confirm that the new game starts with the imported state

Proceed far enough to verify that the new game accepted the career. If the list is empty, stop and correct the save location or completion status before creating a new career; beginning a new game does not repair a missing import.

Put PC saves in the correct Legendary Edition folder

Legendary Edition stores each game’s character folders beneath a separate directory. The documented path is:

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DocumentsBioWareMass Effect Legendary EditionSaveME1

Use the equivalent ME2 or ME3 directory for the other games. The character folder itself must be inside the matching game folder, not directly inside Save. A correct layout looks like this:

DocumentsBioWareMass Effect Legendary EditionSaveME1<character folder>
DocumentsBioWareMass Effect Legendary EditionSaveME2<character folder>
DocumentsBioWareMass Effect Legendary EditionSaveME3<character folder>

The EA Forums solution that documents this structure specifically says the character folders belong in the appropriate game directory. The game name in the path and the game you are launching must match. A folder placed under ME2 will not appear when you are looking for an ME3 career.

Safe PC placement procedure

1. Quit the relevant game and the launcher.
2. Back up the entire Save directory to another location before changing anything. Keeping the original copy lets you undo a mistaken move.
3. Open the original BioWare save location and identify the complete character folder for the compatible career.
4. Copy that character folder into the Legendary Edition ME1, ME2 or ME3 directory that matches the save’s game.
5. Do not flatten the folder by copying only its individual files into Save; the character-folder level is part of the expected structure.
6. Launch the matching Legendary Edition game and use its career or character-import menu.

If the destination folder does not exist, create the missing game-specific directory with the exact names shown above, then place the character folder inside it. Preserve the existing capitalization and spacing in Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Save.

Using saves from the original PC trilogy

Original Mass Effect 2 saves

GameSpot reported on May 16, 2021 that original PC Mass Effect 2 saves can be copied into the corresponding Legendary Edition folder. After the copy, launch Legendary Edition Mass Effect 2 and use its import or load choice. This is a file-format compatibility path, not the same as importing a completed Legendary Edition Mass Effect career into Mass Effect 2.

Original Mass Effect 3 saves

The same report says original PC Mass Effect 3 saves can be copied into the corresponding Legendary Edition ME3 folder. That lets the remastered third game recognize a compatible original career. It does not create an ME2 career or reconstruct an earlier transition; use the save for the game it belongs to.

What “copy” means in practice

Copy the complete character folder while the game is closed, retain the original as a backup, and place the copy under the matching Legendary Edition game directory. If several careers are present, transfer only the folder or folders you actually need so the import list remains understandable. Then start the game and select the career through its normal menu rather than attempting to open files manually.

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Why an original Mass Effect 1 save cannot be imported directly

The original 2007 Mass Effect is the exception. GameSpot’s May 16, 2021 compatibility report explains that the first game received much larger changes for the remaster, making its original save format incompatible. Copying that legacy folder into Legendary Edition can result in a corruption message instead of a usable career.

This is a format limitation, not a misplaced-folder problem. Repeating the copy, renaming the directory or moving individual files cannot convert the original career. The dependable continuity route is to play Mass Effect in Legendary Edition, finish that version, and import the resulting Legendary Edition career into Legendary Edition Mass Effect 2.

If your only available career is from the original first game, treat direct ME1-to-LE2 import as unsupported and decide whether to replay the first game in the collection. That avoids mistaking a compatibility error for a Windows permissions or path issue.

In-game import versus moving saves between consoles

Selecting an imported career inside the next game is not the same operation as transferring a save from one physical system to another. The first reads a completed career for story continuity. The second depends on the platform’s storage, account and generation-transfer rules.

Electronic Arts lists Legendary Edition for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A GameSpot report from 2021 said Xbox supported moving Legendary Edition saves to a newer Xbox system, while PlayStation did not support cross-generation save transfers at that time. Those are dated platform observations, not a permanent promise: console policies and supported transfer services can change. Check the current EA, PlayStation or Xbox support guidance for your exact console pair before deleting the source save.

When changing consoles

• Keep the original console save until the destination game has loaded it successfully.
• Use the same account and the platform’s documented transfer or cloud process where one is available.
• Do not expect a console-generation move to make an incompatible original PC or original Mass Effect 1 save readable.
• If a controller, installation or performance problem prevents access to the save, use the platform support route EA identifies for PlayStation or Xbox issues.

Troubleshoot a missing or rejected career

The import list is empty

• Confirm that the previous game was completed and that you made a normal end-of-career save.
• On PC, verify that the character folder is nested under the game-specific directory, rather than directly under Save.
• Check that the folder name is ME1, ME2 or ME3 according to the game you are launching.
• Close and relaunch the game after correcting the directory. The import screen may not rescan a folder while the game is open.
• Make sure you are launching the Legendary Edition title that matches the career’s game.

IMPORT ME2 CHARACTER is not available in Mass Effect 3

The manual states that the option becomes available after Mass Effect 2 is completed. Return to the second game, create or retain its completed career save, exit, and reopen Mass Effect 3. If the career was copied from another PC, recheck the ME2 placement before launching the third game.

A corruption message appears after copying a save

First identify the source edition. A corruption message from an original 2007 Mass Effect save is consistent with the documented incompatibility and is not fixed by another folder arrangement. For a compatible original Mass Effect 2 or Mass Effect 3 save, restore the backup, recopy the complete character folder while the game is closed, and ensure it is under the corresponding Legendary Edition game directory.

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The game loads the wrong career

• Leave the game and review the folders you transferred; remove test copies you do not intend to select, using your backup as the source for any restoration.
• At the import screen, select the career whose identifying information matches the run you want.
• For a trilogy transition, import the completed career from the immediately preceding game; a standalone ME3 career cannot substitute for an ME2-to-ME3 import.

The imported character’s state does not match expectations

The documented continuity guarantee covers the prior character’s level and story decisions that affect the next game. It does not mean every file from a different edition, every mid-game checkpoint or every unrelated settings file is interchangeable. Confirm that you selected the intended completed career and that the source and destination games are the same transition you meant to make.

A console save is missing after moving systems

Separate a platform-transfer failure from a trilogy-import failure. Verify that the destination console is using the same account and the platform’s current transfer procedure, and keep the source system intact while testing. Cross-generation availability differs by platform and can change after the dated Xbox and PlayStation policies described above.

A reliable backup and migration routine

Use this routine whenever you are moving a career or preparing for the next game:

1. Finish the current game and make a deliberate end-of-career save.
2. Quit the game completely.
3. On PC, copy the entire Legendary Edition Save directory to a separate backup location before adding or replacing folders.
4. For an original compatible PC save, preserve the original folder and work from a copy.
5. Place the copy in the matching game directory without changing the character-folder nesting.
6. Launch the next game, choose its import command and select the intended career.
7. Load far enough to confirm the character is present before deleting any source or backup files.

This approach gives you a rollback point if you select the wrong career or accidentally replace a newer save.

What should carry into the next game

The official Mass Effect 3 manual states that importing Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 2 maintains the old character’s level and the decisions made in Mass Effect 2 that affect Mass Effect 3’s story. Electronic Arts summarizes the collection’s design as choices traveling from one game to the next.

Think of the import as a continuation of a specific completed career, not as a universal conversion of every file associated with the trilogy. The source game, destination game, edition and platform all need to line up with the method you are using.

Quick Recap

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Final decision checklist

• Continuing within Legendary Edition? Finish the current game and use the next game’s import-character option.
• Moving an original PC save? Original Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 folders are the documented compatible cases.
• Starting with an original 2007 Mass Effect save? Do not attempt a direct folder import; replay the first game in Legendary Edition for a supported career.
• Changing machines or console generations? Follow the platform’s current transfer rules; that process is independent of the in-game career import.
• Career missing? Check completion status, game-specific folder placement and edition compatibility before creating another save.

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console gaminggame savesMass Effect Legendary EditionMass Effect savesPC gaming