A lot of the decisions you make in Mass Effect: Andromeda feel important, and some of them are. But not every one has long term effects — at least in this installment of the franchise. Some of the binary decisions — like at the end of “The First Murderer” — feel a lot more momentous than they are. These have some minor impacts on the rest of the game (in terms of dialogue and who lives where), but don’t effect the ending of the game.

There’s only one version of Mass Effect: Andromeda’s ending (the ending to the six priority ops missions). The game doesn’t, strictly speaking, end there. You can continue chasing down side missions and errands. The people who appear at the end of the game vary depending on (some of) the choices you’ve made. In this guide, we’ll show you the choices you make that determine who shows up to help you in the final fight.

Priority ops missions

A Better Beginning

The first major decision you face comes early on in the game — at the end of “A Better Beginning.” When you get Eos to the point where you can place an outpost, you are asked if you want to place a scientific outpost or a military outpost. If you place a military outpost, the Initiative militia will arrive to help you during the end of the game.

A Trail of Hope

The next decision comes at the end of the “A Trail of Hope” mission. After you save the Moshae, you’ll have the choice to make a deal with the Cardinal or destroy the kett facility. If you choose to save the angarans (even if you immediately shoot the Cardinal), the Resistance will help you in your fight against the Archon.

Hunting the Archon

During your escape from the Archon’s flagship during “Hunting the Archon,” you’ll have to choose between saving the salarian Pathfinder or Drack’s krogan scouts. If you choose to save the krogan scouts, they will show up to shoot some remnants for you at the end of the game.

Meridian: The Way Home

The final impact your decisions have depends on whether or not you’ve completed a couple missions. If you have completed Cora’s loyalty missions and the Turian ark missions, you will have all four Pathfinders, and Captain Dunn will survive the Hyperion’s arrival at (on? in?) Meridian. (Finding the salarian ark and Pathfinder are part of the “Hunting the Archon” mission — if you don’t save Pathfinder Raeka, you’ll get Captain Hayjer instead.)

Loyalty missions

Cora’s loyalty missions

The impact of the decision at the end of Cora’s loyalty missions is relatively minor — someone will show up to help, but your decisions determine who that character is. If you choose to keep Sarissa’s actions a secret (or allow her to stay on as Pathfinder), she shows up. If you replace Sarissa with Vederia, Vederia shows up instead.

Peebee’s loyalty missions

During the long and convoluted process of getting Peebee over her ex, you’re faced with the choice of allowing Peebee to save Kalinda or the remnant device. If you let her save Kalinda (by not shooting her), Kalinda will arrive to help at the end of the game.

Jaal’s loyalty missions

The choice you make at the end of Jaal’s loyalty missions doesn’t actually effect the end of the game because Jaal’s family will show up to help you regardless of the choice you make. You just have to finish the missions. We should note, though, that if you kill Akksul, the roekaar will become even more problematic in the Heleus cluster.

Drack’s loyalty missions

Just like Jaal’s missions, the choice you make at the end of Drack’s loyalty missions doesn’t change who shows up. Vorn will show up to help you if you complete Drack’s missions. (Mostly, we just wanted to say it was OK to let Drack drop that jerk.)

Side missions

Turian ark

To find the turian Pathfinder, you have to complete both “Not Dead Yet” and “Lost But Not Forgotten.” You’ll pick up the first mission from turian survivors on Havarl, and the second after you interrogate Vehn Terev during “Hunting the Archon.” The second mission will take your from Elaaden to the Ark Natanus. At the end, you just have to convince Avitus Rix to become the turian Pathfinder. If you don’t, the turians will just keep searching for a Pathfinder, and the Initiative will be short-handed.

Truth and Trespass

“Truth and Trespass” is a long mission involving a lot of intrigue and subterfuge that you’ll pick up from Kallo after you leave Eos. The end of the mission faces you with a choice between letting Dr. Aden go in exchange for his intel on the kett or arresting him. If you arrest Dr. Aden, Saelen will come help you in the final fight.

Uncovering the Past

After completing the “Remove the Heart” mission on Voeld, you’ll unlock a nearby mission called “Uncovering the Past.” There’s a lot going on in the ice cave it leads you to — there’s an archaeological dig, some kett, angaran hostages and an ancient city frozen in ice. After you free the captives and blast your way through a wall of ice, you’ll meet an old (and possible crazy) angaran AI. You have two pairs of choices to make here. First, you can straight up shoot it and end the mission there. If you choose to let it live, you have to choose to keep it for yourself, or give her to the angarans. If you give the AI to the angarans, the angarans will use her intel to help you at the end of the battle for Meridian.

Dissension in the Ranks

There’s some weird stuff happening among the kett on Elaaden. When you investigate their activities on Elaaden as part of “Dissension in the Ranks,” you’ll speak to a kett named (the) Primus. It seems not all kett are on board with the Archon’s obsession with exaltation and the angarans. Primus offers to help you defeat the Archon, but the downside is that you have to make a deal with the kett. If you accept the help, Primus will give you a kill code that will weaken the kett defenses during your assault on Meridian. There’s no downside to making this deal during the remainder of the game, but, unofficially, we imagine this’ll have some sort of consequence in subsequent sequels.

High Noon

The last mission that affects who shows up for the final showdown is another one that only changes who’s there, not if they’re there. During the meeting in the Kadara mission, “High Noon,” you determine which faction of outlaws controls the port, the Outcasts or the Collective. If you save Sloane Kelly’s life, she’ll help out at Meridian. If you don’t, Reyes will make an appearance.