Source of powers in Mass effect series

This question out of curiosity, we have been seeing powers such as Overload, warp, lift, adrenaline rush and so on. I knew that these powers depend upon our character class but what exactly give the characters these powers.

Is it the advanced cybernetics or the whole magic lies in the Omni tool. Where few seems to generate from characters hand and some from Omni tool. In fact powers such as concussive shot comes right off the weapon.

So where exactly does the character get these powers?


The 6 (7 in Andromeda) character classes are formed by combinations of the 3 "sources" of abilities:

  • Combat : "Physical" prowess and/or guns
  • Biotics : "Magical" prowess
  • Tech : "Hacking" prowess and/or non-gun gear

The in-universe explanation for biotics is that pre-natal eezo exposure allows the affected person to create mass-effect fields around them, and (military) training hones these to the particular power. Tech powers are explained by"space WiFi is insecure", and Combat powers by "You are buff and have cool space guns".