#5. KROGANS
Are krogans hot-headed, warmongering troublemakers? Sure they are. But from their history to their galactic conflicts to their culture to all the major narrative arcs they’ve taken centerstage in, they’re also truly fascinating. Their inherently hostile temperaments and cultures led to years of internal warfare, and one particularly deadly war saw the widespread usage of nuclear weapons, turning their homeland Tuchanka into a harsh, barren, apocalyptic wasteland. Krogans being krogans, however, actually thrived in that environment, turning even stronger and fiercer. Thanks primarily to the salarians, krogans became active members of the larger galactic society, mostly because their ferocity as warriors made them crucial in the Rachni Wars. Soon, however, that same ferocity was viewed as a major galactic threat, which in turn forced the salarians and turians to work together and unleash the genophage, a bioweapon that turned the vast majority of the krogan population infertile, nearly bringing them to the brink of extinction. That compelling lore, their involvement in some of the most important plotlines in the series, and incredible characters like Wrex and Grunt have made krogans a true darling of the Mass Effect fanbase.
