The remastered version of the Mass Effect trilogy included all three of the original games with updated controls and graphics and all the additional content released for them over the years. Despite the comprehensive package, you may have noticed that the Pinnacle Station DLC is absent. The omitted DLC was originally released for the first Mass Effect game.

The first Mass Effect only had two DLC offerings: the Bring Down The Sky DLC and Pinnacle Station. The latter is included in the re-release, letting players of the remastered version save a planet from a Batarian attack, but Pinnacle Station was omitted entirely with little explanation. It turns out, the reason for its absence is quite interesting.

Pinnacle Station Acted As Mass Effect's Training Grounds

Fight In Simulated Combat To Practice Your Shooting

Pinnacle Station did not present a new galactic threat or adventure for its Mass Effect characters and Commander Shepard to interact with. Rather, it provided access to a space station used for training Council forces, Spectres among them. The DLC included a number of combat simulations for Shepard to go through with their crew, trying to take out the largest number of enemies possible within a certain time limit.

The DLC had little in the way of plot, save for a rivalry with a fellow trainee that could yield some loot later on, and an additional challenge from the station's captain to unlock a planet-side home for Shepard. The DLC was a way to provide more combat experience to the game, as well as a chance to make more money and unlock more gear. Compared to other DLCs for the Mass Effect trilogy, like Lair of the Shadow Broker and Citadel, it was extremely lackluster.

Corrupted Files Led To The Entire DLC Being Lost

Pinnacle Station Was Destroyed By An Error

But that's not the reason that the DLC was omitted. That was actually due to a computer error, where the files for Pinnacle Station were either lost or corrupted in the years between their creation and the remastered release. Including the expansion would have required a full remake of its area and enemies, which was ultimately not deemed necessary as the primary focus was put on beloved plot-driven parts of the game series.

Nevertheless, the DLC gained some status among fans simply by the nature of its mysterious absence, and some of the fandom devoted themselves to faithfully remaking the entire thing as an unofficial mod. It's available on the PC version of the remastered trilogy and comes very close to imitating the experience of blasting one's way through Pinnacle Station's simulations in the original game.

Pinnacle Station Is Probably Best Left Forgotten

A Disappointing DLC Best Left In The Dust

If any Mass Effect DLC were to be lost in the transition to the remaster, Pinnacle Station was probably the best-case scenario. After all, the DLC served no plot purpose and did not have much in the way of unique rewards. It was also not well-liked even when it did exist, with its combat seen as repetitive and frustrating. The last level in particular was a source of frustration for players.

Combat in the first Mass Effect was lacking smoothness, with its low frame rate and difficult-to-aim weaponry. The remastered version of the game improved these issues significantly, but likely not enough to make some of Pinnacle Station's most difficult combat situations enjoyable.

Still, there are some ways that Pinnacle Station lives on in the Mass Effect franchise, even outside its fan-made re-creation. The DLC is still available for the original version of the first Mass Effect and still affects the third game's scenarios. Exploring the destroyed space station can yield the player the Turian Spec Ops Team to build up their war assets, a nod to how the Turians used the station to train their best soldiers. Beyond this, Pinnacle Station is far more interesting as a mysteriously erased piece of Mass Effect history than it ever was as a DLC.

Source: Mass Effect/YouTube