Mass Effect 2 - Rich Planet Locations

A simple guide to planets and systems rich in resources, including star charts and anomalies.

Preface & Rundown

Seeing as resource management is a huge investment in Mass Effect 2, I wanted to make something that would improve the experience for those going out and exploring the galaxy to find these materials.

In this guide I want to go over every RICH planet in the game, what elements they provide and where they are located. This guide does not cover 'Good' or below class planets, as Rich ones give more than enough materials to upgrade both your ship and crew.

If a Sector/System/Planet does not show up here, it is because they did not fit the criteria used i.e no rich planets present

While each specific planet is marked with its most abundant resource, they are not restricted to such and will likely have other elements that will be gathered at the same time whilst being mined. The purpose of this guide is to highlight the highest available resource per rich planet for ease of access and not to waste player time randomly scanning. It does not need to be followed to the latter to acquire adequate resources for the game; it is simply a general guide to be used as you see fit.

Now, with that out of the way, here are the resources as described in-game:

Name	Use
Element Zero	Used in biotic and engineering upgrades.
Iridium	Used in assault rifles, SMGs and heavy weapons.
Platinum	Used to upgrade shields, armour and heavy pistols.
Palladium	Used in shotguns, sniper rifles and medical upgrades.

In this guide each rich planet will be arranged as they appear in-game with images of their respective system. This is more of visual aid to help you while you play through Mass Effect 2, divided between each act as more sectors appear on your map.

In the last part of this guide, these resources will be arranged by their type rather than their local, so if you are looking to pin point a particular type of element, that last section will be for you.

Some sectors might re-appear as new systems open up later in the game, and some can only be unlocked via specific conditions that I will outline i.e loyalty missions/DLC/Star Charts.

WARNING
As each planet has been manually scanned by me in-game using a tally system for each probe to summarize the most abundant resource, please bear in mind due to the magnitude of systems and planets it is possible that some outcomes are a little off. Overall the guide should be correct, however.

I will do my best to continually update this if I find anything out of place in the future.

PS. For players with a DPI setting on their mouse, I highly recommend setting it to very high in order to scan planets a lot quicker! Do make sure to set it back to normal for gunplay however

Resource Locations by Sector/System

Here are the rich resources by visual location, in order of story progression:

Act 1

Act 1 takes place at the start of the game where you recruit 4 new squad-mates (excluding Kasumi and Zaeed). There are a total of 7 sectors available, 5 of which have rich resources. They are as follows:

Omega Nebula

Sahrabarik
Rich Planet(s):

• Bindur – Platinum

Arinlarkan
Rich Planet(s):

• Utha – Platinum

Kairavamori
Rich Planet(s):

• Vatar – Iridium
  
• Sehtor – Iridium
  
• Uwan Oche – Iridium

Amada
Rich Planet(s):

• Alchera – Palladium (SR1 Normandy Crash Site)

Fathar
Rich Planet(s):

• Dorgal – Platinum
  
• Lorek – Platinum

The Phoenix Massing

Tassrah
Rich Planet(s):

• Sarapai - Palladium
  
• Pahhur - Iridium

Salahiel
Rich Planet(s):

• Ekuna - Iridium (traces of Element Zero)

Typhon
Rich Planet(s):

• Moros - Palladium (traces of Element Zero)

Hourglass Nebula

Farya
Rich Planet(s):

• Wenrum - Palladium
  
• Alingon - Palladium
  
• Tunfigel - Palladium
  
• Antictra - Iridium
  
• Quarem - Iridium

Ploitari
Rich Planet(s):

• Thegan - Palladium
  
• Synalus - Palladium
  
• Aigela - Iridium

Eagle Nebula

Imir
Rich Planet(s):

• Gregas - Iridium

Malgus
Rich Planet(s):

• Flett - Palladium
  
• Wrill - Palladium

Amun
Rich Planet(s):

• Neith - Palladium
  
• Anhur - Element Zero & Palladium

Relic
Rich Planet(s):

• Murky Water - Palladium
  
• Rough Tide - Platinum
  
• Fitful Current - Iridium
  
• Beach Thunder - Iridium

Ismar Frontier

This sector is available for Zaeed's loyalty mission.

Aquila
Rich Planet(s)

• Vecchio - Iridium

Elysta
Rich Planet(s)

• Seleas - Iridium
  
• Odasst - Platinum
  
• Zeona - Palladium (Firewalker Mission MSV Rosalie)

Faia
Rich Planet(s)

• Viantel - Platinum
  
• Imaen - Iridium

Act 2

Act 2 takes place after the events of Horizion and meeting the Virmire survivor. The new rich locations are as follows:

Shadow Sea

Iera
Rich Planet(s):

• Venture - Palladium

Far Rim

Dholen
Rich Planet(s):

• Gotha - Palladium (traces of Element Zero)

Rosetta Nebula

This sector opens for Jacob's loyalty mission.

Enoch
Rich Planet(s):

• Laban - Iridium (traces of Element Zero)

Phi Clio
Rich Planet(s):

• Parnassus - Iridium

Alpha Draconis
Rich Planet(s):

• 2175 Aeia - Platinum (Jacob's Loyalty Mission)

Crescent Nebula

Tasale
Rich Planet(s):

• Beregate - Palladium
  
• Ponolus - Palladium

Zelene
Rich Planet(s):

• Epho - Palladium
  
• Nepyma - Iridium

Lusarn
Rich Planet(s):

• Tarith - Element Zero & Platinum
  
• Euntanta - Palladium

Ondeste
Rich Planet(s):

• Zesmeni - Palladium
  
• Acaeria - Platinum

Viper Nebula

The Viper Nebula can be easy to miss as it is a DLC sector (Arrival) and is located at the southern part of the Galaxy map! This opens up once you speak to Admiral Hackett after accessing your messages post-Horizon. If you want to scan this system it is recommended that you do so before launching the DLC's main mission on Aratoht as the Bahak System becomes unavailable after the events of Arrival.

Bahak
Rich Planet(s):

• Yunaca - Iridium

Nubian Expanse

This sector opens for Jack's loyalty mission.

Dakka
Rich Planet(s):

• Zirnitra - Platinum
  
• Bannik - Palladium

Krogan DMZ

This sector opens for Mordin and Grunt's loyalty mission.

Arlakh
Rich Planet(s):

• Kruban - Palladium
  
• Durak - Iridium

Dranek
Rich Planet(s):

• Rothla - Platinum (traces of Element Zero)
  
• Sazgoth - Platinum

Nith
Rich Planet(s):

• Mantun - Element Zero & Iridium

Act 3

Act 3 takes place after completing the disabled Collector ship and the Turian distress signal. The Reaper IFF now becomes acquirable, opening up a few more sectors.

Caleston Rift

Balor
Rich Planet(s):

• Partholon - Platinum
  
• Caleston - Element Zero & Palladium
  
• Elatha - Iridium
  
• Bres - Iridium

Aysur
Rich Planet(s):

• Agnin - Iridium
  
• Shir - Iridium
  
• Shasu - Iridium

Solveig
Rich Planet(s):

• Sutur - Palladium

Talava
Rich Planet(s):

• Taitus - Palladium
  
• Maitrum - Iridium

Hawking Eta

Century
Rich Planet(s):

• Klendagon - Palladium
  
• Tamahera - Palladium
  
• Cantra - Palladium

Schwarzschild
Rich Planet(s):

• Atahil - Iridium

Thorne
Rich Planet(s):

• Lethe - Palladium

Vallhallan Threshold

This sector opens for Tali's loyalty mission.

Micah
Rich Planet(s):

• Farlas - Element Zero & Iridium
  
• Israfil - Iridium (traces of Element Zero)
  
• Kakabel - Iridium

Finale

This is the final stage for the base game after acquiring the Reaper IFF and only 1 new system named the Sea of Storms opens up in the Phoenix Massing to complete Legion's loyalty mission (if you recruited him obviously), however this contains no planets and only the Geth heretic station.

The Suicide Mission becomes available afterwards.

BONUS - Extended DLC Sectors

This covers any new systems with rich planets that open up after activating the various DLC missions available in the game. The only DLC to open new systems is Shadow Broker.

The three remaining core DLCs - Firewalker, Overlord and Arrival take place on planets already covered in the guide or are too low to meet the criteria of Rich planets.

DLC characters/extras - Kasumi and Zaeed have already been shown (Kasumi's system in the Serpent Nebula is ineligible due to having low resources) and the Normandy Crash site has also been previously included (Omega Nebula).

Shadow Broker - Hourglass Nebula

Sowilo
Rich Planet(s):

• Ansuz - Palladium
  
• Kenaz - Iridium
  
• Uruz - Iridium

BONUS - Purchasable Star Charts (Illium charts & Shadow Broker contracts)

In this section I will go over the Sectors/Systems that you can purchase from Illium and the Shadow Broker for secret resource locations. These have been included in the table in the last section of this guide, but I also wanted to include the visual location too!

I highly recommend purchasing the Illium Star Charts before Shadow Broker ones since some of the locations only appear on your map after you have unlocked the Illium Star Charts.

Illium Star Chart Purchase location:
The purchase terminal can be found at Baria Frontiers on Illium, the market area where you ask the Asari for a taxi to Samara's recruitment mission (the terminal near the quest with Shiala if you rescued her in the first Mass Effect).

Shadow Broker DLC Resource contracts location:
The terminal can be found on the lower level at the right most part of the room in the Shadow Broker's base next to the window and the Shadowbroker ship model on the table. To unlock all locations may take several visits.

Please note that while I have mentioned Shadow Broker contracts, I have not uploaded their locations as there are some Good or below class planets, on top of the fact that they are only highlighted one at a time over multiple visits. Most of these planets can be found by what has already been shown in this guide anyway.

Illium Star Charts - Hades Nexus

Hekate
Rich Planet(s):

• Ker - Palladium
  
• Bothros - Platinum (traces of Element Zero)

Sheol
Rich Planet(s):

• Gei Hinnom - Platinum (traces of Element Zero)

Pamyat
Rich Planet(s):

• Dobrovolski - Element Zero & Iridium
  
• Pastayev - Platinum
  
• Volkov - Iridiun
  
• Komarov - Iridium

Illium Star Charts - Pylos Nebula

Dirada
Rich Planet(s):

• Canalus - Palladium
  
• Siano - Iridium (traces of Element Zero)
  
• Thenusi - Iridium

Satent
Rich Planet(s):

• Boro - Platinum (traces of Element Zero)
  
• Anedia - Platinum
  
• Raisaris - Iridium (traces of Element Zero)

Kriseroi
Rich Planet(s):

• Theonax - Platinum

Illium Star Charts - Minos Wasteland

Fortis
Rich Planet(s):

• Aequitas - Palladium
  
• Pietas - Palladium

Caestus
Rich Planet(s):

• Temerarus - Iridium
  
• Invictus - Platinum (traces of Element Zero)

Illium Star Charts - The Shrike Abyssal

Xe Cha
Rich Planet(s):

• Zada Ban - Palladium (traces of Element Zero)
  
• Tosal Nym - Iridium (races of Element Zero)

Urla Rast
Rich Planet(s):

• Bovis Tor - Palladium

BONUS - Planet Anomalies

I have also listed each planet found with a planetary anomaly. These are small bonus missions you can acquire by scanning. You can get the game achievement 'Agent' by completing 5 of them.

Sector	System	Planet	Anomaly Mission
Omega Nebula	Fathar	Lorek	Rescue Operative
Hourglass Nebula	Faryar	Daratar	Recover Smuggler Cargo
Hourglass Nebula	Ploitari	Zanethu	Investigate Wreckage
Eagle Nebula	Amun	Neith	Investigate Shipwreck
Rosetta Nebula	Enoch	Joab	Investigate Dig Site
Crescent Nebula	Zelene	Helyme	Investigate Eclipse Presence
Crescent Nebula	Lusarn	Tarith	Blood Pack Base
Nubian Expanse	Solveig	Sinmara	Activate Magnetic Field
Nubian Expanse	Talva	Taitus	Investigate Mech Signal
Hades Nexus	Sheol	Gei Hinnom	Investigate Quarian Crash Site
Pylos Nebula	Dirada	Canalus	Investigate Geth Activity
Minos Wasteland	Fortis	Aequitas	Investigate Abandoned Mine
The Shrike Abyssal	Xe Cha	Zada Ban	Blood Pack Base

Resource Locations by type

Here is a summary of all locations by resource type, for those seeking out specific elements:

Element Zero

Sector	System	Planet
Hourglass Nebula	Amun	Anhur
Crescent Nebula	Lusarn	Tarith
Vallhalan Threshold	Micah	Farlas
Krogan DMZ	Nith	Mantun
Caleston Rift	Balor	Caleston
Hades Nexus	Sheol	Dobrovolski

This table represents planets that have large amounts of Ezo (several probes worth with high pings), but there are planets with traces of Ezo that did not make it into the table due to the quantity/quality they gave upon mining.

These have been mentioned in the visual guide, however, as Ezo is relatively rare.

Iridium

Sector	System	Planet
Omega Nebula	Arinlarkan	Utha
	Kairvamori	Vatar
		Sehtor
		Uwan Oche
The Phoenix Massing	Tassrah	Pahhur
	Salahiel	Ekuna
Hourglass Nebula	Faryar	Quarem
		Antictra
	Ploitari	Aigela
Eagle Nebula	Imir	Gregas
	Relic	Fitful Current
		Beach Thunder
Isamar Frontier	Aquila	Vecchio
	Elysta	Seleas
	Faia	Imaen
Rosetta Nebula	Enoch	Laban
	Phi Clio	Parnassus
Crescent Nebula	Zelene	Nepyma
Vallhalan Threshold	Micha	Farlas
		Israfil
		Kakabel
Krogan DMZ	Aralakh	Durak
Caleston Rift	Balor	Elatha
		Bres
	Aysur	Agnin
		Shir
		Shasu
	Talva	Maitrum
Hawking Eta	Schwarzschild	Athil
Hourglass Nebula	Sowilo	Kenaz
		Uruz
Hades Nexus	Sheol	Dobrovolski
		Volkov
		Komarov
Pylos Nebula	Dirada	Siano
		Thenusi
	Satent	Raisaris
Minos Wasteland	Caestus	Temerarus
	Xe Cha	Tosal Nym

Platinum

Sector	System	Planet
Omega Nebula	Sahra Barik	Bindur
	Arinlarkan	Utha
	Fathar	Dorgal
		Lorek
Eagle Nebula	Relic	Rough Tide
Isamar Frontier	Elysta	Odasst
	Faia	Viantel
Rosetta Nebula	Alpha Draconis	2175 Aeia
Crescent Nebula	Lusarn	Tarith
	Ondeste	Acaeria
Krogan DMZ	Dranek	Rothla
		Sazgoth
Nubian Expanse	Dakka	Zirnitra
Caleston Rift	Balor	Partholon
Hades Nexus	Hekate	Bothros
	Sheol	Gei Hinnom
	Pamyat	Patsayev
Pylos Nebula	Satent	Andeia
Minos Wasteland	Caestus	Invictus

Palladium

Sector	System	Planet
Omega Nebula	Amada	Alchera
The Phoenix Massing	Tassrah	Sarapai
	Typhon	Moros
Hourglass Nebula	Faryar	Wenrum
		Alingon
		Tunfigel
	Ploitari	Thegan
		Synalus
Eagle Nebula	Malgus	Flett
		Wrill
	Amun	Neith
		Anhur
	Relic	Murkey Water
Isamar Frontier	Elysta	Zeona
Shadow Sea	Iera	Venture
Viper Nebula	Bahak	Gotha
Crescent Nebula	Tasale	Beregate
		Ponolus
	Zelene	Epho
	Lusarn	Euntanta
	Ondeste	Zesmeni
Krogan DMZ	Aralakh	Kurban
Caleston Rift	Balor	Caleston
	Solveig	Sutur
	Talava	Taitus
Hawking Eta	Century	Klendagon
		Tamahera
		Cantra
	Thorne	Lethe
Hourglass Nebula	Sowilo	Ansuz
Hades Nexus	Hekate	Ker
Pylos Nebula	Dirada	Canalus
Minos Wasteland	Fortis	Aequitas
		Pietas
The Shrike Abyssal	Xe Cha	Zada Ban
	Urla Rast	Bovis Tor

Closing Remarks

Phew, that took quite a while to put together. I think I have about 30hs ingame for this playthrough, most of which was just scanning and compiling images for the guide. I just speed ran most of the story, which is relatively short if you skip cutscenes.

Here is an image of all my resources before buying upgrades (bar the normandy ship upgrades as I had to use them for getting the best story outcome, I still cant bring myself to let anyone die in these games lol):

Here are my resources after buying all the upgrades I could find ingame after scanning all these rich planets:

I spent much of the game looking like a cybernetic monster as I didnt want to spend resources on the Med Bay and I was playing renegade. The scars were just horrifying.

I hope the guide is of some use to you and I hope it makes gathering resources a little bit less of a chore!

Thanks for reading.

[Spag]

Hi, thank you for the comment. I depleted each rich planet I found.

[Shaabhekh]

In the off chance this gets read; Ta for taking the time to give us this detailed guide :) When scanning these Rich planets, did you bleed them dry or just extract resources until they became Good/Moderate etc?

[Blue Impulse]

This is a great guide. Thank you for your efforts. I played this game both on xbox and PC back in 2010 and I was looking for something that would make it a little more replayable and less painful. There's a mod on nexus that let's you mine out every resource on a planet with one probe. I think this is 50/50 cheating. However, you're still visiting and probing planets one after another.