100% Achievement Guide: Mass Effect Legendary Edition Part 2

This is a comprehensive 100% Achievement guide detailing a step-by-step walkthrough to take you from 0 all the way to 100%. If you are looking for a particular Achievement or Collectible, use Ctrl+F & type it into the search bar for more direct help.

I run support & debug help on all my guides. If you have any questions, problems, or find errors in the guide itself, do not hesitate to leave me a comment & I will get back to you as soon as I am able to. Happy Hunting!

Introduction:

Achievement Breakdown – Cross Game: (11)
Story Related: (4)
Secondary Objectives: (3)
Slay: (4)

Achievement Breakdown – Mass Effect 2: (44)
Story Related: (14)
Missable: (4)
Secondary Objectives: (13)
Character: (1)
Collectibles: (2)
Slay: (6)
Miscellaneous: (4)

This is Part 2 of 3 for the 100% Achievement Guide: Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Part 2 only covers Mass Effect 2; part 1 & part 3 linked in the Conclusion of the guide covers Mass Effect 1 & 3 respectively.

To earn 100% in Mass Effect, we only need to complete one full playthrough of all three games. To do this, we must play on the grueling Insanity Difficulty as well as Import our same Character across all three games. As part of the Legendary Edition, all released DLCs are included into the game.

Unlike Mass Effect 1, our Achievements for Mass Effect 2 are way more streamlined & more geared towards natural progression. We do not have to worry about completing all the Assignments or earning a certain amount of Paragon or Renegade Points. This will make our playthrough way more free flow & put a lot more freedom in your hands.

Charm & Renegade are handled differently in Mass Effect 2. Instead of a Power you can put Squad Points into, it is instead based off your Paragon or Renegade meter. The higher the meter, the more likely you will have related actions you can say or perform as well as the likelihood of passing them. You will still want to make a point of choosing a side as waffling in between Paragon or Renegade may screw you later in the game for not having one or the other very high. Certain end game checks will basically need a maxed out meter to fulfill; failing them could potentially make you miss out on some Achievements.

Once again, we will need to have a Romance with one of our Squad Members. As a Male Character, we can Romance: Miranda, Jack, or Tali. As a Female Character, we can Romance: Garrus, Thane, or Jacob. There are certain characters like Kelly Chambers, Liara, Samara, or Morinth that we can flirt or sleep with, but they will not unlock the Paramour II Achievement. As well, while Liara does make an appearance in the game as an NPC & as a Squad Member only for the Shadow Broker Mission, she will not count for the Achievement even if you continue your Romance with her from Mass Effect 1 in your encounters with her. Liara in particular can actually screw you over & void this Achievement if you are not careful with your choices as it is very easy to rekindle the relationship without you really being aware.

In the final act of the game, we will enter the Suicide Mission. For the No One Left Behind Achievement, we cannot have a single Squad Member be killed (like actually killed by the story, not knocked out in combat). To do this, you will need to earn their Loyalty by completing their respective Loyalty Missions. As well, there are three key Upgrades we need to acquire for the Normandy; these are obtained through some of the Squad Members, so they are impossible to miss.

As a last piece to consider, we will actually be approximately $285,000 Credits short & cannot buy every single Item for sale in the game. Be strategic with your purchases, & be sure to make Weapon Upgrades a priority for the Weapon Specialist Achievement. There is actually Post-Game we can go through after the Suicide Mission allowing us to spend our final obtained Credits; kind of moot then though.

For those interested, here is an organized list of all the Achievements/Secret Achievements. This is how I derive my Achievement Breakdowns & the first reference I create before I begin my 100% journeys.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2966501519
Before You Play!: To play Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (or any EA game for that matter) we will unfortunately need to create an EA Account to have their launcher running the game in the background. Fortunately, the detrimental glitch that prevented us all from earning Achievements while using the EA App online has finally been fixed. You can now play Mass Effect 2 without fear... though the Ea App is still a piece of (Censored by Steam). Can't fix that...

*Guide contains major spoilers.

Sequence 1: Beyond the Grave

1. Missions: Prologue, Freedom’s Progress
2. Codex Entries: 11/15
3. Achievements: 40/127
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When we begin Mass Effect 2, it is imperative that we import our Character from Mass Effect 1; if you do not, you will void the Long Service Medal Achievement. We will see a Service History summary of what we accomplished in Mass Effect 1. This is only a summary & is not exhaustive; much more NPCs & decisions we made will carry over in various ways.

Be sure to select Insanity Difficulty so we can earn all Mass Effect 2 Achievements on a single playthrough.

Remember to explore everywhere, talk to everyone, & kill everything to maximize our Credits & Xp… Try killing things personally to work towards the Veteran Achievement.

Lazarus Research Station:

After we complete the gripping Prologue, we will enter the Character Creation menus. Adjust your appearance & select a different Class if you would like; again, choosing any Class except for Soldier is recommended. Engineer in my opinion is still the best Class as we get both Incinerate & Overload as Powers. While we do not have half as many “Use Power X 25 times” Achievements, we still have a few that will require the use of Engineer or Biotic Powers.


Achievement #39 – Missing In Action: Save your crew from an overwhelming attack.
Story Related. We will unlock this Achievement after the Prologue when we finish creating our Character.

Squad Member – Jacob Taylor: Halfway through the Prologue Mission – Awakening, we will meet our first Squad Member of the game, Jacob Tayler. He will be one of many Squad Members we will need to get to know & complete their Loyalty Missions for.

Jacob is a Romance option for Female Shepard.

Codex Entry #1 – Cerberus: After we link up with Wilson later on, Jacob will break to us that it was Cerberus that has brought us back to life which will unlock this Codex Entry for us.

We need to unlock 14 more for the Scholar Achievement; there are way more than just 15 new Codex Entries to find in Mass Effect 2.


Achievement #40 – Very Elusive: Return to active duty.
Story Related. After we escape the Lazarus Research Station, get briefed by the Illusive Man on a potential lead on the return of the Reapers & our next Mission.

Codex Entry #2 – Cerberus: The Illusive Man: We will unlock this Codex Entry after we finish speaking with the Illusive Man.

Codex Entry #3 – Freedom’s Progress: We will unlock this Codex Entry after we finish speaking with the Illusive Man.

Freedom’s Progress:

Squad Member – Miranda Lawson: We will unlock Miranda as our next Squad Member. Miranda is a Romance option for Male Shepard.

With both Jacob & her in our party, focus on using Jacob’s Pull Power with Miranda’s Warp Power in tandem on enemies to work towards the Tactician Achievement; you need to use Pull & then Warp after the enemy is in the air for it to register. This is very finicky Achievement & is best to work towards it at any good opportunity.

Codex Entry #4 – Security Mechs: We will unlock this Codex Entry after our first encounter with the Loki & Fenris Mechs on Freedom’s Progress.

This can be a pretty difficult fight & will set the tone for our Insanity playthrough…

Normandy SR-2:

Codex Entry #5 – Normandy SR-2: We will unlock this Codex Entry after completing Mission – Freedom’s Progress, when we regain control of Shepard aboard the brand new Normandy SR-2.

Codex Entry #6 – Collectors: We will have unlocked this Codex Entry during our dialogue with the Illusive Man when we discuss the involvement of the Collectors.

Codex Entry #7 – Space Combat: Pursuit Tactics: Make your way to the Normandy’s cockpit & examine the Flight Control terminal to unlock this Codex Entry.

Codex Entry #8 – Computers: Haptic Adaptive Incentive: On our way back from the cockpit, look off your left & we can investigate a crew member’s work station for another new Codex Entry.

Codex Entry #9 – Human Diplomatic Relations: Go to your Private Terminal now & check your Unread Messages to find the Message from Anderson. Read it, & we will receive this Codex Entry.

Codex Entry #10 – Planet: Aite: Read the Message, Overlord to unlock this Codex Entry.
You can technically unlock the Scholar Achievement outright by reloading a Save prior to activating your Private Terminal. Apparently, this Achievement is logged cumulatively, so we can keep logging the same two Codex Entries over again; this is not necessary though.

Assignment – Overlord: Reading the previous Message will unlock this Assignment for us; we need to complete it to unlock the Digital Exorcist Achievement.

Codex Entry #11 – UT-47 Kodiak “Drop-Shuttle”: Take the elevator down to the Engineering Deck & use the Monitoring Station right in front of us to unlock the Codex Entry.

Sequence 2: Omega

1. Missions: The Veteran, Aria T’Loak, Archangel, The Professor
2. Codex Entries: 15/15
3. Achievements: 49/127
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Omega:

Codex Entry #12 – Omega: Go to Omega & we will unlock this Codex Entry when we regain control of Shepard after exiting the Normandy.

Squad Member – Zaeed Massani: As we leave the Docking Bay, we can spot Zaeed dead ahead of us speaking with a Batarian. Talk to him, & we can recruit him right then & there.

He is not a Romance option.

Loyalty Mission – The Price of Revenge: We will unlock Zaeed’s Loyalty Mission as soon as we recruit him.

Codex Entry #13 – Planet: Zorya: We will collect this Codex Entry after unlocking Zaeed’s Loyalty Mission.

Mission – Aria T’Loak: Go to Afterlife & speak with Aria to learn more about Archangel & Mordin Solus.

Codex Entry #14 – Fornax: Before we go after Archangel or Mordin, keep exploring Omega. Head over to the Omega Market & we can find the Merchant, Marsh; check out his wares & buy the scandalous Fornax magazine for 4 Credits to unlock this Codex Entry.

Codex Entry #15 – Weapons: Mass Accelerators: Purchase the Turian Cruiser Model from Marsh as well for 500 Credits or at his discounted rate to unlock this Codex Entry.


Achievement #41 – Scholar: Unlock 15 new Mass Effect 2 Codex Entries.
We will unlock this Achievement after collecting our final Codex Entry; alternatively, this will have unlocked for you earlier if you died or reloaded Saves & collected an Entry multiple times.

There are way more than 15 new Codex Entries in the game, this Achievement is hard to miss.

Omega – Slums District:

Mission – The Professor: Convince the Guard to let you enter the Slums District & track down Mordin Solus. This will be an extremely difficult Mission depending on the Class you decided to play & will take a few tries to get through it all alive.


Achievement #42 – Head Hunter: Perform 30 Headshot kills with any weapon on humanoid targets.
This is the easiest of our Slay Achievements & will most likely come through natural progression.


Achievement #43 – Merciless: Make 20 enemies scream as they fall or are set on fire.
When working towards other Slay Achievements, we will most likely earn this one along the way. If you are using the Pull or Incinerate Power often, then enemies will typically scream.


Achievement #44 – The Professor: Successfully recruit the Professor.
Story Related. Fight off a horde of Vorcha & help Mordin cure the plague that is running rampant in the Slums to complete the Mission & get him to join our Squad.

Omega – Archangel’s Base:

Be sure to put Mordin & Miranda in your Squad to work towards the two Achievements down below.

Mission – Archangel: After speaking with the Blue Sun recruiter in Afterlife, take the Shuttle over to where Archangel is hiding out.


Achievement #45 – Overload Specialist: Disrupt the Shields of 25 enemies.
This will come through combat as you use it if you are an Engineer or Sentinel. If you do not have access to the Power, Squad Members Miranda, Archangel, & Kasumi do. Fighting the hordes of Mercenaries on this Mission… & potentially dying a few times, is a great way of boosting our kills.
Note that for this to count for the Achievement, the Overload needs to be the final attack to deplete an enemy’s Shields; simply damaging them with it will not count. Disrupter Ammo does not count either.


Achievement #46 – Incineration Specialist: Incinerate the Armor of 25 enemies.
The counterpart Achievement to the previous one, this time we need to use the Incinerate Power to deplete an enemy’s Armor. This will come through combat as you use it if you are an Engineer or Infiltrator. If you do not have access to the Power, the only Squad Member who has the Incinerate Power is Mordin, so be sure to keep him in your Squad until we unlock this Achievement.

Incendiary Ammo does not count for this Achievement.


Achievement #47 – The Archangel: Successfully recruit Archangel.
Story Related. We will unlock the Achievement after completing Mission – Archangel. Fight off all of the Mercenaries hunting Archangel & defeat Tarek, the leader of the Blue Sons. Say hello to the bestest companion in video game history… again.

Garrus is a Romance option for Female Shepard.

Normandy SR-2:

Be sure to make a point of speaking with your Squad Members onboard the Normandy after Missions to see if new dialogue has been unlocked. Apart from the DLC companions Zaeed & Kasumi, we need to progress far enough into our relationships with our Squad Members to unlock their Loyalty Missions. Loyalty Missions are essential to complete for their respective Achievements as well as having them survive the Suicide Mission at the end of the game.


Achievement #48 – Power Full: Evolve any Power.
When a Power is maxed out, you will be able to Evolve it & choose between two different options to transform the Power; this takes 10 Squad Points to do. It is always very handy to max out your Class Mastery Power first for more Health & increased Power buffs.


Achievement #49 – Scientist: Complete any Research Project in the Normandy's Laboratory.
With Mordin collected, we can now access the Normandy’s Laboratory & begin Researching new Projects. With the Legendary Edition, we will have access to a whole slew of unique projects along with any others you may have located on Omega. Research any one of them to unlock the Achievement.

For the Weapon Specialist Achievement, we need to fully locate the Upgrades for & Research them for a single Weapon type. Typically, at least one Upgrade can be found on every Mission or Assignment (not always a Weapon); there is no replay, so be sure to be diligent in exploration & loot everything so nothing is missed.

Sequence 3: The Collectors

1. Missions: The Warlord, Dr. Okeer’s Legacy, The Convict, Horizon
2. Anomaly Assignments: 5/5
3. Achievements: 55/127
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Omega Nebula – Fathar:

With Omega complete, we now have entered into Free Roam & can go explore the Traverse at our leisure. Always stock up on Probes & Survey as many Planets & Resources as possible for Research Upgrades, we will need a lot to thrive on Insanity Difficulty. As well, we can locate new Assignments through our Surveying too; we need to find at least 5 for the Agent Achievement.

While we complete these next Missions & Assignments, really focus on unlocking the Incineration Specialist Achievement & the Overload Specialist Achievement.

Anomaly Assignment #1 – Lost Operative: Go to the Fathar System & head to the Planet Lorek to discover an Anomaly. Scan the Planet & send a Probe down to its source to unlock & complete the Assignment.


Achievement #50 – Operative: Complete a Mission discovered by Scanning an Unexplored World
We will unlock this Achievement after completing our first Anomaly Assignment; DLC Anomalies do not count (Assignment – Normandy Crash Site).

Omega Nebula:

Achievement #51 – Galactic Explorer: Visit 100% of the Planets in an Unexplored Cluster.
Since we are already here, we may as well fully explore the Omega Nebula. There are 6 Systems total in this Cluster that we need to go & Scan all their Planets of: Sahrabarik, Arinlarkan, Kaiavamori, Amada, Fathar, & Batalla. Go to each System & approach all of their Planets to earn 100% in that System; we do not need to Survey them, though it is recommended. This will take a fair bit of Fuel & some Probes to accomplish which will mean a few trips back to Sahrabarik where the Fuel Depot is located.

I try to have all Planets within Moderate to Depleted; if they are Rich or Good, you should probably take some time to get the Resources. When you have 200,000 of each Resource, you probably don’t need to survey anymore…

Eagle Nebula – Imir:

Mission – The Warlord: When you are finished in the Omega Nebula, travel to the Eagle Nebula next & find the Planet Korlus. Fight your way through the Blue Sons until you reach Warlord Okeer. Help him defeat Jedore, the Blue Sons leader on Korlus, & we will receive the special Krogan package to take aboard the Normandy.

Normandy SR-2:

Achievement #52 – The Krogan: Successfully recruit the Krogan.
Story Related. Go down to the Engineering Deck & over to the Port Cargo where we can find the Breeding Pod we took aboard. Approach & activate it to release our newest Squad Member unlocking the Achievement.

Eagle Nebula – Amun:

Anomaly Assignment #2 – Wrecked Merchant Freighter: Go to the Amun System in the Eagle Nebula & travel to the Planet, Neith. Discover the reason of what brought down the freighter & escape back to the Normandy to complete the Assignment.

Eagle Nebula – Strabo:

Anomaly Assignment #3 – Abandoned Research Station: When we enter the Strabo System, if you completed the previous Assignment, we can spot Jarrahe Station. Board it & complete a series of puzzles to gain access to the station’s VI; shut it down to complete the Assignment.

Hourglass Nebula – Osun:

Mission – The Convict: It is now time for us to pick up another Biotic Squad Member. Go to the Hourglass Nebula & dock at the Prison Ship Purgatory.


Achievement #53 – The Convict: Successfully recruit the Biotic Convict.
Story Related. Break Jack out of Purgatory & defeat the Blue Sons Leader here, Warden Kuril to complete the Mission & unlock our Achievement. Jack is a Romance option for Male Shepard.

Shadow Sea – Horizon:

Mission – Horizon: After we have collected our first four Squad Members (in any order), we will be told to speak with the Illusive Man in the Briefing/Comm Room. For this Mission, you will want to bring along Miranda for her Warp Power; similar to the other Achievements of its kind, we need to use Warp as the final blow to disable enemies Barriers.


Achievement #54 – Colony Defense: Defend a human colony from attack.
Story Related. Fight through the Collectors & turn on the colony Defense Turrets to drive away their ship to save what is left of the survivors.

Normandy SR-2:

After we completed the last Mission, we will unlock a slew of new Assignments & Missions.

Mission – Lair of the Shadow Broker: This is another DLC Mission that we are able to complete needed for an Achievement.

Loyalty Mission – The Gift of Greatness: If you have been speaking with Jacob regularly after Missions, we can now go to speak to him about his newly unlocked Loyalty Mission.

Loyalty Mission – The Prodigal: If you have been speaking with Miranda regularly after Missions, we can now go to speak to her about his newly unlocked Loyalty Mission.

Assignment – Arrival: Though it no longer has associated Achievements in Legendary Edition, the Arrival Assignment is a contextually important mission that should be completed before moving on to Mass Effect 3. There is no dead line to completing it, & can even be finished in Post Game after finishing the Suicide Mission; who you speak with at the end of Arrival will change if you complete it before or after the Suicide Mission...

Hourglass Nebula – Ploitari:

Anomaly Assignment #4 – MSV Estevanico: Return to the Hourglass Nebula & travel to the Ploitari System. Head to the Planet Zanethu & scan it to discover a new Anomaly Assignment. Board the wrecked ship & navigate to the Mainframe to retrieve the data; you need to shoot down a Loose Tile to continue at the very beginning of the Assignment.

Hourglass Nebula – Faryar:

Anomaly Assignment #5 – Eclipse Smuggling Depot: Travel over to the Faryar System now & we can find the Planet Daratar to discover a new Anomaly Assignment. When we land on the Planet, we will need to quickly destroy three heavy Ymir Mechs before the destroy the valuable supplies Eclipse is leaving behind. Since we are on Insanity… it is more important to survive this Assignment then to rush around trying to save the crates; do what you can, I was only able to save 6/20 crates.


Achievement #55 – Agent: Complete 5 Missions discovered by Scanning Unexplored Worlds.
We will unlock this Achievement after completing five Anomaly Missions unlocked by Scanning new Unexplored Worlds. There are a lot more than five of these Assignments, & though we have the Achievement, I strongly recommend completing as many as you can for more Xp, Credits, & kills.

Normandy SR-2:

Loyalty Mission – Subject Zero: If you have talked to Jack twice since you brought her on board, we will receive her Loyalty Mission after completing an Assignment or two. Speak with Jack again to progress her Loyalty Mission to Pragia.

Loyalty Mission – Old Blood: If you have talked to Mordin twice since you have brought him on board, we will receive his Loyalty Mission after completing an Assignment or two. Speak with Mordin again to progress his Loyalty Mission to the Krogan home world, Tuchanka.

Sequence 4: Assuming Control

1. Missions: The Master Thief, Stealing Memory, The Price of Revenge, The Collector Ship
2. Loyalty Missions: 2/12
3. Achievements: 59/127
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Serpent Nebula – Widow:

Mission – The Master Thief: If you have not already done so, it is time to finally head to the Citadel. As soon as we step off of the shuttle we will be spoken to by Kasumi through an advertisement display. Speak the password, & recruit our other DLC Squad Member.

Loyalty Mission – Stealing Memory: Like Zaeed, we will unlock Kasumi’s Loyalty Mission as soon as we recruit her.

If/when you go shopping on the Citadel, always remember to speak with the store clerks to get a store discount through either Paragon or Renegade tactics…

Serpent Nebula – Boltzmann:

Loyalty Mission – Stealing Memory: While we are still in the Serpent Nebula, travel over to the Boltzmann System & land on the Planet, Bekenstein. Help Kasumi break into Donovan Hock’s vault to steal back her old friends Graybox. When we collect it, we will be ambushed by Hock’s Eclipse Guards; fight defensively & cautiously as it is only you & Kasumi. When the Ymir Mechs show up, hold out where you first enter their rooms from & safely fight them at the back by popping in & out of cover.

For the final boss fight with Hock’s Gunship, stay behind the crates in front of where we start from. Enemies will spawn throughout the area except from where we entered so our back will always be safe.


Achievement #56 – Broke, Blind, & Bedlam: Gain the loyalty of the Thief.
Complete Kasumi’s Loyalty Mission to unlock this Achievement.

Normandy SR-2:

Loyalty Mission – Rite of Passage: If you have spoken with Grunt as often as you can between Missions & Assignments, Kelly will tell us that he is agitated & that we should go speak with him. Head down to Port Cargo on the Engineering Level & Grunt will receive another reason to go to the Krogan home world, Tuchanka.

There are two Achievements tied to completing Grunt’s Loyalty Mission making it extra important…

Ismar Frontier – Faia:

Loyalty Mission – The Price of Revenge: Travel now to the Faia System in the Ismar Frontier & land on the Planet, Zorya to liberate the refinery workers from the rule of the Blue Suns.

After we meet Vido for the first time, make a Save as we will need to make an imminent decision that may potentially cost you the Revenge Achievement. Shortly after we find Vido, we will need to make a decision about some trapped workers.

To immediately secure Zaeed’s Loyalty, choose the Renegade option & ignore the workers to go after Vido.

If you choose the Paragon option to save the workers, our Loyalty with Zaeed is actually jeopardized. When we complete the Mission, we will need to pass a Paragon check to win his Loyalty; if you do not have your Paragon high enough, you will fail & void the below Achievement! If you cannot meet the Paragon check, you will either have to reload & choose the Renegade option or return when you have a higher Paragon score.


Achievement #57 – Revenge!: Gain the loyalty of the Mercenary.
If you chose the Renegade option to go after Vido instead of save the trapped workers, we will unlock this Achievement as soon as we exit the refinery & Zaeed deals with Vido.

If you chose the Paragon option to save the workers, you have to pass the Paragon check in your dialogue with Zaeed or this Achievement is void & you will have to reload & return when you have a higher Paragon score.

Normandy SR-2:

Loyalty Mission – Eye For An Eye: If you have spoken with Garrus as often as you can between Missions & Assignments, our Journal will be updated with this Mission. Speak with Garrus & he will tell us that he has found his betrayer from Omega.

Mission – Collector Ship: By this point, you may have completed enough Missions/Assignments that we will receive another new Mission from the Illusive Man that will lock us into it.

Caleston Rift – Disabled Collector Vessel:

Mission – Collector Ship: Since we are fighting more Collectors, be sure to bring Miranda for her Warp Power so we can keep working towards the Warp Specialist Achievement; bring along Jacob or Jack as well if you want for the Tactician Achievement too while you are at it.


Achievement #58 – Warp Specialist: Warp the Barriers of 25 enemies.
This will come through combat as you use it if you are an Adept or Sentinel. If you do not have access to the Power, Squad Members Miranda & Thane do. Since enemies with Barriers are more rare than Armor or Shields, it is easiest to always bring someone with Warp when we are fighting Collectors for the Achievement; this is just a good idea regardless…

Warp Ammo does not count towards the Achievement.


Achievement #59 – Ghost Ship: Complete the investigation of a derelict alien vessel.
Story Related. This Mission is hard, very hard. The hardest one we have faced so far on Insanity. Save after every encounter & steel yourself against rage quits; our first encounter with the Collectors on the rotating platforms is the hardest fight of the Mission…

Normandy SR-2:

Mission – Reaper IFF: As of now, we will no longer get stuck with mandatory Missions from the Illusive Man & can carry on with our game in peace. This Mission to collect the Reaper IFF is our point of no return Mission, or one of them. Though we unlock it after the last one, do not progress it until we have collected our last few Squad Members as well as completed all of their Loyalty Missions.

Progressing this Mission will put some hindrances on us & the Normandy that will only make things harder for us if we are not ready… Be sure to complete all Loyalty Missions as well as any & all Assignments you want done before starting this Mission!

Sequence 5: Blood For Blood

1. Missions: Tali, Eye For An Eye, Old Blood, Rite of Passage, Jack
2. Loyalty Missions: 6/12
3. Achievements: 66/127
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Far Rim – Dholen:

Mission – Tali: Go to the Haestrom Planet in the Dholen System to track down our old companion, Tali; the enemies on this Mission have Shields.Fight through the waves of Geth on the sun blistered Planet & reach Tali to take her to safety.


Achievement #60 – The Quarian: Successfully recruit the Quarian.
Story Related. Complete the Mission & recruit Tali once again to unlock the Achievement.
Be sure to speak with Tali frequently after every Mission & Assignment to unlock her Loyalty Mission… She is also a Romance option for Male Shepard.

Normandy SR-2:

Normandy Upgrade – Multicore Shielding: Now that we have Tali unlocked, speak with her on the Normandy & ask her if she has any Upgrades available to unlock this Ship Enhancement; it will take 11,250 Palladium to make.

We need this Ship Enhancement to keep all our Squad Members alive during the Suicide Mission; not acquiring this will kill Tali or Thane during the Suicide Mission’s space battle.

Serpent Nebula – Citadel:

Loyalty Mission – Eye For An Eye: It is now time to help our bestest friend Garrus & secure his Loyalty. Travel back to the Citadel, purchasing whatever Items you missed from the Shops if you still need to, & locate Fade.

After dealing with the contact in the Warehouse on Level 26, Rapid Transport to the Factory District & track down Harkin.


Achievement #61 – Fade Away: Gain the loyalty of Archangel.
Set up a meeting with Sidonis through Harken & travel back to the Zakera Ward with Garrus to unlock the Achievement. Regardless of what happens to him, we will have earned Garrus’s Loyalty.

Normandy SR-2:

Normandy Upgrade – Thanix Cannon: With Garrus’s Loyalty Mission complete, we can now Research the Thanix Cannon Upgrade for the Normandy; it costs 11,250 Platinum to make.
This is a mandatory Upgrade & need it crafted or else we can potentially lose Garrus, Grunt, Zaeed, Jack, or Samara during the space battle of the Suicide Mission.

Loyalty Mission – Treason: With a Mission under our belts & Tali recruited, we should get a prompt from Kelly to speak with her down on the Engineering floor. Speak with her, & we will find out she has been charged with treason by the Migrant Fleet; be sure to agree to help her…

Krogan DMZ – Arlakh:

Loyalty Mission – Old Blood: Travel to Tuchanka & meet with the Clan Leader to be allowed passage onwards. Speak with the Clan Leader again, & ask about a missing Salarian to progress the Mission.

Go to the Chief Scout & we will be directed to the Blood Pack, Clan Weyrloc’s Base. Take the Truck, & travel to them to begin this Mission. Kill the Clan Weyrloc Chief & locate Maelon.


Achievement #62 – The Cure: Gain the loyalty of the Professor.
Deal with Maelon as your morality dictates & complete Mordin’s Loyalty Mission to unlock this Achievement.

Loyalty Mission – Rite of Passage: If you have not already done so, ask the Krogan Clan Leader what is wrong with Grunt & he will direct us to the Clan Shaman. Speak with the Shaman, & begin Grunt’s rite of passage to become a true Krogan.

There is a Missable Achievement we can unlock during this Mission; be sure to bring some heavy fire power & Mordin if you yourself do not have Incinerate… Travel to the Urdnot Ruins & hit the Keystone to begin the waves of enemies.


Achievement #63 – Big Game Hunter: Thresher Maw defeated.
Missable. On wave three during Grunt’s Loyalty Mission, we will have to fight a Thresher Maw. Though all we technically need to do is survive it for 5 minutes, we can unlock this Achievement if we can kill it before the timer runs out; with Incendiary, you should be able to kill it in 2.5/5.0 minutes…

Failing to kill this Thresher Maw here & now will void the Achievement!


Achievement #64 – Bruiser: Kill 100 enemies with melee attacks in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3.
If you had gotten a couple melee kills in Mass Effect 1, we should be able to mop the Achievement up in Mass Effect 2. Melee attacks are far more effective in Mass Effect 2 & 3; in a lot of situations, they are basically essential for survival.

Keep this Achievement in mind as you play through this game & Mass Effect 3.


Achievement #65 – Battlemaster: Gain the loyalty of the Krogan.
Defeat the Thresher Maw or survive it, & Chief Uvenk will intercept us. Deal with them fatally, & return back to the Krogan Encampment to unlock the Achievement & Grunt’s Loyalty.

Nubian Expanse:

Loyalty Mission – Jack: Travel to the Dakka System now & land on Pragia to progress Jack’s Loyalty Mission.


Achievement #66 – Catharsis: Gain the loyalty of the Biotic Convict.
Destroy the Teltin Facility on Pragia to complete this Mission & unlock the Achievement.

Normandy SR-2:

Faltering Loyalty: When we return to the Normandy after Jack’s Loyalty Mission, we can find her & Miranda arguing in the Debriefing Room. Pass a Paragon or Renegade check to diffuse the situation. If either are not high enough, you will need to side with one of them; whoever you do not side with will then lose their Loyalty.

If you lose one of their Loyalties, you need to keep checking in on them as we progress through the game until we are given another chance at salvaging things. You will need to pass a high Paragon or Renegade check to pull it off so keep that in mind.

Sequence 6: Heart of Darkness

1. Missions: The Prodigal, Liara T’Soni, The Assassin, The Justicar, Lair of the Shadow Broker
2. Loyalty Missions: 7/12
3. Achievements: 72/127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crescent Nebula – Tasale:

Loyalty Mission – The Prodigal: It is now time to finally go to Nos Astra on Illium. Make your way over to the Eternity Bar & we can find Miranda’s contact, Lanteia. Speak with her & she will relay the plan to save Miranda’s sister. If you are ready, agree to leave & begin the Mission.

Get to the Transport Station & fight through the hordes of Eclipse to reach Niket.


Achievement #67 – The Prodigal: Gain the loyalty of the Cerberus Officer.
Reach Oriana & watch her get to safety with the family; leave the area & we will unlock the Achievement.


Achievement #68 – Tactician: Hit 20 different targets with multiple Biotic powers to combine the effects.
This is an extremely finicky Achievement & is probably one of our harder one to accomplish in the game. First of all, it only tracks if the Biotic Powers are done by two separate characters; you cannot use your own or a Squad Members Powers twice. What is more is that there has to be an order of operations to the Powers, as the enemy needs to be under the effects of one Power & hit by another; Powers that last a few seconds won’t be useful.

So, the best combo to use is Pull which Jacob & Jack have, & Warp which Miranda has; you can also supplement your own Powers into this mix if you have either of them. Successfully use Pull on an enemy to get them to float & use Warp afterwards for a point towards the Achievement.

What makes it finicky however is timing. You cannot use Pull & Warp at the exact same time & there has to be a delay of a second or two before you use Warp. What is more, is that it seemed to me at least that when an airborne enemy was killed in the process using Warp, it did not track.

Mission – Liara T’soni: Go & meet up Liara now in her office & reconnect; unfortunately, if you Romanced her in ME1, though it is addressed, she is not an option for the Paramour II Achievement.

Speak to her about Samara & Thane to progress their recruitment Missions.

Mission – Lair of the Shadow Broker: Speak to Liara about the Shadow Broker now & uncover the plot of one of the DLC Missions included in the Legendary Edition. Speak with her about the Shadow Broker to progress this Mission.

Mission – The Assassin: Speak with Seryna at the Shipping center & learn Thane’s location. When you are ready, travel to the Dantius Tower & fight through Nassana’s hordes of Eclipse Mercenaries to reach Thane at the top.


Achievement #69 – The Assassin: Successfully recruit the Assassin.
Story Related. When we reach the top of the Dantius Tower, deal with Nassana & we can recruit Thane. Thane is a Romance option for Female Shepard.

Normandy SR-2:

Loyalty Mission – Sins of the Father: If you spoke to Thane when we first recruited him on the Normandy, speak with him again after another Mission & he will tell us of his son Kolyat. He will ask us to join him in stopping Kolyat committing a murder on the Citadel.

Crescent Nebula – Tasale:

Mission – The Justicar: Now it is time to track down Samara. Return to Illium, & speak with Officer Dara & she will tell us to hail a cab to reach the Justicar. Go to the Commercial Spaceport & locate Samara. Before she will leave with us, we must find the location of her quarry inside the Eclipse Base.


Achievement #70 – The Justicar: Successfully recruit the Justicar.
Story Related. Defeat Wassea & collect the Datapad off her desk containing the location of Samara’s target. Return to the Spaceport & speak with Samara to recruit her.

Mission – Lair of the Shadow Broker: As our last order of business on Illium, take a cab to Liara’s Apartment. Link up with the Asari Spectre & we will continue our search for Liara at the Dracon Trade Center. Once you find her, you will have to fight your way out through the Shadow Brokers Agents.

When you reach the bottom, we will then have to chase the Agent who stole Liara’s data using a cab; we actually get to pilot it too! Very reminiscent of the beginning to Attack of the Clones…
Catch the Agent at the “adult hotel” Azure, & we will have our hardest boss we have faced yet to fight. This is a battle of attrition; it is easiest keeping as much distance as you can from her in the fight to give your Squad Members more re-cooperation time. Whittle her Barrier down to half health & we will have to fight off a brief assault by some Shadow Broker soldiers. Killing them will give us a Checkpoint where we can take down the rest of the Agent’s Barrier.

Fight off a second wave of soldiers when her Barrier has been fully reduced for a final Checkpoint; now just take her Armor & health to finish her off. After she is dead, we can now locate the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker’s Lair on Hagalaz.

Hagalaz:

Achievement #71 – Heart of Darkness: Confront the Shadow Broker.
Fight your way along the Shadow Broker’s ship hull & make your way inside. After we locate Liara’s friend, Feron, we will enter into the Shadow Broker’s office; our Achievement will unlock as soon as the cut scene begins.

After a brief conversation, diplomacy will be cut short & we will have to deal with this highly intellectual being the old fashioned way: fists & guns.

When he is defeated, we will have the option to rekindle our relationship with Liara if we had one with her in Mass Effect 1. Do not do this! Doing this will not unlock the Paramour II Achievement, & it will prevent us from having a Romance with another Squad Member! As scummy as it is, do not do anything to prolong the relationship & do not invite her up to the Normandy!

Delivery Pickup: To the left of Liara in her new set up, will be the Delivery Pickup Console. This Console will not only provide us with a random amount of Resources but also will spawn any Upgrade (Weapon, Armor, Biotic, etc.) that we may have missed during all our Missions. This makes earning the Weapon Specialist Achievement much easier making almost unmissable.

The caveat is the Delivery Pickup will only re-stock every 24 real world hours; return here often to snag anything you may have missed. An easy work around to this is to simply Save & exit the game & just change the date on your PC or Console to the next day. Rinse & repeat until your hearts content.

Sequence 7: Overlord

1. Missions: The Ardat-Yakshi, Sins of the Father, Treason, The Gift of Greatness, Overlord
2. Loyalty Missions: 11/12
3. Achievements: 78/127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normandy SR-2:

Loyalty Mission – The Ardat-Yakshi: Return to the Normandy, & now that a Mission has been completed since her recruitment, we can speak with Samara about her Loyalty Mission. Agree to help her stop her daughter on Omega.

Barring our final Squad Member unlocked during our “point of no return” Mission the Reaper IFF, we now should have all Squad Members & their Loyalty Missions unlocked.

Serpent Nebula – Widow:

Loyalty Mission #8 – Sins of the Father: Travel to the Citadel & speak with Captain Bailey in C-Sec to locate Thane’s son. Go to Zakera Level 28 to find Mouse, the contact that Bailey will send us to next.

When we find out who hired Thane’s son, get Bailey to bring him in to C-Sec for our own private interrogation. Find out the target, one way or another, & we will get taken to the 800 Blocks where we can find them.


Achievement #72 – Cat’s In the Cradle: Gain the loyalty of the Assassin.
Stop Thane’s son from murdering the Turian politician & reunite them to gain Thane’s Loyalty & unlock this Achievement.

Omega Nebula – Sahrabarik:

Loyalty Mission #9 – The Ardat-Yakshi: Now we will head back to Omega to assist Samara in finding her own child. Speak with Aria in the Afterlife to learn the whereabouts of Morinth & we will be directed to the Apartments. For this Mission to go well, you will want a decently high Paragon or Renegade level.

Speak with Diana, the mother of Morinth’s latest victim, & investigate the crime scene. When we find where Morinth “hunts” we will enter into the Afterlife VIP section alone to lure her out. Interact with the other bar patrons as you choose & we will eventually get confronted by Morinth. Speak with her & convince her to take you back to her apartment.


Achievement #73 – Doppelganger: Help the Justicar resolve her mission.
Before speaking with Morinth in her apartment, make a Save, as things can go poorly. You need to succeed in passing a Paragon or Renegade check when speaking with Morinth or she will control our mind. Regardless of what happens, Samara will enter into the room & a battle of Biotics will ensue.

When the stalemate happens, we will have a choice: kill Morinth or kill Samara. Only killing Morinth will unlock this Achievement, if you decide to kill Samara instead it will void the Achievement! This is the better option anyways, as we cannot safely Romance Morinth & she does not contribute as much as Samara does when they appear in Mass Effect 3…

Vallhallan Threshold – Raheel-Leyya:

Loyalty Mission #10 – Treason: This is another Mission that will require us to have a high Paragon or Renegade level. Travel now to the Raheel-Leyya System & go to the Migrant Fleet with Tali. We must participate in Tali’s trial; we will be selected as her defence lawyer. During the trial it will be revealed the Tali’s father’s lab shuttle has been overrun by Geth & we must go take it back.


Achievement #74 – Treason: Gain the loyalty of the Quarian.
Travel to the Alarei & destroy the Geth on board; we will also find some damning evidence against Tali’s father. When we return to the trial, we cannot use the evidence against Tali’s father or else we will not earn her Loyalty, voiding the Achievement! When we are asked if we have any new evidence, choose the Paragon or Renegade dialogue option or simply say that you found no new evidence.


Achievement #75 – Veteran: Kill 2,000 enemies in Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3.
This will come naturally as you playthrough the game. It is almost guaranteed to unlock during Mass Effect 2; if not then definitely in Mass Effect 3. Squad Member kills do not contribute to this Achievement.

Kills are also tied to a specific Character, if you decided to not import your ME1 Character for some reason & make a new one instead, their kills will start at 0 for this game & it is unlikely to unlock until ME3.

Rosetta Nebula – Alpha Draconis:

Loyalty Mission #11 – The Gift of Greatness: Last but not least, it is finally time to help out Jacob & locate his long lost father. Travel to Planet 2175 Aeia & find what has become of Jacob’s father… this Mission will end itself.


Achievement #76 – Ghost of the Father: Gain the loyalty of the Cerberus Operative.
We will unlock this Achievement after completing Jacob’s Loyalty Mission; it cannot be failed.

Normandy SR-2:

Normandy Upgrade – Silaris Armor: If you have not already done so, speak with Jacob & ask him if he has any Upgrades for the Normandy. We can get this Upgrade for 11,250 Palladium.

Not having this Upgrade will cause Jack to die during the Suicide Mission’s space battle, voiding the No One Left Behind Achievement.


Achievement #77 – Weapon Specialist: Fully upgrade a Weapon.
Anytime you are on a Mission or on a friendly Planet, explore, explore, explore. Weapon Upgrades can be found as loot or purchased for Credits at Shops; fortunately, with the Delivery Pickup system at the Shadow Broker’s base we can now collect any Upgrades we missed on Missions.

The Phoenix Massing – Typhon:

Mission – Overlord: It is now time for us to complete another DLC Mission, Overlord. Travel to the Typhon System & go to the Planet Aite. When we arrive we will notice that things are very wrong. Work with the scientist Archer, & stop the rogue VI attempting to upload itself off of the Planet.

Assignment – Atlas Station: After we destroy the satellite up-link, we must now travel to two Stations to override the VI’s lock down. We need to get to Vulcan & Prometheus Station (not sure why they named the stations after a Greek God & a Roman interpretation of a Greek God… Vulcan should be Hephaestus) & complete the two sub Assignments attached to them.


Achievement #78 – Digital Exorcist: Successfully shut down the rogue VI in Project Overlord.
Break into the heart of Atlas Station & interact with the control console… to become hacked by the VI. How is this possible? Perhaps Cerberus made Shepard more synthetic than was disclosed…. Regardless, let the VI guide us through the rest of the station until we reach the VI Core.

We will now have to complete a series of waves while also having to sabotage the VI Connections as it attempts to upload itself to the Normandy. These become increasingly difficulty as we are timed to destroy the Connections while also getting harassed by Geth.

Destroy the Core… & we will find David. Deal with him as you will & we will complete the Mission & unlock our Achievement. Giving David to Archer will grant us a War Asset in Mass Effect 3 while taking him away gives us an encounter with him being helped at a hospital…

Sequence 8: Enemy of My Enemy

1. Missions: Reaper IFF, A House Divided,
2. Loyalty Missions: 12/12
3. Achievements: 82/127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before we complete Mission – Reaper IFF, be sure that all of your previous business is finished as it is our point of no return (basically). Be sure that you have completed all the Assignments you want done, all Loyalty Missions have been finished, & all Achievements covered in the guide up to now save for the Veteran Achievement & Brawler Achievement have been unlocked. Along with the Loyalty Missions (not having them done will cause that Squad Member to die) we need to make sure we completed the Heavy Ship Armor, Multicore Shielding, & the Thanix Cannon Upgrades to the Normandy (or else more Squad Members will die).

Go shopping as well if you still need to as this will be our final safe time to do so as even landing on a Planet will progress the Normandy crew abduction after obtaining the Reaper IFF.

Hawking Eta – Thorne:

Mission – Reaper IFF: When you are ready to begin the final few Missions of the game, & are fully prepared, it is time to go collect the Reaper IFF; if you do not have the Incinerate Power it is imperative that you bring someone who does or at the very least has Squad Incendiary Ammo. Fight through the literal hordes of Husks & obtain the Reaper IFF; I strongly recommend Saving after every Husk encounter, as they can actually be quite challenging.

When we reach the Reaper Core we need to destroy, we will fight three waves of many many Husks. After killing a certain amount, the Core will be exposed & we can begin attacking it. This… is a very hard fight. We will be overwhelmed by Husks & there is a good chance your Squad Members will be KO’d extremely quickly.

To exploit some bad path finding, it turns out that the Husks prefer to navigate using the first sets of stairs (the ones closest to the entrance doors) & not the stairs closest to the Core. When soloing, lead the Husks between the three tiers using the stairs near the Core. When you are one of the sides, kill as many Husks as you can. When you are close to being overwhelmed, quickly head up the stairs near the Core & over to the far side, & the Husks will run all the way around to the other stairs to come over to you. Rinse & repeat for the safest survival strategy.

Normandy SR-2:

Achievement #79 – Friend Or Foe: Obtain Geth technology.
Missable. When we return to the Normandy after obtaining the Reaper IFF, we will be in the Debriefing Room with Miranda & Jacob. In our very first dialogue choice we will decide the fate of the “friendly” Geth we took onboard with us. You must choose the “I want to talk to it first” option or we will void this Achievement! Do not hand the Geth over to Cerberus! We will unlock this Achievement after choosing the proper option…

Reaper IFF Installation: After the dialogue sequence, EDI will begin installing the Reaper IFF. We can only complete one Mission/Assignment before (Censored by Steam) hits the fan & we are truly in the final moments of the game.

This all hinges on whether or not you care about the Normandy’s staff casualties; the actual crew (not Squad Members) do not actually pertain to any Achievements during the Suicide Mission… it is just nicer if we can keep them alive if we can.

Squad Member – Legion: Since we decided to interrogate the newly captured Geth soldier, let’s do that. Go to Level 3 & enter the Medical Lab where we can find the Server Room at the back. Enter inside & interact with the inactive Geth to boot up our new bestest Squad Member, Legion.

Loyalty Mission – A House Divided: Speak with Legion again, & we will learn of a Reaper virus that will soon infect all Geth, converting them to their side. To earn Legion’s Loyalty which is essential, we will need to complete this Mission.

This is the one & only Mission we can complete before the Reaper IFF is installed; if you have anymore outstanding Missions or Assignments… they can be completed at the cost of Normandy crew member lives…

The Phoenix Massing – The Sea of Storms:

Loyalty Mission – A House Divided: Travel to the Sea of Storms within The Phoenix Massing & go to the Heretic Station.


Achievement #80 – A House Divided: Hack a Geth collective.
Make your way through the Heretic Station until you reach the Master Control Terminal. After holding off the Geth waves, choose to either delete or rewrite the Heretic Geth; either option will unlock the Achievement & complete the Mission.

Normandy SR-2:

Faltering Loyalty: After we complete Legion’s Loyalty Mission, we will need to stop Tali from killing Legion in the Server Room. If you cannot make the Paragon or Renegade check (it is high) you will have to choose between one or the other Squad Member. Whoever you don’t choose will become Disloyal. You must go & speak with them afterwards & make amends to earn their Loyalty back; we will still have to make a Paragon or Renegade check but it is slightly easier to make.

The Reaper IFF: With a Mission completed after the Reaper IFF installed, when we interact with the Galaxy Map a large portion of story will play out.

When we return to the Normandy, the crew will be taken. Every Mission, Assignment, or Planet we travel to will slowly kill off the crew members the longer we wait to pass through the Omega 4 Relay. 1 Mission only a few people die along with Kelly Chambers, 2 Missions half the crew dies, 3 or more Missions & the entire crew but doctor Chakwas dies.

There are no Achievements for saving the crew, it just means less people will port over to Mass Effect 3…

The Omega 4 Relay: When you are ready, travel through the Omega 4 Relay & travel to the Collector’s to finish the fight!

This will be our last few moments with our Squad Members & we will have our final few dialogue sequences with them.


Achievement #81 – Paramour II: Establish or rekindle a romantic relationship in two games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
If you have chosen to Romance any of the Mass Effect 2 Squad Members, we will receive a cut scene with them fulfilling the Romance arc. Deliberately or accidentally, if you Romanced Liara from the Shadow Broker DLC & look at her picture during this scene… then you will unfortunately void this Achievement!


Achievement #82 – Suicide Mission: Use the Omega 4 Relay.
Story Related. Pass through the Omega 4 Relay using the Reaper IFF & we will unlock this Achievement.

Sequence 9: The One Way Trip

1. Missions: Suicide Mission
2. Achievements: 82/127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suicide Mission:

The Space Battle: If you have researched the Heavy Ship Armor, we will deflect the Collector Ships main cannons & no one will die. Without this Upgrade (or any of the other two) someone will die & void our No One Left Behind Achievement.

Drive off the Oculus in the Cargo Hold, & we will then fly into a debris field where we need the Multicore Shielding to pass through it unscathed; without it, someone will die.

Drive off the Oculus again & destroy it. Return to the Cockpit & we will need the Thanix Cannon to make it through to the Collector Base; without it, someone will die.

The Collector Base: Now we must assault the Collector Base. To pull this off, we need to choose the correct Squad Member for certain roles; you must also have their Loyalty to survive.

The roles are as follows:
Biotic Specialist – Samara, Jack
Tech Specialist – Tali, Legion, Kasumi
Leadership Specialist – Miranda, Jacob, Garrus
Crew Escort – Any Loyal Squad Member

I strongly, strongly, recommend making multiple Saves & many of them throughout the Suicide Mission. So much can go wrong, & you may need to reload before making certain decisions.

Maintenance Shaft Operative: While onboard the Normandy, we need to pick a Squad Member to go into the Maintenance Shaft & open any security doors for us; be sure to choose either Tali, Legion, or Kasumi to do this. Anyone else will die. I like choosing Kasumi for this; choose someone who isn’t in your preferred Squad if you can.

If Tali or Legion became Disloyal, do not send them on any Tech Specialist Missions or they will die!

Fire Team Leader: Now we need someone to lead the first Fireteam; Miranda, Jacob, or Garrus are the best picks for this. I like choosing Jacob; choose someone who isn’t in your preferred Squad if you can.

The First Movement: With our teams set, it is time to pick one of our own & begin venturing into the Collector Base; who you pick does not matter, so long as they are Loyal. Remember we are fighting Collectors so we will want Warp & Incinerate…

When we reach the Heat Exchanger, we must quickly remove them or our Maintenance Shaft Squad Member will die! There are 8 Heat Exchangers we need to remove, there is a meter to tell us how much time we have…

After we get past this first movement, we will rescue our captured Normandy crew; depending on if you went through the Omega 4 Relay immediately or after a few Missions will determine who survives… (again not Achievement related).

Biotic Field Operative: This will be our next major decision about our strategy, we need a Biotic to maintain a field to protect us against the Seeker Swarms. The only candidates are Samara or Jack; any other Biotic will not be able to keep up their strength & die at the end of the movement.

Diversion Force Leader: Next we will also have to pick someone to lead the diversion force to lure away Collectors. This must be another “leader” type Squad Member, we can pick Jacob again for this.

Escort Squad Leader: Lastly, we need to send one Squad Member to take our surviving crew back to the Normandy. Technically, any Squad Member who is Loyal can pull this off but there is a catch; Mordin has an incredibly high chance to die if he is on the final defence team. Mordin is your best option as the escort squad leader so that he survives!

The Second Movement: With everything in place, it is time for us to make our way through the Seeker Swarms with our Biotic Specialist protecting us. Close to the end of this movement, even our best Biotic will begin to falter & we will have to rush to the entrance.

Sequence 10: Harbinger

1. Missions: Suicide Mission
2. Achievements: 86/127
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Last Stand: Once we are through, we will need to pick our last team to go with us to defeat our final boss… the rest of the Squad will stay behind. Again, try picking a team with Warp & Incinerate to fight off the Collectors.

All other Squad Members who you don’t take with you will stay behind as the Defence Team. Who stays behind is essential as even if you have everyone’s Loyalty, people can still die.

The Last Stand survival works something like this according to IGN:

Every Squad Member is going to have a point rank in what they contribute to the defence team.
Garrus, Grunt, & Zaeed or worth 4 points.
Legion, Thane, Miranda, Samara, & Jacob or worth 2 points.
Jack, Tali, Mordin, & Kasumi are worth 1 point.
If a Squad Member is not Loyal, there points are reduced by 1.

If you take too many high point characters with you &/or had one complete the escort, the Defence Team may not have enough points to survive. When you make your decision, add up the point values of all the remaining Squad Members & divide them by the total amount of them (there should be 9 that remain). If the average is less than 2, someone will die. You need their average score to be above 2 points to have everyone survive!

For reference, a fully Loyal crew is a max of 26 points. I had Mordin take the survivors away which is a -1, & took Garrus & Miranda with me for the final fight which is a -6. My total Defence Team points are now at 19, divide that by 9, & my average is 2.1; I just barely made the cut & had everyone survive.

If Tali or Legion are Disloyal, they will be worth 0 points so keep that in mind, you may have to leave behind more high point Squad Members. Do not take them with you if they are Disloyal or they will die after the final boss fight being crushed by rubble!

The Final Movement: Make your decision, & when you make it to the final boss, it will unfortunately be a bit lack luster & end up being more or the same. Defeat the waves of Collectors & wait until we are able to destroy an Injection Tube; destroy all 4 to win! If you are quick, you can destroy multiple Tubes in one go & really speed the battle up.

After we dislodge the boss, the Illusive Man will want to speak with us about the base. If you save the base & give it to Cerberus, you will gain a War Asset in Mass Effect 3. If you destroy it, you can be smug & tell Cerberus to suck it. There are no Achievements related to this decision.

When you make your decision, we will have a boss battle redux to complete. We now must whittle away at the bosses high Armor until it is dead, all the while being assaulted by more Collectors. As far as I was aware, the Collector waves are not unlimited during this part.


Achievement #83 – Against All Odds: Survive Suicide Mission.
Story Related. We will unlock this Achievement after defeating the boss & safely returning to the Normandy.


Achievement #84 – No One Left Behind: Keep your team alive through the Suicide Mission.
Missable. This is definitely the hardest Achievement in the game. You will know right away if it worked for you or not, as when you get in touch with Joker & ask who made it, if anyone died during the defence it will cut to them… being dead… while Joker speaks to us. If you got no cutscene for Joker’s dialogue, & no one died prior, we will unlock this Achievement as well.


Achievement #85 – Mission Accomplished: Save humanity throughout the galaxy from certain annihilation.
Story Related. Have some closing words with the Illusive Man, & see the hook for Mass Effect 3; we will unlock this Achievement upon seeing the Credits.


Achievement #86 – Insanity II: Complete two games in Mass Effect Legendary Edition on Insanity without changing Difficulty.
Story Related. We will unlock this Achievement as well if you beat both Mass Effect 2 & Mass Effect 1 on Insanity Difficulty.

Assignment – Arrival: With the Suicide Mission completed, we actually get Post Game. If you have not already done so, you really should complete this Assignment. Without spoiling anything, it adds much better context to the very beginning of Mass Effect 3...

If you have any other random Assignments you still want to complete before Mass Effect 3, do so as well.

Conclusion:

Mass Effect 2 is an absolute masterpiece. The quality jump in story, gameplay, & characters from ME1 is substantial. They definitely don’t make games like they used to anymore. I found Insanity Difficulty on ME2 much harder than it was on ME1. 100%... or 67%, took me 65 hours with a fair bit of that time spent writing my guide or going above & beyond being a completionist.

If this guide helped you achieve 100%, rate the guide or let me know in the comments. Helps me know if I am doing things right!



67% Complete
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[WeeHammy]

Hey again Cynic!

I know I posted a couple of days ago on your ME1 guide, I have just sat and played ME2 on insanity from start to finish. It took me 70 hours to 100% ME2 and I have to say... I am utterly blown away with how good - scratch that - how (censored by steam - hehe) phenomenal this game is.

I struggled a lot on insanity on this game at certain encounters so I'll say this - ME2 insanity is 100% harder than ME1 BUT, it is so much more rewarding and in the end... I want more...

I have beyond fallen head over heels in love with the ME franchise and to think, I have ME3 to do next.

Again... thank you so much for taking the time to make an extremely detailed guide! Because I am following you, I am not missing anything important and I can read all the dossiers and stuff about lore e.t.c in my own time!

Now to your Mass Effect 3 guide!!! (and when I am done with that game... I am going to cry)

[ooglyboogly]

you play alot of the sorts of games i like with guides that are perfect for me :D thankyou for all the work you put into this. Very selfless :)

[PaulG]

Thank you! Finished ME1 & ME2 with your guides to help avoid missing anything and I'm moving on to ME3 next.

[Blizzard]

An amazing guide. Just finished ME2, onwards to ME3. For clarification, for the Shadow Broker DLC you actually can invite Liara up to your room as long as you make sure you indicate you only want to be friends, as I hugged Liara at the end of the cutscene but was still able to romance Garrus (and achieve Paramour II)

[Carbonated Poop Water]

For the boss at the end of the Reaper IFF mission, Shockwave is an amazing alternative to incinerate. Shockwave blasts multiple husks over the ledge which insta-kills them

[Cynic 0055]

[Miladarmani]

Mass Effect 2 Done Thanks Cynic

[MelliTheDwarf]

Thanks for the reply Cynic 0055! I tried it and it is working for me!

[Cynic 0055]

Hey Jaeger Dread, that is a good point. I think I glossed over it or missed it because it does not have any Achievements attached to it in LE (which is dumb). But you do make a very good point, it IS extremely important & adds a much better context to the very beginning of ME3. I will some notes about it to the guide.

[Jaeger Dread]

You forgot to include "Arrival" into the guide. Imo that mission is absolutely critical, and should be done in post game.