Mass Effect Series

[Lex]

If you've had the loyalty and lost it, the only way to get it back is to keep talking to her. If you have a high enough paragon score you can patch things up with her, but I'm not sure what the exact dialogue options are. All is not lost (yet).

 

[null]

Note sure if this was ever posted

 

[Mantichorus]

All these comments about the Mako getting stuck in the scenery... never happened to me. The Hammerhead? It sinks into solid rock. Except for when it bumps against invisible walls, that are a turbine's width away from a cliff.

And, if bullets have aiming VIs in them, why don't the cannon shells? Seriously, the Cerberus turrets on Overlord are bugging the hell out of me.

EDIT - also, if they go through with the promise/threat of a live action ME movie, Helen Mirren should play Dr Chakwas.

 

[Lex]

If you played the PS3 version, that might be why. A good deal of problems with the first game (texture popping, other funny things) were fixed in the PS3 version.

 

[Mantichorus]

So, completed Overlord, went to move onto either more of Firewalker or Legion's loyalty mission... and the IFF was installed.

I went after my damned crew immediately. And, screw the IFF, no other ship made it through the Omega 4 Relay because they didn't have Joker piloting. Glass bones, steel balls.

So... action report.

CREW WITHOUT FULL LOYALTY
-Miranda Lawson (note: lost faith in Shepard when she sided with Jack over Miranda in an argument)
-Zaeed Massani (note: Shepard interfered with his attempt at revenge against the head of the Blue Sun organisation, preventing him from finding closure)
-Legion (note: Shepard preparing to set course for geth collective when Reaper IFF installed)
-Samara (note: Shepard preparing her willpower for confrontation with ardat-yakshi)

Spoiler: FATALITIES

-Miranda Lawson
Died flipping the bird at the Illusive Man during the structural collapse following the destruction of the Proto-Human Reaper

(Only really hit me in the aftermath when I was checking up on the crew, and by force of habit walked into her now empty office. RIP Mira)

Started a new file, using the Genesis comic. And, well, gonna delete it. There's something wrong with your character design if you want him to wear a helmet all the time so you don't have to see his face.

 

[Carlie]

I've never viewed any of squad members deaths in ME2, I don't have the heart to do so.

 

[Hisako]

Miranda Lawson has a lot of plot armor but I don't think it's possible for any of them to survive if they aren't loyal by the end of it - they'll die at some point during the suicide mission.

Yalls can correct me if I'm wrong tho

 

[Lex]

Most of the characters can survive without loyalty in the suicide mission actually (one by one I mean, if a lot of charactes don't have loyalty at least some of them will die). You just can't give characters without loyalty a special role or take them with you on the final push. i.e. don't choose someone to go down the tube or lead any group or be the biotic barrier if they're not loyal, and they'll probably survive.

However, barring Garrus they WILL die in Mass Effect 3 by some means. Jack might also survive ME3 without loyalty, I can't remember.

 

[Joe]

Yeah loyalty has an effect on ME3 aswell, Lex is pretty much spot on with what he said too. Iirc correctly though, Mordin cannot make it through the suicide mission without loyalty. He is technically the least hardy of all the squad members (a hidden number value given to each squad member) which has an impact on survival rates.

For example, Grunt has the highest hardiness value thus is the easiest to keep alive without loyalty. However

Spoiler

this means that he WILL die in ME3 and you can do nothing in that game to prevent it (other than not encountering him at all but I'm willing to bet you find out he dies some other way)

 

[Hisako]

I actively kept Miranda away from all of the special roles and she died at the end on my playthrough

Plot armor yeah rite

 

[Carlie]

She has plot armor thorough the suicide mission up til the final part. As for how to get her loyalty back after losing it there's apparently an option in a conversation afterwards to tell her you sided with Jack because Miranda can cope, it works the other way around too. For the confrontations between loyal squad members in ME2 the paragon cheat in ME1 is your best friend.

 

[Hisako]

A certain amount of paragon points carry over from ME1 but I thought it was a set amount.

 

[Carlie]

It gives you a massive advantage and with little effort you can pass all of the checks even if you've been playing more as a renegade than paragon.

 

[Lex]

Satsu, Miranda died because you took her with you . If you want to keep an unloyal squad member alive you need to not choose them for the final push. And yeah Mordin dies really easily, even if you have his loyalty.

The best way for Mordin to survive is to make him the leader of the group (including Chakwas et al) when you need to pick someone to lead the crew back to the ship.

Spoiler: Here, have a guide that covers everything (from the Wiki)

Before launching the Suicide Mission, make absolutely certain that you have purchased the armor, weapon, and shielding upgrades for the Normandy, as for each one of these not purchased a squad member will die during the run to the Collector base.

The following list shows, in order of preference, which crew member will die if you haven't upgraded that part:

Heavy Ship Armor: Jack

Multicore Shielding: Kasumi, Legion, Tali, Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt

Thanix Cannon: Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt, Jack, Samara/Morinth

Note: This tier is sorted by the characters' order of dying in descending order. Squad members on the "Multicore Shielding" list will not die if they are in your party when you fight the Oculus. Bringing party members to fight the Oculus will not protect Jack if you do not have Heavy Ship Armor, or anyone on the "Thanix Cannon" list.

After entering the Omega 4 Relay but before the beginning of the suicide mission, your ship will be attacked by an Oculus at two different intervals (between cutscenes). You will be taking in a team to fight the Oculus, though the team selection does not have any consequences or impact on gameplay, thus you may choose anyone you want.

There are three stages to this mission, during which you must select members of your team to perform certain duties. Choosing an inappropriate character for those tasks will result in someone's permanent death. Appropriate choice are listed after Ideal, while inappropriate choices are listed after Non-Ideal.

Note: If an ideal squad member is not loyal for your playthrough, consider them to be a non-ideal choice.

If at the end of the final battle only one or no squad members survived, no one will help Shepard onto the ship, resulting in the Commander's death. A single surviving squad member is not enough to save Shepard.


Collector Base: Infiltration

A Specialist Technician is required to infiltrate via the station's vents to bypass the defenses and doors then open the central gate for the rest of the squad.

Ideal: Tali, Legion, or Kasumi.

Non-Ideal: Anyone else, or a disloyal technician, as they will be shot in the face while forcing the door shut.

A Fire-team Leader is required for the second team. The briefing conversation mentions that this member must be experienced in leading a team.

Ideal: Garrus, Jacob, or Miranda

Non-Ideal: Anyone else, as they will get your specialist technician killed, even if a loyal Tali, Legion, or Kasumi was chosen.

Your Team – will be fighting against Collector Drones, Harbinger, and several Collector Assassins, all of which have biotic barriers on harder difficulties (Drones gain barriers on Hardcore and Insanity only). Characters with Warp, Incinerate, and Concussive Shot powers are a good choice. Warp and Concussive Shot are effective at taking down biotic barriers. Warp and Incinerate deal damage against armor - with Incinerate dealing decent damage against organic enemies along with setting them on fire for a few seconds, and it does some damage against barriers.

Miranda, Grunt, Samara, Zaeed, Garrus, Thane, and Mordin are all good choices since all of them posses either Warp, Incinerate, or Concussive Shot which are good powers to have for this segment. Samara can unlock Reave, which is a lot like Warp except it can heal Samara and give her a temporary health bonus, not to mention it can damage a Collector standing behind a guardian shield.

You will need to fight several Collector squads, while pressing forward to activate eight different consoles alongside a path beside the vent in which is your Specialist. The heat in the tunnel will kill your Specialist if you take too long to reach the consoles, so you should clear out the enemies as quickly as possible. Another tactic (although it might require a few tries depending on your skill level and the difficulty setting) is to ignore enemies and simply rush ahead opening all the consoles in your way. Also, while the Collector Drones fly in to engage your squad, they are highly vulnerable in mid-air to Throw, Slam and Concussive Shot, in short any physics damage attack except Shockwave and Pull since the former will not hit airborne enemies and the latter has very little effect on them. In normal difficulty, this will instantly kill the Collector Drone and Throw Field can take out an entire group before they get a chance to attack you. It is advisable to save your game before you press the last button in case you select the wrong character for the next session. The mission ends immediately once the final button is pressed, so if time is near to running out completely it may be worth it to ignore any remaining enemies and simply run to the button and press it.

Collector Base: The Long Walk

A Biotic Specialist to generate a shield, protecting the squad against Collector swarms.

Ideal: Samara/Morinth or Jack.

Non-Ideal: Anyone else. Doing so will result in one of your squadmates being carried off by a Seeker swarm.

A Fire-team Leader for the second team (referred to by Miranda as "the diversion team").

Ideal: Garrus, Jacob, or Miranda. Note that Miranda will not die here even if disloyal.

Non-Ideal: Anyone else. There is a possibility of this leader dying as the doors close at the end of the long walk (shot in the stomach as the door closes).

Note: Even if you choose an optimal candidate, they may still be shot (and play the same initial animation). DON'T PANIC, they will survive the injury. This is confirmed when Shepard comes to their side and they remain standing.

An Escort to guide the Normandy crew back to the ship. However, you can't use this person for the final battle. Choosing no one results in the death of the Normandy crew.

Ideal: Mordin. This will ensure his survival because he has a strong chance of dying if he doesn't escort the crew back, even if he is loyal. Otherwise, any loyal squad member is guaranteed to successfully escort the crew back to the ship.

Non-Ideal: A team member that you have not secured loyalty from. This squad member will perish while escorting the Normandy crew. Also, a squad member with a high "defensive skill" value (Grunt, Zaeed, Garrus), as this may indirectly cause Mordin's death if he is left to hold the line.

Your Team – You will be fighting against Drones, Harbinger, Assassins, waves of Husks and Abominations, and a Scion.

Tali and Legion are probably preferable for this segment; their combat drones can escape the biotic field safely and root out any dug-in enemies. Kasumi is a bad choice as her shadow strike ability leaves her vulnerable to the seeker swarms.

Another strategy might be taking some good damage dealers. Jack, Zaeed, Grunt or Thane will do much more damage, especially important for husks!
Your chosen Biotic Specialist will erect a dome-shaped biotic shield encapsulating the squad from Collector swarms. Note that moving outside of the biotic barrier will cause damage to Shepard and eventually result in death. The Biotic Specialist will move slowly through the level and stop three times for you to fight off a wave of enemies before proceeding. The waves encountered are:

Drones and Harbinger - on the far side overlooking a small pit with a large block in the centre.

Husks and Abominations climb up from a ledge then Drones, Harbinger and Assassins will fly in - on a long walkway with a left-facing 'sniper alley'.
Husks, Abominations, and a Scion - at a left-turning bend in the road with a raised platform on the left side.

Final Battle

Note that, while manual saving is not allowed from this point onwards, the game will auto-save at the beginning of each part. Loading an auto-save also gives you the opportunity to change the weapons loadout of your squad. If you die, you will have full ammo when you reload the game, even if you didn't have full ammo at the last save.

Part 1 – Team Selection
The team you select here will be with you for the remainder of the suicide mission – you will be fighting against Drones, Harbinger, Assassins, Abominations, Scions, and one giant Human-Reaper larva.

Ideal: Squad members who are loyal to you and are less suited for defensive tasks such as Mordin, Jack, Kasumi, and Tali.

Non-Ideal: Squad members who are not loyal to you. They will die after the battle as the Collector station begins to fall apart.

Note: The teammates you do not choose are automatically assigned to hold the line against the Collectors. A 'defensive skill' value is calculated for the 'hold the line' group as a whole, based on a defensive value inherent to each character. Loyal characters gain a bonus to this value. If the 'defensive skill' check is not high enough to ensure all characters' survival, squad members will be designated to die based on their vulnerability, with Mordin taking priority if he is present. Leaving behind strong defenders, such as Grunt, Garrus, and Zaeed will increase the group's odds of survival. In contrast, certain characters such as Jack, Tali, and especially Mordin have less skill in holding their position and should be removed through escort duty or taken along. The entire group will survive as long as the combined defensive skill is high enough, otherwise the game selects a squad member to die based on the scenario of who was left behind and how loyal are the group members. (Squad members who are not loyal are most likely to survive here than anywhere else, provided the group's collective defense skill is high enough, although they will be the first to die if the skill is not.) Leaving behind two strong defenders such as Garrus, Grunt, or Zaeed should suffice, provided you haven't lost too many people.

Note: The order in which squad members die is as follows: any non-loyal squad members, Mordin, Tali, Kasumi, Jack, Miranda, Jacob, Garrus, Samara/Morinth, Legion, Thane, Zaeed, Grunt

Powers must be used efficiently as Ammo is very scarce and must be scavenged whenever possible. Platforms will fly in, carrying several Collector enemies on them. The last platform will contain three Abominations and two Scions. After defeating them there will be a console to trigger the next section. Like the similar battle onboard the Collector Cruiser, using abilities that get enemies off their feet when the platforms are flying in can be invaluable as it prevents them from reaching you, and allows you to pick them off from a distance.

Note: On all versions there is a glitch where the two Scions will not attack until you run up to the platform to engage them. If you have a sniper rifle or Warp you can kill them from 2 platforms away before they are aware you exist.

Note: Whichever Heavy Weapon you bring with you will have its ammo maxed out as soon as the player takes control.

Part 2 – Destroying the Feeding Tubes
More fly-in platforms with various types of Collectors. After clearing each platform, the armor covering the four tubes of the inactive Human-Reaper will open for a short period of time and should be destroyed immediately.

It is possible to destroy at least two each round. The M-15 Vindicator or M-12 Locust can both be used to destroy two at once without powers. With heightened Adrenaline Rush, the M-6 Carnifex hand cannon or the M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol can destroy each tube with one shot. The M-76 Revenant machine gun has sufficient ammunition to destroy all tubes in one long burst, finishing the battle in one round. The M-920 Cain can also take out two tubes simultaneously. The Collector Particle Beam can destroy all four tubes in just one go before the covers come down. It is also possible to destroy the tubes or at least heavily damage them by using Warp, so having squad members with this ability can be useful. Alternatively, if all else fails, you can instruct squad members to attack the exposed tubes while attacking a different one yourself to take down 2 tubes with standard weapons.

Destroying the four tubes will cause the Reaper to fall into the chasm below. Shepard will open up the platform's core and prepare to plant a bomb, but will be contacted by the Illusive Man, who asks Shepard to preserve the facility both to use against the Reapers and to "secure humanity's future against the Reapers and beyond." Shepard will then need to make a choice -- destroying the facility is a Paragon action, while preserving the facility for Cerberus to use against the Reapers is a Renegade action.

Note: During this conversation, Shepard might refer to team members giving their lives even if the entire team has survived up to this point (depending on the selected dialogue option). Also, if Miranda is in the party, a few extra lines of dialogue between her and the Illusive Man can be heard.

Part 3 – The Human-Reaper Larva
You start behind a good barricade spot and you can begin shooting at the Reaper's eyes (they are small, but there are 3 of them, two in the left socket, one in the right), or the large weak point on its chest. It has a nasty charge up attack and it would be wise to not expose yourself until it is finished. If you are hit by it, your shield will be depleted and will take longer than usual to recharge. (If you're feeling brave, you can also take advantage of the fact that it stays still while charging its attack to get in some reliable damage; listening to the charge-up sound will tell you when it's time to get back behind cover.) Be aware that the Reaper's glowing mouth is vulnerable to your weapons while this attack is charging, and presents a very large target for gunfire. Note that you can fall off the platform you are on, so stay away from the edges.

Once you have damaged the Reaper enough, Collector drones will attack. During this section of the fight Harbinger will drop special Heavy Weapon ammo packs when killed. Also note that the Reaper's mouth weapon will injure or kill any Collector enemies it hits. When the boss' life is below 25%, it will begin dodging around and send more attacks at you. Continue shooting at its eyes or use the M-920 Cain, directed at its chest and the fight should be over shortly, leading to the end of game cutscenes. Sniper rifles are surprisingly effective: when the Reaper leans to the right there are about 3-5 seconds worth of reliable targeting. After the first shot, an Adrenaline Rush (if available) allows for a second reliable shot. This has the advantage of spending very little time outside of cover (just enough to fire two shots), allowing for little to no damage to Shepard.

The target is armored, so sniper rifles get a bonus. Widow and Mantis rifles have a 50% bonus against armor, and, boosted by rifle damage upgrade (50%) and heightened adrenaline rush (100%), the damage is massive. With perfectly aimed shots (it's not difficult to aim for the single eye on your left when on adrenaline), the Reaper can be dropped in four or five shots on Casual using the Widow with zero damage to Shepard.

Note: At the end of the battle when you talk to Joker via comm link, he will tell you all "survivors" have made it back to the ship, even if you saved your entire team.

 

[Joe]

My very first playthrough I was playing a Male Shep (the only Male Shep I've played) as he was who I used for Mass Effect way back when. I played a Sentinel and romance Jack. We had a precious moment before the suicide mission and she was so lovely.

However I didn't get the extra armour for the Normandy. When we went through the Omega 4 relay, a piece of debris tore through the Normandy and insta-killed Jack.

That was sad times and given that it was my first go at ME2 without any guides or anything I honestly believed that the game just killed off your love interest for emotional manipulation and you couldn't do anything about it

 

[Mantichorus]

I set up Tali as my tech specialist, and had Garrus lead both separate fire teams. Mordin accompanied the crew back to the ship. Jack held up the biotic barrier. My wingmen throughout were Thane and Miranda.

Ironically,

Spoiler

I took Miranda with me because I thought she'd have less chance as part of the line holders as she wasn't loyal

.

 

[Joe]

If you keep a loyal Grunt, Garrus and Zaeed holding the line while you go off to fight the reaper then you're pretty much guaranteed all the people you leave behind will live as they rack up the defense points massively.

 

[null]

I am disloyal and to prove it I shall go on this suicide mission anyway and get killed. LOLZ I declare. Loyalty should have had something to do with indoctrination instead of standing in the wrong spot. Too bad that was never explored.

 

[Hisako]

Satsu, Miranda died because you took her with you . If you want to keep an unloyal squad member alive you need to not choose them for the final push. And yeah Mordin dies really easily, even if you have his loyalty.

I didn't take her anywhere in my party, I left her to hold the line at the end. But w/e it was ages ago and I just did right the second playthrough by min-maxing my paragon points.

 

[Joe]

You probably brought people with you at the end that would have been better holding the line

 

[Mantichorus]

If you keep a loyal Grunt, Garrus and Zaeed holding the line while you go off to fight the reaper then you're pretty much guaranteed all the people you leave behind will live as they rack up the defense points massively.

And unfortunately, I told Zaeed to fuck his loyalty, then wasn't Paragon enough to bring him to heel. It's the half-assed playstyle. I honestly gave up trying to be Renegade when I realised that, unlike the first ME, I didn't get an achievement for either morality.

Anyway, restarted the first game now, seems like I'll never recover my old Shepard. So, I've created a NAD (near as damnit) replica. Finding a lot more items on Eden Prime than I did the first time, including (thanks to the random nature of crate and upgrade kits) Scorpion light armour! Love this armour, both for the look and the protection offered.

 

[Carlie]

I always bring Miranda and Kasumi for the final push, Miranda because she basically tells the Illusive Man where he can shove it as her resignation and Kasumi because she's awesome and one of the weakest to hold the line.

 

[Mantichorus]

Forgot to mention a fun part of Eden Prime last night - I decided to make greater use of the engineer's abilities this time around (yeah, last time I was basically just using the engineer's abilities to boost breaking into stuff), and so greeted the Geth recon drones that kill Jenkins with some sabotage. The one I hit just disappeared - I took that for a kill and wiped out the rest, and checked on Jenkins.

Alenko says how the guns ripped right through his shields... and then the drone blew up just out of shot. Which detonated a gas bag, leading to a second explosion. Shepard maintained his composure, but I guffawed.

 

[Joe]

During the final missions on the collector base I usually have Tali and Legion with me. Their combat drones are just absolutely invaluable against harbinger et al.

 

[Mantichorus]

Came across the shed on Eden Prime for the first time during this playthrough - got a Stinger II pistol... my favourite line of pistols!

So, what's your favourite armaments?