Collector Ship (mission)

A Collector ship has been found floating adrift, evidently damaged by a turian patrol. This is a rare chance to examine Collector technology.

Acquisition
The true nature of the trigger is unknown as there are a few reports of players completing more than five missions before triggering this mission.

After you complete at least five new missions &mdash; either loyalty, recruitment or even anomaly missions &mdash; acquired after the mission on Horizon (though if the fifth is one of the two loyalty missions on Tuchanka or the Citadel, you can complete the other before returning to the Normandy SR-2), Shepard will be unable to access the Galaxy Map and instead must report to the briefing room to speak with The Illusive Man, who informs Commander Shepard that a turian patrol has managed to disable a Collector Cruiser, and that they should take the opportunity to investigate.

Cruiser Entrance
This mission is probably the most linear of the game. Start moving down the open hall way, and EDI will comment on the ship's signatures, which match the Collector Vessel that attacked Horizon. There is no need to worry about any enemies for a while so take it easy and move at a steady pace. Upon arriving at a U-turn you encounter a pod where your squadmates will make some comments. Keep moving down the hall until you reach a pile of dead bodies, where you can earn some morality points depending on your dialogue choice. Continue down the tunnel until you reach some Collector equipment on the right; salvage it and move up to get the Medi-gel. Moving along you reach a Control Terminal next to the body of a dead Collector in a pod. Save your game before you select it.

When you access the terminal a squadmate makes a comment while Shepard contacts EDI, who will tell you about the experiments. Apparently, the Collectors were making fundamental "genetic comparisons between their species and humanity." Shepard can ask a question, and the conversation shifts to the Normandy's bridge where a holographic display and EDI's analysis reveals something shocking. The Collectors' DNA matches that of the Protheans! Respond to this however you choose. You can ask questions until you are satisfied, then end the conversation; Shepard then reaches down toward a pile of weapons.

Advanced Weapon Training
After the conversation, a menu will appear allowing you to choose one of three weapon-training options, which enables Shepard to use the weapon in combat. If your character already has that weapon proficiency, you instead have the option of choosing a powerful, unique weapon of that class. For example, an Infiltrator will have the option to take the unique sniper rifle, or gain access to either the common assault rifles or the common shotguns. Adepts, Sentinels, and Engineers will only have options to train in the common weapons, and not the unique ones.
 * Shotgun Training: Soldiers and Vanguards can choose the M-300 Claymore Heavy Shotgun instead.
 * Assault Rifle Training: Soldiers can choose the M-76 Revenant Light Machine Gun instead.
 * Sniper Rifle Training: Soldiers and Infiltrators can choose the Widow Anti-Material Rifle instead.

Both the training and new weapon only apply to Shepard, not to any other member of the squad. The best choice will depend on your character class and playstyle. Each unique weapon is generally considered the strongest of its class in the game; however, you may want instead to balance your weaknesses with a new weapon type. The training carries through for each new game: you do not get to pick another weapon or additional training on subsequent playthroughs with the same character, so choose wisely. New characters on their first playthrough will always be able to pick a new option.

A nearby weapons locker allows you to change the squad's weapon loadouts. It is highly advised that you save your game at this point and do not overwrite it until you finish the mission. Grab the refined element zero and power cells before you continue on.

Into the Belly of the Beast
From here continue moving. You soon enter a larger room to see many pods&mdash;some still occupied&mdash;above and ahead of you, which evokes some comments from the entire squad as well as EDI, who detects no life signs in the pods (if that offers any relief). Move up some inclines and veer to the right, where you'll find some more Collector tech to salvage; also, a terminal at the end of this path will give the Ablative VI/Damage Protection upgrade. Continue moving through the oddly deserted ship. As you walk up a long ramp, Joker comes over the comm and tells you that he and EDI discovered that this is the same Collector ship which attacked the SSV Normandy. Shepard makes the comment that this is too much of a coincidence. As you round the corner at the top you enter into a massive open area of the ship, which apparently holds countless pods. Your squadmates will comment that the Collectors could harvest every human in the Terminus Systems and they still couldn't fill them all; the Collectors must have one target: Earth. Now you have yet another reason to stop them, if you didn't have enough already. Move along until you approach an apparent dead end, where one squadmate will take note of a Command Console and the other will ominously wonder about the absence of Collectors. SAVE before you access the console.

Alert
Accessing the console sets up a link between EDI and the Collector Ship, and for a few seconds it seems to be going well, but when does anything go off without a hitch? The scene will jump to the Normandy Cockpit where Joker's holo-displays begin going blank, followed by the Collector General briefly appearing in the form of a red hologram, to Joker's displeasure. Back to Shepard, the whole ship shakes as strange things begin happening around the squad, and the Commander radios for a status report. Joker responds that there was a power surge, and EDI says that she managed to divert the overload to non-critical systems. Worse, she informs Shepard that this was not a malfunction; it was a trap. The platform suddenly flies into the air, confusing the squad, and EDI reports that she's having difficulty maintaining the connection: "someone else" is in the system. When the platforms stops in midair, everyone loses their balance and one squadmember is knocked down. Your squad recovers as EDI says that she has reestablished connection and needs to finish the download before she can override any systems. She will keep you updated on the progress, but it is really finished when you defeat all the Collectors that are coming in fast. So take cover and prepare for a hard fight.

Sky High Battle
The platform you are on provides some cover and a good position to combat the enemy. Two Collector Drones and a Collector Guardian are the first to drop in; take them out as fast as possible to prevent Harbinger from possessing them. Also, on Veteran, Hardcore, or Insanity difficulty levels, a platform with a Scion stationed on it will arrive in the first wave and slowly orbit the main platform cluster whilst you combat the other Collectors, to devastating effect. The perfect loyalty power to deal with this one is Stasis, as the Scion will be frozen in place when the platform moves. If you time it right, this will cause it to fall to its death before it can even damage your team once. More Drones and Guardians will continue to arrive on new platforms as you fight. Move from cover to cover as needed and don’t forget about your squadmates. Eventually two Scions arrive with more reinforcements; however focus on the Collectors before going after the Scions because Harbinger will take over if you don’t. Once all the Scions and Collectors are down, EDI radios that if you access the panel again she can regain control. Before you do, pick up clips and some power cells on one of the platforms.

Access the panel to continue. You are rewarded with a ride before more action, during which EDI explains that the distress signal originated from the Collector ship contains an error that clearly identifies it as a non-turian signal. She further explains that it is not possible that the Illusive Man would have been fooled by it, since she discovered the error using Cerberus detection protocols which he wrote. The conclusion is that he knowingly sent you into this trap. Respond to that in any way you wish. Joker will then interrupt to tell you to hurry up because the cruiser is powering up its weapons. He will keep you updated over the course of the rest of the mission about their progress.

Fight Your Way Out
Save as often as you can from here to the end of the mission, especially on Hardcore and Insanity difficulties.

As you land get off the platform and move. Keep an eye out for enemies because now that they are alerted to your presence they will come out. You'll enter a small room with closed doors, one of which EDI will open for you; grab the Medi-gel, and head through the open door. Soon you come to a close encounter on level terrain, just beyond some salvageable tech. Slam into cover at the first chance and shoot out the Collector drones that fly in; one of these will be quickly possessed by Harbinger. Focus on taking out Harbinger then focus on the other fodder in the room to prevent him from doing it again, or, if you wish, sick your henchmen on him while you kill his cronies. That way the cronies should all die right about when your squadmates polish off Harbinger. After you put down these enemies, grab the salvage (if you haven't already), and move down a ramp to a larger and more complicated room for another Collector encounter.

In this next area you really have a fight on your hands; however, there is a lot of cover to take advantage of. Note the ramp on your left (as you enter), which leads to an elevated section stretching the length of the room; this section is accessible on the far side of the room as well. The first wave of Collectors will arrive as you enter, more or less in front of you. But keep an eye on them because they may use that left side walkway to flank you; and watch out for Harbinger because you can bet he will make an appearance. Try to take out the Collector Guardians before they land because they will set up shields the moment they touch down in cover. Those are hard to eliminate, especially when under fire and it is hard to flank the guardians without risking death. As with every battle so far, move and use powers as necessary to defeat your foes. As this first wave of Collectors is wiped out, several reinforcements fly in, usually landing on that elevated walkway, and of course any one of them is a potential vessel for Harbinger. If you allow a squadmate to move forward on the lower level, these new arrivals may attack the squadmate from their elevated position, allowing you to flank them. In any case, once you mop up all the enemies, head to the other end of the room and pick up the power cells, Medi-gel, and another crate of refined element zero.

SAVE YOUR GAME HERE

As you enter the next room, EDI will come over the comm telling you that she has opened a door at the other end of the room. There are two problems, Collectors and Husks block the way, and there is a Praetorian as well. This battle is very different from the one on Horizon. The battle will not be easy because in addition to the Praetorian, there will be other Collectors and Harbinger who will make your life miserable if you don’t take them out first. The best thing is to have one squadmate focus on the Praetorian and you and the other take out the Collectors&mdash;a few well-placed sniper rounds can really help here. Once the ground troops are down, focus on the floating tank.

You can stop the Collectors and husks from spawning if you run to the other side of the room towards the open door. Once it closes, no more enemies should spawn, making it much easier to focus on the Praetorian.

Use the same tactics as on Horizon: shoot it and deplete its barriers then hammer away at its armor. On Hardcore or Insanity, it is advisable to devastate the beast with a well-deserved Cain shot at the beginning of the fight. This will drastically shorten the fight and, if you're lucky, take out a few smaller enemies in the process (just make sure to give the Praetorian a wide berth before shooting the Cain at it). When it starts to glow run away from it and keep moving. Use the height at the entrance of the room as much as you can to take out the Praetorian, which, however, can slowly move up one of the ramps to meet you. If you run out of Heavy Weapon ammo there are some power cells on the lower level of the room, at the corner below where the two ramps meet, that you can use to replenish the ammo. Once its armor is down finish the Praetorian off, pick up ammo&mdash;the power cells if you didn’t already&mdash;and move to the door. Unfortunately the door will close as you approach it and EDI will divert you to a longer path around the obstacle.

The hallway has some Collector tech to salvage, and across from it is some Tech Damage research. Save your game and continue. This next area contains probably the hardest fight of the station, next to the Praetorian. Collectors will come at you in waves that include everything the Collectors have in their arsenal except another praetorian. The best thing to do is stay in cover and take out the enemies you can see without moving up. If you do there is a possibility of being overwhelmed and flanked easily. This room is also full of Abominations, so don’t forget that abominations explode when killed. Keep in cover and take out the Collectors.

Once you move up go to the right and use the high ground to take out the Collectors. Watch out for a Scion behind the corner on your left. When moving to the high ground you will rushed by more Collectors that will try to prevent you from getting that ground. Take them out before they can become possessed by Harbinger. Once they and the Scion are down, that is the end of the Collectors; nevertheless, stay on your watch because that is not the end of the enemies. Head down the lengthy hall until you hear or see husks charging you. Backpedal and get into cover to eliminate them&mdash;know that there are many. Once the Husks are down the way back to the shuttle is clear. A cutscene will play that covers your escape and your return to the Normandy.

Although it can be difficult to pull off, you can bypass the Husks entirely by sprinting past them to the shuttle, which triggers the escape cutscene. A Soldier could Adrenaline Rush past the Husks, an Infiltrator could Tactical Cloak, and a Vanguard could Charge at a Husk nearest the exit. If playing as an Adept, Sentinel or Engineer, then a quick blast from the Arc Projector could stun the Husks and punch a hole big enough to rush past them.

Normandy
Once back on the ship, you are immediately taken into a conversation with the Illusive Man. Since he sent you and your crew into a trap, let him have it any way you wish. However, he manages to get out that he didn’t do it unwillingly and it was necessary, and he wishes that you communicate that to the crew. Cerberus managed to discover information on how the Collectors survive the passage through the Omega 4 Relay, an advanced form of an Identify Friend/Foe device, or IFF. The Illusive Man tells Shepard that each Collector ship is equipped with the device. Make a comment about that. After your conversation decision, he tells Shepard that Cerberus has located a Derelict Reaper in the Thorne system of the Hawking Eta Cluster. It is in orbit of the brown dwarf Mnemosyne. He says that the vessel’s mass effect fields keep it aloft and safe, and that he has dispatched a team already to study it. You can make a comment about that. To end the conversation, the Illusive Man tells Shepard that a trip through the Omega 4 Relay will likely be a one way trip and that the team needs to be focused on their tasks in order to survive.

After the meeting Jacob, Miranda, and Mordin join you in the briefing room. You can explain the Illusive Man’s actions any way you want. No matter the conversation, the general consensus is that the mission was a success. EDI comes over the comm and tells you that, based on the Collector ship’s course through the Omega 4 Relay, she can calculate the location of the Collector homeworld. She brings up a display of the Milky Way and the path ends up in the galactic core. That shocks everyone and you can make a comment for a laugh. EDI, however, counters that she is accurate and considering what the Reapers have already done, a base in the core of the galaxy doesn’t seem all that unlikely when put next to the Mass Relays and the Citadel. At the end of the conversation, you have the dialogue options about whether to go after the Reaper IFF immediately or build up the team. It is strongly recommended that you continue to build up the team first.

Enemies

 * Collector Drone
 * Harbinger
 * Collector Guardian
 * Husk
 * Abomination
 * Praetorian
 * Scion

Mission Summary

 * Experience: 1,000 (1,250)
 * Credits: 75,000
 * Cerberus Funds: 37,500
 * Credits Found: 37,500
 * Resources:
 * Element Zero: 500
 * Upgrades:
 * Damage Protection (Ablative VI)
 * Tech Damage (Multicore Amplifier)