Planet Scanning



Scanning is a new system in Mass Effect 2 that replaces the searching for minerals in the Mako approach of the first. Scanning occurs upon entering the orbit of any side planet, at which point you'll be prompted to start the scan. Once begun the planet will be overlaid with a rectangular grid. You may then press and hold another button to begin a mineral scanner which is slower than the main scanner unless you've upgraded it on the Normandy. A data column will appear on the side of the screen and you then move the scanner around until the data column spikes. You may then fire a probe at the deposit which will in turn add minerals to your stores.

Levels of Abundance
There are several levels of mineral abundance for a planet. Each planet will start out at a certain abundance, which will decrease as minerals are successfully harvested.

Abundance Indicators (from highest to lowest):

 * Rich


 * Good


 * Moderate


 * Poor


 * Depleted

Anomalies and Assignments
Scanning can also be used to do missions on certain planets. Upon entering orbit, EDI will tell you she has detected an anomaly. Then, once you start scanning the planet, there will be a white line pointing at the direction of the mission. When you find a white blip, you then launch a probe at it. At this point you can go onto the planet to do the mission.

Upgrades
Two upgrades may be purchased that directly affect the planet scanning process. One upgrade doubles probe capacity to 60; the other upgrade allows the scanner to move more quickly, speeding up the process.
 * Recruit Mordin first. You need him to unlock the tech compartment and research.


 * Ask Miranda about upgrades to Normandy. Advanced Mineral Scanner will be unlocked which allows you to scroll faster while scanning.
 * Recruit Thane and ask him about upgrades. Modular Probe Bay will be available. You'll gain more probes.
 * (Optional) Recruit Samara and ask about upgrades. Extended Fuel Cells allow Normandy to gain 50% fuel cell capacity.

Scanning Tips

 * The bigger the spike on the graph, the bigger the reward. The "seismograph" will consistently peak at a certain height at a given location; the closer the center of your scanner is to the center of the spike, the higher the graph will peak. If the peak is at the third horizontal line, a probe may yield only 200 of the resource. If the graph peaks at the eighth line, a probe could yield as much as 2500. In other words, the progression is geometric; one probe at an eighth line peak is worth much more than five probes at lines 2-5. If you want to maximize your resources, you would probe all areas, including low peaks; however, probes cost credits, and it is much easier to find sufficient resources to get all desired research upgrades than it is to find sufficient credits to buy all desired upgrades from stores. (You can get virtually unlimited credits by betting on Urz in the varren fights on Tuchanka, but this can grow tedious.)


 * The scanner does not have to be at the exact center of a spike to yield the full reward. To test this, find a large spike of something (palladium is common), and move the scanner to the edge until the graph peaks at only line 2, then launch a probe. If that were the true peak, you would expect only about 200-300 units; however, you will still get 1000-2500. If the graph is showing even a little of multiple resources, a probe will yield all the spikes in that area.


 * Planet surfaces never change. If a scan shows no resource at a given spot, it will never have anything for the rest of the game. You can methodically scan the entire surface, probe all large spikes, and then leave that planet forever.


 * The overall resource level shows how much resource is still unsurveyed. Very generally, the higher the overall level, the more large spikes you can expect to find.


 * Even depleted planets may have large spikes. If you have reason to believe a depleted planet still has a resource you need badly (for example, it's only depleted because you've launched twenty probes all over it, and you still have a fourth of the surface left to scan), it may be well worth it to stay there until you've scanned the whole surface.


 * Eezo is rare. Palladium is common. Iridium and platinum are in between. Many planets may have abundant amounts of palladium, iridium, and platinum, and absolutely no eezo. If they do have eezo, chances are high that they will have more. If you have no eezo, it may be worth it to scan a planet's entire surface meticulously if you found even a single eezo spike. (On later playthroughs, you typically start with enough bonus eezo to research every upgrade you could possibly want, other than Advanced Training.)


 * Resources are not random. Resources tend to be found on areas that are visually similar. If you find a big resource deposit look where you found it and try scanning areas that are visually similar. You can find resources faster that way then simply "scanning everything".


 * Upgrade your scanner. Your scanner will move twice as fast while your scan button is held down, if you upgrade it. You can upgrade it as soon as your research lab opens, and you've asked Miranda about upgrades.


 * You can scan fast without upgrading, if you must. The scanner reticle moves much faster when the right mouse button isn't held down. With practice, you can scan almost as thoroughly by tapping the right mouse button repeatedly as you move around the surface. The only downside is a higher chance that you might "skip" a spike by accident.


 * Only scan as required. Don't probe every planet unless there's a side quest available. You'll end up with tons of minerals and nothing to upgrade in the end.


 * Always seek anomalies. If EDI does not report an anomaly as soon as you zoom in on a planet, there won't be one. If she does, then the scanning reticule will show a white line in the direction of the anomaly. Scan toward it; anomalies are always additional assignments, awarding experience, credits, possible additional resources, and even followup assignments.

Xbox 360 Tips

 * Scan intermittently. Your scanner moves 5x as fast when you're not scanning (holding LT). Try pulsing Left Trigger instead.
 * Rotate the planet for additional speed. - You move your scanner with the Left Thumbstick. You rotate the planet with the Right Thumbstick. You can combine these movements by moving your scanner to the left or right edge of the planet, and then pushing both thumbsticks in that direction. ==

Trivia

 * The planet Uranus is depleted of resources, so many people won't notice that, if probed, EDI will give a unique dialogue. Upon launching the first probe, she will say "Really, Commander?", and upon the second she will add in an unamused voice "Probing Uranus...". After this is done it follows the normal speach for the rest of the game.