PC Tweaks (Mass Effect 2)

Mass Effect 2 is based on Unreal Engine 3 and many settings can be modified in a way similar to Mass Effect, allowing the user to mod, tweak or cheat. Mass Effect 2 doesn't have the in-game console that Mass Effect did, but a multitude of effects and in-game commands can be activated through editing configuration files.

Backup Your Career
Using the modifications described in this article may alter your career permanently. It is recommended to backup your career for the option to revert back later on. The career files are found in the folders given below:


 * On Windows XP/2000:
 * On Windows Vista/7:

Replace X with the drive letter where your Windows system is installed on (usually C:), and replace [username] with the username that you are logging into the system with.

The career folders are named in the format  (first name, class, date of creation). The  folder contains the Mass Effect save files transferred over by Mass Effect 2 Configuration Utility.

Backup Your Profile
There is also a profile file normally called  under the same folder in   that you may want to backup just in case.

Coalesced.ini
Editing the  configuration file is the main method of tweaking, modding, or cheating Mass Effect 2. This file is not located under your Documents folder; it is found under the folder where you installed the game.


 * Default location:

When you have located the file, there are two important points to take note of before you do actually do anything with it. Also, you may want to reconsider whether you are willing to edit configuration files you are not really supposed to touch.
 * 1) Make a backup before you even move your cursor over it.
 * 2) You cannot edit it with Notepad, or the game will crash on load.

When you have this down – and understand the potential unwanted effects on your career/profile – you can start experimenting. If you want to edit the file manually, you will need a text editor that can handle UNIX-format files (e.g., Notepad++) and a way of "rebuilding" Coalesced.ini after your edits; the method is described here. If you made your changes and can't compile the file try using this one, works great even if you previously edited Coalesced.ini in Notaped. A far easier approach is using a specific application such as the Mass Effect 2 Coalesced Editor for making changes.

[SFXGame.BioActivePower]
Changing m_bSkipPowerCooldown from FALSE to TRUE causes powers to instantly recharge (reportedly).

BIOInput
This section is where binds can be added to the game (or removed. Be careful when doing this.) There are several subsections which describe key bindings during various "modes" in the game.

Bindings format
To add a new bind to any of the above sections, use the format

The most common use for this is to bind a command to the press of a key.

Example Bind
Adding this to the [SFXGame.SFXGameModeDefault] section will allow the player to take screenshots while on foot by pressing F8

Useful Screenshot Commands
Many of the same commands from Mass Effect are available in Mass Effect 2. The following commands are particularly useful for taking screenshots.

Weapon Properties
In the subsections dealing with weapon properties, there is a "base template" section in [SFXGame.SFXWeapon] that defines general weapon properties, which are then overrided by specific weapon settings in the other categories if necessary.

SFXGameContentDLC_CER_Arc.SFXHeavyWeapon_ArcProjector Arc Projector

SFXGameContentDLC_MCR_02.SFXWeapon_GethShotgun Geth Plasma Shotgun

SFXGameContentDLC_Desert.SFXWeapon_DesertAssaultRifle M-96 Mattock

SFXGameContentDLC_Pistol.SFXWeapon_LaserPistol M-5 Phalanx

At least the following settings can be used (added if not existing by default):

Adding Credits/Resources
You will insert a custom in-game command into Coalesced.ini and bind it to a key, allowing you to set the amount of credits/resources to desired values by pressing a button while playing. Assume you want to have 500,000 credits and 50,000 of each resource:
 * 1) Open   and find the   section under.
 * 2) Add the following setting:
 * 3) * If editing manually, add:
 * 4) * If using the Coalesced Editor, right-click and choose , enter  for the setting name, and enter   into the empty field that was created.
 * 5) Start Mass Effect 2 and press "1" on your numpad to set your credits and resources to the values you entered above.

Note that the command does not add the specified values to your existing stock but set everything to the exact values – so, if you had 60,000 element zero to begin with, you would actually lose 10,000 units upon running the command.

Unlocking Weapons
Weapons can be unlocked by the same method (binding a custom command to a key in Coalesced.ini). Say you want to unlock the Geth Pulse Rifle:
 * 1) Find the   section under.
 * 2) Add:

The same process can be applied to other weapons and research upgrades. Unlocked weapons will stay unlocked for subsequent play-throughs for the current career, and it is possible to get all Collector Ship weapons (although you must still have the proper class to actually equip them).
 * To unlock all normal weapons, add:
 * To unlock all heavy weapons, add:
 * To unlock all Collector Ship weapons, add:

Unlocking the Collector Ship weapons for all squad members requires a different method, as the weapons are flagged as "special" and do not appear in the normal selection. This is actually more related to changing squad weapon loadouts.
 * 1) Find   under
 * 2) Find the entry:
 * 3) * If you change this into:, then the M-76 Revenant will be available to all squad members who can use assault rifles if you have unlocked the weapon either by playing or the command give above.
 * 4) * If you change it into:, then the M-76 Revenant will be always available to all squad members who can use assault rifles.

You can use the same method to unlock the other super weapons for your companions. The M-300 is  under   and the M-98 is   under   (the   codes are, of course,   and   as you discovered above).

Changing Squad Weapon Loadouts
Coalesced.ini allows you to define which weapon classes are available to which player classes and companions. Below are some examples to help you get started. Say you want to give Jacob access to assault rifles:
 * 1) Open   and find the   section under.
 * 2) Find the entry that says:
 * 3) Change the entry into:

This will unlock assault rifles for Jacob in the loadout selection screen. Next the player classes; assume you don't like how the heavy weapon looks on your Soldier's back and would rather revert to a "traditional" Mass Effect style weapon loadout:
 * 1) Open   and find the   section under.
 * 2) Find the entry that says:
 * 3) Change the entry into:

This would remove the heavy weapon from Shepard, leaving him with small arms only. You can use the same principle to achieve any configuration, but don't try to add more than five weapons. See unlocking weapons on how to unlock Collector Ship weapons for squad members.

Changing Weapon Properties
Coalesced.ini allows modifying weapon properties such as damage, accuracy, rate of fire, or ammo capacity. Say that Shepard has rigged his M-15 Vindicator rifle for full-auto rapid fire:
 * 1) Open   and find the   section under.
 * 2) Find the entry that says:   and change into:
 * 3) You should be able to empty the magazine with a single burst. Since the   setting was left untouched, enemies and companions will still fire short bursts.

Now the rifle would be out of ammo in no time, so let's assume you want to increase its ammo capacity to the same level with the M-76 Revenant machine gun.
 * 1) Open the same section.
 * 2) Find the entries that say:   and
 * 3) Change the entries to:   and

To modify the weapon's base damage, you would edit the  entry; upon doing so, you might also want to adjust the   (for enemies) and   (for squad members) multipliers. This example will not list all possible effects, but you can experiment or look at the attribute listing.

Unlimited Ammo
There are two ways to enable unlimited ammo through editing Coalesced.ini:
 * 1) Open the properties of a weapon (e.g.,  section under   for the M-15 Vindicator) and change   into  . The weapon will now spend ammo from the magazine and has to be reloaded, but spare ammo will never decrease. Other weapons are unaffected.
 * 2) Find  under   and change   into  . None of your weapons will spend any ammo when firing and don't need to be reloaded (with the exception of M-920 Cain, which has its own setting).
 * 3) Changing line 5284 to read  will reset the player's spare ammunition every time the Reload button is pressed, even if the weapon doesn't need to be reloaded. This affects heavy weapons and DLC weapons that are not in Coalesced.ini (e.g., the Eviscerator).

Tools

 * Mass Effect 2 Coalesced Compiler
 * Mass Effect 2 Coalesced Editor
 * Mass Effect 2 Coalesced.ini Mod Manager
 * gibbed's Save Editor (February 10, 2010)
 * Texmod