User:Cattlesquat/sandbox/Mass Effect 2 Guide Tables

This page contains a walkthrough for the main missions of Mass Effect 2. Major changes in the gameplay from Mass Effect are listed in the main Mass Effect 2 page, while the effects of importing a saved game from Mass Effect are listed in the Save File Transfer page.

Prologue
Prologue missions take place at the beginning of the game, in mandatory progression. At the end of the prologue Shepard receives command of the Normandy and is free to explore both it and the galaxy.

Act 1
Act 1 begins when Shepard receives the Stop the Collectors master mission along with command of the Normandy SR-2 and continues until the mission to Horizon, which is activated as soon as Shepard has recruited all four of Mordin, Garrus, Jack, and Grunt. Any other missions and assignments not completed during Act 1 can still be completed during Act 2. Note that the order that squadmates are recruited during Act 1 is entirely up to Shepard and will not affect how events play out in any way.

Act 1 Dossiers
Perform dossier missions to recruit new squad members for your team. It is recommended that you recruit Mordin first so that you will be able to take advantage of upgrades in the Research Lab on the Normandy.

Act 1 DLC
The following DLC missions can be performed during Act 1, or saved until Act 2 if desired.

Act 1 Progression
When all four of the original (non-DLC) dossier missions are complete, the Horizon mission will be activated and Act 2 will begin.

Act 2
Act 2 begins upon successful completion of the Horizon mission. At this point the Normandy is able to travel to Illium and new dossiers and missions become available.

Act 2 Dossiers
Four more squadmates can now be recruited, though Legion's mission works differently in that it does not become available until after the Collector Ship mission, and triggers additional act progression. Other than the Reaper IFF mission, all of these missions are optional.

Act 2 Loyalty Missions
Starting in Act 2, speaking with squad members on the Normandy will elicit requests for you to perform Loyalty missions. Securing the loyalty of your squad will both unlock new powers for them and increase the likelihood they will survive Act 3. All loyalty missions are optional - they increase the power of your team but are not required to be completed for the game to progress.

Miranda and Jacob's missions can be obtained immediately when Act 2 begins. Additional missions become available one at a time in the order listed; if the character whose loyalty mission would normally unlock is not yet present (e.g. Grunt is still in his tank, or Thane has not been recruited) then the mission of the next character present will unlock instead. Speaking with Kelly Chambers between missions will let you know which squad members you can talk to for new loyalty missions.

Unlocking the "Bonus Power" for a squad mate allows him/her to use that power. The first time a Bonus Power is ever unlocked, it is also added to the Advanced Training list for Shepard.

Each squad mate also has one Normandy Upgrade or research project to unlock in the research lab. Once Shepard has access to the research lab, these can be unlocked, even during Act 1, by talking to the squad members before they offer their loyalty missions and selecting the "[NORMANDY UPGRADES]" option under the Investigate heading; otherwise it unlocks automatically as each loyalty mission is complete.

Act 2 DLC Missions
The following DLC becomes available for the first time when Act 2 begins.

Act 2 Progression Missions
Several key progression missions take place during the course of Act 2. Apart from Reaper IFF which you can activate when you are ready, the rest trigger automatically at which point Shepard has no choice but to complete them.

Act 3
Act 3 begins when the Normandy enters the Omega 4 Relay. At this point the mission sequence is locked, and the game proceeds through to the Epilogue. If Shepard survives the suicide mission, however, additional missions and assignments (DLC or left over from Acts 1 and 2) can then be completed.

Epilogue
The Normandy rushes to escape the immense fireball emanating from the Collector base. If Shepard chose to destroy the base, it explodes in a massive blast that the Normandy barely manages to outrun. If the base was spared, the blast is blue as the radiation destroys all organic matter, leaving the base intact. After the mission ends, there are three possible endings: After the conversation with the Illusive Man, another scene takes place aboard the Normandy.
 * Shepard goes to speak with the Illusive Man. If the base was destroyed, the star behind the Illusive Man is colored blue. The Illusive Man is furious with Shepard; he tells the Commander that they still have to face the Reapers and that base's technology could have helped humanity.
 * If the base was spared, the Illusive Man compliments Shepard's decision, the star behind the Illusive Man is colored red. When their discussion is finished, the Illusive Man grins in quiet contemplation at the hologram of the spared base.
 * If your actions caused Shepard's death in the final cutscene, Joker is the one to speak with the Illusive Man. If the base was spared, the Illusive Man watches as salvage ships move towards the base.
 * If any of the crew members died during the Suicide Mission, Shepard will be seen mourning over their casket(s). If Shepard died, Joker will be here instead standing over Shepard's casket (which will have an N7 symbol on it). The number of caskets varies depending on how many crew members were killed. The Normandy is shown flying through space, and Joker stares at a datapad displaying schematics of a Reaper.
 * If everyone survived, the Normandy is shown flying through space. Various crew members are fixing the breaches in the Normandy. Shepard is very briefly greeted by Thane in passing, before walking by Legion, Jack, Grunt, and Garrus, who nod as the Commander walks past. Joker hands Shepard a datapad displaying schematics of a Reaper.

A Reaper is shown in Dark Space as lights appear within its superstructure. As it lights up, the dark void surrounding the Reaper is illuminated by thousands of pinpoints of light, revealing hundreds, or even thousands, of other Reapers. The final shot shows the Reaper fleet flying towards the Milky Way galaxy, setting the stage for Mass Effect 3.

After completion of the last mission, cutscenes and closing credits you will be presented with two options: either go back and complete any missed side or loyalty missions, planet scans, free-roam, talk to your squad/crew members on the Normandy SR-2, etc., or start a new career using the same "Shepard" with the stats carried over. Despite how the choice is framed, the options are not mutually exclusive. If you choose to continue playing, you may still start a new career with an import of your completed ME2 character from the main menu at any time. Similarly, if you choose to start a new career immediately after completing the last mission, you can still go back to that old career and continue post final mission play at any time. You will also keep any and all armor components that you purchased from your previous game.
 * Starting a New Game+ will carry the character's upgraded Powers over. Weapons, armor, level and equipment are also retained, any associated upgrades must be earned and/or purchased from scratch. The Paragon/Renegade morality bars will be completely empty, even if the character had a previous bonus carrying over from Mass Effect. No bonus credits or resources will be carried over from importing a Mass Effect character, though the bonus credits and resources that are given to all new Mass Effect 2 characters after completing the game will still be received.


 * Choosing to go back and continue the game allows you to finish off any incomplete missions, scan planets for mineral extraction, play any downloadable content you haven't played, and also if you are romancing Kelly or other crew members, to invite them up to the Commander's cabin as well as attempt to be seduced by Morinth if you recruited her (although that results in your death). Furthermore, you can speak to each of your surviving squad members and hear a one-time-only comment on the decision you made regarding the Collectors' base. If you choose to keep it and turn it over to the Illusive Man, your teammates will express skepticism -- surprisingly, this includes Garrus, Grunt and Mordin, who all encouraged Shepard to preserve the base as a weapon against the Reapers if part of Shepard's squad on the final mission. On the other hand, if the base is destroyed, the entire party approves -- surprisingly, this includes even Cerberus loyalist Miranda. You will also hear your fellow crew members congratulating you on the mission.