Illium

Mass Effect 2
Illium is a classic garden world developed to serve as entrepôt between the Terminus Systems and the Asari Republics. To abet this trade the normally stringent customs laws of Council space on product-safety-proscribed materials and sapient trafficking are relaxed. Officially, Illium is not an asari world; it is colonized and operated by asari corporate interests. This gives it the same legal latitude enjoyed by the human corporate research enclaves of Noveria. Illium is one of the youngest asari colonies settled during the 7th Expansion Wave. The first child born on the world is only now reaching her middle age. The world is hot and massive; ground settlement is only possible at the higher polar latitudes. In more equatorial locations the population is housed in arcology skyscrapers to escape the heat of the surface.

Mass Effect 3
Illium is a classic garden world, an entrepot between the Terminus Systems and the Asari Republics. To abet this trade, the normally stringent custom laws of Citadel space on product safety, proscribed materials, and sapient trafficking are relaxed. This world is hot and massive; ground settlement is only possible at the higher polar latitudes. In more equatorial locations, the population is housed in arcology skyscrapers to escape the heat of the surface.

Reaper forces met a surprising amount of resistance at Illium. Its leaders were paranoid about keeping their fortunes, and were influential in both Terminus and Citadel space. They acquired a large defense fleet and a high number of fission weapons, and in the brief space battle, used them on the Reaper fleet's troop transports rather their near-impervious capital ships. As a result, the inevitable ground invasion has been slowed to a crawl as the Reapers manufacture more troops.

Additional Information
Illium is a commerce planet, and sees many new cultures and goods due to its proximity to the Terminus Systems. New visitors are advised to avoid signing anything due to the world's lax legal regulations, necessary in order to stay competitive with the Terminus Systems. As such, drugs are legal as long as they are labeled properly, and one can buy any kind of weapon, technology, or even indentured servants. At the same time, it is still an asari world and far from lawless. Very few quarians visit Illium as it does not allow the Migrant Fleet to enter the star system.

Mineral Deposits
Illium is a mission world and cannot be mined.

Trivia

 * Because it is an asari colony, conceptual designs for Illium had to capture the beauty and serenity of the species.
 * The skald fish, which is available for purchase at Citadel Souvenirs, is native to this world.
 * Several humorous ads for various forms of entertainment can be heard on Illium.
 * Next to the stairs which lead up to Liara's office, rapid-moving elevators may be seen. If one steps outside and looks above them at the top of the building, from time to time an elevator can be seen flying up and out of the roof.

Illium