Upgrade Guide

This upgrade guide lists the locations and prices for all equipment and power upgrades available in Mass Effect 2. Upgrades are listed by their locations and equipment type or biotic/tech power.

The amount of credits available from a normal play-through covering all missions, assignments and current DLC is 1,182,751 with a theoretical maximum of 1,236,051 if avoiding the use of medi-gel and heavy weapons and choosing Renegade options for credits. Acquiring all upgrades requires importing a level 60 (+50,000) character with the "Rich" achievement (+100,000) or starting with the completion bonus (+200,000) from Mass Effect 2.

For additional credits beyond what is normally capable, you can bet repeatedly on Varren fights on Tuchanka. Although this process is tedious, it can be used to break the theoretical maximum listed above and obtain all of the upgrades without needing multiple playthroughs.

Note that research costs depend on the number of upgrades researched so far. So the cost for the first Heavy Pistol Damage upgrade will always be 2,500 Palladium, regardless of where it is acquired, followed by 5,000 and 7,500 for the next two tiers. Acquiring an upgrade from a store does not change the cost of the research upgrades. You can also get up to 25% discount on all research projects by being an Engineer.

Total resources needed to research/buy all useful upgrades:
 * 195,000 palladium
 * 225,000 platinum (+50,000 for Med-bay Upgrade)
 * 220,000 iridium
 * 35,000 element zero (+5,000 for each Advanced Training and +2,500 for each Retrain Powers)
 * 1,250,000 credits (including discounts)

Assignments

 * N7: Anomalous Weather Detected: Damage Protection – Reward
 * N7: MSV Strontium Mule: Heavy Skin Weave – Located at the end of the mission on a hackable terminal with the payload
 * N7: Blood Pack Base: Heavy Weapon Ammo – Reward
 * Project Firewalker: Prothean Site: Biotic Damage - Located at the end of the mission on a research terminal
 * Overlord: Atlas Station: Heavy Skin Weave – Located in the room at the bottom of the elevator, scan the damaged geth

Citadel

 * Damage Protection – Sold at Saronis Applications
 * Tech Damage – Sold at Saronis Applications
 * Submachine Gun Damage – Sold at Rodam Expeditions
 * Heavy Pistol Damage – Sold at Rodam Expeditions
 * Sniper Rifle Damage – Sold at Rodam Expeditions
 * Medi-Gel Capacity – Sold at Sirta Foundation

Derelict Reaper

 * Sniper Rifle Damage – After your first encounter with husks on the bridge, before you fight the first scion. It is next to some power cells, some platinum, and a terminal.
 * Heavy Skin Weave – In a computer after fighting your first Scion of the level
 * Shotgun Damage – In the middle of a bunch of Scion and husk fights

Disabled Collector Cruiser

 * Damage Protection – On a research terminal before encountering any Collectors
 * Tech Damage – After fighting the Praetorian

Freedom's Progress

 * Heavy Weapon Ammo – On the dead YMIR mech just outside Veetor's shack

Haestrom – Dossier: Tali

 * Heavy Pistol Damage – At the bottom of a stairwell next to the body of a quarian marine at the site of the first fight with the geth (easily missed)
 * Assault Rifle Damage – In the room blocked by the collapsed pillar

Horizon

 * Heavy Skin Weave – On a dead Collector, just after first seeing husks. You must do this before examining the dead husk. If you examined the husk first, you won't be able to go back to the dead Collector.
 * Biotic Damage – On a dead Collector when you first meet a Scion, after finding Delan. You can find the dead Collector right behind the building where the Scion emerges (easily missed).
 * Retrain Powers - Automatically acquired after completing this area.

Illium

 * Assault Rifle Damage – Sold at Gateway Personal Defense
 * Heavy Skin Weave – Sold at Gateway Personal Defense
 * Submachine Gun Damage – Sold at Gateway Personal Defense
 * Biotic Damage – Sold at Serrice Technology
 * Medi-Gel Capacity – Sold at Serrice Technology
 * Bypass Module – Sold at Serrice Technology
 * Damage Protection – Sold at Gateway Personal Defense. Only available after completing the Collector Ship mission.
 * Tech Damage – Sold at Serrice Technology. Only available after completing the Collector Ship mission.

Illium – Dossier: The Assassin

 * Submachine Gun Damage – Just before the windy bridge

Illium – Dossier: The Justicar

 * Biotic Damage – In the small room with Elnora, the asari hiding behind the desk

Korlus – Dossier: The Warlord

 * Sniper Rifle Damage – At the top of the stair case after the waves of krogans
 * Krogan Vitality – In the same room you find Warlord Okeer

Loyalty Missions

 * Garrus: Eye for an Eye: Sniper Rifle Damage – In a hackable terminal after the room where Fake ID is obtained
 * Grunt: Rite of Passage: Shotgun Damage – Awarded by the shaman automatically
 * Jack: Subject Zero: Biotic Damage – On a hackable computer right before fighting Kureck
 * Jacob: The Gift of Greatness: Heavy Pistol Damage – Just after the barricade is destroyed with the rigged mech
 * Kasumi: Stealing Memory: Tech Damage – On a dead mercenary by a door near the end of the mission
 * Legion: A House Divided: Geth Shield Strength – On a geth terminal found in a room that triggers conversation about the size of the station.
 * Miranda: The Prodigal: Submachine Gun Damage – Found in a shipping container after riding the first elevator
 * Miranda: The Prodigal: Medi-Gel Capacity – On a dead merc after the first elevator ride and sub-machine gun upgrade (easily missed)
 * Mordin: Old Blood: Krogan Vitality – In the same room as the dead female krogan
 * Mordin: Old Blood: Heavy Weapon Ammo – On a hackable research terminal right before Maelon's room
 * Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi: Assault Rifle Damage – On the wall in Morinth's apartment
 * Tali: Treason: Geth Shield Strength – On a Hackable Monitor just after the first room
 * Tali: Treason: Tech Damage – Awarded after trial if Tali is found innocent (either through Charm/Intimidate, Rallying the Crowd, or by handing over evidence (and losing Tali's loyalty permanently)).
 * Thane: Sins of the Father: Heavy Pistol Damage – Immediately at the beginning on the 800 Wards on a datapad
 * Zaeed: The Price of Revenge: Heavy Weapon Ammo/Assault Rifle Damage – On the Paragon path (save the workers) you can find a Heavy Weapons Ammo upgrade, whereas on the Renegade path, you can find an Assault Rifles damage bonus.

Normandy SR2

 * Medi-Gel Capacity – Complete Dr Chakwas' assignment.

Omega

 * Heavy Skin Weave – Sold at Kenn's Salvage
 * Heavy Weapon Ammo – Sold at Kenn's Salvage
 * Shotgun Damage – Sold at Kenn's Salvage
 * Sniper Rifle Damage – Sold at Omega Market
 * Hack Module – Sold at Harrot's Emporium

Omega – Dossier: The Professor

 * Assault Rifle Damage – In the quarantine area, just after a barricade of mercs, Examine a "Modified Assault Rifle" near a Blue Sun Corpse.
 * Medi-Gel Capacity – In the room opposite to the one Mordin is in inside the Clinic.

Omega – Dossier: Archangel

 * Submachine Gun Damage – Right before the assault on Archangel. There is a door you have to bypass close to the gunship (easily missed)
 * Tech Damage – On the ground floor of Archangel's house during the assault, on a shelf near the base of the stairs.

Purgatory – Dossier: The Convict

 * Damage Protection – On a destroyed YMIR mech right after freeing Jack
 * Shotgun Damage – On a dead guard right after destroying the first large mech

Tuchanka

 * Assault Rifle Damage – Sold at Fortack's Database
 * Biotic Damage – Sold at Fortack's Database
 * Heavy Pistol Damage – Sold at Fortack's Database
 * Shotgun Damage – Sold at Fortack's Database
 * Heavy Weapon Ammo – Sold at Ratch's

Upgrades by Type
Prices shown are before the paragon/renegade discount and before the engineer research discount.

Ship Upgrades
Upgrades tied to squad mates are also unlocked after gaining their loyalty.

Credits by Location/Mission
This is a list of how many credits are attainable and what missions they are on. Credits that are optional are listed separately from the totals. Power cells and med kits are listed because you can get 100 credits from each of them if you are full, but they are not included in the totals.

These numbers show that if you maximize your credits (and have all the appropriate DLC) you will still fall a few thousand short of purchasing all upgrades, not including trinkets. That's also not taking into account the several thousand you will probably need to spend on probes and fuel. So starting bonuses from prior playthroughs are necessary to get all upgrades.

If the Normandy SR-2 possesses the Extended Fuel Cells or Modular Probe Bay upgrades after you complete the game, and the ship currently holds 1500/1500 fuel and 60/60 probes import this Mass Effect 2 save into a new game. The Normandy SR-2 will possess 1500/1000 fuel and 60/30 probes following the Freedom's Progress Mission which will be used up before your actual fuel or probe reserves. This will save you 500 credits on fuel and 600 credits on probes during a new game.

It is sometimes possible to bypass a safe or container more than once in the Xbox 360 version (doesn't work 100% of the time without tedious reloads), doubling the credits received from that particular object. Rapidly press A (Green) after the minigame screens flash green to accomplish this (upon finishing the final circuit, or final line of hack code).

Acquiring Urz and betting on him in the pit battles at Tuchanka can also provide an unlimited stream of credits due to his high win probability, although this method is tedious at best.

Links
ME2 Upgrade and Mineral Tracking Spreadsheet