Investigate Collector Ship

The Investigate Collector Ship mission is part of the larger Stop the Collectors mission arc. The Illusive Man informs Commander Shepard that a turian ship has managed to disable a Collector vessel, and that they should take the opportunity to investigate.

Acquisition
This mission is automatically triggered after the second round of recruitments.

Walkthrough
The entire mission is linear and straightforward. Proceed through the beginning part up to the collector station. Here, if you have not already chosen an extra weapon specialization or upgraded weapon, you will be able to do so (see section below). Halfway between this point and the main chamber, there is a collector terminal that you can scan for a damage protection upgrade. Proceed to the main chamber, and access the main collector computer. After the cutscene, you will be flown through the air to a series of floating platforms. Here, you will have to defend yourself against three waves of collectors, including two scions and some collector assassins in the third wave. Stay low, have your teammates take the forward flank, and you might make it through alive.

After this, you need to fight your way back to the ship. First comes a fairly easy battle, then a slightly more difficult one with two waves. After this, you will have to defend yourself against Praetorian and some miscellaneous collectors. Kill off the ground troops, then focus on the Praetorian. It is strongly recommended to just keep moving in the area while firing at the Praetorian. After this, keep moving through the station. Scan the computer for the upgrade, and continue. Another section against collectors, three waves. Watch out for the scion around the corner. Next comes some husks. They are hiding around the corner, and love to ambush. Trigger them, then run back and mow them down. Finish by walking back to the shuttle.

Upgrade Opportunity
During the time investigating the apparently disabled Collector ship, Shepard's team finds a number of advanced weapons taken from one of the colonies. A menu will appear allowing you to choose one of three options. Each option has to do with a shotgun, assault rifle, or sniper rifle, but the type of option you get depends on your class.
 * If your class already has access to any of those three types of weapons, then you will be offered a unique version of that weapon. For example, the Soldier has access to shotguns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles by default, so a Soldier will be presented with the option to choose a unique version of one of those weapon types.
 * If your class does not already have access to any of those weapon types, the option will be for training to use the common versions of those weapons. For example, an Infiltrator has access to the sniper rifle by default but not the shotgun or assault rifle. Thus, an Infiltrator will have the option to take the unique sniper rifle or gain access to the common assault rifles or gain access to common shotguns.

The training carries through with each additional new game; you don't get to pick another weapon, so choose wisely. The weapons found are as follows:

Very rare krogan shotgun. Deals high damage at short range; less effective at long range. Effective against armor, shields and biotic barriers. It is of human design but is only used by krogan, due to the fact that the kickback from a single shot is enough to break a human's arm. Can be acquired and used by Shepard if you choose it as advanced training when the option arises. It has the lowest clip size of any shotgun, firing only a single shot before the thermal clip has to be ejected. It is protected by Fabrication Rights Management (FRM) technology, this weapon is nearly impossible to reproduce and is prohibitively expensive. Soldier and Vanguard option only, choosing Shotgun as another class simply lets you use the Shotguns you already have available.
 * M-300 Claymore Heavy Shotgun

A fully-automatic light machine gun. Can be acquired and used by Shepard only if a Soldier class and if it is chosen as advanced training when the option arises. Though only moderately accurate, it has a prodigious rate of fire and its thermal clip capacity allows it to fire eighty shots before needing to be reloaded. High rate of fire, with a moderate spread and very high ammo and clip count, this makes this weapon efficient at close-medium engagements. By the year 2185, it had come into usage by select mercenary commanders, such as Kuril and Jentha. If choosing Assault Rifles as any class that is not a Soldier, it will allow you to use any Assault Rifles you already have available.
 * M-76 Revenant Light Machine Gun

Accurate and deadly sniper rifle. Effective against armor, shields, and biotic barriers. Upgrades the Viper Sniper Rifle. Weighing in at 39 kilograms, the Widow Anti-Material Rifle is primarily used by sniper teams in assault missions against armored vehicles or krogan. While kinetic barriers offer effective protection on vehicles, the kind generated by conventional military field generators are far too weak against the Widow. The Widow was never designed to be carried and fired by a human. Although this modified model can be carried, no ordinary human could fire it without shattering an arm. However, this weapon can be acquired and used by Shepard with advanced training when the option arises. Soldier and Infiltrator only, choosing Sniper Rifles as another class simply lets you use the Sniper Rifles you already have available.
 * Widow Anti-Material Rifle

Mission Summary

 * Experience: 1,250
 * Credits: 75,000
 * Cerberus Funds: 37,500
 * Credits Found: 37,500
 * Resources:
 * Element Zero: 500
 * Upgrades:
 * Damage Protection
 * Tech Damage