mass effect 2 overlord assignment

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Welcome to the Overlord page of the IGN wiki guide and walkthrough for Mass Effect 2. Overlord is a mission available as DLC .

Mission Rewards

Travel to aite, hermes station, vulcan station, prometheus station, atlas station, project overlord mission walkthrough.

Unlike other Missions and DLC, Overlord is done in multiple parts, and gives you rewards after completing each one. The table below will detail what the various rewards are for each.

As you may be aware, Cerberus has policies in place that if one of their distant outposts isn't being wiped out to the last man by some kind of foolhardy and dangerous experiment, something is clearly wrong. When you install Overlord, you will be informed via a message at your terminal that, get this, a Cerberus outpost has gone dark and they'd like you to investigate. Imagine that.

You can go on this mission the moment you gain control of the Normandy, if you want, but it's a good idea to leave it off, particularly because you can get unique dialogue if you bring along the Reaper IFF Squadmate. Every enemy in Overlord is a droid or a geth, which makes anti-shield/synthetic powers and abilities extremely valuable; Area/Heavy Overload and Disruptor Ammo are both amazingly powerful, and AI Hacking comes in handy as well. Garrus, Miranda, Tali, and Legion all make good squadmates here.

To begin the mission, head to the planet Aite in the Typhon system.

When you land, go through the door directly in front of you and watch Archer's message on the desktop terminal. Shoot out the nearby window and climb through the frame into the lounge, then listen to the log on the nearby table. Loot the room for 1,125 credits and some medigel.

Go through the door, turn right, and use the console to retract the communication dish. You'll immediately meet the rogue VI you're here to deal with, and if you find that inarticulate fuzzbuster of a scream he does obnoxious, turn off your sound now, because there's a lot of it.

After you've heard another radio broadcast from Archer, the door on the far side of the room unlocks. Go through it and head downstairs, grabbing 525 credits from a PDA on the floor, and be ready to deal with three waves of increasingly well-armed geth. This includes a couple of heavies and a few destroyers, but again, if you're well-prepared, this shouldn't be an issue; upgraded weapons with Disruptor Ammo will just shred through anything you run into on Aite.

Search the area for a total of 1,700 credits' worth of salvage, then take the tram to go back outside. As you're making your way along the transmission dish's exterior walkway, feel free to use your heavy weapons if it'll make life easier; there are two separate storage areas here, containing power cells, 1,000 palladium, and a medical station.

Once you're inside the dish's maintenance area, you'll need to fight through a particularly difficult ambush. The geth Hunters make a reappearance here, engaging stealth fields and running in to flank you, and the entire center of the room is this huge warren of pipes and stairwells that doesn't lend itself to effective cover. This can be a frustrating fight.

When it's over with, climb upstairs to go out onto the dish's surface. Expose and destroy each capacitor's fuel tank, and watch for geth attackers each time you do. As you blow up the second capacitor, a geth prime shows up, which is a good excuse to use up a couple of missiles or your particle beam. Once you've destroyed the project's satellite dish, Cerberus rewards you with an additional 3,750 credits in mission funding.

You'll move on to interrogate Archer. When you're done talking with him, leave the base and get into the Hammerhead. Fortunately, this is not the second coming of the Mako, as the Hammerhead is a hovercraft. It has a frankly ridiculous amount of horizontal air time, which comes in very handy. On the other hand, it also can't take a lot of damage before exploding.

Your goal is to infiltrate two distant stations, which are marked by your in-game radar, and activate two overrides. Vulcan is slightly easier: head to it by going to the opposite end of this grassy clifftop area.

Once you transition towards that approach, it's time to start playing with lava. Jump the river, then use the steam vents to give yourself enough lift to reach the ledge behind the station.

Destroy the guard turret in the tunnel beyond, then turn left at the fork for 400 iridium. Turn right to find a much wider river, which you'll need to hop across using the chunks of rock. Sitting on them makes them sink, though, so quickly hover away again before you take a lava bath.

Use the vent to reach the security station, then disembark and shoot your way through it to turn on the vent nearby. Get back into the Hammerhead, then sit on the vent until you reach maximum altitude. Then hover over onto the ledge. Destroy another turret and scoop up 400 iridium from nearby.

Ride rocks down the lava stream to reach the next canyon, then use the vent if needed for a well-hidden cache of 400 iridium. There's another cache of 800 iridium guarded by two turrets on a ledge across the canyon, but it is in no way worth the trouble to get. Once you've done all the looting required, hop from rock to rock upstream in the next river to reach the next installation.

Inside, use a bypass on the valve control to reach a datapad with 1,125 credits, then shoot the explosive container to clear the path ahead of you. Keep an eye out ahead, and you can avoid a fight by shooting an explosive container the moment the LOKI mechs ahead of you activate.

Fight your way up to the top level. Open the door for 1,500 credits and a research log. There's a tough ambush from a number of LOKIs, a YMIR, and a bunch of flying assault drones between you and the override.

To enter Prometheus Station, you have to trick the geth cannon into destroying the four shield generators, which requires you to get it to fire at you while you're sitting behind them. Accelerate to safety the moment the cannon starts powering up, as on any difficulty, one hit from the cannon will vaporize the Hammerhead.

Destroy the cannon with your main gun, then go into the station on foot. Take 800 platinum off a crate nearby as your reward.

Go up the ramp to the top level and salvage some lab equipment for 375 credits. Go through the hall and open the left door; at the base of the stairs, turn left for 575 credits' worth of salvage, then right to continue onward.

At the base of the next ramp, turn right for another 375 credits' worth of salvage, then left for another research log. In the large room at the bottom of the ship, climb the ramp to find a panel from which you can manipulate the floor panels. The lower-left button cycles between the controllable platforms. You can move all three to reach a platform with a medical kit, some power cells, and 600 credits, then rearrange them again to allow you to cross the impasse.

Hit the override switch and hack a nearby console for 1,875 credits, then fight your way back out of Prometheus Station. Once you reach the Hammerhead, this stage of Overlord is clear.

Now you can enter Atlas Station, which you probably found before now, behind the waterfall near your starting point. It's more or less a straight line to start with, although there's a medkit and 1,500 credits' worth of salvage along the way.

The laboratory has an unlabeled puzzle for you. You're on the seventh floor and you want to call the elevator, but it won't arrive if you simply hit the button. There are three terminals you can interact with throughout the room, though, and each one adds or subtracts a set number of floors to the elevator. To get it to arrive, hit the elevator button twice, then use the security console.

This brings up the elevator, which is currently occupied by a couple of shielded geth troopers and a geth prime. Take them out, then ride the elevator down to find 1,000 palladium, 2,250 credits in a hackable terminal, and a deactivated geth. You can scan the latter to discover a Heavy Skin Weave upgrade.

When you try to leave this area, weirdness ensues. Open the new door and use the console inside to enter a new virtual environment, while leaving your squad members behind. Alone, dispose of a few more geth, then loot the lab for power cells and 500 palladium. After the flashback with the Archers, shoot the geth's halo to damage all three of the troopers in the next room, then finish them off. Grab 2,250 credits from the wall safe before you leave.

The next door is locked, but you can destroy its shielding with weapons fire, then override it. Use the elevator control in the lab to call up the lift, and greet the geth aboard it with a couple of grenades or missiles. You can then reload using the power cells in the lab, and grab 1,500 credits and 500 palladium while you're at it.

Ride the elevator down to finally confront the rogue VI. This isn't an immediately obvious fight. You need to counter the VI's attempts to upload itself to the Normandy by shooting the VR connection globes before they can reach the end of the conduits they're in. This is made a great deal easier if you have Disruptor Ammo and a rapid-fire weapon, as it'll destroy the globes in the seconds. The upload is also very fast, and if you leave a connector alone for too long, it transmits the VI to the Normandy and the game ends.

When you destroy all of the connections in a wave, which is occasionally complicated by the arrival of some geth troopers, the VI core is temporarily exposed. It's armored, so use whatever you've got to most efficiently dismantle it.

Once you destroy the VI's core, a final conversation with Archer ends Overlord. Be sure to try the Paragon interrupt on him at least once.

Up Next: Lair of the Shadow Broker

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Mass Effect 2: Overlord Walkthrough

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Mass Effect Legendary Edition contains over 40 DLC packs across all three games, meaning that the DLC story missions for each title are available as part of the normal campaign now. One of the story DLC packs for Mass Effect 2 is Overlord  and completing this earns you the Digital Exorcist achievement/trophy.

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This mission becomes available by reading a message from the Illusive Man at your Private Terminal. In the message, the Illusive Man asks you to investigate a Cerberus facility that has gone off the grid. This is a long mission with no opportunity to return to the Normandy once you start it, so prepare yourself accordingly. However, there are opportunities to change up your squadmates throughout.

Overlord Walkthrough

After reading the message from the Illusive Man, head over to the Phoenix Massing , go into the Typhon System , and travel to the planet Aite .

Hermes Station

On landing, you will be contacted by Dr. Gavin Archer who tells you about the Rogue VI and asks you to retract the transmission dish. Before you go inside, head down the ramp on your right to grab some Refined Palladium .

Head inside and you will be able to speak to Dr. Archer on a monitor; he tells you the VI has taken control of the geth and has barricaded itself in the facility.

Go to the right of the monitor and shoot out the cracked glass, then jump into the room to grab Archer's Log , interact with the Medical Station for medi-gel, then interact with the Cerberus Terminal and recover the funds to get some credits.

Afterward, go through the door and then head into the control room on your right. Grab Archer's Log to the left of the Control Panel first, then use the panel to retract the dish .

Unfortunately, the VI has overwritten the controls and plans to upload itself off-world. Dr. Archer implores you to destroy the antennae to stop it. Leave the command room from the door on the far left of the control panel.

You'll start to see the green face of the VI appearing on various screens and systems. Proceed onwards and ensure you grab the PDA before you descend down the stairs into a new corridor. Go through the door at the end of this corridor and take out the geth you encounter inside.

Once the geth are destroyed, jump into the kitchen area and interact with the Cafe Register and the Medical Station to grab some credits and medi-gel. Next, head into the back room behind the kitchen area to grab some Power Cells .

Looking back into the area from the back room, head left out of the kitchen into the tram area and take a left to go up the stairs, then head to the room at the far end. Inside is a Wall Safe and another Archer's Log .

Head back across the upper level to the stairs and descend down into the tram area, where you can salvage the Spare Parts and use the Medical Station before continuing onwards. When ready, interact with the Tram to head to the next area.

Once the tram has stopped, head inside and then out the other side. You'll find yourself on a metal catwalk, take the first left and grab the Power Cells before continuing on and dealing with the geth. Head into the next alcove on your left to use the Medical Station , grab the Refined Palladium , and listen to another Archer's Log .

At the end of the catwalk, use the Terminal to extend the walkway. As you reach the door to the next building, you'll come under fire from some geth. Take these out and then bypass the lock on the door to get in.

Once inside, you'll be fighting even more waves of geth and this can be quite the battle. Once all the geth are down, you can proceed upstairs. Archer will contact you to tell you to take out the struts, so you need to work your way around interacting with the Strut Consoles to expose the capacitors and then shoot out the capacitors. However, each time you do, geth will appear and attack you.

Once all three have been destroyed, the dish will collapse and Dr. Archer will arrive to speak with you. This is the end of this portion of the assignment. 

Archer will tell you more about Project Overlord, how it was his brother who was used to create a human-VI hybrid and that he has unfortunately become a virus. Head out the door and get in the Hammerhead when you are ready to continue your mission.

Planet Surface

Once you leave Hermes Station, you'll find yourself on the planet's surface in the Hammerhead. There will be a proximity indicator on the screen to show you how close you are to your next destination. To get to the Vulcan Station you need to follow the path to the left.

On your way, there is a Cerberus Data Packet  that you can collect. There are six in this area to collect. In the original Mass Effect 2, this unlocked the Data Hound achievement/trophy, but this doesn't exist in the Legendary Edition. Most of the data packets will be guarded by turrets and if you want to collect them all, you must do so before proceeding into the Atlas Station.

Just past where the first Data Packet was, you can proceed to the Vulcan Station. 

Vulcan Station

The path forward is linear, just be sure to jump over the lava streams, and in the first building that you come to, speed past the initial steam vents, then use the final one to reach the upper area outside.

Take out the turret and continue forwards. You'll arrive at a fork in the path; taking a left will get you some Iridium , and taking a right will head towards your destination. You'll come to a lava river where you have to jump across the rocks to get to the other side. Be warned — when you land on them, they don't stay afloat for long.

When you get to the other side, use the steam vent to travel upwards and then enter the building. Continue inside and take out any mechs you encounter as you make your way through. In the end room, grab the Research Log on your left before interacting with the Valve A3 Control to bypass it.

Head back down through the building and exit it to carry on to your next destination.

Once outside, take a left and use the steam vent to travel up to the next area. Take out the turret and grab the Iridium that was next to it. Continue forwards and you'll need to navigate another lava stream.

Once you get to to the other side of the lava, you can grab more Iridium (and take out more turrets) by jumping up the step-like rocks on your left, while taking the steam vent on your left takes you to more Iridium .

When you're ready, continue forward down the main path and cross yet another lava stream and travel upstream towards the next building. Enter when you're ready.

Once inside, head into the next room and continue forwards. Take a right when you can and interact with the Valve D4 Control and bypass the controls.

Continue back round to the right and take out the Explosive Container then head up and grab the Med Kit  before taking out the mechs at the top of the stairs.

As you carry on, you'll encounter some drones that you need to take care of too. Once you've defeated all of the enemies, find the path at the back of this area and follow it around to the silver piping and climb on top of it to the next level.

The room on your left has a Wall Safe you can interact with to get some credits as well as a Research Log . Leave the room and take the first left. Use the Medical Station on the wall as you pass it, then get ready for a battle in the next room. Your biggest problem is going to be the YMIR Mech, so be careful when taking this one on.

To the right of the door you entered through, you can find a Computer that will give you some credits, then head up the stairs at the back of this floor and bypass the door there when you are ready.

A cutscene will play when you enter the room at the top; it shows a VI-controlled mech trying to destroy the override console. You and your team take it out and you use the override.  This is the end of this portion of the assignment.

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Prometheus Station

Once on the planet's surface again, you can get to the Prometheus Station by traveling forward and then taking a right at the waterfall. Just follow the arrow indicator if you are unsure.

A cutscene will play as you approach and Archer will explain that Prometheus Station (which is essentially a crashed geth ship) has shields around it. The VI has also gained control of the geth cannon and it will fire at you when you are close enough.

What you need to do is wait near the Generator Shields until the geth canon targets you, quickly get out of the range of fire, and let the cannon take out the shields. Do this with all of the Generator Shields and manually take out any left standing once the canon has removed their shields.

Once all of them are destroyed, the shield around the canon will fall and you can take this out, though keep moving to avoid getting hit by it as you do so. After you've taken out the canon, grab the Platinum that was near one of the generators and then exit the Hammerhead near the station. Grab the Refined Platinum before going through the station doors.

Continue forwards into the first room where you will see a suspended Geth Prime. You don't have to deal with this guy just yet, but you've probably already correctly guessed that you will have to deal with it later.

There's a Research Log to the right of the geth at the back of the room, so grab this and then go upstairs. You'll find another Research Log in front of you, then head right down the path where there is some Lab Equipment that you can salvage.

Continue further into the base, grab the Research Log and Med Kit from the end of the hallway, then turn around and take the door on your right. In the next area, take a left and follow the path round to find some Lab Equipment to salvage. Then head back and continue forward, grabbing the Research Log as you pass it, and taking the final door on the right.

Continue forward and take a right, jumping over the obstacle and heading left into the room to salvage the Lab Equipment . Then head back down the corridor and continue forward, grab the Research Log , then take the door at the end.

Grab the Research Log from the right side of the room and then exit through the door on the far side. Continue through this passage and enter into the next room. You can see where you need to get on the far side of the room, but you can't reach it yet. Head up the stairs on your left and move the platforms using the screen in front of you.

(Optional) You want to arrange the platforms as shown below, so you can reach the area on the right of the room and grab the Med Kit and Laptop (for credits):

Next, you want to arrange the platforms as shown below to reach your intended destination:

Head across the platforms, grab the Med Kit and Laptop on your right and then use the Override Switch .

Doing this activates the nearby geth as well as plenty of other geth in the station. You now have to backtrack out of the station while taking out all of the geth and staying alive. Don't forget, you'll have that Geth Prime to deal with in the final room.

Once all the geth are destroyed, head back outside and enter the Hammerhead. This is the end of this portion of the assignment.

Atlas Station

On the planet's surface, head back the way you came and aim for the waterfall that you took a right at. You want to go into the waterfall to find the Atlas Station .

As before, when entering the station, you will have an opportunity to swap out your squad and change your weapons. However, it's worth noting at this point that there will be a portion of this station where Shepard has to fight alone, so prepare yourself accordingly.

Archer will contact you to say that the VI is attempting to upload itself, so you need to get to the server room to stop it. Head through the first door and interact with the Damaged Machinery on the other side.

Head left from the machinery and go through the door. Continue forward and take the first door on the left that you can (right after the VI makes all the doors lock). Inside this room, you can grab a Med Kit and salvage some Computer Hardware  before heading down and attempting to use the elevator at the rear of the room.

• The elevator is broken, so when you attempt to summon it, so it will only go to level two.
• Press the button again to get it to level four.
• Head back upstairs and use the  Secure Computer to get it to reach level seven (the floor you are on).

When the elevator arrives, so do a bunch of geth. Kill all the geth and then get in the elevator for a bumpy ride.

When you enter the next room, be sure to examine the Damaged Geth to your right to get the Heavy Skin Weave upgrade. There's also some Refined Palladium you can grab and a Computer you can hack for credits.

When you're ready, exit the room on the far right and go down the hallway. When you interact with the door at the far end, the VI will hack it and you'll have to go through the door on your left instead.

Inside is the VI Server Console and the point of no return for the outcome of this mission. Once you access the console, Shepard will be on their own.

You'll find yourself in a strange hybrid of reality and digital space. Continue through the door and take a right, taking out all the geth as they approach you.

At the end of the corridor, go through the door and you'll start to see digital projections of what happened with David and his brother Dr. Archer. There is Refined Palladium you can grab on your left and some Power Cells at the far right side of the room. Once each digital scene ends, you can interact with other digital orbs to make new scenes play out and see more of the story.

When you are ready, go into the next room by jumping over the barrier and get rid of the geth in there. Grab the Med Kit and access the Wall Safe before leaving this room through the door on the left. Go down the hallway and shoot the VI Connection to continue further.

In the next room, grab the Power Cells , Refined Palladium , and salvage the Hardware before interacting with the Elevator Controls . The elevator will arrive with plenty of geth aboard, so take these out.

If you want a manual save before the final decision point of this mission, save now. Then when you are ready, take the elevator down. Another digital flashback will play out and then David/the VI will attempt to upload himself to the Normandy, so you need to stop him.

The boss battle begins with you having to destroy the glowing VI Connection orb. Once it's gone, the shields around the VI Core will fall for a short time, allowing you to attack it. When the shields return, so will more  VI Connections .

Rinse and repeat, only David will start summoning geth to attack you while you take out out the VI Connections . Once you've managed to deplete the VI Core , the true David will be revealed and a cutscene with Dr. Archer will begin.

You will be given two options at the end of this, each of which has differing consequences. We have a guide right here on what happens should you take David with you or leave him with Dr. Archer.

Next: Mass Effect Legendary Edition Complete Guide And Walkthrough

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Mass effect 2: how to start the overlord dlc.

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While the main focus of  Mass Effect 2  is defeating the Collectors, Shepard should make time to honor the Illusive Man's request to investigate a Cerberus outpost that has gone dark in the Overlord DLC. Widely considered one of the best and more controversial DLCs in the Mass Effect trilogy, Overlord tasks Shepard with infiltrating the fortress of a VI "overlord," created by fusing a human with a VI, and shutting it down before it can start a killing spree in other systems.

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All the DLC missions for  Mass Effect 2  unlock at different points in the main campaign. Overlord is the first players can complete, becoming available as soon as Shepard gains control of the Normandy SR-2 and begins recruiting their team. They will need to travel to the planet Aite to begin the mission and won't be able to return to the Normandy until it has been completed. Though players can launch this mission any time once it unlocks, many fans prefer to save it until just before the endgame Suicide Mission , as it includes a few upgrades Shepard can use when infiltrating the Collector base. Here's how to start the Overlord DLC in Mass Effect 2 .

How To Begin The Overlord DLC In Mass Effect Legendary Edition

To begin Mass Effect 2: Overlord , any time after Shepard receives the email from The Illusive Man, they can travel to the planet Aite. This planet is located in the Typhon system of the Phoenix Massing Nebula. This nebula is located near the Perseus Veil and is also the location for Legion's Loyalty mission, Legion: A House Divided .

Once Shepard and their team land on Aite and communicate with Dr. Archer, they can begin the DLC. Once they enter the Cerberus facility, they will not be able to return to the Normandy or travel to another part of the galaxy until the four main assignments of the DLC have been completed. However, between assignments, they will have an opportunity to change squadmates and loadouts.

Overlord features difficult mech and geth enemies, so it may be beneficial to wait to complete this quest until later in the game when Shepard has researched and unlocked more armor upgrades , heavy weapons, and weapon upgrades. Heavy Weapons will be an especially useful weapons class during these assignments, as there are many power cells available to replenish ammo.

Though players can technically begin Mass Effect 2: Overlord any time they feel it fits narratively, many fans choose to save it as either the last thing they do before retrieving the Reaper IFF and starting the endgame Suicide Mission, or immediately after surviving the Suicide Mission. Due to its challenging enemies and lengthy campaign, it is not a good idea to try and complete Overlord early in the game, especially not in the mission countdown between Horizon and the derelict Collector Ship. Additionally, Overlord 's assignment locations include a few upgrades Shepard can find, including one upgrade for Heavy Skin Weave, that can be useful in the endgame missions.

Next:  Mass Effect 2: How to Start the Arrival DLC

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Mass Effect 2 Mission Order: optimal DLC, dossier, loyalty quest sequence

Just like its predecessor, Mass Effect 2 has an open-ended story that lets you tackle its various objectives in a relatively open-ended manner - and that means some people are inevitably going to be struck wondering what the best mission order for ME2 might look like. 

Just like our suggestions on the ME1 mission order , any list you’ll find from us or anyone else online is merely a suggestion - but there are definitely certain missions that work better than others in certain places within ME2’s story. On top of that, there’s also more DLC missions in this game than its predecessor, and slotting those into the story is… quite difficult, honestly.

On this page, we proffer our suggestion for the optimum sequence of story missions and events in Mass Effect 2. Simple!

Mass Effect 2 Mission Order: optimal order for recruitment, loyalty & DLC missions

The basic structure of Mass Effect 2 is pretty simple. It starts you off with a string of prologue missions where it’ll ferry you from event to event, including two story mission planets that have combat encounters and even an early mini boss battle of sorts. After that, you’ll get your ship - and this is where the game opens up.

From here on out, ME2 is broken into segments. You get your ship and a smattering of story ‘recruitment’ missions to build your team. After recruiting all the available team members, you will automatically go to the story planet of Horizon for a mandatory story interlude. After that, you’ll get more missions. After finishing five of those, you’ll have another mandatory story mission. From there, you can complete whatever you like to the end.

No missions are mandatory, but towards the end of the game taking on too many side missions & optional assignments after a time-sensitive story event can have a negative impact on the end of the game. This guide avoids that, but check out our Mass Effect 2 Suicide Mission & endings guide for more detailed information on how to avoid that. 

Below is our suggested mission order. While we've built in a few breaks where we suggest you tackle side missions and scan planets for resources, we also recommend you do this as often as you like throughout the game to break things up. The only exception is once you get the Reaper IFF - before doing that, you should complete absolutely everything you need to.

Remember that the mission order presented on this page is just a suggestion; deviate from it as much as you like.

Act 1 Mission Order: Cerberus and Building a Team

• Prologue: Awakening & Freedom’s Progress: as mentioned above, for the first few hours of the game, things will play out in a linear fashion. Just complete all the missions until you get your ship.
• Return to the Citadel: while you have pressing matters to deal with on Omega, first direct the Normandy back to the Citadel. Here you can meet with Anderson, announce your return, potentially get your Spectre status back, shop at stores including for some Normandy side quest items, complete a few other side quests.
• Dossier: The Master Thief:  while on the Citadel, you should also immediately recruit Kasumi, if you've got access to her DLC.
• Omega intro & side activities: once you've visited the Citadel, head to your originally suggested destination, Omega. Here you'll need to speak to Aria to learn more about the next few story missions, shop at stores, and generally get to know the area.
• Dossier: The Veteran:  as soon as you land on Omega, you can and should also immediately recruit Zaeed, 
• Dossier: The Professor: after speaking to Aria, you'll have all the info you need to undertake two different recruitment missions on Omega. Recruit the Professor first. 
• Early DLC Adventures Firewalker & Crash Site: leave Omega and head out into space. There’s a few things you should do out here:
• Normandy Crash Site: this is a short and simple DLC quest that was originally a pre-order bonus. It’s got decent rewards, and some nice ME1 fanservice.
• Project Firewalker: this DLC will take you to several places and give you access to a vehicle that otherwise isn't used in the core ME2 story. It's worth getting this quest out of the way here, and early, as it has good rewards.
• Kasumi's Loyalty Mission - Stealing Memory: this is Kasumi's loyalty mission, and we're making it the first of these missions we do primarily because it has some great rewards and resources, including the best SMG Mass Effect 2 has to offer. If your choice of character class relies on the SMG, do this mission now. Otherwise, you can bump it back to after recruiting Archangel. 
• Dossier: Archangel: also on Omega, you can complete a mission to recruit the mysterious crusading mercenary Archangel. You can actually do this before or after the next step, but since you're already at Omega, it's easy to do it right after the previous recruitment mission.
• Planet Scanning & Material Gathering break: a big part of ME2 is scanning planets and gathering materials. The amount of materials you have can impact ME3, as can the upgrades you've purchased for your ship. With Mordin in the science bay, you'll have your first unlocks available - so take some time to scan some planets and gather some resources. You're free to tackle any side missions you discover if you want, or you can save them for later.
• Dossier: The Convict: your team currently lacks a dedicated Biotic - so to fill that mage-shaped hole in your ME2 squad, go recruit Jack next.
• Dossier: The Warlord: next, go and grab Grunt, Mass Effect 2's Krogan squad member. After completing the mission, he doesn't automatically join your party - go and get him on the lower floors of the Normandy if you want to have him join the crew properly.
• Horizon [automatic]: after all of the current batch of recruitment missions is complete, you'll be forced to tackle a mission on Horizon.

Act 2 Mission Order: Old Friends & Loyalties

• Dossier: Tali: she's been off your team for too long - is it really the Normandy without her aboard? Go get Tali. If Kal’Reegar survives, it’ll make Tali’s later loyalty mission easier.
• Visiting Illium: for a nice change of scenery, head to Illium, the next hub planet and home to another recruit. Catch up with Liara, but do not take her up on the offer to help her with the Shadow Broker after completing her short side quest. We'll save that for later. There's other side quests you can do on Illium also, plus new shops and so on.
• OPTIONAL // Lair of the Shadow Broker (Give Liara Intel):  we don't really like this mission in this position, but you've got two choices - do it here to get significant rewards for the rest of the game, or save it for the post-game where it fits best for story. The choice is yours. If you do it here, Liara becomes an easy source of free upgrades and resources, with new ones added every time you complete a main story quest.
• Dossier: The Assassin: complete this mission to recruit Thane. There’s a cool ME1 callback here if you did a certain side quest.
• Dossier: The Justicar: a straightforward quest with no major consequences down the line. It gets you Samara.
• Scanning, Materials & Upgrades break: while you can do side quests whenever you like, this is another ideal period to take a load off and do any side content, scanning planets, and purchasing any upgrades you can afford. Major story events are coming, so it’s good to be prepared.
• Visiting Tuchanka: you heard a lot about the Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka in the first Mass Effect, but now you can experience it. There’s all the normal hub world distractions here, plus a chance to reunite with a friend if they survived ME1. 
• Mordin’s Loyalty Mission - Old Blood: while on Tuchanka, undertake Mordin’s loyalty quest. This is a quest whose repercussions will echo loudly in ME3 , so consider your choices carefully.
• Grunt’s Loyalty Mission - Rite of Passage: While you’re on Tuchanka, also undertake Grunt’s loyalty mission. Be sure to bring another squadmate with a high damage output on this one, like Zaeed. You only have to survive the battle for 5 minutes, but if you successfully kill the beast you’ll get an even better reward. 
• Collector Vessel [automatic]: like Horizon, this is a generally story-advancing mission that’ll trigger automatically after you’ve logged five missions post-Horizon. You’ll also be able to pick a weapon specialization here. 

Act 3 Mission Order: Loyalties Secured 

• Jacob’s Loyalty Mission - The Gift of Greatness: this is a straightforward mission.
• Miranda’s Loyalty Mission - The Prodigal: another straightforward mission, with choices that will be minorly referenced in ME3.
• Garrus’ Loyalty Mission - Eye for an Eye: help Garrus get his revenge.
• Thane’s Loyalty Mission - Sins of the Father: you must stay close to your target and get the information you ended at the end. 
• Samara’s Loyalty Mission - The Ardat-Yakshi: you must successfully lure Morinth and not lose her in order to obtain loyalty.
• To get the best ending of this mission, both Kal’Reegar and Veetor must have survived the earlier Tali missions & be present.
• Jack’s Loyalty Mission - Subject Zero: after completing this simple mission, Jack and Miranda will have a fight. You must resolve it with a Paragon or Renegade dialogue option to keep both of them loyal; taking a side revokes one character’s loyalty.
• Zaeed’s Loyalty Mission - The Price of Revenge: at the end of the mission, you must make a choice between Zaeed’s wishes and innocent lives. Renegade Shepard can easily side with Zaeed and get his loyalty; Paragon Shepard must pass a difficult check to talk him down and keep him loyal.
• Project Overlord: this DLC is a multi-mission series and brings back the vehicle from the Firewalker DLC. It also has minor repercussions in ME3, depending on the coices you make.
• The Point of No Return: at this point, you should have one story mission on your plate - the Reaper IFF. Once you tackle this mission, it’s a rollercoaster ride to the end - so make sure you have all character loyalties, Normandy upgrades, have completed side missions, and done everything you want to do on hub planets. Treat starting the Reaper IFF Mission as ME2's point of no return .

ME2 Ending & Postgame

• IMPORTANT NOTE:  after acquiring the Reaper IFF, you can only trigger two specific missions without incurring negative consequences - Legion's Loyalty Mission and Tali's Loyalty Mission. If you take on ANY OTHER MISSION, some of Normandy's crew will die during the Suicide Mission. Do not travel to any other location other than those two missions, not even to scan planets . 
• Tali’s Loyalty Mission - Treason: as well as being a mission you can fail, the outcome has major repercussions in ME3. If you didn't do this mission earlier, you can now do it here and take Legion along for the ride, resulting in some very unique dialogue. To get the best ending of this mission, both Kal’Reegar and Veetor must have survived the earlier Tali missions & be present.
• Legion’s Loyalty Mission - A House Divided: complete this loyalty mission. At the end, Tali and Legion will end up in conflict. As with Jack and Miranda, use the Paragon or Renegade dialogue option to end the argument without losing either’s loyalty.
• The Suicide Mission: after some story events that begin the next time you access the Galaxy Map, you’ll finally undertake the ME2 finale. Head through the Omega 4 Relay - and brush up on how to get the best ending with our ME2 Suicide Mission walkthrough . After the game is over, load up your completed game to tackle two DLC missions best experienced post-game.
• Lair of the Shadow Broker / Give Liara Intel: go back to Illium and finally talk to Liara about starting this mission. While this DLC mission will be on your galaxy map from early on and you'll have to actively avoid starting it on your earlier visit to Illium, it works best as a coda to ME2 in our opinion. It’s arguably the best mission in the game; enjoy it! 
• Arrival: this DLC was the last released for ME2, and basically is a little mini prologue to Mass Effect 3. It actually becomes available any time after Horizon, but it totally fits best into the story if you do it here, at the very end of ME2. After it’s complete, save - and move on to ME3 - which we also have an ME3 mission order guide for, too!

Assignments

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• 1.1.1 Shepard's Background
• 1.1.2 Squad Member Assignments
• 1.2.1 General
• 1.2.2 Second Visit
• 1.2.3 Detainee Visit
• 1.3.1 Feros
• 1.3.2 Noveria
• 1.3.3 Virmire
• 1.4.1 Galaxy Collection Assignments
• 1.4.2 Uncharted Space Assignments
• 1.4.3 Morality-dependent Assignments
• 1.5.1 Bring Down the Sky
• 1.5.2 Pinnacle Station
• 1.6.1 Downloadable Content
• 2.1 Normandy
• 2.3 Citadel
• 2.6 Tuchanka
• 2.7.1 Project Firewalker
• 2.7.2 Project Overlord
• 2.7.3 Arrival
• 2.8 Cut Content

Assignments are the side missions of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 . These have little to no bearing to the overarching narrative, but completing them may further understanding of the series' underlying workings.

There is a large variety of assignments to complete; this page is a list of them. Click on a specific assignment in the list to read its detailed walkthrough. For a list of missions broken up by cluster and system, see the Mass Effect System Guide .

Some assignments are listed more than once; this is intentional and is intended to make them simpler to find by listing them in all relevant contexts as they appear in the Journal .

For an alphabetical list of assignments, see Category:Assignments ; for locations, see Category:Assignment Locations .

Mass Effect [ ]

Please Note: The assignment names as given here are intended to match those in the game; sometimes the game itself is inconsistent, in which case all of the variations are listed here ( e.g. Asari Diplomacy , Missing Person ).

Character-Specific Assignments [ ]

Shepard's background [ ].

These assignments relate to Shepard's pre-service history.

• Citadel: Old, Unhappy, Far-Off Things (only available if Shepard has the Spacer background)
• Citadel: Old Friends (only available if Shepard has the Earthborn background)
• Citadel: I Remember Me (only available if Shepard has the Colonist background)

Squad Member Assignments [ ]

These assignments relate to the histories of your fellow crewmates.

• Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon → Garrus: Dr. Saleon is Dead
• Tali and the Geth → Tali's pilgrimage
• Wrex: Family Armor

Citadel Assignments [ ]

General [ ].

These assignments are available during your first and all future visits to the Citadel.

• Citadel: Asari Consort
• Citadel: Doctor Michel → Citadel: Doctor Michel is Safe
• Citadel: Homecoming
• Citadel: Jahleed's Fears → Citadel: Jahleed's Secret → Citadel: Jahleed and Chorban | Citadel: Jahleed Returns Materials | Citadel: Jahleed Arrested | Citadel: Jahleed Set Free
• Citadel: Presidium Prophet
• Citadel: Reporter's Request
• Citadel: Rita's Sister → Citadel: Rita's Sister and Chellick → Citadel: Rita's Sister is Safe
• Citadel: Scan the Keepers
• Citadel: Schells the Gambler → Citadel: Schells' Scanner Given Away | Citadel: Schells has his Data
• Citadel: Signal Tracking
• Citadel: The Fan
• Citadel: Xeltan's Complaint → Citadel: Xeltan Convinced
• Missing Person → UNC: Privateers

Second Visit [ ]

These assignments are available after completing one of the major missions (Noveria, Feros or rescuing Liara).

• Citadel: Family Matter
• Citadel: Planting a Bug
• Citadel: Snap Inspection
• Citadel: The Fourth Estate

Detainee Visit [ ]

These assignments are only available during your detention at the Citadel.

• Citadel: Our Own Worst Enemy
• Citadel: Negotiator's Request

Charted Planet Assignments [ ]

These assignments are specific to their relative planet.

• Feros: Data Recovery
• Feros: Geth in the Tunnels
• Feros: Power Cells
• Feros: Varren Meat
• Feros: Water Restoration

Noveria [ ]

• Noveria: Espionage
• Noveria: Smuggling

Virmire [ ]

• Virmire: Assisting Kirrahe's Team → Virmire: Kirrahe's team | Virmire: Captain Kirrahe is Dead
• Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage → Virmire: Wrex is Convinced

Galaxy-Wide Assignments [ ]

These assignments span the entirety of Citadel-controlled space. Assignments prefixed with the UNC indicator represent assignments that take place on uncharted planets.

Galaxy Collection Assignments [ ]

These assignments involve traveling across Citadel space and finding numerous hidden collectibles.

• UNC: Prothean Data Discs → UNC: Collection Complete
• UNC: Turian Insignias → UNC: Collection Complete
• UNC: Valuable Minerals → UNC: Survey is Complete
• UNC: Locate Signs of Battle → UNC: Entire Collection is Found
• UNC: Asari Writings → UNC: Collection Complete

Uncharted Space Assignments [ ]

→ → → → → → → → → | → → → → →

Morality-dependent Assignments [ ]

• UNC: Besieged Base
• UNC: The Negotiation

Downloadable Content [ ]

Bring down the sky [ ].

• X57: Bring Down the Sky
• X57: Avoid the Blasting Caps
• X57: Missing Engineers

Pinnacle Station [ ]

• Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions
• Pinnacle Station: Convoy
• Pinnacle Station: Vidinos

Note: Pinnacle Station content is not available in Legendary Edition.

and is not to be considered canon in any way.

Cut Content [ ]

The following assignments were cut from the game:

• Citadel: A Friend of a Friend
• Citadel: Aria
• Citadel: Cheaters Never Prosper
• Citadel: Oculon Syndicate
• Citadel: Save My Sister
• Citadel: The Good Doctor
• Citadel: The Hate Monger
• Citadel: The Mugger
• Caleston: Free Prostitutes
• Caleston: Reactivate Production
• Caleston: Redemption
• Global Plot 1
• Global Plot 2
• Global Plot 3
• Misery: Mapping the Uncharted Worlds
• Misery: Tap Dance
• Misery: The Lost Mechanic
• Misery: The Trouble with Threshers
• UNC: Bring Down the Sky
• UNC: Stunt Club
• Cerberus Brainchild

Mass Effect 2 [ ]

Note: The assignment names as listed here are intended to match those in the game; sometimes the game itself is inconsistent, in which case all of the variations are listed here ( e.g. Citadel: Found Forged ID , Citadel: False Positives ).

Normandy [ ]

• Normandy: FBA Couplings
• Normandy: Serrice Ice Brandy
• Normandy: Special Ingredients
• Omega: Archangel: Datapad Recovered
• Omega: Batarian Bartender
• Omega: Packages for Ish
• Omega: Struggling Quarian
• Omega: The Patriarch
• Omega: The Professor: Missing Assistant

Citadel [ ]

• Citadel: Crime in Progress
• Citadel: False Positives
• Citadel: Found Forged ID → Citadel: False Positives
• Citadel: Krogan Sushi

→ →

→ → → →

• Illium: A Troublemaker  →  Illium: Conrad Verner
• Illium: Blue Rose of Illium
• Illium: Conrad Verner
• Illium: Gianna Parasini
• Illium: Indentured Service
• Illium: Medical Scans
• Illium: The Assassin: Salarian Family Data
• Illium: The Justicar: Smuggling Evidence
• Illium: The Justicar: Stolen Goods Found
• Illium: The Prodigal: Lost Locket Found

Tuchanka [ ]

• Tuchanka: Combustion Manifold
• Tuchanka: Killing Pyjaks
• Tuchanka: Old Blood: Missing Scout

Downloadable content [ ]

• Normandy Crash Site

Project Firewalker [ ]

• Project Firewalker: Geth Activity (Labelled Project Firewalker: Geth Incursion on the Galaxy Map )
• Project Firewalker: Prothean Site (Labelled Project Firewalker: Prothean Ruin on the Galaxy Map )
• Project Firewalker: Rosalie Lost
• Project Firewalker: Survey Sites Located (Labelled Project Firewalker: Artifact Collection on the Galaxy Map )
• Project Firewalker: Volcano Station (Labelled Project Firewalker: Recover Research Data on the Galaxy Map )

Project Overlord [ ]

• Overlord (Labelled Investigate Project Overlord on the Galaxy Map )
• Overlord: Atlas Station
• Overlord: Prometheus Station
• Overlord: Vulcan Station

Arrival [ ]

• Arrival (Labelled Rescue Dr. Kenson on the Galaxy Map )
• Citadel: Mysterious Stranger
• Illium: Drunk Asari
• Mass Effect
• 2 Romance (Mass Effect: Andromeda)