Talk to Wilson for a bit, then the three of you continue on until you meet Miranda. Some conversation leads you to another space station. Go straight and then down some stairs on the right to speak to the Illusive man. When finished, go back up the stairs, and activate the door from which you entered.
In the next building, you'll meet some quarians, led by your old teammate Tali. After the conversation, head into the next building, where there is a Wall Safe guarded by a dormant mech, and just outside are some Assault and Rocket Drones. Once they're down, go in the next room to find a Thermal Clip on the floor and a Med Kit on the coffee table. Don't be surprised if you end up with Credits instead of Medi-Gel, as you get the former when the latter is full. Go through the next building, down the stairs and you'll be attacked by some more drones. In this courtyard are another Med Kit and some more Spare Parts to Salvage for Credits. Follow the tutorial instructions and position your squad mates on either side of the door. When they get there, a cutscene plays showing Tali opening the door and the rest of the quarians being wiped out by a YMIR Mech. You, Jacob, and Miranda move up and take cover, then you regain control and have to kill the thing.
Once it's destroyed, on the side of the open area in a small structure is a box of Power Cells for heavy weapons, a Thermal clip, and a Wall Safe. On the west side of the open area is some refined Iridium you should Open, as well as a Damaged YMIR Mech you should Scan to reveal some Research for later. In the building on the north side is a Med Kit. Tali and the surviving quarians are in here as well. If you try to talk to Tali, she suggests Veetor is elsewhere.
Go in the building on the west side, and you'll meet Veetor, the missing quarian. Watch for the blue or red icon and right-click for a Paragon interrupt or left-click for a Renegade interrupt. Veetor will then snap out of it and show you some security footage of a race called the Collectors, and the method by which they abducted all the colonists. Say Veetor goes with Tali, and she'll give you his Omni-Tool, whereas Veetor has to come with us will make Miranda and Jacob happy. Giving Veetor to Tali also helps to open an option during Tali's Loyalty Mission later.
After the conversation, you'll find yourself transported back to the Illusive Man again. He explains he knew all along about the Collectors, and tasks you with putting a stop to them. It's a suicide mission, though you can't do it alone. He gives you some dossiers of people for you to recruit.
Around the next corner area some more Collectors to kill. In the prefab to the left is a Med Kit, and in the prefab to the right is a Safe that can by Bypassed for some Credits. Examine the Stasis Colonist to have a brief conversation with your squad. Go up the stairs to the right and find a room with a computer that you can Hack for some Credits. Go back down the stairs and pick up the Collector Particle Beam. Some more collectors will attack. Deal with them, and Access the Computer in the building to the right for some Credits. The building in the far corner of the open area has some Power Cells in it.
Next Bypass the large door to the north. Inside this Maintenance Station you'll find a mechanic. He'll tell you what your next step should be to save the colony. There is a Weapons Locker here if you'd like to change your loadout. Loot the Platinum, the Medi Kit, and the Wall Safe, then continue through the door opposite the one you entered.
You'll be attacked by some more Collectors. Once they're dead, you can pick up some Biotic Damage Research off a dead Collector, and get some Credits from a computer on the top level. When you're ready, Bypass the big door and out into the Tower area. Once you've destroyed all the enemies, approach the Communications Tower and Hack he Computer to give EDI access. She'll start getting the Defense Turrets online, but it'll take time. You must defend against several waves of enemies. Once the Praetorian is dead, the Turrets come online and chase away the Collector's ship. The loot in the area consists of Power Cells in the southwest corner, and a Med Kit on the platform to the north. The Praetorian will chase you until you damage it a bit, then it will drop to the ground to recharge its barrier. Take that opportunity to run to another barrier some distance away. Repeat this several times to kill it.
Depending on who you saved in Mass Effect 1, either Kaidan or Ashley will show up and start a dialog with you. No matter if you romanced either in Mass Effect 1, they won't join you here, or at all in this game. After this conversation, you'll be back talking to the Illusive Man. Jacob will then make some comments, and you'll be free to explore again.
Continue up several ramps, and Salvage some more Collector Technology for Credits and Access a Terminal with some Research data. Continue to the large central chamber of the Collector Ship, and Use the Command Console to talk to the Normandy. After the conversation, you are ambushed by Collectors. When they're all dead, go back to the starting platform and Access the Command Console again to establish a link with EDI.
You now need to escape the ship before it fully powers up. There isn't actually a time limit, so take your time fighting off the Collectors. Go through the first door and Salvage some Collector Technology for Credits. Fight off some Drones, then go down the ramp to the left. There are more enemies in the next area. When they're dead, on the far wall you can find some Power Cells, a Med Kit and some Element Zero. In the next room, several husks will attack, along with a Praetorian. Once the area is clear, continue through the only open door.
Continue to the left to Salvage some Collector Technology for Credits and get another Research upgrade. Continue through the tunnels, fighting Collectors and Husks as you go. When they're all dead, you'll get a cinematic showing your dramatic escape. You'll then be talking to the Illusive Man.
Turn around and find the door to the left/east of the large platform. The next area is filled with enemies. Take them one group at a time and save between waves. When you get to the end of the catwalks, there will be a door you have to Bypass to get through. Inside the short hallway is the Reaper IFF that you came for. Pick it up and go through the next door. Here is the Reaper Core. You will be continuously attacked by Husks, and the Core will periodically close. Keep an eye on it and shoot it whenever it opens. Your squad mates won't automatically attack it, so if you want them to help you, you'll have to pause the game and manually tell them to target it.
Back aboard the Normandy, you'll have a choice as to what to do with the geth you picked up. If you say that Cerberus gets the geth, you'll get some Renegade Points and 50,000 Credits. On the other hand, if you say I want to talk to it first, you'll get some Paragon Points, and the option to turn it on and gain another squad member: Legion.
The next time you Open the Galaxy Map, EDI will tell you the ship needs time to integrate the IFF, and insists you take the shuttle to complete your next mission. After you respond, you get a cinematic where you and all of your possible squad mates enter the shuttle and leave.
Whatever mission Shepard was going on, you don't get to play it. Instead, you see the Normandy being attacked by the Collectors, and you wind up with control of Joker. Just follow the lighted path and do as instructed. The only tricky part is in engineering, when you see collectors moving on the deck above. Just wait at the bottom of the stairs until the door closes behind them and EDI says it's safe.
The Normandy will then "land" on the Collector Base. Your team will be gathered in the Comm Room, and you'll come up with a plan of attack. You'll need to split into three teams. You will lead one, and you'll have to choose one person to lead the second team and one person to open doors. If you want the team leader to survive this mission, choose a Loyal squad member with leadership experience: Miranda, Jacob, or Garrus. If you want the Tech Specialist to survive, you must choose a Loyal squad member with great technical skills: Tali or Legion.
There is nothing to loot in this base. Fight your way through the first section. As you go, your Tech Specialist will come up against some roadblocks, and the temperature in the tunnel will increase and threaten his or their life. You must Open each of eight Heat Exchangers before the bar at the bottom of the screen heats up, otherwise your Tech Specialist will die. You will be attacked all along the way, so be quick about taking down enemies so you can have a clear path to the Heat Exchangers.
After you open the last Heat Exchanger, you will get a cutscene of your teams' rendezvous. Depending on who you chose and their Loyalty, people will survive or die. You will then recognize some people in pods around the room. If you came here immediately, you'll see a lady from Horizon get liquefied, and if you delayed, it'll be Kelly Chambers who dies. You'll then need to split your squad again. First, you need a powerful biotic to protect you from the Seeker Swarms. If you want this person to survive, you must choose either Jack or Samara/Morinth, and she must be Loyal. Next, you'll also need to choose another Leader for the next distraction team, and the same criteria apply as before (Miranda, Jacob, or Garrus). Lastly, if you want the person you send as escort to survive, it doesn't matter who it is, but he or she must be Loyal. You also have the option of not sending an escort, but the crew will die without one.
In the next phase, stay under the bubble your biotic creates for you and kill Collectors as you make your way along the path. Your biotic will stop at the start of every fight, so when the area is clear, save and tell the biotic to continue. At the end of the path, you'll get a cutscene where everyone runs to the next chamber just as the biotics give out. Your biotic may or may not survive, depending on who you chose, and their Loyalty status.
All of your surviving teammates will then gather, and you must choose two to go with you. If you want them to survive, they must be Loyal. Everyone else stays behind to give you cover, and only the Loyal will survive. You then have one last chance to make a speech to everyone. Platforms full of Collectors will fly in. When one set is killed, a new platform comes in. When they're all dead, Activate the Controls on the last platform, and you'll fly off.
You'll encounter a new Reaper under construction. Waves of Collectors will then fly up to the platform. After each wave is down, the four "feeding tubes" will open up, each with a targeting bracket around it. Shoot one until it bursts (one or two shots from any gun will do), and the remaining tubes will close up again, triggering another wave. When all four tubes are destroyed, the reaper falls, and the Illusive Man will contact you and try to convince you to sterilize rather than destroy the base. Your choice is either No. We don't need it, or OK, let's take it and use it.
After you make your choice, the Reaper climbs back up. It has several weak points denoted by targeting brackets. Shoot any of them to reduce its total armor. Your squad mates should be able to handle the Collectors who fly in, but feel free to help them when the Reaper ducks out of view. When the reaper is up, you can manually command them to target weak points, too. As it gets low on health, the Reaper will start taking down platforms, with the exception of the middle one you flew in on. If you get low on Ammo, there should be Thermal Clips near the corpses of fallen Collectors. When the Reaper dies, it'll explode, killing non-loyal squadmates and trapping Loyal ones under debris. The final cutscenes then play, followed by the Credits. Congratulations on beating the game!
last modified 7 July 2021