How to Keep Everyone Alive During the Suicide Mission

One of the biggest set piece missions in Mass Effect Legendary Edition is the Suicide Mission that serves as Mass Effect 2's endgame and finale. In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard forms an uneasy alliance with the pro-human terrorist organization Cerberus to confront the Collectors, an enigmatic race of aliens with sinister designs for humanity. At the end of the game, Shepard and their companions must assault the Collector Base: a challenging multi-stage mission where everyone is considered expendable.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Mass Effect Legendary Edition.]

Players will need to carefully plan and strategize to keep everyone alive, including Shepard, their squadmates, and the Normandy crew. The best approach is to follow Mass Effect 2's best mission order, tackle missions to ensure all squadmates are loyal, and fully upgrade the Normandy before retrieving the Reaper IFF from the Derelict Reaper. Additionally, players must correctly configure their teams during the Suicide Mission to ensure the whole squad survives.

Related Mass Effect 2: What Happens If You Just Let Everyone Die Mass Effect 2's Suicide Mission can result in the death of the entire Normandy crew, including Shepard. Here's what happens if everyone dies.

How To Prepare For The Suicide Mission In Mass Effect 2

Everything To Do Before Recovering The Reaper IFF

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Recovering the Reaper IFF is considered the start of the endgame, as exploring and completing many missions afterward will have dire consequences for the Normandy crew.

As such, it's highly recommended that players regard the Reaper IFF mission as an absolute point of no return. To keep the entire squad alive during the Suicide Mission, players must complete two major steps:

Obtain all critical Ship Upgrades

Completing most companion Loyalty missions, as well as maintaining their Loyalty.

Some Loyalty missions can fail if players do not complete certain tasks or do not have a high enough Paragon/Renegade morality score, so it's a good idea to be mindful of the order in which missions are completed.

It's worth noting, however, that some DLC, including Mass Effect 2's Arrival DLC and the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, are best completed after the Suicide Mission. Players don't need to tackle them until the post-game.

How To Upgrade The Normandy SR-2 For The Suicide Mission

During the interlude between the derelict Collector vessel and retrieving the Reaper IFF, players will need to speak to their companions and choose the Investigate dialogue option. This allows Shepard to ask every companion about upgrades for the Normandy.

Each companion will suggest only one upgrade, which can be made as soon as the Normandy has gathered enough materials from probing planets. They will also appear under the Ship Upgrades section of the Research Terminal.

Launching probes for materials can be tedious; players with modding knowledge may want to use Mass Effect's console commands to bypass the grind.

Each ship upgrade has some utility, but for the Suicide Mission, only three upgrades are essential:

Upgrade Companion Cost Effect Normandy Shield Upgrade: Cyclonic Barrier Technology (CBT) Tali 15,000 Palladium Upgrades the Normandy's shields to prevent debris collisions from causing an explosion that can kill a squadmate (Kasumi, Legion, Tali, Garrus, Zaeed, or Grunt) in Engineering as the Normandy approaches the Collector Base. Normandy Armor Upgrade: Silaris Armor Jacob 15,000 Palladium Upgrades the Normandy's armor plating to protect the ship's hull from an attack that can kill Jack while approaching the Collector Base. Normandy Weapon Upgrade: Thanix Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Weapon Garrus 15,000 Platinum Upgrades the Normandy's main gun, allowing the ship to fight off enemy ships that might otherwise kill a companion (Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt, Jack, or Samara/Morinth).

Without these upgrades, players will lose up to three companions through the Omega 4 Relay and the Collector Base. Other companions will suggest upgrades that appear under the different categories in the Research Terminal. While useful, these will not significantly change the Normandy and will not affect squad survival.

How To Earn Companion Loyalty In Mass Effect 2

Players will also need to complete every companion's Loyalty mission. Usually, these missions give a companion's backstory more context and offer a chance to earn new weapons, upgrades, credits, and chunks of morality points. There are a few companion quests that can be failed.

Companion Loyalty Quest Outcome Needed For Loyalty Can Be Failed? Garrus Eye for an Eye Garrus can either kill Sidonis or allow Shepard to convince him not to. Either outcome earns Garrus' loyalty. No Grunt Rite of Passage Complete Grunt's rite of passage to earn his loyalty. Defeating the Thresher Maw isn't necessary but results in additional dialogue. No Jack Subject Zero Jack can either kill Aresh or spare him before destroying the Pragia base. Either outcome earns Jack's loyalty. No Jacob The Gift of Greatness Confront Jacob's father to earn his loyalty. No Legion A House Divided Either rewrite the rogue geth or destroy the geth base. This mission can only be completed after the Reaper IFF mission and is the only mission players should complete between the Reaper IFF mission and the Suicide Mission. No

Companion Loyalty Quest Outcome Needed For Loyalty Can Be Failed? Kasumi Stealing Memory Steal the graybox from Donovan Hock to earn Kasumi's loyalty. No Miranda The Prodigal Protect Miranda's sister to earn her loyalty. No Mordin Old Blood Mordin can either let Maelon go or kill him. Players will need to decide whether to destroy or save the genophage cure data; this choice has major consequences in Mass Effect 3. No Samara The Ardat-Yakshi Get and keep Morinth's attention until she invites Shepard back to her apartment. If Shepard fails to get Morinth's attention or bores her, the quest can fail, and Samara won't be loyal. Yes Tali Treason Don't present evidence of Tali's father's involvement in geth experiments, rally the crowd, or charm and intimidate the judges. Presenting the evidence will anger Tali, and she won't be loyal. Yes Thane Sins of the Father Don't lose track of Joram Talid. Yes Zaeed The Price of Revenge Let the facility workers die and pursue Vido. Players can also save the workers instead, but Zaeed will be disloyal unless Shepard talks him down with a high Paragon score. Yes

How To Secure Companion Loyalty In Mass Effect 2

It's worth noting that even if Shepard secures a squadmate's Loyalty, certain squadmates will fight one another, and Shepard may lose their loyalty again.

Jack and Miranda fight over Cerberus' involvement in Jack's torture as a child, and Tali and Legion fight over Legion passing classified quarian data to the other geth. Players will need to pass a difficult Paragon/Renegade check or lose the Loyalty of one from each pair. Tali's Loyalty can be regained.

The best order to complete these Loyalty missions will vary between players. In general, it is best to leave a gap between Miranda and Jack's loyalty missions and Tali and Legion's missions and to save missions requiring difficult Paragon/Renegade checks for last.

Paragon players should also leave Zaeed's mission for later in the game, as talking him down requires a very high Paragon score. Zaeed can also be left to die: an easy-to-miss mission outcome for Paragon players who feel he is too unstable for the squad.

Failure to secure or keep a companion's Loyalty does not necessarily doom them during the Suicide Mission if players choose good team leadership and leave behind a strong defense squad. However, it can have consequences in Mass Effect 3 and may prevent players from completing certain quests or getting good outcomes.

How To Keep Everyone Alive During the Suicide Mission in Mass Effect 2

Choose The Right Squadmates For The Job

Once players retrieve the Reaper IFF and Legion, a countdown will begin. Players can complete between one and three missions before a cutscene triggers at the Galaxy Map and the Normandy crew is kidnapped by The Collectors.

After that point, if players choose to continue any other missions or assignments rather than heading straight into the endgame, they will lose the crew at the following rate:

Missions Completed Crew Lost 0 All Normandy crew survive 1-4 Only half the Normandy crew survive. 4+ Only Dr. Chakwas survives.

This is the main reason players should complete all outstanding missions apart from Legion's Loyalty side mission before going to the Derelict Reaper.

The Suicide Mission has three parts, and players must make choices for team leaders and their squads in each part. It is usually a good idea to ignore any volunteers or squabbling, as some non-ideal squadmates tend to interject during cutscenes and express interest in taking the lead. If chosen, non-ideal squadmates may be injured or killed.

Choice Suicide Mission Stage Ideal Squadmates Non-Ideal Squadmates Consequences Tech Specialist for opening the vents Collector Base: Infiltration Legion

Tali

Kasumi All other squadmates

Non-loyal Legion, Tali or Kasumi. Non-ideal squadmates will be shot and killed when attempting to close the doors. Second Fire Team leader to lead a diversion squad Collector Base: Infiltration Garrus

Jacob

Miranda All other squadmates

Non-loyal Garrus, Jacob, or Miranda Non-ideal squadmates will get the tech specialist killed. Biotic Specialist to guide a small squad through the seeker swarms Collector Base: The Long Walk Samara/Morinth

Jack Miranda

Thane

Jacob

Non-loyal Samara/Morinth or Jack Non-ideal squadmates will cause a squadmate to be carried away by Collector seeker swarms.

Choice Suicide Mission Stage Ideal Squadmates Non-Ideal Squadmates Consequences Distraction Fire Team leader to lead a second squad Collector Base: The Long Walk Miranda

Garrus

Jacob All other squadmates

Non-loyal Garrus or Jacob Non-ideal squadmates may be shot and killed as the gate closes. Escort for the surviving Normandy crew Collector Base: The Long Walk Mordin

Jack

Tali

Kasumi Anyone else At the end of the mission, players will need tough characters to hold a defensive line.

For the third part of the Suicide Mission, Shepard will need to take two squadmates deeper into the base while everyone else is assigned to hold a defensive line. Here, survival is down to numbers, and the game calculates a score based on the defending squadmates. Players need an average defense score of 2.0 or higher. If this is the case, everyone will survive.

Related Every Mass Effect Squadmate Ranked By Likelihood To Die In The Suicide Mission BioWare revealed which Mass Effect 2 squadmates are most likely to die on the suicide mission. Some popular squadmates are surprisingly fragile.

Every squadmate has a defense value and will contribute to the defense team left behind at the gate. The score depends on their Loyalty, and players will need to add up the scores for everyone on the team (not including the group going with Shepard or the Normandy Crew) and divide by the number of squadmates on the distraction team to get the average. The points breakdown appears below:

Name Loyal Score Non-Loyal Score Jack 1 0 Kasumi 1 0 Tali 1 0 Mordin 1 0 Thane 2 1 Legion 2 1 Samara/Morinth 2 1 Jacob 2 1 Miranda 2 1 Grunt 4 3 Zaeed 4 3 Garrus 4 3

If the average is 2.0 or above, the entire team will survive, whether or not they are loyal. Otherwise, if the average is between 2.0 and 1.0, players will lose one squadmate; if the average is less than 1.0, they will lose 2.

The best approach is to leave as many tough characters (Grunt, Garrus, Zaeed) behind as possible to max out the defensive score. Ideally, Shepard should only take loyal squadmates who are bad at defense (Jack, Kasumi, Tali, Mordin) to the final boss fight or send them with the Normandy Crew.

If Shepard has non-loyal squadmates with them during the final fight, these squadmates will die when the base begins to collapse. At least two squadmates must survive for Shepard to survive the mission. Upon completing the Suicide Mission with everyone alive, players will earn the No One Left Behind Achievement.

Suicide Mission Consequences In Mass Effect 3

Discover What Happens To Your Crew During The Reaper War

Decisions made during the Suicide Mission have consequences in Mass Effect 3. If players manage to keep everyone alive during the Suicide Mission, all twelve will appear in some capacity in Mass Effect 3. Garrus and Tali return as full squadmates, while the rest will appear as cameos, often in smaller side missions.

Shepard can also rekindle romances with any of Mass Effect 2's romance options as long as they survive the Suicide Mission.

Even though non-loyal squadmates may survive the Suicide Mission, some may be killed in action during their cameo missions in Mass Effect 3. If they were not loyal to Shepard but still survived the Suicide Mission:

Zaeed and Kasumi will die in Mass Effect 3.

Grunt and Miranda can also die in their cameo missions if their loyalty is not secured, but they can still survive if Shepard takes certain actions in Mass Effect 3.

Tali's and Legion's survival will be critical in Mass Effect 3's Priority: Rannoch, especially if Shepard wants to broker peace between the geth and quarians. Additionally, Thane plays a significant role in Priority: The Citadel II and Miranda in Priority: Horizon.

If Shepard also manages to save the full Normandy crew, many also appear in Mass Effect 3.

Shepard can find Kelly Chambers at the Citadel docks. If she was asked to feed Shepard's fish, she will return them to Shepard.

Shepard can also reinstate engineers Ken and Gabby from the Spectre Terminal at the Embassies, allowing them to return and serve on the Normandy under the Alliance.

Dr. Chakwas can also be recruited back to Normandy, though Shepard can also recruit Dr. Michel from Mass Effect 1 instead.

Shepard's decision regarding the Collector Base also has consequences in Mass Effect 3.

If Shepard saves the Collector Base, they will get the Reaper's Brain War Asset, worth 110 points.

Alternatively, if Shepard destroys the Collector Base, they get the Reaper's Heart War Asset, worth 100 points.

This choice also determines the only ending option players have access to if their War Assets during Priority: Earth are less than 3199. Saving the Collector Base makes the Control end the only choice, and destroying the Collector Base makes the Destroy end the only choice.

If Shepard dies during the Suicide Mission, players will not have the option of importing their saved game into Mass Effect 3 and will need to create a new character and try again. Alternatively, they can reload a previous Mass Effect Legendary Edition save and replay the mission to keep more of their team alive.