Mass Effect 2 Legendary Edition: How to Ensure the Survival of All Squadmates in the Suicide Mission

All your endeavors in Mass Effect 2 have converged towards this pivotal moment. You have meticulously assembled your team, meticulously probed into the enigma of abducted colonies, and now you stand poised to embark upon the ultimate Suicide Mission, bravely confronting the Collectors in battle.

The moniker "Suicide Mission" is not mere rhetorical flourish; it carries profound implications. Each member of your squad faces grave peril throughout this undertaking, with the possibility of none surviving to see its conclusion. Naturally, you are motivated to avert such a dire outcome, given that these individuals are your cherished comrades. Therefore, I shall elucidate the comprehensive guidelines you must adhere to in order to afford your team a fighting chance of emerging alive from this treacherous escapade.

Revised on October 14, 2023, by Sean Murray: Should you seek to safeguard your jovial entourage of steadfast extraterrestrials and adept biotic practitioners in the climactic battle against the Collectors, you have indeed arrived at the appropriate destination. This guide has been diligently enhanced with improved formatting and additional insightful pointers, all aimed at guaranteeing the survival of your esteemed squadmates during the perilous endeavor of the Suicide Mission.

How To Prepare For The Suicide Mission

Before embarking on the final mission with the intention of preserving the lives of every individual, there exist two utmost essential factors that necessitate your awareness.

Primarily, it is imperative to ensure that the Normandy undergoes a series of crucial ship upgrades to withstand the perilous journey through the Omega-4 Relay. Additionally, Shepard must secure unwavering loyalty from each and every member of the squad.

While it is possible for one or two individuals to lack loyalty, in such a scenario, relying on a stroke of luck becomes necessary in order to safely guide the entire team through the mission.

Ship Upgrades

To gain access to the ship upgrades, Shepard must engage in conversations with each squad member aboard the Normandy between main missions. When interacting with them, opt for the Investigate dialogue option, followed by selecting [NORMANDY UPGRADES].

By following this approach, you will uncover the corresponding upgrade in the Tech Lab terminal. Although each squad member will provide you with an upgrade option in the Tech Lab, only three of them are crucial for successfully navigating the Omega-4 Relay:

Ship Upgrade	How To Unlock the Upgrade	Material Cost
Thanix Cannon	You can purchase this upgrade after talking to Garrus	15,000 Platinum
Heavy Ship Armor	This is available in the Tech Lab terminal after talking to Jacob	15,000 Palladium
Multicore Shielding	After talking with Tali, you can purchase this upgrade in the Tech Lab	15,000 Palladium

Squad Loyalty

In order to significantly increase the likelihood of your squadmates' survival throughout the remainder of the mission, it is essential to secure their loyalty. This entails Shepard building a strong rapport with each team member and providing assistance whenever they seek it.

The most straightforward method to establish loyalty is to engage in conversations with every squad member between story missions. Thoroughly explore all dialogue options during each interaction, and eventually, they will approach Shepard with a personal matter, seeking their assistance.

Loyalty missions operate akin to any other mission, delving deeper into the personal history of each crew member as you traverse the vastness of the galaxy. Upon successfully finishing a loyalty mission for a squadmate, an orange ring will manifest beneath their character model on the squad selection screen, signifying their unwavering loyalty towards you.

Nonetheless, there will be instances where the loyalty of your squadmates becomes jeopardized, particularly when two of them engage in a heated argument. The following are the conflicts that may arise:

Miranda Vs. Jack

After doing both of their loyalty missions, Miranda and Jack will get into an aggressive dispute, putting you in the middle. You must have a lot of Paragon or Renegade points to not take a side. Otherwise, you will lose the loyalty of the person you side against. If you're forced to pick one, and only care about everyone living through the suicide mission, then side with Jack. This is because Miranda is among the hardest characters to kill during the operation.

Tali Vs. Legion

Tali and Legion also have a difference of opinion. Once again, you must have enough Paragon or Renegade points to defuse the issue. Thankfully, this one is easier to solve. If you still don't have enough points, though, you must pick a side. And you've just got to hope the person that you don't pick still survives.

How To Survive The Suicide Mission

Provided that you have acquired the Heavy Ship Armor, Multicore Shielding, and Thanix Cannon upgrades for the Normandy, you can proceed through the Omega-4 Relay towards the Collector Base without any concerns.

Once you conclude the sequence within the Normandy cargo hold and successfully reach the Collector Base, you will be faced with pivotal decisions that demand your immediate attention.

Unless explicitly specified otherwise, it is crucial that every individual selected for a particular role maintains their loyalty in order for the task to proceed smoothly.

Phase 1 - Tech Specialist Selection

During the initial crucial phase of the Suicide Mission, you will require a Tech Expert to traverse the ventilation shaft and unlock certain doors from the opposite side. Jacob, despite his somewhat naive nature, is a willing volunteer, but ultimately, you have only three viable choices in this situation:

• Tali - Mechanical genius even among the advanced engineers of the quarians.
• Kasumi - Master thief and unmatched infiltration specialist.
• Legion - It possesses the collective memory of the entire geth, and has the unmatched technical expertise of a sentient machine that can be used with calculated proficiency.

You have the freedom to select any of these three individuals as the designated tech specialist, but opting for anyone else, including Jacob, will inevitably lead to their demise.

Phase 1 - Fireteam Leader Specialist Selection

It holds significant importance to choose a squad member who possesses inherent leadership qualities, as the majority of your team members may not heed the commands of individuals who embody a "lone wolf" mentality. In this case, you have three viable options to consider:

• Garrus - Veteran officer of Citadel Security who quit to lead his own elite military group within the Terminus Systems to combat crime at its source.
• Miranda - She can move effortlessly from formidable biotic and superior soldier to brilliant tactician and vigilant guardian.
• Jacob - A seasoned combat professional and veteran of the Alliance military.

Opting for anyone else to fulfill this role will inevitably lead to the demise of your chosen tech specialist.

Progress through the challenging array of adversaries, while remaining vigilant of the meter displayed at the bottom of the screen. In the upcoming chambers, you will be required to open several valves before the meter depletes completely, as failure to do so will result in the demise of your tech specialist.

Phase 2 - Biotic Specialist Selection

Upon successfully guiding your tech specialist and fireteam leader through the doors, you will encounter pods containing both colonists and your abducted crew from the Normandy. At this juncture, you must select a biotic specialist to navigate your squad through the perilous seeker swarms. While Miranda argues that technically any biotic can fulfill this task, her assertion is misleading.

You have three choices for this task:

• Jack - She was subjected to experimental drugs and illegal medical procedures as a child to enhance her already prodigious biotic talents.
• Samara - An honored and feared asari justicar, her incredible biotic powers have been honed into a devastating weapon.
• Morinth - She is Samara's daughter and equal to her mother in biotic power. So, if you choose her over Samara during the Justicar's loyalty mission, you can safely pick her for this role.

Regrettably, these three biotics are the sole individuals capable of surviving the relentless seeker swarms, as the remaining biotics within your team lack the requisite level of prowess, contrary to Miranda's claims.

Phase 2 - Second Squad Leader Specialist Selection

Similar to the initial selection of a fireteam leader, it is vital to choose an individual with a natural aptitude for assuming a leadership role. Once again, you have three options available, and you can even opt for the same individual as before if you wish:

• Garrus - Veteran officer of Citadel Security who quit to lead his own elite military group within the Terminus Systems to combat crime at its source.
• Miranda - She can move effortlessly from formidable biotic and superior soldier to brilliant tactician and vigilant guardian. Even an unloyal Miranda succeeds in this role.
• Jacob - A seasoned combat professional and veteran of the Alliance military.

Phase 2 - Crew Escort Selection

A shuttle will arrive to rendezvous with the crew, and you will have the choice of either providing an escort with a member of your squad or allowing them to proceed independently.

In theory, you have the option to select any member of your team to accompany the crew during the escort. However, it is strongly advised to choose Mordin for this task, unless you have specific intentions to keep him in your personal squad (further details on this will be provided later).

Opting to let the crew proceed to the shuttle unaccompanied will inevitably lead to their demise.

Phase 3 - Final Battle And Suicide Squad Selection

After successfully navigating through the subsequent rooms infested with seeker swarms, you will be required to choose a squad to accompany you in the final battle, while leaving the remaining members to hold the door in a final stand against the Collectors.

This decision holds an intriguing aspect, as it revolves more around who you exclude rather than who you choose. As long as the individuals you bring along are loyal, they will survive the final battle. However, if you opt to bring all the formidable fighters with you, the team holding the line may encounter difficulties.

Therefore, it is advisable to bring two of your more vulnerable squadmates into the final battle, as they face the highest risk when left with the ground team. If you did not assign Mordin as the crew escort, it is crucial to bring him along for this part, as he is highly likely to perish otherwise. Additionally, if you desire additional dialogue options for the end of the game, bringing Miranda with you is recommended.

Here is a ranking of all your teammates, ranging from those you should prioritize for your last squad to those you should avoid selecting for your final team:

Mordin	His Incinerate, Cryo Blast, and Neural Shock abilities are some of the most useful in the game against organic targets.
Jack	Warp Ammo is possibly one of the best abilities in the whole game, especially when applied to the team, and Shockwave is great for toppling enemies that get too close.
Kasumi	Kasumi's Shadow Strike ability is great for attacking distracted enemies, and Overload can stun and chain to multiple enemies if evolved correctly.
Tali	Her Combat Drone ability is very useful in distracting the Collectors from your squad.
Miranda	Her Overload ability is useful for stunning enemies if you've evolved it to chain to multiple targets, and Warp is devastating to biotic barriers.
Jacob	Incendiary Ammo is a major buff if you've evolved it to apply to the whole squad, and Pull is handy for dispatching un-armored enemies.
Samara	Her Reave ability is useful for damaging enemies over time and Warp will make short work of Collectors' barriers and armor.
Morinth	She has the standard biotic attacks for moving people around, such as Pull and Throw. The woman can also make organics fight for you with Dominate.
Legion	If you've unlocked the Widow Anti-Material rifle for him, Legion is devastating on the battlefield from the rear.
Thane	One of the squishier members of the team, Thane is most useful with his Shredder Ammo applied to the squad, since it does extra damage to organics.

You have the option to include one, but not two, of the following teammates in your final battle squad. Selecting two of them significantly increases the likelihood of a relief team member's death:

Zaeed	Zaeed is a brute, and his Inferno Grenade is helpful for covering a good-sized area with fire, causing damage over time.
Garrus	Another great sniper, Garrus' Concussive Shot is great for knocking down weak enemies, and Armor-Piercing ammo is helpful when applied to the whole team.
Grunt	A tank on the battlefield, Grunt is useful to send out against mobs of weaker enemies when using the Fortification ability. He also has Incendiary Ammo that can be applied to the team.

If you have followed all the steps outlined in this guide, it is highly probable that your squad will emerge from the intense final battle unharmed, ready to confront the Reaper threat in Mass Effect 3.