Mass Effect 2 Loyalty Check Survival: Suicide Mission Tips

Mass Effect 2 Loyalty Check Survival: Suicide Mission Tips

The Suicide Mission in Mass Effect 2 is one of the most iconic and intense sequences in gaming history. Its outcome is entirely dependent on the choices you’ve made throughout the game, particularly regarding your squad’s loyalty. A single misstep can result in the death of beloved characters, turning a triumphant victory into a heartbreaking failure. To ensure everyone survives this suicide run, you need strategy, foresight, and a deep understanding of your team’s capabilities. Here’s a comprehensive guide to mastering the Suicide Mission.

1. The Foundation: Loyalty and Ship Upgrades

Before even setting foot on the Omega-4 Relay, your priority is to secure the loyalty of every squad member and fully upgrade the Normandy SR-2. These are non-negotiable prerequisites for survival.

• Loyalty Missions: Every loyalty mission resolved successfully means that character is loyal. Loyalty not only improves their combat performance but is critical for surviving specific roles during the mission. If a character is not loyal, they are far more likely to die, especially if assigned a specialized task.
• Normandy Upgrades: The three essential upgrades—Heavy Ship Armor, Multicore Shielding, and the Thanix Cannon—must be purchased from Jacob, Garrus, and Tali respectively. Neglecting any of these will result in casualties during the approach through the Galactic Core:
  • No Heavy Ship Armor: Jack or a non-loyal squad member dies.
  • No Multicore Shielding: Legion or a non-loyal squad member dies.
  • No Thanix Cannon: Thane or a non-loyal squad member dies.

Complete all loyalty missions and install all upgrades before triggering the Reaper IFF mission. Once that mission is completed, you have a limited number of missions before the Collectors abduct your crew.

2. The Approach: Assigning the Right Specialists

During the Suicide Mission, you’ll need to assign specialists to critical tasks. Choosing the wrong person—even if loyal—can be fatal.

• Vent Specialist: This role requires someone tech-savvy and agile to bypass security and run through a dangerous ventilation shaft. The ideal choices are:

  • Tali (Loyal): Perfect for the job.
  • Legion (Loyal): Also an excellent choice.
  • Kasumi (Loyal): A capable alternative. Assigning anyone else (even if loyal) or a non-loyal tech expert will result in their death.

• First Fireteam Leader: This person will lead a diversionary squad while you advance. Leadership experience is key. Suitable candidates include:

  • Garrus (Loyal): A natural leader.
  • Miranda (Loyal): Despite her flaws, she’s a capable commander.
  • Jacob (Loyal): A solid choice. Picking an inexperienced leader (like Mordin or Jack) will get them or someone else killed.

• Biotic Specialist: To create a powerful biotic barrier that protects the squad from Swarms, you need an immensely powerful biotic. Options include:

  • Samara/Morinth (Loyal): As an Ardat-Yakshi, she has the required strength.
  • Jack (Loyal): Arguably the most powerful human biotic. Using a less powerful biotic (like Miranda or Thane) or a non-loyal specialist will cause the barrier to fail, resulting in the death of the biotic specialist or other squad members.

• Second Fireteam Leader: Similar to the first, this requires a seasoned leader. Stick with Garrus, Miranda, or Jacob to ensure success.

• Escort Duty: After rescuing the captured crew, you must send one squad member back to the Normandy with them. This is a safe assignment, but it temporarily removes that character from the final battle. Ideal choices are:

  • Mordin (Loyal): He’s squishy in the final fight, so sending him back maximizes survival chances.
  • Any other loyal but less durable character (like Tali or Kasumi). Do not assign a non-loyal character; they may die during the escort.

3. The Final Push: Holding the Line

The most complex part of the Suicide Mission is the final stand, where your remaining squad holds off Collectors while you face the Human Reaper. Survival here depends on the average combat strength of the group left behind.

Each character has a hidden “hold the line” value:

• Strong (4 points): Grunt, Zaeed, Garrus.
• Medium (2 points): Jacob, Legion, Miranda, Samara/Morinth, Thane.
• Weak (1 point): Jack, Kasumi, Mordin, Tali.

To ensure no one dies, the average score of the group must be 2.0 or higher. Here’s how to manage it:

• Leave at least two of the “strong” characters (e.g., Grunt and Garrus) with the group.
• Avoid taking multiple “strong” characters to the final boss. If you take Grunt and Zaeed with you, the group’s average may drop too low, resulting in casualties.
• If a character is not loyal, their value is halved (rounding down), making them a liability.

For the final boss, take two loyal squadmates of your choice. Their survival is guaranteed as long as they are loyal.

4. Non-Loyal Squadmates: High Risk, No Reward

Bringing a non-loyal squadmate to the final battle almost always results in their death. Even if they survive the boss fight, they may die during “hold the line” due to their reduced combat value. If you must bring a non-loyal character, ensure the hold-the-line group is stacked with heavy hitters to compensate.

5. The Ultimate Sacrifice? Saving Your Crew

If you want to save the entire Normandy crew (Dr. Chakwas, Kelly, etc.), you must embark on the Suicide Mission immediately after they are abducted. Any delay will result in their deaths. If you do more than one mission after the abduction, you’ll lose half the crew. If you do more than two, only Dr. Chakwas will survive.

Conclusion: No Room for Error

The Suicide Mission is a masterpiece of consequence-driven design. Every decision matters, and there is little margin for error. To summarize:

• Complete all loyalty missions.
• Install all ship upgrades.
• Choose specialists based on their skills, not personal preference.
• Send a loyal but fragile squadmate back with the crew.
• Leave strong defenders to hold the line.
• Do not delay once the crew is abducted.

Follow these steps, and you’ll defy the odds, leading your team to a flawless victory against the Collectors. Anything less, and you’ll be writing condolence letters instead of celebrating. Good luck, Commander.