- 'Scholar' achievement codex locations
This achievement requires that you locate information on all primary Alien: Council Races, Extinct Races, and Non-Council Races.


Aliens: Council Races



Aliens: Extinct Races



Aliens: Non-Council Races


- Overcomeing the giant worm in Edolus
During the mission about the missing Marines, you will encounter a large worm creature. To defeat it, jump just before the projectile acid the worm spits, and attack it with missiles (RB) and constant gunfire (RT).

- Infinite Paragon and Renegade points
On the Noveria planet, go to the hotel bar, and look for a Turian named Lorik Qui'in. Accept his quest to steal the data from his office. Once you get the data, the receptionist will ask you to get Qui'in to testify. Tell her you will do it, and then talk to Qui'in. Tell Qui'in that he should testify (top left option). When he refuses, select the Charm option (top left) for Paragon points or the Intimidate (bottom left) for Renegade points, and end the conversation. Talk to him again, and ask about the Matriarch. When he gets done talking about her, select the 'Other questions' option (bottom right). You should now have the option to ask him to testify again (top left). He will refuse, and you will be able to use the Charm or Intimidate option again to gain another 24 Paragon or Renegade points. Repeat this process as many times as desired. You can also easily get the 'Paragon' and 'Renegade' achievements with the glitch.

- Puzzle solution in Noveria
On the planet Noveria, you must solve a puzzle after you enter the Core at Mira to restore activity to the compound. The solution is as follows. There are three columns. Four discs are in the left column. You must move all four discs to column two or three for the puzzle to be completed. '1' indicates the upper most ring, '4' is the lowest, etc.


Step 1

Move 1 to the middle.
Move 2 to the right.
Move 1 to the right on top of 2.
Move 3 to the middle.

Step 2

Move 1 to the left.
Move 2 to the middle on top of 3.
Move 1 to the middle on top of 2.
Move 4 to the right.

Step 3

Move 1 to the right.
Move 2 to the left.
Move 1 to the left on top of 2.
Move 3 to the right on top of 4.

Step 4

Move 1 to the middle.
Move 2 to the right.
Move 1 to the right.

These steps will solve the puzzle with all four discs being in the right column.

- Ensuring experience points and gamerpoints
After a major plot has been played, make sure to talk to your crew. This will give you experience points for clues and boost your crew's morale. There is also a subplot for romance where you must choose who you want to have a relation with. You may lose the gamerpoints if you do not talk to the crew.

- Saving weapon points
If you are a Soldier, level up weapons so you can use their bonuses and no further. For example, carnage is the shotgun's bonus. By doing this, you will have extra points for a desired weapon and points to level everything else completely out. You do not need the damage and accuracy bonus from the points because when you become a Spectre the best of every weapon becomes unlocked in the Normandy or at the C-SEC requisitions office.

- Easy skill achievements
The quickest way to get the skill achievements (Lift, Sabotage, Warp, etc.) is to stand outside the Mako and use it for a target. Do each skill with your current character 75 times to get the achievements for each one. However, there are two things to note. First, Neuroshock does damage to the Mako. When you see it beginning to smoke, you must repair it. Second, AI Hacking does not apply. You will need to actually hack 75 AIs or hack a few repeatedly before you must destroy them. The best way to get this achievement is to play the mission where you must go to the Earth's moon, or 'Luna', and stop the AIs in the training facility. Save the game before you go into one of the bunkers, and keep hacking them until you are finished, or reload and play again.

- Reversed Earth
Once you have landed on Luna, Earth's moon, look for the view of Earth. When you zoom in on Earth, noticed that its image is reversed. For example, Florida is where California should be and vice versa.

- Easy ally achievements
Use the following trick to unlock all six ally achievements with only three playthroughs. When you begin the game, focus on getting all six of your teammates. Choose two of them to play through the game with. Keep those two until you complete the majority of the game. You will get the ally achievement for the teammate you recruited first. After you get it, replace that teammate with another one as soon as possible. After the next assignment you complete, you will then unlock the ally achievement for the second teammate.

- Character classes
- Signal tracking in Citadel
While in the FLux, you will see a Quasar Machine that has a strange signal coming from it. It traces to the following place in order:


- Unlockables
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding bonus the next time a new game is begined. Once the game is completed, the 'New Game +' option is also unlocked, which allows you to use your existing character with previously earned equipment and skills.

Electronics skill for new characters	Use Overload 75 times.
First Aid skill for new characters	Use Medi-gel 150 times.
Hardcore difficulty	Successfully complete the game.
Barrier skill for new characters	Use Barrier 75 times.
Insane difficulty	Successfully complete the game on the Hardcore difficulty.
Assault Rifle skill for new characters	Get 150 kills with the assault rifle.
+10% Lift and Throw reduced cooldown	Have a 75% game completion with Kaiden in your squad.
+10% Damage Reduction	Get the 'Soldier Ally' achievement.
Stasis skill for new characters	Use Stasis 75 times.
+10% Shield	Kill 250 Synthetic enemies.
+10% Damping and Overload reduced cooldown	Have a 75% game completion with Garrus in your squad.
Medicine Skill for new characters	Use Neural Hacking 75 times.
Shielding skill for new characters	Use Dampening 75 times.
Prestige Class	Reach level 34.
+5% Weapon Damage	Successfully complete the game two times.
Sniper Rifle skill for new characters	Get 150 kills with the sniper rifle.
Lift skill (for non-Biotics)	Use Lift 75 times.
+10% Health	Kill 150 Organic enemies.
Hacking skill for new characters	Use AI Hacking 75 times.
Throw skill for new characters	Use Throw 75 times.
+10% Shield Strength	Successfully complete the game with shield damage greater than health damage.
Decryption skill for new characters	Use Sabotage 75 times.
+10% Experience	Reach level 60.
Level 60 level cap	Successfully complete the game.
Shotgun skill for new characters	Get 150 kills with the shotgun.
Warp skill for new characters	Use Warp 75 times.
Singularity skill for new characters	Use 'Singularity' 75 times.
+10% Hardening	Have a 75% game completion with Ashley in your squad.
Regenerate 1 health per second	Have a 75% game completion with Wrex in your squad.
+10% Stasis and Barrier reduced cooldown	Have a 75% game completion with Liara in your squad.
+5% Experience	Reach level 50 with a character.
+10% Sabotage and AI Hacking reduced cooldown	Have a 75% game completion with Tali in your squad.
+25% Marksman reduced cooldown	Get 150 kills with the pistol.
Spectre grade weapons for purchase	Get 1 million credits. The weapons are available through the Normandy and C-Sec Requisitions Officers.

- Mako controls
- Finding all elements
The best way to find the elements, minerals, and anomalies on planets that you can explore is to drive along the edges of the operational area (the red area). Drive the Mako in a circle around the area to where you can barely see the edge of the red line. You should find at least two elements/minerals on each planet that can be explored. There are rare things that will not show up on your map -- you will also have to drive around like this to find them. There are several more items than you are required to find, but it is good to go ahead and get them if you need the experience points. Also, if you say the correct things to the Asari Consort, she will give you a trinket that will allow you to activate a Prothean Orb found on Eletania, or the 'monkey' planet, in the Hercules system. It contains the memories of a Cro-Magnon that was observed by the Protheans. The Orb will show up as an anomaly on your map, in the lower left corner.

- Overcomeing Thresher Maw in Edolus
The easiest way to defeat the Thresher Maw is after it has initially launched out of the ground to drive off, stay at a relative distance, and drive circles around it while firing. Because of your distance, it will not use its long-ranged attack or be able to cause melee damage. It will go back underground after a time or certain amount of damage is inflicted and will change the location it pops up. Repeat the circular attack to get away undamaged.

- Weapon that does not overheat
Get a HMWA X assault rifle with Frictionless Materials, Combat Optics X, and Snowblind Rounds X as upgrades.

- Easy Mako repairs
If your Mako is badly damaged and you do not want to or cannot spend Omni-gel to repair it, save your game, and reload it. Your Mako should now be totally repaired.

- Overcomeing Saren (after resurrection)
Have your crew and yourself use biotic powers everytime Saren stops to shoot (usually when he is hanging on the wall). Only do it once when he stops, otherwise you will be wasting abilities.

- Scan the Keepers in Citadel
After you speak to Chorban in the Citadel Tower, he will request that you scan the Keepers to collect data. There are 21 Keepers total throughout the compound. You will forfeit the chance to do this sidequest if you complete Jahleed's Fears. Here is a list of their locations:


Wards

One is in the right-most room in the Presidium Wards Access corridor.
One is in the Traffic Control Room in C-Sec.
One is in the C-Sec Requisition Office.
One is in the hanger bay through C-Sec.
One is inside Flux, by the quasar machines in the back left.
One is in the upper market area.
One is to the right of the Med Clinic entrance.
One is in the alleyway next to the market and Choras Den.
One is at the C-Sec Academy entrance.

Presidium

One is on the balcony of the Embassy lounge.
One is in the rectangular room at the right of the C-Sec HQ at the embassy.
Four are inside Citadel Tower.
One is outside Citadel Tower to the left of Avina.
One is outside the entrance of the Consort Chambers.
One is in the back room of the Emporium, left turn.
One is in the Volus/Elcor office at the Embassy.
One is opposite of Avina, halway between the Consort Chambers and the Emporium.
One is outside the Wards Access entrance, very close to the arguing Preaching Hana and C-Sec officer.

- Saren Gamerpic
Successfully complete the game on the Hardcore difficulty setting to unlock the Saren Gamerpic.

- Recommended career
Play as a War Hero Soldier first. By doing this, during your second play through you will have all of the money, weapons, and armor to use for the other careers.

- Easy experience points
To gain extra experience from battles, make sure to get out of the Mako for the final hit. You can weaken the stronger enemies from inside the Mako and then get out to finish them off. You will only get 60% of the experience if you kill enemies with the Mako.

- N7 Gamerpic
Successfully complete the game on the Insanity difficulty setting to unlock the N7 Gamerpic.

- Infinite credits
The following trick only works between the two indicated vendors. You can usually buy items back from Expat at half the price you sold them to Dr. Michel for. First, successfully complete the side quest involving Dr. Michel (from the Med Clinic) and her blackmailer. After the quest is complete, you will get a discount from all the goods she sells. Begin selling her all of your expensive equipment. Then, travel to the Wards Markets, and talk to the merchant named Expat. You can buy all of your items back for cheaper than you sold them for. Return to Dr. Michel, and sell her all of your items again. Repeat this process as many times as desired.

- Infinite Paragon points
Go to your Galaxy Map, and travel to the Attican Beta cluster. You will receive a message from the Alliance Command telling you about a downed recon probe that you must retrieve a data module from. From there, travel to the Hercules system, and continue to the planet Eletania. After you reach the downed probe, you will discover that a monkey-like native has made off with the data module. Get back in the Mako, and go to your map. You will see three native colonies. Go towards the one in the middle of the three. Then, go into the mining shaft, and proceed through the tunnels until you reach the end. Search the two monkeys in that part of the shaft. One of them will have the data module. Save the game immediately after getting the module. Then, reload the saved game, and continue to press A to keep searching the monkey that had the data module. Your Paragon meter over the radar should increase each time you select the monkey. At approximately 300 Paragon, you will get the 'Paragon' achievement. Notice: If you have already completed this assignment, this glitch cannot be done.

- Lethal sniping
Equip any good sniper rifle (powerful and accurate) with High Explosive Rounds (highest level preferably). This combination will kill nearly every normal enemy it directly hits, and severely damage enemies in their proximity, if not killing them as well. For fun, if you shoot at the enemy's feet or the ground he is standing directly on top of, he will jettison into the air. Notice: High Explosive Rounds work best only with sniper rifles as they are meant to kill with one shot. If it is used with a pistol, assault rifle, or shotgun, the weapon will overheat in less than five shots (depending on the type of weapon), regardless of upgrades and decency of the gun. This will make yourself vulnerable to enemies.

- Achievements
Do the following things to obtain the corresponding Gamerscore points:

10 Points
Paramour	Finish any romance subplot.
Pistol Expert	Register 150 Pistol Kills.
Charismatic	Use Charm or Intimidate to resolve an impossible situation.
Search and Rescue	Locate Dr. T'Soni in the Artemis Tau cluster.
15 Points
First Aid Specialist	Use medi-gel 150 times.
Singularity Mastery	Use biotic Singularity 75 times.
Barrier Mastery	Use biotic Barrier 75 times.
Damping Specialist	Use Damping Field 75 times.
Shotgun Expert	Register 150 Shotgun Kills.
Sabotage Specialist	Use Sabotage 75 times.
Assault Rifle Expert	Register 150 Assault Rifle Kills.
Renegade	Accumulate 75% of total Renegade points.
Neural Shock Specialist	Use Neural Shock 75 times.
Overlord Specialist	Use Shield Overload 75 times.
Stasis Mastery	Use biotic Stasis 75 times.
Paragon	Accumulate 75% of total Paragon points.
Warp Mastery	Use biotic Warp 75 times.
Spectre Inductee	Become a Spectre.
Lift Mastery	Use biotic Lift 75 times.
Sniper Expert	Register 150 Sniper Rifle Kills.
AI Hacking Specialist	Use AI Hacking 75 times.
Throw Mastery	Use biotic Throw 75 times.
20 Points
Krogan Ally	Finish the majority of the game with the Krogan squad member.
Sentinal Ally	Finish the majority of the game with the Alliance sentinel squad member.
Turian Ally	Finish the majority of the game with the Turian squad member.
Soldier Ally	Finish the majority of the game with the Alliance soldier squad member.
Quarian Ally	Finish the majority of the game with the Querian squad member.
Power Gamer	Reach 50th level with one character.
Asari Ally	Finish the majority of the game with the Asari squad member.
25 Points
Scholar	Find all primary Alien
Geth Hunter	Register 250 Synthetic enemy kills.
Honorarium of Corporate Service	Finish Noveria.
Medal of Heroism	Finish Feros.
Long Service Medal	Finish 2 Mass Effect Playthroughs on any setting.
Tactician	Finish playthrough with shield damage greater than health damage.
Completionist	Finish the majority of the game.
Rich	Exceed 1,000,000 Credits.
Dog of War	Register 150 organic enemy kills.
Council Legion of Merit	Finish Virmire.
Distinguished Service Medal	Finish Eden Prime.
Distinguished Combat Medal	Finish one Mass Effect playthrough on the Hardcore difficulty setting. Do not change the setting.
50 Points
Medal of Valor	Finish one Mass Effect playthrough on the Insanity difficulty setting. Do not change the setting.
Medal of Exploration	Land on an uncharted world.
Extreme Power Gamer	Reach 60th level with one character.
100 Points
Medal of Honor	Finish one Mass Effect Playthrough on any setting.

50 Points
Colonial Savior	Finish the Bring Down the Sky mission.

50 Points
Undisputed	Finish Ahern's survival mission.
New Sheriff in Town	Take first place in any combat scenario on Pinnacle Station.
Best of the Best	Take first place in 12 combat scenarios on Pinnacle Station points.

- ExoGeni PSI puzzle in Feros
In the ExoGeni facility, there are several claws that feed power that must be terminated to continue the mission. You will come across a control panel for the Shuttle Bay Door Controls. This panel has five switches of different pressures:

(5 PSI Valve) (7 PSI Valve) (17 PSI Valve) (11 PSI Valve) (13 PSI Valve)

The objective is to add just enough pressure to fill the gauge between the two arrows. Too much will reset the puzzle and you will have to play with different combinations. Once a correct pressure is reached, the bar will turn yellow and text under it will read 'WARNING, HIGH PRESSURE'. Enter 7, 11, and 13, then activate. This will create enough pressure to break the claw and deactivate the Geth power being flushed into ExoGeni.

- Hades Gamma Cluster hidden missions
To play the hidden mission in the Plutus system of the Hades Gamma Cluster, get 75% Renegade. To play the hidden mission in the Cacus system, get 75% Paragon.

- Recommended weapon upgrades
The best weapon upgrades on any gun are Frictionless Materials X (28% heat damping, +7% damage), Kinetic Coil X (28% weapon stability, +7% damage), and Slegdehammer Rounds X (50% weapons force, + 60% poison damage, - 20 heat damping). Overall, the weapons stats you will end up with are 14% damage, +28 weapon stability, +50% weapon force, +60 poison, +8% heat damping. The poison damage also prevents shield regeneration. Also, any of the following combo of any grade is the best.


To build the most powerful weapons in the game, use the following. For pistols, assault rifles, and shotguns, use Frictionless Materials, Scram Rail, and Inferno Rounds. Once you can get the 'X' level equipment, these will be the most powerful weapons in the game, but the combination should be used at any point you find these materials. For the sniper rifle, use two Frictionless Materials and High Explosive Rounds. The assault rifle will not overheat much at all, but for an assault rifle that does not overheat, you can use two Scram Rails and Snowblind Rounds. It is not as powerful as the first method, but is efficient.

- Easy credits
In Quasar, bet Y on odd and X on even.

- Overcomeing Saren (before resurrection)
Use your rifle and strafe to avoid his rocket fire. Alternately, use the following trick to defeat Sarren without fighting him the first time in the Citadel. If you have your Charm or Intimidation all the way up, use the new chat options. You will eventually make Sarren kill himself.

- Easy 'First Aid Specialist' achievement
Find a planet that has a Hazard level 1. Stand outside the Mako, and keep pressing Y. Keep track of how many times you pressed [Heal]. If you do not pay attention and run out of Medi-Gel, you could die from the Hazard level.

- Avoiding lagging game play
Every once in a while you may encounter a slow down on graphics and game play. If you have been playing for less than three hours and see the 'Loading' text, release your controller for faster loads. If you have been playing for over three hours and the game play slows down, save and reboot your Xbox 360. This happens because the Xbox 360 does not have an efficient way of clearing its memory for new information. Once the memory is saturated, the 'lagging' game play happens. Because Mass Effect is so massive and everything is unique, it uses all of the available memory.