Bonuses
- From the Mass Effect 1 save (on the hard drive): 100,000 credits with the "Rich" achievement; level 50 character: 30,000 credits, 2,000 experience points and 5,000 of each resource; level 60: 50,000 credits, 4,000 experience points and 10,000 of each resource.
- After completing the game, start a new game from the final save: initial skill bonus, skill points and experience kept, +25% experience, 200,000 credits, 50,000 of each resource, Renegade and Paragon points reset, weapons and armor (without upgrades) from the first playthrough.
- Loyalty missions: unlock a skill for Shepard (requires the Advanced Training upgrade): Armor Piercing = Archangel; Biotic Barrier = Jacob; Dominate = kill Samara (Morinth replaces her); Fortification = Grunt; Geth Shield Boost = Legion; Incendiary Grenade = Zaeed; Neural Shock = Mordin; Reave = Samara; Discharge Shield = Tali; Slam = Miranda; Warp Ammo = Jack.
Tricks
- Easy Paragon and Renegade points: after unlocking the training to redistribute skill points, the Mastery talent adds a percentage to Paragon/Renegade: repeat respec and distribution until the bars are full.
- Easy materials: in the Micah system of the Valhallan Threshold look for three hidden planets among the asteroids, all rich in materials.
- Easy skill points: recruit Morinth to get Dominate and collect lots of Element Zero; buy the Advanced Training upgrade and choose Dominate: you get a bonus skill point, later used by the Retraining upgrade. Repeat for another point.
- Easy Geth ammo: set the difficulty to Hardcore before landing, complete Tali'Zorah's recruitment mission to find the Geth Pulse Rifle in Tali's room, then set the difficulty back to the original.
- Cryo Bomb: lift the enemy off the ground with a biotic power and hit it with the Cryo Bomb while it is still lifted: it stays stuck in a permanent state and cannot do damage. Useful against Harbinger: once in the "glitched" body it cannot move and, by killing it at the end of the fight, you prevent it from jumping into another body.
- Rapid fire with the M-920 Cain: hold the fire button and press Reload after every shot: you keep shooting.
Samara and Dominate
To get Dominate as a loyalty bonus you must help Morinth kill Samara, but you can keep Samara on the squad: play Samara's loyalty mission up to the confrontation with Morinth and save right before; choose to let Morinth prevail, who kills Samara, and create a separate save file. Go to the ship and talk to Morinth; then load the previous save and have Samara kill Morinth. You will have Samara on the squad and Morinth's Dominate in the prototype upgrades screen.
Romance with Kelly Chambers
Talk to Kelly often and choose the kind answers; invite her to dinner when the option appears; do not let her die in the final mission and choose a loyal escort for the crew in the final scene. After completing the game talk to her: you will receive an email; in your quarters invite her using the console for the romantic scene.
Anomalies and Element Zero
- Anomalies (side missions), scan: Sinmara (Solveig, Caleston Rift); Taitus (Talava); Tarith (Lusarn, Crescent Nebula); Helyme (Zelene); Neith (Amun, Eagle Nebula); Jarrahe Station (Strabo); Gei Hin (Sheol, Hades Nexus); Daratar (Faryar, Hourglass); Zanethu (Ploitari); Aequitas (Fortis, Minos Wasteland); MSV Strontium Mule (Ariniarkan, Omega Nebula); Lorek (Fathar); Canalus (Dirada, Pylos); MSV Broken Arrow (Nariph); Joab (Enoch, Rosetta); Zada Ban (Xe Cha, Shrike); Sanctum (Decoris, Sigurd's Cradle); Franklin (Skepsis); Capek (Haskins, Titan Nebula).
- Rich Element Zero: Tarith (Lusarn, Crescent Nebula); Anthur (Amun, Eagle Nebula); Preying Mouth (Relic, Eagle); Etamis (Schwarzschild, Hawking Eta); Daratar and Erinle (Hourglass); Thunawanuro (Batalla, Nubian Expanse); Boro (Satent, Pylos) and Raisaris; Joab and Mizraim (Enoch, Rosetta); Watson (Skepsis, Sigurd's Cradle); Tosal Nym and Zada Ban (Xe Cha, Shrike Abyssal); Garvug (Paz, Valhallan Threshold). There are also moderate ones (for example Caleston, Helyme, Sekhmet, Gotha, Capek, Farlas, Israfel and Kakabel in the Valhallan Threshold) and poor ones (Asteria, Bothros, Prospect).
Achievements (Gamerscore)
- Squad: recruit the 6 members (10 each: Convict, Krogan, Archangel, Professor, Quarian, Justicar, Assassin); earn the loyalty of each (10 each, for example Catharsis, Battlemaster, Fade Away, The Cure, Treason, Doppelganger, Cat's in the Cradle, The Prodigal, Ghost of the Father); Revenge! (15, Zaeed) and Broken, Blind and Bedlam (15, Kasumi) require the DLCs.
- Story: Missing in Action (5); Very Elusive (10); Friend or Foe (10, Geth technology); Colony Defense (25); A House Divided (10); Ghost Ship (25); Suicide Mission (50, use the Omega 4 relay); Against All Odds (15, survive the suicide mission); No One Left Behind (75, save the whole squad); Mission Accomplished (125); Insanity (75, game on Insanity); Long Service Medal (75, two playthroughs or a character imported from ME1); Paramour (50, relationship with a member).
- Combat: Head Hunter (10, 30 headshots); Brawler (10); Big Game Hunter (10, Thresher Maw); Tactician (10); Master at Arms (15, 5 heavy weapons); Merciless (10); Overload, Warp and Incineration Specialist (15 each, 25 enemies).
- Exploration and progress: Operative (15) and Agent (50, 5 missions discovered); Prospector (5); Explorer (10); Power Gamer (10, level 30); Scholar (15, 15 codex entries); Technician (15); Weapon Specialist (15); Scientist (10); Fashionista (5); Power Full (15); Highly Trained (15).
