Guide: How to survive the suicide mission & save everyone?

#201 Posted by SteamPunkJin (1286 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

All max loyalty:
Atempt#1
Vent: Leigon
Team1: Garrus
Shield: Jack w/ Implant
Team2: Zaeed (also worked w/ Garrus)
Escort: Jacob
Final Team: Mordin + Miranda

When I put Zaeed in charge of Team1 it resulted in Leigon's death, I put Samara in for the Shield and Garrus for Team2 - this ended with Garrus dying. Everyone else lived.

#202 Edited by AndrewB (6867 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@xyzygy said:

" I just did finished Insanity with this order, the order I used to go through on veteran which worked. Specialist: Tali 1st leader: Garrus Biotic: Jack (With implants) 2nd leader: Garrus Escort: Zaeed Mordin died. Everyone was loyal and had no more conversations for me. I have no idea what went wrong, but I'm thinking I should have put Miranda as the second squad leader. This order worked for me on Veteran though. "

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

I hear Mordin has a good chance of dying if you don't send him to escort the crew back to the ship, no matter what you do. I think that makes sense, too, since the spot where he dies coincides with the spot where Jacob got shot in my game. However, in this case, Jacob gets shot, but gets right back up and says he's okay.

Vent: Tali
1st Squad Leader: Garrus
Biotic Shield: Samara
2nd Squad Leader: Jacob
Escort: Mordin

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Everyone lived. I'm going to admit here that I looked at an FAQ to make sure the choices I was going to make would be decent, because I wanted a good save file for Mass Effect 3 and I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to play through it again. However, most of the choices are very simple to figure out how to do "right". They tell you you need a "tech specialist" for the vents, which makes for an obvious choice between the games two tech specialists Tali and Legion. The people trained to lead a squad are obviously Miranda, Jacob, and Garrus, and the ones that they really push that have crazy biotic powers are Samara and Jack. It's really a matter of simple judgment.

That said, depending on the difficulty, I think that even making the right choices can end in someone dying.

#203 Edited by Creamypies (3883 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

First time I went through, I wasn't going for the perfect ending... I just made the choices I would in that situation.

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Vent: Jacob (I think I went with him because he seemed really up for it, plus I didn't want Tali to die)
1st Squad Leader: Garrus (This ended with Jacob dying)
Biotic Shield: Jack (Dude no brainer, she was ripping things apart in all her previous cutscenes)
2nd Squad Leader: Zaeed (I figured he'd be a good choice, seeing as he has experience of leading mercenary gangs, but in the end, he got shot and died).
Escort: Samara (Asari Justicar's don't make mistakes).

Mordin survived for me.

In the end... two deaths... makes that end sequence seem a little more realistic that way. I'm not a fan of fairytale endings.

#204 Posted by SirPsychoSexy (1225 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Good to know, I put in Thane as my second squad leader and he died, he is one of my favorites so I restarted and put in zaeed and he died, so I figured it doesnt matter who I put in they will just die and I am going to have to live with it. But now it looks like I can reload it and keep everyone alive.
Also something thats bugging me is, im almost full on Paragon and sided with Miranda on everything and she still didn't romance me :(

#205 Edited by Raiden36O (123 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

I did it with everyone surviving on my third play-through.

I had everyone loyal except Legion. I had all ship upgrades and all the team member specific upgrades (I also had most, but not all of the other upgrades).
Vents: Tali
1st Team Leader: Garrus
Shield: Samara
2nd Team Leader: Garrus
Escort: Mordin
Party: I used Miranda and Thane as my two party members the whole time, as heavy Warp is very usefull against biotic barriers and armor on the higher difficulties.

The first time i tryed it with everyone except Legion loyal, i sent Legion as the escort and he ended up dying. So id recommend that if you have one or two people not loyal, just ignore them and dont assign them to any of the roles, not even in your party. Because when i redid it and didn't assign Legion to anything he survived.

#206 Posted by RandomHero666 (2979 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

K.. 2nd playthrough on Casual, was hoping to get the achievement but Jack died at the very end =|
She wasn't loyal due to her and Miranda's argument, i didn't use Jack at all
Anyone suggest what i do?

#207 Posted by mracoon (4582 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@RandomHero666 said:

" K.. 2nd playthrough on Casual, was hoping to get the achievement but Jack died at the very end =| She wasn't loyal due to her and Miranda's argument, i didn't use Jack at all Anyone suggest what i do? "

Is Samara loyal? You could use her instead as she's also a biotic specialist.

Moderator

#208 Posted by RandomHero666 (2979 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@mracoon said:

" @RandomHero666 said:
" K.. 2nd playthrough on Casual, was hoping to get the achievement but Jack died at the very end =| She wasn't loyal due to her and Miranda's argument, i didn't use Jack at all Anyone suggest what i do? "
Is Samara loyal? You could use her instead as she's also a biotic specialist. "

I did use Samara for the shield.
The last cutscene showed Jack laying dead.
I guess i could use her to escort the survivors

#209 Posted by mracoon (4582 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@RandomHero666 said:

" @mracoon said:
" @RandomHero666 said:
" K.. 2nd playthrough on Casual, was hoping to get the achievement but Jack died at the very end =| She wasn't loyal due to her and Miranda's argument, i didn't use Jack at all Anyone suggest what i do? "
Is Samara loyal? You could use her instead as she's also a biotic specialist. "
I did use Samara for the shield. The last cutscene showed Jack laying dead. I guess i could use her to escort the survivors "

You need someone loyal to escort the survivors otherwise they'll die as far as I'm aware. I think the only way you can keep her alive is to have her in your party for the final battle.

Moderator

#210 Posted by Grimnir (1 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

I just finished a playthrough on veteran, full paragon, all squad loyal, with everybody surviving. Tali was my tech specialist, Garrus led both fireteams, Samara held the shield, Zaeed escorted the crew, and my final team was Miranda and Thane.

#211 Edited by Dylabaloo (1493 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Just finished it the last mission was tough no main characters died for me except I was sad to see kelly die I choose Miranda for both leading attacks jack for shields mordin for escort ( he survived) everyone was loyal and played on hardcore...... I think the the second hardest difficulty. Awesome game and ending thanks for this guide!!!

#212 Posted by Vanderhoff2 (1 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

I dont know if this has been posted yet but if you use the above choice's and lose moridin try researching is omni-tool that is all I did diffrent and he survived. Any person that has a character specific weapon or tool get it and it increases their survivability I do believe

#213 Posted by Disto (1 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Anyone with some common sense can pick up the subtle hints the game gives you on who can do what. On to my setup.
Lvl 30 infiltrator, paragon, insanity, all loyal, 1 attempt (really beats the point of a suicide mission to reload till you get it right, the point of games like mass effect is standing by your decisions, whatever they may be)
Vent: Tali
1st Fire team: Garrus
Escort: Mordin
Biotic: Samara
2nd Fire team: Garrus
Final squad: Samara, Tali
All survived, saved the crew too, freaking hollywood ending.

#214 Edited by Garrus (543 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

I just finally got the no one left behind one last night.

What I did was
Vent - Legion
Team Capn - Miranda
Escort- Mordin
Second Team - Garrus because Im too cool under pressure to break.
Biotics - Samara
Hold the line/Pick my squad to kill reaper -I took Thane and I took Jack, because Jack is a psycho and Thane is an assassin, they are the least likely to actually dig in and work as a team player, though Legion may be the same I feared the fact he was standing to the far side of the platform as opposed to with the rest of the squad, that he would die but he did have the Geth Widow Rifle.

Everyone loyal and everyone survived.

Did not save crew because I did not start straight away when they were abducted - this affects whether they survive or not, Chakwas is there but Kelly was too, dunno what happened to her, I skipped the scene - it genuinely does scare me when they get melted.

#215 Posted by applet0n (646 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

So... Jack and Grunt as my final team is a bad idea?

How about Jack and Garrus...?

#216 Posted by Spacetrucking (935 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@applet0n: What difficulty are you playing on ? And who did you send on escort ?

#217 Posted by applet0n (646 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@Killjoi: Haven't actually taken the Relay yet, just getting everyone loyal first, was just asking hypothetically.

Oh, and I'm on normal.

#218 Posted by Spacetrucking (935 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@applet0n: Then Jack+anyone will do just fine. I don't want to spoil the specifics for you but you will have your entire party available to you for the final team. Just make sure you don't take two heavyweights like Garrus and Grunt with you because it will weaken the rest of your squad.

#219 Posted by applet0n (646 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@Killjoi: Thanks mate, I owe you.

#220 Posted by Firefly_TW (9 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

I had a problem with Zaeed dying because I messed up his loyalty mission. I tried him leader both teams, going back with the crew and even being in my squad and he would always die at some point. The only thing that worked for me was to not use him for anything and have the crew stay instead of being escorted back and everyone lived. My reasoning was that the barricade would be stronger and so perhaps people would be less likely to die, either way it worked and 'pop' achievement unlocked.

#221 Posted by GaZZuM (433 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

On my insanity playthrough I'm totally gonna make sure a few people die. I don't care if he wont survive, Jacobs is GOING in that tube!

#222 Posted by Stephen_Von_Cloud (1532 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Isn't it kind of weird that the dark second chapter, Mass Effect 2, with its suicide mission and all, managed to have less death within my party than in Mass Effect 1?

#223 Posted by HistoryInRust (5953 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@GaZZuM said:

" On my insanity playthrough I'm totally gonna make sure a few people die. I don't care if he wont survive, Jacobs is GOING in that tube! "

Lol.

Jacob is going in that tube because he won't survive, goddamnit!

#224 Posted by GaZZuM (433 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@Sir_Ragnarok:

I should've added:

Spolier:

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Jacob is shite

#225 Posted by HistoryInRust (5953 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@GaZZuM: Yeah, I didn't love Jacob either, but I didn't despise the guy. I really hated Zaeed, but he got a pass because he was a downloadable character.

#226 Posted by xyzygy (8596 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Is it possible to save all the crew and your party members? I'm just getting my second set of dossiers now and I'm wondering whose I Should do first. Should I just basically do the IFF mission at the very last?

#227 Posted by Ghostiet (4747 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@xyzygy: Yes. But remember not to hesitate too much after you do that IFF with starting the Suicide Mission.

#228 Posted by Spacetrucking (935 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@xyzygy: Yes, do all the loyalty missions and then go for the IFF.

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

Legion joins your party at this point and you will have time for just one loyalty mission. After that you need to immediately head for the Omega 4 relay or you will lose Kelly.

#229 Posted by mracoon (4582 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@xyzygy: Just do everything you can before the IFF. You'll only be able to do one mission after it if you want everyone alive and it'll be pretty obvious what the one mission you should do is.

Moderator

#230 Posted by RHCPfan24 (8608 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Killjoi, I would just like to say thanks for this guide. I followed it to a tee and my Normal playthrough went well; no I am going for Insanity and I will probably follow your exact approach. This post is very organized and easy to read: kudos to you, sir!

#231 Posted by Spacetrucking (935 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@RHCPfan24: You're welcome. I'm glad you found it helpful.

And good luck on Insanity. I played as a Sentinel. Heavy Warp and Warp Ammo come in really handy against all the barriers and armor.

#232 Posted by RHCPfan24 (8608 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@Killjoi: That sounds like a good idea; too bad I played through with a Soldier first time and am continuing on that save. I am using Reave....would you recommend this as the bonus power to use? Or is Warp Ammo a better one?

#233 Posted by Spacetrucking (935 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@RHCPfan24: No, Reave is a good options for soldiers. They already have enough ammo options so Warp ammo is a waste (Sentinels have none by default). I'm guessing your Incendiary Ammo would be a good general choice since it stops regen and burns through armor in no time.

BTW if you end up dieing a lot, try switching to Geth Shield Boost. Its a really good emergency power and the highest rank gives you an extra 10% weapon damage which works well for soldiers.

#234 Posted by RHCPfan24 (8608 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@Killjoi: Thanks for the advice, you know what you are talking about so I will certainly consider these tips.

#235 Posted by Rogue_Leader (2 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@gewfienewfie: Yeah I totally let Grunt lead the 2nd fire team... you know, thought that a dude who loves combat could handle everything... but no, he died. It was a bummer

#236 Posted by Teran (877 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

Honestly it's sad if you do all the missions before going and getting the IFF. Legion is one of the most uniquely interesting characters in the game. Do yourselves a favor, in one play through complete the minimum number of missions to trigger horizon, then do the thane or samara recruitment mission followed by N7 Anomaly missions until you trigger the disabled ship story mission. After this, go straight to the IFF mission and get Legion, now take him on everyone elses loyalty quests and you get loads of interesting comments and conversations as you drag your "trophy bot" or "personal synthetic assistant" around with you.

Maybe I'm just too easy, but I couldn't stop laughing at this: (dialog clip, non-story related)

To add to what so many others have said, thanks for creating this post. It's helped a lot of people experience the different endings of the game.

#237 Edited by Spacetrucking (935 posts) - 3 years, 3 months ago

@Teran: Legion is pretty awesome and probably my favorite. For some odd reason, I like it whenever he calls me Shepard Commander. I took him to the Flotilla for some hilarious turn of dialogues too.

Shepard: Unless you wanna shoot us both, Legion is coming aboard.
Captain: Well, you're Cerbarus and you've a Geth with you but since your Paragon points are high enough, I'll let it go.
Tali: I never brought active geth onboard!

The whole trial is really bizarre with Legion standing right there. I just couldn't stop laughing at all the contradictory statements by the Quarrians.

#238 Posted by Teran (877 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

@Killjoi: I laughed when I was able to intimidate them with the threat of taking off my helmet. Now I'm tempted to try and change the recruitment order and see if I can do things like bring thane and samara on earlier recruitment missions like Grunt's.

Legion's presence makes a lot of conversation more interesting. I can only imagine how awkward it would be to talk to Shepherd with a working Geth staring at them the whole time.

#239 Posted by averagejoe123 (2 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

I did pretty good my first try. didn't use the guide and I did kill 1 squad member on purpose
Vents I used Moridin because he annoyed me and I wanted him dead
2nd squad leader I used Garrus Both times..him being an ultra experienced Spectre I figured that was the most obvious choice..and I hate Miranda
Shield I used Samara....figured I had just porked Jack shouldn't get her killed right off..but samara lived so it all worked out
Escort I used Jacob...just because i figured he was a people purson
and on My team throughout i used Grunt and Thane. never had a problem with them

#240 Posted by nethanel (188 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

@averagejoe123: Garrus isn't a Spectre.

#241 Posted by killer_meatballs (428 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

I lost Thane and Mordin. Losing Mordin pissed me off. He was loyal, but I used him in the vents. Thane wasn't Loyal, so didn't really care about him.

#242 Posted by mracoon (4582 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

@killer_meatballs: You have to use a pure tech specialist in the vents - Legion or Tali.

Moderator

#243 Posted by killer_meatballs (428 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

Thanks.

#244 Posted by averagejoe123 (2 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

@nethanel: That's right he was C-Sec...been a while since I played the first one

#245 Posted by Teran (877 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

I beat it on insanity last night. Full renegade infiltrator, no team deaths.

Vents: Tali
Squad1: Garrus
Shield: Jack
Squad2: Garrus
Escort: Jacob
Final Team: Legion and Zaeed

#246 Posted by Ziemkeguy (22 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

@thehexeditor said:

" I saw a video of some fucker who blasted through the game in 10 hours and
SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.
got the ending he deserved..

@JohnKiller118:
EVERYONE DIED. it was funny.
"

Haha! Nice! Some people need to enjoy games!

Love this list, though. I'll make sure to come back to this when I get to the final mission!

#247 Posted by Rodiard (335 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

I'm looking for pretty much the complete opposite of what this thread provides. I'm on my second playthrough and I want as many squad mates to die as possible but I want Shepard to survive the final mission. Any ideas? How many crew members do I need to protect minimum to make it through?

#248 Posted by Roger778 (800 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

On my first playthrough, I lost Mordin and Jack on the Suicide Mission. Everybody else survived. Next time I play the game, I'll be sure to follow the list you just wrote out.

#249 Posted by jmrwacko (2444 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

I played two playthroughs with no deaths, both times had the following:

Vents: Legion
Fire Team A: Miranda
Fire Team B: Miranda
Biotic shield: Samara/Morinth
Escort: Garrus

All max loyalty and max biotic/tech upgrades, and special upgrades.

#250 Posted by dbrian (2 posts) - 3 years, 2 months ago

@dbrian said:

" i finished my first playthrough and i managed to get every team member, except Jack, out alive.
Vents: Tali
1st/2nd Squad Leader: Garrus
Shields: Samara
Escort: None
Final Team: Miranda & Jack
Notes: I had all upgrades for the team and ship; after i recovered the IFF i've done 3 more missions and then i went through the Omega 4 Relay. Non-loyal members were Legion and Jack. "

on my second playthrough i managed to save Dr. Chakwa, but still lost Jack

the differences are:
Escort: Jacob
Final Team: Miranda & Garrus

Mass Effect 2

After a violent death by an unknown force and a timely reanimation by the human supremacist organization Cerberus, Commander Shepard must assemble a new squad in the seedier side of the galaxy for a suicide mission in the second installment of the "Mass Effect" trilogy.

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