Stop The Collectors: Investigate Collector Ship | Mass Effect 2 Wiki

Full Stop The Collectors: Investigate Collector Ship Walkthrough

Getting Ready

This Mission doesn't have a true trigger, but these are the most common ones to obtain this Mission:

• After completing the Mission on Horizon, a five-mission countdown begins, after which you won't be able to access the Galaxy Map and instead must report to the briefing room to speak with the Illusive Man. He will send you to investigate, a disabled Collector Cruiser. At that point completing this Mission becomes the only way forward.
  Even N7 Assignments, count as a mission, so pick your five missions carefully.
• If the fifth mission is one of the two loyalty missions on Tuchanka or the Citadel, you can complete the other one before returning to the Normandy SR-2. Because of the order and tempo with which loyalty missions are acquired, the second Citadel mission will only become available in time if you leave Grunt in his tank.
• It's possible to complete Miranda's loyalty mission fifth and then recruit Thane or Samara as an extra mission, but only if Jack's loyalty mission has not yet been completed, because once completed, you return immediately to the Normandy.
• This mission will not trigger until EIGHT SQUAD members have been recruited. Grunt does not count as a squad member until he is awakened from his tank. The addition of Kasumi Goto and Zaeed Massani in DLC packs, along with the ease of recruiting them, tends to make this condition moot for many players unless they delay waking Grunt.

You will be facing a lot of barriers and armor, so Warp Ammo being probably the ideal Power to bring along. Armor-Piercing Ammo and Incendiary Ammo are good choices, more focused on armor and health damage. 

Walkthrough

This is probably, one of the most difficult Missions in the entire game. Move down the open hallway, to hear EDI comment that the ship's signatures match those of the Collector Vessel that launched the attack on Horizon. Keep moving forward until you reach a bend in the passage, you will encounter a pod where your squadmates make some comments. Keep moving down the hall, until you reach a pile of dead bodies. You can earn some morality points here depending on your dialogue choice. Keep heading down the tunnel, and you will reach some salvageable Collector Technology on your right. Once scanned, it will grant you x7500 Credits. Then move up to get the Med-Kit containing  Medi-Gel. Up ahead you will find a Control Terminal, next to a dead Collector's body in a pod. Be advised that approaching the Control Terminal, will select it automatically.

It is important to save your game here, because you will have to make an important choice that can have a permanent effect on Commander Shepard. So if you are not happy with your choice, you can always reload that save. 

As you access the terminal, you will contact EDI, who will tell you about the experiments. The Collectors were making genetic comparisons between their species and humanity. Then the conversation shifts to the Normandy's bridge and a shocking reveal is about to be unleashed. The Collectors' DNA matches that of the Protheans. You can now ask a few questions, and then end the conversation. You will reach down towards a pile of Weapons.

Immediately after the conversation, a menu will appear allowing you to choose of three Weapon-training options. Selecting one of these three options, will allow you Commander Shepard to use the selected Weapon in combat. However, if your character already has that proficiency, you have the option of choosing a powerful Weapon for that class. These are the options available:

• Assault Rifle Training: Soldiers can choose the M-76 Revenant Light Machine Gun instead.
• Shotgun Training: Soldiers and Vanguards can choose the M-300 Claymore Heavy Shotgun instead.
• Sniper Rifle Training: Soldiers and Infiltrators can choose the M-98 Widow Rifle instead.

Remember that both the training or the Weapon apply only to Commander Shepard, the rest of the squad won't be affected by this choice. The best choice will depend on your character class and playstyle. The Unique Weapons offered here, are considered the strongest in their respective classes, so they can be a great addition. Keep in mind that the training carries through for each new game. This means that you won't be able to select another Weapon or select an additional training on subsequent playthroughs with the same character.

After this big decision, grab the crate of refined Element Zero, to obtain x250 units of it, and the Power Cells before you continue on. Continue moving to find a large room with many pods. You will find more salvageable Collector Technology x15000 on your right, and also a Control Terminal at the end of this path grants you a Damage Protection upgrade.

Keep heading forward and as you walk up a long ramp, Joker tells you over comm that this is the same Collector Ship that attacked your previous Normandy, at the beginning of the game. As you round the corner, you will enter a massive area that holds an almost endless amount of pods. You realize that the Collectors, sooner or later, will target Earth to fill these countless pods. 

Now it is a GREAT moment to save your game. Head to the end of the area, where you will find a Command Console, access it to set up a link between EDI and the Collector Ship. For a while, everything is going great, but you didn't expect this to be so simple. Suddenly, all the holo-displays in the Normandy begin going blank, and the Collector General appears as a red hologram. 

Things in the Collector ship starts to shake vigorously, you communicate with the Normandy for a status report, and you learn that there was a power surge, and that this was not a malfunction, this was clearly a trap to lure Commander Shepard. EDI states that she's having trouble maintaining the connection due to "someone else" being in the system. The platform the team is standing on, launches into the air and then suddenly stops, making everyone lose balance. EDI comments that she managed to reestablish connection, and needs to finish the download before she can override any systems. Danger is coming, as Collectors are approaching your position on their on flying platforms, prepare for one of the toughest fights of the game.

The first Enemies to drop by are two Collector Drones and a Collector Guardian. Try to eliminate them as fast as possible to prevent Harbinger to start possessing them. A platform with a Scion on it will arrive in the first wave, and slowly orbit the main platform cluster while you combat the rest of the Collectors. It will fire a shockwave attack that can devastate you and your squad. 

Eventually, a second Scion shows up on another orbiting platform. In total, you will have to fight three waves of Collectors troops. 

Deal with the Collectors before focusing on the Scions, because they are a more direct threat. But don't lose track of the Scions' position, because if you left them unattended, their attacks can obliterate you. 

Once all the hostiles are down, EDI has some good news. She tells you that if you access the panel again, this time, she will be able to regain control. Before accessing the panels, loot everything on the platforms, including some Power Cells.

Now access the panel, and EDI will start to explain to you that the distress signal originated from the Collector Ship, contains an error that clearly identifies it as a non-turian signal. She states that it is impossible that the Illusive Man wasn't aware of this because she discovered the error using Cerberus detection protocols. This leads to the conclusion that he knew that you were walking into a trap. This conversation will be interrupted by Joker, who advises you to hurry because the ship is powering up its Weapons.

Get off the platform and move once you land. You will enter a small room with closed doors. Grab the med-kit containing Medi-Gel and head through the open door. 

Beyond some salvageable Collector Technology (Don't grab it yet), you will find some Collector Drones. Harbinger will possess one of these drones. You can command your squadmates to attack Harbinger, while you deal with the other Collectors.

Loot the Collector Technology to obtain x7500 Credits, and move down a ramp to a larger room to encounter more Collectors.

There is a lot of cover here to take advantage of, nonetheless, the fight is tough. On your left side, there is a ramp that leads to an elevated section that stretches until the end of the room, and can be accessed from the other side as well. Although the first wave of Collectors spawns in front of you, keep this in mind, because if you lose sight of a Collector, it may flank you from this side. Obviously, Harbinger will probably join the welcoming party, so watch out for him. On lower difficulties, you may be able to kill Collector Guardians before they even land.

After a few waves, a group of Abominations will appear. Make them your priority because of their explosive suicide attack. Burn their armor away and use biotics to throw them around. 

Once the final wave is over, head to the other end of the room and pick up the power cells, a Medi-Gel, and x250 Element Zero. Save your game before venturing forth.

After you drop down in the next room, and proceed inside a short distance, EDI will come over the comm to tell you that she has opened a door at the end of the room. You will have to deal with Collectors,  Husks and a Praetorian before reaching the end of the room. This Praetorian encounter is harder than the one on Horizon, because of the other present threats. Deal with them first, leaving the Praetorian last. You can check the Horizon Mission to the things you must keep in mind to face the Praetorian.

Once you are done with it, pick up any thermal clips available in the area. There are some power cells on the lower level if you hadn't picked them up already. Once you are down, move to the door. Sadly, the door will close and EDI will divert you to a longer path, past an obstacle.

You can obtain x7500 Credits from a salvageable Collector Technology, and across it, there is a Control Terminal with a Tech Damage Upgrade. Save your game again, because once you go past the door you won't be able to turn back and the battle will start immediately.

Be patient and don't rush into the fight, this is another wave-based battle against the Collectors, but this time, you won't be facing another Praetorian. Take the fight slowly and try to keep your squad out of the fray.

Once all the Enemies are down, the last hostile will be a Scion located by the passageway you need to take to exit the area. It won't move from its location, so you can save ammo and use Powers to take it down. This is another good save point.

Head down the hall until Joker comes over the comm recommending you to pick up the pace. This is the cue that a wave of about 20 Husks is about to drop down on you.

Keep moving, because the Husks will come towards you. Use your usual tactics for dealing with them, moving, trying to take them out from a distance and if things get complicated, use your Heavy Weapon to try to thin them out. Once that's clear, head back to the shuttle. You will see a cutscene showing your escape and return to the Normandy.

After returning to your ship, you will find yourself in a conversation with the Illusive Man. Although he knew he sent you and the crew into a trap, he maintains that he didn't risk all your lives unnecessarily and  suggests you comment that to the crew. Cerberus managed to discover information about how the Collectors survive the passage through the Omega 4 Relay, an advanced form of an Identify Friend/Foe or IFF. He tells you that each Collectors Ship is equipped with the device.

The Illusive Man tells you that Cerberus has located a Derelict Reaper in the Thorne system, of the Hawking Eta cluster. He has already sent a team to study it. To finish the conversation, the Illusive Man tells you that a trip through the Omega 4 Relay will likely be a one-way trip.

Once the meeting ends, Miranda Lawson, Jacob Taylor and Mordin Solus join you in the briefing room. You can now explain the actions of the Illusive Man to them. EDI comes over the comm and tells you that, based on the Collector ship’s course through the Omega 4 Relay, she can calculate the location of the Collector homeworld. She proceeds to bring up a display of the Milky Way and the path ends up in the galactic core. This statement shocks everyone, and Jacob argues that nothing can survive in there. Once the conversation end, you can decide to go straight to the Reaper IFF or keep building up your team.

When you next access the galaxy map, you'll find that the Normandy has been transported to the Balor System of the Caleston Rift.

 

Video

[video goes here]

 

Map

[map goes here]

 

 

Trivia & Notes

• Notes and tips go here.