Mass Effect 2: Technologies - basics Mass Effect 2 guide, walkthrough

Last update: 02 June 2021

Introduction

Gaining access to new technologies is a very important element of the game, because doing this allows you to become more effective on the battlefield and it can also ensure your victory at the end of the game.

There are two ways of gathering new technologies:

1) you can develop technologies by yourself based on plans found during the game

2) you can purchase technologies which are already ready for use

Both methods are equally interesting and they're not exclusive - you won't have to worry that if you've purchased a technology you've lost a chance to unlock it yourself, because each upgrade is unique. The results are obvious - you'll have to use both methods and this means obtaining plans, finding resources and gathering enough credits.

Types of technologies:

Technologies can be divided into four main categories:

1) Weapon upgrades - It's one of the most important categories. Make sure to focus on unlocking technologies which can help out Shepard, because you'll be the one responsible for killing most of the enemy units.

2) Armor upgrades - There are a lot of different technologies in this category, however I would recommend focusing on three - biotic upgrades, tech upgrades and medi-gel upgrades (carrying more med kits).

3) Normandy upgrades - Start off by purchasing upgrades which will make the game easier by allowing you to scan the planets faster or keep more probes on board. You can unlock the offensive and defensive upgrades later, because you'll only need them for the final mission.

4) Prototypes - This category also has many different technologies - I would recommend taking special interest in heavy weapon ammo upgrades, because they will allow you to use heavy guns more often.

Make sure to read the description of each technology before buying it or spending resources on it, because some upgrades will work only on Shepard and some on an entire team!

Check the rest of this chapter find out about:

- ways of obtaining plans needed to develop technologies (Plans for new technologies)

- ways of developing technologies based on obtained plans (Developing new technologies)

- ways of purchasing upgrades from local vendors (Technologies sold by merchants)

- ways of finding and gathering resources needed to unlock technologies (Resources)

Developing technologies

The basics:

Developing new technologies on your own is a complicated process, because you'll have to take many things under consideration. The first step is to acquire a plan for a research project. In most cases this can achieved during missions (mostly primary but also in some of the secondary ones) by scanning interactive objects from the environment. Depending on the situation you might have to scan a weapon, a body, some kind of alien technology or a destroyed much. Scanning an object results in adding a plan to your database which can then be processed further.

Each mission usually has one or two objects which can be scanned in order to acquire new plans.

Other ways of obtaining plans:

Aside from scanning interactive objects you can also obtain plans by:

- finishing important quests

- talking to your crew members and asking them for ideas concerning new technologies

- reaching certain stages of the main campaign

- developing other technologies - this mostly applies to technologies which have several levels (for example Sniper rifle damage which has five levels of development), but can also occur in other categories (a good example is unlocking new heavy weapons by developing available ones)

You can find out more about this from the Plans for new technologies section (Way of unlocking the plan column).

Laboratory:

Once you've found at least one plan you'll have to go to the laboratory which can be found on the second deck of the Normandy (near the bridge and armory). Notice that in order to unlock access to the laboratory you'll have to recruit doctor Mordin Solus. Thankfully this can be achieved in the early stages of the game by completing Dossier: The Professor quest during your stay on the Omega station. An important thing to know about is that you don't have to wait until you've recruited Solus, because you can start gathering plans before meeting him for the first time - they will all become available after you've unlocked the laboratory (the first plan can be obtained during the prologue on the Freedom's Progress colony).

You must use research terminals after you've recruited Mordin and gained access to the laboratory.

Process of developing a new technology:

1) You must acquire a plan.

2) You must return to the Normandy, enter the laboratory on the second deck and interact with the left terminal.

3) You must choose a category you're interested in and confirm that you want to unlock a technology. You also have to make sure that you have a sufficient number of resources.

A developed technology is automatically injected into the game and you can review the upgrades you already have using the right terminal.

Resources:

Developing each technology requires you to spare resources and there are four types of those in the game. Element zero is the most difficult one to find so you won't have a lot of it. Thankfully you shouldn't have any problems with other minerals - iridium, platinum and palladium.

Check the Resources section for more information.

Advantages of this method:

- developing new technologies on your own won't cost you anything (aside from small amounts of credits needed to purchase probes and fuel)

- this method allow you to access the best technologies available in the game

- common technologies require only a small number of resources

Problems of this method:

- developing technologies becomes available after you've recruited Mordin

- some of the plans will only become available after developing several upgrades from the same group

- developing best technologies requires a lot of resources, including a very rare element zero

Buying technologies

The basics:

Buying technologies from vendors is a much easier process, because you won't have to go through several steps or worry about finding plans and resources. The biggest problem of this method is that usually you have to pay a lot of credits for a single technology and therefore you won't be allowed to purchase all of them during your first playthrough. Nevertheless, you should keep buying new technologies as you progress in the main campaign, because you won't need large amounts of credits for anything else.

Technologies can also be purchased in stores.

Vendors:

Upgrades are being sold by merchants and they can be found in four major areas of the game:

- Omega station

- Citadel

- planet Illium

- planet Tuchanka

Additional information:

There are also a few other things you should know about:

1) Local stores offer a lot of different items for sale - not only technologies but also armor pieces or accessories. As a result you always have to check what you're buying before you've finalized the transaction. Make sure to go to the section named Technologies sold my merchants for more info.

2) I wouldn't recommend buying the most expensive upgrades in the early stages of the game. What you should do is to keep working one of your karma bars (paragon and renegade) so that you'll have a chance to convince merchants using special dialogue options to lower their prices. In some rare cases you may also receive other bonuses, including gaining access to unique items.

Advantages of this method:

- buying new technologies is quick and easy

- all the stores can be found in main areas of the game

- you can purchase a lot of interesting upgrades on the Omega station where you start the main campaign

Problems of this method:

- most of the upgrades are very expensive and the best ones cost between 50000 and 100000 credits - this means you'll have to choose only those which you'll find useful

- you can't purchase all the upgrades during your first playthrough, because you won't earn enough credits

- you can't buy some of the best available technologies using this method (including the ones which will allow you to upgrade Normandy)

Best technologies to start out with

The list below contains all the best upgrades you can gain access to in the early stages of the game and you should take special interest in them if you want the game to be easier for you.

PLANS:

- Heavy weapon ammo - The first plan of this technology (there's a total of six of them ) can be obtained during the prologue on the Freedom's Progress colony, so you'll have a chance to develop it as soon as Mordin has joined your team. Extra ammo will always come in handy, especially in most of the primary missions.

- Medi-gel capacity - You'll have a chance to collect two plans from this category in the early stages of the game. The first plan can be added to your database during your visit to the Omega slums and the second one is a reward for completing a subquest for doctor Chakwas. You'll need the extra medi gel units, especially if you're playing on a higher difficulty setting.

- ML-77 rocket launcher - You'll receive this plan as soon as Mordin has joined your team and unlocked access to the laboratory. I would strongly recommend developing this technology right away, because a rocket launcher will be your best weapon until you've collected an alien particle beam weapon.

- Advanced mineral scanner - You can talk to Miranda about her ideas for new technologies and this should occur as soon as possible. Unlocking the scanner will make the entire process of scanning planets for minerals much faster.

TECHNOLOGIES BOUGHT FROM VENDORS:

- Hack module - You should consider purchasing this item if you're having problems with one of the mini-games. The technology can be bought from Harrot's Emporium store located in Omega's market district.

- Bypass module - The idea is similar to the hack module, however this upgrade helps with a different kind of a mini-game. You can purchase this technology from Serrice Technology store found on the planet Illium.