Mass Effect 3: Priority, Earth #2 - walkthrough Mass Effect 3 guide, walkthrough

Last update: 30 October 2022

On this page of the Mass Effect 3 game guide you will find the walkthrough for the main quest Priority - Earth 2. You return to Earth in the campaign's finale. This walkthrough explains, among other things, when you can land on Earth again, how to destroy the Hades Cannon, when you can meet and say goodbye to your allies, how to survive the final battle, and how to play the scene with Anderson and the Illusive Man.

• Return to Earth
• Initial fights
• Destroying the Hades cannon
• Reaching the evacuation shuttle
• Safe zone exploration - saying goodbye to friends
• Second stage of battles
• Defeating Reaper forces - final encounters
• Launching missiles and destroying the Reaper
• Admiral Anderson and Illusive Man - final confrontation

Return to Earth

Received from: Admiral Anderson [Normandy SR-2: Combat Information Center]

Unlocked by: Received automatically after completing Priority: Cerberus Headquarters.

Notice! Before you decide to proceed with the final main mission of the game you should consider increasing the readiness rating (co-operative multiplayer), so that you'll gather at least 5000 points of the effective military strength.

You should also take some time to talk to the Normandy crew members for the last time, to change equipment used by the team members and to spend all the credits (you won't them later in the game) on the weapons, mods and armors you've ignored before (there's a terminal on the Normandy which allows to make long-distance purchases). You can find out more about the preparations by reading the guide's page titled Finale - how should I prepare?.

This quest will begin close to the Cronos Station (Cerberus HQ) located in the Anadius system in the Horse Head Nebula. Return to Pax system and use the mass relay in order to plan a trip to a newly unlocked Local Cluster (screen above).

You will now be presented with a series of cut-scenes, showing meetings with admirals Hackett and Anderson, a journey to the Solar System and a shuttle flight to London where the main battles are taking place. Wait until you're transported to [Earth: London].

Initial fights

Exit the shuttle and take cover along with the rest of your team near the landing site. Start attacking the cannibals and marauders stationed nearby and ignore the fact that they have a height advantage over you, because an early attempt of storming enemy positions may end very badly. I wouldn't recommend moving forward until you've secured the area around the landing site.

You should also remember about performing attacks only when the Hades cannon is not firing, because otherwise the shaking screen will make it very difficult to score precise hits and will also put your entire team in danger.

The next part of this battle will take place near a small square. Don't forget that you won't have to reach the Hades cannon within an allotted time limit, so take your time when fighting the monsters, preventing them from performing surprise attack.

Two brutes will soon appear to your right and it's highly recommended that you begin attacking them before they move closer to your team. The brutes shouldn't arrive at the same time, so if you're fast enough you should be able to kill the first beast before the second joins the battle. It's also important to hide behind larger obstacles when going against the brutes, because otherwise you may find yourself standing on a path of the brute's charge attack.

Continue fighting the Reaper units until you've secured this entire area and then take some time to replenish ammo supplies. The only way to reach the Hades cannon and the shot-down shuttle is to choose the path leading through a rubble to upper floors of the destroyed buildings (screen above). Don't be surprised when you'll encounter new monsters.

You'll soon witness a short cut-scene involving a damaged shuttle piloted by Cortez. The lieutenant will survive the crash only if you've completed his mini-mission earlier in the game (more on that subject in the description of Normandy SR-2: Lieutenant Cortez side mission).

Destroying the Hades cannon

The next big battle will start after you've reached the upper floors of the destroyed buildings. Don't forget about using cover and observing enemy movements constantly, so that you won't fall a victim to a surprise attack. A ravager will probably join this battle and this means that you must be extra careful, leaning out from cover only for short periods of time and using ammunition effective against armored targets.

Keep fighting until you've secured this area and only then take some time to explore it. You can find ammunition here, as well as a med-kit [100 EXP]. Proceed to the designated area (crashed shuttle) and notice that two unique weapons [M-920 Cain] are lying on the ground.

Pick up one of these weapons, aim it at the Hades cannon and HOLD the left mouse button. Don't release the button even when you've noticed that the weapon is fully charged, because the projectiles will be fired automatically and after a short delay. A successful hit should result in destroying the Reaper cannon [400 EXP].

Reaching the evacuation shuttle

Quickly return for the second unique weapon [M-920 Cain], because it will be very useful in an upcoming battle. Start charging the weapon right away by holding the left mouse button. You'll soon hear a scream informing you about the arrival of a banshee (she may be replaced by Morinth, however it won't change the difficulty of the battle). If you started to charge the gun too late, then the banshee may have enough time to move closer and the situation will become dangerous. Otherwise you'll have a chance to fire very soon after it has joined the battle. Hitting the banshee with the projectiles should kill the creature instantly.

After the banshee (or Morinth) has been killed order your team members to find cover and start attacking "normal" Reaper units. The cannibals and the marauders will be appearing in front of you, however you must prevent them from flanking you. Keep fighting until an evacuation shuttle appears in the distance.

Notice that the shuttle has its own energy bar, so eliminating all the monsters stationed in the area may prove to be difficult. As a result you should focus only on clearing the path to the shuttle and then start moving towards it using the sprint key (screen above) and healing yourself along the way if needed.

Once you're on board the evacuation shuttle listen to a new conversation with admiral Anderson and notice that you can trigger a paragon interrupt by pressing the right mouse button. Wait until you're all transported to a large base located in the safe part of the city [200 EXP].

Safe zone exploration - saying goodbye to friends

Begin exploring this area by interacting with a ladder. There are a lot of people inside the camp. Some of them are your allies and others are the ones that you've met only as NPC's.

You should consider having a final conversation with each person, however it's not required in order to ensure victory in the upcoming battles.

It's also recommended that you explore all the buildings you find, especially since a comm technician is standing inside one of them and he can grant a video chat with all the characters that couldn't show up in the human base in person (including Lieutenant Cortez, Jacob Taylor and Mordin Solus among other people).

Pick up a datapad found near one of the parked machines and then choose the rubble path leading to an upper floor of a destroyed building (screen above).

Make your way to a bridge connecting two buildings and get ready for a short action sequence which is about using a stationary turret. This battle is very simple. Just keep firing at the husks and cannibals you see in front of you, remembering about using short bursts so you won't overheat the weapon.

Once this scene has ended [100 EXP] you will be allowed to resume the exploration of the base, talking to new people and finding two med-kits [100 EXP] [100 EXP] and a datapad.

Your current objective is to reach the operations center and aside from new important characters you'll also find a med-kit [100 EXP] and ammunition here.

Make sure that you've talked to everyone you wanted to before initiating a new conversation with admiral Anderson. Confirm that you wish to start the final assault (lower right dialogue option) and make a speech in front of your team members (it doesn't affect the future events in any way). You should also notice that you're allowed to choose an entirely new team for the upcoming fights.

Second stage of battles

Wait until you're transported to a new area of London and surprise the first group of enemies you'll encounter. Once they're gone move further head and focus on eliminating more distant targets. You'll be going against cannibals and marauders, so you shouldn't have any problems winning the battle.

Drop down once it's safe and immediately order your team to take cover, because a nearby vehicle will soon be destroyed (screen above). This event means that you're about to be attacked by a new group of Reaper forces. Play it safe, guarding your flanks and using cover when needed.

Resume your journey after you've defeated all enemy units, however be ready to hide again when you'll notice a harvester in the area. Don't attack the harvester yourself, because the flying beast will be focused on exchanging fire with an armored vehicle and will leave this area after the machine has been destroyed. Focus on eliminating standard enemy units instead. A banshee will join the battle in a few moments and obviously you should focus your attention on it.

Thankfully this is a large area, so it should be relatively easy for you to keep the banshee in a safe distance from Shepard and the rest of the team.

Continue attacking enemy units until they're all dead and then find a door leading to an underground parking lot. A group of husks will attack you here, however the main danger is yet to come, because after a while two brutes will also show up. Use the pillars not only for cover, but also to avoid brute's charge attacks. You should move around a lot and try focusing on a single brute instead of attacking both beasts at the same time.

Monitor the health of your teammates, because they can die easily here. Explore the parking lot after you've won in order to collect ammunition and to find a ladder leading to the next area.

Proceed towards an upper floor of the building and once you're close enough to your current destination surprise Reaper forces stationed in the next room. Killing a single ravager should be your top priority and if you're fast enough you'll eliminate this creature before it manages to target your team.

As for the other Reaper units, you may attack them in any order you want to as long as you remember about keeping a safe distance from them. Keep fighting until you've secured this outpost [200 EXP].

Explore the room where the last battle took place in order to find two med-kits [100 EXP] [100 EXP] and a computer. You may now proceed towards a damaged door. Get rid of a single husk using a weapon, an offensive power or a strong melee attack and be ready to defeat other beasts.

Reach the end of the corridor, drop down and turn left. Order your teammates to start using nearby objects for cover and then attack Reaper units seen in the distance. I would recommend that you focus on precise shots here instead of firing tons of rounds of ammunition.

Watch out for a single ravager that will occupy a small hill located to your left (screen above). The approach is risky, so you should consider eliminating this monster from a large distance. Expect a single brute to join the battle (he will be accompanied by husks). The tactics remain the same, so you should focus on preventing the beast from moving too close and avoid its charge attacks if possible.

Keep fighting until your team wins and then proceed towards the entrance to the right building.

Order your team members to take cover next to a destroyed window. You should enter the building yourself and then move to your right. Start using shelves and other large objects for cover, looking for opportunities to surprise enemies located inside the building (screen above).

This is how you should be securing the rooms, however don't forget to find new covers for your colleagues every now and then so that they will be able to take active part in the fights. Secure the building, but before you move on explore the area to find a single med-kit [100 EXP].

Enter a large hole in the ground and stay there a while, because you should notice a new group of monsters in the distance. I wouldn't recommend stopping for too long, because you may become an easy target for the Reaper forces. Approach a new building and consider storming it from two sides at the same time. Doing this will allow you to surprise enemy units and therefore to eliminate them much faster (and easier).

Make sure you've killed all the monsters stationed inside this new building and then find the only interactive door. Don't enter the new area right away, because it's much better only to open the door and to attack the monsters from the distance.

Decide to enter the new area after you've killed all the monsters you can see from the previous room. Order your colleagues to take cover near the window and you should travel alone to your left, finding a narrow passageway there. Performing this action will allow you to flank a new group of enemies. It's not mandatory, of course, however surprising the enemy units will make killing them much faster.

Continue fighting, being ready to engage a single brute later in the battle. Once it's safe here again look around to find ammunition and a medical station [150 EXP].

Head towards the alley that was defended by enemy forces. You must be ready to resume fighting, because when you're close enough to the opposite end of this alley two brutes will storm through a brick wall located to your right. You can deal with this situation by retreating slowly and firing at the brutes without any pauses or you can immediately turn around and sprint towards the previous area. The second option will prolong this battle, but it's safer, giving you a lot of room to defend yourself.

Defeat both brutes and once they're dead return to the large hole in the wall. Step through this hole to continue your journey. Find a datapad and some ammunition before proceeding towards a nearby door and triggering a new cut-scene.

Approach the missile battery and start attacking cannibals and marauders stationed nearby. You shouldn't have any major problems with that, however since this is a large area you will have to guard your flanks (in some cases even your rear), preventing the Reaper forces from performing surprise attacks.

Keep fighting until you've managed to eliminate all enemy units [100 EXP].

I strongly recommend that you take some time to familiarize yourself with these surroundings, because all remaining battles of this mission will take place here. Notice that there are several buildings here and you'll be allowed to use them for shelter. You can find lots of ammunition, two medical stations [150 EXP] [150 EXP] and a med-kit [100 EXP]. The most valuable treasure is hidden inside the left building, because you may find a unique weapon [Hydra Rocket Launcher]. Don't pick up this weapon just yet, because it can't be added to your inventory. Memorize its location instead, so that you'll return for it later in the game.

Once you're ready to proceed with the next battle interact with the battery's firewall module. You'll find out that Reaper forces are heading your way and you'll have to start defending yourself.

Defeating Reaper forces - final encounters

There are two ways how you can behave during this battle an upcoming one. The first option is to remain close to the missile battery, placing the team members to cover as much area as possible. The second option is to hide inside the buildings, working as a group and always standing close to each other to eliminate enemy units based on co-operation. My recommendation is the second option, especially since the initial waves of enemy units will appear in different parts of the battlefield and you would have spend a lot of time monitoring their movements instead of just fighting.

The first group of enemies will arrive from your right (screen above) and the second group should appear near the place from which you came from. Aside from the cannibals and the marauders you will also encounter husks during these fights and as always it's important to maintain safe distance from them.

The last third group of enemy units will appear to your left and it will occur after hearing a warning about their planned arrival. In this case your top priority are the two banshees. Thankfully there's some good news, because the banshees shouldn't appear at the same time so you might be able to kill or at least injure the first banshee before the second monster joins the fight.

DON'T use the Hydra rocket launcher during this battle, because you can fire it only once and it will be more useful later. You don't have to conserve ammunition and grenades on the other hand, because there are tons of stashes nearby.

Just as before, you must keep fighting until you've eliminated all Reaper units. Wait for confirmation from EDI, replenish your supplies (ammunition, grenades, med-kits) and return to the missile battery to interact with the console again.

The rocket attack against the Reaper will result in a failure. This isn't your only problem, because you'll begin the longest and the most difficult battle of this mission (and probably the entire game).

As soon as you've regained control over Shepard you should return to the left building that was mentioned several times before (screen above). The reason for that is because the Reaper that was unactive in the earlier battles will now join the fight and start using its main weapon to destroy everything on its path.

This means that staying close to the missile battery would be very dangerous. You would have to spend a lot of time observing the Reaper and avoiding the laser, because coming in contact with the beam means sudden death. Hiding inside the left building on the other hand means that you don't have to worry about the Reaper's attacks at all, because its laser beam can't destroy the building.

As for the battle itself, it should begin with an arrival of an entire group of brutes. Wait until at least several beasts manage to enter the left building in which you're defending yourselves and then quickly pick up the unique weapon [Hydra Rocket Launcher]. It's very important that you time your shot so that the explosion will kill at least two brutes (screen above). You may now start attacking other brutes, using shelves and the long counter for cover and reviving your team members each time they die.

As soon you've dealt with the brutes quickly focus on a harvester. The beast should land in the middle of a nearby intersection (screen above) and I think it's fairly obvious that you should be attacking it while using cover. Choose weapons and offensive powers which are effective against armored targets, so it won't take long for the harvester to die.

Replenish your supplies while waiting for new "elite" creatures to show up and don't forget that also standard units are taking part in this battle.

Another unpleasant surprise is an arrival of two new banshees. Remember to focus on attacking one of the banshees instead of both at the same time. Monitor their movements and prevent the banshees from cornering you. Marauders will probably attempt to storm the building at the same time and you should be killing them quickly before they manage to pull off some kind of a surprise attack.

The final part of this battle will feature various types of monsters, however it's most likely that the biggest threat will be the banshees. Just as before, you should attack one banshee at a time and prevent them from moving too close so they won't release the shockwave. Keep using med-kits whenever they're needed, because you won't have any use from them later in this mission.

Launching missiles and destroying the Reaper

Keep defending inside the building until you've received a confirmation from EDI that new missiles are ready to be fired. The next part is similar to the shuttle evacuation from the early segment of this quest, so you must stop defending and focus only on clearing a path and reaching the designated area (screen above).

Use the sprint key and don't move in a straight line so you won't be an easy target for enemy units. Quickly approach the missile battery and interact with its console [400 EXP].

You'll be rewarded with a bunch of scenes, showing mainly the Reaper's destruction and an attempt to reach the Conduit.

Wait until you've regained control over Shepard and head forward. Despite what you might think you won't have to rely on sprint here, because this entire scene is heavily scripted and you can't effect its outcome in any way. Shepard will soon be hit by the Reaper laser beam (screen above).

Wait until you've regained control over a heavily injured Shepard and resume your journey towards the Conduit. Be careful, because a group of husks will soon start moving towards you. Kill the monsters before they move too close, because otherwise you'll automatically die. The same thing applies to a duel with a single marauder.

Once you've killed all the monsters approach the white beam and wait to be transported to [Citadel: Return].

Admiral Anderson and Illusive Man - final confrontation

Listen to a conversation with Admiral Anderson and proceed forward, staying on a very linear path. Your current destination is a large room with a control panel in the center of it (screen above). Admiral Anderson is here, however you'll soon also meet with the Illusive Man and this time he'll show up in person.

The meeting with the Illusive Man can have three endings and each ending has been described below.

The first ending can be unlocked by choosing special paragon dialogue options (upper left) four times. As you probably already know these dialogue options become available to you only if you've sufficiently developed your character's reputation. If you were able to choose all four dialogue options, then you'll successfully convince the Illusive Man to change his mind and a result he'll commit suicide (screen above).

The second ending can be unlocked by choosing special renegade dialogue options (lower left) four times. As you probably already know these dialogue options become available to you only if you've sufficiently developed your character's reputation. If you were able to choose all four dialogue options, then you'll irritate the Illusive Main enough for him to draw his weapon. You MUST perform a renegade interrupt (as soon as the mouse icon appears on the screen) by pressing the left mouse button, because otherwise Shepard will be killed.

The third ending is achieved either by choosing standard paragon dialogue options (upper right) or standard renegade dialogue options (lower right). I would recommend this ending only if you can't choose special dialogue options.

In both cases (paragon/renegade) the conversation with the Illusive Man will be very similar and you'll presented with two chances of killing him by activating renegade interrupts (left mouse button). The first opportunity will present itself when the Illusive Man will be aiming at Admiral Anderson (screenshot number 1) and the second opportunity will present itself when the Illusive Man will aim at Shepard after killing Admiral Anderson (screenshot number 2).

It's extremely important you use one of these moments to make the kill, because otherwise Shepard will be killed.

After you've dealt with the Illusive Man you'll watch several new cut-scenes. It's worth mentioning that if the Illusive Man didn't finish off Admiral Anderson, then you will be allowed to have a final conversation with a dying friend. You may now proceed to a guide page titled Endings.