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Contents

  • Essentials
    • Spectre Orientation Department
      • Start New Career
      • Mission Computer
      • Military Specialization
      • Morality
      • Dialogue
      • Fraternization
      • Transportation
      • Galatic Ecomomy
      • Mini-Games
    • Combat
      • Command Structure
      • Talents and Abilities
      • Requesitions
      • Manufacturer Showcase
      • Known Resistance
    • Planetary Database
      • Planets A-J
      • Planets K-Z
    • Appendix I-PC Achievements
      • Appendix I-PC Achievements
    • Appendix II-Merchants
      • Appendix II-Merchants
  • Walkthrough
    • Specture Missions: Introductions
      • Specture Missions
    • Prologue: Normandy and Eden Prime
      • The Normandy
      • Eden Prime
      • Objective 1: Speak with Captain Anderson
      • Objective 2: Head to the Dig Site
      • Objective 3: Find the Beacon
      • Objective 4: Speak with Joker
    • Chapter 1: The Citadel
      • Assignments
      • Objective 1: Attend the Council Hearing
      • Objective 2: Speak with Harkin or Barla Von
      • Objective 3: Take Down Fist; Save the Quarian
      • Objective 4: Reconvene with the Council
    • Chapter 2: Finding Liara
      • Assignments
      • The Normandy Revisited
      • Objective 1: Locate the Planet with Ruins
      • Objective 2: Land and Explore Planet Therum
      • Objective 3: Investigate Archeological Site
      • Objective 4: Escape to the Normandy
    • Chapter 3: Noveria
      • Assignments
      • The Normandy Revisited
      • Noveria
      • Objective 1: Visit Noveria; Speak to Anoleis
      • Objective 2: Access Port Hanshan's Garage
      • Objective 3: Investigate Peak 15
      • Objective 4: Confront Benezia; Escape Noveria
      • Showdown: Matriarch Benezia
    • Chapter 4: Feros
      • Assignments
      • The Normandy Revisited
      • Feros
      • Objective 1: Visit Feros; Secure the Tower
      • Objective 2: Cross the Skyway
      • Objective 3: Investigate ExoGeni
      • Objective 4: Destroy the Thorian
    • Chapter 5: Virmire
      • Assignments
      • The Normandy Revisited
      • Virmire
      • Objective 1: Visit Virmire; Reach the Camp
      • Objective 2: Infiltrate Saren's Base
      • Objective 3: Disable the AA Tower
      • Objective 4: Set the Nuke; Flee Virmire
    • Chapter 6: Lockdown
      • Assignments
      • The Normandy Revisited
      • The Citadel Revisited
      • Objective 1: Return to the Citadel
      • Objective 2: Speak with the Council
      • Objective 3: Meet with Captain Anderson
      • Objective 4: Steal the Normandy
    • Chapter 7: Ilos
      • Assignments
      • The Normandy Revisited
      • Ilos
      • Objective 1: Visit Ilos; Investigate Ruins
      • Objective 2: Disable the Security System
      • Objective 3: Enter Archives; Pursue Saren
      • Objective 4: Access the Conduit
    • Chapter 8: Endgame
      • The Citadel Besieged
      • Objective 1: Get Your Bearings
      • Objective 2: Scale the Tower
      • Objective 3: Break the Cycle
      • Objective 4: Usher a New Era
    • Spectre Assignments: First Citadel Visit
      • Citadel Maps
      • Citadel Assignments
    • Spectre Assignments: Noveria and Feros
      • Noveria Maps
      • Noveria Assignments
      • Feros Maps
      • Feros Assignments
    • Spectre Assisngments: Uncharted Worlds and A Return to the Citadel
      • Uncharted Worlds
      • Return to the Citadel
    • Spectra Assignments: Virmire and Citadel Lockdown
      • Virmire Assignments
      • Citadel: Lockdown Assignments
    • Spectre Assignments: Miscellaneous Assignments
      • Background Assignments
      • Alignment Assignments
      • Squad Member Assignments
      • Collection Assignments

Mass Effect (PC) Guide › Walkthrough › Spectra Assignments: Virmire and Citadel Lockdown

Virmire Assignments

All of the following assignments are triggered and completed during your main plot mission on Virmire. Some of this information also appears in the mission walkthrough for Virmire in this guide.

Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage

How to Get It: Speak to Captain Kirrahe about the genophage when you first meet him on Virmire

When It Is Available: During the Virmire mission; cannot be triggered after you begin the infiltration of Saren’s base

Where It Takes Place: Virmire Landing Zone

Special Notes: Need 8 Charm and 8 Intimidate to see all possible outcomes

Virmire Landing Zone

When you first meet up with Captain Kirrahe at the end of the Virmire landing zone, he tells you that Saren’s research facility on Virmire was designed to breed an army of krogan soldiers to do his will.

To do this, Saren first needed to find a cure for the genophage, the genetically engineered condition that decimated the krogan race and is quickly leading to its extinction.

Foiling Saren’s plans on Virmire also means forever losing Saren’s version of the genophage cure, which your krogan ally, Wrex, is understandably opposed to.

When Wrex expresses his opinion forcefully, Kirrahe says that Wrex needs to be dealt with before your mission can continue. This triggers Virmire: Wrex and the Genophage and its first task, Talk to Wrex .

Talk to Wrex

Wrex stands at the west end of the landing zone. If you have trouble finding him, just listen for gunshots; he’s standing on the shore, pumping round after round into the ocean in frustration. Approach him to begin a conversation automatically.

Your first few responses don’t have a huge effect on the flow of the conversation. Ultimately, no matter what you choose, it comes down to you and Wrex drawing weapons on each other. At this point, you have three conversation options.

"I wouldn’t do this otherwise," or "We are" : Both of these responses cause Wrex to back down and lower his weapon, but only if you have completed the Wrex: Wrex’s Armor assignment .

He agrees to help you, for the sake of preventing Saren from exploiting his people. This completes the assignment and earns you a huge Paragon bonus.

Note

If you have not completed WREX: WREX'S ARMOR, the conversation continues to the next dialogue branch, where you must use Charm or Intimidate persuasions to get Wrex to back down.

"This isn’t up for debate": The situation gets even more tense, and the standoff continues. You now have six additional options, two of which are persuasions.

Wrex is torn between his loyalty to you and the promise of a cure for the genophage.

"These aren’t your people" and "Don’t be so naïve" : If you have the Charm or Intimidation scores to see these persuasions, they cause Wrex to lower his weapon and agree to continue helping you.

These complete the assignment and earn you a huge Paragon or small Renegade bonus, depending on which one you chose.

Signal Ashley to kill Wrex or Shoot Wrex: Choosing one of these options causes either Ashley or you to shoot Wrex dead. This earns you a huge Renegade bonus. Wrex is no longer available as a squad member.

"We can work this out" or "Calm down" : Ashley shoots Wrex from behind and kills him. Wrex is no longer available as a squad member.

You can either respond to her in a Paragon (outraged) or Renegade (congratulatory) manner, earning you either a small Paragon or no Renegade bonus.

Caution

If you have not completed WREX: WREX'S ARMOR, have not invested sufficient points into Charm or Intimidate, and have recruited either Garrus or Liara at this point, there is no way to complete this conversation without Wrex being killed.

Virmire: Assisting Kirrahe’s Team

How to Get It: Automatically triggered when you leave the salarian camp and begin the infiltration of Saren’s base

When It Is Available: During the Virmire mission

Where It Takes Place: Virmire

Special Notes: None

When you are ready to begin the operation against Saren’s base on Virmire, Captain Kirrahe gives you an additional, optional assignment.

He will be leading his team of salarians (and one of your crew) as part of the main assault force, with your team infiltrating under the call sign " Shadow".

Kirrahe and his men are willing to give their lives for the mission, but he asks you to keep an eye out for ways to weaken the geth defenses that Saren has at his disposal. This triggers Virmire: Assisting Kirrahe’s Team and its first task, Search for Ways to Slow Geth Defenses .

Virmire Base Approach

Virmire Base Entry

Search for Ways to Slow Geth Defenses

Your first target of opportunity in this assignment is inside the communications tower in the northeast corner of the base approach section.

Fight through the geth defenders—which include geth shock troopers, snipers and destroyers—until the communications tower is clear.

Tip

You can approach the communications tower from the south or the northwest. The best strategy is to pick off as many geth as possible by hitting it from both directions before closing in on the tower and fighting at close range.

Run up to the second floor of the tower to find the triangulation tower (1). Approach it and use it to disrupt geth communications and trigger Disrupted Communications .

Use the triangulation tower to disrupt geth communications.

Disrupted Communications

Your next goal in the completion of this assignment is at the satellite uplink tower in the middle of the base approach section of Virmire.

Like the communications tower, the satellite uplink tower is also heavily defended by Saren’s forces, including krogan warriors.

When the area is secure, leave the satellite uplink tower and aim up at the satellite uplink (2) on top of it. Shoot it until it explodes, which disrupts the satellite uplink and triggers Destroyed Satellite Uplink .

Tip

You can also shoot the uplink from a distance before the area is secure.

Shoot the satellite dish on top of the satellite uplink tower to destroy the geth’s uplink.

Destroyed Satellite Uplink

Next, proceed to the refueling platform north of the satellite uplink tower. You can approach it from the northwest or southwest. Either way you go, you encounter two geth rocket drones and three assault drones (3). Destroy all five of them to trigger Destroyed Geth Flyers .

Tip

The geth drones are defending the highly combustible fuel tanks on the refueling platform. Target the tanks to blow them up and take the flyers out in a hurry.

Take out the geth drones to help Kirrahe’s team.

Destroyed Geth Flyers

Finally, when you make it to the western end of the base approach, you find a security console (4).

Access it to find that you can disable the security alarms for the base, which will make it easier for Kirrahe’s team to fight their way through.

You can also trigger alarms on the far side of the base, which will cause Kirrahe’s team to draw the attention (and fire) of Saren’s men away from you.

Choose the left option ("They’ve got enough trouble") to complete the current task and trigger Alarm Disabled .

Note

Choosing not to disable the security alarms for Kirrahe’s team results in Kirrahe being killed in combat.

Use the security console to disable the alarms, but don’t trigger the alarms at the far side of the base to send Saren’s men after Kirrahe’s team.

Alarm Disabled

With all four of these tasks now complete, all that remains is for you to complete the Virmire main plot missions successfully.

When you return to the Normandy following the events on Virmire, you will find that the assignment is complete.

Tip

If you complete the assignment, you can meet Captain Kirrahe and his men on the Engineering level of the Normandy after completing Virmire. This also allows you to buy and sell items at Lt. Rentola’s shop.

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