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Korlus junkyards

A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown.

Acquisition[]

This mission is available after the mission on Freedom's Progress and is part of the first set of Dossier Missions provided by the Illusive Man.

Dr. Okeer


- Millennia of combat and strategic experience
- Rumored familiarity with Collector technology

A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown.

Preparation[]

You will face both shielded and armored enemies during this mission, so there is no one critical flavor of power you need and a balanced squad makes sense. However, you will encounter quite a few enemies in distant and inaccessible locations, so squadmates with sniper rifles (i.e. Garrus or Zaeed) come in handy during this mission. Concussive Shot can sometimes be used to knock enemies off of ledges and balconies to their deaths, as can biotics like Pull. Something to stop krogan from regenerating their health will also come in handy, Jacob's Incendiary Ammo or Miranda's Warp being two such options.

It's a literal dump, but hey, quarian ships, meaning lots of sexy hips must be around somewhere so it's a-ok

INCOMING! Easily the biggest single threat to you on this mission is the Blue Suns Heavy, which you will be encountering in large numbers, sometimes several at a time. There are actually two variants of this enemy, the one without a helmet having beefier shields that it can restore with its Tech Armor. Heavies fire rockets that travel a little slower than the rockets of other similar enemies like the Blood Pack Boom-Squad, but with the major difference being that they are seeking projectiles much like your own version of their weapon. Not only that, but these ladies are quite trigger-happy and usually fire several rockets in rapid succession at your position whether they can see you or not, suppressing you and your team very effectively. There is very little margin for error when facing them, as being hit by even one rocket knocks you out of cover, often leading to getting hit by several more, often leading to Critical Mission Failure. See their page for more tips on dealing with them.

Walkthrough[]

Arrival[]

When you land on Korlus, you will hear Jedore, the Commander of the local Blue Suns garrison, talking over a loudspeaker. Your squadmates provide various interesting comments on that. Continue on, you don't need to worry about cover until you make a right turn at the end.

When you make the turn and go down the stairs you'll arrive at an observation post, as one of your squadmates will attest. Immediately move your squad into cover as you will come under fire from three Blue Suns Troopers on top of the stairs. Stay in cover and keep putting down fire until the enemies are dead. Run up then down the stairs and you'll see a wounded merc on the ground. He's a compulsory encounter and you will stop to talk to him even if you intended to run past him.

He doesn't get paid enough to goddamn bleed out.

The conversation with the merc will lend some morality points as long as your Paragon or Renegade scores are high enough. They each can lead to enemies standing down or being misled. You also have the option of telling the merc not to blow the whistle on you when his allies radio in, without using Charm or Intimidate. He will initially seem to comply, but then starts warning his cohorts about you, which triggers a Renegade interrupt you can use to make that decision his last. Not taking this interrupt results in you facing additional enemies later.

You can get some answers about what is going on at the planet and the krogan wandering around. The options can provide some good info for later. The merc eventually wanders off at the end of the conversation, provided you didn't kill him after not using Charm/Intimidate. An autosave is generated as well. Continue on and be prepared for more enemy contact, and more annoying speeches from the loudspeakers. If you let the merc go without resorting to Charm/Intimidate dialogue, Jedore will be alerted to your presence and will send more hostiles your way. Otherwise, the loudspeaker comments are none the wiser, for now.

Jedore threatening to withhold pay bonuses is enough bring out the dog mechs

Combat Tip: The next series of fights will be with enemies in inaccessible locations and almost always on high ground, so you will receive relatively little ammo resupply for now. So you may want to consider conserving your best ammo (e.g. sniper or assault rifle) for key targets, reverting to pistols and powers when there are only one or two enemies. Since there is no time pressure and since they cannot advance on your position, you can exclusively use powers to patiently kill them. Also, knocking enemies off of their platforms with powers like Concussive Shot or biotics will often knock them out of play, killing them instantly.

The first skirmish is on a trench with two Blue Suns Troopers on an inaccessible rampart on the far side. Once you descend into the trench another two Troopers appear on an inaccessible bridge above, plus two FENRIS Mechs if the wounded merc blabbed on your presence. There's a med-kit near a pile of crates on the trench, but beyond it another pair of Troopers emerge from the inaccessible catwalk a few dozen meters away (plus again, two FENRIS mechs if increased hostiles are at play).

It's a power sniper's playground

When you go up the ramp exiting the trench and on to the next area, radio chatter indicates they're beginning to suspect outsider interference if they weren't aware of your team yet, or they're beginning to realize you have a highly trained team and not just a bunch of rival mercs. The next fight is on an open area studded with cover, but your enemies are all on high ground and still inaccessible: two Blue Suns Heavies (three if increased hostiles) and about four Troopers. This is decisively a long-range fight and accuracy dropoff from short-range weapons will be a concern. There is a modest amount of thermal clips scattered about, so even if you can't reach the clips dropped by hostiles you can still replenish your ammo up to a point.

The next area has a single krogan on the ground fighting against Blue Suns soldiers atop a wall. At this point radio chatter has finally confirmed your intrusion regardless of whether you let the wounded merc earlier raise the alarm or not. If you did, Jedore grows more annoyed her underlings are unable to kill a simple raiding party. Help the Phoenix Armor-clad krogan out, he's not hostile (to your team) but he only has a shotgun and won't be able to kill the mercs on his own; he can occasionally fire Carnage but his damage output's just not great. You face an initial two Troopers, followed by another two after they die. They have height advantage and modest cover above the wall, so also take advantage of the barricades on your end.

One is fodder for the other, who exactly it is is a mystery until you intervene

When the mercs are down the krogan (who is now identified as Tank-Grown Krogan) becomes selectable. Seeing as you're in an apparent dead end, talk to him. He explains he's just 7 days old, most of it in a "kill everyone" state, and "something" compels him to speak with you. Okeer has been mass-producing krogan and flash-indoctrinating them, but he keeps rejecting them for some reason, and you're speaking with one such reject, who repeatedly acknowledges he is "not perfect". You can learn more details as needed, and your squadmates interject at various points.

At the end of the conversation, you tell the krogan you need to speak with Okeer, his "father". He moves a massive panel on the wall to allow your squad into the research base. He will not come with you, however, so continue on. An autosave is generated as you regain control.

Research Base Outskirts[]

Be prepared for updates over the loudspeakers about your progress, how you are frustrating Jedore, and how her mercs are getting sloppy in that they can't take you out but can take out hundreds of reject krogan.

Good luck tanking all those Avenger bullets especially on Insanity

Pick up 2,000 credits from the dead Blue Suns merc before you move on. It's just a downward slope with a waist-high L-shaped barricade at the bottom, right? Not quite. As you proceed down the dirt path, be careful once you hear a member of your squad warn you about the lack of cover. Send your squad ahead of you because there will be two Troopers that appear suddenly around the corner as you approach the bottom of the sloping path. They're fleeing from krogan, but their weapons can easily shred your defenses in the wide open passage. By sending your squadmates ahead the Troopers may be distracted enough for you to run over to the sole block of cover around and attack from relative safety, though this method may trigger the spawning of enemies from the next area. Tip: You may want to save your ability cooldown to use Unity here.

On higher difficulty levels it is very possible for them to take out your squad or even you before you can find cover or neutralize them. Pulling out a heavy weapon to deal with regular grunts might seem like overkill, but in this particular instance it isn't. Although there is no formal cover at the top where you came from, you can back up past the opening where you entered and in doing so get out of the line of fire, but that is dependent on surviving long enough to retreat back that far.

Krogan Berserkers arrive in a constant stream through this area..

Once past this trap, you must pass through an oddly-shaped passage: multiple raised platforms joined together by metal slabs, with very little real cover and a lot of breakable crates you can lean out of once or twice before some stray bullet destroys them. There are two paths, though they converge in the middle for two platforms before splitting off again. The other side can be reached in 4-5 platforms depending on route taken.

This is yet another challenging area because the enemies here will continue to spawn for quite some time, initially alone then in pairs, approximately ten in total. On Insanity they will all be Krogan Berserkers, but on lower difficulties the earlier enemies will run the gamut of the Blue Suns arsenal except for Commanders. You have the choice to try to hold and kill them all, or stop them spawning by gradually advancing past their spawn point. There is a medkit on one of the platforms next to a dead Blue Sun merc. Tip: It is even possible to avoid fighting the enemies entirely if you are quick, flexible, and follow the correct path (left branch first, then right branch). This is a viable approach even on Insanity, and once the timing is learned can be done consistently and doesn't require special abilities. Walk when krogan aren't shooting you, run when they are, and take cover briefly in the middle.

Friendly once-a-mission reminder that you don't need to subject yourself to shooting slogs since experience gain is per mission not per kill

Keep advancing if you can. If you choose this path, consider then leaving one squadmate behind to cover your back as you and the other squadmate get past the bridges and beyond to deactivate the spawning—you will hear a voiceover when you reach the spawn point, but if you reach the refined platinum (+2000) that's additional confirmation you're done. Another viable strategy is to sprint there quickly and then optionally take the remaining krogan out from behind, or just leave them in the dust.

You should see some stairs once you're past the platforms. Go up the stairs; you don't have to worry about enemies for a few moments so this area and the next few ones are viable manual save points. The door at the end requires bypass, so have at it. An autosave is generated after solving it. Afterward it's another flight of stairs, ending on what appears to be some makeshift living quarters, though while getting there radio chatter has some mercs looking for Jedore to reinforce them as they're under attack from krogan.

Room with a view (and garbage planet smell)

The living quarters is sealed, but you'll be picking up hostiles beyond the door, so saving's disabled for now. Note: This goes on for a couple more areas beyond this one, so you may need to backtrack out of radar range if you find yourself in a pinch. The room contains a medi-gel dispenser, power cells, and a scannable sniper rifle for the Scram Pulsar research line.

Outside the room is a single Trooper, whose back is turned toward you so for a split-second you have the element of surprise. He's also standing conveniently next to a bottomless chasm for any physics attack you might be thinking. On the other side of the chasm from him are two Heavies and a Trooper. Both sides have fragile crates you can destroy to reduce cover options, though the area's layout still makes this a long-range fight conducted by occasionally leaning out of rails.

The area after this is two square rooms guarded by an initial two Troopers, then from the second room's door emerge two Troopers and two Heavies, followed by another Trooper plus a Blue Suns Centurion.

Some guys love spamming bullets, these guys love spamming missiles

Be careful when entering this area because the mercs come out fast. Send in your squad first to pin them down for a few seconds, and then follow them in. Move your squad up when you can to the rail that protects you from "falling" into the abyss. If you're unable to prevent them from gaining a foothold, the first room's waist-high barricades is sufficient for a slow skirmish of attrition. This is once again a conventional long-distance fight with both sides blasting at each other in between ducking from rails or barricades.

Once the mercs are down proceed to the door. Opposite it, where the Heavies usually hung out, is someone's sleeping cot and a hackable PDA (+4,000 credits).

Troopers, Heavies, Legionnaires and Centurions defend this area

Beyond the door is another flight of stairs up, and another generated autosave. Over loudspeakers Jedore orders her men to kill the trespassers while she deals with Okeer, who has been releasing tank-breds without authorization. There are two doorways above, but one is barricaded. There's also a med kit near some sleeping cots in front of the doorway. The area is full of waist-high cover but protection goes both ways as your enemies are likely to have initial control of them. Enemy composition is initially a few Troopers and Heavies, then Blue Suns Legionnaires. When you advance a little further to the L barricade some more Troopers and Centurions show up on the far side. Again with all the bullet and missile spam you'll probably be spending a lot of time leaning out to fire or use your powers instead of a running battle.

Exiting this kill box you'll encounter a Blue Suns corpse with 2,000 credits and a bridge to the next area. BE CAREFUL because you will encounter a lot of mercs covering the bridge and the next area.

The area has double doses of everything: turian Troopers, human Troopers, Heavies, and Legionnaires

Initial composition will be two turian Troopers, who wield shotguns instead of assault rifles, then regular human Troopers, then two Heavies hanging back in the room beyond. The bridge has a lot of cover but it will be useless with close-range specialists around, so eliminating the turians is a priority. The hostiles in this area have a habit of just squatting down behind cover and will not fire forward. Watch where you send your squadmates in order to keep up the pressure.

When you've advanced far enough on the bridge surprise, the Heavies aren't alone and two Legionnaires suddenly appear to reinforce them. By this point you should have control of the bridge so you have plenty of fallback positions available.

Once you're done with them it's time to get lootin'. The area they were guarding appears to be another makeshift sleeping facility, so there are a bunch of thermal clips, power cells, and a wall safe (4,000 credits). Towards the west is a door leading to another set of stairs that go up, but before going up there's a hackable datapad (4,000 credits) around the bend just a few steps further west, next to a corpse.

Research Base Defenses[]

Blue Suns valiantly hold the line

Going up the stairs and opening the next door leaves you facing a metal hill that as you would expect has 4 Troopers on top of it, hugging the numerous metal slabs for cover. Over loudspeaker Jedore is getting annoyed her mercs aren't doing their jobs since your squad aren't dead yet, while on radio her mercs would rather she get off the speakers and fight. Move out with your squad and take out the mercs.

From the door both ways forward go to higher elevations. The hill in front of you (east) is basically a pit stop for the plain on your right (south), which leads to stairs going north on the far side. The far side is protected by two Legionnaires, a Heavy, and two more Troopers, so it's recommended you kill the mercs per area before proceeding as the combined firepower and flanking risks might be too overwhelming. If you need more thermal clips aside from enemy drops, some of the Blue Suns corpses there (the ones already dead before you came in) have nearby clips.

You should probably fear the day Vindicators begin shooting rockets, but it is not this day

When you reach the front of the stairs radio chatter indicates the mercs are losing ground to both you and Okeer's wild krogan. You may need to take advantage of nearby cover as there are still two Troopers: one on the bridge at the top of the stairs, another below (the Trooper below may fall back to support the next group of enemies). Once they're dead take the bridge get ready for another crouching shootfest against two Centurions below and two Heavies on an unreachable platform near your next destination. Jedore once more graces the loudspeakers and muses she has to do everything herself when none of her underlings report back.

Don't celebrate just yet when they're all down, as you descend the stairs there's another group to fight on your right (east): another Centurion, two Troopers, and a Heavy. When they're down though you can rest easy as they're the last ones for this segment. There's a spacious alley south of them (opposite the door) that leads to an area overlooking the plain earlier, but has no loot or enemies to clear out, so ignore it and just proceed through the door.

Research Base[]

Rana Thanoptis seems to have a few skeletons in the closet

Just inside the base what will happen depends solely on your import of Mass Effect. If you allowed Rana Thanoptis from Saren's base on Virmire to live, she can tell you what was happening here and how she survived. You have to let her leave and she tells you she is running because she "knows how you work." Otherwise this is simply an empty antechamber with goodies. Regardles of Rana's presence, there's a medical station by the next door and a secure terminal you can hack for 4,000 credits.

Unlike in the first game, Rana is an optional encounter this time around and you can ignore her. By talking to Okeer in the next room though you will lock out her room, so there's no reason other than roleplay to not interact with her. Saving in this room is a good idea in light of the interactions you'll soon be getting.

The door beyond Rana's office leads to Okeer himself and his laboratory. He greets you as you come in and reveals he has been watching your progress. At the far end there's a locked door that stays locked until you talk to Okeer, as well as a terminal you can bypass for a Krogan Vitality research upgrade.

Okeer has one last card up his sleeve (so to speak)

When you finally converse with Okeer he has been impatiently waiting as you play around with the "idiotic" mercs. Threaten him or not, he knows whoever sent you needs him alive for some reason. He knows who you are, as all krogan should know about Shepard and their actions on Virmire. Whatever your response, he approves of the genophage cure's destruction there because his creation will render it irrelevant. The one krogan in the room with him, still in its tank, is the "perfect" krogan and his legacy. If you explore the investigate options in the conversation he tells you that he has been producing the tank-breds in search of the perfect krogan, and providing an army for Jedore that consists of his rejects. He says they are going wild because she lacks the ability to command them.

Okeer wants to strike a bargain for a way out of Jedore's thumb but doesn't want to stake his prototype for it. However, Jedore comes over the PA announcing that Okeer released the krogan, and she begins to unleash krogan-killing gas intending to start over. Incensed, Okeer wants to barter his knowledge of the Collectors in exchange for stopping Jedore. He will stay behind and "do what he must" to protect his legacy, as it is irreplaceable and cannot be duplicated.

Jedore[]

You'll be running around in circles in a square room

Go down the stairs and save your game BEFORE you open the door. Once you open the door, take cover immediately behind the birthing tanks because there are three types of enemies in this room. Jedore herself is armed with a rocket launcher and a YMIR Mech. One of your squadmates will remark on seeing her in the flesh, as talkative as ever. Some krogan will periodically break free from the tanks and attack you and your squad. The krogan are the greatest threat because all have shotguns and usually will bypass your squadmates and go straight for you.

Take down the krogan. There will be four on Insanity, spawning one at a time. Alternately, take out Jedore quickly and the krogan will stop spawning.

Combat Strategy: This fight can seem complicated because there are a lot of enemy types moving around, but it can actually be broken down into several fairly simple steps and accomplished with little risk.

Have fun dodging shotgun blasts, missiles, berserk krogan AND a roaming walking minigun
  • For the first part you will want to stay up on the top platform you enter on. There are two good places to take cover: behind the roughly L-shaped location halfway down the platform, and behind the box 45-degrees diagonal at the far end of the platform just before the one respawning piece of ammo. From either of these locations you can safely take cover from both Jedore and the YMIR Mech, and thus you can concentrate exclusively on the krogan.
  • As each krogan spawns, watch which way it wants to approach your platform, and dash down to the cover at the *other* end. Take pot shots at the krogan when you can, mainly trying to burn their armor off. Once the armor is gone a flame ability like Incinerate or the biotic Warp ability can be used to disable their regeneration ability.
    • If you lose track of how many krogan have spawned, look at the number of upright tanks on Jedore's initial location. There are four tanks. Slanted tank means there's an undeployed krogan inside, upright tank means the krogan inside has been unleashed.
  • When the krogan reaches your platform you will have a clear line of sight to it. Immediately unload with everything you and your squad have to take it down. Emergency abilities such as Throw and Concussive Shot can knock it off its feet if needed.
  • After lather-rinse-repeat for four total krogan, head to the end of the platform with the diagonal box and take cover there if you aren't there already. This is the safest spot to take on the mech. It will tend annoyingly to keep the breeding tank between you and it, but you will have plenty of chances to shoot it if you are patient, or you can quickly pop out if you dare.
  • Once Jedore is the only one left, it's safe to proceed down from the platform. You'll find three more ammo spots below, and Jedore's rockets will miss you as long as you are running. Find a good spot and take her down—she doesn't hide very well and won't last long against sustained fire.
Or you can play smart and sensibly reduce unnecessary risks by funnelling enemies into a singular safe killzone, especially if you've barely begun upgrading your defenses and arsenal

Alternative Strategy: A safe—though probably more tedious—way to conduct this fight is not to enter the room at all. The door has a very short closing threshold; barely two steps in either direction and it will close. The krogan will come one at a time and can leave the room if the door is open. The YMIR will probably not leave the room because it can shoot at you from inside. Jedore will not leave the far side of the room to close distance because she is using a rocket launcher. Therefore, if you can handle one krogan at a time, you can just wait outside the room and let the door shut to have respite at any time.

Once everyone is down, a squadmate may comment about some alarms. EDI informs you that the lab where you left Okeer is filling up with toxins, fast. Hightail it back to the lab; on your way the lab computer will tell you that the emergency vents are kicking in.

Unfortunately it is too late, Okeer is already on the floor dead. As soon as you enter Okeer's final words play at his computer console, describing that he didn’t know what the Collectors had planned for the human colonists. He does ask you to protect his legacy, the perfect krogan soldier. After accessing his console, a few interesting squadmate comments follow, depending on who you brought with you. Shepard then calls the Normandy and explains that Okeer is a no go, but there's a package for pickup instead. And he's a big one.

Normandy[]

The first thing you encounter back on the Normandy is Jacob and Miranda arguing over the "new paperweight" you received from Okeer. You can either play nice or remind them both that this is your ship and your decision; you can also discuss security precautions for the new guest with some input from EDI. Regardless of what you say, don't worry as it won't actually have any impact on the fate of the tank's occupant, though some morality points can be earned. With the debate concluded, you are now free to head to the port cargo hold on the Engineering Deck to wake the krogan. You may also speak with Kelly Chambers first for some cautionary words from her about the tank.

Dr. Okeer's Legacy[]

Letting him out is a no-brainer, keeping him sealed is peak sigma Shepard

Strictly speaking, this is a separate mission from here and can be done later. EDI likewise warns you of the risks of opening the tank and you can ask a few other questions. If you decide a potential krogan ally is too valuable to pass up, open the tank and meet "Grunt". However, it is also possible to leave the tank unopened and even reach the end of the game having never released him. Leaving Grunt in the tank for the time being can have some advantages that aren't immediately obvious, such as delaying certain mission triggers from occuring or speeding up the unlocking of certain loyalty missions.

If released, Grunt emerges and his first act—somewhat unsurprisingly—is to charge and slam Shepard against a wall. Choose your dialogue options carefully and if your Paragon or Renegade scores are high enough, options will appear to persuade Grunt to fight for you or join your "clan" depending on your choices. The scene eventually pulls back to reveal that Shepard was holding a pistol to Grunt's stomach the entire time; on noticing, Grunt approves that you "Offer one hand, but arm the other."

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the tank.

If persuasion dialogue choices are not made, Shepard will be forced to use the pistol (optionally via Renegade interrupt) in a more direct manner to "convince" Grunt to back down. He appears severely wounded, but with krogan regenerative powers he is able to quickly recover. Regardless of conversation choices, Grunt is impressed by Shepard's demonstrations of strength, and he joins your team as its newest member. Multiple morality points are available from the confrontation.

E-Mail Messages[]

This message is received from the Illusive Man if and when Grunt is released from the tank:

From: Illusive Man


Shepard,

I see you awakened Okeer's krogan. A dangerous decision, but you've got free rein on this operation. If you're certain he'll be a useful member of the team, you've got my support. We need every weapon we can get in this battle.

If this "Grunt" proves unreliable and has to be put down, don't lose the body. He's based at least partially on Collector technology and could offer useful genetic data. But, again, you are in charge.

Mass Effect 3 Consequences[]

If Grunt is never released from his tank, he will not appear in Mass Effect 3. If the tank is opened and Grunt survives the suicide mission, he will appear as the leader of an elite unit of krogan commandos investigating reports of a resurgent rachni. He may also be able to contribute to the war effort against the Reapers.

Enemies[]

Mission Summary[]

Cloning facility destroyed. Okeer dead, but his "son" was recovered.

Loss of Okeer could be a problem. Will allow Shepard to decide whether to activate the krogan.

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