The geth have attacked the world of Feros. Your primary objective is to go to the Zhu's Hope colony to investigate what Saren is after, and why he sent his geth troops to the planet.
Acquisition
This mission is acquired after Shepard is given Spectre status and Shepard reports to Dock 422. Udina will say that Anderson is stepping down as the commanding officer of the SSV Normandy and that the ship is now commanded by Shepard.
Anderson's speech about the planet is that it is a very young colony. The planet is covered with an old Prothean megatropolis that covers about 2/3rds of the planet. Anderson says that the colonists were attempting to build on what the Protheans left behind.
Head to Feros in the Theseus system of the Attican Beta cluster.
Preparation
If there's an opportunity to upgrade your grenade capacity at one of the Citadel shops before you head here, it's well worth it. Try to avoid using many grenades early in this mission, however, as you may need them later. Always make sure they can be replenished.
Your early adversaries on Feros are mostly geth and a few krogan, and really any squad abilities you bring will be useful. A team that covers each other's weaknesses is the best bet. Go with the group you feel comfortable with the most. As for weapons, a balanced set will do well, as Feros is, much like every other world, an ever changing battlefield of variables. The team that can adapt to the situation is the team that stays alive. In armor terms, for much of the mission, use shield or health regeneration armor upgrades as much as possible, and in the later portion, damage protection and health regeneration upgrades.
There comes a point in the mission where you will be cut off from the Normandy, preventing you from changing squadmates, flying elsewhere, or doing whatever business you have on the ship. It lasts until the next mission, so be warned and plan accordingly. In subsequent sections biotic crowd control powers such as Throw, Lift, and Singularity will be especially valuable for keeping masses of enemies from closing to point blank range. The Neural Shock ability, if available, will also come in handy against certain organic enemies ahead.
If you wish to make all morality-based choices available, it is highly recommended not to continue beyond the mission's point of no return until you have at least 10 points in Intimidate and/or 12 points in Charm. Go offworld and develop your morality alignment elsewhere. Noveria, Therum, random sidemissions and talking with people will be better for those in need of morality points. Feros can be done at any point one wishes, but the best bet will be after Therum and Noveria, with several sidemissions in between, for a good start in morality, story and equipment levels.
Walkthrough
Arrival on Feros
On the approach to Feros, unlike the Citadel and Noveria, no one is responding to hails and no one contacts the Normandy. Prep yourself and your squad for a lengthy adventure.
After exiting the Normandy head down the platform and you will run into David Al Talaqani. He welcomes you and tells you that their leader Fai Dan wants to speak with you. Respond with what you will, no matter what you say David will tell you to speak to Fai Dan, then some geth come up and promptly shoot him in the back.
Shoot the Geth Trooper and then move up and put your squadmates in the limited cover that exists. There are a few more Geth Rocket Troopers, Geth Shock Troopers, and Troopers that will block your path. The geth will frequently not use the cover or move out of it so don’t worry if you can’t get at them, they will do that themselves. Note: Throughout this mission the numbers and types of enemies will scale based on your current level - for instance you will not see Rocket Troopers upon your arrival here if you have a low level character, even if you are playing on high difficulty level.
Once the geth fall move up and head up the stairs. You are treated to a quick cutscene showing some Geth Hoppers jumping around and Shepard and the squad moving into the stairwell. When you regain control head up the stairs and watch for the Hoppers - they're fast and agile harassment units and are difficult to track and take down. Use some biotics to get them off balance and then it will be easy to take them out; if not then make them fall into the abyss. Head up the stairs and into the colony, or what’s left of it.
Zhu's Hope
When you get to the top of the stairs you come across some defense barriers where two people are arguing about who is going to go and look for geth. Go past them and into the structure ahead of you. Really it is a downed freighter, the Borealis, but just keep going. When you emerge at the other side, head to your right and here will be Arcelia Silva Martinez and Fai Dan. Strike up a conversation and Fai Dan will thank you for your arrival, and rebuffs Arcelia who scoffs at you being late arriving to the battle, and only bringing three people. However your conversation is cut short as more geth arrive, and Arcelia instructs you toward the tower.
When you regain control of Shepard, take cover behind the defensive barriers to safely deal with the mass Shock Troopers, Troopers, Rocket Troopers, and Geth Snipers that attack you. Once you manage to take out the geth, then head up the stairs and on the stairs you may encounter yet more Hoppers depending on your level. Destroy them and keep moving up the stairs.
When you reach the top you will hear a colonist panicking because they are being chased by geth. There is nothing you can do to save the colonist but take out the geth that killed him. Because there is little cover here watch your health and shields as you combat the geth.
Once you are done dealing with them, head through the door. Turn left to keep going and complete the current objective at the tower, or turn right to detour into the tunnels, gain some exp fighting more geth, and make preemptive progress on some of the upcoming assignments. For simplicity's sake push forward to the tower for now; the context of events at the tunnels will be explained later.
When that's settled, head to the upper level and use the limited cover to your advantage as you take out the few geth that are in the room. Also watch out for the Geth Recon Drones that are buzzing about, while they may be a small threat, if they aren't dealt with, they can deplete your shields. However don’t move out of cover because a dropship will fly over and drop more troops. Troopers, Shock Troopers, maybe a Rocket Trooper, two Geth Destroyers, and on higher difficulties, a Geth Juggernaut. (Note: If Feros is your first stop after the Citadel and you have a low level character, you will see no Rocket Troopers, no Juggernaut, and only one Destroyer, even if you are playing on Insanity). Stay in cover and take them out, you can move if necessary but shoot the Destroyers at a distance otherwise they will get up close and personal with their shotguns and melee you and the squad.
Insanity Tips: If you're playing this in Insanity and have a low level character, the above fight can be very tough because your squadmates don't have much cover and enemies try to flank and charge you. Recommended is to stay in the very entrance area and give your squadmates an explicit order to stay there. Edge out and kill some of the easy initial targets; then the drones and shock troopers will appear -- retreat back into the entry alcove to deal with them without being sniped and so forth. Then rest until your health is full and abilities are active before taking out the Sniper which will trigger the final wave that includes the Destroyer - again invite him back to the foyer for a private reception. After that you're safe to emerge with your squad and lay waste to the remaining geth.
Once all the geth have fallen, a short cutscene will play showing the dropship leaving. One of your squadmates will say that they should report to Fai Dan and tell him that the tower is clear. Before heading back however, go to the other end of the tower, opposite the entrance, because there will be a Medical Station and an upgrade kit there waiting to be picked up. When you have them, head back to Fai Dan, and don’t worry because there are no more enemies for now.
When you report back to Fai Dan he will thank you for clearing the tower but there are apparently still geth in the tunnels below the colony. The colony is in dire straits because of the ongoing attack and its myriad other problems, and you can ask him about what is needed to get the colony back on its feet. He will direct you to the appropriate person and you will get an associated assignment:
- Water Problem: Feros: Water Restoration: Macha Doyle
- Find her near the entrance to the colony that leads back to the Normandy, near a pipe
- Food Problem: Feros: Varren Meat: Davin Reynolds
- Find him in the downed ship, the Borealis
- Power Shortage: Feros: Power Cells: May O'Connell
- Find her near the power generator near the entrance.
- Geth Problem: Feros: Geth in the Tunnels
You can bypass these assignments; whether or not you complete them will impact the fate of the colony. Even if you don't plan to save Zhu's Hope, there's little reason not to do them, as the exp, credits, and equipment that you can earn are well worth the time.
Before you leave, however, peek at the Public Extranet Terminal inside the ship for a codex entry, and hack a terminal in one of the pods of the freighter for the assignment Investigate Shipments (the terminal is only accessible if you have not already received the assignment from Admiral Hackett). If you haven’t already, talk to Ledra to unload some materials and maybe acquire some licenses. Tip: If you happen to favor shotguns for some of your squad members, the Tornado models Ledra sells are some of the best available for their level - definitely worth checking against your current shotgun.
Head out when you're ready, up the stairs past Fai Dan and Arcelia then a right turn. A previously inaccessible door is now open, an elevator to a garage fronting the skyway to ExoGeni Headquarters. Ignore the elevator if you choose to handle the tunnels situation, or skip to here in the walkthrough if otherwise.
Into the Tunnels
Continue past the elevator and head down the stairs. About half way down you will encounter another colonist running from the geth. There are a few Hoppers around here, usually two, so take them out. When you are finished, head down and into the tunnels proper.
When you reach the lowest level of the colony head left and then right to get into the tunnels. Follow the path and eventually you will reach a roadblock, so head into the tunnel to your left and down. When you enter take cover because there will be more geth at the other end. Usually Destroyers, Shock Troopers, and a Sniper; use the cover to take out the geth. Once they are down, to your right is the first of the three water valves: turn it on. Head to the other side of the tunnel to get the second. When you walk up and out of the lower area, you have three options: keep going forward, go right or go left.
Going right completes the Geth in the Tunnels mission, Going left completes the Varren Meat mission and the Power Cells mission, going forward completes the Water Restoration mission.
Going Right
- Main article: Feros: Geth in the Tunnels
When you walk across the bridge and open the door be prepared to confront two Geth Snipers on an upper balcony. Use any means to take them out - a quick storm of tech or biotic abilities will do that safely. A Geth Assault Drone and a Geth Shock Trooper will also appear. Once they are permanently deactivated, move up and in the next room there will be three Krogan Warriors. Backpedal and draw then into the corridor. Put them down any way you can, just be careful if they go over because there is sometimes a glitch that will cause them to survive the fall and stay alive; and it is almost impossible to shoot them, though in this case it is still possible to destroy the tower and advance the mission.
Head into the next room and grab an upgrade near the barriers, and a technician kit in front of the beacon. Destroy the beacon to complete the assignment, and when you're done head back to the 4-way.
Going Left
- See also: Feros: Varren Meat, Feros: Power Cells
Head through the door and you are treated to a short cutscene where over the door is a varren, and judging by the growling, it doesn’t like you. Head into the room and to the opposite wall and turn around as about seven or eight varren will come and attack. Shoot them at range and once they fall the Alpha Varren will come down. This one is harder because it is the alpha, but use throw and any other means to keep it away and it will die quickly enough.
Once they are down head up to the wrecked M29 Grizzly and pull its power cells, then loot the two containers nearby, a malfunctioning object and a sludge container. Head back out.
Going Forward
- Main article: Feros: Water Restoration
Go forward and down into the next tunnel. Again there are some geth at the other end, usually here are some Troopers, Shock Troopers, and a Rocket Trooper. When they are too damaged to function again, to your right is the last water switch. Activate it and the system should be on, if it isn’t then don’t worry, you probably just missed one. Head down the tunnel and climb out and walk down and talk to Ian Newstead. You can ask him some questions.
Depending on the end you choose for the conversation Ian will say that they are right behind you and two Geth Troopers appear behind you. If you want to spawn the geth, ask him the two questions which appear on the left side; avoiding the questions by choosing the right-hand statements results in no encounter. Shoot them full of holes if they appear, and then head back, because talking to Ian again will not resume the conversation and he will just spout nonsense.
Heading Back
If you did any of the assignments, then when you reenter the first tunnel there will be some more geth in this tunnel. You can use the cover provided to take out the attackers, usually a Trooper or two, Shock Troopers, and a Destroyer or Juggernaut, depending on difficulty level.
When you get back up to the elevator, and before taking it, if you did the assignments go back to the colonists first to collect your rewards because otherwise you may not be able to later. Talk to the relevant folks and get the associated rewards. Offload your loot to Ledra and/or buy some of his stuff as well. Note: This is the last convenient opportunity to return to the Normandy and select the squadmates and equipment for the rest of Feros.
The Long and Bumpy Road
Now head back up the stairs and take the elevator. When you get to the top you'll find some colonists fighting a geth drone, so assist them and then climb into the Mako for the trip.
To exit the initial "garage" area, you must be in the Mako. The door will then open, and shortly after you exit, a cutscene will play in which a Geth Dropship drops two Geth Armatures. You can retreat back into the garage and exit the Mako to save your game, BUT if you reload without defeating the Armatures, they will have vanished.
When traveling to ExoGeni Headquarters you will encounter many geth, including large Geth Armatures. Remember that you receive more experience points for killing enemies while outside the Mako than you do for blasting them from inside, which you may want to take into account depending on strategy. Alternatively, if you are careful, you can tip the enemies over the edge of the Skyway by ramming them for your own amusement.
Mako Tip: Geth that shoot missiles and bolts, such as the Juggernauts and Armatures, will always aim for the front tip of the Mako. Turn your Mako perpendicular to them, and you will quickly get the hang of rocking back and forth without ever being hit. Even better there are several encounters in this section where you can hide the front of the Mako behind a door or bulkhead while leaving the gun free to fire. Aim directly at the geth when hosing them down with the Mako's machine gun, but aim at the ground at a geth's feet when firing the "big gun". With practice you can make it through this entire section on Insanity level without ever losing the Mako's shield.
Some smaller geth behind a few barriers accompany the aforementioned Armatures. Take them out either on foot or from the Mako. Try to avoid falling off the skyway because you will die. Once the geth are down, move up and you will hear a radio transmission, but your squadmates can’t pin down the source. Keep moving and eventually a dropship flies over and drops off two more Geth Armatures. You can use the collapsed part of the highway as a little cover from the two Armatures, but again take them down. When you reach the top, you get another transmission, but again it eludes tracking.
As you move along the skyway, you will encounter additional groups of geth. You may also notice some red dots on your radar when no geth seem to be around - those geth are under the skyway, reachable through the little passageways you will see in the middle. You'll need to exit the Mako to enter the doorways, so take out any geth on top before exposing yourself, then head down inside. You'll find two Troopers and two crates for you to grab in the first of three under-the-skyway stops.
Skyway Weigh Station
Get back into the Mako and head through the door, when you get far enough you hear another transmission: someone saying that they can hear a vehicle, yours, and that it’s clearly not the geth. When you see a large platform to your left and a stairwell heading down, you can ignore the area for the moment as you will find out about it later, or you can exit the Mako and head down to investigate.
When you reach the bottom you see a group of refugees, and you begin a conversation with Ethan Jeong and Juliana Baynham. Juliana thanks you for your arrival and tells you of what happened during the geth attack and of her daughter who might still be alive in the ExoGeni headquarters. Juliana is cooperative and gives you a good amount of information, while Jeong is more concerned with ExoGeni and its reputation; he is also generally uncooperative as he is more concerned with a lawsuit or the like.
When you have all the information you want, or just get tired of Jeong, end the conversation and then head over to the left and talk to Gavin Hossle. He has just a small task for you. Since you are already going to ExoGeni, accept it because you will get some credits later.
When you are done leave and head back to the Mako. Drive up and around to exit the station. Recommended save point when you reach the top.
When you exit there are more geth awaiting you outside and behind barriers. Roll up slowly and back if you need to, the door will close on its own. Once the geth are down, there is another transmission - "the package is secure" - signalling another opportunity to hunt geth underneath the skyway. Then when you move a little further along you hear another transmission, but this one is panicked.
On your right you should see another opening under the skyway so exit and head down for your third and final of these encounters. In this area you'll find two human corpses, four Geth Troopers, two crates, and finally a med kit. Take out the geth and grab the loot then reenter the Mako and continue. When you get closer to ExoGeni’s garage there is a final round of large geth, as usual scaled to your level.
When the final geth falls head inside and serve the geth an eviction notice.
ExoGeni HQ
When you get into ExoGeni's garage, your radar gets jammed, unless you have the appropriate Weapons Upgrades. Exit the Mako and take out the geth that are jumping around and the Troopers and Rocket Troopers that come down from the upper level. Tip: If you don't care about the reduced XP rewards for doing so, you can take almost all of them out with the heavy explosive rounds from the Mako's gun just by firing in through the door.
Once all the geth are down head up the ramp take in the blasted surroundings. At one end is a weakly secured door (easy decryption), and at another end is an energy barrier you can't penetrate.
Inside the door is a deactivated Armature, a malfunctioning object, and a fusion containment cell. Don’t shoot the explosive canister for the moment. The second you loot the malfunctioning object in the room, the Armature wakes up, so shoot (or better yet Overload) the container, then use biotics to take the Armature off balance or tech talents to keep it from disintegrating you. Killing this Armature is strictly optional, however.
The way around the barrier is a one-way drop near it leading inside ExoGeni HQ. Warning: This is a point of no return for going offworld, chatting up colonists, offloading accumulated items, or changing squadmates at the Normandy. Once you drop down into the cavern major story developments will occur, and when you get back out you'll be returning to a markedly changed colony. Your squadmate choices will be locked for the rest of the Feros story arc.
When you've committed your choice, you emerge into a huge cavern. A cutscene starts where someone shoots and the shot gets deflected by Shepard’s shields. The person approaches and apologizes, you can respond to that and she eventually introduces herself as Lizbeth Baynham. You can ask her some questions about what the geth are doing on Feros and she replies that they are probably there for the Thorian. You can ask about it but she apparently doesn’t know much. When you are done, she will give you her ID badge and she will go an hide, again.
When the conversation ends, you will be attacked by about 10 varren so watch out. Because there is no cover here and the varren all attack at once, it can devolve into a challenging fight, especially at lower levels and on harder difficulties.
There is a piece of wood bridging a gap between two concrete pillars in the middle of the area - get out to the end of it as quickly as possible, before the varren swarm you. The varren will have a hard time reaching you there, and will often clump up making themselves vulnerable to area effect abilities. If worst comes to worst you can jump off and they will take the long way round to find you again. Biotics such as Lift, Throw, and Singularity are handy for keeping the varren away from you while you whittle their numbers. Likewise consider equipping Shotguns for all party members even those not trained in them - especially if you have Hammerhead rounds which will greatly increase the chances of knocking varren off their feet. Remember to use your storm ability to run quickly away from groups of varren when needed.
When the varren are finally down, move across the room and to the door to the facility.
When you start to climb the stairs you hear a Krogan Commander yelling at a "stupid machine". You can stand for a second and hear the krogan get more frustrated but eventually when you get up far enough a cutscene will play showing an ExoGeni VI dismissing the krogan and revealing your presence. The Krogan Commander turns and fights you.
Considering that he has a shotgun and krogan are good at close quarters fighting, you do have a fight on your hands, especially because he loves to go after Shepard. As always, keeping krogan off-balance with powers is standard procedure and here there's three of you versus just him. Spam him with bullets and abilities.
When the krogan falls, talk to the VI and it will remind you that discharging weapons on company property is forbidden. It welcomes you as Lizbeth, even if Shepard is male, because of her ID badge. You can ask the VI questions about the Krogan Commander's last query and Lizbeth. Apparently Lizbeth knew a lot more than she let on and also what ExoGeni was doing. They let a creature called the Thorian take over the colony and were studying the results.
Now that you know more about what happened on Feros, it's time for the next mission: get out of ExoGeni HQ and head back to the colony.
Enemies
- Geth Armature
- Geth Assault Drone
- Geth Destroyer
- Geth Sapper
- Geth Stalker
- Geth Juggernaut
- Geth Recon Drone
- Geth Rocket Trooper
- Geth Shock Trooper
- Geth Trooper
- Krogan
- Krogan Commander
Trivia
- On the first part of the skyway, in the corridor under the road (just after surmounting the collapsed portion of the bridge), there is an easy-decryption crate which can be opened an unlimited number of times. After opening the crate save the game; then load that save, and you will be able to decrypt the crate again for new items. Save again, load, and re-loot; this process can be repeated as many times as you wish, and the crate will again be accessible on your return trip.
| Mission Index | Next Mission → | |
|---|---|---|
| Missions | Feros: The Thorian |