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Cerberus has delivered information on purchases the Shadow Broker has made recently. It may provide the information Liara T'Soni needs to track down the Shadow Broker's location.

Acquisition[]

A message from Cerberus is sent to Shepard's private terminal after completing the mission on Horizon:


To: Shepard
From: Cerberus Information Processing

We're aware that your old friend Liara T'Soni has been hunting for the Shadow Broker for several years. We wouldn't mind helping her in that hunt, given the Broker's past work for the Collectors. We recently uncovered some information that might give Liara a lead on where to find the Shadow Broker's base of operations, but unfortunately, she doesn't have much faith in Cerberus intel. If you'd visit Illium and pass it on to her as a gesture of goodwill, we'd appreciate it.

On the galaxy map this mission is titled Give Liara Intel.

Preparation[]

Once you take a cab to Liara's, this mission runs straight through to the very end. You will have no chance to return to the Normandy or the Galaxy Map, despite its length. When you complete the mission, you will be in a system that is a good three to four hundred units of fuel away from a Fuel Depot, though you will be given a totally free ride back to the relay system if you run out of fuel. If you want to save some credits, you can avoid refueling as much as possible before starting this mission, or you can save it as your last one right before undertaking the Collector Ship mission (see that page for details on when it triggers).

Give considerable thought to when you'll be doing this mission, weighing both storyline immersion and gameplay strategy. There will be dialogue variations based on a number of factors, such as whether you already undertook the suicide mission or not. You'll want to weigh the relatively higher difficulty of the fighting versus the extremely valuable rewards awaiting you at the end; these include multiple extra weapon upgrades, ways to earn additional credits, and unlocking the ability to re-train the abilities of your squad members.

You will be facing primarily shielded enemies, so choose your loadout accordingly. Liara becomes a mandatory squadmate after a while—you can try to build around compensating for her limitations. Be aware that her Stasis power will prove quite useful throughout the mission.

There will be quite a few Engineer-class enemies, so strongly consider bringing at least one Overload which in addition to its normal shield-smashing will instantly eliminate their drones before they zap you out of cover. A companion with Warp will be able to combo with Liara's Singularity. You'll be facing a fair number of enemies with barriers as well so Warp Ammo can be useful against them. Energy Drain can be a good bonus power choice for Shepard as it possesses many of the strengths of Overload while simultaneously boosting survivability. Stasis can come in handy for disabling some of the tougher opponents you'll be facing instantly. A shield boosting power such as Barrier can also be a great advantage.

In terms of heavy weapons, the standard choices that work well on other missions will work here, those being weapons that provide both good area-of-effect damage and disabling/stunning such as the M-622 Avalanche, Arc Projector, and Grenade Launcher.

Walkthrough[]

Illium[]

Meet With Liara[]

Head to Illium and talk to Liara in her office above the trading floor. Liara is ecstatic about the information as it contains some hints about the Shadow Broker’s location in a conversation between Shadow Broker agents. However, the message also contains information that Feron, Liara’s former drell partner, is apparently still alive. Respond to that any way you choose, and then Liara will express that after two years, she didn’t know, and looks at Shepard's old dog tags on her desk.

Liara then gives some of the backstory for Shepard about how even though Feron betrayed her, he still sacrificed himself to save Liara and Shepard. Liara then walks out to begin forming a plan, and invites you to use her terminal for any local intel. If you haven't recruited Samara or Thane yet, then the terminal will have information about them. This is the same information that you would get from talking to Liara normally. If Samara and Thane have both been recruited already, there is no intel available on Liara's terminal.

When finished here, head over to the Cab Console near the police station area (past the signs that say 'Nos Astra Shuttle Schedule'), and take a cab to Liara’s apartment.

Note: If the Lair of the Shadow Broker conversation option is selected after starting Illium: Liara: System Hacking, the hacking mission instantly completes without awarding credits or experience. Therefore, complete it before beginning the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC.

Liara's Apartment[]

Liara's apartment

When you arrive, you will find the police are investigating the apartment under the supervision of a Spectre, Tela Vasir. Vasir dismisses the Illium cops and then the conversation will differ slightly if Shepard’s Spectre status was reinstated or not.

Talk to Vasir about the attack and what happened. Apparently, someone attempted to assassinate Liara, and even with that, she still stuck around for some reason. Vasir currently doesn’t have information about her current location, however, nor did the cops find anything more. Vasir says that they couldn’t find anything, but she invites you to look around for anything that they may have missed.

Investigate the apartment by looking at specific things:

  • Bullet Holes in Window ('Shot Impact'): Vasir will say that the rifle used to do that wasn’t standard issue, and while Liara’s kinetic barriers stopped the bullets, they still penetrated the glass.
  • N7 Armor: A piece of Shepard’s old armor that Liara recovered.
  • Degree Certificate: Apparently, Liara got a doctorate from the University of Serrice on Thessia. Vasir mentions that she’s getting her money's worth out of that degree.
  • Painting: A view from the planet Ilos, presumably of the tunnels area (previously seen by Shepard and the team). Vasir will claim she doesn't know what planet that is but assures that it isn't Thessia, at which point Shepard recognizes it as Ilos.
  • Picture: On the upper level is a photo album that changes from the SSV Normandy to a Prothean dig site. Tela Vasir comes up and Shepard mentions that Liara did leave a message.
Liara's apartment has an amazing, if gloomy, view

Investigate the Prothean relics around the apartment:

  • Relic Top Level: Nothing of note except that it is apparently worth a fortune.
  • Relic Near Door: Nothing of note; Tela Vasir thinks it’s ugly.
  • Relic: Bottom of stairs: It contains a backup disk. When played, it shows a recorded conversation between Liara and one of her contacts, Sekat. He apparently has nailed down where the Shadow Broker is and he can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe a system. He asks Liara to come to his office at Baria Frontiers in the Dracon Trade Center.

Note: You can also interact with Vasir directly while she works for several unique comments from her.

Dracon Trade Center[]

When the team arrives, Vasir mentions that the Frontiers office is on the third floor. When the squad gets to the top of the stairs, the building explodes. Three floors of the building were taken out to make sure that Liara didn’t get the information she wanted. Vasir takes off in the skycar to seal off the building from the top, while Shepard and the squad work from the bottom up. Get moving; there are some civilians outside, but they have no information as to what happened, so proceed inside.

When you get inside, the building is a mess from the bombs. There is an employee of Baria on the floor to the right, Tela Vasir mentions that Shepard shouldn’t count on Liara’s contact surviving that blast. There is also a locker in the area (next to the doorway leading to the Atrium Offices) that provides 3750 credits. The elevator on the left hand side of the atrium is locked down and the building’s security isn’t responding. Vasir mentions that it was professional based on the lack of security and police response. Head up the stairs to the right, there's medi-gel from the Medical Station along the way.

Trade has ceased for the time being

The next plaza contains the salarian embassy on Illium, Nezo Transportation, both currently locked down, a PDA (+2500 credits), and another medical station with medi-gel. Examining the dead employee reveals that he was killed, not by the explosion but by gunfire. Shepard relays this to Tela Vasir, who is surprised and mentions that this was more than just an explosion after all. Head up the stairs in the center of the plaza to find a hackable ATM (+6250 credits). Off to the right are some power cells, near Exsolar Shipping.

Tip: If you're not short of combat supplies like medi-gel or ammo, leave them for now as you will have a chance to return here later.

Off to the left, there's a military grade bomb that wasn’t armed. Vasir mentions that they employ similar hardware when they don’t have time to plan. Head into the Baria Frontiers Office just past the unarmed bomb.

Tip: Save before you enter the Baria Frontiers Office. You will not be able to save until multiple waves of enemies have been killed and you have covered a lot of territory.

Examine the log book on the left to find that Liara signed in just a few minutes ago. Head inside, but before you start exploring, take a moment to shoot out the glass logo reading "Baria Frontiers". Take cover beneath the window.

When you approach the window or hallway, the squad is suddenly blinded by a flashbang grenade and now you’re under attack. Shepard radios to Vasir that they are pinned down, she replies that Shepard should say hello to the Shadow Broker’s private army. You are attacked by three Shadow Broker Agents and a Shadow Broker Heavy. There is plenty of cover, so make use of it. You can knock out most of the Agents from your spot at the window, but you will often have to head down the hallway on the right to root the Heavy from behind some cubicle desks.

Be careful as you move toward the room that's to the left side of where you entered, because new enemies will spawn there: three Agents, and a Shadow Broker Vanguard. Take them down as quickly as possible because they are a big threat, especially the sturdy Vanguard who can absorb quite a lot of damage. If you headed straight in from the original entry room you'll find the cover situation tricky, but if you are approaching from the right rear with the cubicles (where the Heavy likes to hole up), you'll have a fairly safe approach. There's also a terminal on the left side of the room (+3000 credits).

Combat Strategy: Keep your squadmates in cover under the window for this part of the section. The Shadow Broker mercs will look like they are going to flank you to the right but they won't. As you eliminate the mercs, have Shepard run out into the room to trigger the remaining waves of mercs. You may have to move Shepard far out into the room and run back to the window to take cover.

The renovation business is about to have a big customer

Once they are down, move your squad up. Keep moving toward/down the rear corridor and you will encounter more Agents and another Heavy. Use the cover to take them out then round the corner to be attacked again, this time by more Agents, Heavies, and a Shadow Broker Engineer. The small "diagonal" box where the back corridor debouches into the next big room is a good starting cover while you survey the room. There will only appear to be one enemy at first, but as soon as you engage the rest will arrive.

Advance slowly, and only after eliminating some enemies, as many more will spawn suddenly as you approach the other end of the corridor. The Engineers have Combat Drones and the Agents have Flashbang Grenades, so be prepared to shift cover locations when necessary. You may find it safer to hide among the cubicles and desks on the right side of this corridor, since it exposes you to fewer enemies at a time and allows you to pick some off individually.

Combat Strategy: Keep your squadmates in cover back down the hallway from the small diagonal box the start of this portion of the section. Have Shepard take cover back from the box so that the mercs can't hit Shepard. The shadow broker mercs will look like they are going to flank you to the right in the cubicle area but they won't. Peek out into the room and take down the mercs using weapons and powers. As you eliminate the mercs, have Shepard run out into the room to trigger the remaining waves of mercs and then run back to the cover area. Watch out for the combat drone that the Engineer spawns often. Just run back down the starting hallway, the combat drone will follow Shepard, and your squadmates will take it down. No need to waste ammo.

When the enemies are finally down, there is a Terminal (+3000 credits) in the side room, and a medical station with medi-gel in the cafeteria at the end of the hallway. Also, on a purely aesthetic note, there is quite a nice display of planetary mining locations in the room with the cubicles -- if you played the original Mass Effect you will have Mako flashbacks.

Head around the corner to see the stairs blocked by fire, but don’t try to go into it; the results won't be good. Shepard radios Vasir about it and she says to find a switch to activate the fire suppression systems. It's in the side room right to your left where you can find the maintenance console and a crate of eezo (+1000 eezo). Once the suppression systems are active, don’t leave the room before Shepard salvages the Machinery (+1500 credits) then leave. Vasir mentions that she is on her way down, so move up to meet her.

Tip: The fire suppression room is a good location to save your game for the upcoming sections.

On the upper level, be prepared for more combat with three more Agents. Use the limited cover to take them out, and have your squadmates flank, then head into the room they were guarding. Inside is a research terminal, access for a Heavy Pistol Damage Upgrade and keep moving into the next room and grab the credits from the wall safe (+5000 credits). Open the door to continue.

Combat Strategy: Keep your squadmates in cover at the bottom of the stairway and have Shepard peek around the corner up the stairs at the three Agents once they spawn. The Agents will not come down the stairs and can easily be eliminated by chipping away at them from down the stairway. Watch out for the flashbangs that the Agents throw and just go down to the bottom of the stairs anytime Shepard needs to recharge shields.

The merc has a very weak bargaining position

Inside you see Liara’s contact being shot by one of the Broker’s Agents. Tela Vasir then shoots the Agent, who falls dead when Shepard and the squad enter. Vasir asks about Liara’s body, then Liara herself emerges wielding a pistol at Vasir. Attempt to defuse the situation, but Liara will mention that Vasir tried to kill her. Shepard and the squad pull their guns, and Liara tells the story about how Vasir signaled the Shadow Broker's Agents and broke into Liara's apartment. Vasir then killed Sekat and took his data, which she probably still has on her.

Vasir tries to get away, by using her biotics to shatter the glass and calling Liara a pureblood while she’s at it. However, Liara throws up a barrier to protect the squad and Vasir makes a run for it. Shepard tackles her, and then they fly out the window. Vasir cushions their fall with her biotics and has a small scuffle with Shepard. Then Liara leaps out of the office, also using her biotics to cushion her fall while the squad watches.

Vasir, now outnumbered, makes a run for it. Liara follows closely behind, blowing past two Shadow Broker Agents in the process. The squad rejoins Shepard in the plaza where more Agents emerge from the Eldfell-Ashland Energy office, allowing Vasir to escape. Deal with the guards and continue pursuing Vasir.

Pursue Vasir[]

Hailing a cab isn't simple in 2185

Take out the Agents with haste. There are two Agents and a Heavy to deal with initially, so keep to cover. When they fall, more Agents and a Vanguard emerge, so use the fountain in the center for cover. It not only provides effective cover, but allows for a wide field of fire. Indeed, if it happens to be useful for your tactics, you're actually allowed to get into the fountain.

When they all fall, the benefit of leaving the power cells alone earlier will become apparent -- make a quick trip up the central stairs to retrieve them, and the ammo of all your weapons will be replenished. Now head downstairs and into the atrium. Inside, grab the cover provided by the bench to your left -- resist the tempting large circular column straight in front of you, as its shape makes for more difficult aiming and you aren't allowed to slide smoothly back and forth around the pole.

Take down the ten or so Agents, the Heavies, and the Engineers that try to stop you (the mix appears to vary somewhat by difficulty setting). They will keep coming from the door in waves, so stick to cover and target them as they walk in. Overload can be used to instantly destroy the Combat Drones that the Engineers produce, and it's a good idea because getting dislodged from cover by a drone with this many enemies nearby can produce deadly results.

Tip: You can prevent most waves of enemies from spawning by getting to the far corner of the room where the Heavy is. This is most easily done by an Engineer, who need only send the Combat Drone to that side of the room. Vanguards can charge over, Infiltrators can sneak over, etc.

Combat Strategy: This entire battle can be completed without straying into the room to be overwhelmed by the mercs. Place your squadmates into cover in the top hallway before you go down the first stairway to the landing. Place Shepard on the second set of stairs looking out into the large room. Have Shepard walk down the stairs to flush out the first of many mercs in this area. Use weapons and powers to chip away at the mercs and the mercs will stay stuck in cover. Watch out for the Flashbang Grenades that the Agents throw and just walk backwards up the stairs anytime Shepard needs to recharge shields. Walk back down the stairs and chip away at the mercs in the room until they begin to fall. As you kill a merc, another will spawn out of the doorway to replace the dead merc. Watch out for the Engineers as they will spawn Combat Drones. When this happens, have Shepard go back up the staircase past your squadmates and have them take the drone down to conserve ammo. Sometimes the mercs will stay in cover that will require Shepard to move out into the room to take them down. Watch out for the Shadow Broker Heavy in the back left corner! The Heavy will stay stuck in cover and will not move out of cover until Shepard goes out into the room after the Heavy.

When the mercs are all finally down, gather up ammo and head out the door to find Liara and Vasir engaged in a firefight.

Tip: Save before you enter the door as you will be unable to save until after the sky way chase.

Vasir calls her skycar and then jumps into it. Liara then grabs a taxi, followed by Shepard. You can only select one squad member to come with, but remember that Liara is a biotic so pick carefully. On the other hand a squadmate with Warp to detonate Liara's Singularity is quite handy. Since Miranda has both Warp to combo with Liara and Overload to take down shields, she makes an excellent pairing. Other notable strategies include Thane who combines Warp combo powers with Shredder Ammo for all the upcoming organic enemies, and the easily-forgotten Morinth whose Dominate can run all the organics in circles attacking each other. When you select your squadmate, hope you have that driver’s license handy as now you have to pursue Vasir through the skies of Illium.

Sky Way Chase[]

Jack makes an appearance on a billboard as part of her new modeling career

When you get control of the skycar, use the following controls to steer the vehicle:

  • Xbox 360/PlayStation 3: Use the left stick to navigate, the right to steer, and the left trigger to boost.
  • PC: Use your mouse and normal movement keys to move forward and steer (default W, A, D), and the spacebar to boost.

Keep following Vasir through the skies, and watch out for the traffic, and every other obstacle. Above all, don’t lose Vasir. Just keep in mind that boosting reduces the amount of control you have. If you lose Vasir, the chase will restart. Your boost is more effective if you use it in bursts, especially right after changing directions, rather than simply holding it down.

Liara will be commenting the whole time, which Shepard usually replies to, and the conversations are usually funny. Sometimes, however, her conversations help with direction. After a period of time, Vasir will start dropping proximity bombs, so avoid them, lest you lose speed. Then Liara mentions that Vasir has reinforcements, and Shepard asks if the car has any weapons, to which Liara replies, "It’s a taxi, it has a fare meter," so that would be a no.

Tip: You do not have to repeat the entire sky way chase if you fail right at the end. Once you get far enough into the chase, if you fail, you will respawn in the middle of the chase.

Keep following Vasir and try to avoid a head on collision. Eventually, you are treated to a cutscene where Vasir tries to ram Shepard and the squad out of sky, while dodging traffic, but only succeeds in colliding with another skycar, and damaging hers. She crashes on a building, the Azure Hotel, and is approached by a LOKI Mech, which is then destroyed. Shepard and the squad see the crash and land their intact cab on the top of the building to pursue Vasir, who radios for backup.

Rooftop Chaos[]

Shadow Broker mercenaries enjoy only the best hotels

You now have Liara as a squad member equipped with a heavy pistol and an SMG. She also has her class Power Asari Scientist, Singularity, Stasis, and Warp, which is unlocked with Singularity at level two.

IMMEDIATELY stop and make sure you distribute Liara's squad points to her abilities as it will not be done automatically. Save your game before you move! This is very important as the upcoming battle can go wrong very fast and you will have to redistribute Liara's squad points all over again. Some experience is also awarded at this point, so you and your other party member may also have additional points to spend if you leveled up from this.

Legendary Edition: This battle begins as soon as you land on Azure without giving you a chance to manually save, though you can still bring up the menus to allocate squad points. A literal truckload of enemies will be dropping in directly ahead of you so be ready.

Tip: For both of the major "boss" enemies to come in this mission, Stasis will stun or at least distract them even when they have full shields/barriers/armor. It also instantly destroys the flying drones you will encounter from time to time, and of course it has its traditional ability to simplify a combat by temporarily removing a flanking enemy, with the added bonus that the enemy falls down at the end of the stasis. For these reasons fully upgrading Liara's Stasis with the Enhanced Stasis evolution is strongly recommended, particularly on higher difficulty levels.

Squadmate Powers Tip: Fully max out Asari Scientist and split your points up to get as much Stasis and Warp you can and don't waste any extra points on Singularity. The upcoming Shadow Broker Base mission will require quickly killing Vanguards at close range and a nasty section with multiple rocket drones at once. You can't redistribute Liara's points once you've selected them and while the upcoming rooftop battle isn't fun, the Shadow Broker Base multiple wave battle is much worse and you want your points spent correctly for that battle.

When you regain control, grab the med-kit from the car while Liara makes a note about Vasir’s car and how she can’t have gotten far. Head up the stairs only to be ambushed by three to five waves of Shadow Broker Agents and Engineers. The first wave will be to your front, the second and third off to either the left or right on the upper platform, or behind you on the lower platform, so plan your cover appropriately. However, the subsequent waves will not appear until the previous one has been eliminated. On higher difficulties, the next wave flies in after a squad has been reduced to one member, so move quickly and eliminate the enemy before you are flanked by the new arrivals.

Have your party take cover at (A) where you can sit for the duration of the fight. The first squad of enemies always drops in at (Y). The biggest danger is a squad dropping in on your weak side around (Z), in which case...

Combat Strategy: Be aware that the instant you move the first wave of mercs will show up so you need to get to cover quickly. Ignore the med-kit for now unless you aren't full already (also don't be stingy with medi-gel during this fight as you will have plenty of refills afterwards). There is a left stairway, a middle stairway, and a right stairway in this area. An optimal spot to fight this battle from is in between the two parked vehicles just to the right of the middle stairway. Once you get there and are facing away from the edge of the building, to your left will be a large van that is fairly tall for cover which is excellent, and to your right will be a red skycar. Place your squadmates in the corners where the fronts of the vehicles meet the high wall in front of you, and remember that you might need to "remind" them to stay there after each wave. You will be almost totally safe from enemy fire here as the enemies you face generally won't try to rush you and instead congregate on the raised area up the stairs above you. Shepard can hug the wall or get in the corner against the van and the wall to be totally out of the line of fire in order to recharge shields.

The first wave of mercs will drop while you are moving to cover and will run to the elevated cover above you. The mercs can be hard to hit as they go to cover often and run back and forth but they can be chipped away at slowly and safely from your "safe zone" with weapons and powers. Keep an eye on your ammo, but don't worry if you start to get low, you'll be able to fill up once this fight is over. Also keep in mind that enemy Engineers can recharge their shields periodically so make sure you kill them outright or at least do damage to their health bars before they have a chance to do this.

There are two major threats in this cover position: one is the Combat Drones that the Engineers will spawn (there is one Engineer with each wave), and the second is the chance that a wave of enemies will land right on the ledge near the exposed rear of your cover position (where each enemy wave after the first touches down is random and you could get unlucky). If this happens, don't panic. The best solution is usually to pull out your heavy weapon (one that does good area damage, see below) and blast away right when the doors on their vehicle open and they are still tightly clustered. Even if you don't do this and the enemies all pour out, surprisingly they usually won't all rush into your safe zone and kill you but will instead go up to the high ground like the other waves. For any enemies that actually do advance into your "safe zone," save Liara's Stasis for them, prioritizing enemy Engineers. Even an Engineer will be instantly disabled and ragdolled by Stasis and can be easily dispatched once the effect wears off.

... bring out the big guns and hit them before they can hit back. The Avalanche works well; if you're feeling trigger happy, do this for every truckload of mercs for a quick win.

Alternative Strategy: Hit the reinforcements with area damage powers and heavy weapon fire just as their hovercars land and the doors open up. The Arc Projector or M-100 Grenade Launcher can decimate them before they all ditch the hovercar and start spreading out. The best weapon for this strategy by far, however, is the M-622 Avalanche. Not only will the Avalanche freeze an entire attack group in 5-6 shots but it allows you to take them out at your leisure, letting you control when the next wave respawns. Regardless of the difficulty level, using this more proactive strategy as each wave approaches makes this fight both easier and less time-consuming.

Note: Try to avoid having your squad or Shepard use force powers like Pull, Throw, Slam, or Shockwave as these can eject an enemy from the battle area - for some reason, enemies are not killed by this. Enemies flung off the roof or out of the area in this way remain alive yet unreachable thus preventing subsequent waves or the scripted crash that marks the end of the fight from triggering. Your only choice out of such a situation is reloading an earlier save, or if you are on PC and have the console enabled, using the "KillEnemies" command. Even Singularity can unfortunately sometimes create this situation, especially if you then detonate it with Warp. The good news is that Azure is the only part of the mission plagued with this problem - you can Singularity & detonate freely once you reach the Shadow Broker's base.

Once the battle is over, go back and get the med-kit from the car (if you didn't already) and collect the credits from a bank terminal near the door that the first wave blocked (+1500 credits). Collect any ammo from the area and save your game! You don't want to do that battle again.

Now head to the left side of the platform and go into the glass walled room; it’s the only one with a green door sign. Once you get inside, you hear a conversation, but bypass the wall safe on your right first (+6000 credits) and take the med-kit ahead of you. Then head into the room where there is a patron on the ground, but talking to him accomplishes nothing, so talk to Liara about the video. She will provide some information about the hotel and its name, as well as give you another good laugh.

Head out to Vasir’s car where Liara will note that there is a blood trail; Vasir was wounded in the crash. There are some power cells in her car and access the broken panel for a Damage Protection Upgrade. Follow the blood trail until it reaches another room. Inside, there is a lot of dead bodies, but some more interesting things. In the room on your right is a Weapons Locker, so switch weapons if you need to, and a med-kit with medi-gel. In the main room is a medical station for a second medi-gel in this area and a personal datapad (+2500 credits). Grab both before leaving.

Tip: This is a perfect place to save your game before the upcoming boss battle.

Tela forgets that there are two Spectres present

When you exit the second door, the blood trail leads to Vasir, who is still walking and trying to blend in. However, Liara pulls a gun and she stops. Vasir immediately grabs a civilian to use as leverage, then she puts her gun to her hostage’s head and demands that Shepard drops all their thermal clips and power cells. If you have enough morality points, Charm or Intimidate options will allow you to end the standoff without hurting the hostage: Shepard distracts Vasir while Liara biotically levels her with a table. If you don’t or can't pick either of those options, you will have to either give in to Vasir's demands, meaning that you will either start the ensuing battle with zero thermal clips and and no heavy weapon ammo, or you will have to wound the hostage. Giving up your ammunition will force you to scavenge for more in the surrounding area which isn't too hard as there will be several respawning clips around, but there will be no power cell refills, precluding you from using heavy weapons during the fight and disadvantaging you even afterwards. Regardless of how the situation is handled, you will now have to duel with Vasir.

Note: There have been multiple reports of level 30 characters being unable to select the Renegade/Paragon dialogue option, even with a full Renegade/Paragon bar. This is because of how morality works in Mass Effect 2. If you run into this you may need to further maximize morality points by selecting the +100% Paragon/Renegade class power evolution as opposed to the +70% Paragon/Renegade class power evolution.

Fight Vasir[]

Don't get Tela wet...

Tela Vasir has vast amounts of barriers, armor, and health. While you outnumber her three to one, she still presents a tough challenge. Vasir will use her biotics to charge around the battlefield and occasionally at Shepard or a squadmate, making her hard to hit at times.

Tip: Stasis works on Vasir, but be careful as over-using it can build up her resistance to it until she's immune.

When you damage her to about half of her barriers, she will jump out of the fight, leaving you to deal with two Rocket Drones and two Shadow Broker Engineers. Keep in cover during this fight as they will use Incinerate and Combat Drones, and the rockets from the flying Rocket Drones can be hazardous to your health.

When you defeat the first wave, Vasir makes a reappearance, so watch out and employ the same tactics as before. Keep her on her toes, keep shooting her, and when her barriers are gone, she’ll leave again. Deal with the second wave of Rocket Drones and Engineers, two of each once again. Just remember to keep in cover.

After defeating this second wave, Vasir drops back in one final time. She will still continue to charge around the battlefield, so keep moving. Once her armor is down, use any power you have to tie her up and then proceed to let her have it.

Note: Each time Vasir leaves the battle the game autosaves so you don't have to replay it from the beginning if you die. Choose "Resume" and you will start again at the last cutscene of Vasir leaving that you played through.

Party guests find the new waitstaff a bit aggressive

Tip: Once Vasir's barrier and armor are down, knocking her off the building ends the fight immediately even if her health has not been completely drained. This is most easily done by first lifting her using Singularity or Pull and following up with a well placed Throw, Concussive Shot or even a Charge if Shepard happens to be a Vanguard. Vasir reappears for the fight's ending cutscene even if she is knocked off the building in combat.

Once Vasir is finally down, you are treated to a cutscene where Liara retrieves Sekat's disk to find the information they need on the Shadow Broker's location while Vasir continues to rant. Shepard accuses Vasir of betraying the Council, which she fiercely denies, saying that she didn't do what Saren did. She had been getting information from the Shadow Broker for years, information that apparently saved lives; doing a few morally questionable tasks for the Broker was a price she was willing to pay in return.

Shepard retorts, but Vasir reminds the Commander of why the Spectres exist: to do the Council's dirty work. Then she brings up Cerberus and how Shepard is allied with them. Respond to that and she pointedly reminds Shepard of a few of Cerberus' choice experiments, accusing the Commander of hypocrisy. If Shepard is a Sole Survivor, she also mentions how Cerberus was responsible for the thresher maw attack on Akuze. After uttering one final warning not to judge her, Vasir takes her last breath.

Liara takes in the view while discussing the plan with Shepard

Shepard heads back inside where Liara is examining the disk. Apparently, the Shadow Broker really wanted Liara dead, and didn’t care about the collateral damage. Shepard arrives to inform Liara of Vasir’s death, and Liara forwards the data to the Normandy. A series of interrupts can then be taken in rapid succession; these do not award any morality points.

You can use the first Paragon interrupt to convince Liara that they will rescue Feron in time. If the interrupt is taken, Liara reminds Shepard of their past, and how they saved her on Therum, and fought the Krogan Battlemaster while she cowered in fear. She talks about how Shepard always helped her, and how she is still leaning on Shepard. Shepard responds that this is just what friends do for each other, wondering why Liara speaks of it as if it wasn't a good thing.

She goes on to talk about how they will reach the Shadow Broker's base, taking advantage of the Normandy’s stealth systems to keep them from being detected. Because the Broker’s agents are still fighting through Illium, they can use this as cover to escape without being noticed. A second Paragon interrupt will have Shepard chastise Liara for her apparent indifference to the deaths of innocent people. Liara protests, but Shepard reminds Liara about how she went after Vasir aggressively without a second thought or any concern for Shepard. She then brings up Sekat and how she knowingly put him in harm’s way without warning him of the danger, making her responsible for his death. However, she insists things will be simpler now: get to the Shadow Broker, get Feron, and get out.

There is a third interrupt opportunity, and if you romanced Liara in Mass Effect, then this interrupt will give you a chance to talk "about us". Liara explains what she went through for the last two years, and how Shepard can't expect that to instantly vanish. She apologises and asks if they can just focus on getting Feron back, to which Shepard agrees. If you are currently engaged in another romance, such as with Tali'Zorah nar Rayya or Garrus Vakarian, Liara will also comment on that, saying that her career as an information broker leads her to find out various things, including about Shepard. If you have no romantic history with Liara, she will state that "enjoying the scenery" is not an option while Feron, the man who saved both her life and Shepard's life, is still in danger.

Hagalaz[]

Shadow Broker Ship Exterior - Part 1[]

During this segment of the mission you will be facing the same set of mostly-shielded, mostly organic enemies as before, plus the addition of occasional mechs. You have the opportunity to select your squad again, but Liara is still a required squadmate so you only get one choice.

Environmental Kills: While fighting on the exterior of the Shadow Broker's ship, using biotic powers that lift enemies off the ground such as Pull can cause enemies to fly away into the storm, instantly killing them. Enemies must reach a certain height for this to happen, so a single biotic power is often not sufficient unless you can cast it on an enemy exactly when it is leaping over an obstacle. The most reliable way to cause these environmental kills is to combo two biotic powers by using one to suspend an enemy or get them off their feet and then send them flying up farther with the second (e.g. Pull or Singularity followed up by Throw, Slam, or Shockwave).

Squadmate Selection: Most of this portion of the mission can be completed from cover with methodical use of powers so pick a squadmate with useful powers over one with powerful weapons. Miranda can be a good choice as her Warp and Overload powers make her effective against almost any type of target. If she has unlocked her Slam power this can be used to cause environmental kills as noted above. She also buffs your party's health and weapon damage with her Cerberus Officer passive, which continues to benefit Shepard and Liara even during the final boss battle when Miranda is not otherwise able to contribute. Another good choice is Jack. If she has Squad Warp Ammo she can greatly increase your damage against the Vanguards in this section, and her Pull can combo with Liara's Warp. Finally, Shockwave is excellent for striking unprotected enemies through cover and often knocks them to an environmental death, especially if used in tandem with Singularity.

You are treated to a cutscene where the Normandy launches the Kodiak over a planet where the Broker’s ship is located. Liara talks about the planet and its weather conditions, how the oceans freeze and boil, and how the planet is a maelstrom near the twilight band, which is what the Broker’s ship follows. She also talks about how they will have to land and seek out a hatch to get inside. Liara also states that they can’t stay outside for very long, as the weather and lightning can be a problem.

When you regain control, Liara mentions that while she can’t get a visual, she is picking up a massive communications array at the back of the ship. She says that there is nothing but maintenance areas under it, so that is where they have to get to.

Tip: Save your game before you move forward as this is the first time where you can manually save since the battle with Vasir. You are also awarded some experience at the start of this segment so allocate any unspent squad points if you level up from this.

Combat Strategy: For most of the merc battles coming up, put your squadmates into cover well in advance so they won't rush forward and you can carefully move forward or quickly retreat if needed. Peek out and take down the mercs using weapons and powers as you see fit. Focus on Vanguards first as they will charge towards you. Run back to your squadmates to have them help take down Vanguards; Liara's Stasis is usually the easiest way to take them down. Take your time and the mercs will fall.

Proceed left along the hull, and watch out for the Maintenance Drones. They are basically Combat Drones, but Liara mentions they are probably attacking because they think the squad is debris from the storm. There will be two pairs before you get to a ramp with some salvageable Conductor Components (+3000 credits), grab them and proceed.

As you come up onto the catwalk, Liara will mention that those capacitors discharge the lightning strikes, but then some more Agents pop up. Shoot the capacitors to make this an easy fight. Once they are down, you can just walk right past the capacitors and down to the left.

As you get onto the lower platform, you come across three LOKI Mechs, get into cover and deal with them with your weapons and powers. You can just biotically throw them over the side if you so choose. Keep moving and when you get to the next area, you will find another capacitor, Agents, and an Engineer. Again shooting the capacitor makes it easier, but also if you can get the enemies off the ground, then the wind can just take them away.

When you are in the clear, activate the Rod Controls to lower a lightning rod, and then duck into the trench it left because more enemies are present. This time you have Agents, and Engineer and a Vanguard to deal with, but you again have a lightning capacitor, so blasting it is a good idea.

When you get to the lower platform again, more LOKI Mechs are there to greet you. Take them out and proceed, but don’t pass up the Capacitor Components on your left (+4000 credits).

Keep following the path to your right, and down you will go almost to the keel before encountering a small area in the exterior hull where two Agents and three LOKIs are waiting. Get into cover, and focus on whichever enemy seems the most dangerous. It's a tight area so don't let anything approach too close; you can retreat back up the ramp if the mechs get too close or a flashbang lands at your feet. When the enemies are down, follow the ramps up to a door, and enter.

Shadow Broker Ship Exterior - Part 2[]

The engine room

When you get inside, Liara will mention that the ship must have taken decades to build in secret. Shepard wonders where the contractors went. At the engines, Liara will mention that if the engines stop for even a moment, it will be disaster, but at least the Shadow Broker will go down with them. "Comforting". A little further along is a refined palladium crate (+4000 palladium) and some power cells. Grab both before moving on. There is one final talking point, select the motion dampeners to hear Liara say that they probably can’t even feel the storm from inside the ship.

Head back outside and follow the ramps. At the bottom is a medical station so grab the medi-gel while you pass. When you reach the very top of the ramps, find cover because there’s more of that private army up here.

Tip: Save your game before you move forward up the ramp.

This particular group has everything, Vanguards, Engineers, and Agents. Use the lightning capacitors to weaken them, and then finish them off, but be careful as the overload from the capacitors can damage you and your squad as well. Again, biotically lifting baddies will cause them to fly away, so use that if you can, too. When you defeat them all, crawl over the barriers, and then find cover again on the far side as two more Agents will attack. They are easy to deal with, so make sure that they are dealt with quickly. Keep going down and then find cover again as three LOKI Mechs are waiting for you. Deal with the LOKIs, follow the path, then back up you go.

Combat Strategy: When the LOKI mechs appear, move your squadmates into cover several barriers back in the middle section, and then have Shepard draw the mechs to the first barrier. Do not have Shepard take cover behind the first barrier but back one more as the mechs will shoot right over the top of the first barrier while you are in cover.

The Shadow Broker's agents had better get hazard pay for this...

When you reach the top, be expecting company, or rather they were expecting you. At the top is a Heavy, two Agents, and a Vanguard. Deal with them any way you choose, no capacitors to help you this time, then move on. The Vanguard is probably the most dangerous because of her willingness to approach to close range, but if she's out of sight just take out whoever is available.

When you manage to get to the top of the hull, activate the panel controls to continue. A small path will open in the panels, head through it and when you get to the other side, go right, drop down, and then find cover. Two Agents will be there to meet you, so deal with them then shift to deal with the enemies to your left which will consist of more Agents, a Vanguard, and a few Engineers. Capacitors are available to help deal with these tough opponents, but be careful of the strange geometry of the cover here - not everything that looks like cover will work very well. When they all fall, move up but keep to cover as more Agents and a Heavy are right around the corner.

Combat Strategy: Once you enter the area by dropping down Shepard can't go back. Take your squad and quickly put them into cover as far down and to the left as possible. The jumbled nature of the cover here makes it hard to find good cover. If needed, run far backwards to recharge your shields. Move forward as needed to get mercs to spawn and to flush them out of cover. Take your time and the mercs will fall.

When you are in the clear again, head to the bottom to salvage some Conductor Components (+3000 credits), and then get up to the top to retract another rod. Once that one is down, move along the catwalk where Shepard comments about no guard rails and how it must be a joy to patrol the hull. Liara counters with at least there is a nice view. When you reach the end, there is a medical station and your way inside. Tip: Before activating the door, take a moment to explore the surroundings, noting the location of spare ammo cartridges, lightning capacitors, and good cover spots. When you activate the door, Liara starts to hack it, and now you must defend it over Shepard’s objections about her not testing it.

Tip: Save your game before you start the hack as the next battle is the hardest one of this mission.

Defend the Door[]

Liara observes a cookout

Warning: If you die at any time during this fight, you will have to restart from the beginning of the fight, autosave or not.

Note: There are a couple ammo cartridges on each side of the center aisle, but they do not respawn. Any additional ammo resupply for this rather long fight will have to come from taking what enemies may drop.

Get into cover as the Shadow Broker doesn’t like what you are doing. You'll be facing a total of five enemy waves consisting of everything the Shadow Broker can throw at you: Heavies, Vanguards, Agents, and Engineers along with a sprinkling of flying Rocket Drones, so just keep your cool and prioritize the biggest threats first. Don’t forget about shooting the capacitors whenever possible to damage and stun enemies that cluster nearby. If you're facing the bow (front) of the ship, the first wave approaches from the left side; once it falls there will be some brief dialogue between Shepard and Liara. While they talk, the second wave of enemies will be approaching from the opposite side of the ship as the first wave. When the second wave falls, four Rocket Drones will appear approaching from the bow of the ship. Take cover as best you can while taking them out.

When the drones fall, Liara mentions that the mercs would be more effective if they all attacked at once. Shepard playfully replies saying, “Please, don’t give the mercs ideas.” The fourth wave comes from the same direction as the first, so get into appropriate cover to deal with them. Finally, the fifth wave arrives from the other side again (like the second), with the mercs apparently taking Liara’s advice. The banter between Liara and Shepard continues as you fight. The fifth wave will also include Rocket Drones, so keep on the lookout for them and hit them with Stasis if they threaten you; lightning from the capacitors can also take them out.

Take cover at (A) for enemy waves approaching from (Y), and switch to (B) for waves coming from (Z); the middle wave is Rocket Drones, from which you can shelter at (C). Your squadmates can hide at (D) for the duration of the fight, and should be fairly safe as long as you cover them.

Combat Strategy: This long, challenging battle may take you two or three tries to get used to the timings and locations of enemy waves and is considerably easier once you figure it out. Before you start the hack, identify the cover locations you and your squad are going to occupy. The best places for Shepard to take cover are where the thermal clips are located: two very similar locations on either side of the central gangway you used to reach this area each have 2-3 thermal clips (as noted earlier, these do not respawn). The clips are practically the game's way of telling you, "take cover here." These locations afford good protection in all directions as well as line of sight to all four lightning capacitors; the best spot is the one to the right (facing the door) as it has slightly better geometry. It's possible to beat this fight without moving from here even on Insanity difficulty, though you can also alternate between the two spots depending on which direction the current enemy wave is entering from. As for your squad, it's best to leave them by the door away from you as this keeps them as far out of the line of fire as possible. Your squadmates don't hold up under enemy fire nearly as well as you do so leave them in the door "pit," have them assist you with powers, and make sure you prioritize killing any enemies that may try to approach them (usually Vanguards).

Combat Tips:

  • Constantly shooting the lightning capacitors whenever they're charged will make this battle much easier and it saves ammo.
  • After each wave, your squadmates will be revived if they went down. However, that doesn't mean it's a bad idea to still use a medi-gel to get them up even if a wave is almost over, because the revive animation takes some time and you want to get them back into cover safely before the next wave swarms you.
  • After each wave your squadmates will also forget any orders they had to hold a specific position and leave cover, even if they survived. This can be a problem throughout Mass Effect 2 but is especially annoying here where the next wave of enemies swarms you immediately and you have precious little time to order your party back to safety. Be ready to "refresh" your squadmates' hold position orders as soon as you deal with a wave.
  • If your weapons are running low and you need to leave cover to scavenge for ammo, try leaving just one enemy from a wave alive as this will prevent the next wave from entering before you can make it back to cover. The rocket launcher-carrying Heavies are good to leave alive as they tend to stay in cover at a distance and they won't easily hit you if you're moving.
  • The biggest threats in this section are enemy Vanguards and Engineers which close on you or your squad, and enemy rockets, Combat Drones, and flashbangs that can stagger you or knock you out of cover. Liara's Stasis is absolutely invaluable for dealing with Vanguards, Engineers, and the flying Rocket Drones so be sure to save her cooldown for that purpose, and revive her ASAP if she falls. A battle like this is not the time to be stingy with medi-gel. Having Stasis as a bonus power for Shepard can also work very well.
  • The Rocket Drone wave is dangerous but certain tactics can make it less so. The drones' rockets deal heavy damage but fortunately don't stagger you out of cover, so cling to cover that shields you from the fire of as many of the drones as possible. There is a low wall right outside the door pit that is probably the most effective cover for this wave, but don't stay there once the drones are down. Despite being flying enemies, most of the drones won't move too much and won't flank you if you aren't too close to them. Liara's Stasis will freeze and destroy a drone instantly, so save it for any drone that's able to get a clear shot at you. Having Energy Drain as a bonus power is effective as you can damage the drones while simultaneously restoring your shields. Otherwise, use medi-gel if you're taking too many hits.

When the fifth wave is down no further enemies will appear. Conveniently, the hack also completes and the door unlocks. Take a moment to catch your breath and pat yourself on the back, search the area for ammo, and proceed inside.

Shadow Broker Ship Interior[]

When in doubt: Add more screens!

Note: All your thermal clips will be refilled at this point except on higher difficulty levels. Don't forget to top off as much as possible before going through the door.

Once inside, more of the Broker’s private army rush to intercept you. In the first hallway, there are two Agents, an Engineer, and a Heavy. The cover geometry throughout this section is unusual, so you may have to get creative.

When you defeat the enemies in the first hallway, round the corner and keep to what little cover there is because the next hallway has more enemies including a Vanguard. Keep moving up when you can and keep shooting above all else. Proceed forward and up the stairs. Liara will mention that she downloaded the ship's layout and that they are heading towards the Prison Block and Feron.

Combat Strategy: The first hallway inside the ship presents a difficult challenge. When you first start after the loading screen you are immediately in the thick of it with four mercs coming at you including an Engineer that can deploy Combat Drones and a Heavy firing rockets, both of which can knock you out of cover. If that wasn't bad enough, your starting cover is barely adequate and your squadmates are exposed. Also, if you were using ammo powers granted by a squadmate you'll need to have them re-apply it. All of this is bad, but on top of it all this area is somewhat wonky when it comes to using powers against the enemies, with many squadmate powers like Liara's Stasis refusing to properly hit enemies unless Shepard steps closer to them. Focus on the Engineer first, then the Heavy, and then the Agents while taking care not to get hit by rockets or drones. Once the first four mercs are dead, up around the corner are additional Agents and a Vanguard. The best strategy is to pop out quickly, use a weapon or power, then retreat back down the hallway to recharge your shields. If you managed to keep your squadmates alive, leave them in cover back down the hallway and just call upon their powers. You can chip away at the mercs and even the Vanguard carefully until they die. The Vanguard will tend to not break cover to advance on you but if it does use Liara's Stasis to stop it in its tracks. Once all of the mercs are down, your squadmates will come back to life (if they were dead).

Note: Save your game at this point as there are very few spots to do so inside the base.

When you round the next corner, there will be a Vanguard standing watch with two Agents and an Engineer. Again the strange geometry of the cover combined with the tendency of enemies to jump through openings in the walls to flank you means you'll need to be careful. Open fire and take them out before they have a chance to do the same to you.

Combat Strategy: Get the attention of the Vanguard and it will follow you back down the hallway to your squadmates sitting in cover and hit her with Liara's Stasis to be extra careful. Sneak back up and take out the Engineer being mindful of the drones he can spawn. You can then take out the two Agents in the room by using the cover across from them. Be careful as some of the Agents often run out and try to flank you. Just retreat back to your squadmates if your shields go down.

When they are down, the door at the end of the hallway won’t open, so backtrack a little and head into the room they were guarding. Inside the room access the Terminal (+4500 credits) and a med-kit for some medi-gel.

Bypass the door where you will find Feron, Liara’s objective.

Feron in restraints

When you enter, Liara runs down to try and release Feron, but this results in him receiving a painful shock instead. Feron explains that if he is pulled out now, then his brain will fry. They must cut the power from central operations first. Any time Feron tries to answer a question he gets shocked, so ask quickly. When you finish your conversation, get back into the main room and into cover.

Three Agents and a Vanguard will be on the attack, but they are also out of cover. Put them down before they have a chance to get into cover -- the last couple you may have to carefully dislodge. When they fall, head to the previously locked door, and proceed.

Follow the hallways until you reach a security checkpoint with just a single Agent. Put him out of his misery then access the Terminal (+4500 credits) and the med-kit for the medi-gel. As you enter the final room, a cutscene plays. Meet the Shadow Broker.

Confront the Shadow Broker[]

The Shadow Broker welcomes Shepard and squad to his humble lair

Shepard and the squad storm the Broker’s office, where the Broker calmly awaits them. Shrouded in darkness, the Broker is clearly a species never encountered. Civilly asking if Shepard and Liara are here for Feron, the Broker will note Shepard's actions are reckless, even considering the Commander's history.

After Shepard and the Broker trade words, Liara demands Feron. The Broker reminds her that her own actions put Feron in his situation. If the Collectors have not yet been defeated, the Broker will state that their offer for Shepard still stands. If the Collectors have been defeated, the Broker announces his intention to use the Normandy's IFF to salvage any remaining Collector tech.

Ignoring Liara's threats, the Broker notes the team's third squad member, and arrogantly disregards Liara, as he knows all her secrets. In response, Liara identifies the Broker as a yahg, likely taken from his world as a trophy or pet. Enraged at this reminder of his pathetic origins and Liara's defiance, the Broker smashes his desk and throws it at Shepard, knocking out the third squad member, who becomes unavailable for the remainder of the battle.

Note: While you and Liara speak with him, the Shadow Broker will also comment on your third squadmate. Depending on who that squadmate is, his comment on them will change accordingly.

Kill the Shadow Broker[]

Let's get ready to rumble!

The first part of this fight isn’t hard, just keep shooting him in the face and moving from cover to cover if he gets too close.

When the Shadow Broker's shields and armor are destroyed, a short cutscene will play where he raises a kinetic barrier which deflects both energy and bullets; time to do this the old-fashioned way. Run up and melee the Broker before he has a chance to respond. You are then treated to a short cutscene involving Shepard and the Broker in a short fist fight. Before Shepard can come around again, the Broker uses his omni-tool to raise a shield which blocks all bullets. His shields and armor are also fully restored.

Repeat the same process you did before, keep shooting and move to avoid getting too close to the Broker. Be warned that when he charges now, he will go right through cover, so get out of the way. Now is a good time to use distracting tactics to get on his unprotected sides: the Broker can't see through Tactical Cloak, the Broker can be distracted by Combat Drones (see below), and so on.

When you destroy the Broker’s shields and armor, he will again go into the state. Melee him before he comes out of it - if you don't get there in time you will have to do this part over again. You are again treated to a cutscene. The Broker takes a few more hits before control is returned to you.

The third time, everything is the same, but the Broker will make more mistakes and fumble more easily. This time when you destroy his shields and armor, melee him to witness the Broker's fall.

Combat Strategy: The basic strategy is to keep the Shadow Broker at arm's length to avoid being hit by his dangerous, cover-breaking charge attack that can also stun you. Just keep leading him around the room while chipping away at him with the weapon most effective against his current layer of protection (e.g. use an SMG against his shields and a heavy pistol against his armor). The Broker usually ignores Liara completely but if he doesn't and decides to start shooting at her, she'll die quickly especially on higher difficulties unless he's interrupted. A good way to do this aside from doing a lot of damage to him is with Liara's Stasis; while Stasis won't freeze him it will briefly stun him for about a second which usually causes the Broker to switch targets back to you buying enough time for Liara to live. This can also be a good way to suppress the Broker if you need to break cover.

Combat Tips:

  • Combat Drone makes this fight almost laughably easy even on Insanity. Use the drone to perpetually distract the Broker recasting it immediately whenever it is destroyed, and just shoot him.
  • Tactical Cloak does fool the Shadow Broker, enabling an Infiltrator to easily displace to a new area whenever the Broker gets too close.

The final cutscene shows Shepard providing a distraction while Liara gets ready. On Shepard's cue, Liara brings down the electrified liquid in the tank above the Broker. The liquid causes the Broker's barrier to malfunction and explode from an extreme overload, destroying the Shadow Broker for good.

Meet the New Shadow Broker[]

Liara takes on her role as the new Shadow Broker

As the squad picks themselves up, the camera cuts to Feron’s cell; the power cuts, and Feron is gone. The scene shifts back to the Broker’s office and all of the various Broker agents begin asking for updates at the same time. While Shepard helps the other squadmate up, Liara focuses on the communications. She looks like she is going to be overwhelmed, then puts her head down, and walks forward.

Liara makes a few taps on the panel and communicates that the situation is under control, using the old Broker’s voice modification, and makes up a story. Feron, who is running away, hears it and then doubles back. Feron storms into the Broker’s office, pulling his gun, but stopping dead when he sees it’s Liara. He starts asking questions, but Liara explains that she is the new Shadow Broker. You can ask if this is what she wants, and she is sure. Feron excuses himself by saying he’s going to check the power systems, and your other squadmate goes with him.

Shepard can comfort Liara with a hug, and a brief kiss can also be shared if you romanced her. There is a very brief Paragon interrupt available if Liara is your romance option, which confirms the relationship.

She walks over to the computer and notes that there are no safeguards or user restrictions, almost like he would be the only one to be in this office. Liara mentions that she will have more for you later, and maybe turn the operation around. When you leave, she says that the door is always open and that Shepard is welcome back any time. Shepard can subsequently invite Liara over to the Normandy regardless of whether she was romanced in Mass Effect. However, if she was romanced, this will partially alter the dialog and Shepard and Liara can talk "about us". If Liara meets Shepard in the Captain's Cabin, she will return the Commander's old dog tags, recovered from the wreck of the SSV Normandy, which are afterwards displayed on the nightstand in the cabin.

You now have permanent access to the Shadow Broker Base, which you should explore as it offers much of interest. You can invite her to the ship now, or in a later visit. You can also have a conversation with Feron.

Enemies[]

Mission Summary[]

Shepard has defeated the Shadow Broker. Eliminate Cerberus information leaks as Liara T'Soni takes over. The asari's relationship with Shepard should be watched closely.

Bugs[]

  • The Mission Summary Screen is currently bugged and displays incorrect values for Credits Found. The actual amount of credits you can find is 54,000, but you will get 90,000 credits regardless of what is displayed on the Mission Summary Screen. If you collect more than 45,000 credits, the Cerberus funding will fill in the rest up to 90,000 credits, and if you collect less than 45,000 credits, then you will get only 45,000 credits in Cerberus funding. Any credits you get from medi-gel and Power Cells that you collect are not taken into account and are added on to your Credit Total after the 90,000 credit Limit from Credits Found and Cerberus Funding has been reached. Example: Collected Credits: 48,000, Cerberus Funding: 42,000, Credits from medi-gel and Power Cells: 700, Credits Earned: 90,700.

Trivia[]

Shepard's dog tags in Legendary Edition
  • If Shepard meets Liara aboard the Normandy SR-2, she returns the Commander's dog tags which are afterwards displayed in the Captain's Cabin. In Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the tags are detailed enough to be read clearly.
  • In Azure, the room with the patterned carpet and red curtained walls seen during the "Lustful Video" that Liara will comment on is a replica of the "Red Room" from the television show Twin Peaks.
  • Also in Azure, one of the rooms has an advertisement for the resort itself. The music playing is a looping segment from the song "Transit Angst", part of SimCity 4's soundtrack.
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