The driving force behind the narrative of Mass Outcome 2 is a mysterious alien race known as the Collectors, whose kidnappings of human colonists have increased since the devastation of Sovereign at the end of the commencement Mass Event. A resurrected Commander Shepard is working alongside Cerberus to decide the Collectors' connexion to the Reapers, and terminate whatever machinations they accept in the works. Much ofMass Result ii is spent recruiting a capable crew for the Normandy SR-two, and finding a manner to traverse the Omega-iv Relay to infiltrate the Collectors' Base located near the eye of the Milky Manner.

The 2d installment of theMass Upshottrilogy concludes with a suicide mission through the Omega-4 Relay to the Collector Base. This finale can have many unlike outcomes dependent on thespian action throughout the game, as well as choices fabricated in the roles given to squad members during the mission itself. Regardless of player choices up to this point, Commander Shepard is tasked with making a decision regarding the fate of the Collector Base: destroy the base and everything on board, or keep the base intact while eliminating the Collectors so Cerberus tin can salvage the technology.

Whichever option the player makes will have consequences in bothMass Upshot 2 andthree. Many of these are superficial, affecting the dialogue and cutscenes at the end ofMass Issue 2. The war against the Reapers inMass Effect 3 is more tangibly impacted past the fate of the Collector Base, though the deviation between the two options tin can be considered negligible in most circumstances.

Destroying the Collector Base in Mass Effect ii

Choosing to destroy the Collector Base during the suicide mission is Mass Outcome'southward Paragon option. Shepard is asked by the Illusive Man, Cerberus' enigmatic leader, to preserve the Collector Base for its valuable engineering. ThroughoutMass Effect two, Cerberus is positioned as a necessary evil - an arrangement ultimately interested just in preserving and uplifting humanity to a stature higher up the other alien races. Shepard's rationale behind destroying the base is to rid the milky way of the site of horrific experimentation on the Collectors' victims, and ensure powerful engineering science does not find its manner into the hands of an organisation with questionable motives like Cerberus.

While on the Collector Base, EDI hypothesizes that the Collectors are actually genetically modified Protheans, the historically dominant race annihilated in the last Reaper harvest. Prothean organic textile was harvested roughly l,000 years ago and used to create the Collectors, indoctrinated slaves of the Reapers. Much the same is happening to the man colonists who have been taken by the Collectors, though choosing to destroy the base is met with conflicting sentiments from squad mates such equally Garrus and Mordin, who betoken out the scientific value in preserving it.

Taking Mass Issue two's Paragon road in destroying the Collector Base of operations angers the Illusive Human being, who now sits in front of a bright blueish star and tells Shepard that the technology destroyed along with the base of operations could have secured human authority in the Milky Mode against the Reapers and beyond. In a final act of defiance against Cerberus, Shepard tells the Illusive Human that he'southward no longer calling the shots, and that Shepard is taking the reins to fight against the Reapers.

Preserving the Collector Base in Mass Effect 2

Instead of blowing upwards the Collector Base, taking the skin-altering Renegade route has Shepard overload the base of operations'south systems with a radiation pulse, killing the Collectors but preserving the base itself. Contrary to Paragon Shepard's sentiments, a Renegade playthrough has the Commander generally buying into the thought of Cerberus being the best hope for humanity confronting the Reaper invasion. Shepard will keep the base intact then that Cerberus can recover the Reaper engineering, which is more advanced than any contemporary device in the Milky Manner.

Choosing the Renegade option withMass Effect 2'sCollector Base will similarly arm-twist opposed responses from squadmates who believe the testing facility should be destroyed so that it doesn't remain as a monument to the experiments conducted by the Collectors. Tali and Jack, amidst others, will remind Shepard of the innocent lives lost on the base of operations when the player considers preserving the base.

Discussing the outcome of the suicide mission with the Illusive Man when preserving the Collector Base will accept him praising Shepard for doing what was necessary for humanity, all while seated in front of a dark red star. He mentions the technological jump will perhaps be as peachy equally when the Charon Relay was discovered before the events ofMass Effect, which propelled humanity into the interstellar age. Despite their compliance with Cerberus, Renegade Shepard still cautions the Illusive Man that the Reapers are however coming, and to not squander the opportunity the Collector Base gives him.

The Bear upon of the Collector Base of operations on Mass Effect 3

The concluding result of Commander Shepard'due south decision regarding the Collector Base becomes clear near the end ofMass Effect 3. Shepard infiltrates the Illusive Human's Chronos Station to retrieve the Prothean Half-dozen, Vendetta, which has knowledge of the Goad, the terminal piece required to complete the Crucible and end the war against the Reapers. During this mission to Chronos Station, as Shepard battles the at present-indoctrinated ranks of Cerberus, what remains of the Human Reaper,Mass Effect 2's final boss, tin can exist seen.

If Shepard decided to destroy the Collector Base, but the Human Reaper'south heart remains. If Cerberus was granted possession of the intact Collector Base, much more than of the monstrous machine will be intact. These two outcomes directly translate into War Assets for combating the Reaper invasion. Once the mission aboard Chronos Station has been completed, the Alliance seizes all of the Cerberus assets on board and the player receives either the Reaper Middle or the Reaper Encephalon.

Destroying the Collector Base and later receiving the Reaper Centre nets 100 points toward the player'southward Military Strength, a measure of the accumulated War Assets which, along withMass Effect's Galactic Readiness, determines how effectively the Citadel races can fight the Reapers. Preserving the Collector Base of operations and being awarded the Reaper Brain gives 110 points to Military Strength. Both values are quite high relative to other War Assets inMass Effect three, simply the difference of 10 between the two is largely negligible.

There are plenty of opportunities to secure State of war Avails throughoutMass Effect 3, and since the mission to Chronos Station is mandatory for finishing the game, the determination to destroy or preserve the Collector Base has only a very small impact in the long run. Nonetheless, for those invested in the story-telling of the trilogy, the outcomes of the decision are culminations of the Paragon/Renegade paths that can be taken in Mass Effect 2 . Commander Shepard's stance of Cerberus, and outlook on the impending Reaper invasion, are solidified by the last major decision during the suicide mission.

Next: How to Get the Perfect Catastrophe in Mass Result iii

Sims 4 Modder Says They'll Fix High School Years' Biggest Problem

About The Writer

Kyle Gratton (959 Articles Published)

I of Kyle's earliest memories is of watching his older brother play Ocarina of Fourth dimension, which probably explains how he ended upwardly as an Editor for Screen Rant's Gaming section. His tenure at SR began in late 2020 as a contributing Game Features writer before quickly becoming a Staff Author, a role that gradually progressed into an Editor position. A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has noesis and involvement in literature, pic, film adaptions of literature, and history. When non talking about The Legend of Zelda, Dark Souls, Mass Effect, or some PlayStation exclusive, he's probably droning on about the works of Cormac McCarthy, Frank Herbert, Stanley Kubrick, and Wes Anderson. Or he'due south trying to get you to scout Mad Men. He's a firm laic in three hours being the perfect length for a movie, only thinks a lot of games are much too long. When not sedentary, Kyle enjoys traveling to the National Parks, seeing new cities, and has ambitions to explore abroad. Find him on Twitter @KyleGratton

More than From Kyle Gratton