Normandy Upgrades — Mass Effect 2 Guide
Normandy upgrades are critical for the success of the Suicide Mission in Mass Effect 2, directly impacting the survival of your crew. Before entering the Omega 4 Relay, you must upgrade the ship's shields, armor, and cannon to prevent team member deaths. These upgrades are provided by specific squadmates.
The important upgrades for the Normandy are:
- Heavy Ship Armor: Provided by Jacob. Failure to upgrade will result in Jack's death.
- Multicore Shielding: Provided by Tali. Failure to upgrade will result in the death of Kasumi, Legion, Tali, Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, or Grunt. Squad members on this list will not die if they are in your party when you fight the Oculus.
- Thanix Cannon: Provided by Garrus. Failure to upgrade will result in the death of Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt, Jack, or Samara/Morinth.
The order of preference for crew member deaths if an upgrade is not performed is as follows:
| Upgrade Missing | Crew Member Death Order |
|---|---|
| Heavy Ship Armor | Jack |
| Multicore Shielding | Kasumi, Legion, Tali, Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt |
| Thanix Cannon | Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt, Jack, Samara/Morinth |
Bringing Jack to fight the Oculus will not protect her if Heavy Ship Armor is not upgraded. Similarly, bringing anyone from the Thanix Cannon list will not save them if that upgrade is missing.