Crafting & Research — Mass Effect 2 Guide
In Mass Effect 2, the ability to craft and research new technologies is crucial for upgrading your gear and enhancing your combat effectiveness. This system allows you to improve your weapons, armor, and even unlock new abilities, providing a tangible advantage against the game's increasingly dangerous foes. Investing time in research and development is a key component of a successful playthrough.
The crafting and research system is primarily accessed through the Research and Development (R&D) console located on the Normandy SR-2. This console is where you'll spend resources gathered from missions and exploration to unlock new technologies.
There are two main avenues for progression within the R&D system:
- Research: This involves unlocking entirely new items or upgrades. You'll spend Research Points, which are earned by completing missions, scanning planets, and finding data caches. Research projects are categorized into several trees, including Weapon Upgrades, Armor Upgrades, and Power Upgrades.
- Crafting: Once a research project is completed, you can then craft the corresponding item or upgrade using Resources. These resources are gathered by scanning planets with the Normandy's deep-space scanners or by finding them in mission areas. Different planets yield different types of resources (e.g., Palladium, Iridium, Platinum, Element Zero), and specific upgrades require specific resource types and quantities.
Key Research Categories and Benefits:
| Category | Description | Example Upgrades |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon Upgrades | Enhances the performance of your firearms, increasing damage, accuracy, magazine size, or adding special effects. | Increased Damage, Increased Accuracy, Extended Magazine, Incendiary Rounds |
| Armor Upgrades | Improves Shepard's personal defenses, increasing shields, health, or providing passive bonuses like faster power recharge or increased melee damage. | Shield Boost, Health Boost, Power Recharge Speed, Melee Damage Increase |
| Power Upgrades | Enhances Shepard's biotic, tech, or combat abilities, increasing their effectiveness, duration, or unlocking new tactical options. | Increased Power Damage, Increased Power Duration, Increased Power Radius |
Resource Gathering:
To effectively craft upgrades, you'll need to gather resources. The primary method is through the Normandy's deep-space scanner. When you're traveling between systems, you can initiate a scan. This will reveal planets with resource deposits. You'll then need to fire probes at these deposits to collect the resources. Be mindful of the planet's proximity; firing too many probes too quickly can cause the planet to become depleted or even hostile.
Alternatively, resources can be found in mission areas, often in crates or on defeated enemies. However, this method is less reliable for accumulating large quantities.
Strategic Importance:
Prioritizing research and crafting can significantly impact your difficulty. For example, investing in weapon damage upgrades early on can make combat encounters much more manageable. Similarly, improving your shields and health will increase your survivability. Certain upgrades, like those that unlock new ammo types (e.g., Incendiary, Cryo), can also provide tactical advantages against specific enemy types.
Always check the R&D console after completing missions or acquiring new squadmates, as new research options often become available. A well-equipped Shepard is a more effective Shepard, and the R&D system is your primary tool for achieving that.