Gaining the Mass Effect 2 loyalty of your crew is an essential part of your adventure, at least if you want to complete the final Suicide Mission in a way that's successful for as many of them as possible. There are over a dozen characters that you can recruit in this second part of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, completing missions with them to earn their fealty, and you'll need to know the right decisions to make along the way so you can weave them all into a close-knit squad ready for the final push. To help with this, we've got a complete rundown on how the Mass Effect 2 loyalty missions work, along with the actions required so you can get the best possible outcomes for everyone.
Mass Effect 2 loyalty missions
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As members are recruited to your squad their Mass Effect 2 loyalty missions become available, though you usually need to complete a regular mission or assignment first before each loyalty mission can be accessed. Completing the loyalty mission for a squad member will make them loyal to Shepard, which increases their chance of survival if you make the right choices during the Suicide Mission and can impact on the Mass Effect 2 endings, as well as unlocking an alternate outfit and their bonus power. This bonus power can then be learned and used by Shepard, by purchasing the Advanced Training research project, though you can only have one active bonus power at a time.
Below we've listed the Mass Effect 2 loyalty missions in the order they become available, along with the bonus powers you unlock for the characters by completing them. This comes with the caveat that if a certain character has not been recruited to your squad yet then their loyalty mission is skipped over, but it comes up next in the rotation once they join as a crew member:
- Jacob Taylor: The Gift of Greatness - Barrier
- Miranda Lawson: The Prodigal - Slam
- Jack: Subject Zero - Warp Ammo
- Mordin Solus: Old Blood - Neural Shock
- Grunt: Rite of Passage - Fortification
- Garrus Vakarian: Eye for an Eye - Armor-Piercing Ammo
- Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi - Reave (or Morinth - Dominate)
- Tali'Zorah vas Neema: Treason - Energy Drain
- Thane Krios: Sins of the Father - Shredder Ammo
- Legion: A House Divided - Geth Shield Boost
There are also the following three loyalty missions that were originally DLC, and can be accessed as soon as the relevant character is recruited to your crew:
- Zaeed Massani: The Price of Revenge - Inferno Grenade
- Kasumi Goto: Stealing Memory - Flashbang Grenade
- Liara T'Soni: Lair of the Shadow Broker - Stasis (completing this mission unlocks the Stasis power but Liara does not join your crew)
Bear in mind that in some circumstances, there are decisions or actions you can take during a loyalty mission that stop the squad member from becoming loyal, even if you complete the mission. These are the ones you need to watch out for:
- Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi - If you don't keep Morinth's attention she will leave the club, so Samara cannot capture her and will not become loyal. If you side with Morinth then Samara will be killed, then replaced on the crew by Morinth who will be loyal and unlock her bonus power instead of Samara's.
- Tali'Zorah vas Neema: Treason - If you provide evidence that Tali's father was guilty of treason, she will not become loyal.
- Thane Krios: Sins of the Father - If you don't update Thane while using the catwalks to track Joram Talid, Kolyat will assassinate Talid and Thane will not become loyal.
- Zaeed Massani: The Price of Revenge - If you save the workers then Zaeed will not become loyal, unless you can use the high Charm option at the conclusion of the mission.
There will also be confrontations between squad members onboard the Normandy immediately after certain pairs of loyalty missions have been completed, which you'll need to resolve. These are:
- Miranda Lawson: The Prodigal and Jack: Subject Zero
- Tali'Zorah vas Neema: Treason and Legion: A House Divided
If you have a high enough Paragon or Renegade score then a Charm or Intimidate option will be available to diffuse the situation and keep both of the crew happy, however if that isn't accessible (or you choose not to use it) then you'll need to side with one member and lose the loyalty of the other. Losing a squad member's loyalty in this way does not prevent access to their alternate outfit or bonus power, and while it is possible to regain this lost loyalty later with another Charm or Intimidate option if available during conversations, any Mass Effect 2 romance you were pursuing with them cannot be rekindled.
