Priority: Rannoch - Mass Effect 3 Guide - IGN (2024)

This page of IGN's Mass Effect 3 wiki guide is all about the Priority: Rannoch Mission. Our step-by-step guide will detail everything you need to know about uploading the Reaper code, making peace between Geth and Quarians, surviving all combat encounters, where to find all collectibles, and also how to pick the right dialogue choices for your playthrough.

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• Mission Stats
• Get to the Upper Base
• Open the Blast Shield
• Target the Reaper Tech
• The Reaper Destroyer
• The Geth vs the Quarians - How to Make Peace Between Geth and Quarians
• Back on the Normandy

Mission Stats

Video Guide

Mission Rewards

• Mission Credits: 25,000
• Found Credits: 25,000
• Weapons: Geth Plasma Shotgun
• Armor: Kassa Fabrication Gauntlets
• Mods: SMG High Caliber Barrel, Assault Rifle Piercing Mod, SMG Ultralight Materials, Assault Rifle Stability Damper.

Recommended Loadout and Squad

• You must bring Tali if she's alive: her Sabotage will once again come in handy, so upgrade it as much as possible. If Tali died in Mass Effect 2, you can bring along two Squad Mates of your choosing, in which case picking someone capable of Overload such as Garrus will be important.
• If your love interest is available as a Squad Mate, choosing them may give some unique dialogue.

Mission Enemies

• Geth Trooper
• Geth Rocket Trooper
• Geth Hunter
• Geth Prime

Travel to Rannoch

For this mission, head to the Perseus Veil and then to Rannoch in the Tikkun system. It'll be clearly marked as all worlds with Priority Missions are.

Get to the Upper Base

As you travel to Rannoch, you'll have a conversation with your Geth Sniper, as well as with your Quarian partner. If said Quarian is Tali, then you'll have a very significant scene when you first touch down on Rannoch. This scene is why we suggested you not take Tali with you for Rannoch's two Side Missions. You can say anything you like are there are no Morality Points, but if you have Tali you'll get +2 Reputation.

After the opening cutscenes, you will touch down on top of a steep slope and drop to a valley leading up to the front gate. Send your Squad to one side and remain on the other. Stay in cover and snipe the many Geth Troopers below. There are no surprises here, outside of the sheer numbers of Geth Troopers who spawn here.

• SMG High Caliber Barrel - As you approach the bottom of the hill, you'll spot the front gate ahead which will close up as you approach it. Walk up to it, then look to your right to spot this Weapon Modification.

The main way into the facility is blocked, so you'll have to improvise and climb up the side of the base's wall. Look to the right of the now-closed entry gate at the bottom of the hill to spot a series of ledges, pipes and ladders. Some ammo can be found on the first ledge.

As you climb up, send your Squad up one ladder and then climb up the other to flank the Geth Rocket Troopers who appear on the distant walkway. We recommend going up the right-hand ladder as you have a better view of the Rocket Troopers who enter the area.

• Assault Rifle Piercing Mod - Climb the right-hand ladder as you ascend up the wall of the base and keep right. When you get to the end where the Rocket Troopers were, turn left and leap across the first gap to spot this mod on your right.
• Kassa Fabrication Gauntlets - This is near the Weapon Mod just across the second gap, close to the ladder you use to get up on top of the wall.

Climb the ladder to the left side of where you encountered the Rocket Troopers. At the top you can gather ammo and clamber onto some pipes to proceed upwards. In the next area, Geth will appear above and below you. The upper path is safer since you have the high ground, but if you have Sabotage, hack a group of Rocket Troopers on the lower path and let them take out everyone in proximity while you back them up.

Enter the green panel door at the end of the two-tiered hallway to continue.

• Reaper Tech - 10,000 Credits - As you pass through the small room behind the green panel door, make sure to check the right-hand side for a terminal with this on it.

Open the Blast Shield

Exit the tunnel to find a lone Geth Trooper directly ahead. Shoot them down, then head forward along the walkway to the intersection where it was standing. Here you can use a View Prompt to look down to the bay where the Reaper tech is, just in time for it to be covered up by a Blast Shield. Legion will help you work to getting it open.

• SMG Ultralight Materials - At the intersection where the lone Geth Trooper described above was, head down the left route down the ramp, where you can find this mod in the left-hand corner at the bottom.

Take the right-hand path at the intersection now to progress into the base, where there are numerous Geth Troopers . Stay in cover and snipe them -- Sabotage can capture entire groups of enemies and turn them to your side temporarily here since the area is so cramped.

• Assault Rifle Stability Damper - Early on the right-hand path is a low square block you can use as cover. To the right of it is an alcove-like area where this Weapon Mod is located.

Geth will now appear both directly in front of you on the walkway and across a chasm on your left, as pointed out by one of your Squad Mates. Deal with the Rocket Troopers first since they're the most pressing issue, then continue to the end of the walkway once all the Geth are gone.

• Geth Plasma Shotgun - As you get to the end of the walkway where the green panel door is, look to your left to find this weapon on some containers next to a terminal.
• Data - 5,000 Credits. On the terminal that's next to where you found the Geth Plasma Shotgun.
• Data - 10,000 Credits. Continue through the green panel door and you'll quickly find a terminal with this on it at the U-turn.
• Med Kit - 50 XP. On the left side of the terminal where you found the Data described above.

The Geth Plasma Shotgun is one of the best shotguns in the game, as it features powerful, accurate blasts with long range. Shots can also be charged to increase the damage even further, allowing the weapon to kill almost any enemy in the game in a single blast.

In the next area, your waypoint shows a Door Override console. Clear the room of Geth first (stay near where you entered so you don’t get flanked), then when everything's quiet, head over and Activate it. Once you do so, you'll have to survive a wave of Geth Rocket Troopers and Geth Pyros.

The Pyros are, somewhat ironically, very susceptible to fire, so take advantage by shooting their fuel tanks with Incendiary Ammo or other fire-based Powers. After hitting a second console, a Geth Prime will arrive with two Rocket Troopers. Try to catch them all with Sabotage in the shaft or a barrage of grenades.

• Med Kit - 50 XP. Before heading up the lift to the upper floor, check the corner to the right of it to find this Med Kit.

Target the Reaper Tech

At the top of the elevator you will face three Geth Primes in a relatively small area, as well as Geth Turrets in the middle of the room, so as you move about, stay in cover or take them out. Luckily, there are three Geth Spitfire heavy weapons in the area, one right near the entrance, one by a door on the left side, and one on some crates on the right side.

The Geth Spitfires will not completely solve your Geth problem, but combined with Sabotage or explosives to stop the Primes from moving in, they can be a huge help. Just make sure you're in cover, as getting hit will stop the Spitfire from firing and you'll have to spin it up again.

Once the Geth Primes are down, walk to the balcony on the edge of the outer area (in the direction of the sunset), then stand on the upper ledge here to initiate a cutscene, where you'll then pull out the Targeting Laser. Your target for this is NOT the “Base” marked in the distance, but an open blast door below the ledge you're standing on. Aim from the ledge down at the red light below and hold the FIRE button (usually the right trigger) to summon an orbital strike via the Normandy.

Unfortunately, your target wasn't just Reaper tech, but an entire dormant Reaper, which is now very much awake. Sprint to the left around the Reaper's chamber to escape its death ray, which will initiate a cutscene for a frantic escape manning a turret atop the Geth speeder. You can fire at the Reaper if you want, but it's absolutely not required and won't do anything to harm it.

The Reaper Destroyer

Eventually, you'll pull over to fight the Reaper Destroyer head-on. This is actually more unintuitive than it looks, so here's a breakdown of how this section works:

• To summon an orbital strike, all you need to do it point it at the Reaper's firing chamber and hold the FIRE button.
• After the first strike, the Reaper will turn its attention to Shepard and fire at them, so you'll need to balance using the laser with moving out of the laser's explosive path.
• The biggest mistake players make here is also using the left trigger to zoom in for aim. DO NOT USE THE LEFT TRIGGER. It is not required to use the Targeting Laser, and more importantly it slows Shepard's movement, making it almost impossible to move out of the way of the Reaper's laser beam.
• You can still lock onto the target while moving, although in that case the lock will be slower until you stop moving again.
• You do not have to do the entire target lock in one go: if you let go of the Fire button, it will simply pause, waiting for you to resume when you're ready. Don't be afraid to let go of the Fire button if it means you can get out of the way more quickly!
• The Reaper's laser beam causes explosions as it passes through, so you'll have to be much further away than you might think in order to avoid getting blasted by it.
• You don't have unlimited room to maneuver on the cliff: you'll be blocked by walls on the sides. With that in mind, alternate between moving left and moving right with each passing laser beam.

There are four strikes required, including the first one, and each time the Reaper comes closer. After making the last strike, you will enter a slow-motion scene to engage your final shot. Just point, focus and watch the fireworks.

At this point the Destroyer will be downed, but not entirely out, as it will now speak to Shepard. During this you'll have a dialogue wheel choice: while the upper and lower options on the right lead to Interrupts, there are no Morality Points to be earned here. Regardless we actually recommend you pick the middle option on the left: Shepard will ask why the Reapers are killing everyone, and you'll get some hints about the subject.

The Geth vs. the Quarians - How to Broker Peace Between Geth and Quarians

Following the destruction of the Reaper will be another one of Mass Effect 3's pivotal story checks that determines the fate of many. Here, it's to convince the Quarians not to attack the Geth. You have an initial wheel that appears to make this choice, but the real one is after that, the Charm / Intimidate options on the left and the two white options on the right.

The two white options on the right will always be available. Here's what they do:

• If you pick "[Allow the upload]", the Geth will come back online and wipe out the Quarians. Your Quarian partner will then commit suicide: even a Loyal, Romanced Tali will take her own life if you pick this, and not even the Paragon Interrupt will be able to save her.
• If you pick "[Stop Legion]" / "[Let geth die]", your Geth Sniper will attack you and your Quarian partner will kill them. You get three optional Renegade Interrupts to shoot the Geth Sniper. Either way, they will die, the Quarians will destroy the Geth fleet and wipe out the race altogether.

The Charm / Intimidate options allow you to attempt to convince the Quarians that both wars were entirely their fault and that ceasing their fire will end it, but this is one of the most demanding feats in the entire trilogy because it requires you to pass TWO checks that involve decisions you've made in the past.

First, you need to unlock the Persuasion options to begin with. You must meet all four of these for the options to unlock, otherwise you're out of luck. The requirements are:

• 80% of the Reputation Bar filled.
• Tali must be alive and present.
• Legion needs to be alive and present (the Geth VI replacement does not count).
• The Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons Mission must have been completed, since it provides the context for why the Quarians are to blame which forms the basis of Shepard's arguments.

Unlocking the options is half the battle, however: you also need to have enough clout, both situationally and diplomatically, for your plea to actually work. Similar to Priority: The Citadel 2, this is done by checking your past actions and awarding points. These actions are:

• +2 Points for not presenting the evidence against Tali's father in her Loyalty Mission in Mass Effect 2.
• +2 Points for destroying the heretic geth in Legion's Loyalty Mission, weakening the Geth fleet now.
• +1 Point for using a Persuasion option to resolve Tali and Legion's post-Loyalty Mission argument in 2.
• +1 Point for completing Rannoch: Admiral Koris, proving your loyalty to the Migrant Fleet.
• +1 Point for saving Admiral Koris in Rannoch: Admiral Koris, where he will back Shepard now.

If you acquired 5 Points in this second check, your plea will be successful, resulting in a ceasefire that allows you to have peace between the Quarians and the Geth, letting you get BOTH fleets for the war effort!

Back on the Normandy

You'll now be in the Vid Comm room on the Normandy, where you'll be talking with the Asari Councillor. She wants to discuss new information from her government, and Shepard offers to meet her at the Citadel to do so. You'll also be able to talk to Admiral Hackett: make sure to ask about "Allied forces" to check up on the Asari and Salarians, and if the Tuchanka: Bomb Side Mission expired, asking about "Krogan and turians" will have new info as well. You can also ask about "Reaper progress" and "Why pick me?".

By checking your Private Terminal, you can also do another interview with Diana Allers about what happened. Here, picking one of the Persuasion options will raise the EMS of the race you discussed (Quarians if they're alive, or Geth if either they or both races are alive), and give +5 Reputation. This is also where, if you've been flirting with Allers, you'll have the Romance scene. This won't jeopardize any other Romance in the game, although if Liara is your Serious Romance partner, she won't be too impressed (she's the Shadow Broker, remember!).

Now it's time to do your usual rounds of the Normandy to catch up with everyone.

• CIC: Talk to Traynor, Joker and EDI. If Ashley is alive, you'll have a message from her asking to meet at the Citadel.
• Crew Deck: Talk to Ashley, Liara, Garrus, and Chakwas if Tali died. If Kaidan is your Virmire Survivor, you can find him in the bar lounge with Vega.
• Engineering: Talk to Javik, Gabby and Ken, Tali in the drive core, and Allers.
• Shuttle Bay: Talk to Vega, if Ashley is your Virmire Survivor.

If you're following this guide in order, your next task will be N7: Fuel Reactors.