Mass Effect 2 Activate Krogan

[Colby DuLin]

Accordingto lore from the first Mass Effect game, krogan are renowned all over the galaxy for their unique backup organs. They've got two hearts, four lungs, and a whole secondary nervous system, meaning that their survivability is pretty much unparalleled. Stab a krogan in the heart? They've got another one - all you've done is activate that famous krogan Blood Rage, you idiot.

Anyway, I recently spoke to Mass Effect 3 writer Chris Hepler about some of the most fascinating lore in the series. Hepler was often regarded as the "loremaster" at BioWare, meaning he was familiar with all manner of intricacies in the universe, including krogan genitalia.

"I think the most exemplifying bit of lore has to do with the krogan," Hepler says. "I initially thought it was super-cool to have a species with backup secondary organs, until I watched more Star Trek than I used to and realized that the [first] Mass Effect team probably got the idea from the Klingons.

"But Mass Effect went where Star Trek never would, and somewhere in Mass Effect 2, they concluded, 'well, krogan must have backup testicles, too.' By the time Mass Effect 3 rolled around, the dialogue was full of slang about 'not having the quad for it.' So the evolution from a stodgy Codex description in [the first] Mass Effect to jokes and entertaining character voices by Mass Effect 3 makes me feel like the team got better at some things as we went along."

You've got to appreciate the team's commitment here. While it would have been easy to ignore the connotations of having double organs - like Star Trek before it - BioWare decided no, we'll consciously lean into the fact that krogan men have four testicles. And that, dear reader, is why Mass Effect is better than Star Trek will ever be.

My favourite acknowledgement of the krogan quad happens just after Grunt takes down a Thresher Maw in order to become a full-fledged member of the Urdnot Clan. Impressed by the young krogan, Wrex turns to Shepard and says:

This page of IGN's Mass Effect 2 wiki guide is all about the Dossier: The Warlord Mission on Korlus, including how to get through all combat encounters, where to find all collectibles, and pick the right dialogue choices for your playthrough.

This Dossier Mission takes place on Korlus, which is in the Imir system of the Eagle Nebula (in the North-West area of the Milky Way). As you'll read, Korlus is an overpopulated planet rife with violent crime and heavy pollution. Our trip to this planet isn't going to be a pleasant one, even remotely, so be ready for anything.

When you arrive, you'll watch as your shuttle traverses the smoggy atmosphere to dispatch you and your chosen party on the surface. You'll then hear a female voice over a loudspeaker. Don't bother to explore the rubble-strewn area behind you, as (believe it or not) there's nothing worthwhile to see or find there. Instead, continue forward as the path begins to swing rightward. You'll hear that female propagandist voice over the loudspeaker again.

As the path swings rightward once more, you'll be facing a ramp leading upward. There are a few scattered Blue Suns troopers there, so kill them from afar. Once this little skirmish has concluded, you can walk up the ramp yourself. Unfortunately, there's nothing up here for you to acquire, so all that's left to do is to continue forward.

When you finally get to enter a proper conversation with the Wounded Merc, you'll learn that the female voice you've been hearing is that of Jedore, who has the Krogan doctor you're seeking, Dr. Okeer, creating genetically mutated Krogan in her laboratory. After this, the Wounded Merc will get a call on the radio for a sitrep. Ask "Jedore? Krogan pack?" for a little information, then respond in one of the following ways:

Proceed down the pathway towards the corpse of a lab-created Krogan, then head leftward. Immediately take cover here, as a couple of Blue Suns Troopers will open fire at you from across the way, from a heightened, fortified position. Quickly eliminate them, and then go right and down the ramp, then turn left to see the path ahead. Two more Blue Suns Troopers will appear on a bridge perpendicular to the area you're currently occupying, overlooking the pathway. Seek cover once more and deal with them.

When the coast is clear, dash towards the bridge that previously had the Blue Suns Troopers on them and head right, bringing you to another area where you'll dealing with a good dozen or so Blue Suns. Making matters difficult is that all of them are occupying the balconies and catwalks, thus they are all far away and hard to hit without a sniper rifle.

Take your time here, focusing on a single target at a time. Once one target has fallen, move on to the next, and so on. Reinforcements will stream in from the catwalk on the left, so don't run out when the initial wave of foes have been felled, as you'll get cut down if you do.

Eventually, no more reinforcements will rush in to deal with you at this point, so you can come out from your piece of cover and work your way leftward through the carnage, and before long, you'll stumble upon yet another conflict. This one is unique, though: one of the many lab-created Krogan created here is alive during this conflict. Don't turn your ire on him! Rather, allow him to help you fight the Blue Suns Troopers firing down on your position. He's quite the shot.

When all is quiet, you can approach this Krogan and begin to speak with him. What you'll learn is a bit... startling, to say the least. This Krogan is fully grown, which is interesting considered he was created in a lab a week ago. He doesn't have a lot of information, but you can garner quite a bit simply by listening to him. Eventually, this lab-bred Krogan will assist you in finding your way into the laboratory, by moving a huge metal barrier, which will reveal a pathway that leads to the lab. Let's get going.

As soon as you're through where the concrete barrier once stood, you should see a Blue Suns Corpse on your right at the top of the dirt ramp with 2,000 Credits on the ground to your right. When you get about halfway down the dirt ramp, you'll hear distant screams before a couple of frantic Blue Suns Troopers will round the corner and begin climbing up the ramp. There's no cover here, so quickly use your hard-hitting guns and powers to take them down.

Continue down the ramp and make a right-hand U-Turn, where a lab-bred Krogan Berserker will open fire on you. Unfortunately, there's no talking to this guy. In addition to his regenerating health, Berserkers will always advance towards Shepard, and they have lethal shotguns that can be turned into effective rocket launchers with their Carnage ability.

Making matters worse, this whole walkway section will have ten more Berserkers coming at you until you get to the far end of it. You can either try to advance to the end, or camp in one spot and take down all 10 (more viable in the Legendary Edition thanks to higher ammo drops).

If you do decide to stay in one spot, stay in a well-defended, static area, letting them come to you one at a time. Because there are so many "Fragile Crates" everywhere that can be destroyed easily, it behooves you to find solid cover that nothing can destroy and camp there, letting the Berserkers come to you. Doing so will ensure that you never have to deal with one or two at a time.

As soon as you go through the next door, you'll see a Blue Suns Trooper with his back turned towards you. Immediately knock him out before he knows what hit him, and then take cover as quickly as you can, preferably behind a permanent piece of cover, as opposed to the nearby fragile crate. Enemies from across the chasm will now begin to fire on you, and many of them are toting powerful rocket launchers. When that threat is nullified, you can then head leftward and through to a room on your left.

Immediately seek cover here, as well, since more enemies ahead will begin to fire on you with a similar arsenal as their friends you just killed. Remember -- far away enemies can be dealt with using a sniper rifle, if you or a Squad Mate happen to have one. Otherwise, normal techniques will do, particularly biotics. When the coast is clear here, run up the catwalk ahead and to your left, but don't forget the loot!

If this is you're following our guide in order, this will be the first time you'll encounter the Hacking minigame. It follows a completely different set of rules than the Bypass minigame, which are as follows:

On the other side of the door to your left, you'll find -- big surprise -- another staircase leading upward. This one, too, is devoid of an enemy presence, though that quickly changes when you reach the top of the staircase. Avoid going leftward into the adjoining room for now, and instead initiate hostilities with the enemies in the room ahead of you by using the little gap in the wall at the top of the stairs. This should keep you relatively safe, as enemies will have a hard time flanking your position.

Move forward to reach the room where the enemies you just killed were located. As you reach the far end of this room, keep an eye out for reinforcements ahead from your left. Quickly seek cover and drop these heavily-armed and armored foes, and then comb the entire room for much-needed ammunition.

Up ahead you'll encounter another pathway moving forward to a room across the walkway, but getting to that room isn't an easy endeavor. More enemies of all kinds will descend on your location, and they're generally stronger than most of the enemies you've so far encountered. Thus, the idea should be to keep them as far away as possible as you deal with a single threat at a time.

As you find your way to the next staircase leading up to yet another door (are you getting used to this yet?), you'll eventually emerge in another outdoor area. This large area will throw everything and the kitchen sink at you, so you're going to have to be patient. There are two main paths through much of the area, so do what's most comfortable for you here. The main idea should be to concentrate on single targets at a time, and remain in cover for as long as you're being bombarded with enemy fire. Don't exit it until all enemies ahead are down!

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