Mass Effect UNC: Beseiged Base Guide: Locations, Combat Tips, Key Decisions

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This Mass Effect wiki guide page focuses on the UNC: Beseiged Base assignment, covering where to locate all required items, how to handle every combat encounter without losing control, and which decisions to prioritize for your run.

• Essential Stats
• How to Unlock Beseiged Base
• Travel to Cacus
• Get to Medical Base
• Back on the Normandy

Essential Stats

• Persuasion Points: N/A
• Minimum Decryption: Average Decryption
• Minimum Electronics: N/A

How to Unlock Beseiged Base

UNC: Beseiged Base is commonly treated as a “Morality Assignment” in practice, meaning it won’t become available until you fill a specific morality meter to a required threshold. It’s one of two assignments that follow this rule.

To trigger it, you must push the Paragon meter to 80%. If, however, you managed to reach 80% on the Renegade meter first, then the assignment won’t open until Paragon reaches 90% instead. Once the requirement is met, Admiral Hackett will send it to you the next time you travel to a new system.

Attempting to unlock both morality-based assignments in a single standard playthrough is extremely demanding, and it usually forces you into choices you may not want—choices that can echo through Mass Effect 2 and/or Mass Effect 3. For that reason, many players lean on one of two exploits to “artificially” boost one of the morality meters so the other assignment can be obtained.

• Eletania Max Paragon Exploit – Become available right after completing “Citadel: Expose Saren.” This exploit is used during the UNC: Lost Module assignment and only influences the Paragon meter.
• Noveria Max Paragon and Renegade Exploit – Available during the “Noveria: Lorik Qui’in” mission. This version impacts both the Paragon and Renegade morality meters.

Travel to Cacus

• Location: Hades Gamma – Cacus – Chohe
• Prerequisite: 80% Paragon meter (or 90% if you reached 80% Renegade first)

When you’ve met the Paragon requirement and then move on to a different system, you’ll receive a message from Admiral Hackett containing the assignment. Notably, this is among the few assignments that offer morality points during the debriefing itself:

• If you tell Hackett “I can’t,” then follow with “That’s not my problem,” you earn +2 Renegade Points—and the assignment is refused, meaning it’s gone for good.
• Any other set of responses will accept the assignment, and you won’t gain any morality points from that moment.

If you choose to accept the assignment from Hackett, travel to the Hades Gamma cluster and then head to the Cacus system. While you’re there, pick up the discoverables listed under the recommended approach below.

Recommended Loadout

• Squad Tactics:
  • To reduce the chance of completing the assignment with no casualties, go to Gameplay Options and set Squad Power Usage to “Defense Only” or “Off” (though you still need to be careful).
  • If you choose “Defense Only,” Liara and Wrex are strong picks because their Stasis can freeze a designated target.
  • No matter who you bring, equip them with a Pistol or Sniper Rifle so they’re less likely to miss—and less likely to accidentally hit the wrong target.
• Shepard’s Loadout:
  • This mission is mostly filled with organic enemies, so use Anti-Personnel / Shredder Rounds.

• To ease completing this assignment with no casualties, go to the Gameplay Options menu and set Squad Power Usage to “Defense Only” or “Off” (though you’ll still need to play very cautiously).
• If you set Squad Power Usage to “Defense Only,” Liara and Wrex are your best options for Stasis, since it freezes a specific target.
• Whoever you bring along should use a Pistol or Sniper Rifle to avoid missed shots that could land on something you didn’t mean to hit.

• You’ll be dealing mainly with organic enemies here, so equip Anti-Personnel / Shredder Rounds.

Get to Medical Base

Once you’re on the planet, reaching the besieged science facility you need to infiltrate is basically straightforward travel: drive south, with a slight turn east. The trip itself should be uneventful, and there are no enemies stationed around the station or guarding the site, so there’s little to worry about at first. However, that “quiet” doesn’t last.

A key piece of advice is to open the Options menu, then head to Gameplay, and set Squad Power Usage to “None.” This prevents squadmates from using area-of-effect abilities that could accidentally harm a researcher.

It’s also smart to remove any explosive ammunition modifications, since those can just as easily clip a Scientist and cause problems for similar reasons.

Finally, create a backup save. A Scientist being caught by an enemy biotic—especially if it throws a ranged attack into an explosive container—can force Paragon players to restart.

When you enter the science station, you’ll receive an alert. Inside, you must tell Biotic Terrorists apart from the innocent civilians who will be moving around during the upcoming firefight. In the original release, a counter appears near the radar showing how many Scientists were killed. In the Legendary Edition, that system changes to a more general “Researchers Killed” indicator that only shows up after a researcher dies.

A reliable strategy is to move into the main room, draw the Biotic Terrorists’ attention, then retreat into the northern hallway so the enemies funnel toward you. This plan works even better in the Legendary Edition, because the Scientists remain perfectly still there, instead of constantly running around like they did in the original version.

After you clear the Biotic Terrorists from the main room, three additional attackers will enter from the southern corridor—so be ready to remove them as well.

With the combat finished, you can sweep the base for loot:

• Northern room:
  • Malfunctioning Object – Located in the northwestern corner.
• South-eastern room:
  • Locked Crate – Easy Decryption. Found in the northeast corner behind some shelves.
  • Crate – In the southeastern part of the room, beside shelves.
  • Secure Crate – Average Decryption. Hidden in the southwestern corner behind shelves.
• South-western room:
  • Upgrade Kit – Immediately to your left as you enter, beside a planter box.
  • Locked Crate – Easy Decryption. Stashed behind the server block just west of the entrance.
  • Malfunctioning Object – In the northwestern corner of the room.

• Malfunctioning Object – In the northwestern corner of the room.

• Locked Crate – Easy Decryption. In the northeast corner behind shelves.
• Crate – In the southeastern section next to some shelves.
• Secure Crate – Average Decryption. In the southwestern corner hidden behind shelves.

• Upgrade Kit – On your left right after you walk in, near a planter box.
• Locked Crate – Easy Decryption. Hidden behind the server block directly west of the entrance.
• Malfunctioning Object – In the northwestern corner of the room.

Back on the Normandy

After you return to the Normandy, you’ll meet Admiral Hackett to discuss how things went. You’ll also be awarded morality points based on how many Scientists you managed to keep alive:

• If no Scientists were killed, you receive +24 Paragon Points.
• If 1 to 4 Scientists were killed, you receive +8 Paragon Points.
• If 5 to 6 Scientists were killed, you receive +9 Renegade Points.

Looking for more Mass Effect help? The guide also points you toward these other sections:

• Legendary Edition Changes
• How-To Guides
• Key Choices and Consequences
• Romance Options
• Walkthrough
• Side Quests

Up Next: Cerberus

Top Guide Sections

• Legendary Edition Changes
• Basics
• Tips and Tricks
• How-To Guides

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