Noveria Peak 15 Walkthrough: Memory Core Puzzle, Loot, Combat & Choices
This part of the Mass Effect wiki guide focuses on the Noveria: Peak 15 mission, laying out how to crack the memory core puzzle, survive every combat set-piece, track down all loot sources, and choose the right dialogue options for your run.
Looking for something specific? Use the sections below to jump ahead.
- Essential Stats
- Enter the Garage
- Aleutsk Valley
- Inside Peak 15
- Computers Damaged
- How to Solve the Memory Core Puzzle
Essential Stats
Quick video info
- Persuasion Points: N/A
- Minimum Decryption: Average Decryption
- Minimum Electronics: Hard Electronics
Recommended squad
- Squad Tactics: Bring Garrus if you can, since he brings both Decryption and Electronics talents—useful for squeezing out more XP and loot.
- Unique Dialogue: This is also when you want Liara in your squad so you get unique dialogue later. You still have some time before squad changes become impossible, but this is the last moment to adjust without running into serious backtracking. You can consider bringing Wrex instead of Garrus, but if your Shepard class can’t handle Decryption or Electronics, pairing Wrex with Liara will block you from a lot of lootable objects and their XP.
You should consider bringing Garrus, since his Decryption and Electronics talents help you access more XP and better loot. This is also the point where you want Liara along for unique dialogue later.
While you still have some flexibility before squad changes lock you out, this is the final practical window to swap companions without heavy backtracking. If you choose Wrex over Garrus, keep in mind that if your Shepard can’t do Decryption or Electronics, you’ll lose access to many loot items and the XP tied to them.
Enter the Garage
Once you have the Garage Pass, head to the Garage in the northwest corner of the Plaza (check the map above). Talk to Lilihierax again to get fresh dialogue, then show the pass to the guard and enter the Garage.
Finally, you can push toward Peak 15—but the game makes sure you fight for it. A pair of strong Geth rush in: they’re quick, well-shielded, and armed with dangerous firepower, so keep your attention on taking them down efficiently.
Take whatever cover you can find and keep firing while monitoring your shields and health, along with your party’s status. If you’re playing the original release, you can hack the left side of the Grizzly vehicle inside the garage to seize control of its turret.
This comes with the usual XP penalty, but it’s a handy assist on tougher difficulties. That turret-hacking option does not exist in the Legendary Edition.
After these attackers are cleared, Maeko Matsuo appears near the entrance to the Garage. Speak with her there to continue the conversation, where you’ll persuade her that the Geth struck first, then slipped into the storage area full of crates even though security checks suggested everything was properly handled.
- Upgrade Kit – Go to the Western side of the garage and look for this item beside a white box.
Your next transport to Peak 15 is the Mako. Get in, drive north through the tunnel, and then roll outside into the blizzard raging across the area.
Aleutsk Valley
In the open, the blizzard becomes immediately obvious. With a level one cold hazard, you can’t stay out of the Mako for long or stray too far from the vehicle, but that’s fine—the Mako is the only sensible route from the garage (point A) to Peak 15 (point B).
As you round the first bend marked by red posts on the left, you’ll spot a Grizzly on the right with a tunnel ahead guarded by Geth. Before you commit, keep an eye out for loot around this approach.
- Crate – Buried in snow at the foot of the Grizzly you drive past on the way to the first tunnel.
- Medical Kit – A second Grizzly sits closer to the tunnel, and this Medical Kit is behind it.
- Crate – Another crate is positioned next to the Medical Kit behind the second Grizzly.
Geth troopers fight from the terrain while gun turrets add sustained damage. Try to hold your distance, prioritize the most dangerous turret first, then clear the rest of the attackers. Remember: the Mako takes damage too, and while rockets can land without immediate consequences, eventually your vehicle will be in real trouble—so be careful.
When enemies outside the tunnel are dealt with (including the shields that protect them), move into the tunnel. Because the space limits your maneuvering, the guide recommends stepping out of the Mako and handling the tunnel’s enemies the traditional way, braving the cold while you fight.
Just watch for rockets firing from ahead and dodge them. Once everything is dead, backtrack to your Mako, get in, and drive through the remainder of the tunnel.
- Upgrade Kit x2 – Roughly halfway through the tunnel, you can find two Upgrade Kits, one at the base of each side wall.
After that first tunnel, you should be in decent shape for what’s next. Exit the tunnel and you’ll find additional enemies on the right side of the next corner near a burning Grizzly—destroy them.
- Locked Crate x2 – Average Decryption. Before you push onward, check near the nose of the flaming Grizzly to locate two Locked Crates you can crack open.
Eventually you’ll reach a second tunnel. Again, enemies wait at the entrance, so use the same approach as the prior tunnel to get through safely.
- Medical Kit – Easy to miss: after leaving the second tunnel, watch for a white box on your left. Look behind it to find the Medical Kit.
The remainder of the route is covered by three Geth Heavy Turrets perched on nearby cliffs. Use the same turret-focused tactics you used earlier. The last major enemy resistance guards the entrance to the Garage itself—take them out your preferred way, then enter the Garage.
At last, you’re at Peak 15.
Inside Peak 15
Run down the opening path toward the actual Garage area inside Peak 15, and you’ll immediately realize you’re not alone. Smaller, weaker Geth roam around, but there’s also a large Geth named a Juggernaut that hits with an extremely powerful punch.
Downing the Juggernaut should be your top priority before you bother with anything else. It’s both strong and aggressive, and you can get dropped after only a couple of hits.
There are explosives placed around the area that you can use against it, but the most practical method is to focus every weapon you have on the Juggernaut and keep firing. Don’t allow your weapons to overheat, and keep using cover to avoid taking lethal damage.
With the Juggernaut defeated, you can sweep the rest of the smaller enemies. The Krogan in particular can make the “small” description feel misleading—those explosives can be a great way to kill them if they wander close.
Use your radar for red triangles (assuming you’ve equipped your best Combat Scanner). Once those markers disappear, the enemy threat is gone.
- Secure Crate – Average Decryption. Go up the stairs, then check the corner at the top.
- Upgrade Kit – From the Secure Crate, head left and go all the way to the end. It’s slightly past the door.
Go through the door into an odd hallway lined with backwards-facing turrets. Not ominous at all…
- Upgrade Kit – After exiting the turret hallway, make a U-turn to the right to enter a small side room. The kit is in front of you to the left.
- Secure Storage Locker – Average Decryption. This is in the same room as the Upgrade Kit, directly to the left of the entry door.
Exit the room and take the left path to reach Peak 15’s administration level. Expect more fighting as soon as you arrive.
Hostilities flare up quickly after the elevator drops you into this section. The Geth here are weaker than before, so the first wave shouldn’t cause too much trouble. On the floor where you start, there’s plenty of cover, including overturned tables and other objects you can hide behind.
As you push upward toward the second floor—where most items are—you’ll face tougher enemies. They hit hard and attack aggressively, so you’ll need to match that urgency to stop them before they can hurt you. When they do damage you, they also poison you, so stay extra alert.
Once the enemies are cleared, go into the room closest to the top of the snowbank leading to the upper floor and sweep for loot. In the top room, you may encounter and defeat another enemy if you want the XP.
- Terminal – In the room where you fought the two waves of enemies, you can find a Terminal that updates with “UNC: Asari Diplomacy” if you haven’t completed that Side Quest yet.
- Gravitic Weapons Research – In a room around the corner from the first enemy area, there’s a laptop on a table that grants XP and a Codex entry.
- Medical Kit – In the third and final room, set on top of a small table. Be careful when you leave: an enemy spawns from the vent across from the entry door.
After clearing everyone in this section, head to the next elevator to go even higher inside Peak 15.
Computers Damaged
As you work through this small area, bug workers appear almost immediately. These small, spider-like creatures explode when they get too close, so you’ll want to eliminate them from range. Even though they’re tiny, the Radar will still reveal where they are.
- Technician Kit – Located on the left side of the bottleneck where the bug workers come in.
Now investigate the VI unit on the far side of the corridor—but you’ll find there’s an extra step first. To activate the VI (Virtual Intelligence, not the number six), you must open the Power Junction near the elevator.
Once the junction is opened, you can work with the VI to bring it online fully.
How to Solve the Memory Core Puzzle – Puzzle Solution
Mass Effect – Peak 15 Memory Core Puzzle Solution
When you reach the Mira VI’s Memory Core, you’ll be faced with a choice. Do you spend a hundred Omni-Gel to trigger activation automatically, or do you attempt to hack it yourself?
If you weren’t using a guide, the Omni-Gel option would likely be the obvious route—but since you are here, the hacking solution is the real focus. This puzzle is another classic Bioware-style challenge: Towers of Hanoi.
You need to move the blocks from the left column into either the middle or right column. The rule is simple: you can’t place a larger block into a slot if a smaller one is already sitting above that slot.
Don’t worry about the deeper process—just follow the button sequence below. Press two, wait a second, press two again, and continue the pattern. For example, if the instructions show “X > Y | X > B,” you press X, then Y, pause for a second, press X again, then B, and keep going.
Here’s the full sequence:
- Xbox: X > Y | X > B | Y > B | X > Y | B > X | B > Y | X > Y | X > B | Y > B | Y > X | B > X | Y > B | X > Y | X > B | Y > B
- Playstation: Square > Triangle | Square > Circle | Triangle > Circle | Square > Triangle | Circle > Square | Circle > Triangle | Square > Triangle | Square > Circle | Triangle > Circle | Triangle > Square | Circle > Square | Triangle > Circle | Square > Triangle | Square > Circle | Triangle > Circle
- PC: 1 > 2 | 1 > 3 | 2 > 3 | 1 > 2 | 3 > 1 | 3 > 2 | 1 > 2 | 1 > 3 | 2 > 3 | 2 > 1 | 3 > 1 | 2 > 3 | 1 > 2 | 1 > 3 | 2 > 3
After entering that sequence (or using Omni-Gel), the Mira VI becomes accessible from the core. At that point, you can speak with “her” in depth—pick through everything before you move on.
You’ll learn that something has gone wrong: the main reactor is down, and the roof communication lines have been severed. Both of these issues must be handled to continue deeper into Peak 15.
You can complete the two objectives in either order, but the guide recommends starting with the landlines first because they’re closer.
- Noveria: Reconnect Landlines
- Noveria: Reactor Repair
Want more help with Mass Effect? The guide lists more sections to explore: Legendary Edition changes, how-to guides, key choices and consequences, romance options, the walkthrough, and side quests.
Up next: Reconnect Landlines
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