How to Unlock Garrus’s Dr. Saleon Assignment and Its Normandy Impact

Mass Effect’s Garrus personal Assignment, “Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon,” is one of the more dialogue-driven missions in the galaxy map—because you don’t just pick it from a menu. You have to unlock it by talking to Garrus, and what happens during the confrontation will shape how he talks to you later aboard the Normandy.

Release & availability tracker: where this mission fits

This guide content describes the Mass Effect Assignment “Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon,” including its required unlock method, where to travel, its encounter flow, and the loot/decryption requirements. It’s presented as part of a wiki-style guide structure, with an emphasis on choices and how they affect Garrus’ future attitude and dialogue.

Checklists: what the Assignment covers

• Essential Stats
• Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon Acquisition
• Travel to Herschel
• Find Dr. Saleon
• Back on the Normandy

Essential Stats

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

Garrus: Find Dr. Saleon Acquisition

Unlike the other two personal Assignments, Garrus’ mission can’t be started the usual way. You only begin it by unlocking it through a conversation with Garrus, which is less straightforward than you might expect.

Once you first recruit Garrus, you can speak with him on the Normandy in the Cargo Bay to learn more. The process is split into three stages. Each new stage becomes available after you talk with Garrus again, then either complete a Mission World or advance through an Assignment set on an Uncharted World (ships and similar space-only destinations don’t count).

You’ll know the Assignment is ready when Garrus finally brings up Dr. Saleon: a black market organ seller who escaped by taking hostages during his getaway.

Travel to Herschel

• Location: Kepler Verge – Herschel – MSV Fedele

The Assignment is in the Kepler Verge, positioned to the north-west of Attican Beta—the same region where Feros is located. Travel to the Herschel system, which lies in the southern portion of the cluster, and then pick up the relevant Discovery.

After that, go to the MSV Fedele. It’s in orbit around Clugon, the third planet in the system.

Recommended squad

• Squad tactics
  • Even though this is Garrus’ personal Assignment, bringing him along is optional. If you do, expect him to be noticeably annoyed when you talk with him again back on the Normandy.
  • The mission pushes you into tight, close-quarters fights. Tali or Wrex are strong choices here, since both do especially well with shotguns.
• Shepard’s loadout
  • Expect primarily organic enemies during the Assignment, so plan to use Anti-Personnel / Shredder Rounds.

• Even though this is Garrus’ personal Assignment, bringing him along is optional. If you do, expect him to be noticeably annoyed when you talk with him again back on the Normandy.
• The mission pushes you into tight, close-quarters fights. Tali or Wrex are strong choices here, since both do especially well with shotguns.

• Expect primarily organic enemies during the Assignment, so plan to use Anti-Personnel / Shredder Rounds.

Find Dr. Saleon

When you move through the first door, you won’t run into enemies immediately. The corridor that follows also stays clear. Instead, the hostile encounter begins once you reach the ship’s main cargo hold.

These test subjects are tough and very aggressive. They’ll often swarm you and your squad, but they don’t hold up for long once you start dealing damage. If you’ve already completed Feros, you’ll recognize the type—because you faced large numbers of them near the end of that mission. Shredder Rounds plus a powerful shotgun are more than enough to break them apart.

Clear the enemies and then don’t waste time exploring the cargo hold further. There aren’t any items worth grabbing there, even though the area is full of explosives you could use if you want to turn the chaos against them.

With the hostiles dealt with, the next step is confronting Dr. Heart… or rather, Dr. Saleon. Go to the eastern door of the main cargo hold, then turn right at the intersection. There’s nothing in the Cockpit, and you can’t proceed left from that point.

Even if Garrus is there to confirm what you’re looking for, Saleon insists he isn’t the person you think he is.

There are no Morality Points for this moment, but how you respond during the confrontation affects your dialogue afterward—and that, in turn, influences Garrus’ attitude in future interactions. Still, regardless of what you say, Saleon will flee, meaning you’ll have to bring him down with gunfire.

To make things worse for him, the elderly Salarian is essentially the weakest enemy in the game. He can drop in a single shot, even if you’re using your most basic pistol. It’s even possible for a squad member to kill him without you realizing it.

Once the “fight” is done, if Garrus is in your squad you can nudge his perspective based on how you answered regarding Dr. Saleon being killed.

Before you leave, sweep the room for loot. And yes—the ship effectively provides loot only in this room. There’s nothing else on board besides the room where you found Dr. Saleon.

• Hardened Storage Locker – Hard Decryption. Located on the western wall of the room.
• Secure Storage Locker – Average Decryption. Found to the right of the Hardened Storage Locker.
• Medical Station – Easy Decryption. In the middle of the room (Saleon may have been using it as cover).
• Wetware Kit – In the south-west corner of the room, to the right of the Medical Station.
• Malfunctioning Object – In the north-west corner of the room, directly opposite the Hardened Storage Locker.

After collecting everything, return to the ship’s entrance and head back to the Normandy.

Back on the Normandy

If you didn’t speak with Garrus after picking up the Assignment, the Cargo Bay conversation you have next will focus on what to do with Saren now that he’s been caught. If you chose not to bring Garrus on the Assignment, he’ll be upset that you handled Dr. Saleon without him.

Later, once you complete another Mission World or Assignment, you’ll get the conversation where Garrus lays out what he plans to do after all of this is over. What he says depends directly on how you handled Dr. Saleon: if you told Garrus to go for the kill (or you carried it out yourself), he’ll state that he plans to reapply for Spectre training. If you persuaded Garrus to bring Dr. Saleon in before he turned hostile, Garrus will instead say he wants to return to C-Sec.

Want more Mass Effect help? Check out the following pages:

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

Up Next: Tali: Pilgrimage

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