Mass Effect 2 Grunt Loyalty Mission Guide (2024)

The Grunt loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2—“Grunt: Rite of Passage”—takes you to Tuchanka as you help the Krogan warrior deal with an adult-stage condition that seems to drive him toward violence. This walkthrough-style guide covers mission rewards, where to go, which dialogue choices swing Paragon or Renegade, and how to survive (and optionally conquer) the Rite’s three combat rounds.

Key takeaways

The mission rewards 750 XP, Fortification as a Power, Shotgun Damage as Research, and 15,000 mission credits (with the same amount listed as found credits).
Grunt’s loyalty objective becomes available after completing Jacob, Miranda, Jack, and Mordin’s loyalty missions, and after you’ve spoken to Grunt once following his awakening from his tank.
Travel to Tuchanka via the Krogan DMZ—Aralakh—Tuchanka area in the Galaxy Map, with Tuchanka tied to the relay system you arrive in.
The Rite encounter is made of three separate rounds, with the game saving after each one and the Keystone button switching from red to green to show round completion.
Surviving the final wave nets a points boost, while killing the Thresher Maw is optional but awards significantly more Paragon/Renegade points.

Checklists

This section of the guide is focused entirely on the Grunt: Rite of Passage loyalty mission on Tuchanka. It outlines how to get through each combat phase, where to locate collectibles during the Rite, and which dialogue responses to select to match your playstyle.

You can also use the guide’s jump list to move straight to key parts of the mission flow, including Mission Stats, the conversation with Grunt, travel setup, speaking with the Clan Leader, talking to the Shaman, surviving the Rite, and the post-mission chats back at Urdnot Camp and later on the Normandy.

Mission Stats

Video Guide

The guide includes a placeholder for a video walkthrough section for this mission.

Mission Rewards

Experience: 750 XP
Power: Fortification
Research: Shotgun Damage
Mission Credits: 15,000
Found Credits: 15,000
Resources: 2,000 Credits

Talk to Grunt

To start this optional questline—which is also considered a main story loyalty objective for Grunt—you need to speak with Grunt when Kelly tells you that he wants to talk to you. The loyalty mission itself unlocks only after you’ve completed the loyalty missions for Jacob, Miranda, Jack, and Mordin.

Progression to this point can be achieved by finishing standard missions, downloadable content, or N7 side quests. You’ll also need to have spoken to Grunt at least once after he was pulled from his tank following your arrival back at the ship.

When the conversation begins, Grunt is in rough shape. He doesn’t understand what’s happening to him, and he’s dealing with an urge he can’t control to kill things—plus he doesn’t know how to handle it. After a quick discussion with EDI, the conclusion is to head to Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld, to deal with the issue at its source. The guide notes that after the Genophage, Krogan society isn’t interested in sharing medical information with outsiders.

Travel to Tuchanka

Location: Krogan DMZ – Aralakh – Tuchanka

From here, you’ll travel to Tuchanka itself. If you’ve followed the walkthrough up through Illium, then this is your first time arriving on Tuchanka.

On the Galaxy Map, the Krogan DMZ sits just “south” of the Serpent Nebula, where the Citadel is positioned. Tuchanka will be located in the relay system you arrive in, specifically under Aralakh.

If you’re planning to mine resources while you’re there, the guide points you toward the Aralakh system’s rich planets (the list itself isn’t included in the provided text).

Recommended Loadout

Squad Tactics:
- Grunt must be on your active squad, since this is his loyalty mission. The guide suggests upgrading his Incendiary Ammo to Squad Incendiary Ammo so the entire team benefits from the incendiary effect.
- Mordin is recommended because Incinerate can strip Armor.
- Miranda is presented as a slightly unusual pick; her Warp ability also strips Armor.
Unique Dialogue:
- Garrus is singled out as the party member with the most interesting unique dialogue tied to this mission.
Shepard’s Loadout:
- Consider purchasing the “side-upgrades” for Assault Rifles, Heavy Pistols, and Sniper Rifles. The “Armor Penetration” versions become available after two damage upgrades, and the third damage upgrade unlocks a unique perk for each weapon type:
  - Assault Rifles unlock “Assault Rifle Accuracy” after three damage upgrades.
  - Heavy Pistols unlock “AP Heavy Pistol Critical” after three damage upgrades.
  - Sniper Rifles unlock “Sniper Headshot Damage” after three damage upgrades.

The provided guide text repeats portions of the recommended loadout and squad/upgrade suggestions (including the sections about Grunt being mandatory, Mordin’s Incinerate, Miranda’s Warp, Garrus’s dialogue, and the weapon side-upgrades). The intent is consistent: build around Armor stripping and good Armor-penetration options.

Speak to Clan Leader

If this is your first time on Tuchanka, you’ll be stopped as you head down from the Landing Platform. An Overcaptain tells you to meet the Clan Leader and either give Grunt “The Rite” or put him down. The guide advises you to ignore the kill-order request and go through the door behind the Overcaptain, then keep moving to the end of the tunnel.

When you reach the Clan Leader—seated on a makeshift throne—you should select the dialogue option “What’s wrong with Grunt?”. Grunt explains his origins as something created by Okeer, a name the guide describes as being widely disliked.

You can choose the lower-right response for +2 Renegade Points. The exact text depends on whether the Clan Leader is Wrex or Wreav.

The Clan Leader’s ruling is that nothing is truly “wrong” with Grunt; instead, Grunt is simply going through adulthood.

Even so, Grunt’s violent urges still need an outlet. The Clan Leader recommends taking The Rite so Grunt can become a recognized member of Clan Urdnot. The guide notes this enrages Gatatog Uvenk, who storms off.

Choose “His call” for +2 Paragon Points.

After this, you’re instructed to speak with the Shaman.

Talk to Shaman

To reach the Shaman, leave the Urdnot Throne area and move straight ahead. You’ll find a staircase on your left. At the top is the Shaman, though the guide also points out a Nakmor Ambassador you can talk to for extra context on Krogan clan politics—if you’re able to use one of the Persuasion options.

Once you initiate the main conversation, the Shaman is arguing with Gatatog Uvenk.

Pick the response that grants +2 Paragon Points by saying you have permission for the Rite.
Pick either “He dares stand in Grunt’s way?” or “I want this crap over with” to earn +2 Renegade Points.

No matter which route you take, Uvenk keeps pushing back. The guide mentions you can use a Renegade Interrupt to perform a headbutt as a show of strength, awarding +5 Renegade Points. If you ignore that option, you can still continue with the following dialogue choices:

Say “You defy a shaman?” for +2 Paragon Points.
Say “Do you want to die, Uvenk?” or “Let’s get this crap going!” at any time for +2 Renegade Points.
Say “What is your problem, Uvenk?” to unlock follow-ups that trade off against the “You defy a shaman?” option:
- “You argue like an alien” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “So you’re fearful” via Intimidate for +2 Renegade Points.

Once you finally convince everyone involved that Grunt should be allowed to take the Rite—and that your squad will stand with him as his krantt—you’ll be transported to the Rite location. The guide prompts you with the final readiness question: “Are you ready?”

Survive

After arriving at the Rite arena, you’ll see a green Keystone button you can Activate. The guide recommends ignoring it initially, since the area has plenty of loot worth grabbing before you start the fight.

Turbine Parts – 3,600 Credits. Located to the right of the Keystone button.
Urdnot Corpse – 1,200 Credits. From the Turbine Parts, turn around and head for the stairs on your left; search the Urdnot Corpse at the top.
Med Kit – 100 Credits. Down the stairs from the Urdnot Corpse and to the right.
Power Cells – 100 Credits. Next to the Med Kit.
Urdnot Corpse – 1,800 Credits. Return to the upper area of the arena and move to the rusty circular hatch in the middle.
Urdnot Corpse – 1,500 Credits. Near the second Urdnot Corpse described above.
Med Kit – 100 Credits. Beside the nearby Urdnot Corpses.
2,000 Refined Platinum – Found from the rusty hatch by facing away from the Keystone button; it’s between two columns on your right.
Med Kit – 100 Credits. Next to the Refined Platinum.
Power Cells – 100 Credits. Next to that Med Kit.
Urdnot Corpse – 1,500 Credits. Go back to the rusty hatch, face left relative to the Keystone button, and search at the top of the stairs.
Turbine Parts – 3,300 Credits. Directly left of the Keystone button.

When you’ve finished collecting, press the Keystone to begin. The Rite is structured as three distinct rounds, and the game saves after each round is cleared. You can tell which phase you’re in by watching the Keystone button: it stays red while the round is active and turns green once it ends.

Round 1: Varren wave

The first wave is the easiest. Once you activate the keystone, Varren start appearing from raised stair platforms in the two corners across from the Keystone structure. These dog-like creatures are familiar to Mass Effect 1 players: they have low health, but they rush in to maul you, so you’ll want to eliminate them quickly.

Even though they show up in numbers, they’re spaced out enough that with efficient kills, you should rarely have more than about three chasing you at once. You’ll fight three Varren waves before the round ends.

Round 2: Harvester and Klixen pairs

The second wave is tougher. After activating the keystone again, a huge flying monster called a Harvester drops into the arena. You can’t damage it directly. Instead, it releases two “hellish-looking” creatures called Klixen.

If you haven’t encountered them before, Klixen are fast-moving melee attackers. Shooting them from range is recommended because they explode on death, knocking back and damaging anyone nearby. They also function as damage sponges, so the guide recommends using heavy explosives if you want to wipe them quickly in groups.

If you prefer conventional weapons, you can still handle them by fighting spread-out targets one or two at a time. Across this round, you’ll face eight total pairs of Klixen.

Round 3: Thresher Maw

After you clear the Klixen waves, activate the keystone one final time. This summons a danger that longtime Mass Effect players will recognize. A massive ground-based enemy, the Thresher Maw, can end the run quickly if you don’t approach it carefully.

The guide compares its threat level to Mass Effect 1, where the advice was essentially to kill it while staying inside a tank. Here, you’re only asked to survive the final round, which lasts five minutes.

Survival is challenging because while the Thresher Maw stays outside the arena, it fires a powerful acid shot with a huge splash radius. On Casual difficulty, the guide claims you can be killed in as few as three hits. To avoid that, you need to manage where the Maw aims—directing its shots at different columns in the arena. Most columns are fragile and will break after a single acid hit, but four sturdier columns cannot be destroyed this way.

Those sturdier columns are the key to staying alive. The guide identifies two of them in the lower part of the arena where you can take cover. By hiding behind them and tracking the Maw’s aim, you can usually last the full five minutes and survive, earning +5 Paragon and Renegade Points.

The “real” objective, however, is to kill the Thresher Maw. Doing so earns heavy recognition from Krogan on Tuchanka and grants +15 Paragon and Renegade Points. The tradeoff is that you must use your best Armor-busting tools while also keeping distance from acid shots, which is difficult. The guide emphasizes that killing it is ultimately optional and that failing to kill it won’t create negative consequences for your progress.

After the Rite: consequences with Gatatog Uvenk

Once the Thresher Maw encounter ends, The Rite is considered complete—but not your conversation challenges. Gatatog Uvenk arrives and offers Grunt a path into his clan instead of Clan Urdnot. The guide calls the offer hypocritical because Uvenk previously wanted Grunt gone; the implication is that Grunt’s value is political leverage either way.

The outcomes differ based on whether you killed the Thresher Maw.

If you did not kill the Thresher Maw, you can select:
- “This is sacrilege” for +2 Paragon Points
- “This is just political” for +2 Renegade Points
If you killed the Thresher Maw, you can select:
- “He’s the ultimate krogan” and “Your call, Grunt” for +4 Paragon Points total
- “Are you here to fight?” and “He can’t join your clan” for +4 Renegade Points total

Grunt refuses Uvenk’s offer, and the moment plays into the guide’s logic: Uvenk says he wants Grunt whether he’s dead or alive, meaning Grunt has value either way. The guide ends this beat with the implied conclusion: it’s time to fight.

The text also warns about loot that can be missed during this next combat arena:

Med Kit – 100 Credits. From the starting area, to your right at the top of a short ramp of rubble.
Urdnot Corpse – 1,200 Credits. From the Med Kit above, go down the rubble ramp; it will be directly ahead.
Med Kit – 100 Credits. Next to the Urdnot Corpse above.
Urdnot Corpse – 900 Credits. After the last Urdnot Corpse, head forward and turn left up the steps. Look in the back-right corner near two turbines. This pickup can be riskier because Uvenk and his two Warriors begin the battle from there.

The fight against Gatatog Uvenk and his heavily armored Krogan fighters is described as easier than the cutscene makes it look. You start behind cover, so you can organize your attacks from that spot for most of the battle. The only real reason you’d need to relocate is if you aren’t aggressive enough.

If you play too defensively while staying in place, the enemies may flank you and overwhelm your position. Uvenk has Barrier in addition to Armor and health, so you need to wear him down using whatever tools you have available. The guide’s recommended approach is to eliminate his allies first, then focus the entire party on removing Uvenk quickly once he’s isolated.

Back on Tuchanka

After Gatatog Uvenk and his group fall, you’re automatically returned to the Shaman’s area. The Shaman rewards you for passing The Rite. Grunt now becomes part of Clan Urdnot, earning the name Urdnot Grunt.

With the loyalty mission complete, you can now ask the Shaman about additional topics and the guide recommends going through those discussions thoroughly before moving on. It also notes that if you speak with the Shaman two more times after that, you can brag about defeating a Spectre, Saren, and a Reaper, Sovereign.

When you regain control after the conversation, the guide suggests you go to Fortack’s Database in the Med-Lab and talk to Fortack, since completing Grunt’s loyalty mission provides a discount on his inventory.

On the return trip to the Kodiak shuttle, many Krogan will have new things to say about Grunt passing The Rite—especially if you killed the Thresher Maw. The guide advises you to speak with the Clan Leader, the Mechanic, Fortack, and Ratch (the two shopkeepers), as well as the Overcaptain and the Blood Pack Recruiter, since all of them have updated dialogue. There’s also a humorous EDI message in the tunnel on the way back to the Landing Platform if you killed the Thresher Maw.

Back on the Normandy

Grunt also gets new lines back in his Engineering wing. The guide lists two dialogue selections:

Choose “Someday it’ll end. It has to” or “No shortage there” for +2 Paragon Points.
Choose “I can’t have you going rogue” for +2 Renegade Points.

After finishing your talk with Grunt, the guide recommends doing another quick sweep across the ship:

Engineering: Speak with Zaeed about fighting a Thresher Maw during the Rite of Passage.
CIC: Talk to Joker about the leader of Clan Urdnot.

If you want more Mass Effect 2 help, the guide points readers toward additional pages and sections, including Legendary Edition Changes, How-To Guides, Key Choices and Consequences, Romance Options, Walkthrough, and Side Quests.

Mass Effect 2 Grunt Loyalty Mission Guide: Rite of Passage Choices & Rewards

Key takeaways

Checklists