How to Unlock the Negotiation Assignment in Mass Effect 2 (Renegade/Paragon)
The Negotiation Assignment in Mass Effect 2 is one of the game’s “morality-gated” side missions—meaning it won’t show up until you’ve pushed the Renegade or Paragon meter far enough. This guide covers what you need to unlock it, where to go, how to set up for the encounter, and what to do with Darius and the loot afterward.
Checklists
- Essential Stats
- How to Unlock The Negotiation
- Travel to Plutus
- Meet Darius
Essential Stats
- Persuasion Points: N/A
- Minimum Decryption: Hard Decryption
- Minimum Electronics: N/A
How to Unlock The Negotiation
The Negotiation is unofficially treated like a Morality Assignment. It’s one of two such Assignments that won’t become available until you fill the Morality Bar to the required level.
For The Negotiation specifically, you must reach 80% Renegade. If you already hit 80% Paragon first, then the mission won’t unlock until your Renegade meter reaches 90%. Once the condition is met, you’ll be given the Assignment by Admiral Hackett the next time you move to a new system.
Trying to unlock both morality-gated Assignments in a typical run is extremely difficult, and it can force you into choices you may not want. Many players instead use one of two glitches to artificially raise a morality bar so the other Assignment can unlock.
- Eletania Max Paragon Exploit: Available after completing “Citadel: Expose Saren”. You can use it during the UNC: Lost Module Assignment, and it only affects the Paragon morality bar.
- Noveria Max Paragon and Renegade Exploit: Available during the “Noveria: Lorik Qui’in” Mission. This one impacts both the Paragon and Renegade morality bars.
Travel to Plutus
- Location: Hades Gamma – Plutus – Nonuel
- Prerequisite: 80% Renegade Bar (or 90% if you reached 80% Paragon first)
After you arrive in the Plutus system, be sure to pick up the Discoverables listed for this area.
Recommended Loadout
- Squad Tactics:
- Even though this Assignment can be completed without violence, it’s still smart to prepare. Darius has surrounded himself with extremely strong followers, so bringing Wrex and Ashley is strongly recommended.
- Shepard’s Loadout:
- If the Assignment turns into a fight, the enemy lineup is mainly organic. Use Anti-Personnel / Shredder Rounds for better results.
- While this Assignment can be completed without any violence, it’s always best to come prepared. Darius has surrounded himself with very powerful followers, so Wrex and Ashley are highly recommended.
- If you do get into a fight in this Assignment, you’ll be facing primarily organic enemies, so you should use Anti-Personnel / Shredder Rounds here.
Meet Darius
Darius is set up in the Warlord’s Outpost, positioned northwest of the Mako’s starting point on the map. Drive there, but keep an eye on the large lava lake to the east—hitting it will instantly destroy the Mako. In the Legendary Edition, the smaller “streams” are safe to cross with the vehicle.
Once you reach the base, enter the main area to start the negotiations. Darius immediately takes offense that Shepard isn’t a trained negotiator, and he’ll insult you about your chosen backstory regardless of which one you picked.
Here’s how the negotiation works:
- Choosing replies in the upper-right part of the dialogue wheel pushes the negotiation forward smoothly. If it succeeds, you earn +8 Paragon Points when you report the outcome to Hackett at the Galaxy Map.
- Selecting middle-right or lower-right options will upset Darius. You’ll then need to apologize to him to continue the negotiation.
- Notably, this is the only way to unlock the “What do you mean?” option on the left side of the dialogue wheel, which helps you understand how Darius ended up in this situation.
- If you choose two options from the middle or lower-right during the negotiations, the exchange ends in violence.
- If you reject his final request to say “Please” by picking either “I’ve had enough” or “You want nice? Try this!”, you’ll stop the negotiation attack no matter how polite you were earlier.
- If the negotiations end in violence, you immediately receive +9 Renegade Points, plus an additional +25 Renegade Points when you report what happened to Hackett at the Galaxy Map.
- You cannot kill anyone in the building before the negotiations begin. Even after you strike a deal with Darius successfully, you still can’t kill them. The only time you can fight them for Credits, XP, and Loot is when the negotiation ends in violence.
- Notably, this is the only way to unlock the “What do you mean?” option on the left side of the dialogue wheel, which helps you understand how Darius ended up in this situation.
If the negotiations collapse into a shootout, you’ll have to take down Darius’ men. They’re a mixed group of races, and each of them has health and shields that regenerate. Because of that, the best approach is to eliminate a single target quickly—especially if it turns out they’re Krogan. The door you’d normally use to leave is shut during the gunfight result, so you can’t rely on it as a choke point. You’ll have to use the side room on the ground floor instead, though you’ll still need to deal with a Turian inside first.
Since the door stays locked when the fight happens, you’ll need to unlock it. Do this by going to the side room on the upper floor and using the Terminal. If you managed to finish the negotiations peacefully, you won’t have to do this because the door will already be open.
Once the negotiations are over, you can search the area for loot. If you ended things peacefully, the upper-floor door will be locked. The workaround is simple: leave the building and then re-enter it to force it open.
Here’s what you can find inside:
- Lower floor:
- Upgrade Kit – On shelves just north of the side-room door.
- Malfunctioning Object – In the southwest corner of the side room.
- Upgrade Kit – On shelves close to the door near the stairs leading to the upper floor.
- Upper floor:
- Hardened Storage Locker – Hard Decryption. Located on the eastern wall of the side room.
- Secure Weapon Locker – Average Decryption. Located on the southern wall of the side room.
- Weapon Locker – Easy Decryption. Located in the southwestern corner of the side room.
- Upgrade Kit – On shelves just north of the side-room door.
- Malfunctioning Object – In the southwest corner of the side room.
- Upgrade Kit – On shelves close to the door near the stairs leading to the upper floor.
- Hardened Storage Locker – Hard Decryption. Located on the eastern wall of the side room.
- Secure Weapon Locker – Average Decryption. Located on the southern wall of the side room.
- Weapon Locker – Easy Decryption. Located in the southwestern corner of the side room.
After opening everything, exit the base, return to the Normandy, and report the outcome to Admiral Hackett at the Galaxy Map to receive your Morality Points.
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: Squadmate Side Quests
Top Guide Sections
- Legendary Edition Changes
- Basics
- Tips and Tricks
- How-To Guides
