Mass Effect 1 Armory Licenses Guide: All Locations for Better Shopping
Armory Licenses are special items you can occasionally pick up from merchants in Mass Effect 1. Each one boosts the Requisitions Officer’s inventory in the Normandy’s Cargo Bay, giving you more ways to shop for weapons, weapon mods, upgrades, and armor. One of these licenses matters more than it first appears, so this guide page breaks down how to find every Armory License you can, and where to focus so you don’t miss the tricky ones.
Checklists
- Task Search
- How Armory Licenses Work
- All Armory Licenses in Mass Effect 1
- Important and Missable Licenses
- Elkoss Combine License
- Armali Council License
- Haliat Armory License
- Spectre – Master Gear
- All Armory Licenses in Mass Effect 1
- Elkoss Combine License
- Armali Council License
- Haliat Armory License
- Spectre – Master Gear
Armory Licenses are unique items sold by various merchants throughout the game.
- There is an Armory License for each of the fifteen manufacturers in Mass Effect 1, but you start the game with the Hahne-Kedar License—meaning fourteen are left to locate.
- With one exception, each license becomes available when Shepard hits a specific level: Level 1, Level 18, and Level 36.
- Once you buy a license, the Requisitions Officer on the Normandy expands his inventory, and that selection is refreshed whenever Shepard levels up. The exact items offered are locked in the moment you open his shop menu—so you can take advantage of a save-and-reload method. This approach works for all merchants, not just the Requisitions Officer.
- Armory Licenses are tied to your current playthrough only. Starting a new game (including New Game +) means you must obtain the licenses again.
- A handful of licenses are especially notable or difficult to secure; those are given their own sections later on this page so you know exactly what to do.
- Only one Armory License is truly missable: the Armali Council License. The rest can be purchased from merchants on the Citadel, with two exceptions—one merchant is on Feros (Ledra) and another is on Noveria (Opold).
Level 1 Licenses
- C-Sec Requisitions Officer
- Morlan (Lower Markets)
- Commander Rentola (Virmire)
- Expat (Upper Markets)
- Opold (Noveria)
- Delan (Presidium Emporium)
- Petozi (Peak 15)
- Commander Rentola (Virmire)
Level 18 Licenses
- C-Sec Requisitions Officer
- Commander Rentola (Virmire)
- Commander Rentola (Virmire)
- Delan (Presidium Emporium)
- Ledra (Noveria)
- Opold (Noveria)
Level 36 Licenses
- Expat (Upper Markets)
- Morlan (Lower Markets)
- C-Sec Requisitions Officer
- Petozi (Peak 15)
- Delan (Presidium Emporium)
- Commander Rentola (Virmire)
Elkoss Combine License
The Elkoss Combine License is among the earliest Armory Licenses you can get. It’s available as soon as you start—at Level 1—and costs only 100 credits. You can purchase it from two locations:
- In the Upper Markets, from a Volus Expat. He’ll be waiting at the top of the stairs leading down to the Lower Markets—where Conrad Verner is also found for “Citadel: The Fan”.
- On Noveria, from Opold, the Hanar merchant in Port Hanshan. He’s located in a room near the elevator that connects to and from the Docking Bay area.
This license is worth calling out because it unexpectedly becomes important in Mass Effect 3. Specifically, it ties into “Citadel: Medi-Gel Sabotage”.
Armali Council License
The Armali Council License is notorious for being both difficult and easy to overlook because one acquisition route is broken. In particular, during the end of “UNC: Asari Diplomacy”, choosing the Charm/Intimidate response is supposed to award the Armali Council License—but it never does, even in the Legendary Edition.
That means there’s only one other reliable way to obtain it, and that method comes with a very small time window. During the Virmire segment, you’ll come across a Salarian STG Camp that includes its own vendor, Commander Rentola, in the southern tent. If Shepard is Level 18 or higher, you can buy the license from Rentola for 6,250 credits.
If you miss that chance, there is one final opportunity. If you manage to save Captain Kirrahe during your assault on Saren’s base, then once the mission wraps, you can locate Captain Kirrahe and Commander Rentola together in the Normandy’s Cargo Bay.
However, you must go down and see them before you travel to the Citadel or any Mission World. After that point, they vanish permanently.
Haliat Armory License
The Haliat Armory License can also be lost if you don’t handle the relevant mission steps carefully. While completing a quest on Feros, you’ll uncover a threat to the colony of Zhu’s Hope. Your choices can determine the outcome for certain residents of the colony, including the merchant Ledra. For further detail on how to approach the situation, follow the dedicated page on saving the Feros colony.
- How to Save the Feros Colony
Spectre – Master Gear
The Spectre Master Gear is an especially distinctive type of Armory License. It has two components, and it’s the only Armory License whose two parts unlock under different conditions. Those requirements vary depending on whether you’re playing the original 2007 release or the Legendary Edition, and both versions are covered on the dedicated page.
- How to Get Spectre Master Gear
If you want more help for Mass Effect, there are additional guides covering topics like:
- Legendary Edition Changes
- How-To Guides
- Key Choices and Consequences
- Romance Options
- Walkthrough
- Side Quests
Up Next: How to Get Spectre Master Gear
Top Guide Sections
- Legendary Edition Changes
- Basics
- Tips and Tricks
- How-To Guides
