Mass Effect 2 Awakening Prologue Guide: Combat, Loot, and Key Dialogue Choices
Mass Effect 2’s prologue, “Awakening,” drops you onto Lazarus Station in the middle of an attack—alone, confused, and forced to follow instructions from a mysterious voice over your comm. This walkthrough-style guide covers every major step: clearing the first combat rooms, grabbing the collectibles and weapons you’ll want, and making the dialogue choices that steer Paragon and Renegade outcomes.
Checklists
This guide page focuses specifically on the “Prologue – Awakening” mission on Lazarus Station, including how to survive each combat sequence, where to locate all collectibles, and which dialogue options to choose based on your preferences.
Looking for something specific? Jump to: Mission Stats, Complete the Tutorials, Escape the Facility, Get to the Shuttle, Talk to the Illusive Man, Investigate the Missing Colonists, and Import Bonuses.
- Mission Stats
- Complete the Tutorials
- Escape the Facility
- Get to the Shuttle
- Talk to the Illusive Man
- Investigate the Missing Colonists
- Import Bonuses
Mission Stats
Video Guide
Mission Rewards
- Experience: 1,000
- Weapons:
- M-3 Predator Pistol
- M-100 Grenade Launcher
- Mission Credits: 3,750
- Found Credits:
- Original release: 3,750
- Legendary Edition: 7,500
- M-3 Predator Pistol
- M-100 Grenade Launcher
- Original release: 3,750
- Legendary Edition: 7,500
Complete the Tutorials
Sometime after you finish character creation, Lazarus Station ends up under attack. You’ll be on your own for the moment, but you’ll get directions from an unknown woman through your comm. She gives you three tasks in order.
First, collect a pistol from a locker in the corner of the room.
- M-3 Predator – Stored in the locker in the back corner of the room. This is required to progress the story.
M-3 Predator
The M-3 Predator is a basic starting sidearm. It’s weaker than other pistols you’ll encounter later, but its main strengths are fast firing and a larger ammo supply, helping you compensate for the lower punch.
After picking it up, you’ll be guided toward the exit door from the room. The woman tells you to take cover so you won’t take damage from an upcoming explosion. Finally, you’ll be instructed to grab pistol ammunition from the doorway area before continuing.
If you imported a Mass Effect 1 profile, pause and open the Squad menu to spend your Squad Points. The guide strongly recommends selecting your class’s unique Power first (for Soldiers, that’s Combat Mastery). The reason: it boosts your total Paragon and Renegade values, making it easier to unlock Charm or Intimidate dialogue options for better story results.
In the next room, you’ll get your first taste of combat. You’ll only have a single, easy target at first: a LOKI Mech. You’ll be prompted to vault over the railing ahead, then quickly take cover behind a planter while the robot crashes into the room. Return fire and remove the mech from the fight.
Escape the Facility
With the first mech down, head up the stairs it emerged from and go through the door. Here, you should be able to refill ammunition using Thermal Clips scattered on the floor.
Next room: you’ll be attacked again, this time by seven or eight LOKI Mechs rather than just one. The good side is that they aren’t particularly quick or aggressive, and they don’t aim with exceptional accuracy, so you get time to handle each one as it approaches.
Use cover and keep your shooting consistent as they close in. If they start swarming your position, you can quickly get overwhelmed. The upside is that once the area calms down, ammunition dropped by the mechs you killed will be there for you to collect.
Move into the next room. Two scientists are shot on the far side of the glass, then you should turn right to enter the next area and pick up a new weapon:
- Grenade Launcher – Lying next to the body of the Dead Soldier in front of the glass railing.
M-100 Grenade Launcher
The M-100 Grenade Launcher functions like a classic rocket launcher. Rockets travel in a straight line with no tracking, but they can still harm Shepard and the squad. It also has a much larger damage radius when the rocket lands on an enemy, so you should prioritize direct hits.
As a Heavy Weapon, the M-100 doesn’t use Thermal Clips. Instead, it requires Power Cells to operate.
Take cover behind the glass railing, angle your shots downward, and eliminate the four robots that enter through the door with a single shot. They won’t come through until you’re ready with the grenade launcher, so take your time setting up.
When the LOKI Mechs are defeated, switch back to your pistol and head toward the nearby elevator. After taking the elevator down, follow the on-screen prompts to get through a fire hazard. Survival requires Sprinting through the danger zone.
After the fire hazard, you reach a hallway that effectively becomes the mission’s first real branching point. You’ll need to go right to keep progressing, but before you do, go through the door ahead to find an isolated office holding supplies and a couple of crawling LOKI Mechs.
- Wall Safe – 1,725 Credits, located on the wall between two Cerberus laptops.
- Original release: This safe must be bypassed and then awards 975 credits.
- Cerberus Laptop x2 – One on the left-hand corner desk, and another on top of shelves on the right side of the room.
- Original release: The Wall Safe must be bypassed and only grants 975 credits.
Back out of the office and continue down the corridor, moving up a staircase. At the top, look left: a man is blown up by a YMIR Mech on the far side of a window.
- Public Computer – Located to the left of the window where the man gets destroyed.
Go through the door at the top of the stairs and you’ll be attacked by another wave of mechs across a chasm on your left. This time, you’ll have help: Jacob, a crew member on the ship, is present to assist. Eliminate the LOKI Mechs and you’ll start a conversation with Jacob.
During the chat, you get three response choices—one on the left and two on the right. In general, left-side options lead to longer replies and almost never grant Morality Points.
- At the start, choose “I need answers!” for +2 Renegade Points.
After that, Jacob takes out another LOKI Mech and recommends you go to the shuttle. You’ll get another chance to earn Morality Points:
- “Just a few questions…” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “I’m tired of taking orders!” for +2 Renegade Points.
Eventually, it becomes clear you need to destroy the LOKI Mechs before the conversation can continue. You’re back in combat. Since Jacob is Biotic, you can command him to use his special abilities. In fact, you must use Pull on a mech to prevent additional mechs from spawning.
Once everything ends, Jacob can finally explain more about what’s going on, and you’ll be able to speak with him at length. Jacob is also the first permanent member of your team you’ve met in the mission.
When you’re ready, proceed toward the escape shuttles.
- DataPad – Before leaving, check the seats here for a DataPad containing additional backstory.
At this point, Jacob is officially part of your squad. If you imported a Mass Effect 1 profile, you can spend Squad Points on him too.
The guide recommends focusing on Incendiary Ammo: it performs well against armor and organic targets, and can be upgraded to Squad Incendiary Ammo at Rank 4 so anyone on the squad can use it, including Shepard.
Head through the only open door nearby and turn left down the next corridor. As you go, Jacob contacts his friend Wilson, a medical officer trying to locate an escape route for you and for Jacob’s new ally. When you enter the next room, you’ll have to handle three LOKI Mechs before continuing.
As you round the corner in the red room, Wilson is heard struggling over the link as more mechs close in. Suddenly, he goes quiet after being hit. After he gives you his location, everything calms down. Now you need to find the missing man—exit the room and go down the corridor and up the stairs.
- Cerberus Laptop – The route to Wilson is through the right-side door, but before going there, head left to find a dead end with another laptop containing more backstory about the Lazarus Project.
When you finally go through the door, you find Wilson. He’s the man Jacob has been trying to reach—communicating with Jacob, guiding you toward the shuttles, and attempting to help you escape the besieged station.
- Choose “Let’s get you out of here” for +2 Paragon Points.
No matter what you choose, you’ll still need to help Wilson with his leg injury.
Get to the Shuttle
To restore Wilson, you’ll need to provide Medi-Gel.
- Medical Station – Look for the orange arrow pointing to the white-and-red Medical Station on the wall, then open it.
Next, press the Right Bumper to open the Power Wheel. Highlight Unity, then select Use. This restores Wilson and begins the next conversation.
During the conversation with the healed Wilson, you can earn more Morality Points. The first opportunity comes after Wilson explains why he was trying to fix the mechs:
- “It doesn’t matter!” for +2 Renegade Points.
Later, Wilson accuses Miranda of being either dead or a traitor:
- “But she tried to help me” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “Maybe, maybe not” for +2 Renegade Points.
When that conversation ends, more LOKI Mechs rush in. Wilson points out Explosive Crates—if you attack them, they can destroy the entire mech group in a single blast. You need to detonate the crates here to keep going, because the LOKI Mechs will keep spawning until you do. Wilson’s Overload ability is recommended for setting this up quickly.
After the mechs are scorched and downed, you get answers from Jacob, though Wilson remains hesitant to share more information. More Morality Points become available when Jacob reveals who they’re working for:
- “That sounds familiar…” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “You lied to me” for +2 Renegade Points.
Jacob then says he’ll take Shepard to the Illusive Man:
- “I’ll never work for Cerberus!” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “What are you after?” / “He’d better have answers” for +2 Renegade Points.
- Datapad – 1,650 Credits. Found in the hallway after meeting Wilson, among several bodies.
- Original release: You must bypass the Datapad, and it grants 900 credits.
- Original release: The Datapad must be bypassed and only awards 900 credits.
Once you finally reach the hangar bay, you’ll be close to the escape shuttles, but you still need to fight through a large mech group. After the first wave when you enter, you’ll have two routes: go left and up ramps, or go right and up stairs.
The guide recommends the right-side route because it results in fewer fights overall: two mech groups instead of three. At the upper walkway, turn left, use cover to eliminate the nearest mechs, then snipe the attackers coming from the distant room.
After the mech threat is cleared, do a quick loot pass. The room the mechs were coming from should be checked immediately before you head the other direction to finish the escape sequence.
- Datapad – 1,720 Credits. Next to a dead officer in the room where the mechs were pouring out.
- Original release: The Datapad requires hacking and only gives 975 credits.
- Wall Safe – 2,400 Credits. On the right-hand wall of the same room.
- Original release: The Wall Safe doesn’t need to be bypassed and only gives 900 credits.
- Original release: The Datapad needs to be hacked and only provides 975 credits.
- Original release: The Wall Safe does not need to be bypassed and only awards 900 credits.
The Wall Safe here is the earliest point in the game where you can perform the Bypass minigame (at least in the Legendary Edition). It works like this:
- Connect four pairs of nodes by using a cursor before the timer ends.
- Node pairs are shown with symbols that appear when you hover over a node.
- After selecting a node, you get a few seconds to choose its partner and complete the circuit.
- If you connect incorrectly, you’ll be locked out and receive no rewards.
- If you select a node but don’t know where the matching one is, wait a few seconds and the first selection will be cleared automatically so you can try again.
- It’s easy to miss, but the nodes and connection lines follow patterns on the circuit board background—use that to predict connections.
- There are two separate timers. When the first timer ends, you transition to a second stage where Credits are slowly drained. This means your payout decreases the longer you take to finish the Bypass. Once the second timer expires, you’re locked out of that object’s rewards completely.
- If the time limit is giving you trouble, you can purchase a Bypass Module from Serrice Technology on Illium for 30,000 Credits. You can visit Illium after completing “Horizon”.
After you loot everything, go to the room across the walkway (near the route you didn’t take earlier) and open the door. Inside, you’ll meet Miranda, and she immediately shoots Wilson in the neck for betraying her.
- Choose “I knew he was lying” for +2 Renegade Points.
Even with your choice, you should favor the left-side response options if you want the most information from Miranda. Once the conversation wraps up, you’ll need to board an escape craft with both of them onboard to get out before it becomes too late.
On the ship heading to where the Illusive Man is located, Miranda will ask a set of pointed questions while Jacob protests, believing you should be left alone. These questions focus on Shepard’s background, so the answers you’re tested on match what you chose when you created Shepard.
Exactly which lines you hear depends on Shepard’s Psychological Profile, but the system works the same way:
- The upper-right response always grants +2 Paragon Points.
- The lower-right response always grants +2 Renegade Points.
- Selecting “We’re done here” (or any variant) ends the interview immediately.
Next you’ll be asked who you sacrificed on Virmire in Mass Effect 1 (which will be set for you automatically if you started a new save and didn’t use the Genesis DLC comic).
- “It was a hard choice” for +2 Paragon Points.
- “It was that or die” for +2 Renegade Points.
Talk to the Illusive Man
You’ve now moved to another facility: Minuteman Station, run by the same organization that brought Shepard back—Cerberus. Jacob and Miranda are nearby, but you won’t be able to talk to either of them in a meaningful way right now. Instead, they’ll direct you to speak with the Illusive Man.
You won’t meet him in person. He explains that face-to-face contact would be too dangerous, so he communicates with you through a hologram from an undisclosed location. Functionally, you can still speak normally.
This dialogue segment consists of four response pairs, and each chosen option can grant Paragon or Renegade points. You can earn eight Morality Points total; whether they come as Paragon or Renegade depends on your selections. For simplicity, the guide groups the options by Morality rather than listing every pair individually:
- Options such as “You don’t know me,” “You’re not my friend,” “I’ll need a lot of convincing,” or “Maybe I believe you,” followed by “Do I have a choice?” result in +8 Paragon total.
- Options such as “I need some answers,” “Skip the pleasantries,” “Not bad,” or “Where do we start?” followed by “I’ll find the evidence” result in +8 Renegade total.
Throughout the conversation, the Illusive Man tells you he’s focused on ensuring humanity’s survival, warning that it’s under serious threat. He revived Shepard to make sure you’re the one who confronts this danger, and says that the first step is traveling to an Alliance colony currently under siege: Freedom’s Progress.
Investigate the Missing Colonists
When your talk with the Illusive Man ends and you receive your assignment, return to the earlier part of the station. Now, speaking to Miranda or Jacob will finally unlock dialogue. Make sure to talk to both and select options as you go to earn Paragon or Renegade points.
Miranda comes across as cold and tactical. She doesn’t trust Shepard and believes the Illusive Man made a mistake by restoring your free will. She’s focused on the mission above all else. During her dialogue, you can earn additional Morality Points—up to +4 Paragon Points by selecting the upper-right choices, or +4 Renegade Points by selecting the lower-right choices.
Jacob, meanwhile, is much more friendly and dependable. You can talk to him about the mission, and you can also discuss his past in the Alliance military, which connects to Shepard’s own background.
As with Miranda, Jacob’s conversation offers +4 Paragon Points via the upper-right options and +4 Renegade Points via the lower-right options.
Once everything wraps up, approach the door at the far end of the deck to complete the first mission of the game. Phew.
Import Bonuses
At this stage, you’ll see the Mission Complete screen, where you’re also told about any import bonuses. If Shepard ever held 1,000,000 credits in Mass Effect 1, you’ll receive an additional +100,000 credits in Mass Effect 2.
The primary bonuses depend on Shepard’s level, rewarding XP, credits, and Resources. The exact amounts you receive vary based on your level and which version of the game you’re playing.
There is also a second credit-related bonus that depends on your edition:
- Original release – If you earned the “Rich” Achievement/Trophy and unlocked the Level VII Spectre Master Gear, you’ll get 100,000 credits.
- Legendary Edition – You carry over 10% of your credits to Mass Effect 2, capped at 100,000. For the biggest version of this bonus, you need at least 1,000,000 credits at the end of Mass Effect 1.
You can also gain extra bonuses for having a Mass Effect 2 save that has completed the main story. Best of all, three of these can stack on top of any Mass Effect 1 import bonuses. Those include:
- +25% XP for all Missions and Assignments.
- +200,000 credits.
- +50,000 of all four Resources.
- Keep all Heavy Weapons. This is the only bonus that doesn’t apply to imported Mass Effect 1 saves—it only applies to imported Mass Effect 2 saves (meaning “New Game +” runs).
Want more Mass Effect 2 help? The guide points you toward additional pages: Legendary Edition Changes, How-To Guides, Key Choices and Consequences, Romance Options, Walkthrough, and Side Quests.
Up Next: Freedom’s Progress
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- Legendary Edition Changes
- Basics
- Tips and Tricks
- How-To Guides
