Mass Effect 3 Priority: Palaven Walkthrough—Combat, Loot, and Paragon/Renegade Choices

If you’re working through Mass Effect 3’s Priority: Palaven on Menae, this mission walkthrough-style checklist focuses on everything you’ll actually do: clearing each combat wave, grabbing every collectible mentioned, and choosing the dialogue options that affect Paragon/Renegade points. The route covers the mission from your landing zone assault all the way to the final confrontation near General Victus’ shelter.

Release & platform tracker (what to expect)

Game	Mode/Content	Mission focus
Mass Effect 3	Story walkthrough / wiki guide content	Priority: Palaven — Mission on Menae

This guide content is structured like an in-mission route plan (combat + loot + dialogue) rather than a platform-specific feature list. If you’re playing Mass Effect 3, the steps below are the same kind of checklist you’d use whether you’re on a console or PC—just follow the mission markers and the combat beats in order.

Task Search

Checklists

This page of the Mass Effect 3 guide focuses on Priority: Palaven on Menae, including how to handle every combat encounter, where to locate collectibles, and which dialogue responses to pick based on the alignment path you want.

Looking for something specific? Jump to:

• Mission Stats
• Find Commanding Officer
• Repair the Comm Tower
• Defend the Airfield
• Defend the Main Barricade
• Search for General Victus
• Clear the Camp

Mission Stats

Video Guide

Mission Rewards

• Experience: 1,350 XP
• Reputation: +15
• Mission credits: 12,500 credits
• Found credits: 12,500 credits
• Weapons:
  • M-97 Viper
  • M-27 Scimitar
• Armor:
  • Hahne-Kedar Greaves
  • Armax Arsenal Shoulder Guard
• Mods:
  • Assault Rifle Piercing Mod
  • Pistol Piercing Mod
  • Pistol Magazine Mod
  • Assault Rifle Magazine Mod
  • Sniper Rifle Spare Ammo
  • Sniper Rifle Enhanced Scope

• M-97 Viper
• M-27 Scimitar

• Hahne-Kedar Greaves
• Armax Arsenal Shoulder Guard

• Assault Rifle Piercing Mod
• Pistol Piercing Mod
• Pistol Magazine Mod
• Assault Rifle Magazine Mod
• Sniper Rifle Spare Ammo
• Sniper Rifle Enhanced Scope

Recommended Loadout

Because your squad choices are limited here, this section narrows its focus to Shepard’s setup.

• Bring a shotgun for Husks. James Vega will also cover this role.
• Bring anti-Armor weapons and fire-based Powers for Brutes. Again, James is a strong pick for this.
• Bring anti-Shields options for Marauders. You may also find a new squad member in this mission with Overload, which is excellent for stripping Shields.

Mission Enemies

• Husk
• Marauder
• Brute
• Cannibal

Search and Rescue

Before you fully commit to the mission, it’s worth engaging with one of Mass Effect 3’s newer systems: Search and Rescue.

While you’re flying around a system, you can use the Left Trigger to scan the area around the Normandy for points of interest. These include War Assets, damaged Fuel Stations, quest items, and Intel. Some targets may be located on planets, in which case the game uses the Planet Scanning approach from Mass Effect 2.

Be careful in Reaper-controlled systems: scanning too often (typically twice) draws Reaper attention. When that happens, they show up to chase you. At that point you must flee, and you can’t return to that system until you complete a mission somewhere else.

The walkthrough tips will call out where you can do Search and Rescue before each major story mission. A practical hint: if you fly over an item and hear a quick “boop” sound, it helps confirm the location—letting you grab more than one item during a single scan.

Travel to Trebia

• Prerequisite: Complete “Priority: The Citadel 1”
• Location: Apien Crest – Trebia – Palaven – Menae

From the Galaxy Map in the Normandy’s CIC, leave the Widow system by flying to the Mass Relay and selecting it to zoom out. The destination is in the Apien Crest area, which lies south of where you are now. Once you arrive, you’re in Reaper space. You can scan there, but if you fill your Reaper Awareness meter, the Reapers will come after you and you’ll be forced to escape the system.

To get out, you can either fly your ship to the edge of the system or use a Mass Relay. After that escape, you’ll need to complete another mission to bring the Awareness meter back down to a normal level.

Find Commanding Officer

As you get closer, you’ll learn that the landing zone is swarming with Husks. You’ll be firing from the side of the Kodiak at first. The Husks will climb the cliffs, and even if you can’t shoot them all down at range, don’t stress—you’ll soon deal with them at close range.

Husks are straightforward to deal with using a shotgun and melee attacks, as long as you don’t let them grab you. To keep them focused, you can direct squadmates to draw aggro by staying ahead of them. While moving toward command, loot the area.

When the immediate threat is gone, there’s a small exchange you can miss: talk with the Turian inside the shelter on the right. Then keep searching for loot before pushing onward.

• Spare Parts — 1,250 credits. Found in rubble past the first Turian, on the right, before the command base.

Continue forward to enter the base. This route clears the loot here first, then circles the base clockwise to find what’s “in charge.”

• Med Kit — On the edge of the shelter on the left as you enter the base.
• Datapad — 1,875 credits. Move left into the base, where you’ll see a pile of white boxes under grey netting; the Datapad is there.
• M-97 Viper — Refer to the loot above.
• Assault Rifle Piercing Mod — Follow the left wall as you continue clockwise around the base. Eventually you’ll reach a shelter area with two isolated cover plates. The mod is there.
• M-27 Scimitar — Refer to the loot above.
• Hahne-Kedar Greaves — From the two items above, rotate 180 degrees to face the sun. On your left is a shelter; enter it to pick up this armor.
• Med Kit — 50 XP. Refer to the earlier Med Kit location.
• Datapad — 75 XP. Refer to the earlier Datapad location.
• Armax Arsenal Shoulder Guard — Exit the shelter and face the sun again. Ahead you’ll find a shelter with two Turians inside. Enter the empty shelter to the right to grab the armor piece at the top of the ramp. You’ll recognize the correct shelter because it has a Weapons Bench.
• Pistol Piercing Mod — Refer to the loot above.
• Pistol Magazine Upgrade — Before using the Weapon Bench, check to the right of that shelter. The mod sits on top of a cube-shaped crate.
• Datapad — 2,500 credits. Refer to the earlier Datapad location.

M-97 Viper

The M-97 Viper deals less power per shot compared to the M-92 Mantis, but it compensates with a noticeably quicker fire rate. It’s also extremely fast to reload, which is a major advantage over the Mantis.

M-27 Scimitar

The M-27 Scimitar is an automatic shotgun. That means it keeps firing as long as you hold the trigger (though you can manually fire it even faster). Like the Viper’s tradeoff, the higher rate of fire is balanced by having more ammunition available overall.

After gathering everything, head to the Weapons Bench to apply the mods to your squad’s Assault Rifles and Pistols.

Once your loadout is set, enter the shelter to the right of the Weapon Bench shelter. This is where you meet the commanding officer, General Corinthus. Unfortunately, Primarch Fedorian has been dead for about an hour—he died while trying to leave Menae to reach the War Summit you’re working to assemble.

Corinthus gives you a dialogue choice:

• “I’m sorry for your loss” for +2 Paragon Points.
• “Damned Reapers” for +2 Renegade Points.

With the Comm Tower disabled and overrun by Husks, your next push is to repair it. The goal is twofold: help the Turians confirm who their new leader is, and help you identify who you need to bring to the War Summit.

Repair the Comm Tower

The Comm Tower is highlighted with the mission marker. You can bring up the marker using one of the analog sticks. To reach it, use the exit out of the base located to the left of the tower’s direction. As Corinthus already warned, it’s overrun by Husks. Keep strafing, and use close-range moves plus shotgun blasts to hold them back.

After you kill the four Husks guarding the tower, approach the control panel. You’ll need to send a squadmate to handle the repairs. The guide suggests sending Liara up, so Vega’s heavy fire support can keep going. During the repair process, you’ll fight multiple waves of Husks. When it’s finished, Corinthus will tell you he’ll figure out who the new Primarch is, and Shepard offers assistance in the meantime—meaning you’ll keep fighting Husks until Corinthus asks you to return to camp.

If Garrus survived the events of Mass Effect 2, he appears when you return to Corinthus’ shelter. If he didn’t, he’s not there. Either way, Corinthus informs you that the new Primarch is Adrien Victus. Your response choices are:

• “Can I trust him?” for +2 Paragon Points.
• “We need him” for +2 Renegade Points.

At this point, Joker contacts you: the Normandy is going haywire. If Garrus is with you, Liara will propose returning to help sort it out; if he isn’t present, Liara stays in your squad.

Defend the Airfield

Your next objective is to move to the nearby airfield and clear it of enemies.

KBABZ Tip

Before heading to the airfield, stop by the Weapons Bench to set up Garrus’ equipment—assuming you have him.

Next, open the Squad Menu to distribute Garrus’ Ability Points. Make sure he has at least one point in each of his usable Powers, but prioritize Proximity Mine and Overload.

The airfield entrance is far to the right of Corinthus’ shelter. When you arrive, ignore the loot for now and take cover behind the barricades. Here you’ll face a new Reaper unit: the Marauder. Marauders are shielded, so Garrus’ Overload becomes extremely useful for removing those shields quickly. If you stay behind barriers, you can also take down incoming Husks by melee attacking them from cover.

Once all enemies are cleared, search the area for additional loot.

• Assault Rifle Magazine Upgrade — Located in the first main barricade clearing you enter.
• Supplies — 2,500 credits. Stand in the barricade clearing facing away from the entrance. Look to your right for Turian fighter craft. To the right of those craft, near a light stand, you’ll find crates—inside, the salvage is the small, rusty torpedo-like object sitting on top.

Defend the Main Barricade

After you clear the airfield, you head back to the main base. The next task is to defend the main barricade so the command center can hold. It’s the large wall on the left of Corinthus’ shelter.

If you’re carrying an Assault Rifle, you might want to make one last stop at the Weapons Bench to apply the Magazine Upgrade you just found. Once you climb onto the barricade, you won’t be able to equip it until you return to the Normandy.

Climb the ladder to the top and take over the turret. The guide recommends not using aim-zoom with the left trigger, because you can hit Husks effectively while zoomed out, and zooming in slows the turret’s turning speed. Also note: even though the turret has unlimited ammunition, it does have a clip size of 50 shots. You can manually reload it like you would with your standard weapons.

After the turret sequence, you’ll meet your first Brute—another new Reaper variant. The key tactic is maintaining distance. Stay behind cover and move away when it approaches; if it connects, your shields will drop rapidly. Use grenades and other explosives. Armor-piercing rounds and Disruptor Ammo are also useful for reducing its defenses, but explosives can briefly stop the Brute, giving you time to reposition. Since the Brute rushes in straight lines, you can always move perpendicular to its path.

When the Brute is down, Corinthus calls again to say he still can’t raise Victus. Shepard decides to locate the General on foot instead.

Search for General Victus

As you walk the road toward Victus, you’ll run into plenty of loot opportunities and character moments. After vaulting the first ledge, go straight to the cliff edge. Vega comments on a distant Reaper bringing down a frigate to your right; keep moving when your other squadmate asks you to.

After sliding down the dusty slope, if you have Garrus, he will talk about Palaven. Use the View Point to watch the blaze of orange he indicates as the area where he was born. If Garrus isn’t in your squad, Liara will cover his background instead.

• Datapad — 1,875 credits. Find it just ahead of the dirt slope, next to a dead Turian, before the path turns left.

Next, Husks ambush you from both ahead and behind. Clear them out, then continue forward and hop across the gap. When you climb the ledge and turn right, you’ll meet some Turian survivors. Keep an eye on the distant frigate being targeted by the Reaper—James will comment on it if you approach the cliff edge closest to it. The Turian survivors hold more loot:

• Med Kit — 50 XP. Among the Turian survivors described above, Garrus asks if they’ve seen Victus.
• Sniper Rifle Spare Ammo — See above.
• Datapad — 2,500 credits. See above.

Continue on and a Turian fighter crashes directly in front of you, startling your squad. You can investigate the crash, but there are no survivors. As you press forward, your squad discusses the War Summit, the Batarians, and the Krogan.

• Med Kit — 50 XP. During the discussion, you’ll drop down a ledge. Look to the right to spot a Med Kit and a Thermal Clip near the edge of the cliff.

As you move ahead, you may see Reaper meteors falling in front of you—Vega labels it as bad news. Sprint onward and into the camp.

Clear the Camp

The next section is the mission’s final fight and introduces Marauders and Cannibals, plus no fewer than three Brutes. As soon as you enter, you can duck behind cover and pick off the first Brute from far away, which makes the encounter much easier. Keep in mind that a steady barrage of explosives from both you and your squad can slow a Brute down and help bring it down.

For added help, check the right side of the compound for a Reaper Blackstar, a Heavy Weapon. Heavy Weapons in Mass Effect 3 are temporary: you can’t keep one as a carried weapon, and if you equip any other gun, you’ll drop it. You also can’t gain extra ammo for it.

Reaper Blackstar

The Reaper Blackstar will feel familiar if you played Mass Effect 2’s M-920 Cain. It charges up a shot that deals enough damage to instantly kill every enemy inside its massive blast area, so make sure the blast can hit both Brutes at the same time when you fire. The tradeoff is that it only has a single shot—but used carefully, the blast radius can clear out much of the remaining fight.

Once the battle ends, search the camp. Important: the level finishes when you go up the ledge near Victus’ shelter. Use a mission marker (via an analog stick) to track where Victus is and where you should avoid. To begin the cleanup, return to the area entrance and face forward.

• Sniper Rifle Enhanced Scope — Found between two shelters on the left side of the compound. One of those shelters is up a ledge with a Turian sniper on the roof. The scope sits next to white crates with grey netting on top.
• Med Kit — 50 XP. Refer to the earlier Med Kit notes.
• Med Kit — 50 XP. From the earlier items, vault up the ledge and move to the empty shelter ahead to find this Med Kit beside some netting.

After you pick everything up, vault to Victus’ shelter at the highest point of the compound to meet him. Victus is shocked to learn he’s the new Primarch, and he says he hates diplomats. You can respond with:

• “You sound perfect” for +2 Paragon Points.
• “You’re all I’ve got” for +2 Renegade Points.

After dealing with his attitude, you’ll return to the Normandy, bringing Garrus along if he’s present.

Back on the Normandy

You’re brought back to the Normandy for a conversation with the Asari Councillor. She refuses to join the War Summit, believing the Krogan’s presence will doom the effort. As a result, you’ll have to hold the summit without an Asari representative.

When the conversation ends, Traynor mentions that Admiral Hackett is available on the Vid Comm. Talk with him to learn more about the war and how it’s developing. Then head into the War Room, where you can also speak with Victus—now the Primarch of the Turian Hierarchy—to compare notes about the conflict.

Want more Mass Effect 3 help? Check out:

• Legendary Edition Changes
• How-To Guides
• Key Choices and Consequences
• Romance Guide
• Walkthrough
• Side Missions

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