Mass Effect 3 Search & Rescue Missions: How to Plan Routes and Get Rewards
Search and Rescue missions in Mass Effect 3 are essentially classic fetch-quest side jobs. You’ll speak with a contact at the Citadel to learn what they need, track down the required item, and then return it to collect your reward. The one thing to watch closely is that some of these side activities can run out on a schedule, so it’s worth planning your route instead of treating them like any other optional task.
Where this guide fits in (timing and structure)
This checklist focuses specifically on Citadel “Search and Rescue” side missions and how their availability and completion timing can change depending on your progress through the main story. The key milestone is the main mission titled “Priority: The Citadel 2,” and the content is divided into missions you can handle before that point and missions you handle after it.
Checklists
If you’re trying to find something specific, use the jump list below to move directly to the set of Search and Rescue missions you care about—those available before the Priority: The Citadel 2 storyline beat, and those that come afterward.
- Pre-Priority: The Citadel 2 Search and Rescue Missions
- Post-Priority: The Citadel 2 Search and Rescue Missions
Pre-Priority: The Citadel 2 Search and Rescue Missions
Handling Search and Rescue tasks before “Priority: The Citadel 2” can feel a little tricky. After you complete the “Priority: The Citadel 2” main story mission, the Citadel side mission lineup is almost entirely refreshed. Because of that refresh, a Search and Rescue mission can land in one of a few different states depending on when you start and when you finish it.
- A side mission must be finished before “Priority: The Citadel 2.”
- A side mission can be started before “Priority: The Citadel 2,” but it may be completed at any later time.
- A side mission can be started before “Priority: The Citadel 2,” but it cannot be completed until after you’ve done the main mission.
Pre-“Priority: The Citadel 2” Search and Rescue Missions
Post-Priority: The Citadel 2 Search and Rescue Missions
Post-“Priority: The Citadel 2” Search and Rescue Missions
Once you’ve cleared “Priority: The Citadel 2,” the Search and Rescue side missions become much simpler to manage. Every mission in this group begins after that main-story step, meaning you don’t have to worry about the earlier “start now vs. finish later” complications that come from the Citadel refresh.
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Want more Mass Effect 3 help?
If you’re looking for additional support beyond this timing checklist, there are several other pages you can use to round out your run.
- Legendary Edition Changes
- How-To Guides
- Key Choices and Consequences
- Romance Guide
- Walkthrough
- Side Missions
Up Next: Apien Crest: Banner of the First Regiment
Top Guide Sections
- Legendary Edition Changes
- Game Basics
- Tips and Tricks
- How-To Guides
