Mass Effect: Find Liara T’Soni Walkthrough—Combat, Loot, Dialogue Choices

This Mass Effect guide page breaks down the story mission Find Liara T’Soni, focusing on how to push through every combat segment, track down all loot sources, locate Liara in the mission world, and choose dialogue options that fit your playthrough.

Looking for something specific? Jump to:

• Before We Begin
• Mission Stats
• Search Artemis Tau
• Journey in the Mako
• Approach the Mining Camp
• Explore the Mines
• Back on the Normandy

Before We Begin

Before you step into the level, there are a few notes worth knowing.

• You can trigger a slightly altered version of this mission by postponing when you start it. If you finish Feros and Noveria before taking this one, Liara will deliver much different dialogue when you meet her—this includes changes to the debrief segment on the Normandy.
• Waiting until after Virmire matters too: if you choose either “This ruin’s coming down” or “What do you want?” during the final confrontation with the Krogan, Liara will respond with a fearful reaction in that mission-ending fight.
• If you leave this mission until the absolute end, and you plan to romance nobody in Mass Effect 1 but select a romance in titles 2 or 3, saving Liara for last helps streamline things. Liara is eager to begin a Shepard romance; postponing her means you won’t have enough time to start that relationship here, which reduces complications.
• One odd detail: there are no Morality Points gained anywhere during this entire mission. That means you can pick dialogue options freely without worrying about morality point impact.

• If you save this mission until after Virmire as well, Liara will also show fear during the final battle if you select “This ruin’s coming down” or “What do you want?” when confronted by the Krogan.

Mission Stats

Video Guide

Essential Stats

• Persuasion Points: N/A
• Minimum Decryption: Easy Decryption
• Minimum Electronics: N/A

Search Artemis Tau

It’s time to find Liara T’Soni. Among the mission worlds, this one is the only location that isn’t directly pinned on your map, so you’ll need to search the Artemis Tau star cluster more actively. The cluster contains four star systems. Three of those systems have landable worlds you can explore with the Mako, but only one of the three is where Liara is located.

To make the hunt easier, rely on Anderson’s advice from the Normandy Dock: look for a planet that includes Prothean Ruins. When you find a world you can potentially land on, read its description before committing. If you don’t see any mention of Prothean ruins, move on to the next system in Artemis Tau.

Still want the fast answer? Here’s the mission location.

• Location: Artemis Tau – Knossos – Therum

Liara is on the Knossos system, in the upper-right portion of your area map. Start by scanning for Discoveries not only in Knossos, but also in Athens, which sits to the northwest of the Artemis Tau cluster.

After that, check Therum, the second planet circling the star. You’ll recognize it as the correct target thanks to a banner for a mining facility that appears above the planet description when you examine it. Near the very end of Therum’s description, it specifically notes the presence of Prothean ruins—exactly where you’re meant to find the scientist.

While you’re in Artemis Tau, you should also grab the following discoveries and consider a practical loadout:

Recommended Loadout

• Squad Tactics:
  • Tali is a strong pick because the fight is almost entirely against geth. Her AI Hacking can disrupt them, and her shotgun experience will also be useful.
  • Kaidan is highly recommended as well due to his biotic toolkit, which becomes especially valuable during the mission’s final confrontation.
• Unique Dialogue:
  • Tali—in addition to her dialogue during this mission—can unlock a small, unique line later in Mass Effect 3 if you bring her on this mission.
  • Kaidan and Ashley have more interesting dialogue here than Wrex and Garrus.
• Shepard’s Loadout:
  • Because many enemies you’ll face are synthetic, Combat Sensor / Scanner upgrades help keep your radar working normally.
  • Equip Armor Piercing / Tungsten Rounds to improve performance against synthetic targets.

Journey in the Mako

Your ride in the Mako begins with a mostly calm stretch. Looking at the map, the first portion—roughly the first quarter or so—is simply driving. There are no notable items to grab and no enemies blocking you. Enjoy the quiet while it lasts, because the rest of your trip through Therum is far more active.

As you reach the thicker section of the passageway heading back northwest, you’ll spot and hear a geth craft fly overhead. It will drop Geth Armatures that you have to fight. Unless you’re specifically chasing XP, you’re usually better off staying in the Mako and using missiles, backed up by machine-gun fire, to eliminate the threats.

These enemies can fire damaging electric charges. A good approach is to angle the Mako so its side faces the Armatures, then move it back and forth to dodge their missile attacks. If you can’t reposition far enough, use jump jets so the charging shots pass under you.

If you’re still getting knocked around by enemy projectiles, try parking the Mako in a corner near the mountains so you can remove most of the targets more safely. And if your vehicle starts taking serious damage, repair it with Omni-Gel before continuing. If you’re running low, dissolve some Weapons, Armor, and Mods to replenish materials.

Once the first wave is cleared, continue driving northwest. Before too long, you’ll hit a refinery overrun by geth and protected by three turrets. You can destroy them if you truly want to, but either way you should use the map to locate a detour so you can reach the refinery. Inside, it’s tighter, but there’s only one turret to worry about.

After you enter, expect a variety of mobile geth units, including several that can fire rockets. It’s usually smartest to remove them at range before pushing into the base camp. There are also several explosive canisters placed around the area—shooting them is an easy way to rack up quick kills.

When the geth are gone, you can open the gates and collect loot. On the edges of the refinery, there are two gate openings: one to the east and the other to the north. Each has two gatehouse buildings. In most cases, one gatehouse has a geth soldier, while two of them contain a gate switch.

Here’s what you can pick up in this section:

• Upgrade Kit – in the northern room of the East Gate area.
• Storage Locker – in the southern room of the East Gate area, guarded by a geth.
• Crate x2 – behind metal walls to the south of this section, close to the East Gate room.
• Locked Crate – Easy Decryption. Located among the scaffolding between the North Gate and the side path you used to slip into the area.
• Weapon Locker – Easy Decryption. Found in the west room of the North Gate, in the corner just before the Gate Controls, guarded by a geth.

The guide also recommends opening both gates. Even though only the North Gate is required, the East Gate is the one guarded by turrets. Wiping out those turrets can net you additional XP if you didn’t earlier—and XP is always in short supply. It also provides better cover once you’re inside the refinery.

After the turrets are neutralized, drive out through the North Gate. For a while, things should settle down.

Aside from a few Armatures, the drive remains relatively uneventful until you get close to the first tunnel. That tunnel is guarded by several geth Rocket Troopers and a Colossus. Colossi are essentially upgraded Armatures with far more health, shields, and firepower. Only take them down on foot if you’re very confident—otherwise, stay in the Mako.

When you reach the tunnel, keep driving through it. The inside is quiet at first, but when you exit on the far end, you’ll face even more enemies. Since the tunnel ends on a much higher ledge than the enemies below, eliminate them from range. High ground has always been a real advantage in warfare, and that applies here too—even in a futuristic shooter setting.

The rest of the drive from there to the northwestern end tunnel follows a similar pattern for the longer stretch. You’ll run into additional Geth Armatures, and in the Legendary Edition version you can take advantage of the turret camera: use L3 to zoom in and land some fun cannon shots. After that, taking the final tunnel opens a brand-new portion of Therum—the Ruins.

Approach the Mining Camp

When you exit this section of the map, you’ll be moving toward the Therum Ruins. At the end of the tunnel, head down the incline and clear the weak geth waiting there. Then drive the Mako until you can’t advance any further.

Rocks block the path, so the Mako can’t proceed. Luckily there’s a large enough opening for both you and your squad to slip through. Go through the hole to continue.

This is where the mission ramps up on foot. As you move along the straight route toward the next ruins area, you’ll get hit by enemy wave after wave.

The geth aren’t necessarily the hardest enemies here, but the lack of cover makes the fight feel dangerous. They also benefit from the earlier height advantage, since they control the elevated ground at first. Still, the assault you survive now is overshadowed by what comes after you clear it.

As you reach the northernmost part of the path, a cutscene triggers. You’ll see a group of geth of different types and strengths, including new frog-like variants, take positions and launch a full simultaneous attack. In that moment, you’re at a major disadvantage—both in numbers and in raw firepower.

Even so, you can win with disciplined fighting, solid defensive movement, and smart use of your abilities. Make sure you aren’t flanked; watching your radar is the simplest way to prevent that. Also be extra careful with missiles, since they can delete you in a single hit. Without the Mako, the margin for error shrinks more than you might expect.

Explore the Mines

As shown in the overview, the ruins area shrinks as you progress, with four separate map segments spanning the overall zone. When you first arrive, geth attack from both the current walkway and below, so use cover well to avoid getting picked off. Once they’re handled, descend the winding walkway, go through the elevator on your left, then exit the elevator.

• Medical Kit – after using the first elevator inside the ruins, turn back with a U-turn to the right. You’ll find this item tucked behind a corner.

After the first elevator, stay alert to avoid being ambushed by drones that rise from below the balcony. Destroy them, then enter the next elevator. Unfortunately, that elevator malfunctions and shorts out, forcing you to walk down a destroyed walkway to reach the lower level.

At the lower level, turn left to spot an Asari trapped in a bubble—this is Liara. You’ll need to free her, but you’ll also see the same kind of blue barrier that restricts access to parts of the ruins on the other floors. Liara is on the restricted side, and your goal becomes getting beyond the barrier.

When you talk with Liara, ask about Benezia first so she doesn’t repeat her dialogue. If you arrived after finishing Feros and Noveria, you’ll encounter a much different version of these scenes, and this particular repeat concern won’t apply.

Before you move on, save your game. The battles ahead get tougher.

You’ll be ambushed by geth on the bottom level, and there’s very little cover to rely on, so aggression is often your best survival option. Once you clear the immediate threat, look for the following loot:

• Storage Locker – Easy Decryption. Located in the first tent at the back-left of this cave area.
• Weapon Locker – Easy Decryption. Located in the second tent at the back-left of this cave area.

Next, you’ll need to use the Mining Laser Controls to bore a hole in the ground so you can reach Liara. Activating it requires entering a button sequence. The exact code changes depending on your platform and game version:

• Original Release:
  • Xbox: A, X, B, Y
  • PlayStation: X, Square, Circle, Triangle
• Legendary Edition:
  • Xbox: A, X, B, Y, X
  • PlayStation: X, Square, Circle, Triangle, Square
• PC: the code is randomly generated. Sorry!

After entering the sequence correctly, the Mining Laser will shoot a passage below, letting you bypass the blue barrier. You’ll also earn XP and Omni-Gel as a reward. Liara can be saved shortly after this point.

Drop down into the newly created opening, then use the control panel in the lower chamber to rise back up to Liara. Turn around and talk to her, and you’ll be able to break her free from her Prothean restraints. But you can’t just walk away—of course not. A boss fight is next.

A Krogan, supported by several geth allies, wants to eliminate your party. Even though they prefer keeping Liara alive, their urgency to end the mission immediately is so strong that killing her is acceptable to them at this stage. Since the Krogan is by far the most dangerous enemy in the group, focus your efforts on neutralizing it first.

Beyond the obvious essentials like using abilities and healing when needed, the key here is spacing: as soon as the fight starts, retreat and secure cover. Because the battle begins with you too close to the Krogan and his geth companions, staying put and trying to trade damage is asking for trouble. Instead, pull back and fight from range.

Once the enemies are down, you’ll eventually return to the Normandy—safe, with Liara now added as a new party member.

Back on the Normandy

After the mission, you don’t need to stress too much about the dialogue choices during the debrief, because there are no Morality Points awarded for any of your selections. If you saved the Liara pickup until after Feros and Noveria, the debrief scene will be noticeably different.

After that, you’ll get a call from the Council to discuss the mission. In these conversations, you can choose to Disconnect out of frustration. Doing so always grants +2 Renegade Points, and it will be acknowledged in later Council calls.

With another mission world completed, your workload expands: you’ll have more to do on the Normandy, including scanning for Codex entries, having new discussions with Kaidan, Ashley, and Liara to learn more about them, and also catching up with Garrus, Wrex, and Tali if you’re following the guide in order.

If this is your first mission world, it’s also your earliest opportunity to start a romance with Kaidan or Ashley, based on Shepard’s gender. When speaking with Ashley, don’t pick “You’re out of line!” if you’re playing Paragon—doing so can unsettle her badly and end the conversation immediately.

Want more help for the Mass Effect series? The guide points to additional pages covering:

• Legendary Edition Changes
• How-To Guides
• Key Choices and Consequences
• Romance Options
• Walkthrough
• Side Quests

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Top Guide Sections

• Legendary Edition Changes
• Basics
• Tips and Tricks
• How-To Guides

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