Nightsolo's Mass Effect 2 Downloads, Hints, & Cheats

Downloads
Hints
Cheats
Tweaks

• Buy the game: from Origin. The Legendary Edition doesn't support nearly as many mods. Yet.
• Also buy All the Downloadable Content from Origin.

• Mass Effect 2 Modding Guide
• ME3Tweaks Mod Manager - despite the name, it works for ME2
• NotePad++
• ME2IniFixer
• Trilogy Save Editor
• Genesis Intro Dialogue Undo Mod
• Extended Character Creator
• Easy Armor Stats
• No MiniGames
• Remove Shared Cooldown (Follow instructions on Description Tab.)
• Remove Shared Cooldowns Compatibility patch for No Minigames
• Just Talking for a Bit
• Casual Hubs for ME2
• Vignette Remover
• Tali Remastered
• Expanded Shepard Armory (ESA)
• Early Recruitment
• Project Variety for ME2
• A Lot of Textures (ALOT) for ME2
• A Lot of Videos (ALOV) for ME2
• MEUITM2
• Facial Hair HD
• No Headgear for DLC Armors
• Transparent HUD Elements
• Old Scars
• ME1 Style Object Selector
• Goodbye Lense Flares
• Quarians
• Armored Justicar
• Recovered Powers

• SliderRegular.zip (21 KB) - The Mass Effect Font (used for titles in this guide). Extract it, then right-click it and choose "install."
• Coalesced-modded.zip (78 KB) - An editited Coalesced.ini which incorporates all the tweaks listed below.
• Coalesced-original.zip (78 KB) - The original Coalesced.ini, on the off chance you managed to screw yours up.
• MassEffect2.zip (5.4 KB) - The original MassEffect2.exe, on the off chance you managed to screw yours up.

• Saving:
  • Import a savegame from ME1. If you don't have one, try masseffectsaves.com.
  • There are some bugs from importing. Use the config program to import, then quit the game and open the imported save game with the Trilogy Save Editor, linked above. Go through and be sure the plot points are correct. After starting a new game and getting to the first point where you can save, it is also a good idea to double-check the imported plot points are correct for the new ME2 save.
  • The Save Game Editor is also a handy way to unlock squad-only weapons that you'd normally not have access to.
  • I'll only mention this once: Save often.
  • Quick Save before every Conversation, Hack, or Bypass. It'd suck to screw one up only to have to reload from a slot you saved an hour or more ago.
  • Use the Save Menu to save in new slots on occasion. These saves stay with your character, so they won't overwrite other games.
  • I recommend saving in a new slot when you first land on a plot planet and before starting every major plot point.
  • Save your save games. You can import them into Mass Effect 3, and your choices will affect many of the side-missions, and some other subtle options.
  • There are a limited number of save slots per character. You'll need to delete some of your old ones eventually, but it's not like you're going to load something from so long ago in the game, right? Rotating through 3 or 4 slots works well enough for me.
• Combat:
  • Use your Abilities often. They make combat easier, especially on the higher difficulty levels.
  • Stay in cover most of the time. Only lean out when you're attacking. This allows your shield and health to regenerate.
  • Reload your weapon whenever you have a few free moments. Having to reload an extra time in the middle of a firefight can be bad.
  • Neural Shock can one-shot Husks.
  • Pull, Throw, and Shockwave, if used well, can toss enemies over cliffs, instantly killing them.
  • Stasis is annoying.
  • The Geth Plasma Shotgun won't shoot most shotable objects.
• Gameplay:
  • Read the manual. It's in the directory where you installed the game.
  • Unlike in ME1, the minigames do not require you or your squadmates to have any specific skill.
  • You'll need 240 Probes if you want to scan every planet once (and Uranus twice!).
  • You only get XP for completing Missions and Assignments. You do NOT get XP for killing enemies, so look for ways to avoid combat altogether, or at least to shorten it.
  • Paragon vs. Renegade. Personally, I've found it very difficult to be consistently one or the other. The game seems to be made for a combination of the two. I find some situations are better with a Paragon response, and others just beg for the Renegade option. I'd go so far as to say the experience is better with whatever mix feels good at the time. In any case, don't sweat your decisions - just have fun. It is, after all, a game.
  • Be careful when speaking with characters you DON'T want to romance. It's surprisingly easy to get involved with the "wrong" person.
  • Download and install the all of the downloadable content. They're fun!
  • Legion joins late. If you want to hear all of Legion's conversations, save two DLCs for after the credits. New conversations only trigger after Missions, and N7 Assignemtns don't seem to count.
  • The closest face code for the ME3 default female Shepard that I can get is 743.QGG.M11.F81.JDG.13Q.1ED.711.J66.373.2G6.176. You may also wish to try the FemShep Appearance Consistency Mod.
  • Recruit everyone as soon as possible. If you wait until the last minute, some conversations won't advance to their conclusion.
• Leveling:
  • Enemies level up at the same rate as you do, so the game is consistently challenging. This also means you need to keep your gear upgraded.
  • Equip better items as soon as you can, as enemies level up at the same rate as you, and therefore combat will get way harder if you don't.
• System:
  • Sometimes when you return to the game from the desktop, all you get is a blank screen. When this happens, just press Alt+Tab again.
  • If you remap the "leave planet" key, make it the same as the "melee" key. I don't know why, but making them different from each other prevents you from being able to return to the Normandy.
  • If your textures start to disappear or look weird, try deleting C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 2\BIOGame\Config\GamerSettings.ini. The game will make a new one when you start it up again, and you'll need to readjust your graphics settings.

1. Download PCCPatcher.zip, either from Bioware or here. Unzip it somewhere handy.
2. Run PCCPatcher.exe and do the following (thanks to Halidun):
   1. Browse for the files Engine.pcc and SFXGame.pcc in their respective boxes. They should be in C:\Games\Mass Effect 2\BioGame\CookedPC\. Also, make copies of those files on the off chance something gets screwed up.
   2. Click Load Packages.
   3. On the Engine Tab, Check "Unlock in-game console"
   4. Click the Packages Menu, then Save Packages.
   5. Close PCCPatcher.exe and run the game.
3. When playing in-game simply press the ~ (tilde key), above tab (also known as ` (grave)) to open the console, then type in the desired cheat. The TAB key brings up a single box at the bottom of the screen, if you prefer.

Note 1: I haven't tested all these codes, so use them at your own risk.
Note 2: If you want to get REALLY crazy specific with the cheats, see this guide: Mass Effect Wiki.
Note 3: These are NOT Case-Sensitive.

God	enable god mode
Fly	enable fly mode
Ghost	walk through walls
SuperSpeed	you move really fast
Walk	return to normal speed and on foot
Teleport	Move player to location in crosshairs (not on the map)
EnablePowerCooldown	Toggles power cooldown. Doesn't work on class-specific skills
KillTarget	Kills the target under the reticule
KillEnemies	Kills all enemies on the map
KillParty	Kills your squad
StasisParty	Freezes your squad
ce hench_picksquad	Brings up the squad selection screen- will cause the game sounds to mute until you reload a save
KillSelf	Or Suicide - kills Shepard
ToggleFlycam	Toggles Free Camera mode
Shot	Takes a screenshot
ToggleHUD	Also ShowHUD - shows most of the HUD
SlowMo #	Changes the game speed. #=2 is twice as fast, #=0.5 is half as fast
Stat FPS	Toggles display of the framerate
GiveXP #	replace # with desired number of experience points
SetParagon #	replace # with desired number of paragon points
SetRenegade #	replace # with desired number of renegade points
AdjustCredits #	replace # with desired number of credits
GiveTalentPoints #	replace # with desired number of talent points (21 for Shepard)
InitGrenades #	Set number of grenades, replace # with a number
InitMedigel #	Sets amount of medi-gel, replace # with a number
InitCredits #	Sets the party credits, replace # with a number
InitAmmo #	Sets amount of ammo to #
InitProbes #	Sets number of probes to #
InitFuel #	Sets amount of fuel to #
InitPalladium #	Sets amount of Palladiam to #
InitIridium #	Sets amount of Iridium to #
InitEezo #	Sets amount of Eezo to #
InitPlatinum #	Sets amount of Platinum to #
AdjustCredits X	Increments or decrements the party's credits, replace X with a number preceded by + or - e.g. AdjustCredits +1000000000
GivePower P	Gives Shepard a bonus power, see list below for how to replace P
SetIntByName U	Unlocks an upgrade, see list below for how to replace U
UnlockAchievement A	Unlock Achievements, see list below for numbers to replace A
show fog	toggles fog off/on

Format for Bonus Powers replacing P:
Format: GivePower target SFXPower_power name. Example: GivePower self SFXPower_Shockwave
Note: The game won't let you use more than 6 at a time, so if you're full, adding more won't do you any good.

Upgrades for replacing U:
Format: SetIntByName Name # Example: SetIntByName Tec_AutoPistol 5
The # is the number of those upgrades you want in your inventory

Name	Increases What	Tec_AutoPistol	Submachine Gun Damage
Tec_AutoPistolR1	SMG Shield Piercing	Tec_AutoPistolR2	SMG Extra Rounds
Tec_AssaultRifle	Assault Rifle Damage	Tec_AssaultRifleR1	Assault Rifle Penetration
Tec_AssaultRifleR2	Assault Rifle Accuracy	Tec_BioticUpgrade	Biotic Damage
Tec_BioticUpgrade	Biotic Damage	Tec_BioticR1	Biotic Duration
Tec_BioticR2	Biotic Cooldown	Tec_HeavyAmmo	Heavy Weapon Ammo
Tec_HeavyPistol	Heavy Pistol Damage	Tec_HeavyPistolR1	AP Heavy Pistol
Tec_HeavyPistolR2	Heavy Pistol Critical	Tec_MediGel	Medi-Gel Capacity
Tec_MediGelR1	Trauma Module	Tec_MediGelR2	Emergency Shielding
Tec_ShepardHealth	Heavy Skin Weave	Tec_ShepardR1	Heavy Bone Weave
Tec_ShepardR2	Heavy Muscle Weave	Tec_Shield	Damage Protection
Tec_ShieldR1	Burst Regeneration	Tec_ShieldR2	Hard Shields
Tec_Shotgun	Shotgun Damage	Tec_ShotgunR1	Shotgun Shield Piercing
Tec_ShotgunR2	Shotgun Extra Rounds	Tec_SniperRifle	Sniper Rifle Damage
Tec_SniperRifleR1	AP Sniper Rifle	Tec_SniperRifleR2	Sniper Headshot Damage
Tec_TechUpgrade	Tech Damage	Tec_TechR1	Tech Duration
Tec_TechR2	Tech Cooldowns	Tec_HackModule	Hack Module for hacking mini game
Tec_BypassModule	Bypass Module for the bypass mini game	Tec_GruntShotgun	Grunt's Shotgun damage
Tec_GruntUpgrade	Grunt's Vitality	Tec_JackUpgrade	Jack's Biotics
Tec_LegionSniper	Legion's Sniper Rifle damage	Tec_LegionUpgrade	Legion's Shield Strength
Tec_MordinUpgrade	Mordin's Omni-Tool

1. Make a backup of C:\Games\MassEffect2\BioGame\Config\PC\Cooked\Coalesced.ini
2. Use Notepad++ to open Coalesced.ini
   Note: Notepad, Wordpad, Word TextPad, or anything else will not work, as they will ruin the file.
3. Save the file and use ME2IniFixer utility to fix it. If the game crashes on start, it means you either ruined it with the wrong editor or forgot to fix it. Restore from backup and retry then. Make sure to save a copy of the new file in case Coalesced.ini gets reverted by an updater or the game.
4. If you're still not comfortable doing this editing yourself, here's a working file with all of the below tweaks: Coalesced.zip

Fix the Field of View (FOV) (zooms out from Shepard so you can see where you're going) thanks to hamstergene.
[SFXGame.SFXGameModeDefault] (copy and paste the line below in this section)
Bindings=( Name="F11", Command="set SFXGame.SFXCameraMode FOV 100" )
You can add others with different FOV numbers, too.

Increase game speed by a factor of 10 while holding the middle mouse button:
Bindings=( Name="MiddleMouseButton",InputMode=BIO_INPUT_MODE_NONE,Command="SloMo 10 | OnRelease SloMo 1",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)

Unlock all normal weapons:
Bindings=( Name="NumPadOne", Command="SetIntByName Wpn_AssaultRifle2 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_AutoPistol2 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_Locust 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_GethPulseRifle 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_HeavyPistol2 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_Shotgun2 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_SniperRifle2 1" )

Unlock all heavy weapons:
Bindings=( Name="NumPadTwo", Command="SetIntByName Wpn_CryoBlaster 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_GrenadeLauncher 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_NukeLauncher 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_ParticleBeam 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_Flamethrower 1 | SetIntByName Wpn_MissileLauncher 1" )

Make Powers ignore shields
bShieldsBlockPowers=false

Fix mouse acceleration (speeds up planet scanning)
bEnableMouseSmoothing=false
MouseSensitivity=0.15
bUseMouseDampening=false

Disable Automatic Weapon Swapping when out of ammo
bOutOfAmmoWeaponSwap=false

Make the Hammerhead fly and be invulnerable
ThrustRegenerationFactor=2
SelfRepairRate=10000000
SelfRepairDelay=0.001
ThrustRegenerationDelay=0.01
MaxPitchAngle=60
VerticalThrustBurnRate=0.1

Squad Weapon Damage
For every weapon, change DamageHench=X.XXf to DamageHench=1.0f to make your squad mates' weapon damage equal to your own.

More Storming (faster and more running both in and out of combat)
StormStamina=99.9
StormRegen=99.9
StormStaminaNonCombat=99.9
StormRegenNonCombat=99.9

More MediGel Capacity
MaxMediGel=9

More Probes
MaxProbes=120
The number needed (with Thane's upgrade) if you want to fill the bay, then scan every planet without having to refill.

The Normandy has more fuel or doesn't use any
MaxFuel=10000
FuelEfficiency=0.0

Corpses Stay Longer
m_fCorpseCleanupFirstAttemptTime=180.0
m_fCorpseCleanupAttemptRetryTime=60.0
Corpses will still disintegrate if they're supposed to.

Disable hints after the Tutorial, except in Casual difficulty
Find the first 17 lines that start m_aHints=(HintName=", and change MaxDifficulty= to 0
I recommed leaving the "Tutorial" lines as is so you know what's expected of you then.

Reduce the amount of time the notification boxes display
DisplayTime=1.0

Increase number of sound chanels to prevent sound clipping:
MaxChannels=64

Change how long after an NPC's last line of dialog before the conversation wheel appears:
m_fShowLastLineOffset=0.0
(0.0 helps prevent choosing the wrong thing when skipping through dialog)

Alter how long the credits take to scroll:
fScrollTime=180
That makes it 3 minutes instead of the default of 4:15

Add the blue casual appearance from ME1
Find CasualAppearances=
Add this line after the other four:
CasualAppearances=(Id=4,Type=CustomizableType_Torso,Mesh=(Male="BIOG_HMM_ARM_CTH_R.CTHb.HMM_ARM_CTHb_MDL",MaleMaterialOverride="BIOG_HMM_ARM_CTH_R.CTHb.HMM_ARM_CTHb_MAT_1a",Female="BIOG_HMF_ARM_CTH_R.CTHb.HMF_ARM_CTHb_MDL",FemaleMaterialOverride="BIOG_HMF_ARM_CTH_R.CTHb.HMF_ARM_CTHb_MAT_1a"),PlotFlag=-1)

Infinite Ammo for all weapons
bInfiniteAmmo=true
Makes it so that you effectively have an infinite number of thermal clips. Doesn't break the tutorial.
(Also edit bioWeapon.ini files in the DLC folders. You won't need to "fix" those.)

Editing Weapon Loadouts
Under [SFXGame.SFXPlayerSquadLoadoutData], you can find several things:
Abilities for player classes. (make a custom class!)
Weapon loadouts for player classes.
Weapon loadouts for squad mates.
Changing them is fairly straightforward. Just copy and paste, or delete.
For example, if you want Jacob to only use Assault Rifles, delete the stuff in parentheses, and add in LoadoutWeapons_AssaultRifles

Editing Weapon Properties
First, know what weapon you want to modify. Here is a list of how the names appear in the .ini (just search for the names shown here in bold):

M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol - HeavyPistol
M-6 Carnifax Hand Cannon - HandCannon
M-4 Shuriken Machine Pistol - AutoPistol
M-9 Tempest Submachine Gun - SMG
M-8 Avenger Assault Rifle - AssaultRifle
M-76 Revenant Machine Gun - MachineGun
M-76 Revenant Machine Gun - MiniGun
M-15 Vindicator Battle Rifle - Needler
Geth Pulse Rifle - GethPulseRifle
M-23 Katana Shotgun - Shotgun
M-27 Schimitar Assault Shotgun - HeavyShotgun
M-300 Claymore Heavy Shotgun - FlakGun
M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle - SniperRifle
M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle - AntiMatRifle
M-98 Widow Anti-Material Rifle - MassCannon
M-100 Grenade Launcher - GrenadeLauncher
ML-77 Missile Launcher - MissileLauncher
M-920 Cain - NukeLauncher
Collector Particle Beam - ParticleBeam
M-622 Avalanche - FreezeGun

Below the name of the weapon are its stats. Where applicable, be sure to change both the X and Y numbers to the same values.

Damage=(X=368.3,Y=368.3) -The damage each shot does
DamageAI=0.95f - The ratio of the above damage an enemy will do with this weapon
DamageHench=0.57f - The ratio of the damage a squad mate will do with this weapon
RateOfFire=(X=70,Y=70) - Self explanatory (I'm not sure how the numbers tranlsate to seconds)
RateOfFireAI=1.0f - The ratio of the above for enemies
MagSize=(X=1,Y=1) - Ammount of ammo in a clip
LowAmmoSoundThreshold=0 - How many shots left when the "click" sound of an empty clip will play
bUseSniperCam=true - Whether or not this weapon will go into slomo when zooming
bIsAutomatic=false - Whether or not you need to click for every shot
bInfiniteAmmo=false* - Whether or not the weapon has infinite clips
InitialMagazines=12 - How many clips the weapon starts a mission with
MaxSpareAmmo=(X=12,Y=12) - How many clips this weapon can atually hold

*Change this to true. In the tutorial, when you pick up the pistol, it'll already be full of ammo. In order to advance the tutorial and reload the gun, just fire off a shot and press the reload button.

*Infinite Ammo for M-90 Cain
Under [SFXGameContent_Inventory.SFXHeavyWeapon_NukeLauncher], change AmmoPerShot=XX to bInfiniteAmmo=0

last modified 7 July 2021