Dossier - Tali - Mass Effect 2 Guide - IGN (2024)

This page of IGN's Mass Effect 2 wiki guide is all about the Dossier: Tali Mission on Haestrom, including how to get through all combat encounters, where to find all collectibles, and pick the right dialogue choices for your playthrough.

Looking for something specific? Click the links below to jump to...

• Before We Begin
• Mission Rewards
• Travel to Dholen
• Look for Tali
• Find Demo Charges
• Contact Quarians
• Get to Tali
• Back on the Normandy

Before We Begin

Before we start on the level itself, there are two things to note!

First, there's a difficulty-exclusive weapon available in this level, the Geth Pulse Rifle. It only appears at the end of the level on Hardcore or Insanity difficulties, and you must complete the entire level on on one of them in order to unlock it. If you take one step in the level without being on either difficulty, it won't appear. You'll also need to physically pick it up in the level: it's still possible to miss!

If you want to make getting this weapon a bit easier, we recommend starting it after the Collector Ship Mission, as you can get a powerful new weapon / ability in that level.

Second, a great amount of unique dialogue can be attained if you bring along the Squad Mate from The Reaper IFF Mission. However this may be a problem if you intend to Romance Tali and also want a positive outcome at the end of the game. If that fits your playthrough, save this Mission and the Reaper IFF Mission until absolute last, with the Firewalker Side Quests to do on the side.

Mission Stats

Video Guide

Mission Rewards

• Experience: 1,000 XP
• Weapons: Geth Pulse Rifle (Hardcore and Insanity only), M-9 Tempest
• Research: Assault Rifle Damage, Heavy Pistol Damage
• Mission Credits: 30,000
• Found Credits: 39,000
• Resources: 2,000 Iridium

As shown above, this Mission is one of the few where the Mission Credits and total possible Found Credits aren't the same value!

Recommended Squad

• Due to a high amount of synthetic enemies and wide open spaces, Garrus and Zaeed come highly recommended.
• If you're more interested in unique dialogue, Grunt and / or Kasumi provide some amusing quips.

Travel to Dholen

For the most unique dialogue in this level (without the Reaper IFF Squad Mate), bring Kasumi and / or Grunt with you.

• Prerequisite: Complete Horizon.
• Location: Far Rim - Dholen - Haestrom

To start Dossier: Tali, you'll need to travel to planet Haestrom. Get to the nearest Mass Relay from wherever you are, then go to the Far Rim, in the North-East edge of the galaxy. Once there, you'll be brought to a small system called Dholen with a gigantic red star, on the verge of going nova. If you want to, mine the following Rich planet:

Haestrom is found just South of the Mass Relay (yes, we realize there's no cardinal directions in space), and as you'll find out the planet is a Geth stronghold. Tali has infiltrated this place, and this is where we're going to find her.

Look for Tali

If you intend to get the Pulse Rifle at the end of this level, you MUST have the difficulty set to Hardcore or Insanity before doing ANYTHING on Haestrom. If you don't, it won't appear at the end!

Once you land, you'll see a little planetside critter getting fried in the sunlight. That's a hint to you to stay out of the light when you can, since the star dominating the sky is dying and has fried the magnetic field of the planet.

As you'll learn going forwards, the sunlight will drain your shields to zero, which is VERY bad since that leaves your health completely exposed! The shields will also drain faster the higher the difficulty level. Luckily, the sunlight itself will not drain your health, but otherwise take Dienekes' advice from 300 and fight in the shade.

From the starting point, head forward and down the ramps, sprinting through the sunlight and to the shaded areas. You don't have to do this here as there are no enemies, but it's good to get in the habit. Unfortunately there's no Sprint meter like in the first game, so there's no way of knowing if you can sprint again until you give it a go.

At the bottom of the ramp, you'll see a huge blast door directly in front of you that, when examined, won't budge. Instead, you'll be forced to use the smaller door on your right to continue. Here you'll find a distress signal mentioning Tali is playing on a computer near the body of the Quarian.

• Med Kit - 100 Credits. On the stone block, to the right of the computer playing the message.
• Damaged Geth - 3,000 Credits. The red Geth body to the right of the entry door.

Look to the left of the quarian computer to find the Gate Controls that lets you Open the Facility Gate, and progress to the first combat area. It's time to shoot Geth like it's 2183!

Circle around back outside and head through the now-open blast door. On the other side, run forward through the sun and quickly seek cover, as a Geth dropship shows up and lands some Geth baddies for you to deal with. Thankfully, this first wave of foes is easy enough to deal with -- just stay out of the sun (it appears the sun doesn't affect Geth Shields), and meticulously whittle down their numbers as you push forward. If you have it, Disruptor Ammo is a huge boon in this level.

If you have a Sniper Rifle on you, look for the ramp leading to the upper corridor on the right side of the area. This will draw all the Geth up to the far end of the corridor, making it almost trivial to pick them off with a Sniper Rifle, so long as your ammo holds out. No matter which route you took, as you head forward the blast doors at the far side of the area will deposit a lot of Geth Rocket Troopers. You're going to have to pick your moments to peek out of cover wisely so that you're not knocked out of cover and blown to bits!

Once all is quiet, you'll want to go to the elevated corridor we were talking about earlier for loot.

• Medical Station - 100 Credits. In the middle of the elevated corridor on the right-hand side of this area. In the middle is a doorway leading to a ramp: the Medical Station is at the top of the ramp.
• Customized Heavy Pistol - Heavy Pistol Damage. From the Medical Station, head down to the very bottom of the ramp to find this next to a dead Quarian leaning on the wall.
• 400 Refined Iridium - Return to the elevated corridor and now go to the far end closest to the exit of this area. Turn left and go down the ramp, then go straight forwards to the L-shaped drilling machine. The Iridium will be on it.

You'll find more Iridium on these and many more machines later, so keep an eye out!

With everything sweeped up, push towards the blast door at the end of this area. When you arrive at the blast door, it will be locked, so head rightward along the wall, and you'll come to a little opening where some Geth seem to be having target practice. You know what to do -- lay into these thugs before they know what hit 'em, quieting them down real quick.

Up ahead will be a Quarian Radio you can answer. DO NOT ANSWER IT FIRST, as it takes you to the next area with no chance to backtrack. You'll instead want to first Salvage the flickering Damaged Geth Hunter on the right for 6,000 Credits, then Take the Tempest SMG.

• Damaged Geth Hunter - 6,000 Credits. Ignore the Quarian Radio at the far end and instead look on the right-hand wall for a Geth Hunter body popping in and out of its invisibility cloak.
• Tempest SMG - On a dead Quarian a little closer to the Quarian Radio from the Damaged Geth Hunter.

Pick up the Quarian Radio and you'll get in a conversation with Kal'Reegar, who tells you what he knows about the situation. It appears they are here to ensure Tali's safe exit from this hostile planet. At the start of this conversation...

• Pick "I'm here to help" for +2 Paragon Points.
• Pick "They're all dead" for +2 Renegade Points.

Kal wants to work with you, but when a dropship blocks the way forward with a Collapsed Pillar, you're implored to find some explosives to work your way through the debris. At the end of the conversation...

• Say "What's your current status?" for +2 Paragon Points.

Find Demo Charges

The two pieces of explosives we need are in two separate locations, but thankfully, they're pretty close to one another in the area up ahead. But this is also your first encounter with a Geth Hunter, a unit that is almost invisible until they appear in front of you and Shotgun you, making them a priority target.

Once you clear the initial group of enemies, your first destination is a room on the left-hand side. As you approach you'll be fired at by Geth Troopers, and when you get inside, many more will show up. You have an advantage here in that the Geth must go through the doorway first, so you can shoot the weaker ones like a bottleneck. Once that wave of foes is defeated, head into the room and play Tali's Journal, but ignore the Demolition Charge on the desk for now.

• Medical Station - 100 Credits. Head up the ramp near the desk to find this at the top.
• Med Kit - 100 Credits. Check behind the crates from where the Demolition Charge is.

When you pick up the Demolition Charge, Geth reinforcements will show up to try and block your exit out of the structure, so take cover in the back of the room. One of the foes here is a Geth Prime, a VERY formidable enemy who's like a YMIR Mech who doesn't shoot rockets but moves faster. They should be a high priority target for you as they have very high defenses.

When all is quiet, exit out of the room and head left to go towards the next Demolition Charge. Expect to be attacked by multiple waves of Geth as you head downhill towards a quarry room at the far end. As you get closer and closer to it, more and more Geth will attack, including the well-shielded Geth Destroyers, who are flamethrower units. Thankfully, there's a minimal amount of sunlight for you to dodge, and plenty of cover for you to utilize. Once you've eliminated them all, head to the far end of the area, then enter the room and turn left to find the second Demolition Charge.

• Medical Station - 100 Credits. On the wall to the left of the Demolition Charge.
• Power Cells - 100 Credits. On the concrete block, to the left of the Demolition Charge.

As expected, you'll be attacked by more Geth when you exit the room. Among them will be Rocket Troopers on the upper walkway: you'll want to take cover at a distance to make it easier to snipe them. You can optionally go leftward (with your back facing the room with the explosives) to find a ramp leading up to the second floor. You can Open the Shutters here to get some crossfire going, and take out the Rocket Troopers more easily.

After downing all the enemies in the area, you'll have the space to do some exploring.

• 400 Refined Iridium - Head forward to the room entrance to find another L-shaped drilling machine with this on it.
• Medical Station - 100 Credits. From the Iridium, turn left and go up to the top of the ramp to find this.
• Tali's Journal - From the Medical Station, head outside to the upper walkway and cross to the other side.
• 400 Refined Iridium - Return to the Collapsed Pillar you're about to use the Demolition Charges on and check the brown drilling machine near it for more Iridium.

Now go to the Collapsed Pillar, Plant the Explosives, and retreat to a safe distance before it blows up!

Contact Quarians

With the Pillar now in two pieces, head inside to find a Quarian holdout that's sadly been wiped out (although you can melee the crawling geth to avenge them). Don't forget Tali's Journal on the computer!

• Damaged Geth - 6,000 Credits. Resting at the foot of the short ramp on your right.
• Disassembled Geth Rifle - Assault Rifle Damage Research. Make a U-Turn up the short ramp on the right to find this on the table.
• Damaged Geth - 3,000 Credits. At the closed door in the upper area where you found the Disassembled Geth Rifle.
• Ancient Wall Safe - 6,000 Credits. To the right of the terminal where Tali is trying to contact base camp (the building you're currently in).

Now go and Activate the Communications Console to talk with Tali, who is in another building in the quarry. She pleads for your help, and naturally, you're going to assist her.

• At the outset, say "No one else is left" for +2 Paragon Points.

At the next Dialogue Wheel...

• Say "I came to help" for +2 Paragon Points.
• Say "I'm recruiting you" for +2 Renegade Points.

Either way, you will need to eliminate Tali's geth problem to help complete her Mission so she can join you.

Tali will open the sealed door to your left remotely.

• Medical Station - Through the door Tali opens for you, to the right of the doorway to the ramp.

You'll eventually emerge out from some concrete pillars, with Geth drones looking on. You'll have to deal with these hounding you while you fight two powerful Geth Primes, and unfortunately, the drones will periodically fly in until you destroy both Primes. A Pistol and an upgraded Overload ability are very good ways for you to dispatch them.

You'll have to kill several dozen of them, and while they can barely take any damage before falling hard to the ground and exploding, they still have the ability to do a plethora of damage to those unprepared. They work well as a team, and are fairly aggressive. Don't let their size fool you! Your best course of action in the early-going here is to stay in a stagnant position, dealing with the few Geth soldiers that appear, but more importantly drawing the drones towards your location, dealing with them en masse as they make themselves seen. Snipe the first Geth Prime if you can, then make your way across via the right-most route to stay out of the sun.

Once all is over, head for the exit door on the far side: there are no goodies, loot or collectibles in this large area. But, when you head through the door...

• Ancient Wall Safe - 6,000 Credits. When you go through the door at the end of the large area, turn right to spot this on the right-hand side of the door frame.

Use the Security Console to Lift the Security Lockdown and continue.

Get to Tali

As soon as you lift the lockdown, you'll witness a rather gigantic Geth platform, a Colossus, causing massive amounts of damage just outside of Tali's location. Shepard is just able to dodge its attack. It goes without saying that taking down the Colossus has become your number one priority!

• Med Kit - 100 Credits. At the bottom of the last ramp, where the Quarian in red is squatting for cover.

You'll now bump into Kal'Reegar. Kal is the last of Tali's squad, and got his suit ruptured trying to make a break for her.

• Answer "Is she safe?" for +2 Paragon Points.

Further into the conversation, Kal suggests that he draw the Geth's fire using his rocket launcher so that Shepard can take advantage. If you know anything about Quarians you'll know that this is a TERRIBLE idea, since Quarians don't have much armor at all. You'll be able to determine the path forward:

• Answer "No. Stay down" for +2 Paragon Points, then use the Paragon Interrupt to ensure he stays in cover and get +15 Paragon Points more.
• Say "Sounds like a plan" for +15 Renegade Points, meaning Kal will join you in the fight.

It is actually possible to let Kal join you and have him survive, but doing so is exceptionally difficult and you'll miss out on a lot of Morality Points to boot. You can also return to Kal and suggest he join the fight like he wanted, but we recommend against this.

The battlefield up ahead is has three routes leading to the Colossus, but each has their own quirks as Kal explained earlier:

• The right route is a sniper perch but is very exposed to sunlight, and when you get to the end, you can be attacked from behind by reinforcements. As well, the Colossus doesn't repair itself while you're on this route for some reason.
• The middle route has lots of cover, but you can be pinched by Geth on both sides. It also leaves you exposed to the Colossus, who can easily knock you out of cover.
• The left route had shade and cover, but you can be attacked by Geth from both the front and the back. It does however lead to Power Cells you can use to refill your Heavy Weapons.

Our approach is a mix of two: we'll stick with the middle route at first to clear out the Geth in your way, particularly Destroyers with their dangerous flamethrowers. Once you're dealing just with normal Geth, make your way right up the elevated walkway to make sure you're not flanked from that direction. Once you've made your way up there, take out your most accurate weapon and get to it.

When you get to the end of the walkway however, some Geth reinforcements will show up. The end of the walkway offers VERY little cover for shooting backwards, so your best bet is actually to backtrack down the walkway and back to the boxes past the ramp, letting you deal with them more comfortably. Make sure to stay crouched down though: as mentioned above this route has no shade unless you're behind the railing.

Once all the Geth footsoldiers have been dealt with, return to the far end of the walkway and take cover at the top, to mitigate the Colossus' height advantage. With the wide railing you'll have plenty of room to avoid being hit the Colossus' pulse rockets. Of course when it's not doing that it'll be using its machine guns on you, so you only have a few scant seconds to safely fire at it. Since you're up on the right-hand route however, the Colossus won't recharge its shields! This is invaluable when trying for the Pulse Rifle reward.

Following the destruction of the Colossus, you're free to explore the area for goods.

• 1,600 Refined Iridium - Split over four boxes of 400 Iridium each, these are on the four drilling machines in the outdoors portion of this area.
• Power Cells - 100 Credits. On a block at the case of the corner column to the left of the door to Tali.
• Power Cells - 100 Credits. On some cares to the right of the door to where Tali is, in the dark corner.
• Damaged Geth - 9,000 Credits. The red Geth body right in front of you when you open the door to Tali.
• Intact Pulse Rifle - On the right-hand wall of Tali's room is a sparking Geth with a Pulse Rifle. If you completed the entire level on either Hardcore or Insanity difficulty, you can take the Pulse Rifle!

If you intended to do that but forgot to change the difficulty to Hardcore or Insanity, you can Pause and use the Load menu to Restart the Mission, which also lets you choose your Squad and their Weapons again.

Now go and talk to Tali: at the outset of the conversation, say...

• "Can you join me now?" for +2 Paragon Points.
• "The quarians owe me" for +2 Renegade Points.

Speak with her at length in regard to what's happening here, and what her research on the sun at the center of the system has netted. If Kal'Reegar survived the battle with the Colossus, he'll show up here, still injured but alive. Here you can say to Kal...

• "Do you need transportation?" for +2 Paragon Points.
• "Tali's with me now" for +2 Renegade Points.

With her Mission complete, Tali will gladly join your squad, leaving Kal to head back to the Quarian fleet on his own. You'll get +5 Paragon Points and +5 Renegade Points for completing the Mission.

Back on the Normandy

Following the conversation with Tali back on the planet surface, you'll find yourself automatically transported to the Normandy. As you may remember from Freedom's Progress, Cerberus was responsible for infiltrating the Quarian fleet and destroying one of the ships within it. Tali hasn't forgotten about it, and makes it completely clear that she's here for Shepard, not them. Here...

• Say "I agree completely" for +2 Paragon Points, and then "Feel free to study the ship" for +2 Paragon Points more.

You should now head down to Engineering and talk to Tali, at the station to the left of where Gabby and Ken are. If you ask how she is, you can say...

• "I don't trust them" for +2 Paragon Points.
• "They're on our side" for +2 Renegade Points.

Tali's Research upgrade is a super important one: Cyclonic Shields for the Normandy. Considering the ship has been a target for the Collector's ship in the past, it's a very good idea to purchase this. If you've gotten all three combat upgrades to the Normandy (the Cyclonic Shields, Silaris Armor and Thanix Cannon), you can talk to Joker again and ask about the Mission for a new line of dialogue.

Now to do your post-Mission rounds.

• Engineering: Pass by Gabby and Ken for their thoughts on Tali, then talk to Tali herself.
• Crew Deck: Talk to Garrus to pick up his Loyalty Mission.
• CIC: Talk to Kelly and Joker for their opinions on Tali, and ask Joker about the Mission if you've bought all three Normandy upgrades.

If you've been holding out on concluding the FBA Couplings Assignment due to unique dialogue, now's the time to do it. Tali will join in on the poker game! Use the white options to win or lose 100 Credits, or use the Charm or Intimidate options to win 500 Credits.