Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions

Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions IMG
Quest Type	Assignment
Location	Pinnacle Station
Prerequiste	Citadel: Expose Saren
Next Mission	N/A
Reward/s	--

Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions is an Assignment in Mass Effect. Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions is about the combat simulator in which you can compete against other combatants. Assignments are secondary quests in Mass Effect, that are not mandatory to progress the game's story, but provide context and flavor by meeting interesting NPCs of all kind of Races, granting additional experience, and letting the player visit extraordinary and unique planets.

Walkthrough

The Arrival

Once you talked to the Admiral or Ochren, you are granted access to the simulator. You can find two terminals near the salarian that display the best scores.

The Simulator

One of the most important, and probably obvious, pieces of information about the simulator is that you can't die there, since well...it's a simulation.

Biotics are extremely useful here, and having a good biotic amp, can give you an edge while taking the challenges. Using biotic attacks to accelerate kills as much as possible is a good way to extend and shorten the time appropriately.

Vidinos

The first time you surpass a high score in any of the simulations available, you will earn the New Sheriff in Town achievement/Trophy. Once you exit the simulator, you will find Vidinos arguing with a human called Lieutenant Bryant, about his records having been broken. You can offer to help the human, by proving he didn't cheat by beating all of Vidinos' records yourself. To do so, you must beat all 8 of Vidinos' records.

For more infomration on this, please refer to Pinnacle Station: Vidinos.

Scenarios

Each scenario has two starting environments. As you complete existing high scores, an extra environment becomes available for all scenarios.

Capture Mode

Available Environments: Tropical, Volcanic, and Subterranean

In this kind of mission, you have to capture certain points. You will see a meter appear along with an "area circle once you get close enough to start capturing a point. As long as you keep at least, part of Commander Shepard's body inside the circle, you will continue capturing points.

If you manage to keep all Enemies outside the circle, this takes 20 seconds. However, if Enemies enter the circle, even if you are in too, the capture of the point will take longer, so keep your eye on the clock and get moving as soon as the flag is captured.

Times to Beat:
Volcanic: 2:00:53
Tropical: 1:58:67
Subterranean: 1:29:47

Hunt Mode

Available Environments: Subterranean, Volcanic, and Tropical

In the hunt type of mission, you start with only a few seconds on the clock, and to gain more time, you must kill targets. As long as the player is not too close to a spot, targets will spawn from unmarked ones. Try to find a good location with a good line of sight to a spawn spot, and just unleash everything on the Enemies as they appear. Moving or throwing Enemies off balance isn't as useful in this mode, so use rapid fire Weapons to close the deal as fast as possible

Kills to Beat:
Subterranean: 35
Volcanic: 43
Tropical: 50

Survival Mode

Available Environments: Tropical, Volcanic, and Subterranean

The objective during the Survival mode is, as you probably have already guessed, to stay alive as long as possible by any means necessary. You can keep on the move to avoid Enemies, stay in cover and use your teammates to keep killing. Enemies will come in waves, starting with weak group of Enemies and getting tougher and tougher with each subsequent wave, until it reaches the fourth wave. After the fourth wave, the cycle starts anew with the first wave of the same weak Enemies, and so on.

Any time over two minutes will guarantee first place on the first two levels. You will not be rewarded if you keep surviving longer than that. Surviving for a prolonged period of time may even lead to the game freezing when you finally let yourself die. There is no end to survival mode other than dying or forfeiting, but dying is the only way to get the time recorded to the scoreboard.

Times to Beat:
Volcanic: 1:31:83
Tropical: 1:46:43
Subterranean: 2:20:57

Time Trial Mode

Environments: Volcanic, Warehouse, and Tropical

Race the clock to beat a set number of enemies that spawn in groups further and further along the map. In order for the new group to spawn, you must kill ALL OF THE MEMBERS of the current group you are facing. Lift, Throw and Singularity aren't recommended in this scenario as these powers may send an Enemy to an inaccessible area, rendering it un-killable. Some groups, especially first and last groups do not spawn all at once, so you may need to wait a second or two before deciding on your tactic. This makes the most use of the instant kill biotic attack, especially at long range.

Times to Beat:
Warehouse: 1:24:67
Tropical: 1:20:94
Volcanic: 1:54:61

Ahern's Special Scenario

After beating the scores of all 8 basic scenarios and all 4 advanced scenarios, Admiral Ahern will offer you a special scenario that re-enacts one of Ahern's battles during the First Contact War. In order to win the admiral's retirement home in a wager, Shepard will go in with the safeties off.

Once you have beaten all twelve scenarios, the admiral will also speak with you about your performance. (If you won all the challenges, you will receive the Best of the Best achievement). He will tell you that there is one more experimental scenario, and if you dare to challenge it, he will tell you that 'the real thing is a lot tougher'. You can tell him to turn the safety off, and make the damage real. You will have the opportunity to make a wager; your life for his retirement property. This means that this time, you can actually die when entering the simulator, so it is advised to save before talking to Ochren.

The scenario opens with you facing about 6 Turians. Kill them, and it will remain empty until you make your way to the vehicle at the center of the room to retrieve a data file. After doing so, the squad must survive for 5 minutes while waiting for evac. Sprint to cover, you will be attacked by more hostiles. There are two turrets helping you out. The spawns will start coming faster during the last 30 seconds of the scenario, but as long as Commander Shepard makes it, you'll get credit for completion.

Once you have completed the scenario, you will get the Undisputed achievement. Speak to Admiral Ahern. Don't let him leave without reminding him of your wager.

Unlocking Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions

To obtain Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions you need to buy the corresponding DLC Pinnacle Station.
Head to Pinnacle Station, located in the Phoenix System of the Argos Rho cluster.
You can speak to Admiral Ahern to receive this Assignment, or alternatively speak to Ochren, a Salarian technician, who gives you access to the simulator.

Enemies found on Pinnacle Station: Combat Missions

The Enemies you find in this Assignment depend on both the challenge and the map you choose to take on