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Mass Effect Hints

PC Version

  • 1 of 7: Your task in any decryption minigame is to move your probe (little triangle) from the bottom of the outermost gateway (large circular ring) to the circle in the center (where the timer is) before time runs out.
  • 2 of 7: You can rotate your probe clockwise and counterclockwise around the gateway it's in, plus move it "forward" to the next gateway or "back" to the previous one. Both the keyboard and the mouse can be used for this, so experiment to see which one works best for you.
  • 3 of 7: There are two types of obstacles to your progress -- firewalls (orange barriers) and scanners (red barriers). The firewalls are stationary, and the scanners move around their gateways in one direction at a set speed.
  • 4 of 7: If you run into a firewall, it'll just stop you from going through it. If a scanner touches you, you're instantly reset to the bottom of the outermost gateway.
  • 5 of 7: The harder a decryption minigame is, the more there will be of both firewalls and scanners.
  • 6 of 7: The best strategy is to quickly rotate your probe around to a spot where there are no firewalls between you and the goal, then time your "run" to get past the scanners without touching any of them. This may require some lateral movement or even temporary retreat, but that's much better than being reset to the starting position.
  • 7 of 7: The exact configuration of a decryption minigame will be randomly chosen each time you play, so these hints can't give you exact answers to any of them. However, the randomness can be good, since a tough minigame may turn out to be a bit easier on the second or third try. (Just remember the tip about quicksaving before your first try.)