Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi

Samara: The Ardat-Yakshi

This is a very short loyalty mission, and requires no combat. This one's all about conversation and character. It takes place on Omega, so set a course there once you have talked to Samara and accepted her quest. Use the Omega city walk-through earlier in this guide for help navigating the area. Samara's daughter is a serial killer who seduces her targets and then drains the life out of them during sex. Understandably, her Justicar mother is not exactly proud of her daughter, and wants to

Talk to Aria:

Once on Omega, head to Afterlife to talk to Aria about Samara's daughter. Aria is the source of all information on Omega, so is a good first port of call for this quest. As expected, the Asari is aware of Morinth, Samara's daughter, and recommends you check out the apartment of the last person she killed, a human woman.

Go to Apartment:

Turn left out of the main Afterlife entrance and head through the doors towards the shopping district. Turn right just before the mad prophet and then left into the previously sealed door of the tenement area.

Enter the apartment

Once inside, talk to Diana, the mother of the woman killed. Note that in this quest, anything you can find out about Nef, the murdered girl, is crucial (though Samara sums it up for you before the important stage). Ask Diana a variety of questions, and she will allow you to search Nef's room.

Find VIP Password:

Specifically, you are looking for a pass-code for entry to Afterlife's VIP area, which Morinth is supposed to frequent. You can also unearth a variety of clues which will give you an indication of what Morinth is into, so as to attract her attention once inside Afterlife's VIP suite. In particular, you can watch three video entries to Nef's diary. Things to take note of are the name Jaruut, to enter the VIP room, the drug Hallex, which Nef and Morinth love, and a love of art. There is also a note mentioning an artist called Forta.

Go to VIP Club:

With all that information in mind, speak to Diana and then make your way to the Afterlife VIP area (check your map, or turn right from the apartment, then left, following the path up the stairs and to the guarded door). Speak to the bouncer and mention Jaruut. At this point, Samara will update you on what we have learnt about Morinth so far. Confirm with her when you are ready to enter. She will be waiting outside until you and Morinth leave. A lot of Samara's advice can be misinterpreted, but generally you should bear in mind that Morinth loves confidence, art and drugs.

Enter the VIP area

Attract Morinth:

Note: Save your game before doing anything here, as you can fail to get the required information and lose the loyalty of Samara.

Enter the club and talk to Vi, standing to the left as you enter. He mentions an Asari that fits Morinth's description, and claims that she loves Expel 10. Remember this for later. In the club are a variety of events that Shepard can interact with to catch Morinth's attention. Head into the middle area of the club first. A turian is hitting on an Asari dancer who is not welcoming his advances. Intervene. You can also dance with an Asari here yourself, if your Paragon points are high enough. Back at the side of the room, sitting at the bar, is a krogan that you can insult to show off your confidence. Unlike most conversations in Mass Effect 2, you cannot try any of these interactions again should your initial option not work as intended.

If you speak to the barman you can get a round of drinks for everyone on the house. Sitting down at the side is a turian who steals from people outside the club. If you are Renegade enough, you can intimidate the turian into leaving, and impress Morinth in the process, or pay them to stop, gaining Paragon points. You can also speak to Horftin, who's friend you can help save. Eventually, Morinth should approach you and invite you to a private area. Use any available Paragon or Renegade conversation options in these encounters generally to get her to come over.

This is where the clues from Nef's apartment are vital. Tell her you are confident, and when she asks what you think she likes, ignore the Justicar and Family options completely, going for each of the others in turn.

Impress Morinth in the club

Under music, mention Expel 10, and when Morinth talks about 'ways to enhance' it, talk about Hallex or a history with drugs. Under art, name-drop Forta, and when Morinth mentions vids, cite the Vaenia vids that you may have unearthed in Nef's apartment, or your love of violent ones. Finally, under travel, tell her how much you love the danger involved. When this leads to a statement about violence and power, tell Morinth that you believe power is its own reward. With all this done, Morinth will invite you back to her apartment.

Distract Morinth:

Keep Morinth busy by wandering her apartment, scanning the assault rifle on the wall in particular to gain an upgrade for your own assault rifles. You can interact with various items in the apartment for conversation. Eventually, Morinth will engage you in direct conversation. You can use Renegade or Paragon conversation, if your level is high enough, in each of the rounds of dialogue, but with little real effect. It will be the third round that is the crucial one, however, as Morinth looks into your eyes. You can then drop a Paragon or Renegade bombshell to show Morinth that her game is up.

Samara then enters the room and fights Morinth. If you used Paragon or Renegade earlier to prevent Morinth from controlling you, Shepard can choose to help Morinth in this battle. Doing so will kill Samara, adding Morinth to your squad. The default option if you were seduced is to help Samara, and this is the obvious Paragon choice.

Make your choice

If you choose to save Morinth, she will basically assume Samara's position and character (and dialogue) on the Normandy. Kelly notices the difference, and you can still talk to her as Morinth in private, but publicly it is like you never made the choice. You can pursue a romantic relationship with Morinth, unlike Samara, but this results in a hilarious gameplay death for Shepard, forcing a restart from your last save! You can leave the apartment with your loyal team mate when ready.