Achievements Guide

Achievements Guide

Most of the achievements in the game are pretty much straightforward and linear. Most of them can be unlocked by simply completing various missions, reaching levels and getting certain number of kills. As such, this section will just provide details to achievements with notable information.

Driven (5 points)
Return to active duty.

Bringer of War (10 points)
Chase down an assassin.
 
Mobilizer (15 points)
Bring a veteran officer aboard.
 
World Shaker (15 points)
Destroy an Atlas dropped from orbit.
 
Pathfinder (15 points)
Explore a lost city.
 
Tunnel Rat (15 points)
Survive the swarm.
 
Party Crasher (15 points)
Sabotage a dreadnought.
 
Hard Target (15 points)
Call down an orbital strike.
 
Saboteur (15 points)
Disable a group of fighter squadrons.
 
Arbiter (25 points)
Win a political stand-off.
 
Last Witness (25 points)
Extract ancient technology.
 
Executioner (25 points)
Defeat an old adversary.
 
Well Connected (15 points)
Send a warning across the galaxy.
 
Fact Finder (15 points)
Discover an enemy's monstrous origin.
 
Liberator (15 points)
Stop a Cerberus kidnapping.
 
Problem Solver (15 points)
Evacuate a scientific facility.
 
Patriot (25 points)
Make the final assault.
 
Legend (50 points)
Mission accomplished.
 
Shopaholic (10 points)
Visit a store in the single-player campaign.
You can visit the store in the Citadel. However, you can also unlock this by visiting the Normandy's requisitions.

Master and Commander (50 points)
Deliver most of the Galaxy at War assets to the final conflict.
This achievement should pop up as soon as you tell Hackett to send the fleets to the Cerberus base. It was generally agreed that your “effective” military strength should be above 4000 by the time you attack the base. As discussed, it will be easier to raise your effective military strength by playing in multiplayer since it also increases your Galactic Readiness. Take note that your overall readiness somewhat divides your total strength. For example, even if you have completed all missions and retrieved all possible war assets in all available systems, and your total military strength is 6000, with 50% galactic readiness, your effective military strength will just be around 3000. It is said that it is possible to get your effective military strength around 4000 without multiplayer but that will require a second playthrough (*unconfirmed personally*), a series of good decisions (like getting BOTH the geth and quarians to your side) and other factors. For more information, I suggest checking out the forums discussing this matter.
 
Lost and Found (25 points)
Dispatch 10 probes to retrieve people or resources in Reaper territory.
 
Long Service Medal (50 points)
Complete Mass Effect 3 twice, or once with a Mass Effect 2 import.
If you imported your character from Mass Effec 2, just complete the campaign and you'll get this achievement. For players that started the campaign fresh, you need to finish the campaign, then import the same character (to carry over the level, money and skill points) and finish the campaign again. 

Insanity (75 points)
Finish the game on Insanity without changing difficulty after leaving Earth.
Insanity mode is recommended for high level players only since the enemies can deal greater damage, has more shields, faster shield regen rate and more aggressive. Having high tier skills and weapons will definitely help in completing missions in this difficulty.
 
A Personal Touch (10 points)
Modify a weapon.
Simply modify a weapon using a work-bench. The first one you can find is in Mars.
 
Paramour (25 points)
Establish or rekindle a romantic relationship.
If you have romanced Ashley/Kaidan or Miranda, you can rekindle your past love by talking to them in between missions and giving the favorable replies in conversations.
 
Combined Arms (25 points)
Perform any combination of 50 biotic combos or tech bursts
You can manually order your team mates to use their biotic/ tech powers then deal the finishing blow using your own powers. You can also use special ammo like cryo or incendiary then finish off the target using powers like Carnage or Concussive Shot.
 
Focused (25 points)
Evolve any of your powers to rank 6.
 
Recruit (10 points)
Kill 250 enemies.
 
Soldier (15 points)
Kill 1,000 enemies.
 
Veteran (25 points)
Kill 5,000 enemies.
 
Bruiser (10 points)
Kill 100 enemies with melee attacks.
 
Untouchable (10 points)
Escape a Reaper in the galaxy map.
You just need to enter a reaper-controlled system, scan there until they show up then exit.

Defender (25 points)
Attain the highest level of readiness in each theater of war.
You need to play in multiplayer or the iOS game “Mass Effect: Infiltrator” to increase your galactic awareness to maximum. Take note that readiness decays over time so make sure to play multiplayer regularly to raise itup.

Overload Specialist (15 points)
Overload the shields of 100 enemies.
This can be done using the power “Overload”. Take note that you should be using this ability; ordering your allies to do this won't count. If ever your class doesn't have this skill, you have no choice but to use character class that does have one OR play in Multiplayer mode and choose a class that has this skill.

Sky High (15 points)
Lift 100 enemies off the ground with powers.
This can be done using the powers “Throw”, “Pull”, “Singularity” and “Lift”. For some reason, Carnage also counts. It is even mentioned in the forums that Concussive Shot also counts. Take note that you should be using this ability; ordering your allies to do this won't count. If ever your class doesn't have this skill, you have no choice but to use character class that does have one OR play in Multiplayer mode and choose a class that has this skill.

Pyromaniac (15 points)
Set 100 enemies on fire with powers.
This can be done using the power “Incinerate”. Take note that you should be using this ability; ordering your allies to do this won't count. If ever your class doesn't have this skill, you have no choice but to use character class that does have one OR play in Multiplayer mode and choose a class that has this skill.
 
Eye of the Hurricane (10 points)
Kill a brute while it's charging you.
This requires timing. Concentrate your fire at the brute until it is until its down to 2-3 bars, get its attention then throw everything you have at it while its charging.

Mail Slot (10 points)
Kill 10 guardians with headshots from the front while their shields are raised.
This is easiest done as an Infiltrator and with a sniper rifle, preferably an upgraded/ high-level Mantis. Infiltrators will can slow down time for a few seconds after zooming in, giving them more than enough time to aim and fire. For other class, you can use sniper rifles and other highly accurate weapons, preferably in closer distances.

Hijacker (10 points)
Hijack an Atlas mech.
You have to shoot the glass window of an Atlas Mech around 5-6 times, preferably with a sniper rifle. Once the glass breaks, kill the pilot immediately then run to the mech to pilot it.  Note: It seems that this is easier done in the Atlas mech you'll encounter during the Priority: Citadel mission.

Giant Killer (10 points)
Defeat a harvester.
You'll encounter a harvester during the side-mission “Tuchanka: Turian Platoon”. You should only be able to kill it when you're near the end of the mission since you'll just be driving it off during your initial encounters.
 
Enlisted (5 points)
Start a character in multiplayer or customize a character in single-player.
Before starting the game, you'll be able to import a character or start from scratch. You can customize the character's appearance before starting the game itself.

Tour of Duty (20 points)
Finish all multiplayer maps or all N7 missions in single-player.
The N7 missions are listed below. They are unlocked automatically during the course of the campaign so there's no way you'll miss them.
Cerberus Labs
Cerberus Abductions
Cerberus Attack
Cerberus Fighter Base
Fuel Reactors
Communication Hub
 
Always Prepared (10 points)
Obtain two non-customizable suits of armor.
You can buy different armor sets from various stores in the Citadel. Bonus armors from purchasing the game seems to count as well. (Check the Weapon and Armor list section in this guide)
 
Tourist (5 points)
Complete one multiplayer match or two N7 missions.
 
Explorer (15 points)
Complete three multiplayer matches or five N7 missions.
 
Gunsmith (25 points)
Upgrade any weapon to level 10.
During your first playthrough, your weapons may only get upgraded up to LV5 before “disappearing” from the list of weapons you can upgrade. You'll have the ability to maximize them to LV10 in New Game . (finish the campaign and import the same character when starting a new game)
 
Almost There (15 points)
Reach level 15 in multiplayer or level 50 in single-player.
 
Peak Condition (25 points)
Reach level 20 in multiplayer or level 60 in single-player.
 
Battle Scarred (25 points)
Promote a multiplayer character to the Galaxy at War or import an ME3 character.
If you don't want to play online, you can just finish the campaign and start a new game (new game ) using the same file.
 
Unwavering (50 points)
Finish all multiplayer maps on Gold or all single-player missions on Insanity.