
Related: Mass Effect 3: All Legendary Edition Changes & Differences Mass Effect 2, in contrast, made gathering materials a core and almost essential aspect of the game.

These materials didn't serve an essential purpose within the context of the first game - although some of ME1's scouting assignments did have an impact on Mass Effect 3 - and instead helped Shepard gain experience through completing side quests.

Players could also land on planets and explore them from within ME1's highly polarizing Mako vehicle, examining artifacts and deposits on-foot to gain resources. The process of scanning for materials was introduced to players in Mass Effect 1, which allowed them to find valuable minerals by accessing various planets and asteroids from the galaxy map. Significantly rarer than the other materials in the game, Element Zero - or " eezo" - may be a struggle for players to find if they don't know where to look.

Upgrades are an important gameplay element in Mass Effect 2, and in order to get them, players will need to scan and probe planets across the galaxy to gather necessary resources.
