Mass Effect Andromeda guide: Hunting the Archon

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By Alex Donaldson

Track down your enemy, and take the fight to him.

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With A Trail of Hope in the bag, the Angara make friends with the Milky Way races, opening the way for you to explore more of the Heleus Cluster, knowing you have allies at your back.

Unfortunately, this being Mass Effect Andromeda, you also have enemies in front of you. But that’s okay; by this stage we’re itching to face off against the Kett. Enter Mission 4, Hunting the Archon.

Find more tips, tricks and explanations in our Mass Effect Andromeda guide and walkthrough.

The same basic rules apply at the start of the Hunting the Archon quest line as in any other time you kick off a new quest in Andromeda: you should take some time out to check in with each of the crew on the Tempest and also head back to the Nexus. If you’re really feeling brave, consider also heading back to Eos, Havarl or Voerl – as each major story planet tends to unlock a few more side quests as you progress the main overall story. Don’t forget that all the quests we previously listed on Aya, Hvarl and Voeld are still available for you to tackle if you so wish.

With Hunting the Archon unlocking a new solar system – Govorkam – becomes available – and it’s home to a major story planet, Kadara. More on that in just a moment. Other new solar systems become available throughout this quest too, so if you want to scan them and get it out of the way, don’t miss out.

Compared to A Trail of Hope the Hunting the Archon quest is remarkably simple – you more or less have everything you need to begin the process of an assault on the Archon – a little more intel and you’ll be golden. For that you’ll be heading to Kadara – but Kadara brings with it some challenges all of its own, including a slew of new sidequests and missions. Kadara also has new shops with new gear.

We’ve listed all of the sidequests that unlock on Kadara during this mission below, but do be aware that they don’t all unlock at once. In fact, throughout the course of Hunting the Archon many new quests will unlock: this quest is a launching point for many major piece of side content, from loyalty missions through to new sidequests on other planets.

With Kadara unlocked, now’s a pretty good time to start to clear out your side quest journal. If you wait till the end of this critical path mission to ensure you’ve unlocked everything you can and then set out to clear some objectives, you’ll find you can make progress in anything up to a dozen sidequests as you roam around a destination. When you’ve done everything in one place, turn in anything you can back at the Tempest and Nexus, then hit another planet. Rinse and repeat to efficiently zoom through your tasks. There are only a few quests that can’t be completed by this stage in the main mission path, and a very few more than unlock in the next main mission. Go for it!

Enjoy your time on Kadara, Pathfinder. The land of incredible slow doors awaits you.

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Hunting the Archon objectives and suggested missions flow

  • Optional: visit the Nexus, Hyperion and Tempest to update conversations and side quests
  • Travel to the Govorkam system and land on Kadara
  • Meet with Shena at Kralla’s Song in Kadara Port
  • Talk to Sloane Kelly about the Traitor
    • If you fail to convince Sloane Kelly by being honest or refusing to be complicit in the killing of Vehn you will have to break into Vehn’s cell and break him out. He’ll then be handed over to the Angaran resistance.
    • If you’re honest with Kelly and agree to the execution she will allow you to meet him in order to get the information you need – but he’ll later be executed.
  • Interrogate Vehn Terev
  • Find the Kett Transponder from the Kadara Badlands
  • Speak to Gil aboard the Tempest
  • Find the Kett Flagship, the Verakan
    • Head to the Tafeno System
    • Scan for the flagship
  • Board Ark Paarchero
    • Patch SAM into the Ark computers
    • Locate the Salarian Pathfinder Zevin Raeka
    • Identify the dead Salarian
    • Locate the dead Salarian’s Stasis Pod
    • Revive the Salarian Pathfinder
  • Infiltrate the Kett ship
    • Patch SAM into the kett ship’s systems
    • Survive the ambush
    • Make your way to the Archon’s private chamber
    • Escape the Trap
    • Find the Relic
    • Kill the exalted Krogan and the Kett
  • Escape the Kett Ship, Rescue the captive Krogan / Salarians
    • If you choose the Krogan, Drack will be pleased and the Krogan will help you in a later mission. The Salarian pathfinder will die and they must choose another, however.
    • If you choose the Salarians, the Krogan scouts will die and Drack will be upset, but Zevin Raeka will live.

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Hunting the Archon Boss: The Behemoth – the Exalted Krogan

Before you reach the Exalted Krogan boss you will have another encounter with a Ascendant enemy who is functionally the same as the Cardinal as you encountered back in A Trail of Hope mission. If you need strategy for this shielded enemy and his annoying ball of energy-firing tech that accompanies him, be sure to check back on our guide pages for A Trail of Hope and the first Cardinal Encounter. There’s a second Ascendant towards the end of the mission also.

At the end of this mission you’ll have to face off with a powerful new enemy – the behemoth, a first pass at an exalted version of a Krogan. The Krogan are deadly to begin with, but with Kett technology this guy is fierce. It has lots of armor, so you’ll want to use slow-firing weapons such as pistols or shotguns. Fire attacks are also vital, so equip yourself with some inferno ammo and make use of skills such as flamethrower. Ice effects are a good second option, too – bit biotics are much less useful.

As you’d expect, the behemoth will use its Krogan size to try to get in close, so try to duck and weave around it. Watch out for its gun, too – it explodes with electrical damage that rips down shields in no time. This battle is a war of attrition, so just be careful and take it slow.

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New secondary quests on Kadara

The following sidequests unlock on Kadara throughout the Hunting the Archon quest. Some of these quests are found in the slums, others in the city, and others out in the open world wasteland below.

  • Murder in Kadara Port
    After interrogating Vehn for Hunting the Archon, scan the corpse in Kadara Market.
  • A People Divided
    Complete Murder in Kadara Port, then speak to Reyes in the slums bar.
  • Precious Cargo
    Complete A People Divided, then speak to Reyes in the slums bar.
  • Modern Medicine
    Talk to Dr. Ryota Nakamoto in the Kadara slums – he’s operating a clinic out of a storage crate.
  • Counting Bodies
    Right outside the slums in Kadara’s open world are Saneria and Drexel – chat to them to start this quest.
  • Out of the Frying Pan
    After interrogating Vehn for Hunting the Archon, talk to Grayson Wessler in the Kadara Docks.
  • Behind Enemy Lines
    After interrogating Vehn, talk to Kaetus in the Kadara Outcast HQ, near Sloane Kelly.
  • Mind Games
    Find a small building in Haafel in Kadara’s open world – chat to the exile inside.
  • Mixed Messages
    After interrogating Vehn Terev, talk to Jim in the prison area of Kadara Port.
  • Something in the Water
    Find the settlement that’s home to many dead Angara in Kurinth’s Valley. The quest kicks off automatically when you approach.
  • A Packaged Deal
    Find the Windfarm in Kadara and talk to the Turian on its second floor.
  • Emergency S.O.S.
    Drive through Kurinth Valley. You’ll get an SOS from some… interesting gentlemen.
  • Old Skinner
    Once you’ve settled Kadara, talk to Christmas Tate within the settlement outpost.
  • The Baryte Rush
    Inside the slums bar, look on the first floor for a gangster-looking Salarian. Talk to him.
  • The Collective Base
    Find the cave in the south-west of Kadara – the Sulfur Springs. Tralk to Crux in the Collective Base.
  • The Charlatan’s Charlatan
    After completing ‘The Collective Base’ mission, talk to Crux again.
  • Task: Broken Family
    Chat to a woman sitting on the porch of a building in Haarfel on Kadara.
  • Task: Cold Hard Cache
    South of the Spirit’s Ledge Forward Station is wreckage of a crashed shuttle. Head there and this mission begins automatically.
  • Task: Kadara’s Ransom
    Kicked off by picking up a datapad in a bandit camp – you’ll then have to hunt out more bandit outposts.
  • Task: Outlaw Weapon Crafting
    Talk to the ‘Disillusioned Outlaw’ leaning against the outer wall of the slums bar.
  • Task: Searching for Morga
    Speak to the Angara Jataa near the shops in the Kadara market.

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New secondary quests on Eos

The following sidequests unlock on Eos when the Hunting the Archon quest kicks off – as soon as you’re officially started on that quest, you can go get these quests started too.

  • Making an Impression
    Chat to Hainley Abrams in Prodromos. Discover the deadly source of earthquakes on Eos and fight an enormous optional boss.
  • Drone Recovery
    Check the terminal near Jacob Mittney in Prodromos. Recover some lost Nexus tech.
  • Supply Loss and Recovery
    Found on a terminal indoors in Prodromos. Recover some lost loot.
  • Waking up to the Future
    Found on another indoor terminal in Prodromos. Reunite a family.

New secondary quests on Aya

The following sidequests unlock on Aya throughout the Hunting the Archon quest. Hop back to Aya at any time to grab them.

  • Laws and Customs
    Chat to Arbiter Renaav in Aya’s market place once the city is open to you.
  • Local Cuisine
    As you walk through Aya’s marketplace Lexi will come on the radio and ask you to scan some fruit in the city.
  • Messages to the Nexus
    You’re pointed to this quest as part of Laws and Customs – chat to Enroh Bosaan in the Agara governor’s office on Aya.
  • Test Subject
    As you walk through Aya when you have full access, an Angaran will scan you. Chat to them.
  • The Angaran Initiative
    Once the embassy is founded on Aya, chat to Nexus representative Ambassador Rialla in their Aya office.
  • The Nexus Exchange
    When you speak to Rialla as part of the Angaran Initiative she’ll give you this quest too.
  • Safe Journeys
    Talk to Maariko in the Aya dock control room once the city is open to you properly.
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