Mass Effect 2's final mission, commonly referred to as the "Suicide Mission," is a multifaceted operation where your decisions, including which squad members to take with you, significantly impact the outcome. To optimize the survival of all your teammates, you need to consider their individual skills and the roles they will play in the mission, as well as the loyalty status of each member, which you achieve through completing their personal quests. These are key points to ensure the best chances of success: 1. **Ensure All Teammates Are Loyal**: Loyalty drastically improves a squad member's chances of survival. Complete loyalty missions for each character before embarking on the final mission. 2. **Upgrade the Normandy**: It is also vital that you upgrade the Normandy's weapons, armor, and shields adequately. This ensures the ship and by extension some of your crew, make it through the approach. In the final mission, you will need to assign characters to specific roles based on their strengths: - **Tech Specialist**: This person will hack a door while under fire. Ideal characters for this role are Tali, Kasumi (if you have the DLC), or Legion, as they are the most skilled tech experts. - **Fire Team Leader**: A leadership role for both the first and second fire teams. Choose someone with military expertise like Garrus, Miranda, or Jacob. - **Biotic Specialist**: For creating and maintaining a protective biotic field during a key section of the mission. Your best options are Jack or Samara/Morinth, provided they are loyal. - **Escort**: This is a lower-risk assignment, but still vital. Mordin is often considered the best choice here due to his lower combat abilities compared to other members, thus keeping him safe from the more dangerous parts of the mission. For the squad that accompanies you to the very end, it's less about specific roles and more about whom you prefer to fight alongside. However, it is recommended to take strong defenders with you to increase survivability. Characters like Grunt, Zaeed, and Garrus are good choices for a heavily combat-focused team. If you're looking for a balanced team, you could consider a mix of biotic power and combat strength—like taking Miranda for her biotic powers and squad bonuses, and a strong fighter like Grunt or Zaeed. Remember that the characters left to hold the line also impact the mission outcome. For example, keeping some strong defenders like Grunt and Garrus behind will ensure the line is more likely to hold and increases survival odds for everyone. As a note, while this advice is relatively general, the outcome of the final mission can be influenced by more nuanced factors based on your specific progress and choices in the game. Always consider the strengths and weaknesses of your team and your playstyle as you make these critical decisions.