Liara T’Soni is on Therum, in the Knossos system of the Artemis Tau cluster. She is trapped in Prothean ruins there, and the mission opens once you finish Citadel: Expose Saren and take command of the Normandy.
In Mass Effect Legendary Edition, she is the last of your squadmates to join, and you cannot finish the game without her. Here is the route on the Galaxy Map, when to go, and how to reach her after you land.
How to Get to Therum
- Open the Galaxy Map on the Normandy’s command deck.
- Select the Artemis Tau cluster.
- Select the Knossos system, the top-right system in the cluster.
- Select Therum, the second planet out from the star.
- Land. You pick your squad now, and you cannot change it until the mission ends, so save first.
When to Go
After the Citadel chapter, Therum is one of the three main missions you can do in any order, along with Noveria and Feros. Virmire opens after you have finished two of them. Go to Therum first, for three reasons:
- Romance. If you want to romance Liara, the conversations need time to develop. Leave her until last and there is very little game left. Our guide to who you can romance in all three games covers her in all three games.
- Biotics. She fills out your squad with a strong biotic early on, which helps most if your Shepard does not have those powers.
- Noveria. Noveria involves her mother, Matriarch Benezia, and it plays better with Liara in the squad. Our Rachni Queen guide covers the big choice waiting at the end of that mission.
Virmire is the one reason you might hold Therum back. Going there before Therum is part of a rare route to keeping Wrex alive, but that route costs a lot, and the normal one does not ask you to delay Liara at all.
How to Reach Liara After You Land
The Therum mission is two parts: a Mako drive, then a stretch on foot.
| Stage | What to do | Enemies to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Road to the refinery | Drive north from the start. Watch for lava pools | Geth Armatures, turrets |
| Refinery | The front gate is sealed. Take the side passage north, clear the geth from the Mako, then go on foot to open the gate | Geth Juggernaut, Destroyer, Shock and Rocket Troopers |
| Road to the ruins | Use the Gate Control in a northern building, then drive north through two tunnels | Armatures, a Geth Colossus |
| Mining Camp | A roadblock forces you out of the Mako. Fight through the camp and head up the ramp | Armature, Geth Stalkers, troopers |
| Ruins | Ride the elevators down until one breaks, then drop through the broken walkway to Liara | Assault Drones |
| Dig Site | She is held behind a Prothean barrier. Clear the cavern and find the Mining Laser Controls | Geth troopers |
You cannot reach her from the front, which is the part that stumps people. The laser is the way in:
- Use the Mining Laser Controls and enter the override sequence. On an Xbox pad it starts A, X, B, Y, and on PlayStation it starts X, Square, Circle, Triangle.
- The laser bores a tunnel under the structure. Go through the hole.
- Use the terminal on the far side to ride the lift up behind Liara.
- Talk to her. Your dialogue choices here do not change anything.
- A Krogan Battlemaster and more geth arrive on the way out. Focus the Battlemaster first and knock him down with any power you have, because the geth are easy once he is gone.
After the last enemy falls, the ruins start to collapse and a few scenes take you back to the Normandy. Rescuing her earns the Search and Rescue achievement.
After You Rescue Her
Liara joins your squad automatically at the end of the mission. You can find her on the Normandy’s crew quarters level and talk to her there for Codex entries on the asari, the Protheans, and her work. Those talks are also how the romance begins, if you want it.
She stays important. Liara appears in Mass Effect 2 and is a full squadmate again in Mass Effect 3, so what happens with her carries forward. Our guide to what carries over between games explains how the import works, and our guide on who to send with Kirrahe picks up the story at Virmire.
Frequently Asked Questions
What planet is Liara on in Mass Effect 1? Therum, in the Knossos system of the Artemis Tau cluster.
Can you miss Liara? No. You can put her off for a long time, but you have to complete Therum to finish the game, so she always joins eventually. The only thing you can lose by waiting is time for a romance to develop.
When should you get Liara? As soon as the three main missions open. It gives you the most time with her and the most use from her biotics.
How do you get Liara out of the barrier? Use the Mining Laser Controls in the dig site to bore a tunnel, go through it, and ride the lift to the platform behind her. The switch next to her deactivates the containment field.
Does Liara automatically join your squad? Yes. She joins at the end of the Therum mission, and from then on you can choose her for your squad like anyone else.
Is the route to Liara different in the Legendary Edition? No. She is in the same place, and the mission plays out in the same order. The Legendary Edition mostly changes how the Mako handles on the drive there.