In the story of Mass Effect, Commander Shepard becomes the hero of the Systems Alliance, and he/she also becomes the first human Spectre, all to take down the rogue Spectre Saren. But Shepard needed a ship: the SSV Normandy. It served Shepard well until its destruction at the hands of the Collectors, and a new Normandy was completed two years later.
This new vessel was the Normandy SR2, and it was with this ship that Shepard flew on behalf of the Cerberus organization to take on the Collectors, and in 2186, this ship bravely faced the deadly Reaper fleets and survived. And the Normandy SR2 has more than a few secrets under its hull.
10 It Was Built For Comfort
The Normandy SR2 set itself apart from its historic predecessor in a few ways, most of them for the better. Joker made more than a few snarky comments about Cerberus, but he also voiced his approval of how downright comfortable the new Normandy was. The old one was purely military in nature.
By contrast, the SR2 version has many more civilian-style comforts, from breathable padded leather seats (including Joker’s) to a captain’s quarters, something that would never be found aboard a regular Alliance ship. It was like a miniature apartment in there.
9 Its Armory Was Moved
The new Normandy rearranged itself to make use of its larger size, when compared to the original. When this ship was built, it had a fully-stocked armory in the command deck, on the aft side of the hull. Jacob Taylor, a soldier, was often seen there, and Shepard could visit anytime.
Such a spot was awkward for the armory, however. When the Alliance claimed the Normandy SR2, its engineers relocated the entire armory to the hangar, so Shepard could choose weapons and armor, then step directly into the shuttle. Steve Cortez, the shuttle pilot, approved of this modification in full.
8 It Cannot Land On Planets
The original Normandy was a frigate, and it was among the largest starships that could land directly on a planet, such as that time it docked at Noveria or when it flew among the ancient Prothean skyscrapers of Feros. It even landed directly on Virmire, but the new Normandy can’t pull that off.
The SR2 Normandy is simply too large and heavy for surface activities, so it must stay in space, where gravity won’t crush it. Instead, Commander Shepard may assemble a team, then depart the Normandy with the Kodiak shuttle and on a planet that way. However, the Normandy SR2 can still dock with space stations and other planets without issue.
7 It Has Rare Communication Tech
All starships need a way to communicate with friendly vessels, space stations and bases, and the Normandy SR2 has the edge with its quantum bit entanglement communicator. This frigate often goes into uncharted territory alone, so it can’t always rely on local comm buoys to send and receive messages.
Instead, this vessel uses that quantum bit entangler to instantly send and receive messages from any other party that has their own entangler, making for perfect communications. In 2185, Shepard often used this system to speak to the Illusive Man to receive missions or to provide updates.
6 Its Engineers Are At Risk
The engineers are hard at work to keep the ship running, but down there, anything could happen. The Tantalus drive core is extremely powerful, but even it has limits, and those limits may be exceeded during a protracted firefight. Should that happen, excess thermal energy will be vented right into the engineering deck.
All crew in the engineering section will be vaporized at once in such an event, the cost for pushing the Normandy too hard. Cerberus couldn’t find another way to handle the problem, however, and neither could the Alliance. Still, those engineers knew what they were signing up for.
5 It Can Efficiently (And Recklessly) Handle Waste
A ship like the Normandy SR2 is going to build up waste over time, such as scrap metal or biological waste. Fortunately, there is an effective trash compactor to be found on deck four, and Zaeed Massani often stands right next to it. With the press of a button, Shepard can activate it.
The Normandy will compress all of its waste into a cube, and that cube may then be ejected directly into space, where the debris will scatter. It’s an amusing sight, but according to real-life spaceflight history, debris like that is a major hazard for any fast-traveling ship that may hit it. For reference, a collision with a single small screw can jeopardize a real-life space shuttle. Debris is very hazardous for space vehicles.
4 It Continues To Use Turian Tech
The original Normandy was co-designed with the Turian people, to represent a new era of Alliance-Turian cooperation and peace. This made the Normandy as symbolic as it was advanced, and the second Normandy retained its predecessor’s built-in Turian engineering concepts. Then it added some more.
At some point, Shepard may ask Garrus Vakarian to install some new guns: Thanix Cannons. These were developed after the Turian Hierarchy studied th remains of Sovereign, and Garrus (himself a Turian) installed and endlessly calibrated those cannons. The Normandy has plenty of Turian blood in her, all right.
3 It Has Hidden Access Shafts
This ship features a number of mundane shafts and access tunnels inside, often found right in between the decks. Rarely does Shepard ever need to use these, but during the events of the Citadel DLC pack, Shepard’s evil clone steals the ship, and the real Commander must sneak in via these access shafts.
Anyone inside those shafts will be totally hidden unless they make sounds to give themselves away, and Shepard and his/her squad used the shaft right under the CIC to sneak into the Normandy’s heart and surprise the enemy soldiers who were standing around.
2 It Can Fly Itself
EDI is an artificial intelligence aboard the Normandy SR2, and it can perform most of the mundane jobs that keep the ship running, not to mention the cyberwarfare suites (something a living crewmate couldn’t handle). In a sense, EDI is the ship, and this means that the Normandy can think for itself.
Overall, it’s best when Jeff “Joker” Moreau and EDI fly the ship together, but if need be, EDI can pilot the Normandy all on its own, making this one of the few (if not only) ships able to fly itself like that.
1 It Can Use Mass Relays Discreetly
When a space vessel uses a mass relay, there will be a blueshift emission that clearly marks its arrival; ordinary ships can’t hide their usage of a mass relay, no matter their size. But the Normandy SR2 can do things that other ships and even the original SSV Normandy cannot.
Its state-of-the-art IEF heat sinks hide all emissions that the ship would give off, and that includes high-frequency blueshift emissions that normally appear when a ship exits FTL travel upon arriving at a mass relay. Put simply, this ship can hide its arrival via a mass relay, improving its stealth capabilities even more.
