Mass Effect: Andromeda is just over two months from taking off into the stratosphere and Bioware has been releasing a steady trickle of information about various aspects of the game. As part of the “Andromeda Initiative”, a special website has been set up for fans to learn more about the organization responsible for the journey to the Andromeda Galaxy during the events of Mass Effect 2. In the last two updates to the AI site, more information has been revealed about the various ships and means of travel that players will encounter in the game and what sets each one apart from the others. See what we know so far.
Nexus - The Mother Ship
The Nexus will seem very familiar to veterans of the Mass Effect series as it resembles the Citadel. While similar, however, the Nexus is more streamlined than its counterpart in the Milky Way.
The Nexus travels with four ‘ark ships’ and contains its own engineers, security forces, retail merchants, traders and officials. On arrival in Andromeda, the arks will be brought in and attached to the Nexus to complete its construction.
On Nexus, players will find a library archive containing the histories of each race and species from the Milky Way as well as a bar in which to relax, an operations center, security zone, the “Pathfinder Headquarters”, a special science lab where players can learn more of the secrets of Andromeda.
Another nod to the original trilogy is in the form of Avina, the AI tour guide found on both the Milky Way’s Citadel and Andromeda’s Nexus.
Hyperion - The Ark Ship
Hyperion is one of the four ark ships traveling in the Nexus armada. Each ark contains one species from the Milky Way, Hyperion as the home of the human colonists traveling to Andromeda.
Hyperion, as with the other three arks, will have its own Pathfinder, in this case the father of the game’s protagonists and an N7 member like Shepard. The Pathfinder is charged with finding habitable locations for the colonists.
Tempest - Fast, Sleek & Ready to Explore
The Tempest is the player’s home away from home for all intents and purposes. As the go-to ship for travel to the surface of any given planet, and the ship that houses Ryder’s crew, it is arguably one of the places players will spend most of their time.
The Tempest is piloted by a Salarian named Kylo Jav, the Tempest is a lightweight space craft that is not weighed down by heavy armor plating or a main gun. It is sleek and fast. With a cloaking ability of a sort, those things that cannot be outrun, can be hidden from instead.
The Tempest features several key locations including a lab for research & development, a meeting room, engineering bay, medical bay and cargo area as well as crew quarters, a galley, the Pathfinder’s (player’s) quarters and flight bridge with the navigation map that is specifically synched to Ryder.
Tempest has the ability to land on planet surfaces where it remains after deploying the Nomad, the literal mobile device of MEA.
Nomad - This Ain’t Shepard’s Mako, Buddy
Unlike the hard-to-control Mako, the Nomad is a sleek, well-tuned ground transportation vehicle that features both 4- and 6-wheel drive systems and a rear jet propulsion system to move it along at a fast clip should the need arise.
In addition, the Nomad features the ability to scan for minerals and several mining droids that can be deployed to collect the resources.
So there you have it: The varied modes of travel to be found in Mass Effect: Andromeda. If you haven’t yet, join up on the special Andromeda Initiative site, watch the three currently available videos (with three more to come) and earn a helmet for the effort.
