Mass Effect Andromeda may be divisive as a single player game, but its multiplayer component, at least so far, is living up to the expectations set by its predecessor ,Mass Effect 3. Whatever your issues with Andromeda as a whole, it’s fairly safe to say that most gamers are at least enjoying the combat, and that awesome combat is in full focus in multiplayer.
That said, despite the simple premise of co-op horde mode, there are some things to know about Andromeda’s multiplayer that can get you started off on the right foot. This week, we’ll be sharing some tips on how to do just that.
Work Your Way Up
Efficiency is key to progression in multiplayer, so don’t try to tackle higher difficulties until you’re really steamrolling Bronze. It doesn’t matter if you’re getting a bunch more in rewards if it’s taking you twice as long to earn them. Typically, you’re likely going to want to have a class at around level 10 or so before you should start looking at Silver difficulty.
Bonus Tip: Farm the Outlaw enemy group in the beginning. Enemies like the Kett can be pretty challenging for a fresh low level class, so farming Outlaws will help you clear a few missions quick to get some levels under your belt.
Buy Basic Packs
It may seem tempting to want to save credits up for the Premium Packs, which offer chances at Ultra Rare gear and characters, but you’ll actually increase your odds of receiving useful items by working your way up the pack tiers. At the very least, you should try and max out the common tier. Receiving duplicate characters increases their rank and the same goes for gear. Since Basic Packs are a lot easier to earn, it’s possible to max out common weapons and characters quicker than it would if you were pursuing some of the higher packs.
The common weapons aren’t amazing, but many of the common classes are more than adequate for tackling the various difficulty levels. In Andromeda, you will unlock additional skill points for your class at every even class rank (ex. Human Male Soldier II, IV, VI, VIII, and X), so maxing out a character requires more than just getting it to level 20. It also requires you pull nine duplicates. Once you’ve maxed something out, it’s also removed from the loot table, increasing the value of the higher tier packs once you move onto them.
You can also pull consumable upgrades, such as +Cobra RPG capacity, from Basic Packs. They’re fairly rare, but maxing out your consumable capacity is an important goal.
Do Apex Missions in Multiplayer
Once you’re able to reliably tackle these yourself or with friends, it’s a much better idea to complete Apex missions yourself than to send a Strike Team out to do them for you. In addition to the single player rewards that normal Strike Teams award, Apex missions will also grant bonuses to all multiplayer rewards, and they also spice things up by offering up a variety of modifiers à laDestiny’s Nightfalls.
Don’t Neglect Bonus Stats
You don’t start over with classes when you reach their level cap like you could in Mass Effect 3. Instead, you’ll earn experience towards your class’s respective bonus stat, offering bonuses to every class you play, account wide. This system offers additional progression for characters you’ve otherwise capped out, so playing a variety of classes will be key in developing a well-rounded main character as a long term goal.
Combat Tips
Let’s end things with some general combat tips. Obviously, you’ll pick up a lot about Andromeda’s combat through playing the single player and much of it applies here, but there are still some pointers worth sharing.
- High Ground is Your Friend: Seriously. If you can find defensible high ground, try to utilize it.
- Stay Mobile: Andromeda’s most significant improvement to combat is its mobility. Keep moving. Jet around, dodge (especially backwards when facing the various “dog” enemies), and so on.
- Prime Combos: Combos are highly impactful in both single and multiplayer, so don’t neglect them. Some classes can prime and detonate their own combos, but even if you can’t, try to set up combos with your team;they make a huge difference.
- Manage the Wave Budget: I can’t 100% confirm this, but so far Andromeda’s multiplayer works just like ME3s, so managing the “wave budget” may be really helpful in reducing the difficulty of a particular wave. I’ll explain this in MMO terms: clear the trash first before the boss(es). All enemies spawned (should) take away from that particular wave’s budget of enemies, so if you make the game waste most of that budget on trash, you’ll have to deal with fewer bosses overall.
Got any of your own tips? Share ‘em with us in the comments below!
