Combat in Mass Effect: Andromeda is a bit different from the previous games in the Mass Effect series. You’re more vertical thanks to the jump-jets, you have less control over your squadmates, and classes aren’t really a thing anymore. You also have more flexibility in how you invest your skill points and then use those skills, but it can be a little tricky to parse through all the options. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your skills in Andromeda.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One; read our full review. For more on Andromeda, you can check out our behind-the-scenes documentary (don't forget to watch part two). We also have a beginner’s guide with general tips.
The Basics
From the skills screen, you can acquire and equip powers for Ryder and level up your squadmates. Skills are broken up into active powers that you equip into a loadout and passive abilities that you don’t equip. You can have three active powers equipped at a time. Note that you can’t choose which skills your squadmates use during combat, but you can choose which skills to invest in first.
There are three skill categories to choose from: combat, biotics, and tech. You can spend points on skills in any of the categories--there are no class restrictions, so you can try all sorts of combinations. While you’ll be able to unlock every skill, you won’t be able to fully upgrade all of them. You can preview the specific upgrades for each skill before you spend points.
Powers are mapped to the bumpers on a controller and the number keys 1, 2, and 3 by default on PC. If you aren’t sure which powers are mapped to what, check the icons at the bottom right of your HUD. There, you’ll also be able to check whether your powers are currently recharging and therefore unavailable; most powers have a cooldown. You can also see the cooldown meters while aiming. (Note: The combined weight of your weapon loadout determines the length of your skills’ cooldowns. The heavier your loadout, the longer skills take to recharge. Equip lighter weapons or invest in skills that improve recharge times.)
Powers that don’t have recharge times instead require power cells to use. You can get power cells from supply caches or forward stations.
Combat Skills
Combat skills aid with more guns-blazing playstyles. Options include grenade powers and passive abilities that increase your proficiency with different types of weapons.
One notable skill is Combat Fitness, a passive that will give you extra weapon holsters if you invest enough points in it. It can also be upgraded to give you more carrying capacity, which will help keep your power cooldown times down. If you like carrying a greater variety of weapons, this is the skill to focus on; however, you need to have nine points invested elsewhere in the combat tree to gain access to it.
Another useful combat skill--especially if you’re a more traditional shooter player--is the Omni Grenade, which can be upgraded to sticky or frag grenades, among other things.
Biotic Skills
Biotic skills are sort of like a space version of the mage class in fantasy RPGs; they allow you to manipulate gravity and energy physics to shield yourself and punish your enemies. A lot of biotic skills are good for long-range combat and concentrated area-of-effect damage.
You can pair the Pull power with Throw to bring an enemy in close to you before sending them flying; this can cause a lot of damage. You also don’t have to invest too many skill points to pull it off, making it a good early-game loadout (paired with a third skill of your choosing) if you’re into biotics.
Tech Skills
Tech skills are focused on elemental and, well, technical abilities. Powers include turrets as well as fire-, electricity-, and freeze-based attacks; passives help boost the duration and power of tech-based skill. A lot of tech skills are primers for combos--see the combos slide for more details.
If you like incinerating your enemies, the Flamethrower power is for you. It’s good for causing ongoing burn damage against armored enemies and groups and pairs well with the biotic Singularity. Tactical cloak allows you briefly become invisible, which can be used for both last second escapes and sneaking in closer for shotgun or melee attacks.
Profiles
In addition to skills, you can also select profiles that provide additional buffs. Again, profiles don’t lock you into certain skill trees but they do provide bonuses to specific kinds of combat styles, so pick one that fits and benefits yours best.
For example, the Soldier profile gives percentage bonuses to combat-related things like weapon damage; Engineer boosts offensive and defensive tech abilities; and Adept aids with biotic skills. As you invest more skill points in the applicable categories, you’ll unlock new profiles and rank up. You can swap profiles at any time.
Bonus Abilities
Each profile also grants a unique bonus abilities separate from skills; you might miss them, since they’re only mentioned at the very bottom of each profile’s description. Engineer gives you a combat drone, for example, and Vanguard allows you to restore shields with melee attacks, in addition to replacing your jump-jet dodging with biotics. You have plenty of freedom to experiment, so try each of the profiles to see what works best for you.
Combos
On top of combining certain skills like Pull and Throw, you can also pull off official combos, which set up explosions. The combo types are: fire, cryo (freeze), tech (electrical stun), and biotic (extreme force).
You need primers (in the form of certain skills) to set up combos. Early-game primers include Charge in the biotic tree and Incinerate in tech. Read the descriptions to see which skills are primers.
To execute the combo once an enemy has been hit with a primer, you need a detonator skill. Any detonator will work; the kind of combo you get is based on the primer you used. Early-game detonators include Concussive Shot in the combat tree, Throw in biotics, and Overload in tech.
Many powers can be upgraded to become primers, detonators, or both, so keep that in mind when purchasing skills and planning your loadouts.
Favoriting A Loadout
Once you’ve experimented with skills and found combinations you like, you can set that loadout--profile and all--as a favorite from either the skills or profiles menu. You can have up to four favorite skill loadouts at once, and you can swap them on the fly from the weapon wheel during combat. Note that switching to a different loadout will pause the skills on cooldown, so it’s not like you can constantly switch to avoid recharging skills.
How To Respec
If you’re unhappy with how you spent your skill points, you can head to the Tempest’s medbay to respec for a small fee. That also means that you can experiment with a lot of different skills, since you’re not locked into what you choose.
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