Mass Effect: Andromeda lands on March 21st, while fans patiently wait to get their hands on the new installment of the series, Bioware released five minutes worth of multiplayer gameplay footage. The new multiplayer is reminiscent of Mass Effect 3 but new and improved. This is the best we’re going to get since the multiplayer beta was canceled.
Beyond the single player campaign, multiplayer mode will consist of surviving increasingly difficult waves of enemies with a team up to four players. During this mode, teams will have the ability to complete a series of objectives in order to have a successful extraction from battle.
Multiplayer Details
In multiplayer, players will be able to choose a character kit which will include over 25 of these character kits and will be available at launch. From both ends of the spectrum, species from Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies are included in the slew of character kits. Each will have unique sets of skills and abilities while also having control over your loadout.
There will be over 40 unique weapons available at launch with more arriving in the following months. Carried over from single player, multiplayer weapons utilize Milky Way, Heleus Cluster and Remnant techs. With those options, every character will have some sort of advantage over specific types of enemies. Although there are specific edges over certain enemies, weapons are not restricted to just one class.
Just like the other Mass Effect games, weapons can be modified and upgraded. With the added bonus of “Boosters” included in your loadout which are elements such as cryo ammo, increased shields, and faster cool downs to up your XP.
In every fight, players have the ability to truly tailor their fighting style, whether you want your character to be focused on tech abilities or a combat equipped kit with biotic focused abilities, the opportunities are endless. At launch there will be five multiplayer maps.
Multiplayer Maps
Fire Base Sandstorm A vacated milky way species planet Fire Base Zero An outpost built into an asteroid Fire Base Icebreaker A fueling station on a frozen ice cover Fire Base Magma A foundry built over a river of lava Fire Base Derelict An abandoned Ked ship
Fire Base Sandstorm
Fire Base Zero
Fire Base Icebreaker
Fire Base Magma
Fire Base Derelict
At the end of the battle, use credits to buy packs, unlock weapons, characters and other modifications.
While there is the quick and dirty multiplayer mode, there is also another way to jump into the multiplayer action which gives players the option to join multiplayer battles or assign a Strike Team.
Strike Team Missions
Strike Team Missions can be accessed from the Tempest and consist of fully designed missions that allows the player to release Apex Strike Teams on important missions so you don’t necessarily need to fight every challenge that comes your way but you can. On the interface screen (seen below), players have the ability to see which missions are in progress, chances of success, and time required/remaining. As an added bonus, rewards that were obtained from these missions can be used in the single-player campaign. We’re getting Assassin’s Creed vibes.
Image courtesy of Bioware
Essentially, the four of you can create a team that can cover all the bases of defense and offense seamlessly. Everyone plays a crucial role on the team and with all the abilities and skills to try out, seeing what fits best, is all part of the fun.
Mass Effect: Andromeda releases on March 21st in North America and on March 23rd in Europe.
