Mass Effect: Andromeda

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:37 am

I'm liking Liam so far. He is young and a bit hot headed but I like his can do attitude and enthusiasm. Coral is a little dry but she seems competent.

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Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:58 am

Newcastle wrote:Anyone gotten a handle on the multiplayer? Is you Vs other players or you and other players Vs enemy AI?

It's pretty much the same as ME3 -- 4-player co-op vs waves of NPCs.

Scoop20906 wrote:I'm liking Liam so far. He is young and a bit hot headed but I like his can do attitude and enthusiasm. Coral is a little dry but she seems competent.

And they both have fabulous hair.

Also, it's Cora. Coral is Rick Grimes' kid.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:29 pm

coopasonic wrote:
Grifman wrote:
Asharak wrote:Do you really get multiple skill sets? Profiles are NOT multiple skill sets.

Look for the "Favorites" function (accessible through the Profiles screen, IIRC, but I'm not in front of the game right now). This lets you pre-set four different combinations of profiles AND skills. Then during combat, you can switch between these at will. So you can potentially use four different profiles and twelve different skills at any time.

That said, I do not know if you get enough skill points to usefully level up twelve different abilities in the course of a single playthrough, or if there are even really twelve active abilities that are worth taking.

- Ash

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:35 pm

I am 100% combat so far using a Kett assault rifle I looted with Concussion shot and Grenades. I upgraded combat to unlock a third holster, but I don't have a third weapon because weight slows down my recharge if I equip one. Concussion shot is my main damage dealer so slowing it down is bad. On a related note, I don't like that when using sights I can't see the refresh timer.

I am running around with Cora and PB right now because women. I might switch back to Vetra, she's fun too. I have no use for men.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:12 pm

coopasonic wrote:I am 100% combat so far using a Kett assault rifle I looted with Concussion shot and Grenades. I upgraded combat to unlock a third holster, but I don't have a third weapon because weight slows down my recharge if I equip one. Concussion shot is my main damage dealer so slowing it down is bad. On a related note, I don't like that when using sights I can't see the refresh timer.

I am running around with Cora and PB right now because women. I might switch back to Vetra, she's fun too. I have no use for men.

You've been playing too much Horizon Zero Dawn since that sounds like something Aloy would say since many of the menfolk in the game are rather useless!

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:38 pm

~50 hours in the past two weeks... but I disagree, there can't be "too much HZD."

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:18 pm

Newcastle wrote:Consequently am managing my team composition so we have a nice blend of primers & detonators.

So here's the question I have because you can sadly no longer control your companions:

Does having a blend even work? If you use a primer, will the AI use detonator? Will the AI use primers so that you can use your detonator? Will companions set your or other companions up and vice versa? Is the AI up to the job? Or will I have to rely upon myself to do the combos? That's my biggest concern.

Any real experience here?

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:19 pm

Well, I am having a blast with this game. I will say that I may not have as much an issue regarding facial animations as some because I went with Default Male for my avatar and it appears that the bad graphics are mostly with heavily altered avatars and especially the female versions which I hear are in fact quite bad. I guess they could have gone like Horizon Zero Dawn and just taken customization out of the equation but at least they gave you the option and the default male hasnt been bad at all.

I just finished the exploration of a massive alien structure on one of the early planets and really found the combination of exploration, puzzle solving and combat really fun and well balanced. Aside from a few minor graphical glitches, I havent had a single issue with the game. One word of advice though, use a controller, the Nomad ( the land rover in the game ) is like 1000 times easier to drive and control than it is with a mouse and keyboard. Ive seen that the reviews for the game are averaging around a 7, so its not setting all reviewers on fire but IMO its better than a 7 so far and while it does have its quirks which keep it from being a 10 type game, its still a really good title and if you really enjoyed the other ME games its probably worth your time .

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:02 am

I'm on my third planet and I'm having a tremendous amount of fun. If you are letting the rantings of a bunch of gamergaters or freakouts about hairstyles keep you from playing the game you are doing yourself a disservice.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:05 am

Grifman wrote:So here's the question I have because you can sadly no longer control your companions:

Does having a blend even work? If you use a primer, will the AI use detonator? Will the AI use primers so that you can use your detonator? Will companions set your or other companions up and vice versa? Is the AI up to the job? Or will I have to rely upon myself to do the combos? That's my biggest concern.

Any real experience here?

I can't really answer your question yet. The combos are certainly potent but I trigger my own, mostly: playing a Biotic with Pull and Throw, I just lift everyone up in the air and then immediately blast them away, which is very satisfying. I have seen the AI use abilities in general (Liam is very fond of his grenades), which presumably means they will prime people for combos even if only by coincidence sometimes, but I haven't left enemies primed for a combo long enough / paid enough attention to which companions I have with me to see if they would / could detonate one on their own.

As we were discussing above, though, I do think the game is intending for you to do a lot of this on your own. Using the Favorites function, you can bring a lot more than three of your own skills on a mission, so you should have plenty of skills to prime and detonate combos yourself.

- Ash

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:13 am

Asharak wrote: As we were discussing above, though, I do think the game is intending for you to do a lot of this on your own. Using the Favorites function, you can bring a lot more than three of your own skills on a mission, so you should have plenty of skills to prime and detonate combos yourself.

- Ash

I think I am at something like 65 points into Combat and nothing into the others. I looked but I don't see anything I want. Cora will pull a lot and I use Concussion Shot to finish the floaters off when I notice them. It says something like "Biotic Combo" when I do that so I assume that's a detonation. Maybe I will add a primer of my own at some point.

Tip: There is a AVP unlock that puts the good loot boxes on your map. Those things tend to be hidden in out of the way places. IMO you should prioritize that skill.

I finally tried a sniper rifle last night. It was pretty satisfying, but it only had two rounds per clip, which was annoying. I picked up a ultra-rare tier 3 shotgun this morning. I can't wait to find something to try that on. I am wearing all Tier 3 armor (all but one piece is the same set benefitting combat, don't remember what it is called).

I am 15th level and have yet to spend a single research point because I am afraid to waste them.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:18 am

Asharak wrote: As we were discussing above, though, I do think the game is intending for you to do a lot of this on your own. Using the Favorites function, you can bring a lot more than three of your own skills on a mission, so you should have plenty of skills to prime and detonate combos yourself.

The only thing with putting points into a lot skills in different "classes" is that I think you lose some bonuses from class specialization don't you? I'm afraid I'd end up crippled, "jack of all trades, master of none". Isn't' there a big benefit from going deep vs going wide in skill development?

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 10:56 am

Grifman wrote:The only thing with putting points into a lot skills in different "classes" is that I think you lose some bonuses from class specialization don't you? I'm afraid I'd end up crippled, "jack of all trades, master of none". Isn't' there a big benefit from going deep vs going wide in skill development?

Well, for one thing, there is a Profile specifically for "jack of all trades" characters (in addition to the six that mirror the class options in the first three games, which includes one for each of the hybrid classes like Infiltrator of Vanguard).

There certainly are some passive skills that do things like "Improve weapon damage for each skill point invested in combat skills" which, yes, you're going to get a smaller bonus if you have some points spread around. I'm not necessarily advocating for dividing your points equally across all the trees, though; by all means, focus on something, but I suspect there are enough skill points to go around that spending a few to get a particularly useful ability or two from another tree isn't going to hurt you.

- Ash

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 11:07 am

If you do feel gimped, you can always respec. Apparently there is no level cap, so theoretically you can eventually become a master of all trades.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 11:28 am

More generally, I figured I'd mention that I'm still enjoying the game. I restarted after the EA Access trial and I've now made it a fair bit further than I did before the game was released. I don't think my overall opinion has changed much, which is still generally positive.

One review I read somewhere mentioned that the game is Dragon Age: Inquisition in space and I can understand why. Aside from the engine similarities, the planets feel very much like the zones of Inquisition and the quests feel very similarly structured: there are obvious main quests, the loyalty missions are Inquisition's "Inner Circle" ones, then there are area-specific side quests of varying lengths, and lastly there are collectible fetch quests that span the world (replace "shards, mosaics, and rare alcohols" with "plants, minerals, and rare alcohols" because, yes, there's a bar on the Nexus that wants you to bring back rare drinks for them to serve). One of the keys to enjoying Inquisition for me was recognizing which quests were important or interesting to me and not letting myself getting bogged down in collectible minutiae; I am finding the same thing with Andromeda.

Having finished the major part of Eos, I want to say that the Nomad is not bothering me as much as I expected (I hated the Mako). It's mostly... inoffensive. Literally, in one sense, as it has no guns, so there are no annoying forced sequences of vehicular combat. It gets me from point A to B faster and, after getting the hang of the six wheel drive and boost functions, I don't find it difficult to handle.

I'm starting to see some of the companion characters develop a bit. BioWare definitely lacks subtlety these days. As your ship's doctor, not-Margaery-Tyrell, says at one point, you don't need a medical degree to know that the character that chooses to live in an escape pod has commitment issues; and even that bit was just making sure you didn't miss the point when literally one of the first things the character says to you is "things are better when they're short". That aside, they are at least taking time to give each character a multifaceted personality. One of the initially gruffer types turns out to have a green thumb; someone else has a kid sister who's a huge fan of your's, etc. Some of this is starting to feel a little paint-by-numbers (establish character with one dominant trait; introduce contrasting trait in next conversation, and so on) but these are already more fleshed out people than you meet in a lot of games.

The main plot hasn't really progressed all that much for me yet. My goal is still essentially "make more planets habitable" and the Kett are still pretty nebulous and vague about why they're shooting at us. I'm hoping the game starts to go somewhere with that sometime soon.

- Ash

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 11:28 am

I tried the normal difficulty and it was too easy. AI would stand still and let me shoot them. I moved it up a level to Harder (I think) and boom a lot more difficult and makes me want to look for all those upgrades out there. I was getting my ass handed to me.

I see alot of dragon ago in this game but I think the resource collection is simpler so far. I'm enjoying rolling around and exploring. Having fun so far.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:45 pm

GMG has it for $43.99 for VIP members.... tempting...

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:41 pm

naednek wrote:GMG has it for $43.99 for VIP members.... tempting...

Yeah, I couldn't pass that up.

Looks like I'll be dividing my time between this and Wildlands for a while.

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:49 pm

Updated impressions: this is the game I had hoped Mass Effect 1 would be.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 10:51 pm

Ok despite any flaws perceived or otherwise, this is the most fun Ive had playing a video game in quite some time. Im thinking the game must be pretty massive because I am now 10 hours in and I feel like I have just scratched the surface of the game.

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:03 am

Grifman wrote:
Newcastle wrote:Consequently am managing my team composition so we have a nice blend of primers & detonators.
So here's the question I have because you can sadly no longer control your companions:

Does having a blend even work? If you use a primer, will the AI use detonator? Will the AI use primers so that you can use your detonator? Will companions set your or other companions up and vice versa? Is the AI up to the job? Or will I have to rely upon myself to do the combos? That's my biggest concern.

Any real experience here?

I think it does. I've only really noticed it a few times. But what i have noticed is that i have set off combos that the other team mates primed for me. So i think its possible, you just have to watch what's been primed for you. I know not hte best answer, but its what i got.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:24 pm

They sure have the sci-fi feel down in this game. The level in detail of the planets, ships and bases are quite awesome. The tram needs a lot of work. When it pans by there are no textures and it it looks like a polygon cylinder on rails.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:52 pm

From the impressions on this forum I'm eager to fire this game up after finishing Horizon Zero Dawn!

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 1:38 am

It's so nice to see the lessons they learned from DW:I on this game. Just got to the jungle planet and I swear it is like a better Jurrassic Park game with sci fi elements. Lots of monsters to kill while hunting for artifacts.

Crafting isn't so bad this game and when I make upgrades I can see how they make me more powerful. I'm still leveling so I haven't got to the more advanced parts but I researched and built an Ultra Rare sniper rifle that has helped even the odds against the remnant and their murderous beam weapons.

I also I have to admit the eye thing is a lot less noticeable now and I'm not sure why.

Peebee pretty much swept my Ryder off her feet so far. She us just so much more fun then the rest.

I've only seen two habitats so far and it's great quality. Don't miss this game.

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Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 8:55 am

Scoop20906 wrote:I also I have to admit the eye thing is a lot less noticeable now and I'm not sure why.

I noticed the same thing. It's almost like there is more quality control regarding stuff like this once you get 5+ hours in. Or maybe we just got used to it?

I think I've got about 30 hours in the game now and it remains totally massive. I finally fully kicked the Kett off the first planet after an epic strike team battle that was really satisfying.

I think that Gamespot's review score of 6 out of 10 is completely nuts. The issues they mention are legitimate, but overblown and in no way worth marking the game down by four points. I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10 as is. 9 out of 10 if they add a few polish patches.

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:10 am

I'm looking forward to that battle. I'm 90% viability on Eos (or the hinterland) and still have 40% of the map to explore due to higher radiation in those areas. Another great lesson learned from DW:I. The game pretty much caps your exploration and forces you on to the next planet and main story element.

Then when I returned to Eos several hours later it gave me this great overview/briefing of what problems still need to be taken care of.

Great game.

Related Notes: Tam or No 8 is a great weasel.

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El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:11 pm

Definitely enjoying the game. Left the Nexus for Eos - lots of fun checking everything out there. Got a little frustrated having the Kett repeatedly clean my clock there - still figuring out combat I guess. Also hope they flesh out the Kett more over time.

Scoop20906 · Post by **Scoop20906** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:31 pm

El Guapo wrote:Definitely enjoying the game. Left the Nexus for Eos - lots of fun checking everything out there. Got a little frustrated having the Kett repeatedly clean my clock there - still figuring out combat I guess. Also hope they flesh out the Kett more over time.

Yeah, you need to upgrade your weapons and armor and figure out your squad tactics. I ended up with a sniper rifle and staying cover.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 9:28 am

Kevin Ryder is level 43 now. I'm still having a blast with the game. There was one planet that was buggy as hell (Elaaden). I had quest locations not showing up on the map, invisible enemies beyond those that should be invisible, quests that didn't update properly. It's a bit odd that was the only place that had problems (so far).

I don't like:
The long, boring transitions between systems and planets, particularly when you are just trying to check the "scan 50 planets" checkbox.
Tasks with totally missable targets. I still haven't found all of the dead bodies on Eos.
The multiple levels of nesting in the menus, particularly as it pertains to quests, but also inventory.
Constantly having to return to a prior planet or Nexus for this or that. this mostly relates to the first point about the inter-system travel. I guess it hides the loading screens. It doesn't make me feel better.

I like:
the combat
the story
lots of stuff to do
hard choices
variety of planets
driving the nomad (after a few upgrades)

My Ryder is a Rank 5 soldier profile. Most of his points are in combat, with a few in Tech to use an interesting gift I was given as well as some of the team benefits in the tech tree. I carry a PAW Assault rifle (remnant tech) that I crafted myself with a few bonuses that doesn't use ammo so I never run out and it has 4 mod slots, but I haven't found a fourth mod for it (clip, barrel and receiver). I have a sniper rifle that shoots explosive rounds. I don't remember what it is called, but I hardly use it. I also carry a shotgun that I generally only use for fiends (big beasts that are hard to make dead before they get in your face). I have enough weight capacity that I could carry a pistol as well but I didn't take the option for the 4th weapon slot. I thought about respeccing to take it but I don't really need it. I can't remember what my armor is called, but it gives bonuses to weak spot damage, which is good with the PAW which has pinpoint accuracy.

My powers are concussion shot, flak cannon and that gift in the Tech tree (that replaced grenade). I run with Cora and Peebee. I am not sure what Peebee does but Cora Charges and Novas all over the place. Sometimes I see an enemy floating so I know Peebee is doing something. I will Concussion shot the floaters. I have a bunch of detonation bonuses, but the floaters are never enemies with enough health to survive anyway.

Oh and the PAW is the only thing I have researched, so I have thousands of research points and no idea what I should do with them.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 9:29 am

El Guapo wrote:Also hope they flesh out the Kett more over time.

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:46 am

Holy crap your cruising along Coop. I am only around lvl 17 or so. Still liking it. My biotic/tech toon is decently combat viable. The biggest stymie initially were the shields but i invested enough skill points in shield defeating passives & powers that those are no longer an issue. Pull & lance work well together. Can set up with the pull then hit em with the lance. Forget the tech power could be overload; but basically its a shield drain. Also I bring a companion who can hit shields hard. Actually was running w/ the krogan & javaal and that worked very well.

annoyances:
-cant multiple track quests. This gets annoying having to go back and search for this quest that's on planet homeslice and the quest is in the folder wacka-wacka.
-kind of annoying that an area you carefully clear of mobs is teeming w/ them when you come back a bit later. At least this was my experience w/ Havaarl

Observations:
-the cryo pod rewards- the first level of financial bonus is 500 credits every 45 minutes. Not sure if its worth it.
-bought the special vendor section and nothing that's been super special so far.
-Is there a point on sending your teams on those little strike missions? I've gotten up to silver rewards and they seem ho hum so far.
-highly advise crafting one of the weapons from the Remnant category. At least the PAWs dont use ammo and are pretty decent. I made mine from deconstructing a lot of the guns that I came across as well as buying some of the materials.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:57 am

coopasonic wrote:I like: the story

Is this shorthand for the story *and* the characters (NPCs) or are you just enjoying the story as it impacts you? On the whole, the characters were my favorite part of the the Mass Effect games, not the combat or the abilities of my companions. I liked talking to them and exploring all their side stories and interactions with one another -- so much so that I finished all three games and a good portion of the DLC. For me Andromeda would need to deliver that same level of NPC interaction in order to be considered a worthy successor. I can forgive a lot of other issues if the characters you interact with have a meaningful purpose.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:03 am

Newcastle wrote:-the cryo pod rewards- the first level of financial bonus is 500 credits every 45 minutes. Not sure if its worth it.

Not worth it to me. I have on for research points and they don't stack up. you have to collect one before the timer starts on the next. I don't get on the ship that often.

Also, I have over 50k credits and not much to spend it on. I guess if I did more crafting I might want more money to buy mats.

Smoove_B wrote:
coopasonic wrote:I like: the story
Is this shorthand for the story *and* the characters (NPCs) or are you just enjoying the story as it impacts you? On the whole, the characters were my favorite part of the the Mass Effect games, not the combat or the abilities of my companions. I liked talking to them and exploring all their side stories and interactions with one another -- so much so that I finished all three games and a good portion of the DLC. For me Andromeda would need to deliver that same level of NPC interaction in order to be considered a worthy successor. I can forgive a lot of other issues if the characters you interact with have a meaningful purpose.

Your ship is full of interesting characters that each have unique personalities and interesting interactions. Many are all a little too extreme to be realistic, more caricatures than believable characters, but they are interesting.

I have had a little fun time with Peebee and I am romancing Cora. They are my regular companions and listening to Peebee tease Cora about letting her half the leftovers is... interesting.

Ryder: You know I can hear you.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:21 pm

I just finished setting up the outpost on Eos, and some of the stuff Peebee says to Ryder when they have their first discussion back on the Tempest is quite direct. I think my jaw dropped once.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:29 pm

Scene: The bridge. Suvi and Ryder are engaged in painfully awkward, juvenile flirtation.

Kallo: "Please just shoot me."

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:45 pm

pr0ner wrote:I just finished setting up the outpost on Eos, and some of the stuff Peebee says to Ryder when they have their first discussion back on the Tempest is quite direct. I think my jaw dropped once.

Yeah, Peebee is fun and energetic but she's not my romance choice.

Spoiler:

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 1:06 pm

Peebee promises discretion, but she sure talks a lot.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 1:51 pm

Newcastle wrote:Holy crap your cruising along Coop.

I haven't looked, but I wouldn't be surprised to find I have 30 hours played. A couple of late nights last week plus a LOT of my weekend were spent on it.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 1:57 pm

Smoove_B wrote:I think this was just released at E3 today. Not really a trailer but it does show game-related shots. Nothing labeled as in-game or cut scene though.

I can already see some changes that were taken out from this video. Is this another No Mans Land ?

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 2:27 pm

naednek wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:I think this was just released at E3 today. Not really a trailer but it does show game-related shots. Nothing labeled as in-game or cut scene though.
I can already see some changes that were taken out from this video. Is this another No Mans Land ?

I said it then, and I'll say it again now:

Max Peck wrote:I'm going to have to call shenanigans on that video. The footage is obviously faked. Everyone knows that real game developers aren't that attractive.