The Best Weapons in Mass Effect: Andromeda. With several of those powers being centered around physical attacks in Mass Effect: Andromeda, you wouldn’t expect to find a melee weapon just as badass. But it turns out that a couple of the best weapons (and coolest) are those that require you to get up close and personal. Before I could start playing Mass Effect: Andromeda, I decided I needed to make a few tweaks to the horribly chlorinated blonde hair colors. Vanilla textures on the left, modded ones on the right. MEA mods MEA modding Mass Effect Andromeda Mods Mass Effect Andromeda.
Mass Effect is beloved, it's lauded, it's three video games people have strong opinions about. I'm not sure I've ever totally agreed with anyone on which is the best and why, so to find out just how wrong I am, I asked 1,256 people to tell me which Mass Effect is the best Mass Effect. I also asked which is the worst, and all kinds of other things—who you romanced, paragon or renegade, and so on. These are the results. Because math.Before we start, it's important to note the demographics of the survey. I promoted it here, on Twitter, and elsewhere around the internet, but it's definitely not a perfect snapshot of Mass Effect fandom: the majority of the respondents were men ages 18-34, which has certainly affected the results.Which Mass Effect is the best?
Click the icon in the upper-right to enlarge. Based on 1,256 responses.According to my survey, Mass Effect 2 is the best by far. It received 56% of the vote, while Mass Effect 3 received 22.9%, and the original Mass Effect received 21.1%.Those who favored the original Mass Effect cited the story and the sense of adventure. 'It was rough around the edges, but the world was amazingly detailed,' said one survey taker. 'It was high-concept Proper Science Fiction, amazingly non-human-centric, with a real (if occasionally annoying) sense of scale to the zones. Shep was competent and dedicated, but basically just the right (hu)man in the wrong place, not The Chosen One. It was really, really refreshing and different and interesting.'
I felt that way, too, though I think I would rather go back and play the less-aged ME2, and that probably contributed to its success. Those who voted for Mass Effect 2 cited the characters (Mordin and Miranda, especially) and improvements to the combat and mission design. The general consensus is that Mass Effect's story might have been great, but Mass Effect 2 was more fun to play. 'Best balance of story and combat,' said one voter. 'Satisfying the whole way through.' Mass Effect 2's suicide mission ending is also praised as the best in the series, and several people said they appreciated that it was less gloomy than ME3.
'I eat that squad shit up.' As for Mass Effect 3, its 22.9% came from those who liked the ending (I'm among them, but I consider the last hour or so the ending, not just the Final Choice), the drama, and the multiplayer.
But it seems that the best mix of game design and storytelling sits in the middle, and that's a pretty inoffensive thing to agree with. Which Mass Effect is the worst? Click the icon in the upper-right to enlarge. Based on 1,256 responses.According to the survey, the worst Mass Effect is the original Mass Effect. It received the fewest 'best' votes and the most 'worst' votes, though it was very close to ME3 in the worst department. I disagree, but it turns out I'm wrong.
The survey doesn't lie. My opinion is bad.People who didn't like Mass Effect 1 often cited the Mako (more on that below) and the elevators. It's 'clunky' said one survey taker, and another complained about 'boring planetary exploration.' Generally speaking, Mass Effect's age did it in.
A few said that it still has the best story, but the inventory system and other design issues dump it to the bottom anyway.Given how grumpy just the mention of Mass Effect 3 can make people, I expected it to lose here, but it just barely managed to become the middlest Mass Effect. The comments are as expected: bad ending, bad story, contradictory plot points, too much combat, day one DLC.
Not everyone said all of those things, of course (and several people defended it), but they came up the most. As mentioned above, it's the 'gloomy' Mass Effect, which some expressed as a positive ('the feels' etc.), but many didn't like when compared to the camaraderie of Mass Effect 2. Who did you romance? Liara, by far, is someone you would totally date: 67.3% of respondents romanced Liara. The next most popular romantic partner was Miranda at 44.1%, followed by Tali at 42.4%, and Ashley Williams (blah) at 41.6%. Garrus was popular, too, which I expected, but I thought he'd manage more than 25.1%. This is all very dependent on the demographics of the survey, of course.The least popular partner was Javik, but that doesn't really count, as he was bound to the From Ashes DLC and is an ancient four-eyed fish monster.
James Vega, Steve Cortex, Jacob Taylor, Morinth, and Samara didn't do much better, though. Maybe they can just hook up with each other.Who's your favorite character?
As for your favorite characters, independent of whether you could or did get romantic, Garrus was the clear favorite with 382 mentions. I let survey takers write in anything for this, so just about everyone gets a mention and there are plenty of multi-entries from the indecisive (so it's not perfect data, but it still gives us a good idea of who's the most loved). Here are the top five, in order from most popular to least:. Garrus (382). Tali'Zorah (129). Mordin (88).
Liara (75). Shepard (69)The rest go: Urdnot Wrex, Thane, Legion, Jack, Joker, Kaidan, Grunt, Javik, The Illusive Man, EDI, Ashley Williams, James Vega.Characters not on this list, like Captain Anderson, received fewer than 5 mentions. Sorry, Anderson, but people would rather hang out with an ancient four-eyed fish monster than you, apparently. At least you beat Saren, though, who was only two people's favorite character (plus one other who spelled his name wrong).
Other resultsThe most popular ending is the red ending (31.5%). In second place is the Extended Cut's 'None of the Above' ending (30.6%), followed by the Green ending (24.9%) and the unpopular Blue ending (13%).18.3% of respondents believe Shepard was. 55.2% do not, and 26.5% haven't made up their minds.30.8% of you have read Mass Effect fanfiction.62.4% punched the reporter.
Interestingly, a very close 66% agreed not to punch me. It's good to know that punching fictional reporters is about as popular as not punching me.Paragon is greatly preferred over Renegade, with 82.4% of the vote.Most of you (60.3%) played as male Shepard, also known as the wrong Shepard. Jennifer Hale owns all.The most preferred class is the Soldier (30.3%), followed by the Vanguard (26%), Infiltrator (17%), Adept (11.7%), and Sentinel (9%). The Engineer did pathetically, bringing in only 6% of the vote.21.8% of respondents have modified a save file. I am among them, because I totally botched the end of ME2.And finally, it turns out that the Mako is actually good. Only 31.4% of people didn't like it.On the next page, read some of the comments survey takers left behind.
Can feel overwhelmingly complicated at times, even for long-time RPG fans. It's a very big, very detailed game, and getting to grips with everything can take 20-30 hours - by that time you may already have missed out on some of the game’s real treats. So you need tips and tricks; a guide to point you in the right direction without spoiling anything. Well, I’ve got you covered. What follows is a handy list of hints and tips to help you maximise your time in the Andromeda galaxy, and to find hidden features and secret stuff without having any of the surprise spoiled for you.
Let’s crack on.Warning: mild spoilers ahead1. Scan smarter in spaceHere are some basic rules for scanning. Generally speaking, scanning individual planets is time consuming and low on rewards. You can only get one ‘thing’ from a non-playable planet, and it’s often a tiny amount of XP or a negligible cache of minerals. Plus, you can’t predict what those minerals are. Sometimes you get nothing at all, and you’ve spent time travelling to the planet itself. So, when you’re in a solar system, I’d recommend only scanning for the single anomaly you find in each system, because these can yield unique rewards or more valuable items.
The best way to get minerals and crafting items is to 2. Scan smarter on the groundIt’s much easier to grab minerals and items when you’re roaming a planet with the Nomad. Establishing Forward Stations will unlock mining zones in that area, and from here you can just point towards the zone and drive around it with your mining computer switched on. As a rule of thumb, wait for resource levels to peak before deploying the probe, but don’t worry if you leave a few materials behind - you’ll usually have enough of everything. If you’re looking for specific minerals to complete Development projects, don’t forget that you can look at the planet view in the Galaxy Map to see what minerals each planet has.
Establish Forward Stations as soon as possibleDriving around planets can be time consuming and - whisper it - a little tedious at times. The best way to cut out the grind is to spend a few minutes dropping off as many Forward Stations as possible when you first arrive.
Not only are they refuges for damaged and ammo-low players, they also allow you to fast travel between them, so you don’t have to track ten minutes across Eos just to complete a minor side quest. Fast travel, do the quest, boom, onto the next thing. Get minerals and money quick by choosing the right AVP podsThere’s a hell of a lot of choice when it comes to bringing the Initiative’s citizens out of stasis.
Unlocking an AVP pod grants you a specific kind of boost, which can be enormously helpful later in the game. I’d recommend unlocking the pods that grant regular rewards first, starting with the Commerce pod that grants 500 credits every 45 minutes. At the start of the game it’s easier to beef up your loadout with guns and armour from merchants, and you’ll need cash for that. Having a regular source of income gives you an excellent advantage here. After that, I’d recommend either the Science pod that grants minerals at regular intervals, or the Military Pod that offers regular tech parts / crafting materials. Make the most of ResearchMass Effect splits crafting into two parts - Research and Development.
Let’s start with Research. Here you’re essentially unlocking blueprints which can then be developed into weapons and armour - you’re not getting anything of physical value in your inventory.
You earn Research Points by scanning items in the environment (so, whip you scanner out as often as possible - it’s worth it), and the type of Research Points you get depends on what you scan. There are three different categories of Research Point: Milky Way, Remnant, Helius. So, if you can a piece of Remnant tech, you get Remnant research points. Each area of Research (Milky Way, Remnant, Helius) has unique weapons, armour, and mods, so make sure you’ve spent all your Research Points, and not just the Milky Way ones, for example.
Once you’ve unlocked a blueprint you can then craft that item via the Development screen. Make the most of DevelopmentOnce you’ve acquired a blueprint, you can than actually make that item in the Development menu. Here you need specific materials to craft each item, and if you’re in any doubt about what you’re missing you can simply tap square (on PS4) when you’re actually viewing the item to see what materials you’re missing. It also tells you how these materials can be found - be they mined from planets or bought from merchants. You can also apply mods to crafted items but be aware that you should save mods for when you’re crafting stuff that you really, really want. Because items have five different ‘levels’ (where they become increasingly powerful) you don’t want to use rare mods on low-level gear.
To get more powerful guns and armour you need to first unlock the blueprints for the lower level version in the Research area, which can really eat into your Research Points. So, what should I actually Research and Develop?That really depends on your play style. However, due to the nature of combat (people can get up in your face very quickly) I found it very useful to have a decent shotgun (the Piranha is great), preferably with automatic fire. You should also invest in a decent Assault rifle - I’d recommend one that fires in single shots or bursts, because then you pretty much cut out the need for a sniper rifle. During my playthrough I only used a sniper a handful of times. I wouldn’t recommend spending too many Research points on pistols as they make little difference in a fight, but a decent melee weapon combined with powers like Pull or Singularity can be devastating.
As far as armour goes - whatever suits your style. Helius armour tends to focus on aggression, Remnant on defence, and Milky Way on shields and biotic powers. Note to the wise: you can craft Shepard’s N7 armour from the original Mass Effect (it’s under the Milky Way category), and it’s very handy indeed.
Level up more efficientlyObviously the way you level depends on how you want to play the game, but the best advice I’ll give to provide you with an edge in combat (all abilities are combat-focused) is to boost your physical stats first. It’s the stuff that gives you better shields, more accuracy, more damage etc etc.
Having this baseline of abilities makes weapons more effective, which is most important. Sure, Biotic and Tech abilities are flashy, but they simply don’t recharge or do enough damage when you’re in a real scrap. Don’t forget to level your allies too, and also remember that you can change your combat profile to suit every situation. Manage weapon weight vs abilitiesDespite the fact guns are more effective, you can play the game predominantly as a Biotic or Tech specialist, but you need to watch your weight during loadout. Anything over 20% weight will make your abilities charge too slowly, so take the bare minimum load-outs (I’d recommend shotgun and pistol).
Mass Effect 1 Mods Reddit
You can apply mods to weapons that reduce weight too, so watch out for those. Get a petOk, this one is a minor spoiler. After you’ve first discovered the location of the big bad, Drack will inform you that something on the Tempest is eating your supplies and leaving crumbs. Scan for crumbs and you’ll be lead down to the cargo bay, where Ryder will note that something is building a nest. Opt to build a trap to catch the creature humanely, craft it, place it, and then visit any planet or location (basically, leave the Tempest). Once you’re back on board you’ll find a space-mouse in the trap, which you can keep in your Pathfinder quarters on the Tempest. Romance an alien (or anyone else)Mass Effect veterans will know how this works, but in case you’re new to the series or in any doubt yes, you can sleep with pretty much anyone on board the Tempest (and a few people off it).
It’s as simple as choosing the ‘heart’ conversation option every time you interact with that person. If you’re looking to romance a specific character, check back with them after every story mission and they’ll usually have something new to say. You won’t miss the opportunity to flatter them, and eventually lure them into your bed.
Change your outfit and armour coloursWant to break out from the default colour schemes in Andromeda? Head to your Pathfinder's quarters on the Tempest and your wardrobe is on the left as you walk in. Here you can change the colour of both your casual clothes and armour. If you're looking to respec skills, drop by the Medbay and check out the computer at the back (with a human skeleton on it). You'll be able to reassign your skill points, although it'll come with a 10 point cost. Mod the NomadThought you could only change the Nomad’s paint scheme? Think again - there are some useful mods for the Nomad that give you an edge while exploring planets.
The best of them deploys a mass effect field around the vehicle every time you climb out. I bought it from the merchant in the main docking area on Elaaden.
Reddit Mass Effect 2 Mods
Track multiple questsThis one is a bit of a cheat, but it does allow you to track two quests on your nav instead of just one. So, if you’re on a planet looking to mop up multiple objectives, here’s how it’s done. Set one quest as your main, tracked item, and simply add a waypoint for the second quest.
You’ll then have two dots to follow instead of one, and you can manage your exploration a little more efficiently. Works well in enclosed hub areas too, like the Nexus.Want more tips and guides?.