Mass Effect Andromeda will have a multiplayer mode, similar to Mass Effect 3, which sees groups of players going against waves of alien enemies.
Speaking to GameInformer, BioWare producer Fabrice Condominas explained some of the major changes that are coming to the new version. For starters, players will no longer be confined to the ground. With the aid of jetpacks, they’ll be able to navigate throughout the mission area freely, and it is also usable in combat.
“It’s not a permanent rocket that you use to fly around,” said producer Fabrice Condominas. “There is a beginning and end to them – a momentum curve – based on when you do your input.”
Likewise, ability cooldowns will be separate to each ability rather than working off a global cooldown. Another change is that the AI will be vastly improved so players won’t be able to hole off in a small section of the map and funnel enemies through a chokepoint.
“The first thing everyone will notice is how dynamic it is. Everything is more fluid, fast-paced, there’s a lot of action going on,” said Condominas. “The controls are also more responsive. All of that is on purpose; we really wanted to increase the dynamism and how accessible it is while retaining the depth and going more into layers.”
Other aspects of the game remain the same. Card packs will return, so players will have to play the game to unlock new items and characters. They can also pay real money for specific items, because of course.
Accounts will now have an overall Prestige XP meter that goes up, allowing players to unlock new bonuses and rewards in addition to those for their characters.
According to the developer, the single-player story is tied into the multiplayer and there’s an option within the campaign to swap over into multiplayer mode. Apparently, you will have the option to send teams to complete sidequests, similar to World of Warcraft: Legion, except you will be able to participate in these missions through the multiplayer.
