Bioware Releases New Exploration and Discovery Gameplay Trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda

Bioware has released yet another gameplay trailer for their upcoming RPG, Mass Effect: Andromeda. This time around, the video walks viewers through a lot of new features including hubs, planets, and discovery.

The story in Mass Effect: Andromeda takes place in the Heleus Cluster, a portion of space populated with dozens of star systems. Players will be navigating the systems using the Tempest’s onboard Galaxy Map and see everything that exists outside your ship’s many windows in real-time.  Planets, moons, space anomalies, and starships will all be visible from the Tempest.

Watch the latest installment in the series down below:

Players will have to interact with habitants of the planet, which can make or break the success of each encounter. As seen in the trailer above, players will have to win over the Krogan if they wish to setup base on Elaaden.

There are a bunch of new features in Andromeda including crafting, forward stations, and vaults for players to explore. Check some of the features out down below in heavy detail:

Forward Stations

While exploring, one of your objectives will be to discover locations where you can call down Forward Stations. Once found, each of these Forward Stations acts as a fast travel point, allowing you to change your loadout or call the Nomad if it gets lost or destroyed. It also allows you to resupply, while protecting your team from any environmental hazards.

In some locations, like the dunes on Elaaden, you’ll be exposed to localized and/or global hazards, such as extreme temperatures. The Pathfinder and the Nomad are both separately outfitted with Life Support systems that help protect against these hazards, but once these systems run out of energy, you’ll need to find a safe location or a Forward Station to recharge them.

Outposts

When traveling throughout a planet, you’ll discover new areas to explore, characters, and storylines. Ultimately, all your discoveries will help raise the Viability of the planet, which in turn lets you to create an outpost and upgrade the Nexus – the Andromeda Initiative’s space station.

Before a planet can support an outpost, you’ll need to raise its Viability to at least 40% by countering threats, allying yourself with the locals, solving environmental problems, and accomplishing specific tasks related to that planet’s story.  In the case of Elaaden, for example, your relationship with the krogan ultimately determines whether the viability of an outpost.

Additionally, your exploration and discoveries nets you Andromeda Viability Points (AVP). Attaining certain AVP thresholds makes upgrading the Nexus possible and wakes up more colonists from cryo-sleep. Which colonists you decide to wake up determines what perks and advantages you’ll be able to utilize. Want to get an edge in research and development?

Wake up scientists.  Need more combat prowess? Rouse the military personnel. Want some help with trading? Call in the merchants.  The choice is yours!

Vaults

No one said finding a new home for humanity would be easy. The Andromeda Galaxy holds many mysteries, not the least of which is a vast network of ancient Vaults.

Simply figuring out how to access one of these Vaults is a challenge, taking you across an entire world to complete. Once inside a Vault, you’ll need to rely on every element of Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay – including exploration, environmental navigation, puzzle-solving, and combat – to bring them online and make it out alive.  Resolving the mystery of these Vaults may hold the key to survival in the Andromeda Galaxy.

You can read more about the features right here on the Mass Effect: Andromeda hub.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is set to release on March 21 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.