'Mass Effect: Andromeda' Gameplay Video Shows Off Combat, Weapons, Skills

If you’re looking for more Mass Effect: Andromeda content, look no further. EA and Bioware released a new gameplay trailer that shows off the game’s combat, weapons, and skills.

When fighting alien or mechanical threats, you’ll be able to protect yourself and outsmart the enemy in different ways. Your Pathfinder character is equipped with a small backpack thruster that can give you a small boost of speed to confront a foe head-on, or you can take them out from afar by hovering in mid-air. You can also take cover behind most structures, and even your vehicle if you’re outgunned, in order to recollect the team and strike from a different position.

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Every character, regardless of class, will have access to pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles. These weapons are further broken down into one of three ammo types. Traditional projectile-based ammunition is best used against non-shielded enemies. Beam-based weapons rely on heat, so even though they don’t use any physical bullets, you have to make sure they don’t overheat. There are also so-called “Helios weapons,” named for the fact that these guns are found throughout the Helios cluster within the Andromeda galaxy. Some of these weapons easily find their target through heat-seeking capabilities, whereas others require a longer charge in order to inflict maximum damage.

These three types of weapons are another variant of the ammo system from the original Mass Effecttrilogy that included armor-piercing, warp, and disruptor ammo types for different enemies. The video also featured a few melee weapons to choose from, such as fast-moving blades or hammer that delivers a crushing blow. However, Bioware didn’t provide too many specifics on it.

Skills, just like weapons, are available to any character regardless of the class you choose. These skills fall under one of three categories: Combat, Tech, and Biotics. Combat is more oriented towards those who like to play the role of a one-man (or woman) army. With the Combat skills, you can hit your enemies harder and deploy grenades and mines to inflict damage from a safe distance. For those who prefer utilizing teamwork and strategy, the Tech skill tree is for you. The Flamethrower ability lets you douse an enemy in flames while Enemy Drain weakens a foe. Either way, you’re inflicting some damage to an enemy while the rest of your team can pile on and deliver the killing blow. As a complement to traditional weapons, the Biotics skill gives you additional powers to further wreak havoc. This includes classic abilities such as Pull and Singularity, which brings enemies closer to you or keeps them trapped in a single place, respectively.

This is the studio’s first of many gameplay videos, and it provided us with a teaser of what’s to come for revealed content. In the next video, the developers will show off the different classes, multiple loadouts so that you can quickly switch between your favorite skills, and the multiple ways that you can command your team. This should keep fans entertained for the next weeks, as the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda is now a little more than a month away.