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Mass Effect: Andromeda's skill/class/levelling system explained (by me)
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
DouglasteR
Member
And there it is, the full CODzation of Mass effect.
The real RPG one was the first.
Will buy it later on some sale.
The real RPG one was the first.
Will buy it later on some sale.
shinobi602
Member
The combat is absolutely nothing like DAI, and they've never said it's the template for gameplay. They've said the exact opposite in fact.
LookAtMeGo
Member
All sounds good to me. So excited for this. Nice writeup EC.
Except for the fact that its bringing back stats like weapon accuracy and increasing the different armor loot.
The fact that it has a class/skill system you don't even understand yet PROVES its gone full Call of Duty
I really don't mind either way Mass Effect stopped having a serious story with ME2 anyway (Samara joining Cerberus lol). I play these games for the party banter, the Sci-Fi lore and the exploration and these look great here. If I want a great plot I look for an Obsidian game and for good RPG mechanics I have Original Sin 2 for this.
Poodlestrike
Banned
#hottake is hot, but perhaps a smidge off the mark. Maybe try reading the thread or at least the OP next time?
I've never read a more depressing post in my life.
Pure Biotic is so damn fun, just flinging Biotics left and right non-stop enemies floating and flying everywhere, especially in 2/3 with Biotic detonations. Even going hybrid with Vangaurd is amazing zooming across the map and smashing into people then shotgunning them in the face. I honestly can't think of seriously going with any class that doesn't have at least some Biotics.
I definitively recall a quote from someone in the Dragon Age: Inquisition team -near its release- that said something like "watch it. It's going to set an example (or template) for future Bioware games". I'm of course paraphrasing, but I guess that's where the idea comes from.
I do see the influences, they are in plain sight. But I think there are enough differences to avoid the criticism of being DA with guns.
As long as most of the sidequests are 'meaty' (instead of MMORPG-type ones), it should be ok. We will see.
Vital Tundra
Member
I HATE this kind of system. Kills replay value. Reason why I can't play Skyrim.
They definitely took lessons from DAI's development and structure, they would be silly not to try and learn what they can from their sister studios experience with the new engine and experience with larger more open environments. That said they literally have a video on GI talking about the game is heavily derived from ME3's multiplayer and I believed they talked about that quite a long time ago when the game was first discussed.
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...ay-takes-from-mass-effect-3s-multiplayer.aspx
That is the main inspiration and jumping off point for MEA's gameplay without question.
Unless there is an actual Respec option, which there very well might be like DAI had with the potion but it's up to you to use it and it did cost a bit, this shouldn't really affect replaying at all. As I outlined, odds are you will fall very very short of accessing all of the various skills in the game. You won't even be able to max out one discipline.
Nothing stops you from doing one playthrough by sticking to Vanguard only, then going Engineer in your 2nd one you know. It's nice to have options.
I think that might be Multiplayer related. Might be wrong. There are bonuses or something connected to singleplayer gained by playing Multiplayer though.
WhiskerFrisker
Member
I read this thread earlier in the day but I didn't respond to it. Very good post and I'm looking forward to trying out what Bioware has in store. I haven't played a game that I deemed bad from Bioware so I positive towards this.
You're going to give people heart attacks with this post lol.
Well they explicitly said it did not affect the game's ending. So there's that.
Could be. Note sure how i'd feel about that. Liked ME3 MP but didn't play too much of it.
I just hope it is not like the Inquisition perks. Didn't like that system, seemed useless and should have been merged with the normal talent tree.
lol wut
i like how most of Gaf seemed totally up on Andromeda until some leaked preview like briefly breathed that it gave them an Inquisiton vibe, and it's been downhill ever since. Oh no! Bad animations! It's not like this has 100+x more dialogue than the average story driven shooter...
SuperSonic1305
Member
So they no longer have to balance the game so that all classes can beat it. Get stuck just switch.
To be fair, I don't think they were trying to properly unveil it. They blasted right through it and outright said "folks on the internet are going to screenshot every image and analyze them, you know that, right?"
It was just a brief gameplay glimpse that gave us the merest hint of the gameplay systems.
... And then promptly used flamethrower against tech shields like a noob.
Thanks, have not seen it yet.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
That's not what role playing means.
Ryder is an explorer, it makes 100% sense that she is versatile.
And I mean, you get to choose how to build your character.
You're just complaining to complain.
I sometimes feel like people think, in order to be a "real RPG", a game has to be clunky.
Not really how any of this actually appears to work, but OK.
Did you miss the fact that you also can skill only one of the three categories and wouldn't be able to switch profiles if you do that? You can't switch to something you don't have
Some of the complaints about this system make no sense. I don't understand how giving you options to create your own character build would hinder the roleplaying aspect.
Anyways I was infiltrator-only until I played a lot of ME3 multiplayer which opened my eyes to other classes. I spent a lot of time punching things as a Krogan andcharging around lagging through the floor as a Vanguard. Being able to mix and match instead of stuck as the same thing forever sounds great to me.
Anyways I was infiltrator-only until I played a lot of ME3 multiplayer which opened my eyes to other classes. I spent a lot of time punching things as a Krogan and
In practice my bet is people will mostly ignore the whole profile swapping thing anyway, t least once they've got a set up that works. Might swap overload and incinerate around to deal with different defences, but mostly they'll have a hammer* and all the bad guys will look like nails.
*Possibly literally?
*Possibly literally?
I expect most people to focus basically one one Profile to maximize the bonuses it applies, with some fleshing out a secondary profile that either somewhat compliments the main one or is totally different. Some will definitely not think it through and try everything.
For me I'll probably focus mostly on the classical Adept class, but I might as you say pick up Overload or Incinerate from the Tech tree just to have that in my pocket, and as a result I might build up my Sentinel rank as a secondary class for certain situations. Which is actually pretty cool because in prior games Sentinel was a class I just never used along with Soldier and Engineer.
In another playthrough I might go for Infiltrator, which I've enjoyed in the past, which could lead me to developing one of those other two classes I never played as a backup.
Pilgrimzero
Member
Must be nice to just be able to change training and skills on a whim.
Wish it was that way in real life.
"Man, Im tired of being a Truck Driver, then I'll swap my skills over to Doctor for awhile.... Eh that was okay I'll switch my skills over to Lawyer for a bit.""
Wish it was that way in real life.
"Man, Im tired of being a Truck Driver, then I'll swap my skills over to Doctor for awhile.... Eh that was okay I'll switch my skills over to Lawyer for a bit.""
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
You're welcome buddy.
UncleMeat
Member
I'm cautiously optimistic. I could never finish a vanguard run in the original trilogy because I would just get sick of it.
One thing I'm curious about is if adrenaline rush/bullet time will be in single player. Since it seems combat has been heavily influenced by ME3 mp it wouldn't surprise me if they got rid of it to make the single player and mp gameplay identical. Any word on this?
One thing I'm curious about is if adrenaline rush/bullet time will be in single player. Since it seems combat has been heavily influenced by ME3 mp it wouldn't surprise me if they got rid of it to make the single player and mp gameplay identical. Any word on this?
Gonna post this again because they seem familiar and people really don't seem to get how it will work.
It seems similar to Kingdom of Amalur. You can pick whatever skills you want(might, finesse, sorcery) and based on what you pick you can select different "destinies" or in this case "profiles" to give buffs/modifiers.
The more I invest in magic in that game the higher level magic "destinies" and buffs I could get. I would assume in this the more biotic skills I unlock the higher level my adept profile and better buffs like biotic force and lower cooldown.
It seems similar to Kingdom of Amalur. You can pick whatever skills you want(might, finesse, sorcery) and based on what you pick you can select different "destinies" or in this case "profiles" to give buffs/modifiers.
The more I invest in magic in that game the higher level magic "destinies" and buffs I could get. I would assume in this the more biotic skills I unlock the higher level my adept profile and better buffs like biotic force and lower cooldown.
Don't really see why it wouldn't be included in this game as one of the activated Skills. It was one of the Soldier classes biggest talents and they don't exactly have a ton to choose from and likely need to come up with 9 of them. Just won't see it in MP. No big deal.
You know, I was totally hyped for the game before it was actually announced. Now, I'm not hyped at all and have been debating whether or not to pre-order the game. I've pre-ordered the last two Mass Effect games without even a second thought. There's just something about this that seems "off" to me. I'm not too concerned with the animations...even the silly Ryder mouth clip doesn't bother me that much. I'm just not feeling the vibe of the game right now.
That said, I'll will be buying the game. Just not sure whether it will be at launch or not. The video of the gameplay last night didn't help, either.
Captain Tuttle
Member
Sounds great to me.
If you can choose to play through the whole game as one class or whatever even better
If you can choose to play through the whole game as one class or whatever even better
MasterMenace
Member
The skill/leveling system is perfect. Can't believe people are whining about it ruining their "roleplaying".
Don't switch classes then ffs? Don't buy it?
Don't switch classes then ffs? Don't buy it?
Freeman76
Member
Great OP. Personally I don't like the change - for me it's dumbing down. I like choosing a class and sticking with it for the duration of the game - role playing.
I will miss the old mass effect system - but as long as I can use my old Adept powers I will still enjoy it
So pick a class and stick to it, whats not to like? Its not dumbing down, its giving choice.
Freeman76
Member
They dont have the imagination to role play beyond preset classes. Kind of a hypocrisy when you think about it. Basically half these dudes just talk shit without thinking about what the fuck it is they are actually saying.
I'm still not getting where everyone is getting this switch everything at will on the fly.
Like if you don't put points in any biotic skills you won't be picking the adept profile, I mean there would be no point or you might not be able too.
Lets say I invest in combat and tech skills, then I get the "Infiltrator" profile to a high level. Now lets say I get to a portion of the game where my tech skills aren't needed for some reason, I can switch to the Soldier profile to get more bonuses from my combat abilities or boosted damage from guns. Now my soldier profile isn't as high level, but its ok cause my tech skills weren't needed.
I didn't respec, I didn't get to choose all new skills, I changed one thing to better enhance or take better advantage of the skills I already have.
Am I missing something? Cause it seems like a cool system.
Like if you don't put points in any biotic skills you won't be picking the adept profile, I mean there would be no point or you might not be able too.
Lets say I invest in combat and tech skills, then I get the "Infiltrator" profile to a high level. Now lets say I get to a portion of the game where my tech skills aren't needed for some reason, I can switch to the Soldier profile to get more bonuses from my combat abilities or boosted damage from guns. Now my soldier profile isn't as high level, but its ok cause my tech skills weren't needed.
I didn't respec, I didn't get to choose all new skills, I changed one thing to better enhance or take better advantage of the skills I already have.
Am I missing something? Cause it seems like a cool system.
Sentinel was both overpowered and incredibly fun in ME2.
Properly levelled, you could basically shoot fools in their face (a la Vanguard), mess with everyone surrounding you, and then triggering combo explosions with Biotics, in a beautiful dance.
Basically being untouchable. No matter the type of enemy or defense. And all by yourself.
Shame ME3 nerfed it hard.
People don't bother actually looking into things and just read Class switching and bring out the torches and pitchforks because BioWare is the destroyer of RPGs.
Every time I see Sentinel I think of Kaidan "my head hurts" Alenko, then throw up and black out for a few seconds.
Thinking back I'm pretty sure now I did do a run through, or partial run through, of ME2 as a Sentinel.
Indeed, quite sad how reliant people are on the idea of classes in RPGs. Some of the greatest RPGs don't even have a class system and are so much better for it. Even more so considering a lot of the time in RPGs that do have a class system, the classes prove meaningless in the long run. Someone named a good example earlier in this thread; Divinity: Original Sin. A fantastic CRPG with a class system that at most only determines your starting stats and equipment. After that point, you character can evolve into anything.
Seriously, people complaining about "muh RPG" are acting as if humans are only capable of learning one profession in their lifetime and cannot be anything else.
If that's all it is ok, I felt like I was taking crazy pills.
Also Kaidan is the worst, get out of my Mass Effect Carth Onassi!!!
I played all three games as a Sentinel, it was OP in all three imo. Especially 2 with cooldown reset 'bug'