Things you feel "Mass Effect: Andromeda" does well

Jump jet was a perfect addition for the open world environment.  I'm not too big on crafting systems, I'll muddling my way through if it's there...mostly just for the aesthetics, but prefer more simplified choices.  I guess I prefer the way ME3 did it with a half dozen armors providing different types of bonuses and a couple augments on the weapons.  I liked the weight penalty forcing you chose between more/powerful weapons over less/lighter/faster power recharge speeds.  MEA (at least in SP) didn't really have much consequence in terms of encumbrance.  Upgrading technology (as opposed to having to recraft a better version of the same item everytime) was more realistic in ME2.

I kinda agree. In some instances they sounded more like real world weapons.

ME2's method of upgrading gear via research (and resources) felt like it made sense, though the upgrades would apply to every piece of gear in a given class. The same was true of armor upgrades, despite the wide variety of (ahem) "armor" used by followers. Also, some upgrades were purchased from merchants while others were found on missions, and you still needed to unlock them (by completing some number of a certain type of upgrade) before you could apply them, so - I found ME2's upgrade systems the most gamest of the lot.

ME3's was much simpler. No inventory to manage, just purchase upgrades as you could afford them. The other thing I think a lot of us appreciated about the transition to ME3 is that we were no longer limited by class in the types of weapons we could use.



I'd be happy to lose them, especially if it meant gaining another skill slot - or the return of the combat roll.



MEA's mods do get a bit overcomplicated imho. The higher level mods offer greater benefit in exchange for some detriment - I suppose that offers more flexibility, but it also makes the decisions about which to keep/use versus which ones to sell a lot more complicated. A lot of the augments are tied to skill types (combat, biotic, tech), which means that the thing you're building into the weapon you're crafting will be more or less helpful depending on which skills you're using at the time. That works in opposition to this classless system of character builds.



It mattered early on, but once you'd unlocked the weight increases, it ceased to matter.



Yeah, I generally skip a lot of levels rather than trying to craft new, higher levels items whenever I've leveled up enough to meet the requirements. I also don't look for mod upgrades very often - once I equip a weapon, I tend to use the same mods until I remove that weapon from my load-out.



This might be my favorite combat improvement over MET. Shepard sticking to cover (I was trying to sprint past) or being stuck when I wanted her to move got me killed multiple times. It may be worse with a controller - it's very contextual, and how Shepard will react in those cases depends on exactly where you have the camera pointed.

I'm not sure I said it earlier but boss fights are great in MEA. Way better than ME1-3.Architect fights are fantastic, and luckily I hadn't see them on youtube before my first encounter so it was suitably dramatic, the behemoth fight, the various ascendant fights. Really solid boss fights especially your first time through when you are still learning the ropes.

I somehow missed your question, earlier. Yeah, I didn't mind it at all. I only use it during combat, and it never seemed inappropriate. If players sprint around worlds during exploration/non-combat scenes, they have no grounds for complaint. They chose to use the mechanic in a weird or gamist way. That's not the devs' fault.

Not a fan of the Architect fights...mainly due to the repetition.  All four have identical attack patterns and taken out exactly the same way.  At low level with crappy gear it's fairly tedious.  At higher levels it's barely a challenge...even when playing a reckless Vanguard (though biotic charging it's face, hovering with annihilation field and hitting it with shockwave is amusing).  The only MEA boss fight that continues to challenge is the Progenitor fight when activating the Remnant tiller.  Truthfully, I haven't found Bioware that good at creating satisfying boss fights; probably only the different dragons in DAI did I find both varied and challenging (enough) to maintain my interest.

The boss fights in Andromeda were pretty good, even though I wasn't an overall fan of the combat system.  ME2 had some nice minor boss fights as well like Jedore.  The best I think was clone Shepard in ME3.

Overall Andromeda was more consistent in quality though.  ME3 had a huge gulf between Kai Lang (bad) and clone Shepard (great).

The architect fights are enjoyable enough, but could have used different tactics for each one. If there are two musts in a sequel, it's killing Primus and fighting the Abyssal. I would get out of my nomad and stand there jumping so it'd notice me and attack. But it never did
Of course that was my early playthroughs.

Oh and Advent, I wished Eos kept going and eventually I'd run into it. That's right, I thought the region should have been bigger! Ahaha! Yes.

Maybe in future games instead of having a grid block us they could do something I've seen in other games where some force overtakes you or something along those lines. Elaaden kind of did this with it's heat getting too dangerous. Maybe the nomad sinks into sand or there is an ocean or a giant monster. Which you can kill, but maybe there is a secondary obstacle keeping you from going further.

Meh, the Progenitor lasts barely over 10 seconds with a good weapon and Tactical Cloak + Turbocharge. (I do like the old chap, and wish there were at least a half dozen more of those in the game.) As you say, BioWare has never been strong at building good fights. The good news is that they seem good at designing fun combat gameplay in the ME series. I'd put MEA up against anything, in terms of good gameplay. The unfortunate result is that they hand us the tools to easily crush or obviate every challenge they create. At least it's fun in most cases.

I suspect they have never tried to create a balanced challenge beyond Insanity because so few play it. That's always frustrated me, because most of those too scared or disinterested to try would find it easy if they put in the effort to adjust. It's not much different from any other setting. In turn, more Insanity players would maybe push them to up their game, not just in terms of "Super Insanity" difficulty, but preferably in better designed challenges.

Like I said, though, even as easy as it is, I always enjoy playing it.

EDIT: ahglock, I think the issue is that some "classes"/builds/whatever encounter a foes they can trounce, even at low levels. Other builds encounter a lengthy grind. Some players can find excitement amidst the grind, others just get bored. The Architects provide a weirdly uneven experience, and every one is the same. I think they're okay, but not great, foes.

I agree with your idea of continued aggression during those spawning phases. That would've been cool. Even a little breacher could drag you out of cover to your doom.

Haha! Weapons that melt the Progenitor as described:

There are a variations of these, but it will give you the idea. Take a top-tier gun, and then augment it. I never actually use consumables. They just aren't needed and are too easy to forget. I occasionally activate incendiary ammo versus Ascendants, but I usually forget. I tried an RPG versus a fiend once, but found shooting it to be more effective. Shooting is almost always the answer.

Valkyrie
Key Augmentations: Autofire
This is maybe the best all-around weapon in the game. I like putting a Beam Emitter and Bioconverter on it. VHS works fine if you're using Turbocharge.

Hornet
Key Augmentations: Autofire, Beam Emitter, Bioconverter
This might be even better than the similarly made Valkyrie. Its RoF is over 1400.

Hesh
Key Augmentations: Autofire, Seeking Plasma
This is the best all-around shotgun in my opinion, not the Dhan. It has a hidden bonus against both shields and armor, whereas competitors have at best one or the other. Seeking Plasma makes its weak accuracy a strength. A Beam Emitter/Burst-fire variant plays like an AR.

Dhan
Key Augmentations: Autofire or Burst-fire
This gun is so good that it's easy to make it a monster. Improving RoF is the first step. You can leave the projectile "as is", or add an augmentation like a Beam Emitter. Burst-Fire/Beam Emitter Dhan is like a super-high-powered ray gun straight out of classic sci-fi. It's crazy.


I've personally dispatched the Progenitor in seconds with the first three listed. The Dhan I only used during extensive testing. Tactical Cloak boosts damage. Turbocharge boost damage and RoF. If you activate both at the same time with one of the above weapons, the Progenitor gets mangled in very short order. Throw in an Invasion beforehand to make it even easier. The other bots are irrelevant during those first 10 seconds. After, they're not as problematic without the big guy.