What Did You Do Today in Andromeda

I didn't use it in ME2, because every enemy is armored on Insanity. I like that it does more in ME3 and MEA, but I've yet to use it. I have it prepped, though. I evolved it for Radius, Distance, and Lift/Prime. I could see swapping it with Annihilation in my favorite loadout:

Shockwave lifts and primes, Lance or Energy Drain (or Overload?) detonates, clean up the leftovers and repeat.

It's hard for me to step away from Lance. Having an on-demand detonator that never goes on cooldown is so good. I also like the thematic concept of sacrificing biotic power from your barrier to use it offensively.

That Sentinel is my favorite build, the one I always run by default. I swap to a Soldier build for Architects and Destroyers. I should look at the various MP kits for inspiration. I'm on PS5, so I won't have all of the skills and weapons afforded by mods.

I think Soldier is pretty boring in ME1, but fun in ME2 and great in ME3. My MEA "Soldier" is more of a Tech-Infiltrator-Soldier medley.


I almost couldn't recall where I began playing today. It was in the Remnant Vault at Blackrock Tande. After finishing Eos, and visiting the Nexus, we headed for Voeld. I was in the process of melting the Architect when I got the bug that leaves the legs closed. I saved for the evening and shutdown.

Ryder is currently Level 101. I'm evolving the final few skills remaining. I think I might actually reach level 132 this playthrough.

I slept particularly poorly and really needed a nap today. I couldn't take one, though, and fortunately had Andromeda to keep me awake.

We rescued Moshae Sjefa, and many others, from the Exaltation Facility. After, we returned to Voeld to complete three additional side quests that pop up after the rescue. I drove meandering routes, looking for fights along the way. After Voeld, it was lots of non-combat stuff -- diplomacy, charting the cluster, and little errands.

Liam gave away secret Ai codes and intelligence, so that had to be handled immediately. The mission is really well designed and fun; but it always bothers me that Liam gets off with, "Never again? Lesson learned?" His actions would cost him his job and some prison time in most societies. I wish we at least had the option of dismissing him to the Nexus. If I had the opportunity to see him working a minor role in Nexus Security, I wouldn't feel the perpetual, low-level annoyance that I attach to him. He's way too immature to be given an important job.

After cleaning up Liam's mess, it was on to Kadara. Scott met with Sloane Kelly while Vetra and Drack did a "perfectly legal business" deal. After talking to Vehn Turev, Scott gathered the troops and headed to the Slums below the Port. That's where I saved for the night.


I was getting interrupted constantly today, and my wife was even louder than usual on work calls. 🙄😖 I kind of started losing the thread of the story, so to speak. I hope I can re-engage tomorrow.

I can't recall exactly, but I think Scott is around Level 105 or 106. The skills evolved today were Remnant VI and Pull, the latter to rank 5. I think I'll evolve Cryo Beam next. I can't see ever using it, but the 6a Snap Freeze evolution could be nice to have. I'm curious to see whether it applies to enemies frozen by Cora's ammo power and detonated by Ryder. If so, it will be very useful. If not, well, there's a reason it's getting evolved in the 11th hour. At least it should work with my Assault Turret's cryo ammo.

I'm closing in on the complete skills array. For Combat, the last remainders are Barricade, Trip Mine, and Flak Cannon. For Biotics, it's Throw and Backlash. For Tech, it's Cryo Beam and Flamethrower. I'm noticing the amusingly odd Health and Shields totals tick ever upward with each skill upgrade.

MP did get buffs in 2018 I think... damn its so long ago already!

Do you guys remember this trailer? Those were fun days. I miss some of the old faces who disappeared in the months that followed. I recall how badass this trailer felt from around 3:50 onward. The music that kicks in at 4:00 is so epic. Someone did a good job putting this together.

I wish the game hadn't gotten run over by the meme train. There's so much more good than bad in the game. The gameplay really is as good as the trailer makes it seem.


I usually have less time to play on Sundays, but I was able to squeeze in a couple of hours today. Finishing Kadara opens up a few more star systems and a handful of side quests. I explored the new star systems during a relaxing hour this morning. I also managed to knock out almost all the laundry list of quests that are tied to the Nexus at that juncture.

Later in the day, I tracked both dumbass Ruth's shuttle and the Three Sabres to Kadara, but didn't pursue resolutions. I'll handle those quests later. Instead, we headed to Aya. A bunch of diplomatic quests pop up, and Scott meets Akksul face-to-face.

Then, we headed for Eos, where Akksul thought he'd make his big statement. After grabbing PeeBee's latest Rem Tech request, we headed for Blackrock Tande. We confirmed the Roekarr plot to attack Prodromos, and turned the tables by directing his forces instead to Site 2, Resilience.

Picking fights as we drove around, Scott kept getting blasted at the beginning of every fight, starting every combat temporarily staggered. I finally saw why on the third time: Liam's dumb ass was chucking grenades inside the Nomad's temporary shield, and they were bouncing onto Scott's head. That's what happens when you let Liam off the ship. 🙄

Scott sent Liam back to Tempest. With Jaal and Cora aboard, it was on to Site 2. I had Scott immediately jump into the heart of the fight, where multiple dropships were unloading troops. The first 5 to 10 seconds were dicey, but soon the rhythm of destruction got going. The Roekarr sent so many troops into that battle, and they all got destroyed. The BioTech Bomber is an unstoppable, nearly immortal force.

Bradley's people then made Akksul believe that Site 1 was the correct target. Akksul might've been a great student, but he's neither a great warrior nor a great tactician. More Roekarr got obliterated. Cora was freezing them, Charging them, and thoroughly demonstrating why dismissing Liam was wise. Jaal was darting into and out of melee with the Hydra when I killed it, holding his own. Pretty cool.

Akksul retreated and sent a petty vid message after, trying to bait. Dude is a sad troll. He does have a great VA and facial design, at least.

I had to save there. Tomorrow, I think Ark Leusinia will be first, and then maybe Remav. I'll clean up Kadara, and then it will be time for Elaaden.


Scott is about midway through level 113. Barricade was fully evolved today, and Backlash started. I may try to use them during a NG+. I evolved Barricade to boost weapon damage and to tech prime nearby enemies. It might be fun to plant a Barricade, hit Turbocharge, and pop a Concussive Shot into any fool who tries to get close. I'd probably carry a Hornet, Valkyrie, and Isharay for that.


Today, I built a Valkyrie-FABE-CbDmg/bio (autofire, beam emitter, bioconverter, reaction optimizers ×2). I wanted to test it out, and my expectations were confirmed -- It wasn't as good as my existing Hornet. The baseline damage is slightly higher, but the Hornet's RoF is more than twice as fast, at an eye-popping 1475 (1425?), if I recall correctly. Even with fewer augmentation slots, the Hornet is better. I deconstructed that Valkyrie, but still have the ballistic version for situational options.

You can afford to wait. You're the only person I know of who has played the SP campaign more than I have. 😄 I miscounted a few weeks ago. This will actually be my 18th completed playthrough, with 3 more that were abandoned around Voeld.


Of course, I played more today. We started with Ark Leusinia. I really enjoy parts of this mission, but hate a lot of the dialogue. The VA work for Captain Atandra and Vederia makes me cringe. Some of Vederia's lines would be terrible even if well delivered. Cora's interactions with Vederia are terrible. I started skipping their shared dialogue.

I also dislike that the Kett, who are known to "shoot first," and "don't bother to talk," somehow conveyed the cheesy name of their "elite Decimation Hunters" (ugh) and their cheesy leader, "The Valiant" (ugh). The Ascendant do like to run their mouths. Maybe the dude just keep yelling, "I am the Valiant! You will not escape my elite Decimation Hunters!" 🙄

So, the mission is loaded with cringe-worthy stuff; but it also has some cool vibes and battles, and it's a big moment. Sarissa is mercifully well acted. Cora comes across as immature in their interactions, but that's by design and it works well in the long run.

After that, we headed to Havarl to grab Rem Tech for PeeBee and to save Jaal's siblings from the Roekarr. I like Akksul's character. He's a douche, but a sympathetic one. He's well acted and has the self-awareness to acknowledge his error and the need to try to improve.

Next was Kadara again. We bought Kesh some booze, grabbed more Rem Tech, killed the Three Sabres gang, and eliminated Ruth Bekker and the Roekarr threat. I've never once tried to save her. It's laughable to me that it's even an option. Honestly, I'd probably kill her myself if necessary. What an idiot she was. I know that Drack, at least, would be cool with it.

Then, we headed to H-047c in Remav. This is one of my favorite places. It has a great atmosphere and fun driving. It has great battles with my favorite faction to fight. It has the Remnant Tiller, which is definitely one of my favorite places in the game. Vetra's mission is likewise good, in both story and fights.

In the Tiller, I was ready for the Progenitor this time, and destroyed it within seconds. It spawned nothing. It was briefly survived by a slew of Assemblers. I had Zap, the Remnant VI, deployed in the Tiller (along with Tactical Cloak and Turbocharge). With the friendly Observer spawns, I frequently had two Observers fighting on my side. I really like areas like the Tiller that reward extra exploration and puzzle-solving.

After that, IIRC, it was time to go to Elaaden. I'd visited a few locations, mostly fighting scavs and Remnant, and had just finished the Vault when I saved. Elaaden's Vault is another location that rewards extra effort. I love it.

Tomorrow, I'll kick off festivities by air-dropping onto the Flophouse. The Nomad is perched on the cliff north of their valley. I love this fight, and it's wild that I'm already back here again. I can't wait to get to it. 😈

Scott is Level 122. I'm closing in on the finish line. I'm still not sure if I'll hit 132 by the end, but I think I probably will. Mission XP doesn't move the needle too much, but combat XP accrues quickly, and there's plenty of combat ahead. If and when I hit 132, I'm immediately stowing the +XP gear. I'm finally getting tired of seeing it and bearing the nerfs that come with it. I look forward to donning my Hyperguardian Helmet and N7 Legs.

Biotics is now fully evolved, with Backlash and Throw finished today.

Combat is next. I probably should've focused here 20 levels ago. Soldier is one of two Profiles I ever use. Flak Cannon is halfway evolved, and Trip Mine will follow.

For Tech, only Flamethrower remains. It will be my final skill evolution for this series of continuous playthroughs.

I started today with the Flophouse. Sadly, it seemed to end very quickly. Maybe I deactivated the alarm too quickly? It was still a lot of fun, of course.

I finished all of Elaaden. Annea was removed, and the Ai now manages Eos' water distribution. Scott gave Morda the Remnant drive core. It now powers New Tuchanka, and presumably the attached Initiative outpost.

While handling quests, I make rounds, trawling for fights. I fought some scavs in the compound I'd already cleared for Barrett. Drack and Vetra commented on Barrett's absence. I felt slightly sad for him, worried that I'd gotten him killed by emptying the arsenal before calling him. Yet, it turns out that he simply never made the move. "In a day or two," he says. I'll check on him the next time I visit Elaaden to see if anything changes.

We joined Avitus Rix aboard Ark Natanus, tucked away in H-047c's debris field. Macen Barro's SAM had sent Avitus the coordinates. Sadly, Macen had died, and Avitus had to take on the role.

So far, the Human, Asari, and Turian Pathfinders have all died before truly getting to begin their work. Between all the Nexus senior leadership, and the Pathfinders, nearly everyone expected to lead the Initiative was dead before the work began. If not for our Protagonist, nearly everyone would've been dead within a few years. Those who weren't would've been toughing out a rough existence on one of those brutal worlds.

At the Nexus, Spender was finally cornered and exiled for his many crimes. If his criminal buddies don't kill him, the Krogan will. What a terrible person he is, more than a little sociopathic with his lying and disregard for others. Addison had to "eat crow" both for enabling Spender and for the Three Sabres. It was a bad day for Addison.

Next, we headed for Voeld, to save the child of the Idiots Kennedy, as well as to try Andraknor's Heskaarl Trials. Both went smoothly. The Kennedys will be moving to Eos, and we'll visit Andraknor the next time we return to the Nexus. Having Kennedy safe and back in the fold is probably the emotional victory Addison needed after those two embarrassing losses.

We also traveled to the Inalara System, where PeeBee tried to get us killed on the planet designated Pas-10. 🙄 This time, I had Scott handle things like a normal person, rather than as the avatar of an annoyed gamer. This meant that Kalinda survived. The payoff isn't quite as cool, but it avoids the icky feeling of having killed a person for an alien novelty.

I'll start tomorrow with a stop on Kadara to have drinks with Drack and to ask Colt Dalton about Ljeta, the Angaran smuggler. Then, we'll visit Aya before going looking for the Archon's flagship.


Scott reached Level 130 on Voeld, upon finishing the Trials and before rescuing the Kennedys. His skills are fully evolved, so the next two levels will be essentially useless. He already has one extra skill point. That will turn into a small handful if the game keeps awarding them.

It was a pleasure to ditch the Initiative Spearpoint Legs. Worn with the much bulkier Hyperguardian Armor, they made Scott look like he always skips leg day. 😄 I replaced them with N7 Legs. (I recall not liking the appearance of the Hyperguardian Legs, though it has now been a long time since I've seen them.) While I really, really like the design of the Andromeda Elite Helmet, it too had to go, finally replaced by the Hyperguardian Helmet.

Can't believe how fast you are getting through this PT, you are a machine.

Hope you can get past the Voice. 

KrrKs, I know! 😫 I don't want to invest the money I know I'd end up pouring into PC gaming. I'd always want something new and better. 🤦🏻‍♂️

I finished the game again, today. It was an exact replay of the previous run. That didn't bother me. It just occurred to me. I wasn't 5 years rusty, so everything went even quicker, as I was able to optimize my time traveling between planets, etc...

What a strong ending this game has. Everything from the Archon's flagship onward is excellent. I like the entire experience, but the story missions are definitely the best parts. Khi Tasira is really cool. I wish we'd gotten to see where they were going with the Jardaan, the Kett, and everything else.

I started a NG++ Sara. dazk, I'm trying to tolerate the voice. It's iffy. I'm on Eos, having just finished visiting Sites 1 and 2.

I didn't have enough Kinetic Optimizers to build her a Pathfinder Armor Set with Combo Damage, so she'll have to use the Hyperguardian or Heleus Icon. She wears the latter really well, as everyone well knows, but I hate how the armor re-coloring works. It's almost nonsensical. (I usually settle on a silvery grey + blue palette.) The Hyperguardian works great, but it's so bulky on her. That's why I generally use the Pathfinder set for Sara.

If I weren't tired of romancing Cora, and all the other things Scott always does, I'd just play as him again. 😄 I've never played the Suvi romance all the way through, and was thinking to try it this time. I know it's a bit under-developed. That and the cringe-worthy flirtation always repelled me.

I'm going to try to stick with her. We'll see how it goes. Maybe it's good that I don't have the exact armor set that I want. I can create different builds to work with the sets I do have.

dazk, it's not really her voice. I actually find her voice to be very pleasant and attractive. It's the acting that I don't like. She often delivers with incorrect modulation and/or sense stress.

I know it's gotta be difficult to do it well with BioWare's style of having actors work in isolation and with little context. In my opinion, the fault lies more with the voice director. This was Fryda's first big role in a relatively new career. Tom, meanwhile, taught VA at a university, so he was an experienced pro. It's to be expected that he performed better.

Anyway, I'm well into it now, so it's not too big a hurdle. Sara has crazy combat skill, a powerful AI companion, and a swaying backside that could shake kingdoms and (hopefully) unite galaxies. 😆 (Crass, I know. Apologies. )

Today, Sara progressed as far as activating the Vault on Havarl and retrieving the FMoA. I saved for the night aboard Tempest. I'll return to the surface tomorrow, and handle the researchers' tasks.

I was thinking about the issue of "reincarnation" and passing knowledge across generations. I think the memories are likely stored in the "artifacts", much as SAM stored and provided access to Alec's memories. Also much like SAM, the recipient of the memories seemingly had to be a genetic descendant. Only descendants could receive memories via the artifacts. If it had been otherwise, the Angara could've had a wealth of memories at their collective fingertips.


I've been using different builds this playthrough. I have mostly used Sentinel (Invasion/Singularity/Concussive Shot).
I stuck with Sentinel for the Combo Damage bonus and excellent defensive and recovery features. It's been very effective. Singularity primes and controls; Invasion nerfs the target's defenses hard; and Concussive Shot detonates the whole shebang. Not infrequently, because of Singularity's nature, Sara can simply end an encounter with a single combo that kills an entire group of enemies.

This build feels almost passive compared to my usual favorites. I shoot even less than usual, because the debuff from Invasion nerfs defenses so well.

Against the Remnant in the Vault, I swapped Remnant VI for Singularity. It has less control, but Zap is super aggressive and primes tech combos. This build is one of the few opportunities I might have to use the Engineer Profile, so I swapped into it before saving. It has the same bonus to Combo Damage as Sentinel, but all the rest of the stuff buffs Tech Constructs. Zap is more than beefy enough, but I'm curious to at least see Engineer at work.

I'll probably swap back into the initial build soon enough. It's just so much better against the huddled Kett and Remnant she will be fighting when she returns to Eos.


I also settled on a color pallette that I like for the Heleus Icon Armor. The base color is essentially what many call "gun metal grey". The color on the belly and other areas is a type of teal, very close to the color on the Nomad's "Nebula" paint job, but less vibrant. The pinkish-purple secondary color is identical to the color of the helmet's mask. I chose to use no pattern, since that silly halo behind the head looks fine in grey.

The whole thing looks excellent. I'm definitely going to export it so I can easily import it onto future Saras. These colors will probably look pretty wild on the Habitat 7 starting armor, before she can get to her locker aboard Tempest.

dazk, that's the one. How'd you guess? 😆

Have you ever used the Hyperguardian Armor? You have to research it, but that's a small hurdle for a NG+. It looks pretty badass on Scott, and still cool on Sara. (Except for the legs. They make his butt concave. It's gross. Use the N7 Legs instead.)

Hyperguardian buffs shields, health, and melee damage (chest only). It's the Vanguard/Aggressive playstyle armor. It's one of my three "always have" armors, along with the Pathfinder and Heleus Icon. I use Hyperguardian for my BioTech Bomber Sentinel, and on Vanguards, of course. Health and Shields are so universally useful, though, that I rarely swap Scott out of it.