Mass Effect: Andromeda’s post-launch life span has been anything but normal for a BioWare title. While the game still received largelypositive reviews,Mass Effect: Andromedawas heavily criticized for its awkward facial and body animations, game-breaking bugs, and choppy story-telling - qualities which fans would never typically associate with a BioWare RPG, let alone one with the pedigree of theMass Effectseries. Perhaps the bigger surprise, however, was that people were quite fond ofMass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayer experience, something that has roots inMass Effect 3and has grown to become deeper and more interesting in its newest iteration.
That isn’t to say thatMass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayer is flawless, and BioWare is well aware of that fact. The developer has already made some significantchanges toMass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayercombat, and in an update posted to the official BioWare website today, the company announced that more changes have arrived in Patch 1.06. In a short but sweet statement, BioWare announced:
“We’ve received a lot of community feedback about balance issues in multiplayer. We have improved the overall experience based on that feedback and our own testing.”
Of course, BioWare is doing more than just generalizing the changes the developer will be making toMass Effect: Andromeda. Interested parties can find the full patch noteshere, but in brief - powers are getting much stronger, including combo detonations at Gold and Silver difficulty levels, while weapon balancing has been adjusted significantly.
The latter change will be well-received by many ofAndromeda’s multiplayer stalwarts, as the community had been very vocal over the past few months about the ineffectiveness of shotguns and assault rifles, especially when compared to specific sniper rifles. Those who weren’t fans of the way multiplayer had begun to revolve so heavily around close combat will also be happy with the new patch. BioWare explained its reasoning:
“Powers and weapons were underperforming at higher difficulties - particularly power combos and assault rifles. As a result, players relied heavily on the Vanquisher sniper rifle and melee-focused classes.”
It’s a significant change to the wayMass Effect: Andromedawill approach multiplayer, and the resulting shake-up from Patch 1.06 will likely need weeks of assessment before players can accurately decide whether the changes were beneficial or not. Still, BioWare is approaching the game like a developer with big plans for its future, and given thatEA still has high expectations forMass Effect: Andromeda, players should expect more overhauls and balancing updates in the future until the experience has been refined to BioWare’s liking.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the full changes coming toMass Effect: Andromeda’s multiplayer in Patch 1.06 today:
