Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

Cooperative multiplayer is a game mode that is featured in Mass Effect 3, and marks the debut of multiplayer in the Mass Effect series. In this mode, up to four players can join together online and customize characters to fight on the front lines of the galaxy-wide war against the Reapers, as well as Cerberus and Geth forces. Progress in co-op earns the player rewards in Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War that can be used to influence the outcome of Mass Effect 3's single-player mode.

Playing the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer mode requires an Online Pass.

Missions
Missions in cooperative multiplayer consist of pitting the player and up to three allies against eleven waves of enemies, including Cerberus troops, on various battlefields throughout the galaxy that can also be seen in the single-player. Players must survive these waves by eliminating the enemy forces, and also accomplish secondary objectives such as retrieving data packets from around the map or defending an ally while they perform a hack on a beacon. On the eleventh wave, all players must retreat to the initial landing site of a map and defend against the enemy for a set time period until an evacuation shuttle arrives. Succeeding will win the match.

Missions have three challenge difficulties: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Bronze is the easiest difficulty, and Gold is the hardest. Playing on harder difficulties rewards more credits to spend in the Store.

Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War
Playing cooperative multiplayer ties into the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system. Success in co-op missions earns players War Assets, such as allies, fleets, and radar stations which can be deployed in Galaxy at War to aid Commander Shepard's fight against the Reapers in single-player. Co-op and the Galaxy at War system are entirely optional, however, and are not necessary to achieve the optimal endings in single-player.

It has been noted that it is almost impossible to get a good ending without doing multiplayer (especially if you only do story quests), as multiplayer directly affects the readiness rating in single player. Without it, the effective military strength will always be at 50%.

Currently, only one account per Xbox 360 can play multiplayer at a time. To play with multiple people you will need a separate copy of the game, console, online pass key and Xbox Live Gold Account.

Class and Race
When creating a multiplayer character, players can choose from six classes and seven races. Certain races are only available to choose with certain classes. For example, human characters are available for all classes, but the asari are restricted to Adepts and Vanguards because of their biotic strengths.

Each race except for krogan and turians possesses a unique evasion maneuver: humans, salarians, and quarians can perform a combat roll; salarians and quarians also jump to the side; asari can quickly slide using biotic energy; drell can perform acrobatic flips.

Krogan and asari are the only races to have unique heavy melee attacks; krogan would charge forward a short distance towards its target before swinging its weapon, if the attack connects the victim will be sent flying; asari would unleash a biotic pulse to deal massive damage to all enemies within a certain radius of the asari.

It should also be noted that some races have more or less shielding or health or both than other classes. For example a standard human (no upgrades) has 500 shielding and health, a standard Turian has 500 health, and 750 shielding, but no means of rolling, and a Drell has 250 barrier and 500 health, but is nimble and fast and an get away from fire fairly quickly.

Players can also create unique names for their multiplayer characters and customize armor coloration. The Battlefield 3 soldier's armor coloration cannot be customized.

Powers
During gameplay, players can increase the level of their characters to unlock new powers. Cooperative multiplayer character leveling is capped at level 20.

In addition to the powers listed below, each class except for the krogan classes also has Fitness. The two krogan classes have Rage instead.


 * Adept
 * Human: Warp, Singularity, Shockwave, Alliance Training
 * Asari: Stasis, Warp, Throw, Asari Justicar
 * Drell: Reave, Pull, Cluster Grenade, Drell Assassin


 * Soldier
 * Human: Adrenaline Rush, Concussive Shot, Frag Grenade, Alliance Training
 * Krogan: Carnage, Fortification, Inferno Grenade, Krogan Berserker
 * Turian: Marksman, Concussive Shot, Proximity Mine, Turian Veteran
 * Battlefield 3:1 Adrenaline Rush, Carnage, Frag Grenade, Alliance Training


 * Engineer
 * Human: Incinerate, Overload, Combat Drone, Alliance Training
 * Quarian: Incinerate, Cryo Blast, Sentry Turret, Quarian Defender
 * Salarian: Combat Drone, Energy Drain, Decoy, Salarian Operative


 * Sentinel
 * Human: Throw, Warp, Tech Armor, Alliance Training
 * Turian: Warp, Overload, Tech Armor, Turian Veteran
 * Krogan: Incinerate, Lift Grenade, Tech Armor, Krogan Berserker


 * Infiltrator
 * Human: Sticky Grenade, Tactical Cloak, Cryo Blast, Alliance Training
 * Salarian: Energy Drain, Tactical Cloak, Proximity Mine, Salarian Operative
 * Quarian: Sticky Grenade, Tactical Cloak, Sabotage, Quarian Defender


 * Vanguard
 * Human: Biotic Charge, Shockwave, Nova, Alliance Training
 * Drell: Biotic Charge, Pull, Cluster Grenade, Drell Assassin
 * Asari: Biotic Charge, Stasis, Lift Grenade, Asari Justicar

1 Bonus multiplayer character unlocked by the Battlefield 3 Pack.

Promote
After obtaining level 20 with a class in multiplayer, you can promote them to the single player galaxy at war. This reset the characters class to level 1 and adds 10 levels to your N7 ranking for multiplayer.

Weapons
During gameplay, players can unlock weapons and weapon modifications for use on the battlefield. Additional weapons and mods can be obtained through the Store. Only two weapons can be equipped at a time.

All players begin with the following five weapons to choose from:


 * M-3 Predator
 * M-4 Shuriken
 * M-8 Avenger
 * M-23 Katana
 * M-92 Mantis

Weapons that can be unlocked through the Store include:


 * Heavy Pistols:
 * M-5 Phalanx
 * M-6 Carnifex
 * M-77 Paladin
 * M-358 Talon
 * Arc Pistol
 * Scorpion


 * Sniper Rifles:
 * M-13 Raptor
 * M-29 Incisor
 * M-97 Viper
 * M-98 Widow
 * Black Widow
 * Javelin


 * Assault Rifles:
 * M-15 Vindicator
 * M-37 Falcon
 * M-76 Revenant
 * M-96 Mattock
 * M-99 Saber
 * Geth Pulse Rifle
 * Phaeston


 * Submachine Guns:
 * M-9 Tempest
 * M-12 Locust
 * M-25 Hornet


 * Shotguns:
 * M-11 Wraith
 * M-22 Eviscerator
 * M-27 Scimitar
 * M-300 Claymore
 * Disciple
 * Geth Plasma Shotgun
 * Graal Spike Thrower

Equipment
Equipment in multiplayer consists of single-use items that can be utilized during gameplay. Additional equipment can be obtained through the Store.

Each of the Ammo, Weapon, and Armor Bonuses have five levels of strength, distributed at random.


 * Ammo Bonuses:
 * Armor-Piercing Rounds - Applies Armor-Piercing Ammo for one mission.
 * Cryo Rounds - Applies Cryo Ammo for one mission.
 * Disruptor Rounds - Applies Disruptor Ammo for one mission.
 * Incendiary Rounds - Applies Incendiary Ammo for one mission.
 * Warp Rounds - Applies Warp Ammo for one mission.


 * Weapon Bonuses:
 * Assault Rifle Rail Amp - Applies an Assault Rifle Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Pistol Rail Amp - Applies a Pistol Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * SMG Rail Amp - Applies a SMG Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Sniper Rifle Rail Amp - Applies a Sniper Rifle Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Shotgun Rail Amp - Applies a Shotgun Damage Bonus for one mission.


 * Armor Bonuses:
 * Cyclonic Modulator - Applies a Shield Bonus for one mission.
 * Power Amplifier Module - Applies a Power Damage Bonus for one mission.
 * Power Efficiency Module - Applies a Power Recharge Speed Bonus for one mission.
 * Adrenaline Module - Applies a Movement Speed Bonus for one mission.


 * Supplies:
 * Cobra Missile Launcher - A one-shot missile launcher useful for taking out hardened targets.
 * Thermal Clip Pack - Refills your thermal clips and grenade supply during a mission.
 * Ops Survival Pack - Emergency pack fully restores health and shields during a mission.
 * Medi-Gel - Revive yourself when incapacitated in combat.

Store
The Store sells multiplayer item packs for a certain number of credits, BioWare points, or Microsoft Points. Contents of these packs include new weapons, multiplayer characters, experience points, weapon mods, and pieces of Equipment, all of which are of varying quality. Credits to purchase packs from the Store are earned through gameplay. Unless otherwise noted, packs listed here can be purchased multiple times.
 * Available Packs:
 * Starter Pack (Free, single-use) - Redeem your free starter pack to unlock new weapons and characters!
 * Recruit Pack (5,000 Credits) - A great way to upgrade and unlock your basic weapons, mods and characters. Includes 5 random items or characters, with a small chance for an Uncommon.
 * Veteran Pack (20,000 Credits or 80 MS/BioWare Points, $0.99 USD) - Advanced hardware and training for experienced operatives. Includes 5 random items or characters, with at least 1 Uncommon or better.
 * Spectre Pack (60,000 Credits or 160 MS/BioWare Points, $1.99 USD) - Advanced hardware and training for experienced operatives. Includes 5 random items or characters, with at least 1 Rare or better.
 * Battlefield 3 Pack (Free, single-use) - Unlock your Battlefield 3 Limited Edition soldier! A kit containing items with an aesthetic inspired by Battlefield 3. Requires that the player signs in to Mass Effect 3 with an Origin account linked to a Battlefield 3 Online Pass.
 * Premium Collectible Pack (Free, single-use) - A special bonus for dedicated Mass Effect fans.
 * Recruitment Reward Pack (Free, single-use) - A reward for participating in the Mass Effect 3 Recruitment Program.

Awards
Depending on how well individual players or the entire squad does, at certain milestones, they will earn awards. The awards are leveled by Bronze, Silver, and Gold with each having their own individual levels.

Individual Awards
Individual Awards are awards earned by each member of the team. They are specific to each character and is not shared with other members of the squad. Each weapon class in addition to tech and biotic kills has its own award for killing enemies with it. There are also awards for assisting other squadmate with kills, reviving downed squadmates, and getting headshots with any weapon.

Individual awards cannot be earned again in the same match. You can only get one of each individual award per match. The Bronze level of an award gives +500 exp, the Silver level gives +1000 exp, and the Gold level gives one of two bonuses. You get +1500 exp for weapon kills, and +2000 exp for anything else.

Squad Awards
Awards are earned by the squad for killstreaks, the outcome of the extraction (at least one squad member must be extracted and the outcome depends on the size of the squad), surviving multiple waves consecutively without a single squad member going down, completing an unknown map, the level of the completed map, completing the map with unknown enemies.

Awards for survival and killstreaks are earned regardless of map completion.

Maps
Multiplayer matches will be playable on a variety of different maps. Known maps include:


 * Firebase Dagger
 * Firebase Giant
 * Firebase Glacier
 * Firebase Reactor