Skills

This article is about skills in Mass Effect: Andromeda. For talents in Mass Effect, see Talents. For powers in Mass Effect 2, see Powers. For powers in Mass Effect 3, see Powers (Mass Effect 3).

Skills are abilities in Mass Effect: Andromeda's single-player and multiplayer modes that are equivalent to talents or powers in prior Mass Effect games.

Because Skills, Training, and Profiles are all intertwined in Mass effect: Andromeda, this article covers all three together as a combined subject.

Single Player Overview

Mass Effect: Andromeda introduced large changes to the abilities characters can choose:

• A single skillset is no longer chosen at the beginning of the game and be locked in as before.
• Initially a skill type called Training is available but the skillset is able to be further expanded using the distribution of points into Skills.
• Skill points are earned during gameplay by completing activities and missions.
• There are no restrictions on which skills can be chosen.
• There is no level cap, so in time, potentially everything can be unlocked.
• Many more options are available and fine-tuning a character to a preferred playstyle is now possible.

If the preference is to play like the previous class choices in prior Mass Effect games, characters can be designed to be a Soldier, or Vanguard, or whatever previous playstyles by choosing skills related to that class.

• Choosing abilities primarily in the Combat skillset, for example, will constitute gameplay more in line with that of a Soldier or Infiltrator whereas choosing more skills in Biotics may give the character a more Adept or Vanguard feel.

Loadouts and Favorite Menu

This article is about loadouts and the favorites menu. For the Loadout Terminal for customizing gear, see Loadout.

As skills are unlocked, the creation of combinations of skills called loadouts can be used during gameplay. With the new skill system, there are a mind-boggling 54,834 loadout possibilities.

• Each loadout can hold 3 active abilities.
• Loadouts can be changed at any time.
• Loadouts can be saved as a Favorite preset and storage of up to four Favorites is possible in the Favorites Menu.
• Preset Favorite loadouts can be swapped both in and out of combat. Swapping a loadout will cause the active abilities to go on a brief cooldown before they can be used.

Multiplayer Overview

Main article: Multiplayer Skills

Mass Effect: Andromeda's Multiplayer mode uses the class system of previous Mass Effect games. Skill sets are fixed to the specific character and consist of 3 active skills and 2 passive skills. Skill sets consist of a mix of the standard 36 skills available from single-player gameplay as well as multiplayer only skills.

Training

Creating a character in Mass Effect: Andromeda will always begin with the selection of a Training.

• Choosing a Training will determine the initial abilities of that character and which skills will be available early in the game.
• Choosing a default Scott or Sara Ryder will have Security as their default.
• Creating a custom character will allow access to all six Trainings.
• If the desire is to create a default Ryder but not a default Training, create a custom character and simply leave the appearance and name as default.

Security

During your Alliance military service, you focused on learning everything you could about weapons and tactics.

• Starting Skill
  • Concussive Shot
• Unlocked Skills
  • Turbocharge
  • Combat Fitness

Biotic

You were effectively 'designated biotic' during your Alliance military tenure, assisting your cohorts with your ability to control mass effect fields.

• Starting Skill
  • Throw
• Unlocked Skills
  • Singularity
  • Barrier

Technician

As a technician in the Systems Alliance military, you learned to operate drones and hack enemy systems.

• Starting Skill
  • Overload
• Unlocked Skills
  • Invasion
  • Team Support

Leader

You were a team player and a natural leader in the Alliance military, working closely with your cohorts for their safety and the safety of others.

• Starting Skill
  • Energy Drain
• Unlocked Skills
  • Annihilation
  • Team Support

Scrapper

When a fight broke out, you were always the first soldier in the thick of it - mostly according to Alliance military protocol and occasionally not.

• Starting Skill
  • Charge
• Unlocked Skills
  • Combat Fitness
  • Charge

Operative

In the Alliance Military, you studied covert operations and the tech used by special forces - knowledge you rarely found a use for until the Andromeda Initiative.

• Starting Skill
  • Tactical Cloak
• Unlocked Skills
  • Combat Fitness
  • Tactical Cloak

Profiles

Main article: Profiles

Both single-player and multiplayer characters have access to profiles. Profiles are the equivalent of the six classes seen previously in Mass Effect games, with the addition of a new seventh profile called the Explorer.

Profiles are unlocked when a certain amount of points has been invested into a specific skill type, be it Combat, Tech, or Biotics. Investing highly into Combat skills is more likely to unlock the Soldier profile before unlocking the Sentinel profile.

Profiles can be viewed from the main menu.

Skill Types

The skill system in Mass Effect: Andromeda will feel similar to previous Mass Effect games, in that the same types of abilities are used.

Skill types break down into three main color coded categories: Combat (Red), Tech (Orange), and Biotics (Violet). Each category type has its own set of active () and passive () skills.

Combat	Tech	Biotics
Omni Grenade	Overload	Pull
Concussive Shot	Incinerate	Throw
Barricade	Assault Turret	Charge
Turbocharge	Cryo Beam	Nova
Trip Mine	Energy Drain	Shockwave
Flak Cannon	Tactical Cloak	Annihilation
Pistols	Flamethrower	Backlash
Assault Rifles	Unknown (Remnant VI)	Singularity
Shotguns	Invasion	Lance
Sniper Rifles	Team Support	Barrier
Combat Fitness	Offensive Tech	Offensive Biotics
Combat Tools	Auxiliary Systems	Containment

Skill Points

Each skill has a skill tree that can be unlocked using skill points, allowing the skill to become more effective.

• There are a total of six ranks in a skill tree. The first three are pre-determined while the last three will have two options.
• Each skill rank costs skill points to upgrade. Rank 1 costs one skill point, Rank 2 costs two skill points, and so on up to Rank 6. 21 total skill points are required to completely fill a skill tree.
• 756 skill points are required to completely fill all skill trees.
• At Level 133, 758 skill points will have been accumulated which is enough to completely fill all skill trees. (Level 133 is the level cap without any bonus skill points being acquired. This number is lowered if bonus skill points are found during gameplay.)
• Bonus skill points can be acquired during gameplay from:
  • Elaaden vault - Taming a Desert - +2 skill points
  • Havarl Vault - A Dying Planet - +2 skill points
  • Kadara Vault - Healing Kadara's Heart - +2 skill points
  • Voeld Vault - Restoring a World - +2 skill points

Level(s)	Skill Points Per Level	Cumulative Skill Points
1	1	1 (Level 1)
2 - 3	3	7 (Level 3)
4 - 10	4	35 (Level 10)
11 - 25	5	110 (Level 25)
26+	6	758 (Level 133)

• Above level 81 (where all Rank X items become available), gaining skill points is the only benefit of continuing to raise levels. It should be noted though that as Ryder increases in level, enemies scale with Ryder. See: Experience Guide

Squadmate Skills

Squadmate skill sets are fixed, character-specific, and consist of 3 active and 2 passive skills using a mix of the standard 36 skills available from single-player gameplay as well as multiplayer only skills. (See: Multiplayer Skills)

Squadmate skill types break down into three main color coded categories: Combat (Red), Tech (Orange), and Biotics (Violet). Each category type has its own set of active () and passive () skills.

Squadmate	Skill 1	Skill 2	Skill 3	Skill 4	Skill 5
Cora Harper	Charge	Nova	Shield Boost	Asari Commando	Defensive Training
Jaal Ama Darav	Energy Drain	Sticky Grenade	Avenger Strike	Rebel Soldier	Resilience
Liam Kosta	Frag Grenade	Havoc Strike	Overload	Military Training	Defense
Nakmor Drack	Blood Rage	Incinerate	Flak Cannon	Krogan Warrior	Grizzled Veteran
Pelessaria B'Sayle	Invasion	Pull	Shockwave	Duelist	Survivalist
Vetra Nyx	Power Armor	Concussive Shot	Turbocharge	Turian Smuggler	Defensive Expert

Resetting Skill Points

Main article: Respec Station

Skill points spent in skill trees for Ryder and squadmates can be reset by using the Respec Station terminal in the Med Bay onboard the Tempest. Resetting skill points costs .