Soooooo…I feel evil. I’ve avoided romancing Liam for YEARS! But I recently picked the game back up and since I could t remember why I avoided him I decided to try on this play through. But then I put him and vetra in the car and I remember. Am I the only one who thinks Liam is an ASS? Sureeeeee trust the unknown (but totally sweet jaal) but critically injuring my heart by treating vetra like trash for bringing her sister along? I hate him. I tried, I tried hard. I think I’m just going to have to try again some other time and just make sure I never put him and vetra in the vehicle again.

Hi everyone! I want to share a large-scale perspective on Mass Effect lore that connects into a single monolith the original Drew Karpyshyn concept of Dark Energy and stellar aging, the mystery of the Jardaan, the Scourge explosion, the origin of the Kett and Angara, as well as the reason why Remnant technology only yielded to Ryder. If you look at Andromeda from this angle, it stops being the poor relation of the trilogy and reveals itself as an incredibly deep philosophical and technological alternative. All advanced civilizations sooner or later face the same physical catastrophe: the widespread use of space warping destabilizes matter, and the accumulation of Dark Energy forces stars to age and explode hundreds of times faster (remember Tali's mission on Haeststrom). Ancient races in both galaxies realized this threat, but chose radically opposite paths. In the Milky Way, Artificial Intelligence (the Catalyst) calculated that civilizations burn through stars in roughly 50,000 years, leading to the concept of the Harvests — a cyclical genocide of species every 50,000 years followed by millennia of silence while the stars stabilize. The Jardaan in the Andromeda galaxy did not create bloody cycles. They took a completely different path: they abandoned the toxic Mass Effect and created an alternative — giant Vaults and Monoliths that act as planetary system stabilizers, restoring the biosphere and disposing of radiation chaos. I do not claim that the Jardaan completely discarded biological bodies and became pure digital entities. It is far more likely that they found an ideal quantum symbiosis between the biological brain and AI. Look at the facts: the Kett banged their heads against the wall for centuries, and their Archon conducted hundreds of experiments, dissections, and tortures, yet for years they could not decipher the operating principles of Jardaan consoles or force the Vaults to work. Ryder's arrival changes everything instantly: as soon as our heroes arrive in Heleus, Ryder almost immediately deciphers and activates the Jardaan Vaults with SAM's help. Why? Because SAM and Ryder are that exact direct symbiosis of organics and artificial intelligence for which the Jardaan coded their technology! The consoles remained silent for the Kett because they tried to breach them through purely biological force without the necessary digital interface. Even while possessing symbiosis technologies, the Jardaan experimented with creating new forms of life. The Kett were their first, degraded experiment: the Jardaan tried to cultivate a race capable of self-improvement through DNA consumption, but the experiment spiraled out of control. Having lost the capacity for natural reproduction, the Kett degraded into biological fascism, presented their Creators with an ultimatum, and launched a rebellion. The Angara are the second, refined creation of the Jardaan with high bio-electrical sensitivity and emotionality. They were created as harmonious inhabitants of terraformed planets and, perhaps, as potential vessels for the future evolution of the Jardaan species itself. The accumulation of Dark Energy in the Universe was never erased, and the Jardaan Vaults kept it under control, gradually neutralizing it. However, during the war with the rebellious Kett, the detonation of Meridian occurred, the central stabilization hub. This triggered a colossal, unplanned discharge of accumulated Dark Energy, which detonated and transformed into the Scourge, an unstable anomalous web that poisoned the Heleus sector. After this catastrophe, the Jardaan were forced to evacuate beyond Heleus. In my opinion, the war between the Jardaan and the Kett Empire could still be ongoing somewhere outside Heleus. We simply couldn't be shown this in the lore right away because the sector was isolated by the Scourge, but the lore explicitly mentions that the Kett arrived from beyond the Scourge, and a whole empire of theirs exists out there. This concept makes the plot twists of the game completely logical: in the finale, the Archon captured Ryder's twin because by tapping into their neural link with SAM, he finally obtained that exact symbiotic key and instantly seized control of Meridian. And by capturing Asari DNA, a biological compressor capable of combining traits from various species, the Kett saw in it a genetic Grail capable of halting their mutational extinction. If you put all these elements together, Mass Effect Andromeda reveals itself not as an unfortunate ugly duckling, but as a grand drama about an alternative path of evolution: a path where an ancient race rejected the genocide of the Reapers, created biospheric stabilizers, and entrusted their technology to the symbiosis of biological mind and AI. What do you think about this lore interpretation? Let's discuss in the comments!

Mass Effect Andromeda multiplayer is up and running on PC and XBOX console yayyy

The person also made a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOWrTNazZxM

*Slow clap* Way to go, guys. The baby got thrown out with the bathwater. No hate to this community (I've come to peace with Mass Effect's death a loooong time ago), but DANG IT, PEOPLE! In my opinion, thanks to the unrelenting and unfair hatred for Andromeda, Mass Effect was set on a path that ultimately put the series in limbo (and now cancelled).

Andromeda was obviously flawed, but was the start of something new and promising. While not a carbon copy continuation of the OT, it was still an amazing game IMHO and still had the same spirit of comradery, sci-fi mystery, exploration, and player agency that defined the originals. But nooooo...not good enough for everyone, so now we have nothing ever again!

What we had:

• Andromeda's story established a brilliant premise for the OT to continue while respecting your ME3 ending choice (unlike apparently ME Universe).
• The gameplay dumbed down the squad tactics big time, but instead gave us actual good gunplay, new powers, and insane mobility.
• Open world done tastefully with a beautiful world to explore
• Graphics annihilate the old games (fact, not an opinion). Not the best by 2017 standards, but, uh...have you actually played the OT?
• Hey, I liked the companions
• Etc, etc. I personally loved it.

Even despite it being revealed that the dev team were forced to switch to the unfamiliar Frostbite engine partway through development and start over, still no slack from fans. No vision of how the next game could build up from their mistakes.

Instead, fans dogpiled mountains of hate on this game, the sequel to Andromeda got relegated to a book, and the developers had to scrap all of their work and start all the way over to try and figure out what fans want for the next game, because it seems like everyone hated ALL aspects of Andromeda (since there is no nuance or tactful criticism from gaming communities).

9 years later, it'll be interesting to see where Bioware ended up with ME Universe. Trailer is amazing, but would it have just ended up like Andromeda? Seems like the scum at EA really thought so.

R.I.P.

(Also, go back and play Andromeda. I know you haven't actually given it a fair shot)

(Also, I did my part and bought 3 copies of Andromeda and the art book and player's guide with the backpack, all of the books, and a shirt and other merch. Whoever said buying more will help guarantee a sequel was wrong!)

Dear EA

The recent news of EA's decision to shut down bioware and the early development of mass effect has destroyed many. Although I may just be one person I hope EA reads this and sees how much this universe has meant to me, and many others.

I am a a 16 year old neurodivergent, diagnosed with Autism level 2 and a possibility of being ADHD. Mass Effect for me was everything, it was my hyperfixation, my comfort, what has kept me going everyday when the world threatens to break me. To others, it's simply just a game, a non real made up world. But to me... It was like having a safety blanket, a world I could escape to and simply just be myself, Ryder, or Shepard. With the absolute soul crushing news I've just heard about with Bioware shutting down, it broke me more than any other game I played. To know that the thing you relied on is all the sudden... Dead... Even though the games are still playable... The possibility of the next game has gone down. Practically zero at this point. I honestly have no idea what Im going to do now. The games I loved suddenly being cancelled... At this point Im Greifing this like a close person Ive lost. I think a lot of us knew this was coming with the unsuccessful launch of Dragon Age Veilguard... But there wasn't even a chance for the next 'Mass Effect Will Return' game to even see light. Now, I am a Mass Effect Andromeda fan, despite what others thinks of it. It was a great story, and left on a cliffhanger. And now, with no end, just void.

I really really do hope that EA reconsiders this decision. And even though I do agree that Bioware has been dead for years... To still continue on with the franchise would mean everything to not only me, but thousands of other eager and loyal fans. Even if it also means selling it to another studio. People like me, like us, are not left in the dark. Us humans have something to still look forward to. I urge EA reconsiders this not only just for money... For the actual people who games were made for.

- A heart broken person.

This was a fun game. Not on the same level of the first three titles but I loved it. SCREW YOU EA!

It was in the main Mass effect subreddit!! https://c.org/ZqqnF94nS8

Wow ima miss this game thats so messed up

Well I guess its back to the mass effect 3 grind...be nice if I can get some people to play with message me here if need to😎

Im on Xbox

…is gonna be bleak this year.

Apparently someone at BioWare leaked this trailer for what was supposed to be Mass Effect 5, or Mass Effect: Universe as the project was called. Jason Schreier and IGN have verified it's legitimacy.

I wonder if and how the Andromeda story and characters would have fit into this.

from yesterday i cannot connect to anything online inside andromeda even tho the ps4 i use it on has no such issue, does anyone know how to fix this?

Am I the only one having issues to connecting to Mass Effect Andromeda? Cannot get to the online content...anyone else experiencing issues?

I think I skipped this game in the beginning due to negative press, and then forgot about it. I started playing a few months ago and I am absolutely hooked. Probably 80h in and it just keeps going.

I literally just finished this game for the first time, having saved last night right before starting the final mission. I have not been able to connect and use strike teams at all today. With the news that Bioware has been shuttered, can someone confirm the servers are shut down and multiplayer/strike teams are gone?

I wouldn't think they'd be turned off simply because of the end game.

I’m gonna preface this by saying that this is my first time playing the game and that I’m a trilogy diehard that replays 1-3 religiously every few years.

I loved the hell out of this game! The combat is genuinely incredible (Vanguard is my fav) and I genuinely liked most of the companions (Liam even grew on me.) Peebee my beloved… between her and Suvi my poor Sara’s lesbian heart was being throttled lmao.

The set up of the game was the hardest part for me to get over, but it struck me that ME:A was giving me something I have always wanted in ME… which was to play 22 year old Shepard during the Blitz (I’m forever doing War Hero Shep) and before her N7 training (which Shep only goes through after the big life event that shapes their psychological profile… WH/Sole Survivor/Ruthless). Obviously it’s not the same, but it was that vibe, you know? After that clicked for me, that Sara is 22 and going through her Big Life Moment, the game became a lot more enjoyable.

I’m glad I gave the game a chance and I’m now looking forward to my NG+ run and maybe romancing Suvi this time (but i’ll probably fail and just flirt with her again and then end up with Peebee xD)

If you had to pick one, who would it be?

I continue to like Cora more with each playthrough. On my first playthrough, I liked her well enough, but she was my least favorite of the squad. Second playthrough, I decided I liked her more than Liam. And with each subsequent playthrough, I grew to like her more and more.

She gets a bad rap! She's a loyal follower and can be a good friend depending on how you play. I also sympathize with her quest to find her purpose in life.

What do you think about Cora?