Mass Effect: Andromeda Side Activities Include Giant Bosses and Enemy Bases

More details continue to emerge on Mass Effect: Andromeda, with the latest information regarding the types of missions you can find outside of the main storyline.

We've heard previously how loyalty missions are making a return, but they'll be less tied to the core story of the game--director Mac Walters has described them as "much more optional" this time around. And while BioWare has suggested those missions will now do more to mix up the standard Mass Effect formula, they'll hardly be the only side activity you can take part in.

Game Informer has now shared the details of some of those. There are the more expected options, like exploring worlds with Andromeda's new Nomad vehicle, as well as other things that you might not want to jump into haphazardly.

"On most planets there is some level of hostile force, and usually that will be represented by enemy bases or hideouts or whatever you want to call them specific to that planet," producer Mike Gamble said.

Walters added, "These bases are pretty lengthy to take out, so if you approach one, you want to be prepared before you into it. It's fun, because there's a combination of systemic and scripted stuff in there. If you tip off too many enemies, the alarms start going off and you have to shut them off. And there's usually narrative tied around it."

Another task that will require some level of preparation are giant bosses you can fight.

"You'll find creatures and encounters that are so far over-leveled to where you're at naturally on these areas and you can tell right away," Gamble explained. "We have a lot of other things like that, where you'll know that you're not ready for this, but you'll know you want to come back."

Elsewhere on planets, you'll find areas or objects you can scan, which sends information back to your ship to be analyzed. This can, in turn, be used to collect items that allow you to craft weapons and armor.

You'll also discover drop zones, which serve as fast-travel points and where you can tweak your loadout in the field. Finding these also provides points of interest on the map, though Gamble said BioWare doesn't "want to just give you map markers to follow."

More Andromeda news should be coming soon, as BioWare and EA will show gameplay during the Game Awards on December 1. Following that, it's due out sometime next spring--possibly on March 21.