Following the conventions of the originalMass Effecttrilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda provided a new cast of characters to help players explore the outer reaches of space. Indeed, the crew of the Tempest is filled with familiar species, including humans (who would have thought?) an Asari, a Turian, a Krogan, and an Angaran—the newly-introduced species in Andromeda.
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How players play the protagonist, Ryder, will necessarily affect the utility of their squad mates. Innovating on the conventions of the original trilogy, Andromeda adopted a less rigid class system for combat, opting instead for a customizable “Profile” system. Even with more options for combat, choosing effective squad mates is still a crucial part of gameplay. Considering their overall strengths and weaknesses, here are the rankings for every squad member in Andromeda.
6PeeBee - Rogue Academic
Pelessaria B’Sayle, colloquially known as PeeBee, is Andromeda’s rendition of the original trilogy’s Asari crew mate, Dr. Liara T’Soni. They are both “young” Asari (that is, they are both over 100 years old) who both give exposition on ancient cultures and technologies. Similar to Liara, she is the expert on Remnant technology. In mechanical terms, this gives her some tech abilities, like the Invasion debuff. However, she is mostly oriented around Biotics, like most Asari.
PeeBee is not bad in combat—she just has to be deployed cautiously. Despite her bonuses to Shields, she is liable to be knocked down given her relatively weak firepower. PeeBee shines when her Biotic abilities synergize with the rest of the squad’s abilities. With the Pull and Shockwave abilities, effective squad synergy leads to devastating Biotic detonations. These abilities are even useful on their own, but only at getting enemies out of cover for her squad to take down.
5Jaal Ama Darav - Rebel Soldier
Jaal Ama Darav is Ryder’s narrative entry point into the conflict with the Kett. As an Angaran, he and his people have been fighting them for a while, making Jaal like a lone guerilla fighter. As such, Jaal comes to the battlefield with aLanat sniper rifleand an offensive cloaking ability, Avenger Strike. As such, Jaal is essentially the Infiltrator class from previous games (although his Energy Drain tech ability is more the domain of Engineers).
In a similar sense to PeeBee, Jaal is a great pick for the focused, team-oriented player. Jaal can manage exceptionally well if he is set up in two basic ways: setting him in the back line with his sniper rifle, or getting lone enemies in cover with Avenger Strike. Unlike PeeBee, however, Jaal is more likely to survive, given his Shield-boosting Energy Drain and the fact that he is (hopefully!) far from enemies. Jaal synergizes really nicely when Ryder is a Vanguard, since Ryder’s close-range weapons and Biotics complement his long-range shots and tech abilities.
4Liam Kosta - Crisis Response Specialist
Speaking of Vanguards, the Tempest is home to two of them: one of whom is Liam Kosta. Liam is a former police officer and member of the Heavy Urban Search and Crisis Response. This background translates into his close-range, crowd-controlling abilities. Vanguards have a high-risk, high-reward play style. Liam’s main power, Havoc Strike, is perfect for combo detonations but also places him in the middle of the enemies if it does not land effectively.
To account for the “high risk” aspect of his gameplay, Ryder should deploy Liam with a heavy-hitting tank if combat goes poorly. If Liam is overly aggressive without his squad backing him, he is likely to go down (and bring his team down with him). By extension, many of the combat environments in Andromeda are out in the open, where Liam is out of his element. Despite these weaknesses, Liam is still a heavy hitter who does most of the work in a close-range fight.
3Vetra Nyx - Mercenary, Smuggler, Versatile
In the original trilogy, players do not even see a female Turian until theMass Effect 3 DLC, Omega, which features the mercenary leader, Nyreen Kandros. In Andromeda, however, you are accompanied by a similar Turian, Vetra Nyx, a mercenary and smuggler.
Her background as a mercenary gives her a solid play style as a Soldier, with abilities like Turbocharge and Concussive Shot. Turbocharge augments her DPS considerably and Concussive Shot is a nice way to land combo detonations on unshielded, unarmored enemies. Her crafty smuggler background lends her the classic Sentinel ability, Power Armor, significantly increasing her Damage Resistance and Shields. Being able to deal and take plenty of damage, Vetra is a versatile pick for any squad composition. Her only drawback, however, is that she is generally good, but not great at the extremes of long or close-range combat.
2Nakmor Drack - Krogan Soldier
Drack is a Krogan. Any experienced Mass Effect player would look at Drack and see a surefire squad member; Krogan are shotgun-wielding tanks with incredible health regeneration and devastating damage output. Mass Effect players would also see his similarity to Urdnot Wrex, the grizzled mercenary from the original Trilogy. Like Wrex, and most other Krogan, Drack has been fighting as his job for centuries—this experience translates directly into his gameplay.
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Drack can melt enemy armor with Incinerate; if his squad does not follow up to take the enemy, Drack can follow up on his own, using his shotgun or his Flak Cannon. Increasing his damage resistance, health regeneration, melee damage, and Blood Rage makes Drack nearly unstoppable at close range. Is Drack in a good position with the squad? Great. Is Drack out of position? No worries—he can manage on his own for a good amount of time. Players can rely on him at close range and do not have to worry about him going down; his only drawbacks are his lack of long-range capabilities, but the rest of the squad can supplement that.
1Cora Harper - Asari Commando?
TheAsari are a considerable military power, known for their innate, powerful Biotics. Although the Tempest has an Asari (PeeBee), Cora is the only one who has received training from Asari commandos and huntresses, making her an incredibly powerful Biotic user (especially for a human). Many of the squad members are multi-classed, but Cora is a very conventional Vanguard. She embodies the high-risk, high-reward play style like Liam, but she has a few tricks that favor her even more.
Cora specializes in close-quarters (she has a shotgun) and can obliterate nearby enemies with her AoE ability, Nova. However, she balances herself out in two ways: first, she mitigates the risk of her play style with her defensive Shield Boost ability, and second, she has long-range capabilities. Her highly-aggressive Charge ability can close the gap between her and enemies at range, causing a Biotic combo detonation on impact. In other words, being a close-range specialist is not an issue when you can simply teleport to the enemies. With high damage output, powerful Biotic abilities, and a skill set that minimizes her own weaknesses, Cora is the best overall pick out of all the squad members.
