Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer revealed in a new gameplay trailer

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The latest Mass Effect: Andromeda gameplay video takes a look at the game's multiplayer combat, which will debut with more than 25 character kits from both the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, each one built to suit different styles of play.

On the whole, Andromeda multiplayer doesn't look all that terribly different from what we had in Mass Effect 3. Squads of four players will drop into a themed combat zone to take on multiple, increasingly difficult waves of enemies, and must safely extract at the end of the mission in order to claim success. Weapons are upgradeable, and boosters will provide temporary access to things like increased shields, faster skill cooldowns, or bonus experience.

One aspect of it that I find very interesting is that multiplayer experience will be awarded collectively, rather than individually, which fits with the very obvious emphasis on the importance of teamwork over individual glory. "At the completion of a match, all players' XP, credits, and medals are added up and awarded to each player," the narrator states. "So there's no need to compete with your teammates."

The trailer also makes a brief mention of Strike Teams, which we first heard about last week. Players will have the option of taking on multiplayer missions personally or dispatching Strike Teams to handle them autonomously. Either way, success will earn rewards that can be used in Andromeda's single-player mode.

Mass Effect: Andromeda will launch with five multiplayer "firebases," set on an ice world, a lava world, a desert world, an asteroid, and an abandoned Kett ship. For a closer look at what's in store, be sure to check out our hands-on preview of Andromeda's multiplayer action from PAX.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.