Mass Effect Andromeda questions answered: how to change armour, your first outpost, respec, best training and more

Mass Effect Andromeda is a huge game, and you don't want to faff it up right from the get go. We understand. Benefit from our experience. Some spoilers ahead.

Mass Effect Andromeda is all about exploration, so it's no surprise it has generated a lot of questions. Who were the Remnant? What are the Kett really up to? How do I make SAM shut up and preferably throw him in a bin?

There's no solution for that last one, alas, and Mass Effect Andromeda is deliberately open-ended with some of its deeper story mysteries. But the questions that we can answer, we will. On this page we'll reply to the most common questions we've received about BioWare's latest RPG.

We'll clearly flag spoilers, so be sure to skip past anything that might ruin your experience.

How do I change armour in Mass Effect Andromeda?

You can only change armour or weapons in Mass Effect Andromeda on the loadout screen, which is generally only accessible in three places:

• There's a loadout station in a room off the bridge of the Tempest, on Suvi's side, opposite's Peebee's escape pod hideout.
• When you disembark the Tempest in a potentially hostile zone, you'll be presented with the loadout screen.
• The loadout screen can be accessed from Forward Stations on the planet surface.

By default the loadout screen shows your weapon selection, but you can browse across to armour, consumables, squadmates and Nomad cosmetics using the tabs at the top of the screen. On PC, click the tabs to select them and with a control pad use the shoulder bumpers to move between them.

How do I recolour Ryder's armour?

Head down to Ryder's quarters on the lower floor of the Tempest - right under the bridge - and look for the wardrobe in one corner of the room. It's on the door side, at the end opposite the desk. You can also change and re-colour your casual clothes here.

How do I respec (reset skills) in Mass Effect Andromeda?

There's a respec station in the Med Bay on the Tempest, which is on the lower floor opposite the crew quarters. You can reset skills there.

It costs credits to respec in Mass Effect Andromeda, and the price goes up every time you use it, so make sure you know what you're doing and why. We've got some tips on how to craft effective builds in our Mass Effect Andromeda tips carousel.

What is the best training to choose during character customisation?

Honestly? It doesn't matter. The very first time you level up you can choose any power or passive ability you want, from any skill tree. This isn't like picking a class in a standard RPG, as you're not locked into anything. The only difference it makes is what abilities you'll have access to for that first hour while you're waiting to level up.

For more information on choosing a starting training and other aspects of character creation, see our Mass Effect Andromeda character creation guide.

We recommend choosing one of the three trainings that straddle two powers, just because we believe it gives you the best headstart on a strong build: Leader, Operative or Scrapper. For the record, Alex and Brenna both chose Scrapper because biotic charge is a thing of beauty forever.

What should I choose for my first outpost?

It super doesn't matter. There'll be some small difference in later side quests and dialogue depending on which you pick, but you won't really notice and there's no major consequence. Just do what you think is right. Remember, this first choice is supposed to set the tone for the Initiative's presence in Andromeda. What kind of totally unimportant message do you want to send?

How should I finish the First Murderer side quest? [Spoilers]

We've written a guide to the whole exile-or-release First Murderer thing, if you fancy it.

What are my romance options?

Conveniently, we have penned a Mass Effect Andromeda romance and banging guide. Have at it.

What do the dialogue icons mean?

Again, we have a Mass Effect Andromeda conversation options guide which details all the dialogue icons and distinguishes between the ones that matter and the ones that, uh, don't. At all.

How do I change my appearance in character customization?

Ah yes, Mass Effect Andromeda's character customization screen is a little bit unintuitive. You can't customize your character based on the default appearance; if you want to make your own Ryder, you need to first select one of the other presets.

Once you have a preset select, though, you can go buck wild - use the tabs across the top of the screen to enter individual menus for hair, eyes, features and so on.

Make sure to confirm your changes and don't open a different preset after you're done - you'll lose all your hard work if you do.

While we're on the subject, here are three neat little character customisation facts:

• You can change your twin's appearance.
• Ryder senior's looks change depending on which preset you started with.
• If you keep the default name of "Scott" or "Sara", characters will address you by name sometimes instead of "Pathfinder" or "Ryder".

What are glyphs and monoliths, and how do I solve remnant decryptions?

Why, look at that - we have once again put together a Mass Effect Andromeda monoliths, glyphs and remnant decryption guide for you.

What's the best build in Mass Effect Andromeda?

Dunno. What's the best colour?

If you'd like a recommendation for a viable build path, both Brenna and Alex are playing Vanguard profiles with a heavy emphasis on biotic charge, melee and shotguns.

Alex likes to have one biotic primer and an anti-armour tech power, while Brenna prefers two controlling biotic powers. Both of them play a very mobile game with plenty of dashes and quick changes between biotic combos, melee, shotguns, and powers. Each of them agree throwing all your spare points into passive abilities is the best bet once you've maxed out your chosen powers and weapons.

What is "salvage"in Mass Effect Andromeda?

"Salvage" is just Mass Effect Andromeda's term for what would be called "Junk" in Dragon Age and many other RPGs - loot items you receive that serve no purpose other than be sold on for credits.

You should mash that "sell all salvage" button whenever you visit a merchant, but you might want to browse that section of the inventory every now and then - there are some cute little easter eggs in there for those who fossick through the item descriptions.

What's the deal with Kirkland? [Spoilers]

You can not save Kirkland. His death is inevitable no matter how quick your trigger finger is.

For Task: The Model of the Spheres, how do I scan planets?

All you need to do to scan a planet is to visit it in orbit and tap the scan button; it doesn't need to have an anomaly on it or anything. Once you press the button, the system's completion percentage will then update, and you'll get a tick of progress on this task. Note that you need to advance the critical path a little in order to have access to enough systems and planets to complete the task.

Does mining really suck or is it just me?

No, mining really sucks! There's no visual indication on the field or your map to show where the mining zone begins and ends, so you just need to work out the boundary by trial and error while SAM repeatedly tells you you're in a mining zone.

Once you know roundabout where the edges are, you can run a grid search to locate the nodes by opening your mining interface and waiting for the graph to jump a bit. Many of the mining fields include cliffs and big hills, which is very annoying, and sometimes that one last node you want to tick off is like, halfway up a mountain, in a tiny hole. And it's like four iron or whatever.

Mining does not have any effect on viability so ignore it unless you particularly want some minerals for something; that's our advice. It's just a pain.

Got further Mass Effect Andromeda questions? We probably answered 'em in a guide somewhere. Have a browse around. We don't do this for our health, you know.