Mass Effect: Andromeda | Ep. 06 – Eos – Side Assignments & Planetary Exploration

Welcome back to another episode of Mass Effect: Andromeda! This time, we’re continuing our exploration of the Andromeda galaxy, clearing up some unfinished assignments on Havarl before returning to Eos to see what else needs our attention.

We’ve got planetary exploration, missing supplies, Remnant technology and plenty of kett to deal with. Of course, there are also a few technical problems, some questionable navigation decisions and the occasional #Deathloop. Just another Friday night with the community!

🌌 About the Game

Mass Effect: Andromeda takes us far beyond the Milky Way, into the Andromeda galaxy, where humanity and the other Initiative explorers are searching for a new home. Unfortunately, the territory isn’t particularly welcoming, and establishing settlements is proving more complicated than anyone expected.

We play as Ryder, the Pathfinder, leading a team of explorers through hostile environments, encountering unfamiliar species and making decisions that will influence the Initiative’s future. Every planet brings new discoveries, challenges and opportunities to improve humanity’s chances of survival.

🪐 Where We Are in the Journey

By episode six, we’ve already made considerable progress on Havarl, helping stabilise the planet and strengthen our relationship with the Angara. There are still some outstanding assignments, though, and I want to get those finished before concentrating on Eos.

Eos already has an established settlement at Prodromos, but there’s more to investigate. Missing supplies, planetary surveys, Remnant technology and leads concerning the missing asari ark are all waiting for us. There’s certainly no shortage of things to do.

🚀 What Happens in This Episode

We begin aboard the Tempest, where my controller has decided to start behaving strangely. Some of the inputs aren’t responding as expected, and AIDA also appears to be using rather more computer resources than usual. Tony even notices that AIDA’s loading progress isn’t quite keeping up with the game. So we’re already dealing with a few technical problems before getting anywhere near the kett!

Once everything settles down, I spend some time checking the mission journal, upgrading our abilities and catching up with the crew. We put some skill points into abilities including Singularity and Concussive Shot, and I have another look at weapon modifications and crafting. I also try to remember where the fabrication workbench is located. I’ve got a much higher-level character on an older Xbox save, but that isn’t particularly helpful when deciding what to upgrade at this stage.

The crew conversations give us plenty to think about. Jaal shares more about Angaran culture, their beliefs and the difficulties they’ve experienced under kett occupation, including the disappearance of his father. We also learn more about the Initiative, the Scourge and the search for the missing asari ark. Cora talks about her experiences with the asari commandos and how disappointed she was about not becoming Pathfinder. She’s certainly not shy about reminding us of her commando background! Meanwhile, SAM contributes a rather questionable steak joke, and as far as romance options go, I’m still interested in Suvi.

The game’s character animations also provide some entertainment. Chat compares some of the facial expressions and eye movements to Gerry Anderson’s puppets, while one particular camera angle makes a character look rather like Gollum. Liam also appears to disappear into a wall during a conversation, which leads to comparisons with Homer Simpson backing into a hedge. It’s an interesting way to avoid a conversation!

With the crew conversations finished, we return to Havarl to clear up some outstanding assignments. Our earlier work stabilising the planet is already making a difference, and Director Addison acknowledges the importance of helping the Angara without simply establishing another Initiative outpost on their world.

Scientists have arrived to investigate Havarl’s unusual plant life, particularly the accelerated biological growth that could potentially help with food production on other planets. Unfortunately, the Roekaar have also been collecting information about the mutations, and their intentions are rather less encouraging.

Our investigation involves scanning mutated wildlife, tracking down the Roekaar research and dealing with hostile enemies along the way. It’s also a good opportunity to test our upgraded abilities, with biotic attacks sending enemies flying and the occasional close-range “double ball slap” making an appearance. Ammunition becomes a problem during some encounters, and snipers certainly don’t make life any easier.

Then we run into another problem when Ryder gets stuck in the scenery and ends up falling helplessly until the game finally kills us. There’s not much we can do about that one! Naturally, chat wastes no time bringing back #Deathloop, and FrodoLOTR33 continues reminding me to save before things go wrong. Frodo also proposes a challenge involving no guns and only ball slaps, although we’re still making use of our weapons for the time being.

After getting back into the fight, we eventually locate the Roekaar research and have to decide what to do with it. I choose to erase the dangerous information rather than risk somebody using it to create biological weapons. We then report back to the scientists, bringing that particular assignment to a close.

Meanwhile, chat has been providing its own entertainment. A community heist doesn’t go particularly well for me, with the other participants escaping with their winnings while I’m left behind. Things don’t improve during the Hunger Games either, where I get eliminated and SamwiseGamgeeLOTR takes the victory.

There’s plenty of conversation away from the game too. Happy_Cat_Lady, PorterMG and others get talking about the old “You’ve Been Tangoed” adverts, leading to jokes about slapping people and disappearing into hedges. Butterscotch and WD-40 somehow become part of the conversation, while the community’s matchmaking commands continue producing some questionable results for Happy_Cat_Lady. We also have EntertainJD talking about Easter dinner and an enormous chocolate bunny, alongside discussions about The Orville, Avatar: The Last Airbender and a few computer problems.

Eventually, it’s time to move on to Eos, where we have several more assignments waiting. Cora needs to join us because we’re following information connected with the missing asari ark. Given how often she talks about her time with the commandos, I’m not particularly enthusiastic about having to bring her along, but the investigation needs to be done.

At Prodromos, we pick up work involving seismic survey hammers and the possibility of accessing underground water supplies for irrigation. Improving the settlement’s resources is important, but there are also missing supply drops to investigate. What initially looks like another case of scavengers helping themselves may turn out to be something more deliberate.

We also meet an asari survivor who provides information about the missing ark. She describes a frightening encounter with elite kett hunters and gives us a lead involving an evacuation ship called the Perona. It’s another useful piece of the puzzle, although we’ll have to return to that investigation later.

Exploring Eos proves to be a challenge in its own right. Between the radiation zones, steep hills and confusing objective markers, I spend quite a bit of time trying to work out exactly where the Nomad is supposed to go. Sometimes the destination appears to be right beside us, only to discover it’s somewhere above, below or around the other side of a mountain. There are several attempts to drive up slopes that look perfectly reasonable from a distance, but the Nomad doesn’t always agree!

The size of the map becomes a talking point in chat, with FrodoLOTR33 wondering how anyone manages not to get lost. Asmith501 admits to having similar problems with Mass Effect’s navigation system, accidentally claiming to have completed 105% of the first game before correcting that to 10%. It’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who has trouble finding places!

Despite the navigation difficulties, we make progress with several investigations. We locate survey sites and beacons, discover recordings left by a technician, and investigate the fate of a missing colonist. We also find another of Alec Ryder’s memory triggers, giving us something else to follow up as we continue uncovering the Ryder family’s secrets.

There’s more Remnant technology to investigate as well, including an underground area containing hostile defences and a puzzle that takes some figuring out. We have to work around the structures, deal with the enemies and try to understand how the various interfaces are supposed to operate. It’s another reminder that there’s still plenty about this ancient technology we don’t fully understand.

During our exploration, we also recover an ark escape pod from kett-controlled territory, giving us another clue connected with the missing ark. Between the investigations, planetary surveys and scattered assignments, there’s quite a bit to keep track of, and every time we finish something, the journal seems to have another job waiting.

The longer periods of driving give chat time to wander into other conversations. Frodo and Sam discuss The Lord of the Rings, particularly where Frodo Baggins was planning to move before leaving the Shire, eventually settling on Buckland. There’s also a conversation about experience-point farming in other games, including Starfield and Fallout 4. I mention a possible experience-point trick in Andromeda that I hope hasn’t been patched. If it still works, I might do some levelling off-stream rather than spend ages repeating the same activity during a livestream.

Towards the end of our exploration, we encounter Bane Massani, an exile who has been hunting the kett. He has useful information, although his habit of calling Ryder “little duck” isn’t particularly welcome!

Following his lead takes us to a kett position, where we work through the enemies, investigate their activities and destroy a power generator. The fighting itself goes reasonably well, but then we run into another problem. The area continues registering hostile enemies even though there doesn’t appear to be anyone left to fight.

I suspect one of the enemies may have glitched beneath the floor, leaving us unable to finish the objective properly. Rather than waste too much time searching for something we can’t see, I decide to drive away and return to the area. Thankfully, that appears to reset things, allowing us to complete the assignment and report back to Bane.

By the time we return to the Tempest, Havarl has reached 100% viability and Eos is sitting at 90%. We’ve completed several assignments, discovered more information about the missing ark, investigated Remnant technology and made some worthwhile progress across both planets.

There are still plenty of things left to do, including more kett activity, further exploration and several investigations we’ll need to revisit. My controller has started misbehaving again as we finish, but at least we’ve managed to get through the evening!

After checking the upcoming stream schedule and thanking everyone for joining us, we finish with a raid into GlytchEffect’s Horizon Forbidden West stream. It’s been another enjoyable Friday night with the community, even with the navigation problems, unexpected deaths and enemies that apparently don’t want to stay where the game put them.

▶️ Watch the Episode

If you missed the livestream, you can watch Mass Effect: Andromeda Episode 6 on YouTube and catch all the exploration, combat and unexpected problems for yourself.

You can also explore my YouTube channel or catch up with the series through the Mass Effect: Andromeda playlist.

If you enjoy the episode, please leave a like, share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe for more adventures.

🔴 Join the Adventure Live

There’s always room for another explorer aboard the Tempest, especially when the Pathfinder is trying to find his way around Eos!

Come and join us live on Twitch or YouTube, where you can join the conversation, offer advice, laugh at the unexpected problems and perhaps remind me to save before the next #Deathloop.

🌐 Community & Links

The journey doesn’t stop when we return to the Tempest. There are plenty of ways to stay connected, follow the streams and explore everything else happening in the community.

Live — Catch our next adventure as it happens:
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Community — Keep the conversations going between streams:
Discord

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Music — Discover my music beyond the gaming streams:
Spotify | Apple Music

Support — Help support the channel and future content:
Fourthwall | Teespring | Streamlabs

More — Explore my other projects, services and resources:
Business Centre | Download the Brochure | About Me | Blog

🛞 90% Viability and a Controller with Other Ideas

By the end of the evening, Havarl is sitting at 100% viability and Eos has reached 90%. We’ve completed some worthwhile assignments, uncovered more information and still have plenty left to investigate.

My controller starts misbehaving again just as we’re finishing, but we manage to wrap things up and raid into GlytchEffect’s Horizon Forbidden West stream.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. There’s still more of Andromeda to explore, and hopefully next time the Nomad and I will have a slightly easier time finding our way around!

— Dr Ravenholm