The Best Builds List - Mass Effect: Andromeda (MEA)

Lancer Build

The idea of this build relies on Charging into enemies with your biotic powers and wreaking havoc inside enemy lines. This is available thanks to two main skills - Annihilation and Lance. The first one primes and debuffs all enemies around Ryder. After that, you use Lance to create explosions and thrash enemies.

The build relies on close combat as this is when the enemies are the weakest to your skills. Moreover, each kill you make, will restore more than half of your shields.

Skills allocation

This section covers how skill points should be allocated for the end game on the Lance build

Combat Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Shotguns	Weight Any Damage & Force	Generally, any weapon works, it's my personal preference to use a shotgun as I have always been close to enemies. If you are using Scattershot take Reload for a level 5 upgrade
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Heavy Lifting Hold the Line	Provides various stat boosts - max health, shields, weight capacity, weapon damage, etc. The level 6 upgrade, is especially good as it gives 200 damage resistance when HP is low.

There is another option that I would like to recommend.

Biotic Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Charge	Damage & Force Power Synergy Shock Trooper	This ability will play the main role of charging into a group of opponents. Moreover, it will restore shields that can be used for Lance's ability. I prefer Shock Trooper as you get plenty of bonuses from other abilities for bonus shield restoration and it reaches 100% easily.
Annihilation	Radius Damage Attractor Draining Field	This ability allows us to prime all enemies around for Biotic Combos. It also decreases enemy damage resistance allowing for more damage. Moreover, the last upgrade gives 30 shield restoration after each kill, giving opportunities for more Lance uses.
Lance	Damage & Force Anti-Shield Shield-Powered	This is the main damage ability of the Lancer build. You can use it as long as you have shields. Moreover, after each enemy is killed you will restore part of the shields from other skills, to continue using this skill. Otherwise, you can just use Charge.
Barrier	Unyielding Barrier Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Provides improvements to shields and gives instant shield restore when health is low
Offensive Biotics	Alacrity Exploitation Biotic Warrior	The ability gives bonus biotic power damage and recharge speed. Moreover, it will weaken enemies when a biotic effect is active (Annihilation) and gives bonus damage after each biotic skill use.
Containment	Radius Shield Detonation Event Horizon	This ability is a low priority. It gives bonus duration and effect radius for biotic skills.

Tech Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Team Support	Support Team Recovery Defense Grid	To unlock this ability get any skill to level 4 in the Tech skill tree. Team Support gives a bonus to defenses and damage resistance with the last upgrade.

Profile

You will need to spend 232 skill points in the biotic skill tree to unlock the level 6 Adept profile

Profile	Description
Adept	I think this profile fits perfectly the build (although Vanguard can also be an option). The Adept profile provides various boosts to biotic skills. However, the most important is Biotic echoes, which create smaller combos after combo detonation, creating havoc on the battlefield.

Engineer Build

By distributing Engineer capabilities, I could leverage a combination of casting skills, constructs, and weapons, resulting in a versatile Engineer on the battlefield. The construct assumes a crucial role by drawing aggro and setting up priming combos.

Your weapons become indispensable for tearing through enemies during the cooldown period of your tech skills. Once your abilities are ready, you have the option to initiate combos independently or in collaboration with your construct or fellow party members, effortlessly dismantling any form of defense.

Skills allocation

This section covers how Squad points should be allocated for the end game on the Engineer Tech Build.

Tech Powers

Here are recommended tech power skills. The upgrade choices are optional and you can pick them based on your preference.

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Energy Drain	Recharge Speed Extend Duration Damage	A truly powerful ability that we will use to prime and detonate tech combos. Moreover, it restores shields giving a large boost to the Engineer's survivability.
Incinerate	Radius Anti-Armor Detonator	You will use this ability mainly against enemy armor. Moreover, once we take the Detonator upgrade, the ability can also detonate combos, which can be created by Remnant VI, Energy Drain, or companions. For the level 5 upgrade, I went with Anti-Armor, because I feel armored enemies are especially dangerous and you want them dead ASAP.
Remnant VI	Exploited Repairs Focus Module Electric Beam	The construct will play two major roles. First, it will provide some damage and draw the enemy's attention. Second, it will prime targets for Tech Combos. This will happen with the level 6 upgrade Electric Beam. With it, you will have 3 sources of combos - Ryder, companions, and construct
Offensive Tech	Any Detonators Elemental Tech	Improves offensive stats of tech-related skills - damage, recharge speed, detonator damage. The last upgrade Elemental Tech will give elemental defense debuff for more damage.
Team Support	Support Team Recovery Life Support	The most important survivability skill. Although it gives good bonuses, the last upgrade Life Support, allows restoring HP when a Tech skill has been used
Auxiliary Systems	Weapon Mass Reduction Impact Dilation Omni-Vents	Improves tech skills effects, like construct health, duration, radius, etc.

Combat Skills

Choose only one based on the weapon you use. Check recommended weapons in the Equipment section. You should pick either Assault Rifle or Shotgun in my opinion.

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Assault Rifles	Weight Clip Size Shattered Defenses	If you wish to use Assault Rifles I recommend this skill tree
Shotguns	Weight Clip Size Damage & Force	If you wish to use Shotguns I recommend this skill tree

Biotic Skills

I only recommend one skill from this tree. It will give a decent boost to Ryder's survivability.

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Barrier	Any Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Our goal is the level 6 upgrade - Saving Barrier. It gives instant shield restoration when health is low. On Insanity, this can mean life and death and it will come in handy in almost every encounter

Profile

You will need to spend 232 skill points in Tech Tree for the level 6 Engineer profile and maximum bonuses

Profile	Description
Engineer	The profile gives bonuses to combo damage and improves summoned construct stats. More importantly, it gives a unique effect - Combat Drone. It releases an EMP charge when enemies are nearby and provides bonus power recharge speed.

Assault Rifle Build

The concept behind this build is relatively straightforward. Our primary focus is on optimizing our effectiveness with Assault Rifles. However, to achieve this, there are a few essential components we need to consider: selecting the appropriate skills, acquiring suitable armor, and obtaining the right weapons. Once all these elements are aligned, you'll find yourself effortlessly decimating enemies even on the challenging Insanity difficulty setting.

When I utilized this build, I experienced a sensation akin to that of a skilled SWAT operative systematically clearing each room with precise shots from my assault rifle. The ability to swiftly eliminate the first, second, and even third enemy in quick succession was immensely satisfying. The sheer power I wielded made certain encounters feel surprisingly effortless, especially when compared to other builds.

Skills allocation

This section covers how skill points should be allocated for the end game on the Assault Rifle build

Combat Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Turbocharge	Duration Damage & Force Supercharge	One of the pillars of this build. Should be used any time it is not under cooldown and Ryder is in combat. It greatly boosts weapon clip capacity, fire rate, and damage. Almost any weapon with this skill becomes overpowered.
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Heavy Lifting Hold the Line	Provides various stat boosts - max health, shields, weight capacity, weapon damage, etc. The level 6 upgrade, is especially good as it gives 200 damage resistance when HP is low.
Combat Tools	Hover Any Aerial Combat	The skill is not exceptionally important early on. However, it improves aerial combat, allowing Ryder to hover for longer. This unlocks some better angles to take out enemies behind the cover.
Assault Rifles	Weight Clip Size Shatter Defenses	Pretty obvious choice why we pick this passive skill. It improves Assault Rifle handling, damage, and clip size.

Once the other skills are covered, dump all points into combat skills for a higher Soldier profile level.

Biotic Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Barrier	Unyielding Barrier Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Provides improvements to shields and gives instant shield restore when health is low

Tech Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Invasion	Outbreak Weaker Virulence	The skill is very powerful, especially when fighting armored or stronger opponents. It allows you to shred through them with an Assault Rifle. Moreover, thanks to Team Support, you will regain health every time it is used.
Tactical Cloak	Damage Bonus Duration Combat Cloak	An extremely important ability for this build. It is the only choice to avoid enemy fire (besides moving to cover). However, with Combat Cloak, Ryder can also deal a huge burst of damage in 2 seconds.
Team Support	Support Team Recovery Life Support	Provides support-type bonuses. Our goal is the level 6 upgrade Life Support. It gives health regeneration that allows free use of Bio-Converter on weapons
Offensive Tech	Anti-Shield Detonators Technical Rounds	Improves various stats of tech skills. Moreover, after each tech skill use, we get bonus weapon damage.
Auxiliary Systems	Weapon Mass Reduction Enduring Tech Omni-Vents	Provides general bonuses for tech skills. Not as important for this build, so you can take it later in the game. The last upgrade gives a boost to skill recharge times.

Profile

You will need to spend 232 skill points in the combat skill tree to unlock the level 6 Soldier profile

Profile	Description
Soldier	For this build our goal is to get the highest boost of weapon damage, accuracy, and clip size.

Sniper Build

The core concept of this build revolves around the effective utilization of a Sniper rifle to maximize damage output. This approach grants you the ability to engage in long-range combat, inflicting substantial damage to enemy weak spots. As you progress, you'll become capable of eliminating shielded foes with a single well-placed shot.

Contrary to popular belief, the Sniper build is not limited to stationary gameplay. Thanks to the versatility of the Tactical cloak and the maneuverability provided by Andromeda hover jets, you can easily maneuver to find the optimal shooting angle at any given moment. This dynamic playstyle ensures that you remain adaptable and able to seize the best opportunities for successful shots.

Skills Allocation

This section covers how Squad points should be allocated for the end game on the Sniper Build

Combat skills

Power name	Upgrades order	Description
Barricade	Duration Weapon Feedback Regeneration	This skill plays an important role in the build. It will allow always to have cover, increase Shield regeneration, and improve weapon damage. There are no downsides to using and it greatly improves Sniper build's combat prowess
Turbocharge	Duration Damage & Force Supercharge	Thanks to this ability, you will be able to increase your sniper damage. Moreover, it will increase clip size without costing additional ammo. This will allow shooting multiple times before the need to reload. The 4th level upgrade Recharge Speed is my preferred one, as I would like to use the ability again as soon as possible (specifically after each reload)
Sniper Rifles	Weight Any Damage & Force	The main passive ability of the Sniper build. It improves the clip size, and damage, and reduces weight. My preferred upgrade for level 5 is Clip size. However, with Turbocharge, this improvement is not large, and taking Reload might be your preferred choice
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Heavy Lifting In the Trenches	This ability provides general bonuses to stats and improves survivability. What is great, is that with the Heavy Lifting upgrade, you will get a larger clip size, which is important for Sniper build. Moreover, In the Trenches perfectly synergizes with Barricade.
Combat Tools	Hover Any Aerial Combat	This skill should have low priority. Mainly it improves airborne combat by allowing to hover longer and increasing accuracy,

Tech skills

Power name	Upgrades order	Description
Tactical Cloak	Damage Bonus Duration Escape Artist	This is a very powerful ability. The big decision is which upgrade to take for Level 6. Going with Combat Cloak enables an additional 2 seconds of bonus damage (that is 2-3 shots with Sniper Rifle). However, you then lose a way to restore HP. By taking Escape Artist, we get one shot with bonus damage and also HP regeneration via Life Support upgrade.
Offensive Tech	Any Any Technical Rounds	We only take this ability for the last upgrade - Technical Rounds. After Tactical Cloak is activated Ryder gains an additional 30% weapon damage boost.
Auxiliary Systems	Weapon Mass Reduction Enduring Tech Omni-Vents	Provides some duration bonuses for Tactical Cloak. This in turn will decrease its cooldown as % of the power you use impacts the time. However, Omni-Vents is a very powerful upgrade, and this is why we take this option.
Team Support	Squad Offense Team Recovery Life Support	Generally, this ability is very powerful. By taking the Life Support upgrade you will restore HP after tech skill use. Moreover, Tactical Cloak does not allow HP regeneration, but the Escape Artist upgrade enables this, giving you an easy way to survive most game situations.

Biotic Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Barrier	Unyielding Barrier Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Provides improvements to shields and gives instant shield restore when health is low

Profiles

You will need to spend 232 skill points in total for Combat to reach Soldier profile level 6.

Profile	Description
Soldier	Gives all the needed stats for a Sniper build - clip size, weapon damage, accuracy, and damage resistance. This maximizes your combat potential

Adept Build

The foundation of this build centers around the strategic implementation of two primary skills: Singularity and Throw, which revolve around creating biotic fields and lifting enemies. Singularity serves as a vortex that draws in enemies, dealing damage, and consistently priming biotics, even against protected foes.

On the other hand, Throw possesses remarkable versatility within our arsenal. It can either detonate the existing biotic fields or create its biotic combos. This still stands as the cornerstone of our abilities, boasting a remarkably short recharge time.

Skills allocation

This section covers how Squad points should be allocated for the end game on the Adept Build.

Biotic Skills

First, I would like to cover important decisions that you will have to make with the build. There are two abilities that do similar things - Lance and Charge. Both of them are biotic combo detonators. However, they provide different combat approach

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Lance	Damage & Force Anti-Shield Knockdown	A perfect early in the game, it allows shooting biotic arrows from a distance and favors long-range combat. Of course, you can also use it all the time instead of going for Charge. Overall the ability will be used to strip enemies of shields and detonate them once they are set up for combos with Throw or Singularity
Charge	Damage & Force Power Synergy Shock Trooper	Charge into an enemy from a distance and instantly restore 50% of Ryder's shields. Unfortunately, the skill will usually leave you open to enemy damage. For this reason, we take Shock Trooper upgrade, to reduce recharge speeds and be able to use Charge as soon as possible. Moreover, it can detonate combos, allowing for much greater damage.

Generally, I would recommend Lance's skill in the early-mid game, after that (once you start having shorter cooldowns from skills and gear) try out Charge and see if it works for you. Now these are the rest of the abilities that you will need for Adept build

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Throw	Damage & Force Duration Swift Detonation	This skill is a beast. It deals damage (although moderate), primes enemies for the Biotic combo if they are unprotected (Duration upgrade), and also detonates combos. Moreover, with Swift Detonation you will greatly improve the recharge rates, allowing for some crazy fast combat
Singularity	Radius Recharge Speed Exploding Singularity	The ability plays a major role when fighting shielded and armored enemies. It both damages and primes biotic combos. Moreover, once you detonate the combat, it is primed again as long as the Singularity field is active. This means that strong enemies can be detonated with multiple explosions allowing for some big damage.
Barrier	Unyielding Barrier Biotic Link Saving Barrier	This skill provides strong improvements to shields for Adept build, it is necessary as the Saving Barrier upgrade is very powerful and increases your survivability chances drastically
Offensive Biotics	Amplitude Detonation Biotic Expert	By taking Amplitude upgrade we improve the damage that we do with all Biotic skills. I think we already have skills that provide decent recharge times so getting more damage is critical.
Containment	Radius Shield Detonation Event Horizon	The skill gives general improvements to biotic skills like radius, force, and detonators

Because you need a lot of skill points invested in this tree, take other biotic abilities once these are maximized.

Combat Skills

The big drawback of Adept is its survivability, it is fairly easy to die. For this reason, I recommend improving your health and damage resistance via the Combat skill tree

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Any Weapon skill	Damage related upgrades	Take any weapon skill that you use. For example, I prefer Shotguns or Assault Rifles
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Any Hold the Line	I think this skill is extremely important. It will increase the base HP regeneration threshold to 50%. Moreover, with the level 6 upgrade Hold the Line Ryder gets a 200 damage resistance boost when HP is low.

Profile

You will need to spend 232 skill points in Biotic Tree for the level 6 Adept profile and maximum bonuses

Profile	Description
Adept	The profile provides bonuses to biotic powers - force, area damage, radius, and additional explosions on combo detonations. Unfortunately, the Adept profile does not give any bonuses to power recharge times.

Vanguard Build

The primary objective of this build is to capitalize on the substantial bonuses provided by the Vanguard profile by utilizing Melee attacks. The outcome is a dynamic and high-speed build reminiscent of a space samurai. Each successful melee strike not only inflicts damage but also replenishes your shields, enabling sustained combat engagements.

However, it's important to acknowledge that this build does have a few vulnerabilities. For instance, it may encounter challenges when facing airborne enemies such as Remnant Constructs. Additionally, encounters with Architects, featuring their unique mechanics, may prove to be difficult as melee attacks are not viable against them. Moreover, caution must be exercised when facing Fiends, as their finisher move can pose a significant threat.

Skills allocation

This section covers how skill points should be allocated for the end game on the Vanguard Build.

Biotic Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Charge	Damage & Force Weapons & Melee Bastion	The bread and butter of this build. It allows one to swiftly attack enemies from great distances. Moreover, it restores your shields, provides damage resistance, and improves melee damage/ Not only that but this animation also provides invincibility frames, allowing you to play extremely risky.
Annihilation	Any Damage Attractor Draining Field	The second active skill of the ability. For the 4th level upgrade, both options work. However, I would recommend taking Recharge Penalty if you are not using Fusion Mod of Rapid Deployment
Barrier	Recuperative Barrier Biotic Alacrity Active Barrier	Defensive passive skill that improves shield capacity, carry weight, shield regeneration, etc. More importantly, it restores shields by 10% after each enemy is killed.
Offensive Biotics	Amplitude Exploitation Biotic Warrior	Provides damage, power recharge cooldown, and other offensive bonuses. The level 4 upgrade is a difficult choice. However, I went with more Biotic damage. My main reason is that only one of our powers relies on recharge times, while all benefit from greater damage.
Containment	Radius Shield Detonation Event Horizon	Provides general improvements to biotic skills like Radius, force, etc.

This still leaves one skill slot. What to choose? Generally, I think two biotic abilities use the bonuses from Vanguard. Both of them have their benefits. So pick your choice.

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Lance	Damage & Force Anti-shield Shield-powered	My personal preference for this build. Take the Shield-Powered upgrade at level 6. With the Vanguard profile, the shield cost to use is very low. So you can use it to detonate combos, damage shields, etc. I think it expands some of the combat options for Vanguard.
Nova	Damage & Force Any Shield Powered	This ability allows doing a melee-like biotic attack that does AOE damage. Perfect when there is a group of enemies, and you want to dispatch them quickly. With the upgrades we choose, it will have no cooldown but use shields, that you can easily recharge by killing enemies or using Charge.

Combat Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Shotguns	Weight Clip Size Melee Synergy	Improves shotgun weapon handling. Generally, try to increase the clip size, as we will use Bio-Converter whenever possible. Moreover, we need the last upgrade Melee Synergy. It gives a large boost to melee damage after a shotgun shot.
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Any Hold the Line	Amazing defensive passive skill that improves health regeneration. The last upgrade gives a huge damage resistance boost when the HP is low
Combat Tools	Evasion Aerial Melee Martial Arts	Provides bonuses to jumping and melee combat.

Profile

You will need to spend 116 skill points in Biotic and Combat trees each to unlock a level 6 Vanguard profile

Profile	Description
Vanguard	The vanguard profile gives boosts to melee damage and reduces the shield costs of some abilities (Lance or Nova, with specific upgrades). Moreover, it gives an increased biotic skill cooldown rate

Explorer Build

The Explorer profile in Mass Effect Andromeda can be likened to a versatile "Jack of All Trades," excelling in all skill trees including combat, tech, and biotics. However, instead of simply being average across the board, it surpasses expectations and becomes overpowered.

Achieving this level of power is indeed possible. The build leverages specific skills to swiftly maneuver across the battlefield while consistently restoring shields. Furthermore, the addition of Turbocharge transforms any weapon into a lethal force, enabling the rapid elimination of most enemies with remarkable speed and efficiency.

Skills allocation

This section covers how skill points should be allocated for the end game on the Explorer Build.

Biotic Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Charge	Damage & Force Weapons & Melee Any	This ability is what allows the Explorer build to be reckless and mobile. With it, we can detonate combos, restore shields, and quickly move over the battlefield appearing next to any enemy. The big decision is what upgrade to pick for level 6. My preferred is Shock Trooper. It ensures that I always can use Charge whenever needed. Moreover, Bastion's 100% shield restoration is wasted as we get large bonuses for shield restoration from the Explorer profile. So it's just a bit more damage and damage resistance.
Offensive Biotics	Alacrity Detonation Biotic Warrior	Improves biotic skills. The last upgrade will also increase weapon damage for 3 seconds after Charge usage. So feel free to use it as much as possible
Barrier	Unyielding Barrier Biotic Alacrity Saving Barrier	Provides improvements to shields and gives instant shield restore when health is low
Containment	Any Shield Detonation Event Horizon	Gives bonuses to biotic skills like area of effect, detonation power, etc. Generally, this is a very low-priority skill, that gives minor improvements.

Tech Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Team Support	Support Team Recovery Life Support	This is an extremely important passive skill. It gives bonus defense restoration for both Charge and Energy Drain (if you decide to pick it). Moreover, with the last upgrade, each tech skill used will restore HP.
Offensive Tech	Anti-Shield Detonators Technical Rounds	Improves tech power handling. For level 4 I pick Anti shield as these types of enemies are the most abundant. For level 6, I go with Technical Rounds to improve weapon damage.
Auxiliary Systems	Any Enduring Tech Omni-Vents	Improves tech powers. For level 4, either upgrade works, but I do not use consumable ammo, so I pick Weight. The last upgrade gives a huge power cooldown boost.

Here we have an exciting choice. If you like to play extremely aggressively and want to deal very high damage you should take Tactical Cloak

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Tactical Cloak	Damage Bonus Duration Combat Cloak	Become invisible and disappear from enemy sight. The last upgrade is the most difficult part of this skill. If you take Combat Cloak, the Life Support skill will not activate and you will not restore your HP after tech skill use (this is very useful when using Bio-Converter). However, by picking Escape Artist, you only get improved damage with the first action, which makes this skill lose most of its appeal.

However, it comes with a huge downside. The ability cancels any effects of shield or health regeneration. So as an alternative, I suggest this one:

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Energy Drain	Any Extend Duration Damage	A very powerful tech skill that restores shields and can both prime and detonate combos. The level 4 upgrade is your personal preference. I went with Recharge Speed, as the restoration is already high from Explorer profile stat bonuses.

Combat Skills

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Turbocharge	Duration Damage & Force Supercharge	With this ability any weapon you wield will become extremely deadly. It will provide bonus damage, a higher rate of fire, and a bigger clip size
Combat Fitness	Regeneration Heavy Lifting Hold the Line	Provides important bonuses to the main player stats. Specifically, we are targeting bonuses for damage reduction and health regeneration. It will be important when using weapons with Bio-Converter
Combat Tools	Any Any Aerial Combat	The skill provides some bonuses to aerial and melee combat. I recommend taking this ability late in the game when you have all other combat skills covered. The bonuses are not as game-changing.

Pick your preferred weapon skill. I went with Shotguns and Pistols I used them both

Power name	Upgrades Choices	Description
Shotguns	Weight Clip Size Damage & Force	One of my favorite guns in the game. We want improvements to clip size and higher damage.
Pistols	Weight Clip Size Any	Improves pistol handling. For the last upgrade pick the choice based on your preference - aiming or no aiming
Assault Rifles	Weight Clip Size Shatter Defenses	Improves assault rifle handling. Take the Shatter Defenses for large damage increase with successful shots.

I did not go with Sniper Rifles, it is a valid option but could be hard to play if you are very aggressive and close to the enemies.

Profile

You will need to spend 78 skill points in Biotic, Tech, and Combat trees each to unlock a level 6 Explorer profile

Profile	Description
Explorer	Has a unique Dodge mechanic, that moves through obstacles. Provides a wide array of stat bonuses, tech recharge rates, power damage, weapon damage, and damage resistance.

Conclusion

Mass Effect Andromeda offers a wide array of builds to make. By considering various factors such as combat style, abilities, and playstyle preferences, you can create a build that suits your unique approach to the game

Hope you enjoyed reading