In Mass Effect: Andromeda, new players will no longer choose a class during character creation. This means that you’ll have total freedom to create your ideal character, with all weapons and skills eventually at your disposal. While classes no longer exists, you’ll still need to select a training background at the start of the game. This training gives you a specific starting power and automatically unlocks certain skills. Your training background also impacts your game’s narrative.
Each training background includes:
- One Starting Power. This is a skill you get right off the bat with 1 point invested in it.
- Two Unlocked Skills. Normally, you have to invest 9 skill points into a skill tree (Combat, Tech, or Biotic) to begin investing in specific skills. By unlocking skills with your training background, you can begin investing in these skills immediately, bypassing the normal requirements.
Security
Emphasis: Weapons and Tactics
Starting Power: Concussive Shot
Unlocked Skills: Combat Fitness and Turbocharge
Skill Category: Combat
Choose this if: You’re interested in your Ryder having a military background. This training starts you off with two hard-hitting active skills, giving you more ways to take down enemies. Additionally, this background emphasizes increasing your maximum health from the very start.
Biotic
Emphasis: Mass Effect Fields
Starting Power: Throw
Unlocked Skills: Barrier and Singularity
Skill Category: Biotic
Choose this if: You’re interested in crowd control and powerful shields. After all, this training background paints your character as a “designated biotic” during their military tenure.
Technician
Emphasis: Drones and Hacking
Starting Power: Overload
Unlocked Skills: Team Support and Invasion
Skill Category: Tech
Choose this if: You’re interested in AoE attacks, as both Overload and Invasion impact multiple targets. Additionally, Team Support ensures your entire team’s shields are more prepared for a fight.
Leader
Emphasis: Support and Safety
Starting Power: Energy Drain
Unlocked Skills: Team Support and Annihilation
Skill Category: Tech/Biotic
Choose this if: You want to focus on shield regeneration as well as keeping your team alive. Annihilation primes enemies for combo detonations, allowing you or your teammates to come in with a powerful attack.
Scrapper
Emphasis: Melee Combat
Starting Power: Charge
Unlocked Skills: Charge and Combat Fitness
Skill Category: Combat/Biotic
Choose this if: You like up close and personal melee combat. With this training background, you’re always ready for a fight.
Operative
Emphasis: Stealth and Tech
Staring Power: Tactical Cloak
Unlocked Skills: Tactical Cloak and Combat Fitness
Skill Category: Tech/Combat
Choose this if: You enjoy sneaking up on enemies, avoiding unnecessary combat, or just being invisible. If you do find yourself in a battle, Combat Fitness ensures that you have additional durability and more weapons.
The training you choose provides a huge advantage towards its particular unlocked skills. Choose wisely!
To learn more about characters, weapons, and skills in Mass Effect: Andromeda, visit the Mass Effect Wiki.
Brianna Reed – Senior Content Manager
Brianna manages editorial content for a variety of Curse properties, including Gamepedia, MMO-Champion, HearthPwn, Diablo Fans, and more. When she’s not busy editing gaming news, she enjoys playing tabletop games, spending time outdoors, and binge-watching sci-fi.
