Mass Effect: Andromeda Guide - Best Armor, How to Change Your Gear

Your armor -- and your gear in general -- is extremely important in Mass Effect: Andromeda. It's not the easiest game on even the Normal difficulty, so you need to make sure that you're geared up and ready to tackle any fights at all times. With this guide, we're going to show you how to change and customize your armor as well as how to get new ones -- including the two armor sets we think are the best in the game.

Want more Mass Effect: Andromeda help? Be sure to check out our hub - it's full of quest walkthroughs, tips, tricks, system explanations and more.

How to Change Your Armor - Equipping, Tint and Color

Equipping different armor in the game can be done through the Loadout menu that pops up every time you leave the Tempest and go to a planet, excluding Aya and the station of the Nexus. This menu will contain sections for not just your armor, but also your weapons, consumables, squad members, and customization for the Nomad.

You can also access the Loadout menu on the Tempest by going to the room directly across from the Escape Pod room where Peebee is located. This room will contain a Loadout Station. This is useful for when you've spent time developing an armor on the Tempest and immediately want to see how it looks like on your character. You can also access this menu from the terminal on forward stations.

Modifying Your Armor in Your Pathfinder's Quarters

Even though you can change your armor through the previously mentioned methods, you'll be able to do everything in relation to your armor in your Pathfinder's quarters. If you happen to like your armor but want to give it your own flair and change its colors, change the armor set, or do both of these things, it can all be done there. In order to do any of these things, go to your Pathfinder's Quarters, which is located in Deck 3 (drop down the ladders right outside the bridge). Once you enter your room, go left and you'll find your Wardrobe, where you'll have the option to customize your casual outfit that you'll sport around the Tempest, Nexus, and Aya, as well as your armor. In regards to your casual outfit, you'll be able to change the colors and choose either a long sleeves, short sleeves, jacket, or hoodie style outfit. In terms of your armor, you'll be able to change the tint thorugh three options:

• Default Tints: Each armor piece uses its default colors. Under-armor is auto-tinted based on the color of your chest piece.
• Auto Tint: All armor and under-armor is auto-tinted based on the color of your chest piece.
• Custom Tints: Disables all auto-tinting. You select colors and patterns to apply your armor. There are 3 colors to customize in addition to a pattern select and pattern color option.

How to Get New Armor

If you want to obtain new armor, you're going to have to research and develop it. You can do this in the Tempest's Research Room, which is also where you can deploy strike teams, access your AVP Status Control, and access a kiosk. In order to Research an item, you’re going to need to acquire enough Data Points for it.

Data Doints can be obtained through scanning various objects across the Andromeda galaxy and are split into three categories: Milky Way points are spent on tech and armor from Mass Effect trilogy races, Heleus points are spent on Agara and Kett tech and armor, and Remnant points are spent on Remnant tech and armor. 

Once you have enough Data Points for the item you want, Research it and then switch to the Development section in order to craft it. You'll need to have the materials required in order to craft it. Then, just equip your new armor from the Loadout menu and you're all set, Pathfinder.

Some armor, including some that can't be researched and developed, drops from enemies. There are also a few pieces of armor exclusively reserved as pre-order and deluxe edition bonuses.

Picking The Best Armor

Let's make this as clear as we can: t here is no one single best armor set in Mass Effect: Andromeda, just like there isn't a best specific class or profile.

This game offers a large amount of player choice down to the way you tackle battles. It encourages you to experiment and try new combinations of skills, weapons, and armor, so we encourage you to mix-and-match sets for the look and stats that you feel are best suited for your way of playing. However, we will recommend you a few armor sets that we consider to be some of the most useful in the game.

Remnant Heritage Armor Set

The first one is the Remnant Heritage armor set. With its powerful stats, this set will add a massive boost to your survivability rate. In order to craft this set, you'll need a substantial amount of Remnant Research Data. The whole set will provide extremely large upgrades to your health and shield regeneration, high damage resistance, and a significant reduction in the time that it takes for your health and shields to regenerate. You can find this armor in the wilds of the Andromeda galaxy or craft it in the Research center that's on board of the Tempest.

Hyperguardian Armor Set

The second set is the Hyper Guardian set. In Research and Development, it is found under the tab for Milky Way technology. The full set will reward you with an incredible boost to your health and shields and will strongly boost your melee damage. If your style is to get up close and melee enemies, this is a great armor set for you. You will have to craft the chest piece, legs, arms, and helmet for this set in the Tempest's Research Room and it will cost a total of 725 Milky Way Research Data points.

N7 Armor Set

While you might feel like you're stealing Shepard's look a little with it, the N7 Armor set is useful as well as iconic - especially if you use biotic powers. (Does this mean canon Shepard was a biotic?) The N7 set will not only look like a good old piece of classic Mass Effect but will boost your shields, biotic recharge time and biotic power damage. Researching the first level full set of it will cost you 1500 Milky Way Research Data points.

Heleus Defender Armor Set

The Heleus Defender Armor set is very different to every other armor set in the game because it only comes in two pieces: a helmet and a chest piece that actually covers the entire body including the arms and the legs. You get less customisation as a result, but this armor is a strong jack-of-all-trades piece of gear. Remember that its offputting white and purple color scheme can be changed in your quarters, too. It provides bonuses to Power Damage, Weapon Damage and Damage Resistance and costs 1900 Heleus Cluster Research Data points to initially research.

Pre-order Bonus Armor: The Deep Space Explorer Set

The Deep Space Explorer armor Set is arguably the best starting armor in the game, but there's a nasty catch: it's a bonus for pre-ordering the game. If you have access to this armor via a pre-order you'll be able to pick it up in the Pathfinders' Quarters aboard the Tempest - it's grabbed from a terminal near where you read your emails. The Deep Space Explorer set offers a bonus to all encounter EXP and boosts your weapon damage output. It's a good one.

Want more Mass Effect: Andromeda help? Be sure to check out our hub - it's full of quest walkthroughs, tips, tricks, system explanations and more.