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Mass Effect: Andromeda guide: A Better Beginning walkthrough

Welcome to Eos

By Jeffrey Parkin Mar 20, 2017, 3:01am EDT

Jeffrey Parkin (he/him) has been writing video game guides for Polygon for almost seven years. He has learned to love just about every genre of game that exists.

The third priority ops mission in Mass Effect: Andromeda starts out pretty simply, but it quickly becomes a much, much larger mission. This is your first trip to a planet as the Pathfinder. This is where the world opens up and the game becomes bigger (and more like a Mass Effect game). And, like everything else you’ve done in the game already, it spawns several distracting side missions.

A lot of these steps are actually quite straightforward, but they’re going to introduce you to a few new concepts and mechanics. We’ll break down the steps when it makes sense to or when there’s something new to learn.

A warning about side missions

We’re going to reiterate here something we’ve written about a couple times now — especially this early in the game, you have to learn to ignore distractions.

If you promptly abandon the main mission (like we did) things are going to get confusing fast. Because (and this is the moral of our story so we’re going to make it bold) the main mission teaches you things that the side missions assume you already know.

Our advice

Look for hints that you’re going the wrong way and — this is important — heed those warnings. Don’t power through (like we did) assuming things will make sense eventually. Here’s what those warnings look like:

Tough enemies. Sometimes these are just a large number of enemies, and sometimes they’re an eight-foot tall monster literally named a “fiend.”
Tasks that don’t make any sense. If the game asks you to “find two more glyphs” and you have no idea what a glyph is, maybe head back to the main mission and let the game teach you.
Going the wrong way. Side missions make the most sense when they overlap with your main goal. If you literally have to turn around and head the opposite direction, maybe don’t.

A caveat

We’re not saying to avoid all side mission tasks at all costs. We’re just saying that, on your first trip someplace new, don’t prioritize the side missions over the main one.

What to do when you ignore our advice and end up in over your head

Just leave. You can fast travel to forward stations and some other locations (like the Tempest and, later, outposts). Or you can just turn around and walk away. It’ll save you a lot of frustration and confusion.

Speak with SAM on the Hyperion

Head back to the Hyperion and follow the HUD marker to the SAM Node. SAM will tell you about profiles (Mass Effect: Andromeda’s version of classes). He’ll also tell you that he’s got blocks in his memory array — this will begin the "Ryder Family Secrets" allies and relationships mission.

And that’s the first step done. There are many, many more steps in this mission.

Go to your ship

This is another simple one, but it’s worth talking about for a minute. This step gives you your ship, the Tempest, and introduces you to the first new member of your crew, Vetra Nyx. Vetra’s a fixer, and she’s pretty awesome.

Follow her around as she introduces you to the ship and your new crewmates. She’ll drop you off in the meeting room. From here, you can go downstairs to the research room (and its two adjacent rooms, the bio lab and the tech lab). Talk to Liam and poke around in the R&D terminal — your crafting interface).

Go to the bridge

Follow your HUD down the tunnel (which should look familiar from ship designs in the other Mass Effect games), and enter the bridge. A quick side note: If you want to keep exploring the ship, there are two ladders on either side of the bridge entrance that will take you down to the other decks (it took us forever to notice these). We’d advise against it for now — there’ll be plenty of time for exploring the ship after you get Eos sorted out.

On the bridge, you’ll meet your pilot, Kallo Jath, and your science officer, Suvi Anwar. You’ll make your grand statement and head for the stars.

Go to Eos in the Pytheas system and land on Eos

This one’s pretty straightforward — but it introduces you to the galaxy map. Take a second to poke around and learn the buttons. When you’re ready, choose your destination — there’ll be a helpful mission tip next to it — and head for Eos.

When you get there, you’ll see your first hint about your ultimate goal as Pathfinder — Andromeda viability. Your actions will make these planets livable.

Spin the planet around until you find the landing zone and head down.

Search Site 1’s main control building

Follow the HUD marker to the main building. Go through the door on your left, and continue through the building to find the console and discover your next task.

Investigate the power relay station, activate the generators, scan and activate the power pylons

Follow your HUD around to the left side of the power relay station and go up the stairs to meet Clancy Arquist and figure out why the power’s off.

Your HUD will point you to the two generators you have to turn on, but, of course, they’re busted. Scan the pylon off to your left to figure out how to turn everything on, then follow your HUD to the second pylon. (We suggest cutting across the top of the Tempest just to hear Kallo complain.)

Defeat the kett

Just like Clancy warned, turning the power on calls down the kett. Take them out.

Reactivate the power relay station

Head back to Clancy, and kick him out of the power relay station. After you talk to him, follow the marker to the console where you can turn the power back on.

Scan containers to find a vehicle

You next job is to find a ride. Go scan the container next to the research station (it’s to the right of where the Tempest landed). Now that you’ve found it, you’ve got to figure out how to get it out of it’s box.

Call down a forward station

Follow the marker on your HUD to a clearing on the other end of the settlement. This will automatically trigger the forward station to descend. (This is the way all forward stations work — you just have to get close to the location, and it will happen automatically.) These forward stations are mini bases where you can refill all your ammo, replenish your health and shield, swap out your weapons, check your email and (soon) call a Nomad.

Unlock the Nomad container, and get in the Nomad

Head back to the container, and use the keypad on the right side to find your Nomad. When you climb inside and start to get used to the controls, there’s going to be some tempting new things to play with — specifically the mining computer — but ignore it for now. You can’t do anything with it yet anyway. Take a couple minutes to figure out the controls (and change the control settings if you have to). When you’re ready, head out of town and into the desert.

Investigate the strange signal

Just keep following the roads and your HUD marker to the source of the signal. It’s the giant black structure in the middle of the desert. Interact with the console in the middle. It won’t work yet, but it’ll tell you what to do next.

Search for a glyph to scan

Activate your scanner, and look at the bottom of the console. You’ll see a yellow conduit running from it, under your feet and up one of the pillars. Climb the scaffolding on the right side, then make your way to the tip of the pillar to find the glyph SAM wants you to scan.

Use the strange console

Before you get to use the console again, you’ll meet Peebee. Shortly after that, the bad guys show up.

Defeat the hostile bots

The kett aren’t the only hostile entities you’re going to be fighting. These hostile robots (that you’re going to be seeing a lot of) are called remnants.

Activate Remnant monoliths

There are two more monoliths you have to find, fight your way into and activate. Luckily, they’re along the same road.

Monolith 2

After you’re done with the Observers and have your talk with Peebee, it’s time to find the other two monoliths. Check your map, and they’ll be marked.

Head toward the monolith that’s to the southeast of where you are — it’s along the same road, so it’s easy enough to get to. On your way, take a quick detour to the west to call down the next forward station.

Once everything is replenished, head back to the road and continue toward the monolith. You’re probably going to get a popup about your mining computer again. It works now, but avoid it for a little while longer. We’ll explain it soon, and then you can mine to your heart’s content.

When you climb up to the monolith, there are more remnant bots to clear out. Some quick notes on combat:

Cover is important and remains finicky. These fights with the Remnants are tough, so you’re going to need that cover to save your life. Make sure you’re actually in cover (with that little shield icon that pops up on the bottom of your screen).
If you swapped out weapons on the ship or at the forward station and they’re not working for you, don’t force it. Find something that works for you. Fast travel back to the forward station, and keep trying out weapons until you get something that works.

This monolith’s console is a lot more complicated. First, you’re going to have to find two more glyphs to fill in the information. This will then allow you to solve an alien-language soduku.

If, however, you’ve managed to scavenge a Remnant decryption key from one of the robots, you can use it (it’ll be consumed) to bypass the puzzle.

Finding the glyphs is more involved this time as well. You’ll still follow the yellow conduits with your scanner, but you can’t climb up onto the pylons. Look around the base of the pylons for another alien console to interact with. This will raise some steps to get you where you need to be.

Now you can solve the puzzle. If you get it wrong, another wave of Remnant bots will come at you. It’s a relatively simple puzzle if you know how to do a soduku — just make sure that each quadrant, row and column have only one instance of each glyph.

You’ll have to fight another wave of kett before you can leave.

Monolith 3

Head along the road to the east, and get to the next monolith. It’s worth the time to head off into the Golden Wastes to pick up the next forward station. Then continue on to the monolith.

Getting into (and through) this one is a big fight. We suggest taking the time to get inside — turning off the four generators running the force fields — because you meet Drack, and Drack is awesome.

Head back outside toward your HUD marker, and repeat the scanner-follow conduit-find glyphs trick. Then you can interact with the final console.

Investigate the entrance

The next section takes a lot of time, effort and bullets, but is pretty straightforward, so we’re going to turn them into bullet points. We’ll call out anything that needs an extra step, but mostly you’re just following your scanner along a path. (One warning, though: Both the sealed-off gravity wells and the unidentified fluid will almost-but-not-quite kill you immediately.)

Explore the remnant vault.
Follow the conduit into the vault. You’ll be encountering plenty of remnant resistance down here. Just stick to what works — use cover as much as you can. (And don’t forget to refill your ammo at the crates scattered around.) When you get close to the next step, you’ll have to activate two consoles, not just one.
Activate the gravity well.
Follow the conduit farther into the vault.
Repair the conduit flow. This one sounds more intense than it is. In reality, all you have to do is wait around until Peebee tells you what to do, then keep following the conduit.
Find a way through the caverns. The trick here is to just watch for consoles that will activate pillars that you can jump across. You’ll be fighting remnants as you go, but the path is relatively straightforward.
Follow the conduit to the source.

Escape the vault

Things don’t go well (for now), and it’s time for running. It seems more stressful than it is — just keep running toward the marker on your HUD, and try to avoid the (clearly marked) vents that explode. Everything works out in the end, though, and you get the first clue for your next priority ops mission.

Establish an outpost at an appropriate site

Check your map for where the outpost will be located, and head there. Obviously, it’s not that simple, so when you show up, help your new friend Drack fight off the remnants. Then you can follow your HUD to the appropriate beacon and start up the colonization effort.

Speak with Tann at the Nexus Pathfinder HQ

Now that the town is set up, you can start trying to tick off a few of those to-do items you’ve accumulated. We’ll write about a couple of them in upcoming guides, but for now, talk to people (especially the new mayor of Prodromos and Director Addison), then get out of here. You’ll have a much more productive time if you head back to the Nexus first, then return here.

Get back to the Tempest, then use the galaxy map to navigate your way back to the Nexus. Go find Tann and maneuver your way through the politics of the discussion that follows.

Mass Effect: Andromeda guide: A Better Beginning walkthrough