The Mass Effect: Andromeda 1.06 patch promises to bring a number of "performance and stability" enhancements to the game, along with improvements to "cinematic scenes, particularly in the opening hours," and of course all sorts of individual bug fixes. There are also significant "combat balance updates" that BioWare said will address complaints about weapons and powers not getting the job done at higher difficulty levels.
"We’ve received a lot of community feedback about balance issues in multiplayer. We have improved the overall experience based on that feedback and our own testing," BioWare wrote. "Powers and weapons were underperforming at higher difficulties—particularly power combos and assault rifles. As a result, players relied heavily on the Vanquisher sniper rifle and melee-focused classes. We found current damage levels significantly slowed the pace of games on Gold and Silver difficulties. To fix this, we started to overhaul the balance in multiplayer. Today’s changes are the first step in that process."
The base damage of powers have been boosted in the update, and some of the bonuses granted by skill points and damage from passive skill trees have been improved as well. Base damage for "several" assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns have also been increased, while the Vanquisher sniper rifle has been dialed back, "to make it comparable with other weapons."
Enemies have also been adjusted: The Kett have been nerfed, while the Fiend is less likely to "sync-attack" on Silver and Gold difficulties. Outlaw Sharpshooters and Hydra will now be better at pushing players into cover, and the Hydra is now "stronger and more dangerous," but the Berserker will be easier to fight from cover. The Remnant hasn't been touched, but BioWare said it will "continue to monitor their performance."
BioWare also highlighted a change to conversations that will keep dialog options from being "greyed out" if a character has more to say. Owners of the Deluxe or Super Deluxe editions of the game will also be given two custom Nomad skins, a new casual Pathfinder outfit, and "an exclusive multiplayer pack with a high chance of receiving an ultra-rare item."
The full 1.06 patch notes are below.
- Fixed issue that caused singleplayer difficulty to impact multiplayer
- Improved performance and stability
- Various improvements to cinematic scenes
- Fixed issue where SAM would mistakenly tell Ryder they have new email
- Conversation options will no longer appear “greyed out” if new content is available
- Improved legibility of subtitles
- Maximum Nexus Level increased to 29
- Single player balance improvements at higher difficulties
- Fixed issues with player animations getting stuck when jumping or changing direction repeatedly
- Increased the number of autosaves allowed
- Special items will not carry over into New Game+
- Fixed issue where subtitles would not appear while waiting at the dialogue wheel if subtitles were disabled
- Fixed issue that could cause AVP to reset to zero for all planets except Kadara
- Vendors now sell fire augmentations
- Weapon and armor vendors now carry inventory once player reaches Level 61
- Chest armors now have level restrictions
- Bonus items—such as Pathfinder Armor—can now be deconstructed
- Fusion Mod of Resistance no longer continues to apply evade damage once unequipped
- Improved responsiveness of control sticks
- Fixed clipping issue on Sara Ryder’s casual jacket
- Added graphics options to toggle Motion Blur and Depth of Field
- Fixed issue where Remnant VI would stop attacking
- Turbocharge will not deplete spare ammo when used on a weapon with the Vintage Heat Sink augmentation
- Fixed interaction with datapad in the Search for the Remnant Drive Core mission
- Fixed issue where squadmate could not be revived if killed by a fiend at Site 2
- Swapping a dead squadmate at a loadout will not cause them to die permanently
- Nexus tram now operates during Nexus Reunion mission even if player has not completed Prologue
- Fixed issue where player could romance both Cora and Peebee
- Fixed issue where player could romance both Vetra and Peebee
- Taking the left path in the Havarl dungeon will not block progression on Remnant Scanner mission
- Fixed issue on H-047C where enemies could get stuck inside a rock, making them unkillable
- Fixed issue where player couldn’t hide Ryder’s helmet after completing Ark Natanus mission
- Fixed broken Nomad Shield Crafting mission
- Fixed health issues with Architect’s leg that prevented completion of the fight
- Frequency mission on Voeld is no longer blocked if player leaves the area after scanning the meteorite
- Missing Science Crew mission no longer blocked if Ryder kills the Architect before finishing objectives
- Leaving the Nomad while falling out of bounds no longer results in infinite loading screen
- Fixed issue where Nomad jump control was not remapping
- Fixed issue where Cora slowly fell back to the ground after charging an airborne enemy
- Improved performance on Eos when approaching or fast travelling to Prodromos
- Loading auto-save will not block progress after kett encounter near Site 1 power relay station
- Eliminated player fall through on Tempest after loading autosaves in space
- Reduced the cost of Strike Team equipment and improved its effectiveness
- A default Ryder name can now carry over to New Game+
- PC – Fixed issue where dialogue choices would auto-select when using mouse and keyboard
- PC – Improvements to display when running at different resolutions
- PS4 – Fixed a crash that occurred when sitting in main menu for more than two minutes
- PS4 – Fixed crash that occurred when moving from multiplayer back to the main menu
Multiplayer
- Fixed issue where player would crouch repeatedly while interacting with device
- Player’s deceased character no longer falls through the floor after an Ascendant attack in the extraction zone on Firebase Icebreaker
- Improvements to reduce lag for players and hosts
