Mass Effect Andromeda Crafting Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Everything You Need to Know About Crafting in Mass Effect: Andromeda

Crafting in Mass Effect: Andromeda will become particularly important during the later stages of the game. While you can make your way through the opening sections of the game by just picking up new weapons and armor from around the world, you’ll want the added protection and firepower that only crafting some rare items will offer. Despite not needing to get involved in crafting until later on in Mass Effect: Andromeda, it’s a good idea to have a solid foundation of knowledge about the mechanic from the very beginning. After all, why waste all that time not grabbing required resources only to have to retrace your steps later on?

Research

Crafting in Mass Effect: Andromeda

One of the first things you’ll need to get your head around is Research & Development in Mass Effect: Andromeda. While both are as important as each other when it comes to crafting, you’ll need to focus on one before the other.

The Research tab is the first place you’ll want to check out. Here, you’ll need Research Data, known as RD points to purchase new item blueprints. These blueprints, when purchase, will then allow you to get crafting some of the better weapons and armor in the game.

To get RD points, you’ll need to scan just about everything you come across on a planet. Whenever something glows, scan it. Some side quest will also guide you to huge chunks of RD to harvest, so don’t just rush through the main quests. Everything is split into three different groups – Milky Way, Remnant, and Heleus – but you should just focus on scanning everything early so you have as many research points under your belt as possible.

Development

Crafting in Mass Effect: Andromeda

Once you’ve researched the items you want to be crafting in Mass Effect: Andromeda, it’s time for you to jump into the Development tab. Here’s where you’ll actually do the proper crafting of the weapons or armor that you’re after. Like most other RPGs with crafting mechanics, you’ll need resources to make the item. Each piece of gear needs its own combination of four different resources. These resources fall into three basic types: minerals, bio materials, and tech materials.

Minerals are natural resources that are commonly found in crafting recipes in Mass Effect: Andromeda. The best ways to find minerals is to go probing anomalies in the galaxy, as well as simply mining them off the major planets’ surfaces yourself. Mining zones can be exploited with the help of your Nomad’s mining drones, too. These offer huge deposits of minerals, so make sure you’ve made your way to the most lucrative part of the deposit before setting your drone off. You can do this by following the rises of the graphs in the top left-hand corner of the screen provided when you enable the mining computer.

As for bio and tech materials, these will require you to go scavenging the planet’s surface for animals and containers respectively. If you’re struggling to get your hands on a specific crafting material, however, be sure to check in with the different merchants in the game. A lot of them stock an assortment of materials, so as long as you have the credits, you should be able to top up whatever you need.

Development is divided into five tabs, including weapons, armor, Nomad upgrades, and special items that are only quest-related, so you won’t have to worry too much about these most of the time.

You can take a look through these different tabs and see what items are available for you to craft, or check how far off you are from being able to craft something in particular. However, if you’re looking to see what you’re able to craft there and then, you should check out the final tab, “Ready to Develop.”

To then develop an item and add it to your inventory, simply press the A or X button to confirm your choice. You’ll be able to choose the augments at this point before you finalize crafting the item, so don’t worry about accidentally missing this step.

Gear is ranked from I through X. The higher the rank, the more powerful the gear will be when equipped. While you’ll only have access to crafting up to level V items at first, another tab for VI to X items is unlocked once you reach level V for that specific piece of gear. It’s also worth noting that some high level gear may require your Ryder twin to have reached a specific level in Mass Effect: Andromeda so you won’t just be able to get the very best gear at the very start of your adventure.

That’s about everything you’ll need to know about crafting in Mass Effect: Andromeda. For more tips, tricks, and helpful advice for your space adventure, be sure to check out our wiki.