Mass Effect: Andromeda Won't Have Paragon/Renegade System

Published: February 9, 2017 8:38 AM /

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Sometimes, some features in games won't make it to the next entry in the series. Usually those features are removed because they either didn't work exactly as planned and the developer sees no reason to include it in the next game, or it's removed because the creative direction takes the game to a different place. The Renegade/Paragon system we all know from the first original Mass Effect trilogy falls squarely into the second category and won't be making the return in Mass Effect: Andromeda. This news comes from an interview with Mass Effect: Andromeda creative director Mac Walters for Xbox Magazine (via GamesRadar):

So, Paragon and Renegade is gone. The reason they’re gone is because they felt very Shepard – they were very tied to the Shepard character, so they didn’t really make sense if we weren’t going to have Shepard as our protagonist

What we have now is based more around agreeing and disagreeing. The reason I like that is because in the trilogy it’s like, 'I’m gonna play Paragon,' and then you know which way you’re moving the stick on every conversation. You don’t have to think about it, because you’re just going to hit Paragon every time.

While the Paragon/Renegade system is a hallmark of the series, this new system might work out better. Instead of feeling like you need to conform to either Paragon or Renegade, you'll have to pay attention to what's being said in the conversation and pick your answer based on that, instead of using a button prompt to fill up the bar you like. This change will make the morality system a little less binary and opens up some additional opportunities for role playing.

But that's not the only thing that's changing! In Mass Effect: Andromeda you'll be able to choose the tone of your response as well, which should minimize those instances where your character says something with an emotional intensity you didn't expect when you picked your response.

We’ve added in four tones and we’ll talk a little more in the future, but they basically allow other types of characters to express them[selves] in one of four different ways, and sometimes one of two different ways. And I think that gets back to that more traditional role-playing sort of feeling which is less about 'Do I want to be good or bad,' and more about 'How do I want to express myself?
Mass Effect: Andromeda is the first part of a new trilogy and follows a group of colonists who have traveled to the Andromeda galaxy. The story will be self-contained, so the events of the original trilogy won't affect the story of the new games. This will also mark the return of the cooperative multiplayer in Mass Effect 3. To read more about the multiplayer as well as the preorder bonuses, you can check out this article here.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is scheduled to release for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on March 21.

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Chris Anderson
| Staff Writer

I've been playing games since I was just barely able to walk so I might as well write about them.

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Mass Effect: Andromeda
Developer
Bioware
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Platforms
PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Release Date
March 21, 2017 (Calendar)
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