Combos - primers and detonators | Gameplay basics Mass Effect: Andromeda Guide

Combos allow you to cause some spectacular effects.

A combo is a mechanism returning to Mass Effect Andromeda. It allows you to prime enemies, putting a charge of a specific element on them, after which you can detonate the said primer to cause a certain effect and deal additional damage. This is a crucial part of the gameplay which you should use all the time. Doing so while on a lower difficulty level will make the encounters easier, whereas highest difficulties are almost impossible to beat without combos.

Priming enemies for combos and types of primers

First things first, you need to prime an enemy for a combo. The type of the primer influences the effect that will be caused once the primer is detonated. There are four types of primers in the game:

• Heat - heat combos deal substantial fire damage to enemies. Additionally, every affected enemy will then take additional damage as damage over time (during 10 seconds). It makes heat combos the best when it comes to total damage dealt. You can prime enemies for heat combos with Incendiary Ammo, as well as with Incinerate, Flamethrower and Assault Turret with the Flamethrower upgrade.
• Cold - cold combos are the weakest of all of the available ones, dealing relatively small damage. However, they slow down affected enemies and cause those equipped with armor (yellow health bar) to receive increased damage from your attacks. You can prime enemies for cold combos with Cryo Ammo, as well as Cryo Beam and Assault Turret with Cryo Ammo upgrade.
• Electric - electric combos are extremely effective against enemy shields, dealing huge damage to them, but are almost useless against unshielded enemies and those protected by armors. Additionally, a cloud of static electricity appears in the area when the detonation took place, dealing damage over time and stunning the enemies. You can prime enemies for electric combos with Disruptor Ammo, as well as Barricade with the Electric Defense upgrade, Trip Mine with the EMP upgrade, Energy Drain with the Extended Drain upgrade and Remnant VI with the Electric Beam upgrade.
• Biotic - enemies are primed for biotic combos only by getting hit by skills from the Biotic skill tree. Those types of combos offer a single explosion of energy, dealing the highest immediate damage from all of the combo types. Additionally, those combos can be enhanced by using the Adept profile, which causes every Biotic combo to have a chance of causing an additional explosion for every affected enemy. You can prime enemies for Biotic combos with Annihilation, Pull, Throw with the Duration upgrade, Nova with the Seismic Nova upgrade, Shockwave with the Lifting Shockwave upgrade and Singularity.

To prime an enemy for combo you just have to hit him with one of the above mentioned abilities, or with special ammo. Note that the enemy can only be affected and primed by a single effect - you can't set someone on fire, freeze him and lift him above ground with Singularity and cause three different effects with a single detonation.

Detonating primers

To detonate a primer you have to hit an enemy affected by a primer with one of the detonator abilities. You can choose from the following abilities:

• Energy Drain from the Tech skill tree. Keep in mind that upgrading the ability with Extended Drain causes the ability to function both as a primer and a detonator.
• Remnant VI with the Detonating Missiles upgrade from the Tech skill tree.
• Incinerate with the Detonator upgrade from the Tech skill tree.
• Overload from the Tech skill tree.
• Trip Mine with the Detonator upgrade from the Combat skill tree.
• Concussive Shot from the Combat skill tree.
• Charge from the Biotic skill tree.
• Shockwave from the Biotic skill tree.
• Lance from the Biotic skill tree.
• Throw from the Biotic skill tree.

Additional information

Note that:

• You can prime enemies and detonate those primers on your own, without the help of anyone. This is why you should always have a primer and a detonator equipped on your character, to make a full use of that powerful effect.
• You can detonate primers inflicted by your allies and they can detonate your primers as well.
• You can't detonate multiple effects at once. You can't set someone on fire, freeze and electrify him and hope to detonate all of the effects with a single detonator.
• If you are playing a character relying on Biotics and you often use combos, you should think about using the Adept profile. It offers powerful bonuses to combos, as well as a passive ability that causes enemies affected by combos to have a small chance to cause an additional detonation.