Which cryo pod capsules should you open first and which should you avoid? Mass Effect: Andromeda Guide

Reconnaissance is one of the best cryo pod capsules in the game.

Mass Effect Andromeda has a system called Andromeda Viability (AVP) implemented and that system is connected to a simple mechanic - the possibility to open cryo pod capsules. Each cryo pod capsule gives access to a very specific reward - additional Credits, crafting materials or even more experience points gained after encounters. More on that can be found in "Andromeda Viability" and "Planet viability" chapters of this guide.

There are numerous cryo pod capsules in the game that can be opened and at the beginning of your journey you won't have a clue which should you prioritize. What's worse, you can't reset your choices like, for instance, skill points - your decisions are permanent. This is why it's worth to focus on very specific ones and open them as early as possible, to maximize their benefits.

Lab Technicians will reward you with Milky Way research points.

First things first, focus on opening (in any given order) the following cryo pod capsules:

• Reconnaissance - after opening this capsule, numerous chest-like icons will appear on the maps of every planet. Those icons show the locations of unique and extremely valuable treasures - inside of those containers you will find Ultrarare weapons, several pieces of armor, as well as crafting materials. This is one of the two, beside Lab Technicians, cryo pod capsules that you should unlock as early as possible.
• Lab Technicians - by opening this capsule you will be given, every 45 minutes, 100 research points. It's even more valuable because of the fact that you will always earn Milky Way research points - those are the most precious from the three groups, as there's the most equipment to unlock from the Milky Way tech and every item in that tab costs a large sum of Milky Way research points. Additionally, Milky Way research points are harder to find than the points from the remaining groups. This is one of the two, beside Reconnaissance, cryo pod capsules that you should unlock as early as possible.
• Advanced Training - opening this capsule will give you 10% experience boost for every encounter with an enemy group. It might seem like not that much, but you will be fighting every few minutes, making this extremely valuable in the long run.
• Always Prepared - if you often use Consumable items, you should unlock this cryo pod capsule, as it gives an additional, 3rd slot for those items. Unlocking the next capsule, Versatility, will give you a 4th slot for a Consumable item.
• Ears to the Ground - gives 20% chance that your Strike Teams will return from a successful mission with an additional weapon or piece of armor. Given the amount of missions you will accomplish during the whole playthrough, this can give you dozens, if not hundreds of bonus items to use, sell or deconstruct and gain precious crafting materials.
• Trade Capacity and Trade Capacity II - it increases the item limit of the character to 65 and 80 points. Patch 1.05 changed those values to 150 and 200 (from the basic 100).
• Fusion Mod Support - this cryo pod capsule decreases the penalty of a Fusion Mod by half, making them even more effective. This is one of the best capsules to unlock, but given the fact that you won't have many Fusion Mods until you complete some of the main missions, you shouldn't focus on unlocking this as the first capsule - it's better to focus on the above described.

Afterwards, you can unlock the following:

• Grey Market Connections (and the upgraded version, Grey Market Connections II) - it increases the prices that you can sell items with and decreases the ones that vendors want for their products. This, for instance, allows you to purchase larger amounts of rare crafting materials.
• Supply Lines - increases the amount of Consumables and crafting materials that you can purchase from a single vendor, significantly accelerating the development process, especially if you have plenty of Credits.
• Improved Development, Improved Development II and Accelerated Research - the first two increase the amount of research points you earn by 20%, whereas the latter decreases the time needed until the research points can be collected.
• Innovation - increases the amount of Augment slots on an item by 1, allowing you to better customize and empower a weapon or piece of armor.

Cryo pod capsules that you should definitely keep away from:

• Financial Infrastructure and Financial Infrastructure II - the most useless cryo pod capsules in the game, giving you 500 and 1000 Credits every 45 minutes. Given the fact that you won't have anything worthwhile to spend the Credits on, this is a complete waste of a cryo pod capsule point.
• Market Dominance - gives access to additional items from a merchant. However, the same problem as with Financial Infrastructure applies here - you will be able to create better and more powerful items with the crafting system.
• APEX Tactics and APEX Tactics II - two capsules that give a small bonus to Credits earned by Strike Teams. As mentioned, money is quite useless in the game, as both of those capsules - you should use those two points to unlock a different, more valuable upgrade.