Mass Effect: Andromeda's multiplayer is pretty good, but your success in it hinges on what gear, gadgets, and character classes you're able to accumulate. To get that stuff and make a great Andromeda multiplayer build , you'll have to unpack dozens of supply packs: loot boxes that you earn from completing missions or with cold-hard cash.

Here's how the loot system works, and how you can improve your chances of getting rare gear.

Currencies

Packs are purchased using two of the three multiplayer currencies: Andromeda Points and Credits. The remaining currency, Mission Funds, is specifically for restocking consumables and outfitting your Apex strike teams.

Andromeda Points are your typical shortcut currency exchanged for real-world money. You can buy Advanced, Expert, and Premium packs with far fewer Andromeda Points over the freely earned Credits—around $5/£4 bestows enough Points for a few Advanced packs or a pair of Expert and Premium packs. Invest your moneydollars as you wish, but note that the currencies earned in-game flow pretty abundantly from even your first Bronze-difficulty round.

You’ll both spend and accrue plenty of Credits throughout your multiplayer career, as it’s the primary payout from completing waves, challenges, and objectives. The higher the difficulty for the match, the more you'll potentially earn, but don’t get too greedy—the higher Silver and Gold difficulties will swiftly punish you if you’re unprepared and send you back to the menu screen with nothing lining your pockets. If you’re just starting out, it’s best to stick with Bronze until you reach roughly level 10 and have accumulated enough kit to tackle Silver.

Mission Funds are earned by sending computer-controlled strike teams on Apex missions or participating in a set of three daily Apex missions. These missions feature special objectives and modifiers such as eliminating a particular target, amping the damage of a certain weapon type, or restricting power usage. Their rewards are likewise more substantial than a standard round and are the best way to gather Mission Funds for cheap resupplies on medkits, revive kits, Cobra RPGs, and other important consumables. (You’ll also kick over some extra resources for Ryder in the singleplayer.)

Choosing which item pack to buy

The weapons, classes, and gear you’ll gather from item packs come in four rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Ultra-Rare. Weapons and classes are additionally divided by rank quality starting from rank 1 and maximizing at rank 10. Here’s the cost of each item pack and what you’re expected to receive for each cost tier:

Basic (5,000 Credits): Five random items or characters with a small chance for an Uncommon quality item

Five random items or characters with a small chance for an Uncommon quality item Advanced (20,000 Credits or 100 Andromeda Points): Five random items or characters with at least one guaranteed Uncommon item and a small chance for a Rare item

Five random items or characters with at least one guaranteed Uncommon item and a small chance for a Rare item Expert (50,000 Credits or 200 Andromeda Points): Five random items or characters with at least one guaranteed Rare item and a small chance for an Ultra-Rare item

Five random items or characters with at least one guaranteed Rare item and a small chance for an Ultra-Rare item Premium (100,000 Credits or 300 Andromeda Points): Five random items or characters with at least two guaranteed Rare items and a higher chance for an Ultra-Rare item

How to spend your currency

Stick with Basic packs until both your starting Common weapons and classes reach rank 10. You’ll see immediate benefits: each increasing class rank bestows a higher base skill point allotment to further augment your powers on a fresh character. Weapon stats will become better tuned for damage and weight efficiency. Most importantly, fully maxing your Common inventory removes their inclusion in future pack loot tables, increasing your chances of getting better gear from the more expensive packs.

After you’ve begun dipping into Silver matches, start buying Advanced packs to round out your Uncommon quality items and classes. Ideally, you want to mirror the same max-rank end-goal as you met for your Common stuff, but this is where the grind turns heavy; be patient and make sure to get your Apex dailies done for fat Credit bonuses. Once you hit rank 10 for your roster and armaments, you’re primed for the high-damage and high-reward big leagues.

Lastly, skip the Expert packs and go straight for the juicier Premium packs. For double the Credit price, you get a better chance at coveted Ultra-Rare unlocks alongside the two guaranteed and powerful Rare items. At this point, your class stable should be bristling with power and gear, and you shouldn’t have much trouble acing numerous Silver and Gold matches to dump Tempest-loads of Credits into your wallet. Continue using your excess Credits on Premium packs to hunt after specific weapons to your liking—some popular picks include the Mattock assault rifle, Equalizer pistol, Raptor sniper rifle, or Scattershot shotgun.