Mass Effect Andromeda conversation options guide: what those dialogue icons mean

By Brenna Hillier

Mass Effect Andromeda’s conversation system may baffle series newcomers and BioWare fanatics alike. Let’s break it down.

Mass Effect Andromeda is a little bit different to the original trilogy in that it doesn’t have a Paragon and Renegade system of binary choices complete with gameplay effects. Instead, it’s more like Dragon Age – you get to choose your Pathfinders “tone” from a range of options. Making these decisions gradually shapes a unique psychological profile for your hero.

Find more tips, tricks and explanations in our Mass Effect Andromeda guide and walkthrough.

It’s not immediate obvious what the tone symbols mean, nor does Mass Effect Andromeda go out of its way to show you when a dialogue choice is meaningful and consequential, and when it’s just a matter of expressing your personality. Since you can make tone choices with no concern for consequences of any kind, you’ll definitely want to know when that’s not the case!

To help you out with this, this page provides a quick summary of what each icon on the Mass Effect Andromeda conversation wheel means, and what effect (if any) it will have on your game progress. Let’s start with the ones that really do have consequences for your game.

Conversation branching dialogue icons

Except in situations where you’re choosing between tone responses, the dialogue icon shown on the conversation wheel in Mass Effect Andromeda will indicate if the choice you’re about to make will have a consequence on the conversation and your relationships, or merely provide more information.

The four conversation options are shown above. Here’s what they mean to your Mass Effect Andromeda progress:

• The branching arrows dialogue icon usually comes in pairs or even greater numbers, and means you’re moving the conversation forward. Once you choose this icon, that part of the conversation will end, forever, and you can’t choose one of the other responses.
• The question mark dialogue icon will provide more information on a topic, or even open a submenu of further questions. Choosing this won’t end a conversation or lock you to a particular response.
• The two people dialogue icon means you’re taking steps to forge a friendship with a character. It won’t lock you out of romance options, and can help open up loyalty missions.
• The large heart dialogue icon is the flirt button. Don’t be afraid to use it often; it takes many uses and plenty of time to lock in a relationship, and on this occasions where you’re making a commitment it’s made obvious enough that you can’t do it by mistake. See our Mass Effect Andromeda romance and banging guide for more information.

Tone wheel conversation options icons

Although the dialogue icons described above have important consequences for your Mass Effect Andromeda progress, the tone wheel is all about shaping your character. Ryder’s personality is gradually built up by what you choose in dialogue – but these choices rarely have any sort of gameplay impact. They’re just there to make you feel that you have some say in the events unfolding around you – even when you don’t.

You can check the progress of your Ryder’s psychological progress at any time by looking through the Codex. Lexi regularly updates your profile as you make Mass Effect Andromeda your own through conversation options.

There are four tone dialogue icons in Mass Effect Andromeda, although often you’ll only be given a choice of two. The four possibilities are:

• Emotional dialogue icon

  A small heart always shown in the upper left of the conversation wheel, emotional conversation options are for those who wear their hearts on their sleeves, showing empathy and sympathy – but also sometimes anger and disgust. If you want your Ryder to be driven by their passions and open with their feelings, this is the path for you.

• Logical dialogue icon

  A cog wheel symbol in the upper right of the conversation wheel, logical conversation options are pragmatic and to the point, efficiently communicating Ryder’s intentions and needs. Ryders who choose this option get things done no matter what distractions arise, but they can seem a little cold and calculating.

• Casual dialogue icon

  A spiral in the lower left of the conversation wheel, casual conversation options allow Ryder to joke around, lightening the mood and deflating swollen egos. This is for Ryders who face the world with a smile and see everything as an adventure.

• Professional dialogue icon

  A spiral made of right angles in the lower right of the conversation wheel indicates a professional conversation option. These Ryders get the job done, and approach others with a formal courtesy that some may appreciate, and others find a bit stiff.

Unlike past BioWare RPGS with tone wheels, making repeat choices in the same category doesn’t seem to alter your Ryder’s ambient dialogue, and although you’ll get different reactions from NPCs depending on your choice of tone, it doesn’t seem to matter much which dialogue icon you choose when you’re given this sort of conversation option in Mass Effect Andromeda.

Thanks, Alienware!

Brenna is playing Mass Effect Andromeda on an Alienware 17 with a GX 1070, kindly loaned, at her request, by Alienware Australia’s PR representative.

As such, you should feel free to play Mass Effect Andromeda choosing Ryder’s responses to fit the situation; maybe you’ll want to sympathise with a friend here and there, and other times you might want to be coldly professional when speaking to an authority figure you disagree with it.

This is your story, Pathfinder; do as you will. Mass Effect Andromeda is a new world, to shape as you see fit.