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Mass Effect: Andromeda

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Old Skinner

By
Nathan Garvin

Start this quest by talking to Christmas Tate, the mayor of the Kadara settlement. Obviously this requires you to finish the quest “Settling Kadara” and the numerous quests that requires. Even though the settlement on Kadara is barely established, it seems some machine-worshiping loons have started lurking about. While they might not be much of a threat, the object of their worship - some machine named “Old Skinner” might be. On behalf of Christmas Tate and the newly-founded Kadara settlement, then, you’ll be tasked with investigating this machine and making sure it - and the cult loons who worship it - don’t cause any trouble.

Read a datapad to find out what happened to Bishop (left) then make your way north to the lake in Kurinth’s Valley, over which Old Skinner flies (right).

Your goal is the navpoint pointing to Kurinth’s Valley, in the northwestern corner of the map. Drive the Nomad up the linear mountain trail, past the poisoned Angaran settlement, and when the navpoint turns into a search area dismount and investigate west of the road to find Bishop’s Datapad, and his corpse. Dumbass.

Stick in cover when the Architect fires its rapid laser attack (left) and dispatch the Remnant it periodically summons (right).

Turn north and, sure enough, you’ll spot Kadara’s Architect - Old Skinner itself - floating majestically in the air. Make your way north around (or through) the lake to confront the giant robot, which will oblige you by landing, and in the process lowering some Remnant platforms, which now serve as a fine bit of cover. If you’ve fought the Architect on Eos or Voeld, you know how this fight will play out - it has three attacks, a highly damaging rapid-fire laser, a volley of sticky mines, and a massive, charged-up laser burst that’ll leave lingering electricity on the ground for a few seconds. It’ll use these attacks in rotation, with the latter two (the mines and the charged laser) forcing you to abandon cover, and the former (the rapid fire laser torrent) obliging you to seek out cover.

Your targets are its conduits, three leg conduits and one head conduit. After sustaining enough damage on its leg conduits or head conduit it’ll lower its defensive shielding around one set and leave the other vulnerable, so at any given time you’ll need to be targeting the head, or the legs. It’ll also randomly shield all its conduits and summon a host of lesser Remnant - in this fight expect several Nullifiers and the odd Breacher to pop up when this occurs.

Fire at the Architect’s exposed leg conduits (left), and eventually it’ll retreat to high ground (right).

After destroying a leg conduit the Architect will flee to a new position, and the first two locations aren’t terribly different. There are lowered Remnant platforms for you to hide behind, no environmental hazards to deal with, and really nothing (aside from the Architect’s attacks, which are easily memorized) to shake you from cover. Just respond to its attacks accordingly, mop up the Remnant it summons periodically, and keep popping away at its conduits. The third location is a bit of a change, however, as it’ll take to high ground, forcing you to leap up a series of Remnant platforms to reach it. You can hide behind the highest of these platforms when necessary, but this greatly limits your mobility, so make your way north, northeast off the platforms and onto the nearby ground, where you’ll find a few Remnant barriers you can hide behind, instead.

Once the Architect has been shot down, neutralize it (left) then claim the treasure it leaves behind (right).

When you finally take out all four of the Architect’s conduits, make your way over to the fallen Architect’s head, hack it into submission and loot the container it leaves behind. Defeating the massive machine is worth 400 AVP, +10% Kadara viability and 530 XP, and the prizes in the chest include another Remnant Data Core and the Fusion Mod of Battering I .

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Electronic Arts
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, XB One
  • Genre
    Action RPG
  • Guide Release
    16 February 2017
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    Nathan Garvin

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Sent on a 600 year voyage to the next galaxy, you are the Pathfinder, the one selected to lead your race as you discover and colonize new worlds. To survive in this harsh new reality, you must quickly learn to co-exist with other races in Andromeda, and unlock the mysteries of the galaxy itself, in order to ultimately decide the fate of humanity. Inside the guide you will find:

  • A detailed explanation of the main missions.
  • Complete coverage of every side quest and area you can discover.
  • Planetary guide coverage.

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