Mass Effect Andromeda How to Earn AVP & Unlock Cryo Pods

AVP, or Andromeda Viability Points, are an important part of ME Andromeda. They are the overall measure of your success as a Pathfinder. The higher your AVP score, the closer you are to fulfilling the plans of the Andromeda Initiative. In this guide, we’ll show you how to earn AVP in Mass Effect Andromeda, as well as how to unlock Cryo Pods. There are some spoilers incoming.

Unlocking AVP in ME: Andromeda

Andromeda Viability Points are an integral part in what Mass Effect Andromeda is all about – resettling the Milky Way on the habitable planets in the new galaxy. More importantly, earning AVP points is tied to a larger mechanic that unlocks all sorts of bonuses and perks that will help you on your journey. However, you won’t have access to AVP from the start, you have to unlock them.

Before you do anything, you’ll have to colonize Eos. After you do, the quest AVP Cryo Deployment Perks will become available. Go over to Nexus Operations and talk to Addison, then Brecka. They’ll tell you about the AVP Status Terminal, which you can access both on the Tempest and Nexus.

How to Get Andromeda Viability Points

You earn AVP by increasing the habitability of the planets you land on. That way, you increase the viability of a given planet, making it more useful to the Once on a planet, go to its map and check out the viability rating. Obviously, the closer you are to 100%, the better, with the full marks being your ideal goal. There’s a number of things you can do to increase a planet’s viability and earn AVP, and we’ll mention a few of them.

The easiest way to earn a lot of viability is to unlock Remnant Vaults and reactivate the monoliths within. This will automatically give you 40% viability, since doing so basically repairs the planet’s atmosphere. The next thing you can do is establish an outpost, which will give you some 20% viability. Before you do so, you’ll have to have at least 40% viability. However, you don’t have to unlock a Remnant Vault to do so; you can gather 40% by other means.

Other things that boost the viability rating are destroying enemy outposts and the Architect, doing Priority Ops and side quests, etc. Each of these will increase viability by anything between 2% and 10%, depending on the mission.

Where to Get Cryo Pod Points

Now, we come to the interesting bit. Every bit of AVP you earn increases your Nexus level, and each time you level up your Nexus, you’ll get a Cryo Pod Point. You can then go to the AVP Status Terminal to spend your hard-earned Cryo Pod Points to awaken one of the crews still in cryosleep. You can then send those crews off to do their job on different planets.

There are three types of pods – Science, Military and Commerce. Every one of these pods unlocks some bonus for you, whether it be research points, raw materials, consumables, credits, additional EXP, and so on. All you need to do to collect these rewards is to access the AVP Status Terminal, either on the Nexus or the Tempest. Here’s what the pods get you.

Science Pods

• Lab Technicians – Awards you Research Points every 45 minutes
• Mining Operations – Gives you Minerals every 45 minutes
• Improved Deployment – 10% boost to earning Research Data
• Expanded Field Analysis – Forward Stations automatically detect materials and other resources

Military Pods

• Munitions – Every 45 minutes you get a Consumables drop
• Hunting Parties – Organic materials drop every 45 minutes
• Special Forces – After every 45 minutes, you get Tech materials
• Reconnaissance – Reveals hidden caches around Forward Stations
• Advanced Training – +10% EXP for every set encounter completed
• Always Prepared – Awards you an additional slot for Consumables, but you need to have Eos on 70% viability
• Versatility – Awards you an additional slot for Consumables.You need Eos on 90% viability
• APEX Tactics – +15% boost to credits you earn on APEX missions

Commerce Pods

• Financial Infrastructure – Credits every 45 minutes
• Financial Infrastructure II – You get additional credits
• Grey Market Connections – Improves vendors prices
• Market Dominance – You can get special inventory at vendors
• Trade Capacity – Increases your inventory space