8
Health Bar
Health is represented by the red bar broken into five segments that’s tucked underneath the blue
shield bar on the bottom of the screen.
When you are attacked while the shield bar is depleted, the rightmost red segment of the health bar
starts turning gray. Only First Aid can regenerate a fully depleted bar of health. A health segment that
is only partially reduced will regenerate on its own if you can get to cover and avoid further damage.
You die if you lose all five health segments!
Power Cooldown Indicator
Some powers require energy to use. The time it takes before you can use a power again is called
cooldown. Cooldown periods vary, depending on the power.
When cooldown is in effect, two red semicircles appear on either side of the targeting reticle at the
center of the screen. Cooldown time can be judged by the distance between the two semicircles.
When these come together and merge, cooldown is complete, and you can use powers again.
Ammo Indicator
Weapons use heat-sink technology to enable rapid, devastating firepower. When a clip’s worth of heat
accumulates in the sink, it is ejected from the weapon. Running out of heat sinks is effectively the
same as running out of ammo.
Keep track of your heat-sink inventory on the bottom-left of the screen. The bottom number indicates
how many shots the current heat sink has left, and the top number shows you the total number of
shots the entire inventory of heat sinks has left. When a weapon runs out of sinks, “No Ammo” will
display just below the targeting reticle, and you’ll have to find new cylinders for the weapon or switch
to an already-loaded weapon.
Squadmate Status
There are two portraits of Shepard’s current squadmates below the shield bar on the bottom of the
screen. The icon beside each portrait shows the last power the squadmate used and its current
cooldown status.
A squadmate’s portrait flashes red when they take damage, and if they become incapacitated, the
portrait fades to gray.
Basic Controls
This chapter covers basic combat controls and is intended for players new to the Mass Effect series.
Movement
Move using the following keys:
W Forward
A Left
D Right
S Backward
Camera Control
Move the mouse to look around.
Tight Aim
Right-click to accurately aim your weapon.
