Mass Effect 3

Some big updates are coming to the multiplayer portion of Mass Effect 3, and today on their official blog, BioWare ran down some of those changes.

Mass Effect 3 associate producer Nathan Plewes gives us all the details, which consist of the following:

• “Hundreds” of new multiplayer challenges are being added to the game, which Plewes says you’ll be able to complete at your own pace. Beating these will earn you Challenge Points, which will earn you a place on a new set of leader boards. Also, completing the top tier “Gold” set of challenges will unlock additional bragging rights such as unique banners and titles that’ll be seen when you’re in multiplayer lobbies.
• New in-game tracking of progress through challenges, as well as a new “N7 HQ” stat-tracking website. This site will provide character lists, leaderboards, and gameplay stats for multiplayer progression.
• BioWare will be changing up how they run and handle weekend events. Now, you’ll be notified in-game that there is a new Weekend Challenge available. Like Operations, these will only run for the course of that weekend, but stats and information on how you’re progressing will now be instantly available. Even better, Commendation Packs will come as soon as you’ve completed the event. Weekend Challenges will also now be held every weekend, not every other weekend as it currently the case.
• Plewes says that “we will be unlocking new kits and other surprises each week to help your squad in that next big push against the Collectors.”

So, all in all, it seems like some major changes are coming to Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer mode. While I enjoy the game’s multiplayer, it can end up feeling a little shallow after a while—so I’ll be curious to see how this potentially shakes up multiplayer, and how much extra depth these new challenges will add.

What do you think—are you excited for the changes coming to Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer?