Mass Effect 3 Getting a Massive Multiplayer Expansion Featuring The Collectors

Mass Effect 3 is set to get an enormous multiplayer expansion that'll see the return of the nefarious alien race from Mass Effect 2, The Collectors. Entitled Mass Effect 3: Retaliation, the DLC will be arriving next week and it'll be completely free. It's undoubtedly the biggest multiplayer add-on yet, adding new maps, characters and more.

In fact, there's a total of six new maps, 16 new characters such as the Krogan Shaman Adept, Turian Havoc Soldier, Batarian Brawler Vanguard and Asari Huntress Infiltrator. With The Collectors returning - despite not being in the Mass Effect 3 campaign - there'll be a collection of weapons from the insectoid race, including the Collector Assault Rifle, Sub-Machine Gun and Sniper Rifle, as well as new ammunition types and a bunch of new gear items to equip and play with.

There's also a new Challenge feature being added with the free Retaliation DLC, rewarding objectives with 'challenge points' that can then be spent on multiplayer titles and banners. Furthermore, Mass Effect 3's existing multiplayer maps will be updated with new 'hazard' versions where the likes of "Acid, Lightning, Meltdowns, Sandstorms, Swarms and Whiteouts' will make fighting against waves of enemies even more testing.

There's a possibility that the return of the Collector's could be explained in a bit more detail in the upcoming Mass Effect 3: Omega add-on coming to single-player. The Collectors themselves meanwhile, consist of the Praetorian, Scion, Abomination, Trooper and Captain, while the Geth and Cerberus enemies add a Drone and Dragoon class to their ranks, respectively.

Mass Effect 3: Retaliation will be available to download for free on 9th October. You can check out the action in the trailer below.