I have anxiety about missing stuff in games. Batman has the problem of making me want to use his vision mode all the time and in Dragon Age Inquisition I made a macro that automatically used the ping at all times so I wouldn't miss anything. Answers should make this game much easier to enjoy because at the moment I'm walking around slowly with the scanner open most of the time.

When should I be bringing up the scanner? is there any indication when there are things to scan for research points? Are they just scattered through environments throughout? Are there sections where i can be sure there is nothing to scan?

The scanner is really not well designed and are doing so many different things in different situations and on several occations at the same time that you never can be sure when to scan.

It acts as highlighting points of interest, giving additional info on objects, advancing the quest, giving researchpoints, and also sometimes it does nothing.

Sometimes you have to both scan and click on the object which is insanity.

edit: Oh and i forgot, sometimes you get an visual que and controller rumble to indicate you can scan something and sometimes you dont.......

@rethla: I feel like it's clear enough what it's for, but in several situations I've found 'bonus' or non story things to scan that have netted a lot of research points in the early hours. I just don't know when I need to be looking for them other than when the game tells you to. It's the extra stuff I'm worried about.

Yeh its clear what its for but not when to use it. Sometimes you can scan npcs for some extra flavourtext and info and sometimes you cant. Am i supposed to pull up the scanner on every single NPC i see to see if this is one of the randomly chosen scannable NPCs?

Generally it seems you might want to bring it out everytime you see something new, new plant, dead enemy etc.

If you want everything you will need to walk around with it open in areas, not all the time, but atleast to make a cursory look at the room you are in.

If you are using a controller it vibrates when there is somthing you can scan.

@mister_v Regardless of how trivial it is?

@essi2: @rethla: Yeah, seems like it. I'll just be cautious early on when it's easier, then only do it when there is something new. It's also not clear why some things give points and some don't.

@mister_v: that's helpful. I started on mouse and keyboard so I didn't know about that. I have just started using a controller so I'll keep an eye out. thanks.

I won't be much help here because I'm trying to find out myself. Inquisition had wide open areas with nothing in them. If I had to guess, I think Andromeda is the same way. I've been looking for anything out of the ordinary out in the open world (spires, caves, wildlife, rusted equipment), then trying to scan around in a circle. There is a distance that the scanner will highlight an object though. That's the best I can offer. At least Inquisition's ping highlighted everything 360 degrees around you. In this game, you actually have to be aiming at something for it to show up.

I keep forgetting that I have to use the scanner. I initially missed out on a quest because I didn't realize I had to scan something.

As mentioned above, if you use a controller, it vibrates. If you're on keyboard and mouse, an icon appears in the bottom left corner saying you should use your scanner. This is a small icon, however, and it's easy to miss it.

Also scanning resources =/= gathering them. You still have to come closer and press the button to mine the mineral or whatever.

I fucking hate detective/witcher/eagle vision in games and pinging is especially bad but for whatever reason i'm okay with scanning. (Metroid could be to blame)

I'd much rather they just highlighted objects you can interact with though, just a little glint will do. (Zelda BotW does it really well)

Mainly been mission related stuff for me so far.

I hope someone will just mod it so you automatically scan everything on PC.

@hassun: I dunno how open Frostbite is for modding but I do too.

@mister_v: Okay, for those the PC UI gets a pulsing 'G' in the left lower corner.

I think what OP is worried about is all the optional research and flavor scans in the environment.

I was walking slow scanning all the time, which ia why i stopped playing single player and wasting my trial lol. To me it felt cool though, like i was on an unknown planet trying understand it.

I hadn't noticed the icon, but I don't think I missed much--I got a little, 'I'm sooooo on a Starfleet away team right now!' vibe every time I pulled out the scanner down on a planet, so I got the thing out every time I saw something that looked even somewhat new.