Fresh off the release of today’s Mass Effect 3 v1.04 patch, BioWare announced the long-rumoured Retaliation DLC for ME3’s multiplayer. While BioWare is a little short on specifics of what is being added, we know that the Collectors (the antagonists from Mass Effect 2) are being added as an enemy faction. Several maps will see environmental hazards for the players to deal with. The DLC will also add achievement-like “challenges” which allow the player to unlock special rewards. As per usual with MP DLCs, new characters, weapons and gear are being added. A more detailed run down is available at the BioWare Blog.

Between the patch and the DLC, BioWare is making one last big play to revive a slowly dying multiplayer community. The buzz online makes it sound like the community is almost as excited as they were at launch.

The DLC is free and drops on Tuesday, October 9th.