Anthem Executive Producer Spills Plenty Of New Details About The Game
Lots of new details about BioWare's new game.
Mark Darrah, executive producer of Anthem, has been busy on Twitter answering players' questions about BioWare's upcoming RPG. Many of the questions are answered with information we already learned about the game during E3 2018, but there are a few new tidbits of information hidden in the horde of tweets.
Lots of players wanted to know about loadouts, and Darrah had plenty of information to share. Players will have the option to save multiple custom Javelin loadouts. They won't be able to switch between them during combat, like players could in Mass Effect: Andromeda, but at least they won't have to reallocate weapons and equipment between each mission. Once you find a certain loadout that works, you'll be able to save it before trying something else.
Speaking of the weapons, equipment, and other rewards that players will find while exploring, Darrah offered further insight into how item acquisition would work. The level of dropped gear will be based on Freelancer level so you'll be able to switch up Javelins easily throughout the game. That loot will bias towards whichever Javelin you're wearing at the time, but players will find rewards for every Javelin while playing. Not all rewards are unlocked via combat or mission completion either. Some are found through exploration. Darrah even hinted that some might be located underwater. There won't be item trading between players at launch though.
Here's a few other details that stood out to us:
- Even if you're not in a group with them, other players can still interact with you. Strangers will even be able to revive you if they happen to run across you after you've fallen in combat.
- There will be no aerial fights against rival Javelins in Anthem. Sadly, you'll have to abandon your dreams of power suit dog fights.
- No friendly fire. For now anyway. The team might change their mind by launch.
- The Scars aren't technically alien, but they're not exactly human either.
- You'll be able to upgrade Javelin's flight time if you want to explore further and faster.
- You can't change your Javelin mid-mission. We imagine this means that if you run out of charge on the Javelin you've chosen for a particular mission, you'll fail.
- Javelins cannot be permanently destroyed. Whew.
- No post-launch plans yet, but Darrah isn't opposed to the possibility of a melee-based Javelin or implementing interchangeable melee weapons for the four current Javelins.
- Anthem will feature a color-blind mode.
- You can respec your Freelancer's skills.
- No plans for cross-play between console and PC at launch.
- Missions are specifically designed for four players, even if Anthem can be played one to four.
- There is fall damage so be careful when landing.
- All Javelins have the same movement speed outside of combat.
- Each Javelin is unlocked by doing a mission; players can choose the order.
Darrah and his team are continuing to answer questions about Anthem up to the game's release. They won't answer anything that might spoil the game, so feel free to ask away if you have any nagging questions. Anthem will launch on February 22 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
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