Games
It's the biggest game release of early 2019, and we’ve got all the info you need to know about BioWare's Anthem.
There's no question that BioWare has a legacy of incredible games. From the early days of Baldur's Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, right up to the modern classics in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises, this is a studio that's beloved for a good reason.
BioWare's first new IP in around ten years, Anthem, hits all major platforms (except Switch) this February, and we're your one-stop shop for all the info you need to know on the biggest game release of early 2019.
First, let’s get up to date with the trailers you need to see, and then we'll get into the nitty gritty. There's some more gameplay videos as you get down towards our section on the exosuits, too. Strap in, this is a deep game, and we've got plenty of info to share.
- Anthem is a futuristic sci-fi third-person shooter that incorporates RPG elements in an open-world that's shared between you and three other players.
- The game is coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 22, 2019.
- It will be Xbox One X enhanced, offering native 4K resolutions.
- It will be enhanced for PS4 Pro, too, but we don’t yet know how. There are suggestions there may be a “performance” and “graphics” mode as developers on the game has suggested that, although having previously mentioned it’d be locked to 30fps, it might perform better on “newer revisions”. It’ll run at 60fps (potentially higher) on PC.
- Sony’s online store suggests you’ll need 40GB of space for the game, which suggest the game will half that size as PS4 downloads need double the storage space to “unpack”.
- There will be a demo for Anthem released on January 25, 2019 for VIPs who pre-ordered the game.
- The wider public demo will be released on consoles and PC on February 1, 2019.
- You play as a “Freelancer” and it’s your job to explore the world you inhabit, leaving behind civilization in the process.
- Despite being an online-focussed game, Anthem does have a story, but BioWare aren’t saying how long it will take to get through because it’s “really hard” to compare to previous games. People on the Anthem team have backed this comment up, and said there are lots of side missions, however.
- There isn’t a branching narrative in a similar manner to Dragon Age or Mass Effect. Anthem is a very combat-heavy game, but there is a central hub called “Fort Tarsis” where you will interact with non-playable characters.
- The titular “Anthem” is short for “Anthem of Creation” and is a power that can shape the world. The Gods of this universe (or Shapers) used devices that can control the Anthem of Creation to make the world in nine days, but they only made it three days in before something supposedly went wrong.
- Anthem is the story of your struggle against the Dominion, a military-like organisation. The Dominion is run by “The Monitor”, a person who wishes to harness the Anthem of Creation to subjugate others.
- This is a loot-based game. There are multiple levels of rarity, and “gear score” is the overall average of all combined gear.
- All gear will have something called “inscriptions” which add bonus effects to gear based on how high powered you are.
- Because of how many permutations for gear and loot the game has, you can also get blueprints that let you, in effect “reroll” your weapon, and craft them to your heart’s content until you get the one that you want, with the perfect inscriptions.
- As a freelancer, you group up to form a team of four, all wearing exosuits called Javelins, which can be customised with various abilities and weapons in gear slots.
- There’s a Grandmaster difficulty which will require you to get seriously into how you create “builds” of character classes.
- The four characters classes are: Interceptor, Colossus, Storm, and Ranger - each has two ability slots, as well as a support slot, and an ultimate ability.
Since you can only pick one ability for each slot, let’s break down these classes further.
Interceptor class
A class designed for speed during combat. This class can use any weapon except the heavy class, and has a melee ability called Double Bladed Daggers.
Interceptor ability slot 1 (Assault Systems)
- Seeker Glaive: Throws out a razor-sharp projectile that seeks out the nearest target.
- Acid Bomb: Tosses a grenade which explodes, splashing all nearby enemies with acid.
- Cryo Glaive: Launches out a projectile that locks on to a nearby target and freezes it on impact.
- Cluster Mine: Throws out a group of mines onto a targeted area which explode on contact with an enemy.
- Spark Dash: Dashes forward, leaving behind a trail of electricity that damages enemies.
Interceptor ability slot 2 (Strike Systems)
- Star Strike: Charges an enemy with energy which explodes after a delay. The explosion deals increased damage if the target is destroyed before the full delay.
- Plasma Star: Tosses a plasma-empowered shuriken at a single target, effective at long range.
- Nova Strike: Sends out a projection of the Interceptor which will attack enemies it comes in contact with.
- Tempest Strike: A devastating single-target attack that can stun smaller enemies.
- Corrosive Spray: Sprays out a jet of corrosive acid that damages all enemies hit.
Interceptor support systems
- Target Beacon: Marks a target for increased damage which will switch to another enemy if the marked target is destroyed.
- Rally Cry: Removes status effects from all nearby allies.
Interceptor ultimate ability
- Assassin’s Blades: Lancers can deploy a special ultimate ability that displays the true strength of their javelin exosuit. The Interceptor becomes supercharged, arming its Assassin’s Blades and carving through enemies at high speed.
Ranger class
Ranger is the first Javelin suit you’ll get and is a bit of an all-rounder class. BioWare say that it’s not “just” a beginner class that you’ll learn in, but it’s also a “precise, versatile” master of combat. It can use any weapon except heavy, and like all suits, has two weapons that can be changed between missions. Ranger’s melee weapon is an extrified mace, which sounds delightful.
Ranger ability slot 1 (Grenade Gear)
- Frag Grenade: Deals impressive damage in a large area of effect.
- Inferno Grenade: Ignites an area, dealing damage and setting enemies ablaze.
- Frost Grenade: Damages and freezes enemies in place.
- Seeker Grenades: Splits into smaller sub-munitions which seek out the nearest enemy.
- Sticky Bomb: Attaches to a single target for a contained, high-damage blast.
Ranger ability slot 2 (Assault Launcher Gear)
- Homing Missile: Fires a projectile that seeks out a target for a small area-of-effect explosion.
- Energy Pulse: Unleashes a blast of pure energy, hitting a single target with incredible force.
- Spark Beam: Fires a sustained beam of energy for continuous damage.
- Venom Darts: Launches a volley of darts that seek out a target for acid damage.
- Blast Missile: Fires a missile that explodes for area-of-effect damage.
Ranger support systems
- Bulwark Point: Deploys a spherical field which deflects incoming enemy projectiles.
- Muster Point: Creates a field which increases weapon damage for teammates who enter its radius.
Ranger ultimate ability
- Multi-Target Missile Battery: Lancers can deploy a special ultimate ability that displays the true strength of their javelin exosuit. Dealing precise damage across a wide swath of the battlefield, the Ranger’s Multi-target Missile Battery allows it to target many fast-moving enemies with guided projectiles.
Storm class
Storm, like all other Javelins bar one (which we’ll get to) can wield any weapon bar heavy, and has a melee ability called “Fiery Strike” which deals damage via an explosive flash that knocks back enemies, too. This exosuit is more attack based, offering very little defensively, and BioWare say you need to be an expert pilot to stay above the fight and attack from distance.
Storm ability slot 1 (Blast Seals)
- Lightning Strike: A targeted strike that deals lightning damage in an area.
- Ice Storm: Creates a field of ice that deals damage, rapidly building to a final explosion of frost.
- Flame Burst: A quick explosion that deals fire damage at a target location.
- Rime Blast: Fires out a flurry of ice projectiles that deal damage and freeze close-range targets.
- Living Flame: A burst of flame energy that seeks out and ignites targets.
Storm ability slot 2 (Focus Seals)
- Hoarfrost Shards: Rapid-fire shards of ice that slowly freeze a target in place.
- Fireball: A versatile fire ability that can be fired quickly in small shots or charged for a larger projectile that explodes.
- Ball Lightning: A discharge of electric energy that can be bounced off of walls to reach targets behind cover.
- Glacial Beam: Fires a beam of powerful ice energy in a targeted direction.
- Arc Burst: Unleashes a blast of lightning that will leap to nearby targets for heavy damage.
Storm support systems
- Wind Wall: Generates a defensive wall of wind that deflects incoming enemy projectiles.
- Nexus: Creates a field which provides gear cooldown reduction to teammates who enter its radius.
Storm ultimate ability
- Elemental Storm: Lancers can deploy a special ultimate ability that displays the true strength of their javelin exosuit. Manipulating the raw force of the Anthem, the Storm emits successive blasts of frost, electricity, and fire -- ending with a meteoric finale.
Colossus class
As you’d expect from a name like Colossus, this is the javelin exosuit that can wield heavy weapons. This is a defensive class in effect, because it can withstand huge amounts of damage due to its beefy size, while also dishing out massive damage thanks to its ability to use heavy weapons like the flamethrower. The trade-off here is that while carrying around a heavy weapon, the Colossus can’t use certain other guns, such as pistols. Melee wise, it’s a plain old diving smash attack called “heavy smash” which damages foes, but can also knock them down to allow follow up attacks.
Colossus ability slot 1 (Ordnance Launcher Gear)
- High Explosive Mortar: Launches an explosive projectile that deals heavy area-of-effect damage.
- Burst Mortar: Fires a volley of smaller mortars that spread out to pummel a wider area of effect.
- Firewall Mortar: Fires a specialized mortar round that ignites a wall of flame, heavily damaging enemies that try to move through it.
- Lightning Coil: Strikes a single random target with an arc of electricity in front of the Colossus, prioritizing targets with status effects.
- Shock Coil: Emits waves of electricity out from the Colossus, damaging all nearby enemies.
Colossus ability slot 2 (Heavy Assault Launcher Gear)
- Heavy Cannon: Fires a large rocket in a targeted direction.
- Flame Thrower: Unleashes a continuous stream of fire to ignite enemies.
- Flak Cannon: Barrages nearby enemies with a short-range arc of projectiles.
- Railgun: Devastates a single-target with a forceful and precise kinetic round.
- Acid Spitter: Expels an acid projectile to damage enemies.
Colossus support gear
- Taunt: Forces all enemies within a certain radius to divert their attacks to the Colossus.
- Deflector Pulse: Gives all nearby allies a damage-resistance buff.
Colossus ultimate ability
- Siege Cannon : Lancers can deploy a special ultimate ability that displays the true strength of their javelin exosuit. The Siege Cannon is ideal for clearing out smaller enemies, controlling enemies in a choke point, or putting some extra damage on a boss.
So that’s you fully up-to-date on all things Anthem, then. But there’s so much more to learn about this game. As seen above, we know there are multiple facets to building a character class, but what are the ultimate builds? Are BioWare hiding a story that’s deeper than they are currently admitting? How long will it take to mainline the story? What are the side-quests like? Will there be fast travel, or larger vehicles that can take you further afield than your jet-packs can get you? We’ll be adding more info as it comes in, so make sure to check in to find out more.
Anthem ships for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on February 22.
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