The launch pad is a feature in Anthem that many players wished for after the demo. However, the social hub serves no real purpose. With a few additions, it could thrive and help many players find new companions, believes our author Timo.
What is the Launch-Bay? The Launch-Bay is a social hub where players can meet others to showcase their Javelin and start missions. In contrast to Fort Tarsis, players control their Javelin in the familiar gameplay perspective rather than in first-person view.
What can you do there? The Launch-Bay acts as a launch pad. You can accept contracts and use the forge. There is also access to the in-game shop. Additionally, you can access the vault and check your weekly alliance status.
What is wrong with the social hub?
This is the problem: Nobody uses the Launch-Bay. Due to the longer loading times required to access the social hub, most players prefer to return to Fort Tarsis after an expedition and pick up their contracts there.
As a result, the Launch-Bay is usually quite empty, although up to 16 players can be present in each instance simultaneously.
There’s nothing to do in the Launch-Bay: Unfortunately, the hub offers too little to be of real relevance to players. The only advantage it has over Fort Tarsis is that you can accept three legendary contracts simultaneously. However, this doesn’t provide any real gameplay benefit.
The interaction is limited: For the Launch-Bay to be relevant, there need to be ways to interact meaningfully with other players. So far, there are three options in the Launch-Bay after you press “Interact” on another player’s Javelin:
- Add to Favorites: Adds the selected player to the favorites list.
- Ignore: Silences the selected player and blocks them for future expeditions.
- Invite to Group: Invites the selected player to the existing group.
Aside from the latter, these options are rather secondary for players looking for new teammates.
An option to inspect other players’ equipment or to send someone a message would be a much more important option here.
How the developers want to solve the problem
BioWare’s approach: In the Launch-Bay, there are several gestures to choose from. When you press the ultimate button while in the social hub, you receive some options to send a “message.” This will be displayed on the screen edge for all other players.
Why doesn’t that help? Among these options is the “Search for a group” option, which initially seems quite sensible. However, these messages are only displayed for a few seconds before disappearing again. In addition, many players do not even know that these options exist in the Launch-Bay, so they do not pay attention to them.
Since you cannot specify the desired activity precisely and the Launch-Bay mostly remains empty, this feature for finding groups unfortunately proves quite ineffective.
What should the social hub bring to players? The Launch-Bay should serve as a base for social interactions for players. It should be a lively place where players
- can admire other Javelins and showcase their own design
- can find new teammates and suitable groups for expeditions
- can manage and test their equipment
What players wish for: Many players desire some kind of training area or shooting range where they can test their weapons and abilities. Since you cannot change your equipment during an expedition, many players start a stronghold on a grandmaster level just to briefly test their arsenal.
They then leave again, abandoning the rest of the team. This does not stem from ill will, but highlights that players are seeking a way to meaningfully test their equipment.
Clan system coming soon: After the initial review disaster, BioWare released a roadmap. It outlines their future plans for Anthem and what features will be added in the coming weeks. Among these is the clan system, which is to be included in the game for the first time in April.
Details are still unknown. How the clan system will actually look and how it will be implemented in the game remains open. If BioWare wants to link the guilds to the Launch-Bay, it could be a significant saving grace for the social hub.
Suggestions on how to improve the social hub
Implement text chat in the game: Many players have been asking for a proper text chat in Anthem for a long time. This would prevent communication from being reduced to awkward gestures and thrown glowsticks. Players could communicate during missions without a headset.
A chat system would be highly beneficial for the Launch-Bay. This could allow players to connect with like-minded individuals and find specific groups more easily.
Expand interaction options: Inspecting a player’s equipment or simply being able to send a console-based message is almost trivial for a social hub.
Then you would at least know what power level the pilot is at and what activities their Javelin is suited for.
Quick access to the group screen: In Anthem, there is a group screen where you can see your current team members along with their equipped Javelin.
This screen could be made available in the Launch-Bay as a “walkable station,” similar to the forge stations or the board for contracts. This way, players would have a quick overview of their team without constantly having to switch back and forth in the menu.
This would make it easier to invite other players in the same instance while keeping an eye on the current team composition.
Create personal info boxes: You could implement optional text boxes that appear above the Javelin while in the Launch-Bay. In these, you could write things like: “Need 2 people for Heart of Rage” or “Looking for World Event Farm.”
These info boxes already exist in the game and are displayed over specific objects in some missions. The feature just needs to be made accessible for players.
The option to continue playing together: At the end of an expedition, there is currently no way to start another mission with the same team.
An option to continue with the existing team could bring agreeing players to the Launch-Bay. From there, they could upgrade together and start another expedition.
Always send groups to the same instance: Team members can currently be loaded into different instances of the Launch-Bay. This makes it difficult for players to equip and consult with their team together.
Offer a shooting range: Many players desire a test dummy in the Launch-Bay where they can test their weapons and check damage. A kind of test area could revive the social hub, as this function would also be of great interest to full groups.
Simple target dummies that represent the three grandmaster difficulty levels would be helpful for all players in Anthem. This would boost visitor rates and fill the instances of the Launch-Bay, making it significantly easier to find potential team members.
Why the Launch-Bay in Anthem should be improved
What does it bring to the game and the players? Making the Launch-Bay more meaningful can only strengthen the game. A real social hub would make Anthem appear much more lively and welcoming. This is important for both new and veteran players.
That’s why a proper social hub is important:
- Players would feel at home in Anthem for the first time and could experience the community up close.
- Helpful veterans could better assist newcomers in navigating the world of Anthem.
- Newcomers would have a point of contact to get information from other players.
- Players could compare their equipment with each other and inspire each other to new builds.
- You wouldn’t have to use third-party apps like Discord to search for groups.
- Players could demonstrate their best Javelin designs; the Launch-Bay would become the fashion metropolis.
The Launch-Bay is a feature that was quickly implemented into the game at the request of fans just before release. As a result, it is still quite bare and underdeveloped.
With some time and love, it could serve as the main base and create the same lively atmosphere as, for example, the Tower in Destiny 2.
Future additions like the guild system could help the Launch-Bay flourish again. Until then, hopefully, BioWare will have solved the communication problem in the game.
What do you think about this? Do you have good ideas on how to improve the Launch-Bay? Let us know in the comments!
