In Anthem, the new patch went live on March 26. It brought numerous changes to the game. Has Anthem now become a better game because of this? We have the answer for you.
Here’s what it’s about: The recently released patch 1.04 brought several changes and various quality-of-life improvements to the game. The community has eagerly awaited this update, hoping it would finally rain loot in Anthem again.
The patch initially brought 2 new loot issues. However, these turned out to be bugs and were resolved with a hotfix.
Here you will find the highlights from patch 1.04.
What players love about the new patch
Here we have listed some topics that players have found positive about the update so far.
Javelins feel stronger
Why do they feel stronger? The patch introduced various improvements to all Javelins. Many abilities and components received significant buffs or were fundamentally adjusted to increase their effectiveness.
Interceptors are stronger than ever: Specifically, the Interceptor is said to be particularly good after the update. This Javelin received several changes that have significantly increased its effectiveness.
- You no longer need to repeatedly spam your melee button to attack with melee. Instead, you can hold down the button to continuously perform the attack.
- The combo aura (passive ability) has been improved. You can now also detonate combos while it is active. Additionally, combo attacks extend the duration of your active aura.
The other Javelins have also benefited greatly from the buffs and are now dealing better damage in the game.
Legendary Missions: A successful change of pace
What are Legendary Missions? Legendary Missions are more challenging variants of story missions. Through these, you can experience parts of the campaign in a different way and earn loot.
There is a mission daily that you will find in the mission selection in your expedition screen.
According to the players, these missions are an action-packed change of pace. Due to the altered enemy composition and drastically increased numbers, they are quite challenging and dynamic. Overall, they provide a cool new daily challenge.
Loot should be good too: Thanks to numerous strong enemies and the so-called “Apex enemy” at the end, there are good chances that you can get decent loot in these missions. At the end of the mission, you will also be rewarded with a chest.
The Forge has improved
What has changed? There are some quality-of-life improvements for the Forge. These were very well received by the players.
From now on, you can access the Forge directly from your menu. You need to tab right in the options menu.
The loading time for the Forge has been eliminated. You can instantly enter the Forge without having to wait for a loading screen.
Furthermore, your Javelin now greets you with the equipped victory pose when you first open the Forge.
This feature is celebrated by fans as much as it is criticized: On one hand, it gives the Forge and your Javelin a nice personal touch. On the other hand, some criticize it as a marketing strategy from EA to highlight purchasable victory poses.
Another quality-of-life improvement can be found at the top right of your equipment list. Your equipped components are now displayed below your weapons. Thus, you can view all your equipped items at a glance and immediately know which build it is.
More build diversity through universal components
The new update introduced several new Masterwork universal components into the game. These are components that can be equipped by any Javelin. They can drop for you in the Grandmaster levels 1, 2, and 3.
What can the new universal components do?
- Bloodlust: A inscriptions component that increases the damage of melee weapons. Additionally, it increases melee damage by 75% after a successful melee kill for 10 seconds.
- Acid Slugs: Increases ammunition reserves and damage of shotguns. If an enemy is hit with 7 slugs from a shotgun shot, they are inflicted with an acid status effect.
- Giant Slayer: Increases ammunition reserves and damage of precision weapons. Increases weak point damage by 50% after 5 consecutive precision weapon shots.
- Focused Freeze: Increases ammunition reserves and damage of light machine guns. After 10 consecutive machine gun shots, the target is frozen.
- Feedback Loop: Increases ammunition reserves and damage of assault rifles. Increases damage resistance by 50% for 10 seconds after firing the last shot of an assault rifle magazine.
What do the new components bring? With these new additions, you can enhance your existing build or create a new one from scratch.
Specifically, the two components “Acid Slugs” and “Focused Freeze” are particularly interesting. With these, you can prime enemies with your weapons and are not reliant on your Javelin’s primer abilities.
You can find a Ranger build that utilizes exactly this functionality to its advantage here:
The “Bloodlust” component should be particularly interesting for Interceptor pilots. Since you primarily hit with your melee attack with the Interceptor, this component should enrich any melee build.
A list of all Masterworks and Legendary items in Anthem can be found here.
What do players say about the update?
Users reacted emotionally at first: Anthem struggled with two serious bugs at the beginning of the patch, which negatively affected the loot experience for many players. Because of this, the mood shortly after the release was initially at an all-time low for many.
The patch was labeled a disaster and regression by many users on Reddit. Specifically, the bug that allowed players to collect loot from others was unacceptable for many users.
This is what Mein-MMO readers say about the problems:
“That other players can collect the loot is somewhat annoying, but not something to get too worked up about. Of course, you don’t want to carry everything, but it doesn’t cause any damage. I can’t notice anything from the bosses yet. Received two legendary items (components) from the monitor yesterday. I will see how it goes today. Bugs are never nice, but they simply can no longer be avoided. The criticism is justified in many areas but is not expressed factually. Today’s gamer always wants everything immediately and right away.”
Adell Vállieré
BioWare continues to process feedback:
This is what MeinMMO user “Vatti” says about the current situation:
“Of course, I would also love to play a game without errors and perfectly tailored to me. The patches should be better tested and drop faster. But that won’t happen. Bioware will take longer before everything is smooth. I don’t care; I will continue to play anyway.”
Vatti
Is Anthem now a better game after the update? Basically, yes.
Apart from the initial loot problems, the developers have fundamentally improved the player experience. Many annoying bugs have been fixed, and the various Javelins feel stronger than ever.
Also, the general quality-of-life improvements and the new Legendary Missions have had a positive impact on the game. Overall, Anthem has been upgraded with this patch.
On the other hand, there are still various bugs in the game that have become unbearable for many users. Also, the loot in Anthem remains controversial and seems to vary from player to player.
BioWare continues to process feedback:
