The new online shooter Anthem has introduced its loot system. What stood out: Anthem does not take the “as little information as possible” route like Destiny, but relies on hard numbers and percentages like Diablo.
This point has now been revealed: Anthem has been a topic in the gaming world for a year and a half. Again and again, BioWare has shown gameplay and talked about the game and especially the story of Anthem.
But the loot system was a black box for a long time – we simply did not know what loot in Anthem was all about.
As the site Forbes reveals, even the Alpha players were not clear about how exactly the loot system works. Items and their values apparently played no role in the strictly secret Alpha of Anthem.
But the loot system of Anthem has now been revealed in a live stream. We provided extensive coverage on MeinMMO.
This is the crucial point: Until now, it was unclear how much information Anthem provides players about the items they are carrying.
There were two major possibilities:
- “Hidden stats” like in Destiny, where players receive little information on how powerful a weapon is, but only bars and approximate hints: “This bar is four-fifths full, and this perk significantly increases the ability.”
- Or exact percentages like in Diablo, where it is clear: “This ability has a value of 24, and this perk increases attack speed by 50%. You now hit every 0.432 seconds.”
As Forbes notes, the stream shows that Anthem takes the “Diablo” route and provides concrete numerical values for everything. Some values sound exceptionally strong, it is said.
There were parts
- that reduce all cooldowns by 50% when Javelins are hovering.
- that increase grenade damage by 50% with rocket kills.
- that fully restore shields when players achieve multi-kills.
This is the hope: It is hoped that this system with clear numbers will allow for real item builds in Anthem, where equipment parts are harmonized and offer synergy effects.
Exactly this “min/maxing” with the equipment is a lot of fun for many MMORPG fans.
However, so far, there has not been anything in Anthem that looks like “sets.” That is known from Diablo. However, Anthem will have random item rolls called “Inscriptions.”
How the loot system is perceived in Anthem: So far, the Reddit community of Anthem is quite satisfied with what they have seen regarding the loot system, even though the discussion about rerolls and random elements is increasing.
Why this is important: The loot system is something that is rarely discussed concretely. Often, players prefer to talk about gameplay, great bosses, quests, or story.
However, the loot system determines whether we will set a game aside after a week or log in day after day for months to immerse ourselves in the world in search of the next item.
MMOs with weak loot systems often fail because players say: “I missed that certain something. After a week, I simply didn’t log in anymore, and I didn’t miss it either.” Often, players cannot pin it down, but upon closer inspection, a dull loot system is responsible for player churn.
Conversely, some games like Diablo 3 or Destiny have a fascination that is hard to grasp. This is an indication that a loot system is particularly well executed here.
More about the loot system in Anthem with all details:
