We explain to you how the elements and status effects work in Anthem and what they do in combat.
These are the elements: In the online RPG Anthem, there are currently four elements that affect the game in various ways:
- Fire
- Ice
- Electricity
- Acid
We explain how the elements work and how they can help or harm you.
The Elements – How They Work
Primarily, you can utilize the elements mainly through Javelin skills in combat. For example, the Mage Javelin Storm has a wide range of elemental spells that he can use in battle.
But the other four Javelins also have some elements available with their skills. We will go through each element.
Fire Element
This is what fire does in Anthem: Attacks that deal fire damage cause damage over time.
Fire is particularly strong against physical shields and armor. You can recognize armored enemies by their yellow health bar.
However, fire quickly reaches its limits against energy shields because as long as the shield is active, you cannot deal damage over time.
One of the 10 strongest legendary weapons we recommend is even a weapon with fire damage.
These Javelins have fire skills:
- Ranger (Inferno Grenade, Spark Beam)
- Colossus (Flamethrower, Fire Wall Thrower)
- Storm (Fireball, Flame Explosion, Elemental Storm)
Ice Element
This is what ice does in Anthem: Ice attacks can slow down enemies and, if strong enough, even freeze them.
During this time, they are immobile and vulnerable to combos. Ice attacks are also particularly effective against energy shields.
These Javelins have ice skills:
- Storm (Frost Shard, Ice Explosion, Ice Storm, Glacier Spear)
- Interceptor (Cryo Glaive)
- Ranger (Frost Grenade)
The combination of fire and ice doesn’t work well together: Fire and ice attacks can cancel each other out. Therefore, you should avoid a combination of the two skills whenever possible.
Electric Element
This is what the electric element does in Anthem: Electric attacks can trigger chain reactions from enemy to enemy and typically hit several enemies at once.
Electric skills deal particularly high damage to energy shields and are therefore particularly good against tougher opponents.
All Javelins have electric skills:
- Interceptor (Detonation Hit)
- Storm (Lightning Hit, Shock Explosion, Bow Explosion)
- Colossus (Shock Coil, Lightning Coil)
- Ranger (Melee Attack: Shock Slam)
Acid Element
This is what acid does in Anthem: Similar to fire, acid deals damage over time. In addition, acid temporarily weakens your enemies’ defenses. Unlike the other elements, acid also deals physical damage, not elemental damage.
Acid is particularly strong against armored enemies but struggles against energy shields. Therefore, you should destroy these first before using your acid attacks, as otherwise the damage-over-time effect will not work.
These Javelins have acid skills:
- Interceptor (Poison Mist, Poison Bomb)
- Ranger (Poison Arrows)
- Colossus (Poison Spitter)
Through the interplay of the element skills, synergies can occur. Through so-called primer and detonator skills, you can trigger combos and thus deal significantly more damage.
With inscriptions, you can also specifically enhance the effects of your elements. You should especially focus on gear pieces that specifically increase the damage of your elements. However, keep in mind that acid is not affected by this.
Acid has inscriptions that enhance acid damage and effect, and the element also benefits from buffs for physical damage. In our guide to inscriptions, you will find a list of equipment properties for Anthem.
You can watch more about the elements in this video by Arekkz:
Which elements do you prefer? Do you have specific favorite combinations?
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