After both demos of Anthem have been completed, the developers have taken some player criticism to heart. Now, 19 more changes are known to be implemented in the release version of Anthem. Many players are pleased about this.
The developers of Anthem have interacted with the community on Twitter. Some players had questions about changes for the final game after the Anthem demo, including 21 things fans wish for after the launch of Anthem. The developers have responded to some of these.
The site Polygon has compiled the tweets in which the developers answered questions. You can find this overview below.
22 Changes in Anthem After the Demo
The responses to the community’s questions came from developers Ben Irving, Mike Gamble, and Jonathan Warner, as well as Executive Producer Mark Darrah.
1. Voice chat is always active by default
In Anthem, voice chat will be always active by default. If players do not want to use it, they need to disable it through the options. This option is meant to promote teamwork, as Anthem is designed for groups of four players.
However, this change raises another question: Will there be a text chat? One user asked this on reddit. He is mute and therefore cannot speak at all and currently has no way to communicate. This is one of the things the community still wishes for.
2. Team members are easier to find
Players in a group will now be able to see the members of the group on their HUD. The health bar and position of all team members will be displayed at all times.
In the demo, this was a bigger problem, as players often got lost in the vast areas and had to awkwardly search the map. The health display also helps to assess whether a teammate needs assistance.
3. More endgame content
Some fans have expressed concerns that the endgame content of Anthem will not be sufficient to keep players entertained for long. What was seen in the demo was simply too little.
Bioware has already commented on this. At launch, Anthem will include three Strongholds available, the dungeons and raids of Anthem. More will be added shortly thereafter.
4. Pilots move faster in Fort Tarsis
This point was already criticized after the first VIP demo and was apparently not fixed in the open demo either. Players will finally be able to move faster in Fort Tarsis in the finished game. Only slow walking was possible in the demo.
5. FPS rate on consoles will be capped
This news will mainly interest players on Xbox One and PS4. The console version of Anthem will be capped at 30 FPS. This is intended to deliver a smoother experience at launch.
6. The group leader can be changed
It is now possible to select a different leader for the group through the group menu. In the demo, the group system had difficulties in some places, especially when someone left. The groups would break apart or had to be constantly redone.
This change is meant to keep groups together even when someone leaves by simply selecting a new leader.
7. You can create guilds
In Anthem, you will have the option to create guilds with other players. This will allow you to team up with friends or popular players repeatedly. This was not possible in the demos.
The guild system will be “available as soon as possible” in Anthem. In the meantime, alliances will take the place of this feature.
8. Inscriptions now show the correct value
In the demo, loot often had incorrect values shown. Accordingly, many inscriptions displayed values like “0% improvement.” This error is said to have been fixed.
9. Combos are easier: Primer and Detonator are now clearer
In Anthem, many attacks build on powerful combos. For these, a so-called “Detonator” attack must be executed on a target that has previously been marked with a “Primer” status from a corresponding attack.
How exactly this works was not clear to many players while playing the demo. Therefore, in the finished game, the icons will be redesigned to allow for easier combos.
10. Better visibility underwater
Some players reported problems with orientation while traveling underwater. This was especially the case in the stronghold, of which even more are supposed to be added to the game shortly after launch.
To improve orientation, it is supposed to become brighter underwater.
11. Inscriptions now come for the correct Javelin
In the demo, you could receive loot that was not intended for your Javelin. Some effects could therefore not be used with the corresponding suit. For the final version, this issue is now supposed to be corrected; the effects will be universally applicable. However, the developer says they still need to double-check this.
12. You will get the first Javelin after the tutorial
When you play Anthem, you can choose your first Javelin immediately after the tutorial. You will have the choice of all four Javelins as a starter.
The demo started for everyone at level 10 and with the Ranger as the standard Javelin, while the next Javelin was only unlocked at level 12. This caused confusion.
13. The balance between weapons and abilities will change
What exactly will be changed here has not yet been revealed. It is merely stated that the balance between Javelins, weapons, and abilities will be changed. Until now, weapons appeared to be secondary in the Anthem demo, while abilities seemed significantly more important.
According to Jonathan Warner, some changes have already been made. However, these are not yet final.
14. Prices from the cash shop will be clearer
Accordingly, the prices from the cash shop will at least initially be clearly defined. When Anthem launches, there will likely not be any changes to the prices in the cash shop.
The previous prices have already led to heated discussions in the community, as many players felt the prices were a bit too high.
15. Crafting materials will not be purchasable
Anyone who wants to craft items in Anthem will need to find and farm the corresponding materials in the world. It is not possible to buy materials with real money.
16. Improvement of performance
The performance of Anthem has come under heavy criticism. Many things apparently didn’t work as one hoped or wished, and technical problems overshadowed the fun in the demo.
Even though the problems were not resolved by the open demo, they are supposed to no longer be an issue at launch on February 22.
17. Players can no longer keep echoes indefinitely
This issue has likely annoyed some players quite a bit. In the demo, it was possible to pick up and keep echoes that were necessary for certain missions. The problem was that only a limited number of echoes actually existed.
Trollers or players who picked up echoes unknowingly disturbed players with the corresponding missions. This will be fixed in the finished game.
18. The size of the display will be adjustable
For some players with larger display devices, there were problems with the scaling of Anthem’s HUD. Some game elements were not displayed to them as they were off-screen.
A new option to adjust the display size is supposed to fix this.
19. The launch bay will be a new “social hub”
In Anthem, there will be a point of contact for social interactions, a “social hub”, where you can meet with other players – The Launch Bay.
20. All cosmetic items can be earned
Players who played the demo could purchase certain cosmetic items using a premium currency in Anthem. However, in the finished game, all cosmetic items should also be freely earnable.
According to Michael Gamble, nothing in Anthem should be hidden behind microtransactions.
21. Enemies no longer disappear
This bug has likely frustrated most of you: enemies simply disappear when you are fighting them or when they are about to attack you. This was particularly annoying when they were necessary for a mission.
The corresponding bug that caused this is supposed to be fixed at launch.
22. You will get factions to work for
In Anthem, there will be three factions for you to complete tasks for. With these, you can gain reputation and acquire blueprints, challenges, and other goods. Additionally, they will change the appearance of your personal Fort Tarsis.
This is how the community reacts
Many of the changes are currently being hotly discussed on reddit. Most points are largely ignored or only briefly mentioned. The conversations mostly revolve around two points.
On one hand, players are happy that they will no longer be bound to the Ranger when they start. They are excited that they can choose their own Javelin after completing the tutorial.
On the other hand, they are asking for more information about the changes in the balance between weapons and abilities. More info from developers is being demanded about what exactly will be changed.
The chat is also widely and heatedly discussed. However, here it is more about the fact that a text chat should be implemented in addition to voice chat.
What do you think of the changes?
A feature that players were counting on, by the way, will probably not be included:
