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We Know 135 More Facts About Anthem
BioWare's executive producer Mark Darrah has been dropping Anthem knowledge for over a week and here's everything you should know.
BioWare's new shared-world, science-fantasy shooter was the biggest game coming out of E3 2018. Now that we know much more about Anthem and its super-powered exo suits called Javelins after the big re-reveal at EA Play there are still a bunch of questions surrounding the game.
Fortunately, Mark Darrah, executive producer on Anthem and Dragon Age – and all around helpful person – has launched a crusade to eradicate lingering questions about Anthem on his personal Twitter account. He's been at it for over a week in what he's calling the excellently named #AMAAAA or Ask Me Almost Anything About Anthem.
And true to his word, Mark Darrah has answered a huge variety of questions – most of them multiple times – giving us an excellent flow of information straight from BioWare itself. And so, naturally, we've combed through it to put all those morsels of insight in a single place so you don't have cramp your finger/thumb scrolling through it all.
Keep in mind a lot of this is subject to change – game development happens, amirite? – but Mark's given us a surprisingly candid and honest look at what to expect from Anthem come February 22. So, thanks again Mark. You're a trooper!
Anthem's Story
1) The name Anthem comes from the “Anthem of Creation” a major element of the game’s story. [source]
2) Most of the consequences and changes as a result of your actions and story progress in Anthem will take place in Fort Tarsis in order to maintain a consistent world for all players regardless of where they are in the story. [source]
3) You will not leave Fort Tarsis without being inside a Javelin. [source]
4) The main story will have a climax and a conclusion but the game continues after that. [source]
5) Your character will have a backstory that BioWare will share more info on later. [source]
6) Anthem’s main story will absolutely include important non-player characters that you interact with during the story and beyond. [source]
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You can play Anthem alone if you really want to.
7) The relationships in Anthem will focus on companionship and camaraderie of heroes, not romantic ones. [source]
8) Romances could happen at some point after launch. The decision to not include romance in Anthem was a design choice rather than a technical limitation. [source]
9) Story missions can be played with 1-4 people, meaning you can play Anthem alone if you really want to. [source]
10) Strongholds [Anthem’s dungeons-like content] aren’t going to be soloable, but you don’t need to do Strongholds to complete the story. [source]
11) To clarify, Strongholds aren’t just hard, but will require four players to enter them. Fortunately you can use the matchmaking system to find players or invite players to join you. [source]
12) There will be some kind of scoring mode for friendly competition in Strongholds (and perhaps more.) [source]
13) No core plot points will be locked behind paywall downloadable content. [source]
14) Your primary enemy in the story will be the Dominion, a human nation bent on subjugating the other people. The Dominion believes that they can control the tools of the Shapers and bend them to their own purposes. The Dominion are a an ancient enemy with a secret in their past. [source]
15) The Dominion will have their own Javelins. [source]
16) You will be the central figure in your story cutscenes, even when grouped with a squad. [source]
17) To elaborate on cutscenes while playing cooperatively, the other players in your squad won’t appear awkwardly standing around in your cutscenes. [source]
18) However all players will see the same cutscene for the same length of time every time a cutscene fires. There’s no waiting for someone to be done with their cutscene. [source]
19) On missions you’ll focus on the action as opposed to conversational branching. Your actions may affect things in the world. But in your hub, the conversations and interactions you have will definitely affect their lives. [source]
20) You’ll be able to replay missions once you finish them. [source]
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There will be some kind of in-game lore items to discover.
21) The planet on which Anthem takes place has a name, but BioWare is not sharing it yet. [source]
22) There will be some kind of in-game lore items to discover. [source]
23) There will also be a storage place for collected lore. [source]
24) There is no friendly fire at the moment. [source]
Anthem's Mechanics and Features
25) There will be no pvp at launch. [source]
26) To clarify the if/when questions about pvp: There are no current plans for PvP after launch, but BioWare may look into at some point after launch. [source] [source2]
27) The lack of pvp at launch allows BioWare to go broader on gear and weapons with less worries about balance. [source]
28) Cross-platform play is not currently planned. [source]
29) Anthem requires an online connection to play due to the support of dedicated servers. [source]
30) Everything in Anthem runs on the dedicated servers except for your single-player hubs (Fort Tarsis and the Strider.) [source]
31) There will be four players on a server in Free Play mode. [source]
32) There is a chance BioWare could raise the player limit in Free Play mode at some point in the future. [source]
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Anthem will not pause in menus because other players are in there with you.
33) There will be some sort of crafting in the game. More details to come later. [source]
34) There is fall damage in Anthem. [source]
35) There will be a revive mechanic when one of your squad’s freelancers goes down. [source]
36) Griefing players won’t be able to block others from reviving downed players. [source]
37) You can wait for a team revive indefinitely, or you can opt to respawn at the last resupply point you hit. [source]
38) Anthem will not pause in menus because other players are in there with you. [source]
39) Emotes confirmed. [source]
40) BioWare is/will try to implement idle-detection to identify players who are hindering their teammates by idling for too long. [source]
41) There will be aim assist on game controllers but it’s currently being tuned. [source]
42) There will be a breath meter while underwater. [source]
43) With regard to loot rarity, there will be five or six rarity levels. The drop rates are still being balanced. [source]
44) There will be no trading equipment with other players at launch in order to ensure control on balance. [source]
45) There’s no paying for power in Anthem. Anything purchasable with real money is cosmetic. [source]
46) The purchasable vanity items will be viewable before you buy so you see what you’re getting. There are no loot boxes. You can also earn your vanity items. [source]
47) While in your Javelin you’ll have a Cypher, a human who interacts with you, rather than an AI in the suit. [source]
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There will be no season pass for Anthem, but there will be content after launch.
48) The game will be in first-person perspective in your Fort Tarsis and Strider bases, and third-person perspective out in the world in your Javelin suit. [source]
49) BioWare wants the hub areas to feel “super tight to give that more claustrophobic feel.” This is why those spaces are in first-person perspectives. [source]
50) There will be side quests outside the main story line. [source]
51) There will be a Free Play mode that allows you to explore the world in an undirected way that’s focused on exploration and discovery. [source]
52) In Free Play mode you can swoop in and help other players near you with their activities without having to form a squad. [source]
53) There will be no season pass for Anthem, but there will be content after launch. [source]
54) No monthly subscription to play Anthem. [source]
55) BioWare wants to make sure people can always play together, and aren’t fragmented depending on who has post-launch content expansions. [source]
56) “New story content, new game spaces” and post-launch content like that will be available for everyone. [source]
57) There could be holidays and themed events in Anthem at some point. BioWare isn’t talking about post-launch content just yet, but “people celebrate in Anthem.” [source]
58) BioWare isn’t saying there will be no paid DLC after launch. For example, if they added a new Javelin some point in the future, maybe that would be paid content. Maybe not. BioWare isn’t confirming anything and can give absolute answers about specifics. [source]
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There will be rare weapons or equipment that will drop from specific encounters.
59) There will be an earnable in-game currency. [source]
60) There are vendors in Fort Tarsis. Currently there are no vendors outside the fort. [source]
61) There will be no AI teammates during gameplay. The traversal and verticality of the levels puts this out of BioWare’s abilities at the moment. [source]
62) There will be something akin to “notorious, bigger, badder, stronger monsters” out in the world of Anthem. [source]
63) Enemies will have weak spots in different places on different creatures. [source]
64) There will be rare weapons or equipment that will drop from specific encounters. [source]
65) There will be a colorblind mode. [source]
66) There is a day/night cycle. [source]
67) Your inventory will be limited but not so limited it will be a burden. [source]
Anthem's Customization and Personalization
68) There will be both personalization (making the Javelin look the way you want) and customization (making the Javelin play the way you want). [source]
69) Your Freelancer (pilot) has progression levels that gives you perks that apply to all Javelins. Additionally you’ll get better gear for each of your Javelins. [source]
70) There will be multiple genders for your Freelancer/pilot. [source]
71) You’ll be able to customize the face and hair of your Freelancer, but no body customization. [source]
72) All personalization/cosmetic options in Anthem can be earned and unlocked through gameplay. [source]
73) However, the Legion of Dawn edition [$80] cosmetic items will be unique to people who purchased that edition. [source]
74) The weapons and gear that come with the Legion of Dawn preorder will not be useful forever. You’ll replace them eventually as you progress. [source]
75) The personalization “skins” for Javelins are reusable. If you have one, and swap to another, you can go back to your original skin if you want. [source]
76) In addition to skins/paint jobs for your Javelin, there will also be armor packs that change the look of your suits. [source]
77) You will be able to customize your Freelancer (pilot) through progression to make you able to fly farther. [source]
78) Loot is spawned for everyone and is instanced. There is no kill-stealing and no loot-theft in Anthem. [source]
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Gear drops are based on your pilot level.
79) Loot drops from enemies will show up near the bodies of said enemies. [source]
80) Gear drops are based on your pilot level. [source]
81) If group with players of higher levels, your loot drops will still drop at your level, not theirs. [source]
82) There will be lots of progression for better gear and weapons in the elder game [Anthem’s end game]. [source]
83) The maximum character level balance is on going and not set in stone yet. [source]
84) There will be animals in the world of the big and scary variety. There will be no pets. [source]
Anthem's Javelin Suits
85) There will be four Javelins available at launch. The Ranger, Colossus, Storm, and Interceptor. [source]
86) Each Javelin type has its own symbol. [source]
87) Javelin symbols are, left to right: Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, and Storm. [source]
88) You’ll start Anthem with the Ranger Javelin. You’ll unlock the others through the story. [source]
89) You’ll unlock the other Javelins less than a quarter of the way through the game. [source]
90) You can unlock the other Javelins in any order by doing different missions. [source]
91) You can only have one of each Javelin type per profile, but you can reconfigure them in your hub at will. [source]
92) Players can use any of the javelins on their profile so they won’t ever have to create new characters to change suits. [source]
93) Your team can consist of any combination of javelins. No requirement for specific roles. [source]
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Sylvester Stallone was not hired to do voice work in Anthem.
94) Javelin upgrades will mostly come as drops in the world. [source]
95) Most of your abilities are determined by your Javelin’s equipped gear. You will be able to change your gear based on what you’ve collected and craft. [source]
96) Each type of Javelin will have its own “super” or “ultimate” attack. [source]
97) The Javelins’ ultimate ability will be charged by damage output, but the rate at which it’s charged is still being tuned. [source]
98) There will be loadouts for your Javelins. [source]
99) While Javelins have a melee attack, Bioware does not yet have viable pure melee builds and likely won’t at launch time. [source]
100) The Ranger has a shock mace as its melee weapon. [source]
101) Due to the size differences in the Javelins, not all weapons types will be usable by all the Javelins. [source]
102) Gear is specific to a Javelin but weapons have overlap with some restrictions. For example, the Colossus can’t use pistols. [source]
103) All suits have different speed and nimbleness, but out of combat your Javelins move at the same pace so the group can stay together. [source]
104) Your Javelin jets generate heat and you’ll need to land to dissipate that heat or find another way to cool off. [source]
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There will be resupply points where you respawn in the event of a party wipe.
105) When your Javelin jets overheat you crash, but you have some control during the fall. [source]
106) Javelins will take damage, and have different visual wear states, but they will never perform worse based on damage taken. [source]
107) You’ll be picking up health to regenerate your Javelin’s hp, rather than a health-regen system. [source]
108) Similarly to the health pickups, there will be ammo drops in the world. [source]
109) There will be resupply points where you respawn in the event of a party wipe. [source]
110) You can swap between any of the four Javelin suits you’ve unlocked at Fort Tarsis or in your Strider forward base. [source]
Anthem's Online and Co-op
111) There is no couch co-op [multiple players sharing the same screen] currently. [source]
112) If you are at the same place in the story you’ll get full credit for joining a friend’s instance and finish a mission. If you’ve already finished that mission, you’ll get special reward for mentoring a player through it. [source]
113) All content in Anthem will have a matchmaking component to find other players to play with. [source]
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There will be tools to help with online harassment.
114) You will be able to control how open the matchmaking system is and BioWare wants to limit the ability of random players to grief you. [source]
115) Cooperative play will share progress with all players when completing it together. [source]
116) Voice communication will be in the game, but BioWare wants most content to be doable by groups who are only coordinating through in-game means. However, the plans aren’t locked regarding in-game moderation for players who abuse/harass others over voice comms. [source]
117) There will be tools to help with online harassment. [source]
118) Leaders of a squad will be able to kick unwanted players from the group. [source]
119) If you opt to join a player starting an activity while you’re in free play mode, you will fast travel to the start of the mission so you don’t have to fly there and meet them. [source]
Anthem Technical Specs and Questions
120) BioWare is a long way from having PC specification information to share. More to come at a later date. [source]
121) Anthem will not be locked at 30 frames per second on PC. The theater demo at E3 2018 was running at 60 fps. [source]
122) The frame rate on PC will not be locked. [source]
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The frame rate on PC will not be locked.
123) Anthem may not be locked at 30 frames per second on consoles. Especially on the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro. [source]
124) BioWare is currently looking into cross-platform saves. [source]
125) BioWare is looking into the option to turn off the floating damage numbers. It will “likely do that.” [source]
126) Anthem’s PC and console versions are being developed simultaneously, rather than developing for one and porting to the other. [source]
127) There will be native controller support on PC. [source]
128) Currently you can’t use a keyboard/mouse on console. [source]
Anthem Funsies
129) There will likely be nods to BioWare’s other franchises in Anthem. [source]
130) The people playing the EA Play demo of Anthem were experts who had been practicing that run for months. All the to say, Strongholds (the content we saw in the demo) will be HARD. [source]
131) Your pilot's feet will rest on the knees of the Javelin. In case you’re, you know, wondering about how that all works. [source]
132) Bioware is hiring. [source]
133) There’s no Anthem merchandise announced just yet, but stay tuned. [source]
134) Sylvester Stallone was not hired to do voice work in Anthem. [source]
135) There is no slider to adjust cleavage in Anthem. [source]
Brandin Tyrrel is IGN's Xbox Editor. You can find him on Unlocked, or chat over on Twitter at @BrandinTyrrel.