BioWare offers a detailed Anthem Appearances and Outfitting systems for your Javelin. This article is a preview of what and how you will be able to change!
The level of customization in Anthemis much deeper and flexible than expected and a considerable step up compared to what was available in the studio’s previous games so far.
Before I take you through the customization options, let me remind you that Vanity and Power are two separate things in Anthem. The outfitting system you are reading about in this post has nothing to do with gear, power and stats for your exosuits.
So, let’s take a look!+
INTRODUCTION TO APPEARANCES IN ANTHEM
The Appearance can be modified from The Forge. This is an in-game tool, which allows you to create personalized loadouts and appearances for each one of your Javelins. On the image below you see all currently available slots for visual customizations (minus story-related unlocks… spoilers!). The Forge can be accessed from both Fort Tarsis and the Launch Bay.
The following slots are for physical items that you can put to change the shape of the exosuit:
- Helmet
- Arms
- Chest
- Legs
The rest of the slots are going to modify the looks of these physical items:
- Paint
- Wear State
- Vinyls
- Animations
Below I will show you each slot and its settings in as much detail as the stream allowed us to learn. First, let’s take a look at the whole screen.
On the top right are some basic stats for your suit, such as weapon of choice and gear currently equipped as well as your current level.
At any point and place inside the Forge, you can zoom and rotate all around your Javelin to inspect it from all corners and sides.
On the image above you can see the Loadouts section of the Forge. This is where you can save your customized appearances for your Javelin. You can give each loadout a special name to make it easily recognizable too. You can have up to five loadouts for each Javelin.
Check out the Complete Anthem Javelins Armor Sets Catalog, available here on VULKK.com!
PAINT AND MATERIALS
There are six regions on the exosuits that you can modify. They are roughly split into two main categories – Hard materials (metal, iron etc) and Soft materials (cloth for example). When you select a region, it is highlighted for a brief moment on the Javelin to the right on the screen, so you can see where exactly you would be applying your changes.
You are not changing just the color of the region, like in past games from BioWare, but you are also picking the physical material as well.
In the image above you can see a large selection of materials available to place on your javelin. Most of them replicate real-life materials such as iron, metals, fabric and so on. Some of the patterns actually offer more than one color on the same slot just because they are designed this way. You can only pick one color, the other one is based on the pattern.
The Hard and Soft areas are based on the designers’s understanding and general idea of whhere the suit should be armored (chest, front, back etc) and where there should be soft spots… for mobility purposes and other reasons.
The two major regions have three options each, allowing you to create a truly one-of-a-kind look for yourself.
If you wish to, you can select inappropriate materials for the slots. For example, you can pick a fabric type of material for the “Hard” slot. Or even better – make the Storm’s cape be of metallic material. This will make the Javelin look a bit unorthodox, but if that’s your goal, nobody can stop you from achieving it. It may look like you have cloth where you should have armor protection, but this is just visuals! Go for whatever makes you happy!
The materials are also separated in categories based on their rarity – common, uncommon, rare and so on. It was not revealed yet which of the previewed materials will be available in-game and for which we will have to pay. One thing is certain and let me remind you of that – BioWare promised there will be no loot boxes in Anthem. You will see what you are paying for.
For each one of these materials, you can also select a completely unique and custom color. You can choose from the default ones, shown on the image above or create a custom color with the color picker tool.
If you pick a metal-like material, you will get a different color palette. The options in it are all based on the values and types of metal available in the real world. gold, brass, copper and so on.
More Materials are unlockable through various Challenges that you have to complete. Examples for that are the Faction Reputations in Fort Tarsis.
WEAR STATE
This slot allows you to customize the javelin’s wear status. It’s entirely up to you to decide if you want a brand new “just out from the shop” suit or an old, rusty visual that suggests how many battles this exsuit has been through.
At the time of this live stream, there were five available stages of wear effect:
- New
- Default
- Dirty
- Old
- Clean
Check them out below!
The wear status is material based. This means that if you have metal, like in the image, it can look rusty and if you have cloth, it may be stained – all based on the type you have chosen.
VINYLS
Vinyls for your Javelins in Anthem are arguably the best thing that will make you stand from the crowd. These are custom paint-jobs in a specific style that are designed to be placed on the Javelin’s body. You can purchase them for Coin from the Forge or use Shards in the in-game vanity store.
Vinyls are not custom. They are predefined by BioWare’s design team, because that way the devs can guarantee high quality appearances without glitches and bugs. The Vinyls are not javelin-specific. Each vinyl is designed to look equally good and detailed on each exosuit.
ANIMATIONS (EMOTES)
As you can see from the image above, this section is all about your custom poses. Here you can select a predefined animation for one of the following events in-game:
- Victory Pose – shown after successful completion of a mission.
- Arrival Animation – the way you spawn when joining a team for a mission.
- Emotes – there are three slots for different emotes you can perform.
ARMOR SETS (HELMETS, ARMS, CHEST, LEGS SLOTS)
As I wrote above, the physical shape of the javelins is formed by the appearance items you place in the Helmets, Arms, Chest and Legs slots. These have nothing to do with your power, damage, health and general stats for combat. They are just for looks.
Here is a gallery for each one of these slots and the currently available items for them.
Armor Sets are currently almost exclusively available through the Vanity Store. BioWare announced Vanity Stronghold Chests as an upcoming feature, part of the Act I update coming some time in March 2019.
Depending on which Anthem Edition you own and when you have purchased it, you may also have the Legion of Dawn armor sets.
IMAGE GALLERY
Here I have a bunch of images with different appearances on. Mostly for the Ranger, but there are a few for the other three javelins as well.
Anthem launched for PC, PlayStationi 4 and Xbox One on February 22, 2019. For more Anthem content, check the NEWS and GUIDES sections here on VULKK.com!
