Anthem is exactly two months away from launch. The devs just showed gameplay of the last fourth Javelin – The Interceptor. He’s what we learned from this stream!
Anthem is coming at the end of February next year. The game is still in Alpha, but looks finished enough for the Devs to be showing bits and pieces from it to the public. One such example was the developer live stream from December 20th, 2018. This was the first and official time we saw extensive gameplay from the Interceptor Javelin. Below I will share with you some of the most important highlights from the event, plus a link to the full video archive if you want to watch it for yourself and enjoy the gameplay.
STRONGHOLDS ARE END-GAME CONTENT FOR LVL 20+
The Strongholds are instanced content. it’s originally designed for a full team of four players. While it’s possible to mix and match Javelins and roles, it is highly recommended that you bring proper builds if you play on the higher difficulties Anthem has to offer.
And in case you have not been following the coverage of the game one VULKK.com, let me remind you that we will have three difficulties at launch with another three unlocking automatically when you reach level 30 of your Pilot. The higher the difficulty, the better loot and rewards you will get.
Strongholds can be run by, say, four Interceptors, but on higher than normal difficulty you will face some serious challenges if you are not a skilled player and have a poorly geared exosuit and ineffective build for this adventure.
The Stronghold we saw on the stream was called “Temple of the Scar”. The three players went in on Normal Difficulty with lvl 20 pilots and managed to run through itit, although not as easy as they expected. This particular stronghold is part of your story crit path at around three quarters of its completion.
THE INTERCEPTOR IS THE MOST MELEE-FRIENDLY JAVELIN
First of all, the Interceptor is a very vulnerable javelin. It’s the smallest in size, but also very quick and deadly. The build we saw seemed to consist of the following weapon and gear slots:
- Melee Ability – Double-Bladed Daggers – Delivers a multi-hit flurry of slashes chain that can be continued indefinitely
- Acid Bomb: Tosses a grenade which explodes, splashing all nearby enemies with acid.
- Plasma Star: Tosses a plasma-empowered shuriken at a single target, effective at long range.
- Target Beacon: Marks a target for increased damage which will switch to another enemy if the marked target is destroyed.
- Ultimate Ability – Assassin’s Blades – Becomes supercharged, carving its blades through enemies at high speed.
Keep in mind these names may not remain the same. I have taken them from the Anthem Javelin Classes and Abilities post I made a couple of months ago.
The glow sticks that Mike Gamble was throwing like mad are a simple emote. They do not cause damage and are just for fun. Could be used to mark things and places, of course.
The devs admitted at the end of the stream that the Interceptor was more powerful in the build of the game they showed. In a later one and likely for the release of the game the Interceptor’s melee ability will not be so hard-hitting and may not work the same way on all kinds of enemies and targets. It would be possible to stun-lock a weak foe, but wont work like this on a heavy shielded enemy, elite or a boss.
BEWARE OF DEADLY ENVIRONMENT
Mike got defeated by Acid a couple of times. The groundfloor in one of the segments of the Stronghold was full of acid. It was dark and the in-game sound was very low, but apparently there are alarms and notifications to let you know if you are standing in something you are not supposed to.
The Acid was simply eating through the Interceptor’s shield and then the HP. By the way, the blue bar is the Shield, the green one is your HP (life). Health doesn’t regenerate in combat, shields do (with a small delay).
When you are defeated, a teammate has to come to your aid and fix you. This is very similar to how resurrections worked in Mass Effect Andromeda‘s Multiplayer.
EACH JAVELIN HAS A SPECIFIC COMBO EFFECT
Once again I throw you back to the Mass Effect series, because the combo system from there has been transformed and integrated into Anthem as well. The key here is that each Javelin class has a unique effect on the Combos.
Quick reminder of what Combos are and how they work – One ability (marked as a primer) will prepare your target or targets fora combo. The ability is usually doing its normal damage as well, so even if you don’t pull off a combo out of it, you are not waisting it. Another ability is then used on the same target or targets to trigger the combo for a more powerful effect.
Here are the different effects each Javelin can have on a combo when they trigger it:
- Ranger – gets a huge crit and damage boost spike on the targer. It’s great for a single target damage dealing.
- Colossus – creates massive AoE explosion effect
- Storm – spreads the effect. In the stream we saw the Storm spreading a freeze effect on multiple targets.
- Interceptor – inherits the effect of the prime ability and creates an aura with it around itself. That allows him to run around for a short time “infecting” other targets nearby
This system is deeper than it seems, especially on the highest difficulties. Players will have to be careful which combo they activate, when and where. Mashing random buttons will not lead to optimal results and on Grandmaster difficulty this could result in a wipe (team defeat). Every combo must be executed in the proper situation by a proper javelin and ability for the maximum effect to be achieved.
VOIP IS A THING IN ANTHEM
Much like in any other self-respecting multiplayer focused action game, Anthem will offer full Voice-over-IP service. Players will be able to communicate with each other when they are in a team.
Both free speech and push-to-talk will be available. You will also be able to mute others if they annoy you or forget to turn off their mic often.
Anthem will be played on dedicated servers, which will be region-based. This allows the developers to have full control over the world events in Free Play as well as the day and night cycles, for example.
MATCHMAKING FOR STRONGHOLDS IS POSSIBLE
The matchmaking system is not new to these games. It was also confirmed to be available in Anthem a long time ago. What we can take away from the stream yesterday was the fact that the Matchmaking system will allow you to join an expedition in progress, start a new one with random people and make new friends or enter an instance with a pre-made team.
THERE MIGHT BE RAIDS
The question about the end-game has been asked many times already Ben Irving is usually the person, who provides an answer. Unfortunately, his words are always the same. There will be “aspirational content” at launch.
The devs are calling the Strongholds end-game content. There will be more and different possible events and activities post-launch. For now that is it. They are simply calling the end-game group play “aspirational content”, not raids. Raids are large groups of many players. In Anthem the max number of people you can group up with is three – group’s max size is four. Also you can only have up to four players in one instance of the open world for Free Play.
Evasive answer, as usual. Ben Irving is good at that. Those of us who know him from his days as game director for Star Wars: The Old Republic, have heard his explanations and answers many times already.
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SHARE ACCESS TO THE VIP DEMO
Anthem releases on February 22nd, 2019. You will be able to play a demo of the game about a month earlier. If you have pre-ordered the game or have Origin Access membership, you will have access to a VIP Demo on January 25th. A public demo will be available on February 1st.
BioWare will be sharing codes for the VIP Demo, so you will be able to invite a friend (or more?) to check it out as well.
Below you can check out the full recording of the live stream from Decembr 20th, featuring Ben Irving, Jon Warner and Mike Gamble playing the Temple of the Scars Stronghold from the Interceptor’s point of view.
