This is the patch that should make the Cataclysm fun again. For many of us, at least. Today BioWare published the patch notes for the hotfix that was desperately needed for the game to continue functioning properly and its serious EndGame focused population to continue enjoying the Crystals farming. Why? Because the bugs last week’s update 1.4.0 introduced were not game breaking, but were devastating to some classes and builds when it comes to proper balancing for score-runs and effective farming. Read on for the full details on what was fixed in 1.4.1 and how.
UPDATE FROM SEPTEMBER 11:The patch is now live and available for download. its size on PC is about 2.7 GB, based on my personal updater. Yours might be different, but not by much, I assume. Original story follows I have another update below with comments on the changes AFTER the patch went live. Check it out.
A small, but very important hotfix was introduced to Anthem. With Update 1.4.0 from last week BioWare successfully increased the Vault limit cap from 250 to 350, but managed to break several key gameplay components.
A few days ago Jesse Anderson, community manager for Anthem, posted a list of known-issues and attempted to calm down the masses that the “stealth nerfs” were not intentional and the developers are hard at work to fix the issues that came up with the patch.
Once we have this patch in hand – Update 1.4.1 is small in terms of patch notes, but it would really allow many hardcore players to fully enjoy the Cataclysm once again.
What’s in Anthem 1.4.1 Hotfix
The colossus and Interceptor can once again use respectively their Battle Cry and Target Beacon. The two abilities will properly debuff the target to lower its resistances. This will make the Interceptor’s one of the most desired javelins for an ambitious Cataclysm score run, because of how quick they can take down tough targets, such as the Valkyries.
A nasty bug crawled up in the game’s formula for calculating bonus damage. This one affected heavily the damage output in certain builds, because it broke things like Steam Vent and the Combo Inscriptions on Components. This has all been fixed. The Combo Rangers know how painful it was to see those much lower damage values for a week. As if the Storm doesn’t suffer enough “In the Storm” (aka The Cataclysm, wordplay, heh)…
The best weapon in the game has been nerfed. Surprised? Of course not. Jarra’s Wrath volt caster was so insanely powerful both as a damage dealing gun and as a quick primer that this forced almost all builds and javelins to use it. The 1.4.1 fix introduces a delay between each spam of the weapon’s ticks.
You wont be able to tap the trigger like mad any more. The weapon is still great even without the bug, but it is slightly less damaging now, of course. You can press the fire button and keep it pressed to fire continuously. That will still allow you to prime multiple targets around you, for example. For things like Enemy Shields shredding, you may now have to turn your eyes to an alternative. May I suggest Rainmaker! :)
UPDATE FROM SEPTEMBER 11:
Jarra’s Wrath has been nerfed indeed. Its trigger cannot be tapped 100 times a second now. The delay is something like 2 seconds. You can still press and hold the trigger for a continuous stream of electrically charged beam.
The weapon is still an excellent primer, although it takes a bit longer to prime with Electricity (especially on certain enemies), but my Ranger’s Elemental Ops proc comes up right away.
I would recommend you stick to it if you are using it as a Primer. With the proper damage inscriptions it still hits hard and takes shields down almost as effectively as a nicely rolled Rainmaker.
Update 1.4.0 managed to break the Vault by deleting the new weapons’ categories. This was just a visual bug, of course. All the weapons we got from War Chests were still ours. The drag was that we had to dismantle the trashy ones one by one from the Forge, because the categories were invisible in the Vault. This has also been fixed with Anthem 1.4.1.
As soon as these issues were confirmed last week, we were also told that Week 5 of the Cataclysm will last two weeks. The one extra was granted because of these unintended bugs. This means that the Leaderboards do not reset today, the Seasonal Store remains the same, the Inversions are also unchanged for another week. Happy scoring and hunting, Freelancers!
Anthem Game Update 1.4.1 Patch Notes and Release Date
Because some of you might want to read the official patch notes too, I have them listed below. The bullet-points are few, but work in a very positive way for those of you, who suffered through the bugs last week.
- The Colossus Battle Cry and Interceptor Target Beacon now properly debuff enemy resistances again.
- Fixed a bug that prevented formula bonuses from being applied, which caused unintended damage reduction in certain cases (Steam Vent ability and combo damage inscriptions).
- Fixed an issue that prevented new weapons (Volt Casters, Blade Slingers, and Pulse Accelerators) from appearing in the Vault.
- Jarra’s Wrath now requires time before it can be fired again after releasing the trigger. This fix also improves game performance in some instances.
Additional Note: Week 5 of the Cataclysm has been extended and will now end on September 17th.
This update is not yet live and you cannot download it at the time of this publication and its latest update on September 10. The patch is expected to go up tomorrow – Wednesday. Most likely around the time the daily challenges reset, which is noon GMT: “FYI, this was published a bit early this time, but the hope is to have this patch out tomorrow.” – Andrew Johnson, Anthem community manager, posted on Reddit today.
