New 'Anthem' Update Adds Much-Needed Quality of Life Improvements

BioWare's Anthem has been fighting an uphill battle since launch, with a plethora of players not being satisfied with what was delivered earlier this year. The developers have been trying to make things right with the implementation of bug fixes galore as well as new content and quality of life improvements. Such is the case with the game's latest update, which has added The Sunken Cell stronghold as well as many changes to how players can enjoy the journey. Plus, players can finally access the Forge during missions and there is no longer a need to return to Fort Tarsis after every mission.

As outlined in the patch notes release by BioWare, the new Anthem update brings many goodies for players to enjoy. In addition to those mentioned above, the update has implemented many adjustments to Masterwork weapons and gear as well as new Universal Masterwork Components. The full patch notes, including all of the bug fixes that have arrive, can be found right here. We've highlighted some of the additions below.

New Features

• The Sunken Cell stronghold is now available to all players who have completed the main story (critical path).
• Added the ability to select contracts from the start of expedition screen rather than going to the individual contract boards in Fort Tarsis or in the Launch Bay.
• Added the ability to launch a new mission from the end of expedition screen without having to return to Fort Tarsis or the Launch Bay.
• Added the ability to access the Forge during Missions, Strongholds and Freeplay. You can now change your gear without having to return to Fort Tarsis or the Launch Bay!

General Notes

• Added additional cortex entries to explain combo, detonator, and primer abilities.
• Added new Universal Masterwork Components
  • Extended Sniper Magazine: Adds specialized storage for enhanced sniper rifle ammunition. Increases damage by 30% of base damage. Increases maximum magazine size of sniper rifles by a large amount.
  • Rapid Hollow Points: Adds specialized ammo storage for machine pistols and autocannons. Increases damage by 30%. Increases weak point damage of machine pistols and autocannons.
  • Extended Special Arms Magazine: Adds specialized ammo storage for heavy pistols and grenade launchers. Increases damage by 30%. Increases maximum magazine size of heavy pistols and grenade launchers by a large amount.
• Added primer/detonator icons in the cortex next to gear entries.
• Fixed a bug where "Legendary Freelancer" Javelin challenge objectives weren't completing correctly in the challenge journal.
• Resolved an issue where players were being kicked back to Fort Tarsis when loading into quickplay missions.
• Fixed a problem where the "Arcanist Loyalty 3″ trophy could not granted on Playstation 4.
• Fixed an issue where notifications for challenges were not appearing correctly.
• Resolved an issue where after respawning, you could be downed again prior to re-loading back in fully.
• Added STT (Speech-to-Text) and TTS (Text-to-Speech) on all platforms.

GAMEPLAY BALANCE ADJUSTMENTS

Masterwork Weapons

• Retaliation of Garretus – Trajector Machine Pistol
  • Increased bonus from 200% to 400%
• Rolling Carnage – Vengeance Shotgun
  • Increased bonus from 50% stacking 3 times, to 83.33% stacking 3 times.
• The Last Stand – Mauler Autocannon
  • Increased bonus from 200% to 225%
• Fist of Stral – Cloudburst Autocannon
  • Increased bonus from 10% stacking 10 times, to 16% stacking 10 times.
• Unending Battle – Fulcrum Machine Pistol
  • Increased bonus from 110% to 135%
• Death From Above – Guardian Marksman Rifle
  • Increased bonus from 65% to 235%
• Wyvern Blitz – Deadeye Sniper Rifle
  • Increased bonus from 40% to 185%

Masterwork Gear

• Colossus:
  • Final Judgment – HE Mortar
    • Increased bonus from 35% to 55%
  • Fist of the Crucible – Flamethrower
    • Increased bonus from 12% *10 to 24% *10
• Interceptor
  • Serpent's Veil – Venom Bomb
    • Increased bonus from 100% to 202.5%
  • Ruthless Stalker – Searching Glaive
    • Increased bonus from 60% to 110%
  • Bitter Harvest – Cluster Mine
    • Increased bonus from 60% to 110%
• Ranger
  • Cold Blooded – Frost Grenade
    • Increased bonus from 235% to 270%
  • Avenger's Boon – Pulse Blast
    • Increased bonus from 210 % to 220%
• Storm
  • Ponder Infinity – Lightning Strike
    • Increased bonus from 60% to 165%
  • Chaotic Rime – Frost Shards
    • Increased bonus from 125% to 250%

Gear

• Friendly player projectiles should now be able to pass through Javelins in your squad.
• Colossus' Firewall Mortar should now more reliably spawn the Firewall effect when directly hitting enemies, sloped surfaces, or next to walls.

Status Effects / Combos

• Delay between when players and creatures are frozen and when the visual effect is applied has been reduced to improve readability of the status effect.
• If a player applies a status effect that already exists on a target, but the new status effect has a higher damage than the existing one, the damage will now scale to that higher value.
• Players who prime targets for combos will now also see the "Combo" text when detonated by another player.
• Increased the damage of the Electric status effect when applied to creatures.

Anthem is currently available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with the latest update now live across all platforms. For more on the game, check out some of our previous coverage.

What do you think about all of this? Are you glad to see BioWare not giving up on Anthem? What other changes do you think should be made to the game? Sound off in the comment section below, or feel free to hit me up over on Twitter @anarkE7!

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