Anthem Gets a Sneak Peek of Planned Upgrades from BioWare

BioWare has offered a peek behind the curtain that shows some changes planned for Anthem’s game-changing redesign. Director Christian Dailey provided insight in a new blog post, where he broke down how the team plans to fundamentally change how loot and equipment work. Although, he cautioned that nothing is set in stone yet.

Revised loot in Anthem is planned to work in a way that will “respect your time” by increasing the frequency of loot drops, making loot more useful, and modifying how different rarities fit into the gameplay loop. There will also be less of an emphasis on acquiring specific loot by way of random drops, with BioWare saying players will be able to hunt down particular items though quests, specialized vendors, and unique loot tables. Additionally, players will be able to modify their loot in various ways, such as re-rolling inscriptions and leveling up items.

Anthem is redesigning its loot experience to be more rewarding in general too, as BioWare says the current idea is to make sure a drop “feels exciting and more noticeable.” Rare enemies jokingly referred to as “walking treasure chests” are also planned. You can watch a video of some of the outlined changes below.

Here are a few more of the changes BioWare is working on for the Anthem redesign:

Keep it Accessible and Immediate

• Reveal and equip loot right away
• Complete revamp of the equipment sheet – including a detailed stat sheet (not shown)
• The equipment sheet can be accessed from anywhere, allows you to easily see what you have equipped in each slot

Reliability of Equipment and Rewards

• Each item has an inscription “budget”, based on its Power and Rarity
• No more useless items because they were missing must-have inscriptions (see “Increased weapon dmg by +225%”)
• Exceptional items are about getting the exact types of bonuses you want, instead of maxing values on every bonus

Scale for the Future

• Your power cap can be easily increased, and the loot system scales accordingly
• Advanced telemetry data allows us to identify trends and make meaningful balance changes

Dailey went on to explain that more responsive gunplay, melee items, and the ability to spend skill points on new equipment and synergies are in the works for Anthem as well. Although, these updates are in their early stages, and the Anthem overhaul is still without any sort of release window. On the bright side, the studio is clearly committed to resetting the game’s foundation for the better, even if it takes quite a long time.

You can see all the new in-development screenshots and concept art below.