Anthem Update 1.0.4 – Did It Help?
Written by Jonathan Lee, March 28, 2019, 6:00pm. Tweet to: @Writerscube
A New Patch Has Appeared!
Heads-up, Freelancers! BioWare has dropped a new patch for Anthem, and it’s looking to be a pretty sizable one with changes that are bound to please everyone no matter your favorite Javelin. This patch is a welcome one especially since the last one had left players feeling angry about the loot situation. And by angry, I mean that some players attempted to boycott the game for a weekend.
So, you’re probably wondering, first and foremost, what happened with the loot? According to the patch details, it looks like on difficulties of Grandmaster 1 and higher, the chances for Masterwork and Legendary items have been increased. Crafting materials and “additional items” have also been added to the potential drops that one can get from chests in “Strongholds, Freeplay, and Missions”. While BioWare continues trying to tweak the rate in which players get the higher-grades of equipment and components, a new kind of loot container has been introduced: The Elysian Cache.
Meet The Elysian Cache
As you go about your time flying around and completing daily challenges, you are supposed to earn items called Elysian Keys. These will now be important because at the end of Strongholds, there are supposed to be containers called Elysian Caches. These can be important because in these Caches, you can find unique vanity items to better spruce up your Javelin! According to the patch notes, there’s no chance of acquiring duplicates, so with every Elysian Cache, you’ll get something new. At present, BioWare has stated that there’s only 67 items to be found in these Elysian Caches, but it’s made clear that this is something of a test. In the patch notes, they conclude their Elysian Caches segment with: “This is our first version of the ruleset for Elysian Caches in the game and we’ll look forward to your feedback and the data we gather from your play.”
Does the Patch Hold Up?
Loot-wise, after doing a few runs in both the new Legendary Missions and Stronghold, I found the loot haul to be fair. I got a Legendary on my first Legendary Mission, which was a pleasant surprise. And in the four to five hours I played, my Masterwork collection has since doubled. So, I think in regards to loot, it’s a nice change! (I played on Grandmaster 2 while testing out the various mission modes.)
However, it’s important to note that some players are reporting that their loot situation has still not improved, and you will likely find this on the Anthem Reddit, if you check it out now. With every patch, there’s a fresh list of issues that players are quickly finding. I would imagine this works to help BioWare create their next list of things to improve upon.
Although, it could just be RNGesus frowning upon those players for killing too many Grabbits… but that’s just my theory.
There are a lot of other areas that have been improved. One of my favorites is how all the Javelins along with some equipment parts have been buffed. This, I think, helps grant players a greater sense of power with their gear and abilities. One of my favorites is “Giant Slayer” which increases weakpoint damage after five consecutive hits. I’m already having a blast with that piece of gear coupled with my Masterwork Thunderbolt of Yvenia.
Speaking of equipment, the Forge no longer has a loading screen, and is quick and easy to access. Slowly but surely, I suspect that BioWare will actually get rid of a number of these various loading screens. As a prediction, I think we’ll eventually see something more akin to Destiny when it comes to screen- and area-instance-transitions.
Final Thoughts
Anthem continues to evolve. And BioWare is working hard to patch up the bugs and snuff out the flames from the game’s rough opening. It is clear that there are players who are not exactly pleased with how the game first came out. And they are not happy either with the pace that BioWare is fixing the game. But as we’ve seen with other games, such as Warframe, Destiny, and Diablo 3—these kinds of live games have growing pains. We’ll have to see whether the gaming community’s patience can continue to be as benevolent as it has been in the past.
Again, if you ever need to review the patch notes for Anthem, check them out here!
