BioWare has provided a further update on Anthem's upcoming 2.0 update, including an overview of how loot will work in the new version of the game. Anthem first launched in January 2019 after several delays and received a less than kind reception. Players found the campaign grindy at times, the end game was nonexistent, and the enemy variety was lacking. However, one of Anthem's biggest issues was with the loot, which never felt special or worth earning. Considering that Anthem had ambitions of being in the same echelon as loot shooters like Destiny, its main inspiration, this was one of the biggest problems the game could possibly have.
Only a few months after launch, Bioware canceled their extensive update roadmap and took the game underground with hopes of salvaging their years of work. Since then, there have only been a few hints as to what the newer reboot team is working on. Earlier this month, studio director Christian Dailey revealed a faction of pirate enemies and some of the locations where players will end up fighting them. In today's additional update, the team goes into great detail on how the loot experience will be improved when Anthem gets its revamp.
In the latest Anthem update on the BioWare blog, lead developer Christian Dailey returns to offer insight into Anthem 2.0's loot system. One of the issues with guns, as they exist currently in Anthem, is that the new acquisitions don't feel all that different from whatever players currently possess. Damage from the starter gun is seemingly just as effective as endgame legendary pickups. Loot in the new Anthem will not only be more plentiful, but guns will have reasons you'll want to equip them throughout the campaign. If players find a gun they like, they'll be pleased to hear that loot can be leveled up and you can reroll the perks on given guns to make items more useful in the long run.
Anthem's arsenal is also getting visual upgrades, letting players distinguish firearms from specific factions and see their utility at a distance. In gameplay, the developers have implemented something that Borderlands fans are all too familiar with. When killing certain enemies designed as "walking treasure chests," loot will erupt from their corpse and fill the screen with beacons of multicolored light. Finally, in a must-have upgrade for this type of game, you can look at and equip loot in the field rather than waiting to go back to base to fiddle with your guns.
These upgrades to loot may not be groundbreaking to players of ARPGs, but they were sorely needed in the version of Anthem that launched last year. When BioWare first revealed that it was revamping Anthem rather than letting it rot, many questioned the decision. The apathy towards the game as so complete that many players considered it a lost cause even before release. As we've seen with certain games in the past few years, it's a new world out there, and even the most poorly received titles can come back from the brink and have long-lasting lives on digital storefronts.
Source: BioWare