Anthem will incorporate a weapon upgrade system

BioWare’s new Anthem game isn’t due out until 2019 (at the earliest) but that hasn’t stopped fans from asking dozens of questions about the game. More importantly, even though they don’t know the general details of the game, publishers are sometimes happy to answer those questions.

Of the current Anthem development team, Technical Design Director, Brenon Holmes, seems to be the most connected to the community. Therefore, Holmes tries to give some suggestions to gamers so that they know what to expect from the game.

This week, the Anthem forum on Reddit talks about weapon systems and upgrade ideas. People talk about whether we’ll like the MMO style – the “new” found weapons replace the “old” ones – or the RPG style – they upgrade existing weapons on a case-by-case basis. There are responses that choose both, so this would be a good sign if Anthem has both options depending on “the progression.”

While Holmes doesn’t elaborate, he does share some advantages of both using the two systems:

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One advantage of combining both methods is that it is easier to please players, depending on the different play styles of each person. You find something new that’s stronger than what you already have… you’ll want to try it!

On the other hand, with items that get stronger or stronger over time… you’re more likely to stick with the items you already have. They shape your character.

A lot of the things in this model are based on the goal of upgrading in the existing system. Currently, we are doing both methods (for different levels).

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Given that we don’t know much about Anthem, it’s hard to judge Holmes’ comments on the game’s gameplay. We know that there will be drops from defeating enemies and that those items will have different rarity, but modding was not mentioned in the E3 2017 demo. What we see are players. Pick up items and get excited. Will the players in that demo be interested because this weapon will stay with them for a long time and can be upgraded over time? Or will it be replaced by the next, better weapon drop in the future?

Both of these upgrade systems have found success in RPGs and Anthem-like scavenger hunts, and there are a few games that combine the two. The vast majority of games Anthem is trying to compete with, Destiny to be exact, favor dropping weapons.

If nothing new, we can confirm Holmes’ comments that Anthem will give us a lot of room for customization. The two weapon upgrade systems show that the game is designed to retain players who have long invested in the game, not like current ‘service’ titles (i.e. launching new items to lure players). Whether these systems are enough to retain players, we will have to wait for Anthem to launch next year.

Anthem is currently scheduled to launch in 2019.