It's been a long time coming, but Anthem's cataclysm event has finally arrived. This massive event brings a lot to the table, including new story missions set after the fall of the Monitor, new enemies changed by the Cataclysm event, new currencies and war chests, a new gameplay mechanic called arenas, strange anomalies known as Storm Gates spread around the world of Bastion, and much, much more.
While there is a ton to check out, many Anthem players may be concerned with the new story elements. It'll begin with a mission known as the "Tip of the Spear," where players will meet Grandmaster Adams who assigns them the task of finding the connection between the Dominion and the growing Shaper storm. Players' investigation will eventually come to ending the cataclysm, with a ton of enemies to face along the way.
Among the new enemies, Vara is the most dangerous. She has taken over control of the Dominion since the fall of the Monitor, believing she can succeed where he failed, and she commands an elite unit of powerful Valkyries. Other Anthem enemies specific to the cataclysm include Bristlebacks and Dominion Crystal troopers, and of course, defeating new enemies beget new rewards.
Anthem is introducing new Cataclysm-specific currencies in the form of Major and Minor Crystals that can be used to purchase War Chests, but there are also new ways to get gear such as completing runs of the Cataclysm, clearing out arenas (essentially, safer areas of the Cataclysm), finishing up the aforementioned story missions, and finding Storm Gates. The latter is a new gameplay mechanic that pop up across the map of Bastion as players explore the changing world.
While this update is massive and the content appears to be in-depth, it'll be interesting to see how well it performs, but EA CEO Wilson believes Anthem will become some great. It's no secret that the game has been on a downhill slide as of late, but hopefully, this can be the first step toward turning it around. For that to happen, though, Anthem will need to earn back many players.
Anthem is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: EA