BioWare’s new game Anthem may not be releasing until 2019 (at the earliest) but that isn’t stopping fans from asking tons of questions about the game. More importantly, even though they won’t give big picture details, the developers are in some cases willing to answer those questions.

Of the team members currently working onAnthem, Technical Design Director Brenon Holmes seems to be the most connected with the game’s growing community. And as such, Holmes tries to give excited gamers some hints as to what they can expect from the game.

This week, the Anthem subreddit mused on the idea of weapon progression and weapon systems, and whether or not players would prefer an MMO style where they acquire replace "old" weapons with "new" ones or an RPG style where they upgrade existing weapons to fit different situations. Responses favored both styles, so it’s a good thing that Anthem will apparently offer both options depending on the “area of progression.”

While Holmes obviously couldn’t elaborate, he did share the advantages of both weapon system options:

One advantage to having a more static model is that it's a lot easier to entice players into different styles of gameplay. You find something new, it's more powerful than what you have... you're likely to give it a go! ?

Alternatively, with things that grow in power over time/usage... you tend to get a lot more attached to the items you have. They start to form part of the identity of your character.

A lot of it depends on what the progression goals are with a given system. Currently we're doing both styles (for different areas of progression).

Given that we don’t too much about Anthem it’s hard to evaluate how Holmes' comments reflect the gameplay in the title. We know that loot will drop from defeating enemies and that those items seem to have rarity tiers, but customization was not covered during the E3 2017 demo. All we really saw was a player collect a piece of loot and rejoice. Was the player in the demo excited because that weapon will be with them for the long haul and upgraded over time? Or will that weapon be replaced by the next, better item that drops down the road?

Anthem Delayed into 2019 Rumor

Both progression systems have proven successful in RPGs and looter shooters like Anthem, and some games even offer a mixture. Most games that Anthem is trying to compete with, specifically Destiny, favor the fixed weapon drops.

If nothing else, gamers can take Holmes' comments to mean that Anthem will offer an experience with a variety of opportunities for customization. Two styles of weapon progression suggest that the game is designed to keep players invested long term, not unlike some of the games-as-service titles that are out right now. Whether or not those systems will be compelling enough to keep players invested for the long haul will have to wait until Anthem releases next year.

Anthem is currently scheduled to release in 2019.