Gaming
Games
Check out these 7 tips for farming powerful endgame loot in Anthem
Approaching the endgame at Anthem? Fear not. Once the campaign is done, consult our guide to earn the game's most powerful loot.
If you're like us and played through Anthem's story at a fairly steady yet thorough pace, you'll likely be at around Pilot Level 25 when you see the credits roll on the campaign. Now, you're faced with the endgame, and you've probably got no idea where to go, or what to do next.
You have options, though, and lots of ways to start earning the really powerful loot. Follow our tips below to learn the secrets to efficient farming, hitting the level cap, and surviving the endgame.
1. Level faster using Quickplay
Now you've completed the story, the time for taking it all in at a measured pace is over. The endgame grind will become your new obsession, and the first thing you'll want to do is hit the Pilot Level cap and unlock the final suite of perks, such as Legendary Contracts and the Grandmaster difficulty levels.
While earning medals is a great way to supplement your XP gains during Contracts, it's not the quickest way to polish off the last three to five Pilot Levels. The Quickplay option on the mission select screen will matchmake you into an existing game to help another player, and earn you a couple of extra bonuses, including the Reinforcements medal, that will make reaching 30 just that little bit faster. So, be charitable, and get in as much Quickplay as you can.
Everyone needs help now and then
© BioWare
2. Switch to Grandmaster 1
Anthem begins to reward you with orange-hued Masterwork items at around level 25. These items are almost always worth holding onto, as they usually offer huge stat boosts through their Inscriptions. On Normal difficulty, the pool of Masterwork items you can earn is relatively small, so even if you get lucky enough to hoover up more than one or two per mission, they may well be duplicates.
On Hard the pool increases, and continues to do so throughout the three Grandmaster difficulties, though the biggest increase comes when you first move up GM1. Elite and Legendary enemies have a higher chance of dropping Masterwork and Legendary gear, while the end-of-mission rewards will be better.
3. Complete Legendary Contracts and Strongholds
Every day you can visit Matti, Erryl, and Sumner for Arcanist Contracts, Yarrow for Freelancer jobs, and Brin for Sentinel assignments. Completing these will unlock a purple Legendary Contract from each Agent, which is a harder version of a normal Contract, usually with an extra objective thrown in. You can attempt a total of three of these more challenging missions each day, and you'll be rewarded with a Masterwork item for every one you finish.
Likewise, Strongholds are multi-part dungeons, with gruelling firefights and titanium-tough enemies that culminate in a huge boss fight. Each stage of the Stronghold will reward you with a chest that has a chance to contain a Masterwork, and on GM1 or higher you'll also get one as a reward from the first Stronghold you complete each day. Hitting Legendary Contracts and Strongholds on the higher difficulties is the best way to boost you gear.
Ash Titans are a great source of loot
© BioWare
4. Jump into Freeplay after your dailies
You might be tempted to keep grinding through Contracts and Strongholds, but you'll see diminished returns on the top-tier loot if you do. Instead, head into Freeplay on Grandmaster 1 or above, and farm World Events.
You'll come across these events and activities all over Bastion, and they'll range from clearing out Skorpion nests to stopping rampaging Ash Titans, or preventing Dominion arms deals. They can be super tough alone, but there are usually around three other Freelancers zipping about wh''ll be willing to help, and every active event will display an icon on the HUD to make them easy to find.
The upshot? Completing each World Event spawns a chest that has a chance to contain a Masterwork or Legendary item.
5. Build for solo in Freeplay
The biggest issue with the above method is that you can't always guarantee on other players coming to help you. They might be out on specific objectives, or may even be under-levelled and therefore of little use, in which case you're on your own. To offset this, we would advise building at least one Javelin that's designed for high survivability.
The Colossus and Ranger are your best options here, as while the Interceptor and Storm can bring the damage, they're relatively weak physically. The Ranger's shield dome and the Colossus's combat shield grant them a little more defence, and you can use specific Inscriptions to boost armour strength and shield regeneration. Supply and ammo Inscriptions also increase the rate of health and ammunition drops, while Inscriptions and Components that supplement your thruster life and recharge speed can keep you in the air for longer, granting you an extra tactical advantage.
Trials lie ahead. Gear up accordingly
© BioWare
6. Legendary isn't always better
This one is important, though not obvious. During the grind for stronger and better gear, you may be tempted to equip anything you pick up with a higher gear score than your current equipment, but this may do you more harm than good. Never is this more inviting than when you loot a new Legendary item. That shiny, golden-yellow hue is like fresh sunshine. And look at the numbers. Huge great percentages must be better, right? Well, maybe.
Gear in Anthem has a ton of different Inscriptions, most of which are beneficial to you, but all of which must be used in conjunction with the right equipment in order to be fully effective. Instantly swapping in a new gear item, because at a glance it looks better, could end up costing you. At this point, every increase to stats is important, but not at the cost of the one or two bonuses that make your current build function as intended.
It might be heartbreaking, but examine the Inscriptions, weigh up the options, and go with whatever makes you more powerful. You can always use that Legendary in a different build, or to boost a less powerful Javelin.
7. Always finish an activity
While loot drops throughout all activities in Anthem, you're always going to get a guaranteed reward for finishing an activity. That might be a World Event, a Stronghold, or a Contract, even a round of Freeplay. To paraphrase a certain well-known movie: where possible, always be closing.
Don't cut out of Freeplay without leaving the Expedition properly, don't abandon World Events halfway through, and stick around to the final boss of a Stronghold, even if you've had a few lucky drops from the treasure chests. Not only will leaving make the given activity harder for the other members of your squad, but you could also miss out on a potential 'God-roll' that blasts your build into the stratosphere.
