Anthem’s endgame will be at least partially characterised by raids – or something like them – according to BioWare at a conference at PAX West today. The multiplayer co-op title’s raids are intense adventures culminating in tough fights, one of which we’ve seen already.
You may recall a 20-minute gameplay demonstration that Anthem’s executive producer Mark Darrah posted shortly after E3 a couple months back. In it, we got to follow a team of freelancers as they jet-packed across a huge opening and into an underwater tunnel that leads to a Stronghold. This encounter, it turns out, is one of Anthem’s raids. During a press briefing at PAX today, Darrah explained a bit about how those Stronghold encounters and raids will work in Anthem.
“Strongholds, which we showed at E3, are a raid-type thing,” Darrah said. “There’s something else that we’re going to announce at a later date, when we can actually show something. But it will be much higher, and much more season-based.”
Like other multiplayer raids, Anthem’s will be designed for players who have completed the story missions and want to continue honing their skills, leveling up their character, and outfitting them with the best gear.
That end-game content is currently the only part of Anthem you’ll have to play as part of a team, said Michael Gamble, Anthem’s lead producer. For everything else, including the story missions, you’ll be able to play solo, but the Strongholds are specifically designed for co-op. However, they will scale based on the number of players in a group.
Here’s that Stronghold fight once again – keep your heads up for the gigantic loathsome spider creature at the end of the clip – it looks like a properly challenging boss battle.
EA has announced the Anthem release date, February 22 next year. You’ve still got a few months left to polish up that Javelin armor and get ready to fight.