Heads up, Freelancers – Anthem wants to make sure you return to base pretty regularly, and if you don’t, you’ll lose out on the experience bonuses you’d otherwise be getting out there in Freeplay mode.
Anthem’s Freeplay mode lets you explore the world of Bastion at your leisure, gently skimming over the surfaces of streams, taking in the majestic beauty of its alabaster cliffs, and searching for world events to participate in. What you might not notice, however, is that the XP you get for completing world events caps out after three – after that, the game wants you to head back to Fort Tarsis.
It makes a certain amount of sense, I suppose – Anthem wants you to periodically head back home to examine the loot you’ve picked up and fiddle with your Javelin’s loadout. On the other hand, it means sitting through more of Anthem’s interminable loading screens. These have been improved somewhat by the Day One patch, but they’re still a chore – and this means seeing them even more often. And capping out experience bonuses at three encounters seems a bit restrictive.
However, as long as you’re heading back to Fort Tarsis anyway, you might as well check out our Anthem Javelin build guides for the Ranger, the Storm, the Colossus, and Interceptor. They’ll help you sort through the equipment you haul back so you know which to use and which to scrap for parts.
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Of course, there’s still plenty to do in Freeplay. For instance, right now the ‘There Be Giants’ event is active, and that means you’ll be able to find four massive Titans prowling around outside the walls. I have run into a couple of them and can confirm they are quite unfriendly.
Just be sure you and your squadmates head back to base after three missions in the field. Otherwise you’ll be missing out on valuable XP and the unlocks that go with them.