Things to Do First in Anthem
1. Play The First Few Missions Offline
Anthem is the hot new shared-world shooter on the block, and this might seem counterintuitive, but stick with me. Play through the opening act on your own, get a feel for the world BioWare has crafted, and decide whether the narrative that is being told is working for you.
The narrative in these kinds of games can get the short end of the stick, as you generally want to jump into action with your friends as soon as possible. While that is all well and good, and one of the games biggest draws, it can be hard to follow the plot with a full squad of hooligans urging you to hurry up.
Take your time, and get immersed. That being said…
2. Anthem Plays Better With a Full Squad
Anthem is a multiplayer game, and as you might imagine, it’s much more fun with friends. Soaring through the skies, and delving into dark dungeons, with some buddies at your side is the way this game was designed to be played.
Not only is it more fun, but it’s actually more economical to play with a group. You will earn more experience when grouped up, and of course, you will clear content quicker. It should go without saying that Anthem’s endgame content is challenging, and teamwork and coordination will be required to succeed.
Recruit yourself a static as soon as possible, and learn your roles.
Things to Do First in Anthem
3. Decide On a Javelin Early
Now, it doesn’t need to be immediately, but you should decide on which Javelin you would like to pilot fairly early on. Not only will this allow you to get an idea of what kind of playstyle and build will be effective for you, but it will save you some heartache later on.
Javelins are unlocked at levels 2, 8, 16 and 26. And while you can unlock any of the games four javelins at these thresholds, keep one thing in mind when making your decisions: the gap between 16 and 26 is long indeed. Make sure you leave the javelin you are least interested in until last, or you may find yourself grinding inordinately in order to get out of your current rig.
4. Freeroam is Your Friend
Something that is immediately apparent about Anthem, is its beautiful and vast open world. And while you might feel compelled to dive straight into the more structured missions that make up games main campaign, consider getting off the beaten path every once in a while.
Anthem’s locales are a joy to explore thanks to the games incredible flying mechanics, but there are other benefits to exploring as well. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the area’s surrounding Fort Tarsis and engage in some open-world encounters which will reward you with chests AKA loot.
It’s a great way to earn some early levels and knock out a few challenges along the way, so don’t be afraid to take a break from the critical path. You’ll be happy you did when you receive your list of tomb challenges not long into the main mission which required a bunch of stuff completed from free play.
Things to Do First in Anthem
5. Make Sure to Talk To Prospero
Fort Tarsis is full of a wide range of helpful individuals, and while you aren’t required to engage with all of them, there are a couple of people you should be sure to engage with.
One such fellow goes by the name of Prospero. He runs the Forge in Fort Tarsis, and after you help him out with a simple fetch quest, his shop will be unlocked for use and you can purchase various cosmetic pieces from him.
More importantly, this is how you unlock Anthem’s crafting system, which will be critical to your success. The sooner you can get familiar with it, the sooner your javelin will go from a rusting pile of junk to something Tony Stark would be proud of.
6. Complete Challenges to Unlock Blueprints
In order to keep Prospero gainfully employed, you are going to need some blueprints. Blueprints are unlocked by completing various challenges while you play and can be a very rewarding little meta-game to work towards.
While you will certainly unlock blueprints through regular play, some have rather specific requirements. Be sure to regularly check on your available challenges in the menu while you are playing so that you can get the most out of this system.
Keep in mind that some of the more advanced blueprints require using specific weapons, so plan ahead.
8 Things to Do in Anthem As Soon As You Start Playing
7. Talk to Everyone
In between missions, when you aren’t gearing up for your next big encounter, be sure to chat up the inhabitants of Fort Tarsis. They have a lot to say, and really help to flesh out the world that BioWare is trying to build here.
Beyond just simply spouting dialogue, these friendly neighborhood NPC’s serve a mechanical purpose as well: speaking to members of various factions will increase your loyalty with them, which can lead to rare and unique blueprints and crafting components.
Of course, there are challenges that will also increase faction loyalty, and you should complete those too, but simply engaging in some simple banter can be highly beneficial to an aspiring Freelancer.
8. Pick up a Book
The team over at BioWare are known for creating unique and compelling sci-fi universes, its what they do best. And while most Anthem players are here for the action, be sure to take a few moments to check out the library tab in your menu when you have some downtime.
In addition to outlining the people, places, and armaments of the Anthem universe, the library can be a handy primer to keep track of the onslaught of nerdy jargon you are likely to encounter.
It’s also great for plot recaps and can keep you on track if you’re feeling a little lost. Plus, someone put a lot of time and effort into those entries, the least you could do is read them!
Hopefully, these tips will help you decide on things to do first when starting Anthem. Be sure to check out our wiki for more helpful tips and tricks.
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