Anthem is now out for the public, so it’s time to suit up in your Javelin and fly off into the wild and dangerous horizon of the Bastion. EA and Bioware’s attempt at a loot-and-shoot game isn’t without its problems, but it’s a decent start.

So what better time than now than for Kakuchopurei to dish out some tips and tricks on how to maximize your fun with Anthem. After suffering through the pre-Day One version of the game, we can assure you that you’re in for a (hopefully) fun time if you follow our guide.

Learn To Combo & Dish Out Combo Effects

Since the game couldn’t be bothered to tell you about chain combos, let us help you. You need to sort out your Primer abilities (the move that starts combos) and your Detonator abilities (the move that ends combos).

• When you use a Primer ability on an enemy, they will usually have an elemental cloud/symbol on them: they can be either frozen, on fire, in gas, or frizzled by lightning.
• Once you see that cloud, that’s when you use a detonator ability to deal extra damage and a bonus combo effect.
• Whoever detonated a combo will get a beneficial combo effect. These are different for each Javelin. Interceptors gain elemental aura AND a damage-over-time buff to their attacks. Colossus deals bonus damage over a small area near the detonation area. Storm shares the elemental status with enemies near the detonation area. Finally, the Ranger deals additional bonus damage to the detonated target.

Combos are important not only for extra damage against higher-level enemies but to also gain extra buffs for your party and debuffs for enemies. Look out for equipment and items that have the key words “Chain Combo” to make combo-making easier in the long run.

Play Missions On Hard (Except For Strongholds)

If you want to get the most experience and loot, play missions and free play mode on Hard. You’ll be teamed up with players automatically so you won’t be going at it alone in case you’re underlevelled.

You may not want to do this for Stronghold missions unless you’re all geared up and at Level 30. Strongholds have a ton of Elite enemies; ie bad guys who hit really hard and take little damage. You’d be a liability to your team if you’re dying too many times.

Learn To Make Quick Turns

You do this by flying first, then press the hover key mid-flight (C for us), turn quick, then press the flight button (Left Shift for us). This is easier to perform on a controller than on a keyboard+mouse setting, but you should learn to do this technique early to make traversal easy and flexible.

For you keyboard and mouse players, the best way to do this quick turn is to aim/iron sights mid-flight (RMB), then let go of the button and press the flight button.

Pick Up Green Enemy Drops

The ammo refills will fill up your mag. So go straight to shooting once you pick up that green pack. This is pretty useful if you’re using a Light Machine Gun and your magazine clip is almost out.

Farm For Coins In Freeplay

Don’t depend entirely on your weekly Alliance System payout to get money. Fly around in freeplay mode and you’ll occasionally get big coin dumps from the chests scattered about.

Tinker With Your Flight & Swim Controls

There are three separate sliders for flight and swimming controls. Keep your sensitivity close to your aim sensitivity, but start by turning response and precision down to zero then work your way up.

Salvage In Bulk

Once in a while, head down to your vault in Fort Tarsis. Mark your unused items as junk and then salvage all of it in bulk.

Use Water & Waterfalls When Flying

Cool off your engines by flying through the waterfalls in the Bastion. They’ll make you fly longer and overheat less. Rain also cools down your engine. Take advantage of the world’s erratic and summer-like weather.

Craft Later

Right now when you’re grinding from levels 1 to 20, don’t fret too much about crafting. You’ll be getting enough loot to boost your power level.

Save Your Consumables For Endgame

When you’re level 30 and you can access Grandmaster difficulties, that’s the best time to use your consumables. Don’t waste them while you’re on Hard difficulty.

Check Out The Lore On The Side

Enjoy the world of Anthem, but maybe have this vid on your side: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfaztJclLI

Picking Your First & Second Javalin

When you reach level 30, you’ll unlock all the four Javelins you get to use in Anthem. But early on, you get to pick one to start with and one when you’re level 10 or so. So which two should you go first? Ideally, you should pick one Javelin to suit your current playstyle, then pick the second one to cover up the flaws of your main Javelin.

In Mr Toffee’s case, he would pick the Interceptor first because he likes to dart around really fast with a rogue archetype, then go for the Colossus as his second pick to have a tank-like Javelin. So really, it boils down to your playstyle in these loot-and-shoot games. We’ll divvy up the Javelin descriptions for you to make it easier to choose.

Ranger – if you like all-rounder classes, this one’s for you.

Colossus – meant to defend and hold the ground while pelting foes with minigun and grenade launcher salvos. If you like holding the fort and keeping enemies away from your territory, go for this class.

Storm – dies fast, but has more shield when hovering and has the highest damage output among the classes. If you like playing glass kite classes and love mage archetypes, the Storm is for you. Pretty much an OP class if you don’t get hit and if you find a good spot for cover.

Interceptor – hit-and-run one-on-one melee class, with damage-over-time attacks that debuff foes for your main DPS heavy hitters to mop up.