So I’ve played some Anthem for the past week, via Origin’s Premiere access. I did it that way because I was skeptical that the game was going to keep me engaged for four months, the point at which buying the game outright would have been cheaper than the subscription ($15/month x 4= $60).
After this week, I believe I made the right call.
I feel, as I have since I first played it during a closed test last fall, that Anthem is a fun game. I like flying around in my armor thing, and shooting the mean things until the glowy things pop out. Anthem’s core elements are entertaining to me, at least for the moment.
But while I enjoy the parts I enjoy, that doesn’t mean I need to gloss over the game’s many shortcomings. Anthem is noticeably unfinished. Like so many similar games before it (Destiny, Division, Sea of Thieves), Anthem will launch with a fantastic concept, fun core gameplay mechanics, and extremely limited follow-through. And, like all of those games I listed, if they keep iterating on the game, in 6-12 months I think Anthem will be a really solid game.
To their credit, in the past week I’ve seen Bioware be really responsive to some of the issues that have cropped up during the head start. So I feel confident they’re going to eventually get Anthem sorted out. But at this point I don’t think I’m going to end up along for that ride.
lol almost had to spell it out to him
*Player 1 rolls the dice!*
*Player 1 rolls a 1.*
*Player 1 has died!*
When you are desperate you take what you can get. Pity fuck trumps no fuck.
But wasn’t it stated previously that taking any action would kill him?
So he’s going to sacrifice himself at best?
Talking does not usually count as an action, I believe.
However, when he rolls a one and convinces the NPC he’s an enemy…
This. lol
Also, talking is considered a free action, yes, but there are limits to how *much* you can talk. And, as you said, he *could* roll a 1. At a maximum of 18 at low-level (don’t know the stats that Tim uses for the Players), there’s still a strong chance of failure. Which would be hilarious.
Speaking of which, @Tim, do you actually roll rolls for the players, and psuedo-DM The Players Pathfinder comic? Or are you writing a fixed script?
In one of the previous arcs (The Campaign: Heart of the Forest):
4: Hey where is everyone?
3: playing some mortal kombat. They god bored watching you roll dice for last half hour.
I have the feeling that Player 4 will still kill Hedgon in the end
Yeah, I get the feeling that he is going fail spectacularly with his roll to convince the guy to stop freaking out.
Anyways, onto why you want to wait on getting Anthem, I don’t blame you. Personally, I feel it’s not as bad as the streamers/youtubers make it out to be. I think most of them are just looking for an excuse to hate on the game and trash EA.
It REALLY does feel that way! It’s like the opposite of a hype train… hate train, I guess. It’s actually a psychological aspect of how the human mind works. You’ll find what you’re looking for. So if you’re LOOKING for reasons for the game to fail, if you’re LOOKING for flaws in the game, that’s all you’ll really see. Conversely, if you’re expecting the game to be amazing, all you’re likely to see are the positive aspects. (Unless, of course, you’re desperate to prove the game WON’T fail, in which case you’ll be too busy looking for negatives to see… Read more »
I don’t think it’s bad at all. But no matter how much you enjoy the game, its hard to ignore that there are things it desperately needs, from simple quality of life changes like a stats screen, or being able to sort/filter your inventory, to larger endgame concerns. Right now the Grandmaster difficulties feels like they just cranked up enemy HP and damage, which is probably the LEAST interesting method of adding difficulty to a game like this. Enemies that require certain attacks, certain strategies to defeat, or to defend against, combat modifiers like Diablo has, etc are far more… Read more »
Oh no doubt, I never suggested it was perfect. There’s many glaring flaws, but I’m excited to see them being so transparent about the work they’re doing to address those flaws.
I think gamers just need to stop being so entitled/impatient and looking for that instant gratification.
So I’m looking forward to coming updates and I’m gonna stick it out. It’s not like I *can’t* play other games anyways, right?
“Entitled/impatient”? How would you like it if you went to a restaurant and they brought you half your meal? Would you complain? Of course you would. And then what if they said, “Oh, we’re working on the rest of the meal. It’ll be a few hours.” You’d be pissed! Don’t be so entitled, you don’t need to eat now. You can wait a few hours for the rest. You’re so impatient! … My point, is a product should be finished when I pay for it. If you want to add to it, improve it, whatever, after release, then great. But… Read more »
the problem with that is the same people bitching about the game not being finished when released will be the same ones complaining about release dates being pushed back. there is no winning for the devs
Wasn’t aware people were abandoning strongholds like that, though. That’s indeed very disconcerting – because I personally enjoy the gameplay and HATE skipping things.
It genuinely pisses me off when I see people activating a relic fast in order to skip fights with enemies, for that matter. Sure, I want loot, but we want that loot to play the game, right? So people are skipping playing the game to get that loot? It’s illogical.
“I enjoy Anthem right now. I just don’t know that that enjoyment has a lot of longevity.” Especially since, the moment it becomes a “sure thing”, I’ve got a pretty strong feeling that EA is going to lootbox the living hell out of it. I mean, isn’t that what they’ve always done? At any rate, while I won’t mindlessly bash a game simply because EA tore out my beloved Bioware’s heart and is now wearing their corpse around like a suit, neither will I mindlessly trust them to have learned their lesson and mended their ways. EA is like an… Read more »
If I’m not mistaken, since he has maxed out his Charisma, there is no way for him to lose this roll. He’s trying to calm down a terrified man, not convince a king that he should not execute the party for a crime they have been proven to have committed. 1 may not be as successful as he wants, but he probably isn’t going to be stabbed by the guy.
“After this week, I believe I made the right call.
I feel, as I have since I first played it during a closed test last fall, that Anthem is a fun game.”
I have much respect for you right now, Tim, for keeping it objective. I’m tired of all the YouTube creators hating on this game with the extremes of calling it garbage/trash.
However, I want to point out, there won’t be a “limited follow through”
BioWare has already announced big BIG plans for just March alone. It’s going to be a fun ride, and I wish you’d be on it with the rest of us!
Yeah, I pretty much ignore the youtubers and streamers on this one as they are definitely being heavily biased right now. The game is fun and the more important thing is what will the updates to Anthem will be and how much content they add in.
One important thing to know about Anthem is that the DLC will be free (hence why they have cosmetic micro transaction that cost like $8.50 for a set of epic cosmetic armor, it’ll allow them to make free DLC).
Actually, those cosmetics are closer to $7.50. You can buy 2200 shards for $20, which makes $1 = 110 shards, and the armor packs are 850 shards, so…
Even then, you can get them for free. They’re only in the store for a limited time, but I’m sure they will cycle back in eventually, if we’re patient. I’m not THAT desperate for armor packs that I’m going to throw money at the game yet. Not even for a “support the developer” excuse, like I used with Warframe.
Also worthy noting: cosmetics in Warframe cost WAAAAY more than these armor packs, so I’m not too bothered by the pricing.
https://www.warframe.com/prime-access
That’s… not exactly a fair comparison.
1) The items listed on that page are coupled (available only to ?_?) Prime Access (coupled to Twitch and Amazon Prime).
2) This set of packs in particular are for just the newest set of frame and cosmetics, and is not reflective of the rest of the armour sets, frames, or cosmetics for them.
3) Each of these also has various amounts of the MT currency tied to them as part of the deal. (Also not indicative of base prices for other items)
Well obviously not the best comparison, but people are willing to spend $60 on a couple of accessories that are barely seen, while complaining about “$20 skins” which turned out to only cost a bit under $8. I guess if you wanted a more “fair” comparison, there’s the Nidus deluxe skin, which goes for 375 plat. Includes skins for Helminth charger as well as claws and an accessory, so it’s nice. I can buy 370 platinum for $20, and that’s with an included bonus of 70. But I guess you might say a “deluxe” skin still isn’t a fair comparison,… Read more »
By “that one” I meant the Oberon Wendigo skin. For some reason, some of the text from that post got deleted. O_o
One should also mention that Digital Extremes has a known reputation in the gaming industry as good guys. EA has the exact opposite, and should expect people to fear the worst.
Also, a good chunk of all the stuff on Prime Access is obtainable through gameplay with grinds of various degrees for each part. I managed to get Banshee, Chroma, and Nekros Primes without spending a cent.
I like to think a good DM really tries to make his players happy, (not let them win for free but having fun playing the campaign) even if they make that job really…..challenging. The fact that #3 found a way to give a super self-gimped + disabled PC his time to shine is testament to what a amazing DM #3 is and how lucky the gang is to have him as their DM.
This is my philosophy as well. The DM’s role is to craft an enjoyable experience for his players. To challenge them, yes, and occasionally punish poor decisions (otherwise there are no stakes). But ultimately, you want everyone at the table having fun.
The question is.. is how ‘bad’ is the character going to respond.
Does he still have this ‘ I am the dark knight’ ‘FEAR ME’ I am all and intimidation type…
So he rolls intimidation to ‘calm’ the person.. causing them to flee in fear and hurt him.. or that.
mean, people who usually build gimped characters.. jump at chances to use their ‘flavor’.. even if its detrimental 😀
I can’t wait to see how he fucks this up.
LOL….. that is great …. waiting to see how it goes wrong….LOL
You can see the map they are using in the last panel.
Anyone know what it is based off of?
I know it is not possible, but it would be hilarious if he could roll a zero. The result could be he frightens the man and dies instantly.
Please tell me he gets to roll with advantage and both come up ones, pretty plz…
Personally my main complaint about Anthem (apart from the bloody obvious) is that the abilities really need to have some sort of evolution to them, Mass Effect style. With the emphasis on combo effects, many of them (particularly Ranger ones) feel lame and obsolete.
Couple that with Anthem failing (like many before) to GET what a loot shooter is meant to be, it just feels so bland and flat to play.
Here’s the scenario:
The guy who has lost his mind is confronted by a man wearing a bat helmet. Said man in bat helmet is bleeding from numerous open wounds, but is very appealing somehow.
Bat-helmet guy rolls a nat1, which the GM treats as a nat20 for an Intimidate. Madman guy decides that the entire party is evil and kills them all, as Yoff was the only un-squishy character besides the cleric with no healing spells.