Anthem Day One Update Out Now: Patch Notes Address Load Times, Challenges, And More

Anthem is already live for those with early access, but its official launch for all players will come later this week. It will be accompanied by a sizable day-one update, set to fix a wide array of issues across all platforms just as the broader audience is cracking into the BioWare shooter. These include addressing some of the most common complaints from the past few days, including load times and issues with parties being gathered. [Update: In an official post on Reddit, BioWare has shared the full list of patch notes--which are even more extensive than what's seen below--along with confirmation that the day-one update is in fact out right now on all platforms. That's great news for those dealing with the game's myriad issues in this first week of availability.]

The patch notes, as listed on Reddit, cite dozens of adjustments, but some are more prominent than others. The so-called "high-level fixes" improve loading times, fix infinite loading bugs and other crashes, fix challenge tracking, and make numbers appear for weapon and gear modifiers. Other notable improvements make the gather party mechanic work more leniently, and unlocks challenges at the correct levels. The notes go on to mention several tweaks for Strongholds, crafting, and other features.

For a few more days, Anthem is only available to those who have either EA Access on Xbox One, or Origin Access on PC. Both of those offer 10 hours of access to the full game, while Origin Access Premier members already have unlimited access. Those players are diving into the game without the benefits of these improvements, so you may have a better overall experience by waiting.

"I'm currently treating Anthem's disparate missions as an excuse to try a new weapon or special attack, which, combined with flight, gives me incentive to keep going," wrote critic Kallie Plagge in our early review impressions. "I'm hoping that I get more out of the story as I go on, but so far it's too generic to get its hooks in me."

While you wait for release, you can prepare by reading details on how to claim your pre-order and special edition bonuses once you do get your copy. Or just watch the short film from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. The full day-one patch notes are below. Anthem releases for everyone on February 22.

Anthem Day One Update Patch Notes

High level fixes

• Improved loading times
• Fixed many infinite loading screens
• Fixed multiple challenges not tracking properly
• A number of issues have been fixed that were causing players to disconnect or crash
• Weapons and gear now have numbers present for modifiers

General Fixes and Improvements

• Loot Reveal and Expedition Summary now correctly play during the end of expedition screen.
• The gather party mechanic has been made more lenient in a number of situations
• At the end of expedition screen players will no longer get stuck on "Recording Victories" or "Skipping All".
• Game no longer hangs in Javelin menu when unlocking the second, third or fourth javelin
• During the mission “What Freelancers Do” dying after killing Junkmaw & freeing Arcanists leaves you unable to progress, this has been fixed
• Challenges now unlock for players at the correct levels
• Fixed some camera issues during cutscenes
• Legendary Contracts can now be accepted from the Social Hub contract board
• Some enemies have had their shield values decreased
• Loot now properly drops for players who are downed
• The texture quality on the NPC Prospero has been improved
• Final boss of strongholds now drop loot instead of only being shown on the end of expedition screen
• Fixed the time outs on echoes and relics to prevent griefing and to handle disconnections properly
• Players can no longer fall through the floor during the 3rd trial in the Fortress of Dawn
• Completing the tutorial expedition will now show the correct Ranger appearance
• After disconnecting, rejoining an expedition will now place you back into a squad if you were in one previously
• Corrected an issue where players could not interact with each other in the launch bay in certain circumstances
• Corrected an issue during the Mission "Bad Deal" where outlaws won't spawn, blocking progress
• The start of expedition screen has been improved
• Addressed a variety of situations where killing enemies does not properly progress world events
• Opening a chest now increments Tomb of the Legionnaire progress for all squad members present
• Scar snipers can no longer shoot through Storm Shield
• Corrected an issue where players would get stuck on the end of expedition screen in some situations
• Players will no longer get disconnected if joining the "Finding Old Friends" mission while the cinematic is playing
• Addressed a number of situations where players can get stuck on the environment in the launch bay
• Increased the damage of the electric status effect
• Corrected an issue where the Shield of Dawn could be crafted with less materials then intended in some situations
• The Platinum Mission feat now grants completion as intended
• Status effects can more reliably be applied to Titans

Strongholds

• Fixed an issue that would cause a Stronghold server crash after defeating the last boss
• Temple of Scar - Players can no longer get stuck in the mined tunnel in the explosives room
• Temple of Scar - Players can no longer be blocked from entering the explosives room due to fog wall
• Fixed Tyrant Mine so people that join the stronghold in-progress do not end up locked away from their team
• Adjusted lighting in Tyrant Mine underwater section to make it easier to navigate to the exit
• The Swarm Tyrant will no longer get stuck in the side cave entrances in some situations
• Corrected an issue where players would spawn into different areas of the Tyrant Mine in certain situations

Gear and Weapons

• After having 1st pilot unlock suit after tutorials, creating a new pilot and going to forge no longer causes load screen hang
• Ice damage bonuses are now correctly applied on ice gear
• Suit-wide bonuses from inscription are now functioning properly
• Players can no longer salvage equipped items
• Javelin specific gear and/or weapons are no longer able to be used on javelins they aren't intended for
• Corrected an issue where in some circumstances Masterwork Components do not have any inscriptions
• The Endless Siege Masterwork Autocannon no longer displays a damage increase of 0% in its tooltip

Javelins

• The Colossus javelin is now able to activate its shield more quickly after using an ability or firing a weapon
• The Storm javelin now reacts to getting hit when its shields are up
• Fixed an exploit that allowed the Storm's ultimate attack to be used more times than intended
• The Colossus javelin can now shield and revive at the same time
• Interceptor Combo Aura has been increased in power and now has a damage over time component

Crafting

• Non-Masterwork materials purchased from the crafting store now show as their proper rarity instead of incorrectly showing as Masterwork

Controls

• Additional Mouse and Keyboard control improvements have been made

UI

• Some conversations were not popping up the reputation points post conversation completion, this has been fixed
• The squad screen now displays the correct information for each player
• Fixed a number of issues where subtitles will no longer get stuck on the screen after dialogue has finished as often
• Settings should no longer reset upon exiting and restarting the game on Xbox One
• Motion blur can now correctly be turned off
• The Electric Status Effect now shows scaled damage properly
• An option has been added to hide the Squad Member HUD
• The edge of the compass will now pulse to indicate enemy locations
• A notification has been added in Fort Tarsis if a player's vault is at the cap of 250 items
• On the "Repair the Strider" step of "A Cry for Help" the search radar has been adjusted to correctly lead the player to all 4 tools
• Primer and Detonator icons have been added to all Interceptor gear
• Corrected a user interface issue where a player’s ultimate would show as available when it isn't