Anthem Update Changes Loot Drops And Legendary Missions

EA and BioWare have released the newest update for Anthem, and it's a big one. The update is now live and it adds several new features to the multiplayer-focused action game, including something called Legendary Missions, as well as changes to loot, Masterworks, Javelins, and quite a bit more.

As detailed in the patch notes, Update 1.0.4 makes several loot changes. Chests in Strongholds, Freeplay, and Missions have all been buffed, increasing the number of items they have a chance to drop upon being opened. The same is true for the Apex creatures--Ursix, Titans, Furies, and Escari/Luminaries--in the game. The AFK timer has been reduced to five minutes from 10, and on any of the Grandmaster difficulties, all Stronghold bosses have a higher chance of dropping Masterwork or Legendary items.

The update also adds a new Legendary difficulty to critical path missions. From now on, one critical path mission per day will be available for repeated playthroughs. You can replay these missions on Legendary for an added challenge that requires "team coordination to achieve victory." The patch notes don't reveal whether the higher risk will necessarily always result in higher rewards.

Elysian Keys can now be earned as a reward for completing daily challenges in Anthem. In turn, these keys can open the Elysian Caches that appear at the end of every Stronghold mission. Caches hold vanity items--there is a unique assortment of 67 vinyls, victory poses, emotes, and arrivals--and crafting materials. In the patch notes, EA promises that you will "never get a duplicate vanity item" from an Elysian Cache.

Another welcome tweak allow you to access the Forge from the main menu in Fort Tarsis or the Launch Bay, while the loading screen when entering the Forge has been removed. The patch notes for Update 1.0.4 are very extensive, but if you're curious, you can view them at the link above. EA and BioWare have outlined 90 days of content prepared for Anthem, with plans to further patch and add on to the game in the coming months. Anthem is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.