Along with brand new bug fixes and some brand new content, BioWare and EA have revealed that patch 1.0.3 for Anthem is now live and features an astonishing amount of changes, fixes, and even some well-deserved weapon balancing.

Since the launch of Anthem, BioWare has been hard at work trying to get their game balanced the best they can and squash any bugs that have arisen. Continuing on with that tradition, BioWare and EA have launched the latest patch which comes with more than 300 changes to the game, many of them balancing changes, loot drop changes, and even stability for all platforms across the board.

With another patch already in the works to fix even more problems (can we please cross our fingers and hope map/on-screen trackers are being added in?) that have existed since the launch of the game. Among these notes, the most important one should stand out the most: Improved stability.

BioWare has already confirmed that they have identified the issue behind the PlayStation 4 hard lock crash (being misinterpreted as a console bricking ordeal) and now has it fixed in this newest update. The stability bit even includes fixes for audio choppiness and cutting out during gameplay and combat scenarios.

Along with the stability portion, Masterwork and Legendary items are getting a hefty amount of buffs, putting them above purple, blue, green, and white quality weapons. One patch many players may rejoice for is the ability to actually participate in quickplay missions without them bugging out.

In our review, we pointed out this was a massive issue, rendering the Challenge of Valor almost impossible to complete without some level of patience during to a consistent inability for mission objectives to be triggered after loading in. You can check out the full list of patch notes here and check out the few that stood out the most in today’s update down below:

• Loot Changes – Common (white) and Uncommon (green) drops will no longer appear for players that are level 30.

• Improved stability for all platforms – this includes fixes for a number of issues that were causing crashes or connection problems

• Audio Improvements – Fixed a number of issues that could cause audio to drop out

• Fixed a number of issues that were blocking players from accessing the Forge

• All missions should now properly end when all conditions have been met

• Fixed an issue that would cause players to be unable to interact with NPCs in Fort Tarsis

• Server shutdown messages should now appear less often

• The ability to Quickplay into a Stronghold has been added back to the game

• Crashes that occurred while selecting certain conversation options when interacting with an NPC have been fixed

• Players should now run into less issues during Quickplay missions. Additional improvements to Quickplay will be coming in future updates

• Players should no longer get stuck behind fogwalls on missions or in strongholds as often

• Improved the audio when defeating creatures to provide better feedback

• Players may now launch an expedition from anywhere within the launch bay and Fort Tarsis.

• It should now be harder for players to get stun locked by certain enemy compositions

• Titans: We have made several balance changes to all variations of Titans

  • Reduced overall damage mitigation from 100% to between 70% and 75% depending on the damage type.

  • Increased the time that weakpoints are exposed.

  • Fixed an issue that prevented effects from applying and thus preventing combos.

  • Increased the damage the Titan takes from weakpoint hits.

  • Lesser Titan’s weakpoint’s have been changed to always be active.

  • Improved the collision on the ring and seeking projectile attacks. This should make them easier to dodge.

  • Decreased the radius of the seeking projectile attack.

  • Decreased the damage done by the self-destruct ability.

• Frozen Scar Enforcers and Scrappers can no longer move or attack while frozen.

• The Monitor’s health has been greatly reduced in the Heart of Rage Stronghold.

• Adjusted the damage scaling of secondary damage sources. These now scale with Average Item Power. This will allow these damage sources to better scale in the Grandmaster Difficulties. This will increase the scaling of the following:

  • Melee Damage

  • Combo Damage

  • Ultimate Damage

  • Status Effects

  • Item Procs (e.g. Proc from Yvenia’s Thunder)

• Item Power scaling has changed to better reflect the actual power of the item based on its rarity. This is applied to all items retroactively. Players will see the Power of their items go up.

• The Ultimate ability bar will no longer appear full at the start of a mission when it isn’t actually full

Masterwork Item Balance Updates

• Increased the base damage of the following Masterwork Weapons.

  • Ralner’s Blaze

  • Rolling Carnage

  • Cycle of Pain

  • The Last Stand

  • Glorious Result

  • Insult and Injury

  • Sentinel Vengeance

  • Gnosta’s Balm

  • Vassa’s Surprise

  • Soothing Touch

  • Renewed Courage

  • Artinia’s Gambit

• Ralner’s Blaze – Will no longer roll with incorrect inscriptions

• Ablative Shielding now provides the proper boost in shield and armor

• Badge of Devastation will now generate more ultimate charge when triggered

• It should no longer be possible to stack the effect from Gunslinger’s Mark more than once

Along with these changes, BioWare has also announced that they are aware of some other ongoing issues and are working on a fix for those very bugs. You can check out that list down below:

• When loading into the game for the first time after a patch the Shields and Armor on a javelin will be incorrect. The first time a player enters and exits Freeplay or any other activity the issue will fix itself.

• Players are not receiving their level 20 Match Consumables. Players were granted item blueprints instead of the recipes when they hit this level previously.

• Some players may experience audio crackling while in Fort Tarsis.

• There may be some instances where players are unable to quit out of a Quickplay mission through the map UI.

• A number challenges may not be tracking properly, such as the objectives under the “Legendary Freelancer” challenge.

• Some players may encounter a bug where they are unable to interact with any objects or players.

• Visual effects on javelin thrusters are not functioning properly while stormy weather is present in game.

• Inactivity messages may not be able to be dismissed after a player returns from being away.

• There are a number of Origin error messages that some PC players may encounter, including Origin showing that it is offline when it actually online.

• The UI may not display events for some players when an event has spawned nearby in Freeplay.

• There is a bug where armor pips can change in between activities. This is both a display and gameplay issue.

Meanwhile, you can check out our Anthem review and find out why it scored an 8.5 out of 10.

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About the Writer(s):

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook.