Anthem has some problems with its community. Early during the game release, players were unintentionally joining raids far beyond their levels and also shutting off PlayStation 4 devices. A new issue has arisen with EA Bioware making changes to the loot system within Anthem.
What changed?
In Patch 1.03, level 30 players will no longer receive common or uncommon loot. In plain view, this seems to be a great option for stronger players; however, it is still extremely exhausting to earn legendary or master tier items. Some players on the Reddit have reported that they have played over 60 hours in Grandmaster without receiving any significant loot. Players are frustrated as Anthem, at its core, is a loot based shooter similar to Destiny and Warframe. They feel as though their time is wasted.
The Weeklong Protest
Reddit user r/Afinda created a post suggesting a week-long protest where no one would play Anthem. The post is currently at 12,000 upvotes.
You’re Pissed? You want to make a point once and for all? Well, what could hurt a game that has Real Money transactions for cosmetics (lol, yeah there are nearly none i know) or is a live service more than anything? Get your point across, simple as that. Stop Playing the game for a whole Week (Hopefully with the support of the entire Subreddit) to show BioWare that all it’d take for us to really enjoy the game, is to receive loot.
This protest is good for Ubisoft as The Division 2, another loot-based shooter, releases this week. The protest is already making waves. EA Bioware’s Head of Live Service for Anthem tweeted:
Player feedback is key, especially to modern loot based games. For example, Star Wars Battlefield 2 by EA is now much better received after the huge outrage from their loot box systems. The game has removed all aspects of Ubisoft’s For Honor was also being boycotted by their player base during its launch. Their protest caused Ubisoft to quickly change their game rewards and increased in-game currency earnings by 25%.
Hopefully, EA Bioware makes these changes soon. Anthem has received mixed reviews and the spotlight on them is making the game look worse. While I personally don’t own the game, I don’t want the game to be awful for its community.