43 Basic Features Anthem Desperately Needs That it Should Have Had at Launch

A lot of critics are hating on EA and BioWare’s latest RPG shooter but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have jumped ship off Destiny and Anthem is doing wonders for that looter-shooter itch.

However, there are some things that just grate me about the game. Basic features that make you wonder why and how this was released last week and why some features were not implemented on the first day of development.

Related: Mysterious New Bethesda Game Spotted On Amazon With A Fallout-Style Countdown

Throughout the weekend, I sat and took note of all the things that Anthem had and did not have that made playing the game more of a chore than anything else. Some of these are basic and others will just make things so much easier.

To save your eyes, I decided to number them in no particular order. Some of them are grouped in specific categories just because one thing led to another.

1. A postmaster so if you disconnect (it happens every hour) your items will go to a place at the end of a mission and you don’t lose them
2. Not being pulled through when other random players race ahead and you miss dropped items and collectables
3. Vote to kick other players
4. Player reporting system
5. The ability to change your Javelin without having to go back to your Forge
6. The ability to change your equipment without going back to the Forge
7. The ability to see what weapon/item you picked up without having to exit the entire mission
8. Faster salvaging of items in the Forge/Vault
9. Mass salvaging of items in the Forge/Vault
10. Ability to lock items so you don’t delete
11. A tutorial on challenges and how to upgrade/unlock higher rarity crafting materials
12. A stat menu showing your Javelin’s perks, buffs, extra equipment additions and DPS
13. Loadouts don’t change straight away when you equip a different one
14. Why do we have to always walk to the Forge to access it? A menu option will be so much better
15. Do we really need that loading screen for The Forge?
16. Loading into the game for the first time and having to run (very slowly) to your Javelin
17. Tracking in Fort Tarsis when you want to go see someone or visit a specific area
18. More things to buy in the “Featured” microtransaction store (cannot believe I am saying this)
19. Vinyl stickers look strange on most Javelins – The ability to recolour them or move them would be great
20. The ability to buy mass crafting materials
21. Crafting materials are way too expensive
22. At least one purchasable cosmetic for sale per Javelin in the Features Store
23. Faster reset for the Featured Store – 5 limited items per week?
24. The ability to join your friends mid-mission (why is this not a thing?)
25. The ability to join a squad without an invite (this is not 2013)
26. In-game invite and friend system
27. The ability to open and close your squad in a mission
28. Friend inspect system so we can see what they look like and have equipped
29. Faster Social tab
30. More refined matchmaking with level scaling and Power level scaling
31. The ability to place a pin in Freeplay and let the game guide you there
32. A minimap so we can see where we are going in Freeplay
33. The ability to see World Events on the main map so we don’t fly around hoping to find one
34. The ability to see collectables on the radar
35. A ping system to help random players communicate
36. Not respawning right at the starting drop point when you die in Freeplay
37. A respawn timer so random useless players don’t leave you down for ten minutes
38. Spectator mode of other players while downed
39. More players in Freeplay. 4 in that giant open world makes it feel empty
40. The ability to broadcast an alert in Freeplay to notify random players you have found a Titan/World event
41. Access to your menu while downed
42. Player trading or a smart trade system
43. Smart disconnect system so you don’t lose XP/items/medals when the game crashes

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So there you have 43 features that would make Anthem a much, much better game. Where it stands right now, it is not bad but needs a lot of work. Its quality of life features is non-existent making it a chore to play. Some of the above is a bit extreme but others made me question why they weren’t in the game in the first place.

What do you think of all the missing features? Let us know in the comments below.