If you haven’t been under a rock for the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard of Anthem. This is, of course, the most polarizing AAA game to release in a while, being developed by the beloved BioWare and published by the almost universally hated EA. Now, since the game officially released quite recently, what’s the verdict? Well quite simply, I’m having a lot of fun, but the game is absolutely a mess. Bugs, exploits, and quality-of-life issues are everywhere. Plus you can tell that the devs overlooked a lot of gameplay essentials for this sort of loot-shooter type of game. I can absolutely understand why this game has received such generally negative press since it’s release. But, on the other hand, for those who remained loyal to the game, no matter the Metacritic score, found that there was a good amount of fun to be had.
But that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. We’re here to gush about “equips”.
These so-called “equips” are broken into three categories, Weapons, Gear, and Components. Weapons are self-explanatory, Gear is your abilities, and Components are basically equippable passive buffs. Out of all the rarities, Masterwork and Legendary items are what we’ll be focusing on, as they’re the items that really change up the game the most. Keep in mind, these are all entirely dependent on the player, so you might think something I hate is absolutely amazing, or vice versa. But, in order to help you pick the absolute most broken things to use, here’s The 15 Best And 15 Worst Weapons/Armor In Anthem.
30 Best Weapon: Divine Vengeance (Assault Rifle)
So let’s start things off right by talking about arguably the best Weapon in Anthem currently, not counting the ones are bugged. I’m of course talking about the Divine Vengeance!
This is your standard assault rifle and is an upgraded version of the Warden. The blazingly cool thing about this Weapon is it has the added ability where it literally causes giant fiery explosions on every third shot to an enemies weak point. And believe me, when you see it in game, those explosions absolutely melt through shields. When thrown into the right build, this fire-starter can make Grandmaster difficulty missions a walk in the park
29 Worst Weapon: Renewed Courage (Light Machine Gun)
Let’s be real, Anthem is a mess. Sure, I have fun playing it, but it’s buried in bugs and issues. And, I personally think that the difference between the good and bad Masterwork Weapons is representative of how BioWare/EA didn’t really think things through.
Like with Weapons such as the Renewed Courage, a light machine gun where the last shot of the clip reduces recoil by 50%.
This ability stacks twice and last 20 seconds for each proc. Now, from what I’ve seen, this does make the Weapon hyper-accurate where it wasn’t before. But, its a light machine gun! A Weapon known for their large magazines, why would you ever equip it with a reload based ability?
28 Best Weapon: Avenging Herald (Heavy Pistol)
Alright forget the Divine Vengeance, this is actually the best Weapon in Anthem. The funny thing is, this Heavy Pistol is actually just as good even if you don’t fire it. The ability this bad boy has is called “Raptor’s Deadeye,” which translates to a 200% buff to all damage when hovering.
The key word there is “all,” as it isn’t just Weapon or ability damage, but all damage that comes out of your Javelin while hovering is buffed 200%. And, with Storm, a Javelin that characteristically hovers more often, that buff is almost constant. You can even grind out two Heralds for a staggering 400% buff. I see a patch in the future nerfing this a bit.
27 Worst Weapon: Artinia’s Gambit (Light Machine Gun)
Just so we get these out of the way, here’s another disappointing Light Machine Gun. This one’s called Artinia’s Gambit and for some reason, it’s also centered around reloading. I just don’t get it BioWare! It doesn’t make much sense.
Anyway, when you reload with this Weapon, you detonate a little explosion around yourself. And when I say little, I mean little. Basically, it’ll only hit enemies in your melee range. Which, begs the question, why are you using a Light Machine Gun at melee range? Here’s my answer, you shouldn’t. Problem solved.
26 Best Weapon: Fist of Strahl (Autocannon)
Thankfully, we finally get to talk about a Weapon that is exclusive to my main, the Colossus. The Colossus, being as big and bulky as it is, is the only Javelin that can use Autocannons. Now, among the Autocannons, there is one that stood out to me both in name and ability, The Fist of Strahl.
This upgraded version of the Cloudburst can net you a constant damage buff if used properly. Basically, whenever any of your many, many projectiles hits an enemy, you get a stack of Striker’s Fury, which buffs Weapon damage. So, just keep your eyes on the prize, and you’re sure to hit even harder.
25 Worst Weapon: Vassa’s Surprise (Machine Pistol)
This next Weapon is a bit of a surprise, Vassa’s Surprise that is. Cliche puns aside, this Machine Pistol is obviously intended for Interceptors. Why do I say that? Because striking enemies with melee restores the ammo in your clip by 25% each time. It can’t be used by Colossus, and Rangers/Storms have no business being in melee range.
So it has to be for Interceptor. Now, granted, I could see a build where this Weapon works, one where you’d never have to reload. But in the grand scheme of efficiency, focusing on reload time overpower or health recovery as an Interceptor seems sub-par at best.
24 Best Weapon: Rolling Carnage (Shotgun)
The Rolling Carnage, an odd name, but we’ll roll with it. First of all, Shotguns rule. Secondly, boy what a strong Weapon. This buffed up Vengeance has a two-shell burst that gets stronger the more you dash. The buff is called “Scout’s Advantage” and can stack onto itself a max of three times.
So when used properly, you’ll look a bit weird for a second while you start and stop your dash 3 times. But, in exchange, you’ve got one powerful Weapon for close ranged Javelins like Interceptor or Colossus. Now if you want to keep the buff going, keep an eye out, you’ll need to dash pretty constantly. But considering dashing and flying are fun to do, that shouldn’t pose much of a problem
23 Worst Weapon: Soothing Touch (Marksman Rifle)
Oh hey look another Weapon that’s biggest benefit is the lack of recoil. How exciting. The Soothing Touch is a Marksman Rifle that is honestly the best of the “recoil-based” Weapons. Every shot that hits a target adds 5 seconds of 50% recoil reduction, stacking up to 150%.
Again, pretty nice being able to aim, fire, and be absolutely sure the projectile will hit where you aimed. But, from what I’ve seen, this Weapon bugs out quite frequently. So it’s a Weapon with a recoil-based special ability, as well as having a high chance of bugging out. Not all too promising when you think about it.
22 Best Weapon: Sentinel’s Vengeance (Grenade Launcher)
The Sentinel’s Vengeance is basic, there I said it. There’s nothing all too exciting about it. You pop a grenade out, it goes boom. But, if you get a kill streak, then its a free acid debuff on the last opponent hit. This Weapon is absolutely awesome for when you just want to blow stuff up and not think too hard.
The grenades stick to opponents, the explosion radius is pretty nice, and the acid debuff makes your grenades do even more damage. All in all, if your looking for a grenade launcher, look no further.
21 Worst Weapon: Balm of Gavinicus (Grenade Launcher)
Remember earlier when I talked about how Grenade Launchers are best when they’re simple? Here’s an example of the opposite. The Balm of Gavinicus is a grenade launcher that fires mines that are manually detonated. Which, to be fair, could be deadly in the right hands.
Plus, if you manage to hit two enemies with the explosion/mine, you get 25% of your armor back. The only problem is that the explosion radius is rather small, and there are better survivability based options for the Colossus. So in the end, simple is best it seems.
20 Best Gear: Fist Of The Crucible (Flamethrower)
Now we’ve moved on to the “Gear” section of Anthem loot. No more Weapon talk, its all about the flashy abilities now. Abilities like the one for the Flamethrower called the Fist of the Crucible. This Gear is for the Colossus and has an innate ability where every time you burn an enemy to a crisp, you get a 40% damage increase buff, which can stack up to five times.
Now, the buff only lasts 10 seconds, so make sure to mow through them with fire if you want to keep refreshing it. But, if used properly, you’ll be a walking column of fire that your team depends on.
19 Worst Gear: Black Powder (Flak Cannon)
Man the Flak Cannon stinks. This Colossus ability is pretty widely regarded as poor by the whole of the Anthem fan-base. So, it makes sense that the masterwork version would be one of the weaker ones as well. This special cannon is called the Black Powder, and its unique ability is that after defeating an enemy with it, you’ll regain a Flak Cannon charge.
But, this can only occur once every 4 seconds, and with how slow the Flak Cannon in general is, it’s just not anything special. The only practical use I can think of is maybe using it to clear out all the weak mobs without wasting useful cool-downs or your ultimate.
18 Best Gear: Voltaic Dome (Shock Coil)
The Shock Coil is my personal favorite Gear for the Colossus. It’s awesome to look at, requires almost no thought on my part, and is incredibly helpful in general. But the Voltaic Dome pumps up the already useful Shock Coil to a whole new level. This masterwork version of the conductive conduit also freezes any enemies it hits.
Well, by “hit” BioWare means health, so their shields have to be down. nonetheless, this Gear is amazing for crowd control, taking enemies out, and even setting up your teammates for combos. All in all, it’s hard to recommend anything more for all the Colossus players out there.
17 Worst - Gear - Avenger’s Boon - Pulse Blast
The Avenger’s Boon is a pretty prime example of a lackluster ability for a lackluster piece of Gear. This Pulse Blast for the Ranger increases melee damage for 20 seconds every time you hit an enemy with it. But the thing is, the Ranger shouldn’t be close enough to melee.
Out of the 4 playable Javelins, Colossus and Interceptor are the ones that can work as a melee-based class, Ranger just doesn’t. Plus, 110% is a bit low in terms of a buff, and it doesn’t stack at all. Overall it’s just kind of unnecessary or redundant for the Ranger to use this when there are much better options.
16 Best Gear: Black Ice (Glacial Spear)
And speaking of Gear that freezes enemies, the Javelin that is most known for its elemental prowess is, of course, the Storm. While the other Javelins usually rely on heavy Weaponry and machinery, Storm relies on the elements. And, with the Black Ice version of the Glacial Spear Gear, your Storm will become a terraforming tyrant.
Now, I haven’t personally tested it, but the ability for this says that defeating an enemy freezes others nearby. That’s pretty non-specific, meaning it probably means defeating an enemy with anything, not just the Glacial Spear. If that’s true this already useful piece of Gear just became even better.
15 Worst Gear: Cold Blooded (Frost Grenade)
And, just to keep this icy train going, let’s talk about another piece of Gear for the Ranger that doesn’t match up at all. Cold Blooded, which is the Masterwork Version of the Frost Grenade is just as bad, if not worse than Avenger’s Boon. When you afflict an enemy with the ice element, you get a 135% buff to melee for 10 seconds.
First of all, anything ice related just feels like a Storm ability to me, but that’s not fair. But mostly, its another melee ability! Why? Ranger’s aren’t meant to rely on melee so these end up just feeling like filler abilities or for players who hate the meta.
14 Best Gear: Viper’s Bite (Venom Spray)
Now I’ve got to apologize, I know I haven’t been showing the Interceptor enough love so far. And I really should be, considering I’m such a big Warframe fan. You know, since this Javelin is basically just a Warframe that spits acid and does Kung-fu. And, with the Viper’s Bite Venom Spray Gear, you’ll be doing that incredibly often.
This Gear states that any enemy hit with the Venom Spray ability adds 700% Ultimate Charge. Ignore the awkward way BioWare worded that, If you hit your Venom Spray ability, you’ll get a huge chunk of your Ultimate bar, it’s that simple. And considering that Interceptors are melee dependent, having the Ultimate refresh constantly is a lifesaver.
13 Worst Gear: Venomous Blaze (Flame Burst)
Alright, let us move on from throwing shade at the Ranger’s Gear and instead talk about Storm. Storm’s are meant to be the masters of the elements, mixing and matching as they please. And something that fits that theme perfectly is the Venomous Blaze version of the Flame Burst ability. Frankly, this Gear isn’t half bad.
After 3 consecutive hits, it applies acid damage to your target.
This can be helpful to keep a poison debuff on bosses or tankier enemies, which makes them take more damage. But, there are much, much better builds for Storm and you’d have to orient your entire load-out to really make this Gear shine, which isn’t necessarily worth it.
12 Best Gear: Last Argument (Frag Grenade)
Also in the “great for charging your ultimate” category, we’ve got the Last Argument for the Ranger Javelin. This Gear is similar to the Viper’s Bite, only better. Rather than hitting enemies with the relatively small Venom Spray ability, all you’ve got to do is hit literally anyone with your frag grenade and boom, 700% ult charge.
Plus, if you pair it with Components or Weapons that shorten your ability cool-downs, you might as well just keep your Weapon holstered. Why? Because you’ll be spending all your time chunking Grenades and popping your ultimate that’s why. By far the best Ranger Gear, in my opinion.
11 Worst Component: Reinforced Hull (Colossus)
And now we’re finally onto the uninteresting but necessary Components on this list. Starting things off let’s talk about status effects. These can either be applied to you or you can apply them to enemies. And, there are only a few niche ways to remove them early, otherwise, they run out after a certain amount of time.
With that in mind, the Reinforced Hull Component for the Colossus feels a bit unnecessary. Its ability gives the player a damage buff every time a status effect is removed/runs out. But, there’s no realistically practical way to exploit or efficiently proc this buff, you kind of just have to wait for it. Which, in the grand scheme of things, is pretty lame.
