Anthem Stronghold Success Guide

Mtashed helps you understand Strongholds, what you’ll need to do to prepare to take them on, and what kinds of loot you’ll find waiting for you in this video.

Unlocking Strongholds

In Anthem, Strongholds are four-player adventures that you will unlock throughout the game by completing the story. Once they become available to you, you’ll need to find three other players to tackle each one. If you can’t round up three friends to join you, turn to the easy-to-use Anthem matchmaking option and join a squad.

Successfully completing a Stronghold will provide you with ample rewards, but if you want the absolute best loot, you’re going to need to increase your difficulty level. The harder the Stronghold is, the better the loot it will produce.

Stronghold Difficulty

There are six Stronghold difficulty levels in Anthem:

• Easy
• Normal
• Hard
  
• Grandmaster 1
  
• Grandmaster 2
  
• Grandmaster 3

If you’re still a relatively new Freelancer, you definitely want to choose a difficulty on par with your experience and gear level – Easy or Normal. However, as your javelin becomes more powerful, you’ll want to step up to Hard if you want to keep gaining ground. And at level 30 you’ll be able to start taking on the Grandmaster difficulties. The key is to take on the most challenging difficulty level your team can manage.

Not only are Grandmaster difficulties way more challenging (enemies ramp up very quickly at these levels) but they also provide one of the best ways to get the loot you really want, like Masterworks and Legendaries.

Communication is Key

Whether playing with three strangers or three of your best friends, you need to let the other players know what abilities you’re using, when you’re attempting a combo, or when you’re about to cut loose with an ultimate. Surviving a Stronghold really comes down to teamwork. If you have a microphone and headset definitely use them, as they will improve your chances of beating some of the tougher enemies.

Master Your Combos and Ultimates

It’s important to understand the combo system in Anthem as it will provide you with some of your most powerful attacks. There are two main components to a combo, a primer (typically an elemental move that inflicts some sort of status on the enemy) and a detonator (the triggering mechanism for releasing the combo). Team combos can be particularly lethal and effectively debuff or outright destroy multiple enemies.

Make sure to save your ultimates for both bosses and large groups of enemies, not single targets. Remember, ultimates have relatively long cooldown periods, so you don’t want to waste them. They can mean the difference between Stronghold success and failure, especially at higher difficulty levels. At Grandmaster level, even relatively small enemies can do a whole lot of damage; using an ultimate to clear as many as possible is a great way to keep your team safe.

Loot, Salvage, and Consumables

Each time you complete Strongholds you’ll receive loot. Some of it will be the upgrades you’ve been searching for, but the rest may be gear you don’t currently need. Fortunately, you don’t need to simply let them sit and collect dust, you can salvage them for crafting materials. And extra crafting materials can then be converted into consumables (items capable of boosting your stats for a limited time).

Consumables unlock at the following levels:

• First – Level 10
• Second – Level 20
• Third – Level 30

So, at level 30, just as you’re facing some seriously tough endgame content, you can craft up to three consumables and apply them before entering a Stronghold. Their strength will, of course, depend upon their rarity, but even a lower level consumable can increase your offensive or defensive capabilities. In higher level Strongholds a small boost can make a big difference.

Get more information on gameplay. Looking for more Anthem Tips and Tricks? Find them here!