Anthem’s Cataclysm Finally Launches in Patch 1.3.0

A new update today finally brought the long-awaited Cataclysm to Anthem, other with a suite of other changes.

After months of waiting, the Cataclysm has finally arrived in Anthem. It arrived as part of the 1.3.0 patch alongside a host of other changes, from stat tweaks to the introduction of guilds, which were detailed in a post on the EA Answers forum the day before the update went live.

EA describes the Cataclysm as “a themed, season-long event that offers unique rewards and challenges for its duration, and leaves Bastion changed when it ends.” It detailed what the event will bring to Anthem while it’s ongoing, but didn’t speak to how to might change the game’s world after it concludes.

The meat of the update is in the new “Cataclysm” game type, which can be launched like any other from Fort Tarsis. Cataclysm is a timed game mode, where players will have to hunt down enemies, gather materials, and complete other objectives to score points. At the end of a Cataclysm round, higher scores will be converted into more Crystals, which can be used to obtain exclusive seasonal items. Anthem also launched a leaderboard to track which players are dominating most at Cataclysm. While out in Cataclysm mode, a Shaper storm will deal constant damage to players until they can find and close rifts to get a temporary shelter from the storm.

Cataclysm will also be added to Freeplay mode, for those who don’t want to focus exclusively on the new game type. While the Cataclysm event is ongoing, players can find Storm Gates scattered around the map. Entering one will give them the chance to complete Cataclysm objectives to earn rewards.

The update also adds three new story missions. Despite all the new content, though, some players may feel that it’s too little, too late. Anthem’s reputation almost couldn’t be worse at this point, in spite of EA’s insistence that it’s still fully behind the beleaguered game. The Cataclysm went through a trial phase on a public testing server before its full launch, and reactions to it weren’t much better than reactions to the rest of the game. Those who have held on to hope that Anthem could recover may be glad to at least see something new added, but it remains to be seen whether Cataclysm will be enough to save the game that many have already written off as a lost cause.