I’m mourning Anthem—here’s my “Franken-Anthem” fix

The first time I boosted out of a waterfall in Anthem, rocketed straight up into the clouds, then nose-dived back through a storm of bullets to slam into a group of Scar with my Colossus shield, I remember thinking one thing: “If BioWare actually builds a game around this, it’s over. This will be my life for years.”

Now the servers are about to go dark on Monday, January 12, and I’m sitting here mourning a game that never really existed outside those brief, perfect moments of flight and chaos. Anthem is dying, and the part that hurts the most is that nothing else has stepped up to replace what it did best.

Key Takeaways

• Anthem’s Javelin flight and ability combos set a new standard for powered exosuits in shooters.
• Loot, mission variety, and Fort Tarsis’ pacing held the game back—and a clear live-service plan never materialized.
• To cope, I split Anthem’s best bits across other titles: Destiny 2 or Warframe for mechanics, and Mass Effect or Dragon Age for BioWare-style storytelling.

Anthem was broken, but the Javelins were not

I’ve been gaming so long I’ve got grey hair in “gamer years.” I grew up on Shenmue, lost months to Mass Effect 2, and learned mechanical depth by getting my ass kicked in fighters. So when Anthem’s demo landed, I didn’t see a live-service pitch—I saw a potential return to the BioWare I loved. And for those first few hours, they absolutely delivered.

The Javelins weren’t just good; they were genre-defining. The Ranger snapped between assault rifle bursts, grenades, and combos with that Mass Effect 3 rhythm I’d chased since 2012. The Interceptor felt like a cyber-ninja mech, darting through enemies with melee chains and style-point feedback screaming “one more dash.” The Storm hovered midair, cloaked in elemental energy—freezing packs with ice then nuking them with lightning. And the Colossus, my main, was pure tank fantasy: shoulder-cannon barrages, screen-shaking mortars, and a rocket-powered shield charge that turned you into a battering ram. The flow of boost, hover, combo, and barrel-roll was everything I’d dreamed of.

Ability combos: the closest we got to Mass Effect 3.5

Beneath the flight porn, Anthem’s primer/detonator logic was brilliant. Freeze a group with a Ranger Frost Grenade, then detonate with a Seeking Missile. Prime with the Storm’s Ice Storm, then crack the sky with Lightning Strike. Dive in as Colossus, slam Siege Cannon on a primed elite, and watch a miniature sun explode. Every Javelin had its own detonator personality, rewarding cooldown management, positioning, and timing so well it felt like a co-op fighting game more than an MMO shooter.

Why Anthem ultimately crashed

Anthem didn’t fail because the flight sucked—it didn’t. It failed because of padded missions, messy loot, and Fort Tarsis’ momentum-killing hub. Most slots were “fly here, kill waves, maybe grab glowy orbs.” Loot inscriptions often didn’t match the weapon, and the gear drip was glacial. Worse, EA wanted a Destiny rival while BioWare chased a Mass Effect-level story in Frostbite, and the whole thing felt stitched together mid-flight. When “Anthem Next” died, it was clear the real killer was the lack of any believable long-term plan. Players smelled the bullshit and walked away.

Why the server shutdown still stings

I stopped actively questing years ago, but I kept Anthem installed for joyrides—Freeplay, pick a Javelin, and blast through ten-minute bursts of pure flight and chaos. Those bursts still feel better than entire sessions of more “successful” shooters. When the shutdown date went live, it hit harder than I expected. It’s not just losing a game; it’s losing one of the best-feeling control schemes ever made. Once Anthem is gone, that exact mix of flight, hover, weight, and ability-driven combat vanishes forever.

How I’m coping: building a “Franken-Anthem”

Wallowing won’t bring Anthem back, so I split its two biggest draws—mechanical flow and BioWare-style narrative—across other titles. I bounce between one game for the flights-and-combos hit and another for the squad-and-story fix, chasing that alternate timeline where Anthem actually delivered.

Let’s dive into my go-to picks based on your Javelin of choice.

If you mained Ranger or Colossus: Destiny 2 + Mass Effect

Mechanics: Destiny 2 doesn’t hover like a Javelin, but lean into buildcraft and you’ll rediscover that “guns + abilities” dance. My go-to Colossus hack is a Solar Titan with Loreley Splendor Helm—spam barricade and grenades like Javelin cooldowns, then finish with a rocket launcher as your “Siege Cannon.”

Narrative: When I crave whatever Anthem promised in Fort Tarsis, I fire up Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Rolling a Vanguard and chaining biotic combos in a proper BioWare campaign reminds me exactly why I fell in love with this genre.

If you lived in the Storm: Warframe + Dragon Age

Mechanics: Warframe almost nails the aerial artillery fantasy if you treat it like a build lab. Ember mods for range and efficiency become napalm Storms. Wisp’s reservoirs and shock motes or Volt’s electric fields let you prime and detonate hordes in crowded tiles.

Narrative: For that living-hub vibe and deep banter, I return to Dragon Age: Inquisition. Party arcs, meaningful choices, and sprawling locations scratch the narrative itch Anthem teased but never fully delivered.

Interceptor fans: Warframe or Outriders

If you chased speed, iframes, and melee chains, Warframe still reigns supreme. Ash and Gauss offer blink-fast dashes and one-hit finishers that scratch your combo-style meter. Alternatively, Outriders brings RPG-shooter grit with its Trickster class—time-warp dashes and melee bursts feel like pure Interceptor energy.

None of these is a perfect Javelin replacement—but they each capture a vital slice of what made Anthem’s Assassins so addictive.

Conclusion

Anthem’s servers may be shutting down, but its legacy lives on in every soaring flight, every satisfying combo, and every dream of what could have been. By cherry-picking mechanics and narrative from other games, you can keep that spirit alive—one “Franken-Anthem” session at a time.