Anthem dropped an update Tuesday estimated at around 2 GB. Despite the size, the patch notes for update 1.2.1 reveal only a few bug fixes.
The main fixes include:
- Combat Fixes
- Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause characters and enemies to appear frozen after the frozen effect had worn off.
- Cosmetic Fixes
- Fixed a number of bugs that prevented select cosmetic items from being presented correctly in Prospero’s store and/or the Forge.
- UI Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the mouse cursor would disappear on specific instances when going into the Forge (while using keyboard & mouse controls).
The only other change is related to matchmaking. This has been one of the problems encountered by many players in the game. Back in early May, we at Player.One reported that players were having trouble matchmaking. One reason cited then was that based on an informal survey on Reddit, 53% of users said that they stopped playing Anthem.
Towards the end of May, Anthem revealed that it was looking into the matchmaking issues. For Anthem, the maximum limit to the matchmaking time should be three minutes.
Under update 1.2.1, additional improvements were made to the matchmaking experience to allow "longer timers for players to match into a squad, while also fixing a bug from a previous update that forced some players to matchmake for longer than intended." According to Anthem, the maximum limit for matchmaking should never exceed 90 seconds.
And reminder, this patch is a sizable download, but mainly contains updates for content coming later to the game.
— Jesse Anderson (@Darokaz) June 18, 2019
So why drop the update then? According to Anthem Global Community Manager Jesse Anderson, while the patch is indeed a sizable download, it "mainly contains updates for content coming later to the game." By future content, Anthem means its Cataclysm content. Anderson said that they wanted to give context with regards to "why there will be a download when the patch notes will just show bug fixes."
The Cataclysm even was initially scheduled to be released in May, but by the end of April BioWare made the decision to put it on an indefinite delay. For Anthem, it was important not to rush out the door and instead take the time to get feedback from players in order to make the needed changes.
Hopefully players get to see soon just how “important” this update really is.
