When To Change Expedition (Difficulty) Level in Anthem

This guide details the best time to change the expedition level in Anthem so you can earn the best loot

Before you start any mission in Anthem, you have the opportunity to change the difficulty. Anthem’s difficulty level varies how much health the enemies have and how much damage they deal. You don’t want to turn to this setting too early, but you also don’t want to leave it on an easier difficulty for too long. The harder the enemies become, the better loot you receive as a reward.

What are all of Anthem’s difficulty levels, and when should you go on to a higher setting?

Anthem’s Difficulty Levels

There are six different difficulty settings you set a mission. The last three are unlocked when you have achieved pilot level 30.

Easy

This is the lowest difficulty setting. You’ll mostly want to choose this one if you want to experience Anthem’s story and you’re not particularly interested in the shooting aspect. The enemies don’t have too much else, and you don’t receive any bonuses to loot or XP.

Normal

This is the default setting for Anthem. The encounters are a little challenging, but not too difficult. If you’ve played a shooter before, you should find the gameplay engaging and exciting. You’ll also receive a small series of bonuses to loot and XP.

Hard

This difficulty setting is for players looking for a challenging shooter. There’s a 52 percent increase to enemy damage and health. You’re also going to rely more heavily on your squadmates to help you out. Because of the increased difficulty, you have a higher chance or acquiring rarer items.

The best time to starting picking the hard difficulty is a little after you’ve acquired your second Javelin, which is at level 8. Wait until you’re around level 10, and then you should have played the game enough.

Grandmaster 1 – Unlocked at Pilot Level 30

This is the first tier of difficulty after hard, and only unlocks when you’ve reached pilot level 30. By this point in the game, you’re grinding and redoing missions to Masterwork items. At this rank, these items have an increased chance of 164 percent drop rate. However, the enemies on this level have a 165 percent increased health and damage rating. Because of this challenge, you don’t want to go in unless you have a Javelin Power of more than 300.

You might be able to skate by with not communicating with your allies, but doing so is not recommended.

Grandmaster 2 – Unlocked at Pilot Level 30

This is the second tier above the first Grandmaster setting. When you reach this difficulty, you should have a decent grasp of what the definition of grinding is in Anthem. The health and damage of enemies on this level have increased to 430 percent. However, the chance for a Masterwork weapon to drop has also increased by 428 percent, balancing the risk and reward to completing the mission. It’s a devastating jump up from the previous choices, though. You’ll need to communicate with your allies throughout the entire fight.

At this point, the developers recommend players start to understand what kind of build they like to play. Builds vary based on a playstyle. If you don’t know what sort of build you want to run, make sure you sit down and go over what’s available to you and how you become a standout member of your squad.

Grandmaster 3 – Unlocked at Pilot Level 30

This is the highest difficulty in Anthem. If you are choosing to play on this difficulty, you know the game inside and out, and you have a solid squad with you who are as eager as you are to conquer the most difficult challenges in this game. The enemies in this mode have a 950 percent boost to their health and damage scores. In conjunction, the Masterwork drop rate chance has increased to 956 percent, so you and your allies should walk away with some pretty powerful items.

This mode requires you to no only have a predetermined Javelin build, but it must compliment your squadmates. Communication is key to overcoming any obstacle in this mode, and you do not want to know the missions inside and out. This difficulty was designed for the most enthusiastic and hardened Anthem players. Do not take this mode lightly.