[MP-Ryan]

In Anthem you have your Power Level as vertical dimension and your individual item stats as a horizontal dimension.

In its current design state, what Orpheus is terming the "vertical" power level completely and utterly obliterates the horizontal.  As it stands, horizontal build diversity is pointless because literally your entire combat capability (not individual powers, but overall capability) is determined only by that vertical number.  Which, for all the reasons I posted above, makes Legendary drops the only thing worth seeking at endgame, and the drop rates are abysmally low despite virtually everyone - including the Diablo III developers you keep referencing - telling BioWare the appropriate fix is diversity of roles spread across a MUCH higher drop rate.

Orpheus, I'm glad you are enjoying Anthem, but all I'm saying is that for anyone who pondered buying Anthem who actually cares about progression or theory/buildcrafting in their gameplay and trying a diversity of playstyles across increasingly higher difficulties, Anthem is absolutely not the game for you in its current state.  If all you want to do is the same things over and over at moderate difficulty and experience flying and gunplay mixed together without really caring about look and progression, then Anthem at GM1 difficulty is something worth checking out.

[General Battuta]

I loved ME3 multiplayer but I think 'use primer use detonator' is probably not actually interesting gameplay any more. It was fun for a shockingly good tacked-on coop mode for a story driven third person shooter, and the biotic detonation sound effect was so satisfying. But I don't think it could carry a whole game for me.

[0rph3u5]

I loved ME3 multiplayer but I think 'use primer use detonator' is probably not actually interesting gameplay any more. It was fun for a shockingly good tacked-on coop mode for a story driven third person shooter, and the biotic detonation sound effect was so satisfying. But I don't think it could carry a whole game for me.

It works better in the context of a single player RPG, such as Dragon Age: Inquisition or Divinity: Original Sin 1 & 2, when it adds another layer to your party composition.

To have definite primers and detonators is actually better than having a chance driven system, ala Persona 5 (if you have unlocked required level of Character Bonds party members can follow-up your attacks), or semi-chance driven system, ala Trails of Cold Steel (if your currently controlled character is linked to another character and bond is sufficent, scoring a critical hit -which can be guaranteed by random turn order bonus- or unbalances the target -chance depending on the targets resistence to weapon types, can be influcenced by abilites- the linked character gets a follow-up move up to a full party combo attack).

[0rph3u5]

(Continuing from previous)

Basically its a design to turn certain archetypes away from autopiloting.
Single-player JRPGs generally do that by not doing "classes" and cidtomizing the archetypes. Western RPGs either lean into MMORPG mechanics with modes/stances, positioning mechanics and variations D&D's Attacks of Opportunity (see Pillars of Eternity 2 or do set-up & trigger mechanic (examples above).

EDIT: as far as ME is concerned the introduction of combos and dofferent defence types from ME2 and going foward was a means to actually diversify the classes, after they redesigned the skills to focus more on direct, single target stuff.

It was also meant to divsify the teams people fielded - in conjunction with the rediced number of skills overall and the introduction of signature skills.

That way it got into the MP ... and well, as fun as it was, designwise it was ... deeply flawed - with unbalanced classes (which only got worse with more options added later) being the big offender.