Anthem guide: Fort Tarsis and the Launch Bay

Fort Tarsis is your home in the wild and Cataclysm-filled world of Anthem. It’s also where you’ll meet the characters who fill out the world.

This guide will introduce you to all of the things you can do in both Fort Tarsis and the Launch Bay. We’re also going to include a map of Fort Tarsis that’s a little more user-friendly than the one the game provides.

Fort Tarsis

Fort Tarsis is the home of all the NPCs in Anthem you’ll need to talk to when you’re looking for Contracts, side missions, or just gossip. You’ll also find a couple shops here, along with all of the Faction Agents.

BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon and BioWare/Electronic Arts via Polygon

Fort Tarsis points of interest

• Start. This is where you start every session of Anthem.
• Vanity Store. Prospero runs the Vanity Store. You’ll buy new armor designs, materials, and decals for your Javelin here.
• Regulator Store. The Regulator Store won’t be available at the very beginning of the game — you’ll have to level up your reputation with the Arcanists first. Once it opens, you can buy crafting resources for Sayrna.
• Vault. Your Vault is where you store all of the stuff you pick up or make. You can use the Vault to scrap multiple items at a time for parts.
• Forge. The Forge is where you’ll manage your Javelins and their loadouts and where you can make any cosmetic changes to your Javelins.
• Start Expedition. When you’re inside Fort Tarsis, this is where you’ll go to launch your next expedition.
• Launch Bay. The Launch Bay is a staging area of sorts. It’s a microcosm of Fort Tarsis, where you and other players can meet and prepare for your next expedition. We’ve broken out the Launch Bay into its own section below.

Factions

Anthem’s three Factions each have an Agent and a reputation report available in Fort Tarsis.

• Freelancers. Yarrow represents the Freelancers. He’ll give you Contracts to help out your fellow Freelancers.
• Arcanists. The Arcanist you’ll deal with is Matthias. Arcanist Contracts deal with figuring out Shaper technology.
• Sentinels. Sentinel Brin is the super awkward Sentinels representative. Sentinel Contracts help out Brin’s Sentinels in protecting the fort.

NPCs and other locations

We’re not going to detail each NPC you’ll encounter in Fort Tarsis. You’ll bump into them as you wander, and they’ll pop on and off of your map when they have something to say. Talking to NPCs will boost your reputation with the fort’s Factions.

Off to the west is Max’s bar. You’ll talk to Max the owner and Amal the bartender. You’ll also meet various other NPCs here.

Launch Bay

Anthem’s Launch Bay is a social gathering place where you’ll be able to meet other players and teammates. You’ll be in your Javelin in here, so you can show off all your fancy new textures. The Launch Bay serves as a staging area before you set off on an expedition.

The Launch Bay is a microcosm of the important parts of Fort Tarsis — you’ll find most of the same things to interact with, minus the NPCs.