Anthem Colossus | How to use the Colossus Javelin effectively

Anthem is out now, and BioWare’s impressive new loot shooter has four impressive Iron Man-like Javelin suits to choose from: Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, and Storm. Out of all of them, the Anthem Colossus Javelin is the most tank-like. It’s a massive hulking monster in robot suit form, built to defend its allies with a shield and high armor, and terminate its enemies with its powerful weapons and fists.

What are some of the best Colossus builds you can have? We’ve already talked previously about the best Anthem builds for each of the Javelin types, but now we’re going in-depth with each Javelin to help you use them all more effectively. We’ve already covered the Storm Javelin, now we’re checking out the Colossus. We’ll talk about the best weapons, components and abilities to equip, how to use its melee, combos, and Ultimate attacks to your advantage, and more. Let’s take a look.

Anthem Colossus | Best Heavy Assault Launcher Attacks

The Siege Artillery Cannon fires a single shell that explodes upon hitting its target, causing massive amounts of area-of-effect damage. It’s a good Detonator too, probably the best one to pick of the lot. Venom Spitter fires an incredible amount of shots that don’t have great range, but they deal acid damage and debuffs to enemies, and is a Primer for a combo. The Flak Cannon is like a more devastating shotgun, launching a series of arcing short-range projectiles in a barrage. Can hit multiple enemies, but isn’t any good for combos. The ever-fun Flamethrower is pretty predictable: it shoots flame. It doesn’t have good range, but deals a lot of Fire damage and is a good primer. Wade into a group of enemies and destroy them. The Railgun, on the other hand, is probably the least useful, since it takes a few seconds to charge and then just does Impact damage to a single enemy. It’s a Detonator, but you’re better off with a different weapon.

Anthem Colossus | Best Ordnance Launcher Abilities

The High Explosive Mortar does just what you’d expect and hope for: fires a single shell that hits with a massive explosion and area-of-effect damage. A lot of fun and works as a Detonator, but just barely. Similarly, the Lightning Coil is for those of you who want to strap a Tesla Coil to your shoulders. Auto-fires lightning outwards and hits up to 10 enemies, one at a time, for a decent amount of electricity damage. It’s a good Detonator for combos. The Firewall Mortar is more for support than anything, as it creates a wall of flame that blocks off enemies. If you’re getting swarmed from all sides it can be very useful, and any enemies that do pass get fire damage, and are Primed for a combo. The Burst Mortar works similarly to the Flak Cannon, in that it fires a small volley of mortars, dealing blast damage over a wide area. Fun, but it has no combo potential, however. The Shock Coil is more of a 360 degree version of the Lightning Coil, but it’s hard to imagine why you’d choose this over that more sparkly option. It’s a Primer rather than a Detonator, however.

Anthem Colossus | Best Support Gear

As usual with Support options, there are only two for each Javelin, so don’t bother waiting for a better one to show up. Both are pretty useful, however, at least to the team. Battle Cry draws aggro from nearby enemies and forces them to attack you instead of your allies, so make sure you’re ready for this. Shield Pulse, on the other hand, is a little more generally useful. It simply gives your team a damage resistance buff, reducing the damage you and any of your teammates take by around a third. Either way, you’ll be a hero.

Anthem Colossus | How to use the Colossus Ultimate

The Ultimate ability for the Colossus is a devastating Siege Cannon, which fires three shells that create massive explosions when they hit. It’s tremendously powerful, and you don’t really have to think about it. Just aim, fire, and watch the fireworks. It’ll put a lot of hurt into the biggest enemies Anthem has to offer, or wipe out small groups of Scar, Dominion or whatever. It’s also a Detonator for combos, if you haven’t already sent their bodies into space.

Anthem Colossus | How to use the Colossus Melee Attack

The Colossus has probably the best melee attack in the game, or certainly the most satisfying. The Heavy Smash melee attack does a ground pound from the air that hits multiple opponents with Impact damage. It’ll kill weaker enemies and knock down tougher opponents. Try it while you’re actually in the air for bigger area-of-effect damage. Lots of fun.

Anthem Colossus | Best Components to equip

The Colossus is all about getting in up close and personal with enemies, and blowing them away with a mix of weaponry and massive explosions. Therefore, you’ll want to focus on components that improve either your abilities or your weapons. Explosives Expert is probably the best for your abilities, since it increases the blast damage of all your explosions by 15 percent. This includes your Ultimate ability, so if you thought it was devastating before, add an extra chunk of awesome to that. On the other hand, if you favor that Flamethrower and Lightning Coil combo, maybe check out Overclocked Regulator, which increases all fire and electric damage by a whopping 35 percent.

As for good components to boost your weaponry, you can’t go wrong with the combination of Colossal Stock Augment and Colossal Storage Augment components. The first boosts the magazine size of your weapons by 35 percent, the other increases the amount of ammo you can carry by the same amount. You’ll never be lacking in ammo again. Additionally, if you pick any armor-boosting components, make sure to pick ones that are unique to the Colossus, rather than universal components, since you’ll see a lot more benefit. That goes for all the Javelin types, really.

Anthem Colossus | Best Weapons to use

Remember, Colossus is the Tank build, so don’t even think of hanging back with a sniper rifle and letting the Interceptors and Storms get close range. You’ll want weapons that do a lot of damage to a lot of enemies at once, mixed with a secondary choice that does plenty of damage in general, but not so good for crowd control. For the main, stick with the machine guns or a decent Autocannon a mow the hordes down. For a secondary, grab the best Shotgun you can muster and lay into your enemies right in their faces.

Anthem Colossus | Best Colossus Combos

The Flamethrower and Lightning Coil combo is one of the most effective and fun combos to pull off by yourself in Anthem, so it’s definitely a good one to go with. Wade in there and set your enemies on fire, then blast them with a Tesla Coil. Lots of fun. Alternatively, you can try something more explosive, especially if you have the Explosives Expert component equipped. The Firewall Mortar, in that case, is probably your best choice for a Primer, which can then be set up for one of the Colossus’ multiple explosive Detonators, such as the High Explosive Mortar or the Siege Artillery Cannon. Either way, you’re going to have a good time, and your enemies won’t.