Abilities
Anvil’s active ability is a deployable barricade. When you activate this ability, Anvil will place a decent sized barricade that can block enemy damage and movement. There is a glass panel in the middle of the barricade which allows you to see your enemies through it. The glass can either be manually destroyed by activating the barricade ability again, or it can be shot out by enemies and friendly players. His barricade may seem like a pretty boring ability, and it kind of is, but it is highly useful for securing a room with little cover, planting or defusing a bomb, or for protecting you while you revive a fallen teammate.
Anvil’s passive ability is called Immunity and gives him immunity from disorient and blind effects. As a result, Anvil is very hard to suppress with utility, since most utility outside of lethal explosives will have no effect on him. When playing Anvil, you can take advantage of this ability by pushing through tear gas or barbed wire fields. Since most enemies won’t be expecting a player to quickly push through their utility, so you can catch them unawares and take them out quickly.
Anvil’s Loadout
Weapons
Anvil’s first primary weapon option is the Arbitrator shotgun. This shotgun can deal devastating damage in close proximity, dealing a max 100 damage to the body per shot. That means that this gun can technically kill in a single shot, if you hit all the pellets, though that is pretty rare. The Arbitrator can fire two shots before reloading, so keep that in mind. With only two shots to burn, this weapon is much better in a 1v1 situation, than when a whole team is descending on your position. You can improve the Arbitrator’s usefulness by upgrading it, which will lower its reload time by nearly 30% at tier 1, increase its hip fire accuracy at tier 2, and slightly increase its damage at range at tier 3.
Although the shotgun is a decent weapon situationally, Anvil’s second weapon the MLX Maw LMG is a much more versatile and deadly choice in most scenarios. Although it is still short to medium range, it can kill at a significantly longer range than the Arbitrator. At a base level, the MLX Maw deals 16 damage per shot, which means it will kill an unarmored assailant in 7 shots at default. That sounds like a lot, but with a 60 round magazine to work with and a surprising level of accuracy at range, this weapon can absolutely shred your enemies. If you upgrade this weapon to tier 1, your magazine size goes up to 90 rounds total. At tier 2, the damage at range increases slightly, and at tier 3 you will see about a 20% reduction in your recoil, making the gun even more deadly at range. When fully upgraded, this is one of the few weapons in the game that has the capability of mowing down an entire enemy squad without reloading.
For his pistol, Anvil has access to the standard Executioner. This semi-automatic pistol deals 32 damage to the body, so it takes four shots to kill a full health opponent. When upgraded to tier 1, the Executioner’s magazine size increases from 12 bullets to 16, and at tier 2 the handling and recoil of this weapon improves by about 20%.
As for his melee weapon, Anvil can carry a baseball bat. This weapon deals 100 throwing damage and 40 damage when you are swinging on an opponent. You can upgrade this to tier 1 to increase your effective lunge distance, and you can upgrade to tier 2 to increase the body damage dealt to 65 damage. Like the other melee weapons in the game, there are few situations where it makes sense to invest in Anvil’s baseball bat.
Gadgets
Anvil’s first available gadget is a C4 plastic explosive device. Players can throw this short to moderate distances and then detonate it with a remote switch. This is an effective tool for both offense and defense. On defense you can booby trap a site entrance, while on offense you can use it to blow up an enemy who is hiding behind cover. Considering the raw explosive power of this gadget, it is best to pick it up early in a match so you can maximize its use. As for upgrades, at tier 1 you can increase the total possible throw distance on the explosion, while at tier 2 the total damage that the explosion can do goes up to 150.
His second gadget is the Active Protection System. This gadget can be deployed to intercept incoming projectiles like grenades or C4. At its base level, it can withstand one projectile. If you upgrade it to tier 1, it has an increased detection radius. At tier 2, you will be able to carry two APS’s with you. The APS is an incredible tool to keep both you and your team alive. At higher levels of gameplay, utility becomes a huge threat in Rogue Company. The APS helps negate that threat and allows Anvil to play his area control role on site, when others might be pressured away with explosives.
Perks
Anvil has access to the following perks:
- Shredder round – Deal more damage to equipment and carry more ammunition
- Berserker – Gain the ability to reload while sprinting
- Helping Hand – Revive teammates faster
- Tenacity – Take reduced damage from explosives
- Headstrong – Gain an additional 25 armor
- Life Drain – Downing an enemy heals you for a significant amount over a short duration
Buy Order
Here is one suggested buy order which can help maximize Anvil’s effectiveness:
- In round one, don’t buy anything to ensure you can afford a primary in round 2, even if you lose the first round
- Second round, buy the MLX Maw LMG
- Third round, buy armor to increase your tankiness
- Fourth round, buy C4 and buy the APS
- Fifth round, start investing in weapon upgrades and perks like Tenacity that will make you better at your area control role
The primary mission in the first couple rounds for an Anvil player is to get your LMG up and running. The LMG is an essential tool to holding a position, or flanking the enemy team. It deals more damage-per-second than most weapons in the Rogue Company and can be a real game changer for your team. After you have your primary, you want to invest in armor next, since Anvil’s engagement style leaves you exposed to gun fire longer than some other rogues. Next, pick up your C4 and APS, which will add more utility to your kit. Finally, start investing in perks and other upgrades from there.
Tips and Tricks
Although Anvil’s primary role is to hold sites, there are also a lot of great opportunities to flank while playing him. If you are on defense and have to rotate to the other site, consider rotating through mid and looking for a good opportunity to light up the enemy team. With your machine gun, you can quickly confirm kills on multiple targets, especially if they are taken by surprise. You can superpower this maneuver by dropping your mobile cover to keep yourself safe on the flank.
Speaking of mobile cover, hold onto it until there is a specific use for it. It can be tempting to just drop the cover at the start of the round when you are on defense, but this is wasting the full potential of this piece of equipment. If you hold onto it, you will find numerous situations where it makes a huge difference. You can put it up while defusing a bomb, reviving a teammate, or while pulling off the previously mentioned flanking maneuver. In all of these situations, the mobile cover will significantly increase your odds of surviving.
Patience is key to success while playing Anvil. He isn’t a fast, zippy duelist who is capable of rolling around the map and picking up fast kills. Anvil has a pretty slow movement speed and has a pretty large hitbox to boot. As a result, he shines when played methodically and slowly. If you learn how to use cover to your advantage and out strategize your opponent, Anvil can take on even the highest tier rogues.
