Anthem has several damage types. They are broadly divided into Single Target (Impact) and Area of Effect (Blast) damages. Among these there are other types which are unique among their type and do specific amount of damage depending on the type of target or the type of the health on the target.
These damage types are all represented within the game with a specific icon which can be seen next to damage value on that particular item.
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Physical Damage
There are two types of physical damage.
Impact
Impact damage is the type of physical damage which can be done when any ammunition collides with the target. Simply put, it is the damage type with is not any other damage type mentioned below (i.e., It is not Acid/Elemental/Combo/Shield Breaker/Armor Buster).
Although Impact is interchangeably used with Single Target damage, it can also be blast damage if the item has the capacity to do so.
Impact damage should be considered as Kinetic Damage whenever it is not doing Single Target Damage.
Impact/Kinetic damage floaties are white in color.
Acid
Acid damage is a physical type of damage which reduced the resistance of enemies. It also does multiplies all damages done to the enemies under acid status effect by 1.5 times.
Acid attacks also do 1.5 times more damage to armored enemies regardless of when they are under the acid status effect or not. this means, any acid attack on an armored enemy in the acid status will do 2.25 times the damage.
Any enemy under the acid status effect will have a green and black wavy pattern on their surface.
Acid damage floaties are green in color.
Elemental Damage
There are three types of elemental damages.
Ice
Ice damage is an elemental damage type which can slow down and eventually freeze enemies. This frozen status makes enemies immobile until the effect wears off.
Ice attacks can extinguish the effects caused by fire attacks.
Ice attacks do 1.25 times more damage to enemies with shields (blue health). But they do only half the damage to armored enemies (yellow health).
Ice damage floaties are blue in color.
Fire
Fire damage is an elemental damage type which can burn enemies. This burning status does additional damage over time.
Fire attacks can extinguish the effects caused by ice attacks.
Fire attacks and damage over time do 1.25 times more damage to enemies with armor (yellow health). But they do only three quarters of the damage to shielded enemies (blue health).
Fire damage floaties are orange in color.
Electric
Electric damage is an elemental damage type which can shock enemies. The electrocuted status does additional damage over time and can pass on to nearby enemies, even after the shocked enemy is defeated.
Electric attacks and damage over time do 1.5 times more damage to enemies with shields (blue health). But they do only half the damage to armored enemies (yellow health).
Electric damage floaties are purple in color.
Combo Damage
Combo damage is an additional damage done by performing combos. There are two parts to a combo, and if either parts aren't performed, then combos cannot be performed.
The targets have to be primed first, then must be detonated. Once detonated, the additional combo damage shows up as a damage floaty in yellow along with the word "COMBO!".
Anyone with a detonator can detonate a primed target. But the damage amount depends on the javelin and the player who has detonated.
Primer
Primers are used to set up a combo. A target is primed only if the primer can put that enemy in a status effect: Acid, Ice, Fire, or Electric. There is no Impact/Kinetic primer. The status effect, when applied shows up above the target as a red hexagon with the type of primer in it.
Every priming item has a special stack effect mentioned in it's description. The higher the effect, the easier it is to prime the target. The higher the strength of an enemy, the tougher it is to prime it.
The ease of priming is in the following order:
And
Enemy < Elite Enemy < Legendary EnemyAn effect of 60 guarantees a primed status on any legendary enemy. An effect of 100 guarantees a primed status even on bosses.
The primer damage is the same as the damage done by the priming weapon or gear.
Detonator
Detonators are used to trigger a combo set up by the primers. Once the combo is triggered, the additional combo damage is performed.
The exact value of this damage is determined by the type of the javelin equipped and the the health-type (normal/red or armored/yellow) of the enemy, and whether the enemy is debuffed using acid status or resistance lowering support gear, or combo damage increasing items (combo sigils or Tarsis' Last Stand). However, the type of primer used does not affect this damage value.
Combos cannot be performed on shields, so the shields must be depleted before priming a target. If the shields of a primed target regenerate, the combo can still be triggered by the detonator.
All damage types can detonate a combo and unlike a primer, do not have any status effect criterion.
Priming Detonators and Detonating Primers
There are a few gears which can self prime and detonate or prime a target after detonating them. These are usually classified as detonators, however, it is important to mention these gears as they can be used differently while in combat to prime targets as well.
| Gear | Type | Javelin | Category | How to Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Ice | Focus Seal | 
|
Priming Detonator | If a target is already primed, using Black Ice on it will detonate it. Is the detonated primer is NOT ice type, then the target is primed with ice. |
| Eternal Squall | Blast Seal |
|
Detonating Primer | If the target is already primed with any ability, the lightning from Eternal Squall detonates it to perform a combo. This gear leaves behind afield of electricity where it strikes. Non electric primed enemies in this field are primed with electricity. |
| Steam Vent | Focus Seal |
|
Priming Detonator | If a target is already primed, using Steam Vent on it will detonate it. Is the detonated primer is NOT fire type, then the target is primed with fire. |
| Venom Storm | Ordnance Launcher | 
|
Priming Detonator | If the target is not already primed with Acid, it is primed with the initial Venom Storm mortars and immediately detonated with additional mortars. The initial mortar prime can be detonated by other players also. |
Special Anti Health Damages
All damages are anti health. Certain damage values can be increased by using an appropriate anti-health damage dealing items. For normal health (red), all damage values dealt has a constant multiplier of 1, even when these special anti-health items are used. However, it is different for shielded (blue health) and armored (yellow health) enemies.
Shield Breaker
Shield Breaker damage does 1.5 times more damage against enemies with shields. Certain shields have elemental resistances. So directly attacking the enemy with such an ability with an electric attack or elemental attack of that type will not damage the shields. In such cases, a shield breaker can be useful.
A shield breaker can only do half damage against armored enemies.
Both weapons or gears can be shield breakers.
Armor Buster
Armor Buster damage does 1.5 times more damage against enemies with armor.
Both weapons and gears can be armor busters.
An armor buster can only do half the damage against shielded enemies.
Area of Effect Damage
The area of effect (AoE) damage type is called Blast damage in Anthem.
It can be of any of the above mentioned damage types: Impact, Acid, Fire, Ice, Electric, Primer, Detonator, Shield Breaker, and Armor Buster.
