Anthem suffers from an identity crisis at times - and the Tomb of General Tarsis quest is an example of that. Players alternate between going through menial tasks on the world map and accomplishing history-altering feats within the confines of story-based dungeons, with little indication of why the latter isn’t occurring more frequently. When Freelancers get a chance to dive into those dungeons, though, what they’ll often find is Anthem at its very best, challenging their decision-making, reaction time, and skill in ways they haven’t encountered yet.
The Tomb of General Tarsis quest is a precursor to one of the best-designed portions of Anthem. That it comes at the end of one of the worst-designed tasks in Anthem’s Tombs of the Legionnaires questline makes it even more tantalizing to players. Suffering through hours of repetitive, unforgiving tasks would make the first gasp of fresh air sweet no matter what. Anthem’s Tomb of General Tarsis gives players a glimpse of what the end-game might look like and represents a major leap forward for the story.
It also gives Anthem players a run for their money in two different ways. The quest consists of combat and puzzle-solving phases. Though neither aspect is the most difficult iterations of these concepts in Anthem, well-prepared Freelancers will find the task much more enjoyable. Luckily for those who want an edge heading in, Screen Rant has a guide and walkthrough to help players conquer the Tomb of General Tarsis and discover the Signet that leads to the best looking Javelin in the game. Be warned: there are spoilers in this guide, as it deals with a major story mission.
Entering the Tomb of General Tarsis
This step is the easiest, in theory: just complete the Tombs of the Legionnaires questline. After completing the Tombs of the Legionnaires, Anthem will give players a quick wrap-up on what’s happening before pointing them in the direction of the Tomb of General Tarsis. Once there, players will be faced with a brief puzzle to open the doors of the tomb. The door will show two symbols: remember what they look like and their order from left to right, and then immediately turn around and fly straight until running into a mossy section of the dungeon that has two pedestals. Rotate the pedestals to match the symbols and the door will open.
Skorpion Waves and Puzzle Solving
Once inside, players will need to deal with alternating waves of Skorpions and puzzles similar to the first pedestal one that gained them entry into the tomb. The Skorpions aren’t scary on their own, but they can swarm a poorly-timed attack and punish players for a bad decision. The best way to approach fights with the insect-like creatures in Anthem is to use big area-of-effect attacks on them as they bunch together. If a player can angle their Freelancer into a narrow choke point, Skorpions will typically skitter into it in a swarm, allowing for a well-placed AoE effect to take out several at once. We recommend a Colossus flamethrower or a Storm’s many powerful AoE options for this mission as a result.
As far as the puzzles go, they’ll all be variations of the first, usually just featuring an additional pedestal or tougher to locate indicators of what’s required. Players will need to solve three more pedestal puzzles after the first wave of Skorpions before proceeding into the next phase.
Escape the Dominion
Once players find the Signet and meet up with the Monitor, they’ll have to escape the tomb, which will be swarming with Dominion as they attempt to leave. Again, AoE works especially well here as none of the enemies are particularly strong. Players have to fight their way through several waves of Dominion soldiers on their way to the Strider where Haluk and friends are waiting for them. As the Freelancer progresses toward the entrance, there will likely be a high number of elite enemies present (depending on your difficulty), so make sure not to rush too fast into battle. A slow and steady pace works wonders here.
Once outside, simply rush to the Strider. As of this writing, there is actually a glitch in the Tomb of General Tarsis quest. If a player is in a squad, reaching the Strider will fail to trigger the mission ending. To solve this, simply have the squad leader stand on top of the Strider and use the respawn function in the game’s menu. Doing so should trigger the cutscene automatically and count as having completed the mission for all involved.
Once players are done with the Tomb of General Tarsis, they’ll be ready to tackle what is easily one of the most fun missions in all of Anthem in Fortress of Dawn. In the meantime, enjoy the newly acquired Javelin of the most legendary hero to ever walk the world of Anthem - it’s not going to be the player’s trophy for very long.
