This week, Anthem developer BioWare gave players their first look at the upcoming Cataclysm, an 8-week event (2 pre-event weeks and 6 actual event weeks) that will allow players to acquire new gear and test their mettle in a new environment. The BioWare devs didn’t show a lot of Cataclysm during their stream since the event is meant to be about mystery and discovery, but they did give a rough overview as to how it will work and how players will acquire new rewards.

Cataclysm in Anthem will feature a new map within a massive storm. Players will see trees blowing in the wind, big waves, but most importantly they will take damage if they stay out in the storm for too long. To mitigate that, there will be items at key locations that create a type of safety bubble, where players can then complete objectives.

While players are completing objectives in the Cataclysm they will earn points and increase their overall score. BioWare didn’t explain exactly how one correlates to the other, but it sounds as though a higher score will lead to greater rewards and some new form of currency.

Once players load into the Cataclysm map they will have a set amount of time to complete as many activities and gain the highest score (yes, there will be leaderboards), with completed activities adding to that allotted time. However, at the center of the Cataclysm is Vara, a Dominion boss who will double the team’s score when defeated. So, the main loop is to balance the time remaining with objectives and eventually go after Vara.

After completing a Cataclysm (or a few), Anthem players will then take their currency to a vendor in Fort Tarsis who sells War Chests. Throughout the 6 weeks of Cataclysm these chests will offer different pieces of gear, like new melee abilities or masterwork/legendary support items. It’s unclear at this point whether this vendor will be the only source of new gear in Anthem, or if it’s just another source, but that will hopefully become clear over time.

PC players will get to try out the Cataclysm content starting as early as next week, when BioWare launches Anthem’s Public Test Server. The test should run for a few weeks as the developers ensure everything runs well and is enjoyable, and then the 8-week Cataclysm event should launch for all Anthem players after that.

Anthem is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.