legends never die
Do you realize? Apex Legends celebrates 4 years of his surprise exit, storming the kind of Battle Royale which was then dominated by PUBG et Fortnite. Today, the genre is no longer really popular and everyone is already waiting for the wave of Extraction Shooters to pass, but surprisingly, Apex remains today one of the main representativescurrently having a more than comfortable place in Top 5 Most Played Steam Games.
Nevertheless, the life of a service game is full of pitfallsand as addictive as it is, players soon get bored if new content is not added regularly, and it still has to be interesting. Is right one season per quarter for 3 yearsApex Legends has done quite well on this side, between new legends, new cards, expansions of these, new gameplay mechanicsand even new game modes.
Paradoxically, an accumulation of new elements and other concepts sometimes gives the impression that the title concerned scatters and swellsabandoning certain aspects which were nevertheless the main attraction of the game in question, even if it means transforming into real substantive problems.
Et Respawn Entertainment wants to avoid at all costs that this happens to Apex Legends.
Pour sa 16e saisonand for the first time since 2019, and Battle Royale will not receive a new legend or new map, but transformationssometimes deep, of its game mechanics. Respawn has reviewed all content d’Apex Legends and tried to find out what worked well… and less well, in the goal of rebalancing the experience and put a big kick in the meta which had a furious tendency to stagnate.
It was also an opportunity to review the way the title welcomes new playerswhich is never easy in a genre as codified as Battle Royale, while always offering more ways to have fun and/or practice.
During a private presentation, Respawn gave us a topo of what we can expect de Revelryand as much to say that, despite the absence of real novelty outside you Nemesis, a new assault rifle energy ammunition, the list of changes is quite long.
They are mainly legends who are in good shape, whose roles will radically change: goodbye vague terms attacker, defender, scout and supportthe characters will now be distributed in 5 distinct categories, more fitting with the reality of the gameplay. In addition Legend abilities who benefit from changes that range from single to double, each of these classes will benefit from new common abilities that hope to bring new depth when composing a team, always confined to 3 members.
- Assault : These Legends can access hidden compartments new red containerscontaining equipment that adapts to the needs of the team, while they can carry more ammo for the same backpack slot.
- Skirmish : A class that includes Legends specializing in l’initiative d’engagement and or provide opportunities for rotation to his team in the most dangerous situations. They can now discover remotely the contents of the drop packseven though he has already been picked up by a rival team.
- Reconnaissance : Refers to the Legends carved in tracking and adversary detectionand who can use topographic beacons. However, the latter no longer have the same function at all: rather than show the next ring on the map, it marks all opponents still alive in a very large radius, for no less than 30 seconds. Fortunately, players detected by the device are warned.
- Control : Brings together Legends who like to impose their style on the field with prohibition zones, taking advantage often defensive abilities. For once, they are the ones who can discover the location of the next ring, via new terminals spread all over the different maps.
- Support : Players have always been pained by the fate reserved to Support-Focused Legends, and that’s why Respawn wanted to review their usefulness in depth. Blue Containers now have a much higher chance of containing shield batteries and medical kitswith a noticeable increase in obtaining a mobile respawn beacon or heat shields depending on the situation. But it is the possibility of craft unlucky teammate banners which is likely to change the game, and even when recovery timer expired. What multiply the opportunities for comeback.
This paradigm shift in defining roles has allowed Respawn to thoroughly reassess the usefulness of the different Legends, and got down to the difficult exercise of a complete rebalancing. The 23 Legends are all undergoing changes to their kits, but 7 of them profit of particular attentionin order to fit more easily the meta desired by the studio.
- Seer : A good big nerve of his ultimatebetween less frequent use, shorter duration, and lower heartbeat refresh rate, while nearby enemies can now hear its origin.
- Bloodhound : His ultimate no longer allows you to multiply the use of son scanbut allows to invoke a white crow which will fly towards the nearest opponent, just to put tracking back at the center of its gameplay.
- Wraith : The possible distance between the two points of his portal has been doubled, with a movement speed accrue when it was created.
- Pathfinder : A significant increase in the range of his Ziplinewhose travel speed is now higher than regular Ziplines.
- Horizon : Its precision in the air has been revised downwards, but the projection speed of its gravitational well has been increased.
- Mirage : Camouflage when reviving an ally will be maintained for a few seconds beyond the recovery, and detection of an enemy by a hologram should last longer and follow the assailantrather than simply marking the origin of the shot.
- Lifeline : Its linked passive with blue containers now benefits other Legends, allowing Respawn to distinguish Lifeline more. His ability to resuscitate slows her down much less, while her personal drop pack is much more convenient to use, especially on its rate of descent which is much faster.
Apart from a few well-felt (and deserved) nerfs, these few adjustments coupled to the different liabilities of class should significantly improve life quality players of these Legends, hoping that this will allow some to become competitive once morecompared to recent arrivals and other longtime darlings.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, it depends on the point of view), this Season 16 will not bring new legend or new mapRespawn preferring to impose a lull time to properly elaborate and draw the outlines of this new meta via the elements he already has at his disposal.
As said above, a new assault rifle To energy cartridges enters anyway: the nemesis tire 4 round bursts, with a rate which intensifies more and more with pressure on the trigger. A weapon not to be underestimated to medium scope and which will reveal its potential to players with a solid aim.
Indeed, do not expect to be a killer by shooting anyhow, since assault rifles are getting a nerf substantial on the occasion of this season, in the hope of dethroning them from their throne. So, hip shots receive a precision penalty much larger than before, which should give a little more emphasis on SMGs for close combat, coupled with the fact that la R-301 has its damage slightly reduced.
On another note, it will now be possible to attach butts on shotgunsto enhance the aiming potential, while this same family takes advantage of the next batch of golden bolt accessories, giving an ammo advantage during slides.
Welcome to Apex Games
The other problem d’Apex Legends that Respawn Entertainment wanted to anticipate is its opacity to a new audience which thickens with the seasons. At the beginning a Battle Royale relatively classic that reappropriated some codes from Titanfall (including its arsenal), many mechanics and the multiplication of legends has enough to make the course of a game quite confusing for anyone who wishes embark on the experience.
Like other Battle Royales before it, Apex Legends will now put new players once morest bots during their first games, history that they appropriate the subtleties of the gameplay and different mechanics before being dropped in the middle of 57 competitors who wish them harm.
Finally, unlike other games of the genre, these “orientation matches” are well explained by the title, and not shamefully hidden for make the first comer believe that he became a pro from its first part. None of that at Respawn. the bots are clearly identified as such, and a certain performance must be validated before being able to join classic matchmakingin particular through challenges which allow you to become familiar with most game systems.
An enriched tutorialwhat, especially since the shooting range also enjoy many additional features.
On a similar note, Apex Legends also wants multiply the ways to play. And Arena mode unfortunately closes its doors for lack of public, Respawn introduces the new concept of Mixtape in its multiplayer FPS, in parallel a brand new team deathmatch mode. It’s a funny throwback to the past, but to test is to approve. And if it allows more people to claim a titanfall 3…
Nothing complicated: choose a Legendchoose one of the kits offered that change every game, change when you want, and the first 6 player team who wins two rounds of 30 kills wins. Contrary to Arena mode which was handicapped by a fairly slow pace, despite an interesting tension in the clashes, Team Deathmatch mode is ideal for practice handling the different Legends and weaponsor warm up before starting a ranked game of Battle Royale mode.
Then, following a while, the Mixtape will take over, bringing a rotation of limited game modes already beloved by players, once fleeting. Yes, Control and Race modes army return and are now permanent, although you have to wait for the rotation to take place before you can take advantage of them. Unfortunately, there is currently no indication whether Arena mode will receive love once more.
All changes of Apex Legends Season 16, Festivitieswill be to be discovered during its deployment dated for Valentine’s Day, i.e. February 14th. There will even be a whole bunch free skins et decorations to discover for the occasion.
