Gaming News Apex Legends is getting ready for its 5th anniversary! Here are the most important innovations of the battle royale star!
Yesterday Apex Legends celebrated its five-year anniversary. Showing five years of existence in a world as competitive as that of battle royale is quite an achievement. However, Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts don’t want to stop there. As the game’s 20th season approaches, the development studio and publisher have revealed their short-term plan for Apex.
Apex Legends is rising
Five years are worth celebrating! For the new anniversary of Apex Legends, the developers at Respawn and the publisher Electronic Arts have decided to celebrate it with the players. In fact, it is the 20th season (titled Breaking out in English), which will be made available in the coming weeks. The update comes with major and minor changes that are a “Wind of freshness” about the game according to the developers.
The most important new feature of this 20th season concerns the playable characters. From Breakout onwards and only in Battle Royale mode, Legends can rise.
Each Legend can reach Level 4 in each game, with rewards at each level. Level 2 offers a blue shield as well as a choice between two passive abilities; Level 3 offers a purple shield as well as a choice between two new passive abilities; while level 4 only offers a red sign.
A change made for several reasons that promises to highlight different play styles between aggressive and non-aggressive. For example, Stage 2 of Octane gives the player a choice between a tactical ability that deals less damage (reminder: he injects himself with poison to run faster) or damage reduction using explosives. Likewise, the developers explain that this leveling system was designed for both newbies and those in the know:
There is a good balance between the two. The improvements are easy to understand, although some are still tailored to regular players.
This overhaul of the battle royale system was intended to bring players on equal footing. We can understand the frustration of some people who are eliminated early in the game simply because they encountered opponents who were lucky enough to have collected high-quality shields.
What about the shield changing mechanic?
Starting February 13th, players will say goodbye to the shield swap mechanic. Before Season 20, when players eliminated an enemy, they would collect their shield from their chest. Enough to make some progress in some cases, especially in squad-versus-squad battles: if you take people’s charged shields, you can give yourself a reprieve. This will also be the case in Season 20, but in a weaker form: he will not level up and will only regain additional shield points, which will disappear with the damage taken, but also over time.
From Season 20 onwards, players will therefore have great interest in building their team’s shields alone or as a squad. This leveling system always depends in part on the EVO accumulated, but is not entirely dependent on the damage dealt. There are actually several ways to gain experience. This is possible with special pylons (see image below); opening ammunition boxes; or for example scanning topographical markings. Enough to still offer two different play styles. You focus on aggression by increasing its level thanks to your damage; the other focused on gathering information and resources for the end of the game. It can happen that you reach level 4 without encountering a single enemy squad along the way!
- Shield Pass Level 2: 600 EVO
- Shield Pass Level 3: 1300 EVO
- Level 4 Shield Passage: 1900 from EVO
This system is even more central to the game, as each player maintains their level when they are “resurrected.” In addition, Respawn promises that the experience points awarded will be balanced for each action/class or hero.
Adjustments have also been made to the replicators. These mini-stations scattered across the map allow you to craft items such as ammo, memory beacons, or even weapons. As of Season 20, the manufacturing cost of these replicators is zero. However, they will have limited creative options. Something requested by teams who previously felt there were too many resources for an action game.
What the replicator offers. The replication time is shorter than before.
Respawn wants to create a “trusted” ranked match system
Over the next five years, Respawn Entertainment also wants to review its ranked match system. Breaking out, the English name of the 20th season, will therefore be the starting point for the studio to rethink. Developers want a system that is trustworthy for players by giving them a “accurate representation of their level”; that it is accessible and ultimately causes entertainment. That the players “Feel happy when playing ranked games“. To do this, the studio added new things, modified some and removed others.
Fifth anniversary, but new beginnings: In Season 20, all players’ RP accounts (points associated with ranked matches) will drop to zero. The ability to take the game seriously (again), especially with the addition of a new “Game Summary” feature. According to Respawn, this tool can allow anyone who uses it to receive relevant feedback about the game they just played.
Presumably to make ranked matches more entertaining, the entry cost for ranked matches has been reduced to 20 RP instead of 50. Enough to multiply the number of games and chances of promotion by 2.5. To address this issue, the width of each line has been increased. On paper, the feeling of progress should be more pronounced from season 20 onwards, even if there are still some downsides.
Like many games in the genre, Apex Legend is best enjoyed with friends. When the urge to “cheat” comes by playing with a higher-ranking friend, You should know that when entering the queue, the rating of the latter is taken into account. It is also possible to encounter sometimes stronger opponents. It’s the game’s system that’s structured like this: it’s aimed primarily at playing as quickly as possible, rather than at finding exactly the right opponents.
Apex Legends: A Season 20 for Everyone?
In celebration of Apex Legends’ fifth anniversary, Respawn and Electronic Arts want to refresh the gameplay of their battle royale while trying to satisfy players of all backgrounds. Something that should therefore be observed in the rework of the shield system (and mechanics). Shield exchange); l’aspect Light RPG with the Leveling Characters ; or with the numerous adjustments reserved for the landscape of ranked games.
However, after five years of existence, the legends are numerous: 24 in total, 6 of which were unlocked when the game was first launched. To have them all, one must then spend a considerable amount of time playing in order to have the required currency (the option to purchase with real money is put aside here). Huge content that can quickly discourage beginners: Unfortunately, this is an essential feature of all service games, whose longevity is synonymous with success. To overcome this problem, Respawn has planned in the season outbreak Quests must be completed to unlock up to six additional characters! Enough to give many players, even regular players, extra motivation to expand their selection of playable Legends.
All of these new features will be available for Apex Legends on February 13th with Update 20.0. Changes that promise to refresh the game with new ways to discover legends, but also delve into ranked play with an overhaul of the system. Welcome modifications, but they do not change the core of the gameplay or the excellent sensations it offers. Apex Legends remains true to itself as it ages.
