Games
With Season 2 of Apex Legends on its way, here are five changes we’d like to see in the battle royale hit over the next few months.
At this point, it’s pretty clear that the free-to-play battle royale FPS Apex Legends is here to stay, thanks to its kinetic gunplay and razor-sharp “ping” system, which stands to revolutionise the multiplayer shooter. That said, there are still some niggling problems that developers Respawn can deal with as the game shapes up past its first few seasons over the coming year. While its core competitive loop is rock-solid, there are a lot of shifts around the edges that could ensure the game’s longevity over the coming months. With all that said, here are a few major changes that we’d like to see in Apex Legends.
1. A better variety of skins and loot
While Apex has perhaps the best overall gamefeel of any competitive shooter on the market today, and its characters are beloved in certain corners, its Borderlands-lite art direction has never been its greatest asset. Compared to highly-polished competitors like Fortnite and Overwatch, the virtual goods that you earn from putting hours upon hours into Kings Canyon could certainly be improved. Some of the game’s skins are palette swaps that lack vibrancy, and while there are a few unique ones that stand out, we’d love some more. Remember the unique “witch Mercy” skin in Overwatch? It was incredible, and that’s what we want in Apex. A greater variety of emotes, skins, and other cosmetics would go a long way to making those last-second losses feel worth it.
2. A broader range of items
Let’s be clear: from the chunky one-shot of perfectly-aimed Peacekeeper to the mid-range plinking of the Wingman, Apex has one of the best arsenals in any shooter out there right now. That said, even with the recent nerfs to those two stalwarts, there hasn’t been a ton of movement in the current meta in the game’s two months of life. Nobody’s asking Respawn to turn the Mozambique from a meme into a monster, but some new items would go a long way towards making the game feel a bit fresher. After all, the newcomer known as the Havoc might have its devotees, but it’s certainly not a crowd-pleaser.
3. Mix up the map
King’s Canyon might be the best-designed map of any battle royale game out there, with an absence of the loot-free dead zones that lead to so many early deaths in PUBG, and a more equitable distribution of goodies around each zone. That said, any map gets a little old after hundreds of hours of scouring its environs looking for those elusive loot-drops, and a little bit of variety would go a long way towards making it feel fresh again. Fortnite perfected the art of messing with its island every season in order to keep players coming back. While some might blanch at that, even a subtle shift here and there might liven it up a bit. Plus, nobody likes Thunderdome anyway.
4. Continue rebalancing
Apex is an exceedingly fair game, which allows players to spend time with characters and weapons that they enjoy rather than simply forcing them to take the “broken” option every time. That said, there are definitely certain Legends that are considered out-and-out better than some of the lower-tier ones. Bangalore’s warp-speed and smoke grenade make her arguably the most versatile character in the game, and Lifeline’s combination of nigh-infinite healing and uber-loot drop ult makes her a staple of almost every winning team. Meanwhile, Mirage’s ult does little more than announce your presence, and Caustic’s bag of tricks only work reliably on something like five percent of the map, so if you aren’t camping Bunker, you aren’t getting much use out of him. Even with the successful release of Octane, Respawn need to make sure that the meta doesn’t stagnate by rejiggering some of these abilities, and even some of the community’s favorite weapons, such as the Wingman.
5. Rethink the Battle Pass
Apex is about as close to a universally-beloved multiplayer game as you get these days, but it’s pretty clear by now that the much-vaunted Battle Pass has not been as popular as hoped. It’s not that it’s poorly-designed, it would just be great to up the pace of gaining levels, as now, only with hours of play do you see hundred tiers filling out. Upping the quality and speed of the unlocks would go a long way towards rejuvenating the morale level of the community. Also, introducing some special missions or goals might help too – some might dislike the Fortnite comparison, but there’s no doubt that adding a greater assortment of tasks to the game would mix things up again and further strengthen our love for Apex.
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