LegendOfKage
Member
I hate battle royale games! What's here for me?
Team Deathmatch is being added to the game for the first time ever, along with returning modes Gun Run (gun game), and Control (domination). For the first three weeks of the season, only Team Deathmatch will be available. After that, TDM and the other two previously mentioned modes will be going into a new permanent non-BR playlist called Mixtape. Each mode will be available on a rotation, much like the BR maps have a rotation. From this point on, a non-BR option will always be available to play.
In addition to this, the vast majority of challenges and battle pass goals have both a BR and a non-BR version of each goal, so it's now completely possible to finish a battle pass while ignoring the BR modes.
I like battle royale games, so what else is new?
Other major changes include a new class system for each of the legends, a new energy burst rifle, updated firing range options, and new players will be introduced to the game gradually by playing bot matches on Kings Canyon. These matches will have four human teams, and the rest will be bots. You will not move on to human only lobbies until you've played a certain amount of games, and won at least one of them.
There's also some weapon and legend tuning, with buffs and nerfs for six existing legends, along with an assortment of changes to various guns. Automatic rifles are getting less reliable hip-fire, which should make SMGs a better option when fighting a up close.
I haven't played in a while. What has been added to the game?
There are now five different BR maps in Apex legends, with two or three of them in rotation at any given time. The latest map is called broken moon, and features a high-speed zip rail system for moving around quickly. Dedicated PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game are now available, and support 4K at 60 fps.
Evolving shields were added to the game which increase in strength after doing enough damage to your opponents. Crafting stations were added, allowing players to purchase select upgrades for in-game crafting material. Arenas was added, but has now been removed in favor of team deathmatch.
Depending on when you last played, each previous season saw the release of a new legend, and sometimes a new weapon. The Car SMG can use light or heavy ammo. The Rampage LMG is a low fire rate high damage weapon with a seemly endless magazine of bullets. The Bocek Bow can be used for stealthy long ranged combat. The 30-30 Repeater is a high damage semiautomatic rifle. The Volt SMG has become a fan favorite energy weapon.
What isn't in this update?
For the first time ever, no new legend is being added this season. We're also not getting cross-progression support, or 120 fps on console. Both are said to still be in development.
So what are these new classes?
The new classes are assault, skirmisher, recon, controller, and support. Each comes with a specific class perk. As you'll see below, it will be very useful to have access to these perks, and you'll be less effective as a team if you ignore them. Better still, these new perks should greatly help balance legend pick-rates, and lead to a much wider variety of legends in each game.
Assault - Combat initiation and utility
Hold more ammo in each stack and access special gun-focused red supply bins.
Bangalore, Ash, Fuse, Mad Maggie, Revenant
If you like the idea of getting a nice weapon with good attachments quickly, this class is for you. The new red bins will now always have a weapon in them, and these legends will be able to open a hidden compartment on them filled with quality weapon attachments. Being able to hold more ammo in each slot also frees up more room in your inventory for extra grenades, healing items, etc. One of the most useful class perks is being reserved for some of the least-picked legends in the game, which should help add some balance to the meta.
Skirmisher - Combat mobility and escape
Reveal the contents of care packages
Wraith, Valkyrie, Octane, Horizon, Mirage, Pathfinder
All the high-mobility and frequently selected legends are here, and they're getting arguably one of the worst class perks. It does fit the class, though, because if anyone can quickly get to care packages, it's these legends. These movement legends have had some of the highest pick-rates for years, but now going into a game with three of them will remove your access to the other class perks, which should help the game balance considerably.
Recon - Enemy Intel and tracking
See where enemies are on the map for 30 seconds
Bloodhound, Crypto, Seer, Vantage
The scan-meta is getting nerfed into the ground, which is great news for players who didn't like getting constantly wall-hacked. In addition, their previous class perk is now being moved to defensive legends. Instead, these legends will now be able to see where all players are on the map (not the mini-map), for about 30 seconds after scanning the new survey beacons. Nice if you're looking for a fight, or if you'd rather avoid one. At the same time, all other players will be informed that someone has revealed their location, which could lead some players back to your location as well.
Controller - Area setup and control
Access the ring console and see the location of the next ring.
Caustic, Wattson, Rampart, Catalyst
The defensive classes are now referred to as controllers, and they're getting what used to be the scanning legend perk. This makes sense for them, as they'll now be able to see where the next ring will be, and setup choke points as needed. Knowing where the ring was going made the already great scanning legends even more important to pick, and moving such an important ability to previously less-popular defensive legends should help balance things nicely.
Support - Team survival and supply
Craft your teammates revival banners, and access the healing-focused hidden compartment in blue storage bins.
Lifeline, Loba, Gibraltar, Newcastle
Perhaps the most important class perk, these legends can bring back their teammates at any point in the game. Rather than making a risky trip back to where your buddy just fell so you can retrieve their revival banner, support legends can craft their banners for just 30 crafting points. As if being able to return your teammates to the battlefield wasn't enough, these legends are also all getting what used to be lifeline's passive perk, and will be able to open the hidden compartment on blue bins, which will now be filled with high-level healing items.
What about the new weapon?
The Nemesis burst fire rifle is being added to the game. It's a fully automatic burst fire energy weapon, so you only need to hold down the trigger and it will keep firing. As it fires, the time between bursts will decrease, making it especially effective towards the end of each magazine. This increased fire rate takes several seconds to cool down again, meaning even after a reload you'll still be at the high fire rate for a short time. This weapon is apparently starting off in a very powerful state, and will likely be nerfed later on.
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