Game news Apex Legends is leveling up for its 5th anniversary! Here are the major new features of the battle royale star!
Yesterday, Apex Legends celebrated its fifth anniversary. To display five years of existence in a world as competitive as that of battle royale is quite an achievement. However, Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts do not 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 levels up
Five years is worth celebrating! For the new anniversary of Apex Legends, the developers of Respawn and the publisher Electronic Arts decided to celebrate it with the players. Indeed, it is the 20th season (titled Breakout in English) which will be deployed in the coming weeks. The update arrives with changes, major and minor, supposed to bring a “wind of freshness” to the game according to the developers.
The most important new feature brought by this season 20 concerns the playable characters. Starting with Breakout, and only for Battle Royale mode, Legends will be able to level up.
Each Legend will be able to reach level 4 during each game, with rewards at each level. Level 2 offers a blue shield as well as the choice between two passive skills; level 3 offers a purple shield as well as the choice between two new passive skills; while level 4 simply offers a red shield.
A change made for several reasons which promises to emphasize different styles of play, between aggressive and non-aggressive. For example, level 2 of Octane offers the player the choice between a tactical ability inflicting less damage (reminder: he injects himself with poison to run faster) or a reduction in damage linked to explosives. In the same way, the developers explain that this level system was designed for neophytes and initiates alike:
There is a good balance between the two. The improvements are easy to understand, although some remain tailor-made for regular players.
This revision of the battle royale system was intended to put players on an equal footing. We can understand the frustration of some people at being eliminated at the start of the game simply because they came across opponents lucky to have collected high quality shields.
What about the shield swap mechanic?
From February 13, players will say goodbye to the shield swap mechanic. Before Season 20, when players eliminated an enemy, they collected the opponent’s shield from their chest. Enough to offer a certain advance in part, especially during squad versus squad fights: taking people’s charged shields allowed you to give yourself a reprieve. This will still be the case with season 20 but in a lesser way: he will not level up and will only recover additional shield points, which will disappear with the damage suffered but also with time.
From season 20, players will therefore have every interest in setting up their team’s shields, alone or in a squad. This leveling system always depends on the EVO accumulated in part but is not solely dependent on the damage inflicted. There are actually several ways to collect experience. This is possible with dedicated pylons (see image below); opening ammunition boxes; or for example the scanning of topographical markers. Enough to still offer two different styles of play. One focuses on aggression by increasing its level thanks to its damage; the other focused on gathering information and resources for the end of the game. It can happen to be level 4 without having encountered a single enemy squad on your 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 at the heart of the game as each player maintains his level when he is “resurrected”. Furthermore, Respawn promises that the experience points awarded for each action / class or hero will be balanced.
Adjustments have also been made regarding replicators. Scattered across the map, these mini-stations allow you to create objects such as ammunition, reminder beacons or even weapons. From season 20, the manufacturing cost of these replicators will be zero. However, they will have limited creative choices. Something desired by teams who previously felt there were too many resources for an action game.
Respawn wants to create a ‘trustworthy’ ranked match system
For the five years, Respawn Entertainment also wants to review its ranked match system. Breakout, the English name of the 20th season, will therefore be the studio’s starting point to rethink things. Developers want a system that is trustworthy for players by offering them a “accurate reflection of their level” ; that it is accessible and finally that it causes entertainment. That the players “feel happy playing ranked play”. To do this, the studio added new things, modified some and removed others.
Fifth anniversary but new beginning: for season 20, all players will see their RP account (points linked to ranked games) drop to zero. The opportunity to (re)take the game seriously, especially since a new “match summary” functionality will be integrated. According to Respawn, this tool can allow anyone who uses it to get relevant feedback on the game that has just passed.
Probably in an effort to make Ranked Games more entertaining, the cost of entry into Ranked Games has been reduced to 20 RP instead of 50. Enough to multiply by 2.5 the number of games and the chances of climbing uphill. On this subject, the width of each row has been increased. On paper, the feeling of progression should therefore be more significant from season 20 onwards, even if there are still some downsides.
Like many games in the genre, Apex Legend is best enjoyed with friends. If the urge to “cheat” by playing with a higher ranked friend comes, you should know that it is the rating of the latter which is taken into account when entering the queue. It is also possible to encounter, in part, stronger opponents. It’s the game’s system that is made like this: it seeks above all to play as quickly as possible rather than to precisely find enemies to match.
Apex Legends: a season 20 for everyone?
With the fifth anniversary of Apex Legends, Respawn and Electronic Arts want to refresh the gameplay of their battle royale while trying to satisfy players from all backgrounds. Something which is therefore observed with the revision of the shield system (and the mechanics of shield swap) ; the appearance light-RPG with the leveling characters ; or with the multiple adjustments reserved for the landscape of ranked games.
However, after five years of existence, the Legends are numerous: 24 in total, for 6 unlocked during the first launch of the game. To have them all, you must then spend a significant amount of time playing to have the required currency ( the option to buy with real money is set aside here). Colossal content which can quickly discourage beginners: this is unfortunately an intrinsic characteristic of all service games displaying a longevity synonymous with success. To overcome this problem, Respawn has planned in the season Outbreak quests to complete to unlock up to six additional characters! Enough to give additional motivation to many players, even regular ones, to expand their cast of playable Legends.
All of these new features will arrive on February 13 on Apex Legends, with update 20.0. Changes that promise to refresh the game with new ways to discover Legends but also to immerse yourself in ranked games with an overhaul of the system. Welcome modifications which, however, do not change the core of the gameplay nor the excellent sensations it provides. Apex Legends, even with age, remains true to itself.