With Apex Legends Season 4 just around the corner, here are four features that Respawn Entertainment could potentially incorporate to take the Apex Games to new heights.
Given that Apex Legends has transcended the limits of the battle royale genre, there is little that Respawn haven’t thought of for their flagship title. Season 4 is set to push the boundaries of the Apex Games yet again, as Assimilation taps into the Titanfall universe’s lore through Revenant’s storyline.
On a gameplay front, however, little has been scheduled to shake up the current meta — aside from the return of Kings Canyon in March 2020. So here are four key features that Respawn should incorporate (according to your votes) which would improve player experience tenfold during Season 4.
4. Replays and killcams (10%)
Being able to tap into your post-match footage is a handy tool to have, for both casual and competitive players alike. Ever wondered how a team countered what you thought was perfect positioning?
Or perhaps your squad posted some impressive numbers and wanted to learn from the good plays for next time… Currently, Apex Legends does not offer a replay mode to do so. While on the other side of the fence, Epic Games’ embedded the replay facility into Fortnite in 2018 — which directly supports players looking to learn from their mistakes.
With the $3 million Apex Legends Global Series underway, the ability for squads to study their opponents before and after a match would be extremely beneficial, considering the stakes on the line.
Traditionally, killcams are difficult to integrate into a battle royale, regardless of the pleas on the Apex Legends subreddit. Since a player could report back to their teammates with an exact location from where they were killed, it could cause issues with fairness.
However, other battle royale’s like PUBG and Blackout utilize post-death killcams, and simply force players to spectate their teammates until the whole squad is wiped out. Adding this to Apex would be a welcome addition, and might even help reduce the number of mid-game drop-outs.
3. PVE ‘Titan’ mode (12%)
Imagine this. You land into World’s Edge with your squad only to get the worst roll of the dice and find yourself eliminated before the game has even properly started. How frustrating! Some players prefer to just kick-back and enjoy shooting things… and Apex Legends’ epic movement system (alongside the plethora of weapon choices) makes that all the more addicting.
Of course, PvE (player-vs-environment) modes aren’t exactly a staple of the battle royale genre. Yet Fortnite’s ‘Save the World’ survival mode is a big hit. Given that the Apex Games has deep-rooted ties into the Titanfall universe, there is plenty of scope for detailed storylines to bridge the gap between Apex Legends and Titanfall.
Pathfinder’s Grand Soirée event closed with ‘Dummie’s Big Day.’ While it provided endless fun for players, it seemed like a blank canvas for which a well-designed PvE mode could be painted onto.
Imagine everything that the PvE mode provided, but with a gripping narrative that plays on Titanfall lore — where Titans could be used to help take down Leviathans and Flyers, or perhaps even a Prowler?
While there is nothing set in stone for a future PvE mode, the abundance of hidden treasures (such as the easter egg that was discovered on Firing Range) and ability to tie-in more lore certainly provide a solid rationale to implement it. Leaks have also pointed towards a Titan-based PvE mode being in the pipeline, with objectives, enemies and more details surfacing from the in-game files.
2. Cross-platform play (32%)
Apex Legends has been toing and froing with Fortnite since its release. Where Respawn’s title is built on an arguably superior movement system, Epic Games’ battle royale utilizes a well-balanced approach complemented by third-person action which revolves largely around building. However, one element that undoubtedly sets Fortnite apart from the rest of the crowd is its cross-play integration.
Given that Apex Legends is built on Respawn’s acclaimed first-person shooter mechanics, it’d be difficult to simply adopt the cross-platform framework while maintaining balance among each respective platform. PC players would have an advantage in the accuracy and utility department, while aim assist is a constant complaint about console players in cross-play lobbies.
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Despite the clear balancing issues, Respawn’s Lead Developer, Drew McColl, has previously stated that: “Cross-play is something we really care about and are looking into,” in an interview with WIRED. “We know that people have friends on all sorts of platforms and that you really want to go to the arena and get some wins together, so stay tuned.” McColl explained.
Does this mean that cross-platform play is coming soon? Not quite, but EA have since announced their plans to publish a mobile version of the popular battle royale. This would provide the perfect opportunity for a ‘soft launch’ of a cross-play system, where players could log into Origin via their EA account to transfer progress between platforms.
Now that Apex Legends has built a big enough playerbase, Season 4 seems like the perfect time to flick on the switch for cross-play. What better way to celebrate the game’s one-year anniversary?
1. Permanent solos & duos modes (46%)
Solos and duos modes have both made fleeting appearances in Apex Legends thus far. Solos made its debut during the Iron Crown Collection event, albeit only for two weeks.
Given the intense, one-versus-one gunfights that were at the core of the mode, players flooded the servers to try their hand at an experience which tailored more towards Respawn’s player-versus-player roots from Titanfall… more on that later.
After a mixed bag of reviews, Respawn has since elected to steer more towards duos as its go-to LTM of choice. Duos first premiered in November 2019, and as anticipated, was a big hit with the Apex Legends community.
Given its popularity, the game mode made an emphatic comeback with a legendary weapon-tier twist — and players lapped it up, even if it was only for two days.
After testing the waters with limited-time events, it is clear that both game modes are favored by players. So, the fans have spoken and now the ball is in Respawn’s court to listen to their loyal community and add both game modes as a permanent playlist for Legends to drop into.
You’ve had your say, Legend!
Over 32,000 votes later and we have a clear winner. While all four features deserve their rightful place in Season 4, a permanent solos and duos mode is the most sought-after feature for Assimilation.
A Respawn developer has teased: “I think we are doing things the community will be hyped about during this season,” so who knows, perhaps a dedicated solos and duos mode is just around the corner?
What feature do you want to see the most in #ApexLegends Season 4?
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— Apex Legends News (@alphaINTEL) February 3, 2020
While the aforementioned features aren’t essential for Season 4 to be a success, they would certainly steer the game forward from a gameplay standpoint.
Be sure to keep tabs on our Apex Legends section as we break the latest news on Season 4 as it unfolds.