The latest season of Apex Legends is about to drop on May 4th. Apex Legends: Legacy has been deemed by Respawn as “the biggest, most game changing update” to grace the series over the last 2 years. Legacy will bring a brand new, permanent game mode in the form of 3v3 Arenas, a new legend, Valkyrie, having the biggest connection to Titanfall, Olympus’s first major map overhaul as well as a whole new weapon category fit for the games.
3V3 ARENAS
If you’ve been dropping into King’s Canyon with the squad over the past 8 seasons of Apex Legends, you’d be well aware of the variety of limited time modes the team at Respawn have been giving to the Apex community – anyone else still having grim flashbacks to those sweaty Mozambique drops?! Well for the first time in Apex Legends, players are getting a whole new way to deem themselves champions in the form of Arenas.
Arenas is the new, permanent game mode coming to Apex Legends: Legacy, condensing the 20 squad Battle Royale chaos into 3v3 strategic gameplay with all new custom maps and a completely new way of tackling your enemies. In a play to introduce something fresh to the series, whilst aligning with the increasing popularity and competitiveness of games such as Valorant, Arenas will have a very different way of playing to it’s BR counterpart. At the beginning of every round, each squad will start fresh in their spawn rooms at either end of the map, here they’ll have access to the shop, which will allow them to purchase a selection of weapons, abilities, tactical and health supplies by using materials (awarded at the end of every round and collectable throughout the map), allowing for better loadouts and upgrades as the match progresses.
To become champions of an Arena match, a squad needs 3 points to win (1 point awarded each round win), but there’s also a ‘win by 2’ rule in play. This means an Arena match can last anywhere from 3 rounds to 9 rounds, with that 9th round being a heated, sweaty battle of sudden death. With the smaller player count and head to head consistency of every round, players will have the ability to learn their opponents, adapt to their plays and create strategies to come out on top.
New maps are also being specifically created for Arenas with a mix of familiar locations as well as brand new ones such as launch maps, “Party Crashers” and “Phase Runner”. Party Crasher is a fast paced battle for control over the Downtown Plaza or Mirage Voyage (fittingly crashed by Mirage into the futuristic, neon district after having left King’s Canyon). Phase Runner is a bit more slowed in pace, encouraging more mid to long range weaponry and engagements where squads will battle it out over the maps two main POI’s, Phase Exit and the Construction Zone. Familiar locations from the Battle Royale maps will also be introduced into the rotation such as Golden Gardens (Olympus), Thermal Station (World’s Edge) and Artillery (King’s Canyon). From the launch of Legacy, these familiar POI’s will be hitting the Arenas mode every 2 weeks, starting with Artillery.
NEW LEGEND, NEW WEAPON
Apex Legends’ newest personality being added in Legacy is Valkyrie. She is the daughter of famed Titan Pilot Viper, meaning she is the biggest connection to the Titanfall franchise gamers faithfully love and what the Apex series is built on. If you have not seen the most recent story cinematic shedding light on Valkyrie’s background, then you can watch it here (it’s definitely worth the watch).
Valkyrie’s biggest draw card and what her entire arsenal and abilities are focused on is her jetpack – forged from the remnants of Viper’s Northstar Titan. She’s able to use it to fly across the battlefield, unleash a stunning blow of missiles to disorient her foes as well as pretty much being able to Superman launch her team out of a sticky situation. She brings an interesting dynamic to any squad up and her abilities will definitely be something to keep an eye on when facing her in the arena. You can find out more about playing as Valkyrie in our hands-on preview of Apex Legends: Legacy.
Not only are players getting a new legend, but the game is introducing a whole new weapons category, thanks to addition of the new Bocek Bow. The Bocek is a powerful and deadly precision weapon and if you’re able to master it’s firing rhythm and need for accuracy, then you’ll be inflicting some devastating damage to your enemies. Respawn has stated that if you’re someone who is good with a Wingman, then you’ll feel right at home with the Bocek.
The Bocek Bow adds the “Marksman Weapons” category to the game, now being home to not only the Bocek, but also current weapons in the game like the Triple Take and 30-30 Repeater to name a few. The Bocek will allow for two hop up spots, where players will be able to house “Shatter Cap” turning your bow shots into shotgun like blasts (meaning that your medium range bow is now super effective in close combat) as well as “Deadeye’s Tempo” giving those able to master the rhythmic timing of firing a bow a quicker rate of fire. Both hop ups attached at once can result in some truly destructive outcomes for your enemies.
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN
With a new season also comes the new focus on map revamps. Legacy’s story and season will focus on Olympus, which will be the map’s first major overhaul since its introduction into the game. The newest map addition is in the form of a POI docked by Bonsai Plaza, the Icarus and with it has come a parasitic plant of unknown origin. Players exploring the ship can find the corpses of dead scientists who worked aboard – they may have left a keycard or two allowing access to the Icarus’s vault (which houses some quality loot) so don’t be too off put by them. Respawn mentioned that the most exciting thing will be uncovering the mystery of the alien entity and exactly which legend’s legacy it’s connected to. You’ll also find redeploy balloons have been reduced in numbers to avoid third partying and to encourage new rotations.
