Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
As part of the ongoing fifth anniversary for Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment is looking to bring in more players and keep them playing longer. That doesn't just mean keep them playing in the long-term (though that's obviously ideal), but also keep them in sessions longer. The developer has outlined some exciting ways to do that as part of the reveal for Season 22, titled Apex Legends: Shockwave.
Apex Legends: Shockwave will keep the battle royale fun going more than ever before. That's because it's going to be possible to keep your squad in the game with the new Revival feature, available in the new Straight Shot Revival mode. Revival allows for players to respawn near a teammate after a short 30-second timer with unlimited Revivals available through Round 4. Respawn Beacon and Banners have been removed, so getting back into the game should be fairly simple. The new Revival mechanic is being implemented in an effort to keep newcomers in the game for a longer period, but it's also being done to encourage players to take more risks and explore more of their surroundings.
Of course, dying still has consequences. A teammate's death can hinder the collective's effort to plan for later rounds or force a freshly respawned player to start collecting supplies from scratch. It also provides an interesting incentive to more experienced players. Revival only kicks in if one member of a squad is still alive, so a more seasoned player suddenly has more reason to ensure that the entire squad is wiped out.
Meanwhile, the core battle royale mode will see some upgrades to the Battle Sense feature. Enemy health bars will now appear over an adversary's head if you inflict damage and will stay visible as long as they're in your line of sight. Also, the enemy highlight feature can help identify enemies as they get closer, which will prove useful in close-quarter combat. Just know that highlights won't work from long-range, as Respawn is still encouraging players to develop that particular skill on their own.
Teams will get to explore fresh scenery with the new E-District map, the game's sixth in its history. This is a close-quarters map with a greater emphasis on verticality. Players can venture up the map's skyscrapers or hit some of its landmarks, like the Shipyard Arcade, Neon Square (inspired by Tokyo's Shibuya Square), Street Market, and the Stadium. Going up and down for encounters should shake up the usual Apex Legends routine and should put the Unlimited Revival feature to the test.
Look for some other moment-to-moment gameplay moments to get a slight revamp. Loot bins, for example, can now refresh. At the halfway point of any match, open loot bins will close back up and with fresh supplies. Respawn wants to encourage players to seek these particular bins out, because some of them might be replaced with gold-colored bins that contain better items and Mythic-level red bins that house rare items like gold weapons. The Mythic bins will appear on every player's map and, just to make things more interesting, they'll take longer to open.
It's always possible to carry an early weapon through to the end. It's just not easy to do. With that said, Respawn wants to make early weapons a little more powerful by stacking their power together through a new mechanic called Akimbo. With Akimbo, players can now dual-wield P2020 and Mozambique pistols. Furthermore, grabbing one attachment while dual-wielding will equip it on both pistols. Respawn has also refined hip fire to make dual-wielding pistols a little more appealing.
Look for various features in Apex Legends: Shockwave to roll out throughout the course of Season 22. The Straight Shot Revival mode will arrive early on and give players just one way to fill out the new Shockwave Battle Pass. Battle Pass Split 1 rewards will include Loba's Cherry Bomb skin, Fuse's Smooth Rider skin, the Peacekeeper "Turning to Custard" skin, and more. There aren't many details on the Split 2 Battle Pass, but that will be the first to re-enable Premium Battle Pass purchases through Apex Coins following a brief player backlash.
The last thing to note is that newcomers to Apex Legends will probably need practice. Fortunately, there's a new way to get some reps in and that's through the new Bot Royale feature. Bot Royale allows for an individual with bot teammates or a full human squad to practice against a lobby of eight bot squads. New players will also find some challenges to help them get acclimated to the game and get them rolling in real-person matches in no time at all.
There's a lot coming to Season 22 of Respawn's long-running battle royale. Apex Legends: Shockwave will kick off on Tuesday, August 6. To reflect on the past five years of Apex Legends, travel back to earlier this year and check out our interview.
This preview is based on a developer briefing held via Discord.