What we want to see Apex Legends do to stay on top

By Matthew Adler

It's been just two weeks since Apex Legends stormed the world and not only did many people play the game – it raised more than 25 million players in the first week alone – but more still watch others play. With 41 million hours of talk on Twitch last week, Apex Legends has more than doubled the time spent in the Fortnite watch, which has been reigning for almost a year now. Clearly, Apex Legends quickly dominated the genre The question is: how can it stay ahead of the established competition?

Nail the "Battle Pass"

Fortnite has redefined what a successful Battle Royale game looks like, and owes its success to much of its Battle Pass. This optional purchase in the game offers you an exclusive set of weekly challenges to complete, featuring their own rewards, as well as 100 levels of cosmetic items. The reason why Battle Pass has been so successful is its low price (about $ 9 per "season") and its perceived value. Even if all levels did not have exceptional elements, the Battle Pass guaranteed you some skins, gliders and other exclusive cosmetic items – and possibly unique items such as pets and weapon skin wraps.

Apex Legends must offer exclusive Battle Pass items and cosmetics that people want or really matter. Much of the hype from Battle Pass to Fortnite stems from what you unlocked at level 100, which was often an ultra-rare customizable skin. It was a status symbol, a symbol that caused an automatic fear when it was encountered on the battlefield, because you knew that the player was probably very skilled. (I still have flashbacks of John Wick's skins building a wooden fortress in seconds …)

Many games have implemented a similar "Battle Pass", including the PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds and the Call of Duty 4 Blackout Mode, but none of them have achieved Fortnite's level of success or popularity. in this regard. Apex Legends is in the unique position of being able to dictate where the market is going because they have so much spirit shared by the gambling community right now. Respawn has managed to iterate on a genre, adding individual characters with abilities, as well as a revolutionary ping system, and they need to continue this innovation with their version of the Battle Pass.

Continue to evolve

When Respawn revealed Apex Legends to the world, they announced that the seasons would enter the game in the future, the first season starting next March along the Battle Pass. This is another critical area that will help them retain their growing number of players and differentiate them more from other Battle Royale games.

Fortnite has completed seven seasons in just two years, each making modifications to the existing map as well as new (albeit temporary) features, such as the recent addition of aircraft and the fight to heaven. Each season offers a completely different feel, with new points of interest and new mechanics, and effectively offers players a new experience every few months. Just when you start to feel exhausted, they add something new to the game to keep you engaged.

Apex Legends must find its own way to evolve every season, whether it's adding new weapons, new Legends or even potentially new cards. The creation of limited time modes encourages players to stay active in the game, while offering a varied game to the traditional fighting at the Battle Royale. The theme seasons have been successful at Fortnite, creating miniature narrative arcs that players can follow with this 10-week panorama. Apex Legends could use this formula by dedicating each season to the discovery of the history of the legend in order to give the players a historical context.

Add additional cards

As it stands, the game has only one card, King's Canyon – but you may have noticed that when loading into a match, the card name appears in the upper left corner . Also, when posting your friends' activity, it shows that they are "playing a game on King's Canyon", which leads me to believe that there will be additional cards to the future.

It would not be the first Battle Royale with multiple play zones, PUBG having introduced three new cards in addition to the original Erangel card. The problem that the game is currently facing is that at the beginning of a match, you have to select the card you prefer to play on, which divides the base of potential players, thus creating a problem in which the times of Waiting can be longer if fewer players play. the map you have chosen. This is all the more obvious when a new card is introduced, as players tend to favor new cards, creating longer wait times for older cards.

If Apex Legends introduces new cards, they should not let players choose the card they prefer, but opt ​​for a single queue that places players randomly on a random card. In a game like Overwatch, for example, matches are not hard to find because everyone lined up on the same deck of cards. This would be the perfect way to add additional content to the game, while minimizing queue times. It also allows Respawn to further explore the Titanfall universe with a variety of different locations.

Balance is everything

Balance is the key to the success of any multiplayer game. Although it is still too early to say whether a character or weapon is truly under control (although we all agree that Mozambique needs a buff), some are certainly better. than others. For example, the Peacekeeper, a shotgun, seems to have incredible reach for a rifle that should excel in close combat. Epic Games has made almost weekly weapon adjustments since the launch of Fortnite's Battle Royale mode, and its development team has been able to stay tuned for feedback from the community on weapon power levels. The Respawn team must monitor the weapons' power levels on a consistent – and timely – basis in order to maintain the confidence of its base of players.

Respawn should also pay close attention to the power level of the caption abilities. These various abilities are one of the most unique aspects of this game and, as new characters are introduced in the future, they must pay close attention to the balance of power between the legends.

Better cosmetics

Currently, a number of items can be unlocked via Apex packs. These include legendary skins, skins, knockouts and many other cosmetics that have no practical effect on the game, aside from allow you to show yourself to other players. Unfortunately, many of them look more like simple palette swaps, especially compared to contemporaries like Fortnite or Overwatch, who often offer completely new character models for their skins of legendary levels. It also seems that legendary level items are much rarer than other unlockable items. If Apex is to be a financial success for Respawn (and EA), then it must have more convincing aesthetic upgrades with a lighter loss rate for rarer items.

Respawn Need to stay transparent

Respawn has been very active in the Apex Legends community and this transparency has certainly paid off for the players. Nowadays, good communication with developers is essential to a game as a service like Apex Legends.

Recently, developers have started providing players with daily updates on the / r / ApexLegends subdirectory. They are committed to handling known bugs and community concerns in every update. The user Jayfresh_Respawn, the Respawn community leader, also said that he was currently working on live streams of developers for the community, the first starting around season 1. He also said that It would provide troubleshooting tips for experienced players. problems in the game itself.

Respawn definitely has something special about Apex Legends that meets success in a very crowded genre with a unique blend of proven mechanisms and great additions. It remains to be seen if they stay at the top of the standings, but at least it is clear that their foot is very firmly planted in the door. To learn more about Apex Legends, check out our eight legends or key tips to survive and become champions.

Matthew Adler is a freelance journalist specializing in video games and the host of In Your Element – A podcast on games. You can follow him on Twitter @ matthewadler.