Apex Legends Season 21 is the primary new season we’re getting after the implementation of the legend improve system, a function that enables playable characters to decide on choices from a ability tree to improve their passive, tactical, and supreme talents mid-match. Apparently, this function makes it simpler for the devs to regulate every playable legend too, providing extra alternatives to finely tweak every character past merely buffing and nerfing their talents.
“It is made it rather a lot simpler,” Apex Legends steadiness sport designer John Larson informed me. “It is simply been simpler to strategy a sure factor or vector of energy in any given character’s package with out disrupting a core pattern–that can carry extra danger or it may be a little bit trickier to nail down a wholesome change. And so I feel each within the [Season 20] mid-season replace and with the replace in [Season] 21, we’re attempting to shift as a lot as we are able to that now we have the bandwidth for, whether or not it is simply swapping one out or giving a personality a special improve to see if it strikes the needle anyplace or simply makes it one thing recent for gamers to experiment with. I feel it has been an effective way for us to steadiness extra shortly and flexibly.”
Although the complete rundown of each change is being saved for the Season 21 patch notes, Larson did element among the extra notable changes. The modifications being made to Newcastle really feel most intriguing to me. For Season 21, the workforce took inspiration from how some professional gamers would pair Newcastle and Wattson’s final talents together–the former creates a big wall to dam bullets whereas the latter erects a pylon that zaps away grenades and explosives–and gifted Newcastle’s Fort Wall final the capability to do each.
“Any kind of potential, projectile, or grenade that is not like an artillery strike,” Johnson clarified. “So you would nonetheless get a [Gibraltar Defensive Bombardment] or a Bangalore [Rolling Thunder] strike in from above, and you would nonetheless get different talents or grenades in from the perimeters or from above or from the again. It is simply in case you are dealing with the [Castle] Wall, you will be unable to sneak a [grenade] via or in.
Larson continued: “It is one thing we had been eager to do to assist the [Castle] Wall succeed more–even earlier than watching scrims–but I coincidentally had been watching scrims and [Northeption] has a workforce that had been experimenting [and] they’re nonetheless operating Newcastle/Wattson. It is like, ‘Oh, that’d be good if they may liberate a complete legend choose to allow them to do the factor that Newcastle ought to simply be capable of do.”
Crypto and Catalyst are additionally getting large modifications that can undoubtedly enhance their potential package in Season 21, and changes are being made to Fuse, Octane, and Bloodhound as effectively. The one legend I needed an replace for, nevertheless, just isn’t getting love this season: Horizon.
And, to be honest, Horizon is a strong legend with a tactical potential that has unbelievable utility in each navigating the map and getting higher positioning in a firefight. She does not want a buff. Frankly, a buff just isn’t what I am searching for. I am extra irked with the primary alternative on her improve tree–when reaching Tier 2, Horizon can choose between Large Bang (see close by ordnance via partitions and on deathboxes) or Ammuvision (see ammo in deathboxes). Neither alternative feels thematically applicable for a legend who wields gravity as a weapon, leaving Horizon’s upgrades feeling a little bit tacked on compared to the opposite playable characters.
“Now that Crypto’s gotten some love with the upgrades, I feel Horizon’s in all probability the final one on the roster that also has some underwhelming or undercooked ones,” Larson agreed. “And a part of that in Horizon’s case was simply concern when upgrades have been delivery about making an already oppressive and in style legend even higher. However I feel the deathbox vision-related upgrades usually are ones that we have been attempting to deprecate. So she’s not getting something this time round. We do not need to be too disruptive, particularly simply not understanding the place she’ll sit at and land [in the meta]. She’s undoubtedly a candidate for some modifications to these deathbox ones arising.”
Even when she’s not getting love on the improve entrance, Horizon’s getting a fan in Season 21’s new playable legend, Alter. Alter will come to the sport alongside map modifications to Damaged Moon and a brand new battle move. Solos mode can also be returning, regardless of Respawn saying it could by no means come again.