Respawn is gearing up to release a new season of Apex Legends, and oh boy, it’s a big one. A new legend, map, and weapon come to the arena alongside several changes to existing systems.
First up is Storm Point. The new Apex map is set on a tropical island paradise. At least, some of it is paradise. The south side of the map appears to be the remnants of an old resort, but the further north you travel, the more industrial and dangerous it becomes. The tall rocky outcroppings hide several installations that range from military to research-themed. A sizeable gated area suggested a pen for indigenous wildlife, and a suspended research base has rusted over the canopy.
Speaking of indigenous wildlife, Storm Point is full of them, as Prowlers make a return to the Apex games. They had previously been part of some PVE activities and still appear in the Trials area on World’s Edge, but now they roam free and are much more eager to get into the fight. Shooting at a nest will cause Prowlers to burst out and investigate.
Alongside the return of Prowlers, a new enemy also enters the game. Spiders lie dormant in egg sacks attached to walls and ceilings, and players can shoot the eggs to cause the creatures to burst free. While Prowlers can only attack up close, Spiders can hit you from a distance.
There is a reason to fight these creatures, as killing spiders or Prowlers will drop “smart loot”. This loot will be tailored to the loadout of the person who kills them. If an entire swarm or den is defeated, players will receive a small amount of crafting materials. These creatures can cause damage, and fighting them makes a lot of noise that can draw in opportunistic players.
While every previous map has included jump towers as an easy way to traverse, Storm Point has a new alternative. Gravity Cannons are dotted around the map and can launch players large distances. The vital difference is that Gravity Cannons fire you straight, with limited sideways movement. This makes it must harder for players to dive across the map to land on a fight. Gravity Cannons are also placed in pairs, meaning you will always land near one that will take you back to your launch point if needed. While being catapulted through the air, you are free to use your grenades and abilities, so mid cannon sniper shots are possible.
Respawn doesn’t add new weapons every season, but Escape will bring in the C.A.R Submachine gun. The gun was initially seen in the Titanfall series, but its inclusion in Apex Legends brings a unique mechanic. The C.A.R can be switched between light and heavy ammo at any time. This allows for better ammunition management amongst your squad. As a result, the C.A.R can use either heavy or light ammo magazines. If the weapon is equipped with a light mag and then switched to heavy, you will receive the same benefit as if you had a heavy mag.
There is also big news for Wattson mains. Wattson has had a significant rework to her kit. The cooldown on her fences has been reduced by half, and the size each fence can be is much larger. When placing fences, Watson is no longer slowed, allowing her to stay mobile and involved in a gunfight while zoning off an attack angle as fast as she can look at it. Those foolish enough to push through a fence will also suffer worse effects than they previously did.
Wattson’s ultimate has also been tweaked once again. Now the shield generator will provide a set amount of shields to those around it. Once it has finished distributing shields, it will remain and act as a trophy system to intercept projectiles until destroyed. The ultimate is back to having only one active at a time, and when a new one is deployed, the old one will be destroyed. Wattson’s hitbox has also been updated, which has allowed Respawn to remove the low profile trait from her. Wattson will be more useful as a reactionary defender with these new reworks instead of building a nest and staying there.
A few existing weapons are being changed in Season 11. The EVA-8 shotgun, Longbow sniper rifle, and L-STAR energy light machine gun will be getting nerfs. The peacekeeper will also get a slight buff which should bring all shotguns in line with their effectiveness.
A new hop-up is also coming. This lootable weapon upgrade is the Dual Shell. The Dual Shell equips to either the Mastiff or the 30-30 Repeater. Once equipped, the weapons will load two rounds at a time instead of one, effectively halving the reload time.
The powerful G7 is rotating into the crate loot pool with some upgraded stats. The Triple Take marksman weapon comes out of the crate, which will become floor loot once again. Crates will also have their rates changed. Crates will have more weapons available throughout a match, but Kraber drop rates have been reduced to remain at a similar rarity to previous seasons.
The new season brings a new season pass full of the usual goodies. There are character skins, skydive emotes, weapon skins, and the seasonal reactive skin. Reactive skins are weapons skins that change as the wielder gets knockdowns. Every season pass has had one as the final reward on the track. This time, the Prowler SMG gets its reactive skin, which can be seen in the recently released gameplay trailer.
Alongside all of the above, a new Legend also enters the arena. Ash has been poking about the Titanfall universe for a while now, but she finally becomes playable this season. For all the details on her abilities, check out our Ash overview to find out everything she can do.
Apex Legends: Escape is available on November 2.
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