Apex Legends has taken the world by storm since launching on February 4th with creators Respawn Entertainment announcing that over 50 million unique players have dropped into Kings Canyon. The surprise announcement broke the mold by putting the game into the hands of the players. Simultaneously, top streamers such as Shroud and Ninja helped push Apex to 500,000 people on day one. Add those up and it’s easy to see why the game blew up.
Apex Legends has everything you’d want in a great battle royale. First, the fast and chaotic movement system allows you to push an enemy squad in any given moment. Second, shooting feels great and works for console. Last, a ping system makes communication with your squad easier than ever before. Yet, it’s important to recognize that there is still a lot the game can improve on to take the top spot from Fortnite.
Respawn Entertainment choose to take a cautious approach when it comes to meta changes. They want to ensure balance issues are dealt with in meaningful ways. Game makers often fall prey to a rabid fan base that yells for instant change. Time will tell if Respawn is taking the right course here.
While they ponder their next move, here are six potential changes that would make Apex Legends a better game.
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1. Emotes & Other Unlockables
Yes, emotes can sometimes annoy players. For example, a character in Fortnite doing the Carlton can be a head scratcher in an otherwise intense game. In Apex it could bring more content to a game that sorely needs it. Dances, voice lines, and more banners will build around the already extensive lore.
2. Better Sniping
Currently, snipers are few and far between. The Kraber, one of the rare snipers actually in the game, relies on accessing a supply drop. Other long range weapons don’t have the impact and feel that a sniper should. Map design trends towards close quarter encounters, further emphasized by the fast movement of each legend. Respawn would benefit themselves if they could put in place more long range weaponry for Apex Legends.
3. Custom Console Button Mapping
The ability to map specific actions to any button you wish is a must in today’s gaming landscape. It’s been a staple of PC gaming for decades with consoles following the step in a lot of major releases in recent years. It only makes sense to allow your players to play the way they want to. Custom button mapping creates greater accessibility, allowing everybody a chance to compete.
4. Squad Changes
Apex Legends is missing the ability to reconnect after a crash. There is not a worse feeling in the world than having the game crash or disconnecting from the server after investing 20 minutes into a match. Apex is one of the few games where it isn’t so bad to play with a squad of randoms. A nice feature that could foster a stronger community between the players would be to allow a team to stay on as a squad past the current game.
Solo or Duos is also an essential addition. It’s confusing why Respawn only allos teams of three to dive into Kings Canyon without the ability to play alone or with one buddy.
5. Better Stat Tracking
Stat tracking needs an extensive rework. Right now, the only stats available to the player are assigned to each legend and several categories. A unified stats page gives more relevant data and paints a complete picture for players. A statistics tab would create a central location to look at any and all relevant info from time played. Titanfall 2, Respawn’s previous game included better stat tracking. Adding win counters, total kills, and total damage across all Legends would be a good start to fixing this.
6. Better Netcode
Stuttering issues can often plague Apex, making the game feel choppy and unresponsive. Network stress occurs during peak playtimes, often affecting the beginning of a match with slow motion play. A fix to this bug would round out a recurring issue to an otherwise great game with a solid foundation.
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