A Bunch of New Stuff!
Of course, Season 3 does have a few secret weapons: an entirely new map, a new character, and a new weapon!
We talked about Crypto and the Charge Rifle in previous articles, so today, let’s just focus on the season’s new map!
A Whole New World’s Edge
Introducing the “World’s Edge” map really mixed things up. The map feels both larger and smaller than King’s Canyon. Part of that is because Respawn went to great lengths to isolate each area of the map from the others. Sure, you have a straight shot from every area to one other area, but you don’t have the large open areas that you had in King’s Canyon, where you could snipe from Airbase to Bunker to Runoff and everywhere in between with a strong enough scope.
World’s Edge feels like it forces you to move much more urgently than King’s Canyon did. I’ve been caught by the inexorable advance of the ring far more often in Season 3 than in previous seasons, partly because I underestimate distances. I’ve also been ambushed (so many times!!!) when rotating between areas in World’s Edge, because there are rock formations that very effectively break up lines of sight and conceal enemy teams until it’s too late. Not to say I never got ambushed in King’s Canyon, but it feels much more common on the new map.
Which is a good thing! Games in the battle royale genre need to innovate at a rapid pace. In Season 1, after the initial buzz had died down, a lot of people stopped playing Apex because it wasn’t offering anything new. Once Respawn released new content, and communicated its release strategy and schedule, players came flooding back.
Verdict
Ultimately, while I’m not a huge fan of the “Winter Express” mode, I think Season 3 is the strongest thus far. It brings a lot of great new map locations and new dynamics to Apex Legends, and I think it bodes well for Season 4 and beyond. As long as Respawn continues along their current trajectory, I think the game is going to continue to be a smashing success.
Parting Suggestions
Of course, having said that, I do have a few suggestions…
Over the last three seasons of Apex, I’ve had many ideas about characters and weapons that the game seems to be lacking. Here are two of those suggestions!
Respawn, give me a call if you want more ideas, I’ve got a ton!
New Character
I know Crypto was just released, but… well, video gamers are notoriously impatient about new characters.
Personally, I think we need a character that changes the meta with regards to grenades. For example, a Passive ability that allows them to hold 3 grenades in a stack instead of 2, or they get two grenades whenever they pick up one… Their Tactical ability could be a grenade launcher, giving their explosives truly insane range for targeted bombardments. Give them a short-recharge Ultimate ability that lets them combine two grenades of the same type and create a mine trap that they can place on floors or walls or doors…
I don’t know, I just want to see more done with grenades, and I think a new explosives-focused character would be great for that.
New Weapons
Apex lacks smaller energy weapons. An assault rifle, two light machine guns, and a sniper rifle… the energy category is missing small arms.
So, what we need is an energy pistol. Something that fires at a fast rate, without the cycling time that the Havoc and the Devotion are known for. I’m thinking of a semi-automatic single-fire pistol that deals more damage to shields than to health – sort of like the spiritual successor to the lamented Disruptor Rounds.
Even better, give this pistol a hop-up attachment that gives the ability to switch firing modes. The new firing mode should be something that charges up, similar to the Charge Rifle, but then unleashes a blast of energy that slows targets similar to an Arc Star but deals little, if any, damage.
Respawn doesn’t even need to dream up a fancy new name for it – they could just call it the Disruptor Pistol!
What do you think? Is Season 3 the best Apex Legends season so far? Do you have a different pick for best season? Let us know in the comments below!
