Apex Legends
| Apex Legends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Respawn entertainment
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| Publisher |
Electronic Arts
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| Senior Developer | Drew McCoy (Executive Producer) , Tina Sanchez | ||
| composer | Stephen Barton | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
4th February 2019 | ||
| platform | Windows , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 | ||
| Game engine | Source Engine | ||
| genre | Battle Royale , first person shooter | ||
| Subject | Science fiction | ||
| Game mode | Multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse , gamepad | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | Download | ||
| language | multilingual (including German) | ||
| copy protection | Origin | ||
| Age rating |
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Apex Legends is a free-to-play game from the Battle Royale genre , that of Respawn Entertainment developed and Electronic Arts was published. The setting is based on the Titanfall universe . The game was announced on February 4, 2019 and released the same day for Windows , Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 .
action
Apex Legends takes place 30 years after Titanfall 2 . The player is traveling in the Outlands. Fourteen legendary characters fight for survival in teams of three or two members each in an arena.
Gameplay
Apex Legends is a battle royale game played in a first person view . It is a pure multiplayer game: In teams of three players each, up to 60 players start simultaneously on the map without weapons and ammunition and choose one of currently thirteen hero characters before the start (as of May 2020). Each character has three skills: a passive, which is permanently available, a tactical with a short to medium "cool down", and an ultimate ability, which can only be used a few times per game.
The aim of the game is to defeat the other teams, whereby the necessary equipment and weapons must first be collected on the field (so-called loot ). The last team left wins the round. The play area becomes narrower and narrower over time by a tightening ring; Players in the zone , i.e. outside the ring, receive damage so that a longer stay there is not possible, which means that opponents inevitably meet at some point.
Compared to other Battle Royale games , team members can also be revived for a period of time. Each character can only be selected once per team and has special abilities for attack or defense. Some movement patterns such as the wall barrels were not adopted from previous games in the Titanfall series . The series-typical "Titan" combat robots are also not part of the game. Titans, wall runs and double jumps known from Titanfall have been removed as they would have harmed the fair gameplay.
financing
Apex Legends is a free-to-play game , so it can be downloaded and played for free. It is financed through so-called microtransactions and loot boxes . Players can collect a virtual currency and use it to unlock new characters or cosmetic items. The additional content can also be bought with real money. However, this is only about cosmetic content that affects the appearance (skins) of the characters and weapons, but not the skills. According to the publisher, this means that no pay-to-win is possible.
Development and publication
The development studio Respawn Entertainment had previously developed Titanfall (2014) and Titanfall 2 (2016). In 2017, Publisher Electronic Arts bought the studio. Although the last part of the series did not meet Electronic Arts' sales expectations, work was initially carried out on Titanfall 3 . However, with the success of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and the Battle Royale genre , it was decided to focus on this type of game. According to the developers, there is currently no Titanfall 3 in progress.
The game's development and existence was kept secret until it was released on February 4, 2019. This is unusual for a publisher like Electronic Arts , as it usually carries out large advertising campaigns and pre-order campaigns beforehand. Drew McCoy, producer of Apex Legends, said in an interview that the developers wanted it to be released so that players can form their own opinion about the game from day one. At the same time, they want to support the game for a few years and provide it with new content.
Series-typical elements such as special movement patterns (walking on the wall) or the titanium combat robots were omitted. The game should run until at least 2027 and be divided into seasons and expandable with downloadable content . Crossplay functions between the individual platforms are also to be added.
Characters
The game has thirteen hero characters, the so-called legends , of which six can be activated immediately and seven after paying for virtual (playable) or real currency. The characters belong to different classes, which is relevant for achieving certain achievements in the game ( Achievements ). It can be advantageous for a team to cover several classes in order to be able to act more flexibly.
| Surname | Availability | introduction | class | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangalore | immediately | Launch | offensive | A professional soldier who has a smoke launcher, runs faster under fire and also calls for an artillery strike with her ultimate ability, but which differs in its mode of action from that of Gibraltar. |
| Bloodhound | immediately | Launch | enlightenment | A mysterious hunter and tracker of unknown origin. Bloodhound is biologically female, but identifies as genderless, can track footprints and activity of other players in the area, has an area scan and the ability to transform into a stronger hunter form, making tracks and opposing players even more prominent. |
| Gibraltar | immediately | Launch | defensive | A powerful but cordial fellow who looks and acts like ancestors among the Maori . He has an additional personal shield and can build a dome that protects against fire and grenades. His ultimate ability is an artillery strike. |
| Lifeline | immediately | Launch | support | A young combat medic who can revive and heal allies faster and more securely. Your ultimate ability is a supply package that is dropped for the team. She came from a wealthy family and fled there when she noticed the damage her family was doing through their businesses. |
| Pathfinder | immediately | Launch | support | A friendly and optimistic robot looking for its builder. It has a climbing hook for climbing hard-to-reach places, a surveillance transmitter that, when used with a surveillance tower, determines the location of the next but one zone, and a zip line that allows the team to travel long distances with ease. |
| Wraith | immediately | Launch | offensive | A woman who is able to switch between several dimensions and thus overcome small distances quickly and without danger. Her powers also warn her of nearby enemy players and her ultimate ability allows her to place a portal that connects two distant locations for sixty seconds. |
| Caustic | unlockable | Launch | defensive | A callous and sociopathic-looking man in a protective suit whose weapon of choice is a poisonous gas. He releases this via proximity mines or envelops an entire area with his ultimate ability. He himself is not affected by the gas clouds and can even use them to track down other players. |
| Mirage | unlockable | Launch | offensive | Possibly the most prominent legend. He loves the spotlight and comes across as a bit silly and arrogant. He influences the fight by means of holographic baits, which are intended to deceive other players. If he goes down, he becomes invisible for five seconds. With his ultimate ability he sends out more bait. |
| Octane | unlockable | Season 1 (March 2019) | offensive | This character's legs are made of metal. By injecting a stimulant drug, he can move faster than all other heroes for a short time and with a health penalty. Octane slowly heals itself automatically during rest phases. His ultimate ability is a jump pad that catapults players into the air. It can be used for your own benefit or as a trap for opponents. |
| Wattson | unlockable | Season 2 (July 2019) | defensive | The young wife and daughter of an electrical engineer is designed as a defensive character. Wattson can set up electronic fences that momentarily paralyze enemy players and inflict damage. Your ultimate ability is a power pole that destroys enemy explosive weapons and recharges shield armor. |
| Crypto | unlockable | Season 3 (October 2019) | enlightenment | A hacker who is not known about. He has a drone with which he can detect and mark opponents. Its ultimate ability is an EMP explosion that damages enemies, slows them down, and disables traps. |
| Revenant | unlockable | Season 4 (February 2020) | offensive | A cruel killer made of steel and a few scraps of tissue who aims to kill everyone connected to Hammond Robotics. He can climb higher than other characters, is quicker when crouching, and is harder to hit. Revenant is capable of throwing a device that deals damage and disables other Legends' ultimate abilities for 20 seconds. His ultimate ability is a death totem that brings the user back to life, but only with 50 life points. |
| Loba | unlockable | Season 5 (May 2020) | support | A high society thief. When Loba was nine years old, she saw the simulacrum killer Revenant murder her parents. In her distress, Loba found her way through as a pickpocket. As her skills improved, she used every chance to free herself from the gutter. Everything changed when she broke into what was believed to be a burglar-proof facility and took hold of the jump drive technology inside. Thanks to her new teleportation bracelet, even perfectly secured objects were suddenly within reach for Loba. Just like her dream of a life in high society. |
Seasons, expansions & game modes
Like other Battle Royale games, the game is divided into seasons , which add different things to the game such as new characters, items and weapons, skins etc. at certain times and for each of which a special game package (so-called "Battle Pass") can be purchased ( Games as a Service ). The next seasons should appear as follows:
| season | Period | motto | New legend | particularities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | March 19 to June 18, 2019 | Wild Frontier | Octane | New weapon: Havoc |
| Event | June 4 to June 18, 2019 | Legendary Hunt | - | Limited time game mode: Elite |
| 02 | July 2 to October 1, 2019 | Battle Charge | Wattson | New weapon: L-Star
Introduction of the ranking mode |
| Event | August 13th to August 27th, 2019 | Iron Crown Event | - |
Changes to the map: Octane city conquest
Limited time game mode: Solo |
| Event | September 3 to September 17, 2019 | Voidwalker Event | - |
Map changes: Wraith city conquest
Limited Time Game Mode: Armed and Dangerous
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| 03 | October 1 to February 4, 2020 | Meltdown | Crypto | New weapon: Charge Rifle
New map: World Edge |
| Event | October 15 to November 5, 2019 | Fight or Fright Event | - |
Limited Time Game Mode: Shadowfall
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| Event | January 14th to January 28th 2020 | Grand Soiree Arcade Event | - |
Adjustments:
Seven rotating, limited-time modes:
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| 04 | February 4, 2020 to May 5, 2020 | Assimilation
(Assimilation) |
Revenant | New weapon: Sentinel
Changes to the map |
| Event | March 3 to March 17, 2020 | System Override collection Event | - |
This is what the system bridging event offers:
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| Event | April 7th to April 21st, 2020 | The Old Ways Event | - |
This is what the old manners event offers:
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| Event | April 28 to May 12, 2020 | The Battle Armor event | - |
The main battle armor event offers:
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| 05 | May 12th until open | Fortune's Favor | Loba | New battle pass
Skull City has fallen Ranking series 4 Quests added |
| Event | June 23rd to July 7th, 2020 | The Hunt in the Lost Treasures collection Event | - |
The Lost Treasures Collection Event offers:
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Ranking mode
With season 2 (July 2019) a ranking mode was introduced, which should enable players to play with opponents of roughly equal strength.
Players receive ranking points based on their performance in the game (placement, kills) and thus move up in leagues (bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, "Apex Predator"). Since in every league, except the bronze league, a certain number of ranking points are due as “entry costs” for games, players only rise as long as they can achieve a net plus (entry costs minus ranking points achieved) in the match. In the ranking mode, players of the same rank are brought together, so that after an introductory phase, players of all levels should have a balanced gaming experience.
In season 3 (October 2019) the ranking mode was slightly revised: there were adjustments to the entry costs; Assists , like kills, contribute to the ranking points; Players in the “Predator” league are shown their exact position on the leaderboard, with separate leaderboards for each platform. In addition, measures have been tightened to punish players who leave a game prematurely (timeouts, banning).
weapons
The weapons in Apex Legends are categorized as pistols, assault rifles, submachine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, and light machine guns (LMG). In addition to firearms, the player has the option of inflicting damage on the opponent with a punch or kick. The parameters can change after new updates of the game.
| weapon | Weapon type | Fire mode | Ammunition type | Care package exclusive in season (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Havoc Pre-S1 | Assault rifles | Car, single | energy | |
| R-301 carbine | Assault rifles | Car, single | Light | |
| G7 Scout | Assault rifles | Single, burst | Light | |
| VK-47 flatline | Assault rifles | Car, single | Heavy | |
| Hemlok Burst AR | Assault rifles | Burst, single | Heavy | |
| L-STAR EMG | LMG | automobile | energy | 1–3 (special ammunition) |
| Spitfire | LMG | automobile | Heavy | |
| Devotion | LMG | automobile | energy | 4, 5 (special ammunition) |
| RE-45 auto | gun | automobile | Light | |
| P2020 | gun | single | Light | |
| Wingman | gun | single | Heavy | |
| Triple take | Sniper rifle | single | Sniper | |
| Longbow DMR | Sniper rifle | single | Sniper | |
| Sentinel | Sniper rifle | single | Sniper | |
| Charge rifle | Sniper rifle | single | Sniper | |
| Kraber .50-Cal Sniper | Sniper rifle | single | Special | 1-5 |
| Mozambique | Shotgun | single | Shot | |
| EVA-8 car | Shotgun | Auto, burst | Shot | |
| Peacekeeper | Shotgun | single | Shot | 5 (special ammunition) |
| Mastiff | Shotgun | single | Shot | 1–4 (special ammunition) |
| Prowler Burst PDW | Submachine gun | Burst, car | Light | |
| R-99 | Submachine gun | automobile | Light | |
| Alternator | Submachine gun | automobile | Light |
reception
Player Numbers
Just eight hours after its release, over a million players had played the title and was the most streamed game on Twitch at the time . Two days after the release it was also announced that over 2.5 million players had already played Apex Legends, of which up to 600,000 were online at the same time. After 3 days the game reached over 10 million players and got off to a better start than Fortnite. After a week, the title hit the 25 million player milestone. At the beginning of March the milestone of 50 million players was reached.
Reviews
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The game is described by the media as another Battle Royale shooter inspired by PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite , which besides Battle Royale also takes advantage of other trends of the last few years, such as the use of hero characters. In contrast to Titanfall, a colorful comic graphic is used. The introduction of hero classes that are reminiscent of Overwatch is praised , and that the content that can be purchased initially only causes visual changes or can also be fairly unlocked by playing.
In the reviews of the game, above all, the clean technical implementation is praised. The cooperative gameplay was also well received by testers. So far, lengthy phases in the game, in which you don't meet opponents for a long time, and the fact that there is only one game mode and one map have been rated negatively. At Metacritic , Apex Legends currently has an average rating of 88 points (out of a maximum of 100).
Web links
- Official German website
- Official Twitter account (English)
- English-language wiki
- Apex Legends at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Respawn says it's' putting a lot on the line 'with Apex Legends' surprise launch. In: theverge.com. February 4, 2019, accessed on July 9, 2019 .
- ↑ Jarred Walton: Apex Legends performance analysis: which settings to disable for the best FPS. In: pcgamer.com. February 5, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends - The system requirements of the Battle Royale shooter are low
- ↑ "Apex Legends": How sharp does the new "Fortnite" challenger shoot? Retrieved February 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends: That's why there are no titans, wall runs and double jumps - 4Players.de. Retrieved February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ heise online: Apex Legends: EA publishes free battle royale game. Retrieved February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Colin Campbell: How will Apex Legends be monetized? In: polygon . February 4, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Electronic Arts buys "Titanfall 2" studio Respawn Entertainment. In: gameswirtschaft.de. November 10, 2017, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Jeff Grubb: EA: Titanfall 2 didn't meet sales expectations. In: venturebeat.com. January 31, 2017, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Colin Campbell: Why Respawn made a Titanfall game without Titans - and not Titanfall 3. In: Polygon . February 4, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ André Linken: Titanfall 3: That's what the developers say about another part. In: PCGames.de . February 5, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Nick Statt: Respawn says it's' putting a lot on the line 'with Apex Legends' surprise launch. In: The Verge . February 4, 2019, accessed February 6, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends - Titanfall Battle Royale without Titans is published. February 4, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends - Roadmap for Year 1 reveals when new heroes are coming. February 5, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ BigFreeze25 says: So Apex Legends wants to score points with Seasons like in Fortnite from March. February 7, 2019, accessed on February 8, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Apex Legends - "Battle Royale will be a thing until at least 2027". February 5, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends: Confusion about cross-play cleared. Retrieved February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends: These are all legends and their abilities. February 5, 2019, accessed on February 5, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Electronic Arts: Introducing the Leagues of Apex Legends. July 1, 2019, accessed July 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Shabana Arif: Apex Legends Drew in 1 Million Players in Less Than 8 Hours. In: IGN . February 5, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ George J. King: Apex Legends: Long life planned, already 2.5 million players. In: PC Games Hardware . February 6, 2019, accessed February 6, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends - 10 million players in 3 days, better start than Fortnite - GamePro. Retrieved February 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Respawn Entertainment: 10 million players try Apex Legends - Golem.de. Accessed February 8, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Eddie Makuch: Apex Legends Hits 25 Million Players In A Week. In: Gamespot . February 11, 2019, accessed February 12, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends: Over 50 million players; first season starts in March. In: 4Players . March 4, 2019, accessed March 4, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Jan Wöbbeking: Test: Apex Legends. In: 4Players . February 7, 2019, accessed February 7, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Dimitry Halley: Apex Legends in the test. In: GameStar . February 4, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Javy Gwaltney: Where's Our Review For Apex Legends? In: Game Informer . February 4, 2019, accessed February 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends has a feature that every shooter should learn. February 7, 2019, accessed February 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Apex Legends at Metacritic. In: Metacritic . Retrieved February 26, 2019 .