Season 10 of “Apex Legends”‘s new season “Emergency” will begin on August 3, 2021 local time. In the new season, the enemy search legend Shea will be implemented, the map of World’s Edge will be modified, and the new weapon Rampage LMG will also be implemented. Balance adjustments such as the shift of Spitfire to care package weapons are also a concern. Also, rank match is implemented in arena mode.
At IGN JAPAN, I had the opportunity to interview Respawn Entertainment, which develops this work. In the interview, I learned that it was a coincidence that Shea somehow resembled the character of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”, the care packaging of the alternator, and the reason why Prowler became a regular weapon.
In this article, we’ll summarize the new elements and updates for the new season, while we’ll deliver an interview with the developers later in the article. If you already know about the new elements, you can skip to the interview.
Shea is an enemy search legend who can display the enemy’s HP bar etc.
The new legend, Shea, is a new legend set as an artist. In terms of performance, it is a search-type (recon) legend similar to Bloodhound and Crypto. The big difference from other legends is that it specializes in tracking enemies and can interfere with recovery items and resurrection. Check out the official introductory page for Shea’s story settings.
The details of Shea’s abilities are as follows.
- Passive ability “Heart Seeker”」
Capture and visualize the heartbeats of nearby enemies when aiming - Tactical ability “Focus of Attention”
Shea summons a microdrone and emits a delayed blast that interferes with and reveals the enemy.This effect penetrates the wall - Ultimate Ability “Showcase”
Create a microdrone sphere to quickly move within range and locate enemies shooting
Shea’s tactical abilities can interrupt the use and resurrection of enemy healing items. It is also a feature that the HP bar will be displayed when you catch an enemy. In addition, there is a silence effect (1.2 seconds) that can interrupt enemy abilities. As for Ultimate, it seems that it will not be found if you are crouching and moving in the area, and it seems that it can be destroyed like Ultimate of Horizon.
The World’s Edge remains the same, but some are modified
Part of the World’s Edge will be modified in the new season. In the story, the heavy mining in the harvester put a strain on the terrain, destroying the earth and causing it to explode. As a result, lava can be seen in various places, and Hammond seems to be using a weather controller, which changes the map.
The “smelter” in the northern part of the map will be transformed into a new area called “climatizer”. It seems that this is a bigger point than the smelter, and it seems that there is an intention to attract many players to the northern part of World’s Edge. There used to be trains at World’s Edge, but a gondola will be introduced as a similar one. In addition, the “sorting factory” has changed to an area called “laba siphon”, and the “garage” has changed such as the upper building disappearing, and it seems that new roads are increasing overall.
For map update information, there is a comparison image in the official news article, so please check that as well for details.
Rampage LMG increases rate of fire with Thermite
The Rampage LMG is a new weapon set invented by Rampage. The ammunition is heavy ammo, and it is a light machine gun with a slow rate of fire but large damage. Also, in a similar way to the sentinel that uses a shield cell, consuming thermite grenades on Rampage will increase the rate of fire of the gun. It seems that strengthening with thermite will also allow the door to be destroyed.
Balance adjustment such as Spitfire becoming a care package
The official patch notes have not been released at the time of the interview, but the points of balance adjustment have been released from information on overseas media such as IGN US and GameSpot. According to it, in the legend adjustment, the Revenant Ultimate will make a sound when the effect is about to expire, and the Horizon, Hughes, and Caustic will have pure enhancements.
In the balance adjustment of weapons, Spitfire will become a care package weapon with the implementation of Rampage LMG. The alternator also becomes a care package weapon with a disruptor bullet (strong against shields), and the Prowler loses its full auto mode but returns to a normal drop weapon.
In addition, it has been revealed that there will be a ranked match in the arena, although it is an update that has nothing to do with balance adjustment. Check out the official news for arena rank matches.
The points of balance adjustment that are known at the time of writing the article are as follows.
- Revenant adjustment (substantial weakening)
Added sound effects to let other players know that they are about to return to normal when the Dest Totem is about to expire. - Horizon enhancement
It seems that the specifications of the gravity lift will be returned to the state at the time of some season 7 (details unknown) - Fuse strengthening
Double the duration of the knuckle cluster.Enemies on Mother Road are highlighted - Caustic strengthening
Gas tick damage will gradually increase from 5 without limit (according to GameSpot’s article, it seems to increase every 2 seconds like “5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7”) * Nox gas grenade Seems to have changed, but the description is different between IGN US and GameSpot - Spitfire becomes a care package weapon
Weapon strength returns to pre-nerf state - Prowler returns to normal drop weapon
However, full auto mode can no longer be used - Alternator becomes a care package weapon
Equipped with a shield-resistant disruptor bullet by default - Anvil receiver and quickdraw holster removed
The pistol has no quickdraw, so the handling is slightly strengthened in the default state. - New attachments for Hemlock and Wingman added
The name of the new attachment is Boosted Loader.Reloading at the right time will shorten the reload time and give you a bonus on the number of bullets. - Other weapon adjustments
L-Star can now be equipped with a barrel and expansion magazine. The rate of fire of EVA-8 is weakened. Gun stock will now improve reload speed. 30-30 Repeaters and G7 Scouts can now be equipped with sniper stock
Was it a coincidence that Shea resembled Jojo?Developer interview
According to a developer interview with Respawn, it was talked about in Japan that Shea resembled the character of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”, but it turned out that this was a complete coincidence. In the interview, we talked to Amanda Doiron, who is in charge of narrative, and Travis Nordin, who is the lead designer of Shea.
The interview with the development team is as follows.
――It has been talked about in Japan that the new legend, Shea, looks like “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”. Are there any works that have influenced you?
Amanda Doiron (in charge of narrative): I wasn’t influenced by “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”, but when I tried to make art as the main theme, I came up with the character and individuality first. I learned about the work for the first time when I was told by various people that I might have been influenced by “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”. It’s really a coincidence.
――Why do you implement the Recon Legend twice in a row? Personally, Bloodhound and Shea seem to have a role to play. What is the difference between the two?
Travis Nordin (Lead Designer of Shea): I think there are some similarities to Valkyrie, Bloodhound, Crypto, etc., but the heartbeat allows Shea to distinguish between enemies and allies than Bloodhound. .. Also, Shea is more specialized in “tracking”.
–As you can see from the gameplay trailer, Shea’s abilities seem to have a silence feature that can interfere with the use of enemy abilities. Is there any difference from the Revenant’s?
Travis Nordin: Shea has a shorter silence time of 1.2 seconds. The revenant had 15 seconds. Shea can also stop actions to restore enemy shields and revive allies.
――Shea features a heart rate sensor, but I feel that Pathfinder and Revenant have no heart. Is there any reason to find a machine legend as well?
Travis Nordin: I’ve even thought about it. Shea can judge the heartbeat of the enemy, so Pathfinder and Revenant are certainly robots. Although they are robots, they also recover using a syringe, so even if they are found by a heart rate sensor, I think they will be accepted by the player.
-Is the Rampage LMG a weapon that can be used not only for the first move but also for the end to win the championship? Please tell us about the differentiation from devotion and Spitfire.
John Ellington (Rampage Design / Balance): The Rampage LMG is a powerful weapon that you can use from start to finish in the game. The big difference from other LMGs is that they have a low rate of fire and a lot of damage. It is heavy and easy to use. You can also use thermite grenades to increase the rate of fire. Normally it is a medium range weapon, but it can also be used at short range.
-Spitfire will be a care package weapon, I think that is because Rampage LMG will be implemented. So why is the alternator a care package weapon?
Eric Canavese (Rampage Design / Balance): We’re adding new weapons to our care package as it makes it harder to find your favorite weapon. The alternator is used as a care package weapon to eliminate stable weapons early in the game. The alternator for the new season is equipped with disruptor bullets (which have a strong effect on the shield), so you can enjoy it as powerfully as in season 2.
–World’s Edge is a well-made map and is very popular in the competition scene. Why did you decide to modify this map?
Garret Metcalf (Map Update): World’s Edge is certainly very popular, but we always want to improve the map. However, I didn’t change the map because I wanted to change the map dramatically. We are changing the map this time because we want you to have a new and enjoyable experience while maintaining the original design philosophy. We want you to experience a new experience with a few changes, such as adding a new one to the north of the map, without changing the basics.
――I personally liked the fully automatic Prowler. Why can’t this weapon be fully automatic? Is it because it replaces the alternator frame?
Eric Canavese: That’s a really good question. There is no particular reason for this, but I want you to make various changes and enjoy the game in a new mood. It’s not that fully automatic Prowlers will definitely come back in the future, and I’m doing it with the idea of rotating.
Turning crisis into opportunity—it’s the Hammond way.
See what’s in store for Hammond’s planetary customers when they enter World’s Edge starting Aug 3. For more information on Hammond’s efforts, please see official communications below.
???? : https://t.co/cMTBuujwDf pic.twitter.com/jKUecnnkhq
— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) July 28, 2021
The above is an interview with the development team. In recent seasons, there have been many large-scale events such as the 2nd anniversary and Nintendo Switch distribution. I personally thought that it would be a small one this time, but changing the drop weapon seems to have a big impact on the environment. The new season “Emergency” will start on August 3, 2021 local time.
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