Earlier this week,Apex Legendslaunched Season 11, which features a lot of new content including a new map, a new playable Legend, and a new weapon:the CAR SMG. While players have had some early balance issues with the new Legend, Ash, most of the new content has been received well so far, though the addition of the game’s newest firearm is beginning to make players weary of Respawn Entertainment’s model for the game moving forward. In short: fans are starting to agree that the game is introducing too many new weapons.
AsApex Legendsis a live service game, it makes sense for the title to be updated frequently with new content to keep players coming back for more. However, the amount of content coming with each season has started highlighting the issue with live service titles that only feature a handful of game modes: an oversaturation of content in too small an area.Apexhas already been critiqued for its Legend saturation problem, but now it seems as if the game’s devotion to frequently adding weapons might be putting them in the same boat.
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Apex Legends' Weapon Release Schedule
WhenApex Legendslaunched in 2018, it featured 19 different weapons for players to use to claim their spots at the end as champions of the battle royale. Fast forward toSeason 11 and now the game features 28 weapons, a significant increase in number for a well-balanced battle royale shooter. Back in the early days of the game, the addition of a new weapon was exciting because each new firearm brought something unique to the table for players to use to their advantage, pushing the limits of the game further and allowing for high-level play to be rethought and improved upon.
In the beginning, there wasn’t always a new weapon added to the game with the start of every season, however now it seems like there’s the expectation that each new Legend will be bringing a new gun with them when they enter the Apex Games. This means that the roster of firearms has been quickly growing as the seasons pass, causing an oversaturation inApex’s weapon economy.
Redundant Weapon Choice
As Respawn continued adding more and more weapons to the game, it started running into a problem: the weapons already covered the base needs for most players and, following the first few additions, there are plenty of options when it comes to weapon preference and use case. This resulted in a few new weapons being a little redundant when they first came to the game.The 30-30 Repeateris essentially a heavy ammo-using rehash of the G7 Scout, and the newly added CAR SMG with its light and heavy ammo-typing makes weapons like the R-99 and Flatline feel a little bit outclassed.
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The Rise in Apex’s Gimmick Weapons
It seems like the solution that Respawn landed on with the introduction of new weapons was to give each new coming firearm some sort of gimmick to make it stand out from any other weapon that it could be compared to. For example,the Rampage LMG hits hardand has a little bit of a slower rate of fire than the Spitfire, but overall, the two weapons are relatively comparable in terms of use and damage. So to make the Rampage stick out, it was given the ability to be revved up with the addition of a thermite grenade to allow it to fire faster. Further illustrating the point, the CAR SMG is essentially the same weapon as the R-99, but can cycle between heavy ammo and light ammo to make it more like a fast-firing Flatline.
The problem withApex’s gimmick weapons is that, when the gimmicks are removed, they’re essentially the same weapons that have been in the game since the beginning. While some of the new weapons like the Bocek Bow are able to change the way that some play the game, the recent additions have felt a little redundant and not necessary forexpanding the scope and mechanics ofApex.
Possible Fixes for Apex’s Weapon Problem
Fixing a problem like this is often far easier said than done as balancing every in-game element is a monumental task. What’s more, Respawn already seems to be aware of the issue and is trying to combat it by taking certain weapons out of the ground rotation and making them appear exclusively ascare package loot. This is an excellent solution, however it could potentially be better implemented by leaning further into the concept.
As it stands right now, there are only four weapons that don’t spawn on the ground, existing instead as fully-kitted supply drop items. Further,the Kraber sniper rifleis also designated to care packages every season. While putting three ground drops into care packages for the entire season helps a little bit, it might be worth it to put two or three more weapons into them as well. This could do a lot to shape the meta of each season, as it would mean that gimmick weapons might not be making others obsolete if the outclassed weapons in question are only in care packages, existing as their most powerful, fully-kitted forms.
The other, more simple solution toApex’s weapon problemis to simply stop adding weapons every season. There’s been a new weapon each season since Season 8, and if Respawn were to take a few seasons off from adding new weapons to the game, there will be a much bigger impact when it does decide to add something new. Hopefully, it would be more than just another weapon with a gimmick slapped onto it as well.
Apex Legendsis available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in development.
