Unnecessary UI changes
I seriously don't understand the need to fiddle with UIs, when generally it's for the worse, for example requiring extra clicks or hiding info.
In the new lobby, I don't mind moving the team stuff to the left, or splitting up the match summary, friend list, and news buttons to the corners. But I have a lot of other problems with the UI changes in the lobby screen and elsewhere:
- In the main lobby view, now the condensed challenge view is hidden by default, which I don't like. At least give the option (checkbox?) to have it stay open in a similar view to before. It's also unnecessarily large now when it is open, and there is no need to fade the rest of the screen IMO.
- On the topic of the challenge view in the main window, if there is a separate tab/page that exclusively shows the 6th anniversary event dailies (and I assume other event dailies/weeklies), there should be a separate view for the regular battle pass dailies. Having one for mixed dailies (battle pass + event) and one only for the event just ends up hiding the battle pass daily challenges I would actually want to see, especially once I've actually gained all the event rewards (generally doable in under half the time of the event).
- Including the "Earn 5,000 XP" and "Earn 10 ⭐" goals in the "Mixed Challenges" page is completely unnecessary IMO. And they definitely shouldn't push out actual battle pass dailies from showing. At the start of each day, before I have any progress on the dailies I want to actually see what the battle pass dailies are, and would prefer to do so on the lobby screen. Now it shows me 3 battle pass dailies, then these two goals, which I know are always there, and 2 battle pass challenges end up being hidden. If they have to show on the Mixed Challenges page, have them always be the last priority, after the battle pass dailies, so they only show up once you've completed some of the battle pass dailies. But better yet, just have them in the Challenged - Dailies window only.
- The option to reroll dailies from this "short" challenges screen in the main lobby has been removed, why on earth? Now I have to navigate multiple screens (Challenges - Dailies - Battle Pass Dailies if there is an event going on, which there usually is) to be able to reroll them.
- When entering a BR match and the dropship view, now there are absolutely massive map markers. While it's nice to see and learn the names of the places a bit easier than looking at the map, they're too large and jarring. They could also have lower opacity be closer to the ground rather than hovering really high up. It was mentioned somewhere that the aim was to declutter the interface, and that may be true in the lobby, but in the dropship the view is a lot more cluttered and less immersive than before. Even on the ground the icons for the arsenals and the new icons for extended/weapon supply bins threw me off for a while due to the clutter.
- In the post-match view, it's nice to be able to move forward through the windows with Space (on PC). It would be nice to also be able to move backwards using the keyboard, instead of having to click with the mouse. I suggest Left Ctrl.
- Similarly in the post-match view, the weapon experience view is kind of odd, as a second page on the experience tab. Why not just give it its own page anyway. Or combine them into one view, even if it would be a lot of info.
- Still in the post-match view, when I scroll through all the options, finally I'm presented with the option to either requeue or exit to the lobby. If I press Esc there, it pops up a screen asking me whether I want to go to Settings or leave the match. I press Esc again, I go to the match summary with the legend banners of my (dead) squad. Which isn't the first view available On the second Esc, I would actually prefer to go to the Spectate View, without having to click over there.
- I wasn't a huge fan of the previous redesign of the Challenges window, but I've grown to tolerate it. However, while we're here, similar to #2 above, if events have their own sub-view here anyway, it's tautological to also show them on the Dailies sub-view, and especially for the event dailes to be the primary/default item shown on the Dailies. If I want to see the event dailies from Challenges, I can click Challenges and directly to the event stuff, but if I instead click Challenges and then Dailies, then >90% of the time I want to see the battle pass dailies first, maybe then after that the event dailies.
- In the Store, Special Offers would be better suited as the top page/row of the Store - Shop tab. Then it would still show up first, without requiring an extra click to get to the actual shop.
Finally, and as a more longtime issue instead of something that was changed for the worse only now with season 24, as someone who just recently moved from playing Apex Legends on console to playing on PC, the menus accessible from the Lobby/outside matches in general could use with more hotkeys to move around, instead of relying so much on the mouse only. My main gripes/suggestions are:
- Make Q and E switch between Play/Event/Challenges/Passes/Legend Locker/Store, the way L and R are on console.
- On the windows which have a second bar of tabs, make A and D switch between then like ZL and ZR do on console.
- The R key could be used to mark that you're Ready/Cancel that readiness for the next match (also has a button on console).
- In the Store, there should be some less tedious way of scrolling sideways without having to move the mouse to the one area (top bar) where you can then do it either with the mouse wheel or clicking on the arrows. I suggest Spacebar, or Right-clicking or even Middle-clicking just anywhere in the Shop view (neither does anything in any of the Lobby, Store etc. views). This sideways scrolling also applies to the challenge view on the main lobby screen that is accessible via F4
None of this would make the current mouse navigation worse, but if I already have one hand on WASD etc. part of the time, it would be nice to have the option to also move around in these menus with only that hand.