APC/ambulance support legend concept
A NEW VERSION of this document exists, please read that one instead, this one is a brainstorm mess.
Find it at: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Creators-Corner/APC-ambulance-legend-concept-fixed-up-documentation/td-p/12633515
A few posts above this one.
I wrote about this one in the QR code feedback forum, but the idea is straightforward, and the developers have already proven they are able to make a fully functional vehicle with the trident. Thus, I have faith that this is within their skill to make in the game, not to mention the trident is an excellent opportunity to turn into a fun legend.
Legend type: support
Tactical: Summons via drop pod a custom unique “trident” that I’ll call the APC (armoured personnel carrier for short) that ONLY he can drive. There can only exist one APC at a time, and despawns when another is called in or the team of the owner is eliminated. Just as the trident, this is a hovering vehicle.
The driver enters and exits the vehicle through the top turret hatch, and the passengers enter and exit the vehicle through the rear/aft doors. All character models are inside the APC with no body parts are sticking out, unlike the trident which has the legend models out in the open.
As trivia, when the hatch or rear door opens, a red ambient light shines from inside the vehicle, this is thematic night-sight light. But I can't say if this looks as good in the image bellow as it does in the game.
Image source: https://youtu.be/Em6JHRsPfnQ?t=69
In addition, the damage taken modifier that comes with the trident is further reduced for the APC from 20% to 10% (in other words, the damage reduction is increased from 80% to 90% compared to the trident.) with however the damage NOT being spread amongst all occupants, this is to ensure the vehicle doesn't become weaker or stronger depending on how many people are inside. I did quite a bit of maths to figure this out, considering the vehicle cannot always return fire due to it's masive hitbox, not to mention people can cylce weapons, meaning if enemies unload their weapons, they each do an average of 700 total damage, meaning 3 people focussing the APC will do 2100 damage without reloading, requiring 90% damage resist.
The vehicle (APC) has a slower acceleration than the trident. This also means the driver in a situation where an enemy team is ring choking or blockading a specific chokepoint, the driver has to charge the APC up to speed from a far away distance and ram through the blockade. Note also that Wattson specifically is a hard counter to this as she can put down fences stunning the APC and preventing it from ramming through the fences. The reduced acceleration is thematic due to its heavier size and nerfs it's ability to be used as a get-away car. In addition to it being heavily countered by wattson fences, Crypto EMP's and arc-stars, due to stuns temporarily stopping the vehicle from accelerating, meaning it slows down and has a harder time getting back up to speed.
Unlike the trident, it cannot speed boost. The vehicle cannot be destroyed by damage and will eject all players into skydive when it falls to its doom exactly like the trident. It would be cool if it also kicked up a lot of dust depending on it's speed, that way it can be spotted from far away.
It makes a loud menacing engine sound that is clearly distinguishable from a trident but is equally loud, ensuring people can’t use it to perform easy third parties. It also becomes louder the faster it's moving.
Ultimate: upon activation, the vehicle triggers the breaks and cannot move, the driver then switches to gun-mode where the driver can use the vehicle’s gun on the vehicle to fire rounds at a rate of 300 per min (rampage fire rate) that each deal 35 damage (same DPS as R301). And sounds like a high calibre gun, think of a full-auto Longbow.
The turret is aimed via third person and the driver remains inside the vehicle, it is a remotely operated gun.
Ultimate charge recovers in the same way as vantage and rampart, restoring ammo per second. The gun has no recoil but does have a tiny bit of spread (can be increased for balance and exists only so it can't be used at long range) in addition to a high bullet-drop. The gun cannot be fired while moving to allow enemy teams to reposition. This is so the APC can’t overrun enemies by blasting them while also being faster than its prey. The turret gun does destroy doors. As it has a slow firerate, enemy players will not be slowed down often by getting it, this means they can get out of the way with ease.
The turret's maximum ammo is 60 and has a charge time of 3 min.
Note that it recovers ammo over time the same as vantage, rampart currently does not seem to recharge ultimate ability ammo over time while vantage does. This means the turret ammo recovers 1 ammo per 3 seconds, or 10 ammo over 30 seconds, same interval ultimate ammo recovery mechanic as vantage's ultimate.
Enemies can see if the gun is being operated, as it emits a red laser and pops out of the top of the vehicle, clearly showing that it is hot. Not to mention a loud metallic scream/siren/mechanical sound to announce its activation, think of something like Viper's flightcore: https://youtu.be/Atr-sGUNyh0
In effect, this APC rolls up to a position where it has a shot on enemies, stops and activates its gun, then starts harassing enemies to force them to move out of the way or into cover. The squad can enter and exit the vehicle at any time of course, allowing the APC to drop its team off at specific locations as a battlefield taxi.
Just like the trident, it has a huge hitbox, so it’s going to get hit by every single bullet. Not to mention a limited supply of turret ammo, meaning if the driver wants to step out, he’s going to have to move to a safe location, or risk being shot while he exits the vehicle. Also, because the driver is driving the vehicle, just like with the trident, he unable to use healing, only the passengers are able to heal while inside the vehicle.
Another thing the APC can do, is serve as the tank of the team if the enemy is pushing, meaning the APC stands still out in the open, shooting at enemies trying to push the squad, making an excellent defensive suppressive fire support legend.
Real life example of this: https://youtu.be/8L1caLvAlxk?t=221
Passive: while this legend is driving his APC, if he drives close to a downed ally, he can use the APC to pick up downed allies, likewise, downed allies can crawl towards the APC and interact with the APC to revive themselves. This triggers an animation where a stretcher pops out of the rear door of the APC, upon which the downed player goes and then slides back into the APC, allowing the downed player to revive safely within the APC. This revive is completely passive similar to lifeline, meaning the driver only has to pull up to a downed teammate, press the revive button, and can continue driving on, no need to hold down the revive button.
Real life example of this: https://youtu.be/UcHkIfnCpes
Real life example of this being coordinated, WIA refers to Wounded In Action: https://youtu.be/KX7J8JppYJw?t=3426
All legends inside the APC follow the same rules as the trident, meaning they can heal and reload while inside the vehicle, however only the owner of vehicle can drive it. This also means revived players inside the APC can use healing items on themselves directly after being revived inside the APC.
The APC is relatively square shaped in order to allow it to serve as full indestructable cover when it isn’t driven, unlike the trident which is more triangular shaped. This is to ensure it can still serve a purpose in the lategame when the vehicle might have too many different teams shooting at it due to a smaller ring.
Trivia: instead of having a honk like the trident, this vehicle has police/ambulance sirens to mock/taunt enemies or signal that it’s going to revive someone.
I really hope something like this is added soon, as I'm kind of hyped about this idea, it builds on something that's already in the game while at the same time completely unique compared to other legends. Not to mention it has a concept that I'm sure people from other games will love to play with.
For example, if you're a tank game fan, suddenly you have a great reason to start trying apex legends, this was the case for me with crypto, I always liked cool gadgets and crypto got me into apex by being so unique. This might seem trivial at the surface, but is a major reason why people choose to try out games, they want to try out something that they see they like, in other words, this legend might draw in a whole host of new customers from other game genre's.
And if there are still doubts about if this fits in the game or if it's going to break something. It is important to note that it is often better to create something fun first, and balance it later. Not to mention sometimes making something daring and outlandish sometimes creates fantastic results, and the latest legend releases haven't felt like they've kept the fanbase interested.
Besides, the titanfall series was built on the concept of mixing infantry with badass machines, this is an excellent opportunity to recapture that success, I'm sure the titanfall fans will love it.
