Apex evolution (final draft)

This is the culmination of what started as a legend idea for when season one was announced, and it turned into a lot more. I've had lots of fun making this and hope everyone enjoys. A big thanks to tempora_dracon for their help. I couldnt have done this without them. And of course maybe it'll get people talking about more content they may like.

In order:

1. Legend

2. Map

3. Map layout

4. POI

5. Features 

6. Quest

7. Battle pass 

8. LTM

9. Legendary skins 

10. Trailers 

Season legend: Dragon Knight 

The Dragon Knight grew up watching the apex games and from the start he was completely enthralled. He watched every broadcast, owned every card, and loved every second. He saw the legends as heroes just like  the knights in the stories from the core systems his parents raised him on. Once he was old enough he began to compete for his eligibility to participate in the games. It was long and grueling, and more often than not he was pushed to his limit, nearly broken.

Finally he earned his chance to fight amongst his heroes. During what was supposed to be his debut The Dragon Knight was paired with two other new fighters as well, not long after they turned on him. Forcibly taking the good loot, and using him as fodder. It was during the destruction of the repulsor tower that his teammates abandoned him to die. 

Again he was at his limit as everyone was evacuating, exhausted and seriously injured from the animal attacks, survival was his priority, with only a piece of broken steel to wield. The man discovered an injured prowler in the arena and managed to rescue it from a pair of flyers. The syndicate imported packs of prowlers to bring some new interest to the arena, however with the sudden reintroduction the other creatures they didnt survive long. The prowler which he named Tori having no pack of her own quickly bonded to him and followed him where ever he went.

The pair eventually came upon the knights old squad under flyer attack and after keeping them from being the animals dinner he confronted them. Still they boasted their arrogance and undeserved hubris, saying that if he got them out they'd give him a small mention when they sold their story of how they were the ones to brave the danger and kept him safe by abandoning him. The exhausted man stared at them in anger clenching his steel weapon and... well let's just say those two failed the test of evolution. The Dragon Knights eyes were open he knew that if he were to survive the games and the outlands he couldn't just use the teachings and ideals of the old knights, he must evolve. He made it his mission to perfect himself and prepare for any situation in order to achieve his goal.

The man through his travels made his way to the planet Eden, where the IMC had trafficked animals from the entire outlands in an attempt of biological warfare. What better place for the knight to come than where every product of evolution was brought together. But after the IMC abandoned their research attempts the people of eden were left to survive on their own. Over the years raider camps were formed and plagued the people trying to survive in addition to animals to contend with. Our would be crusader could not stand idly by while they suffered his memories of wanting to be a hero were too strong to resist. He would take up arms and dispense justice to the land and protect those who couldn't protect themselves. he amassed considerable wealth from fighting the raiders, after returning what was stolen from the people he took what remained. Even though his new take on how things should be contradicting his actions he believed he could find a balance. In time through his feats of heroism he gained favor with the inhabitants of eden and became the peoples champion. It was the people the kept him from falling too deep into his new views of survival. Soon he met rampart through rumors of her expert weapon smithing, she forged him a new sword, on that would never know an equal. The edges and runes glowed an indescribable blue, she would also forge him a set of armor fitting this champion to which he would happily compensate her. He would then purchase a large island to call his own, such a place would come to be known as a place of legend to the people of eden. Eventually he bought a flyer egg on the black market. It hatched to a runt of the clutch but over time he raised it to grow abnormally large such as those seen during the titan wars. He would name it Talon. It was after after a certain event involving talon that people gave D.K. his title. But he longed to return to the apex games to where he was betrayed and try once more.

The games are a proving ground now. With his old world teachings and new views he makes his way to to fight with his heroes once again along with Tori, and his flyer, he will ensure he and his squad will dominate and survive. Now amongst these warriors the legends have taken to calling him D.K. for short aside from Wattson and loba who refer to him as dragon. Not long after rejoining the games he offered to allow his island home as an arena. Letting the syndicate release many animals onto it to add more suspense.

Tie into the current apex events- hammond seeks to venture to the home of octane and lifeline in order to obtain codes and information that were lost to their old war efforts. With lifelines parents background in war profiteering it would make sense they would have this. And with the outlands distracted by the games on Olympus hammond could make further preparations unimpeded. D.K. just so happened to make the invitation at the right time.

Passive: ambush predator 

Out of combat the the first shot and only that first shot of a weapon deals 10 additional points of damage. (A 15 second timer will count down every time a bullet is shot, or when the player takes damage in order to balance the ability for its extra damage. the first shot from the clip is the bullet that will do increased damage. It will act as an incentivizor for players to improve aim.)

Tactical: Pack hunter

The Dragon Knight calls upon Tori from the wild to aid in the fight. (I'm thinking perhaps a 20-25 second cooldown in order to prevent spamming her out, her health and damage would be similar to the old ways event with maybe a few adjustments to not make it an unfair 3 v 4.) A possible perk is for her to fetch a weapon for a freshly rezed teammate. A secondary HUD that can be quickly accessed in order to give specific commands such as attack, gaurd, ect. So she's not just running around chaotically constantly.

Ultimate: Dragon strike

Throws a piece of bait to attract his flyer to patrol an area and snatch up an exposed enemy into the air and drop them causing the only fall damage in the game. (The enemy can shoot the flyer to release a their teammate but this will divide their attention from your squad for either a quick engagement, or a get away to fight another time.)

Intro quote: it's time to evolve

Heirloom: sword made with the same steel used to stay alive in kings canyon 

Banner pose animated: Dragon rider- talon lands with Dragon Knight on his back and fiercely roars out.

Whose a good girl- Tori takes out a practice dummy about to assassinate D.K. and he rewards her with head pats.

Banner frame animated: puppy love- a puppy Tori sleeps soundly with a D.K. toy

Perfect predator- velociraptors leap from bushes 

Finisher:

1.chew toy- Tori pounces and maims 

2.vengence- Strikes with sword 

Interactions with Wattson- Wattson sometimes I dont understand watt your taking about

When getting revived- arg shocking development huh?

Map: eden

This map was made by the awesome and incredibly talented tempora_draconis, they've done an amazing job at putting what I've described to paper and bring my vision to life. And they have done really well with the loot distribution and out of bounds area. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone wanting to make a map.

Red - Out of Bounds OR high enough to have an Out of Bounds tag. They may not have mountains, but they could have something overhead that blocks airstrikes, and thus an OOB prompt.

Purple - High tier loot

Blue - Mid tier loot

Gray - Low tier loot

Lore: 

The planet Eden was a varitable paradise upon its discovery by the IMC in the outlands, a true testament of evolution, the power of nature, and how life finds a way.

The IMC had initially planned to colonize eden as a new earth, but due to the sheer amount of diverse wildlife alone made progression slow. A few major cities were established planet wide, in addition to small villages and IMC base camps. During the titan wars the IMC and hammond robotics advertised eden as a conservation planet and encouraged activists to lend aid in transporting animals from across the frontier there. 

But this front hid the true intent of research for zoological warfare. A healthy amount of each species were released onto the planet and studied how they interacted with other species and their impact on the local ecosystem. Through out the war they hired mercenaries to bring more creatures and bought many from the black market. Such attempts were eventually abandoned by the end of the war. The ecosystem left forever changed. 

The legend known as Dragon Knight would make his way to eden years later with his rescued prowler Tori to further explore his discovery of how only the strong survive. What better place to do so than the place where every product of evolution was brought together in a near constant battle for survival. This was also the place where he purchased the egg of his flyer on the planets black market and raised it. Through various feats he gained favor with the locals, carrying out various jobs and hunts. With the money he earned he purchased an island of his own. Upon entering the apex games he gave the offer to use his home for an arena, and allowed many creatures to be released onto it. But of course with the hidden past of the planet and with it being the knights home many treasures and secrets await to be discovered.

Map layout: pine forest in the south west, tall grass fields in south east, jungle in the center, lake to the north west, mountainous region to the north west.

POI:

Patches of tall grass in the plains for soft cover. But keep in mind like in the lost world Jurassic park there's a reason ajay yells "dont go into the long grass!" A new creature resides here either very raptor or terror bird esque. I think the titanfall/Apex universe could use a new animal.

The Dragons lair: a trial arena somewhat like bloodhounds trials but with hostile flyers. The arena is modeled in an open aired rock walled fashion piles of apex coins and crafting metals strewn about (purely for decaration) but in addition to high tier loot squads can earn additional crafting metals for completing each wave. Maybe there can be the same small chance for one player to get heirloom shards to increase the communities chances of earning them but that would probably be a bit too much. 

Mountain manor- this is D.K.'s home a very regal cozy manor nestled near the mountains. It is truly a place fit for a king. While others may look in awe to the throne placed inside D.K. was smart to move and hide his treasures beforehand to inviting the apex games.

Nesting grounds- high in the mountains lays the home of the islanders flyer population multiple nests littered with loot bins the loot of previous battles 

Behemoths cave- a small POI where a very rare behemoth can be defeated to earn both a trophy and loot.

Hunters camp- a ruined hammond camp that was overrun with creatures during their retreat from the planet (lost world reference.)

Research center- here hammond conducted experiments on the animals of eden to make them more subservient to their would be masters. It boasts many empty cages and specimens left in abandon research tubes. (JP 3 reference)

Lake town- once a thriving town of commerce now left to those who might inhabit it.

Trading post- an establishment Dragon Knight made to trade with the locals most often he would trade for valuable items gems, books, precious metals. In exchange he would bring pelts, items of interest, or a desired food.

Riders eyerie- this is where Dragon Knight first took flight on talon And the Dragon Knight would first be coined. A town was establish by the legend with three tall towers in the center in hopes to train others to ride with him. The town sports many items pertaining to this including saddles, clothing, gear, and flyer information.

Harbor- a fishing town that should be very comfortable for those who are fans of the sea. A sign can be found that reads "your gunna need a bigger gun" (jaws reference)

Treetop town- a town of many tree houses where versatile legends should excel.

Dig site- this area is a wealth of both archeological and paleontological discovery with many fossils and artifacts to br collected.

Base camp- this was hammond's initial point of colonization and where there nefarious plans of zoological warfare would begin.

Forest fortress- D.K.'s first home built with a very knightly feel to it. Complete with catapults of course.

Additions- new and rebuilt buildings will appear through out the season to coincide with quest including the rebuilt research center, hunters camp, and hammond base camp.

New areas include the forge, battle grounds and menagerie.

A town takeover for D.K. is a castle area called the order.

Features: in apex evolution players can participate in hunts during a match for the various creatures of the arena, successfully slaying a specific number of these creatures will earn them trophies of each animal, such as a mounted flyer skull. After proving yourself you can earn the chance to participate in a legendary hunt. This is a mode similar to the broken ghost where you can hunt a creature that was genetically engineered by the IMC during the titan wars. A successful legendary hunt grants players xp, crafting metals, and a legendary version of a trophy. You can collect items on the map or maybe through an ltm. In addition hunting various creatures earns you trophies wall mounts, full sized animal trophies or wall mounted weapons made from claws, horns, teeth ect. 

Where can you place your well earned loot? In the drop ship of course. In apex evolution a new tab is added to take you inside the drop ship where each legend will have their own customizable section of the drop ship, similar to the season 3 launch trailer. But hunting trophies are only the beginning all around the map there are hidden artifacts and lost IMC items to collect. Any treasure items found can be used to obtain more legend specific items such as lobas stolen jewelled necklace, clues to pathfinders creator, Watson's inventions, or Bangalores IMC armor.

Flyers carrying loot and hostile prowler packs of three roam the map each prowler carries two items the very least of which will be a gun and ammo. 

At the center of the map lays the area with the most incentive: the Dragons lair an area similar to the bloodhound trials but in addition to high tier loot squads can earn a small amount of crafting metals for the duration of the season. 

Perhaps a juvenile prowler can be rescued or eggs from a flyer or the long grass creature can be found and as the season progresses it'll hatch.

Quest- invasion

Hammond robotics after having moved the games to eden have betrayed Dragon Knight and have begun their invasion of his home and it's people with their army of robotic infantry. Angered by this he enlists the help of the other legends to stop them.

Throughout the season players will embark on the first few missions to reverse engineer the repulsor technology. Towards the mid quests with a few devices created players will use it to incentivize the aid of creatures to fulfill raids. In the final mission players will rally at the forest fortress for the final battle to repel hammond robotics. They will use the device to lead their animal army against the metal hordes on the battle grounds towards the newly rebuilt hammond base camp. Once the battle is complete the epilogue plays D.K. destroying the devices for fear of others using them for evil. However he takes the chip which house the schematics for them and stores it within his vault of treasures.

Battle pass: the battle pass will include the usual items such as apex coins and crafting metals, but also knight and hunter themed skins such as a paladin Wattson, safari bloodhound, and squire octane. The evolving weapon skin is the spitfire with a more alien look to it, with each elimination and few floating parts will appear as well as flowing blue energy. Banners including many of the creatures. A puppy Tori gun charm. Two dive emotes for Dragon Knight: holographic Dragon wings, and a flyer coming down for him to ride.

Of course we need the mini battle pass and heirloom bit in this. Which will also include various knight and hunter themed skins. I call it knighthood.

LTM: D.K.'s Royal Dragon Airforce- a leader needs an army to combat the foes that have presented themselves. So the Dragon Knight has granted access to train as a dragon rider at riders eyerie. This is a duo mode where players will get their own talon to ride into dog fights with a 360° turn rampart turret mounted on the back.

Legendary skins to earn from all this include- paladin Wattson 

Excalibur r-301 

Poacher caustic

Navigator crypto

Black knight revenant

Aviator Dragon Knight

Safari loba

Trailers: launch- we come to a game in the arena in progress in the jungle. Gunfire everywhere, Dragon Knight fights among tree top town, running with an overjoyed feeling. He yells to Tori "go and get em sweetheart!" And she swiftly dispatches caustic. Still running he yells out "this is everything I dreamed of!" Before shooting revenant in his shadow form.

He comes to a stop nearly out of breath and the reformed revenant attempts to strike him from behind. However Tori assures that doesnt happen.

After hearing the arrival of a ship the legends gather atop a hill to see hammond robotics uploading their supplies and army. D.K. stares in disbelief "no no no! This isn't what we agreed on!... I wont be betrayed again!" He turns to the legends "it seems we are well and truly at war. Every last one of us are in danger of this threat. We need to stand and fight! So who's with me?"

Tales from the outlands- this will be much in the style similar to bloodhounds tale showing the events of the repulsor destruction from Dragon Knights point of view and after the implied dispatching of his former teammates we find him walking towards the last evac ship the crewman sees him and says into his com "hold on we got one more." To D.K. he says "hey your lucky we were just about to leave ya behind." To which the legend responds with a "thanks" the crewman is then startled by Tori who hurries to her master aboard the ship. The crewman is startled and readily holds his weapon but D.K. shoots him a protective look while petting Tori. "She's comming with me." Confused the crewman decides not to invite trouble and bangs on the side of the ship to close the hatch.

Gameplay- many locations and features to be shown of course along with a few shots of the quest. And if I could choose a song to go along with it, it'd be "evolve" by nerd out, YouTube group who've made countless amazing songs pertaining to games and movies. They've recently made a remastered version as well and I feel it goes well with what I Invision. But of course it would be up to the developers what to use.

Welp that's about it I hope you enjoyed.