I generally like the idea of the 'Trick & Treat' mode effectively borrowing certain other characters abilities but I do find 4 big flaws/issues that do kind of ruin the mode;
1)Night time maps - Visibility has always been a big bugbear of mine in Apex particularly when it comes to the visual clutter & general bland colouring in the game & that is problematic in daytime maps also (for me at least).And so to add to that mix night time maps that makes general visibility even worse & general lighting at times atrocious.I love the fact the old classic/original maps have been brought back (aren't they far better than their newer counterparts ?) particularly Kings Canyon with the original Skull Town & Thunderdome & Worlds Edge with the Train Stations & original Fragments.But the nostalgia trip down the old maps is somewhat ruined by the night time maps.
2)Candies - If I had my way I would strictly keep the shield/armour system to the progressive one (only) like it kind of plays now ie the more damage you inflict on the enemy in HP the better your shield becomes. I would ditch the ability to pick up shield/armour other than white ones as I'm fed up with continuously coming up against endless enemies at the very beginning of the match who just to conveniently happen find a purple or gold shield.A progressive shield/armour system only would encourage players to engage against the enemy & reduce camping.With that being said picking up Candies just feels one big exploit to upgrading your shield without having to inflict any damage on the enemy.Such is the Candies exploit I have encountered several matches within moments of landing I've spotted literally a dozen or so candies in one small area & I have been able to consume enough candies to upgrade my shield to Red without the need to inflict a single bit of damage.
3) Character Abilities - Without contradicting myself, as I mentioned in my intro that I liked the concept of the mode by borrowing other characters abilities but maybe by choosing from a small selection of abilities perhaps they could have broadened their scope by not choosing a certain thermal scoping ability from a certain Bloodhound.The amount of matches I've come across where endless streams of thermal scans was continuous & that just ruins the game.
4)Loot Layout - As if the general loot layout isn't bad enough already across all maps in normal BR modes it has just become even more thinned out & ridiculous by adding endless spiders,zombies into the chests as well as the candies & character abilities.I've even opened chests where there was 3 Horizon abilities.
The Trick & Treat mode certainly has potential & is a far better concept than most of the other modes Apex has had previously but it does need a few tweaks the the problem areas I mentioned made to them.
@Redmattgame
1. Agree completely.
2. I don't hate the candy system, although there's too much of it on the ground making it too easy and too fast to level up your shield. Plus, as noted, more garbage thinning out the already thin loot pool. All that out of the way, the normal evo-through-damage system is flawed imo. It's another example of the developer favoring a particular playstyle when they should remain neutral and let players decide for themselves how best to approach the game. The problem is mitigated slightly by the presence of crafters, but only slightly.
3. Copycat is without a doubt one of the worst mechanics introduced into the game to date. It contradicts Apex mainsprings, such "choose your legend based on abilities which suit your playstyle," as well as "visual identification of enemies allows you to plan and respond accordingly." I'm not saying it's up-ended the game for me, but I'm already a player who is reluctant to engage in the best of conditions. Now I completely refuse until the final three. My squadmates never liked me before. Now they hate me. Nice one, Respawn.
4. Thank you for pointing out what nobody else seems to care about or maybe even notice. The loot is a disaster, has been getting worse progressively since about season four or five, and took a huge nose dive with the combo of old, loot-poor maps, and copycat/candy saturation. I hate it. I cannot express enough how much I hate it.
Not to tell Respawn how to do their job, but everyone else does so I'll take a crack at it too. The amount and quality of loot on the ground should be based exclusively on the following mechanism: a casual looter who is more interested in engagement, and thus unwilling to spend time looting, should most often NOT find preferred equipment. A careful, methodical, and persistent looter should often (though not always) find preferred weapons and respectable if not top-notch attachments. If every player of either type is finding everything they want in every match then the pool is too big and/or the quality is too high. If the second type of player is finding the preferred weapon in one match out of five, and decent attachments even less often, then the pool is too small and the quality too low. That's where we are now. I can't decide if a poor loot pool makes luck a bigger decider in outcomes, but it seems as if it should be. If matchmaking is tight. Did I just say that with a straight face?
Trick & Treat overall is impressive. They put work into it and it shows, and I hate to be that guy who's always complaining. But one night map would have been enough. I've been playing ranked, about which I care not at all, just so I could see what the hell is going on. And me in ranked matches is to no one's benefit. The ever-thinning loot is another issue entirely. I'd like to think that at some point they'll realize what they've done, but I'm pretty sure they know exactly what they're doing and that means they think it's a good idea. This makes me sad. This game doesn't need features or characteristics that make it harder to play or less approachable for new people. Matchmaking will always take care of those problems on its own.
Guys
I originally suggested Nightmode Maps
Their implementation is lousy
The point was you can only see what is within sources of light
How it is now is like way too much moon and star light shining on the map
It is too bright
If you are wondering why I say this, I live in the woods. We don't have street lights. We don't have lit windows of a neighborhood. We don't have cars on the roads.
It is pitch black pretty much.
Hunting is a challenge, but it is worth it.
The slightest movement can be your prey.
Or a predator hunting you in turn.
Everything is invisible unless it's right on top of you.
But as is now, I can see 300 meters in open area, and it should be blackness.
So how can you say you literally see nothing?
Show me screenshots and videos of your combat to prove to me you see nothing.
Oh right, they changed the maps entirely instead of duplicating and changing illumination. That's my biggest concern about that.
Everything was supposed to remain the same, but insanely dark.
And it was supposed to be just another map, not delete the other maps.
And of course, who shines there better than Scout Legends, who have sight abilities that basically allow you to ignore the darkness.
That and Digi-threat scopes that allow you to ignore darkness, smoke, and other vision inhibitors as long as its not a wall.
But my Spotlight Legend was supposed to accompany it too. Shine that light for everyone to see, blinding anyone who stares into it.
Well, something along that anyways.
But seriously, these nightmode maps are way too bright compared to what I was looking for.
If you can see more than 3 people when 5+ squads are concentrated in one location of buildings, you know it's too bright.
That and everyone keeps a lock on me when they should lose me swiftly. Then again, I guess aimbot wouldn't care about brightness, if that's how they keep such beads on me.
I am excellent at merging with the darkness and escaping my foes, yet with the current illumination they can see my as if its day.
And I see them likewise.
Its as bright as Dawn.
5am in the morning.
I was hoping for more of a Midnight look to the illumination.
