Forum Discussion

Seasoned Veteran

3 months ago

The Inflation of Movement Abilities

Since the introduction of Ash's "Blink", Apex seems to have entered a cycle of massive buffs followed by minor incremental nerfs, leading to an overall acceleration of character speed. Undoubtedly, ...

legends

Daraaaan

Seasoned Veteran

3 months ago

reconzero

While we have some differences in perspective, I felt your proposals were highly concrete and well-thought-out, remaining consistent with your underlying arguments.

I also agree that it is a mistake to seek novelty or freshness solely through new weapons and legends.

In my view, "the core" of Apex lies in its character control techniques like sliding jumps and tap-strafing (not something caused by character skills), the PvP/Battle Royale format, and the fundamental rules shared across all characters and weapons. Characters and weapons are "branches and leaves" that support and add color to that "core". Attempting to provide freshness through superficial adjustments to "branches and leaves" easily broke "the core".

From that standpoint, taking action against Cheats is unavoidable. Conversely, I take a cautious stance on a dedicated PvE mode. I believe those needs could be met by reverting Bot Royale to a pure NPC mode and allowing for adjustable difficulty levels.

About Elite weapons, I understand the objective of utilizing unpopular weapon slots to test new ideas while minimizing resource costs. However, the problem lies in how they disrupt the balance and are allowed to remain—like the RE-45—with performance that deviates from its intended category, without any fine-tuning.

About the story, while I recognize the demand, it is a low priority for me. Given the labor costs of writers and the risk of confusion caused by creators who cannot remain behind the scenes, I cannot help but be cautious. I believe it is more rational for those who design the skill sets and overall balance to handle the story as well.

I agree your criticism of "stopgap measures" to chase immediate numbers. However, there is a possibility that the current priority is the sale/acquisition process. Since the company will go private after the completion of the deal. It may shift from a short-term outlook to a mid-to-long-term perspective.

About implementing in-game community tools, although there have been past failures, I agree the idea in terms of reducing the burden on players.

reconzero

Seasoned Ace

3 months ago

""the core" of Apex lies in its high-speed movement"

There was a time when I would have fought you on this one. I still don't believe that "high-speed movement" was ever a core feature of the game... until now. Well, until the last two or three seasons. I still see this as an aspect of stopgap measures for the sake of short-term goals. But perhaps it really is the future of this game. Of gaming in general. I watched it happen over 18 years of Halo and now it's happening here. Maybe it really is what kids want.

"PvE mode. I believe those needs could be met by reverting Bot Royale to a pure NPC mode and allowing for adjustable difficulty levels."

100% agreed. I'm not looking for a Halo-style campaign mode or anything like that. Just give me one space in the game free from live players. Bots used to be it. And could be again. It just isn't right now.

On the story side of the equation - I have to admit that I share your lack of interest. I don't personally put much stock in it, but a lot of people do so it seems to me like an easy win. And they can farm it out to keep it cheap. Better still, let ChatGPT write it. I guess what I'm saying is that there are ways to give a nod to story without creating an entire department of dedicated, expensive in-house employees. They should give it a go. Heck, maybe they just open up a space in the game for user-generated story-based content? I remember telling 343 years ago as regards forge mode: give us (your players and community) the tools and we will build your game for you for free. And we could have. We still could. What a missed opportunity.

"after the completion of the deal... It may shift from a short-term outlook to a mid-to-long-term perspective."

My suspicion is that exactly the opposite will happen. EA, newly burdened with the debt of its own acquisition, will look for even more brutal and radical ways to cut costs and boost revenues as quickly as possible, without any regard for long-term health or sustainability. In my experience that's how markets work. Quickly, soullessly, and as if the future does not exist beyond the next quarterly report.

Daraaaan
Seasoned Veteran
3 months ago
reconzero
To be more precise, "the core" I mentioned refers to character control techniques like Sliding jumps and Tap-strafing. This is not something caused by character skills.
I will correct it.