“I can confidently say that in Breakout, we have the biggest change to how Legends will be played to date,” says John Larson, lead balance director for Apex Legends at a media summit where the studio is showing off its massive Season 20 overhaul. There’s an air of apprehension in the room; both media and devs know this is a big deal for one of the best free-to-play games out there – and a change that will set the path for the entire game’s ecosystem, moving forward.
To put it simply, this is a game-changer. Respawn has introduced a new system to in-game progression that is designed to eliminate early game RNG, and level the playing field for any team that drops into the map – whether they’re seasoned pros, or more casual players.
The long and short of it is this: each of the game’s 25 playable characters now has a 4-tier upgrade tree that you can work through as you play. As you ‘level up’, your shield will upgrade each time automatically (meaning you no longer find armor on the ground), and you’ll get new upgrades that can fundamentally alter how you play.
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