“Apex Legends” has finally released its long-awaited new season update, “From the Rift.” Season 23 brings players some much needed support legend buffs, weapon changes and an overall feeling of nostalgia.
The update was made available on Nov. 5, and the only game-mode available to play was “Launch Royale.” In this Limited Time Mode (LTM), players transport back to the original Kings Canyon map as it was when the game was released in 2019. Weapons are back to how they were — the Wingman and Spitfire used with heavy ammo, the Alternator with disruptor rounds, etc. — players drop with no armor or heals, armor does not evolve with damage, self-revive is in play and only the original eight legends are available to play with their initial abilities, among other small changes.
At first, this seemed awesome, but now that everyone knows how to play the game — and arguably play it well — these matches are absolute chaos. Even if you do not drop at a hot point of interest, it is mayhem; and considering that this was the only LTM available for play at first other than Ranked, it got boring and frustrating very quickly.
To me, it honestly feels like the developers at Respawn Entertainment got sick of people complaining about the current state of gameplay and said, “Here — take a look at how bad it used to be and then talk to us.” But this also comes after “Fortnite” had success offering players their original maps, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are following in those footsteps.
Thankfully, the updated Battle Royale returned a few days later along with other LTMs: Gun Run, Control and Team Deathmatch.
The biggest update to come with season 23 though is the revival of Lifeline, one of the original core legends in the game. Lifeline has seen many changes over the years, but this revival is huge, especially considering we did not get a new legend. Before this rework, her passive ability was to automatically revive teammates with a drone, her tactical ability was a drone that healed nearby players and her ultimate ability was a care package that upgraded the team’s shields and attachments.
Lifeline’s new passive is a combat glide, which allows her to jump and move through the air on the drone, as well as the reviving ability. Her tactical has been changed to follow not only her, but her teammates as well, allowing for much more movement and aid during battle. Her new ultimate ability is similar to her original passive, where she was able to put down a shield when reviving a teammate to save them from being thirsted. But instead, this ultimate deploys a “Halo Shield” that surrounds players and allows them to heal faster. It is almost like Gibraltar’s bubble shield, but Lifeline’s does not have a top to it and again, allows whoever inside to heal at a faster rate.
Even with Lifeline’s complete rework, all other support legends still received huge buffs. These include being able to walk at full speed while healing, small meds heal double what they heal for others, a 25% faster revive time, more health regeneration on revival and Mobile Respawn Beacons now spawn for them in ally death boxes or upon crafting a teammate’s banner. In other words, support legends are busted right now.
In order to keep the theme of nostalgia throughout regular gameplay, “Rift Relics” have been added to Battle Royale. These relics spawn throughout the map and upon breaking one open, players receive relic weapons from the original launch and “Boost Kits,” which contain extra abilities such as group healing and splash damage depending on which is grabbed.
There is also a new universal heirloom melee weapon called “Raptor’s Claw,” which really bothers me as Mad Maggie, my favorite legend, has yet to receive her own. Fortunately, they have finally done something about the Havoc, a weapon that dominated last season. It is now only available in Care Packages, and while it received a buff because of its entry, at least players do not have to worry about dying to one off drop anymore.
While this season has brought some much needed change and refresh, I still feel like the game needs other improvements. For more information on weapon changes, attachments and skill balance, make sure to check out the patch notes.
3/5 stars
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @maruuhchan, X
