A major update to the game’s original map forms a key part of Apex Legends Season 14, Hunted, which is set to launch on August 9 andIt will include a new point of interest called Relic, which introduces a large landmass in the area formerly known as Skull Town prior to its destruction in Season 5, plus a visual upgrade for the map.During a recent Apex Legends developer panel attended by VGC, lead level designer Jeff Shaw said Respawn was taking a new holistic approach to map updates.
Shaw said key elements of map health Respawn has looked to improve include pacing, “which is like the heartbeat of the match”, so squads clash in a timely manner, and loot dispersion, “to ensure that players get this steady power curve over the course of a match” “One of the biggest changes we’ve made is we really increased the landmass to improve the map’s flow and pacing, so that’s where Relic comes into play,” said Shaw, who hopes it will bring back “some of that classic Kings Canyon gameplay that people love and miss”.
Respawn also made a major change to the Cage. “We felt that the Cage was really dominating the area that it sits in, and teams could really bunker in there, so we’ve removed the floor from the Cage, lowered it down a bit, and opened it up a little bit more so fights can resolve a little bit quicker in that area.”