Apex Legends, as you know, is launched as a battle royale game, but the Arena War mode will change things. In the Season 8 announcement, the developers were talking about taking the game to the next level. We thought of different things, like “Do they referring to the Nintendo Switch release?” or “Do they launch the mobile version out of the blue?” In fact, they were referring to Arena War, a permanent game mode with 3v3 matches.
Respawn published a video about the upcoming mode in Season 9, which begins on May 4. Ash, who we know from Titanfall 2, came across again with malicious intentions. The simulacrum, who intends to turn us against each other, is waiting for action in the Arenas.
All the details about the mode are included both in the video and through the official site. But some things seem to have raised questions for the players. As a die-hard Apex fan, I hope our article answers the questions in your head.
What is Apex Legends Arena War Mode?
Arena War is a separate mode that will remain completely permanently within Apex Legends. We will be able to choose Arena War or battle royale just as we choose between normal or ranked games or trios and duos. The mode will come with Season 9.
As you know, the most frustrating situation in battle royale mode is the arrival of a new team in battle. As gamers, we call that situation “third-party” You just get out of a fight with someone, your life values are almost empty, but all of a sudden, a team comes along and wastes you. This mode actually seems to have come to prevent this. Apex Legends is enjoyable when it’s a squad battle. You and the other team take positions, the environment suddenly turns into a chessboard. It will stay like that as long as there’s no third team. That’s the whole point of Arena War, to fight with a three-player squad in an arena where they’re the only ones. But of course, there are some different aspects. The round event, which we know better than tactical FPS games, will also be featured here.
Buying Phase
We all know the tactical FPS genre. CS:GO was leading the scene, but nowadays, Valorant is much more popular. In these games, players make purchases early in the round. Of course, it’s very usual because we don’t play the story mode in an FPS game, so we can’t pick up a gun from the ground out of the blue. A similar process like those games’ buying phase will also be featured in Arena War mode. We can buy various types of weapons, bombs, consumables, abilities, and upgrades before a round starts. By the way, our currency is very familiar. We can purchase what we want from the store by using crafting materials as currency.
Weapons
The buying phase will be a little different compared to other games. At the beginning of each round, you will have the basic pieces of equipment. It’s something different because we don’t have that in CS:GO. In CS:GO, when you survive a round, you will have the same weapon at the start of the next round. But in Arena War, you will lose your equipment no matter what. Did you survive that round playing with Mastiff? Say goodbye to it at the beginning of the next round.
Of course, there are reasons why Respawn made this decision, and they make perfect sense. The first reason is they want us to use the weapon we want in every round, to change it if we desire. The second reason is to prevent the snowball effect, which is the crucial factor of competitive games. The player who plays well in a row will not stay strong for the rest of the match.
When you buy a gun in the store, you’ll only get the basic version of the gun. So there will be no extra equipment (extended mag, sight, etc.), but you will be able to upgrade them. Just like the pieces of equipment in the game, those weapons also have a quality level. When you purchase a gun, you will get it as a white tier. You can upgrade it to the blue or purple tier by paying for some crafting materials. You can also adjust the sight of the weapon as you wish.
Abilities
As in the normal game, we can’t waste our abilities when we want to. We have to use them wisely because we will have a number of skills in each round. We’ll start at the beginning of the round with a few tactical abilities. But you will have to buy them to get more or for ultimate ability.
Respawn has a few explanations for that too. First of all, they want some legends to make hard decisions between buying a better weapon or buying an ability. For example, Bloodhound has a strong kit in terms of abilities. Should a Bloodhound buy a tactical ability for that round, or do they have to upgrade a weapon? That’s the kind of decision we make based on the rounds.
It’s also worth noting that we said we wouldn’t have the guns in the next round. However, this does not apply to abilities. An ability you don’t use will be with you in later rounds.
How Do The Games Work?
The games’ process is quite simple. You probably heard about the term “best-of” we use it a lot when referring to an esports game. For example, a Bo5 means the teams will play for five rounds maximum, and if a team wins three rounds, they will be the winner. The Arena War matches will be like that, but there will be some changes. If you lose up to one round to your opponent and win three rounds, you will be the winner of the game. So the matches that end 3-0 and 3-1 will be in Bo5 format. However, things will change considerably when the match reaches 2-2. In that case, neither a 3-2 nor a 4-3 score will make you the winner. So you have to win at least two rounds more than your opponent. Scores of 4-2 and 5-3 will determine the winner of the match.
Let’s say you come across a very thrilling match. Both you and your enemy are winning rounds, and the scoreboard shows 4-4. What will happen now? The ninth round will be sudden death mode. The winner of this round will be the winner of the game, just like the golden goal rule in soccer.
Respawn also explained how the rounds work.
Originally we had a “best of 7” rounds system for determining wins in Arenas, but we kept seeing a lot of 4-0 or 0-4 blowouts. These felt terrible for the losing side, and sort of boring for the winners. Our new ruleset takes a bit of getting used to but prevents total blowout games from dragging on for too long. It also lets more competitive games keep the heat going for longer, and give teams a chance to come back and win!
Respawn Entertainment
Scoreboard
Of course, we will be able to track the progress of the rounds, and we will do this from the purchase menu. When our team is one round away from victory, the scoreboard will be blue. And when the opposing team is one round away from victory, it will turn red. If it’s a draw, the scoreboard will be yellow. A third draw would mean sudden death.
Maps and Gameplay
Gameplay
Arena War matches will be played where Apex Legends players know or think they know. Some maps are taken from Olympus, Kings Canyon, and World’s Edge. Some of them are also in those maps, but they’ll be in places we haven’t seen.
Each map will feature the supply bins we know from the normal games. You can take consumables from them. Crafting material canisters will also be on the map. If a team gets the material from the canisters, that team will have an extra 200 crafting materials in the next round. In addition, when you kill an enemy, you will earn 75 materials and of course, your opponent’s loots will fall off.
As the rounds progress, the arena will start to narrow. There will be care packages too. Before the round begins, you’ll know where the field will end and what weapons are included in the package. So, make some plans knowing that.
Maps
As we said before, there will be three custom maps tailored for Arena War mode. Respawn made a statement for the maps.
The design goal for custom maps is to emulate the tactics and strategies used in BR within a symmetrical, competitive space. Arenas is first and foremost about proactive combat and that means creating spaces that give you plenty of room to analyze the other team, make meaningful choices, and utilize your Legend’s capabilities to come out on top. With the Legacy update, we’ll launch with two custom maps, with more coming in the future.
Respawn Entertainment
Party Crasher
One of the new maps, Party Crasher, is about the party ship of Mirage. Although Mirage lost control of the ship and crashed, at least we’re fulfilling our longing. The venue is generally near a plaza. You can engage inside the ship or in the two-story building that forms the plaza.
Phase Runner
Another map where Apex Legends players will see in Arena War is the familiar Phase Runner. As you know, Olympus has a Phase Runner, but that’s not it. Actually, scientists developed another Phase Runner at the top of the mountain, in a hidden area. The map will offer plenty of open-area conflicts. Players will be able to reach a specific area of the map immediately by using Phase Runner.
Places from BR
Besides those two arenas, the Apex Legends players will see three arenas from the battle royale mode. Each map will remain in the game for two weeks. The first one is the Artillery from Kings Canyon. The second one is Thermal Station from World’s Edge, and the last one is Golden Gardens from Olympus.
Apex Legends Arena War Mode and Battle Pass
Most of the Apex Legends players won’t hesitate when buying the battle pass. Of course, this new mode will also contribute to battle pass progression. You will be able to complete the challenges by playing both modes.
Since we know some of you may only want to play one mode or the other, you can re-roll daily Challenges and choose for the new challenge to be for Arenas or Battle Royale. We’ve also made the first re-roll of the day free (additional ones still cost Legend tokens). We hope that—as with the rest of the Challenges system—this change strikes a balance between encouraging experimentation and allowing you to play your way.
Respawn Entertainment
That’s the details Respawn shared with us about Arena War. Of course, we will learn about it best by playing them. As Apex players, we wished it would be more than a battle royale.” And it seems like the devs are ready to take the game to the next level. We hope that Respawn Entertainment will prove in many more ways in the future that it has made a satisfying decision to work on Apex Legends instead of Titanfall 3.
