When Apex Legends Season 21 kicks off subsequent week, the sport’s fifth battle royale map, Damaged Moon, will lastly be getting a facelift. That is the longest any battle royale map in Apex Legends has gone with out a main replace, as each different map has gotten a everlasting format change inside two seasons of launching. Damaged Moon, which was added in Season 15, is just now getting new focal point landmarks and changes to the environment–that’s six seasons later.
“We have been working onerous on plenty of content material,” Apex Legends lead degree designer Steve Younger instructed me once I requested why changes for Damaged Moon took longer than common. “I believe on the map facet of things–and clearly Damaged Moon is just not the one factor that we have been centered on, however to that end–I’d say that it is a fairly heavy carry so far as the adjustments that you’ll see. And yeah, it has been an extended journey, however I am actually completely satisfied personally with the place Damaged Moon is, and I actually assume that followers are going to dig it too. [Also,] now we have plenty of energetic maps proper now. These are very detailed maps and now we have to maintain up with all of them and develop new maps on the facet.”
Essentially the most notable adjustment to Damaged Moon is the destruction of Promenade, the centralmost POI that acts as a significant chokepoint given its lengthy, snake-like construction. It isn’t unusual to seek out your self contending with three or 4 different squads (or extra!) in the event you determine to rotate by that location within the latter half of a match as a result of that is when lots of people select to take action (or are compelled to relying how the ring is closing). This has led many gamers to actively keep away from the landmark altogether. In Promenade’s place, Damaged Moon is getting a brand-new POI known as Quarantine.
“Since we principally nuked Promenade–which I assume lots of people could also be completely satisfied about, I do not know, however maybe–the entire middle of the map needed to obtain a fairly important replace,” Younger stated. “Which signifies that rotations and chokes and all of the connective tissue [of the map] is way more intentional and intuitive, and that is all to accommodate the redesigned middle of the map, the Quarantine zone.”
Damaged Moon has a singular type of transportation generally known as zip rails–long, yellow rails that curve and twist across the map. When you seize one, you are propelled alongside the road, regularly selecting up pace. Their major goal is to assist squads in transferring concerning the outskirts of the (frankly, too large) map earlier than the primary ring begins closing. As well as, all of the rail tracks ultimately funnel towards the middle, serving to squads get from one half of the map to the opposite. Beforehand, that meant all roads result in Promenade. Not anymore.
[Zip rails] used to bleed into the middle and form of funnel everybody there,” Younger stated. “And so yeah, plenty of these have been eliminated and it’s onerous to name out specifics, however let’s simply say all the connective tissue has acquired a fairly important replace throughout the map, however particularly main into the brand new Quarantine zone. After which now we have, for my part, essentially the most artistic and enjoyable use of zip rails within the Quarantine zone itself, particularly proper now. They’re designed primarily as a rotational instrument inside the POI as a result of it is loads quicker paced, but it surely’s extra… managed chaos, I suppose, is an effective approach of placing it. You are now going to have the ability to establish threats and formulate a technique for how one can navigate by there. So you may both use the zip rails inside the POI–they’re solely contained inside the POI–to both rotate or in the event you simply need to make a extremely large spectacular play off them, that is simple to do now too. Properly, simple in the event you’re like [Apex Legends balance game designer] John Larson.”
The narrative reasoning for Quarantine’s addition is that after Apex Legends’ third map, Olympus, collided with Damaged Moon and destroyed Promenade, alien eggs of an unknown species have been found and the situation was coordinated off. Badly, evidently, if the legends are nonetheless utilizing the area as a battleground for his or her blood sport however that is neither right here nor there. Regardless, I requested if this would possibly trace at future PvE parts coming to Damaged Moon, much like the prowler dens and spider nests on Storm Level.
“No,” Younger responded, chuckling. “It helps contextualize the containment zone space that was arrange, so the eggs themselves are inside these storage containers you could take a look at. I am simply making an attempt to hype up how ridiculous the biome replace is as a result of it genuinely appears and seems like a brand-new map, and that was one purpose I used to be calling [the eggs] particularly out, however now I am realizing I have to be somewhat bit extra cautious.”
Alongside Quarantine, Damaged Moon is receiving a number of smaller changes throughout the map, in addition to the addition of some smaller POIs injected between the bigger ones. The map can also be getting a beauty facelift–the mild greens and pinks of grass and shrubbery will rework into sharp reds and purples, and the beforehand clear skies will now appear like Damaged Moon has been transported to a different, extra alien realm within the Titanfall multiverse, possible in reference to Season 21’s new playable legend, Alter, a tiefling-looking villain who can stroll by partitions.
