Apex Legendsis over five years old, but it is not showing any signs of slowing down soon.Apex LegendsSeason 21, dubbed Upheaval, launches on May 7, and it’s bringing with it plenty of new and returning features. Among other things,Apex LegendsSeason 21 is introducing the new Skirmisher Legend, Alter, and bringing significant changes toBroken Moon. On the gameplay side of things, Solos mode is coming back for a limited time and Re-Queue will appear in more game modes.
After a Season 21 presentation, Game Rant spoke with several developers at Respawn about everything coming toApex Legends, including events lead Mike Button and lead progression designer Chris “C4” Cleroux.
Apex Legends' Season 21 Solos Mode Explained
Apex Legends' Solos mode last appeared during Season 2, lasting two weeks from August 13 and August 27. In the time since, Respawn has been adamant thatApex Legends' solo mode was never coming back, and it made sense.Apex Legends' core gameplay is all about teamwork, and while Duos works, Trios offers the best balance for its gameplay. However, consistent player feedback made Respawn change its mind, according to Button. Now, Season 21 is bringing back Solos mode as a 6-week limited-time takeover of Duos.
Solos will significantly change the gameplay loop, though Respawn is adding a few new features to it to balance things out to some degree.
Button explained that the number one reason for its return is player feedback, as it has continued to grow in momentum over the past five years. At the same time, Button added that this game mode fits in thematically with the season name of Upheaval and things going on with Alter’s storyline. It fits thematically, and while that isn’t the main reason for the change, the timing was right.
“I think the reason was the player feedback. We’ve had that for quite a while, but it was really growing in momentum. I think that was really reason number one, and it was really as simple as that. I do think a reason number two is thematic, although that’s less of a priority when we are making a gameplay decision like this.”
Apex Legends Season 21 Bringing Back Re-Queue
Another exciting feature coming to some degree in Season 21 is Re-Queue. As fans recall, the Straight ShotLTM inApex Legendsallowed players to queue up without having to return to the lobby, letting them hop back into the game a little faster. While it won’t be available in every game mode at launch, Cleroux did confirm it’s coming,
“We do have Re-Queue coming online in season 21 for all pubs BR modes, as well as Mixtape. We’re also exploring work that needs to be done for additional modes in the future for that. There’s continuous work to make improvements to those systems, but players will be able to experience it like they did previously in Straight Shot.”
Apex Legendsseason 21 is taking a nice look at theLegend metawith Alter’s introduction, the weapon meta, and how maps influence those. Alongside those, there are new additions like the Solos LTM and Re-Queue which should, hopefully, make Season 21 as good, if no better than, any season before it.
Apex Legends
WHERE TO PLAY
Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play* Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.Master an ever-growing roster of diverse legends, deep tactical squad play, and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.
