Jason McCord, Design Director of Apex Legends, just released a breakdown of their goals in updating the World’s Edge map for season six. Aside from giving players who have sunk hours into the map already a sense of “newness” in a familiar game, McCord says it is also an opportunity for the developers to make improvements based on player feedback. Three locations have undergone some fairly significant changes for season 6, plus some new mechanics were added to spice up traversal, which we will break down so you and your squad can keep that competitive edge.
Blast Walls And A New Cut Through
A new feature that has been added to Launch Site, Countdown, and Staging are controllable blast walls. By interacting with a panel, players can cause a huge barrier to lift up, making it much easier to defend from enemy teams attacking from that direction. But, if you’re on the other side of that wall, you can always find ways to either slip under the bottom, or take a route around them.
There is now a new way to traverse between Survey Camp and Skyhook through what was once a solid cliff. This new tunnel makes it far easier to move in and out of Skyhook, as well as improve Survey Camp as a potential drop zone. Plus the tunnel has loot to find as well, so it could draw some more attention to that side area of the map.
Launch Site
Launch Site is a new area located to the west of The Dome where there used to be an empty pool of lava. As the name suggests, this area is home to a huge rocket ship that can be seen from across the map, but also has four large interior spaces to loot. The raised catwalks allow for new ways to navigate above the lava, but the biggest change to movement is the new passage that has been created connecting Launch Site to the Eastern side of The Tree.
Heading to Sorting Factory also now leads into the Launch Site, allowing for great sight lines over the southern area of Sorting. All these new paths and connections make The Dome much easier for your squad to adapt and reposition depending on the situation.
Countdown
Countdown has taken the place of Drill Site on World’s Edge with a much more fortified structure. The exterior is walled off by three large blast walls that players can interact with to raise to protect themselves from attacks coming in from Train Yard, Lava Fissure, and Skyhook. The central bay can also be opened for the high tier loot inside, but is a dangerous choke point to get caught in unprepared.
Staging
This new area is not very large, but sits right in the center of the map where a small collection of buildings used to reside just East of Harvester. The new structure built up against the cliff side contains much more loot and verticality to make fights here more dynamic. Two new rising walls have been built that can bridge the gap with the nearby train tracks, plus higher pathways lead into the main control room.
This new area also removes the Mirage Voyage, as McCord says, “Mr. Witt has flown his personalized ship away from World’s Edge… for now.”
Minor Changes
Other less dramatic map changes include the dismantling of the train. Without the train running the tracks, they are more open to players running the tunnels for better traversal options.
There’s a new geyser just north of The Dome, plus a second south of Lava Fissure to make crossing the river slightly less dangerous.
Other little tweaks and adjustments are teased, but left for players to go out and discover for ourselves when season six drops on August 18th.
