Apex Legends fans, hold onto your butts, because Respawn Entertainment and EA are about to deliver not just a game-changing update but an industry-shaking one. The battle-royale spectacular has only been around for a couple of years but, as of this month, it already enjoys more than 100 million unique players. Those players, all around the world, are about to get a new character with new abilities, new maps, a new weapon and ammo system, and a whole new gameplay mode with the game's upcoming Season 9, dubbed "Legacy." Buckle up; it's about to get bumpy.

I recently had a chance to join an international group of gamers, journalists, and influencers to get a peek behind the scenes of Apex Legends - Legacy before its launch on May 4th. This included a chat with the team members over at Respawn, namely Chad Grenier (Game Director), Ashley Reed (Senior Game Writer), Daniel Klein (Lead Game Designer), Dave Osei (Lead Level Designer), and Robert West (Arenas Designer), to talk about all the new content coming your way. And while everyone was understandably excited to learn more about Valkyrie and the new Bocek compound bow, it's no exaggeration to say that the new gameplay mode, Arenas, could seriously shake up the way the game and the meta is played.

Before we dig into the details, be sure that you're caught up on the latest gameplay trailer:

RELATED: ‘Apex Legends: Legacy’ Launch Trailer Introduces New Legend

A Brief Look Back

While Respawn is channeling all things "Innovation" into their new Legacy update and Arenas mode, the team also celebrated recent updates and changes. Those included a modified crafting system, and new weapons and skins, developed in part by bringing Respawn Vancouver on board to help out. Apex Legends also expanded its platform availability by launching on Steam and Nintendo Switch, along with crossplay; a mobile launch is in the works, but since the team is building it from the ground up, you'll have to stay tuned for more news in the near future.

The long-term goals of the Apex Legends team has been to go beyond just the battle royale mode, leveraging their cast of colorful characters and fan-favorite gunplay mechanics to offer more variety in their gameplay. And with Legacy intended to be the "biggest update so far," they plan to do just that, starting with Arenas.

Arenas

Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

Arenas is the game's new, permanent, 3v3 competitive mode that will exist alongside of the battle royale experience. Matches aim to be quick, fun, and competitive, while allowing new and improving players to build confidence with the Legends and their abilities. While battle royale mode remains central to Apex Legends' gameplay, Arenas allows for much greater variety, flexibility, and entertainment for players everywhere.

Overseen by the mysterious Ash (one of a handful of Titanfall 2 tie-ins in the game), Arenas are sort of "down-and-dirty underground precursors to the Apex games" that sometimes operate as qualifiers for the games themselves. You'll squad up with two teammates against another team of three in repeated battles, which allows each team to get to know the other's personalities and strategies. While loot is important in surviving and winning each round, teamwork, cooperation, and strategy will be even more so. That all starts at the beginning of each round with a "Buy" phase, allowing you and your teammates (and your opponents) to buy and upgrade weapons and abilities, and strategize before battle.

A series of 15-minute rounds, starting with fresh equipment each round, play out in a similar fashion to the gameplay fans are used to, though things like supply bins, material canisters, and care package drops will be more limited. Win a round and you get a point; first team to three points with a two-point margin of victory wins that Arena battle. If there's still a draw after eight rounds, the game goes to a Sudden Death Round 9 where all players will start with red armor and upgraded weapons, winner take all. And while all of this will be playable with the new Legacy update, the Respawn team is looking to add ranked Arenas in a future update.

But where exactly will you be playing this new mode?

Maps

Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

In customizing maps for Arenas, the team had to tweak existing maps in order to make sure they were balanced for teams on both sides. Those maps also still had to feel and play like Apex Legends, with a focus on leveraging their established gameplay loop, allowing teammates time to gain information and strategize before deliberately upping the pace over time. They added smaller Points of Interest, or Named Locations, to either side of the map, giving players goals to aim for and positions to defend, especially as the ring starts to close. Here's a bit on those custom maps:

  • Party Crasher: On this fast-paced map, Mirage lost control of his ship (Mirage Voyage) and crashed it into a downtown shopping plaza. Your team will choose either the high vantage point of the crashed ship or the spread-out but well-connected plaza itself.
  • Phase Runner on Olympus: Taking place in the hidden experimental zone at the peak of a mountain, this slow and deliberate map features open spaces and long sightlines.

The team will temporarily be using battle royale maps: Artillery Battery in King's Canyon, Thermal Station on World's Edge, and Golden Gardens on Olympus. These offer variety, diversity of gameplay, and include fan-favorite levels, starting with Artillery at launch, with other levels introduced over the following weeks. And you'll get to see familiar levels in a whole new way thanks to Legacy's new character...

Valkyrie

Valkyrie, a.k.a. Kairi Imahara, is the daughter of infamous Titanfall 2 pilot and mercenary Viper. She enters Apex Legends in Season 9's Legacy as the team asks, what do the legacies of Titanfall soldiers mean for the Apex Legends?

When pitching Valkyrie, the team had exactly one word in mind: Jetpacks. That one word sums up the character's exhilarating and liberating gameplay, so they built her entire kit around the jetpack itself. They were also careful to balance Valkyrie's abilities (which will explore more below) in order to keep it fair and balanced for the other Legends in the game. In other words, yes, Valkyrie may fly around the map, but opponents will also have plenty of chances to shoot her down if you don't use her skills properly. She's a good option for players who like to go high and fast (if she's too OP, she'll be nerfed), but be careful about when you activate your jetpack "lest you turn from a Valkyrie to a clay pigeon," as Daniel put it.

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Valkyrie's passives, skills, and abilities include:

Passive kit:

  • Recon Class - Valkyrie can scout ring locations with survey beacons, especially higher-up ones
  • VTAL Jets (jetpack) - Turn them on by double jumping and you'll auto fly up and forward with the option of manual hovering. There's lots of counter-play baked in (a limited amount of jet fuel, long cooldown, etc.) and they are LOUD, revealing your location to enemies in a large radius. Also, when you're flying, you're not behind cover and you have a predictable flightpath. You also have limited combat options when flying and there's a bit of a cooldown from disengaging jetpack before weapons are live. You won't have access to grenades in flight, but you can use your ultimate missile swarm as a tactical weapon; more on that in a minute.
  • Jet-fighter HUD - This phase will pop up after diving or flying. It's not quite a Bloodhound scan and won't show enemies hiding in buildings, but it will mark enemies that can be seen with a direct, uninterrupted line of sight; squadmates also benefit from these target callouts.
Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

Ultimates:

  • Hellfire - This "mini-bangalore ultimate" paints a grid of targets before firing rockets at them. Targets will want to sidestep to avoid the missiles since they'll do a good amount of damage, just short of lethal, but Stun applies.
  • Skyward Dive - This Evac move allows Valkyrie and her team to reposition together (though it's not always easy to herd your teammates together to hook up and fly). Once airborne, teammates will be able to detach and fly back down to reposition themselves elsewhere on the map. (Pro Tip: Go up for a solo Ultimate or use a jump tower to scout for your team before pushing, temporarily putting your team at a 3v2 disadvantage but giving them the tactical edge.

New Weapon: Bocek Bow

Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

This new medium-range precision weapon hits super hard, but it isn't easy to hit shots with it. The bow isn't as loud as the game's guns, but it's not totally silent and stealthy either. You can hear the bowstring sing and the arrows whiz by, and you can certainly see and feel when they hit you.

The new ammo type shouldn't surprise you: it's arrows! They'll be somewhat sparse and scattered across the map, but the good news is that whatever you shoot your arrows into will also let you retrieve them. Yes, this includes the bodies of your fallen enemies. The catch here is that you'll have to finish them off to retrieve the arrows from their deathbox (and it's always fun to watch a death-scene animation when your opponent has a half-dozen arrows sticking out of them.) On the other hand, the angle of arrows stuck into the environment will give your enemies a sightline cue as to where you fired them from, so it might be best to fire off a few before repositioning.

Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

The Bowcek Bow features two slots:

  • Shatter-Caps - It turns arrow shots into shotgun patterns; arrowheads break up into smaller projectiles with set spread patterns. These are good for close range (also goes on the 30-30 repeater rifle);
  • Dead Eye's Tempo - Daniel says this mode "feels amazing once you slot into that rhythm and flow." You release your arrows on the beat with the string fully drawn back for faster draw speed and faster arrow shooting speed; same slotted mod for a sniper rifle as well.

Keep an eye out for the Apex Legends - Legacy update on May 4th. Our Q&A with the creative team follows below.

Q&A

Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

What's the future of Apex Legends?

Great cast of Legends, great gameplay and gunplay, but previously just Battle Royale, which is still a focus, but there's a subset of shooter-players who enjoy Arenas-style play. Other things in play-testing expand even further than that. Innovations and limited-time modes, among other things, will show up in the future.

Will the new mode affect matchmaking times?

Possibly increasing with the new mode. No metrics but the game has grown, has a lot more players than before, and has been able to support matchmaking queues over the last couple years; adding this new mode shouldn't be a problem.

How similar is Arenas to Titanfall's PvP?

Robert: "There's going to be some DNA shared at the roots, but we weren't looking at Titanfall's PvP and trying to mirror that." A more intimate 3v3 fight was the aim

Do you see Arenas being competitive?

Chad: "In some ways, it's more competitive. Very tactical, round-based, you learn what your opponents are doing." They're talking to the competitive ALGS team who are excited and currently enjoying the playtest.

Private servers?

There's a "closed-beta" for private servers for certain events, with a goal to make that public-facing; challenge right now is making that scalable; stay tuned

Separate tab for BR v Arenas challenges?

No separate tab, all mixed and matched together; you can reroll if desired

How does Arenas choose among unlocked characters?

Just like how you do for the BR. The idea of characters countering each other or having strong synergies is secondary in Apex Legends, "a gun game first and foremost, a character game second," Daniel said.

Balance changes?

Daniel: "Removing 'Low Profile', carefully touching 'Octane' a little bit since 1 in 4 picks in BR is Octane. New health cost for Stims, hoping players either pay attention to their health or run across random Octanes.

Working out balance changes between BR and Arenas: "Any balance problem that shows up in the Arena would also be in the BR, eventually." - Daniel. The team expects outliers, and players should expect a shifting price structure for Abilities as they balance and tune; a system with a round-based cooldown for Ultimates, like Valkyrie's shorter-distance tuned for the Arena vs BR.

Image via Respawn Entertainment, EA

Vehicle system changes?

Dave: None planned so far, but looking at these in terms of balance.

Ranked Season map rotations?

World's Edge (starting) and Olympus (second)

Inspiration behind Valkyrie?

Ashley: "How do we take something super-cool from Titanfall 2 -- Viper and Northstar -- and bring that into Apex Legends in a new and interesting way?" - "What if this guy that you hated and violently murdered had a daughter? How would that go?"

Daniel: "From a gameplay perspective, the inspiration was 'jetpacks.'"

Arena-only events?

Chad: First step is getting Arenas out there to see how players engage with it, but yeah, there are plans for unique events based on the popularity of it.

How does the Bocek compare to other mid-/long-range weapons?

Daniel: "Generally get a 'free shot' or two since it takes that long for the enemy to find you. If you can hit your shots right away, it can be very powerful." Counters include G7, outputting more DPS over time. "Fits very nicely into the meta game as we have right now, but let's see what players do with it." Within an hour of launch, there will be more games of Arenas played than during all of their playtesting

KEEP READING: ‘Apex Legends’ Is Coming to Switch and Steam With Crossplay, So You Can Lose to Even More People