Hi!

I have recenthly (over a month ago) returned to Apex after taking a break since late 2019. I don't know how many players go through a similar thing, but I thought I would summarize my impressions so far. I've divided them into a few categories for an easier read.

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Maps:

• King's Canyon:
  • Still the best map to me, it might be nostalgia talking through, but it feels perfectly balanced, with unique fighting spots all over the map, good balance of vertical vs horizontal scenarious, easy to move around but still limited by the design to (usually) prevent total cluster**** of a fight
  • Maan, Skull Town of its orime is out! That's really a pity! I loved fighting there in S1 and S2 particularly, action was always so intense there and it felt like a banger to get out of there alive.
  • Nobody lands on Airbase anymore. Actually, that is my biggest sorrow for the map after the return. It was my favorite spot back in S1/S2 and for some reason I really enjoyed the scrappy fights taking place there. Nowadays nobody ever goes there, I haven't encountered a single enemy within the ~10 times I went there since return.
  • Crashed Ship is a great new spot. I love the space it offers, the possibility for long range vs short range skirmishes, the variety of the terrain. You can easily flee the site if you feel like you can't win, but if you decide to stay you have to remain very aware of the environment and not let your guard down for a moment which is really cool. Great new addition.
• Olympus:
  • Amazing map, very unique, designed in such an open world way that allows for roams in any direction desirable. Perfect for snipers, but the close range skirmishers (like myself) can actually find a lot of great spots for themselves (Hammond Labs are my favorite, although Estates and Reverie Lounge are super fun too!)
  • Colours of the map make Apex feel even more arcady than it already is!
• World's Edge:
  • This map has already been released shortly before I left the game and it was also one of the reasons I left. I hate it, hate every thing about it and can't stand when it's on the mix. Feel blunt everywhere except for the Sorting Factory. Roaming is really hard and takes ages. However, due to those incredibly heigh baloons anytime there is a fight and a squad is somewhat nearby, you are guaranteed to get 3rd partied...
  • Also the fact that 90% of the map drops on the city or the Train Yard makes it even worse. Yes, you can drop nearby, fight max 1 other squad and then roam towards the fight, but the map basically doesn't offer what I love the most - landing with 2/3 other squads (but not more), fighting it out, then constantly transitioning to new locations for new skirmishes.
  • With the Halloween touch the map is even worse now, I feel so sad playing there, and so I don't whenever it's on the list.

Legends:

• Generally, all the new legends except for Newcastle (I simply don't know if I've ever seen him in game) seem unique and bring something to the table, which is great. Some things that I noticed in particular are:
  • Lifeline - she looks kinda useless in duos now with her new passive. I liked when she had that barrier when reviving.
  • Wraith - I'm gonna be honest here. I used to be a sweater and Wraith was my go-to legend. Now, with her Q nerfed so hard I had to let her go in favor of Bangalore (my old 2nd favorite).
  • Catalyst - the most annoying legend ever. She seems well-balanced tho, and it's not a rant. I don't hate her, it's just that whenever I see that huge black wall of hers I feel like I already lost the fight. Have to learn how to play around her yet
  • Valkyrie - I'm really butthurt she's not the champ for me. Seems like she could be, but her ult doesn't feel very promising and is probably only good in 3s premades.
  • Revenant - feel really oppressive at time with his ult and passive, it's a bit of a weird champ that I sort of feel like he doesn't belong to Apex, but of course it's just an opinion.
  • Horizon - I view her as an incredibly useful and strong legend, an all-round favorite of mine among the characters added since I last played. She has the right amount of utility and map control to make her a good addition to any team but at the same time doesn't feel OP.

Matchmaking:

• Now, this is where I could start complaining. I will keep it short tho. First of all, a quick glance over my gaming 'resume': I always used to be an above average player in skill-based games (Supreme in CS:GO, D1 in LoL) but I really feel like I'm just getting beat down in those normal games in Apex. Like seriously, winning those matches more often than statistically appropriate (so for duos that would be 1 match in 30 and for trios 1 in 20) feels almost impossible. I know that the playerbase has gotten better over the years, but to a point where I'm getting matched against some wild-looking Predator guys or players with 20 bomb badges is ridiculous for a new joiner (I mean, I started with a new account since I felt like that's the best thing to do - I thought I don't deserve all the cool badges I got on my old account and want to earn them all anew).
• My in-game average damage per match is now at ~ 380 which I think is super low (unless the standards changed). I certainly haven't deteriorated that much in the span I haven't played and nowadays I actually have a gaming setup that allows me to play without any fps drops which definetely helps.
  
• All in all, I feel like I'm being matched against players from both ends of the spectrum - the really bad ones that barely notice me jumping them before they drop dead and the strong ones that laser me down before I manage to scream 'run!' to my friends on discord.

Weapons:

• This one will be quick - I pretty much am fond of every change I've witnessed so far. All the weapons have the right feeling to them, even Mozambique is a viable drop-and-grab weapon now (in the past I preferred to fight bare handed than picking that shotgun up).
• Rampage is the best addition imo, I like that it can be powered up by the nade and believe it's well balanced out as it takes a moment to charge and the charge itself only last a minute

I know the post is quite lengthy and if you actually managed to read through it and have some perspective on anything I've written, I will be glad to discuss in the comments!

tl;dr: game is great after the changes, I just wish World's Edge didn't exist and matchmaking worked better

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