Here's Why Apex Legends Is Still Worth Playing In 2021

The battle royale genre has seen waves of popularity in different titles, with each new game snagging the news cycle from the previous. While the genre has moved from "PUBG" to "Fortnite" to "Apex Legends” and most recently to "Call of Duty: Warzone," it doesn't mean that those older games aren't still great. In the case of "Apex Legends" the game has only improved and expanded since its well received launch. "Apex Legends" has even expanded what platforms it's available on. Not only has it released on Nintendo Switch, but it will be coming to mobile devices at a later date.

Since its surprise launch in February 2019, "Apex Legends" has had eight seasons, each of which has featured numerous events and cosmetics peppered in. Respawn Entertainment has continually added new characters and lore to the game, along with a hefty amount of content, enough to keep current players satisfied and to attract new players. Here's why "Apex Legends" is still worth playing in 2021.

When it first launched, "Apex Legends" only offered a squads playlist, meant for teams of three. A Ranked mode was added shortly after, and "Apex Legends" would occasionally offer limited-time playlists, like the winter-holiday themed Winter Express mode, but nothing permanent. In April 2020, Respawn added Duos mode as a permanent mode for the game, much to the delight of the player base. Respawn has also added Solos in the past, but only as a limited-time mode.

Duos does not have a ranked equivalent like Trios does, but as fans have pointed out, the game mode does make it easier to link up with friends to play, since you only need one other person. Duos also presents an opportunity for players to come up with new team compositions, mixing and matching different Legends' abilities. Now Respawn just needs to add a solo playlist and the community won't need to keep making posts asking for it.

"Apex Legends" Season 9 introduced Valkyrie into the game, bringing the total number of Legends to 17. Each Legend has their own set of unique abilities, like Revenant's Silence ability, which prevents other Legends from using abilities, and Valkyrie's jetpack, which allows her to fly in combat. Other abilities include turrets, anti-gravity fields, teleportation, and explosives. New Legends can be purchased using an in-game currency called Legends Tokens, so new players can earn them just by playing.

Each new Legend comes with their own backstory and place in the greater lore of the "Apex Legends" universe. For example, Valkyrie is the daughter of a Titan pilot from "Titanfall 2" named Viper. In a Reddit post sharing the Season 9 trailer, u/not_dale_gribble wrote, "I've just about given up on buying single player games because this is basically my only game at this point. No matter what, I just keep coming back." Clearly, "Apex Legends" offers plenty of thrills at no cost for entry.

Battle royales aren't for everyone. Some shooter fans prefer tighter, round-based games like "Valorant." Well, the team over at Respawn Entertainment decided that "Apex Legends" should have something for everybody and has added a 3v3 Arena Mode in Season 9. 

The new mode is a round-based team deathmatch, similar to modes found in "Valorant" and "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive." The game features weapon buys in between rounds, and instead of ability cooldowns, players have a limited number of ability uses. Also, weapons won't carry over from round to round, Respawn wrote in a blog post.

A major difference between "Apex Legends" and other round-based shooters is that in order to win, a team needs to be the first to three wins and be ahead by two wins, with a maximum number of nine rounds. Respawn said this rule allows for matches where one team is steamrolling to end quickly, while closer fights can last longer. Even two years after the game's release, "Apex Legends" is finding ways to up the ante.

Unlike some battle royale games, which have limited map options, "Apex Legends" has three separate full-sized maps, all of which rotate. The regular playlist rotates frequently, while the ranked playlist rotates at the start of a new ranked split. 

"Apex Legends" added its third map alongside Season 7, Olympus. The other maps, Kings Canyon and World's Edge, have both seen major changes, like Skull Town exploding in Kings Canyon and Hammond Robotics adding a rocket to World's Edge. In other words, "Apex Legends" wants to make sure to keep players on their toes and learning new terrain.

The maps also occasionally get Town Takeovers where a new point of interest gets added to one of the maps based on a Legend. For example, a themed obstacle course was added for Octane's Gauntlet on Kings Canyon. Since the game's launch, Respawn Entertainment has been committed regularly updating the maps in order to keep the game fresh — something very important to ongoing games.