Apex Legends Devs On Season 22’s New Map, Dual-Wielding Pistols, And Controversial New Battle Pass

Apex Legends Season 22: Shockwave is introducing loads of gameplay changes and new additions to Respawn’s iconic battle royale. From a new battle pass (well, two new battle passes, technically) to a new map–and even a new way to wield everyone’s least-favorite weapons–the upcoming season will have plenty of content to keep players entertained. But behind every new feature added to the game is a story, so GameSpot spoke to Respawn’s Apex Legends development team to learn more about Shockwave’s creation.

Speaking to world director Ed Agostini, lead weapons designer Eric Canavese, design director and director of player investment Chris “C4” Cleroux, game designer John Larson, associate design director Josh Mohan, and senior design director Evan Nikolich, GameSpot got a behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest game-changers set to hit Apex when Season 22: Shockwave goes live on Tuesday, August 6.

One of the most shocking features unveiled in the Shockwave’s gameplay trailer was the new “akimbo” pistol mechanic, which allows players to dual-wield a pair of P2020s or a pair of Mozambiques. These two weapons are easily some of the weakest in the game, and players usually abandon them in favor of a stronger weapon as soon as they find one. GameSpot was eager to hear the story behind the akimbo pistols, and was surprised to learn that the dual-wielding feature was originally used in the testing process for a new (currently unreleased) weapon.

“We just really wanted to do it,” Canavese explained, grinning. “You know, I’ve played dual-wield weapons in a lot of games before, and [there has] always [been] that question in the back of our minds: ‘What would that ever look like in Apex?’ I think we had finished releasing a weapon, and it was like, ‘Well, what should we do next?'”

“We were trying lots of different prototypes, and we were like, ‘Well, what if we try dual-wielding pistols?'” Canavese continued. “The way that it started was we actually had designed a whole new gun around akimbo, and it was fun and there were some cool quirks to it. But when we were playing it, we said, ‘Oh, well, what if we just made this a system and used it on guns that we currently have?’ And there were no better options than the P2020 and the Mozambique, which are generally very weak and lower-tier weapons that you get rid of [early in a match]. So there was this desire to kind of find out what it would be like to finish games and unironically run [the P2020 and Mozambique] into the endgame and final rings. Focusing in on their CQC capabilities meant they were a really viable option for those final rings where everybody kind of closes in on each other. You don’t really need to be ADSing at that point, so [there’s] just this, like, crazy hip-fire spray-and-pray with these guns [that] felt really good.”

Canavese explained that the development of the new akimbo pistols required a lot of trial and error, but ultimately, the devs emerged victorious.

“This is what we landed on, and we’re actually really, really happy with how they turned out,” Canavese said of the dual-wielding mechanic, which effectively trades the ability to ADS for major weapon buffs, making the pistols fully automatic with an increased rate of fire and tighter bullet spread when hip-firing.

Naturally, the next thing we wanted to know was if the original, currently unreleased weapon Respawn had initially used to design the akimbo mechanic would ever appear in the game.

“If it ever comes back, it will probably be much different,” Canavese told GameSpot. “We did like things about it, it just didn’t feel like the right time to release something like that. But never say never! It’s in our tool chest of prototypes, and if we ever find that a season needs something like that–or the weapon roster and the meta are feeling stale in some way, and that sort of addition can improve it–then absolutely. We always like going back to old prototypes that had some legs. That’s always on the table.”

Moving on to the topic of Shockwave’s new map–the enormous, cyberpunk-themed E-District–we inquired about the inspiration behind the map itself and the POIs within it. During previews, Apex Legends world director Ed Agostini said that “building a night map brings its challenges,” and explained that creating the densely packed map forced the dev team to ask themselves, “What does a night map look like that’s well-lit?”

“I think the POIs were designed first and foremost for gameplay,” Agostini told GameSpot, adding that Tokyo’s Shibuya Center was a huge inspiration for the map at large, but also its Neon Square POI.

“Shibuya Center [was] the inspiration [for Neon Square] because we were creating a downtown core and we had this major intersection,” Agostini explained. “Blossom Drive has some inspiration from other parts of Tokyo as well, with the canals and the sakura trees. I think the other POIs–when we talk about other cultures–we would infuse cultures into some of the POIs like the Galleria has a very Arabic theme, same with our resort. We have all of our apartments, [and] you’ll find Korean and Chinese influences in there. Some of [the architecture] has a bit of Japanese or Asian flavor, because we were inspired by Ghost in the Shell and [other] anime as well. So we’re trying to capture a bit of that in every aspect of the map.”

But a new map–especially one the size of E-District–brings with it new challenges, and GameSpot was eager to learn if the development team faced any roadblocks while creating Apex’s latest digital playground.

“I think [when you’re] building a dense map like this, you know that not every square inch is going to be playable,” Agostini said. “Not every building is going to be enterable, and in Apex, more often than not, all our buildings can be interacted with. So we had to kind of come up with a visual language that was very clear. Buildings that are enterable are well-lit, they have color on them, and then the buildings that are not [able to be entered] are usually more [like a] backdrop and kind of grey. Now, we do have buildings that you can still clamber over and play on the rooftop, but we call them ‘dud buildings.’ They fill up the rotations and they just give you a bit more cover as you’re going through the spaces.”

“That was one challenge: to think outside the box and [think about] how we take the Apex design language and layouts and translate that into an urban environment,” Agostini continued. “And then another [challenge] is probably just setting this whole thing at night. We’ve done night maps before, but I think this time we wanted to make sure that players [aren’t going] to feel frustrated because it’s too dark. So we had to find that right level of artificial light from light pollution and all the neon, and bring up the visibility so that it still gives you the impression of night, but it’s gameplay-friendly, first and foremost.”

While on the topic of visibility, GameSpot asked the devs about some of the new changes to Battle Sense, an in-game system meant to function as a sort of “sixth sense” for players. Season 22 will see the introduction of both visible enemy health bars and a new feature that highlights enemies when they’re close to the player.

“Enemy health bars will take the guesswork out of how much damage you’re doing to each opponent, and [allow you to see] if they really are ‘one shot’ [away from being downed],” associate design director Josh Mohan explained during Season 22 previews.

“Exactly how far [away enemies are highlighted], I don’t think we know right off the top,” Canavese told GameSpot. “We were tuning it up and down right until the very end, so where exactly it landed is much more of a ‘feel’ thing than it was to make sure that it worked at specific ranges. I think players will notice that as they’re playing it. Hopefully they’ll be like, ‘That seems about right.'”

“These [Battle Sense features] will be opt-in/opt-out so players can play the way they want,” Mohan chimed in. “We feel these are powerful tools–we’re going to turn them on by default–but ultimately, it’s in the player’s hands to control the kind of experience they want.”

After getting the lowdown on the new map and seasonal gameplay changes, it was time to learn more about what is easily the most controversial change to Apex’s seasonal formula: the decision to swap out a single, 110-level battle pass for two individual, 60-level battle passes each season.

Initially, Respawn announced that the new battle passes would also be accompanied by a change in how those battle passes are purchased. Instead of being able to use Apex Coins (AC) earned from completing previous battle passes to unlock new ones, players would only be able to purchase them directly for $10 each, putting an end to five years of battle passes that were effectively free once a player completed the first battle pass they ever purchased.

This led to players review-bombing the game, sending its Steam user-score plummeting from “overwhelmingly positive” to “mostly positive” (it’s currently sitting at a “mixed” overall rating). In response to the negative feedback from players, Respawn made some last-minute changes to the new battle-pass system, once again allowing players to unlock each pass by spending 950 AC.

During previews, the devs explained that the reasons behind the changes to the battle-pass system were twofold: Many players weren’t even finishing their battle pass, so splitting it in half seemed like the best solution to that issue. Additionally, players who did finish their battle pass weren’t equipping most of the loot they’d unlocked by completing it, which resulted in a loot overhaul and the removal of seasonal stat trackers.

“The thing is, [seasonal splits] do attract some players to come back, or re-engage[s] new players, and if you’re coming back and you’ve lapsed in the battle pass, it feels too daunting [to complete it], and [players] also feel like, ‘Why? Why should I care?'” senior design director Evan Nikolich told GameSpot. “If you’re new, it’s not even worth it for you to engage, so splitting up the two battle passes allows for [mid-season re-engagement], and also meets the player-behavior expectations in today’s market. Players get pulled all around [by] the different games that come in and out, and having an option to come back in and play your game [and let it have] a meaningful progression is something we wanted to do.”

But these changes also mean that players who want to complete an entire season’s pair of battle passes will ultimately be faced with a total of 120 levels to grind through each season instead of 110. So why split the battle pass in two–adding an extra 10 levels for players to unlock every season–instead of just increasing the amount of XP Boosts gained in each battle pass?

“We could do the the rocketing of XP and whatnot, but with it comes a more tricky economic balance versus splitting it up in two,” Nikolich explained. “I think [splitting it] is just a cleaner option for the player.”

With all the changes coming to the game in Season 22, we wanted to know which new feature the dev team was most proud of, and most excited to see players react to.

“I’m gonna say Bot Royale, giving players an opportunity to have that kind of safe space to be able to practice and onboard their friends,” design director Chris “C4” Cleroux answered, referring to a new PvE limited-time mode that will launch during the new season. “It’s accessible to everybody, and it’s not [like] that limited orientation match. I really hope players will enjoy that experience.”

Apex Legends players will get a first-hand look at all the new features discussed above when Season 22: Shockwave goes live on Tuesday, August 6 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.