As Apex Legends gears up for its 12th Season, some fans are expecting a massive change. Just before the summer of last year, when Season 9 dropped, Apex Legends introduced an entirely new game mode called Arena, which pit players against one another in a more typical style 3v3 battle. Now, according to a reliable source, Apex Legends could be waiting to unveil another brand new game mode.
According to the leak, Apex Legends could get a Domination mode in a similar vein to the Call of Duty series. With the game having already dipped its toe into more classical game modes with the implementation of Arena, the leak not only seems entirely possible, but totally plausible. While Apex Legends presents a few unique challenges in terms of adapting the game to a Domination mode, the idea also gives Respawn Entertainment the chance to tailor the mode specifically for Apex Legends and add its own unique spin.
Apex Legends Needs to Make Each Characters’ Abilities Relevant in Domination
Respawn has been firm that its focus will always be on battle royale gameplay. On the plus side, this means that the core gameplay of Apex Legends that players have come to know and love will be preserved, but it also means that characters are going to be balanced with that type of gameplay in mind. As such, characters like Crypto, Wattson, and even Mirage, who possess a ton of versatility in the battle royale, will, by default, struggle in modes like Arena, and potentially in upcoming objective-based modes in Apex Legends. To remedy this, Respawn should make an effort so that the majority of characters’ abilities have useful applications in the Domination game mode.
As an example, Crypto is due for a rework, but his kit could actually be slightly modified to make him useful in objective-based modes. Since he forgoes any movement ability while entering his drone, Respawn could make it so that his drone is able to capture and contest points remotely. If that feels too powerful, perhaps his ultimate ability, drone EMP, could disrupt the point, temporarily stalling the enemy team’s ability to accrue points from it. For underrated characters like Mirage, simply making it so that his holograms are able to contest or capture would be a massive benefit to the character. There are a ton of ways that Respawn could approach this new mode in regard to their current roster, but the key is that each character’s kit should feel relevant and useful.
Apex Legends Can Do Domination in Its Own Style
When Call of Duty: Vanguard introduced Patrol, it essentially took Hardpoint, put a slight spin on it, and created a completely different-feeling mode. Not only can Apex Legends draw inspiration from this idea, but it can also play with the typical Domination mode even more than the Call of Duty franchise can. While a Domination mode with three roving capture points would feel borderline absurd in Call of Duty, Apex Legends’ characters have enough mobility to make it work. If they wanted to make it so that only Recon-type characters can capture points and mandate that every team has at least one character of that type, it could make for an even more complex twist.
The other alternative is that Respawn leaves the game mode more or less untouched, but introduces elements that are unprecedented within Apex Legends. For instance, fans have long been calling for an Apex Legends mode that introduces larger squads. As part of the leak, it was suggested that the teams would be larger, consisting of anywhere from 9 to 12 players. This alone would be enough to make the Domination-style mode feel entirely new.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
