Map and ping system
Starting a game in Apex Legends works a little differently from other battle royales. After you’ve picked your Legends, one among you is designated the “jumpmaster” and directs all three of you at once as you deploy from the transport ship above the map and soar towards your desired landing location. The other teammates can choose whether to allo the jumpmaster to control them or to peel off from the pack at a certain point. All in all it’s an intuitive feature which encourages team members landing close together so that they can help each other out.
At the moment there’s just the one map, called King’s Canyon; and its Planetside-esque mix of harsh desert terrain and technologically advanced structures makes for a very expansive, vertical and well-designed map, with each location striking a balance between open terrain and plenty of cover for firefights. There are 17 named locations spread across the map:
ArtilleryRunoffMarketSlum LakesBunkerSkull TownRelaySwampsRepulsorThe PitAirbaseThunderdomeWetlandsBridgesWater TreatmentCascadesHydro Dam
Because of the Ring’s steady conquering of the map, it’s useful to pick a more central spot, not only because you’re more likely to stay in the Ring longer, but also because it allows you to rotate in any direction to avoid (or look for) fights. But on the flipside of this, landing near the coast limits the directions from which enemies can approach.
Apex Legends Ping system
Central to Apex Legends is their philosophy of fostering close teamwork through the system on offer. Most notable is their Ping system, which allows players to “ping” (i.e. highlight) something of interest, whether it’s a helmet lying on the ground or an enemy on the horizon. Whatever you ping, your Legend will voice a preset line to your teammates indicating exactly what you’re talking about. Pinging an extended mag attachment on the ground will result in your Legend saying something like “Extended Light Mag here, Level 1”.
It’s an excellent, well thought out system which you should use at every opportunity to communicate clearly with your teammates. Bind your “ping” action to something easy to reach, and let your teammates know about any information which might help you as a group to achieve victory. For full details on the various options that the Ping system offers players, keep an eye out for our upcoming Apex Legends Ping and Communication guide.