Apex Legends Season 21 is coming, bringing with it the standard changes of every season and then some. Among those changes are the introduction of the chaotic playable character Alter, the return of Solos, changes to Ranked, and a revamped Broken Moon.
Apex Legends' Broken Moon is not the most popular among players, for a variety of reasons, and because of this, developer Respawn Entertainment recognized a few "unhealthy trends" that were happening. For example, many players would avoid Promenade and not engage with key features around the map. Ahead of Season 21's launch, lead level designer Steve Young spoke with The Best War Games about how the team took a microscope to its problems and decided, among other changes, to nuke Promenade.
Broken Moon's Containment Zone and Biome Refresh
Replacing Promenade is the Containment Zone, which is not nearly as dangerous and thrives off of controlled chaos, with Young explaining that it is a more "self-contained and compartmentalized POI now." In Containment Zone, everything is wrapped up and in quarantine as, lore-wise, scientists study new alien eggs discovered on Broken Moon. Alongside this is a significant biome refresh to make Broken Moon stand out further and better from other Apex Legends maps. As a whole, Lead level designer Steve Young said has put "a lot of thoughtfulness" into the design as well as fleshing out camps and placing mini-POIs "pretty much everywhere." Discussing the Containment Zone and the biome refresh as a whole, Young explained,
We don't have the chaotic zip lines, pass-throughs, chokes, and whatever that were leading players in and through that area anymore. Now it's much more intentional and much more intuitive. As far as the rotations both in and around there are concerned, we now have really fun zip lines within the Containment Zone itself that are only used for rotational purposes within that POI. In my opinion, it's the most fun use of those.
... We also wanted to make sure that, visually, it was much more distinct than any of our other maps the second time around. The biome refresh just looks and feels like a brand new map compared to where it was before.
Containment Zone is Not a Death Trap Like Promenade
Thanks to the new update, players won't have to avoid Promenade like a plague anymore because it simply doesn't exist. In the Containment Zone, players don't have to worry about a "Point A vs. Point B" concept and can make more tactical decisions because of the aforementioned changes. When asked what he'd say to players who, historically, avoided Promenade,
Now you can avoid Promenade forever because it's not there anymore, but the new Containment Zone in the center plays great... It's very well laid out so that you can come up with really fun, creative strategies. If you need to quickly rotate and get out of there, you can do that too. It's not a death trap anymore like it was before.
Apex Legends seems to have been receptive to players' feedback and concerns with Broken Moon. It remains to be seen how these changes are received, but at least on paper, they sound exciting and could really fine-tune the Apex Legends meta on Broken Moon.
Apex Legends
- Released
- February 4, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play* Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.
Master an ever-growing roster of diverse legends, deep tactical squad play, and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.
This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Source on console/PC, Unreal Engine 4 on mobile
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android, Switch
- Genre(s)
- Battle Royale, First-Person Shooter
