Map Thoughts

Mobility: King's Canyon's mobility felt amazing; the use of sloped surfaces to really take advantage of the new and improve sliding mechanic was not only fun to move around, but it also added a sort of balls to the walls combat maneuver that could have a huge pay-off. Octane's Gauntlet was also really great, and I wish the bounce pads would show up more in the maps as they are a ton of fun. World's Edge really lacks the mobility that made King's Canyon with less "insane" movement options.

Size and Space: IMO World's Edge is a wee bit too big. However King's Canyon can often feel a bit claustrophobic. For example Skull Town vs. Capitol City; Skull Town is an absolute cluster fuck which although is a lot of fun gives zero breathing room while Capitol City gives a little too much breathing room, and there is a lot of empty space where nothing is really going on. However that's not to say there shouldn't be claustrophobic spaces; I love Bunker and Lab they were absolute intense nuthouses where enemies were always breathing down your neck, but squads couldn't just waltz in. There is two places to leave and enter in both so dealing with third parties is a lot more manageable. I also really like the big megastructures like Cage and the various highrises on World's Edge; having certain areas that are a lot more vertical is an amazing change of pace. I also really love the sort of "secret areas" like that mountain right by Skyhook and that house by Pit and the Truck Stop. They are out of the way enough that your first visit feels like stumbling across a new world, and further visits feel like a special treat because you can go to "That Spot".

Aesthetic: IMO World's Edge is gorgeous just complete eye candy to look at, and I think the less drab color palette is a real improvement. That's not to say the colors have to bright all the time just that they should really pop and not just be this drab orange and green delio that King's Canyon is rocking.

Gimmicks: World's Edge introduced a lot of new gimmicks like Vaults and Cargo Bots and lava, but got rid of a lot like airships, loot ticks, leviathans, and flyers. I really like how the gimmicks are much more interactive with the changing colors and opening the vaults; it made it feel much less luck based. However I really think there should be something that makes mid-game hot zones like if instead of being a key the vaults would unlock after a certain amount of time just something to add some optional spice into the more slow mid-game.

Respawn has done a really good job with maps so far, and although they both have their faults they are super fun to play on, and makes you adapt different playstyles for various individual games and situations. There are only two real problems I have, 1 is that it seems like Respawn just hasn't gotten down size yet which isn't too much of a big deal as this is their first time making a battle royale and it's going to take time to find the right balance between up close brawls and long range engangements. 2. The mobility feels a bit lacking in the new map, and I really hope this isn't the start of a trend as the movement is IMO what sets Apex apart and makes the gameplay feel so crisp so once again IMO I think ability should be incorporated around the map with a lot of spots like Octane's Gauntlet that encourage high mobility engangements that's not to say all spots should be like this but I think having more won't hurt.