New map is awful. I thought i hated the last new map, this takes it to 11. Map got even bigger, and in what they call an attempt to reduce third party battles, they used high mountain features to block rotation except through the canyons in between. The mountains are so high Valkyrie can't go over them on a redeploy. So instead you're funneled down very distinct chokepoints every time the ring closes. Gatekeeping is the new normal, and the map leaves you very few options to avoid a choke point and go around another way. Running around forever between points of interest feels very Battlefield/Warzone, and is why I don't play those games. They added the gravity cannons to help get around the massive map, which just feels like yet another gimmick trying to band-aid shitty map design.
Then with the new larger map they made points of interest larger as well, so loot just feels more spread out. Often have to check multiple buildings just to find a gun, since each building only contains a little loot. On top of that, everyone hates the slow looting and the huge amount of running between locations, so instead they just hot drop a few areas every game. Think Skull Town on steroids - instead of third party battles, every drop is 5+ teams, 2 of which have no gun and are running around punching everything that moves.
With this map, a sniper is damn near mandatory for any team. Very long sightlines in most areas of the map.
Points of interest (building areas) are much more vertical - some have 3 or 4 layers now, where previous maps largely stopped at 2/2.5. Does change the game dynamic, also makes some characters with vertical ability much more useful (Pathfinder, Valkyrie, Horizon), while making other characters basically worthless. Some of the new vertical areas feel totally useless and add nothing to gameplay nor to the map "feel." Great to find a new level only to realize there was zero reason to go there, no loot, no good exit, and you're now trapped.
They disabled map rotation and are making everyone play only the new map for the first week, then it will rotate half the time. I'm playing very little until the rotation comes back.
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New CAR is like an R99 but less recoil, it's a way OP laser. Watch some streaming footage of Ottr wrecking servers with it and you'll see. It needs a nerf, badly. Also, no idea why they did the gimmick of it taking either light or heavy ammo and light or heavy mags. Unclear what game dynamic this was supposed to improve. Once they nerf the CAR it'll be just another R99 and Volt.
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Hostile wildlife is largely a gimmick. You come upon spider eggs or predator nests (clearly marked on the map), and if you clear all the wildlife you get some crafting credits. Killed wildlife also drops basic loot. The loot and the crafting credits aren't worth the time spent on killing the wildlife, especially when all your firing is drawing enemy teams in to kill you, and the wildlife loot isn't anything special.
Have been a few humorous moments where a heated battle gets decided when a bunch of wildlife decides to join the party and wreck a team.
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That said, I just saw some blurb where Apex is now the top streamed Battle Royale on Twitch, so they must be doing something right...