When battle royals like Fortnite became popular a few years, many others like Call of Duty and Firestorm followed that formula. It became a stale template. However, the surprising release of Apex Legends has changed the landscape of the battle royale genre. Apex Legends is different and revolutionary in many ways, as it is easier to get into and features smaller map sizes with no dull moments.

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Furthermore, the introduction of characters with different abilities similar to Overwatch gave Respawn's game a unique dimension. All these things have made Apex such a threat that Fortnite had to change its mechanics. Now, the game is launching on the Nintendo Switch, it's a good time to learn what the game has to offer.

10 Maps

Apex Legends offers three different maps for three very different experiences. King's Canyon is the first map the game launched with, followed by World's Edge and Olympus. All three of these maps have different things to offer the player and their team. For example, Kings Canyon has tons of houses, closed-off spaces, and no cover.

Therefore, players would just use the medium to close-range weapons like the Eva-8 or the R 309. However, Olympus has tons of open spaces, plenty of cover, and not as many houses. On this map, players opt for sniper rifles or long-range weapons because most people will be hiding here. World's Edge is great because it offers the best of both maps but leans more on King's Cayon side.

9 Weapons

Like most battle royal games, it's the weapons that make up a large chunk of Apex Legends. With each new season of the games comes new weapons. In this case, Apex Legends is in the midst of season 8, and this season has some pretty helpful weapons. Picking them up is only the first step, however, as more often than not the gun has terrible stats. Like high recoil, low damage, low weapon magazine.

Therefore, getting attachments that can be upgraded makes firefights night and day. Players who spend more time looting will end up staying in the game longer. Each weapon type offers different things to what players what, so experimenting is always a good idea.

8 Armor

Armor is just as important as weapons because they protect the player. When the game first dropped, the armor worked differently. Players would find level one armor and would need to find levels 2,3,4 and 5 pieces on the map. Now, players can still find higher-level armor on the map, but they can also shoot enemy players and each shot adds to the build-up of getting a higher-level piece.

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In other words, the armor evolves into a level 2 or higher armor set. If players have a helmet and body armor, both will upgrade at the same time. This makes it easier for newcomers and veterans since everyone can eventually get on the same level.

7 Cross-Play

Since gaming is now becoming more and more console agnostic, it makes sense for the Switch version of the game to have cross-play. After all, Xbox players can play with PlayStation or PC players. This helps bring more players together, allowing them to play with their friends who don't play on the same platform.

Players may face issues when playing with people on higher-end platforms, mainly due to the frame rate and graphic fidelity. Ultimately, the Switch can only handle so much. However, that shouldn't push players away because it helps bring people together without spending more money.

6 Lower Frame-Rate

Obviously, the Switch isn't as powerful as its counterparts and it shows. Players will find that the game suffers from low frame rate issues. This can be found on the title screen and in gameplay. With cross-play automatically enabled, this leaves players playing on the Switch at quite a disadvantage.

When players are playing on other platforms with higher frame rates, the change is noticeable. Switch players need to compensate for each shot because they're performing at 30 fps during a crucial firefight. As opposed to players on PC who are working with a 120 plus frame rate, and can easily dip in and out.

5 Playing On A Bigger Screen

The whole point of Nintendo's console is to take it on the go, but for games like Apex Legends, portability can undermine the whole experience. The game suffers from an audio issue where players sometimes hear the footsteps of an enemy player as if it's friendly, and it goes in and out.

This issue would be more prevalent on the Switch because the speakers aren't as loud as big-screen TVs. The other is that Apex Legends is an online game, which requires the internet. Many players would either be playing this at their homes or a place with a stable connection. Docking it is usually the better idea.

4 Learning The Legends

What separates Apex from the other games of the genre is the roster it has to offer. They have unique abilities, making them good at specific things like healing. This has allowed the base to pick and chose who they like more. Each character gives the player something different and each legend has their own difficulty.

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Experimenting with characters is a must, unlike the other battle royale games where everyone drops as the same. If players play as Lifeline, they can bring a knocked down teammate back quickly without having to press the revive button. Her robot does everything including healing the squad. Each character has something to offer.

3 Customizing The Character

Apex Legends offers customization with gun and character skins, sadly most of the cooler ones have been taken out of the rotation. However, the developer Respawn has been pretty good with adding more. Events happen more often than not and they have special timed items that come with them.

This gives players an incentive to play a little more. Rather than paying money for a skin, they can wait it out for an event to drop it for free. Even the base skins that come with the game can give the players a feeling of uniqueness.

2 New Season, New Legend

To keep things fresh every season, Respawn has seasons just like every other battle royal. The new stuff for Apex Legends isn't behind a paywall, but players can pay for new legends and skins. Each season there's a new legend and the most recent one, Fuse, was added to the roster on February 2, 2021.

The addition of new legends adds more dimensions to the games, triggering more creative firefights. Every season also has events that add new things for players to find and potentially keep provided they survive. It's a great way to keep people coming back.

1 Slow Matchmaking

The Switch isn't the top-of-the-line gaming console, and it doesn't need to be since Nintendo markets it as an "on-the-go" type console. Being a hybrid console, Nintendo made sacrifices and it shows in Apex Legends. Matchmaking takes mere moments on the other platforms, however, on the Switch things load slower.

Since it has slower matchmaking capabilities, it also has longer loading times. These points could be dealbreakers for anyone who has access to other consoles or a PC.

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