The appearance of Apex Legends remains a pleasant surprise by Respawn, as the game was never unannounced or hinted it until the weekend before it launched. Not many developers release their games this way. But public opinion about the new battle royale title has remained positive, and fans are excited about what comes next.
Though, if you’re new and haven’t tried it out for yourself, there’s plenty to learn within a few seconds of your first jump. An important detail to learn about is how Apex Legends’ map works, and where you need to go for loot.
Apex Legends Map Guide | Hot Zones, Loot Locations And More
Here’s a breakdown of the most important details for you to keep in mind while you’re running around, trying to survive!
Loot-tier Zones
Much like many battle royale games, you’re jumping into the map without any gear. You have to fend for yourself and find items scattered throughout the map.
One helpful thing Apex Legends includes is notifying you the variety of loot you’re likely to find when you enter a new area. You’ll see this information flash under the name of the area you’ve entered on the upper left section of your screen right next to your map.
Some areas, such as the Oasis found to the east of the Runoff, won’t have any named loot-tier. It’s because these smaller areas are not designated on the map though that remains restricted to areas where you won’t find as many buildings. If you’re looking for the best areas to loot, ensure you and your squad stick to named locations.
There are two different loot-tiers, mid-tier, and high-tier. The locations on the outside of the map, such as Thunderdome, Swamp, and Water Treatment, are high-tier drop locations. Whereas the Market, Skull Town, and Bunker, are mid-tier.
These details may influence your team to pick an outside area to drop in yet. But there are other factors to take into account, such as where the Hot Zone is and where the Drop Ship is landing.
What is a Hot Zone?
Akeen to many battle royale games, Apex Legends had to include a juicy starting location to make players fight over some great loot. This location changes each match, and it’s called the Hot Zone.
You can find it on your map designated by the small, light blue circle wrapped around a location. What makes this area so unique? If you drop in this location, you have the likelihood of finding a weapon fully equipped with great attachments, making it a high-priority if you want to start strong!
There’s a catch, though. Everyone in the entire game can see this. So you and your squadmates are going to fight as soon as you land!
What is the Drop Ship?
Not only do you have the opportunity to grab an incredible weapon from the Hot Zone, but you can also attain highly sought after weapons and gear from the mobile Drop Ship. You’ll see this ship flying in on the mobile as soon as you spawn in, a small black-and-white little icon hovering on the map.
The Drop Ship does not have a directed course as it flies around the map. However, you can see where it’s going to land highlighted by a small, blue pulsating icon on the map. You can anticipate some players attempting to ambush it when it falls, but don’t expect to find anything if other teams already landed on it during the start.
Much like the Hot Zone, the Drop Ship is likely going to have players attempting to land there as soon as the match begins. If your team aims to drop here, prepare to enter the fray using fisticuffs and keep your trigger finger ready.
An important note: A current bug in the game has it so if another teammate attempts to revive you on the ship the reviving animation keeps the pair of you suspended in the air, even as the ship continues to move. If you’re getting revived from a teammate, expect a rocky landing. Also, if you die on the ship, your loot container/banner stays suspended in the air where it went down. Proceed with caution!
Hot Air Ballons
Have you seen this floating air balloons scattered all over the map, the ones with the line of rope underneath them? Because Respawn did not include vehicles in Apex Legends, they had to find a way to make it easier to traverse the map. The hot air balloons are their solution!
When you get to one of these balloons, your character zips up the rope similar to the other zip lines found throughout the game. Once you’re at the top, you fly out the same way you jump out of the transport at the start of the match. You can go a reasonable distance, ensuring you’re never too far away from your squad.
Before you get to the top point to the direction, you want to go; you don’t want to waste any of your jump flying in the wrong direction, and have to turn around!
Make sure you arrive straight to the top, though. It’s easy to get carried away and drop from the rope too early, disrupting the new jump and you fall straight to the ground.
Sensor Relays
For those playing the Pathfinder, you may not immediately know what your passive means or what to do with it. The final map mention goes out to all of you playing our friendly, wall-slinging robot!
When you take a look at your map, try to find these white radars hidden on the map. These little beauties get easily dismissed if you’re going too quickly.
You can find these sensors randomly activated on the map. Unfortunately, many of them are on the top of buildings, so you’re in for a round of wall-climbing and taking the stairs to get to them. Approach them, and the Pathfinder starts hacking them and, bam! Your entire squad now knows what the next circle is going to be.
You won’t see them on your way down. They show up on your map after the first circle has gone up. So don’t waste your time, grab your weapons and get to a secure location!
Those are some of the essential details you need to know about Apex Legend’s only map! If Respawn releases a new plan, they made additional features to mix-up the already engaging gameplay.
