Equippable gear inApex Legendsare wearable items that provide players with either a buff to their defenses or additional boons. There are four pieces of equipable gear - Helmets, Body/ Evo Shields, Knockdown Shields, and Backpacks. Helmets, while not adding to a player’s base shields, decrease the damage received to a player’s head.Body Shields and Evo Shields grant players extra layers of defense, with higher tiers providing more shields and Evo Shields having the added bonus of evolving once their wearers have done enough damage. Knockdown Shields protect downed players with a deployable shield that increases their defenses at the cost of movement speed. Last but not least, Backpacks allow players to carry more items such as ammo, healing supplies, and grenades.
Gear inApex Legendsworks much like a standard battle royale; with higher tier items providing more defense or backpack space. ButApex Legendsalso has level 4 tier items. These golden items share similar stats as level 3 items but have added effects that can aid the user and their squad. A level 4 helmet decreases a legend’s tactical and ultimate ability cooldowns. A level 4 Body Shield improves the effects of minor heal items like Syringes and Shield Cells. A level 4 backpack provides extra shields and health to revived allies. But by far the most criticized extra ability thatApex Legends' equippable gear provides is the self-revive mechanic of the level 4 Knockdown Shield.
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I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again
As its name implies, the self-revive mechanic allowsplayers equipped with a level 4 Knockdown Shieldto revive themselves once downed. By holding down a specific button, an animation wherein the players' legends will jab themselves with a syringe and stand up afterward commences. The animation is extremely slow and those within the vicinity of the reviving player will easily hear them. This is to offset the ability of an otherwise defeated squad to make a comeback.
From the user’s standpoint, a level 4Knockdown Shielddoesn’t provide much of an advantage. Even if they manage to pull off a self-revive, players have to recover by using healing items and reloading their empty weapons. These can be offset by equipping a level 4 Backpack and level 4 extended magazines (the former allows a revive with bonus shields and health and the latter automatically reloads stored weapons), but the slow and audible animation that plays easily gives away a player attempting a revive.
Players Who Get Knocked Down Together Die Together
The majority of criticism comes from those who have to fight players equipped with level 4 Knockdown Shields. While it is relatively easy to eliminate a squad equipped with a level 4 Knockdown Shield, the extra time it takes to do so leaves the attacking squad open to third parties who are looking to eliminate them. This can result in the attacking squad losing the kills for the initial battle or worse, getting eliminated by another squad. When taken in the context ofApex Legends' Ranked mode, this would betantamount to losing Ranked Points.
Speaking of Ranked, the initial squad that was eliminated can still manage to increase their standing by simply holding out. Say a Ranked game ofApex Legendswith three squads remaining plays out. Squad 1 gets completely knocked down but has a level 4 Knockdown Shield equipped, making it so that the players from Squad 2 who downed them don’t get points for the knocks. This allows Squad 3 to move in on Squad 2 and push the advantage. Seeing as Squad 2 doesn’t have a level 4 Knockdown Shield, they get eliminated and take third place; leaving Squad 1 to take second place once they have been finished off by Squad 3.
Apex Legendsplayersmight not always find themselves in positions like this, but the fact that they exist is a cause for concern. It’s this feeling of being unrewarded for good gameplay that makes the self-revive mechanic so controversial. The ease of being able to rat out a firefight makes it almost a requirement for squads to carry a level 4 Knockdown Shield.
There Is Hope Over The Horizon
Thankfully, the era of the self-revive mechanic is almost at an end. Respawn Entertainment has announced that the mechanic will be completely removed fromApex Legendsonceseason 14, Hunted, drops this August 9. The level 4 Knockdown Shield will gain the Guardian Angel perk of the level 4 Backpack while the level 4 Backpack will gain a new perk that allows players to carry more Shield Batteries, Med Kits, and Phoenix Kits per inventory slot. With the self-revive mechanic soon gone from the game, players both old and new will find thatApex Legendsis slowly moving to a more balanced, healthy play style.
Apex Legendsis available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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