Apex Legends Mobile Closed Beta Preview – Champion In-Progress

Respawn Entertainment launched the closed beta for Apex Legends Mobile in Malaysia recently, so after giving it a shot, here is our preview.

Veterans of the game on PC might find the mobile version of the game to be an entirely new experience. Whether you are new or experienced to Apex Legends, carry on reading this preview to learn how is it like on mobile!

Jumping Ship

The mobile version of the game starts off pretty much identical to the PC or console versions. Players can choose their respective Legends, each with their own special abilities. The Legends are faithful to their PC or console counterparts, which is exactly what I expected when I played this mobile port.

Once the match start, you will get to scout and plan out where you want to go on the map. Parachute with your teammates and gather all the supplies you can. Hopefully, there would not be any enemy players nearby that may end your run prematurely. Just like the original, the Ring still closes in all players, so you better pick your fights wisely if you want to end up as Champions.

Players can also use ropes to zipline wherever they want. If you aren’t already familiar, Apex Legends does not have any vehicles, so this helps to aid mobility in-game. If you really want to reach higher places, simply use Octane as his Launch Pads will send you right there.

The guns and characters in Apex Legends Mobile are all present in the original, so veterans should find the mobile version easy to get into. However, there is one drastic change and that is the option to choose between TPP (Third Person) or FPP (First Person) camera angles. This is more or less identical to PUBG Mobile. TPP is useful for looking around you on the smaller screen of your mobile device while FPP is better suited for taking accurate shots. Playing the game in TPP may be awkward to veteran Apex Legends players, but it is not too hard to get into.

Modes Aplenty

On the main screen, you can access the various modes offered in Apex Legends Mobile. Topping off this list is of course, World’s Edge. As the traditional battle royale game mode, players will need to procure their own gear, fight each other to the death while staying clear of the Ring.

A more intense and fast-paced experience is Always be Closing. In this mode, the ring does not wait for the player. This makes the match a race to the centre. Also, don’t miss out on the initial wave of Supply Drops!

There is also Armed and Dangerous, a mode that only lets players wield sniper rifles and shotguns. This changes how the game is played dramatically, with distance being a much bigger factor in fights.

Airdrop Takeover is another option, where premium loot is literally raining from the sky. Supply Drops are practically everywhere and they get more and more common as time passes. The loot quality also increases over time. Unfortunately, I was not able to give this mode a try for this preview since it was only available in Apex Legends Mobile for a limited time.

Finally, Free Practice is there for those who wish to hone their skills. For new players, it is highly recommended to use this mode to learn more about the abilities of specific Legends. Note that there was no Arena mode during this preview of Apex Legends Mobile.

The Climb to Champion

As stated earlier, Apex Legends Mobile captures the experience of playing the game on console and PC very well. It is well optimised and plays smoothly, even with the smaller screen and challenges of playing on mobile. There are also options to change the position of the buttons on your screen, which is incredibly helpful (similar to PUBG Mobile).

Note that this Apex Legends Mobile preview is based on the closed beta version of the game. As such, there are obviously some bugs and performance issues that I encountered. Once such example is when Mirage activates his Ultimate, Life of the Party, there will be noticeable lag. The clones that appear from his Ultimate also have a tendency to bug out and behave weirdly.

Another issue that I sometimes encountered is being unable to exit the game. When this happens, the only way I can leave the game is by tapping on the home screen of my phone and swiping the app away.

Graphically speaking, the game retains the art style of the original game and is easy on the eyes with its soft tones and colours. Because of that, it stands out more than PUBG Mobile I feel, since that game has a lot more lookalikes than Apex Legends Mobile.

The Men, The Myths, The Legends

What makes Apex Legends gameplay so unique is its emphasis on Legends and their various abilities. Respawn Entertainment did a great job in implementing the skills of the Legends from the PC and console versions to the mobile port. I had a smooth experience using the skills of Bloodhound, Wraith and Gibraltar, but did encounter some bugs with Mirage, as stated earlier.

Note that in this beta, there are only 12 playable Legends. This will probably be the game’s roster at launch, but there is undoubtedly more Legends coming from the PC and console versions.

Here are the 12 available Legends and their skills:

All Legends also have their own Finishers, which plays a short cutscene and ends the fallen enemies’ life. For players who want to really rub the salt in your opponent’s loss, Apex Legends Mobile has you covered in that department.

Players can customise their Legends by purchasing and equipping new skins, banners and emotes. They can be bought with Apex Coins, the game’s currency.

Other Features

PC and Console players will be pleased to know that most of the weapons are also available in the mobile versions. You can have a preview of the weapons in Apex Legends Mobile or try them out yourself in Free Practice. There are also skins for these weapons in the Store. If you want to be more accurate, you can also turn Aim Assist on (but overdependence may hamper your growth as a player).

There is also Battle Pass in Apex Legends Mobile, but because the game is still in closed beta, purchasing the pass with Syndicate Gold is not available at the moment. Purchasing the Battle Pass grants players tons of rewards through the completion of various missions. There are two kinds of Battle Pass, namely the Advance Pass and the Premium Pass.

There are also Daily and Weekly missions which are available to all players. Completing them is very easy as most of them will be accomplished naturally through gameplay. There are also some limited-time missions. For example, in this Beta, one of these missions is to play 20 matches during its duration. Completing these missions also give players rewards. You can also earn rewards simply by logging in via the Daily Login Reward system.

If you want to unlock more stuff, you will need Apex Coins. Understandably, in-app purchases are not yet available in the beta at the moment. However, One feature that is already implemented is the Leaderboards. You can track your progress across servers or seasons and see how you compare against others.

Closing Thoughts

Even though this is just a beta, I am very pleased with how Respawn Entertainment is treating its mobile port. There are still some bugs and some features are not yet implemented, but I am confident that it will shake up the mobile battle royal genre. Who knows, there might even be local Apex Legends Mobile esports tournaments coming to you in the future.

For now, you can learn more about the closed beta here.

Apex Legends

Publisher: EA

Developer: Respawn Entertainment

Release Date: 2019-02-04

Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

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