Fortnite and Apex Legends have both made big stirs in the Battle Royale genre. Since the launch of the newest game in the massively popular genre, Apex Legends, it has amassed a ton of new players, more than 10 million in a week in fact. The king of the hill is still undeniably Fortnite in terms of raw player numbers, but Apex is starting to rumble up to their heels.
Many reasons exist for this perfect storm of early success, but there’s a few common elements that connect players testimony as to why the game is so great. One of the most-cited elements is the ease of communication of both enemy positions and loot drops, it’s just so easy to let your teammates know what’s going on around you at all times in Apex. A big part of that is the complex Ping system which allows players to highlight the location of enemies, ammo and other important information. You can even use it to let other players know when you need something like a gear upgrade or more ammo.
And now, with the launch of Season 8, Fortnite is agreeing that this system is good, so much so that they just straight up copied it. Some people might be a little miffed at this kind of practice. But I would argue that these kinds of innovations that make games easier to get into and sustain are a net positive for the whole industry. I say copy good ideas all day.
Pinging on Fortnite is just as easy as it is in Apex.
PC players can press the middle mouse button; those on Xbox One simply press left bumper; those on PS4 press L1; and those on Switch press “L” to designate a specific area of interest for their teammates to investigate.
If you’re looking to get into Fortnite now, and you’re coming from Apex Legends, the jump won’t be quite as jarring with this new addition. And with the incoming launch of 11 new characters, called Legends, and an ongoing content schedule that should keep the game fresh, it looks like Apex will be around for a good while.
Fortnite‘s Season 8 is available for download now. Apex Legends can be played for free on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Source: Fortnite Blog
