A Limited-Time Mode? In my Trios and Duos? It’s more likely than you think. Airdrop Escalation is the first-ever LTM that while be classified as a Takeover. Unlike the Town Takeover, Airdrop Escalation will not add a new location to the map. Unlike past LTMs, it will not be an alternative game mode. Instead, Takeover LTMs will be inserted into Trios and Duos for the duration of the Fight Night event.
You will be able to tell when you are entering an Airdrop Escalation match (or any future Takeover match), because there will be an indicator on the main lobby screen saying that the Takeover is active. The Takeover will never be active in Ranked Matches or the Firing Range. It is for Duos and Trios only.
How Airdrop Escalation mode works
In a normal game of Apex Legends, a supply drop will have one neutral care package falling from the sky. In Airdrop Escalation, every drop will have clusters of care packages dropping all over the map of escalating rarity tiers, beginning with Rare and ending with Heirloom. The drop locations on the map will be color-coded to the tier of loot that lies within.
Right on drop, you will see the blue Rare-tier care package drop locations on the mini-map. The next drop will be purple Epic-tier care packages, then gold Legendary-tier ones, and finally, the final drop will be red Heirloom-tier care packages.
Each care package will be full of things like body shields, backpacks, and helmets, but also fully-kitted weapons and their ammunition.
Airdrop Escalation Fully-Kitted Weapons
Like the rest of the loot, the fully-kitted weapons in the drops will be kitted out with add-ons of that rarity tier. This means there will now be fully-kitted rare-tier (blue) and epic-tier (purple) guns alongside the gold-tier and heirloom special weapons we know and love. This is the first time that weapons like this have made an appearance.
As per usual, players cannot take off or equip new add-ons like Hop-Ups or optics to a fully-kitted weapon. This means that if you find a blue fully-kitted weapon, while it will be of great use in early game, regardless of how much you like the gun, you probably want to ditch it by late game. Replacing it, of course, is what the higher-tier airdrops are for.
Overall, this LTM Takeover will definitely shake things up, but players can choose how much they and their squad want to prioritize it while playing a Trios or Duos match.
Published: Jan 1, 2021 08:42 pm