Team Deathmatch finally came to Apex Legends as part of the game’s sixteenth season, Revelry. TDM replaced Arenas mode, and it adds a nice alternative to the original Battle Royale mode for folks who want to run-and-gun in much quicker fashion. Of course, while TDM is a great deal of fun, it’s still in its early stages, so some issues will need ironing out.
Here are five updates I’d like to see in Apex Legends Team Deathmatch in the (hopefully near) future.
Custom Weapon Loadouts
Currently, TDM matches in Apex Legends offer you five different preset loadouts. These loadouts include two guns and one throwable ordinance (grenade) item. One example of the game’s current loadouts is the “Close-Quarters” preset, which includes an EVA-8 Auto shotty, R-99 SMG, and Arc Star Grenade. Another is the “Specialist” preset, which gives you a Wingman, Longbow DMR, and Thermite Grenade. These loadouts are regularly rotated, so you’ll see different versions of these and others as you play.
You’re bound to find a preset loadout you like. And even if you don’t dig using the Arc Star, Peacekeeper, or other weapon, you’ll likely find a loadout with at least one gun you do like. This is fine, but it does make it feel like you’ve got less options. For example, if you unload a clip using your favorite gun while in the heat of battle, you’ll be forced to switch to a lesser gun, or risk reloading while attempting to dodge bullets.
Custom weapon loadouts would be awesome for Team Deathmatch, as they would let you choose two of your favorite guns and your favorite ordinance item. And it wouldn’t necessarily give anyone an unfair advantage, either, as we’re all better with certain weapons than we are with others. Might as well let us choose which ones to go into battle with, right?
Drop-In/Improved Matchmaking
Team Deathmatch, which consists of six-versus-six match-ups, is fast and fun — until it’s just you and two other teammates against a full squad. Sometimes you start the match a player short, which definitely sucks, but more often than not, other players just straight-up bounce and leave you hanging. This makes TDM rounds feel like a slog. When you’re down by a considerable margin with only a couple partners, things get pretty sad really quick.
Interestingly, a “searching for players” message currently appears in the empty player slot if you’re missing teammates to make up a full squad. At this time, though, it doesn’t seem like the game is actually searching for other players to join you. Hopefully this changes soon with some instant drop-in capabilities. It’s not like people aren’t playing Apex Legends! If someone jumps into TDM, maybe the game should put them into an existing match. Of course, this also means that at some point, the option to have rematches with the same squads will have to be added, too.
Penalties for Players Who Bounce
Speaking of the game’s matchmaking, how about those players who ditch their teammates are penalized accordingly? Look, I know that sometimes emergencies come up, or maybe your Internet connection experiences a snafu — well, tough!
Okay, I’m mostly joking. I’m not saying players who leave existing games should be banned for life or anything extreme like that, but other online multiplayer games don’t allow players to jump into matches for short periods of time as a punishment for such behavior. Maybe Apex Legends should implement something like that for TDM.
Seriously, if you’re disconnecting from Team Deathmatch just because, then you’re a real jerk.
(Slightly) Larger Maps
The current set of Team Deathmatch maps in Apex Legends consists of smaller zones. At this time, the included maps (which are rotated) are Skulltown, Habitat 4, and Party Crasher. And while these are great, they’re mostly compact and make for some super-quick battles.
I’m not saying the game needs massive Battlefield-esque maps or anything like that, but some slightly larger stages would be fun. This would also (hopefully) eliminate being taken out almost instantly when you respawn near a camper.
Oh, and speaking of maps…
Some Maps from Titanfall Would Be Cool
Apex Legends and the Titanfall games are set in the same universe, with some characters directly linked across both franchises. Titanfall and Titanfall 2 both had some excellent maps, so it would be nice to see some of these repurposed for Apex. No, there’s no wall-running here like there is in Titanfall, but with a few tweaks, some of those maps would make excellent additions to the current list of Apex zones.
Come on, Angel City or Boomtown, anyone? Those would be rad additions to Apex Legends!
Also This: Add Arenas Mode Back In As Part of the Mixtape Playlist
Arenas may have had its detractors, but it was ultimately a fun mode that was perfect for quick play sessions and shaking off the rust after not having played Apex Legends for a while. With the upcoming Mixtape mode playlist in the works, here’s hoping Arenas is added back into rotation. It was a cool component, and while Team Deathmatch is good, the two modes can definitely coexist!
