Apex Legends VS Fortnite

Round 1: World

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So far, there hasn’t been a battle royale game with an impeccable world, yet “Fortnite” has gotten close to achieving that. In addition to receiving a few new locations that replace old ones, “Fortnite’s” map goes through major changes every season. New mechanics like rifts, hop rocks, and the purple cube have changed the way we played, whether it was to get in the circle faster or survive an intense gunfight. While changing out locations every season has kept “Fortnite” engaging, its a little fatiguing to be playing on the same general map. Locations may have changed, but the general layout has remain unaltered for the most part. Now that we’re eight seasons in to “Fortnite”, it feels like Epic Games has enough locations to create a second or third map for us to play in. “Apex Legends” had a little more handwork thrown in for its maps. Every location has been thought out and carefully designed to create unique situations. Whereas “Fortnite” functions like a sort of theme park with its interchangeable locations, “Apex” keeps locations varied and built around combat scenarios. Some areas are narrow and claustrophobic while others are vast and dangerous to be running around in the open. Unfortunately, “Apex” only has the single map, and considering how late it launched into the battle royale game, Respawn probably should have prepared another map or two. Instead, we’ll have to wait for additional maps in future updates and seasons. As much as we can appreciate the design of “Apex Legends”, “Fortnite” takes the gold home for its world. Yes, the general layout can cause some moments of the game to go stale, but the frequent addition of new locations shows just how creative Epic Games can get. They’re imaginative, breathtaking, and sometimes, a tad mysterious, and that’s enough for “Fortnite” to steal the first round. WINNER: Fortnite Fortnite 1 / Apex Legends 0

Round 2: Team Play

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When you’re introducing a game that relies heavily on cooperation, it’s important that your game includes a flexible communication system, just in case one player doesn’t have a mic. “Apex Legends” included a unique ping system when it launched, and it’s one of the most impressive forms of communication we’ve seen in a video game! You can ping just about anything to keep your team informed, whether it’s because you’ve found some valuable gear, noticed enemies nearby, or suggest a new area to explore. Not only do different pings display different icons for each scenario, but characters will also deliver clear, concise messages during the match. Characters will mention when half of the teams remain or when they’re being shot at. The way these two features work in tandem with each other helps keep teams communicating easily, regardless of who has a mic or not. “Fortnite”, on the other hand, did not have pinging. We speak in past tense because at the start of Season 8, “Fortnite” implemented a pinging system of its own. Before this feature was made, “Fortnite” didn’t provide many ways to communicate without a mic. All you had to go off of were emotes, dances, and wasting ammunition to get a teammate’s attention. Doing any of these would possibly alert an enemy team of your presence and possibly get you eliminated while doing so. Basically, it was a luck of the draw if your teammates all had mics. Otherwise, you’d be praying that the four of you had some chemistry with each other in an alternate plane of existence. Respawn clearly had mic-less players in mind when creating “Apex’s” pinging system. It has become such a crucial part in communicating with your team that even we end up using it despite having mics. With “Fortnite” never addressing its problem until after “Apex” launched, it is clear who won this round. WINNER: Apex Legends Fortnite 1 / Apex Legends 1

Given the size of battle royale maps, it’s important to give players options in how to traverse the land. “Fortnite” certainly gives players a variety of methods to navigate. In addition to finding redeploy gliders, players can pilot shopping carts, golf carts (known as ATKs), and even planes. The building mechanic also allows you to cross large gaps...assuming someone isn’t destroying your bridge before you get to the other side. Although, because of how slow-paced “Fortnite” is, traveling from one location to the next feels like an eternity. Just sprinting across one map square takes a full minute, with walking and crouching adding another thirty seconds. This can really slow down the pace of the game, which means fatigue is more likely to set in for those wanting more action. Speaking of action, “Apex Legends” may not offer as many modes of transportation, but the methods it does have are immensely satisfying! You can use ziplines to quickly travel across large areas, use balloons to fly into the next circle, or slide down hills. Moving around is a ton of fun, and with these traversal tools, players can come up with different strategies in taking down enemy players. Even characters like Bloodhound, Wraith, and Pathfinder are a joy to use because of their unique movement abilities. It may not have the fanciest toys, but “Apex Legends” certainly makes moving around feel fluid and exhilarating. As much as we enjoy using “Fortnite’s” different vehicles, what kills it is its slow speed. Given how long it takes just to move from one town to the next, some players may get bored quickly. “Apex Legends” manages to get movement right, even when you aren’t using ziplines or movement abilities. WINNER: Apex Legends Fortnite 1 / Apex Legends 2

Now, this category was a little tricky since “Apex Legends” has yet to begin its first season of content. Although, “Apex Legends” seems to have something good and something bad in its monetization. For starters, its lootboxes are much more player-friendly than other online titles. “Apex” fully discloses its probability of getting different types of loot, and the best part here is that you will never receive duplicate items. So, every crate will give the player something new. As for the game’s store, microtransactions are a tad ridiculous. Seriously, why do skins cost nearly twenty dollars to purchase?! That’s insane for just one skin! Oh, and you need to own certain weapon skins in order to spend your Legend tokens on another weapon skin? What even?! We suppose “Fortnite” is no better with its Item Store. Skins cost twenty dollars worth of V-bucks, and some skins are just palette swaps of default skins. However, what “Fortnite” does best in is the Battle Pass content. Every season boasts a vast amount of cosmetics for you to unlock. Buying the Battle Pass will only cost you ten dollars, but if you work towards the challenges, you can earn fifteen dollars worth of V-bucks in addition to a few cosmetics that may appeal to you. Basically, if you save those V-bucks, you can get the next Battle Pass for free! Now, that’s a steal! There’s no doubt about it; “Fortnite” clearly has the advantage here. Not only does its Battle Pass provide a hearty amount of cosmetic rewards, but it also gives the player the opportunity to get the next Battle Pass for free. While “Fortnite’s” Item Shop prices are outrageous, so is “Apex Legends”, and it certainly doesn’t help that “Apex” still hasn’t provided details on how its Battle Pass is going to work. WINNER: Fortnite WINNER: Fortnite 2 / Apex Legends 2 Round 5: Dance Moves Yeah no, we’re just messing with ya.

While it may not share ALL of the same DNA as “Titanfall”, “Apex Legends” still retains the shooting mechanics of the franchise. Shooting is tight and responsive, and thanks to the different weapons you can find, experimenting with different loadouts can help you find which weapons work best for you. Couple that with everything we said about the game’s movement, and “Apex Legends” is a battle royale game that will make traditional shooter fans feel right at home! “Fortnite” also boasts a wide arsenal of weapons to find with some leaning towards the goofy side of battle. Now, we don’t have a problem with the third-person camera, but this is somewhat limiting for players. Just look at the moment compilations for both games and you’ll see what we mean. You just can’t pull off exciting plays in third-person as you could in first-person. On top of that, “Fortnite” isn’t primarily focused on shooting. Building is a big part in survival, as well. Although, building has a tendency to prolong gunfights, and having to switch between combat and build mode can be a hassle. This may cause some players to just give up the building mechanic altogether and just work with whatever cover is available. “Apex Legends” manages to turn battle royale into what it really is - a game of team deathmatch with good ol’ fashioned FPS mechanics. So, those who have played “Call of Duty”, “Battlefield”, or any other first-person shooter won’t have trouble adjusting to “Apex Legends”. As for “Fortnite”, the building mechanic has a bit of a learning curve and its too steep for some to tolerate it. With “Apex” being more fluid in movement and gunplay, it manages to steal the win for this round AND the fight! WINNER: Apex Legends WINNER: Fortnite 2 / Apex Legends 3 Did we find the superior battle royale game? Debate in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo for more intense versus battles!