Apex Legendshas joined forces with none other thanPost Malone. This may baffle most people, it may seem like a cash grab so that the singer can promote his new album or something, but he’s a genuine fan of the game.
Post Malone has been spotted hoarding millions of Apex Coins on his account, with more Crafting Materials than you can shake a stick at. This is a man whospent a million dollars on a Magic the Gathering card: he’s rich enough to go hard on his hobbies.
Postie has also streamed charity Apex events with Timothy ‘iiTzTimmy’ An, bringing more eyes to the game and more donations to the supported charities. He’s nowhere near the level of anALGS Championshipcompetitor, but neither are you or I, so you can hardly hold that against him. He’s a proper fan, and therefore a perfectly suitable choice as the first celebrity crossover for the battle royale game. But what is Post Malone’s new mode, Three Strikes, and how did it all come about?
“The mode originated from wanting to start from chaos and making players take bigger risks and stuff like that,” explains ‘Hicks’, Respawn’s game designer for the LTM. “So the immediate option was to give respawns. Respawning is something we think about a lot in the BR, so that extra chances at winning [is great], especially with new players coming in.”
Hicks acknowledges that the Post Malone event will draw plenty of new players into the game, and a mode where your squad automatically respawns three times once the last player has been wiped may ease them into things.
Three Strikes goes hand in hand withSeason 19’snew respawn mechanic, which sees players return to the battlefield with their full shields, weapons (sans attachments), and a couple of stacks of ammo. But it also eliminates thirsting and introduces quicker rezzing when your teammates are downed, which is game changing for some support-oriented Legends.
“It was interesting because – just [to] speak a little bit technically – the way it’s implemented, we sort of just changed the revive time in the script, right? And then it just worked for, for Lifeline, Newcastle Mirage, stuff like that. So huge credit to the people who built those characters, it was immediate, it worked and it feels really good.
“Octane is also Post Malone’s favorite Legend” - ‘Hicks’, game designer for Three Strikes, Respawn
“Because as a player, that’s the expectation you have. If you’re like, ‘I can res faster, does it do the Newcastle Shield? Oh my God, it does’, and you’re scooting around. So it’s really fun when moments like that happen, where the mode makes you think about characters and picking differently. It’s a feedback question we ask all the time in playtesting, would you play someone different in this mode?”
But the LTM itself is only a part of the event, because Post Malone himself has obviously had a say in the matter. His favourite Legend is the mode’s announcer, and his influence spreads far wider than the LTM.
“There’s little things that we try to do that are influenced by Post Malone as well,” Hicks says. “One thing we did is, the announcer for the game mode is Octane. So instead of hearing the regular announcer you hear Octane and one, yes, Octane like fits the theme of the mode, but Octane is also Post Malone’s favorite Legend.”
Aside from Three Strikes, Post Malone had a hand in designing the skins for the event. The Legends are decked out in streetwear-esque designs, while still staying true to their characters. Some skins are based on Postie’s outfits from live performances or music videos, tying him to the game permanently, as players can rep his gear long after the event has finished.
