As with everyApex Legendsseason before it, Season 17, titled “Arsenal” will bring a slew of changes to Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale. A new legend by way ofAugust “Ballistic” Montgomery, a revamped World’s Edge map, and a brand new Firing Range await players come May 9. In addition to the bigger updates, the small changes will also dramatically change how players think and fight in this evolving game.
One of the smaller additions to Arsenal is the inclusion of a new survival item called the Evac Tower. Unlike ammunition, healing items, or throwables, survival items inApex Legendshave their own dedicated slot that allows players to use them in a pinch. The Mobile Respawn Beacon and Heat Shield were previously the only two items capable of being carried in this particular slot, but while these items had their special place in the game, the Evac Tower seems to encroach on one particular Legend’s ultimate ability.
RELATED:Respawn Details Apex Legends Season 17 Ranked Changes
The Evac Tower Lets Squads Quickly Reposition In A Pinch
Deploying an Evac Tower looks to work very similarly tohow players deploy Mobile Respawn Beacons. By equipping the item and pointing it at a valid surface, players can send a rocket into the sky where it will eventually explode into a balloon. The balloon then sends a zipline back down to the ground, whereupon players can interact with it and redeploy to a more advantageous position. This item is great for squads that are lacking Legends with vertical mobility such as Horizon, Pathfinder, and Valkyrie.
The Evac Tower lasts for a short while and will eventually degrade over time. Enemies can also shoot it withany ofApex Legends' arsenal of weapons, further shortening its uptime and dropping any players using it. Because of this mechanic, players have to carefully choose when and where to deploy an Evac Tower. They also have to be wary of where they decide to land after successfully redeploying themselves as late-game locations tend to be full of squads vying for their control.
Valkyrie’s Skyward Dive Does Pretty Much The Same Thing As The Evac Tower
Players will find the Evac Tower’s mechanics eerily familiar to Valkyrie’s ultimate ability, Skyward Dive. Similar to the Evac Tower, Valkyrie has towait 2 seconds for her VTOL Jets to warm up. Once the ultimate ability has charged, she and any squadmates attached to her will take to the sky and reposition just like when using a Jump Tower. Taking damage during the startup animation cancels the ultimate and forces Valkyrie to wait for 25% of its charge to return before she can activate the ability again.
While there will most definitely be differences between the Evac Tower and Valkyrie’s Skyward Dive (their charge-up times could differ andValkyrie herself is a much harder target to hitthan a large, vertical structure), they both fulfill the role of providing players with a quick way to redeploy. Ever since Valkyrie’s ultimate got hit with a nerf that prevents her from rotating herself and her squadmates rapidly while charging up and climbing upwards, the chances to hit players escaping on an Evac Tower and Skyward Dive are pretty much the same.
With this new tool inApex Legends, players will have new ways to quickly traverse, reposition, and third-party without a Valkyrie on their squad. Considering the Evac Tower can be used more than once until it gets destroyed, the new survival itemcould provide more utility than a single-use Skyward Dive. Only time will tell whether the Evac Tower or Valkyrie will need tweaking once the new season starts, as player feedback is always the best measure of how well multiplayer game systems work.
Apex Legendsis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
