Josh Mohan is the associate design director of Apex Legends, overseeing the teams that design new Legends, new weapons, new maps and new gameplay systems of the battle royale from Respawn Entertainment and EA. At the ALGS Championship in Sapporo, Japan, we had the opportunity to do a long interview with him to talk about the present and future of the game, what aspects he would like to see improved and what goals he has set for the first ten years of Apex now that we are one step away from the fifth anniversary. Here is our conversation in full.
Apex Legends has less and less random elements: is absolute player agency the new frontier pf the game?
“Yes. We started this process with shields in season 20 and the feedback was very positive, removing random elements is important for our user base. In parallel, we are also working a lot on simplification. Adding game systems creates cognitive fatigue, especially for those who begin. We will progressively cut everything that we feel is too complex: this will allow us to add new things, thus improving the gaming experience. For every thing that comes out we’ll try to add a new one”.
What is the next step in this approach?
“First of all simplify crafting: we want to intervene because it is important for consumables but currently we do not like how it is structured very much. Immediately after we’re going to tackle the behavior of the Ring. Looking at Valorant and Rainbow Six Siege for example, its evident where the objectives will be and where the action will be concentrated. In Apex this is impossible because the behavior of the ring is unpredictable even if we have some Legends that can do something about it. It is an aspect of the game that has not changed for 5 years so we believe it is time to do something about it”.
The competitive meta of the pros is certainly not that of the common player in Gold or Platinum, how do you balance the balancing with two such different sets of needs?
“We’ve learned a key lesson over the past year: we shouldn’t chase stasis at all costs, meaning a balance philosophy where we try to make things as immutable as possible. When the meta changes, players have fun, so this year we’ll be keeping that in mind and using balance to freshen up the player experience. We’re also taking a dual-pronged approach: every change, every weapon, and every legend needs to be tested for these two user bases, so we’re working with several pros to involve them in our testing process.”
Since you’re responsible for several major game systems, which one do you think is in dire need of some love?
“Hop Ups, hands down. These weapon attachments are a great way to introduce new mechanics, but the odds of getting the desired weapon and its Hop Up in the same game are very low. The problem isn’t the mechanics, but how we get them into players’ hands, and that’s about to change.”
The fantasy behind the game is to be a famous and acclaimed gladiator of the future: in what direction do you see it evolving in the coming years?
“There is a very simple promise at the base of Apex Legends: the best one wins. I would like the game to return to its initial simplicity in the future. In its universe, Apex is a sport and the legends are celebrity athletes: we want to celebrate this at a gameplay level without forgetting the very rich lore that we have. Lately we have lost ourselves a bit too much in refining things external to the game: the goal is to put the sport and the story within the gameplay and no longer in separate blocks”.
Do you think Apex Legends will remain a battle royale forever?
“Yes: Apex is a community and there was talk of battle royale fatigue already at the time of its release five years ago. We have found our audience of enthusiasts who want more experiences, victories and triumphs in this game mode and we will do everything to give them what makes them happy. A fundamental thing about Apex is to keep up with the times, so there will always be references to the past and its history, but for us it is very important to be immersed in today’s culture. This is essential for new players and for veterans who need renewal. With the Classic mode (as Overwatch and Fortnite did) we went in search of nostalgia, but also of perspective: looking at how the game was, all the work and progress made in these first five years is evident. Our goal for the first ten years of the game is to be the best competitive shooter around: battle royale is just a format, we are first and foremost an esports FPS and we want to be the best”.
