Apex Legends dev explains why fully-kitted weapon drops won’t be permanent

James Busby
Apex Legends supply drop

Apex Legends’ supply drops offer players a chance to get their hands on some incredibly powerful weapons and gear. However, a few fans are worried that the new Airdrop Escalation LTM may influence the way care packages are handled in normal playlists. 

With the Season 7 Collection Event well underway, players have been busy duking it out in the new mode Airdrop Escalation. However, instead of launching as its own playlist, the current LTM has replaced the normal Apex Legends game mode. Unlike the game’s standard care package system, the Airdrop Escalation LTM increases the number of supply drops. 

Every supply drop contains a fully-kitted weapon of different tiers, depending on the round they are dropped into. As a result, late-game fights often reward squads with some truly devastating gear. While this game mode shouldn’t be taken too seriously, some Apex Legends fans are concerned that Respawn may add this new supply drop system to the game permanently. 

Airdrop Escalation frustration

Apex Legends supply drop
Apex Legends’ supply drops can give squads huge advantages.

While the LTM’s increased supply drops offer little advantage in the early rounds, the mid-to-late game victors are often determined by who has access to red Evo Shields and maxed out guns. In fact, late-game supply drops are always guaranteed to drop incredibly powerful gear that will always give squads a huge advantage. 

“We really don’t wanna mess with the loot game of the base BR to this degree permanently,” says Lead Game Designer Daniel Klein. “There are issues that we’re seeing now already around high saturation of red guns deciding late-game fights.”

Respawn may use LTMs to test various mechanics and future additions, but it certainly seems the devs have no plans to shake up the supply drop meta.  “The loot game is the beating heart of a BR,” says Daniel. “You better have a really good reason to make a change of this magnitude, and I don’t see one.” 

Make sure you follow @TitanfallBlog for all the latest Apex Legends news and updates. 

About The Author

James is Dexerto's Associate Games Editor who joined the website in 2020. He graduated from university with a degree in Journalism, before spending four years freelancing for GamesRadar+, PCGamesN, RPS, LoL Esports, Red Bull Gaming, and many more. You can find him covering everything from CoD, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact, and Monster Hunter. Need to get in touch? Email James at james.busby@dexerto.com.