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Apex Legends- The New Kid On The Block

Any Battle Royale fan out there has certainly heard of this new game that seemingly dropped out of the blue. In just two days, with no hype leading up to it, Apex amassed a player-base of over 30 million, which is astoundingly high. So What contributes to that success? What makes Apex so good, and is it a legitimate threat to games like Fortnite or Blackout?

Apex Legends is a FREE BR (much like Fortnite) set in the Titanfall universe. While there are no Titans in this game, there are currently multiple “legends” you have to choose from, which are essentially characters with unique abilities and ultimates, similar to Overwatch. I have spent a good thirty hours on the game already, and it is truly incredible.

Personally, I believe this game is no threat to Fortnite. However, Blackout may suffer heavily. Apex is free where as Blackout costs $60. Blackout is a straight forward military shooter, where as Apex has a unique roll selection available with the diverse characters. Apex will certainly thrive, and I hope Blackout can keep up. To do so, they may want to consider going free-to-play, and updating their game far more regularly.

Below is a video going in depth on what makes Apex so good.

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Map Updates in Blackout

Today on PS4 (one week away for Xbox), there will be massive changes to the Blackout map the player base has come to know so well. Most notably, a new area marked as “Ghost Town” has been added in the desert region, and it is a combination of former Call of Duty multiplayer/zombies maps Outlaw and Buried. This is a two layered part of the map. On the main ground you have Outlaw, an old west town with a cool feel. Below ground, you have the iconic zombies map Buried, which as far as I can tell looks almost exactly like it’s Black Ops 2 counterpart. This massive addition to the map, much like the earlier addition of Hijacked, should bring a new element of fun and adventure to the map. Additionally, dozens of small areas on the map are seeing big changes. Houses, garages, sheds, food chains, and other buildings are being added like crazy, and many of the areas you have passed through before may now harbor enough loot to actually justify landing at these unmarked locations. When the update drops, be sure to hop into a custom games match and explore all the exciting new changes!

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Blackout Blueprint Revealed?!

Yesterday, Treyarch tweeted a picture of a blueprint of the current Blackout map. In this blueprint, you can see multiple red X’s, dots, circles, and other indicators suggesting the first major upcoming map changes since the release of the game. Since the last update, as I’m sure many have noticed, there have been dozens and dozens of survey posts spread across the map. These usually indicate where new buildings or structures will be built, and sure enough these posts are almost exactly mirroring the blueprint markings. I strongly encourage interested readers to do additional research on YouTube, where there are many excited content creators buzzing about all the possibilities. Personally, I would really like to see another island added out into the ocean part of the map, as well as a possible “old west” style town in the open desert. From the content I’ve seen via YouTube, it would appear both of these could be possibilities, and anything after that is just a bonus to me.

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Top 5 most underrated weapons in Blackout

As the game progresses, and more and more people begin to play, certain weapons in Blackout seem to get all the love. Everyone is always looking for sniper rifles, ABR’s, SWAT’s, Spitfire’s, and so on so forth. That being said, there are a lot of great guns in this game, both that serve as primary weapons and secondaries. I’m going to share with you what I believe to be the top five weapons that people seem to overlook.

5) Mozu Tactical

I know what you’re thinking. How did a crummy little revolver make this list? Truthfully, I never pick one up myself unless it is the golden tactical version. If it is, however, the thing can absolutely shock both you and your opponents up close and personal. Think of it as a fast firing shotgun with strong range capabilities. With full attachments, the gun shoots fast, reloads fast, kills fast, and lets you be hyper mobile. While it can still be difficult to use (hence why it’s #5), it is certainly a weapon that, in the right hands, should never be underestimated.

4) Swordfish

While this gun doesn’t have any true advantages at real range over it’s big brother the ABR, the Swordfish can be something of a monster up close or at medium ranges. Up close, assuming you land all your shots, you can consistently two-burst players and shock them. The base scope that comes with the gun is clear and user friendly, and although there are far better weapons to use in your primary slot, the Swordfish isn’t half as bad as people make it out to be.

3) VAPR XKG

The VAPR is a gun a lot of people seem to avoid, which I find mind boggling. Statistically, this weapon has one of the fastest time-to-kills (TTK) among the assault rifle category, only beat out by the Rampart at range and the SWAT.. well, at most ranges. That being said, I use the VAPR all the time, generally as a close/mid range secondary weapon while sniping. It is versatile and hits hard. The big downside to it is that it has a lot of idle sway, odd recoil, and is mostly outclassed by the new DLC weapon the SWAT. That aside, it is a great gun worthy of your time.

2) Daemon 3xb

This little firecracker is nuts. I mean NUTS nuts. While it’s TTK up close and personal isn’t quite as ludicrous as the Spitfire’s, it is far more versatile and fun to use. Generally speaking, when I see people using SMG’s as secondary weapons, everyone is drawn to either the Spitfire for it’s fire rate, or the SAUG 9mm for it’s user friendly nature. I STRONGLY encourage trying out the Daemon more. It is without question my favorite backup weapon in the game for multiple reasons. It has very little recoil, it is surprisingly user friendly, it fires incredibly quickly, and the attachment options (particularly optics) are fantastic. Try this thing out with a 2x or 3x scope. Sounds stupid, I know, but it is hilariously effective. Since both of these scopes reduce recoil in Blackout (look it up on YouTube, it’s true!), it turns this gun into a fast firing pocket assault rifle, which just feels beyond fun to use. Practically speaking, it is unnecessary, and I will usually run it with a red dot, elo, or holographic sight for up close. But that being said, if I have a mind to do so, I can run the Daemon as a primary weapon and do WORK with it.

1)Auger DMR

This one may surprise a lot of people due to the shade a lot of the community throws at the Auger. This weapon is an absolute monster, don’t let anyone tell you differently. Especially now with the recent armor rework, this weapon can pump out an absurd amount of damage in very little time. Out to medium range, depending on the enemy player’s armor, this gun is a consistent 3-4 shot kill. With how quickly you can spam fire those shots, the TTK on this gun if you maintain accuracy is mind mindbogglingly fast. Personally, I prefer using a 2x on it. It helps reduce some of the odd recoil the gun has while also helping me stay on target in closer range gun fights. I personally feel that most people use this gun incorrectly and try to do damage at long range. While it can certainly be done with this gun, I’d rather have a sniper rifle or an ABR for that job. I feel that the Auger really shine at close to medium range, hence why I prefer the low zoom 2x scope with it. It allows you to spam fire shots at this range and do shocking damage to your enemies. I’ve personally gotten a lot of cheeky kills with this gun. While I feel that the ABR does it’s job more accurately and consistently at range, I think the Auger DMR may be the best mid range weapon in the entire game with the right setup. Give it a shot.

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Zombie Weapons in Blackout

The game has been out nearly four months now, and although I think the team at Treyarch has done an exceptional job, I believe there is a part of the game that is being completely ignored, and that is the problem with the zombie weapons.

These are weapons that you can find on the ground or in the mystery box at marked Zombie locations across the Blackout map. The issue is simple, none of these weapons can have any attachments. this put every player using these weapons at a noticeable disadvantage in late game situations.

My suggestion is to rework these guns to allow for attachments. None of these weapons are statistically over powered by any means, so the attachment restrictions currently in game feel senseless.