Obviously, the main shtick of a battle royale game is staying within the safe zone and eliminating opponents. While the core concepts are the same, each battle royale iterates on this in their own way. Frantic combat ensues, but each game has its own flair of intensity within the enclosing circle. Three of the best battle royale games have significantly different safe zone experiences between each other.
The storm ofFortniteclosing in on players is all about building five star hotels with free WiFi, as verticality becomes the name of the game.Apex Legends' Ring highlights the importance of proper team composition and using hero abilities to gain the best advantage on foes.Call of Duty: Warzonebrings the frenetic close-quarters combat the series is known for to a microcosmic scale. Aside fromwhichever battle royale is the latest craze, each encroaching circle has different properties that affect each match in various ways.
Fortnite’s Storm
WherePUBGstarted a genre of games,Fortniteperfected it. For the longest timeFornitewas and still is one of the top dogs in BR, commanding several million players monthly and spawning an entire esports scene as a result of its massive popularity. Battle royale games wouldn’t have had such mainstream acclaim without it. And ironically now, the game is considered a more niche battle royale compared to the base concept.Fortniteis the only mainstream battle royale game that utilizes the construction of structures as a pivotal aspect of gameplay. It’s a wholly unique mechanic among other battle royale games that shapes howFortniteis played, compared to other shooters.
Building also becomes integral to survivingFortnite’s Storm circle at the end of the game.Players need to make sure they have enough materialstowards the end of the game to not only protect themselves, but in some cases to out-build their opponents. On average, eachFortnitematch lasts around 20 minutes give or take, with the last few circles continually closing until the circle is gone completely. Storm damage multiplies over time, so staying inside the safe zone is incredibly important. As the circle slowly closes in on players, whoever can build to higher ground first has the advantage in most cases. The games that last the longest typically go on because of squads building their tallest towers until the circle comes very close to disappearing entirely.
Apex Legends' Ring
Apex Legendson the other hand comes closer to traditional battle royale gameplay, but with the hero abilities as its signature twist on the genre. For a while,Apexwas billed as theFortnite-killeruntil the first wave of popularity eventually tapered off. Still,Apex Legendsremains one of the go-to mainstream battle royale games to enjoy. It’s comparatively smaller player count betweenFortniteandWarzone, with a total player count of 60 compared to 100 and 150 respectively. Enemy contact can sometimes be brief or sparse, but when squads do encounter opponents is whereApexshines the most.
That’s part of what makes the circle so dangerous inApex Legends, as a lingering anxiety looms over players as squads approach the circle. Some squads will land in the hot loot drop zones and will need to fight off several other squads almost immediately. Others may land in lower populated areas and not meet another squad for ten minutes. Buteach character has their own unique abilitiesthat adds another layer of complexity onApex Legends' gunplay. That in turn affects team composition, where squads can set themselves up to be well-rounded, damage dealers, or movement-based. That variety can be used to counter certain characters in a way that doesn’t feel unbalanced or unfair, but does create counterplay for certain legends. Final circle battles inApexoften become very strategy-focused for that reason.
Call of Duty: Warzone’s Gas
Of course, theCall of Dutyseries wanted to capitalize on its momentum fromBlack Ops 4’s Blackout battle royale, soWarzonewas introduced in March. After numerous leaks of a battle royale coming toModern Warfare, the free-to-play standaloneWarzonecame out to great praise and became the latest battle royale craze. Innovative additionslike the Gulag respawn mechanicand Contracts objectives distinguishedWarzone’s identity as something truly unique and special. Keeping all of the trappings ofModern Warfareand melding it with some unique mechanics,Warzoneis more than just aCall of Dutyskinned battle royale game.
Warzone’s gas used to be the slowest of the bunch when it came to battle royale circle timing.Warzonehas since been updated to account for the slow pacingof games, making changes to initial circle closure times so that there’s less stagnant beginnings. Gas was also tweaked to move slower, allowing players the freedom to either outrun the circle or utilize it sparingly for tactical advantage. Overall, the experience is vastly improved, as it gives more leeway to squads for utilizing the circle as an element of strategy. Teamwork is the most important aspect ofWarzone, as there’s no distinct mechanic like building or rechargeable abilities that provide an immediate advantage.
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Each Circle Compared
Altogether these mainstream battle royale games have their defining differences between one another each battle royale focuses on its mechanical strengths to make the final battles intense in their own way.Fortnite’s unique verticality and base-building mechanicsmake for very dynamic encounters with just a hint of resource management.Apex Legendsutilizes unique supers and character abilities for situational usage that can give squads the upper hand.Call of Duty Warzonetweaks its circle to accentuate the best aspects ofCall of Dutymultiplayer and incorporates them into the battle royale.
Warzone’s circle is designed to initially close fast, and then slow its pace once the circle condenses. Players need to strategically use the circle’s constraints to their advantage moreso thanApexorFortnite.Fortnite’s circle mostly acts as a hazard rather than a tool, since players tend to focus more on positioning and building anyway.
Apexis similar in that regard, but kind of finds a middle ground betweenWarzoneandFortnite.Apex’s Ring can be used as a strategic tool, but isn’t entirely necessary for a victorywhen team composition is vastly more impactfulon a squad’s success. Each battle royale plays to its strengths relatively well, and whileApex Legendsdoes find a relative middle ground, bothForniteandWarzoneintegrate the circle into their gameplay in unique ways.
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