For the first time in over a year, the Apex Legends Global Series moves away from the familiar confines of World’s Edge. Apex Legends Esports confirmed the move on Twitter today, announcing Storm Point would be used in the second split of Pro League and Challenger’s Circuit.
World’s Edge has long been favored by pro players thanks to the size of the map, distribution of loot, and rotation options the map affords players comparative to the other battle royale maps in Apex. In many ways, Storm felt destined to join World’s Edge in the competitive scene. It’s the only map larger than World’s Edge and features many places on the map outside of named POIs that allow players to loot up without necessarily having to contest another team while dropping.
The news also comes on the heels of the season 12 patch notes, which contained quite a few tweaks to Storm Point that, in retrospect, make an awful lot of sense if the map is going to be used in professional play. The logic of the drop ship paths, usually grouped so towards the geographic middle of every map, were shifted slightly to the northeast of Storm Point, to make landing in high-elevation spots like Lightning Rod more manageable no matter what path the drop ship might take across the map.
Serious attention was also paid to prowlers and how they interact with players, making them less of a nuisance overall. The ring logic of the map was also updated to prevent games from finishing in wide-open areas with no cover, such as the empty stretches of water on the south and western sides of the map.
The addition of Storm Point brings much-needed variety into the game’s highest level after concerns about playing multiple maps and the competitive viability of Kings Canyon led the ALGS to use World’s Edge exclusively for its tournaments beginning in February of 2021. Some smaller tournaments staged tournaments on Olympus upon the map’s release, but concerns from competitors prevented the map from entering the ALGS map pool. So far, most pros seem excited at the prospect of competing on the game’s newest map.
While a couple of tournaments featuring content creators and popular figures in the streaming community have taken place on Storm Point, it’s hard to tell exactly how the map will play out in ALGS. Valkyrie is almost certain to remain a popular character pick, as the map’s huge area and tall mountains make her Skyward Dive ultimate invaluable to teams short on rotation options.
Outside of that, however, much remains to be seen. With wildlife AI, gravity cannons, trident hover cars, and more all new to ALGS play, the new map will be a playground of death for the best players in the world.
Teams will be vying for cash and a playoff spot, with the possibility of LAN playoffs still an open question. It all starts on Feb. 26, when split two begins on Storm Point.
