Despite its success, however, Apex Legends is plagued with many issues. Audio bugs, broken character abilities, T-posing legends in the character select screen - these are just a few of the problems that have reared their ugly heads with each new patch introduced to the live service battle royale game. Bugs and glitches are bound to appear in any video game, but in a title as competitive and widely played as Apex Legends, players are bound to find these issues more irritating the longer they remain in the game. Other live service games have found a way to mitigate the number of issues in a patch by adding test servers - something Respawn Entertainment should consider doing for Apex Legends.
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Test Servers Turn Players Into QA Analysts
Test servers provide video game developers with an avenue to release a soft build of their updated game. Think of it as an early access patch for players to experience. Players create an alternate account to test the new content ahead of its intended release date. Everything they experience on the test servers is subject to change, but it gives them an idea of what the developers have in store for the game’s near future. Games like Rainbow Six Siege and Hunt: Showdown have their own test servers which allow players to get in on the action before the actual patch releases.
On the other hand, developers can monitor players’ experiences with the test servers and fine-tune them based on their reactions. Take Rainbow Six Siege as an example, whose new operator Sens is currently on the test servers. If Sens’ new R.O.U projection system has too long of an uptime duration, Ubisoft can balance it with a nerf before the new season starts. Sens will be balanced according to players’ initial reactions, thereby allowing for a smoother season launch.
Apex Legends’ Fanbase Is Eager And Willing To Help Make The Game Great
Apex Legends has been suffering from issues such as poor server connections and lack of audio since it first launched - issues that players constantly bring up to the developers whenever possible. Not only that, but almost every patch that is introduced to Apex Legends comes with its share of problems. Exploitable abilities, such as the old Rampart-Crypto combo which allowed for a minigun to be placed on a flying drone, effectively broke the game for days until Respawn intervened and fixed the problem. Broken weapons like the fast-firing Sentinel required the developers to remove the gun from the game until it was patched. If broken weapons, abilities, and features weren’t enough, the launch states of legends such as Horizon and Seer made the characters so overpowered that it took weeks and even months to get them in a balanced position.
Apex Legends has a large, dedicated fanbase that wants nothing but the best for the battle royale game, which is why it is so baffling that Respawn Entertainment hasn’t tapped into it yet. Considering how many people play the game on a daily basis, Respawn can introduce test servers to allow players to be more proactive in the game’s development. Players can test out new changes to the game and see whether they like them or not. Respawn would have an easier time releasing each new patch if it allowed players to serve as a proverbial litmus test for upcoming content. Granted, the introduction of test servers would ruin the surprise for each new season (data miners will have a field day searching the servers for unreleased Apex Legends content), but it would serve the game better in the long run if its content was filtered by some of its fans before being released to the general public.
It’s a win-win situation. Players get to test upcoming content and give their feedback, while the developers can take notes and make the best possible game it can. This sounds infinitely better than players waiting for content and Respawn releasing patches in a poor state - something that seems to happen in Apex Legends more often than not. If Respawn Entertainment wants to save time scouring the internet for player feedback and overworking employees to find each and every bug, it should consider adding test servers so that fans can help in a more practical, immediate way.
Apex Legends is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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