Apex Legends is an emerging professional eSport in the EA Apex Legends Global Series. It’s a battle royale-style game that focuses on shooting.
Players join a team and play as a preset “Legend” to either survive the longest on a shrinking playing field or beat another team in a 3v3 competition.
If you have a child who loves to play Apex Legends, you might be mystified by the game and the lingo, but don’t worry. We’ve got everything you need to know about the game – and the unique terms that go with it.
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An Evolution of Battle Royale-Style Video Games and Apex Legends as an Emerging eSport
What is Apex Legends? The popular game evolved from games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Destiny. Released in February 2019, the game now has its own league with ongoing competition.
It’s also described as an online multiplayer battle royale. It is free to play on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Microsoft Windows.
Apex Legends has made a splash in the world of eSports.
The Apex Legends Global Series is a competitive environment for each console and PC that offers a massive $5 million total prize pool. There are several tournaments where players compete against each other throughout the year, and the global playoffs are at the end of April.
What Makes Apex Legends a Great eSport?
While Apex Legends isn’t the number one battle-royale game on the planet, it offers unique advantages. Players can find unique character sets, annual updates to the storyline and map, and frequent upgrades from Electronic Arts. It can also appeal to those who like the smaller three-person teams instead of five people and up.
PC Gamer has even named it the Best Ongoing Game of 2021. Why? Because it offers a regular three-month update schedule, distinct characters and weapons, and unique seasons that can keep gameplay interesting.
What Are Some of the Key Phrases or Lingo Associated with Apex Legends
If you’re thinking, “My child plays Apex Legends, and it sounds like they’re speaking a different language,” here’s a rundown of the most common phrases used.
What Does “Banner” Mean in Apex Legends?
Banner, or respawn banner, refers to the icon that indicates where a fellow team member died. Players can grab a teammate’s banner to revive them, bringing them back after someone has reduced them to zero health.
What Does “Dropship” Mean in Apex Legends?
A dropship is a supply vessel in the sky that players can land on when jumping into the playing field. They have a lot of supplies and ammo on them, which makes them a desirable place to stop, but they can also be dangerous because other teams will want the same stores.
What Does “Bangalore” Mean in Apex Legends?
A Bangalore is a type of character to choose in the game. They’re a good starting choice as they are a powerful assault class and include a smoke bomb and airstrike ability.
What Does “Lifeline” Mean in Apex Legends?
Lifeline is another type of character to start and is also a good choice for beginners. Lifeline is a medic with healing effects that can be applied to several people at once.
What Does “Supply Drops” Mean in Apex Legends?
A Lifeline can call down a supply drop. It typically includes healing supplies that can help players heal when they’ve taken damage.
What Does “Jumpmaster” Mean in Apex Legends?
Jumping into the game happens when players start and is literally a graphic of the team jumping off their base. The game automatically assigns a jumpmaster to a group of three people who takes control of steering where the group lands until the two other players break off of the formation just before hitting the ground.
What Does “Smoke Trails” Mean in Apex Legends?
The smoke trails flow off the other teams as they jump to the field where the battle royale will occur. It makes it easy to track other groups and either avoid the areas where they’ll be landing or prepare for a showdown with them once your team lands.
What Does “Ballooning” Mean in Apex Legends?
Ballooning is when a player uses a balloon zipline to quickly jet into the air to move somewhere speedily or to correct landing in the wrong place.
What Does “Ping” or “Pinging” Mean in Apex Legends?
Pinging helps teammates communicate with each other and can help keep people together by tracking desirable weapons or indicating locations to visit. Using this system, players can “call dibs” on weapons and items so that the team knows they want them. It also lets players ping their teammates with the location of enemies.
What Does “HUD” Mean in Apex Legends?
HUD is an acronym for “heads-up display.” It simply refers to the onscreen menu visible for the game’s first-person players. Playing in first-person means it looks like the player is holding the weapon, and the game is from their point of view. It’s different from the backed-up view showing the character holding the gun that’s seen when you play in the third person.
What Does “Mod” Mean in Apex Legends?
“Mod” is short for modification. They’re used on weapons to make them more powerful. They make the guns do more damage against stronger armor types.
There are several unique phrases associated with Apex Legends. Still, many are similar to the traditional first-person shooter or battle royale games. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, the terms above will give you a starting place when you want to talk about Apex Legends with your kids.
Are There College-Level Varsity eSports Teams for Apex Legends?
Many colleges and universities have varsity-level Apex Legends teams and offer scholarships. The Collegiate Champions League is a tournament where gamers play Apex Legends to win money. In fact, there are several universities and colleges that have eSports teams and recruit players just like you would for a traditional physical sport.
Does That Mean My Child Could Go to College on a Full Apex Legends Scholarship?
Each school is different. Some offer partial scholarships that pay for a chunk of college expenses. In contrast, others aggressively recruit the best players, providing half and full-tuition scholarships.
The Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) offers help with getting recruited for the National Association of Collegiate eSports (NACE), the official governing body for varsity eSports, and has 151 member schools nationally.
How Many Players Are on an Apex Legends Team?
Tournament gameplay is where teams of three compete against each other in the battle royale-style area of the game. The goal is to be the last team standing on the shrinking playground. The last team with any surviving members is crowned the “Apex Champions.”
How Long Does an Apex Legends Game Last?
Apex Legends games keep going until there is a final winning team, which means they can move quickly or be rather long. It all depends on the players’ skills in that particular match.
A typical Apex Legends round last about 10 to 30 minutes. However, it can go longer if you’re watching a championship where the players are very skilled and know how to use their abilities to keep themselves alive.
Is there a tutorial I can watch to help me understand Apex Legends?
If you’d like to watch something that explains what we’ve covered and much more, this video on YouTube can help beginners understand how Apex Legends works. It’s only five minutes but gives a good overview of the game, and with such a short runtime, you can play it again if you missed something.
Is Apex Legends Free?
Apex Legends is free to play on Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam for PCs. There are, however, opportunities to buy gear and skins, which are cosmetic upgrades, at the in-game store.
Players use Apex Coins currency to purchase these upgrades and use real-world money to buy Apex Coins. These coin purchases and some advertisements are how the game makes its money.
Is Any Special Equipment Needed to Play Apex Legends?
The primary systems people use to play the game are Xbox and Playstation, which use the controllers that come with the console. However, gamers can play it with a mouse and keyboard combo on a PC.
In many cases, gamers will have a system they like most and choose to play it there. So, if your child owns a PS4 and uses that for most games, they’ll likely want to play Apex Legends there, too.
I hope you found these Apex Legends tips helpful when trying to learn more about this popular game. If you have any other recommendations for other parents, share them or leave your feedback or questions in the comments section.
