Apex Legends season 28: Breach might be the battle royale’s most aptly named season yet. The new season launches Feb. 10, and is bringing with it the introduction of Hardlight Meshes — windows that can be seen through, but cannot be entered or shot through unless they are first destroyed.
“After seven years of Apex Legends, we get really excited about features that don’t just add something new, but also reshape what players already know and love,” lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese said in a press release. “With the new Hardlight mechanics, we’re opening the door (and window) to new creative gameplay and combat routes in a way that will have you seeing the maps and the whole roster of Legends with fresh eyes.”
For anyone who’s been getting into Highguard — a free-to-play “raid shooter” created largely by former Respawn devs — this concept might seem a little familiar. In Highguard, walls can be reinforced to prevent enemies from easily breaking into one’s base, and one of the game’s six playable Wardens, Scarlet, has the ability to temporarily “shift” walls into sand, allowing her and her teammates to pass through them unhindered.
Despite the similarities, this isn’t a case of Respawn intentionally copying Highguard‘s homework. New seasons of Apex Legends are planned up to a year in advance, and although they’re similar, Apex‘s Hardlight Mesh windows don’t work exactly like Highguard‘s reinforceable walls. Hardlight Mesh does take a bit of extra damage to break, with ordnance and melee damage shattering them faster than standard gunfire. But unlike Highguard‘s base walls, Hardlight Mesh windows can’t be reinforced. They can, however, be repaired by Controller-class Legends like Catalyst, Caustic, Rampart, and Wattson.
“We can’t wait to see how these new entry and defense points shake things up for even the most experienced players who know these environments inside and out,” Canavese said of the game’s new windows.
Canavese certainly has a point. Hardlight Mesh will be an absolute game-changer, especially for professional players hoping to work their way through the ranks to next year’s Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Championship.
Apex Legends season 28: Breach goes live next Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. EST.
