The Apex Legends balance evolved a lot with the start of Season 3. From legends to items to mechanics, many things changed. It’s safe to say that even if we were still in Kings Canyon, it would play like a different game. All things considered, one group of players seems to be more blessed by the new meta than anyone else. I am talking about Bangalore mains.
Season 3 gave Bangalore a buff the community has been requesting for a while now. The damage of her ultimate ability, Rolling Thunder, is double what it was. It went from a negligible 20 to a slightly concerning 40. That’s great and all, but it’s not the only buff she got. To be specific, Bangalore’s pre-existing skill set is what automatically makes her stronger in the new Apex Legends meta.
The patch notes state that the Season 3 balance changes aim to “encourage and improve longer range gunfights”. Sniper duels are becoming a bigger part of the meta. This is in part thanks to the Charge Rifle with its tracking beam, plus the Anvil Receiver hop-up. It also doesn’t hurt that the new map is full of wide-open spaces and tall buildings overlooking them.
Bangalore is uniquely anti-sniper by design. Her passive makes her hard to hit at long range. She can also deploy a smokescreen to protect her squad and allow them to re-position safely. Incidentally, her smoke screen gives her perhaps the biggest advantage of all. With it, she can execute finishers with more relative safety than any other legend, with the possible exception of Caustic. And finishers are a valid gameplay mechanic in Season 3, because all legends have the Executioner perk. Finishing a downed legend fully restores your shields, and Bangalore can take full advantage of that.
Will these buffs make Bangalore a contender for competitive Apex Legends play? We can’t say for sure just yet. The current tournament pantheon of Wattson, Pathfinder, and Wraith is hard to break into. But the competitive meta is already being challenged with the inclusion of Crypto and with Respawn alluding to impending Wraith nerfs. Perhaps we will soon see Bangalore climb into the high tiers.
Stay tuned to Daily Esports for more Apex Legends news and content!
NBA 2K League draft orders solidified after lottery
After announcements of two new franchises and protected players, the NBA 2K League revealed the draft order Friday afternoon for both the expansion draft and league draft. Hornets Venom GT will have the first pick of the expansion draft, edging out Gen.G. Wizards District Gaming to grab the top spot in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft.
The NBA 2K League announced a lottery system to determine the draft orders for both drafts earlier this month. Both Hornets Venom GT and Gen.G had an equal chance to earn the first pick in the expansion draft. The 2020 draft would follow a system similar to the NBA’s draft lottery. The bottom three teams from the 2019 season had the best odds to get the top pick. After those teams, the odds for other teams slimmed to obtain higher pick.
Looking ahead, the NBA 2K League Expansion Draft is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18. The 2020 NBA 2K League Draft will be announced in the coming months according to the league.
NBA 2K League expansion draft order
The expansion draft format was already in place before the lottery picks on Friday. The team that won the 50-50 opportunity would have picks one and four with an optional pick at five. For the other team — picks two, three, and an optional pick at six. As winners of the expansion draft lottery, Hornets Venom GT will own the first and fourth overall picks.
Congratulations to @HornetsVenomGT who won the #NBA2KLeague Expansion Draft Lottery and will select first overall in the Season 3 NBA 2K League Expansion Draft. pic.twitter.com/18hrpoEU2U
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) October 4, 2019
Hornets Venom GT and Gen.G will pick at least two players from the unprotected player pool. This player pool consists of players not selected by their 2019 teams to be protected from the expansion draft. Each 2019 team had to protect two or three players from a roster of six. A full list of available players can be found on the league’s website.
NBA 2K League draft order
Before the lottery picks, Pistons GT, Lakers Gaming, and Knicks Gaming had the best likelihood to own the top slot at 15 percent. Hawks Talon GC and Heat Check Gaming were the only other teams who had a 10 percent or better chance at the top pick. The league published the lottery results and Wizards District Gaming won the jackpot with a 7 percent chance. The D.C. group now owns the top selection in the 2020 draft.
The complete pick order for the first round of the Season 3 #NBA2KLeague Draft. pic.twitter.com/XSWyTeW4gm
— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) October 4, 2019
Knicks Gaming was the runner-up and will pick after Wizards District Gaming. Hawks Talon GC and Pistons GT pick third and fourth, respectively. Despite losing in the expansion draft lottery, Gen.G beat out Hornets Venom GT for the fifth pick in the 2020 draft. Hornets Venom GT will pick sixth.
The full 2020 NBA 2K League Draft order is below:
1st: Wizards District Gaming
2nd: Knicks Gaming
3rd: Hawks Talon GC
4th: Pistons GT
5th: Gen.G
6th: Hornets Venom GT
7th: Lakers Gaming
8th: Heat Check Gaming
9th: NetsGC
10th: Jazz Gaming
11th: Raptors Uprising GC
12th: Bucks Gaming
13th: Cavs Legion GC
14th: Magic Gaming
15th: Grizz Gaming
16th: Pacers Gaming
17th: Kings Guard Gaming
18th: Mavs Gaming
19th: Blazer5 Gaming
20th: Warriors Gaming Squad
21st: Celtics Crossover Gaming
22nd: 76ers GC
23rd: T-Wolves Gaming
For the latest news on the NBA 2K League, stay tuned to Daily Esports!
Why does COD Mobile have a ranked playlist but Modern Warfare doesn’t?
Among the many aspects that COD Mobile got right in its worldwide launch, having a ranked playlist is near the top of that list. Not only does it feature a clear ranking system, it’s the first Call of Duty to have one at launch since Black Ops 3. Between then and now, we have not had a ranked playlist available in any major title at release.
According to Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare is going to continue that trend. Though the developers have stated that a ranked mode is coming, it will not be in the game at launch. This has caused a major uproar in the community, as a mobile game has more content than a full-fledged title.
Modern Warfare launching without a ranked playlist
Once the news of this broke, casual and professional players alike were seen on complaining on social media. It seems highly improbable that Infinity Ward, who has been working on Modern Warfare since 2016, can’t match COD Mobile‘s content, at least at launch.
I know it's two completely different developers and stuff but CoD Mobile launching with a fully fleshed out ranked mode is the biggest slap in the face. I've actually become so jaded that it's expected at this point, but c'mon man
— Clayster (@Clayster) October 1, 2019
Yeah, that's the biggest part for me. We know they can, they know they can, they just choose to not allocate enough of a team to make it what it could be. There's like 10 things we need from a ranked playlist and can never seem to get all 10 at once, I'm just so disappointed.
— Clayster (@Clayster) October 1, 2019
However, it’s not just Infinity Ward; both Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games failed to feature ranked playlists at launch. In fact, it took at least a month for any COD title in the past three years to have ranked available to play.
COD Mobile is doing a lot of things right with microtransactions, rewards, and especially ranked. While Modern Warfare is set to feature more content than we’ve ever seen before, the fact that a ranked mode isn’t available at launch is disheartening, to say the least.
The hype COD Mobile has seen isn’t going unnoticed by the community. Many feel that Activision should change their current model for Call of Duty based on Mobile‘s success. Doug “Censor” Martin is among the many campaigning for this shift.
Re-brand the entire franchise to literally “Call of Duty”. You see Fortnite changing gaming. Just copy what they do and add your own twist. It can’t be that difficult to do this.
— FaZe Censor (@Censor) October 2, 2019
While it would take a lot of dollar signs for Activision to change course, COD Mobile is turning heads. Maybe, with enough success, we could see real change within Call of Duty for the first time in a long time.
What do you think about COD Mobile? Let us know in the comments below. Keep up with Daily Esports for all Call of Duty coverage.
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