Apex Legends dev explains why they’re not adding Quads
RespawnApex started with trios, and has since added duos. Respawn are hesitant on adding solos permanently, and players have been asking for a quads queue as well. However, the four-man squads won’t be making an appearance, with the devs shutting down the idea.
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Apex Legends has evolved from being trios-only on release to adding variable squad sizes. Now, duos is a permanent queue, while solos make an appearance in various limited-time variants.
Respawn are yet to touch quads though. With 60 players dropping in, there’s potential to have 15 squads of four. For players coming from other battle royales like Warzone or Fortnite, having the extra person could mean keeping the squad together between games.
RespawnHowever, the Apex Legends developers have shut the idea down for now. According to design director ‘Monsterclip’, it’s just not feasible as the game becomes “chaotic in a negative way.”
“When you play Quads, which we tested early on, the combat becomes nearly untrackable. It’s chaotic in a negative way,” they told players on Reddit.
Monsterclip explained that for Respawn, “trios is the magic number.” It’s how the game was meant to be balanced, and where “the legend composition really shines and the X-Men vs Avengers fantasy starts to shine though.”
With that being said, Respawn have vowed they’d never add a permanent solos queue in the past. That hasn’t stopped them from incorporating it into a LTM though. However, it’d be much harder to go up from trios than go down.
“This wouldn’t be a total deterrent for a limited time mode if the rest of the game wasn’t designed around Trios. Our lobby, for example, is designed for three people. Our loot distribution is designed for three people per squad. Even something like the banners placed around the map don’t have room for a fourth.
“These are all technically solvable problems with enough effort, but because we feel that Trios is the sweet spot we aren’t pursuing Quads currently.”
There’s still hope that potentially in the future quads could make its appearance in an LTM, and maybe get enough traction for Respawn to take notice and add it permanently. However, don’t get your hopes up on either of those fronts.