Apex Legends map rotation changed to make Season 4 easier to grind

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Last week, Electronic Arts kicked off Apex Legends event The Old Ways, featuring a Bloodhound Town Takeover, exclusive rewards, and a number of direct-purchase cosmetics. At the same time, it rolled out a map rotation, enabling players to select either Kings Canyon or World's Edge for Duos or Trios play. 

But it seems that not everyone was happy with how that rotation was working out, because today it announced that Nighttime Kings Canyon has been removed from the rotation, while the standard Kings Canyon rotation timer—the length of time the map is up for play before it moves on to the next one—has been shortened. Previously, maps were playable for about an hour before switching, although according to some comments on Reddit, that time could vary; EA didn't say what the times have been changed to, but the net result is that players will have more time on the World's Edge map, where The Old Ways event is set.

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More variety is a plus, but according to Dexerto the rotation was having a negative impact on queue times, and it was also slowing down the Season 4 grind for some players—making it harder to complete World's Edge-specific challenges that help raise players' battle pass level. EA said basically the same thing in a follow-up tweet.

"We're hoping this will allow players the chance to keep grinding that Season 4 Battle Pass or try their skills at the new Bloodhound Town Takeover," it wrote. "And as a reminder, Kings Canyon is still available in Ranked if you're wanting to jump in immediately."

The Apex Legends Old Ways event runs until April 21. If you haven't checked it out yet, you can dive into the full details at ea.com.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.